- CMA’s appalling stalling can’t prevent courtroom disaster, reinforces ‘closed for business’ narrative — Justice Marcus Smith moves forward swiftly and is unconvinced of agency’s market definition FOSS Patents
- Microsoft Appeal Against UK Block of Activision Blizzard Deal to Start July 24 – News VGChartz
- Microsoft pledges to be ‘determined’ and ‘creative’ to get ATVI merger clearance TweakTown
- Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard gamble faces regulatory battle FOX 5 Washington DC
- Microsoft Activison merger “unconditionally cleared” WePC – PC Tech & PC Gaming News
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Tag Archives: appalling
Harry and Meghan kicked out and replaced with Prince Andrew: ‘Absolutely appalling’ – Sky News Australia
- Harry and Meghan kicked out and replaced with Prince Andrew: ‘Absolutely appalling’ Sky News Australia
- Harry and Meghan evicted from Frogmore Cottage by King Charles after Spare memoir – and Prince Andrew c… The US Sun
- ‘King Charles Is Trying To Get Rid Of The Duds!’ Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Evicted By King TalkTV
- Frogmore Cottage: The stunning royal residence Harry and Meghan are being kicked out of Yahoo News UK
- Harry and Meghan evicted from Frogmore Cottage in ‘another saga’ for the Royal Family Sky News Australia
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Norman Lear Says Trump’s Recent “Appalling Words About Jews” Remind Him Why He Enlisted To Fight The Nazis – Deadline
Norman Lear is 100 years old, yet the five-time Emmy winner still remembers the chilling moment more than 90 years ago when he says he heard “the vicious, Antisemitic voice of Father Coughlin railing against American Jews.”
Coughlin was a popular radio preacher in the early part of the 20th century who blamed the country’s problems on “international bankers…the media…communists,” all of which were coded references to age-old lies about Jewish cabals out to take over the world. In the days after the 1938 reign of violence in Germany known as Kristallnacht, Coughlin defended the Nazi regime.
Earlier this week, former President Donald Trump claimed on social media that American Jews need to “get their act together” to show appreciation for Israel “before it’s too late.” ADL President Jonathan Greenblatt told CNN that Trump’s warning sounded like a threat.
The former president went on to say American Jews’ sense of gratitude should also extend his way.
“No President has done more for Israel than I have,” Trump wrote on social media, likely referencing in part his decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. “Somewhat surprisingly, however, our wonderful Evangelicals are far more appreciative of this than the people of the Jewish faith.”
Today Lear wrote that Donald Trump’s “appalling words about American Jews” took him right back to that moment in the ’30s with Father Coughlin.
“I am nine years old again,” he wrote, before connecting the moment to another seminal period in his life — and the life of the country.
“I’m confident that that horrifying moment resulted in my early enlistment in WWII and the 52 combat missions over Nazi Germany that followed,” Lear stated, making the connection between U.S. antisemitism and the Nazi regime.
Blonde viewers call out the ‘appalling’ talking foetus scene for pushing an ‘anti-abortion agenda’
Planned Parenthood have criticised Netflix movie Blonde as “anti-abortion propaganda”.
The 18-rated film, based on the novel of the same name by Joyce Carol Oates, features many imagined scenes from the star’s life. It has attracted huge controversy since it was released on the streaming giant earlier this week.
Blonde is not a standard biopic, and people have criticised the film as “traumatic” viewing, arguing it is “exploitative” of Monroe, highlighting in particular the multiple scenes of sexual assault that occur throughout.
Many people have also singled out the movie’s treatment of abortion. Blonde depicts Monroe as having had two illegal abortions against her will.
In one scene that has been shared and criticised widely on social media, CGI is used to portray Monroe’s foetuses, which look like fully formed babies, speaking to her.
“You won’t hurt me this time, will you?” a foetus asks Monroe.
Planned Parenthood are among the organisations and viewers to accuse the film of having an “anti-abortion” tone.
