Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Ms. Marvel

Not in the mood to write tonight.  Sorry.  Birthday week.  And some presents have started arriving.  I love them all but I have to note one.  They were from C.I. and it's all my girlfriend have looked at tonight.  The first one was a softcover book Ms. Marvel Epic Collection.  


Ms. Marvel!!!! She's Captain Marvel now.  But I remember being a little girl in school.  My aunt loved Jimmy who worked at a gas station.  She'd flirt with him and I'd go to the little store next door.  It had a big magazine rack and the bottom half was comics.  I would sit on the floor and read them.  And I would find great ones.  That's how I first found Power Man and Iron Fist.  And it's where I found Ms. Marvel.  I loved her so much and her garden apartment and her NASA mission/  She was such a revelation and I loved her.  I think the comic book only lasted 23 or so issues -- and they changed her costume along the way.  But that was my favorite comic book when it was being published.  


The collection includes Marvel Team-Up.  I was never aware of that comic but the issue they include is Ms. Marvel teaming up with Spider-Man.  For the comics in the book that were actually Ms. Marvel issues, they bring back so many memories.


Remember the candy bar zero?  I used to love it.  I haven't had one in decades.  But I remember eating one as I read issue 10 of Ms. Marvel and being so worried about what was going to happen.


Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"


Tuesday, March 29, 2022.  We return to the topic of yesterday . . . 


Let's  pick up with Will Smith's assault on Chris Rock.  A few issues were raised in e-mails and I was thinking about following up to answer or include those and P Diddy had to comment to news outlets but then Will released his 'apology' and I knew we'd have to go another day.


First off, P-Diddy, you're trash.  You degraded J-Lo's image when she was with you, you lowered her brand.  And that's not just because of the shootings.  Not just.


If you missed it, PeePee Diddy has interjected himself into the story.  He wants you to know, hand to God, pinkie swear, that he's talked to Chris Rock and he's talked to Wil Smith -- he's the Jimmy Carter of the entertainment world (in his mind), and they're just fine ane . . .


We don't give a crap what you say.  Get it through your head, music man.  This was not your event.  This was an event for the film industry.  We don't need to herar from your trashy ass. You're nobody in the film world.  You're a failed actor who probably showed more than he realized when he tried to act.  Pee Pee Diddy, no one needs to hear from you.  Most of us don't believe you.  But what you think's going on doesn't really matter to the indursty that you are not a part of.  


Supposedly, late yesterday, Will Smith issued an apology.  He didn't. 


And I won't lie like CNN did.  CNN 'quotes' him.  Here's the actual words.


Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally.

I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.  
 
I would also like to apologize to the Academy, the producers of the show, all the attendees and everyone watching around the world. I would like to apologize to the Williams Family and my King Richard Family. I deeply regret that my behavior has stained what has been an otherwise gorgeous journey for all of us.
 
I am a work in progress.

Sincerely,

Will


What a load of garbage.  I say that as somoeone his publicist called about the 'apology.'  Point of fact, I am not leading the backlash.  For me, the Academy Awards outrage was the silence over Urkaine and the White people while never a minute of silence for the Arabs around the world -- not in Iraq, not in Syria, not . . . 


That was the focus of the thing I wrote the night of the Awards.  As I explained in yesterday's snapshot, at the after parties, it kept being brought up and those who know I write here had read it and were reading it and were telling me that I missed the big news of the night and . . . .  I'm not leading anything.  Every year I do campaign for friends to to be nominated and to win.  I also do my part to ensure that certain people do not win.  (Yes, I did enjoy Sunday night.)    Will Smith is not an actor of note or merit.  I was opposed to him winning -- and I did not vote for him -- but a few weeks back, when it became obvious he stood a good chance of winning, I didn't swing into action to try to tip the scales against him.  He didn't matter enough to me.  I had other dogs in that fight and stayed focused on preventing them from winning.  (Again, Sunday was a very good night for me.)  


When I was called about the statement being crafted, I said very clearly that he didn't need to bring Jada into it.  I said he needed to take responsiblity for his actions, that he was a middle aged man, and he needed to apologize to Chris and to the industry.


He couldn't do that.  If he were your child and started making excuses for someone he struck at school during his so-called apology, you'd stop him.


And let's get something else clear.


I've had cancer.  Twice.  I've had chemo.  I don't want to hear about poor Jada's 'medical condition.'  She's bald.  Big deal.  It's not life threatening.  It hurts her vanity?  Too damn bad.  Wear a wig.  Or don't tell the world about it.  


She's bald.  Jokes have been made about bald people forever and a day.  As bald jokes go, "Can't wait for GI JANE 2," is not that harsh.  He could have made a Kojak joke.  


Willie's not taking accountability.  And for the member of Congress that applauded this b.s?  Ayanna Soyini Pressley, you are unfit to serve in Congress.  That pains me to say.  But you are unfit. We have noted you here and I have often been impressed with you but you're applauding that violence is disgusting.  Oh, you're bald too so we all have to walk on egg shells1!!! F**k you.  If you were speaking and someone came up onstage and slapped you, I don't think you'd be offering a Tweet of glee.  Your hypocrisy and your inability to see beyond yourself goes to how unfit you really are.  I am very disappointed.


Jada's bald.  Get over it.  




It's not a life threatening condition, stop pretending like it's cancer or MS or any real disease that threatens someone's life. Women have worn wigs forever and a day.  If she choose not to, more power to her.  But don't then whine because someone makes a single sentence joke.


And, for the record, Jada would be damn lucky to star in GI JANE II.  It's not like she's had a film career in years, not as a leading lady.  And, like Will, she's aging out of the roles.  So she'd be damn lucky to star in GI JANES II.


What Will did was offensive.


Most of the e-mails are noting that he'd be expelled from a school for doing what he did.


And that is true.  Equally ture, he's not a child.  He's not 14 or 15.  He's not a young man, even.  He's a middle aged man lliving a few blocks from elderly.


He is responsible for his actions.  He is responsible for the message he sends.


