i was reminded of that while at 'the daily beast' and reading cassie da costa's piece about how ellen isn't all that nice. no, ellen degeneres isn't nice. cassie wants you to know:
In her latest stand-up special—after a long hiatus from the medium—DeGeneres responded to the question of whether she is still relatable enough to be doing stand-up in the first place. What resulted was a kind of meta-special with bits about the minor inconveniences of her wealthy lifestyle—some ironic, others she genuinely seemed to believe make her “normal.”
in december of 2018, ava and c.i. covered that special in 'TV: The lies of Ellen DeGeneres are out in full force in her NETFLIX special.' i think they captured ellen better:
Another thing, watching the special, we had to wonder was about how women present themselves on TV.
Ellen is angry. She has rage in her eyes in the "Ask Ellen" part when a woman says she feels like she knows Ellen because she's watched her so long on TV and asks Ellen, "What would you like to know about me?"
Rage.
And it's there in the special as well (and it holds the audience at a distance as she brags on herself and her life repeatedly while pretending she's joking): the greed, the anger, the rage.
Ellen's made noises about leaving her daytime talk show -- apparently because it's so hard to be nice.
She talks a lot about the talk show in the stand-up. They didn't think a lesbian could be a hit in daytime. They didn't like what she wore and gave her a makeover before they started taping the show. She had to wear necklaces, on and on. And the producer had her give stuff away. "I got a TV from the gay lady! I sure do like her!"
It reminded us of Rosie O'Donnell.
First off, Rosie was successful on THE VIEW the first go round. And she was out at that time.
It was a different Rosie than the persona of her long running and successful THE ROSIE O'DONNELL SHOW. Back then, she was in the closet. And she gave things away. And she smiled a lot and was always happy and nice.
Then she came out and let her anger rip. We're not griping about that. Rosie angry can get a lot accomplished and can cut through a lot of the crap. But Ellen basically stole Rosie's act -- the act that Rosie tossed aside and discarded. And that's apparently eating at Ellen. It's very frustrating to watch RELATABLE and see this angry Ellen peeking out but never emerging. That's not truth, that's dishonesty -- and hiding all that anger and rage? Talk about being in the closet.
cassie writes these lies:
DeGeneres’ comedy and sitcom career famously came to a halt when, in 1997, she used an episode of her show, Ellen, to come out. Even Laura Dern, who played her love interest in the episode, reportedly couldn’t get a job for years afterward. Of course, both women have since seen comebacks that have catapulted them to stardom and riches, but Ellen has more recently received a kind of countercultural check.
i'm sorry cassie's so damn stupid.
i thought the 1st thing a writer did after they interviewed some 1 was make sure the subject told the truth?
cassie didn't interview ellen. she just went by the lies ellen told in her 'netflix' special and the segment after called 'ask ellen.'
laura dern's career did not come to a halt. she worked non-stop. ellen was lying. even ellen's career didn't come to a stop. again, ellen was lying.
back to ava and c.i. telling you the truth others couldn't be bothered with:
Second, she said, "The truth would always win."
Well, no, not in the special, not in "Ask Ellen," the nine minute special that follows her stand-up special where she takes questions from the audience that attended the taping.
She said she was off TV for three years because she came out.
It's not true.
Kelly Wynne (NEWSWEEK) raves over the special and runs with Ellen's lie, "DeGeneres explains it took her three years to get her career back after the backlash she faced."
So Ellen lies and the media -- without bothering to even examine the claim -- runs with the lie and suddenly the takeaway is: Come out and suffer, you'll be off TV for three years, you'll be out of work.
That's not what happened.
And then, in the special, Ellen made it even worse. She singled out Laura Dern (we know Laura) who was in the audience and insisted that Laura playing her --
Her what?
Ellen said her "love interest."
Object of affection would be a better term for what Laura played. There's a myth that they kissed (they didn't) or that Laura played her girlfriend (she didn't). Lisa Darr played Ellen's girlfriend (and lover) for eight episodes (in the final season of ELLEN) and, no, playing the role did not harm Lisa's career, she's worked in television or film every year from 1998 to the present with the exception of 2010.
