[MERCURYNEWS] A San Francisco businessman says he has been falsely accused of using an anonymous blog post to accuse a competitor of sexual harassment.
Brandon Katayama Hill, founder and CEO of consulting business btrax, denied the allegations that were brought against him last week in a defamation lawsuit in San Mateo County Superior Court.
“I am falsely alleged for things I have never done,” he wrote in an email to this news organization Thursday. “I am working with my attorney to make things clear.”
The lawsuit centers on an anonymous blog post titled “Happenings in Silicon Valley — I was sexually taken advantage of by a Silicon Valley VC.” While the post, originally written in Japanese, did not name the venture capitalist, Anis Uzzaman, CEO of San Jose-based Fenox Venture Capital, claims it’s obvious that the accusations were written about him.
The post appeared to have been penned by a female entrepreneur. But Uzzaman’s lawyers say in a court filing they traced the publisher’s IP address back to Hill, and now are suing him for defamation.
On Wednesday, after this news organization published a story about the lawsuit, San Francisco-based btrax tweeted a reply.
“Yesterday, a U.S. web media outlet put out information about our company’s CEO. This report was completely unwarranted,” the company wrote in Japanese. “At the moment we are putting together our response.”
Neither Hill nor btrax had responded to requests for comment for the original story.
Uzzaman’s lawsuit claims Hill and Uzzaman work in the same ecosystem, both specializing in connecting Asian companies to Silicon Valley resources, though Uzzaman is an investor and Hill runs a consulting company that helps U.S. companies expand in Asia. The lawsuit suggests tension flared between the two last year, when Fenox launched a startup competition called Startup World Cup. That competition directly competed with btrax’s own Japan Night event, Fenox’s lawyers wrote. And in the face of what they called the “huge success” of Startup World Cup, btrax ended its involvement with Japan Night last year, according to the complaint.
But in an email quoted by DailyMail.com, Hill rejected the idea that Fenox and btrax are rivals — btrax is a design company, while Fenox is a VC, he wrote. And Japan Night never competed with Startup World Cup, Hill wrote.
Hill also denied writing the blog post.
“Though it could be through the IP which I own,” Hill told DailyMail.com, “I am not the person who wrote or published the article.”
Posted by: Fred ||
07/29/2017 00:00 ||
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[THESUN.CO.UK] A HUSBAND accused of murdering his wife aboard a cruise ship off the coast of Alaska broke down in tears as he appeared in court last night.
Kenneth Manzanares, 39, wore an orange jumpsuit and was shackled at the ankles as he appeared at the US District Court in Alaska via video link.
Manzanares appeared to be crying at times before the hearing and near the start, dabbing his eyes and nose with tissues.
It has transpired that Kristy, 39, was found with a severe head wound, but authorities have declined to release other details in the case.
This includes how many people were travelling with the couple on the 3,400-passenger Emerald Princess that left Sunday from Seattle.
According to court documents, a man and other people went into the room before medical workers and security officers had arrived and saw the woman on the floor covered in blood.
The man asked Manzanares what happened, and the suspect said "she would not stop laughing at me", according to the FBI complaint.
Manzanares then grabbed his wife’s body and tried to drag her to the balcony, but the man stopped him, the documents says.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/29/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
Tried to dispose of the body while someone was watching him? Wow. Epic stupid.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
07/29/2017 8:52 Comments ||
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[THESUN.CO.UK] The first woman suffered broken bones in her feet and legs after she plunged ten feet from a balcony as she reached her climax.
Her naked friend screamed and ran down the stairs to help her, slipped, and snapped bones in her arm and neck.
Medics arrived at the apartment in Bad Breisig where the embarrassed man explained what had occurred.
Police said the female victims of the sex game gone wrong were both naked.
Cops added that the man in the threesome told them that "during the lovemaking, there was a positional quarrel", with one of the ladies leaning against a balcony railing which led to her plunge. 'Positional quarrel'....? Is there more than one ?
A local newspaper commented on the incident: "They better try bondage next time."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/29/2017 00:00 ||
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#2
A threesome , straddling balconies ?
Wow . The guy basically has 'elligible' written on his arse now. And goes naked all the time now.
Any luckier and she would a' fallen screamin'
" i love you charlieeee !"
[Libya Herald] The Presidency Council’s education minister Osman Abdel Jalil has taken the unusual step of banning a student from school for two years. The decision, one of the toughest ever taken by any education minister in memory, came after the high school student, who has been named as Muhannad Mohammed, threatened the school examination monitoring committee with a gun unless they allowed him to pass his exams.