That dopey apology began the minute the Academy announced that they were conducting a formal investigation into the events.  Thats when he decided he couldn't just stay silent (and the plan was to then go on Jimmy Kimmel and crack some jokes).


This was an industry event.  Any other industry that he pulled that crap in, he'd be out of it right now.  They wouldn't be making excuses for him or give a damn that his wife is bald.  


They would note that this was an industry event and he degraded the industry.  He brought his trashy ways into the venue and then stormed the stage to attack an invited persenter.


You need to grasp that, if you haven't already.


Because the industry is film, it's televised around the world.  So the whole world saw.  It lives on forever on YOUTUBE.


He embarrassed the industry.  And we're only more embarrassed because on the night he acted the fool, we gave him an award.


He spat on the event.


Again, my big concern was Iraq.  


But I did listen at the after parties as people made solid points.  What he did was offensive.


This is not some b.s. awards show.  No offense, but it's not The People's Choice Awards or The American Music Awards.  It's the industry itself handing out these awards.  It may seem silly on the outside and on the inside of the industry but it is our awards that we choose to hand out, our night when we honor film.  


Amd over a single semtemce. Will Smith thought he had the right to leap form his seat in the midst of a presentation, storm the stage and assault the presenter.


That is not allowed.  That is outrageous.


(And, as many of you note in your e-mails -- it was a woman who had made jokes about the very 'dramatic' marriage of Will and Jada from the stage and Will didn't go after her). 


Chris Rock's joke was mild.  And I hate that we have to say that.  It doesn't matter what Chris Rock said.  In no world would that be allowed.


At an industry event, Chevy Chase destroyed his career.  It wasn't the Academy Awards.  But he felt the need to show just hostile (with words only) he could be and he made statements that were offensive.  That's why Chevy ended up on TV -- and was lucky to end up on TV.  His opportunites dried up throughout the 90s and he was offered garbage.  And the reason was the stunt he pulled at an industry event.


If he'd done that on live television at the Academy Awards, he never would have been able to be cast in COMMUNITY.  


Will Smith embarrassed the industry.


Mila was brought on so that the Academy could put on their best and most caring face for the public.  Ah, look at them, they care, they really, really care.


Awards, as always, frequently went out to undeserving winners because the Academy liked the 'look' of awarding a film about uplift or whatever.


And there in the middle of this celebration -- and carefully crafted p.r. -- Will elected to act the fool.


He didn't just disgrace himself, he disgraced the industry.


And he woke up today and, guess what, Jada's still bald.


Chris Rock didn't make her bald.


Again, she doesn't have cancer, she's not dealing with a life threatening condition.  She is losing her hair.  It happens and you can go natural, you can wear scarves, hats, wigs , whatever.



Because of Will's actions there are now safety concerns.  I was noting the jokes that Helen and Judi would show up next year with armies of bodyguards.  And they were jokes.  At the after parties.  But now?  

People are really worried.  


What if they're presenting an award next year and some Will Smith doesn't like the joke or doesn't like the winner and storms on stage?


This has never happened in the history of the awards.  94 times, statues have been handed out.  Never.


This is not minor.  This was not some one outside the industry streaking across the stage.  This was someone the industry chose to recognize and he responded with violence.


He shouldn't be at any Academy event ever again -- that includes the awards.  That pass shold be pulled from him immediately.


Any efforts to look the other way or not come down hard will encourage others.


This was an industry event.  He dsigraced himself, he disgraced the industry and he brought physical violence onto the stage.  That's outrageous.


I'm not calling for him to lose his award.  If others do, that's fine.  And that is a possibility.  But I am now joining with the many other voices saying that the Academy has to take a very strong stand on this matter and that we never need to see the producer of this show again since he failed to protect Chris Rock.  Where was security  Why wasn't Will imemediately evicted as he should have been?


Calls were made and they were all the wrong calls.  


I don't even know if he deserved to give an acceptance speech to be honest.  Not after that stunt.  They should have played music once he was handed the award and that should have been it.  His actions didn't deserve a reward.


That there are people out there justifying Will's actions and minimizing them goes to what a dangerous precedent could be set.  And that's why the Academy needs to come down hard.


Still in the US (and California) there's news regarding Omar Abdulsattar Ameen, the Iraqi refugee who is fighting to remain in the US.  Don Thompson (AP) reports):


A U.S. immigration judge in California has halted the deportation of an Iraqi refugee to Iraq for fear that he could be tortured if he were returned there. Assistant Chief Immigration Judge Tara Naselow-Nahas in November ruled that Omar Abdulsattar Ameen was eligible to be deported because he lied on his immigration papers. The decision came even though a federal judge earlier rejected allegations that he had killed a police officer on behalf of the Islamic State group. On Monday, advocates praised Naselow-Nahas’ decision blocking Ameen’s deportation to Iraq, although she ruled against him on other grounds. U.S. immigration officials declined comment.


Brittnay Johnson (KCRA) adds:


This is a case KCRA 3 Investigates has been following since Ameen was arrested in 2018. The U.S. Government claimed Ameen was a terrorist with ISIS and that he murdered an Iraqi police officer. Not only did it turn out that "Ameen" was not in Iraq at the time the alleged murder happened in 2014, but the judge also found the government's evidence had "substantial deficiencies" and is "ultimately unpersuasive," which led to the decision not to deport Ameen to Iraq.

"It is a big deal," Ilyce Shugall with Immigrant Legal Defense and part of Ameen's defense team, said. "It's a big deal for two reasons; really one, because the judge found that he does need protection from removal to Iraq and made a finding a very clear finding that she believes it is more likely than not that he would be tortured if returned. The second reason it's a big deal is because it's now the third time that a court has found that the government cannot prove that Mr. Ameen was involved in terrorist organizations or terrorist activities."


No, it is not safe in Iraq.  The judge recongizes what the Academy Awards did not.  Tomorrow, Baghdad is supposed to be the location of the vote for a president.  Twice that has failed.  