By contrast, Laura Dern played Susan on one episode of ELLEN, "The Puppy Episode," the coming out episode, which was an hour long. Ellen (her character's name in ELLEN) meets Susan when Ellen goes to dinner with an old boyfriend. She goes back to the hotel with the old boyfriend who makes a pass and Ellen leaves. She bumps into Susan at the hotel and goes to Susan's room. Susan tells Ellen that she's gay and she thinks Ellen is. Offended, Ellen leaves the hotel. She gets on the couch with Dr. Oprah Winfrey and realizes she's attracted to Susan. Ellen rushes to the airport to tell Susan and ends up announcing she's gay on the P.A. system. Though Susan is actually not leaving town, Ellen doesn't go out with her. Instead, Ellen then goes home and has her friends over to tell them she's gay. Susan and Ellen are at the bookstore the next day and Susan, seeing that Audrey and Joe think she and Ellen are a couple, explains to Ellen, "I'm in a relationship."
Ellen insists on the special (in the "Ask Ellen" part), "So Laura, as you know, played my love interest on the show and even though she's straight, after she was on my show, she didn't get work for like a year, two years? Just because she was my love interest on the show."
Really?
Because after that 1997 episode of ELLEN, Laura went on to do THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW and the telefilm THE BABY DANCE in 1998, 1999 saw the release of her film OCTOBER SKY, 2000 found her in Robert Altman's DR.T AND THE WOMEN, 2001 saw her in I AM SAM, JURASSIC PARK III, FOCUS and DADDY AND THEM and the telefilm WITHIN THESE WALLS -- exactly what year -- or two -- in there was Laura unable to get a job?
Ellen's preaching scare tactics and also telling lies.
And she's doing that while insisting, in the same special, "It was more important to me to be proud of myself and live my truth."
cassie and 'the daily beast' would do good to actually verify claims before rushing them into print.
ava and c.i. have covered this beat better than cassie could ever hope to.
let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'
Tuesday, April 21, 2020. How many women has Joe Biden assaulted? Tara
Reade asserts he assaulted her. Another woman has come forward to say
he assaulted her. All that and more.
Victor Pickard (JACOBIAN) wants you to know that you can save the news industry. Why would you bother?
Three weeks? And on Easter Sunday? That's when THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE WASHINGTON POST and AP did their acknowledgement of Tara Reade's assertion that Joe Biden raped her? And these stories existed not in a world of impartial and objective but in a world of shame and blame the woman who stepped forward.
Victor sounds as ridiculous as Meryl Streep at an awards show talking how great the press is -- the same press that sold an illegal war on Iraq and never, ever took the accountability for that.
Victor Pickard wants you to know that you can give money and save the industry that wants to kill you, the industry that works overtime to sell wars, the industry that works overtime to destroy any candidate that calls for Medicare For All, the . . .
Let it die. Let those losers lose their jobs and see if they can then reflect on how their whoring harmed the people.
The media Victor wants you to save can't even note that Joe Biden's papers are locked away. A Tweet can note what the press in the US won't:
Joe Biden's papers were set to be released Dec. 31,2019 but his campaign rushed to successfully seal them up again because Joe Biden is hiding A LOT in those papers, including his correspondences with southern segregationists and the Tara Reade files #ReleaseTaraFiles
Sivi Lukic Tweets:
It's time for us to see what Joe Biden's senate papers say about Tara Reade. Exposing sexual predators is not a partisan issue. Don't make this political, make this just.
NPR attacked Tara on Sunday with a 'reporter' whom NPR friends say practices a very conservative strain of her religion and is known for saying women who were raped deserved it due to their immodest attire. NPR lets a woman like that even near this story? At any rate, NPR was happy to note that they are seeking a copy of the police report Tara filed but NPR never notes Joe's locked away papers and they certainly aren't pressing him to release them.
This media needs saving? I don't think so.
Professor Anthony Zenkus Tweets:
Tara Reade said she filed a harassment complaint against
Shanna Persin Tweets:
Tara Reade filed a sexual harassment complaint against
Katie Halper speaks with CURRENT AFFAIRS' Nathan Robinson about the way the media is working overtime to smear Tara.
At THEOLOGY CORNER, a writer notes the way Tara has been smeared and attacked and the writers states:
On top of all of this vilification, a popular figure in the entertainment world (who has used the #MeToo movement to boost her own profile) suggested that the allegations were not credible because the media was not reporting on it widely, as if the veracity of these claims were dependent upon the media taking them seriously. And then, when the national media finally reported on the story — reporting which uncovered evidence that (1) Tara told a friend about the assault at the time; (2) Tara was abruptly and without explanation removed from oversight of office interns at the time in which the assault allegedly took place; and (3) there was evidence that Biden had a pattern of consistently engaging in inappropriate kissing and touching — these same stories primarily sought to cast doubt on Reade herself.