Caren Spruch, Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s national director of arts and entertainment engagement, told The Hollywood Reporter: “As film and TV shapes many people’s understanding of sexual and reproductive health, it’s critical these depictions accurately portray women’s real decisions and experiences.
“While abortion is safe, essential healthcare, anti-abortion zealots have long contributed to abortion stigma by using medically inaccurate descriptions of foetuses and pregnancy. Andrew Dominik’s new film, Blonde, bolsters their message with a CGI-talking foetus, depicted to look like a fully formed baby.”
Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe in ‘Blonde’
(Netflix)
Spruch continued to say that while Planned Parenthood “respects artistic license and freedom”, these “false images only serve to reinforce misinformation and perpetuate stigma around sexual and reproductive health care”.
She continued: “Every pregnancy outcome – especially abortion – should be portrayed sensitively, authentically and accurately in the media. We still have much work to do to ensure that everyone who has an abortion can see themselves onscreen.
“It is a shame that the creators of Blonde chose to contribute to anti-abortion propaganda and stigmatise people’s healthcare decisions instead.”
Viewers at home have similarly condemned the film’s abortion scenes.
“Blonde is basically a three-hour anti-abortion ad disguised as a Marilyn Monroe biopic,” wrote one.
Scenes from the movie depict Monroe’s aborted foetus talking to her
(Netflix)
Another added that it gave them a “slight anti-abortion tone (they had a talking foetus commiserating with Marilyn and they over-glorified it”.
Someone else called it a “baffling piece of bad faith, anti-abortion nonsense”.
In an interview with The Wrap, director Dominik defended Blonde against the criticism, claiming that the scrutiny has arisen because the film was released so soon after the overturning of Roe v Wade.
“People are obviously concerned with losses of freedoms,” he said. “But, I mean, no one would have given a s*** about that if I’d made the movie in 2008, and probably no one’s going to care about it in four years’ time. And the movie won’t have changed. It’s just what’s sort of going on.”
The Independent has contacted a representative of Netflix for comment.
Oates, who wrote the 1999 book on which the film is based, has defended Dominik against criticism, calling his screenplay “remarkably feminist”.
As well as the abortion scenes, one other moment in the film to cause controversy involves Marilyn performing a sex act on a character closely resembling JFK (the actor, Caspar Phillipson, also previously played the president in Jackie).
Many viewers have complained that the film is “unwatchable”, stating on social media that they were unable to make it more than 20 minutes into Blonde before abandoning it.
Prince Charles Rwanda: Clarence House doesn’t deny comment on report that Prince of Wales finds UK’s plan to send migrants to Rwanda ‘appalling’
“He said he was more than disappointed at the policy,” The Times reported, quoting an anonymous source. “He said he thinks the government’s whole approach is appalling.”
CNN has not independently verified The Times report.
Clarence House told CNN in a statement that the Prince of Wales remains politically neutral.
“We would not comment on supposed anonymous private conversations with The Prince of Wales, except to restate that he remains politically neutral. Matters of policy are decisions for Government,” Clarence House said.
The Times reported the Prince of Wales feared the controversial policy would loom over the Commonwealth Heads of Government summit taking place later this month in Kigali, Rwanda, where he is expected to represent Queen Elizabeth II.
In response to The Times report, a UK government spokesperson told CNN in a statement: “Our world-leading Partnership with Rwanda will see those making dangerous, unnecessary and illegal journeys to the UK relocated there to have their claims considered and rebuild their lives. There is no one single solution to the global migration crisis, but doing nothing is not an option and this partnership will help break the business model of criminal gangs and prevent loss of life.”
“Rwanda is a fundamentally safe and secure country with a track record of supporting asylum seekers and we are confident the agreement is fully compliant with all national and international law,” the statement adds.
The UK government announced in April that it had agreed a deal to send asylum-seekers to the East African country, in a move that it insisted was aimed at disrupting people-smuggling networks and deterring migrants from making the dangerous Channel crossing to England from Europe.
On Friday, the UK’s plan to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda as early as next week was green-lit, after the High Court in London denied an injunction brought by campaigners to block the first flight due to leave on Tuesday.