The following sites updated:


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Monday, March 28, 2022

A bitch named Will Smith

So homophobic Will Smith slapped Chris Rock for joking, "Jada, I love you.  Can't wait to see you in GI Jane 2."  He ran up onstage (after laughing at the joke) and slapped Chris Rock.


That's outrageous.  Will Smith should be drummed out of Hollywood.


He's 'apologized.'


He says he couldn't deal with his wife's ''medical condition'' being laughed at.


She's bald.  She doesn't have cancer.  She's bald.  People have been bald for years and we've made fun of them for it.  Mel Coolie on The Dick Van Dyke Show.  


She's bald, she needs to deal with it.  And she needs to take responsibility.  She's lied over and over and it was this person that made me relax my hair -- Shut the f**k up, you ugly bitch.  We are the same age.  I knew not to relax my hair.  And I certainly didn't bleach it out to make it blond.


You do that s**t, you're going lose your hair -- if you're an African-American woman.


She never took care of her hair and she lost it.


SHe's bald.  She doesn't have cancer.


Will's a bitch who should be put in jail for assault and who should have to return the Oscar.


He's disgusting and he's trash and so is his wife and so is his son with "That's how we roll."


Put him in jail so we can all Tweet to Jade, "That's how you roll, bitch."


That whole family is disgusting.


The Oscars need standards and that means no more Little Willie Smith and no more Jada Pinkett.


They've demonstrated they are a danger to others and they should never be allowed at an Oscar presentation again.


Will's a bitch.  


Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"


 Monday, Marcb 28, 2022.  Hollywood celebrates and elevates a homophobe while LGBTQs in Iraq remain targeted.



Let's start with the Academy Awards.  "What about the suffering of the Iraqi people" went up last night and per those attending three after parties last night, I buried the lead.   


A 53-year0old man went onstage and physically assaulted a comedian in the midst of a live broadcast  Some are making jokes -- like how Judi Dench and Helen Mirren will show up surrounded by bodyguards prepared to throw down.  A director -- who's African-American and insisted that made the remark not racist --p=put it bluntly, "It's the Academy Awards not The Source Awards."  Others felt Jada needed to put her sub-cuck on a leash when she takes him out in public since he can't control himmself.  

It shouldn't have to be said but it apparently does: Your wife being a joke in a sereis of one liners does not require your comment.  If you want to comment, you can say it after the ceremony.  To interrupt a live ceremony is appallling and to do so with your hands is outrageous.  


"Never in the history of the Acadmy" was the phrase I kept hearing.  Over and over.  (Which is why so many insisted I buried the lead in last night's post.)  It was outrageous and I noted it.  (I did not disclose that I knew Chris Rock -- the man Little Willie Smith attacked -- and that I consider Chris a friend.  Little Willie's tantrum was not the focus of the post and I didn't think it needed to be noted.  Little Cuck Willie is now the focus and I am disclosing regarding Chris Rock.)  


This was the 94th annual Academy Awards and never before has this happened.  


Will Smith's actions were outrageous and he needs to apologize for them. 


He disgraced himself but who cares about that?  He's a half-assed actor who can't deliver at the box office anymore  and he did serious damage to himself within the industry last night.  But this is a disgrace to the industry and not the face we try to present to the world.  It was also offensive in that a middle-aged man resorted to violence when he was unhappy with a joke.  And he did it on an awards show, he did it on a show that's supposed to celebrate the best of the industry.


His garbage should have him run out of the industry. 


He won the award on the same night, Best Actor.


It's the least important actng award the Academy gives out.  And it was obvious he was going to win it two weeks ago which is why Ava and I noted:

Excellence isn't rewarded. It's certainly not rewarded at the Academy Awards. The only exceptions being Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress in a good year. The statues are not handed out to the deserving. Men -- in both male actor categories -- win because Academy members liked the films they were in and because the Academy thinks it makes them look good. That's why there are so few memorable performances among the winners for Best Actor.

Anthony Hopkins for his performance in THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS is a rare win. More often it's pedestrian performances in pedestrian films that the Academy thinks hugging will make them look good.

Actors win Academy awards are winning based upon what Academy members feel about the film they appeared in.

Women win for acting. They have to go all out, most years. While men can be stoic (stiff) onscreen but still win.

Bette Davis, Jane Fonda, women like that have to really deliver. They have to dig deep and serve it up onscreen.

If you doubt it, think about Sally Kirkland. ANNA (1987) was one of the worst films ever. But Sally did deliver in it and she got a Best Actress nomination. You won't catch any actor -- even if he delivers -- from a third-rate, C-picture getting nominated. And actors are rarely asked to deliver any real range when being handed an Academy Award. Think about that when they're handing out Oscars at the end of the month.

And think about the fact that when a woman wins she has delivered. If she wins twice -- for example, Jane Fonda, Bette Davis, Jessica Lange, Hillary Swank, Olivia de Havillind, etc -- then she's really something. That list would include Renée Zellweger 


He played a dad that the industry wanted to glorify.  He gave a lousy performance.  An Academy Award winning actress insisted to me that he was "overdue" for the award.  And the homophobia that he's displayed for years?  "It's not important."  Really? Then why don't you say it publily.  Say that publicly.  You've got one foot in the grave and will be dead before the 2020s draw to a close.  Say it.  Your career is over.  Say it.  And grasp that the minute you say it out loud, your death does not mean people say, "Oh, too bad.  I really liked her."  No, instead, they say, "THat ______.  F((k her and may she rot in hell."  


She was one of those whining a few years back that Will hadn't been nominated.  This is a very obvious blind item, you should be able to figure her out and maybe then grasp that those idiots who are applauding her for pro-gay statements in the 70s need to stop praising her.  


It was more important, she insisted, that Will win because of his race than that Will be held accountable for his homophobia.


She doesn't agree now.  She was loudly called out at a party last night when she barged into a conversation a group of us were having and she tried to  'correct' me.  She was told she was a dumb bitch -- kind of agree right now -- and that some of us actually have an education -- true -- so maybe she should just shut her damn mouth.  Hmm.


