Republic Records Class of 2016 Showcase

\ \ Republic Records Class of 2016 Showcase / / Get a peek at the Republic artists that will be flying high at the top of the charts through this year and into 2016… Introducing: Republic’s Class of 2016. Check out pics from Tuesday ...Read More yesterday. View   Share Video Spotlight: Watch The Weeknd + Nicki Minaj Perform on SNL! Watch The Weeknd perform “The Hills (Remix)” featuring Nicki Minaj and “Can’t Feel My Face” on SNL! As an added bonus, Abel ...Read More 4 days ago. View   Share DNCE Is Set To Release SWAAY EP Friday October 23! Get ready to DNCE, because Joe Jonas and the crew are comin’ for you! The band is set to release ...Read More 3 days ago. View   Share THIS JUST IN: James Bay Will Perform at The 2015 MTV EMAs! It’s official: James Bay is announced as a performer at the MTV EMAs in Milan on Oct 25! Get info the awards show and how ...Read More 2 days ago. View   Share Republic’s 2015 American Music Awards® Nominees Are In: We’re proud to announce our Republic nominees for the 2015 American Music Awards… Don’t miss the live show broadcasted from the Microsoft Theater on Sunday, November 22nd at 8:00pm ...Read More 3 days ago. View   Share

republicrecords @JohnNewmanMusic's new album REVOLVE ft. "Come And Get It" & "Tiring Game" is out now! #NewMusicFriday (190) yesterday. View   Share republicrecords @PostMalone took over the legendary @sobsnyc earlier this week, performing hits like #WhiteIverson & #TooYoung for a rowdy, sold-out crowd. (= @theyoungshooter) (387) 2 days ago. View   Share republicrecords Thank you to all who came out to our #RepublicClassOf2016 Showcase last night! We are so lucky that these incredibly talented artists are a part of the Republic family. @DNCE, @RuenBrothers, @ClairityMusic, @GraceMitchellMusic, @GiveMePowers (= @MaxMercurio) (452) 3 days ago. View   Share republicrecords Check out POWERS' sexy new video for their single "Hot" on @YouTube. And if you're in NY, catch @GiveMePowers at @cmjofficial shows all week long! (413) 3 days ago. View   Share

Moog to Cease Minimoog Voyager Synth Production But there's something new...

TECH Oct 1, 2015

Moog to Cease Minimoog Voyager Synth Production

But there's something new...

By Theo Bark @badbarks

After 13 years, Moog has revealed that it will cease production of its beloved Minimoog Voyager synth.

Launched in 2002, the Voyager is renowned for being both the last synthesizer that founder Bob Moog designer “from start to finish,” and also signaling “the rebirth of Moog Music, and the re-emergence of the analog synthesizer as a viable creative tool in our increasingly digital world.”

The Minimoog Voyager is also considered to be one of the most beloved hardware synths, so as a special goodbye, the company will be thanking its customers by handcrafting 600 final units at its factory in Asheville, NC, along with offering 20% off on all Minimoog Voyager upgrades, modifications and calibrations to existing domestic customers until 2016.

While there has been some confusion as to whether every Voyager model will be discontinued, Synthtopia cites a contact at Moog Music who has stated that “[e]verything except the Minimoog Voyager XL is being discontinued.”

In happier synth news, the company has also announced the Eurorack-compatible Mother-32, a desktop semi-modular synth that functions both as a standalone unit and a Eurorack module that is fairly affordable, at $599. So, that’s pretty tight. Check the Mother-32 out here.

Meanwhile, Moog has created a video to celebrate the Minimoog Voyager’s end, which features an interview with Trent Reznor, scored by The Haxan Cloak, using both the Minimoog Voyager and a prototype Mother-32. Watch below.

• Haxan Cloak
• Trent Rezner

2.5 Million Prisoners in the United States

DUNNINGAN CA (IFS) -- When it comes to prisoners, the United States leads the civilized world with people that are locked up for various crimes.  We love to use prison labor to make white box products, like washers, dryers, stoves, air conditioners,  computers, telephones systems and sets, wood furniture, beds, pots and pans, dishes and other things that are shipped to Europe, Mexico and South America, where the local manufacturing companies place their names on the products as locally reassembled with some engineering assistance.

First, I would like to add, that there are some people that deserve to be in jail and/or prison, and we need a place for these few people or we have to put them down because they can not function in our society.