The Home Office’s scheme is under judicial review at the Royal Courts, where a ruling on its legality is expected in late July.
Human Rights groups have said they will appeal the decision. Care4Calais, one of the human rights groups that brought the initial challenge to block the deportations, said they have been given permission to appeal the ruling on Monday.
John Roberts calls Supreme Court leak ‘absolutely appalling’
In his first public appearance since the leak on Monday, Roberts also said that if “the person” or “people” behind the leak think it will affect the work of the Supreme Court, they are “foolish.”
Roberts was speaking at a meeting of lawyers and judges at the 11th Circuit Judicial Conference, while the court is on a brief recess. The justices will meet together again during their closed-door conference in Washington on May 12.
Roberts’ comments come as demonstrations on both sides of the issue have erupted across the country and supporters of abortion rights fear that states in large swaths of the South and the Midwest are prepared to bar the procedure when the court issues a final decision by early July.
The draft opinion — penned by Justice Samuel Alito and published by Politico Monday night — calls on the court to overrule Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 opinion that legalized abortion nationwide.
“The Constitution makes no reference to abortion and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision,” Alito wrote. He said the Roe was “egregiously wrong from the start” and that its reasoning was “exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences.”
Roberts did not want to completely overturn Roe v. Wade, meaning he would have dissented from part of the opinion, sources tell CNN, likely with the court’s three liberals.
The court has confirmed the authenticity of the draft opinion, but stressed that it was not final and did not reflect the final position of any member of the court.
Despite the controversy, Roberts appeared upbeat on Thursday, speaking to a roomful of judges and lawyers. Justice Clarence Thomas, who will address the same group Friday, sat in the front row. At one point Judge Ed Carnes, who served as the moderator, referenced how Roberts recently changed the format of oral arguments to allow for fewer interruptions. The new format pleases Thomas so much that after rarely asking questions for years, he now often launches the first question of each session.
On Thursday, Roberts noted that he worked on being an “honest” broker so everyone had a chance to speak and he called on Thomas, in the audience, for his views on the format. Grinning, Thomas simply gave a thumbs up.
“That was a thumbs up,” Roberts said to laughter.
He also praised his colleague Justice Stephen Breyer, who will retire by the end of the term, calling him the court’s “most collegial member.” “I will miss him so much,” Roberts said, but he also admitted that the long hypotheticals that were Breyer’s trademark during oral arguments were at times “absolutely baffling.”
Carnes asked Roberts about his views on several areas concerning the workings of the court. Roberts said that a good brief “should not have a lot of fluff in it.” He suggested that “most” friend-of-the court briefs aren’t useful. “They are helpful when they have a purpose,” he said. He was also critical of law review articles — calling them too “theoretical” at times. At oral arguments, Roberts said, a lawyer shouldn’t “fight a question” but instead, put himself in the judge’s shoes.
He also spoke about his early goal of seeking unanimity on the bench. “I soon learned on the court that unanimous means 7-2,” he joked. But he said that narrower opinions joined by more justices are a “good objective” at times. And he allowed that not all dissents need to see the light of day. He said he saw a good reason for “graveyard dissents” that get buried.
He spoke a bit about his time presiding over impeachment and he said he did homework by reading transcripts of other impeachment hearings. “You want to think you are running this trial,” he said, “but you are not.” But he honored the Senate saying he got a sense of the “real importance of the occasion.”
Roberts was received by the judges and the lawyers with a standing ovation, and arrived with a security detail. The 11th Circuit Judicial Conference press policy rules are so strict that reporters weren’t allowed to bring phones or lap tops into the speaking hall. They were also barred from recording the speech even for note taking purposes.
Roberts who also serves as an ex officio member of the board of the Smithsonian, said he had borrowed one painting to hang in his chambers that depicts an island in Maine close to where Roberts and his wife spend the summer months.
Each term, Roberts said, “I look longingly at it — starting about now.”
This story has been updated with additional details.
CNN’s Devan Cole contributed to this report.