In reply to a post on the previous blog and because I am currently glued to the impeachment trial of Donald J. Trump......
Quite a few believe Trump was inspired to run for President after being roasted by Barack Obama and Seth Meyers at the Whitehouse Correspondents Dinner. They totally humiliated him and the cameras caught every moment of it. He was seething. I am not sure he even wanted or expected to win, he knew nothing about politics and world affairs, it's doubtful he could find Ukraine on a map, even now, or indeed North Korea. On a visit to Pearl Harbour he had to ask the hosts 'what happened here'. He has had a life where everything was handed to him on a plate, yet at every turn he has f**ked up. Trump Airlines, Trump Steaks, Trump Vodka, Trump University, Trump Casinos. His properties worldwide are not the success he would have us believe, many are just fronts for money laundering. His wealth is unproven, why won't he release his tax returns? Why did he use his charity funds to buy a portrait of himself? Is he broke? I think he probably is, and I think what we have seen revealed over this past 3 years is just the tip of the iceberg. Trump has led a life of crime, how much evidence against him will come out when he is no longer in power? Given his word is not his bond, and he can never be trusted, how many have tapes? Was Ukraine the only country he was putting the thumb screws on? What else is in that secret server that held the transcript of Trump's telephone call with the President of Ukraine?
There has probably never been a President more desperate than Donald Trump to win a second term in office. At the moment he seems to be immune from criminal prosecution for his obvious crimes because of the office he holds. Once he is out of office he will be hit with every crime he ever committed, many of which, will put him in prison. And given his obnoxious personality, his enemies will be lining up for payback.
From my vantage point over the pond, I am watching the impeachment trial in astonishment. I have always been a huge fan of the USA, probably because I have been a devotee of Hollywood movies all my life and I can't understand why the cavalry or a band of heroes and heroines haven't yet rescued America from this atrocity. But that isn't fair, the heroes and heroines are there in plain sight. Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff, Rachel Maddow, George Conway (husband of KellyAnne), Stephen Colbert, just a few, and my own personal favourite Bill Palmer (@PalmerReport), who provides a constant stream of information and updates and easy read explanations of what is going on. They may not be in the obvious forms of Charlton Heston and Stewart Granger, but in standing up to the crazed monster that is Trump, their heroism is beyond question. For some reason he strikes fear in many (heads on pikes anyone?) - terror of a childish playground nickname? One can imagine Donalds senior and junior's glee at discovering that Schiff, can be made to sound to like 'shit' - they are still high fiving each other for this on a daily basis. They are the kind of guys that 'man hit in the stomach with football' videos are made for.
What astonishes me is the moral compass of the Senate Republicans, especially the religious ones. Trump has been caught red handed, virtually standing over a body with a smoking gun, or caught with his hand in a very small cookie jar. Their defence 'nothing to see here, walk on by' is bizarre, because the facts are right in front of us and can be summed up in a one paragraph movie pitch that audiences of all ages and intellects can understand. President of USA withholds aid to a nation fighting Russia unless they announce an investigation (and create a scandal) about his strongest political rival in the 2020 election. It is a snivelling, weaselly thing to do, but typical for a well known cheat and a liar. More bizarrely still, while the 'boring' cold hard facts are being played out in the Senate, the dirty, more salacious details are coming out simultaneously on prime time TV (Go Rachel!) and' 'tell all' bestsellers! Hopefully Rachel can persuade those witnesses, denied by the Senate, to come and tell all on her show.
The Republican Senators may be ignoring the nitty gritty of how the crime was carried out, but outside of their cocoon, the USA and indeed the whole world, are watching, listening and reading all about it. And each day, it seems as though new evidence is emerging, evidence the Republicans won't listen to in the trial, but that will be listened to by all their millions of voters. Trump's crime spree won't stop, he is a desperate man (reminds me of Rico in Little Caesar) and his power will be unreined and unrestricted if he is acquitted. That puts not only the US but the whole world in imminent danger. I don't know what the human cost of Trump has been thus far (where do you begin?), but what will it be when he no longer has any boundaries? Will he then be able to 'take out' any ambassador or government employee at will? Using private, unvetted, individuals of his own choice and undercover? Just like, err, a mob boss.
Trump has thus far enjoyed immunity for his crimes because he is the President, based on a line from an ancient memo. That immunity stops whether it be this year or 2024. He has no incentive to stop committing crimes, more so if he is acquitted by the Republican Senators, because he knows he will have a limited amount of time in which to amass more money, this year or in 4 years time. He will have an end date. A day when he steps out of the White House and into a jail cell. A designated amount of time in which to up the ante and shamelessly give in to his self proclaimed passion for greed - more gold toilets. With Trump having unrestricted power, some kind of humanitarian catastrophe is a given. Literally, the day after the Mueller report, while thinking, 'phew, got away with it', he was emboldened to make the infamous call to Precedent Zelensky! How soon after a Senate acquittal, will Vladimir Putin get an invitation to a State dinner at the White House? Heck he will probably invite Mohammed Bonesaw and Chairman Kim along, so they can all be best buds together. Not to mention, the best of US and Russian hookers - I think he and Vlad have got a kinda macho bet going on as to who has the best hookers, but it could all end in tears because Vlad has the actual tapes.
A vote for acquittal will render the whole Impeachment process worthless. Trump will have supreme power, there will be no checks and balances, how scary is that? Yes, he will be able to shoot someone on 5th Avenue and get away with it. He knows prison awaits him, he has nothing to lose. Plus, every Republican Senator who votes for Trump's corruption will forever be in his debt. Just the sound of that would make me scream 'kill me now'. He degrades and demeans his puppets and minions most of all.
