Atlantic Monthly Contributors's Blog, page 1047

What the European Union Lifting Its Syrian Arms Embargo Means

The European Union agreed to lift their arms embargo so some member countries could arm the Syrian rebels, British Foreign Secretary William Hague announced late Monday. The announcement came at the end of a 12-hour meeting in Brussels that saw foreign ministries from all countries agree to extend all other sanctions against Syria beyond their June 1 expiry. 

So now Britain and France are free to send weapons to Syria whenever they please, though Hague said there was "no immediate decision to send arms," from Britain. He also told reporters this would "send a very strong message from Europe to the Assad regime," after the meeting. Other EU countries are free to send arms as they please, too. Though it seems unlikely considering how the deal went down. 

The decision to drop the arms embargo counts as a win for Britain and France. They spent most of the half-day meeting unsuccessfully trying to convince the other member countries to help supply weapons to the "moderate" Syrian rebels arguing it would convince Assad to negotiate a peaceful transition. Led by Austria, most other countries demurred because of concerns the weapons would end up in the hands of Islamist extremists who have joined the fight. The Union had to come to a unanimous agreement before the Friday deadline to extend any of the sanctions against Syria. Evidently, they realized a unanimous decision on the embargo wasn't coming. The Union cut its losses and extended the other sanctions and dropped the arms embargo altogether. 

Monday began with new evidence accusing the Assad regime of using chemical weapons against rebels forces. French magazine Le Monde had two reporters suffer symptoms of a chemical attack while embedded with Syrian rebels for two months. U.S. Sen. John McCain also slipped across the Syrian border Monday for a meeting with Syrian rebel leaders. They requested heavy weapon supports, air strikes and a no-fly zone from the U.S. government. 

       

Confused Weather Drops Over 30 Inches Of Snow on Memorial Day Weekend

It's a snowy Memorial Day weekend for parts of the U.S. On the aptly named Whiteface Mountain in upstate New York, there's at least 34 inches of snow on the ground. What's that look like? Glad you asked: 

According to Weather Underground, a couple of other mountain peaks in Vermont reached 18 inches of snow, while some towns with higher elevations clocked in at about 7 inches of snowfall this weekend. To figure out how unusual the snowfall this weekend was, Weather Underground had to go back to 1816:

Most famous of all cold and snowy late season events would have to be the infamous 1816 ‘Year without Summer’ and the snowfall in June that occurred in the eastern U.S. and Canada. Between June 6th and June 8th accumulating snow was observed as far south as the Catskills in New York (where one inch was reported) and highlands of central and northwest Pennsylvania. Snowflakes were seen at sea level as far south as ten miles north of tidewater on the Hudson River just above New York City. 

But, they note, snowfall in the north east this late in the season hasn't been unheard of since then: the area tends to get some late season snowfall every 5-10 years. Just not nearly as much as this time. 

@weatherchannel A Snowy Memorial Weekend at Joe's Pond in Vermont! courtesy Evelyn Richer twitter.com/tristateweathe…

— Tri-State Weather (@tristateweather) May 26, 2013

10" of new snow had us hiking the summit. Watch the round-trip here: on.fb.me/12aEk8Z #vermont #memorialweekend twitter.com/jaypeakresort/…

— Jay Peak (@jaypeakresort) May 26, 2013

Picture from Bretton Woods, N.H. Snow in May! #fox25 #memorialday twitter.com/fox25news/stat…

— FOX 25 News Boston (@fox25news) May 26, 2013

       

Roman Polanski Thinks the Birth Control Pill 'Masculinized' Women

Roman Polanski, the film director who fled the U.S. for France in 1977 after pleading guilty to unlawful intercourse with a 13-year-old girl, has some things to say about women. For one thing, Polanski isn't really keen on birth control — it has "masculinized" the " woman of our times," he said Saturday at the Cannes film festival. For another thing, he thinks gender equality is "idiotic." 

Polanski was at the festival for his latest, Venus in Fur, which is based on a David Ives stage adaptation of the book by Sacher-Masoch, from whom we get the word "masochist." The film stars his wife Emmanuelle Seigner, and Mathieu Amalric, who bears some resemblance to the director's younger self:

[image error]

Photo: AP

Almaric, of course, plays a theatre director who is eventually dominated by Seigner's character as they attempt to stage an adaptation of Sacher-Masoch's book. 

