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#BBC News - US & Canada
senadimell · 2 years
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#look i know i posted the patrick stewart video (which was delightful but also wholly voluntary)#but if i never hear another thing about celebrities' private lives i would be A-OKAY#i do not want or need an opinion on a certain celebrity couple#i do not want to take a side or treat it like it's a movie#IT"S NOT A MOVIE#TRIALS ARE NOT MOVIES AND WE LITERALLY WILL NOT HEAR ANYWHERE NEAR THE EVIDENCE THAT THE JUDGE/JURY IS PRESENTED WITH#and my opinion DOES NOT CHANGE WHAT HAPPENS in the trial. they're not part of my community. i will literally never meet them#i want it to stop being headline news because they've been public and earned a lot of money#i haven't done a whole lot of research but i think generally we would be a whole lot better off#if trials were much more private#something something parasocial relationships should stay parasocial#because in this case. we the public cannot actually reduce any ACTUAL HARM by following the trial like a drama#it's not like your sibling abusing their child or the neighbor mistreating their spouse#those are cases that you can actually improve for the better.#or you know what? donate to a related cause or volunteer at a shelter#but following the trial literally. literally. will make you angry and lead to zero activism#maybe i've missed something here. maybe i'm wrong. if so i'm willing to learn about benefits of acting contrary to the way i've described#(do not send me anything about the trial whatsoever. i'm talking about...maybe studies that say outcomes are better when trials are#covered by media. or saying that people are more involved in activism when they follow trials or something)#then i can decide if i want to know why it's been a BBC headline for US and Canada for weeks on end
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weepingfireflies · 5 months
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People & countries mentioned in the thread:
DR Congo - M23, Cobalt
Darfur, Sudan - International Criminal Court, CNN, BBC (Overview); Twitter Explanation on Sudan
Tigray - Human Rights Watch (Ethnic Cleansing Report)
the Sámi people - IWGIA, Euronews
Hawai'i - IWGIA
Syria - Amnesty International
Kashmir- Amnesty Summary (PDF), Wikipedia (Jammu and Kashmir), Human Rights Watch (2022)
Iran - Human Rights Watch, Morality Police (Mahsa/Jina Amini - Al Jazeera, Wikipedia)
Uyghurs - Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) Q&A, Wikipedia, Al Jazeera, UN Report
Tibetans - SaveTibet.org, United Nations
Yazidi people - Wikipedia, United Nations
West Papua - Free West Papua, Genocide Watch
Yemen - Human Rights Watch (Saudi border guards kill migrants), Carrd
Sri Lanka (Tamils) - Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch
Afghans in Pakistan - Al Jazeera, NPR
Ongoing Edits: more from the notes / me
Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh/Azerbaijan (Artsakh) - Global Conflict Tracker ("Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict"), Council on Foreign Relations, Human Rights Watch (Azerbaijan overview), Armenian Food Bank
Baháʼís in Iran - Bahá'í International Community, Amnesty, Wikipedia, Minority Rights Group International
Kafala System in the Middle East - Council on Foreign Relations, Migrant Rights
Rohingya - Human Rights Watch, UNHCR, Al Jazeera, UNICEF
Montagnards (Vietnam Highlands) - World Without Genocide, Montagnard Human Rights Organization (MHRO), VOA News
Ukraine - Human Rights Watch (April 2022), Support Ukraine Now (SUN), Ukraine Website, Schools & Education (HRW), Dnieper River advancement (Nov. 15, 2023 - Ap News)
Reblogs with Links / From Others
Indigenous Ppl of Canada, Cambodia, Mexico, Colombia
Libya
Armenia Reblog 1, Armenia Reblog 2
Armenia, Ukraine, Central African Republic, Indigenous Americans, Black ppl (US)
Rohingya (Myanmar)
More Hawai'i Links from @sageisnazty - Ka Lahui Hawaii, Nation of Hawai'i on Soverignty, Rejected Apology Resolution
From @rodeodeparis: Assyrian Policy Institute, Free Yezidi
From @is-this-a-cool-url: North American Manipur Tribal Association (NAMTA)
From @dougielombax & compiled by @azhdakha: Assyrians & Yazidis
West Sahara conflict
Last Updated: Feb. 19th, 2024 (If I missed smth before this, feel free to @ me to add it)
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phoenixyfriend · 2 months
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That one post about great domestic policy and HORRIFIC foreign policy just does not stop being true
Domestic Policy Win: The American Museum of Natural History in NYC is closing down two entire exhibits of Native American belongings in order to comply with a federal order that requires museums to obtain the consent of indigenous nations in order to display artifacts of native origin. The linked ProPublica article specifies that the exhibits in question are the Eastern Woodlands and Great Plains Halls. To quote:
The new federal regulations, which went into effect this month, prohibit the display of items subject to NAGPRA without tribal consent and ban all research done without tribal consent. In addition, the regulations closed a loophole that had allowed museums such as the American Museum of Natural History to keep ancestral remains and burial items by claiming that they are “culturally unidentifiable” — meaning in their view they could not be connected to present-day Indigenous communities based on available evidence — and therefore could not readily be returned to tribes.
Foreign Policy Fail: The United States, the UK, and several other nations, in response to claims that several members of UNRWA were involved in the Oct. 7th attacks, have cut funding to the relief agency in question. The Al Jazeera article profiles the Palestinian response, and also specifies that this funding was pulled after the UNRWA launched an investigation in response to Israel's allegations that 12 members of the relief agency were involved.
Australia, Canada, Italy and the United States said they would halt funding to the agency, while European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the 27-member bloc would “assess further steps and draw lessons based on the result of the full and comprehensive investigation”. Germany, Finland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom then also joined the list of countries pausing financial aid to the UN agency, whose facilities where displaced Palestinians sought shelter have been repeatedly attacked in Israeli air raids. Ireland and Norway, however, expressed continued support for UNRWA, saying the agency does crucial work to help Palestinians displaced and in desperate need of assistance in Gaza. - Al Jazeera
"One million displaced people are currently taking refuge in and around UNRWA buildings. They are the ones who will suffer as a result of this decision," said Mr Gunness, adding: "The curtailing of UNRWA services will also destabilise the region at a time when Western governments are trying to contain a regional conflagration." [...] The US, Germany and the EU are among some of UNRWA's biggest donors. - BBC
Unfortunately, the WSJ article is paywalled, so I can't access the full thing for a quote.
Anyway. Call your reps. I'm not even talking to just the Americans this time, call your fucking reps. If they aren't donating to UNRWA, then make them do something. Is the organization possibly a security risk, and the concerns legitimate? Maybe! But you cannot cut the funding that is keeping 2.3mill people alive on an already shoestring budget and not immediately put a backup security net in place.
Until then, pick a charity with a good rating, donate and signal boost it, and politely harass your politicians.
Politely as in "don't shout at or cuss out the staffers that man the phone lines," because they are not your reps, but also because your number is going to get blocked and then you won't be able to pressure them in the future. Do be firm, though.
I'm personally picking the PCRF this time, since one of the three remaining hospitals in south Gaza has been evacuated and shut down, and the evacuees reportedly include women who just got C-sections, which means the evacuees also include newborns, and medical care is in high demand. They're also currently focused on providing clean drinking water to the people of Palestine. That said, so is food, and shelter, and winter clothing. Pick a need, find a charity, and toss them some money.
