[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The story that Justice League gives us is a hodgepodge of all the superhero films, the fantasy epics, the space operas and the children’s cartoons you’ve seen and immediately forgotten. I've been watching a bunch of movies lately, and I have no idea why.
I watched Topper last night -- Cary Grant and Constance Bennett at their best. I watched Stagecoach, Conan, The African Queen, the original Ghostbusters, a bunch of Kurosawa -- Seven Samurai followed immediately by The (original) Magnificent Seven. I couldn't remember which Clint Eastwood movies were rewrites, so I stuck with Yojimbo and and Sanjuro without any western sequels. I've got much of all the Star Wars movies memorized from watching them with my grandson when he was on the kick, and I even watched Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, which is better than all but the first two of the Star Wars pics even if it does have Beyonce in it.
I know, it's more interesting to actually watch them than it is to recount them. But my point is that the movies themselves were pretty original in concept when they first came out. Topper was a very good read, and the movie naturally leaves out some of the funniest parts (like the Colonel and his wife and Otto the dog) but it flows beautifully and it's got its own unique set of laughs, some of which are actually subtle. Now we have a dreary and usually humorless series of superheroes tromping into mostly empty theaters at horribly inflated ticket prices in sequels and prequels and probably postquels and upquels and downquels and quels to all points of the compass, all of them across sets designed by Edgar Allen Poe.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
I found Thor Ragnarok VERY funny.
And has a very self-aware scene near the start with a theatrical production hammed up to 11
#2
Every now and then TMC shows old movies that I can watch. The other night they showed It Should Happen to You with Jack Lemmon, Judy Holiday and Peter Lawford. Lawford played a kind of a Harvey Weinstein character way back in the 1950's. A few weeks ago they ran My Fair Lady (do I need to mention Audry Hepburn?). They don't make 'em like that anymore.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
11/17/2017 11:18 Comments ||
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#4
Yes, and lewd for sure. I read an article some time back where a pilot was not just concerned about losing pilots, but losing the fighter pilot culture. Guy I talked to flew in Vietnam, his phrase about fighter pilots went something like, "We were not looking for pilots who could fight, but fighters who could fly."
[BALTIMORE.CBSLOCAL] Last week the Baltimore police commissioner was fired up at a presser, Wednesday, the mayor responded to those who are lashing out at her. They say she doesn’t take the violence seriously.
Mayor Catherine Pugh says every time there’s a shooting or murder, her phone rings, and it couldn’t be more disturbing.
Pugh says they’re moving the hiring process along as fast as they can with officers but the City might not feel the impact until next year.
The department said once officers make it through the academy, they are immediately deployed to foot patrol in various communities, including the Inner Harbor.
"Anyone who thinks that I don’t take this seriously or it’s not something alarming to me, this is the most important thing we can do in this city and that’s to reduce the violence," Pugh said.
Pugh fired back at critics Wednesday who question her leadership as Baltimore is closing in on one of it’s deadliest times ever, hitting 300 plus murders for the third year in a row.
"I am deeply disturbed about the violence and this is the number one priority of the City," she said.
Vicious, random attacks like Sebastain Dvorak, who was killed in Canton after a night out with friends, to Kia Martin’s daughter, who was beat down at the Inner Harbor.
"They just don’t understand the pain, terror and hurt that they cause," said Martin.
"I’m actually thinking about moving out of the state," one woman said. "That’s how bad it’s got."
Many are calling for a more obvious presence of police in their communities.
"Unless you have more actively involved law enforcement, then I don’t know how this is going to end," Baltimore resident Steve Bono. "We just can’t keep finger pointing, everyone has to take some responsibility."
Mayor Pugh acknowledges the City is battling a shortage of officers, but that close to 200 individuals have already made it through the hiring process. I've got a really great idea. Shut down the entire Baltimore City Police Department, the jail, and the criminal courts. Then use the money saved to contract with adjoining counties and the state to handle policing.
