Wednesday, April 3, 2019

NETFLIX, Helen Mirren, Michelle Williams and more



Esteemed actress Helen Mirren knows how to get a crowd of movie theater owners going — by hurling obscenities at their streaming competitors.
“I love Netflix, but f—k Netflix!” Mirren cheered onstage at CinemaCon, the annual convention of movie exhibitors, on Tuesday. She was met with thunderous applause, while talking up her new film “The Good Liar” at the Warner Bros. presentation.
Mirren continued to preach to the choir, saying, “There is nothing like sitting in the cinema.” She also thanked the group of exhibitors for giving her the best up-and-coming actress award years ago at the start of her film career.

I hear her.  F NETFLIX should be our motto.   I mentioned the price increase last time in "LADIES WHO PUNCH" and that is a sore spot.  I've got nearly 100 e-mails complaining about it.  NETFLIX should grasp that if our shows were on, we wouldn't be complaining.  But we are paying for original content and our original content keeps getting cancelled.  Most e-mails mentioned SENSE8 and almost every single one mentioned a MARVEL show.  A lot of people have mentioned FULLER HOUSE (which is about to do its final season) and probably 15 of you also mentioned ONE DAY AT A TIME.  Every e-mail mentioned multiple shows.  I think Brandon summed it up best with, "I get ticked off when ABC cancels one of my shows but I'm not paying every month for ABC.  I am paying for NETFLIX and every show I like gets cancelled.  And garbage like INSATIABLE gets renewed.  Something's wrong with this picture."  Agreed.

"Jussie was never 'cleared" is a piece we did at THIRD this week about Jussie Smollett.  Make a point to read it if you are following that story.



Greed is ripping her over ripe face apart, isn't it?  Her looks are shot.  Is it drugs?  If it's not drugs, she's sick.  Look at her eyes, the 'whites' of her eyes.  Also look at the bulging around the eyes.  Thyroid issues?  Drugs?

So Michelle's playing Gwen Verdon opposite Sam Rockwell.  Who?

I like Sam but his biggest moment remains the villain in the first CHARLEI'S ANGELS (he's the one who sleeps with Drew and then tries to kill her).  That was over 18 years ago.  Now he's doing bad FX miniseries with Michelle.

No, she was never going to earn what Mark Wahlberg or Tom Hardy does.  Not because they're men but because people pay to see them.  No one pays to see Michelle in films.

She's never carried a film.  As 'the girl,' she has a hit with Tom Hardy's VENOM.  She didn't carry that.  $213 nukkuib,

Hugh Jackman carried THE GREATEST SHOWMAN. $174 million.

Now she carried ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD.  $25 million.  No, that's not opening weekend, it's lifetime gross.

With $234 million, OZ is the biggest film she's appeared in but she wasn't even the second lead in that. 

$83 million is how much BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN made but are we seriously pretending she was the star of that?  She wasn't even the best supporting actor in that film. She was the star of MY WEEK WITH MARILYN.  It made $14 million in ticket sales.

She doesn't get huge pay because she can't deliver ticket buyers.  She's 38 so it's pretty much over for her.  If it was ever going to happen -- movie stardom -- it would have happened by now.  She's like a Mia Farrow in the 60s and 70s.  She's a known actress but she's not a movie star.  No one is going, "Cast that woman!"  She's who gets hired after 15 to 16 other women have turned the part down.  Just like Mia Farrow whose film career is a joke without the Woody Allen films.  HURRICANE?  Want to see bad acting, check out some of her films like that one.  You have ROSEMARY'S BABY and that's it for Mia until she start making Woody films.  She is in some awful films and she is very awful in them.  I love Robert Altman but his worst film may be the one she's in A WEDDING.  She's just awful.   She was right to want to work with Woody after they broke up and she kicked Soon-Yi out (and beat her up).  Mia still thought she'd be starring in MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTERY.  She was shocked to find out that Diane Keaton was going to be starring in it instead. 

