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☆ Opinion: ‘The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare’ has a surprising secret
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-20 | by ( Opinion Noah Berlatksy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Watch “Apocalypse Now” (1979), “Full Metal Jacket” (1987) or “Platoon” (1986) and you should know what war really means. “Ungentlemanly Warfare” features a disreputable band of riff raff brought together for a super-secret mission. Ritchie makes no such concessions to authenticity in “Ungentlemanly Warfare.”Henry Cavill is Gus March-Phillips in Guy Ritchie’s “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare." Even when a war movie doesn’t actively mislead you, the promise of being privy to an unvarnished, authentic and extreme experience can be seductive. “It would decay in eternal peace.”Compared to that kind of cult of authentic war, “Ungentlemanly Warfare” feels fairly harmless, and not in a bad way.

Persons: Noah Berlatsky, Ryan, ”, Noah Berlatsky Noah Berlatsky Guy Ritchie’s “, it’s, Fernando Po, raff, Winston Churchill, Rory Kinnear, Gus March, Phillips, Henry Cavill, Anders Lassen, Alan Ritchson, Marjorie Stewart, Eiza, Ritchie, ” Henry Cavill, Gus, Guy Ritchie’s “, Daniel Smith, electroshock, Quentin Tarantino’s, Inglourious, Hitler, He’s, “, Tarantino, Brad Pitt, B.J, Novak, Quentin Tarantino's, they’ve Organizations: CNN, Ungentlemanly, British, Lionsgate Locations: Chicago, “ Dunkirk, ”, Spanish, Fernando, Vietnam

☆ Opinion | Why Can’t Biden Triangulate Like Trump?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-13 | by ( Ross Douthat | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For anyone with sincere and absolute convictions on abortion, pro-life or pro-choice, Donald Trump’s attempts to reposition himself this week should be somewhere between depressing and infuriating. For pro-lifers, the problem is the cynicism — the reminder that Trump is purely transactional in his relationship to their ideals, a lousy spokesman for the cause of unborn human life and a willing betrayer when politics requires it. For pro-choicers, the problem is the chutzpah — the man who did so much to overturn Roe v. Wade trying to disavow responsibility for its policy consequences. But Trump’s cynicism is also one of his political strengths. What he does crudely, with naked calculation and comic transparency, is what successful politicians used to do more normally: triangulate between your base and the general public, make showy moves to reassure swing voters that you’re not just an ideologue, suggest that you’re willing to negotiate when public opinion is against you.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Trump, Roe, Wade, you’re

☆ Nicki Minaj fans say they're losing respect for the rapper amid her 'embarrassing' attacks on Megan Thee Stallion
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Callie Ahlgrim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Nicki Minaj recently released a new diss track, "Big Foot," aimed at Megan Thee Stallion. lied on yo DEAD @theestallion — Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) January 28, 2024Minaj has continued to post incessantly about Megan on X (formerly Twitter). "Big foot but you still a small fry / Swearing on your dead mother when you lie," she raps. "There are myriad of ways that Nicki Minaj has come for other women, just point-blank period," the TikToker said. Nicki Minaj allowed her own bitter jealousy to take her crown."

Persons: Nicki Minaj, Megan Thee Stallion, —, Megan Thee, Megan, Megan didn't, Minaj, Kenneth Petty, Petty, Tory Lanez, Ben Shapiro, Shapiro, Cardi, it's, Pardison, Fontaine, who's, Pardi, Minaj's, she's, @lawyerbae, Gerrick Kennedy, Piggy ”, — Gerrick Kennedy, @GerrickKennedy, Piggy, Kennedy, nicki, meg rn pic.twitter.com, megan, QmThqEbkOC Organizations: Service, Megan's, Houston Locations: New York

☆ From Opposite Sides of War, a Hunt for Elusive Facts
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Tiffany Hsu | Sheera Frenkel | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The first reports of the Hamas attack were already fusing with rumors, sweeping into social media feeds and private chat groups in an emotionally charged and largely unverified mass. Mr. Schatz, one of the best-known disinformation researchers and fact checkers in Israel, rushed back home to his computer, knowing he had little time to stop the false claims from metastasizing. In a way, he was already too late. Since the initial attack, disinformation watchdogs in the region have been overwhelmed by unfounded narratives, manipulated media and conspiracy theories. The content has spread in enormous volumes at great speed: video game clips and old news reports masquerading as current footage, attempts to disavow authentic photos as artificially generated, inaccurate translations and false accusations distributed in multiple languages.