We have over twenty-five million people that have been to prison and/or jail in our society, and we don't know how to deal with them.  We keep blocking their success and limiting job opportunities because of their past.  We are a non-forgiving society and we continue to punish them.

We have yet to talk about the 2 million people that are awaiting trial and those that are ready to be sentenced.  We are the only country on the face of the earth that keeps punishing our ex-felons.

We use the Bible to talk about forgiveness and rehabilitation.  Well let's talk about the word rehabilation.  First, I don't want anyone to be rehabilitated into breaking into houses and stealing one personal effects.  I don't want anyone rehabilitated into killing his neighbor for a flat screen television or electric saw.

Officer James Frascatore has history of excessive force allegations

Sep 10, 2015 · by Robert Lewis

The police officer who tackled a retired tennis star in an apparent case of mistaken identity this week was the subject of a WNYC investigation last year that revealed a history of civilian complaints.

Police Officer James Frascatore was the plainclothes cop who body-slammed former tennis-pro James Blake on Wednesday, a law-enforcement official confirmed for WNYC.

Frascatore was part of a plainclothes unit investigating credit-card fraud and identity theft when he mistakenly went after Blake, who bears a striking resemblance to a suspected fraudster.

In December, WNYC reported that Frascatore was named in five civilian complaints during one seven-month period in 2013.

The story, part of a series on police misconduct and discipline, included a recording of Frascatore and other officers arresting a mother in front of her crying children because she wasn't quick enough to hand over a bike they wanted as evidence.

The Civilian Complaint Review Board said Frascatore made false statements under oath in that case, and referred the matter to the NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau, records show. The NYPD declined to comment for that story.

Wednesday’s incident shows Frascatore was still on the street. Police Commissioner William Bratton moved quickly to place Frascatore on modified duty and issued a statement Thursday afternoon.

“I spoke to Mr. Blake a short time ago and personally apologized for yesterday’s incident,” Bratton said in the statement. “Mr. Blake indicated he would be willing to meet with the Internal Affairs Bureau as our investigation continues. Additionally, he said he would be returning the Mayor’s earlier phone call to speak to him.  Mr. Blake said he would like to meet with the Mayor and me at a future date, which we would be agreeable to.”

The mayor also apologized to Blake.

Patrolmen's Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch issued a statement questioning the decision to put Frascatore behind a desk.

“We agree with the Police Commissioner that the first story is never the whole story and believe that placing this officer on modified duty is premature and unwarranted," Lynch said. "No police officer should ever face punitive action before a complete review of the facts.” 

The union declined an interview request and its law firm — which represented Frascatore in front of the CCRB — did not respond to a request for comment.  Frascatore could not immediately be reached for comment.

 Click here to listen to the original WNYC investigation, part of our award-winning series "NYPD Bruised."

Maybe It's Time To Build a New Internet

Ads by Google

Small Speakers, Big Sound2014 "Speaker Of The Year" Winner Blow Your Mind, Not Your Budget!www.orbaudio.com

Last month, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission voted to advance a plan that would strike down one of the core tenants of net neutrality, the principle that asserts that all internet traffic be treated equally. This act marked the latest move in a decade-long fight between internet users and large service providers like Comcast, Verizon and AT&T.

Playing the role of referee, the FCC has been advancing both slowly and clumsily toward enshrining some definition of net neutrality in the law—it's the nature of that definition that is hotly contested. The plan proposed last month would reportedly allow service providers to sell access to "fast lanes" to moneyed interests—effectively transforming the internet from a level playing field into a two-tired system. While many were surprised by the speed and resolve with which the FCC unveiled this plan, careful observers noted that the agency's new chairman, Tom Wheeler had previously lobbied on behalf of virtually every large cable and mobile service provider.

Meanwhile, Comcast, America's largest provider of internet services,is seeking to absorb Time Warner Cable, its only real competitor on a national scale. Having become the world's largest media and communications company following its purchase of NBC Universal in 2009, Comcast now seeks to reshape the landscape of internet service providers in its image. If its acquisition of Time Warner is approved, Comcast will control roughly a third of all U.S. internet connections and will be the dominant player in nearly all of the nation's top markets. Despite the clear threat to competition (not to mention the additional weight this would lend Comcastin negotiations with infrastructure and device providers), regulatory opposition is anything but guaranteed. Comcast is among the top spenders on lobbying in Washington, making large campaign contributions on both sides of the aisle; its CEO is known to play golf with the President.

