#also fran and ismail.

[mayflywrites]

i lvoe yappin. i am a yapper. like. especially when it comes to fran and iz and bartylus i just cant shut up. it’s awesome.

y’all know that one bojack horseman scene where he tries to get wandas attention via auto-erotic asphyxiation and he accidentally for real starts choking. that’s fran doing that so iz will notice him. like it just. is.

and bartylus ugh. don’t get me started on bartylus. they are the only to ever. they’re two highlighters that sit on my desk that i make kiss.

fr could yap forever and it’s a blessing i only have the one mouth.

[creepingsharia]

Top San Francisco City Official Mohammed Nuru Charged With Corruption in FBI Probe

“...that such behavior went unchecked until now is inexcusable.”

A top San Francisco public official and go-to bureaucrat to mayors over two decades was charged with public corruption Tuesday, upending City Hall as elected leaders scrambled to reassure the public that bribery and kickbacks would not be tolerated.

The complaint unsealed against San Francisco Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru and longtime restaurateur Nick Bovis focuses on an aborted attempt in 2018 to bribe a San Francisco airport commissioner for retail space.

It also alleges other schemes in which Nuru is accused of trying to help his friend score contracts to build homeless shelters and portable toilets, along with a restaurant at the city’s new $2 billion transit station.

Nuru is also accused of accepting free labor at his vacation home and a John Deere tractor as well as lavish gifts from a developer, including a $2,070 bottle of wine.

“The complaint alleges corruption pouring into San Francisco from around the world,” said David L. Anderson, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California. “San Francisco has been betrayed as alleged in the complaint.”

Nuru, 57, appeared in federal court Tuesday along with Bovis, the owner of Lefty O’ Doul’s, a popular sports bar in Fisherman’s Wharf, and other city businesses. Each was released after posting $2 million bail.

Nuru’s attorney, Ismail Ramsey, said his client has been a dedicated public servant for decades and was grateful to have worked at Public Works. “Mr. Nuru welcomes and looks forward to addressing these charges in court,” he said.

An attorney for Bovis, Gil Eisenberg, declined to comment.

Bovis, 56, runs a popular Christmas toy drive and Nuru, who goes by “MrCleanSF” on Twitter, oversees the design and construction of city facilities and 1,600 employees. The agency has a project portfolio of more than $5.6 billion.

As the top official since 2012 in charge of a city public works operating budget exceeding $500 million, Nuru is tasked with cleaning up San Francisco streets, which critics note remain cluttered with feces, trash and used needles amid a homelessness crisis.

In August, he launched a “Poop Patrol” tasked with power-washing high-risk streets. Critics say they can’t understand how he’s stayed in his job given the condition of city streets and construction.

Nuru was initially arrested in late January and agreed to cooperate with officials, but violated his agreement not to discuss the case and was re-arrested, Anderson said. He lied to officials about not discussing the case, Anderson said.

Nuru could face 25 years in prison while Bovis could face 20 years.

The allegations say the two participated in a scheme “to defraud the public of its right to the honest services of a public official through bribery or kickbacks” in violation of their duty.

In the airport scheme, the 75-page criminal complaint says Nuru and Bovis had meetings over several months in which they discuss how to secure a lease space for Bovis’ restaurant at the airport. Eventually, Bovis brought an envelope with $5,000 to a meeting with an unnamed airport commissioner who refused to take it, the complaint said.

San Francisco International Airport Director Ivar C. Satero said in a statement that he takes the allegations very seriously “and we are deeply concerned by this effort to circumvent our selection process.” He said he welcomed the mayor’s contract review.

At one meeting recorded by an FBI agent, Bovis said all the public officials in San Francisco “work, like, side deals,” the complaint states.

“See, the problem, in San Francisco too, the politics are just crooked, you know what I mean?” he is quoted as saying in the complaint.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed said Nuru was placed on administrative leave Monday. She has asked the city attorney and controller to review city contracts that may have been affected.

“I will do everything I can to ensure that those who fail to uphold (the highest) standard are held accountable,” she said in a statement.

The complaint also references other unnamed city officials and deals made over the years. Anderson said others who have information about criminal activity should “run not walk” to the FBI in San Francisco.

The complaint focuses on the failed airport scheme, but it also lays out other examples of the two collaborating to fool the public. Nuru tried to give Bovis a leg up in getting public contracts for portable toilets and small container-type portable housing for the homeless, it says.