In fairness to Mia, WIDOWS' PEAK (after she broke up with Woody) is a strong film -- mainly due to Joan Plowright.  But that' really it for her.  She's got that and ROSEMARY'S BABY.  All the other films, except for Woody's films, are awful.  Now she and Woody made some bad films together.  I'd include ANOTHER WOMAN on that list.  But she also appeared in some of his classic films: BROADWAY DANNY ROSE (and I'd argue she carries this film, it's her strongest acting ever and a character unlike anything she ever played before or after), ZELIG, THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO, ALICE, CRIMES AND MISDEAMENORS, Woody's part of NEW YORK STORIES, HANNAH AND HER SISTERS, RADIO DAYS -- I'd even include parts of SHADOWS AND FOG.

Those are films she should be remembered for and really demonstrated true talent.  You can put them together with ROSEMARY'S BABY and WIDOWS' PEAK and she's got a body of work to be proud of.  But that's it.  Everything else she is either horrible herself (DEATH ON THE NILE) or the film is horrible.  She was never a movie star.  She was an actress who frequently was cast in a leading part.


Going out with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"


Wednesday, April 3, 2019.  As former Vice President Joe Biden prepares to announce his run for the presidency, two more women step forward.

And now there are four.  THE NEW YORK TIMES reported late yesterday that two more women have stepped forward to complain about Joe Biden groping them. Then 19-year-old Caitlyn Caruso was groped   Elaine offered an example of how the hideous Alyssa Milano might try to spin that:

Hagtress Alyssa Milano will, no doubt, show up to defend Joe Biden again.  Probably insist, "Yes, he touched Caitlyn's leg but he did so at 'an event about sexual assault' and we have to give him credit for attending the event!  That's the important thing!"



For years, we have had to endure the image of the wife standing next to the politician husband as he minimizes his actions.  Apparently, these days the Alyssa Milanos will rush forward to volunteer for the job.

The second woman is DJ Hill who explained that Joe's hands were slipping down her back when her husband stepped in to stop it.

RT CBSThisMorning: Four women are coming forward about former Vice President Joe Biden, saying he touched them in a way that made them feel uncomfortable.


5:30
323 views



Four women have now come forward and there are more women considering coming forward.  Applause for all four who have come forward.  This is not a conversation that America has ever wanted to have -- and judging by the offensive remarks of Alyssa Milano and others (Weight Gain McCain, for example), it's a conversation that the country will be forced to have.  Boys will be boys and Biden will be Biden appears to be the position so many of them are taking.

In contrast to the willfully stupid, Jessica Valenti (MEDIUM) observes:


Those who believe this is simply a matter of misunderstanding must then fundamentally not trust women. But women have been dealing with these interactions since, unfortunately, before puberty. We are the utmost experts in what they mean — what’s appropriate and what’s demeaning.
I also wonder how many men would be fine with a boss who rubbed their shoulders while deeply inhaling the back of their head. The truth is that if men had to deal with a fraction of the indignities women are expected to endure, they would revolt.
The effect of these seemingly minor infractions is one that women know all too well: Every shoulder rub and unwanted kiss tells us how little our personal space, privacy, and dignity really mean. Women are reminded of our place again and again and again. And then, when we’re told it’s all in our heads, we’re reminded one more time.




It’s telling that Biden has constructed his defense around the claim that he never had the “intention” of causing women discomfort. He’s placed the burden of reckoning on the recipients of his actions, the women who mistook his friendly gestures as invasive and unsettling. But good intentions that forge ahead, time after time, with no regard for the unique circumstances of each situation are no longer good—they’re careless. Any leader might occasionally offend women or step out of line in physical interactions with them. But he’d do so in spite of his sincere best efforts, not because he seemingly didn’t care enough to try. 



It's really clear and it's really basic -- unless you're an enabler like Alyssa Milano.  If you're an enabler, you Tweet crap like this.

4. Joe Biden’s response that he never meant to make anyone uncomfortable and that he'll listen and learn from anyone who says otherwise is exactly the leadership we need to build a culture where women are heard and are equal.




