December 9, 2014 – Horror Report

The new GHOST FACE

Wes Craven tweeted an image tonight of what the new ghost face mask will look like..

It glows. it’s blue. It may be used for an upcoming MTV series..

Regardless of its use, the mask is certainly much different than the 1990s incarnation of the famous SCREAM painting..

Feedback has been critical.. divided. Some like. Some hate.
The white face of the original SCREAM series is iconic.. even today, kids on Halloween scout towns with the attire–most likely not even knowing how scary a scene with Drew Barrymore answering a giant portable phone was in the late 20th century..

This mask though?
I personally think it looks like a Dollar Store version of the original mask.. a bad replica.

Maybe just a bad photo..
TIME WILL TELL.
Tomorrow: The new GHOST FACE debuts at FUN WORLD.

According to Wes Craven..

The torture report

Things to know about today’s report on torture..

CIA Torture Report: Bush Was Kept in the Dark »

President George W. Bush was never briefed by the Central Intelligence Agency on the details of harsh interrogation techniques and secret detention of terror suspects for the first four years of the controversial program, and when he did find out the details, he was “uncomfortable” with some of the practices, according to the long-awaited report by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

US prepares for security risks from torture report »

A scathing report released by the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday found that the Central Intelligence Agency routinely misled the White House and Congress about the information it obtained from the detention and interrogation of terrorism suspects, and that its methods were more brutal than the C.I.A. acknowledged either to Bush administration officials or to the public. »

One new revelation I hadn’t heard of until now that surfaced in this report: Rectal feeding.

The NEW YORK TIMES reports,

Detainees were deprived of sleep for as long as a week, and were sometimes told that they would be killed while in American custody. With the approval of the C.I.A.’s medical staff, some C.I.A. prisoners were subjected to medically unnecessary “rectal feeding” or “rectal hydration” — a technique that the C.I.A.’s chief of interrogations described as a way to exert “total control over the detainee.” C.I.A. medical staff members described the waterboarding of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the chief planner of the Sept. 11 attacks, as a “series of near drownings.”

Total control indeed..
The breaking down of human beings by those who did it best..

Facts Buried In The Senate’s 600 Page Torture Report »

Some more of the noteworthy things brought forth in the torture report..

This may be of particular interest,

“[A]n “intellectually challenged” man whose CIA detention was used solely as leverage to get a family member to provide information, two individuals who were intelligence sources for foreign liaison services and were former CIA sources, and two individuals whom the CIA assessed to be connected to al-Qa’ida based solely on information fabricated by a CIA detainee subjected to the CIA’s enhanced interrogation techniques.” [Page 12]

And this

“CIA officers also threatened at least three detainees with harm to their families—to include threats to harm the children of a detainee, threats to sexually abuse the mother of a detainee, and a threat to “cut [a detainee’s] mother’s throat.” [Page 4]

And one more

“Conditions at CIA detention sites were poor, and were especially bleak early in the program. CIA detainees at the COBALT detention facility were kept in complete darkness and constantly shackled in isolated cells with loud noise or music and only a bucket to use for human waste. Lack of heat at the facility likely contributed to the death of a detainee. The chief of interrogations described COBALT as a “dungeon.” Another seniorCIA officer stated that COBALT was itself an enhanced interrogation technique.” [Page 4]

Pennywise’s new dance

In case you haven’t heard, the clown who haunted your 1990s nightmares is about to get a redo. Stephen King’s IT, the book and then subsequent made for TEE VEE movie, is going to a cinematic release.. (For better or worse) ..

In an interview with VULTURE, producer Dan Lin dropped this news: Cary Fukunaga will be will direct the film..

Lin told VULTURE,

Cary likes to develop things for a while, and we’ve been with this for about three or four years, so we’re super excited that he stayed with it. You guys are gonna be really excited

People indeed are excited but also apprehensive.