Speaking at the festival on Saturday, Polanski said the following after a well-received viewing of his film (via Raw Story):

 "I think that now offering flowers to a lady becomes indecent, that’s how I feel about it,” 

There's more: 

"I think that the Pill has changed greatly the woman of our times, ‘masculinising’ her — how would you say it?” he said, looking to his cast for a prompt. He added: “I think that it chases away the romance from our lives and that’s a great pity.” 

And on gender equality? Here's the longer version of the "idiotic" quote mentioned above, from the Toronto Star: 

“I think that trying to level the genders is purely idiotic. I think it’s a result of, like everything else and I will be Marxist here, of progress in medicine and these are outcomes of it." 

Polanski's film, for its part, was well-received. It was up for a Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize (he didn't win). 

       

Anti-Gay Activists Are Still Protesting France's New Marriage Law

Here's another addition to Europe's turbulent week: hundreds of thousands protested, and occasionally skirmished with police, in Paris today against the country's new gay marriage laws. Yes, that's Paris, France. The same country that hosts the Cannes film festival, where a lesbian romance film won the Palme d'Or today. 

Of course, this isn't the first time anti-gay marriage protesters have taken to the streets of Paris to protest the law - they've been doing that since the fall, when the country's new gay marriage law was just a bill working its way through the country's legislative system. And it isn't the first time protesters have clashed with police — there were 5,000 officers on hand today, by the way, to handle a crowd of about 150,000 by most estimates (organizers claim a million people showed up, but no one else seems to agree).

But the nature of the protests has changed some: when they started last fall, the anti-gay marriage protests were Roman Catholic Church-led, one-issue protests more or less. But they're now definitely about expressing wider opposition to Francis Hollande, the country's left-wing president. The crowd seems to be changing, at least a little, too. Now, fewer and fewer clergy are showing up to protest, as Reuters explains. And one well-known anti-gay activist, Frigide Barjot, is apparently scared of the fringes of the movement she once helped to lead. She wasn't at today's protest, despite telling the press a week ago that she and "millions" of others would be there.  

By most accounts, the majority of the organized marches were peaceful (at least some protesters felt comfortable enough to march with their kids, for example), but there were about 100 arrests related to the protests across the city. Here's one of them: 

#PHOTO: Riot policemen arrest a far-right protester in Paris on the sidelines of demos against gay marriage law twitter.com/AFP/status/338…

— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) May 26, 2013

As the Guardian explains, most of the far-right groups joining the protests have grouped together as "Printemps Français" — French Spring. The French interior ministry threatened to ban the group earlier this week. 

Aside from the "Printemps Français's" presence, there's another reason why officials were on edge about today's marches: earlier this week, a well-known far-right historian killed himself in the Notre Dame cathedral, hours after penning a blog post denouncing the gay marriage law. Dominique Venner, 79, was also known for his work on what he believed to be an existential battle between Europeans and Muslims. Venner, referring to today's march, believed that protests were not "enough," echoing the far-right's growing consensus in the country that they'll have to more aggressively confront the total policies of the country's more liberal government. 

France's gay marriage law, which also allows gay couples to adopt, went into effect last week. While the majority of the country supports gay marriage, France in recent months has seen frequent high-profile protests against it, and an increase in instances of homophobic violence, according to a group that tracks it.

In any case, the first gay wedding is scheduled for Wednesday, to be held in the southern city of Montpellier. 

       

Toronto Mayor: Crack Video Doesn't Exist, Reporters Are 'A Bunch of Maggots'

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has once again denied that he was recorded smoking crack. This time, speaking on his weekly, two-hour (!) talk radio show, Ford said flat-out that the video in question doesn't exist at all, adding that the media as a whole are "a bunch of maggots" — then adding, "Sorry, maybe I shouldn't have said that." 