I doubt this will be read by anyone who needs to read it, but I do have a glimmer of hope that some of the Republican Senators will do the right thing. History will not be kind to those who supported the abomination that is Trump, all those with close connections to Trump will soon be using his own line, 'I don't know him'. A lot will have big blanks on their CVs and a lot of explaining to do to their grandchildren.
But my optimism is based on more than a glimmer of hope. Whilst the Senate is denying documents and witnesses, they are coming out anyway. Lev Parnas may well have opened the floodgates to tapes and videos - Rudy Guiliani has 'insurance' and I would bet he is not the only one. Trump has lost his power to 'catch and kill' incriminating stories (please let there be an abortion one!) and he is now vulnerable prey to every investigative journalist out to get him. While the impeachment trial is playing out in the Senate, the 'real' trial on TV and social media is getting eye witness evidence and crime scene photos and videos. And, ultimately, the only Court that will matter is the court of public opinion and Trump's sinking poll numbers.
* @BillPalmer
That was a little unfair I'm sure President Trump would be able to identify Ukraine on a map because years ago he used to organize beauty contests from Moscow, from the country right next door.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I am sorry to cut short your diatribe Rosalinda but I wanted to demystify the current news and recent hysteria about the Coronavirus epidemic...Pretty boring stuff except for those involved.
We have come to hear in recent news stories the city of Wuhan just happens to be the main centre of two of China's biological weapons research centres - less than 20 miles from the meat market where the outbreak is alleged to have started. (could be a Chinese cover story).
However it's got to be serious to quarantine the whole city of Wuhan and Hubei province totaling millions of people.
Since the truth is out it looks like a lot of chickens have come home to roost for the biological weapons program of the Chinese Communist party.
To top it all, a Chinese woman medical research professor since 1996 in Canada, husband, and research students all kicked out of Canada last June for illegally trying to ship Coronavirus infected material to China
From Canada's major medical research headquarters where they were employed.
Is that a conspiracy or what
To quote from Hosea 8:7
"They that sow the wind shall reap the whirlwind".
Such a pity we can't all get along.
You would think the world powers would have had enough devious ways of killing off the human race in 20th century and get to thinking of a new idea. Why not start making up and shaking hands in the new century.
jc
St Bill again and his Igor wife Belinda...
DeleteTheir 'foundation' ( cough) has been using the third world as an open air Lab for 20 years now.The 'useless eaters' used as lab rats to gestate all manner of beneficial germs and viruses. It's a coincidence obviously that Bill gates is, like his father and his father before him, a rabid eugenicist who's big conference speeches since trying to take over Africa have all concentrated on population control and how to 'control' that.It used to be called culling.And bio-warfare is better, and harder to witness and find blame for, than a nuclear attack.So just call 'Mr Vaccine'.He'll scare the shit out of you and then us and then everyone until we're so scared we'll do as we're told.Viruses to the right, terrorists to the left.Save us St Bill, save us all.
Notice the big events.The twin towers. The London Underground bombings. The New Town shootings. All world events that shape thinking.And those three alone( and there have been more) can be marked as having something else in common.Each were run as 'drills' first. 9/11 and the London Bombings were still doing a drill when they happened.Drill : Primimg the public to accept later..
Now we have something Chinese.I don't know when they annoyed Trump but they must have at some point if we gave them this gig instead of the usual 'out of Africa' method. Or maybe the 2st century Josef Mengele is brewing something bigger for that area.Mind you, having said that, China's population is huge and dense and tightly packed.It's an ideal place to rehearse..
But here we are again..we ignored the danger of the priming drill.Open your eyes everyone, and blink as little as is needed in future. The demons have upped the ante of late...( i warned everyone 2 years ago here about 2 years ago,remember i told you).Suddenly it isn't a conspiracy theory. fancy that.
''Three months ago Toner, along with the World Economic Forum and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, took part in a simulation called Event 201 centered around a fictional coronavirus (not 2019-nCoV) named CAPS that could potentially kill hundreds of millions of people under the right circumstances.''
Note the use of the word 'right' and not the word 'worst'. A Feudian own goal..
Zig
yw
https://themindunleashed.com/2020/01/scientist-simulated-global-coronavirus-outbreak.html
I am so sorry JC for bypassing (not intentionally) your interesting and important post. As you know JC, I am largely ignoring the news right now but this coronavirus is becoming very scary.
DeleteScientists have predicted a pandemic for years. We are not wiping out large swathes of the world population with wars, so disease must step in. People of faith would probably call it a purge, punishment for our sins, but more likely it is scientists wondering what would happen if you mix this bit of poison with this bit of poison. The 'Frankenstein' complex is global JC, always there will be a scientist in a 'workshop of filthy creation' developing the means with which to wipe out the entire world.
The coronavirus story is big and getting bigger every day. It is 'Virus', 'Pandemic' and every disaster movie we have ever seen. What irony that we will die of sickness before Trump sets off the nukes!
Have the scientists had the resources to be ready for a pandemic JC? Over a decade of tory rule, it is doubtful. China have had several try outs for this, yet even they could not contain it. It is spreading despite all our 21st century technology.
Right now, we must all put our faith in Science. And now might be a good time to question whether the government are investing enough. We may be an Island, but I've watched enough disaster movies to know that will not save us.