I see she took the message to heart because she hasn't Tweeted her congrats to Will or, honestly, anything at all.  And she loves her Twitter.  But maybe she's thinking this week's big event won't have the turnout she needs if she's promoting a homophobe?


I hae no idea.  


But before the ceremony started last night, a line had already been drawn in the industry between those of us who support equality and those who support homophobia.


Supporitng Will is supporting homophobia.  He has never apologized for all of his  As Ava and I wrote in February:


Self-hatred's long been used to overlook the homophobia of some actors -- Will Smith, rumors insist, is gay.  We really don't care if he's gay or straight or bi, we just think he owes everyone a public apology.


ZOOM and the pandemic have meant that we do our various conversations over the internet.  No more are we able to go onto campuses or into union halls or whatever.  We miss the face to face, honestly.  But what we have on the plus side, the up -- as Mike would say, is that we've been able to expand the groups we speak to since we aren't traveling.  And one of the groups we've added a lot more of is LGBTQ groups.  


Things are better for young LGBTQs than they were for previous generations but things are still not where they should be.  As we've enlarged the scope of our groups, a friend who is a therapist asked if we'd mind speaking with her group.  They were nine gay men, in their forties, who basically did not feel listened by society or represented in the media.  Would we speak to them?  Being told that, we were dying to speak to them.  And we were not disappointed.


There's a story that's not really told and they brought it to the forefront (as have other gay male groups we've spoken to since).  We thank them for that.  Like them, we marvel over how this part of the story really isn't told.


Being gay is easier than it used to be. 20 years ago, or even just ten in some places, there was so much harassment.  We have honestly advised men who've shared their experiences to consider filing lawsuits.  And we're not joking and we're not litigious people.


Films and TV shows thought they were being 'sympathetic' and true telling of the gay kid in school who got picked on by some bully.  That's the story we've heard rejected over and over for the last five months from many different groups of gay men.


No, what we've heard is about how the whole school system was after you.  That was the bully, yes.  And there was usually a coach -- at least one -- and a principal egging them on.  Adults were around and they not only were not protecting these children, they were actively participating in harassing them.


And it was accepted back then.  It was 'normal.'  That's in part due to a point we've made here forever: the socialization of males by this society is one of bullying.  Toughen up, don't cry.  You can see it, as we've often noted, in two films from the 80s.  In both, two characters join the military and are treated horribly.  In the one about the male, AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN, Richard Gere is harassed by his drill sergeant (Louis Gossett Jr.) and, instead of rejecting that harassment, we are supposed to applaud it and feel all warm inside.  In the other, PRIVATE BENJAMIN, Goldie Hawn and her team get their revenge on the harasser (Eileen Brennan).  The male socialization is bullying in this society.  That's not acceptable (even with the well known existence of 'mean girls') when it comes to females.  


So sometimes, a gay man will offer that maybe the principal was trying to help him by bullying him, by mocking him in front of other students, by sneering at him and calling him a "fairy" and worse in front of the whole school assembly.


We say f**k that.  We say sue those assholes.  And what about statute of limitations?  Who cares.  File the paperwork, have it thrown of court as a result of being beyond some time limit.  But in between the those two moments, let that elderly abuser know that the world knows what he or she did.  And let them sweat it and let them be haunted by it.


They have made no effort to find these former children and apologize to them.  So f**k them.  To lead a school into targeting a young boy because he's gay?  You were an adult.  There's no excuse for what you did.  And if the court of law can't put you on notice, the court of public opinion certainly can.


NETFLIX is offering AMEND: THE FIGHT FOR AMERICA -- a documentary series.  Episode five is "Love."  Yes, what the world needs now.  Professor Martha S. Jones talks about the impact of LOVING V VIRGINIA -- a breakthrough case that especially impacted her life because her mixed race parents married years before the verdict in LOVING.  


This landmark case gets far less attention than it deserves.  We've noted it many times such as in 2008:


Loving v. Virginia was a breakthrough, a legal landmark, for the United States. In a debate, Barack Obama was asked, "Senator Obama, the laws banning interracial marriage in the United States were ruled unconstitutional in 1967. What is the difference between a ban on interracial marriage and a ban on gay marriage?" Obama mouthed a lot of nonsense about 'equality' and then went on to state it's a decision for different denominations to make. There should have been a gasp heard round the country.

Barack is a lawyer, a trained legal mind. Though we find it difficult to believe he's never studied Loving v. Viriginia (as difficult to believe as Clarence Thomas' Senate testimony that he'd never thought about Roe v. Wade), we'll allow that maybe it fell into some gap in his education. But as a trained legal mind, he does grasp court billing. "v. Virginia" means versus state. Not versus a denomination.

In that historic case, the Supreme Court of the United States found the laws of the state of Virginia to be unconstitutional and illegal. That finding meant that all states could no longer refuse to issue marriage certificates to couples of different races. Obama's weak-ass response should have been considered weak ass. (John Edwards also embarrassed himself in that debate noting he was against "gay marriage" and "I do not" support it leading us to shout back at the screen, "Gee, John, we weren't aware you were being inundated with proposals!") But it was also dishonest. A law student, forget the former president of the Harvard Law Review, grasps that Loving v. Virginia was not about whether "denominations" could make a decision, it was about what the government could do. To provide perspective, imagine the issue was illegal search and seizure on the part of the government (forbidden by the Constitution) and Obama had responded, "I think it's up to denominations." The government was discriminating and the Supreme Court stood up for the rights of all. A trained legal mind should grasp that. If Obama didn't, he's either not much of a student or he's a really bad liar.


It's good that the episode starts off with LOVING because that is at the root of equality.  And other cases are cited including LAWRENCE v TEXAS and the appalling BOWERS v HARDWICK.  Episode five revolves around the importance of The Fourteenth Amendment and how its importance and relevance leads to the historic OBERGEFELL v HODGES. 

We applaud much about the documentary but episode five, for all of its applause, also has to answer for something.