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“The BBC has failed to accurately tell this story – through omission and lack of critical engagement with Israel’s claims – and it has therefore failed to help the public engage with and understand the human rights abuses unfolding in Gaza,” the letter reads. “Thousands of Palestinians have been killed since October 7. When will the number be high enough for our editorial stance to change?”
The BBC journalists said that across British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) platforms, terms like “massacre” and “atrocity”, have been reserved “only for Hamas, framing the group as the only instigator and perpetrator of violence in the region. This is inaccurate but aligns with the BBC’s overall coverage”.
Further critiquing the BBC’s storytelling, the journalists argue that while Palestinians have been asked whether they “condemn Hamas”, the same cannot be said for guests who defend Israel’s actions.
“[They] are not equally asked to ‘condemn’ the actions of the Israeli government, however high the civilian death toll in Gaza.”
The letter also claims that the BBC is failing to provide audiences with important background about Israel’s occupation and the history of Palestinian suffering.
“For Israel’s bombardment to be considered ‘self-defence’, events must begin with the Hamas-led attack,” they said. “News updates and articles neglect to include a line or two of critical historical context – on 75 years of occupation, the Nakba, or the asymmetric death toll across decades.” […]
“The BBC has often called the ongoing conflict ‘complex’. It is no more complex than any other conflict,” the letter reads. “It is our job to cut through rhetoric and misinformation; to explain what is happening and what has led to this.”
In an Oct. 10 directive telling employees how to write about the violence, CTV told them not to use the word “Palestine” and made the politically-charged assertion that “Palestine…does not currently exist.” […]
“While Palestine has observer status at the United Nations, Palestine as a nation does not currently exist. Please use Gaza or the Israeli Occupied West Bank for a geographic locator.” […]
One journalist at Bell Media told The Breach they found the guidance biased.
“The neutral thing to say would have been: ‘We don’t use Palestine in our copy because Canada does not recognize Palestine as a state.’ That’s a fact,” the journalist said. “‘Palestine does not exist,’ is a strong opinion.”
The journalists also said there is a clear bias in how Bell Media treats Palestinian guests and in the editing of stories about Israel. […] Palestinian guests, according to the journalist, are expected to express grief but not political opinions or context about their experiences.
“When it comes to Palestinian guests…they’re essentially brought on to cry,” the journalist said. “That’s all they’re good for.”
Palestinians who are highly critical of Israel are not invited back and clips of their interviews aren’t published on the network’s news websites, the journalist also said.
Stories that provide context about Israel’s occupation or information about pro-Palestine rallies are subjected to days-long, sometimes nonsensical edits, one of the other journalists told The Breach. In some cases, those types of stories have been finished but never published, defying the network’s normal practices.
This journalist said they are already self-censoring, leaving out historical context and the fact that 6,417 Palestinians were killed by Israel in the 15 years leading up to Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7. 
“I just know that they’re not going to let me put that in a story.”
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For context: "Israel-Hamas Topical Guide" from AP Stylebook (considered news industry standard)
Use Palestine only in the context of Palestine's activities in international bodies to which it has been admitted.
Do not use Palestine or the state of Palestine in other situations, since it is not a fully independent, unified state. For territory, refer specifically to the West Bank or Gaza, or the Palestinian territories in reference to both.
Palestinians are Arabs who live in, or whose ancestors lived in, the geographic area that comprises Israel, the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank, and east Jerusalem. These areas were once part of the traditional eastern Mediterranean region of Palestine. See Gaza Strip, Gaza; West Bank; east Jerusalem.
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bisexualbailorgana · 9 months
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thinking about how 500 people, mostly women & children, are still missing after a boat carrying migrants sank off the coast of greece and the search and rescue operation seems limited entirely to the greek coastguard who may even be at fault for the disaster. meanwhile 5 billionaires go missing at sea while on a vanity trip and suddenly the us coastguard & navy are on it as well as canada and even france sends a ship from across the atlantic (x). they got the military involved!! for 5 people!! not to mention the submarine search has had live news coverage on the bbc since it began while there’s very little being reported on the migrant boat disaster. like you don’t have to be a genius to see what this says about how the west views migrants and refugees, its almost laughable how obvious it is it’s not even a metaphor at this point!!
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elskamo · 9 months
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New Total Drama in the UK (No Spoilers!)
People have probably already heard by now that the BBC have finally updated their website to show that the latest season of Total Drama Island is coming soon to the UK.
According to the website the show itself is being titled as "Total Drama Island: Reboot" presumably to distinguish itself from the original series whenever it finally launches here too (I tried searching for it but the only results were for the reboot, Dramarama, and Ridonculous Race, the latter two have already started airing on CBBC)
All the episodes will be available to watch on the same day, Monday 24th July. The individual episode profiles don't specify yet when they'll be airing on TV however it's safe to presume that they'll all be added to the iPlayer at the same time on the 24th with the episodes airing one at a time on TV, much like many other shows in the UK are doing at the moment.
The English versions of the episode titles are as follows:
Meet the Victims
Pirates of the Cabbagean
Drown Town Abbey
Numbskull Island
Jurassic Fart
Launch Back of Notre Game
Severe Eggs and Pains
The Wheel of Vomit
Paddle Field Earth
The Truth, The Pole Truth and Nothing But the Truth
Tortoise Rigamortis
Caved by the Bell
Magma Cum Laude
It's unclear whether the episode titles will be different in the US and Canada when they air.
At some point I will likely do a watch party and start going through the English episodes so people abroad can see them without having to resorting to pirating. It'll be on British time though, I am not staying up til 3am to stream this stuff! XD
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bat-cat-reader · 4 months
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IN FULL SWING 
The Couple Next Door cast, plot, filming locations explained: All about Channel 4 drama
With details on when the steamy series will be broadcast
Laura Stewart-Liberty
Published: 17:15, 26 Nov 2023
CHANNEL 4 are bringing a new thriller to our screens, with big-name actors from Poldark and Outlander. 
Here’s all you need to know about the six-part series.
1La pareja de al lado es un thriller suburbano completo con swing, espionaje y secretosCrédito: Canal 4
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Who is in The Couple Next Door cast?
Eleanor Tomlinson as Evie
Eleanor Tomlinson will take on the role of Evie in the upcoming Channel 4 series. 
The 31-year-old actress rose to fame after her role as Jas in the 2008 teen comedy Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging. 
Eleanor is best known for her role as Demelza in the BBC hit drama Poldark, alongside Aidan Turner. 
Sam Heughan as Danny
Outlander’s Sam Heughan will play Danny in The Couple Next Door. 
The Scottish actor is best known for his role as the Highland warrior Jamie Fraser in the fantasy series, Outlander, available to watch on Starz and Lionsgate+. 
Fans were dismayed when it was announced the Scotland-based TV drama was scrapped, so will be glad to see Sam back on their screens in his new role. 
Alfred Enoch as Pete
Playing Pete will be Alfred “Alfie” Enoch, who famously starred as Dean Thomas in the Harry Potter franchise. 
The British-Brazilian actor, born in 1989, has had a steady stream of acting roles, in shows like Broadchurch, Sherlock, and Trust Me. 