The incident, at a private school in Sorman, happened a few days ago. The student, brandished a 9mm pistol at the committee in the apparent belief that it would pass him, enabling him to get into university.
The committee, however, reported the incident to the education ministry which has ruled that he will not be allowed to study at any public or private school in Libya for the next two years. The decision even extends to Libyan schools abroad.
Any results attributed to him in the past academic year have also been annulled, it was announced.
The incident highlights the extent to which people now think nothing of using force or threats of force to obtain what they want.
In another loosely related incident in Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... yesterday, a top education ministry official named as Ahmida Ramadan Ghariani was shot at as he left a mosque in the city. Apparently the gunnies first tired to kidnap him but failed. He was not injured in the attack.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/29/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
Meanwhile, he was graduated Magna cum Laude from Chicago public schools in absentia.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
07/29/2017 8:47 Comments ||
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[All Africa] A mob on Thursday attacked and killed a policeman over the death of a woman and two children on Owerri Road, Onitsha, Anambra.
Witnesses said that the incident occurred at 3.30p.m. when the police officer attempted to forcibly stop an articulated vehicle loaded with sand along the road.
According to the witnesses, the driver lost control causing the fatal accident.
"A tipper driver who was carrying sharp sand tried to meander his way past the coppers at the checkpoint but in the attempt to escape ran into the woman and children.
"I wouldn't know exactly why the tipper driver was stopped but immediately the accident happened, the coppers around the area made effort to leave the scene but were attacked by the mob," a witness said.
The witness said that the victims were standing by the roadside to board a vehicle to their destination when they met their untimely death.
Another witness said that the mob spontaneously chased the coppers and beat up two of them, while the others escaped with their guns.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/29/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
So, Nigeria has it's own chapter of Black Lives Matter?
Posted by: ed in texas ||
07/29/2017 9:31 Comments ||
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Posted by: Frank G ||
07/29/2017 12:31 Comments ||
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#5
"carrying sharp sand"? WTF?
Sharp Sand is a real thing. It is uneroded or ground sand and has sharp edges. It is preferred for building, gardening and other commercial purposes. The other type that we are more familiar with are bench sand, also known as "play ground sand" commonly found in sand dunes and beaches and is eroded and thus rounded.
Around here, it's apparently called a bunch of different names depending on how "pooh pooh" you wanna be.(Check your local big box store.) But basically, break down to "builder's sand", "garden sand" and "playground or sandbox sand" and so on.
I asked a friend in the concrete business what they use and called it, also mentioned "sharp sand". He told me they just call it "cement sand" but he knew what I meant. He also said most people just call it "sand", apparently they are not aware of different types of sands. The only ones who seems to care are those who build playgrounds.
There, I've learned more about sands than I really wanted to...
#9
graded (by sieve size) sand and aggregate. Used in Concrete, slurry (with no rock). Washed and sized at the plant. Silica sand is even more expensive
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/29/2017 18:20 Comments ||
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#10
You should spend more time on the beach, Frank. (pro tip: don't drive your truck over your tackle box)
And on the subject of sand types: barking sand; sugar sand; black sand;
#11
Tahoe in a week and a half. Rounded quartz from decomposed granite. Totally different from our ocean beach sand (it cleans outta crevices a LOT better) :-)
Just FYI - I get paid for beach time. I'm responsible for bridges and public piers. Did I tell you I love my job?
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/29/2017 19:38 Comments ||
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[All Africa] President Bob Muggsy Mugabe Octogenarian President-for-Life of Zim-bob-we who turned the former Breadbasket of Africa into the African Basket Case... on Thursday made startling claims that the country's military top brass harboured a plot to stage a coup against his rule in new signs that Zanu PF's protracted succession politics was nearing the much-dreaded rapture.
The 93-year-old leader was speaking during a Zanu PF Women's League National Assembly meeting at the party headquarters in Harare.
President Mugabe lamented growing disunity within his beleaguered party while accusing unnamed party leaders of sending people such as current war veterans chair Christopher Mutsvangwa to make disparaging remarks about his rule through the media.
President Mugabe, who sounded despaired, spoke of clandestine meetings done by party leaders angling to succeed him.
He said there were "manoeuvres being done in the dark even of young people whom we had in the war to keep criticising us in the papers".
"It's not the likes of Mutsvangwa per se; they are not alone. They are being sent by those at the top," President Mugabe said without mentioning names.
He revealed his frustrations against the country's meddlesome military which he said has pulled all the stops to impose his successor when he was still there.
