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Hoo boy, if only there was a way to regulate stupidity.

ABC17:

During the opening weekend of the latest 'Iron Man' movie, a man walked into the theater in full tactical gear and carrying a fake gun.

Jefferson City police and witnesses, however, are not pleased with the stunt and are questioning the theater's logic after recent shootings in Aurora, Colo. and Newtown, Conn.

John Molock is a retired Army war veteran and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. He told ABC 17 News this most recent trip to the movies triggered memories he never wanted to relive.

"We had just finished watching Iron Man 3," said Morlock. "We're just getting into the car when I spotted a man in full assault gear, carrying what appeared to be a modified M-4 and 9 mm on his side."

Morlock did not call police, but several other moviegoers did.

"We received a series of 911 calls stating that a man dressed in all black and body armor and a rifle was walking into Capital 8 Theaters," said Capt. Doug Shoemaker.

Officers thought they were responding to an active shooter investigation.

"Everything was in place, it's the opening night of a superhero movie, it's somebody walking in all-dark clothes, everything pointed to bad things about to happen," said Shoemaker. "There's really no good that can come of this."

But the armed man was a paid actor carrying fake weapons, and hired by the theater manager as part of a publicity stunt for the movie opening. Capital 8 Theaters manager Bob Wilkins told ABC 17 News that the stunt was planned "months in advance," and that "only a few" patrons were upset. "Hundreds" were entertained, he explained, and "My job is to entertain people."

Asked if management took into consideration the the mass shooting at a Colorado movie theater, Wilkins responded, "Absolutely. That's my number-one priority every day. It's the safety and security of our guests."

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A cyber-attack of various government websites by groups of hackers is allegedly underway Tuesday morning, as was warned using social media. A pastebin message begins with, “Let’s hurt them where it’s hurts the most” and the group promises, “Anonymous will make sure that’s this May 7th will be a day to remember” in what the group titles as, #OpUSA. The high profile list of targets includes, Bank of America, Citibank, White House websites, the FBI, among others.

Another message seemingly from a member of one of the hacktivist collectives known as Anonymous states “America you have committed multiple war crimes in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and recently you have committed war crimes in your own country. You have killed hundreds of innocent children and families with drones, guns, and now bombs. America you have hit thousands of people where it hurts them, now it is our time for our Lulz. For this you shall pay. Obama you have seen the over three billion dollars worth of damage we have done to Israel in operation Israel. It hasn’t even been a few weeks and the anonymous collective has gotten stronger since then.”

As federal government agencies brace themselves for a large-scale attack, a "Hacker's News Bulletin" is linked on Twitter that claims to be a running "List of Websites,Email Accounts affected under #OpUSA; Updating list as defaced,hacked or down."

"A group of mostly Middle East- and North Africa-based criminal hackers are preparing to launch a cyber attack campaign next week known as “OpUSA” against websites of high-profile US government agencies, financial institutions, and commercial entities," reports security blog Krebs on Security. "But security experts remain undecided on whether this latest round of promised attacks will amount to anything more than a public nuisance."

Last month, Anonymous launched #OpIsrael, which promised to “wipe Israel off the internet,” and well, that turned out to be a big #OpFail.

You've probably seen at least one version of the "Harlem Shake" making the rounds online. In the video above you can watch Tunisia's version, which is quickly becoming a new form of political protest.

The New York Times Latitude Blog writes:

"The Arab revolutions are going through a rough patch, from political uncertainty in North Africa to daily massacres in Syria. Egypt appears, at times, on the brink of either economic collapse or a military coup. Tunisia is still reeling from a political assassination and may face prolonged instability, as negotiations for the formation of a new government unfold with little chance of a consensus emerging. Many ordinary citizens in both countries are depressed and disoriented.

But at least they haven’t lost their sense of humor.

The latest meme to take over both Egyptian and Tunisian social media involves filming a silly dance to the Harlem Shake, an electronic tune by the American D.J. Baauer, and uploading the result to YouTube. The trend started in Australia, but it has spread to the Middle East, with a twist: It is getting people arrested or in trouble, turning it into a new genre of political protest.

Maybe a Global Harlem Shake Day...you in?

Mark Horvath has been a drug addict, a con artist, a producer for Christian television, and for a time, homeless. Now, he's using social media to raise awareness about homelessness and poverty in America. Armed with a website (invisiblepeople.tv), Twitter account (he goes by @hardlynormal), and a camera, Mark's on a mission to give "a face and a voice to homelessness."