"Listen and learn''?  He and his wife both called the Carters to get Stephanie to write that piece she wrote which, yes, is dismissing Lucy Flores.  But more to the point, he's 76-years-old and has been doing this forever.  There have been articles about it, there was Samantha Bee's infamous 2015 skit about it on THE DAILY SHOW.  At what point do we stop saying, "Oh, if only the women involved had expressly told him . . ."  No, it's his behavior and it's always been inappropriate.  He's gotten away with it and he knows he has.  He's only 'addressing' it now -- hiding behind women's skirts -- because he wants to bury it before his big "I am announcing I will seek the Democratic Party's presidential nomination" moment later this month.

He has shown no leadership on this issue.  He has ignored it and only responded when forced to.

I guess Alyssa's 'busy' schedule of doing nothing doesn't allow her time to brush up on issues or information.  She's got that bit part in the NETFLIX series everyone hated, remember?  She's so busy.  She's trying to punish the Georgia film industry these days but if she was serious she could announce that she won't go to Georgia to film INSATIABLE anymore, couldn't she?  She could take a stand if she wanted to but she doesn't want to give up her bi part as the middle-aged side piece.  She knows her talent is minimal and her future job prospects even more so.


Link to headline article

Some just don't get it.  Like this one:

Stop this insanity. If Joe Biden or anyone else sexually assaulted you, by all means please file charges. No matter when it happened. But if someone, touching you, male or female, makes you "uncomfortable," say something... to them...at the time. Even your cheek pinching grandma.



Randi's all about the women -- provided they're men in dresses wearing dresses for laughs.  She didn't really write a part for Sally Field into MRS. DOUBTFIRE, did she?  Just a stereotypical nag.  Well there are always women who will hate themselves and write that into their work.  Congratulations, Randi, may you soon become the man you always wanted to be -- right after you kill Mommy -- that was the point of MRS. DOUBTFIRE, after all.  And THE TOOTH FAIRY.  Let's not forget that.  Or that her body of work is all about rebuking women.  Yet she thinks she can step up and we're all supposed to listen?  Write another bad 'comedy,' Randi, channel your rage over being a woman into that -- again.

In the real world, and in the stories being shared, women explain that they were being groped by the Vice President of the United States and didn't believe they had any power.

But worry no more!  Randi's busy writing SISSY'S BIG MOVE.  Vin Diesel, desperate to get his 'high strung' and 'distant' ex-wife back, learns that his wife was groped by the CEO of her company and didn't feel she could speak out.  So Vin dons a dress and becomes Sissy McMatthews -- a sassy and brassy new hire from the south who shows how a man -- posing as a woman -- would handle it and -- as in all of Randi's works -- saves the day because -- in Randi's works -- that's what men do.  And his ex-wife, she'll take him back and feel more kindly towards the kitchen -- it's a Randi script which means it writes itself!  Go, Randi, go! And take your violet and blue mornings with you.




Joe voted for the Iraq War.

I feel like really if you set aside all the charges about Joe Biden then you’re left with a guy who greenlit the Iraq War while chairing the foreign relations committee, has apologized for his earlier work chairing judiciary, and was known as a top ally for credit card companies.




The Iraq War continues.   The never-ending wars continue.  The Defense Dept budget is a sink hole and Americans have less and less to show for their way of life as a result.


From David DeGraw:
Google has once again pulled my new report from their search results. This is the second report on whistleblowers being silenced that they have censored. The first report eventually got relisted after making noise about it on social media. Let's see what happens with this one...

Please help spread the word on Twitter here and Facebook here.
Get the full 45-page report in PDF format here and as MS Word doc here.

~*~

As you can see from these extensive reports, I have been working hard to uncover vital information on this critical National Security issue. All of this work is done independently and it is 100% reader-funded. If you appreciate my work and want to see more of it, now is the time to step up in support.
Very Grateful for all the much needed support,
~ David
Please forward this e-mail to friends >>
Social Media Links: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
~*~
If you appreciate my work, please subscribe or make a one-time donation. Every dollar helps keep me reporting...
Here's a section of David's report:

Blow the whistle on fraud and the Defense Contract Audit Agency will accuse you of being a mentally ill terrorist.

