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“Without TCM, classic movies will die and with them, part of our culture.” -from the “TCM Mantra” In 1994, media mogul Ted Turner launched Turner Classic Movies, a commercial-free subscription channel dedicated to airing uncut classic and deep-catalog films ranging from the silent era to the early 80s. At the time of its inception, TCM’s only real “competitor” in the cable market was American Movie Classics, which operated under a very similar programming philosophy. However, by the early 2000s, AMC (for assorted business reasons) was interrupting film presentations with commercial breaks; and once the channel went down that road, they were soon kowtowing to ad agency and sponsor demands – e.g., being pressed to incorporate more contemporary films into their programming. By default TCM was now the sole haven for classic film buffs on cable TV. Consequently, over the ensuing years TCM has built a sizeable, passionate, and fiercely loyal coterie of fans (myself among them), as well as a (mostly) genial social media community (we’re not unlike the Deadheads; albeit more Ty Power than tie-dyed).
Aaaaaand… a view from a Real American:
Lot’s of palm trees and sunshine in both states but that’s where the similarities end: Florida Governor and floundering presidential candidate Ron DeSantis traveled to California’s Bay Area this past week to fundraise and to cut a new ad. He stands on a San Francisco street corner and portrays the city as a lawless, drug-infested hellhole that people are fleeing, in favor of Florida, because of “leftist policies.” But he offered no statistics to back up his claims. Here’s one stat he should know, from the CDC: Drug overdose mortality by state, per 100,000 residents, for 2021 Florida: 37.5 (18th worst state) California: 26.6 (35th worst state) It’s really galling to have most of the country subjected to this calumny about California every single day by assholes like DeSantis when their own states are actually much worse off. I really wish that Democrats would start fighting fire with fire on this stuff.
Well said. It’s been a year and we are seeing the ramifications of the repeal of Roe v Wade. It’s as bad as we could have anticipated. As she says, women are dying, families are in crisis, lives are being ruined. By the way, don’t rest on your laurals if you live in a blue state. Yesterday at the faith and Freedom convention, Mike Pence backed Lindsey Graham’s proposal for a 15 week national abortion ban. Graham was there and proclaimed, “we’ll be saving babies in California.” “Fucking angry” doesn’t even begin to describe my reaction to that.
Putin may yet suffer the fate of many czars before him: a military uprising fueled by the blowback of a failing war.
The post Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Threatened Uprising Against Putin Echoes Russia’s History of Wars Gone Bad appeared first on The Intercept.
Could history repeat? In his speech, Putin kept referencing 1917, which stuck many people as … bizarre. Here’s Anne Applebaum in the Atlantic on how apt it might be: The hall of mirrors that Vladimir Putin has built around himself and within his country is so complex, and so multilayered, that on the eve of a genuine insurrection in Russia, I doubt very much if the Russian president himself believed it could be real. Certainly the rest of us still can’t know, less than a day after this mutiny began, the true motives of the key players, and especially not of the central figure, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner mercenary group. Prigozhin, whose fighters have taken part in brutal conflicts all over Africa and the Middle East—in Syria, Sudan, Libya, the Central African Republic—claims to command 25,000 men in Ukraine. In a statement yesterday afternoon, he accused the Russian army of killing “an enormous amount” of his mercenaries in a bombing raid on his base. Then he called for an armed rebellion, vowing to topple Russian military leaders.
The public deserves to know who our Ministers are meeting with. The news today that former Cabinet Minister Stuart Robert met consulting firm Accenture to discuss a $111 million federal project, triggering probity concerns, shows it’s time we publish Ministerial diaries. The public should know who Ministers are meeting and why, and they should know Continue reading »
A plan for Africans to take control of Africa and make it prosperous, fair and low carbon. Price of solar panels falling again. Protection for Macquarie Island’s wildlife. Creating a prosperous future and a just transition for 1 billion There’s a large landmass south of Europe. It’s call Africa. You may have heard about it. Continue reading »
About 65% of Australian adults and a quarter of children are overweight or obese and about 60% of Australians are trying to lose weight at any one time. Overwhelmingly, the evidence indicates that being obese increases your risk of premature death. And yet policies to reduce obesity have been startlingly unsuccessful. Instead obesity is increasingly Continue reading »
While there are some – such as Major General Melick – concerned about not depicting warriors in the Frontier Wars, because they didn’t wear a uniform, in the Australian War Memorial, it is worth remembering how appalling the treatment of Indigenous veterans who did wear ‘the uniform’ over the last century or so were treated. Continue reading »
Late April, at my son’s decree, we went to the Ramadan Night Markets in Lakemba. A visit that would lead to a decades-old mystery being solved. A story that sheds light on the displacement and pain we have experienced since our world was torn apart by Zionism 75 years ago. A dear friend of mine Continue reading »
Over the past eighteen months, I’ve often found myself under scrutiny for not outrightly condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Any acknowledgment of Russia’s stance—that the hasty expansion of NATO played a role in the current conflict—earns labels: indifferent to Ukraine’s plight, a “Putin” apologist, a victim of Kremlin misinformation. After much contemplation, I’ve traced the Continue reading »
Beijing, Tehran, and Islamabad know that their mutual goal of ‘peaceful development’ and expanded Asian trade routes will be unattainable without solving the terrorism dilemma in neighbouring Afghanistan. First published in The Cradle June 13, 2023 This month, Beijing hosted the first-ever tripartite security dialogue between Iran, Pakistan, and China. The gathering took place against Continue reading »
Both Prigozhin and Putin are nightmares This analysis from the Financial Times about Prigozhin is quite informative. They have been following the story of Putin and Prigozhin for some time and if you’d like to bone up on the various dynamics, I would suggest that’s a good place to start. When they first appeared in 2014 to fight covertly in Ukraine, the masked militiamen of Russia’s Wagner group epitomised how Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin had mastered a new, underhand form of warfare. But after Wagner paramilitaries took control of at least one Russian city on Saturday and began a “march of justice” on Moscow, the blowback from nine years of war in Ukraine threatened the very foundations of Putin’s state — with a problem of his own making. After months of lurid public infighting, the conflict between Yevgeny Prigozhin’s paramilitaries and the Russian defence ministry has boiled over into the first coup attempt in Russia in three decades.