Why? That way Baltimore City pols won't have to take any responsibility. They can stand around and poke out their lower lips and complain, with no actual solution to offer and none expected. The aggrieved politicians' constituents can listen to complaints about being exploited and keep voting for them forever with a clear conscience. Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Howard, and maybe Harford Counties, and the state can augment their police and courts and get on with the serious business of actually reducing crime.
The counties have much lower crime rates and (no disrespect intended to BC policemen) higher hiring standard for their officers. They also pay better, with better benefits. Not being beholden to Heronner Da Mare Madame Pugh and the well-entrenched city council, they'll actually be able to do things up to county and state standards. In the event of festivities, it would take three or four county execs and the governor to agree to let the feral youths have a spot to destroy. Perhaps five years from now Baltimore citizens will even be able to enjoy Patterson Park on summer evenings and expect to get home alive and with their money.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
The commenter doesn't understand that city civil service jobs are a patronage program for blacks just as white-dominated cities used to have similar programs for favored ethnicities, where it be Polish, Italian or Irish constituents. The difference is that whites are actually semi-competent at what they do, even when every kind of hiring malfeasance is thrown in. Not so with blacks.
#6
Mayor Catherine Pugh says every time there’s a shooting or murder, her phone rings...
I seriously doubt that. The few mayors I have seen in action don't get a call from the police commissioner when something happens.
Something really bad involving a city official? Yes.
Some random crackhead getting whacked? No.
#7
Do you want to risk your life every day at work?
Do you want to make instant life or death decisions, with the probability that your decision will be micro-analyzed after the fact by people who weren't there?
Do you want to work among the scum of the earth and get assaulted when you try to arrest them?
Then apply to be a member of the Baltimore City police department!
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
11/17/2017 12:19 Comments ||
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[IsraelTimes] Move would be major victory for Trump effort to isolate Pyongyang, as Khartoum and Washington court improved relationship at Israel's behest.
State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Sudan is taking the step due to the "critical threat" posed by the North’s nuclear program. She said the United States welcomed the decision, which was announced after a visit to Khartoum by Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan.
That visit came as the US and Sudan, encouraged by Israel and Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... , moved to improve ties after decades of hostility.
The Trump administration has been pushing foreign countries to reduce economic, diplomatic and other ties to Pyongyang in an effort to further isolate the country and bring it back to the negotiating table. In recent weeks, the administration has been targeting African and South Asian nations and several have agreed.
Sudan has been a particular focus of the effort as part of an attempt to improve ties between Washington and Khartoum that has led to a lifting of some US sanctions against Sudan.
Thursday’s announcement came ahead of a decision expected soon for the US to re-list North Korea as a "state sponsor of terrorism," a designation that President George W. Bush’s administration removed in 2008 as it sought a diplomatic agreement to halt Pyongyang’s atomic weapons program.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told news hounds on Thursday she expected a decision on North Korea’s status to be made early next week. The administration had missed an early November congressional deadline to make a decision on the designation but said it would make a determination after the conclusion of President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... ’s just-concluded visit to Asia.
Sudan is one of only three countries ‐ the others are Iran and Syria ‐ that are currently designated state sponsors of terrorism by the State Department, a label that carries economic and financial sanctions. The announcement of Sudan cutting ties with North Korea will likely help its case to be removed from the list.
However, if you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning... a senior State Department official said the potential changes to Sudan’s and North Korea’s designations are not directly related and that reviews of both countries are proceeding independently.
The official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said a determination on Sudan would likely depend on how well it implements its pledge to cut ties with North Korea.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
11/17/2017 01:42 ||
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[Al Jazeera] The leader Zim-bob-we's largest opposition alliance has called on the world's oldest sitting president to voluntarily step aside as the country entered its second day of a military takeover.
"In the interest of the people, Mr Bob Muggsy Mugabe Nonagenarian President-for-Life of Zim-bob-we who turned the former Breadbasket of Africa into the African Basket Case... must resign and step down immediately in line with the national expectation and sentiment," Morgan Tsvangirai said at a presser on Thursday.
Former vice president Joice Mujuru - who was dismissed in 2014 on allegations of plotting against Mugabe - declined to comment on the president's confinement. But she has said the situation highlighted the need to create a transitional administration to oversee free-and-fair elections in the southern African nation.