 

Will Smith produced the series.  And probably should have stayed off camera.  Why doesn't Will have an Oscar.  Well, Jada, it's partly because he's not really an actor -- don't confuse stardom with acting ability -- but it's also because of his hateful past which includes a lot of homophobia and Academy voters just don't embrace hatred and intolerance.

 

In episode five, Will declares of Cincinnati in the 70s, "The message to its LGBTQ citizens is be quiet, stay hidden or get out."  Will, could of course, admit that his message to the LGBTQ citizens has been be quiet, stay hidden, get out or be mocked and demonized.


That is what he has done.


Some try to argue that he's gay or bi in real life.  He presents as straight.  Take him at his word.  But even if he were choking a cock every night, that doesn't justify the damage he has done.  


Early on, he told MOVIELINE that the reason he wouldn't kiss Anthony Michael Hall in SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION -- as required in the script and has had happened when it was a stage production without Will Smith -- was because Denzel Washington told him not to.


Did Denzel tell him that?


We have no idea.  And the reason we have no idea is because Denzel, a movie star for decades, didn't go public.  If he was against gay people or playing one or whatever, he had the brains not to say so publicly.


Will didn't.  And this is throughout his career.   

 

Is he homophobic, we wanna know.

 

How can we tell what's in his soul? 


It's in his recordings: "All the filthy stinking nasty people be quiet. All the homeboys that got AIDS be quiet. All the girls out there that don't like guys be quiet."  It's in his films -- such as HANCOCK, and BAD BOYS 2.  It's in his red carpet encounters.**


Will gave interviews about how ''gross'' two men kissing were.  He's done that since, 1991. 


We can't tell what's in his soul, we can only register the meaning of his statements and his actions.


Now he just wants to act like it never happened?  Like decades of homophobia from a one-time action-movie star didn't have an impact:?


His comments egged on others as much as any teacher or principal at a school.


He needs to publicly apologize.  It's that simple.


That's whoo the Academy elected to honor last night.  And before he even got handed the award, he'd proven all of us opposed to be accurate.  He is an embarrassment.


His actions were outrageous.  His toxic behavior is not going to fade away.  It is part of his legacy forever more.


It was a disgraceful moment when Will interrupted a live brodcast to physically attack Chris Rock.  But it's what all of us warned you about.  He's trash.  And you don't give trash awards.  


The good news is that his stunt resulted in mass revulsion within the industry.  He should have been held accountable for his homophobia.  Instead, he'll be held accountable for being low class and having no manners.  Whatever hurts a homophobe?  I'll take it as a win.  Gladly.


PINK NEWS notes:


LGBT+ people in Iraq are being hunted, abducted, tortured, raped and murdered by armed groups, including police and security forces, according to a new report.

The report from Human Rights Watch, supported by Iraqi LGBT+ rights group IraQueer, included 54 interviews with LGBT+ Iraqi people, as well as with six witnesses to killings and abductions by armed groups of LGBT+ people.

According to the report, attacks on LGBT+ people were committed by police, government security forces, and state-sponsored armed groups dedicated to hunting down and attacking queer Iraqis.

Of the 54 people interviewed, the report recorded eight cases of abductions, eight cases of attempted murder, four extrajudicial killings, 27 cases of sexual violence —including gang rape — 45 cases of threats to rape and kill, and 42 cases of online targeting by individuals who identified themselves as members of armed groups against LGBT+ people in Iraq.


The need to call out homophobia is greater than ever before.  And if you don't grasp that, it's because you're too busy 'caring' about (lip service) whatever the corporate news tells you to care about.  Generally speaking, when it's something saturated on corporate news, it's not really anything in need of amplifying.   MIDDLE EAST EYE notes:


One 31-year-old Iraqi transgender woman told HRW and IraQueer that she was returning home from work last February when six men in a Hummer stopped her next to a rubbish tip in Baghdad. “They pulled out a razor blade and a screwdriver and poked and cut me all over, especially my ass, crotch, and thighs,” she said.

“They sliced me up and poured around five litres of gasoline all over my body and face and set me alight.”

A 27-year-old gay man from the capital described how he watched four men from an armed group torture his boyfriend in May 2020.

“Then they shot him five times,” he said.

The 54 LGBTQ+ people interviewed said that while they were in detention they were routinely denied food, water, medical care and access to their families.


Colin Stewart (76 CRIMES) notes:


One 27-year-old gay man from Baghdad described how his boyfriend was tortured by four members of an armed group in front of him in May 2020. “Then they shot him five times,” he said.

In eight cases, abuses by armed groups and police, including arbitrary arrest and sexual harassment, were against children as young as 15. Many of those attacked were able to identify the armed group responsible. The groups implicated in the most serious abuses are Asa’ib Ahl al-Haqq, Atabat Mobilization, Badr Organization, Kata’ib Hezbollah, Raba Allah Group, and Saraya al-Salam.

The people interviewed described arrests and routine violence from security officials, who verbally and physically assault them, and arbitrarily arrest and detain them, often without a legal basis.

LGBT people reported abuses during detention including being denied food and water, or the right to contact a lawyer or family members, or get medical care. They said the police sexually assaulted them and physically abused them and forced them to sign pledges stating that they had not been abused.


Last night, the Academy had the chance to do the right thing and not shake hands with homophobia.  They didn't do the right thing.  And the man they awarded made a mockery of the ceremony and disgraced himself and the Academy.  Excuse me, if I don't shed tears for the industry.  It got exactly the disrespect it deserved.  Here's hoping the ratings were very low.


Let's wind down with Cindy Sheehan on THE BITTER TRUTH.





Kat's "Kat's Korner: Joss Stone and Judy Collins crash and burn" went up Sunday  morning.  The following sites updated:





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Saturday, March 26, 2022

Parker Posey

Guess I'll be keeping HBO Max for a few months more:


Parker Posey has joined the ensemble cast of The Parenting, a poltergeist comedy from New Line and HBO Max.

Posey joins veteran actors Brian Cox, Edie Falco, Lisa Kudrow, and Dean Norris, plus rising Hollywood names Nik Dodani and Brandon Flynn, on the call sheet for the feature, which begins shooting Friday in Massachusetts with Craig Johnson in the director’s seat.