When you look into Whistleblower cases, there are many reoccurring themes. To get a more in-depth understanding of what whistleblowers are up against, in one of the very rare cases when American taxpayers were able to get justice, Kirk McGill, who was a Senior Auditor for the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA), blew the whistle on a $433 million contract.
After spending over two years battling against many retaliation attacks, which led to his demotion, involuntary transfer, unpaid suspension, character assassination and eventual resignation, McGill summed up his nightmare in dealing with the DOD IG, the office that handles DOD whistleblower complaints, by saying:
  "A number of my colleagues and superiors told me that attempting to contact DOD IG as a whistleblower was futile, and they have been proven totally correct."
  "It is clear that DOD IG is either one of the most incompetent investigative agencies in the history of that profession, or is deliberately being obtuse."
  "As noted repeatedly, DOD IG was told in a disclosure that DCAA IRD [Internal Review Directorate] was compromised."
  "Yet, despite this fact, DOD IG continued to refer complaints to IRD as if nothing was wrong. In doing so, DOD IG handed the very people that were retaliating against me, related to the whistleblower disclosures, specific details of the allegations I was making against them."
  "Even Inspector Clouseau would recognize that something is wrong with this picture."
After the DOD IG referred McGill's case to the DCAA IRD, the DCAA IRD then engaged in a series of highly scandalous actions in attempts to discredit and silence McGill. They even falsely accused him of being a terrorist who wanted to blow up the Capitol Building, and they also made false accusations that he was mentally ill.
A Wikipedia page featuring information about McGill's case was vandalized and derogatory comments smearing his reputation were added to the website. The IP address that made those "edits" to the Wikipedia entry came from internal DCAA servers.
In addition to all of that, McGill's social media accounts were hacked.
Keep in mind, this all happened to a Senior DOD Auditor for the Defense Contract Audit Agency who was vindicated after multiple Congressional hearings.
As a military spending auditor, in this case alone, McGill saved American taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, and this is how the DOD IG and Defense Contract Audit Agency, who oversee trillions of tax dollars, tried to silence him.
It took McGill over 10,000 hours of work, two trips to Washington D.C. and incredible personal costs — while under constant intimidation and retaliation attacks, which ultimately led to him resigning — to eventually get justice for American taxpayers.
How many people in the military have the time or money needed to pull that off?
McGill's heroic battle featured common obstacles that many DOD whistleblowers face. In a letter to Congress, McGill further highlighted the DOD IG's systemic failure to protect whistleblowers:
  "DOD IG closed this allegation without discussing the matter with me directly in any way. It then either closed or referred every complaint (with two exceptions) right back to DCAA-IRD.
  "I do not believe that any faith can be placed in DOD IG if it passes the buck to the very people accused of the misconduct in question, putting them on notice of exactly what they are accused of, and who did the accusing."
  "Frankly, DOD IG's conduct is, in and of itself, worthy of Congressional attention and possible action; no whistleblower with two brain cells to rub together would trust the DOD IG after this conduct, and that should seriously concern the Congress that relies on such whistleblowers to uncover Executive Branch misconduct."
Not surprisingly, with the DOD IG working in partnership with agencies and officials who are being accused of corruption and crimes, there are now a record number of whistleblowers who have been retaliated against and silenced.
~ This is an excerpt from my latest extensive report, which takes an in-depth look into critical systemic breakdowns throughout the whistleblowing process.
This excerpt was posted to Facebook here.

(Read Full Report Here)

~*~



Money for destruction but not to help people.


  1. We need a to take the trillions of dollars spent on regime change wars and the nuclear arms race and invest them to meet the needs of the American people. Otherwise, we can't even ensure our most vulnerable communities have clean water following a disaster.



In other developments . . .

The majority of Provincial Council members have voted for autonomy, head of the council revealed & adding that they also have sent an an official letter to PM Adil Abdul-Mahdi and the Independent High Electoral Commission for support.






The following sites updated:





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