TJ Wrote: Today he was found guilty of Culpable Homicide. I've always thought that he was guilty. Fame is why he's out on bail today. Hero's don't come around too often in S. Africa. I hope he get's a reasonable (maybe 10 years) sentence. If you have a gun and experience using it..... you don't need to kill to ensure your safety. Just like a cop in Ferguson..... warning shots are unheard of. Even though if it was a burglar.... In the bathroom ??!!??!!?? are they maybe stealing your deodorant ? Let it go. 4 bucks to replace it is better than killing a loved one. Also a warning shot would scare away intruders. Hell, fire a warning shot and hold the gun in case you need more protection. If done in this case it would have proved that he was being afraid and stupid - over reacting.

Good points Tony. This is a very weird case, no doubt. Gotta think the only reason he got off was because of the inherent lack of evidence that a case like this would come with; a bunch of testimony and speculation mostly. Anyone know yet if he is getting actually jail time, and how much of it?

Jon Stewart of the The Daily Show took a short time off last summer I think it was to direct his first film. And the trailer for which just came out. It's called 'Rosewater' and it actually looks very, very good. I guess I just assumed he was working on another 'Death to Smoochy' type film. But this isn't a comedy, at all. It's a very serious drama about an Iranian-born Newsweek reporter getting thrown into Iranian prison for 100 days and also being tortured, after trying to cover the 2009 election. Thoughts, first impressions? Here's the trailer:

With the ceasefire truce put together by Egypt being rejected by Hamas in the Gaza strip, how bad do you think Israel will bomb? Will there be anything left of it after they get done with it? Several articles I'm reading say that Israel is warning everyone that they will come down hard on the small strip of land, and recommending everyone to evacuate, by the tens of thousands.

I am nowhere near an expert on the subject, or the nuanced history of the conflict for that matter. But I do know the basics. And it appears that a fight between Israel and the Hamas in Gaza is like David v Goliath (with Israel being the giant). Feel free to correct me, if I'm wrong there. Also, would really like to hear someone's summarized take on the conflict in the region, and why its going down in the first place. Also, why did Hamas reject the ceasefire? I know the media's answers to these questions. But, to be honest, you get WILDLY different takes depending on where you read.

No doubt North Korea is way out of their league, threatening the US in any way. I do not think the North Koreans will start an actual, all out war with us just over this movie.

What I am more curious on is if anyone in government will try to intervene with the release of this movie because of Kim Jong-un's threat? Is an interesting 1st amendment question, I guess.

Seth Rogen and James Franco have made a movie (soon to be released) about assassinating North Korea's President Kim Jong-un.

The Interview - Official Teaser Trailer

As you can likely guess, North Korea is not seeing the humor in the upcoming release. Actually, they are taking it as a direct threat:

“If the United States administration tacitly approves or supports the release of this film, we will take a decisive and merciless countermeasure,” a spokesman for its Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency, according to the New York Times.

The country is labeling the film "an act of war".

Think Congress or the Obama Administration will step in on this one at any point? The release date is slated for this fall, I believe in August if I read correctly.

Old thread, I know. But, this would be the title I would have given a new thread anyways..

There's been a verdict in the UK on this hacking scandal.

http://www.smh.com.au/world/uk-phone-hacking-trial-andy-coulson-guilty-but-rebe...

Former News of the World editor and Downing Street spin doctor Andy Coulson has been found guilty of phone hacking, but Rebekah Brooks has been cleared on all counts and has walked free from the Old Bailey's marathon phone hacking trial.

Doesn't sound like much justice to me, but at least someone got in trouble. How does a major editor and the right hand man of Murdoch for so many years, Brooks, get off without any punishment whatsoever?

Abdel Fattah el-Sisi was sworn in 6/8/14 as Egypt's 6th President under democratically elected means. He rose to this occasion on the momentum of being THE guy that ousted the criminally insane Mohamed Morsi. Remember that guy? Democratically elected, then decided to turn the country and his office into an extreme dictatorship/kingship with unlimited powers? Yeah, well a military coup was formed and kicked that guy out of office. And el-Sisi was the man in charge of it.

So now, el-Sisi is President of Egypt. He won 96% of the vote. 96%. I have a hard time believing that any democratically elected politician in a fair process gets that overwhelming of a majority vote. His opposition calls the process an outrage and said:

"We cannot give any credibility or ratification to the announced numbers of turnout or results," Sabahy said last month. "The announced results are an insult to the intelligence of the Egyptians."

Do you think that el-Sisi has the ability and integrity to restore some amount of peace and stability in the country of Egypt? I think he is working on a best-case scenario steam of momentum and support; he's the man that ousted Morsi. I'm sure most everyone is willing to at least see what he can do and give him a real chance to fix things. I hope he is a marked improvement. Seems as though being President of Egypt has a way of seriously going to your head though.

I know that this is a political forum and all. And 90% of the time, I'm all for that. But with the other 10% I like to talk sports. Since I know sports talk does gain at least some traction around here, I thought I'd pose the question before Game 1 of the NBA Finals, and get a feel for what actual people think is going to happen in the Heat/Spurs series this year. So, I will ask, who has the edge, the San Antonio Spurs or the Miami Heat?

Predictions on how the series will go? My guess: Heat win in 6. I'm thinking the first 4 games go back and forth, with home court taking it. Then the Heat clean up games 5 and 6 and win the three-peat. Not going on too much of a limb either, James gets another MVP win as well. I just don't think this Spurs team can win a series against the Heat. The Spurs are good and can definitely win games here and there against anyone. But, when it comes right down to it, the Heat are just the best team in the league.

Game 1 is at 9pm EST on ABC in San Antonio. I guess the way I predicted it, the Spurs will win game 1. I may want to rethink that... nah. Spurs will win the series opener, just not the series.

Ex-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer just made an outrageously high bid during the back on forth auction on the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers. $2 Billion! As long as everything goes okay on the legal end and the collective NBA accepts Ballmer's offer, this is a foregone conclusion.

This will be far and away the most anyone has ever spent on an NBA franchise. The next closest, $550 million for the Milwaukee Bucks. That's almost 4 times less. Considering all the 4 major US sports, $2 Billion will come in 2nd place only to the $2.15 Billion deal that went down when purchasing the LA Dodgers. Looks like Los Angeles is asserting their dominance as the most valuable place in the US to own a sporting franchise. I long thought it was New York. Makes though, I guess.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/clippers/la-me-sterling-clippers-sale-20140530-st...

Just watched a Youtube video by RT, reporting the story of the US Military unveiling an 'Iron Man'-like prototype suit. Biggest difference between this prototype and Tony Stark variety, the military's won't fly. At least not for the first several iterations.

Do you think this is a good idea, or just an inevitable one? They plan to officially release this in a few weeks. And possibly in a few years, it will become standard issue for certain sects of our special forces. The suit is called TALOS, which stands for "Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit, the exoskeleton comes complete with cameras, computers, night-vision, medical telemetry and other sensors. Although the prototype set to be delivered is not powered to provide extra-human strength, a more complete model is expected as early as 2016." RT report.

I am honestly both terrified and intrigued. That's the double-edged sword of advancing technology, I guess. Intriguing because of how humans in general have the capacity to turn pure imagination into reality. Terrified because one of our main motivating factors is to use this ability for war. The name Talos is from Greek mythology. Talos was a giant man of bronze who protected Europa in Crete from pirates and invaders. He circled the island's shores three times daily. No doubt this acronym was specifically chosen to instill fear and to further attempt to assert our dominance on the world stage, even going as far as to insinuate that we are "god-like" with our military prowess.

Here's the video: