DramatistDreamer

Haddad would be better off to focus on the fact that Bolsanaro has absolutely no coherent strategy for the Brazilian economy.  Brazil is still very much attached to the protection of the worker and Bolsanaro is nowhere near anything resembling a pro-worker platform. 

Haddad would be better off making this the focus since clearly many white Brazilians feel they can overlook Bolsanaro's racism and misogyny.  

Ask Brazilians if they want to elect someone who has no coherent economic plan and connect that to the spread of further inequality, which leads to more crime, more kidnappings and less personal security.

Lula, even with all his problems and the WP corruption, polled extremely high for another presidential run before he was disqualified from the race.  Why was Lula polling so high?  Because people were employed and crime was down when he was president.

The irony is that while many men facilitated rampant corruption, only a woman has paid the price. Dilma Rousseff made the mistake of overstating the figures to make one sector look as if it had more money than it actually did, essentially "robbing Peter to pay Paul" but the men around her were robbing everyone to pay themselves.  She was impeached, they are still in government.  Rousseff made the critical error of being a woman and being highly unpopular.  When you are a woman, if you are not exceptional, you will pay the price. 

And if you make a mistake on the level of Rousseff, you will be impeached, without question.

35 minutes ago, JaneAusten said:

Pray for sanity in Brazil over the next 3 weeks. They are close to electing their own version of Duerte. It’s time we ask again the reasons for the pushbacks against liberal democracies all over the world. Corruption is the main source yet those getting elected are even more corrupt and their lawlessness on display without a care in the world. Bolsonaro now has the support of the establishment media in Brazil as he had brought in an economics advisor from the US from the Univ of Chicago to push Neoliberal economic policies.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-45780176

Bolsanaro is a mix of Trump and Duterte as he is pretty racist as well.

I just hope Brazil won't revert to the days when police openly killed homeless children in the streets.

1 hour ago, Toups said:

 And other PS, thanks to everyone who posts links to news, or news from Twitter - this thread is my go to place for finding what's happening politically. 

You're welcome, Toups. Glad that you can sift through the thread and find useful information and news items of interest. 

It is a go-to spot!

DelPo was sick.  He was shivering, blowing his nose repeatedly and looked to laboring heavily to breathe, which was mostly through his mouth.

That said, Basilashvili can be a tough competitor because he doesn't beat himself, it takes work to beat him.  Definitely not someone you'd want to have to compete against if you're not 100%.

Thank goodness there are still courts and judges who stopped the Trump administration from sending back vulnerable groups like the Haitians who came to the U.S. after the 2010 earthquake. 

There was another earthquake today in Haiti and only God knows what would've happened had those people returned when the Trump WH wanted them to.

Speaking of which, this article about how the generals during the Vietnam war wanted to push the possibility of using nuclear weapons in Vietnam but were stopped by LBJ should alarm Americans today as Trump has often spoken of his intentions to rely on the generals and basically let them have their way.

U.S. General Considered Nuclear Response in Vietnam War, Cables Show

On 7/13/2018 at 7:16 AM, DramatistDreamer said:

P.S. the mob is back in NYC. 

Rudy didn't get rid of them all (as they probably guessed correctly that Rudy is corrupt now too and would be the least of their troubles).  

I guess the crime family that resides in the White House has only emboldened other crime families to re-emerge from their money-laundered hiding places.

On 7/13/2018 at 8:29 AM, DramatistDreamer said:

 

Bonanno. 

My point is, they're not even bothering to stay underground, they're openly shooting people in the streets like they're the Corleones at the San Gennaro festival. This happened like two days ago.

 

EDT: I actually pulled the video because it's probably too graphic but if you want to see the footage, do a search and you'll find it. In broad daylight, no less.

Remember when I posted about this crime family?

No, not the Trumps, the other crime family... the Bonanno crime family.

Well, you could say, it has unfortunately reached another level of mafia violence.

For months, Sylvester Zottola has been pursued by someone who wanted him dead. On Thursday evening, as night fell outside a Bronx McDonald’s, it appears that someone caught up with him. https://t.co/Rj00wwq70R

— Emily Palmer (@emilyepalmer) October 5, 2018

1 hour ago, Khan said:

 

They also liked how Trump sold himself as this mega-successful businessman (and "reality star") whose very name was emblazoned on everything from skyscrapers to ice cream.  Deep down, we Americans are suckers for the J.R. Ewing types.