These are scary times JC, but not so much about the conspiracy theories, but more urgently, the need to contain the threat, wherever it came from. I heard 'bat soup', then saw a video of a Chinese street market with virtually every form of wildlife caged and sold for food. Nature is more than capable of metamorphisizing on it's own, without any outside help JC. Look all around you, the trees, the grass, the flowers, all can grow and evolve into something entirely different. Botanists and vegetable growers can recreate the perfect environment for a particular new species to thrive. Nature can do that on it's own, randomly, not just inter plant, but inter animal, and inter species. If it didn't we would still all be fish.
I doubt the Chinese had deliberately created a virus to wipe out the world JC. What would be in it for them? They would be hit first, and they would bed hit the hardest. It is way too self destructive.
More likely, it is a fluke of nature. Two really bad viruses met up one night and decided to merge to become a supervirus. It was beyond human control. Having said that, I still have a smidgeon of faith in the innate goodness of human nature. There should be nothing left, but there is a tiny bit hanging on. The Chinese Government are, imo, being 'mostly' honest, it may be far worse than they are saying, but they have opened the crisis internationally, meaning, yes they invite and welcome help, and they are doing their utmost to contain it.
I'm not religious, as I am sure you know JC, but I think this is a 'whole world pull together and pray' moment.
It's another Bullshit Virus. It'll be on the same shelf as EBOLA and SARRs soon.If we all go to the internet and announce that we're terrified and get others to follow suit they'll stop the game and get back to terrorists who have explosives strapped to them but run at people with a knife..
Deletehttps://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7957909/Busses-wait-second-load-Britons-land-China-join-83-patients-quarantine.html
Closer to home…
ReplyDeleteA partial response from the EHRC
http://www.colinchallen.org/blog/a-partial-response-from-the-ehrc
“…
What I find interesting here is that a body with possibly inadequate information systems, which finds it difficult to dig out relatively simple information ('records were not kept . . thoroughly') is now tasked to consider whether another body—the Labour Party—is better equipped to deal with complaints which may need a considerable time to consider. Judge not lest ye be judged may be a suitable working premise.
The observant reader will have noticed that the above answers—which are the complete actual substance of their response to my questions do not even tackle question (d), which is about their actual definition of anti-Semitism. This could be an oversight, but it is possibly a revealing one. I have asked the EHRC again to answer my question, which surely would not require more than five pound’s worth of anybody’s time to answer. The EHRC operates with the authority of law and it should not be acceptable, particularly in controversial circumstances to arbitrarily choose what definitions may or may not apply in its deliberations. I await their answer on that one.”
Naomi Colvin
ReplyDelete@auerfeld
At the Council of Europe today where there is going to be a meeting on the #Assange case shortly.
https://twitter.com/auerfeld/status/1221765086034919425
''From my vantage point over the pond, I am watching the impeachment trial in astonishment. I have always been a huge fan of the USA, probably because I have been a devotee of Hollywood movies all my life and I can't understand why the cavalry or a band of heroes and heroines haven't yet rescued America from this atrocity. ''
ReplyDeleteYou are talking about a country who has an astonishing record of corruption, oppression and deceit.A country who most of the rest of the thinking world believe choreographed the charade to hide the truth about what they were willing to collude in regarding the destruction of the twin towers.A country who most of the rest of the world believe were willing to slaughter their own President in 1963 because he wasn't a war monger. A country who blame two of their own former presidents of committing war crimes against Iraq.A country who saw two of the post 1960s presidents in all kinds of trouble in Nixon and Clinton.A country who chants and waves flags even AFTER seeing the leaked pictures of tortured Iraqi prisoners.A country who convinced the rest of the world through fake documents that Iraq needed to be invaded as quickly as possible. A country who told the world a mad man in a cave was going to blow the west up while their President Bush and family were setting up joint oil businesses.You point to online and TV commentators as 'heroes' without a word about Ron Paul ( politician).
The final two in the running for the presidential role are always the two with the most heavily financed campaigns.Even the runners up are multi millionaires.Mitt Romney was a billionaire.Don't kid yourself rump didn't have multi millions behind him.And if he didn't have them millions who did.Who would benefit from the man who is trying to cause war for and on Syria ?
Hollywood is the fantasy factory.It's the escape for the citizens of a nightmare country.It keeps them asleep.They enjoy the American dream better that way.It's where they escape from reality.It's also why they can't get a grasp on reality.It's why they don't understand reality.Choose reality or choose fiction and dreams and celebrities.
Some vantage point that is.
I studied 'Hollywood the Dream Factory' and wrote a dissertation on Charlie Chaplin, so the chances are I know a lot more about movies and their effect on the dominant ideology than you do 22:52.
DeleteI was going for the positive aspects of the US, the sheer likeability factor of Americans. I have neem never fortunate enough to go to the USA (it's on my tick list, coffee at the Seinfeld café), and I know I will not be disappointed. I love the openness and confidence of Americans, their innate belief that anyone can become President if they work hard enough.
They are less class orientated than we are, all those thousands of 'Cinderella, you shall go to the ball' movies that you scorn 22:52, are full of inspiration messages. Everyone is chasing the 'American Dream'. And there's nothing wrong with that 22:52. The view of the USA through those Hollywood movies changed the world, quite literally. The tantalising sight of all those wondrous shops and luxury goods toppled governments. Everyone wanted hamburgers, Coca-Cola, baseball jackets, televisions, open topped cars, the list is endless, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the movies were selling Capitalism.