Ford, who, sure, could be telling the truth, could have been encouraged to go all-in on denial by some speed bumps in Gawker's attempt to buy the video in question. Essentially, Gawker's editor John Cook took over the story last week by announcing that he's seen a video of Toronto mayor smoking crack within the past six months. But, he said, the video's owners won't give out the goods for free, so the site is trying to raise $200,000 by tomorrow to buy it from them. Right now, they're at $179,593. But on Friday, the same day Ford non-deny-denied this whole crack thing, Cook updated donors that hasn't been able to get in touch with the sellers for about a week: "Our confidence that we can consummate this transaction has diminished." The Toronto Star has also seen the video. They note that the sellers are a "group of Somali men involved in the drug trade." 

In any case, Ford started to address the (alleged) video at the top of his show, but the conversation quickly devolved into Ford and his brother, city councillor Doug Ford, griping about the media, other city councillors, and pretty much anyone who's picked up on the allegations against either of them. Doug, earlier this week, was himself the subject of a Globe and Mail story alleging that he is a former hashish dealer: 

"Do you know something, Rob? I'll tell you right now, the vast majority couldn't get a job," Doug said of his fellow councillors, "I'll tell you that right now and that's fact. "I wish the media looked into some of their backgrounds, where they came from." 

But later, a caller going by "Pam" brought Mayor Ford back to the subject of the video itself. Here was his response: 

“Number one: There’s no video, so that’s all I can say. You can’t comment on something that doesn’t exist.”

On Friday, the mayor had a similar, but slightly less direct answer to the question: 

"There has been a serious accusation from the Toronto Star that I use crack cocaine. I do not use crack cocaine, nor am I an addict of crack cocaine.

As for a video, I cannot comment on a video that I have never seen or does not exist."

You can watch Mayor Ford answer Pam over at the Toronto Star. Pam also asked the Brothers Ford about a photograph published by both Gawker and the Star, allegedly showing the mayor standing with a recent murder victim, Anthony Smith, who'd been connected by some to the city's drug trade. Doug essentially called that question racist, adding "Rob has taken thousands of pictures with young black men, with their hats on, with their little funny signs and everything else." So there's that. 

       

So Is the New 'Arrested Development' Any Good?

There are two types of Arrested Development fans: the ones who are going to love the new episodes unconditionally, and those who are a little nervous about reviving a show seven years after it was cancelled. For those fidgety millions out there who maybe haven't gotten through the whole thing yet, here is a (spoiler free!) run down of what people are saying so far.

Yes, it's true, you haven't been hallucinating. At 12 a.m. PT Sunday, Netflix released all 15 episodes of the new fourth season of Arrested Development. It was not an elaborate ruse. Some people stayed up all night just to watch the first few episodes before the rest of the world. Other set alarms. Others woke up at a reasonable hour but then wasted their day away inside, on the couch, binge-watching until their eyeballs started to bleed. Have we watched it yet? No, but we don't need to. Other people who get paid to do this sort of thing already have. And the reaction to the show so far is, surprisingly, a mixed one. 

Some people love the show just as much as they did when the show was first on, or, more likely, when they caught up with the DVDs a few years too late. "The new season is not only as smart and absurdly funny as ever, but also reflects the rapid changes in how we watch television," writes the San Francisco Chronicle's David Wiegand. Entertainment Weekly's Annie Barrett was recapping every episode, live, while she barrelled through them starting right when the show was released. She has since disappeared, probably to bed, but her summaries are delirious with exclamations and excitement. (And also spoilers. So many spoilers.) But there are others who are not as on board with the new episodes. Nathan Rabin, the former head writer for The AV Club, writes that the show has "lost a step" in his early assessment of the very first episode for the Wall Street Journal. "The pacing is notably slower than during its original run and the show lacks the breathtaking density that characterized its glorious past," he writes. The show isn't as great as it was, he explains later, but it's still going to make you laugh. The Guardian's Hadley Freeman echoed Rabin's sentiments in her review. "It takes some getting used to, but by the fifth episode, the patience begins to pay off," she says. "I didn't adore the show in the way I instantly adored the first three series, but I was admiring it, and even enjoying it in a new way. So far, I'm keeping the faith." That the critical reception is measured and careful and not slobbering and embarrassing is encouraging, both for the show and the wonderful world of TV criticism. 

What's even more shocking is that the breathless hordes of Arrested Development fans, who have spent the last week talking Sunday up like its the return of Christ on Easter, haven't fallen immediately in love with the show. The common folk on Twitter have noticed the show isn't quite the same. Some have even said the show is terrible: 

The new Arrested Development is pretty dark. I love it.