He has also starred on stage in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet at the Globe, and As You Like It at Soho Place. 
Hugh Dennis as Alan
Bafta-nominated British comedy actor Hugh Dennis will star as Alan in the upcoming thriller series. 
Best known for his role in the sitcom Outnumbered, Hugh also had a role in Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s hit two-part series, Fleabag. 
Hugh started his career on Spitting Image and is now in a relationship with his former Outnumbered co-star, Claire Skinner. 
Jessica De Gouw as Becka
Jessica De Gouw will take on the role of Beck in The Couple Next Door. 
The Australian actress is best known for her role as Helena in Arrow, and as Meghan in The Secret She Keeps. 
Jessica is currently in a relationship with British actor Oliver Jackson-Cohen, after they met while starring in NBC’s Dracula. 
What is The Couple Next Door about?
At the start of the new six-part series Evie and Pete have just moved to an idyllic neighbourhood, but find themselves struggling under the social pressures and status anxiety of suburban life.
They soon befriend the couple living next door, traffic cop Danny, and his yoga-teacher wife Becka — who turn out to be in an open relationship.
The two couples become progressively entwined, as Evie begins an affair with Danny. 
The Couple Next Door has been described as a “deliciously dark, psychological drama, exploring the claustrophobia of suburbia and the fallout of chasing your deepest desires.”
Where was The Couple Next Door filmed?
Filming for The Couple Next Door took place in Leeds and Belgium in 2023.
Some scenes were shot on Baildon Moor near Bradford in Yorkshire in April 2023. 
The Channel 4 series is a remake of a 2014 Dutch show called Nieuwe Buren, which translates to New Neighbours in English. 
When does The Couple Next Door start?
The first episode of The Couple Next Door will be broadcast in the UK on Channel 4 on Monday,  November 27, 2023, at 9 pm. 
The series will also be available on STARZ in the US and Canada at some point in 2024.
The Couple Next Door is directed by Dries Vos, and written by David Allison. 
The Scottish star Sam Heughan, playing Danny, told the Radio Times: "I’m thrilled to be working with Eagle Eye Drama and director Dries Vos again and adding a third series with my STARZ family.”
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Hallelujah South Park!
By Maureen Callahan 16 Feb 2023 - 17 Feb 2023
Will their delicious take-down of privacy-hungry Harry & Meghan FINALLY make them see what insufferable hypocrites - and global laughing stocks - they've become?
Well, she said she wanted to be a cartoon princess. Now, thanks to the brilliant minds at 'South Park,' Meghan Markle is one.
In 'Worldwide Privacy Tour,' which aired Wednesday night, Meghan and Prince Harry were savaged as hypocritical publicity hounds who nonetheless demand to be left alone. After promoting his memoir, here called 'Waaagh,' the 'prince and princess of Canada' move to South Park, whose children cannot abide their insufferability. At one point, the outraged prince flashes his frostbitten penis — to a child! — while defending his wife.
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As the animated Harry and Meghan toddle around the globe, holding placards that read 'STOP LOOKING AT US!' and 'WE WANT OUR PRIVACY!,' their entitlement, stupidity and lack of self-awareness was sliced through by a cartoon talk-show host with, in my view, better questions than Tom Bradby or Anderson Cooper.
Appearing on 'Good Morning Canada,' Harry and Meghan — the latter speaking inanities with a Valley Girl accent — sit down to a chorus of boos. The impeccable line of questioning beings.
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'Let me start with you, sir. You've lived a life with the royal family, you've had everything handed to you, but you say your life has been hard. And now you've written all about it in your new book, 'Waaagh.'
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Harry: 'Yes, that's right friend. You see, my wife and I —'
Meghan: 'I was like, totallllllly, you should write a book 'cause your family, like stupid, and then [unintelligible] journalists.'
Host: 'So you hate journalists.'
Harry: 'That's right!'
Host: 'And now you wrote a book that reports on the lives of the royal family.'
Harry: 'Right!'
Host: 'So you're a journalist.'
Yes! Exactly right.
Meghan: 'We just wanna be normal people. This attention is so hard.'
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Waaagh!' indeed. You have to wonder what the mood is in Montecito this morning, the online reaction from us 'normal people' nothing short of a rousing standing ovation. Do Harry and Meghan get it now? Do they understand that they are laughingstocks not just around the world, but in the province Meghan values above all others — Hollywood?
'South Park': Grade A+. Chef's kiss. This was a perfect episode. The only possible criticism: What took Trey Parker and Matt Stone so long?Granted, it seems every week does bring a brand new hypocrisy. One must work hard to keep up. 'Because I'm from the States, you don't grow up with the same understanding of the royal family. And so while I now understand very clearly there's a global interest there, I didn't know much about him.
'That was Meghan Markle in November 2017, seated next to Prince Harry as they gave their first interview to the BBC as a newly engaged couple.A fair number of people — myself included — found it near impossible, laughable really, to believe that Meghan, creature of Hollywood and student of fame, had little idea who Prince Harry or the British royal family was. Or that this self-professed smart, savvy, well-cultured woman had not so much as Googled her fair prince before their first date. No social climber she!It all sounded very Yoko Ono, who, upon meeting John Lennon, claimed to have never heard of him.Now — could it possibly be — that Meghan was insincere? A newly resurfaced post on her late blog The Tig (think Goop, but more basic and obvious) reveals that Meghan was very familiar with the British royal family and with William and Kate's nuptials. She even wrote about the type of princess she, Meghan, dreamt she might someday be.
Hey, Harry: Don't feel too bad. Even Lennon fell for it. As he told Rolling Stone in 1971, Yoko had 'only heard of Ringo, I think.'Ringo! Not the world-famous half of the most celebrated songwriting duo of post-World War II Western civilization. When you're that well known, it seems, nothing is as refreshing as someone who claims not to know who you are or what you do or why people care about you. The implication, of course, being that said ignoramus sees through the veneer of celebrity to you. They like and love you for you, not the attendant wealth or social status or privilege or refracted fame that comes with being your other half. Here's Meghan in her 2014 blog post, fantasizing about becoming a princess while also mocking the entire idea, because she's just that cool and just that above everything, even a storied institution dating back over eleven centuries.
'Little girls dream of being princesses,' Meghan wrote. 'I, for one, was all about She-Ra, Princess of Power. For those of you unfamiliar with the '80s cartoon reference, She-Ra is . . . a sword-wielding royal rebel known for her strength. We're definitely not talking about Cinderella here. Grown women seem to retain this childhood fantasy. Just look at the pomp and circumstance surrounding the royal wedding and endless conversation about Princess Kate.
'Well, well, well. How will Meghan explain that away? Or as recounted by Harry, that upon meeting Prince Andrew she thought he was the Queen's handbag holder? Or, as she told Oprah in 2021, 'I went into [my marriage] naively because I didn't grow up knowing much about the royal family'?
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By the way, Meghan's 'grow[ing] up' would have been at the height of the royal family's coverage in global tabloids: Princess Di's supernova fame, the first future king ordered to divorce, Diana's death and the subsequent wall-to-wall 24/7 media coverage of her funeral.
Meghan would have to have spent her formative years in the Yanomami Amazonian tribe, thoroughly cut off from the modern world, to have known so very little about the royals.