Former finance minister Tendai Biti echoed Tsvangirai's sentiments on Mugabe's resignation and told Al Jazeera the time had come draw a line in the sand for Mugabe’s 37-year rule.
"Mugabe cannot resist anymore because it will result in those who want him gone using extra-legal means to remove him from power. That will be a very unfortunate end, but you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see that it’s inevitable," Biti said in a phone interview.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2017 00:00 ||
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[All Africa] Finance minister Ignatius Chombo was reportedly found with US$10m in cash at his Harare home after the property was raided by the military Wednesday morning.
The minister, said to be one of President Bob Muggsy Mugabe Nonagenarian President-for-Life of Zim-bob-we who turned the former Breadbasket of Africa into the African Basket Case... 's most corrupt officials, was among the first ministers detained by the army as Generals deposed the 93-year-old Zanu PF leader from power.
The unverified claim that Chombo had bags of cash at plush home was made by independent Norton politician Temba Mliswa.
"Just for your own information, Minister Chombo's house which was invaded as he got tossed in the calaboose Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! had US$10 million," Mliswa claimed in an interview with Al Jazeera.
Meanwhile, ...back at the pond, the enormous newt was trying to decide if Gloria was edible... also reported to have been detained were higher education minister Jonathan Moyo and local government counterpart Saviour Kasukuwere.
The two were said to have sought refuge at Mugabe's private Harare home where the veteran leader was being held hostage
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
Seems those military pay checks just got covered. See - prize money.
[All Africa] President Bob Muggsy Mugabe Nonagenarian President-for-Life of Zim-bob-we who turned the former Breadbasket of Africa into the African Basket Case... , confined by the military to his private residence since Tuesday night, is expected to hand over power imminently to his former deputy Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is believed to be planning a transitional government which will include the opposition.
Mnangagwa is expected to form a transitional government that would rule for five years, after which the country would hold elections, highly placed sources said. His mandate, according to the military plan, would include restoring the rule of law and stabilise the economy.
The fierce battle to succeed the 93-year old president came to a head on Wednesday, when the military effectively seized control of government and launched a crackdown on what it described as "criminals around" Mugabe.
The Zim-bob-we Defence Forces (ZDF) took over state broadcaster, Zim-bob-we Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) to announce, early yesterday morning, its unprecedented intervention in civilian affairs.
"We wish to make it abundantly clear that this is not a military takeover of government. What the Zim-bob-we Defence Forces is doing is to pacify a degenerating political‚ social and economic situation in our country which if not addressed may result in violent conflict," the military said in a statement read on state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
by major general Sibusiso Moyo.
"To the generality of the people of Zim-bob-we...our wish is that you enjoy your rights and freedoms and that we return our country to a dispensation that allows for investment‚ development and prosperity that we all fought for and for which many of our citizens paid the supreme sacrifice."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2017 00:00 ||
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[MIAMIHERALD] A special Haitian Senate commission is accusing more than a dozen former government officials and heads of private firms of embezzling $2 billion in Venezuelan oil loans ‐ money that could have helped the country rebuild after its devastating earthquake in 2010.
An anti-corruption investigation concluded that charges should be filed against two former prime ministers, several ex-ministers and the owners of private firms on grounds they misappropriated and embezzled money that left post-quake Haiti with unfinished government buildings, poorly constructed housing and overpriced public works contracts.
The nearly $2 billion that was paid out came from the country’s Venezuelan oil largess, known as PetroCaribe. It provides Haiti and several other cash-strapped Caribbean countries with subsidized oil on favorable financing terms. The debt is stretched over a 25-year period with a 1 percent interest rate and a two- to three-year grace period allowing the countries to use the savings to finance social and economic projects.
"It can be declared that the PETROCARIBE has been the object of embezzlement, embezzlement, embezzlement and prevarication on the part of those indexed in this report," the commission’s report concluded.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2017 00:00 ||
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And then there is the $12-$14 billion shortfall due to the Clinton Foundation.
