Sure Nice To Have 'Freedom-of-Information' > Here's The Hard Part: Using It

While many battles are still getting fought to force cities to be Open, Transparent and Accountable, at least on one front we see some progress: It's a Game-of-Cards, just like Monopoly. The stakes are just as high
There's just over two weeks left in the campaign, and we still have no plans to produce more than this single print run of the game — so if you want to get your hands on a copy, now's the time to back us on Kickstarter so you don't miss out! We're overwhelmed by the support for this project (huge thanks to everyone who has backed it already), and we're excited to bring this formerly top-secret CIA training game to so many people around the world.

 

International Shipping Is Now Available For CIA: Collect It All On Kickstarter!

from the get-it-while-you-can dept

"As most of you know, we recently launched a Kickstarter campaign for CIA: Collect It All — our fleshed out and polished version of the CIA's training card game that was recently obtained under a FOIA request. Two days later, we hit our funding goal, and now we've more than doubled it!

Before we knew just how much interest there would be, our plan was to limit shipping to the US — but the requests from other countries came pouring in alongside the pledges, and so now we're happy to announce that CIA: Collect it All is now available in 170 countries!

As we warned from the start, international shipping isn't cheap, but we've tried to secure the best rates we possibly could. If you were waiting on availability in your country before backing the campaign — or if you pledged for the digital print-and-play version but would like to upgrade to a physical copy — now's the time.

There are a few major countries we are unable to ship to (such as Brazil and Russia) due to limitations of our fulfillment partner, and unfortunately there's nothing we can do about that right now, so we apologize if you're still left out.

________________________________________________________________

LINK > https://www.techdirt.com

^!^Heads UP^!^ Here In Mesa May 12: Jon Talton > He's Got A New Book

Perhaps, and just perhaps or just by chance or just by good fortune, your sometimes mellow MesaZona blogger gets really over-excited and way beyond-thrilled to the bone and marrow to connect with the mysterious fictional hero David Mapstone, created in words published on pulp paper for inquisitive and curious minds who love to read local stories firsthand, removed at a distance from hard-to-face realities that

connect the past to the present to obliterate the convenient group amnesia that takes over too many chapters in Arizona's murky history. 

Talton celebrates investigative reporting and deplores the real-estate development that has damaged Phoenix as he delves into the dirty past and politics of the city.

Jon Talton Official Author Website http://www.jontalton.com/news.html

The real-life subject of Jon Talton's most recent adult fiction novel is a reporter whose professional life and car gets blown-up in-the-line of duty to report the news. At the same time some people have said he was an undercover FBI agent on a mission to uncover foul play in Phoenix - an assignment that forever ended his life.That might have been the end of the story back then for those who never caught killing a news reporter. 

Not now though: It's an open case for those curious enough to bust through an attack on the media killing the messenger with no potential catastrophic consequences to punish the perpetrators. Let's get into it

_________________________________________________________________________ 

Talton's new mystery work of fiction is readily adaptable to the big screen if any industrious media agent wants to option the rights from the author.

__________________________________________________________________________

Coming in May:

The Bomb Shelter, The 9th David Mapstone Mystery

"Forty years ago, a Phoenix reporter was killed by a car bomb in one of America’s most notorious crimes. Three men went to prison but was the assassination ever really solved? Did the kingpin who ordered the hit get away with it? It’s a case custom-made for David Mapstone, the historian-turned-sheriff’s deputy. But the past never rests easy in Arizona and when Mapstone’s boss, Sheriff Mike Peralta, promises to reopen the investigation, new murders commence.
The crimes are reenactments of Phoenix’s mob-riddled past, where gangsters rubbed elbows with the city’s elite amid crosscurrents of corrupt cops, political payoffs, gambling, prostitution, and murder cloaked by the sunshine of a resort city. But who is committing them now? A former soldier who is an explosives expert and deadly with a knife? A woman with screen-siren looks and extraordinary computer skills? Or someone out of Phoenix’s seamy, swinging 1970s with secrets to keep?
Mapstone will need all the help he can get. He enlists a Ph.D. candidate and Black Lives Matter activist to help him comb through secret archives of the original bombing. Mapstone's wife Lindsey, a top hacker, rejoins the Sheriff’s Office and plays a dangerous cat-and-mouse game — one that goes from the digital to the real and risky world. In the house of mirrors from the 1970s killing, they must find the key that connects the past to the present.