How will Meghan explain, as she claimed in last year's insipid Netflix doc, that she had no idea how to curtsy or why it was important to show respect to the Queen? As she sat beside her husband, who looked pained and humiliated, Meghan characterized her first meeting with the late Queen Elizabeth, one of the world's most admired women, thusly:
'I mean, Americans will understand this,' Meghan brayed, because 'we have Medieval Times, dinner and a tournament. It was like that.'
What must Harry, who wrote in his memoir that Meghan knew 'almost nothing' about the royals, be thinking now? Will he think to himself that his now-wife knew well and good who he was? As Andrew Morton wrote in his 2018 biography 'Meghan,' her friend Ninaki Priddy said that the future duchess 'was always fascinated by the royal family. She wants to be Princess Diana 2.0'
This seems to be the root of Meghan's self-obsessed rage, does it not? She married the spare. She'll never be the next Diana. If anything, Catherine, Princess of Wales, is carving out a similar beloved place for herself amongst the British people. Meghan is the also-ran, attempting to run a rival court out of a soulless Montecito manse while decrying the uselessness of all things royal.
But don't you dare not call her the Duchess of Sussex!
Lest we forget, Meghan's overarching message since joining this family has been the smug, insufferable, disingenuous utterance, 'Be kind.' It's what she said in that first interview with Harry, claiming that she made it very clear to their matchmaking friend she had one non-negotiable quality in a potential mate:
'And so the only thing that I had asked [our mutual friend] when she said she wanted to set us up was — I had one question — I said, 'Well is he nice?' 'Cause if he wasn't kind it didn't seem like it would make sense.'
We all know now that Harry isn't very nice. You don't take millions from your father and cling to your titles while disparaging and insulting him, then tell the world — for years — that they're a family of racists before taking it all back and blaming the press for your woes while revealing all manner of your father and brother's private pain and intimate information and get to call yourself a nice guy.
On top of all that, we're meant to feel sorry for Meghan and Harry.
You don't mock the physically disabled female teacher at your boarding school for kicks, as Harry did, and get to call yourself nice. You don't double-down and name this poor woman in your memoir, blame her for not being attractive enough to make you 'horny', then recount the serial humiliations you subjected her to without ever expressing an iota of remorse or guilt or shame and get to call yourself nice — let alone a humanitarian and a thought leader in mental health.
Mental health advocates — these two! It's just amazing. No matter how many discrepancies, these two evince nothing, not so much as a blushing cheek or a head hung in shame. They're like two dead-eyed sharks, moving ever forward through the chum in their wake. They don't seem to understand that credibility and authenticity is paramount when trying to launch themselves as personal brands.
They also don't seem to understand what laughingstocks they've become. After the priceless Jimmy Kimmel bit about Harry and his todger, after Stephen Colbert mocked the royal family to Harry's face during his appearance, 'South Park' — a show that gleefully flays hypocrites of all stripes — has focused their ire on these two professional victims. No one deserves it more.
As the young animated character Kyle exclaimed, 'It is seriously driving me crazy. I'm sick of hearing about them but I can't get away from them! They're everywhere. In my f***ing face.'
A cri de coeur for us all. Alas, Harry and Meghan seem to lack the one quality that might possibly redeem them: A sense of humor.
MAUREEN CALLAHAN: Do Harry & Meghan see they're now South Park jokes?
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livesunique · 2 years
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Queen Elizabeth II has died
Queen Elizabeth II, the United Kingdom’ s longest-serving monarch, has died at Balmoral aged 96, after reigning for 70 years.
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death on 8 September 2022. 
Her reign of 70 years and 214 days was the longest of any British monarch and the second longest recorded of any monarch of a sovereign country.
Elizabeth was born in Mayfair, London, as the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth). Her father acceded to the throne in 1936 upon the abdication of his brother, King Edward VIII, making Elizabeth the heir presumptive.
She was educated privately at home and began to undertake public duties during the Second World War, serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. In November 1947, she married Philip Mountbatten, a former prince of Greece and Denmark, and their marriage lasted 73 years until his death in April 2021. They had four children together: Charles III; Anne, Princess Royal; Prince Andrew, Duke of York; and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.
When her father died in February 1952, Elizabeth—then 25 years old—became queen regnant of seven independent Commonwealth countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon (known today as Sri Lanka), as well as Head of the Commonwealth. Elizabeth reigned as a constitutional monarch through major political changes such as the Troubles in Northern Ireland, devolution in the United Kingdom, the decolonization of Africa, and the United Kingdom's accession to the European Communities and withdrawal from the European Union.
The number of her realms varied over time as territories have gained independence and some realms have become republics. Her many historic visits and meetings include state visits to China in 1986, Russia in 1994, the Republic of Ireland in 2011, and visits to or from five popes.
Significant events include Elizabeth's coronation in 1953 and the celebrations of her Silver, Golden, Diamond, and Platinum Jubilees in 1977, 2002, 2012, and 2022, respectively. 
Elizabeth was the longest-lived and longest-reigning British monarch, the oldest and longest-serving incumbent head of state, and the second-longest verifiable reigning sovereign monarch in world history, only behind Louis XIV of France.
She faced occasional republican sentiment and media criticism of her family, particularly after the breakdowns of her children's marriages, her annus horribilis in 1992, and the death of her former daughter-in-law Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997.
However, support for the monarchy in the United Kingdom remained consistently high, as did her personal popularity. Elizabeth died on 8 September 2022 at Balmoral Castle, Aberdeenshire.
“The Queen is dead, Long live King Charles III”
The Duchess of York with Princess Elizabeth, 30 June 1927 by Marcus Adams (The Royal Collection Trust),
Princess Elizabeth in uniform (1942) by Cecil Beaton (The Royal Collection Trust),
Princess Elizabeth and The Duke of Edinburgh on their wedding day, 20th November 1947 by Sterling Henry Nahum ‘Baron’ (The Royal Collection Trust),
Queen Elizabeth II poses on her Coronation Day on June 2, 1953, in London (Photography by Cecil Beaton),
Queen Elizabeth II with Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and family - 16 Mar 1960 by Cecil Beaton (From the Collection of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother),
Queen Elizabeth II and her son, the Prince of Wales, out riding at Windsor Castle I May 18, 1961 (PA),
The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom used outside of Scotland,
Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee 2022 - Platinum Party At The Palace. The Queen Elizabeth II and Paddington Bear having cream tea at Buckingham Palace (BBC Platinum Party at the Palace),
Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II released by The Royal Windsor Horse Show on April 20, 2022 to mark the occasion of her 96th birthday.
