U.S. President Donald Trump calls Hollywood “racist” outside of the White House on Friday morning adding that film industry is doing a “disservice” to America.
This news comes after the cancellation of “The Hunt,” a new feature film about a group of elite vacationers who hunt and kill blue-collar workers for fun. Universal suspended marketing for the movie following the El Paso and Dayton shootings. The film generated a significant backlash on Fox News.
“Liberal Hollywood is Racist at the highest level, and with great Anger and Hate! They like to call themselves ‘Elite,’ but they are not Elite. In fact, it is often the people that they so strongly oppose that are actually the Elite. The movie coming out is made in order…. to inflame and cause chaos. They create their own violence, and then try to blame others. They are the true Racists, and are very bad for our Country!”
CALDWELL, IDAHO/USA – MAY 5, 2016: Twitter website for possible Republican Nominee Donald Trump (txking / Shutterstock, Inc.)
Trump spoke for approximately 30 minutes outside the White House on Friday morning. Before leaving for the Hamptons, Trump’s responded to a question about Twitter, which many think discriminates conservative views on the social media platform.
“We’re going to be very tough with them. They’re treating conservatives very unfairly,” Trump began, before veering into a diatribe against the film industry.
“Hollywood — I don’t call them the elites, I think the elites are the people they go after in many cases. But Hollywood is really terrible,” he said. “You talk about racist — Hollywood is racist. What they’re doing with the kind of movies they’re putting out, it’s actually very dangerous for our country. What Hollywood is doing is a tremendous disservice to our country.”
It is not the first time Donald Trump has called out the entertainment industry. He has accused Spike Lee, and Tavis Smiley of racism and once questioned why ABC was allowed to air “Black-ish,” calling it “racism at the highest level.”
“They treat conservatives — Republicans — totally different than they treat others, and they can’t do that,” he said.
The El Paso shooter issued a manifesto saying he was acting in response to the “Hispanic invasion of Texas,” which has put the U.S. President under immense criticism.
A security flaw within WhatsApp may have compromised the security of the application’s 1.5 billion users this week and may not even be the last, according to the app’s competitor Telegram.
Russian entrepreneur Pavel Durov joined criticism of Whatsapp after it was revealed that everything on a WhatsApp user’s phone from their private photos, videos, to emails, and texts were open to hackers. In a blog post titled “Why WhatsApp will never be secure,” Durov explained all the reasons he was not surprised by the latest scandal to hit the Facebook-owned company.
“WhatsApp has a consistent history – from zero encryption at its inception to a succession of security issues strangely suitable for surveillance purposes,” he wrote. “Looking back, there hasn’t been a single day in WhatsApp’s ten-year journey when this service was secure.”
The app is not open source, which means security analysts are unable to check the application for vulnerabilities within the application’s software; This allows for hackers to create backdoors into the app, which would bypass traditional security measures if WhatsApp developers do not develop the application properly.
London, England – May 15, 2019: WhatsApp Messenger on a Smartphone, WhatsApp allows users to encrypt their calls and messages for privacy. It is owned by Facebook and founded in 2009. – Image (Lenscap Photography / Shutterstock.com)
In 2016, WhatsApp introduced encryption into the application to prevent messages from being read by anyone apart from the person sending and the person receiving them. However, security experts argue that relying on end-to-end encryption is not enough.
Durov argued, “I understand security agencies justify planting backdoors by anti-terror efforts. The problem is such backdoors can also be used by criminals and authoritarian governments. No wonder dictators seem to love WhatsApp. Its lack of security allows them to spy on their own people, so WhatsApp continues being freely available in places like Russia or Iran, where Telegram is banned by the authorities.”
Durov continues by arguing that he started working on Telegram in response to personal pressure from Russian authorities. In 2012, WhatsApp was transferring messages in plain-text, which gave everyone access to WhatsApp texts, Durov explains.
London, England – May 15, 2019: WhatsApp Messenger on a Smartphone, WhatsApp allows users to encrypt their calls and messages for privacy. It is owned by Facebook and founded in 2009. – Image (Lenscap Photography / Shutterstock.com)
“Every time WhatsApp has to fix a critical vulnerability in their app, a new one seems to appear in its place,” Durov said. “All of their security issues are conveniently suitable for surveillance, and look and work a lot like backdoors.”