Watch, and meet the guy who just might solve homelessness with his Twitter account.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire want to hear what you’ve got to say. The two stars unveiled a campaign on Monday called Vote4Stuff. It urges voters to use social media to talk about what issues are most critical to them in the upcoming election.

A public service announcement went online Monday, asking: “What stuff is important to you?” Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jonah Hill, Zac Efron, Edward Norton and Ellen Degeneres — among others — also appear in the video.

Anyone interested can submit their own 30-second video about their biggest concerns going into the election. Then, selected videos — in addition to tweets, photos or posts directed at Vote4Stuff — will be incorporated into the campaign later in the month.

The PSA mentions several potential issues to talk about, including jobs, marriage equality, foreign policy, immigration and education. But DiCaprio and the team are encouraging people to be creative.

“Hey, knock us out and we’ll put (the video) in,” Norton says in the announcement.

What issues matter most to you in this election?

Sharpie parties:

In the age of Facebook and Twitter, a new crime has hit America: "Sharpie parties," gatherings of revelers armed with "Sharpie" magic markers and lured by social media invitations to wreak havoc on foreclosed homes.

Five years into the U.S. foreclosure crisis, Sharpie parties are a new form of blight on the landscape of boarded-up homes, brown lawns and abandoned streets. They are also the latest iteration of collective home-trashing spurred by social media.

At least six Sharpie parties were reported in one California county in recent months, where invitations posted online drew scores to foreclosed homes.

The partygoers are handed Sharpie pens on arrival by their hosts and urged to graffiti the walls - a destructive binge that often prompts other acts of vandalism, including smashing holes in walls and doors, flooding bathrooms and ripping up floors.

If revenge on the banks is the motive, does anyone think the banks really care? They make their money no matter what, that's how they stay rich and powerful, they designed the system to work that way.

Those of us fighting to change the system, and hoping to see crooked bankers punished for things like mortgage fraud will have a more difficult time doing that if we're all looked upon as criminals or potential criminals. Please, think beyond yourself, and remember that there are families still fighting to keep their homes.

Oh, and what happened to the geniuses who destroyed the home in the video? Facebook (They used the site to send out invites, and then posted photos of party.) turned over everything in the accounts of the party "hosts" and they're all facing multiple felony charges.

Uh oh. Facebook’s share price dropped below $20 on Thursday—its lowest price yet—and the company has now lost half its value since its $38 debut on the market in May. Analysts said investors are worried about the social media company’s growth prospects as well as the high-level departures—and the looming deadline of August 16th, when 271 million shares will be available for trading. “The sentiment on this thing is so negative,” said Topeka Capital Markets analyst Victor Anthony. In other bad news for Facebook, the company admitted in company filings on Thursday that it believes there are 83 million illegitimate accounts out of the 955 million registered users.

It's more than 20 years since a recording of police violence sparked riots in Los Angeles. The beating of Rodney King was caught on video and the footage shocked the world.

But two decades later how much has changed?

To discuss this, Inside Story Americas, with presenter Shihab Rattansi, is joined by guests: Jumana Musa, a human rights lawyer who is deputy director of the Rights Working Group; Gustavo Arellano, the editor of the OC Weekly, a newspaper that has been covering the shootings; and Raymond Lewis, a retired Philadelphia police captain who was arrested by New York police while taking part in the Occupy Wall Street protests last year.

On Saturday, police in the Californian city of Anaheim shot and killed Manuel Diaz, an unarmed man who they said was running from them, hitting him in the leg and the back of the head.

Police said he and another young man shot dead the following day were both gang members. But local residents say the Latino men were victims of racial profiling and an overly aggressive police force.

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Some well deserved publicity for Tim Pool...

[Via]

The founder of TimcastTV, Pool is a live-stream and social-media journalist who has garnered attention for his coverage of Occupy Wall Street and the Million Hoodie March, which honored Trayvon Martin, the unarmed teen who was shot and killed in Florida in February.

Via Occupy Wall Street:

More than 90,000 protesters, including the indignad@s and supporters of the #YoSoy132 student movement, took part in nonviolent, nonpartisan marches against political and media corruption in Mexico during the presidential debates last Sunday. Social media activists affiliated with #YoSoy132 have issued a video calling for supporters across the world to build an international movement for real democracy regardless of national borders. They ask for solidarity rallies at Mexican embassies and consulates to put pressure on the government and electoral officials ahead of the July 1 elections.