News Genius Quotes Of The Week, 05/31/2013

As tensions loom in Syria and storms roll across Oklahoma, the cycle of news continues to pump out new, exciting, and often troubling stories. The week of May 31st, 2013 brings firsts in the sports and technology worlds, beside reductions in hate speech in cyberspace and increases in violent rhetoric abroad. To make sense of it all, News Genius (at its new home, news.rapgenius.com) breaks down the story, connecting fact to words and exposing the unbiased reality. News Genius: meat + news. Meatnews. - Gavin Matthews

5. “A search warrant may be issued to search for and seize [...] the contents of and records and other information related to a wire communication or electronic communication held in electronic storage.” - Texas State Legislature, Email Privacy Bill HB2268

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One of the nation’s most strong email and privacy bills, HB 2268, surfaced in its final form this week in Texas, where the legislature passed the measure without a single “nay.” The bill puts electronic data, here email and online search records, under the same protections as other forms of physical property. As a result, police would no longer be able to seize your hard drive, email records, or history without a full warrant. While Governor Perry must still sign the measure to push the bill along, the incremental update to the dated 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act is a welcome shift. Still, keep clearing those weird searches.

4. “Facebook’s mission has always been to make the world more open and connected [...] while still respecting the rights of others” - Facebook Safety, Controversial, Harmful, and Hateful Speech

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Under pressure from rights groups, years of anecdotal evidence, and cyberbullying claims, Facebook has finally decided to adjust its filters. After a number of directed “hate speech” groups, posts, and pictures appeared over the last few years, numerous organizations - including The Everyday Sexism Project, The Voices and Faces Project, and Women, Action & the Media - filed an open letter to Facebook. As a result, Facebook will now make its divide between “hate speech” and permitted “obscene speech” more fine, a potential reduction in allowable free speech on the site, but a profound elimination of what amounts to brutal sexism and bigotry rampant on the social network. This is one thing that Zuckerberg might want to share.

3. “Meatballs are by definition not a recipe kind of food, but here goes. You need some meat -- about a pound of it -- and you will make them into balls.” - Food52, Easy Meatballs

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Finally branching into the world of food, Food52 and News Genius combine forces to break down recipes. Instead of the same old step-by-step instructions, recipes now include interactive ingredient substitutions, alternative cooking methods, and the weird quirks that make the same meals taste radically different. For meatballs, a staple food, even tiny changes in the cheese ratio can create huge differences in the final product. Thankfully, the formula stays the same: meat + balls = meatballs.

2. “[Events] have distorted concepts to the extent that some Arabs have forgotten that the real enemy is still Israel and have instead created internal, sectarian, regional or national enemies.” - Bashar al-Assad, Interview with Al-Manar TV

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In a rather biased interview with Lebanese Al-Manar TV, a station heavily affiliated with Hezbollah, sitting President of Syria Bashar al-Assad gave a rare glimpse into the state-run side of the ongoing war. Addressing the “home crowd,” al-Assad labels every fighter a “terrorist,” downplays losses, and demonizes the international response to the conflict. In the most revealing use of rhetoric and skewed logic, al-Assad closes the debate with a jab at the classic Arab/Israeli divide, somehow nesting the entire conflict into a dated opposition that ignores the concerns of Syrians. If the war were not enough, an interview like this paints a grim picture for future reconciliation.

1. “This was the first fight i ever cut someone. I landed a good elbow and cut him right under his eye [...] I’m not sure i landed anymore elbows that fight. Think maybe it scared me some.” - Jason High, MMA Fight Record

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The first verified annotation-based Quote of the Week comes from MMA pro Jason High. Breaking down his fights, night by night, High’s anecdotes add an entirely new perspective to the sport. In his 2006 VFC 12: Warpath brawl with Bryce Teager, High threw an elbow that cut Teager’s face, the first time in High’s career when he drew blood. Winning the fight due to a mix of bizarre circumstances, High added to an already impressive record, now a 16-3 sweep of MMA. In true fashion, High closes out the nights with cheap drinks in Omaha, the everyman’s close to a day spent loving work.