Americans also claim to love pulled-up-from-bootstraps narratives and with Trump's father giving him the equivalent of $14 million (in today's dollars) to start out in life, his is certainly no such narrative. 

Also, when Hillary first ran, America claimed to dislike dynasties but the Trumps are nothing, if not a contemporary version of a dynasty.  A dynasty built on grifting and constant tax evasion but a dynasty nonetheless.  Or does that criticism only hold for Democratic candidates?

1 hour ago, ReddFoxx said:

Each woman who has accused Kavanaugh should file civil suits against him. It's a lot easier to get favorable rulings from civil suits. He should be tainted for the rest of his career even if he did make it to the court. He doesn't deserve one ounce of respect.

That's probably the best way for these women to get some type of measure of justice.

I also think that the Democrats, should they get a majority somehow, should pursue a full investigation with an eye toward impeachment proceedings. A Supreme court justice can be impeached.

Also, the white helmet that she wore on Safari is being compared with those that the Afrikaners/Boers are known for wearing. 

She's either signalling something quite racist or she's just incredibly stupid.

Either way, there's no hope for her.

Onto something that still does have a measure of hope-

For those who are eligible to vote early and wish to do so, here is an early voting guide.

SHARE How to Vote Early in the 2018 Midterm Elections

Interesting article written by Wesley Morris (who has a pretty good podcast called Still Processing with Jenna Wortham) about the types of 1980s movies and culture (during judge Kavanaugh's heyday) that prized the sexual exploits of young white men at the expense of women.

In ’80s Comedies, Boys Had It Made. Girls Were the Joke.

Hopefully the people of Maine will vote Collins out at the first opportunity.  

omg the website to fund Collins's opponent has crashed https://t.co/P25Yua7Ddr

— Ben Wikler (@benwikler) October 5, 2018

18 minutes ago, Khan said:

Word.

I thought about you when I read this article.  I learned about this in a Black Studies course I took in college but I realize that the majority of Americans don't know anything about this event.

It ties into my thoughts earlier this week when I read an article about the abysmally low voting rates in the U.S. and how it used to be much higher until 1900 when the rates fell.  I thought about the fact that the Reconstruction period was a time of high voter engagement among blacks, when many ran for and were voted into public office and how this resulted in economic success for blacks who created areas like 'Black Wall Street' and how it was destroyed by terrorists, who the government did nothing to stop and actively helped. 

The legacy of that terror was voter suppression tactics and a subsequent disengagement of black voters who had been terrorized.  That is a part of the legacy that has feed into 'voter apathy' that continues today.  It's a subject that never gets discussed-- the fact that blacks in this country were once active participants of electoral politics, as voters and as candidates for public office.  

More people should know about events such as this.

A murderous white mob attacked Tulsa’s thriving Black Wall Street in 1921, laying waste to around 300 lives and 1,200 homes. Now, Tulsa’s mayor wants to, quite literally, find where the bodies are buried. @mihirzaveri, reporting on something long overdue. https://t.co/rsK5Tsfd20

— Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith) October 4, 2018

7 minutes ago, Khan said:

They're like Agnes Nixon: "make 'em laugh, make 'em cry, make 'em wait (for the inevitable)."

Except, at least with Nixon, the majority of people who've waited on her are more likely to have a satisfying ending.  Can't say the same for these folks.  They're the Carlivatis and Mal Youngs of the world.  Making people hang on (those who haven't yet cut bait and given up), only to leave people flat, bewildered, if not out and out alienated and angry.

Good at what they do, they are not.

13 minutes ago, Khan said:

Welp. That's over.

Final vote is tomorrow.

Susan Collins is every bit as irritating to me as Flakey Flake.

Perhaps he became the man who knew too much?

Putin’s top legal adviser Dep AG Saak Karapetyan died in a helicopter crash yesterday.

Among his duties was investigating & disputing Skripal attack, handling the Litvinenko and Berezovsky investigation, and setting up the Trump Tower Don Jr-Russia meet to deliver Hillary dirt pic.twitter.com/MIxXiFDgqu

— Olga Lautman (@olgaNYC1211) October 4, 2018

When I saw that Garcia won the first set, I immediately thought to myself "Garcia had better win in straights, because if it goes to a third set, Garcia will get messy and I have a hard time imagining her winning". 