_______________________________________________________________

Meet Jon Talton here in Mesa live and in-person:
Explore Arizona StoryFest
1 p.m. Saturday May 12th
Mesa Convention Center
_______________________________________________________________

In this swiftly-paced, compelling novel, a big city is trying to keep its darkest history off limits.
Through Mapstone’s wryly witty first-person narrative, Talton expresses his genuine love of Phoenix as it once was, as well as his exasperated but tolerant attachment to the city as it is today. Clear writing, an intricate plot, and credible characters make this entry a winner.— Publishers Weekly​

"Mapstone is hampered by records still under seal but is helped by his hacker wife, Lindsey, and PhD candidate Malik Jones as he pursues the case more as cop than historian. Talton celebrates investigative reporting and deplores the real-estate development that has damaged Phoenix as he delves into the dirty past and politics of the city. The ninth entry in a justly praised series."
— Booklist

 

 

 

Arts & Culture Here In Downtown Mesa > Gigantic Humanoid Inflatables Meet Motorcycles On Main

Here's some Downtown Transformation you can believe in - right before your eyes if you were here on Main Street on Friday Night. Whoever brought the double-whammy impact of the monthly Motorcycles to Main Street and a short-lived one-time phenomenon of interactive Public Art for just nine days in May are wizards of Creative Place Making.

Main Street comes alive most often and most frequently on the First Friday of every month when night-time automobile traffic is restricted west of Center Street to Country Club Drive. No one was feeling that 'historic vibe' when motorcycles roared into downtown on Friday Night May 4th for the U.S. Premier of FANTASTIC PLANET.
It's absolutely fabulous - don't miss out on this. Some images were captured in a passing blur that roared by.

The celebration activating The Old Donut-Hole marks the first installation here in America of six gigantic inflatable humanoid figures by Australian artist Amanda Parer from the Land Down-Under at Mesa Arts Center and three more perched on rooftops around town.
Hundreds - maybe thousands -  turned out in the heat for close encounters of another kind.

A 'Mega-Park' Here In Mesa?

Sure if that's what you want to call it . . . Believe it or not it's a big cash-cow business for the owners of properties like this, but let's not spoil the fun reporting the nitty-gritty details why there are so many of these 'parks' here in Mesa.

Monte Vista Village RV Resort named ‘Mega Park of the Year’

Above: Monte Vista Village RV Resort, winner of the 2018 Arizona ARVC Mega Park of the Year Award (PRNewsfoto/Encore RV Resorts)Lifestyle | 4 May | Experience AZ

"The Arizona Association of RV Parks & Campgrounds (Arizona ARVC) recently recognized Monte Vista Village RV Resort with the Mega Park of the Year Award at the 2018 Arizona ARVC Annual Outdoor Hospitality Conference and Expo. This marks the fifth consecutive occasion that an Encore resort has been honored with the Mega Park of the Year award by Arizona ARVC. . .
The Mega Park of the Year Award, for parks with more than 501 sites, was presented to Brenda Roza, Monte Vista general manager, by Scott Swanson and Jo Anne Mickelson, president and executive director of Arizona ARVC. Monte Vista received the Park of the Year award during the annual Awards Luncheon held on April 26^th. . . " 
READ MORE > here

Mesa Politicians Are "Pieces of Work" > Here's Kelly Townsend

. . . and she's fair fodder for Phoenix New Times reporter Antonia Noori Farzan after an unintended consequence posted by a Republican State representative from here. We are so blessed when the public foibles and follies of who voters elect to hold public office gets the attention of alternative media for either stupid, un-informed or social media comments posted to be inflammatory. Somehow there's a blow-back bringing some wanted or unwanted attention and interest in who they are. Mesa Boring? NOT

Image: Andrew Pielage

Representative Kelly Townsend Wants to Know What a Furry Is

Antonia Noori Farzan | May 4, 2018 | 4:17pm

"State representative Kelly Townsend, a Republican from Mesa with a habit of making inflammatory comments, is getting a real education after she asked what a furry was in a Twitter post on Friday morning. . .

. . . In other words, it's a dangerous thing to ask about in an online forum, especially if you're an extremely conservative state lawmaker. Townsend has now received hundreds of replies to her query, including some truly disturbing GIFs of animated pornography featuring cartoon wolves, which we're not going to link to here.

Why was Townsend curious about furries in the first place, you might wonder? Hilariously, it all comes back to socialism. Townsend, along with other Arizona conservatives, spent much of the past week accusing the leaders of the #RedForEd movement of being socialists who are trying to trick teachers into joining their revolution."
READ MORE > here

 

No, #RedForEd Isn't A Socialist Plot, But It Would Be Awesome If It Were

Phoenix New Times-May 4, 2018

In a recent op-ed in the Arizona Republic, Representative Maria Syms, a Republican from Paradise Valley, warned that the short-lived statewide teacher strike — which ended Thursday — could be the start of a leftist revolution in Arizona. A few days later, Representative Kelly Townsend, a Republican from Mesa, called on ...

Public Safety or Excessive Use-of-Force? Mesa Police Back In The News: One More Officer-Involved Shooting

While the Daniel Shaver killing back in January 2016 has somehow managed to drop off the radar screen while attorneys for the victim's widow-and-children and attorneys for the City of Mesa are negotiating a potential settlement approaching $100-Million dollars, there's a campaign by the Mesa City Council to make Public Safety the linchpin in a campaign can end up on the ballot in this year's General Election asking voters to approve or reject a sales tax increase.