Anderson said Nuru also repeatedly met with a Chinese billionaire seeking to build a large mixed-use building in San Francisco, accepting gifts of lavish hotel stays, travel and a $2,070 bottle of wine. He did not report any of the gifts as public officials are required to do.

“Thank you very much for all your generosity while we were in China. We had a great vacation and my daughter had a wonderful time. I will do my very best to see that your project gets completed,” he wrote to the developer in November 2018, according to the complaint.

The complaint also alleges that a company with numerous city contracts, including a $2 million contract with public works in 2018, sent people to work for free or at greatly discounted rates on Nuru’s Northern California vacation home.

City Supervisor Matt Haney, who represents an inner-city area at the heart of street waste complaints, said he has repeatedly pushed for accountability from a department that is run “like a one-person fiefdom.”

Supervisor Gordon Mar called the fraud detailed by the FBI “appalling, and that such behavior went unchecked until now is inexcusable.”

----------------------------------------------------------

Much more here: 

Mohammed, the Dirty Democrat in Charge of 'Cleaning Up' San Francisco - How Gavin Newsom, Kamala Harris, Mohammed Nuru and other Democrats made San Fran so filthy.

[distort-opia]

2 10 & 11 for the books again

2. top 5 books of all time?

Oof. Very difficult to choose, and in no particular order:

The Trial, by Franz Kafka

Blindness, by Jose Saramago

The Gospel according to Jesus Christ, by Jose Saramago

Doctor Faustus, by Thomas Mann

Steppenwolf, by Herman Hesse

Can you tell I really like magical realism? :)) Honorable mentions are also The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (this one's a personal favorite of mine), The Stranger by Albert Camus, The Aleph and Other Stories by Jorge Luis Borges, A Thousand Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, The Palace of Dreams by Ismail Kadare, The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann, Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami, and Perfume: The story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind. Really liked Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn too.

10. do you have a guilty fav?

Answered this before, and I'll say the same thing: nope, not really. Mostly because I make it a point not to feel guilty about the things I enjoy.

11. what non-fiction books do you like if any?

Oh, I do like non-fiction books. I've read a lot of scientific ones (physics, genetics, mathematics, psychology and neuroscience), but I've also been interested in philosophy. Still, since social neuroscience is my field of work, I've read the most on this subject; so in the interest of making this shorter I'll list a couple that I liked:

The Moral Molecule, by Paul J. Zak

The Bonobo and the Atheist: In Search of Humanism Among the Primates, by Frans de Waal

The Ego Tunnel: The Science of the Mind and the Myth of the Self, by Thomas Metzinger

A Mind So Rare: The Evolution of Human Consciousness, by Merlin Donald

Self Comes to Mind: Constructing the Conscious Brain, by Antonio Damasio

The Psychopath: Emotion and the Brain, by James Blair

[topbeautifulwomens]

#Helena #Bonham #Carter #Biography #Photos #Wallpapers #beautyblogger #dancelife #frans #hiphop #indonesia #instagood #lipstick #makeupparty #nickiminaj #swag

For a time in the late 1990s, it seemed that Helena Bonham Carter was about to deliver on her promise and begin what would be a major career as a 1st-rate, important actress. Audiences and critics had always known of her extraordinary search. a delicate beauty that evoked another time and another place, but her performance in “The Wings of the Dove” (1997) had shown her to be possessed of a vital acting talent as well. She won a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her work in the film, and but for her nationality (four of the five nominees hailed from outside the U.S. that year; the American won the Oscar), she might likely have joined the elite pantheon of foreign-born Academy Award winning actresses.

Born in Golders Green, London, England on May 26, 1966, Helen Bonham Carter had achieved success in films early. Before she was 20 years old, she had scored her first lead in director James Ivory’s tasteful adaptation of E.M. Forster’s novel “A Room With a View” (1985), only her second film. She followed up this auspicious debut as a leading player assaying the uncrowned Queen of England, “Lady Jane Grey,” in the eponymous film. In the first part of her career, she became a staple in what can be seen as an annex of the British Heritage industry, starring in a lot more tasteful adaptations of British or anglo-American novels, such as the adaptation of E.M. Forster’s “Maurice” (1987), her second film for James Ivory

