DramatistDreamer

I know that the UAE often side with KSA (they did with the dispute between KSA and Qatar) and KSA and Iran have been bitter rivals for at least 40 years now (there was a really comprehensive Frontline PBS special all about this) but this would be a very circuitous route to get at KSA, one of USA's ally, imo. Also, Dubai has become a popular destination, especially among the wealthy, so I guess perhaps that might the reason they chose to name it? The animus between Iran and Israel is obvious but I guess Haifa is considered something of a hotspot, I'm guessing because of its cultural and religious history but because of its somewhat mixed demographics, it strikes me as odd that Haifa would be the city that was mentioned. I guess perhaps like Dubai, Haifa is seen as high profile in the ME. Some news analysts are dismissing these threats but that strikes me as foolish. I bet residents of these cities are taking the threat seriously though. Haifa, experienced rocket attacks by Hezbollah over fifteen years ago and there are said to be at least one Hezbollah-adjacent militia group in Iraq that are backed by Iran. In the end, Iran may stand down on their statement but to dismiss the threat seems foolhardy.

I know Iran has beef with both but I honestly don't really know what to make of this declaration.

I just-

Oh sh*t! Even though I could see this coming, still...to read about it, knowing that it's now an inescapable reality is sobering. The only possible point of respite is that other countries that are would be allies want no part of this entire debacle. Not even the U.K. with dopey Boris Johnson wants anything to do with this catastrophe.

Damn, what's going on with Zverev and Tsitsipas?? There were photographs of Zverev's father with tears in his eyes, apparently after being verbally abused by his son Sascha. Apparently Boris got some of the abuse too. Now this. These guys are behaving very badly. Not a good look at all. I'm actually feeling sorry for their fathers.

So, I didn't miss anything. Figures have already been revised since this article. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-awards-golden-globes-ratings/gervais-hosted-golden-globes-audience-dips-in-early-tv-ratings-data-idUSKBN1Z51RW?feedType=RSS&feedName=entertainmentNews

Oh my.

She may perform better than expected in states with a white majority like the first two primaries but by the time the primaries move to SC, I could see her falling back down. And if her connection to the Central Park exonerated becomes more publicized, she'll have a lot to answer for. It won't be pretty.

Other than the one or two organizations working as non-profits, nothing is being done by the actual government to prevent voter disenfranchisement and suppression during the next election, despite the history.

It's good to have dual citizenship.

Speaking of wars (and rumors of wars), this was tweeted out yesterday:

In what should be a surprise to no one, the effects of this trade war have pushed U.S. manufacturing to a low not seen in a decade. All. this. winning. Trade war blamed for pushing U.S. manufacturing activity to 10-year low I also read an article that stated that the economies of at least 9 states will contract this year. Not good, to say the least.

Since I posted this, I've seen a map of Australia and the fire was more expansive than I had read. There were balls of fire dotted in more than one area. Very scary. I really hope the rain comes to help the firefighters and everybody in putting out the fire. I saw that Tennis Australia followed Nick Kyrgios' lead in raising money for those in need due to the fires. Do you think that the air quality issues will spread to other parts of Australia? I read that people in New Zealand are being affected.

I liked Melanie Smith's Emily. I preferred her interpretation of the character to all the rest. Speaking of 1990s ATWT, the other day I watched an episode from 1990 and was reminded of how unnecessary a character Ellie Snyder was, IMO. Despite the fact that I found Babette Rene Props to be cute and charismatic as an actress, Ellie just added to the glut of Snyder family members that many complain about. I wouldn't have minded if Props played a different character, returning Marcy Thompson or some other character-- they could've done almost all of the things with the Brock storyline that was done with Ellie just by having Marcy separated from her aristocratic husband and has a fling with Phillip Lombard, yadda yadda yadda and so on, without the weird-as* complication of having yet another Snyder woman involved in man-sharing. Overall, the character turned out to be a mere blip in the show's history, who, unlike Iva and Meg, only made a momentary impact on the show's overall history. She left and they never bothered to bring the character back. On the positive side, Props was talented and Ellie was very much a walking talking 90s time capsule.

I hate to judge but man, she is a mess!!

I missed most of this storyline the first time around (too busy) but I've since gone back and watched several episodes online and I have to agree with you. Also, I don't see what the fuss was about Rex Smith. He seemed so bland to me in this storyline. ATWT must've been really desperate for a leading man. Perhaps had this storyline taken place in the late 70s, Smith might have fit the bill, especially as an alternative to characters like Brad Hollister. In the early 90s though, I feel like it reflected badly on all the characters connected to this storyline, especially Frannie.

It's not that I expected most of these POC candidates to have much of a chance of getting far. It's the playing at diversity and the intentional branding of the Dems as the "most diverse" group ever assembled when, in fact, it is a paper tiger. Also, I think that the fact that the marketing of the party has been so focused on this aspect at the onset, only to shatter so early in the process (the actual voting hasn't even begun) is likely to have unintended consequences for young voters and voters of colors, some of whom are already disenchanted in the process from last time. I have already had people who were 1st time voters in 2016, who I have been trying to convince to overcome their bitter disappointment to participate in the process in 2020. How am I supposed to get through to these people when they see that voting in the actual primaries has little to do with who ends up at the top of the ticket? They see candidates leaving because of lack of money (Harris qualified for the next debate, it was money issues that had her suspend her campaign). It's hard to argue the integrity of this process when you see Tulsi Gabbard boasting about her $$$ haul. (Even Bernie is bragging about his fundraising totals). I'm not even talking about being the nominee, I'm talking about being able to fully participate in the process, at least up to the first primary, when you have the illusion of people making the decision. Reading about the declarations of revenge from Iran and wondering why many Americans believe that somehow they won't be affected. Everyone really needs to consider the aspect of cyber warfare and how reliant we all are on technology. In any case, if our Internet systems are affected and we all get cut off, it's been nice chatting and debating with you all on this messageboard. Only part of me is being tongue-in-cheek about this. Typo up above. I meant *voters of color* not colors. Oh well.

Speaking of HRC-

Those people are shameless and are likely already seeking a way to avoid admitting their folly. Since I posted this, I've noticed that the news has only gotten bigger on this topic. What a way to start the New Year, huh? I can't get over how casual some people are being about this. I posted in the Tennis Forum about this, although I was somewhat sarcastic in my tone. I realize that the fires are not all over the country but still, it is a significant portion of Australia and I've read that the poor air quality has extended to New Zealand so I don't know why officials wouldn't be more concerned.

This and the earlier news report showing Nation guard members being deployed to Iraq just points to some ominous signs. I hope I'm wrong.

Tennis still doesn't know how to present itself as a sport. The first match being broadcast to an audience in the inaugural year of a brand-new event and this is how they do it??? I don't always agree with Ben but he does have a point here.

Yay diversity! The system of voting in this country has become so warped that donations and polling in states that don't resemble the rest of the country has effectively replaced voting in determining the nominee. People keep mentioning Obama as if that's a panacea for the fact that this is the same system that gave us Bush and Trump. One can say that had Bush not f*cked up so thoroughly most of these voters wouldn't have even considered Obama in the first place. It's unlikely that the process will much matter anyway. By the time the primaries get to me the nominee will already have been decided. I am just not into defending a process where a select group of people in phone polls and their purse strings decide, rather than voters at the actual polls. Whoever the nominee ends up being, I'll do my civic duty but I'm not going to pretend that the process is anything but ruled by money.

I love how Tennis Australia is posting these propaganda photos of a select group of players sunning themselves on a beach while pretty much the entire west coast of the country is in flames. Clueless.

What voters are we talking about? Primaries haven't even started.