That action item is in front of tonight's 7-member City Council to let voters and taxpayers make the decision if city officials can make the case, using slow 911 response-times to bolster their arguments,  to increase transaction sales taxes ostensibly for public safety when the data clearly says the crime rate is down.
However, in another timely report after a series of claims of use-of-excessive-force by the Mesa Police Department in the past two years, another episode from last month got the headlines over the weekend due to a very-rapid-response:     

Report: Mesa police shot unarmed man after 9-second exchange

Bree Burkitt, The Republic | azcentral.com 

Published 3:53 p.m. MT May 6, 2018 | Updated 4:27 p.m. MT May 6, 2018

"Records obtained by The Arizona Republic on Sunday indicate it took less than 10 seconds for an unarmed man's encounter with Mesa police to turn violent last month. . .

Conflicting statements

Aziz told investigators he had flagged down Brennan's car because he was afraid he was being chased by a group of men from Tucson who were going to kill him, the report said. He said the officer shot him for no reason. . . "

You can read the breaking news report from The Arizona Republic  here 

 

 

 

 

Here In The Old Donut-Hole: More Mormon Transformation > The Intersection of Religion & Finance

Published online just one hour ago, Jim Walsh, another EV Tribune Staff Writer, uses a series of conditional conjunctives to tell a story using an 'extensive renovation' of the LDS Temple that could transform downtown that has the potential of becoming a catalyst, using as the anchor revamping Pioneer Park with over $12 Million-Dollars in massive Mesa taxpayer-funded debt obligations paving the way for LDS profits.

Think of taxpayer-money as the pipeline to feed private investments on properties owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of The Latter-day Saints purchased over many years by Property Reserve, Inc., the LDS church's investment wing. Jim Walsh says that much and more to reveal some details how this all works well for a close group of "friends-and-family' descended for six generations now since the mid-1850's for the expansion of The Kingdom of Deseret.

The groups of Latter-day Saints, were sent on a mission from Utah to claim the First Peoples' territory and water rights here in The Salt River Valley. 
Four of "The Pioneer" founder-families are those Mormon pioneers memorialized in Pioneer Park by a bronze statue dedicated in 1987 facing the Temple here on Main Street. In the line of expansion, it was the second temple outside of Salt Lake City, opened in 1927 on an entire 10-acre city block - a location that no doubt benefits from what was a $5.9M figure to over $12M price tag in General Obligation Bond Debt

Walsh gets the details about the LDS investment strategies from the highest authority in The East Valley Partnership, Denny Barney seen in this image to the right, who succeeded another Mormon ex-Gilbert mayor John Lewis who got a calling to go on a mission to Cambodia, continuing the LDS line of succession from Roc Arnett. Readers might also note than the current mayor of Mesa is the 40th in a long line of mostly men with Mormon roots from the city's founding in 1878 to establish The New Zion by buying and holding vast acres of land throughout the entire East Valley for economic development.
(Walsh neglects to mention that The Barney Family owns acres of land in Queen Creek where a family member is the mayor.) 
After years of neglect, ten commercial properties here in The Old Donut-Hole have changed hands in transactions registered to various LLCs and 'Buy-and-Hold" companies.

According to what Jim Walsh writes, Denny Barney and his late father, "a well-respected Gilbert developer", have quietly played a pivotal role in setting the stage for the redevelopment by acting in concert with the LDS Church and acquiring properties west of the Temple, and turning them over to the church. . . "
and "several more mixed-use developments (as noted above) have been proposed downtown to take advantage of light rail. . . " Millions more for LDS profits riding on the back of taxpayer-financed debt obligations!

Massive Mesa Temple plan
could transform downtown

By Jim Walsh Tribune Staff Writer  1 hr ago

 

If this is AN EMOTIONAL THING for more people than the preservationists that are alarmed by these LDS real estate schemes, you can read the Jim Walsh's writing by using the following link >

EV Trib Massive Temple Plan  

________________________________________________________________________  
Here's some background from a Symposium held at Brigham Young University during March 1-2, 2018 just last month: 

Financing Faith:
The Intersection of Business and Religion

"In 1958, Leonard J. Arrington published Great Basin Kingdom, a seminal study in Mormon economic history. Arrington followed this work with several other studies pertaining to the economic history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and of the State of Utah. Other scholars have examined in detail financial operations of the church in Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois, including explorations of the law of consecration (first revealed to Joseph Smith in 1831) and its implementation, enterprises such as the United Firm and the Kirtland Safety Society, and the economic impact of creating new communities throughout the Great Basin.

Picking up where Arrington and others left off, there are new and exciting developments in the study of sex, society, race, and the environment that can enlighten the financial aspects of Mormon history.

The 2018 Church History Symposium will explore the intersection of finance and religion in the LDS Church between 1830 and 1930. In doing so, we hope that scholars will take a fresh look at Mormon history through the vantage point of economics and finance. We hope that this symposium will add to, complicate, or even revise portions of the standard economic history narratives mentioned above, while also exploring other areas of Mormon history through an economic and spiritual lens.
To view the full program scheduled March 1-2, click the following link > https://churchhistory.ce.byu.edu/
__________________________________________________________________________________