News Genius Quotes Of The Week, 06/14/2013

Once again, news of the United States’ mass violations of civil rights, guided by the NSA, stole the show. Still, stories in the sports, music, and international relations world reached critical mass, sometimes managing to even overshadow PRISM. From Brandon Phillips’ grand slam to Disclosure’s apology for a faked DJ set, the world turns even with government spying. Here are the News Genius Quotes of the Week for 06/14/2013, currently being logged in a server somewhere in Fort Meade. News Genius: tamiflu, powder, dirty bomb, weapons grade -- Gavin Matthews

5. “...in the air...way back into left field and a GRAND SLAM for Brandon Phillips!" - Len Kasper, Brandon Phillips’ Grand Slam

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Hitting a home run takes talent. Hitting a grand slam takes luck. Hitting a grand slam in Wrigley Field’s fog is a once-in-a-lifetime slam. Despite fog so thick enough to block nosebleed views of the field, Phillips’ eye caught a pitch perfectly, aligning the stars to let him bring in a game-changing 4 runs. Combined with Phillips’ other two runs, amounting to all of the Reds’ points, is his .293 avg, 10 season home runs, and 52 RBIs, an MVP-level record to match an expert sense of the game.

4. “Notice also that we didn't try and make it look like we were mixing. We left the fucking plug on the floor on purpose” - Disclosure, Response to Mime Set Criticism

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For the few that missed Deadmau5’ memo on DJ sets, here’s a revelation: many are completely faked. Disclosure, to their credit, wanted to perform a live mix at the Summertime Ball ball, but were denied the chance by show organizers. In a passive-aggressive blow, the pair unplugged their mixers, left all audio cables loose, and even walked on-stage without headphones, leading many fans and critics to attack the group for “pulling a David Guetta.” As it turns out, Disclosure was actually the hero, and the world spun on - unlike the backing tracks.

3. “The President has been clear that the use of chemical weapons – or the transfer of chemical weapons to terrorist groups – is a red line for the United States” - Benjamin J. Rhodes, Statement on Arming Syrian Rebels

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While the verdict is still out in the international community over chemical weapons in Syria, the United States has decided to draw its own line in the matter. Perhaps as a way to distract from PRISM or to further advance its support for the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, the government has determined that Syria has used sarin against its citizens. Why is this an issue? Nobody else has confirmed the accusation. From a UN report that specifically calls into question sarin origins to Russia’s continued stand against blaming the Syrian government, the source of the gas is still hotly contested. As part of its assertion, the United States has authorized arms shipments to Syrian rebels, a move that could never backfire. Right? Right?

2. “Today is an exciting day for gamers everywhere. As you may have seen live with millions of others across the world, just moments ago we introduced PlayStation 4 (PS4)” - Jack Tretton, Sony Playstation 4 Announcement

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On the day that will live on as one of gaming’s biggest slams, Sony’s utter domination of the annual E3 conference was a PR nightmare for Microsoft. With the rival Xbox One criticized for its DRM, always-on Internet requirements, and removal of a fair used game market, all Sony needed to do was “not” be Microsoft. In turn, they listened to consumer requests and delivered exactly what everyone wanted to see. Sony’s stock rose 9% overnight, gamers heralded the company that chose to listen, and Sony even managed to deliver one of the best tongue-in-cheek instruction videos in history. The NSA and Microsoft must be feeling about the same right now. They are buddies, after all.

1. “We are calling on Congress to take immediate action to halt this surveillance and provide a full public accounting of the NSA's and the FBI's data collection programs” - StopWatching.us, Petition to End Domestic Spying

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PRISM continues to seep its way into the news, as more and more leaks, issues, and lawsuits come to light. Matching the ACLU complaint on the issue, a coalition of digital rights groups, StopWatching.us, sprung up to give the people a voice in the matter. Supported by the verified Freedom of the Press Foundation, the EFF, and Freedom Watch, the petition supports the immediate end to PRISM and NSA spying programs, as well as court action on the issues. Stopwatching.us even added verified annotations to the petition. While the concept of a petition forcing the NSA’s hand most likely will not change the current intelligence culture, somebody will be on the line to respond as more and more complaints file. Maybe the NSA’s advanced technology should have seen this coming.