Persons: . Schatz Locations: Israel, metastasizing

ATLANTA (AP) — Donald Trump used his social media platform Friday to mock Nikki Haley 's birth name, the latest example of the former president keying on race and ethnicity to attack people of color, especially his political rivals. She has always gone by her middle name, “Nikki.” She took the surname “Haley” upon her marriage in 1996. Haley has dismissed Trump's latest attacks as proof that she threatens his bid for a third consecutive nomination. Trump has a long history of using race, ethnicity and immigrant heritage as a cudgel. He was born in Hawaii, though Trump spent years asserting Obama had manufactured the story and a birth certificate to support it.

Persons: — Donald Trump, Nikki Haley, Trump, Haley, ” Haley, Nikki Randhawa, “ Nikki, ”, “ Haley ”, Haley “ Nimbra, “, he's, —, Barack Obama, Trump's, “ I’ll, Ron DeSantis, — Haley, “ Ron DeSanctimonious ”, Ron DeSanctus, Darrell Scott, It’s, Scott, “ He’s, He’s, ” Scott, ” Tara Setmayer, Setmayer, South Carolina Sen, Tim Scott, Obama, Barack Hussein Obama, David Duke, ” Trump, Kamala Harris's, ” Harris, John Lewis, Frederick Trump, Florida Sen, Marco Rubio, Ali Swenson, Holly Ramer Organizations: ATLANTA, South, New, Trump, Republicans, GOP, Florida, America, Lincoln Project, Republican, Senate, Ku Klux Klan, CNN, Georgia Institute of Technology, U.S, South Carolina statehouse, Associated Press Locations: India, South Carolina, Bamberg , South Carolina, New Hampshire, Kenya, Iowa, gander, American, Hawaii, Indian, Georgia, Atlanta, U.S, Haiti, “, Africa, Norway, Bavarian, Washington, Amherst , New Hampshire

But all Wright's family wants is for the 38-year-old businessman to be returned home. That position was reaffirmed Friday by the U.S. State Department in response to questions about Wright’s arrest. Some former Trump administration officials say Wright’s arrest is just the latest example of Maduro acting in bad faith. “He loved the nomadic lifestyle,” said Stewart, who didn't know her son was in Venezuela until she learned of his arrest. Wright’s family is speaking out because they feel the U.S. government hasn’t done enough to free him.

Persons: Biden, Savoi Wright’s, Nicolás, hasn’t, “, ”, Erin Stewart, Wright, Joe Biden, Maduro, Maria Corina Machado, Machado, Matthew Miller, Donald Trump's, Juan Guaidó, Kimberly Breier, Trump’s, Elliott Abrams, Maduro’s, Stewart, ” Stewart, Venezuela’s, Tarek William Saab didn’t, Luke Denman, Airan Berry —, — Eyvin Hernandez, Jerrel Kenemore, Joseph Cristella —, Moizeé Stewart, Wright’s, ” ___ Goodman, Tucker Organizations: U.S, Venezuelan, Associated Press, Oakland, U.S . State Department, Trump, Maduro, State Department, Loyola Marymount University, Green, FBI, U.S . Embassy, The State Department Locations: California, Venezuela, OPEC, Barbados, United States, Latin America, Washington, Colombia, Houston, Berkeley , California, Oakland, Miami, South America, U.S, Investigative@ap.org

☆ Opinion | The Soothing Futility of Picking Up Beach Trash
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Ron Currie Jr. | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Instead I am confronted each day with my own fallibility, tininess and hypocrisy (as just one more trash ape among billions, I contribute to the problem simply by existing). In short, I’m skeptical both of working within any system and of trying to upend it. Which is another way of saying I’m skeptical of my own species. Climate change and other ecological consequences of human activity are both incomprehensibly huge and diffuse, and thus easy to distance ourselves from. Our very own personal garbage, however, and our habits in disposing of it, are not so easy to disavow — and they are damning.

Persons: I’ve, I’m, —

☆ How Brad Polumbo Sees the Rise in Anti-L.G.B.T. Rhetoric on the Right - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Jane Coaston | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

community, though, I always joke when people talk about the Black community, I’m like, what? Polumbo: I think I’ve accepted the rhetorical framing of the L.G.B.T. I also think that I’m completely supportive of the rights of transgender adults to live their best lives however they see fit. But I’ve never truly understood the lumping in or connection of transgender issues and gay rights issues. What would a conservatism that was more — embracing isn’t the right word — but more congenial to L.G.B.T.