Appallingly, the New York Times even deleted, at the request of the Biden campaign, the fact that they had discovered a pattern of Biden engaging in inappropriate behavior of a sexual nature, while the Washington Post misrepresented the publicly available police report which Reade filed.
We have even arrived at the point where Amy Klobuchar, Gretchen Whitmer, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Bernie Sanders have been asked about the alleged assault by reporters, but Joe Biden has not. One would think, after a month of dozens of interviews on live television, that a reporter would directly ask Biden about Tara Reade’s claims, including the fact that she was abruptly demoted after expressing concerns about Biden’s behavior to her superiors. Combined with the way that Reade has been treated, the fact that the media has failed to engage in this most basic act of inquiry into the alleged assault is a clear statement to fellow victims of Joe Biden: Don’t come forward; we won’t believe you.
That message strikes to my core, because I, too, was sexually assaulted by Joe Biden. But if I go public, will I be called a liar? Will I be accused of being a Russian agent? Will my family and friends be attacked for corroborating my story? Will the media ignore me for weeks, followed by Alyssa Milano going on a podcast to suggest that that is a reason not to believe that it is true? Will the national media attempt to cast doubt upon my credibility? Will those on the short-list to become Biden’s vice-presidential nominee remain quiet and hope this blows over? Will half the country brush me aside and claim that at least my assaulter isn’t as bad as the current assaulter-in-chief?
Victor Pickard (JACOBIAN) wants you to know that you can save the news industry. Why would you bother?
Three weeks? And on Easter Sunday? That's when THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE WASHINGTON POST and AP did their acknowledgement of Tara Reade's assertion that Joe Biden raped her? And these stories existed not in a world of impartial and objective but in a world of shame and blame the woman who stepped forward.
Victor sounds as ridiculous as Meryl Streep at an awards show talking how great the press is -- the same press that sold an illegal war on Iraq and never, ever took the accountability for that.
Victor Pickard wants you to know that you can give money and save the industry that wants to kill you, the industry that works overtime to sell wars, the industry that works overtime to destroy any candidate that calls for Medicare For All, the . . .
Let it die. Let those losers lose their jobs and see if they can then reflect on how their whoring harmed the people.
The media Victor wants you to save can't even note that Joe Biden's papers are locked away. A Tweet can note what the press in the US won't:
Joe Biden's papers were set to be released Dec. 31,2019 but his campaign rushed to successfully seal them up again because Joe Biden is hiding A LOT in those papers, including his correspondences with southern segregationists and the Tara Reade files #ReleaseTaraFiles
Sivi Lukic Tweets:
It's time for us to see what Joe Biden's senate papers say about Tara Reade. Exposing sexual predators is not a partisan issue. Don't make this political, make this just.
NPR attacked Tara on Sunday with a 'reporter' whom NPR friends say practices a very conservative strain of her religion and is known for saying women who were raped deserved it due to their immodest attire. NPR lets a woman like that even near this story? At any rate, NPR was happy to note that they are seeking a copy of the police report Tara filed but NPR never notes Joe's locked away papers and they certainly aren't pressing him to release them.
This media needs saving? I don't think so.
Professor Anthony Zenkus Tweets:
Tara Reade said she filed a harassment complaint against
@JoeBiden
in 1993, but the papers remain sealed at
@UDelaware
. Biden refuses to order them unsealed. What's he hiding? #ReleaseTaraFilesShanna Persin Tweets:
Tara Reade filed a sexual harassment complaint against
@JoeBiden
to his Senate office in 1993. He sent his Senate papers to
@UDelaware
where they are under seal. These papers should be immediately released in the interest of full transparency. #ReleaseTaraFiles #IBelieveTaraReadeKatie Halper speaks with CURRENT AFFAIRS' Nathan Robinson about the way the media is working overtime to smear Tara.
At THEOLOGY CORNER, a writer notes the way Tara has been smeared and attacked and the writers states:
On top of all of this vilification, a popular figure in the entertainment world (who has used the #MeToo movement to boost her own profile) suggested that the allegations were not credible because the media was not reporting on it widely, as if the veracity of these claims were dependent upon the media taking them seriously. And then, when the national media finally reported on the story — reporting which uncovered evidence that (1) Tara told a friend about the assault at the time; (2) Tara was abruptly and without explanation removed from oversight of office interns at the time in which the assault allegedly took place; and (3) there was evidence that Biden had a pattern of consistently engaging in inappropriate kissing and touching — these same stories primarily sought to cast doubt on Reade herself.
