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And there was their frankly amazing September-October 2012 coverage, and meta-coverage, of the Mitt Romney presidential campaign, which I attempted to summarize here. Briefly: In the world of Politico, Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, in the space of about a month, was the victim of a deluge of wildly contradictory... |
But creating the "Obamacare exemption" myth, and then reporting on the ensuing chaos, is impressive even for Politico. Good work, guys. |
When Aileen Audrey was crowned Miss Maseno University over the weekend, she was ecstatic. |
It is never easy to emerge top in such contests and it takes a lot of courage and determination to pull through. |
Sadly, Audrey got a lot of bashing on social media and several hashtags were started to offer her support. |
Most of the negative comments circled around her looks and it was quite a shame that her skin colour was mentioned in the conversation. |
That aside, many social media influencers drummed up support for her and by Tuesday, Audrey had been offered a variety of goodies under the hashtag #Blackisbeautiful. |
Recently, a television feature revealed the extent to which both men and women go to enhance their beauty and skin lightening was heavily mentioned. |
In modern society, light skin is often considered more beautiful and this notion needs to be changed. |
It is high time we appreciated people for who they are, not what they have and how they look. |
There is absolutely nothing wrong with enhancing your beauty but it is a whole different ball game when you use some imaginary standards to quantify someone’s beauty. |
In 2018, an unknown five-year-old from Nigeria was hailed as the 'most beautiful girl in the world' after a "doll-like" photograph was shared on Instagram. |
Many heaped praise on the five-year-old girl - calling her "stunning" and a "living doll" after a professional photographer shared her portrait. |
Fans gushed over the images on Instagram commenting "simply gorgeous", "soo beautiful" and "absolutely stunning" and it opened the eyes of many to appreciate that black is beautiful. |
Republicans lose it when challenged on their make-believe consensus. |
Wow. John McCain has had his tantrums before, but rarely has one revealed how intertwined his personal feelings and the Republican Party’s political tactics have become. |
During Chuck Hagel’s confirmation hearings for defense secretary, McCain went Captain Queeg on his former BFF and fellow Vietnam vet for daring to question the wisdom of the surge in Iraq, which just happened to be the centerpiece of McCain’s argument that he’d make a better president than Barack Obama in 2008. McCain ... |
McCAIN: I want to know if you are right or wrong. That’s a direct question. I expect a direct answer. |
McCAIN: Will you please answer the question—were you correct or incorrect when he said that the surge would be the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since Vietnam? Were you correct or incorrect? Yes or no? |
McCAIN: Are you going to answer the question, Senator Hagel? The question is, were you right or wrong? That’s a straightforward question. I would like to answer whether you are right or wrong and then you are free to elaborate. |
HAGEL: Well, I’m not going to give you a yes or no answer. |
McCAIN: Well, let the record show he refuses to answer the question. Now please go ahead. |
McCAIN: No, I actually would like an answer, yes or no. |
HAGEL: Well, I’m not going to give you a yes or no on a lot of things today…. As to the comment I made about the most dangerous foreign policy decision since Vietnam, that was about not just the surge, but the overall war of choice going into Iraq. |
McCain doesn’t want to hear about the “overall war,” of course, much less if it was one of choice or necessity. He wants to put Hagel in the position of sounding unpatriotic, or at least out of the can-do military mainstream, for refusing to salute a command decision. Everyone knows you’re not supposed to do that. |
But at the same time, McCain is burning with personal frustration because Hagel was disloyal—to John McCain. Although Hagel was one of McCain’s most stalwart supporters against George W. Bush in 2000, he refused to endorse McCain in 2008 because of their differences over the Iraq war; Hagel’s wife quite publicly endors... |
What’s striking to me is not McCain’s fury or douchiness (what’s new?)—but his complete assumption that he couldn’t possibly be wrong, his insistence that this debate is already over, and his refusal to allow for the notion that this question may only eventually be resolved by a more distant historical judgment. |
This tightly sealed close-mindedness is a tactic rightwing pols and pundits seem to be deploying more frequently lately as their actual policies—on taxes, guns, women’s rights, gay rights, immigration—are rejected by the public. |
In fact, right now we have a glaring parallel to the neocon hawks like McCain: austerity hawks who insist that it’s absolutely urgent that we attack Iraq to get rid of WMD entitlements to get rid of the deficit. |