Persons: they’re, It’s, I’ve, it’s, I’m Organizations: Republican Party Locations: Ohio, New York, Silicon

REUTERS/Jonathan Bachman/File PhotoAug 4 (Reuters) - A divided federal appeals court on Friday ruled that Mississippi cannot strip the right to vote from thousands of convicts after they complete their sentences, calling that a "cruel and unusual punishment" that disproportionately affected Black people. Circuit Court of Appeals faulted a provision of Mississippi's state constitution that mandates lifetime disenfranchisement for people convicted of a set of crimes including murder, rape and theft. Siding with a group of convicts who sued in 2018 to regain their right to vote, U.S. Circuit Judge James Dennis wrote that the state's policy violated the U.S. Constitution's Eighth Amendment, which bars cruel and unusual punishments. Circuit Judge Carolyn Dineen King in reversing a lower-court judge's ruling.

Persons: Jonathan Bachman, James Dennis, Dennis, Carolyn Dineen King, Mississippians, Jonathan Youngwood, Lynn Fitch, disenfranchisement, Edith Jones, Ronald Reagan, Jones, Nate Raymond, Deepa Babington Organizations: REUTERS, Circuit, U.S ., Washington , D.C, U.S, Democratic, Republican, Supreme, Thomson Locations: Ridgeland , Mississippi, U.S, Mississippi, New Orleans, U.S . Civil, Washington ,, Constitution's, Boston

TOKYO, Aug 3 (Reuters) - The Japan opening of the hit film "Barbie" was dealt additional setbacks as an online petition gained steam calling on Hollywood studios to disavow a grassroots marketing movement that made light of nuclear holocaust. Warner Bros initially latched on to fan-produced memes that depicted Robbie's Barbie with actor Cillian Murphy's Oppenheimer alongside images of nuclear blasts. But fans were not amused in Japan, which in coming days will mark the memorials of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 78 years ago. "This incident is really, really disappointing," she posted. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel posted a picture of his meeting in Tokyo with director Greta Gerwig, but the response online was chilly.

Persons: Oppenheimer, Barbie, Margot Robbie, J, Robert Oppenheimer, Robbie's Barbie, Cillian Murphy's Oppenheimer, Barbie delighting, Koji Maruyama, Mitsuki Takahata, Japan Rahm Emanuel, Greta Gerwig, Emanuel, Rocky Swift, Chang, Ran Kim, Michael Perry Organizations: Hollywood, Warner Bros, Universal Pictures, Warner's, Twitter, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Japan, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Warner's Japan, Tokyo

The amorphous lag explains the cat-and-mouse game between the Fed and markets that has played out since the central bank began its tightening cycle last year. For their part, markets have long expected the Fed to quickly pivot to a pretty aggressive series of rate cuts, largely to counter the accumulated lag effects of the tightening cycle. Taken at its most literal level, the 500 basis points of tightening since March 2022 - 17 months ago - have still not registered at all. There is a growing body of opinion that the lags have shortened considerably since Friedman shared his 'long and variable' theory. Reuters ImageData on Wednesday showed that consumer prices rose at an annual rate of 3.0% in June, down from 4.0% in May.

Persons: Keen, Milton Friedman, Friedman, Christopher Waller, Phil Suttle, Jamie McGeever, Paul Simao Organizations: Fed, Kansas City Fed, Reuters, Thomson Locations: ORLANDO, Florida, U.S

“The Harvard and UNC admissions programs cannot be reconciled with the guarantees of the Equal Protection Clause. We have never permitted admissions programs to work in that way, and we will not do so today,” Roberts wrote. During oral arguments, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar stressed the unique interests of the military and argued that race-based admissions programs further the nation’s compelling interest of diversity. Steve Vladeck, CNN Supreme Court analyst and professor at the University of Texas School of Law, said the decision will still not end the legal fight over college admissions. The Supreme Court stepped in to consider the case before it was heard by a federal appeals court.

Persons: John Roberts, “, ” Roberts, Clarence Thomas, ”, ” Thomas, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson, ” Sotomayor, Sotomayor, Martin Luther King, Jackson, “ ‘, Roberts, Elizabeth Prelogar, ” Jackson, Kevin McCarthy, Republican Sen, Ted Cruz, Donald Trump, ” Trump, Mike Pence, ” Pence, Chuck Schumer, Laura Coates, Steve Vladeck, ” Vladeck, ” Long, SSFA, Loretta C, Biggs, ” Biggs, SFFA, Cameron T, Norris, Harvard “, Prelogar, Lewis F, Powell Jr Organizations: CNN, Harvard, University of North, UNC, Supreme, GOP, Republican, America, Truth, New York Democrat, University of Texas School of Law, Asian, Fair, Court, Middle, Middle District of, University, US, University of California, Bakke Locations: University of North Carolina, Independence, United States, Lower, Middle District, Middle District of North Carolina