But I suspect 22:52, that you are a re-occurring reincarnation. You were the Neanderthal objecting to the carving and painting on cave walls, the Firestarter at the Bonfire of the Vanities and the idiot who tries to throw paint over a work of art.
Art and culture are a reflection of society as it was at that moment in time, especially fiction. One of my favourite books is 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee, very disappointed that is not where the Beckhams got the name 'Harper'), is a fictional story but it's subtext, Racism (through the eyes of a child) and the cruelty and injustice of hanging black men for rape, resonated with thousands, probably millions.
I don't know why I finished there 22:52, I hadn't finished admonishing you, lol.
DeleteYour final paragraph both perplexes and bemuses me 22:52. What do you have against fantasy and escapism? What drives you to have a fantasy and escapism free existence? Have you never learnt anything from a book, a movie or a song? Did the message of Oliver Twist pass you by?
The idea that an entire nation is asleep because they have been brainwashed by the movies is absurd, and the idea that they don't know the difference is just insulting. America, indeed all of us, have a lot more to base our opinions on 22:52, that is we have social media and access to the thoughts of those celebrities we like or admire. Movies are nowhere near as powerful as they once were, from a political/influencing perspective, simply because there is so much diversity. Hollywood, the mainstream, now have more than one message and freedom from censorship. Independents are no longer chased out of town as they were in the early days when Thomas Edison owned all the filming patents. That's why Hollywood is so close to the border for collectors of trivia.
All those cold hard facts that you laid out so bare for us 22:52 are a real mood killer. Unfortunately, atrocities and things that outrage us are not hard to find, and of course we have google. I don't however want to spend my life banging on a pulpit about subjects I have no power over whatsoever. Trust me, I have more than enough to keep me in a permanent state of manic depression as it is.
Yes, I happily and freely admit I am on a constant quest for escapism (can't wait for the return of The Walking Dead) Something more entertaining and fulfilling than focussing on tragedy and disaster, something that will both lift and inspire me. If you want dull, just go read Bennett.
''In reply to a post on the previous blog and because I am currently glued to the impeachment trial of Donald J. Trump......''
Delete__________________________________________________________
''When I heard the New York Times' report i was like 'yikes'...'wow'...''
This is the level of powerful rhetoric eminating from congressmen and women at this 'enthralling', explosive impeachement trial ; borrowed catchphrases from old episodes of ScoobyDoo.That particular gem from Zoe Logfgren ( Democrat, 13th term)on hearing about the upcoming publication of Bolton's testimony.I wonder if she's of Yale or Harvard stock. Or is 'Twitterese' now the native language of the US. Stroll on..
"Rosalinda Hutton28 January 2020 at 15:24
DeleteI studied 'Hollywood the Dream Factory' and wrote a dissertation on Charlie Chaplin, so the chances are I know a lot more about movies and their effect on the dominant ideology than you do 22:52."
-------------------------------------------------
I am not the poster 22:52 but bloody hell Ros - that is hilarious!
Your qualifications to comment about the USA are so so impressive.
''I studied 'Hollywood the Dream Factory' and wrote a dissertation on Charlie Chaplin, so the chances are I know a lot more about movies and their effect on the dominant ideology than you do 22:52.''
Delete22:52 is right.
And i studied Tarot Reading on the internet to degree level so we're on level ground here.
I've never read a dissertation on Charlie Chaplain, therefore I can't really have an opinion on his having an effect on the American psyche.I thought, naively, that he became legendary for amusing them with his antics, particularly that little tramp character.I had no idea he was a philosopher.He was English by the way. Just for the record.Not American.
''I love the openness and confidence of Americans, their innate belief that anyone can become President if they work hard enough.''
And now look what happened.Well done at wrecking your endless diatribes against the craziness of Trump being a POTUS.The boy from nowhere's running the world like a demented child King.
Everyone is NOT chasing the American Dream.That 'dream' is a myth.Like Wigan Pier.It didn't exist in the first place.Ask any American what the American Dream is.They won't know.They might guess.But you can get the same answers to the same question in any country that prefixes the phrase with their own country's name .A large amount of Americans now 'dream' that their psychotic presidents will stop spending billions and then trillions funding wars they involve themselves in or pay others to start.Or to fund 'space soldiers' to weaponise the stars.They dream of a time all that money could house the millions of homeless who shared the American Dream once upon a time, or that they could create jobs as fast as they employ slaves abroad for cents instead of dollars.
How far has your cultured America progressed since Harper Lee fictionalised the truth of white supremecy ? Is there still a KKK ? Or is it still open season on the black man there.No books , paintings or speeches changed that.harper Lee gavve us Tom Robinson.America gave us Rodney King and Martin Luther King Jr later.The latter 'had a dream' too if i remember rightly..
Fantasy and escapism are healthy passtimes.Like having a drink at the weekend . But they're not healthy substitutes for reality.When escaping reality is your first thought in the morning you have a problem caused by an even bigger problem.If you can't change the latter, you need to control the former.You're very close to there now.This is reality.A very un-American concept.You call it 'dull' or a 'mood killer'. Look at the Whitehouse. Look at the man at the helm. Look at Iraq and Syria and Iran.Look at the falling towers.Look at the almost totalitarian , iron fist of a grip the instigators has on every individual who can only live in the ether via buttons and keys for safety or sanctuary; 'escaping'.