Let me be honest.. I have fond memories of being 12 years old and watching IT on television.. I even recall my sister making me get all of my homework done in her apartment one night before IT came on, because were would watch it. IT may have been the movie that made me start liking horror.. And for a kid to see a movie about kids being the heroes–kids who admittedly all had major mental and health issues and had parents who didn’t give a flying piece of excrement about them–was inspiring. IT was ‘it’… So to hear a remake is coming, it just gives me that overall feeling of ‘groan’ that I get when I hear about other remakes.

But a study of Fukunaga’s background could give hope. He’s a young director, born in 1977–he was young when IT was on television to, I presume he was one of those excited people like me who watched the miniseries before reading the novel. He should be honored and humbled at the same time to not only take up the mission of directing this movie, but also moving forward knowing that Stephen King ‘gave the blessing’ on the project to begin with..

When the STAR WARS trailer was released a few days back, I was a bit unimpressed overall.. the main thing I keep trying to grasp: What villain can replace Darth Vader for this new century?

I ask the same thing about IT: What clown can replace Tim Curry’s memorable role as Pennywise the Dancing Clown? Perhaps the best solution: Just ask Tim Curry to reprise the role all over again..? If not him, perhaps then the other rumored name: Michael Shannon?

Beep beep Richie.

A splattering of the Nor’Easter news of the world

My neck of the woods is plagued with heavy rain, ice, and snow. Depending on your elevation you’re getting any of or all three those precipitation types. But I’m not the center of the universe.. Not sure what is, though. Nonetheless, the headlines of the world as they are being reported at the hour:

The United States is readying its bases, facilities, and other locations of interest for potential terrorism.. A Senate report on torture that occurred at black sites throughout the world is about to hit.. The report, officials say, will be causing ‘unrest’ around the globe.. The report will detail torture at various locations after 9/11.. One aspect of the report: It will conclude that the torture people were administered fail to do anything much to stop terror attacks..

Sick world: ISIS releases manual on the dos and don’ts of buying and selling female slaves..

Afghanistan 12 years later: Taliban indoctrinates children with textbooks paid for by the United States..

And ahead of the torture report: ISIS is claiming now that a radioactive device has been smuggled into Europe..

In a time when the sky is always falling and large fireballs are always cruising at low altitudes around the earth, this news is unsettling: Russian scientists have found a mountain sized asteroid that crosses Earth’s orbit every three years..

Ole’ Saint Nick as you’ve never seen him before.. he’s inked and ready for Christmas.. NBC is profiling the man who dresses like Santa–but is covered neck to toe in tattoos..

A big whoops at Walgreens: The store pulls Christmas wrapping paper with Swastika pattern.. I suppose it was bad PR, but don’t forget what the swastika really means.. Of course it will be difficult to reclaim the symbol perverted by Nazis in the 20th century..

Britain about to collide with nature: A storm of the century with massive waves, a blizzard, and hurricane force winds about to strike.. One chart even predicts 80 foot waves off Ireland!

Mars Curiosity Rover found area that may have been the home to a lake teeming with life..What are the secrets of the red planet. And not, not the fake Obama heads, but the real secrets that lurk under the surface.. We better find out soon before it happens to us.

A Texas murder is causing horror: Jose Reyes, 18, and a 16-year-old killed Corriann Cervantes in Texas. They gouged her eyes out as she begged for her life.. Then they carved satanic symbols onto her body in a bid to sell her soul to the devil..

Michael Williams of Michigan stabbed four people on am Amtrak train.. Not media sources reveal his comment that he ‘had to fight a demon’..

Strange new twists in SONY HACK ATTACK

The group GUARDIANS OF PEACE, or GOP, has posted yet another message.. this time on GITHUB. They are calling on SONY to stop ‘immediately showing the movie which can break regional peace and cause the war.” GOP is obviously referring to the Kim Jong Un North Korea spy spook THE INTERVIEW with Seth Rogan and James Franco.. that movie is set to come out on Christmas..

This is the latest twist in an already bizarre story .. Only days ago, this same group was blamed for the massive cyber attack that crippled computers at the company. Even more, a large data dump was made including Hollywood stars and starlets’ social security numbers, contracts, and lots of other private data going back to at least the year 2000. At the time, SONY made mention of the chance that the GOP hacked into their system simply because of the film THE INTERVIEW, and that the group hack state backing from North Korea to do it.. various media reports in subsequent days inferred that the FBI was investigating the claims.