And then there's the pervasive surveillance of internet communications by the U.S. and its allies, new facets of which are still being revealed on a monthly basis. As the Snowden documents have shown, many of these surveillance programs are made possible by the National Security Agency's ability to intercept and decrypt data in transit, a technical feat previously thought to be near impossible. Given the nature of these programs, online privacy now seems unattainable for all but the most sophisticated cryptographers. What's more, it's likely that consolidation among service providers will only make conducting mass surveillance easier.

Thoroughly commercialized, consolidated and surveilled: this is the state of the network in 2014. Once hailed for its revolutionary potential, the historically open, decentralized, egalitarian internet seems to inch closer toward centralized control with each passing day. But what can be done?

Here's a modest proposal: perhaps it's time to build a new internet.

This might seem like a radical idea but it's not without precedent. As Columbia Law School professor Tim Wu demonstrated in his 2010 book,The Master Switch, the history of American communications technology has followed the rough arc of a pendulum swing. In their infancies, all of our communications networks were largely open, decentralized and free of corporate or governmental control. After demonstrating their economic value, these networks were slowly captured by large communications firms, who exerted greater control over each network until a new, more open medium arrived to usurp its place. So a closed radio network begat an open phone network; a closed phone network begat an open television network; a closed television network begat an open cable network; and a closed cable network begat the open internet. Might we be approaching the point at which the internet's centralization begs for a technological solution?

The thought of building a new global network from scratch might seem herculean but similarly ambitious projects have been successfully undertaken in the past by hobbyists. Take FidoNet, a global, decentralized communications network built by the hobbyist Tom Jennings during a few weeks of downtime between jobs in 1984. FidoNet allowed computers attached to phone lines to send messages that could be received by users on the other side of the globe. Using a "hub and spoke" model that was in many ways even more distributed than that of today's internet, the network connected 50,000 machines at its peak, spread across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Similarly, the Usenet networking protocol, developed by a small group of North Carolina graduate students in 1980, offered public access to a worldwide computing network far in advance of the internet (ARPANET, the internet's direct predecessor, was only available to academic and military institutions). At its peak, Usenet was far larger than even FidoNet, with a userbase in the millions. Computer historian Howard Rheingold once described Usenet as, "[A]n anarchic, unkillable, censorship-resistant, aggressively noncommercial, voraciously growing conversation among millions of people in dozens of countries." When Tim Berners-Lee decided to announce the launch of the World Wide Web to the public, he did so on Usenet. Like FidoNet, Usenet was wholly decentralized and built and maintained by a small group of volunteers.

Remarkably, both FidoNet and Usenet were crafted using technology that now seems downright antediluvian: phone lines, dial-up-modems and computers less powerful than modern calculators. The situation today is, of course, very different. Powerful, WiFi-enabled devices can be found in the majority of American homes, be they laptops, smartphones, tablets or routers. This provides massive potential for so-called "mesh networks"—networks that connect devices directly to each other, forming a sort of daisy-chained connection that requires no central access point. Historically, mesh networks have been used mostly to connect machines to the existing internet, though a modern equivalent of FidoNet or Usenet could easily leverage this technique. Because a mesh topology allows computers to connect with no intermediary, mesh networks are inherently resistant to surveillance, censorship and centralization. There are a number of mesh networking projects currently in progress that could potentially form the basis for a new global network—this piece by Adrienne LaFrance in The Atlantic describes some of them.

It's possible that somewhere out there, a hobbyist is already hard at work, building the robust, next-generation network that will supersede the internet. Whether or not it takes hold will likely depend on the outcomes of current political battles. Following a public outcry, the FCC has decided to accept public comments on its proposed net neutrality plan. As a result, the agency was flooded by more than 45,000 comments in May, crashing its servers. Congress has also been spurred to action, with Democrats introducing a bill yesterdaythat would force the FCC to explicitly ban "fast lane" agreements. It's difficult to imagine that the FCC will capitulate to service providers if the public remains engaged on the issue. But rest assured that if the FCC fails to save the internet's soul, technologists will.

---

Mehan Jayasuriya is a creative technologist, writer and researcher who lives in Brooklyn, NY. He is currently a software development fellow at Fractured Atlas and has previously worked for Tumblr, Public Knowledge and the NYU GovLab. You can visit his website at mehan.info and follow him on Twitter at @mehan_j.

This piece originally appeared on Medium. It was republished with permission.