And in both cases, the media, ever fearful of diverging from the conventional wisdom, has feathered the hawks’ nests. |
Joe Scarborough’s screed for Politico last week, called “Paul Krugman vs. the world,” is a good example. Scarborough tried to paint Krugman as the only economist on the planet who advocates focusing on jobs and growing the economy rather than cutting the deficit (though he couldn’t help letting a note of personal resen... |
Back during the early days of the Iraq debacle, I learned that the military has a term for how highly dubious ideas become not just accepted, but viewed as certainties. “Incestuous amplification” happens when a closed group of people repeat the same things to each other—and when accepting the group’s preconceptions its... |
It’s as old as high school, and it’s a kind of bullying. But it’s also aimed at quelling the least bit of doubt in the bully’s own mind, a way of squeezing out negative thoughts that threaten his in-group status. |
Scarborough later apologized, saying he’d been “in a dark place,” and vowed to interrupt Mika “less.” Scarborough, who’s evolved on issues like guns, climate change and the wars, is more flexible than McCain. But it’s true, right now, McCain, Scarborough and their party are in a dark place and it’s hard to keep your te... |
Another case of conservative groupthink has been the delusion that Barack Obama is waging a "War on the GOP." |
Monty Berman, costumier - Born: 16 February, 1912, in London Died: 15 July, 2002, in Monte Carlo, aged 90. |
MORRIS Berman - always known as Monty - was born in London’s East End and after service in the RAF during the Second World War (rising to the rank of squadron leader) he joined his father in the family tailoring business. He instigated a diversification into hiring costumes and very soon, through his enterprise and ene... |
Berman had a wide knowledge of military history and uniforms. So when those British war movies were being made in the Fifties - The Colditz Story, The Wooden Horse, I Was Monty’s Double, Ice Cold in Alex, The Dam Busters, etc) - the producers sent the entire cast along to Berman’s offices just off Cambridge Circus to b... |
Many of the great names in theatre went to Bermans either for theatrical costumes or for private consultations. These included Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, John Gielgud, Laurence Olivier, Ingrid Bergman and Vivien Leigh. They also did a fine line in Santa Claus outfits, panto costumes and could fit Napoleon’s army... |
Theatrical designers also relied on Berman’s expertise. Cecil Beaton went to him with his designs for My Fair Lady (1958) and the famous Rex Harrison costume (tweed hat and knitted tie) was created: as was Julie Andrews’s ballgown. Other long-running musicals with which his firm was associated included The King and I (... |
Displaying his customary business acumen, Berman opened an office in Hollywood in the Fifties. It greatly prospered in the Sixties when many US films were made here. Bermans provided the costumes for all the Bond movies and award-winning films such as A Man For All Seasons, Darling, The Railway Children, A Bridge Too F... |
In the Sixties, Berman formed a close business partnership with Lew Grade and this led to the company to supplying all the costumes for TV dramas such as Brideshead Revisited, Upstairs Downstairs, Edward and Mrs Simpson, Dad’s Army and for the sketches in The Morecambe and Wise Show. There was also an unusual sideline ... |
The firm rapidly gained a name for reliability and accuracy: military decorations and dresses had to be totally authentic. They supplied costumes for galas when singers or dancers were flown in at the last moment and were always on hand to help out amateur dramatic societies. Many an Edinburgh Fringe production started... |
The firm merged with Nathans in 1972 and has continued to have the finest array of costumes in its vast wardrobes. Recently the firm took over Wig Creations, the long established makers of wigs, hairpieces and facial hair, and moved to North London, simply to create more storage space. |
Berman was a delightful man who was passionate about the theatre and showbusiness. He devoted much time to helping the Variety Club and helped raise funds for handicapped children. He received the Queen’s Award for Industry in 1990 and, in that year, he was given a Lifetime Achievement Award from the British Film Insti... |
Berman retired in 1985 to Monte Carlo but continued to be involved with the firm on a consultancy basis. His first wife predeceased him and he is survived by his second wife, Maya, and by two daughters. |
Families of victims are suing the Broward County school board, the sheriff's office and others for alleged negligence associated with the February 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 people. |
Parents of five students killed or injured in the shooting announced they were filing lawsuits Wednesday morning in Florida state court. |
Lisa Olson's son, William, was shot and survived the massacre but she said he has struggled since. |