Since that time, a groundswell of confusion has enveloped the entire story, with some wondering aloud of the North Korea angle was simply SONY trying to embellish on a possibility and help pop culture embrace THE INTERVIEW even more. Others–including me–wondered if the SONY hack attack would have been an act of war should it be revealed that North Korea was actually behind it.

Now this latest GOP assault is another piece of a large puzzle of confusion in relation to this story.

Ted Johnson, a senior editor for VARIETY, reported this in the latest runs concerning the situation,

The message from GOP said that they “have given our clear demand to the management team of Sony, however they have refused.”

“You, SONY, & FBI, cannot find us.”

The note also included a link connected to the names of Amy Pascal and Stephen Mosko.

A spokeswoman for Sony said they had no comment. An individual close to the studio said that they have received no demands.

The message also claims to “know nothing about the threatening email received by Sony staffers,” an apparent reference to a message received on Friday that authorities also are investigating.

This is the full message as posted on GITHUB by the GOP group:

We have already given our clear demand to the management team of SONY, however, they have refused to accept.

It seems that you think everything will be well, if you find out the attacker, while no reacting to our demand.

We are sending you our warning again.

Do carry out our demand if you want to escape us.

And, Stop immediately showing the movie of terrorism which can break the regional peace and cause the War!

You, SONY & FBI, cannot find us.

We are perfect as much.

The destiny of SONY is totally up to the wise reaction & measure of SONY.

The interesting statement within this: The ‘demands’ that SONY refused to accept. The demands referenced are now being made public as well.. According to other sources with copies of information, the hackers from the group sent SONY as strange and jumbled email three days prior to the hacking asking for money. MASHABLE actually found the demand email in the hacked documents which were dumped online by the GOP.

With all of this feeding frenzy of intrigue, a few other points are noteworthy, including this: SONY’s PLAYSTATION went offline yesterday. It was hacked.. Customers who were frantically attempting to play a game on their console were told “Page Not Found! it’s not you. It’s the Internet’s Fault.” The GOP didn’t do this one, however. A group called Lizard Squad is claiming responsibility for the Playstation downing–the same hacker group hit XBox last week.

In the CNN report, Dave Aitel from IMMUNITY Inc, said it was ‘very clear’ that a nation state has done the hack, and mentioned how a customer of such a company needs to take into account that you could be a pawn in the global war of a nation vs a private company..

The situation at SONY isn’t good.. they are in full blown damage control and, despite their role as a victim in this entire affair, could see ramifications far beyond the box office. Namely with investors are big money men who could doubt SONY as a safe and reliable entity to trust. And even more, a careful examination of the hacked information clearly puts SONY’S entire business model and corporate structure out in the open like the King having no pants.. Everything they have done for years is out there.. their actors’ information is out there.. the trust factor is huge. In Hollywood, the trust in SONY seems to have be spiraling down..

As this story develops over time, a full unveiling of the truth will occur. It could be slow.
After all, this is war: SONY is trying to bash North Korea and blame them for a massive cyber attack–and don’t think for a second executives don’t think that will help the credibility of THE INTERVIEW when it is released this month.. but on the flip side, some very important questions are floating to the surface of the cesspool of the data dump, including this: Did SONY’S network security have flaws leading to this attack? Did SONY save all of its information only in one place, allowing for this cyber hit to be easier? What about firewalls? Is anyone looking into current or former employees within the company to see if this attack was easier? Disgruntled techies? And finally.. Is anyone coming to grips with the possibility that a rogue nation state just declared war over a movie?

That last question would be the most epic of all to answer..

Bankers continue to bail

This year has been marred with the bizarre suicides and deaths of prominent bankers–men you may never had heard of but men who clearly have been in the shaping of monetary policy..

The newest death is being reported by various sources.. His name was Geert Tack. He was Belgian. And how the appearance of his body off of the coast of Ostend has become ‘surrounded by riddles.’ In moments like this, ZERO HEDGE is the best source.