I was right.

Why does she do this?  This is bad form.

Oh no Sabalenka.. pic.twitter.com/nuAVNapJWt

— LorenaPopa🕵️‍♀️ 🏆🥖👑 (@popalorena) October 4, 2018

“'When you invest in a black woman, she brings her house, her block, her church and her story,' said Glynda C. Carr, co-founder of Higher Heights" Driven by South’s Past, Black Women Seek Votes and a New Future https://t.co/itx2rY8Cru

— Rebecca Shuri She Ready Carroll (@rebel19) October 4, 2018

A federal judge in California issued a preliminary injunction stopping the Trump administration from terminating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Sudan, Haiti, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. pic.twitter.com/dk6HRk3a3b

— Adolfo Flores (@aflores) October 4, 2018

"Unfathomable": More than 1,200 law professors sign letter opposing Kavanaugh’s confirmation https://t.co/U8Pw1liiXv

— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) October 4, 2018

Even though I read the Der Spiegel article over the weekend, I admit that I really haven't much kept up to do with the world of international football, with the exception of The World Cup, so I only heard about this over the weekend and read the article immediately after.

For me, when I hear the name Ronaldo, I still think of the now retired Brazilian football star, not the Portuguese one.

On topic, it looks as if the rape allegations against the Portuguese footballer are being re-examined as a case is being reopened.

"A defendant, regardless of wealth or fame, is going to come into court... and they're going to have to prove their case."

Cristiano Ronaldo has been issued this warning by Kathryn Mayorga's lawyer. She claims the footballer raped her in 2009 - a claim he denies.#5News pic.twitter.com/HiQBolsfyl

— Channel 5 News (@5_News) October 4, 2018

This is not so much a "Where Are They Now?" but 'Where They Were, Way Back When" but if you want to see a very young, pre-ATWT Brian Bloom (Dusty Donovan, ATWT), Netflix is streaming Once Upon A Time In America. 

The film was shot between 1982-1983 and Bloom started as Dusty in April 1983, so he likely went from the film set to set of ATWT in spring 1983.

The FBI only interviewed seven people.

1 hour ago, Paul Raven said:

Dramatist,

I know you mentioned not having read Rouverol's book.

You can borrow it online at Open Library.

I think you'll enjoy it!

Thanks for that tip, I put myself on the Waiting List (yes, there is one).

CRAZY CALCULATION: Jack Sock is now ranked No. 17 with 1,850 points.
He has 1,545 points (including 1000 for winning 2017 Paris/Bercy and 400 from the 2017 ATP Finals) to defend. If he doesn't defend any of those points his ranking is going to fall to around No. 170.

— Tom Tebbutt (@tomtebbutt) October 4, 2018

A massive coalition of U.S. Christian churches attended by 40 million people wants Brett Kavanaugh to withdraw his Supreme Court nomination. https://t.co/FBBu9Jk56D

— The Associated Press (@AP) October 3, 2018

Warning: You can feel the anguish in this essay.  It is visceral. The details are graphic.

"Dear Christine Blasey Ford: I, too, was sexually assaulted — and it’s seared into my memory forever," writes Connie Chung for The Washington Post https://t.co/DjIsRCDl0K

— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) October 3, 2018

I really loved the section where Rouverol talks about the importance of subtext in writing dramas for daytime. 

Subtext is essentially the difference between screenwriting and playwriting and back then daytime dramas and those classic TV dramas of the golden age hewed closer to playwriting standards than screenwriting standards.  That has somewhat changed today but it's so interesting to hear her talk about why she initially struggled with the transition from screenwriting to writing daytime drama.

For me, personally, it was the reverse where it took me longer to be able to write a TV sitcom script because I am far more at ease writing scripts for the stage.  TV scripts, subtext can be deadly, simply because there's not enough time to reveal beyond words. 

A thirty minute situation comedy script, you have to be more blunt, unless you are carrying out a story over a series of episodes, you don't have time to deal with 'what is not being said'. On classic soap, what's not said was almost everything.

I love to hear from writers on these specific aspects of writing for their respective genres.