DramatistDreamer

Congrats to ODAAT for finding a new platform! It's interesting that Pop ultimately provided the platform. Interesting irony, like I mentioned previously, that Schitt's Creek started out on U.S. television being exclusively on Pop before also being streamed on Netflix. The entertainment industry is something else! I do think content creators, especially the big-wigs will be looking to get more flexibility from Netflix in the future. There is an increasing divide between the showrunners (the big name ones expecially) and the writers who are paid scale in terms of working out these packaged agreements. It has become an increasingly sore subject and it does encompass agreements worked out with streamers as well as network. It's going to be interesting to see what the future of these type of agreements look like.

Cori "Coco" Gauff, 15 just became the youngest player to qualify for the main draw at Wimbledon. Well done to her!!

In better SCOTUS news,

Uh-oh.

The VRA and partisan gerrymandering really needs to be a question on the agenda for tonight's debate.

The Wimbledon spokesperson's response seems pretty weak. If the ITF made the standards for even qualifying as a professional tennis player more exacting and rigorous, making it more difficult for many to even get a ranking, let alone qualify for Challengers, then there should at least be better prize money and facilities for those who do qualify to play. France has some of the best equipped and organized Challenger tournaments. Many have facilities that are truly up to professional quality standard and some rival or best most ATP 250 tournaments but it's clear that Challenger tournaments in France get support from the French government. In the U.S., some Challengers are located at the site of country clubs and have facilities that look nice (although some are still inadequate to support an actual tournament in multiple players that need to play simultaneous matches) but there are a few U.S. based Challengers that have poor facilities, courts that are unfit and inadequate amount of staff and I was shocked to see that some of the worst facilities in the U.S. required entrance fees from the players!

The consensus last night was that Elizabeth Warren presented herself as the front-runner of the group. To those who have been following her/paying attention, what Warren said last night has been pretty consistent with what she's been saying all along. It's no surprise. The consensus seemed to be that Julian Castro did actually surprise. If his strategy was to distinguish himself over many of the other candidates, especially his fellow Texan Beto O'Rourke, it appears that he accomplished that last night. Although Gabbard made some good points about the Pentagon and the rush to war, I still find her shifty. Also, for some reason, this made me chuckle.

AOC backed Cabán and urged her twitter followers to contribute to Cabán's campaign. It paid off last night.

Is that why he's trending? (Shrugs) Oh well. I think this is a group that has made the conscious decision to cede moral high-ground in favor of pushing through their agenda. There is no moral righteousness with this group now, just play-acting.

I'm not sure what this means. I'm dubious as to whether this changes absolutely anything. Nevertheless-

At least some people are trying to take a stand.

He'd already been indicted (and re-elected despite it) on charges that he and his wife were misappropriating funds for school tuition and vacays but I guess once the 411 about the five 'side pieces' came to light, his wife likely decided that she'd had enough. The question is, have his constituents finally had enough?

The only downside to that election news in Turkey is that some are now suggesting that Erdogan will likely move to strip some powers from the new mayor. As Erdogan was formerly the mayor of Istanbul, he likely knows the ins and outs of the position as well as the underbelly as to how to weaken the position.

Expense has to be the reason. If it's going off the NYPL system then other public libraries can kiss this platform bye-bye.

I kid you not, Babis was quoted as claiming that he wants to make the Czech Republic "great again". Sound familiar? While we have children dying on the border and soiling themselves in detention camps with barely no collective action, nothing surprises me about the denial of the American electorate. I can pretty much say I've felt this way since before Trump's election but his election solidified the feeling.

Exactly. You're a rational person, who I've heard has a Birthday today, so Happy Birthday, I hope you enjoy it!🍷

So, does the Trump administration simply plan to terrorize people as a re-election strategy? He issues a threat to launch a strike against Iran, then pulls back at the last minute. Then he issues an order for I.C.E. raids in several cities all over the country, then rescinds the order at the last minute. To paraphrase @Khan, this is all so shameful! I'm still reading this article but thought I'd post before I forget because this seems like a recurring theme so far. I still think that there can't be a clear sense of anything (let alone front-runner status) until the debates begin. Presented without further comment.

What in the name of lawlessness???

So many Americans seem intent on ignoring the fact that Trump is a predator, a thug and a criminal. Will Ms. Carroll's account be added to the nearly two dozen other women who publicly proclaimed Trump to be a sexual predator, only to be discarded when Trump hurls insults? It's disgusting the level of criminality and scandal that Trump brings with him. It's constant, you can barely catch your breath! Another trash person who has managed to scale political heights despite also having zero regard for women. If they, in the U.K. had any sense at all, they'd dump him.

Meanwhile the kakistocracy known as the Trump administration is deliberately sowing chaos and confusion with provocation and reprisals with Iran, is anybody in West Virginia paying attention to this?

If my post alluded to the aspect that the U.S. is using Iran as a smokescreen for MBS/KSA, I should have been clearer-- I meant to say it straight out. Again, the provocation and reprisals with Iran is meant to draw attention away from MBS/KSA who is being scrutinized once again for their part in Kashoggi's killing. The U.N. wants further investigation, which the Trump administration and MBS/KSA obviously don't want because for them, it's bad for business. If you look at the social media of Agnes Callamard, who led the investigation and prepared the report for the U.N., you will see she is being swarmed by Saudi operatives, many who are paid to send out spam subtweets to harass her. It's an organized effort and it's become their M.O. Hopefully some further investigation will eventually be mounted.

Is she talking about herself? Or perhaps a friend in the business?