Zig
Actually, I missed a line, I studied the Hollywood Dream Factory at University, not online or via a correspondence course, so yes I do know more than the poster dismissing the film industry and claiming to know the effect films have on the viewing audience.
DeleteAnd for the sarcastic twat above you, what qualifications do I need to comment on US politics? We all have opinions, we all have views, and your idea that we should hold specific qualifications in order to discuss the news, is ludicrous. I mentioned my qualifications because I was specifically talking about the movie industry as was the post I was replying to. You dipped your big nose in, clueless as to the subject of the discussion in order to have a dig at me, and once again, you are the one looking stupid.
@ Ros
DeleteI am the sarcastic twat that posted. Your comment about your expertise in the US movie industry may well have been in response to a previous comment. It doesn't make you any sort of expert.
The comment in your main blog however -
"I have always been a huge fan of the USA, probably because I have been a devotee of Hollywood movies all my life and I can't understand why the cavalry or a band of heroes and heroines haven't yet rescued America from this atrocity."
- shows how you relate the movie industry to US politics and is risible.
''Actually, I missed a line, I studied the Hollywood Dream Factory at University, not online or via a correspondence course, so yes I do know more than the poster dismissing the film industry and claiming to know the effect films have on the viewing audience.''
DeleteIf it can be viewed by the masses it's propaganda.If you think it's inspiring and driven by the wish to make the masses aspirational you're perfect fodder.
Hollywood is painfully cynical with it's incessant churning out of bullshit to keep their subjects asleep.When the population are in a state of uncertainty because yet another generation are being cut down to make their president rich, watch the big movies that make the Oscar nominations and defy all rational critique.When the people begin to doubt or question the morality and intentions of their politicians, see the movie industry get kicked into action like another set of troops (Psychological Warfare Dept).
After the US had finished with their Korean interference ( or liberation as they call it) they were heading towards Vietnam less than 10 years later.Right on the cusp stood Captain America himself- 'the dook' John Wayne. As he stumbled through with his monotone drawl we witnessed how Davy Crocket went down outnumbered all guns blazing.The reality was he was found half a mile away retreating and had bullets in his back and the 'frontiersman' was a failed politician looking for a new start.His buddy, Jim Bowie, died drunk in bed. But not in the movie.Ignored was the poor planning and incompetency as they tried to bully Mexico.They were slaughtered for trying to slaughter.They had their revenge in true US style later when they were the much bigger of the two forces and even had that catchphrase 'yeehah' chant 'Remember the Alamo !' It was a truly dire movie in terms of truth and entertainment.But every American walked taller as they left the theatre after the anaesthetic and injection of ill founded jingoism. Pride in your country was more important than sacrificing your life for it.Nice dream.Now, about our next attacks...
America came unstuck in Vietnam. They weren't jungle soldiers.Their bully boy tactics were met with fire.The little men beat them.But if you watch Hollywood, it was only on points and through a bad referee because Uncle Sam had all the real heroes.Unfortunately thousands were teenagers in body bags.But Hollywood can make the dream end differently.It makes all future wars and pillaging justifiable...
Hollywood and the CIA have worked hand in glove since the 1940s.Why do you think that is ?Why would the entertainment industry and the Central Intelligence Agency need to work together if not for reasons of propaganda and to shape public opinion in a way that pleases them.Maybe we have defined the American Dream after all.maybe it's merely an alternative to be being conscious and lucid.Or just asleep.The best way to enjoy dreams of most kinds.
here i provide 2 links for you.They wouldn't have been part of your degree course in Hollywood Dreams though.You're welcome. x
Zig
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/hollywood-cia-washington-dc-films-fbi-24-intervening-close-relationship-a7918191
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/nov/14/thriller-ridley-scott
( Ros, I think yo need to understand the very stark contrast between the movies and the reality of the mess we live in in the real world today)
Deletethe only qualification you or anyone else needs to discuss the news is a grasp of what reality is and what movies are and understand the difference.No degree required.
Delete''..They are less class orientated than we are, all those thousands of 'Cinderella, you shall go to the ball' movies that you scorn 22:52, are full of inspiration messages.''
DeleteIn support of 22:52
You mean they're fairy tales. Like those little stories we tell our babies to make them feel happy, warm, and-above all- safe, before they're old enough to make the step from innocence to experience and the horrors that that brings with it.They ( Americans) may or may not be 'class orientated' but they have the biggest underclass in the west created by the greed and deceit of the largest class of billionaires who lord it over them and feed them comforting fairy tales.And they all subsisted unhappily ever after.So much for Once upon a time in the wild west...
Away from the fairy tale US you have come to believe is real through your studying of movies from the 'Dream Factory' ( there's a clue there by the way), the children don't actually live in the warm comfort of innocence and safety; 13 million live below the poverty line.Tell them to 'have a nice day'.They'd love one. All those little Cinderellas that won't be going to any ball any time soon. Everything's bigger in America the saying goes.Child poverty levels certainly are.As are suicide rates, gun crime, murder, and dependency on anti-depressants. All real. All in the country you claim has that 'go get it champ' attitude.
There are, apparently, 4 words that can sum up an ugly truth about the escape from the economic nightmare of the 'wealthiest in the west' America , where unemployment and homelessness are frightening facts of life.And those four words have stood under the last 6 presidents, not just Trump. They are : 'there is no plan'.Why else would it continue ? This is possibly why Trump thinks threatening the world with trade wars will bail them out.Either that or real war.He hasn't the intellect, tact, diplomacy, or negotiating talent to use politics.All he has is American swagger and arrogance.And inspirational messages, of course.Whatever happened to that saviour who came in through a hail of cheers and mantra-chanting '' Yes we can !'' ? No they can't.No they won't.That's what..