In hindsight, it is no coincidence that “Room,” her first film under the Merchant-Ivory banner (director Ivory, producer Ismail Merchant, and screenwriter Ruth Jabha Prawler’ ), proved to be the brand’s big breakthrough on the big screen, ushering them into the big-time, with a good box office showing and total-blown Oscar recognition. In the two Merchant-Ivory films in which she was a major star, the brand scored their wonderfulest success. Though it was Emma Thompson, her rival for Kenneth Branagh’s affections, who won a Best Actress Oscar for “Howard’s End” (1992), Bonham Carter’S presence in the film clearly was a factor in its great success. It began a three-picture run that climaxed with Merchant-Ivory’s last wholly unqualified success, “Howards End” (1992)

Howards End” (1992) was the last film she made for Merchant-Ivory, and the brand’s career eventually wound down without their good-luck charm, as Helena Bonham Carter was the real thing. The patrician offspring of British Prime Minister ‘H.H Asquith’ ‘s blue blood (he was her great-great-grandfather; her great-grand-uncle Anthony Asquith was a noted English director), Helena Bonham Carter possessed of an extraordinary look with her dark hair and eyes and porcelain pores and skin, Carter was born to be part of the Merchant-Ivory stable, giving their ersatz-Englishness a certain “je ne sais quoi” that paid off in handsome dividends, as an alternative like British gilt-edged government securities.

Ironically, it was her turn as the undisputed star of the neo-Merchant-Ivory “Wings of the Dove” that brought her her Oscar nod. She was not only beautiful, she not only could act, but she was courageous. In “Wings,” she arguably had the most explicit nude scene ever to be limned by an Oscar-nominated actress, but missing out to Helen Hunt.

Alas, her subsequent career, while interesting, has failed to deliver on that promise, though she is still young and likely to astound us once again. Her choice of roles can be seen as an attempt to break out of the Merchant-Ivory cottage industry ghetto of Henry James & E.M. Forster adaptations. She was quite memorable in the neo-classic “Fight Club” and seemed to be on the verge of achieving that rare status of someone who is a star with an extraordinary look who can also act while retaining true sexpot status. (On the distaff side, the great Paul Newman comes to mind. Brando was a superstar who could act, but hardly a sexpot. Julie Christie had a chance but turned her back on stardom, while Jane Fonda came close, though her sex-kitten act was a bit forced, but finally chucked it all away after having her breasts unnecessarily augmented for Ted Turner.) Carter’s output considering that then has evinced an erosion in her status as both star and actress, though her beauty remains undiminished.

Name Helena Bonham Carter Height 5' four½ Naionality British Date of Birth 26 May 1966, Place of Birth Golders Green, London, England, UK Famous for

The post Helena Bonham Carter Biography Photos Wallpapers appeared first on Beautiful Women.

source http://topbeautifulwomen.com/helena-bonham-carter-biography-photos-wallpapers/

[theleaderdotinfo-blog]

ENGLAND BEATS SOUTH AFRICA TO MAKE WOMEN'S WORLD CUP FINAL has been published at http://www.theleader.info/2017/07/18/england-beats-south-africa-make-womens-world-cup-final/

New Post has been published on http://www.theleader.info/2017/07/18/england-beats-south-africa-make-womens-world-cup-final/

ENGLAND BEATS SOUTH AFRICA TO MAKE WOMEN'S WORLD CUP FINAL

Contributions from Fran Wilson, who made 30, and 27 not out from Jenny Gunn proved crucial in the nerviest of finishes.

England has won both of the Women’s World Cups held on home soil and will have the chance to make it a hat-trick on Sunday at Lord’s after claiming a dramatic two-wicket win over South Africa in the final over of the semi-final in Bristol.

What looked like being a straightforward victory when South Africa was restricted to 218 for six, proved to be anything but that as England faltered in reply only for Anya Shrubsole to hit the winning runs with two balls to go in a thrilling encounter.

Contributions from Fran Wilson, who made 30, and 27 not out from Jenny Gunn proved crucial in the nerviest of finishes.

After losing both openers fairly cheaply, Sarah Taylor and Heather Knight had come together and put on 78 with England seemingly on course for a comfortable win.

 In a game that went down to the wire, with two needed of the last three balls, Anya Shrubsole walked in and smashed a boundary, taking the host to the finals of the Women’s World 2017 In a game that went down to the wire, with two needed of the last three balls, Anya Shrubsole walked in and smashed a boundary, taking the host to the finals of the Women’s World 2017

However, the pair fell within the space of eight deliveries, quickly followed by Nat Sciver and South Africa sensed blood.