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whisky-soul · 1 year
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Starting the Mando season 3 press thread with this. Future articles and interviews will be added to this post. 😊
The Mandalorian Season 3 'Opens Up The World of Mandalore And The Mandalorians', Says Pedro Pascal - Empire
Pedro Pascal 'Can't See Shit In Mandalorian Armour' - Empire
The Mandalorian Season 3 Official Clip - Youtube
Real Steel - Season 3 Feature - Empire
Season 3 Stills - Empire
Baby Steps: An Oral History of Grogu - Empire
Theirs is the Way: Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni Interview - Empire
Father and Son: The Mandalorian Season 3 Feature - SFX Magazine
Pedro Pascal Talks Being Called the ‘Daddy’ of the Internet - Good Morning Britain
Pedro Pascal Is Creeped Out When Fans Ask Him to Use ‘Mandalorian’ Voice on Children: ‘It Sounds Inappropriate’ - Variety
Pedro Pascal Plays ��Is It The Way?” - MTV News
Pedro Pascal Reacts To Becoming "Internet Daddy" - The Graham Norton Show
Pedro Pascal Forgot He Was Cast In The Last Of Us - The Graham Norton Show
Pedro Pascal Swerves A Kiss From Dame Helen Mirren - The Graham Norton Show
Pedro Pascal on The Mandalorian S3, a scene-stealing Grogu & knowing how much the world loves him - Joe.ie
Jon Favreau Is Watching The Last Of Us Too: ‘Pedro Pascal’s Really Cornered The Market On This Protective Father Archetype’ - Empire
The Mandalorian's Pedro Pascal teases an 'epic' season 3 - Digital Spy
Pedro Pascal über Mandalorian und andere rollen - Brisant (VPN may be required)
***NEW FEB 28th***
Mandalorian Season 3: Star Wars' Pedro Pascal Answers Kid Questions - BBC Newsround
Pedro Pascal plays The Reverse Words game - The Chris Moyles Show
Pedro Pascal has fully embraced all things ‘daddy.’ - Entertainment Tonight
‘The Mandalorian’: Pedro Pascal on Din Djarin & Grogu’s Relationship in SEASON 3 - Extra TV
Pedro Pascal RESPONDS To Being Dubbed The 'Internet's Daddy' - Access Hollywood
Pedro Pascal Talks Possible Boba Fett And Ahsoka Crossovers In The Mandalorian Season 3 - Cinema Blend
Pedro Pascal no cierra la puerta a nada con 'The Mandalorian': "Me encantaría ver una película" - Sensacine
Zoe Ball Meets Pedro Pascal - The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show
Pedro Pascal Remembers Working w/ Sarah Michelle On ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ - Access Hollywood
Pedro Pascal on ´The Mandalorian’ Season 3, Grogu nicknames, and More - Entertainment Tonight
Pedro Pascal "The Mandalorian" - FabTV
See Pedro Pascal Get Nostalgic Over 'Buffy' Memories With ‘Incredibly Kind’ Sarah Michelle Gellar - Entertainment Tonight
Pedro Pascal on Season 3 - GamesRadar
**NEW March 1***
Pedro Pascal & Jon Favreau Compare American and Chilean Snacks - LADBible
‘The Mandalorian’: Pedro Pascal Wants to Go from ‘DADDY Din’ to ‘BABY D’ - ExtraTV
Pedro Pascal Talks The Mandalorian Season 3 & How It's Surprising What the Surprises Are - Collider
Pedro Pascal Praised By Sarah Paulson For Becoming 'Enormous' Star In 2016 Interview - Access Hollywood
How Pedro Pascal Feels About A Big Part Of ‘The Mandalorian’ Arc Taking Place In ‘Boba Fett' - CinemaBlend
“The Mandalorian” star Pedro Pascal teases what fans can expect from season 3. - Associated Press
Pedro Pascal is grateful for The Last Of Us and The Mandalorian - Irish Mirror
'The Mandalorian' Lead Pedro Pascal On What To Expect From Season 3 - NDTV
Pedro Pascal on Season 3 - Despierta América
FAJN RADIO I Marthy Duffek & The Mandolorian interview w/ Pedro Pascal - Fajn Radio
The Mandalorian: Season 3 | Launch Event - Pedro Pascal, Katie Sackhoff - VRAI Magazine
Pedro on KissFM UK Part 1
Pedro on KissFM UK Part 2
Pedro Pascal Looks Back At His Early Acting Days On 'Buffy' - ET Canada
Pedro Pascal on being 'faceless' in the Mandalorian suit - ABC News Australia
Pedro Pascal, 'Mandalorian' castmates promise more fun, drama, surprises, Grogu in season 3 - ABC 7
**NEW March 2nd**
Pedro Pascal On Being The Internet's Daddy - Capital FM
Pedro Pascal Explains Rehearsal Behind Hilarious SNL Table Sketch - E News
Pedro Pascal jokes about ‘The Mandalorian’ outlasting ‘The Simpson’s’ - Yahoo Entertainment
Pedro Pascal Meets Young Fans at The Mandalorian Season 3 Premiere - jenmarkham
***NEW March 3rd***
Pedro Pascal talks 'Mandalorian' Season 3, 'Last of Us' comparisons and 'Saturday Night Live' - Yahoo Entertainment
The Mandalorian Season 3 Launch Event - Star Wars
"I like my own burps!" Pedro Pascal on playing The Mandalorian and meeting "The Ultimate Daddy" - BBC Radio 1
The Sudden Fashion-Daddy Arrival of Pedro Pascal - GQ
Ciné Télé Revue Interview
Radio Corazón
***NEW March 7th***
One on One Interview with Pedro Pascal for 'The Mandalorian' - MJ Felipe
Melanie Lynskey calls Pedro Pascal a 'dreamboat' - Etalk (this has nothing to do with Mando; I just like it)
Pedro Pascal on Mandalorian S3, Melanie Lynskey, Tem Morrison and Taika - NewsHub
***NEW March 9th***
Pedro Pascal Cries From His Head While Eating Spicy Wings - Hot Ones
***NEW March 18th***
Pedro on the Dagobah Dispatch Podcast - EW
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The trial of Depp vs Heard is over, so as we wait to hear the final verdict, could this be a chance to talk about men who are falsely accused of sexual violence – who are *not* Johnny Depp?
Because this isn’t a one time only problem, or isolated matter.
As many others have had their lives, families, relationships, careers and wellbeing completely destroyed by malicious and totally fabricated accusations.
The truth is, we don’t really know how many of these types of accusation are out there, and we don’t know who is telling the truth or who isn’t.
But we can be sure that the problem reaches beyond Johnny Depp, and if now isn’t the opportunity to talk about it and find solutions, then when is?
#justiceforJohnnyDepp #justiceforjohnny
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Sources:
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_accusation_of_rape#cite_note-KLR-39
FBI: https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/1996/96sec2.pdf
BBC write up: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-45565684
BBC Doc, "I am not a Rapist": https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/p08pldr0/i-am-not-a-rapist
==
False accusations aren't harmless. They ruin lives.
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Meanwhile...
"Men who are unjustly accused of rape can sometimes gain from the experience." -- Catherine Comins, assistant dean of student life at Vassar
Imagine how quickly a male assistant dean would be fired if he said something like, "women who are raped but can't get justice can sometimes gain from the experience."
You can't claim there is "rape culture" in the west when even a false accusation can cost your life.
False accusations need to be tried as attempted homicide, because the accuser is attempting to kill the falsely accused by proxy: murdered in prison from being at the bottom rung of prison hierarchy; tormented into committing suicide; or the target of violent retribution by others. Those who make false accusations know exactly what they're doing.
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Such sad news to hear today. An amazing, and enigmatic actor someone who deserved to be called a star.💫
British actor Tom Wilkinson, best known for his role in The Full Monty, has died aged 75 💔Wilkinson, who became an OBE for services to drama in 2005, was born in Leeds - Yorkshire in 1948 and grew up in Canada and Cornwall before attending the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Rada) in the 1970s.