America is comprised of 51 states.It's the most diverse country on the planet owing to the mass exodus to it from various other countries hoping to set up a new culture and chase a dream. That dream simply being to escape poverty and collapse in their own homelands.It was desperation. But the number grew to 300 million as the coffers were invested into a vast Military Industrial Complex.A euphemism for a War Factory.So they have the weapons and the numbers.That's it.It doesn't matter if you're in the Californian sunshine or the Alaskan mountains of ice.It doesn't matter if your roots are Irish, Polish or Italian.The diversity counts for nothing in a country whose only aim is world domination by any means whatsoever.Every citizen is merely a unit.A number.And expendable. But if the only state you visit is on a silver screen a few thousand miles in the distance as the crow flies, you won't see, feel or understand any of that.
Zig
Jeez Zig aren't you the life and soul? If we were in a social situation I would abandon you for the man balancing a spoon on his nose. You are like a Liverpudlian version of 'Mr. Angry' from Tonbridge Wells, you are, if you will forgive me, one of those miserable old b'stards, sat in your cardi and slippers moaning things were better in your day.
DeleteNo I don't live in some kind of fairytale fantasy, how offensive, and would you say that to a man? I make no apologies for my passion for the movies, I also have a passion for the Tudors and the Roman Empire, happily the two often intertwine. And yes, I do know the difference between 'real' history and the way in which Hollywood portrays it. I sometimes jokily claim that all my knowledge of history comes from the Carry On films, but I am of course aware Caesar didn't say 'infame infame, they've all got it in for me', nor was there character in the French Revolution called Citizen Camembert, before you use my little joke to demean me.
I like to look for the good, rather than the bad Zig, and there is much that is good about the USA, not least their last President Barack Obama. And before you jump in there, no I do not have Obama on a pedestal, I am realistic enough to know that 'presidents' have some pretty tough calls to make. As do many people in many careers that I couldn't handle at all. I would be crap as a Judge for example, because I would consider every defendant's tragic childhood and send them on holidays rather than prison. In my one and only time as a juror I persuaded my 11 peers to clear a 16 year old boy on trial for a knife crime.
I expect when you scratch beneath the surface of any town in any country, you will find evidence of corruption, injustice and a dedicated few determined to keep all the wealth to themselves. If you feel that strongly about inequality Zig, why not tackle those inequalities closer to home? It's not like we have a shortage of them.
Your post is so negative I can almost hear your voice whining and droning on, was there a 'won't somebody think of the children' in there at some point. I feel there could well be a wannabe writer behind the 'Mr. Angry', but you write under the mistaken belief that factual information is somehow gripping. It isn't. I'd much rather hear you went into a pub, came out with all that shite, and someone decked you. Ok, a bit harsh, but hopefully you get the gist. To be fair, I would probably deck you and run off with the coked up drummer who dreams of making it big in the USA.
Continues....
You write as though you are banging on a pulpit Zig, but you are also trying to cram in every bit of knowledge you have on a given subject as if you are trying to prove something, probably that you know more than I do. Your next topic, 'the pointlessness of the humanities'. I'll give you a head start on Science .v. the Arts, my sons tell me 'go hug a tree'.
DeleteYou say you have an engineering degree Zig, and I have no reason to doubt you, so how would you feel if I told you that I know more about engineering than you do? Heck, I could probably take your class for you. Feeling irked yet, even a tad?
The original Neanderthals learned how to break rocks and make tools. The more sophisticated among them drew pictures on walls and contemplated the meaning of life over a bowl of rotting grapes. True the ratio of the sophisticated was much smaller than the tool makers, due to the rotting grape wine slowing them down when T-tex was about, but those who survived, brought us the finer things in life, so don't ever underestimate them.
I have always appreciated the more cerebral of men, and tis true I have attracted many throughout my life. Tis also true, I had a penchant for 'Yorkie bar' eating men who tended to be more along the knuckle duster lines. You can see where it all went wrong!
But I digress (wildly!), ha ha, you have made me hit the wine Zig which is something I was avoiding, because I knew reading my postbox would bring it on! I have virtually zero alcohol tolerance these days and I am halfway through a bottle of fruity pink wine! Happily I am not yet in the mood to sing, but the night is early!
Actually, whilst I am on my soapbox (yeah, I can do it too), I will take the opportunity to say out loud everything I hate about middle aged and old men! There are a large percentage of men who once had an original idea, at the age of 20, and have used it to dominate their lives ever since. And sadly, that one idea, long long past the applause stage, usually something misogynist, racist jibe or saying out loud something vile that other people were thinking, has driven them their entire lives.
If you want to get an audience on your side Zig, you make it very clear that you do NOT know everything, and that is always true, because you don't. The most brilliant men and women who have ever lived, acknowledge that they only know a very tiny part of all there is to know. And the reaon? Because they haven't reached that 'full' stage in their brain, our brains are a million times more complex than the latest computer, we only about 4% of it.
Part of my philosophy of life, is to learn something new every day Zig. I can't say I do it methodically, but I always make a point of saying 'I did not know that'. I have learned much over the years for example, via my blog. I consider myself very fortunate that I have such learned contributors, many of whom have changed my views and opinions or helped them to evolve. Accepting that you can be and often are, wrong, Zig, lifts an enormous burden from those who inflict it on themselves. It shows humility, it boosts the ego of the person who put right, and it's always good to boos a person's ego, and you have learned something.