Wilson’s knock got England back on track with Gunn doing a sterling job at the other end, and despite losing Laura Marsh in the final over, Shrubsole saw them over the line.

As a result England will face the winner of Thursday’s second semi-final in Derby where defending champion Australia takes on an India.

Regardless of the opposition, the host nation will take plenty of confidence from a seventh straight victory in the tournament, with the bowlers delivering after the batters had shone in the first meeting between the sides.

South Africa was desperately unlucky however, and despite half-centuries from Mignon du Preez and Laura Wolvaardt, it didn’t quite have enough to reach a maiden World Cup final.

Player of the match Taylor admitted it had been an emotional finish for England team watching on.

She said: “It’s been a long journey for all of us. I think it’s just all emotion at the moment. We knew we had the depth in our batting and it was a great shot from Anya to get us through and Fran and Jen batted brilliantly.

“South Africa played well and to lose like that. It’s heart-breaking, we’ve been there before and we know what it’s like.

 Sarah Taylor (54) scored an excellent half-century to keep the scoreboard ticking and took her team closer to the target Sarah Taylor (54) scored an excellent half-century to keep the scoreboard ticking and took her team closer to the target.

Sarah Taylor (54) scored an excellent half-century to keep the scoreboard ticking and took her team closer to the target

“The support we have had has been fantastic, we just want to say thank you as a team. To get through to the final is amazing.”

After electing to bat first South Africa was in early strife when Lizelle Lee was clean bowled for seven by Shrubsole, having already survived one leg before shout thanks to a review.

Trisha Chetty was next to go, victim of some outstanding glove work behind the stumps from Taylor after venturing outside her crease off a wide from Sciver.

Wolvaardt was ticking along at the other end, and she and Du Preez came together for the best partnership of the innings, adding 77 for the third wicket.

But Knight’s decision to bring herself on proved to be a masterstroke, removing Wolvaardt for 66 as she swiped across the line before Marizanne Kapp was run out for one in the same over.

Now struggling at 126 for four, South Africa regrouped as skipper Dane van Niekerk joined Du Preez at the crease.

They put on 42 but just as it looked like Van Niekerk was hitting her groove she was also run out, her bat popping up as she tried to get back following a mix-up.

Chloe Tryon followed soon after, and while the final pair of Du Preez (76 not out) and Sune Luus (21 not out) added an unbroken 48, the final total looked to be well short of what was required.

Lauren Winfield and Beaumont put on a quick-fire 42 at the top of the order, before both fell to Ayabonga Khaka, who was the pick of the South African bowlers.

 Mignon du Preez ended the innings with a flourish scoring a  95-ball 76 to guide South Africa to 218 for 6 at the end of its 50 overs Mignon du Preez ended the innings with a flourish scoring a 95-ball 76 to guide South Africa to 218 for 6 at the end of its 50 overs

England looked in control with Taylor and Knight at the wicket but after they fell panic set in until Wilson’s intervention.

Even so it came down to the final over, with England needing three off Shabnim Ismail, who dropped a tough return chance from Gunn off the first ball.

A single later and Ismail removed Marsh, with two still required, but Shrubsole hammered her first ball through the covers to the elation of the home crowd and the distress of South Africa.

Skipper Van Niekerk said: “We thought we were 30 short, but knowing my team, we went out there believing, and I’m really proud of them.

“You always have to believe that you can win a game of cricket, and [after Knight’s dismissal] I said to them that it was very close – I saw the score on the board – and with our bowling attack, anything can happen.

“We hope we made everyone proud.”

Scores in brief:

England beat South Africa by two wickets at The County Ground, Bristol

South Africa 218-6 in 50 overs (Mignon du Preez 76 not out, Laura Wolvaardt 66, Dane van Niekerk 27)

England 221-8 in 49.4 overs (Sarah Taylor 54, Heather Knight 30, Fran Wilson 30, Jenny Gunn 27 not out; Sune Luus 2-24, Ayabonga Khaka 2-28)

Player of the match – Sarah Taylor (England)

Video and audio interviews of captains and players, photographs available on the Online Media Zonefor free download and editorial use

England has won both of the Women’s World Cups held on home soil and will have the chance to make it a hat-trick on Sunday at Lord’s after claiming a dramatic two-wicket win over South Africa in the final over of the semi-final in Bristol.