"To our family and to our son, this lawsuit will bring some accountability to the table," she said. |
The lawsuit she and her husband filed also names a school resource officer, a security monitor, the shooter, the Henderson Behavioral Health Clinic where the shooter was treated, and the state department of children and families. The lawsuit says the school board failed to take reasonable steps to provide proper securi... |
More than a dozen other lawsuits on behalf of some survivors and victims' families will be filed by the end of the week, attorneys said at a news conference. |
A spokeswoman for the Broward County Sheriff's Office said, "We make it a practice not to comment on pending litigation." |
The school district said it "does not comment on potential, pending or ongoing litigation," according to Cathleen Brennan, a spokeswoman for Broward County schools. |
In December, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by 15 survivors of the massacre, rejecting their argument that authorities' failure to prevent the shooting violated their 14th Amendment rights to due process. |
The students had sued a similar list of plaintiffs, alleging they failed to protect them. |
Will the Disney-FOX deal affect Gotham and Lucifer? This week, FOX chief Dana Walden discussed the future of the two DC series, TVGuide reports. |
As reported earlier, Disney recently acquired FOX and there have been concerns that both Gotham and Lucifer will be cancelled since Disney owns Marvel, not DC. A Batman prequel, Gotham is currently in its fourth season and Lucifer is currently in its third. |
What do you think? Do you watch Gotham and/or Lucifer? Do you think they’ll be renewed? |
More about: FOX TV shows: canceled or renewed?, Gotham, Gotham: canceled or renewed?, Lucifer, Lucifer: canceled or renewed? |
I stopped watching Gotham after Season 2, recorded season 3 on my Tivo and never watched it, ended up canceling the recording and deleting the series. Lucifer is a guilty pleasure, I loved season 1, not so much the shortened season 2, and season 3 is a joke so far. Maze is missing way too often as well as the detective... |
Maze left for maternity leave, she is back to a regular filming schedule now and is supposed to appear on the remainder of the season. |
Lucifer is so bad this season … I cannot hate the awful scenario and plots !!!! Make some room for better shows please. |
started off GREAT….has trickled down to just good – yes cuz it’s been meandering along…still fun to watch though and the lead is f’n brilliant. Enjoy jumpin ship lol This season got a trixie episode – nuff said. That kid is magic. |
Gotham is my life. Best show ever! |
Gotham has really hit it’s stride. It is very well done show and should be renewed. |
I’ll make a prediction that Disney will decide Gotham and Lucifer are to “gritty” for their public pablum, and ax both of them. Then blame something bogus like ratings. |
These are both great shows. Even though Disney acquired Fox I hope they don’t change anything. Fox has amazing shows it’ll be a shame if they want to get rid of anything that doesn’t meet their criteria. |
Definitely don’t want Lucifer cancelled. Dang good show. |
I love both these shows so I hope they don’t get axed!! I can’t believe Fox sold oust to Disney?? |
No place to shop but walmart, no one making tv and movies but fox, wwe owns wrestling, it will continue to snowball…kinda sad and scary. |
I hope Lucifer is renewed, all my friends And I watch it faithful every week, even the reruns. |
PostSecret, the online art project which sees members of the public anonymously submit secrets on postcards to be published online, has closed down its iPhone app, saying that it was plagued by pornographic, gruesome and threatening content. |
Warren says that “bad content” within the app had prompted complaints from users to him, to Apple and even to the FBI. He says that threats had been made against users, moderators and his family (including specific threats that he isn’t allowed to talk about), leading to him having to remove the app from his daughter’s... |
Attempts to prescreen 30,000 secrets per day proved impractical. “As much as we tried, we were unable to maintain a bully-free environment,” Warren says. |
The PostSecret iPhone app cost $1.49 to buy, and an Android version was in development. However, unable to make it work, what Warren describes as a “good faith experiment” has been closed down. The website will continue to operate as normal, however. |
This story is fuel for those in favour of ‘real names’ policies, which can dissuade antisocial behaviour. However, the very nature of PostSecret’s website shows that anonymity has a role online, and it’s an interesting case study for anyone looking for ways to make anonymous posting work better in the future. |
Brazil’s astonishing collapse in the face of what can only be called a German blitz in the World Cup semifinal Tuesday has stunned fans around the world. To be sure, Brazil played without their team captain, who was barred after two yellow cards in earlier matches, and star striker, injured in an earlier game. |