"The military, all, have no right, you know, to be interfering with the political processes, theirs is to support," said the veteran leader.
"They can give their own views within the Constitution and according also to the principle that politics shall always lead the gun and not the gun, politics, that one would be a coup.
"Now look at what is happening coming from the leaders (military) there, to say the President must now leave. He (President) must make way for who? Who has been anointed to take over?
"It's disgraceful to say 'I am the one now, the President must go', to beat your chest saying 'I am the one now'. No, we refuse, we refuse, we refuse!"
Posted by: Fred ||
07/29/2017 00:00 ||
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Any suggestions for one to "annoit" to take the place of Leader in the Rhodesia?
[Al Jazeera] North Korea has launched a ballistic missile, according to multiple military reports, just weeks after the country tested an intercontinental rocket capable of hitting parts of the US.
The US defence department says the launch appears to be that of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
South Korea's military and Shinzo Abe, Japan's prime minister, confirmed the report of Friday's launch. In Seoul and Tokyo, the governments convened meetings of their national security councils.
"There is a possibility that it landed within our EEZ [exclusive economic zone]," Abe said in Tokyo.
"We will be analysing it immediately and do our best for the safety of our people."
Captain Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesperson, said the launch had been expected and took place at about 14:45 GMT from Mupyong-ni, an arms plant in northern North Korea.
He said the launch did not pose a threat to North America.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency, citing the country's military joint chiefs of staff, said the missile was launched from North Korea's Jagang province, and landed in the East Sea.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/29/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
It appears that the Iranian Safir upper stage uses two engines, probably R-27 derived, whereas the NKOR Simorgh upper stage has four such engines.
Both the armscontrolwonks and 38 North are slow with a comprehensive comparison of all the missiles after the concert. Much easier to do comparisons between missiles with data from the same analyst. Norbert Brügge did a lot of revisions since the image dump, here is some of what he thinks:
The HS-12 first (and only stage) has the same overall length as the HS-14 first stage.
The HS-12 first stage are ~1.5m diameter with common bulkhead, HS-14 first stage is ~1.70m diameter and no common bulkhead.
HS-10 is also ~1.5m diameter with common bulkhead but much shorter in length and with a submerged engine.
HS-14 second stage is of similar dimensions as the HS-13 3rd stage. HS-13 2013 parade version that is.
HS-13 first stage is larger in diameter ~1.9m.
Same engine on HS-12 and HS-14, different from the submerged engine on HS-10. Verniers may be the same.
Very little information about the HS-13 engine(s). From images the first stage has 2 main combustors and 2 verniers.
--
Seems to me like NK moved away from R-27 inspired submerged engines and redid their designs with their new engine. A slightly longer missile is not too much of a hassle on land. (Btw: that seems to be a major reason for different HS-12 and HS-14 missile length between analysts. Some add the overhanging nozzles to the length, some don't...)
Their submarine launched missiles moved to solid fuel instead.
h/t Instapundit
[Reason] Crude oil production in the U.S. will reach an average of 9.9 million barrels a day in 2018, the Energy Information Administration projects in its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook report. This would surpass the previous record of 9.6 million barrels per day, set in 1970.
#1
"Peak oil" is a conceit and an edifice designed to:
1) Gin up fake demand for other types of energy production to hurt an industry that tends to donate to Republicans and conservatives.
2) Scare people into support for a "carbon exchange" that leads to more financial instruments from which money can be skimmed by the financial services industry, which is firmly Democratic in their leanings these days.
Always keep in mind that despite what conventional wisdom might be, the Democrats always, ALWAYS have superior accountants than the Republicans do.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
07/29/2017 5:18 Comments ||
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...When the Dems take Congress back - and sadly, I think it's going to be next year at the rate things are going - watch for a full-court press to throttle back anything even resembling energy exploration. Can't lose the narrative, ya know.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
07/29/2017 5:36 Comments ||
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#3
In the Victorian Age we had "Peak Lubricants" where the early Industrial Age was running out of bear grease, whale oil, palm oil and other lubricants -- then the Age of Petroleum. The naysayers always seem to ignore the power of technology to search for and find a substitute.
#4
the Democrats always, ALWAYS have superior accountants crooks than the Republicans FIFY no-mo-uro.
Mike: I also worry that the Pubs will snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. They don't seem to have caught on that the Pubs have been winning with Trump's MAGA agenda.