Doctor Who: Doom's Day Hours 2-5 suffer from a less-than-impressive story & art; a look back at some of Sooz Kempner's comedy highlights.
INNOVATING in local tourism, a new partnership between four of the Coffs Coast’s top tourist attractions launches an initiative aimed to benefit tourism and the wider business community. The Coffs Coast Multi Pass brings together four of the Coffs Coast’s top tourist attractions on one ticket, offering significant savings and convenience for visitors. Advertise with...
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The mercenary leader’s bid for control may be the greatest threat to Moscow since the 1991 coup attempt against Mikhail Gorbachev.
The post Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Coup Targets Putin and His “Oligarchic Clan” appeared first on The Intercept.
HEARTSTART Glenreagh is currently seeking feedback from the Orara Valley community about the concept of a ‘community hub’ for valley residents. “A hub is a safe and supported place where local and broader communities can come together to build resilience, create connections and share resources,” HeartStart Glenreagh’s Faye Neil told News Of The Area.The Orara...
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THE Coffs Harbour and District Eisteddfod has kicked off for 2023 with students and teachers giving their all to this highlight of their year. Eisteddfod President Debbie Waters told News Of The Area all disciplines have had great audience numbers to date. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business....
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ZONTA Club of Coffs Harbour is calling for applications to its Young Women in Public Affairs (YWPA) award program. The goal of the program is to encourage young women to participate in public affairs by recognising a young woman’s commitment to the volunteer sector, volunteer leadership achievements and dedication to the empowerment of members of...
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POLICE have released CCTV images of two men as they appeal for public information after an armed robbery in Coffs Harbour in April. Detectives have been told about 12am on Wednesday 12 April 2023, two men entered a business on Harbour Drive, Coffs Harbour, before they threatened an employee with a knife and hammer and...
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Vlad’s buddy has this to say Yeah. There are too many moving parts to properly analyze the Russia situation at the moment. But let’s just say that Prigozhin is a monster and so in Putin and the only thing we can root for is destabilization of the Moscow regime without too much destabilization and some kind of resolution that results in withdrawal from Ukraine (not on the Prigozhin plan, BTW) and Russia gives peace a chance. I will just put this up for now in case you forgot this part of Prigozhin story: Kremlin-connected entrepreneur Yevgeny Prigozhin admitted Monday that he had interfered in U.S. elections and would continue to do so — confirming for the first time the accusations that he has rejected for years. “Gentlemen, we have interfered, are interfering and will interfere. Carefully, precisely, surgically and in our own way, as we know how to do,” Prigozhin boasted in remarks posted on social media. The statement, from the press service of his catering company that earned him the nickname “Putin’s chef,” came on the eve of the U.S. midterm elections.
And it shows Mediaite: Former President Donald Trump told attendees at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, on Thursday night that he rejected some of the biggest law firms and lawyers in the country because he doesn’t “need any help.” Earlier this month, two of the former president’s top lawyers resigned from his defense team after the DOJ announced it would charge Trump with 37 counts related to his handling of classified material at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Jim Trusty and John Rowley, who previously led Trump’s legal team in Washington, D.C., indicated they would no longer represent him in the Jack Smith probe and his $475 million defamation suit against CNN. However, despite difficulties retaining new legal representation, Trump bragged to a group of supporters at a fundraiser at Bedminster that some of the “biggest” firms and lawyers have called him asking to represent him in the upcoming federal trial. “I tell all these people, they all come in — they want to help,” Trump said speaking about the upcoming 2024 election.