Tyler Durden at ZERO HEDGE writes a full listing of the bankers who have succumbed to seemingly early fates in 2014:

1) David Bird, 55, long-time reporter for the Wall Street Journal working at the Dow Jones news room
2) Tim Dickenson, a U.K.-based communications director at Swiss Re AG
3) William Broeksmit, 58, former senior manager for Deutsche Bank
4) Ryan Henry Crane, age 37, JP Morgan
5) Li Junjie, 33, Hong Kong JP Morgan
6) Gabriel Magee, 39, age JP Morgan employee
7) Mike Dueker, 50, who had worked for Russell Investments
8) Richard Talley, 57, was the founder and CEO of American Title (real estate titles)
9) James Stuart Jr. 70, Former National Bank of Commerce CEO was found dead in Scottsdale, Ariz
10) Jason Alan Salais, 34 year old IT Specialist at JPMorgan since 2008
11) Autumn Radtke, 28, CEO of First Meta, a Singapore-based virtual currency trading platform
12) Eddie Reilly, 47, investment banker, Vertical Group, New York
13) Kenneth Ballando, 28, investment banker, Levy Capital, New york
14) Joseph A. Giampapa, 55, corporate bankruptcy lawyer, JP Morgan Chase
15) Jan Peter Schmittmann, 57, voormalig topbestuurder ANB/AMRO, Laren, Nederland
16) Juergen Frick, 48, CEO Bank Frick & Co AG, Liechtenstein
17) Benoît Philippens, 37, directeur BNP Parisbas Fortis Bank, Ans, België.
18) Lydia…, 52, bankier Bred-Banque-Populaire, Parijs
19) Andrew Jarzyk, 27, bankier, PNC Bank, New York
20) Carlos Six, 61, Hoofd Belastingdienst en lid CREDAF, België
21) Jan Winkelhuijzen, 75, Commissaris en Fiscalist (voormalig Deloitte), Nederland.
22) Richard Rockefeller, 66, achterkleinzoon elitebankier John D. Rockefeller, Amerika
23) Mahafarid Amir Khosravi (Amir Mansour Aria), 45, bankeigenaar, zakenman en derivatenhandelaar, Iran
24) Lewis Katz, 76, zakenman, advocaat en insider in de bancaire wereld, Amerika
25) Julian Knott, Directeur Global Operations Center JP Morgan, 45, Amerika
26) Richard Gravino, IT Specialist JP Morgan, 49, Amerika
27) Thomas James Schenkman, Managing Director Global Infrastructure JP Morgan, 42, Amerika
28) Nicholas Valtz, 39, Managing Director Goldman Sachs, New York, Amerika
29) Therese Brouwer, 50, Managing Director ING, Nederland
30) Tod Robert Edward, 51, Vice President M & T Bank, Amerika
31) Thierry Leyne, 48, investeringsbankier en eigenaar Anatevka S.A., Israël
32) Calogero Gambino, 41, Managing Director Deutsche Bank, Amerika
33) Shawn D. Miller, 42, Managing Director Citigroup, New York, Amerika
34) Melissa Millian, 54, Senior Vice President Mass Mutual, Amerika
35) Thieu Leenen, 64, Relatiemanager ABN/AMRO, Eindhoven, Nederland
36) Geert Tack, 52, Private Banker ING, Haaltert, België

There is a part of me that does not smell conspiracy here.. In a sense, you can take any industry and say a certain number of doctors a year die in strange ways, or nurses, or dentsits, or even state government workers. And 36 as a number among bankers really isn’t that much.

But the devil in the details prompts my suspicious mind to begin churning.. Of those bankers listed who committed suicide, it came as a shock. It was out of their character.. And even stranger, many left no traces behind as to why they decided to take their own lives. Of those who did not commit suicide, perhaps something we will never know the full extent of, the circumstances are strange, as evidenced from Tack most recently.

Remember.. in the ‘natural cases’ category for banker deaths, we are including dramatic suicides by jumping off of buildings, bodies being found floating in water, nail guns through the head, broken body parts, plucked out eyeballs, torch burns, finger nail removals.. and the list goes on..