Appallingly, the New York Times even deleted, at the request of the Biden campaign, the fact that they had discovered a pattern of Biden engaging in inappropriate behavior of a sexual nature, while the Washington Post misrepresented the publicly available police report which Reade filed.
We have even arrived at the point where Amy Klobuchar, Gretchen Whitmer, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Bernie Sanders have been asked about the alleged assault by reporters, but Joe Biden has not. One would think, after a month of dozens of interviews on live television, that a reporter would directly ask Biden about Tara Reade’s claims, including the fact that she was abruptly demoted after expressing concerns about Biden’s behavior to her superiors. Combined with the way that Reade has been treated, the fact that the media has failed to engage in this most basic act of inquiry into the alleged assault is a clear statement to fellow victims of Joe Biden: Don’t come forward; we won’t believe you.
That message strikes to my core, because I, too, was sexually assaulted by Joe Biden. But if I go public, will I be called a liar? Will I be accused of being a Russian agent? Will my family and friends be attacked for corroborating my story? Will the media ignore me for weeks, followed by Alyssa Milano going on a podcast to suggest that that is a reason not to believe that it is true? Will the national media attempt to cast doubt upon my credibility? Will those on the short-list to become Biden’s vice-presidential nominee remain quiet and hope this blows over? Will half the country brush me aside and claim that at least my assaulter isn’t as bad as the current assaulter-in-chief?
So far as I can see, there is absolutely no incentive to come
forward. It appears that the Democratic Party and the national media
will go out of its way to discredit me as a person and defend Joe Biden,
even in the face of two credible allegations of sexual assault. And if
so, then (God help us!) my coming forward would only “weaken” the
Democratic nominee, helping improve Donald Trump’s chances of being
re-elected — a scenario which must be avoided for the sake of humanity.
So I guess my question is, do I have to remain silent and vote for a rapist because I live in a swing state?
In Iraq, they are struggling a third time to install a new prime minister. As Kevin Zeller (MNN) observes, "Iraq has burned through two prime ministers in two months, and the third has the massive task of uniting a fragmented country during a pandemic." Sami Moubayed (GULF NEWS) offers:
The formation of a new government in Iraq has dragged on for nearly five months now. After two candidates failed to do the job — Mohammad Tawfik Allawi (former communications minister) and Adnan Al Zurfi (ex-Najaf governor), Iraqis seem optimistic that a third candidate, Mustapha Al Kadhimi, will finally succeed.
For starters, Kadhimi, a former director of Iraqi National Security, has managed to receive backing of all major parliamentary blocs, running across Iraq’s ethnic and sectarian spectrum.
Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani thinks fondly of him and so does President Barham Salih. The Kurds like him for his long-time opposition to Saddam Hussein.
Iran and the United States have expressed support for his nomination. Both countries had previously worked with Kadhimi on counterterrorism during his four-year stint at Iraqi intelligence.
So I guess my question is, do I have to remain silent and vote for a rapist because I live in a swing state?
In Iraq, they are struggling a third time to install a new prime minister. As Kevin Zeller (MNN) observes, "Iraq has burned through two prime ministers in two months, and the third has the massive task of uniting a fragmented country during a pandemic." Sami Moubayed (GULF NEWS) offers:
The formation of a new government in Iraq has dragged on for nearly five months now. After two candidates failed to do the job — Mohammad Tawfik Allawi (former communications minister) and Adnan Al Zurfi (ex-Najaf governor), Iraqis seem optimistic that a third candidate, Mustapha Al Kadhimi, will finally succeed.
For starters, Kadhimi, a former director of Iraqi National Security, has managed to receive backing of all major parliamentary blocs, running across Iraq’s ethnic and sectarian spectrum.
Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani thinks fondly of him and so does President Barham Salih. The Kurds like him for his long-time opposition to Saddam Hussein.
Iran and the United States have expressed support for his nomination. Both countries had previously worked with Kadhimi on counterterrorism during his four-year stint at Iraqi intelligence.
His first predecessor, Mohammad Tawfik Allawi, had failed to form a
government because he tried to sideline major political parties, saying
that he wanted ministers chosen for their professional merit, rather
than political affiliation. That works in a country like Switzerland —
but not in Iraq.