Maybe it’s time to build a new internet

We’ve done it before and we can do it againRead more medium.​com

Speaking of Bert Burns

Who Wrote the Beatles Hit "Twist and Shout"? The Amazing Story of Bert Berns - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeryl-brunner/who-wrote-the-beatles-hit_b_8058420.html

Kenneth Howard Smith suffers Heart Attack

[C] 2015 SDCOG -  SDC OmniMedia Group CEO/President Kenneth Howard Smith

MEMPHIS TN (IFS) -- It was reported that SDC OmniMedia Group's CEO and president Kenneth Howard Smith suffered a major heart attack on or about August 3, 2015.  This episode did contribute to some major damage to his lower heart valves while he was en route to Sacramento California. After spending several weeks in the hospital, Smith was outfitted with a portable ZOLL life vest until he receives his pace maker that will be implemented into his chest.

Smith released this selfie being wired up with the heart monitoring system that relayed information back to the nurses' station as to the condition of his

After Smith was admitted to the hospital, his test did not show any damage to his heart muscle, however, the enzyme was present and it was determined that a ten per cent lost of  tissue in the heart had been done along with damage to his kidneys.

Smith suffered a major heart attack back in 2004, and according to the doctors, he would sometime in the future suffer another major attack which did come at the beginning of this month.

Do to the major break thoughts in medicine, getting to a hospital in time is a key to surviving or dying right on the spot.

Smith current situation includes the condition that his heart lower half is not "talking' to the heart above half, if and when his heart is asked to speed up and or slow down.

Smith requests that everyone take this as learning moment, and to help identify those at that stage, both young and old who have heart disease and needs monitoring.

Currently, Smith is resting well and not over doing any strenuous activities.  Another contributing factor to his heart attack was the fires in the Napa valley that had help to delete the oxygen at his home.  

Chinese Spies Softing Up Old Patroits

Dunningan CA (IFS) - Chinese businessmen on a trade mission in the United States are contacting old Chinese dissadents here in the states and attempting to convert them as spies for the old country. So far no one has bitten on the bait, but there will be several that will long to be back in China as heros to the movement.

Clinton's email server not hacked by hostile governments

Phoenix (IFS) - Secretary Hillary Clinton's email server continues to lead the top story and her compaign efforts.  The real story is that her server has never been hacked from the outside.

The State Departments emails according to John Kerry is being read by the Chinese and Russians.

So where would you prefer to have your emails?  It's always after the fact that someone who has the insite to classify an email months after the facts. 

I hope that peanut butter cookie recipt is not part of the classification process.  Then again its the government always after the fact investigations by the other party.

Western Union Money Services hits rock bottom

Western Union was one of the leading companies for wire funds.  However over the pass several months money transfers and poor customer services has lead to a down fall of their company. 

So if you are deciding to send/receive money from Western Union don't waste your time.

It is suggested that you use any other services, but avoid Western Union like the plague because they will leave you angry and very upset.

They are the bottom of the barrell!

Sandra Bland, Kindra Chapman, Joyce Curnell, Ralkina Jones and Raynette Turner were all found dead in their cells after being arrested by local authoritie

At Least 5 Black Women Have Died in Police Custody in July; WTF?!

Sandra Bland, Kindra Chapman, Joyce Curnell, Ralkina Jones and Raynette Turner were all found dead in their cells after being arrested by local authorities.

By: Breanna Edwards

Posted: July 30 2015 3:00 AM

 

Top row: Raynette Turner; Joyce Curnell; Sandra Bland. Bottom row: Ralkina Jones; Kindra Chapman. Top row: Twitter. Bottom row: 13 Action News; YouTube screenshot

It’s been a little over two weeks since Sandra Bland was discovered dead in her Texas jail cell from what authorities say was a suicide.

In those 17 days since Bland’s controversial death, which has sparked social media fury and a plethora of unanswered questions, at least four more black women have died while in custody. Most of them were in jail for two days maximum. Most of them were being held on minor charges like shoplifting and were waiting to see a judge. Some of them suffered health issues. All of them should have been going home. All of them were fairly young, and all of them leave behind families and a community with questions, including, “What happened?”

Here’s what we know about the five:

1. Sandra Bland

Sandra Bland Twitter

Bland’s case is probably the most prominent, since not only was it the first incident to take place in July, but it is also the one with the murkiest details, garnering the most suspicion.

The 28-year-old was pulled over by a Texas trooper on July 10, reportedly after failing to signal a lane change. The trooper, identified as Brian Encinia, is seen in dash-cam footage telling Bland that he would “light [her] up” if she did not step out of her vehicle. Bland was arrested on a charge of assaulting an officer after Encinia claimed that she kicked him. That alleged kick was not caught on the dash-cam footage because the pair were out of view.