What looked like being a straightforward victory when South Africa was restricted to 218 for six, proved to be anything but that as England faltered in reply only for Anya Shrubsole to hit the winning runs with two balls to go in a thrilling encounter.

Contributions from Fran Wilson, who made 30, and 27 not out from Jenny Gunn proved crucial in the nerviest of finishes.

After losing both openers fairly cheaply, Sarah Taylor and Heather Knight had come together and put on 78 with England seemingly on course for a comfortable win.

In a game that went down to the wire, with two needed of the last three balls, Anya Shrubsole walked in and smashed a boundary, taking the host to the finals of the Women’s World 2017

However, the pair fell within the space of eight deliveries, quickly followed by Nat Sciver and South Africa sensed blood.

Wilson’s knock got England back on track with Gunn doing a sterling job at the other end, and despite losing Laura Marsh in the final over, Shrubsole saw them over the line.

As a result England will face the winner of Thursday’s second semi-final in Derby where defending champion Australia takes on an India.

Regardless of the opposition, the host nation will take plenty of confidence from a seventh straight victory in the tournament, with the bowlers delivering after the batters had shone in the first meeting between the sides.

South Africa was desperately unlucky however, and despite half-centuries from Mignon du Preez and Laura Wolvaardt, it didn’t quite have enough to reach a maiden World Cup final.

Player of the match Taylor admitted it had been an emotional finish for England team watching on.

She said: “It’s been a long journey for all of us. I think it’s just all emotion at the moment. We knew we had the depth in our batting and it was a great shot from Anya to get us through and Fran and Jen batted brilliantly.

“South Africa played well and to lose like that. It’s heart-breaking, we’ve been there before and we know what it’s like.

Sarah Taylor (54) scored an excellent half-century to keep the scoreboard ticking and took her team closer to the target

“The support we have had has been fantastic, we just want to say thank you as a team. To get through to the final is amazing.”

After electing to bat first South Africa was in early strife when Lizelle Lee was clean bowled for seven by Shrubsole, having already survived one leg before shout thanks to a review.

Trisha Chetty was next to go, victim of some outstanding glove work behind the stumps from Taylor after venturing outside her crease off a wide from Sciver.

Wolvaardt was ticking along at the other end, and she and Du Preez came together for the best partnership of the innings, adding 77 for the third wicket.

But Knight’s decision to bring herself on proved to be a masterstroke, removing Wolvaardt for 66 as she swiped across the line before Marizanne Kapp was run out for one in the same over.

Now struggling at 126 for four, South Africa regrouped as skipper Dane van Niekerk joined Du Preez at the crease.

They put on 42 but just as it looked like Van Niekerk was hitting her groove she was also run out, her bat popping up as she tried to get back following a mix-up.

Chloe Tryon followed soon after, and while the final pair of Du Preez (76 not out) and Sune Luus (21 not out) added an unbroken 48, the final total looked to be well short of what was required.

Lauren Winfield and Beaumont put on a quick-fire 42 at the top of the order, before both fell to Ayabonga Khaka, who was the pick of the South African bowlers.

Mignon du Preez ended the innings with a flourish scoring a 95-ball 76 to guide South Africa to 218 for 6 at the end of its 50 overs

England looked in control with Taylor and Knight at the wicket but after they fell panic set in until Wilson’s intervention.

Even so it came down to the final over, with England needing three off Shabnim Ismail, who dropped a tough return chance from Gunn off the first ball.

A single later and Ismail removed Marsh, with two still required, but Shrubsole hammered her first ball through the covers to the elation of the home crowd and the distress of South Africa.

Skipper Van Niekerk said: “We thought we were 30 short, but knowing my team, we went out there believing, and I’m really proud of them.

“You always have to believe that you can win a game of cricket, and [after Knight’s dismissal] I said to them that it was very close – I saw the score on the board – and with our bowling attack, anything can happen.

“We hope we made everyone proud.”

Scores in brief:

England beat South Africa by two wickets at The County Ground, Bristol

South Africa 218-6 in 50 overs (Mignon du Preez 76 not out, Laura Wolvaardt 66, Dane van Niekerk 27)

England 221-8 in 49.4 overs (Sarah Taylor 54, Heather Knight 30, Fran Wilson 30, Jenny Gunn 27 not out; Sune Luus 2-24, Ayabonga Khaka 2-28)

Player of the match – Sarah Taylor (England)

[mayflywrites]

meow meow. fran going down on iz and slipping a cheeky finger in his ass because fran’s just silly like that.