Durov believes the messaging app will never be secure unless the application changes how it works. “For WhatsApp to become a privacy-orientated service, it has to risk losing entire markets and clashing with authorities in their home country,” Durov wrote. “They don’t seem to be ready for that.”
Who is Pavel Durov?
Pavel Durov is a Russian entrepreneur who is best known for being the founder of the social networking site VK, and later the Telegram messenger app. He was dismissed as the CEO of VK in 204, and the Durov brothers have traveled the world in “self-imposed exile” as citizens of Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Kazan, Russia – June 25, 2017: Telegram application logo on smartphone. – Image (Allmy / Shutterstock.com)
After he obtained Saint Kitts and Nevis citizenship through donating $250,000 to the country’s Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation, and he received $300 million in cash within Swiss banks; This allowed him to focus on creating his next company, Telegram, which was initially based in Berlin and now based in London and focuses on an encrypted messaging service.
What is the Telegram Messenger app?
According to its website, “Telegram is a cloud-based mobile and desktop messaging app with a focus on security and speed.”
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Taco Bell is opening up a hotel to compete over other businesses in the fast food space.
Taco Bell will take over a Palm Springs hotel for five nights in August. The hotel will convert into The Bell: A Taco Bell Hotel and Resort in Palm Springs and will include Taco Bell items, a gift shop, and Taco Bell nail art.
“Get ready for “Bell” hops and Baja Blasts, Fire Sauce and Sauce Packet floaties, because The Bell: A Taco Bell Hotel and Resort is opening for a limited time in Palm Springs this August, meant for 18+ superfans. Complete with exclusive Taco Bell menu items and plenty of surprises, The Bell is sure to be the spicy twist of your summer. So pack your swimsuit, mark your calendars and start the countdown, because The Bell is about to make all of your taco dreams come true,” Taco Bell said on their website.
According to reports, the hotel will feature menu items that consumers may not know. People who decide to stay at the hotel will see them, and if they post them on social media, it will create additional buzz.
Why is Taco Bell opening a hotel?
Stock Photo: Las Vegas – Circa December 2016: Taco Bell Cantina Location. The new Taco Bell Cantina features a DJ area, VIP lounge, and upscale menu III (Jonathan Weiss / Shutterstock.com)
But it begs the question – why is Taco Bell opening a hotel? Today, businesses are trying non-traditional ways to raise brand awareness and set themselves apart from their competitors and go viral across social media.
For example, Domino’s promised to help cities pave their potholes. KFC let customers create a custom video for their mom, including shirtless “Chickendales” dancers.
Marketing promotions like Taco Bell’s Taco Bell Hotel and Resort can give consumers to visit the hotel and share the experience on social media. Developments like Taco Bell can provide customers with a new skill without putting pressure on franchise owners.
Taco Bell announced their New Year’s resolution and the home of the chalupa revealed their plan to provide healthier food options. Taco Bell shared in a…
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Past economic gurus believed taxing goods made overseas was a way to generate revenue. The taxing process is known as tariffs.
These tariffs were also a way to protect and make goods made in the United States more profitable. What is currently being ignored today is that the U.S. is one participant in a world economy where countries are dependent on each other. Some world leaders believe it is vital to protect their products and workers. However, according to Douglas A. Irwin, in his book Peddling Protectionism, the 1930 Smoot-Hawley tariff, which raised duties on many imported goods to record levels, was America’s most infamous trade law. It is associated with the onset of the Great Depression; the collapse of world trade.
Fast forward to the 1990s and the topic of trade wars, globalization, started up again with Ross Perot’s campaign for POTUS in 1992. He talked about jobs disappearing to Mexico. In 1993 Gallup Poll showed many Americans opposed NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico). That same year, a Pew Poll showed that many Americans opposed President Bill Clinton granting China most-favored-trading status. The current administration seems to be arguing the same Perot points of protectionism, more jobs here in the U.S., and more manufacturing here to remain a “superpower.”