Written by Kent Sublette, the script centers on a young gay couple, Rohan and Josh, who host a meeting of their parents during a weekend at a cozy rental house in the country. Things take a turn for the horrifying and comedic when the new lodgers find it is already inhabited by a 400-year-old evil entity.

Parker Posey is one of my favorite actresses.  Which is why I was extra upset when Netflix took the axe to Lost In Space.


My girlfriend and I were just on Netflix this morning watching Superman Returns for Parker.  She's Lex Luther's squeeze in that movie.  And Parker really is the best thing about that movie.  


I love Parker in so many moives.  

PARTY GIRL is a classic.   So are HENRY FOOL, FAY GRIM, A MIGHTY WIND, FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION, MASCOTS, BEST IN SHOW, WAITING FOR GUFFMAN, CAFE SOCIETY, IRRATIONAL MAN, NED RIFLE, SLEEP WITH ME, DAZED AND CONFUSED, THE DOOM GENERATION, KICKING AND SCREAMING, HOUSE OF YES and CLOCKWATCHERS.  She's also been in some strong commerical films like YOU'VE GOT MAIL,   BLADE: TRINITYand SCREAM 3.


The article also notes:

Parker will soon be seen in another HBO Max project, limited-series drama The Staircase opposite Colin Firth and Toni Collette. On the movie front, the actress will be seen with Joaquin Phoenix in A24’s Disappointment Blvd., the latest movie from Midsommar auteur Ari Aster.



Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"


 Friday, March 24, 2022.  About the only good world news today, Mad Maddie Albright remains dead.


Apparently something needs clarification.  It's up here before -- many times over.  But some whiners to the public e-mail account insist that 'poor' Mad Maddie Albright was done wrong by me yesterday in the snapshot.  If so, I'm fine with that.  I don't give a damn about her.  But I'm not sure that she was done wrong.  18 years this iste has been up.  16 years, I've wanted to wind it donw.


Can't.  


Because pretty much everyone walked away from the Iraq War -- the western press certainly did.  The same whores who helped sell the Iraq War.  


Bloggers pretended to care.  Panhandle Media -- send money!  send money! -- pretended to care.  Congress pretended to care.  All those people were apparently pretending.  


I think they were suprised, politicians -- for example, by how strong the mood was against the Iraq War.  But they saw it as a way to win eletions so they pretended to give a damn.  When REupblicancs controlled the White House and both houses of Congress, the illegal war was wrong and must end immediately.


Then Democrats were put in charge of Congress (both houses in the November 2006 elections) and then the Congress and the White House (November 2008 elections) and wtihdrawing all US forces became a forgotten cry.


All the fake asses went away.  Someone -- maybe Fiorella Isabel on THE CONVO COUCH -- this wee,k made the point that certain Republicans look ridiculous when they start saying that these generic centerist Democratsin Congress are "Communists."  And I agree and get that point 100% but it's also true that Leslie Cagan is a Communist and she did everything she could to elect Democrats.  She wasn't, it turned out, at all concerned about the Iraq War.  She just grandstanded on that to drum up votes for the Democratic Party. That's why she and her group United For Peace and Justice immediately folded up their tent days after Barack Obama was elected president in 2008.  The war hadn't ended.  The media wasn't even pretending that it had at that point.  But there was Leslie shutting down her cong game.  While it's ridiculous to think Nancy Pelosi, for exmaple, might be a Communist, as some Republicans do, it's equally ridiculous that some Communists in American dedicate their lives to whoring and diverting for the Democratic Party.


If Leslie dies while this site is active?  We'll probably remember her about as 'nicely' as we did Mad Maddie.


Because this iste isn't about Amerrican crooks and con artists.  From the start, we've tried to highlight the Iraqi people.  And you, an American (idiot/) might feel that Mad Maddie got treated unfairly with words I offered yesterday.  However, the Iraqi children who suffered under sanctions -- many of whom died -- had to endure a lot more than mere words and for a lot longer than one day.  


Children suffered because of Mad Maddie Albright.  Some died.  Some started off life with a struggle that she imposed.  


We weren't the only ones noting the truth about Mad Maddie.  But because enough people in the US were telling the truth, western media wasn't able to do their usual photo-shopping of the truth.  Mad Maddie will probably still get her week of tributes that all crooks in the US political class get but NEWSWEEK and others are being forced to note that she was very proud of her part in the murder of Iraqi children via crippling sanctions.


As for your prayers you'll offer for my soul?  I think we can probably all use some prayers, thank you.  But I also think if you're torn and upset over the death of an 84-year-old woman who bragged that the death of at least 500,000 children was "worth it," someone whom even Colin Powell had to admonish (the US military is not a toy), someone who partenred with The Baker Group in 2004 to skim off millions from Iraq, then you're either a saint who cries for the death of each and every person or else you're priorities are incredibly screwed.

Here's Mad Maddie.




The Iraqi people suffered and continue to suffer.  Mad Maddie is noted by Patrick Martin (WSWS) but he notes it's impossible to review her entire rap sheet:


Even more significantly, Albright became chair of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in 2001 and held that position until her death. The NDI is an arm of the capitalist state, CIA-financed to promote pro-imperialist political forces and to subvert any radical or oppositionist trend that might threaten US corporate interests in countries around the world.

In that capacity, Albright was deeply involved in every crime of the US military-intelligence apparatus in the first two decades of the 21st century, from Afghanistan to Iraq to Ukraine. The celebration of her life and work by the corporate media, and by Democratic and Republican politicians alike, is a demonstration of the bipartisan consensus that anything goes, no matter how undemocratic and bloody, in the defense of the profits and worldwide global interests of the American financial aristocracy.


Let's stay with garbage for a moment more.  From Albright to another American who needs to buy a damn clue: Little Sammy P.N. Cook who is 'ceo' of his own sandbox entitled SanityDesk.  He's surfaced online to inform the world that Urkaine, which he just left, is worse than it was in Iraq.


Really?  


