DramatistDreamer

They should also all be appalled by the sexual harassment and assaults committed by the current occupant of the WH. Why are they not also calling for #45's resignation?

Great to see that Brexit is going so well. David Davis admits UK Government has not done Brexit impact assessments for different economic sectors

And Lionsgate did more than just pull the movie, they sold it back to the production company, suggesting they wanted to be rid of the movie. I just finished reading. At first, I had no intention of reading yet another Weinstein article but figured that this would name names, which it did. It's bizarre how much Weinstein and Trump have in common, down to the connection to the man who owns the publisher of The National Enquirer.

I was just trying to post this John Gotti business in the Status Update but it still doesn't work for me No reason so far given for the cut but...hmm indeed.

The only reforms that MBS really cares about are the ones that will transform SA enough to attract investors, particularly Western ones. The ruling monarchy has known for some time that the oil money won't last forever, they can only rely on it for about a handful of years. They've invested in all that they can expect to invest in and get some return for their investment (they've even invested in solar and wind energy). They know it's critical to attract investors as the other part of the equation. Hence, the reforms. MBS is very much in a hurry to get this done and is elbowing his way through (not to mention that he clearly wants to be the guy that gets the credit for modernizing SA). His reforms have been very popular with the masses (particularly the youth) because he has stripped the cultural police and the strictest clerics of their power, while giving the general population newfound freedoms. What he is doing in other Middle Eastern countries is an entirely different matter. His hand in Yemen has heightened a crisis that is both deeply political and humanitarian. His maneuvering to try to isolate Qatar has all but completely blown up in his face. (yet another ideological battle with Iran by proxy). I just find it ironic that SA's ally the U.S. (via another ignorant, impatient princeling) has helped create so much chaos in the Middle East that they likely have unwittingly drawn the two rivals, S.A. and Iran closer together. Nah, they'll only stay together long enough to dismantle the U.S.' plans, then they'll return to their proxy wars as scheduled.

When you think about it, the evangelicals basically want to implement the West's version of Shariah (whatever that would be called) in the U.S.

That a scandal rag doesn't respect its employees? Sorry but this is the least surprising of them all.

I've been reading about the worsening crisis in Yemen, on and off for months and just a few days ago about their former President Ali Abdullah Saleh was killed by the Houthi (said to be backed by Iran) rebels that he once collaborated with. Apparently the rebels believed he was working with the Saudis against them. Yemen has been the staging ground of the enmity between Iran and Saudi Arabia yet Trump Inc. is now creating such a mess in the Middle East that it is having the unexpected effect of united the Saudis and the Iranians together against the U.S. Whoa!

A little Olympics ban humor.

New York City Ballet and the School of American Ballet both stress that their investigation is based on an anonymous letter and have so far found no substantiating proof of misconduct but decided to proceed with the investigating process anyway. Perhaps it has to do with the claims in hushed tones by former dancers and former staff that Martins had often slept with dancers and as a result promoted some dancers over others. New York City Ballet Is Investigating Sexual-Harassment Claims Against Chief Peter Martins

Potentially, this could be interesting. I wonder what this investigation might unearth? Mueller Subpoenas Trump Deutsche Bank Records

Haaretz points out the likelihood that Flynn, Kushner and co. violated the Logan Act, which no one has ever really been prosecuted for but hey, we're clearly living in "unpresidented" times. Explained: What Michael Flynn’s Guilty Plea Means for Jared Kushner and Israel read more: https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/1.826651

He was such a goofball on Facts of Life but he wasn't hurting anybody so it didn't bother me. It would be fun to see Clooney try to play working class again but then again, nobody's got time for that! Honestly, Clooney's best sitcom/pre-ER role was when he played that goofy detective Bobby on The Golden Girls.

Okay, I've been reading this thread on and off and it looks like they have all the ingredients necessary for a successful reboot! They damn near got everybody back (can they get George Clooney too?) which is rare! And "mini Darlene" Emma Kenney is perfect for that role! These reboots are getting better and better these days.

Speaking of karmic justice...

If only this were true...