DeleteI'm afraid it is more men than women who become so dogmatic, though more and more elderly women are turning that way. That sense that 'our generation' were somehow better than this generation. I feel differently. Ok, the exams our generation faced (O-levels etc) were harder, lol, but those were different times and judged on different criteria. This generation face an entirely different world, in which different skills are more in demand. It is as it is. We can't halt time and demand that old skills, such as joined up writing, be preserved and taught to the next generation who will never use it? Or maybe we can, I personally lean more towards please keep it, but I accept the world turns.
I am sad that the worse nightmares of George Orwell and Aldous Huxley seem to be coming to fruition but maybe the bigger question is, why does every age in history, and indeed, every cultivated society have an innate need to destroy itself?
May I just do 'humanities lectures' lol. I am always looking at the bigger picture Zig, except when deciding between Patsy Cline and Amy Winehouse, do I want to sing along to 'Crazy' or 'I know that I'm no good'. Fortunately, I am giggly drunk, I am currently picturing myself in a sleazy bar in New Orleans deciding whether to go with half or a full ounce with Jack Nicholson, I'll be guided by him ha ha. Seems like a stable fellow.
I jest of course. Looking back on my life I much the prefer the church going days - are you fecking kiddin me smiley!
I jest of course, fond memories of days of old when I could party all night and still go to work the next day. I have no regrets and to be honest I quite enjoy regaling my peers, who didn't dare! My philosophy was 'happy mummy = happy child. I allotted dedicated time to kids, dedicated time to me, even if it was only hiding in the bathroom with candles and a tape of Madam Butterfly!
DeleteI really hate the 'Jeremy Kyle' view that mums and dads, even if only 17 and 18, should put their offspring, above everything else for the rest of their lives. Wtf? So their lives are over? At the age of 17/18, they must sacrifice everything they ever dreamed of?
It infuriates me. 1. Because I despise bratty kids and 2. Because the education, enlightenment and reinforcement of dreams and ambitions of those young parents will dramatically improve the lives of their offspring. Coddling said offspring and giving in to their every demand will not. Parents are still individuals in their own right, not slaves to their kids.
But what ho, have drunk enough, think I'll look for Elvis!
Hi Ros.
DeleteI questioned ( or challenged) the rationale you suggested in choosing to study a country through it's movies and entertainment industry then using your conclusions to commentate on the culture of that country.I did it particularly as the country in question is America.And synonymous with America is War, dictcatorship, fake democracy and a dangerous arrogant halfwit that came from left field to become it's most stupid president.You say it's a country with a wonderful attitude and champions the little man.It will let anyone driven enough be good enough( despite the country being run by billionaires for over a century).You have addressed my points with the usual vigour and logic. The 'Ros philosophy'. The one that states if you say something absurd and somebody criticizes it, exposes how absurd it is and replaces it with solid, logical arguments, take it on the chin, sit off for a few days, give up trying to counter it and see what personal insults you can use against him instead.In keeping with the scholarly pretentions you display and the constant reminders of your higher education.We won't go into grace or dignity..
''a Liverpudlian version of 'Mr. Angry' from Tonbridge Wells, you are, if you will forgive me, one of those miserable old b'stards, ''
Because i burst your bubble and showed you what's really going on.
''No I don't live in some kind of fairy tale fantasy, how offensive, and would you say that to a man?''
I'd ask anyone who i thought was living in a fairy tale fantasy and passing it off as the real deal yes. Why shouldn't I ?
''I like to look for the good, rather than the bad Zig, and there is much that is good about the USA, not least their last President Barack Obama''
The man who lied about wars on terror, torturing prisoners, curing unemployment, improving healthcare and then getting his cronies to hunt Julian Assange down like a dog for fake charges because he was exposing him.
''Zig, why not tackle those inequalities closer to home? It's not like we have a shortage of them.''
I do, but the subject in discussion on the thread was America( and Hollywood).
'' you write under the mistaken belief that factual information is somehow gripping. It isn't. I'd much rather hear you went into a pub, came out with all that shite, and someone decked you. ''
Hollywood and TV information is gripping.Truth doesn't have to be.Truth can be very run of the mill but lethal.That's real life.Tabloids have their place as does the tabloid mentality.Nothing personal, of course.
''You say you have an engineering degree Zig, and I have no reason to doubt you, so how would you feel if I told you that I know more about engineering than you do?''
I'd feel fine and I'd agree.My degree is in Psychology.But engineering will bolster your straw man argument.Pretend I said I have one so you can attack it.Desperate ?
''But I digress (wildly!), ha ha, you have made me hit the wine Zig''
You're welcome ( again).
''If you want to get an audience on your side Zig, you make it very clear that you do NOT know everything,''
A couple of points. I don't want anyone on my side as i have no side.I'm sharing information.People can ignore it if they like.I told you a long time ago the three wisest words ever spoken are : ''I don't know''. Learn them and you'll begin to learn more.
'' I'm afraid it is more men than women who become so dogmatic, though more and more elderly women are turning that way.''
You said it.
''But what ho, have drunk enough, think I'll look for Elvis!''
Sense at last.Took some time but we got there..
Zig
Rosalinda Hutton30 January 2020 at 20:58
Delete'' there is much that is good about the USA, not least their last President Barack Obama''
Anonymous28 January 2020 at 08:41
''Obama told the U.S. Congress that his unprovoked attack on Libya was not a war, at all, because no Americans died, thus establishing a new doctrine and definition of warfare in which only U.S. deaths count.''