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In 1994, he appeared as Pecksniff in the BBC's adaptation of Charles Dickens's Martin Chuzzlewit. He is pictured alongside Maggie Steed.
Across an illustrious career spanning nearly 50 years, Wilkinson won a host of acting awards, as well as two Oscar nominations. He won a BAFTA for 'The Full Monty,' and he also appeared in 'Shakespeare in Love,' 'In the Bedroom,' 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' and 'Batman Begins', He won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his role as Benjamin Franklin in the 'John Adams' miniseries. A versatile actor won acclaim through decades of work in television and film and onstage. Recently he was reunited with his The Full Monty co-stars, Carlyle and Mark Addy, in a Disney+ series of the same name.
Who remembers this classic!
The original 1997 comedy about an unlikely group of male strippers in Sheffield won an Oscar for Best Original Musical or comedy score and was nominated for three others, including best picture and best director.
Wilkinson’s best roles. Here are his finest films, Lieutenant General Lord Charles Cornwallis was an officer of the British Army and one of the leading British generals in the American War of Independence.
Wilkinson played a British officer in The Patriot, a US film about the Revolutionary War co-starring Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger and Jason Isaacs. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards.
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From The Full Monty to Michael Clayton: was a lawyer - Arthur Edens - in Michael Clayton film 🎥 co-starring George Clooney. Tom Wilkinson was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role for In The Bedroom in 2001, and Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Michael Clayton in 2007.
Wilkinson was winning acclaim again as a high-powered lawyer who has a breakdown in Tony Gilroy’s “Michael Clayton.” He was nominated for another Academy Award for his performance in that film.
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In ‘Denial’, Confronting a Holocaust Revisionist in Court. Denial is a drama about a historian’s pursuit through the UK justice system by a Holocaust denier. It stars Rachel Weisz, Tom Wilkinson, Timothy Spall, Andrew Scott, Jack Lowden, Caren Pistorius and Alex Jennings.
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On television, he played Benjamin Franklin in “John Adams,” James A. Baker in “Recount,” for which he was Emmy-nominated and Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. in “The Kennedys.”
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In Ava DuVernay's 2014 historical drama Selma, Wilkinson portrayed President Lyndon B Johnson. The film tells of the protest marches held in Alabama in 1965 over voting rights for African Americans.
RIP Tom Wilkinson 💔 1948-2023
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justforbooks · 2 months
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The director and producer Norman Jewison, who has died aged 97, had a career dedicated for the most part to making films that, while entertaining, included socio-political content. His visual flair, especially in the use of colour, spot-on casting and intelligent use of music, enabled him to raise sometimes thin stories into highly watchable films.
He hit the high spot critically and commercially with In the Heat of the Night (1967), which starred Sidney Poitier as a northern US city police detective temporarily held up in a small southern town and Rod Steiger as the local sheriff confronted with the murder of a wealthy industrialist. The detective mystery plot was perhaps mainly the vehicle for an enactment of racial prejudices and hostilities culminating in a grudging respect on both sides, but it worked well. The final scene, much of it improvised, in which the two men indulge in something approaching a personal conversation, was both moving and revealing.
The film won five Academy awards – for best picture, best adapted screenplay, best editing, best sound and, for Steiger, best actor – and gave Jewison the first of his three best director nominations; the others were for Fiddler on the Roof, his 1971 adaptation of the Broadway musical, and the romantic comedy Moonstruck (1987). In 1999 Jewison was the winner of the Irving G Thalberg memorial award from the academy for “a consistently high quality of motion picture production”.
The son of Dorothy (nee Weaver) and Percy Jewison, he was born and brought up in Toronto, Ontario, where his father ran a shop and post office. Educated at the Malvern Collegiate Institute, a Toronto high school, Jewison studied the piano and music theory at the Royal Conservatory in the city, and served in the Canadian navy during the second world war. On discharge, he went to the University of Toronto, paying his way by working at a variety of jobs, including driving a taxi and occasional acting.
After graduating with a bachelor of arts degree, in 1950 he set off with $140 on a tramp steamer to the UK, where he landed a job with the BBC, acting and writing scripts. On his return to Canada two years later, he joined the rapidly expanding television industry, producing and directing variety shows for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Jewison was spotted by the William Morris talent agency and invited to New York, where he signed with CBS and was given the unenviable task of rescuing the once successful show Your Hit Parade, which was by then displaying signs of terminal decline. He revamped the entire production and took it back to the top of the ratings. He directed episodes of the variety show Big Party and The Andy Williams Show, and specials for Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Harry Belafonte, Jackie Gleason and Danny Kaye.
On the Belafonte special, Jewison had white chains dangling above the stage, an image that displeased many southern TV stations, which refused to screen the show. This was the first indication of his stance on racism.
Success brought him to the notice of Tony Curtis, who had his own production company at Universal, and Jewison began a three-year contract with 40 Pounds of Trouble (1962), starring Curtis. This was followed by the likable but light Doris Day comedies The Thrill of It All (1963), Send Me No Flowers (1964) and The Art of Love (1965).
In 1965 he got out of his contract to make the first film of his choice, MGM’s The Cincinnati Kid, starring Steve McQueen (the Kid) and Edward G Robinson (the Man) and centring on a professional poker game between the old master and the young challenger. He took over the project from Sam Peckinpah, tore up the original script by Paddy Chayefsky and Ring Lardner, and commissioned Terry Southern, the result getting him noticed as a more than competent studio director.
In 1966 he made the beguiling but commercially unsuccessful comedy The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming, about a Russian submarine stranded off the coast of Cape Cod. This was at the height of the cold war and gained him a reputation for being a “Canadian pinko”, although it was nominated for a best picture Oscar.
In the Heat of the Night was followed by The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) in which McQueen and Faye Dunaway played thief and insurance investigator respectively and engaged in a chess game that evolved into one of the longest onscreen kisses, as the camera swirls around and around above their heads. The theme song, The Windmills of Your Mind, was a hit and the film a success.
Fiddler on the Roof, with a silk stocking placed by Jewison across the camera lens to provide an earth-toned quality, won Oscars for cinematography, music and sound, and a nomination for Chaim Topol in his signature role of Tevye.
Jesus Christ Superstar (1973), his adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s rock opera, and Rollerball (1975), starring James Caan, were followed by F.I.S.T. (1978), a tale of union corruption starring Sylvester Stallone as an idealistic young organiser who sells out, and And Justice for All (1979), starring Al Pacino, a deeply ironic portrayal of the legal world.
A Soldier’s Story (1985), based on the Pulitzer prize-winning play and including an early performance from Denzel Washington, dealt with black soldiers who risked their lives “in defence of a republic which didn’t even guarantee them their rights”, and some of whom had internalised the white man’s vision of them.
Moonstruck, a somewhat daft love story but a tremendous box office success and for the most part a critical one, won the Silver Bear and best director for Jewison at the Berlin film festival and was nominated for six Oscars, winning for best screenplay, best actress for Cher and best supporting actress for Olympia Dukakis.