Little Sammy Junior, you were with the US military in Iraq.  It was probably a lot easier for you -- for anyone -- in Iraq with the US military than it is for anyone in Ukraine.  But don't confuse you entering that contury armed and with other people who were also armed with what it was like -- what it still is like -- for an Iraqi in Iraq.  You reek of entitlement and of stupditiy.  You really should learn to measure your remarks when you're trying to create yourself as someone smart enough to offer analysis.  The Iraq war didnt make you an expert on anything and you're the one who is constantly proving that fact.


You need the press and 'experts' like Little Sammy to sell your wars.  At BLACK AGENDA REPORT, Jacqueline Luqman explains:


A “newspaper of record” is a major newspaper with a large circulation whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered authoritative. In this country, that newspaper has been the New York Times. It is believed that librarians began to refer to The New York Times (NYT) as the “newspaper of record” in 1913 when it became the first U.S. newspaper to publish an index of the subjects covered in its pages. Regardless of how it became known as the authoritative source for editorial and news content, it is time that we stop calling the NYT the “newspaper of record” now, especially during this conflict in Ukraine.

The NYT’s March 18th digital headline reads: “130 Rescued from Mariupol Theater, Official Says.” Beyond the headline and under the section, “Here are the latest developments in Ukraine,” more details are provided:

“At least 130 survivors have escaped the ruins of a theater that was nearly leveled in a Russian attack in the embattled southern city of Mariupol, a Ukrainian official said on Friday, but hundreds remained unaccounted for in the wreckage. The city was one of the many under withering missile bombardment across Ukraine as Ukrainian forces continued to frustrate Russian troop advances.”

There is more in this section about the millions escaping Ukraine and the “withering Russian attacks” on the theater. But there is not one word about the neo-Nazis which, in the case of the city of Mariupol and that theater, is a very important part of the story. In fact, the Azov Batallion , an openly Nazi paramilitary group that was consolidated in 2014 to fight against “pro-Russian separatists,” captured the city of Mariupol in 2014.  To be clear, those designated “pro-Russian separatists” are the people who, in protest of the US-backed fascist coup in 2014 and in demand of their democratic rights, voted to secede from Ukraine and rejoin the Russian Federation. 

It is true that we focus a lot on the neo-Nazis in this conflict. It is not because they are the only and major problem in the conflict. But the lack of reporting on them in US media is disturbing. Aren’t Nazis supposed to be the bad guys? You would think it would be easy for journalists of such a “reputable” publication such as the New York Times to report on the neo-Nazis who took over and now control the city of Mariupol. But no.

Even The Guardian - the British newspaper of note, with at least some standing - reported on the fascists controlling Mariupol back in September 2014 . The reporter focused the article on individual members of the battalion, particularly one man named Dmitry ( not his real name) who is quoted at the beginning of the article saying, “I have nothing against Russian nationalists or a great Russia, But Putin's not even a Russian. Putin's a Jew." The article continues: 

“...there is an increasing worry that while the Azov and other volunteer battalions might be Ukraine's most potent and reliable force on the battlefield against the separatists, they also pose the most serious threat to the Ukrainian government, and perhaps even the state, when the conflict in the east is over. The Azov causes particular concern due to the far right, even neo-Nazi, leanings of many of its members.”

Actually, the good ol’ USA Today reported on the neoNazi problem in Ukraine, too, back in 2015.  They didn’t even use the term “neo-Nazis;” They used “Nazis.”  In the article, a drill sergeant named Alex is interviewed. The accompanying picture shows Alex laughing with an Azov Battalion patch on his jacket. Alex, according to the article,

“...admitted that he is a Nazi and said with a laugh that no more than half his comrades are fellow Nazis. He said he supports strong leadership for Ukraine, like Germany during World War II, but opposes the Nazis' genocide against Jews. Minorities should be tolerated as long as they are peaceful and don't demand special privileges, he said, and the property of wealthy oligarchs should be taken away and nationalized. He vowed that when the war ends, his comrades will march on the capital, Kiev, to oust a government they consider corrupt.”

The article, however, goes on to dismiss Russia’s concerns about these Nazis at their border in eastern Ukraine, claiming: Russian media exploit such statements to describe the brigade in this port city in eastern Ukraine as a bunch of thugs who menace the population yet are embraced by Ukraine's national government.” But it is these same Nazis who would go on to wage war against and kill mostly ethnic Russian people for the next 8 years.


It takes a lot of lies to encourage hatred and promote war.  You have to promote hate -- all repressive governments grasp that and work towards it.  If they can make someone hateful enough -- some outsider -- then they can justify the failures  of their own -- the failures to improve the lives of their own citizens.  Remember that as US President Joe Biden keeps trying to normalize food shortages.  The only response to food shortages in the US is "Vote the bums out."  That's reality.  We pay millions in tax dollars each year and food shortages?  Joe Biden was never up to being president.  BAck to the latest war of choice . . .   The edtiroial board of WSWS notes:


In a meeting with the US Business Roundtable ahead of the summit, Biden pointed to the long-running plans that are being put into practice.

“You know, we are at an inflection point,” Biden said. “It occurs every three or four generations. As one of the top military people said to me in a secure meeting the other day, 60 million people died between 1900 and 1946.”

He added that “now is a time when things are shifting... There’s going to be a new world order out there, and we’ve got to lead it.”

The phrase “New World Order” has a long and bloody provenance.

On September 11, 1990, US President George H.W. Bush gave a speech entitled “Toward a New World Order.” He declared, “The crisis in the Persian Gulf, as grave as it is, also offers a rare opportunity to move toward an historic period.”

As in the present crisis in Ukraine, the United States maneuvered to have Iraq invade a neighboring country to provide a pretext for war plans long in the making. The Gulf War triggered an eruption of US militarism that continued through the wars in Yugoslavia, the “war on terror” and the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, the US overthrow of the Libyan government, and the years-long destabilization campaign against Syria.

Biden’s “New World Order” involves the transition from 30 years of wars and interventions in the Middle East and Central Asia, which have killed more than 1 million people, into a conflict targeting Russia and China, which raises the specter of a Third World War waged with nuclear weapons.