[DAWN] A man in Tank district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Thursday confessed to dousing his wife in petrol and setting her afire last month following a domestic altercation, Superintendent of Police (SP) Gul Naseeb told DawnNews.
The woman died in Tank’s Christian Hospital on Saturday after remaining admitted there for 20 days. The burning incident had occurred on October 23.
The police had started the paperwork but haven't done much else on the complaint of Mohammad Khan, father of the woman, saying that her husband, Faiz Mohammad, "doused my daughter in petrol and burnt her alive" after she refused to allow him for a second marriage.
He told the police the accused had kidnapped his daughter and had forcibly married her one-and-half years ago, and the couple had a two-month-old daughter.
The complainant said the dear departed had told her mother when she visited her in the hospital that she had been burnt by her husband after she refused to allow him a second marriage. The victim’s mother did not disclose the matter for fear of the family of the accused, he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2017 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] A centuries-old 'sleeping Buddha' statue has been unearthed during excavations near Bhamala Stupa in Haripur district, DawnNews reported on Thursday. Going from the picture, the workmanship's Hellenic, or heavily Hellenic influenced.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Directorate of Archaeology And Museums Director Dr Abdul Samad said,"The 48-feet long 'sleeping Buddha' statue dates back to the third century, which makes it the world's oldest 'sleeping Buddha' statue."
He told DawnNews that archaeologists found the statue, with its head intact, during excavations near the Bhamala Stupa.
"We have discovered more than 500 Buddha-related objects during excavations, in addition to the 48-feet long 'sleeping Buddha'," he said.
The latest discoveries by the archaeologists have opened new chapters in the history of the ancient Taxila Valley Civilisation.
"This is one of the few sites in the world to have the cruciform Stupa, which was reserved for Buddha himself," Samad had earlier told Dawn.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2017 00:00 ||
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The Pentagon is developing an emerging technology able to track, target and destroy approaching ICBMs and decoys simultaneously - by attaching a new Multi-Object Kill
The Pentagon is developing an emerging technology able to track, target and destroy approaching ICBMs and decoys simultaneously - by attaching a new Multi-Object Kill Vehicle, or MOKV, to a Ground Based Interceptor.
Development of the MOVK is intended to evolve from existing tests with the EKV, however industry and Pentagon developers do not want to rush the system in order to ensure it is well suited to destroy emerging threats anticipated five, ten or more years from now, Norm Montano, Raytheon EKV Program Director, told Scout Warrior in an interview last year.
While spoken many months ago, Montano's comments bear even greater relevance now - as tensions with North Korea rise quickly and many analyze the regime's fast-advancing ability to hit US targets with an ICBM.
"The threat is evolving. North Korea is frequently testing. You can't underestimate the learning that they are doing. We don't want to rush MOKV. We want to get there and get there right," Montano said. "If we move too fast we might not get all the learning that we need."
Decoys or countermeasures are missile-like structures, objects or technologies designed to throw off or confuse the targeting and guidance systems of an approaching interceptor in order to increase the probability that the actual missile can travel through to its target.
If the seeker or guidance systems of a "kill vehicle" technology on a Ground Base Interceptor, or GBI, cannot discern an actual nuclear-armed ICBM from a decoy ‐ the dangerous missile is more likely to pass through and avoid being destroyed. MOKV is being developed to address this threat scenario.
"We will develop and test MOKV command and control strategies in both digital and hardware-in-the-loop venues that will prove we can manage the engagements of many kill vehicles on many targets from a single interceptor. We will also invest in the communication architectures and guidance technology that support this game-changing approach," a spokesman for the Missile Defense Agency, told Scout Warrior in a previous written statement.
]The Missile Defense Agency has awarded MOKV development deals to Boeing, Lockheed and Raytheon as part of a risk-reduction phase able to move the technology forward, officials said.
Steve Nicholls, Director of Advanced Air & Missile Defense Systems for Raytheon, told Scout Warrior last year that the MOKV is being developed to provide the MDA with "a key capability for its Ballistic Missile Defense System - to discriminate lethal objects from countermeasures and debris. The kill vehicle, launched from the ground-based interceptor extends the ground-based discrimination capability with onboard sensors and processing to ensure the real threat is eliminated."