— James Del (@JDel) May 26, 2013

it took five or six episodes but the new season of arrested development is actually pretty good. i can't believe it.

— ryan lambert (@twolinepass) May 26, 2013

First ep. of ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT was pretty great. A couple of weak jokes but overall I'm thinking it might not suck. Hooray!

— Glen Matthews (@GlenJM) May 26, 2013

New arrested development is like hanging out with high school friends but it's not the same anymore or funny or good and very forced

— Sam Biddle (@samfbiddle) May 26, 2013

just finished episode 3 arrested development. so far all are pretty terrible.

— Lauren Leto (@laurenleto) May 26, 2013

If anything, the new eps of Arrested Development just make me want to re-watch the olds ones (so far)

— Jenna Wortham ♥ (@jennydeluxe) May 26, 2013

We honestly expected to search for dissenting opinions, but they weren't that hard to find. Expectations were so high. The myths of Arrested Development's brilliance were written in every cave across the world. And yet the show is not the same. It did not live up to its billing, but only because the billing was "one of the greatest shows of all time." That's not fair. And, of course, these are all very preliminary opinions. Maybe everyone will come around after repeat viewings. Maybe something will happen in later episodes that ties everything together and makes this season earn the same revery given to the first three seasons. Maybe these reviewers were grumpy from waking up way too early to watch a silly TV show and everyone else will love it. Until then, this revival is a fun spin down memory lane, a nostalgia trip for a bygone era of greatness, but ultimately it's the Rolling Stones' last tour of television. 

       

What Reviewers Said About Cannes' Palme d'Or Winner 'Blue Is the Warmest Color'

There were no jewel heists on the last day of the Cannes film festival, but there was gold being given out Sunday in the form of the festival's top prize, the Palme d'Or. The jury decided the award would go to Abdellatif Kechiche's three-hour lesbian love epic Blue is the Warmest Color. The jury, led by President Steven Spielberg and filled out by bold-faced names like Nicole Kidman, Ang Lee, and Christoph Waltz, honored Blue, along with Kechiche and his two lead actresses, Adèle Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux. Blue (also known by its french title, La Vie D’Adèle Chapitres 1 et 2) was Kechiche's first film submitted to the festival.

There was no obvious choice leading into Sunday's award ceremony. In fact, many predictors expected the award to go to the Coen brothers' new flick, Inside Llewyn Davis, which received the runner-up Grand Prize. (You can see a full list of all of the award winners here.)

So what's the deal with Blue? What makes it so d'Or-y, you're probably asking. Blue is a 179-minute romantic coming-of-age epic about a lesbian relationship, and it features a relentless ten minute sex scene. Adèle Exarchopoulos plays the main character, also named Adèle, who is struggling with her sexual identity. Léa Seydoux plays the slightly older art school student Adèle shares a profound connection with. The two have received near universal praise for their work in the movie. Vulture's Jada Yaun praised Blue for "how much weight it gives to the messy reality of relationships and sexual identity." Variety's Scott Foundas called it "a masterpiece of first love, sexual awakening, family, food, art...in a word, life." Tim Grierson said Blue "hurts like real life, yet leaves you enraptured by its power," in his review for Paste. The New York Observer's Stephen Garrett said the leads were "revelatory" and "sensuous" in his review. It will 

Michael Hanke won the award last year for his eventual Oscar contender, Amour. It ended up being one of the most universally beloved movies of the year despite its miserable, depressing content. Past winners like 2006's The Wind That Shakes The Barley, 2007's 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days and 2010's Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall Past Lives are all available on Netflix Instant, if you need a break from Arrested Development. 

       

Most People Saw 'Fast 6' Instead of 'The Hangover 3'

Welcome to the Box Office Report, where we only take things a quarter mile at a time. Well, everything but cronuts. We would run two whole miles in scorching Arizona heat for cronuts. 

1. Fast & Furious 6 (Universal): $98.5 million in 3,658 theaters

Holy smokes. Going into this weekend, there was no consensus number one pick for box office supremacy. It was going to be Fast & Furious 6 or The Hangover 3, but which one would win was anyone's guess. So we were a little surprised when Fast & Furious dominated and left Hangover in its dust. It made more than twice what Hangover made. But that was probably because there are twice as many Fast & Furious movies, right? Math is always the answer. 