Now, the current administration has targeted China for a $50 billion increase in tariffs. China has responded with a $3 billion tariff on goods from the United States. China has a list of approximately 128 products: 78 assorted dried and fresh fruits and nuts, wine, ethanol, stainless steel pipes, pork products and scrap aluminum. The increase will be between 15%-20%. This is according to China’s Ministry of Commerce website. Another consideration is that the United States has a trade deficit with China. On April 4, the POTUS tweeted “$500 billion DOWN” referring to the deficit with China. Actually, according to the US Census Bureau, in 2017 that number was $375 billion. US exports to China were $130 billion, while imports were $506 billion. The primary cause for this deficit is that China can produce consumer goods for lower costs than other countries. Needless to say, Americans want these goods at the lowest prices. Two factors that enable them to do this: (1) they have a lower standard of living which allows them to pay lower wages, (2) an exchange rate that is partially fixed to the dollar. If and/or when China raises tariffs, the higher prices will be passed onto the American consumer. Furthermore, China is also the largest lender to the US; they like US Treasury notes and own approximately $1.17 trillion; this is roughly 19% of our total debt owned by foreign countries.
The question that begs to be answered is who would win a trade war between China and the United States? Depends on how you define “win.”
Want a job in the film industry? Check out these major feature films that are now hiring across the country.
Producers, movie studios and executives are ramping production for future movies and upcoming TV series. From Netflix’s Mindhunter, which is now filming in Pittsburgh, Disney’s Jungle Cruise is now casting talent in Atlanta, Georgia. Here’s a breakdown of the biggest movies now filming across the country.
Tom Hardy’s ‘Fonzo’ is now filming in Louisiana
According to Project Casting, Tom Hardy’s Fonzo is now filming in Covington, Louisiana. Casting directors are looking for “Sicilian Italian looking men” to play “GOONS”. Tom Hardy will play Al Capone, after 10 years in prison, who starts suffering from dementia and comes to be haunted by his violent past. The movie stars Tom Hardy and is written/directed by Josh Trank.
LAS VEGAS – APR 21: Ryan Coogler, Michael B. Jordan at the Warner Brothers 2015 Presentation at Cinemacon at the Caesars Palace on April 21, 2015 in Las Vegas, CA (Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com)
Michael B. Jordan’s Creed 2 is now looking for European actors
Michael B. Jordan’s Creed 2is now casting Europen actors in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Heery Loftus Casting is reportedly looking for non-union background for Thursday, Friday & Monday. Needed are people who can portray European such as Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, Serbian, German, Hungarian, Romanian, Irish, English, types.
In Creed 2, Adonis Creed tries to seek revenge when he goes toe to toe with the man who killed his father. The movie stars Tessa Thompson, Sylvester Stallone, and Michael B. Jordan. The movie will be directed by Steven Caple Jr.
Mel Gibson’s Boss Level casting call for several roles!
Mel Gibson’s new movie Boss Level is looking for skateboarders, kids, and a ton of other roles as it films in Atlanta, Georgia. Boss Level centers around a retired special forces veteran (Grillo) who is trapped in a never-ending loop resulting in his death. To stop his pain and suffering, he must figure out who is responsible and stop them.
Paris, France – December 15, 2016: Amazon Prime Video VS Netflix concept. Video-on-demand services competitors Netflix and Amazon prime video. focus on Netflix homepage. (pixinoo / Shutterstock, Inc.)
Netflix’s Motley Crue biopic The Dirt is ramping up production in New Orleans
Producers are looking for background extras to work on scenes filming in Metairie, Louisiana this week. Casting directors are looking for “Men and Women, over the age of 18, who appear 20s-60s, to be in a SMALL GROUP waiting outside of hotel for the band. Men must be willing to be clean shaven.”
The Dirt, the movie based on the tell-all autobiography by Motley Crue, is on the fast track to happen. Rapper Machine Gun Kelly has been cast as drummer Tommy Lee. English actor Douglas Booth has been cast as bassist Nikki Sixx. Game of Thrones actor Iwan Rheon, who played the villainous Ramsay Bolton, is in talks to join the cast as guitarist Mick Mars. Daniel Webber, who you may remember from The Punisher is in talks to play Vince Neil.