Bland was eventually booked at a Waller County, Texas, jail. Three days later, she was found hanging in her cell, according to police officials. Officials and a preliminary autopsy ruled the hanging a suicide, indicating no sign of struggle.

However, friends and family have dismissed the notion, saying that Bland wouldn’t kill herself. Some have outright accused the police of foul play. There were even rumors circulating that Bland may have been dead in her mug shot, leading to death threats against officials, which prompted a new video to be released to show that Bland was “alive and well” when she arrived at the jail, according to police officials.

Several questions remain about Bland’s death, and her family has ordered an independent autopsy in hopes of learning more. The Texas Rangers and the FBI are both involved in the case.

2. Kindra Chapman

Kindra Chapman YouTube screenshot

Chapman was just 18 and had been in an Alabama jail for less than two hours when she was found hanging from a bedsheet in her cell July 14, just one day after Bland was found dead. Officials also ruled her death a suicide. In this case, her family has concurred with the ruling.

“We want the world to know what a wonderful soul she was. At the same time, we want the world to know that her death was a suicide. We have hired lawyers to investigate how this could have happened while she was in police custody,” the family said in a statement.

Chapman was arrested after allegedly stealing a cellphone and was booked at about 6:22 p.m. on a first-degree-robbery charge. At approximately 7:50 p.m., she was found dead.

Jefferson County District Attorney Brandon Falls said there was no evidence of criminal wrongdoing in the case.

3. Joyce Curnell

Joyce Curnell Twitter

About eight days after Chapman’s death, a 50-year-old South Carolina woman was found dead in a Charleston County jail, according to the Post and Courier.

Curnell, who was from Edisto Island, was found dead in her cell July 22 around 5 p.m. Curnell had been arrested the day before on shoplifting charges. The older woman had been taken to a local hospital for an unidentified medical issue before being transported to jail.

According to the report, the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office has asked the state Law Enforcement Division to investigate the death.

4. Ralkina Jones

Ralkina Jones YouTube screenshot

The 37-year-old Cleveland mother, who reportedly had health issues including a brain aneurysm and a heart murmur, was arrested last Friday following a domestic dispute.

Jones reportedly started smashing her ex-husband’s vehicle as it sat in a Save-a-Lot parking lot, breaking out his car window and attempting to smash the windshield. When her ex, Brandon Jones, attempted to stop her, Ralkina Jones reportedly turned on him, hitting him in the arm. Ralkina Jones then allegedly attempted to run over Brandon Jones and a friend with her car, while her 12-year-old daughter was in the backseat. She was arrested on multiple charges including assault, domestic violence and endangering a child.

On Saturday, Jones was taken to the hospital after a jail administrator noticed that she seemed to be lethargic. A few hours later she was returned to her prison cell. Paramedics were called to check in on Jones around 12:45 a.m. Sunday and reported that she seemed fine. However, at about 7:30 a.m. Sunday, the mother was found unresponsive in her cell bed.

Jones’ family has also been demanding answers, saying that the family has not received any information from Cleveland Heights police. An autopsy was conducted Monday, but the cause of death has not yet been determined, pending further studies.

“If she made a mistake and made the wrong decisions, she doesn’t deserve to be neglected, knowing she has health issues,” her sister Rita Samuels told a local news station.

5. Raynette Turner

Raynette Turner Twitter

The suburban-New York mother of eight was also facing shoplifting charges. Turner, a 43-year-old from Westchester County, was being held in a Mount Vernon, N.Y., police-holding cell over the weekend, after, officials say, she was caught shoplifting Saturday.

Turner was waiting for arraignment Monday, but by Monday afternoon, she was dead.

Much like Jones, Turner had been taken to a hospital—in her case, next door to the jail—after she complained about not feeling well on Sunday. About two hours later, she was returned to her cell. She would be found dead the following day.

Her husband of 23 years, Herman Turner, said that he waited in court all day Monday for his wife to show up, only to be told to come back the next day. After he arrived home, two detectives came by to tell him him about his wife’s in-custody death. In addition to her husband, Raynette Turner leaves behind eight children ages 8-21.

Mount Vernon Deputy Police Commissioner Richard Burke said that “no foul play” was suspected in Turner’s death, but an autopsy has been scheduled to determine cause of death.

Breanna Edwards is a newswriter at The Root. Follow her on Twitter.