Congratulations, Universal, because Vin Diesel and crew just delivered your studio's biggest opening weekend ever. Also: the second biggest opening weekend of the year. 

2. The Hangover 3 (Warner): $42.4 million in 3,555 theaters

This is awkward. The third, and hopefully final, Hangover movie under performed. Like, wildly under performed. Warner reps said they were expecting to make more than $80 million this weekend, a number they did not come close to. It's also a sharp decline from the second Hangover movie that made $135 million over the same weekend two years ago. Just lock this franchise up and throw away the key already. That's the bad news. The good news is The Hangover 3 helped send this Memorial day weekend towards a record setting $322 million haul. Basically, it rained and everyone went to the movies instead of going outside or barbecuing. Happy holidays!

3. Star Trek: Into Darkness (Paramount): $38 million in 3,907 theaters [Week 2]

The Box Office Report would not be against this proposed sequel treatment. Just in case Paramount executives were scouring the Internet for new ideas or anything. Hi, guys!

4. Epic (Fox): $34.2 million in 3,882 theaters

The other movie that opened this weekend is the animated one with Beyonce. Did you fit it in your holiday weekend viewing schedule as planned? We did not. Sorry, Bey! You have enough money from your last movie. You know, the one made by you, about you, that aired on HBO. 

5. Iron Man 3 (Buena Vista): $19.4 million in 3,424 theaters [Week 4]

Everyone has seen Iron Man 3 already, right? Are there people left in the world who have not yet sat in a movie theater and gazed at Robert Downey Jr.'s tortured face for two and a half hours? Probably not. We don't think it's possible. This movie is making money on repeat viewings. That's the only reasonable explanation. 

       

OK Gov. Fallin Worries of 'Red Tape'; Dole Slams Modern GOP

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin told CNN's Candy Crowley she's pleased with the federal help her state's received since the tornado hit Moore, Oklahoma, but she's growing disenchanted with the bureaucracy on State of the Union. "What I need is the ability to get through red tape," Fallin said Sunday morning. "So far, we have had great response," she added. Fallin singled out FEMA Director Craig Fugate and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano for appreciation. On CBS's Face the Nation, Fallin said she's going to capitalize on having the President's attention when he visits Oklahoma on Sunday. "I'm going to tell him that we appreciate his visit first of all but also that we need quick action," the governor said. "I've heard so many incredible stories of people helping people. There were so many volunteers out here yesterday that streets were packed." Fallin expressed disbelief over the number of people killed after the EF-5 tornado swept through her state. "It's truly incredible that we had only 24 deaths," she said. "I don't know how anyone survived this tornado."

Sen. Lindsey Graham didn't enjoy the President's shifting of the war on terror and new drone strike policy, he revealed on Fox News Sunday. "We show this lack of resolve, talking about the war being over," Graham said. "What do you think the Iranians are thinking? At the end of the day, this is the most tone-deaf president I ever could imagine, making such a speech at a time when our homeland is trying to be attacked literally every day." Graham said he's "never been more worried" about national security than he is right now. Graham also touched on the military's terrible sexual assault record of late. "I want to salute the women who serve and are putting up with way too much crap," he said, before calling for some heads to roll within the military over the issue. "This needs to end. When a victim comes forward, they should have an advocate to walk them through the military justice system. And commanders who allow this to continue to flourish, quite frankly, should be fired." He also praised the President's response to the issue so far. "The president spoke well of this problem. It is a disgrace to the United States Military."

Someone else who wasn't impressed with the President's counter terrorism speech? Former Republican Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, of course. He called it "naive" during an appearance on CNN's State of the Union. "It's just stunningly, breathtakingly naive," Gingrich said. He pointed to the London attack from this week, among other things, as examples of the ongoing threat of extremism. "This stuff's going on everywhere, and we will never be in peace in the pre-1941 sense that we are never threatened," he said. "No one wants to talk honestly" about the widespread nature of the threat.