☆ Trump backer-turned-critic Chris Christie to make White House run official
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Joseph Ax | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

June 6 (Reuters) - Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is expected to formally announce his 2024 presidential campaign on Tuesday in New Hampshire, joining a growing Republican field led by Donald Trump. A former federal prosecutor, Christie, 60, has argued he is the only potential rival with the skills and willingness to attack Trump directly. He netted just 1% support from potential Republican primary voters in a Reuters/Ipsos poll in May, compared to Trump's 49% support and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' 19% support. That strategy may entice Republican voters who are ready to move past Trump, but it remains unclear whether any Republican can prevail without the support of Trump's still-loyal base. Despite his early support for Trump, Christie was passed over for vice president and for attorney general, and was fired as the head of Trump's transition team just three days after the 2016 election.

Persons: Chris Christie, Donald Trump, Christie, Trump's, Trump, Ron DeSantis, Joe Biden, Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, Mike Pence, disavow, Marco Rubio, Christie's, Joseph Ax, Colleen Jenkins, Alistair Bell Organizations: Former New Jersey, Republican, Saint Anselm College, Reuters, Florida, Trump, Democratic, Thomson Locations: New Hampshire, Manchester , New Hampshire, Trump's, New Jersey, New York City

☆ Chinese ambassador sparks European blowback over post-Soviet states comment
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Several leaders in former Soviet states, including Ukraine, were quick to hit back following the interview, which aired Friday on French station LCI. Beijing has formal diplomatic relations with post-Soviet states, which include Russia. Ties have soured as Europe has uneasily watched China’s tightening relationship with Russia and its refusal to condemn Putin’s invasion. Voices in former Soviet states, where many remember being under Communist authoritarian rule, have been among those in Europe critical of such an approach. For Russia, giving up control of Crimea is widely seen as a non-starter in any potential peace settlement on Ukraine.

CNN —Fierce fighting across Sudan has left hopes for a peaceful transition to civilian rule in tatters. An international outcry saw Bashir formalize the group into paramilitary forces known as the Border Intelligence Units. They commanded separate battalions of Sudanese forces, who were sent to serve with the Saudi-led coalition forces in Yemen. He said that RSF leader Dagalo had “mutinied” against the state, and if captured, would be tried in court of law. CNN has previously reported on how Russia has colluded with Sudan’s military leaders to smuggle gold out of Sudan.

☆ Trump's 27-minute speech in Mar-a-Lago after his arrest sounded like a man 'griping to you about his bad divorce,' Chris Christie says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Christie said the speech made Trump sound like a man "'griping to you about his bad divorce." Chris Christie says former President Donald Trump's fixation on the past is getting tired and overblown. During an April 9 appearance on ABC's "This Week," Christie commented on Trump's post-arrest speech at Mar-a-Lago — a defiant, 27-minute, campaign-style address to rally the MAGA faithful. No way," Christie told Axios. Christie told Fox News on March 23 that he will "probably make a decision in the next 60 days on what to do or not to do."

☆ Chris Christie has vowed to not support Trump in 2024: 'I just can't'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Aditi Bharade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Chris Christie has vowed not to support former President Donald Trump in 2024, making him the first in a field of potential GOP presidential candidates to explicitly say so. No way," Christie told Axios in an interview published on Tuesday. Christie ran against Trump in 2016 but became an ally and a close advisor to Trump after the election. But Christie has distanced himself from Trump in the last year and is now a vocal Trump critic. Representatives for Trump and Christie did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment sent outside regular business hours.

☆ Amazon seller consultant admits to bribing employees to help clients; will plead guilty
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

An influential consultant for Amazon sellers admitted Monday to bribing employees of the e-commerce giant for information to help his clients boost sales and to get their suspended accounts reinstated. "On some occasions, I paid bribes, directly and indirectly, to Amazon employees to obtain annotations and reinstate suspended accounts. Behind the scenes, scammers have for years resorted to illicit tactics to squash competitors, artificially boost their listings or bypass Amazon's marketplace rules. "No one should pay bribes to Amazon employees to provide private Amazon information," Rosenberg wrote on Monday. Nor should anyone pay any Amazon employees for any other special favors regarding a seller's account."