Continues.
Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy ||
11/17/2017 13:19 ||
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Make it big enough, it will destroy everything.
[JammieWearingFool] Memo to the fearless "Resistance" members out there. If you plan on making a public spectacle of yourself because you can’t handle the results of an election, make sure you don’t have any outstanding arrest warrants.
What a dolt.
The driver of a pickup displaying an expletive-filled message to President Donald Trump and his supporters in the Houston area was arrested Thursday on an outstanding warrant.
Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office records show Karen Fonseca was arrested about 2 p.m. Thursday on an outstanding fraud warrant issued in August by the Rosenberg Police Department. She remained in the county jail Thursday night with bond set at $1,500.
A sheriff’s spokesman has not answered a message seeking details behind the warrant.
Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls had threatened Fonseca with a disorderly conduct charge over the decal. However, District Attorney John Healey said he didn’t think it would have been a prosecutable case.
Fonseca had said she would not remove the decal. She said she had been stopped by law officers, but that they have no grounds to issue a citation.
"It’s not to cause hate or animosity," No, of course not.
the 46-year-old Fonseca told the Houston Chronicle. "It’s just our freedom of speech and we’re exercising it."
Sure, no hate or animosity, just fuck you for voting for someone I don’t like or something.
Nehls on Wednesday posted a photo of the truck message on Facebook alongside a request to speak with the driver.
Nehls in his post said that a county prosecutor told him the message could warrant a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct. But at a news conference later Wednesday, he seemed to back away from that idea. Nehls said he supports freedom of speech but worried that profane messages could incite others and lead to confrontations that would disturb the peace he’s pledged to keep.
A spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office, which covers the county just southwest of Houston, said Thursday that Nehls’ post was removed once the pickup driver was identified.
"Due to the hate messages he has been receiving toward his wife and children, the sheriff will not be commenting on the matter further," spokeswoman Caitilin Espinosa said by email.
On the upside for Fonseca, she’s sure to become a celebrity once she makes bail, and is sure to do all the national TV rounds basking in her new-found fame. Sometimes, it does not pay to advertise.
Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy ||
11/17/2017 11:34 ||
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[FOX59] A third Ohio pastor has been indicted on sex trafficking charges, and prosecutors say all three men worked together to entice underage girls with money in exchange for sex.
A federal grand jury in Toledo has indicted the Rev. Cordell Jenkins, the Rev. Anthony Haynes and the Rev. Kenneth Butler on conspiracy to sex traffic children. All three men pleaded not guilty "Wudn't me." Tuesday.
The US Attorney’s Office says Haynes began grooming a 14-year-old girl for prostitution in 2014. Prosecutors say Haynes introduced her to other men and all three of the pastors sexually assaulted her.
Jenkins and Haynes were previously indicted on child sex trafficking charges in July.
An attorney representing Jenkins tells WTVG-TV her client understands he is facing "very serious allegations."
#4
Actions have consequences. Let ‘em play it out. Object lesson here.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/17/2017 10:43 Comments ||
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#5
The No Firearms League. Leaving the disrespect for the Flag aside, I tell everyone I know who considers themselves a gun person but is still watching a f*cking hypocrite.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
11/17/2017 11:00 Comments ||
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#7
I watch football to escape this bullshit, and now it’s found me and won’t leave me alone. One factor the article misses is the collapse of ESPN. As viewers abandon the NFLs most relentless hype machine, interest in the game dwindles
Posted by: Regular joe ||
11/17/2017 13:28 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The story that Justice League gives us is a hodgepodge of all the superhero films, the fantasy epics, the space operas and the children’s cartoons you’ve seen and immediately forgotten.
[BALTIMORE.CBSLOCAL] Last week the Baltimore police commissioner was fired up at a presser, Wednesday, the mayor responded to those who are lashing out at her. They say she doesn’t take the violence seriously.
North Korea