The headlines in the capitalist press expose the reckless war mania that has swept over the ruling class, bringing behind it the affluent middle class. “NATO Plans to Ramp Up Forces on Eastern Flank,” blared the New York Times. Another article in the Times stated that “both Russia and the United States have nuclear arms that are much less destructive—their power just fractions of the Hiroshima bomb’s force, their use perhaps less frightening and more thinkable.”

David C. Gompert, a former acting director of national intelligence under the Obama administration, wrote in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal that the US “has more survivable, accurate and reliable offensive nuclear forces that could further decimate Russia’s strategic deterrent on the ground. Whatever Russian missiles survive such disarming strikes would be picked off by US missile defense systems.”

The Putin regime, confronted with the failure of its plan for a limited war in Ukraine that was aimed at pressuring NATO to negotiate on its security concerns, is trying to escape the trap into which it was lured by resorting to nuclear saber rattling. The world could face a dystopian crisis that ends in a “big nuclear explosion,” former Russian president and Putin ally Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday.

The interaction of NATO’s recklessness, fueled by a series of intersecting domestic crises, and Russia’s desperation has created an extraordinarily explosive situation.

This dangerous escalation must be opposed through the development of a mass anti-war movement, based on the international working class.

There is a growing movement of workers throughout the world against social inequality and exploitation. The consequences of the war drive are fueling protests and strikes over soaring inflation and mass poverty.


Moving to Iraq . . . 

Let's again note this from ARAB WEEKLY:

 Partisan and personal loyalties have decided the fate of Iraq's presidency and premiership, despite all previous vows by populist leader Moqtada al-Sadr to base his nominations for leadership posts on the national interest only.

Instead, Iraq seems to be moving away from a system of political quotas to one based on the accommodation of various players, if not indeed, plain nepotism.

Sadr chose to nominate Riber Ahmed, the Kurdistan region’s interior minister and director of the office of party leader Massoud Barzani, for the position of president of the republic. He has also nominated Mohammad Jaafar al-Sadr, one of his cousins, to serve as the country’s prime minister.

Iraqi political analysts said that Sadr, who had claimed to be motivated by a desire to free himself from the yoke of the pro-Iranian Shia Coordination Framework, has fallen under the control of Massoud Barzani and accepted his conditions. These included endorsing the latter’s nominee for the presidency of Iraq, despite the fact that the candidate is virtually unknown to most Iraqis. Moreover, Ahmed will have a hard time filling the shoes of a figure of the stature, connections and overall record of the incumbent Barham Salih.

Analysts said that by agreeing to be swayed by the game of political accommodation and by choosing a relative with no political record nor experience as nominee for prime minister, Sadr has shown he is no different from the rest of the political players who have assumed leadership positions in the country since the 2003 US invasion.  His opposition to quotas, nepotism and his advocacy of the “national majority” now ring hollow, they add.

Three days before the appointment of a new president for Iraq, the tripartite alliance (the Sunni Sovereignty Alliance, the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Sadrists) announced the formation of the largest bloc in parliament under the banner of “Saving the Country”. The new alliance officially announced the nomination of Riber Ahmed for president and Mohammad Jaafar al-Sadr as prime minister.


To be fair to Moqtdaq, he is backing a choice for prime minister that is different -- since it's hiw own cousin.  But nepotisim really wasn't what the Iraqi people were wanting.  He could argue back that without nepotism, he'd still be a cleark at an Iranian hotel, hiding out from his many enemies in Iraq.  


Today, right now, these events are unfolding.  And the western press is too busy selling war on Ukraine to take the time to notice just how awful life is for the Iraqi people and how they have a government that doesn't represent them and doesn't even  offer the pretense that it does.


Let's wind down with this from Ajamu Baraka (BLACK AGENDA REPORT)::


Images of burnt flesh from napalm bombs, wounded and dead soldiers, scenes of U.S. soldiers burning the simple huts of Vietnamese villages, eventually turned the public against the war in Vietnam and produced the dreaded affliction, from the ruling class point of view, known as the “Vietnam syndrome.” This collective Post Traumatic Stress Disorder made it impossible for the public to support any foreign military involvement for years.

It took the rulers almost three decades to finally cure the public of this affliction. But the rulers were careful.

The brutal reality of what the U.S. was doing in Afghanistan and Iraq was whitewashed. That is why the images now being brought to the public by the corporate media are so shocking. It has been more than two generations since the U.S. public was exposed to the horrific images of war.

In the 1960s the rulers inadvertently allowed themselves to be undermined by the new television technology that brought the awful reality of imperialist war into the homes of the public. Now, the ruling class operating through its corporate media propaganda arms has been effectively using Ukraine war propaganda, not to increase Anti-war sentiment but to stimulate support for more war!

Incredibly also, the propagandists are pushing a line that essentially says that in the name of “freedom” and supporting Ukraine, the U.S. public should shoulder the sacrifice of higher fuel and food prices. This is on top of the inflation that workers and consumers were already being subjected to coming out of the capitalist covid scandal that devastated millions of workers and the lower stratums of the petit bourgeoisie.

But the war, and now the unfair shouldering of all of the costs of the capitalist crisis of 2008 - 2009, and the impact of covid by the working classes in the U.S., amounts to a capitalist tax. It is levied by the oligarchy on workers to subsidize the defense of the interests of big capital and the conditions that have produced obscene profits, even in the midst of the covid crisis and now, the Ukraine war.

These policies are criminal. While the U.S. continues to pretend that it champions human rights around the world, the failure of the state to protect the fundamental human rights of the citizens and residents in the U.S. is obvious to all, but spoken about by the few, except the Chinese government .

For those who might think that the Chinese criticism of the U.S. is only being driven by politics, and it might be,  just a cursory, objective examination of the U.S. state policies over just the last few years reveals a shocking record of systematic human rights abuses that promise to become even more acute as a consequence of the manufactured U.S./NATO war in Ukraine.



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