Another former Presidential nominee Bob Dole doesn't think his generation could have made it in the modern Republican party. He expressed his doubts during an interview on Fox News Sunday. "I doubt it," he said when asked if he would make it today. "Reagan couldn't have made it. Certainly, Nixon couldn't have made it, cause he had ideas. We might've made it, but I doubt it." That Nixon line is particularly biting. Dole doesn't seem very fond of the new generation of GOP stars in Washington. In fact, he has an idea for fixing the party that might work. "They ought to put a sign on the National Committee doors that says 'Closed for repairs,' until New Year's Day next year," he said. "And spend that time going over ideas and positive agendas." But he didn't limit his criticism to the right. He had words for the President, too. Dole thinks Obama should have spent more time charming House Republicans during his first term. "I'm not a critic of the president, but I think one mistake he has made was not getting together more with Congress early on in his first administration," Dole said. "There's nothing like knowing the person you are talking to on the telephone if you had an opportunity to sit down with that person and visit, not about anything but just visit."

Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul argued the President is losing his "moral authority" to lead the U.S. because of the recent wake of scandals plaguing the White House during his appearance on ABC's This Week. "I think the constellation of these three scandals really takes away from the president's moral authority to lead the nation," Paul said. "No one questions his legal authority. But I really think he's losing the moral authority to lead this nation." The President has not been linked directly to the IRS targeting scandal, the Benghazi talking points scandal, or the Justice Department spying scandal so far. But the President did speak about the drone strike program this week, which just so happens to be one of Paul's favorite topics. Paul held a marathon filibuster demanding an expanded legal explanation for the drone strike program a few months ago. It turns out he didn't really enjoy the President's argument. "I was pleased with his words, and I was pleased that he did respond to this," Paul said. "However, there's still a question in my mind of what he thinks due process is. Due process, to most of us, is a court of law. It is a trial by jury, and, right now, their process is him looking at some flash cards and a PowerPoint presentation on 'Terror Tuesdays' in the White House. For a lot of us, that's not really due process." Who saw that one coming?

Unfortunately your browser does not support IFrames.

New York Rep. Peter King is sick and tired of everyone griping about the Guantanamo Bay prison. Especially the President, who King charged is "moralizing" the issue on This Week. "I'm offended by the moralizing," King said  "The fact is, whether you agree or disagree with Guantanamo, many experts believe that it did work. It was something that had to be done at the time. The president had five years to end this if he really wanted to. He could've moved most of those prisoners out of the country." King later charged that the President would have closed Guantanamo by now if he really wanted to. "Everyone wants to close Guantanamo, ultimately," King said. "But again, he has the power to do it. He hasn't done it. He certainly, whether or not Congress was in the way, could have done a lot more than he has done about it if he were serious about it rather than just moralizing." King argued terrorists only use Guantanamo as a symbol because the media and political types "stir" about Guantanamo. "We should be proud, defend what we're doing and stop apologizing for America," he said.

       

Oregon Teenager Busted for Columbine-Inspired Plan to Bomb His High School

Apparently a high school student in Oregon was arrested this week for carefully planning an attack on his high school that was modeled after the Columbine attacks. Except he refined things to make it more efficient. 17-year-old West Albany High School student Grant Acord will be charged as an adult for attempted aggravated murder, and the possession and production of a destructive device, Benton County District Attorney John Haroldson told reporters late Saturday night. Police arrested the teenager Thursday evening at his father's house in Albany, Oregon after receiving a tip from an unnamed source about Acord's plan. Over the next two days, search warrants for his mother's house lead to the discovery of six bombs, along with checklists and planning materials and even a specific timeline, hidden under his bedroom floor boards. There were pipe bombs, drain cleaner bombs, Molotov cocktails and napalm bombs hidden from his parents sight. 

Why Acord wanted to go through with this carefully executed plan is the biggest remaining question. Haroldson said Acord has no history of trouble at school. There is no recent incident or suspension that they could look into for clues. But he was influenced by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the two students who attacked Columbine High School in 1999. Acord's "goal was to model the Columbine shootings with some adjustments that would make it a greater success," Haroldson said. 

Police wouldn't say when Acord was planning to carry out his plan, but they did reveal his preparation left room for improvisation. "That said there were also some indications that it could happen at any time, too," Haroldson told reporters. "So you have — A -the methodical planning and then — B — I suppose he could get really excited about it and go early." Acord is now being held in a juvenile jail while he awaits his next court date on Tuesday.