Even from New York, people tend to move on and branch out. There are large PR populations in CT, MA (especially the Boston metro area) and even noticeable populations are emerging in the Philadelphia area. Since so many have been migrating to the Tampa area, even before the hurricane (due to the economic crisis), I expect more of those populations to fan out in the South to possibly GA (Atlanta metro) and the Carolinas. Trump's anti PR rhetoric since the hurricane may focus recent Puerto Rican migrants to register to vote. Since Brexit happened, I've been cautioning people to look out for Ireland (border issues with N. Ireland) and Scotland (sovereignty issues) especially as it concerns access to the single market of the EU.

Also, has anyone read these latest developments on the Masterson news? Netflix Exec Tells Woman The Company Doesn’t Believe Actor’s Rape Accusers. Then She Said She Was One.

I've noticed that he seems to be good friends with Eggert and Sara Gilbert (who has a very prominent media platform). Chachi might want this to go away but I don't think it will, especially if bigger media platforms pick this up. One of these days Bill O'Reilly will wrap his head around the fact that it is a new day and he's no longer in charge of the narrative.

I think Kushner and Mohammed Bin-Salman (MBS) in their secret meeting must've agreed to try to break things apart so that they can recast the Middle East to benefit themselves and their ilk, regardless of whether it leads to war. Sure MBS has decided to enact some long overdue reforms (including giving Saudi women the right to drive) but his heavy-handed approach, including jailing just about all the princes that had some political clout (and therefore could've posed a challenge to his leadership) over 'corruption charges' even while nobody dare ask how MBS and his family 'earned' their massive fortune. Although MBS seems to be saying many of the 'right' things when he speaks of reform in his country, but many of his actions, especially those that are reverberating outside the Kingdom, into the Middle East, appear to be reckless (e.g. Yemen) and it makes him look like some unstudied dilettante princeling (a feature that he would have in common with Kushner) who wants to ride roughshod over people to get what he wants, regardless of whether it has disastrous effects on huge populations of people.

Maybe but we know that it wasn't just working class whites who voted Republican in this election. Kathy Griffin (God bless her rant) unmasked quite a few Trump supporters who are media bigwigs. If Mayer were alive today, I have no doubt he'd be screeching about how "unpatriotic" those entitled NFL players are as he was a big producer of patriotic propaganda films during WWII. The studio bosses of the biggest names (WB, 2st Century Fox) are conservatives, which speaks a lot to why the current Hollywood slate of films feature a majority of comic book heroes and white male centered movies. The only reason why that is changing is because so many of those franchises are losing money.

Sadly, it looks as if The Met has been shielding Levine for decades. From what I read, the first allegation goes back to 1979 and there was a police report filed as recently at last year. There was also a scandal revealed in the theater world with a very celebrated playwright, Israel Horovitz, who had made himself a "mentor" to quite a few 20 something actresses over the decades. Horovitz is also known as the father of one of the members of the Beastie Boys, Adam Horovitz, who has publicly stated that he believes the women's accounts about his father. I've noticed a pattern, in that many of these accounts that are finally coming out now, began as rumors that have been swirling around for what seems like decades, in some cases, complaints were even registered publicly and police reports were even sometimes filed. For whatever reason, the perpetrators are only now being called to task for their actions, likely because many were being protected by large esteemed institutions.

Which is why I scoff at people lumping Lauer, Rose et. al as part of the "liberal" corps. No they're not. In fact, most media veer toward conservative in the way they run their businesses. FoxNewsChannel is so right-wing, that they've skewed the metrics. It's also like I've been posting in the Hollywood predators thread, although many actors and some directors and a few producers tend to be liberal, the vast majority of studio executives and bosses espouse Republican beliefs and vote in that manner. Going all the way back to Louis B. Mayer, the head of MGM was a staunch conservative and the head of the California Republican party. Consequently, he was a co-founder of AMPAS, the organization in charge of the Academy Awards (AKA Oscars). Does anyone really believe that the likes of Les Moonves is a liberal?? (and before anyone starts going on about Harvey Weinstein/Miramax and The Weinstein Company were always niche, boutique studios compared to the likes of Warner Brothers and 21st Century Fox) We know how many media corporate executives promoted the idea of Trump's legitimacy as a viable candidate for ratings, which is why I feel little sympathy for them being treated so poorly in the press corp by the WH. They helped to unleash this beast.

And now, allegations starting in the world of classical music and it doesn't get much bigger than the Met Opera in the classical world. Metropolitan Opera investigating James Levine misconduct allegations