Hackers have targeted and defaced a series of music videos from YouTube, including the music video for Drake’s “God’s Plan” and Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito”, the most viewed YouTube video of all time. Most of the changed videos had their descriptions changed, with hackers calling themselves Prosox and Kuroi’sh taking credit for the hack, according to reports.
Other videos had their thumbnail image removed and replaced with photos from the Netflix series Casa de Papel. Other artist to have their videos changed including Post Malone, Selena Gomez and Shakira. Currently, there is no explanation as to how the hackers were able to gain access to the Vevo accounts, however a twitter account claiming to belong to Prosox explained that it was all done through altering a script.
New york, USA – August 22, 2017: Youtube application menu on smartphone screen close-up. (PixieMe / Shutterstock.com)
“@YouTube Its just for fun i just use script “youtube-change-title-video” and i write “hacked” don t judge me i love youtube <3,” Twitter user @ProxoxW3b wrote.
Last November, the US justice department charged an Iranian man for the HBO hack. In an indictment, prosecutors claim Behzad Mesri gained server access to HBO by hacking employees’ accounts. With that access, according to the Justice Department’s indictment, Mesri stole unaired episodes of hit shows such as Dwayne Johnson’s Ballers’ and Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, as well as scripts for other TV shows including Game of Thrones. Financial documents and logins for social media accounts were also stolen from HBO.
Stock Photo: Man using Youtube application on his smartphone, background is an image from the projector – photography from social media meeting in city of Lodz, Poland 07.11. 2014 (Michal Ludwiczak / Shutterstock.com)
Mark Zuckerberg will testify before the committee on April 11th at 2:15 PM ET. Last week, Zuckerberg turned down a similar request by European regulators, where they asked him to appear before a UK Parliamentary committee who is also underway on a similar investigation into Facebook’s use and protection of user data.
The data-sharing scandal centers around how Facebook users’ data ended up in the hands of Cambridge Analytica prompting questions about the company’s powers across the world; This led to a #deletefacebook viral campaign.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) wrote in a statement ahead of the Facebook hearings, “I’m glad Mr. Zuckerberg has agreed to face the music. His company has shamelessly shredded the privacy rights of its users.”
He added, “This hearing is a good first step towards instituting some vitally necessary rules of the road for Big Tech.”
About the Cambridge Analytica Scandal
Last week, Sheryl Sandberg admitted that the Cambridge Analyicta data breach appeared on Facebook’s radar two and a half years ago, in December of 2015.
Stock Photo: Laguna Niguel, CA, USA; Tuesday, Oct. 7th, 2014; Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer of Facebook speaks at the 2014 Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit. (Krista Kennell / Shutterstock.com)
“We could’ve done this two and a half years ago,” Sandberg admitted. “We thought the data had been deleted and we should have checked. They gave us assurances, and it wasn’t until other people told us it wasn’t true … We had legal assurances from them that they deleted it. What we didn’t do is the next step of an audit, and we’re trying to do that now,” Sheryl Sandberg said during an interview on NBC’s TODAY show with Savannah Guthrie.
Ultimately, Facebook can not shy away from the criticism over the way the company manages their data, even as the company looks to shy away from controversy.
On Tuesday, Facebook announced the company will start notifying the 87 million whose information was improperly obtained by Cambridge Analytica. If you have not received a notification in your News Feed, there is an easy to check your account. Facebook’s help center will allow for users to know if they were affected by the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
How to See If Your Facebook Data was Shared with Cambridge Analytica
Facebook will start notifying the 87 million whose information was improperly obtained by Cambridge Analytica. If you have not received a notification in your News Feed, there is an easy to check your account. Facebook’s help center now has a section that tells you if you or a friend were affected by the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
Stock Photo: Jelenia Gora, Poland – February 25, 2016: New Facebook like button 6 Empathetic Emoji. Facebook is a well-known social networking service. Mark Zuckerberg’s page account on FACEBOOK (Bakhur Nick / Shutterstock.com)
Users will be asked to change app settings, but it is important to review what apps you have given access to in the past.
Facebook is now updating their platform with several different changes to prevent other Facebook apps from improperly obtaining user data in the future. The company is currently looking for “suspicious activity” from their developers. Facebook will now testify before Congress this week to answer questions about how Facebook protects user data.