Then came Adnan Al Zurfi who failed because political parties could not agree on seats in his government. Previously, Adel Abdul Mehdi had fallen from grace because he allowed his security services to fire at the unarmed street demonstrators, coming across as too pro-Iranian.
Iraq has no real prime minister currently. It does have a president -- Barham Salih. Sadly, the post is a ceremonial post. The Asia Society speaks with Barham below.
Meanwhile Holly Johnston (RUDAW) reports:
Executions in Iraq skyrocketed in 2019, according to a new report published Tuesday by rights group Amnesty International.
Iraq, Iran, and Saudi Arabia combined were responsible for 81 percent of global executions last year, the report found.
Executions in Iraq increased by 92 percent in 2019, the rights group said, with 100 confirmed death sentences carried out.
The spike in capital punishment is mainly attributed to the prosecution of suspected members of the Islamic State group (ISIS).
Human rights organizations have expressed concern at Iraq’s handling of legal proceedings against ISIS militants, labelled as “seriously flawed” by the United Nations.
“Throughout the year the mandatory death penalty was used under anti-terrorism laws for a wide range of acts that do not meet the ‘most serious crimes’ threshold required under international law,” Amnesty’s report said.
The report notes:
A significant increase in executions in Iraq and Saudi Arabia was largely responsible for the rise in executions in the region. Recorded executions went up by 92% in Iraq, from 52 in 2018 to 100 in 2019; and by 23% in Saudi Arabia from 149 in 2018 to 184 in 2019. Seven countries – Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen – were known to have carried out executions during the year. Bahrain resumed executions after not carrying out any in 2018. Amnesty International was able to corroborate information that executions occurred in Syria in 2019 but had insufficient information to provide a credible minimum figure. Iran – where recorded executions reduced by two in 2019 compared to 2018 – remained the top executioner in the region with 251 executions recorded; the country was followed by Saudi Arabia and Iraq, with 184 and 100 recorded executions respectively. These three countries carried out 92% of recorded executions in the region.
BBC NEWS notes, "Worldwide, 106 countries have abolished the death penalty in law for all crimes and 142 countries have abolished the death penalty in law or practice."
The following sites updated:
Then came Adnan Al Zurfi who failed because political parties could not agree on seats in his government. Previously, Adel Abdul Mehdi had fallen from grace because he allowed his security services to fire at the unarmed street demonstrators, coming across as too pro-Iranian.
Iraq has no real prime minister currently. It does have a president -- Barham Salih. Sadly, the post is a ceremonial post. The Asia Society speaks with Barham below.
Meanwhile Holly Johnston (RUDAW) reports:
Executions in Iraq skyrocketed in 2019, according to a new report published Tuesday by rights group Amnesty International.
Iraq, Iran, and Saudi Arabia combined were responsible for 81 percent of global executions last year, the report found.
Executions in Iraq increased by 92 percent in 2019, the rights group said, with 100 confirmed death sentences carried out.
The spike in capital punishment is mainly attributed to the prosecution of suspected members of the Islamic State group (ISIS).
Human rights organizations have expressed concern at Iraq’s handling of legal proceedings against ISIS militants, labelled as “seriously flawed” by the United Nations.
“Throughout the year the mandatory death penalty was used under anti-terrorism laws for a wide range of acts that do not meet the ‘most serious crimes’ threshold required under international law,” Amnesty’s report said.
The report notes:
A significant increase in executions in Iraq and Saudi Arabia was largely responsible for the rise in executions in the region. Recorded executions went up by 92% in Iraq, from 52 in 2018 to 100 in 2019; and by 23% in Saudi Arabia from 149 in 2018 to 184 in 2019. Seven countries – Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen – were known to have carried out executions during the year. Bahrain resumed executions after not carrying out any in 2018. Amnesty International was able to corroborate information that executions occurred in Syria in 2019 but had insufficient information to provide a credible minimum figure. Iran – where recorded executions reduced by two in 2019 compared to 2018 – remained the top executioner in the region with 251 executions recorded; the country was followed by Saudi Arabia and Iraq, with 184 and 100 recorded executions respectively. These three countries carried out 92% of recorded executions in the region.
BBC NEWS notes, "Worldwide, 106 countries have abolished the death penalty in law for all crimes and 142 countries have abolished the death penalty in law or practice."
The following sites updated:
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Joe keeps hiding7 hours ago
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Fiona8 hours ago
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Fools for Biden9 hours ago
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The disgusting Joe Biden9 hours ago
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Michael Parenti and reading9 hours ago
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