Then came Other People’s Money (1991), a caustic and amusing comedy on the new world of corporate finance and takeovers, in which Danny DeVito played a money hungry vulture, made largely in response to Reagan’s era of deregulation, and The Hurricane (1999) in which Jewison again worked with Washington, who played the real life boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, falsely convicted of a triple murder and imprisoned for years before the conviction was quashed. The latter film aroused controversy over its alleged manipulation of some facts and, despite its undoubted qualities, this fracas probably contributed to it being commercially disappointing.
In the early 1990s, Jewison had begun preparations for a film on the life of Malcolm X, and had secured Washington to play the title role, when Spike Lee gave his strongly expressed opinion that only a black film-maker could make this story. The two met, and Jewison handed over the film to Lee.
Jewison’s last film, The Statement (2003), starred Michael Caine as a Nazi war criminal on the run. He was also producer for films including The Landlord (1970), The Dogs of War (1980), Iceman (1984) and The January Man (1989).
He had returned to Canada in 1978, living on a ranch north of Toronto with his wife Dixie, whom he had married in 1953. There he reared Hereford cattle, grew tulips and produced his own-label maple syrup. In 1988 he founded the Canadian Centre for Advanced Film Studies, now known as the Canadian Film Centre, in Toronto.
He was a confirmed liberal, a man of integrity who turned in his coveted green card in protest at the Vietnam war and saw film not only as entertainment but also as a conduit for raising serious issues.
Dixie (Margaret Dixon) died in 2004. In 2010 he married Lynne St David, who survives him, as do two sons, Kevin and Michael, and a daughter, Jennifer, from his first marriage.
🔔 Norman Frederick Jewison, film director, producer and screenwriter, born 21 July 1926; died 20 January 2024
Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?
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consanguinitatum · 6 months
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Trivia Night: the Takin' Over The Asylum Edition
So after finishing up with my previous post on a never-before revealed DT project during his drama school years, I went back through some of my old Twitter threads to see if there were any I missed posting here. I found quite a few of them, so I figured over the course of the next few weeks I ought to go ahead and post the rest of them here, too! Tonight we'll talk about a fan favorite -- Takin' Over The Asylum.
A month or so back, I was collating some theatre reviews and other tidbits about years which don't fit into my podcast years of c1987-c1992, and I ran across a few things of interest.
The first thing of interest was that Takin' Over The Asylum was rebroadcast on BBC2 in the summer of 1996. I'd always been under the impression it had only run in its entirety in 1994.
See?
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from the Sutton Coldfield Observer · Friday, July 12, 1996
Did you know the series also ran in Canada in March of 1997, and in the US in October 2000 on BBC America?
That's cool enough, but it was the other thing which really piqued my interest. It was something really weird.
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Did you know there were once plans to remake Takin' Over The Asylum into a major Hollywood movie? Well, I sure didn't! But it certainly appears to be true. By late October 1997, MGM Studios announced they had purchased the rights to make the film. They renamed it Fool On The Hill and plans were made for filming to begin in April of 1998. In this interesting interview in early 1998, David talked about the possible film. He said he would have played Campbell again "like a shot" if they'd offered it to him, and he thought if they did it right, it "could be a fantastic movie." But he wasn't considered.
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So who WAS rumored to be cast? Oh, boy. Jim Carrey as Ready Eddie. Julia Ormond was being considered as Francine. .......and, um....Kevin Spacey as....um....who knows?
I say "who knows" because - in true Hollywood style - they started messing with the script. They rewrote it and rewrote it, moving it to an American setting. In this version, the main character remained fairly true to the original, as he was a window and aluminum siding salesman. However, in this rewrite, he isn't our familiar has-been radio DJ, but merely has a passion for radio. This fellow somehow discovers a defunct radio station in a small town mental institution and starts his own broadcasts, in the process "transforming the lives of the institution’s patients as well as those of the town’s more ordinary residents."
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These rewrites apparently took so much time they caused delays in the filming schedule, so they ended up unable to start filming in April 1998. And by the time it was ready, Carrey wasn't available. So it sat on a desk.
Now if you'll recall, I mentioned David had been interviewed about the possible movie project in 1998. At that time, David said Campbell had been rewritten as a "black kid from the ghetto" (THEIR words, not mine). And - of course - David said he was not that character.
In 2001 - when they announced Spacey's possible casting - it appears the script must have been rewritten even more. Because here's the thing. In the 2001 version of the script, Spacey was supposed to be "a hospital administration officer who befriends the new 'inmate' in a bid to bring laughter to his patients." Which isn't at all what David has said in the 1998 interview.
To be fair, all of these descriptions are a bit unclear to me. They don't name the character who Spacey was supposed to play. So if Spacey was supposed to be hospital administration, was he a new character in addition to whoever played Campbell, or was Spacey supposed to replace Campbell? If the former, so be it....but if it was the latter I give out a hearty WTF and a double helping of ewwwww. That means Campbell's character had either been written out of the script or had been relegated to a less important role. And can you imagine any version of Takin' Over The Asylum without Campbell? Luckily all of this became a moot point because due to a myriad of issues the the film never got made. My personal opinion is THANK THE HEAVENS. It would've been a disaster, right? An absolute stinker. Because the only proper Takin' Over The Asylum is our Takin' Over The Asylum. With Campbell! Also, you all do know that Takin' Over The Asylum's original working title was Making Waves, right? It sure was! When I interviewed David Blair, the director of Takin' Over The Asylum, he told me so. Here's more proof:
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I should point out the filming dates listed in the first blurb aren't completely correct. While I've no idea when filming started, Mr. Blair's given me a photo of the clapperboard for the last day of filming (which I won't publish, as he hasn't given his permission.) The clapperboard reads 29 October 1993.
Anyway, it's really cool that - even after years of doing research, it's fun and ridiculous and remarkable to learn things that are news to me. It's one of the most exciting things about doing this research!
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opinated-user · 5 months
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i'm going to ignore for a second how LO has shown that she's just as gender essentialist as any other terf, in both her own works of fiction as in reality, or that she has even defended a radical feminist that SWERF use as their foundation for their nonsense. those things do contribute to the why i call out LO as terf adjacent, but let's put them aside for a moment. why do people call you a terf when you're a queerphobe or when you generally treat queer people as the enemy to take down? because terfs are the one weaponizing queerphobia in a real world sense.