But the 7-1 defeat of a world soccer power on its home turf — the first such loss in decades — seems destined to join the infamous list of sports blowouts known to just about everybody. Here are five to compare with. |
Well, no one expected this. The highly anticipated World Cup semifinal between Germany and Brazil turned out to be a lopsided, crushing defeat of the host country team, with the final score 7-1. Brazil spent billions of dollars preparing to host the World Cup tournament, with high expectations that home advantage could... |
Any hope for a miraculous comeback in the second half were beaten down when Germany scored again in the 69th minute — and then again in the 79th minute. Brazil did manage to score the final goal of the game, but will no doubt now face tough questions from the media and public on what went so wrong. People watching all ... |
Contrary to what all those World Cup viewing parties had you thinking, there is another major sporting event happening right now. The 2014 Wimbledon Championship started June 23 and ends this weekend. |
Because Wimbledon is coinciding with the 2014 FIFA World Cup, demand for tickets at the tennis championship is down this year, Forbes reported. And World Cup games are banned from playing on TVs on Wimbledon’s grounds, the Mirror reported. Perhaps those World Cup fans are a bit too dodgy for the likes of the All Englan... |
Which sporting event do you prefer? World Cup or Wimbledon? If you can’t decide, here’s a breakdown of the key differences between the two. |
An entire nation was captivated Tuesday by U.S.’s stunning rally against Belgium in extra time in the World Cup’s knockout Round of 16. But the run was halted as the country fell to Belgium 2-1 in anguishing defeat. |
To honor the U.S. soccer players and their tremendous effort, here’s a look at eight front pages the morning after. |
If the Netherlands World Cup team notches three more wins, it will be going somewhere no Dutch team has ever gone before. The players will have won the world’s most highly watched soccer tournament for the first time ever, but they’ll also be going to outer space, according to European news reports. |
The offer of free liftoff, which comes via Dutch aerospace company Ruimtevaartbedrijf SXC, seems to be something of an “I’m going to Disney World” exclamation for the 21st century jet setter. |
The World Cup and the U.S. team look to have captivated the country. But peruse the comments below virtually any story on a mainstream U.S. publication, and you’ll see that there are pockets of resistance. And that complaints about soccer are deeply held and frequently repeated: It’s too low-scoring. There are too many... |
After the heartbreak of the last-minute goal by Portugal that cost the U.S. its certain spot in the World Cup Round of 16, here’s some good news for U.S. fans. |
On the eve of the World Cup, it’s not preparedness and safety issues in Brazil that people are talking about. It’s an unfolding bribery scandal in Qatar, the FIFA-anointed host of the 2022 tournament. |
A state trooper was dragged several hundred feet after he woke a man sleeping in a vehicle and the man sped off, eventually crashing in a fiery wreck, police said. |
The trooper approached the car after finding it parked on a road in Philadelphia's Wynnefield section early yesterday. When the man woke up, he put the car in gear and started driving off, dragging the trooper along with him, police said. |
LOS ANGELES – For 28 hours, Jake Browning was stranded in the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. This was three years ago, beginning a day after Christmas and just hours after the Huskies won the Heart of Dallas Bowl, and Browning spent a night sleeping on the airport floor while waiting out a deadly tornado. |
Meanwhile, the Huskies’ chartered team flight headed back to Seattle – carrying coaches, staffers and players from Washington – was able to take off out of Dallas during the storm. The pilot told passengers to brace for something they had never experienced before: a military-style takeoff. |
Many on board called it was the most harrowing flight they’ve ever been on. Some were screaming. At least one person witnessed another passenger vomit. |
Such was the ending of Washington’s 2015 season, a transformative year that set the stage for all the success that would follow and culminating in the Huskies’ first Rose Bowl appearance in 18 years Tuesday against Ohio State. |
Kickoff Tuesday is set for 2:10 p.m. on ESPN. |
From a 4-6 record in early November 2015, the Huskies won their final three games to finish 7-6, and it was straight up from there. |
The Huskies, of course, had their breakthrough the following year, winning their first Pac-12 championship in 16 years and advancing to the College Football Playoff for the first time. In 2017, they made it to the Fiesta Bowl, and this season they won the conference again, and here they are in the Rose Bowl. |
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