☆ Rep. George Santos files 2024 statement of candidacy — but it doesn't mean he's running for reelection
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Embattled Republican Rep. George Santos of New York took a step Tuesday toward a possible bid for a second term in the House, where he is currently under investigation. Santos' campaign filed a statement of candidacy for the 2024 election cycle with the Federal Election Commission, a move that could signal the freshman lawmaker's intent to run for reelection. After winning his seat, the New York Times reported that Santos appeared to have fabricated key details of his background. Joseph Murray, a lawyer for Santos' campaign, could not confirm whether the congressman was indeed seeking reelection. Santos was sworn into Congress under a cloud of scandal earlier this year, after the bombshell New York Times report questioned key details about his personal and professional life.

☆ Netanyahu tries to calm outcry over minister's remarks on Palestinians
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Dan Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Smotrich said last week that while he opposed vigilantism, he believed "that Huwara needs to be erased" by Israel. The U.S. State Department called the comments "irresponsible," "repugnant" and "disgusting" and said Netanyahu should reject and disavow them. Netanyahu has said that he - and not coalition partners like Smotrich - calls the shots on Israeli diplomacy. "I am still waiting to hear a condemnation from the Palestinian Authority for the murder of the Yaniv brothers," Netanyahu added. At least 62 Palestinians, including gunmen and civilians, have been killed since the start of 2023, the Palestinian health ministry said.

[1/5] Israeli troops aim their weapons as they clash with Palestinians during a raid in Jericho in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, March 1, 2023. The head of a pro-settler party in Netanyahu's nationalist-religious coalition, Smotrich made the comments at a conference on Wednesday amid a spate of deadly Palestinian attacks and Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank. Asked about a weekend settler rampage through the Palestinian village of Huwara, which an Israeli general on Tuesday described as a "pogrom," Smotrich said: "I think that Huwara needs to be erased". Israeli forces killed one Palestinian and arrested six in the West Bank. One Palestinian was killed and scores were hurt as dozens of houses and cars were torched in what one Israeli commander described as a "pogrom".

☆ Israeli minister's call to 'erase' Palestinian village an incitement to violence, US says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Rami Ayyub | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 1 (Reuters) - Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's call for a Palestinian village to be "erased" amounted to incitement to violence and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must publicly disavow it, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday. Asked about a weekend settler rampage through the Palestinian village of Huwara, which an Israeli general on Tuesday described as a "pogrom," Smotrich said: "I think that Huwara needs to be erased". Price continued: "And just as we condemn Palestinian incitement to violence, we condemn these provocative remarks that also amount to incitement to violence." On Wednesday, Israeli forces killed one Palestinian and arrested six others suspected of involvement in the fatal shooting of an Israeli American in the West Bank on Monday. After making the Huwara comments, Smotrich issued a statement saying the media had misinterpreted them, without retracting his call for the village to be erased.

In a text message with his producer, Alex Pfeiffer, Mr. Carlson appeared livid that viewers were turning against the network. On Nov. 7, 2020, Mr. Carlson told Mr. Pfeiffer that claims about manipulated software were “absurd.” Mr. Pfeiffer replied later that there was not enough evidence of fraud to swing the election. A video of Carlson from “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” Said publicly on Nov. 19, 2020 Carlson: “We did not dismiss any of it. It aired on the programs hosted by Mr. Dobbs, Ms. Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro. On Feb. 5, 2021, one day after Smartmatic filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox, Fox Business canceled “Lou Dobbs Tonight.” At the time, Fox said it regularly reviewed its lineup.

☆ FEC tells George Santos to name campaign treasurer or face ban on fundraising and spending
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

It added that campaigns are required to appoint a new treasurer within 10 days of the previous treasurer's resignation. That same day, the campaign filed an amended form listing Thomas Datwyler as its new treasurer. In a year-end report filed Jan. 31, the Santos campaign listed as its treasurer a person named Andrew Olson. Currently, the FEC lists Santos as his campaign's own treasurer. The FEC's latest notice adds to the pile of questions surrounding Santos' campaign conduct — including whether he plans to seek reelection.

☆ A timeline of Nikki Haley’s past Trump statements
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Bridget Bowman | Bridget Bowman Is A Deputy Editor For Nbc'S Political Unit. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

Nikki Haley’s entrance into the presidential race this week is shedding new light on her past criticism and contradicting statements about former President Donald Trump. After she joined his administration, she went on to become a Trump supporter, encouraging voters to support his re-election in 2020. Haley defended Trump after a senior administration official published an anonymous op-ed in the New York Times. Jan. 7, 2021: Haley said at the Republican National Committee’s winter meeting that Trump “ was badly wrong with his words yesterday. I mean, move on.” Feb. 17, 2021: Haley wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that her comments about Trump were not contradictory.

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