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this picture was used as an illustrative example of "lesbian being pressured by trans woman to have sex", in this infamous articles from the BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-57853385 terfs are currently using queerphobia as another way to create division in the whole community. once they have managed to convince enough people that queer should be erased, who do you think is going to be next? but not everyone is from the UK in the first place, which would be a moot point to make because do you think terfs care about that? they only see you legitimatizing their position that nobody ever should be called queer, that queer is a bad word to use, that the people who call themselves and their community queer are bad selfish people who want to force you into accepting their identity. it doesn't matter if you're from the US, Canada or any other place, they'll use that as further proof that they're right and that other people who also "force them" to accept their identity are equally as bad and should also be erased. take a guess as to who that could be refering to. as a sidenote... do you really think the UK is the only place in earth with terfs? it's where they're the most prominent and have the most political power, that much is true, but terfs exist everywhere and sometimes they do get to have an impact if given the chance. why do you all think there has been an increasing number of anti trans law in usa? why do some states have outright banned drag performances? let me be clear about this. not being queer is fine. don't wanting to be called queer is fine. correcting people who call you, you individually, the person, queer is totally valid. as long you respect the right of queer people to exist and understand our need to have our own queer community, because we'll always have that as human beings that we're, we can all coexist no problem. but queerphobes like LO don't do that and it's disgusting to even pretend so. she has made post after post about how we, queer people, are self hating morons who are beneath her. she has told anons writing to her about how they should change the name of their identity. she has actually said that "people who reclaim queer should choke". she has made an entire video full of misinformation with the express purpose of convince people in general that they should never use queer, ever, and comparing the people who do with the most hateful horrible kind of people you can meet. i have a whole tag called "lily orchard is a queerphobe" because she has done this so frequently, so blatantly and so obviously that i'm actually baffled that she thinks she's foolling everyone by reducing her hatred for us as simply "don't liking to be called that word." anyone can visit that tag and see that it goes a lot harder than that. i don't know OP, but if all they ever said was that they don't want to be associated with that word because of personal negative experience with it and never said anything about queer people as a group or as a community, then yes, it would be wrong to immediately call them a terf on that basis alone. that's not the case of LO, as i argued above. she might not be exactly the same as a terf... but does she ever make their work a little easier by normalizing their ideas.
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mariacallous · 3 months
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The war in the Middle East is a laboratory for new means of spreading fake news. Propagandists across the world are watching and learning. This year will see democracy’s biggest test: more than two billion people across 50 countries are expected to go to the polls. And a fair proportion of them will be on the receiving end of disinformation techniques refined in Gaza.
The extent of the lying is breathtaking. The BBC’s Verify unit says it has seen nothing to compare to the ‘volume of dehumanising rhetoric posted during this war’.  Eliot Higgins, founder of the investigative website Bellingcat says the level of disinformation in the Israeli-Gaza war is ‘unique to this conflict’.  The Israel and US based security company Cyabra, which monitors fake news on social media, adds that about 20 percent of accounts participating in the online conversation about the war in the days after 7 October were fake. On social media, X (the bin fire formerly known as Twitter) and TikTok were the favourite sites for disinformation, as you would expect.
The explosion of lying reflects a grim truth: for state and private actors, it has never been cheaper or easier to establish credible sock puppets, and then order bot armies to spread falsehoods.  I could look at horrible  claims that a Palestinian mother was just pretending to cradle her dead baby (see picture above), or that Israelis giving accounts of their sufferings at the hands of Hamas were just actors.
However, to show the extent of the new world of lies I want to return to the story I covered last week: the fake news that an advertising campaign by Zara was somehow mocking or exploiting the war-ravaged people of Gaza. Like the QAnon and Pizzagate conspiracy theories, the story matters more than the usual online rubbish because it was a lie with measurable consequences.
Across the world, pro-Palestinian protestors targeted Zara stores. In the US, Canada, Spain, and Sweden, they vandalised them. A video on social media showed that disgusted customers had thrown piles of clothes in front of the Zara store in Times Square, New York. Or at least so the accompanying propaganda claimed.  The video turned out to be footage of an old protest against another brand.  
As I said at the time, the demonstrations showed the madness of crowds in action. They decided to hate a clothing chain that had done nothing to justify their rage. Zara’s agency shot the ad campaign long before Hamas attacked Israel. No one in the photo shoot resembled a soldier or a casualty of war. The pictures showed a model in a sculptor’s studio posing with a mannequin, which was clearly not meant to refer to the corpses of slain Palestinians
And yet even after Zara apologised for an imaginary offence and withdrew the ads, demonstrators continued to target the company. Only a few days ago, they closed the Zara  store at the Trafford Centre in Manchester.  
But I only told half the story. The truth was that much of the rage was confected.
Cyabra uses machine learning scanners to study social media sites and identify fake accounts. They process scores of clues: whether the account is posting 24/7, whether it is posting in multiple languages. The company scanned X, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook, and noticed that Zara was initially criticized for being oblivious to the war and its victims. But the conversations quickly adopted a conspiratorial tone, and you could guess that someone was raising the stakes by looking at the trending hashtags
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What began with the hashtag ‘#BoycottZara’ turned to the false ‘#Zara_is_a_zionist_brand,’ and  the frankly mad ‘#ZaraSupportsGenocide.’
Faced with what it thought was genuine anger, Zara pulled the campaign. The BBC, the Guardian, Business Insider  and scores of other news sites reported the climbdown and treated the allegations that Zara was exploiting Palestinian suffering seriously.
When they did, they missed the role of well-resourced and malicious actors. Cyabra said that 39% of the profiles that interacted with Zara were, in fact, fake.  The bots were also far more active than real protestors, it found.
Bots ‘were prominently pushing the hashtags “#Zara_is_a_Zionist_brand” and “#ZaraSupportsGenocide,” the security firm said. ‘They were actively engaged in conversations about the Israel-Hamas war, making sure to regularly tag Zara and interact with the brand while advocating a boycott.’ They were giving protests against Israel more weight, by turning then into demonstrations against the evils of global capitalism.
Journalists covering the story had no way of knowing this. They and Zara did not have the tech to analyse tens of thousands of social media accounts, and nor did their readers and viewers. Suppose they did. Suppose the media reported that, while there were undoubtedly real people who disapproved of Zara’ photoshoot, almost four out of ten of the accounts attacking the firm were fake, and looked as if they were part of a coordinated influence operations campaign possibly run by Iran or Russia.
Exposure would make all the difference, as would the exposure of any other campaign boosted by malicious actors. If readers suspect a trick, they will be on guard.
It is about to get significantly harder for readers and journalists to realise that they are being tricked. For Gaza is also showing that the quality of the lying is increasing as fast as the quantity of lies.
We are in the very early days of an artificial intelligence (AI) revolution which presages an anarchic future for open democracies. Put simply, the fake news AI creates is more believable. AI can tailor the messages from social media accounts so they appeal to a precise target audience.  Until now, targeting has been a difficulty from propagandists. If they wanted to spread conspiracy theories to, say white working-class men, they needed a different tone and vocabulary than if they were targeting wealthy retirees. A Russian propagandist may well not know how to do that.  
Campaigns to persuade US Republicans to abandon Ukraine need to be in authentic American English not British or international English.  ChatGPT can now translate propaganda into the required dialect in seconds and ensure that it doesn’t sound as if the message was composed in a Petersburg basement.
What applies to words, applies to images. In the past, bad actors creating automated profiles at bot farms had to use generic stock images for profile pictures, or steal a real person’s photo and risk being caught. Today AI image generators give them what they need.
Rafi Mendelsohn, marketing vice president Cyabra, described an exponential process to me. Tactics used to twist elections are applied to war zones, refined, expanded, and then sent back to be used to influence the next political campaign.
What should we do? Can we ban TikTok, because the Chinese Communist Party exploits it? Should Western governments build their own troll farms?  Should the security services monitor social media and issue fake news warnings? It’s not that western democracies do not know how to answer these questions, we barely know how to ask them.
When the security services are warning that by 2025 generative AI could be ‘used to assemble knowledge on physical attacks by non-state violent actors, including for chemical, biological and radiological weapons,’ we are in a new world.  It strikes me as a world that Western democracies with their liberal protections for freedom of speech find strange and baffling, but one in which the West’s dictatorial enemies feel entirely at home.
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