Facebook secretly deleted Mark Zuckerberg‘s private messages from the social networking platform.
According to TechCrunch, multiple sources who had previously received private messages from CEO Mark Zuckerberg through the Facebook Messenger application can no longer find those messages. That said, it begs the question if the company is secretly deleting Zuckerberg’s private messages, a feature that is currently not available to other Facebook users.
TechCrunch explains Facebook Messenger users can only delete messages from their own inboxes and will still appear in the recipient’s thread. Facebook issued a comment on the deletion of some of Zuckerberg’s private messages by referencing the 2014 Sony email hack.
After Sony Pictures’ emails were hacked in 2014 we made a number of changes to protect our executives’ communications. These included limiting the retention period for Mark’s messages in Messenger. We did so in full compliance with our legal obligations to preserve messages.
That said, the company spokesperson did not reveal whose messages, in particular, had been deleted. Moreover, they did not identify which other Facebook executives have had their private messages removed from the application.
Stock Photo: DEAUVILLE, FRANCE – MAY 26, 2011 : Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Press conference at the summit G8/G20 about new technologies – Deauville, France on May 26 2011 (Frederic Legrand – COMEO / Shutterstock.com)
This news comes after a Patient care data controversy. CNBC reported on Thursday that Facebook sent a physician on a secret mission to ask hospitals to anonymously share patient data. The company said that it stopped the project last month after the Cambridge Analyicta scandal went viral on March 16, 2017.
On April 4th, Bloomberg reported Facebook evaluate links and images as part of their content moderation practices.
On Friday, Sheryl Sandberg admitted that the Cambridge Analyicta data breach appeared on Facebook’s radar two and a half years ago, in December of 2015.
“We could’ve done this two and a half years ago,” Sandberg admitted. “We thought the data had been deleted and we should have checked. They gave us assurances and it wasn’t until other people told us it wasn’t true … We had legal assurances from them that they deleted it. What we didn’t do is the next step of an audit and we’re trying to do that now,”Sheryl Sandberg said during an interview on NBC’s TODAY show with Savannah Guthrie.
Ultimately, Facebook can not shy away from the criticism over the way the company manages their data, even as the company looks to shy away from controversy.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg will have to appear for two major hearings next week, who most likely think he did not handle the abuse of the social networking platform.
Even Apple’s CEO Tim Cook called out Facebook, saying he “Wouldn’t be in this situation,” referring to Facebook’s privacy scandal. Cook called for more privacy regulation following the controversy. Zuckerberg responded by calling the Apple CEO’s comments “extremely glib”.
DEAUVILLE, FRANCE – MAY 26, 2011 : Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Press conference at the summit G8/G20 about new technologies – Deauville, France on May 26 2011 (Frederic Legrand – COMEO / Shutterstock.com)
According to a new Government Accountability Office study that focused on the Department of Education civil rights data and found some troubling trends. The GAO found black students are with respect to discipline black students are overrepresented, which means black children are punished more severely and more frequently than white students. “These disparities were widespread and persisted regardless of the type of disciplinary action, level of school poverty, or type of public school attended.” explained the report.
For instance, the GAO reports white kids were underrepresented and black kids were overrepresented in every level of discipline. Black students were most overrepresented in the areas that allow school officials to arrest, kick out or suspend black children — out of school suspension, corporal punishment and school-related arrests.
Black students, boys, and students with disabilities were disproportionately disciplined (e.g., suspensions and expulsions) in K-12 public schools, according to GAO’s analysis of Department of Education (Education) national civil rights data for school year 2013-14, the most recent available.
These disparities were widespread and persisted regardless of the type of disciplinary action, level of school poverty, or type of public school attended. For example, Black students accounted for 15.5 percent of all public school students, but represented about 39 percent of students suspended from school—an overrepresentation of about 23 percentage points
The GAO found black children still receive harsher punishments at schools where there was nearly zero poverty. Black children are punished more severely with harsher punishments at public schools, charter schools, and all other alternative schools. Regardless of where a child attends if they are black, the students received harsher punishments.
Key stats:
Black students made up a minority of the population in schools with around 15.5% but, represented 39% of students being suspended.
Black boys represented 27% of students who receive corporal punishment as a form of discipline.