Advantage Anon 08:41. Ros to serve...
Zig
6 Dec 2018
ReplyDelete"All US Presidents, Living and Dead, are War Criminals"
https://blackagendareport.com/all-us-presidents-living-and-dead-are-war-criminals
'Whatever the human cost, it is “worth it,” as Clinton’s former Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright said of the half a million Iraqi children that died as a result of U.S. sanctions and the bombing of Iraqi infrastructure – carnage begun by Daddy Bush and continued by Bill Clinton, and then begun again with Bush Junior’s “Shock and Awe” demonstration of U.S. military might. Obama got hundreds of thousands more Iraqis killed when he armed and trained head-chopping legions of Islamist jihadists to swarm the region in an attempted imperial comeback that has killed half a million Syrians, to date.'
...
'Barack Obama is a methodical man who claimed to be completing Dr. Martin Luther King’s work but instead added his own wars to the continuum of the “greatest purveyor of violence in the world today.” Obama told the U.S. Congress that his unprovoked attack on Libya was not a war, at all, because no Americans died, thus establishing a new doctrine and definition of warfare in which only U.S. deaths count. His secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, established new lows in diplomacy when she greeted news of Muammar Gaddafi’s death, cackling, “We came, we saw, he died” – which could be the said of all the tens of millions of deaths at the hands of U.S. presidents.'
...
'The current occupant of the White House has so far committed less carnage in the world than his peers, although the so-called “Resisters” that seek his ouster from office behave as if Trump is a greater criminal and threat than any of his predecessors. They applaud Trump only when he launches military attacks. Since he loves applause, it is certain that Trump will increase his body count before the election season begins in earnest.'
Good wake up call to the sleepy heads who see Obama as Mr Charismatic peace maker..and Clinton as a 'character'..Trump was put in to the Whitehose by the people of America.They love a good war maker and despot as long as nobody's flying over to them to pay back.
DeleteRos: "And, ultimately, the only Court that will matter is the court of public opinion and Trump's sinking poll numbers."
ReplyDelete-------------------------------------------------------------
Ah the dreaded court of public opinion - that's the court that you only agree with if it concurs with your opinion isn't it Ros?
Not at all 13:16, I cite the 'court of public opinion' because it is relevant. Trump is driven by poll numbers, more specifically viewing numbers - a culture he thrived on as host of a reality TV show. He doesn't really care how he gets attention, as long as he gets it.
DeleteAnd your post makes no sense. If you are a regular reader, and I suspect you are, you will know that I am rarely in tune with popular opinion, to be honest, I'm rarely in tune with anyone.
'' you will know that I am rarely in tune with popular opinion, to be honest, I'm rarely in tune with anyone.''
DeleteHow does that damming indictment of popular opinion sit next to : '' ultimately, the only Court that will matter is the court of public opinion" without blushing.
Zig
@ Rosalinda Hutton28 January 2020 at 14:28
DeleteAh - so really you meant the court of your opinion?
I'm curious. Don't you think almost anyone would answer 'Yes'?
DeleteJ Yossarian
Ros: "Trump has lost his power to 'catch and kill' incriminating stories (please let there be an abortion one!)"
ReplyDeleteDo you realise how sick you sound Ros? What about the woman involved - any feelings for her at all?
You are right Rosalinda. Like it or not American movies made our culture and filled us Britons with awe and envy.
ReplyDeleteWho could resist the show; first a black and white B film, a Cowboy or Film Noir crime story followed by the main feature film.
How I yearned to reach 16 when I could finally go into a cinema and watch a classified "A" film without asking a stranger, "Hey mister here's my 1/9 pence can you take me in with you". And there were usherettes too - those were the days.
jc
Good to see you back, jc
DeleteI share your sentiments.
However…
Thank you, American movies that made our culture. No more envy for Brits. Eat your heart out, US of A: we have Boris!
Did China Steal Coronavirus From Canada And Weaponize It?
ReplyDeletehttps://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/did-china-steal-coronavirus-canada-and-weaponize-it?fbclid=IwAR3aApQhcnWjqtM1xqguxA6qFyHBpvHtojNwHRj0ocTztSvB-qspdPkBFfE
Johnson clashes with Corbyn at PMQs over Trump’s ‘Deal Of The Century’
The prime minister was encouraged by the proposal which would leave sizeable areas of the West Bank in Israeli hands
https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/johnson-clashes-with-corbyn-at-pmqs-over-trumps-deal-of-the-century/
Anne Frank's step-sister and Holocaust survivor Eva Schloss claims photos of the Soviet liberation of Auschwitz are FAKE because soldiers hadn't brought cameras and were taken at other camps
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-7933509/Anne-Franks-step-sister-claims-photos-showing-liberation-Auschwitz-FAKE.html
China “epidemic”: the strange role of the middle class
ReplyDeletehttps://blog.nomorefakenews.com/
The Guardian changes its tune
ReplyDeleteHuman rights report to oppose extradition of Julian Assange to US
European assembly says WikiLeaks founder’s detention ‘sets dangerous precedent’
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/jan/28/julian-assange-detention-sets-dangerous-precedent-for-journalists
Was that how the Hollywood movie industry informed your world view too then , jc. Yu used it as a library and lecture theatre to instruct you in world affairs just like Ros. Or did you misunderstand her point.
ReplyDelete