#5
A brief history of American oil production would note that our government first warned that we needed to wean ourselves from ground based hydrocarbons because the were certain to run out a full 10 years before the 1st oil well was even drilled, or the midst of the Mexican War. Move on to the 1880's and one of the largest stock transactions, one of such magnitude that it took nearly 2 years to complete involved the number 3 man in Standard Oil selling out completely. His reasoning? the most learned scientists of his day had warned of the narrowly finite resources of oil and that in their opinion he should get while the getting was still good.
Not enough? In 1897 or perhaps '98 the preeminent geologist in the country announced to a conference of prominent businessmen that he could say with total assurance that there would be 'no commercially viable discoveries of hyrdrocarbons west of the Mississippi in North America'. In 1900 a group of concerned scientists ran an editorial about the dangerous and irresponsible trend of drilling into salt domes which they went on to say could only result in the maiming and death of innocent and hard working crews and the ruin of good equipment. The next year Spindletop came in from a salt dome.
1923 the US government issues an urgent cry to use less oil, at the rate of driving and manufacture the current supply would not last beyond 1940. Then there was the renowned nitwit Hubbert in the 1950's and a continuing line of Luddites who know as much about oil production as they do the end of the world.
#9
The peak is real - it is a finite resource - but rising price and improved technology have pushed the peak further out into the future for many decades. IMO we should be taking advantage of that time extension to develop alternatives, probably a combination of nuclear, solar and energy storage technologies. But government should not 'pick inners' or define the solution, just define the goal and get out of the way.
[DAWN] A 10-year-old girl was married off to a 17-year-old boy on Wednesday to avenge the court marriage of a couple in Darkhan locality of Karor tehsil.
Karor police have started the paperwork but haven't done much else and placed in durance vile Please don't kill me! nikah khwan Hafiz Atique Usmani, witness Bilal Ahmed and a panchayat member Jehangir.
Last week, girl ’R’ of Darkhan had contracted court marriage with ’U’ of Daphi locality. Afzal, father of the girl, asked for a panchayat. Councillor Ghulam Husain called a panchayat at the outhouse of landlord Muhammad Asif. The local jury arranged marriage of 10-year-old sister of ’U’ with 17-year-old brother of the girl ’R’.
Police have started the paperwork but haven't done much else under section 292, 310a, 506 of PPC against nikah khwan Atique, councillor Ghulam Husain, landlord Asif and five others.
Investigation Officer SI Faiz Muhammad told Dawn that police had arrested the nikah khwan, witness Bilal Ahmed and panchayat member Jehangir.
The ’vani’ girl, ’S’, appeared in the court of local magistrate and recorded her statement under section 164. She told the court that she contracted marriage on her free will and police were allegedly harassing her family.
SI Faiz said landlord Asif and councillor Ghulam Husain had got pre-arrest bail from the court while raids were on for the arrest of others.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/29/2017 00:00 ||
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This is not "business as usual". It may not be business, and it certainly ain't usual.
(Personally, I thought Priebus was the most likely leaker, what with he's RNC and all.)
Posted by: ed in texas ||
07/29/2017 8:56 Comments ||
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#3
Point I saw brought up: If Priebus resigned THURSDAY, how did the news stay secret until late FRIDAY?
Lets stay tuned to see if the leaks slow...
Posted by: Charles ||
07/29/2017 12:04 Comments ||
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#4
Haven't heard from Bannon in months. Him and Priebus were supposedly having a power struggle. Won't miss Priebus, he was a globalist.
Posted by: Herb McCoy7309 ||
07/29/2017 13:31 Comments ||
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#5
He was brought on because he marshaled elements of the GOP establishment machine to win up and down ballot campaigns. I have no idea what his executive skills are, but Chief of Staff wasn't his long suit. I think the real capper was the inability of the GOP with all the levers of power to delived core campaign legislation, things that every Republican was going to support, and instead, they have acted link the gang that couldn't shoot straight. And Priebus was unable to deliver, so his poor management skills, pliant reactions to controversy, backdoor maneuvers and lack of political juice made it time for him to go. Kelly will deliver a better managed White House. How Trump gets Ryan and McConnell to deliver is not his bailiwick
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[THESUN.CO.UK] A HUSBAND accused of murdering his wife aboard a cruise ship off the coast of Alaska broke down in tears as he appeared in court last night.
[All Africa] A mob on Thursday attacked and killed a policeman over the death of a woman and two children on Owerri Road, Onitsha, Anambra.
[All Africa] President 
North Korea
[DAWN] A 10-year-old girl was married off to a 17-year-old boy on Wednesday to avenge the court marriage of a couple in Darkhan locality of Karor tehsil.
