He may be, but in this case Will Smith seems utterly to be in the wrong. And a bit of a violent thug as well.
A life tip, don't insult a man's wife while said man is in the fucking audience.
A life tip: don't go around hitting people just because they're an ass.
Nah, that's not a good tip. Maybe if you're one of life's doormats.
What a deeply unpleasant person you are.
What is it about this site? It seems to attract more than it’s fair share of violent right wing thugs.
Wouldn't you come out swinging if somebody insulted your wife in front of millions and she Was in the audience being humiliated? It's not right wing its being human
No - it's a form of sexism. My wife - believe me - can stick up for herself. It's all about Smith's ego.
Rock was making a joke. Sticks and stones etc.
arr sexism is now sticking up for your wife is it?
Pls answer the question. Tyson Fury is on stage making jokes about your wife to a large audience. What's your next move.
Probably, if you are Will Smith, read your cue card again, and go over the stage punch you are going to throw as part of the "incident" to get the Oscars back on the front pages.
At the same time as mentally making a note to step on the turd who thought this stupid staged piece of stupidity up.
He may be, but in this case Will Smith seems utterly to be in the wrong. And a bit of a violent thug as well.
A life tip, don't insult a man's wife while said man is in the fucking audience.
A life tip: don't go around hitting people just because they're an ass.
Nah, that's not a good tip. Maybe if you're one of life's doormats.
What a deeply unpleasant person you are.
What is it about this site? It seems to attract more than it’s fair share of violent right wing thugs.
Wouldn't you come out swinging if somebody insulted your wife in front of millions and she Was in the audience being humiliated? It's not right wing its being human
No - it's a form of sexism. My wife - believe me - can stick up for herself. It's all about Smith's ego.
Rock was making a joke. Sticks and stones etc.
Nah, Chris Rock was insulting Will Smith's wife because the two of them have a long running personal beef. Chris Rock used his position as host to try and get one up on Will Smith because he thought his insults would go unanswered, the bully got what was coming to him.
He may be, but in this case Will Smith seems utterly to be in the wrong. And a bit of a violent thug as well.
A life tip, don't insult a man's wife while said man is in the fucking audience.
A life tip: don't go around hitting people just because they're an ass.
Nah, that's not a good tip. Maybe if you're one of life's doormats.
What a deeply unpleasant person you are.
What is it about this site? It seems to attract more than it’s fair share of violent right wing thugs.
Wouldn't you come out swinging if somebody insulted your wife in front of millions and she Was in the audience being humiliated? It's not right wing its being human
No - it's a form of sexism. My wife - believe me - can stick up for herself. It's all about Smith's ego.
Rock was making a joke. Sticks and stones etc.
arr sexism is now sticking up for your wife is it?
If it's more about the husband's ego - yes. This was violence - though Rock would have been entirely justified in defending himself against this attack.
Question: if the west successfully assassinated Putin, would the world be more or less stable?
Hard to say. I wouldn't consider it morally outrageous though particularly if he has sent people to murder Zelensky and others around him. I think we should quietly let him know that assassinating foreign politicians is a gamechanger - does he really want to play that game? Given the lack of trust in his closest advisers I wonder if he might back off.
He may be, but in this case Will Smith seems utterly to be in the wrong. And a bit of a violent thug as well.
A life tip, don't insult a man's wife while said man is in the fucking audience.
A life tip: don't go around hitting people just because they're an ass.
Nah, that's not a good tip. Maybe if you're one of life's doormats.
What a deeply unpleasant person you are.
What is it about this site? It seems to attract more than it’s fair share of violent right wing thugs.
Wouldn't you come out swinging if somebody insulted your wife in front of millions and she Was in the audience being humiliated? It's not right wing its being human
No - it's a form of sexism. My wife - believe me - can stick up for herself. It's all about Smith's ego.
Rock was making a joke. Sticks and stones etc.
arr sexism is now sticking up for your wife is it?
Pls answer the question. Tyson Fury is on stage making jokes about your wife to a large audience. What's your next move.
Probably, if you are Will Smith, read your cue card again, and go over the stage punch you are going to throw as part of the "incident" to get the Oscars back on the front pages.
At the same time as mentally making a note to step on the turd who thought this stupid staged piece of stupidity up.
I did initially think of the Sacha Baron Cohen/Eminem stunt. I must say Chris Rock played it very well (with no comment on the rights or wrongs of his comments). It was Will Smith dropping the F bomb that made me think it was genuine.
He may be, but in this case Will Smith seems utterly to be in the wrong. And a bit of a violent thug as well.
A life tip, don't insult a man's wife while said man is in the fucking audience.
A life tip: don't go around hitting people just because they're an ass.
Nah, that's not a good tip. Maybe if you're one of life's doormats.
What a deeply unpleasant person you are.
What is it about this site? It seems to attract more than it’s fair share of violent right wing thugs.
Wouldn't you come out swinging if somebody insulted your wife in front of millions and she Was in the audience being humiliated? It's not right wing its being human
No - it's a form of sexism. My wife - believe me - can stick up for herself. It's all about Smith's ego.
Rock was making a joke. Sticks and stones etc.
arr sexism is now sticking up for your wife is it?
Pls answer the question. Tyson Fury is on stage making jokes about your wife to a large audience. What's your next move.
Probably, if you are Will Smith, read your cue card again, and go over the stage punch you are going to throw as part of the "incident" to get the Oscars back on the front pages.
At the same time as mentally making a note to step on the turd who thought this stupid staged piece of stupidity up.
A fake feud in the American entertainment business?
Say it isn't so.
But yes, if this was a publicity stunt, it looks badly misjudged.
And if it was real, then [TEACHER MODE = ON] Will, Chris, you have both let yourselves down and I don't want to hear any excuses from either of you. Both of you are going to apologise and I will be more impressed with the one of you who has the courage to go first. [TEACHER MODE = OFF because I'm not in school today].
He may be, but in this case Will Smith seems utterly to be in the wrong. And a bit of a violent thug as well.
A life tip, don't insult a man's wife while said man is in the fucking audience.
A life tip: don't go around hitting people just because they're an ass.
Nah, that's not a good tip. Maybe if you're one of life's doormats.
What a deeply unpleasant person you are.
What is it about this site? It seems to attract more than it’s fair share of violent right wing thugs.
Wouldn't you come out swinging if somebody insulted your wife in front of millions and she Was in the audience being humiliated? It's not right wing its being human
No - it's a form of sexism. My wife - believe me - can stick up for herself. It's all about Smith's ego.
Rock was making a joke. Sticks and stones etc.
arr sexism is now sticking up for your wife is it?
If it's more about the husband's ego - yes. This was violence - though Rock would have been entirely justified in defending himself against this attack.
i am sorry as I generally agree with you Stocky on a lot but here I cannot see how seeing your wife humiliated in front of millions by some wanky comedian is not going to make you want to deck him and nothing about ego.the ego is all on the Chris Rock especially with his lame joke afterwards which I think was along the lines of HIM making oscar history -
"In the annals of Soviet military history, Russia’s 4th Guards tank division is legendary - its reputation forged at Stalingrad and in the liberation of Poland from the Nazis.
On Saturday, it was rooted in Trostyanets, a town 220 miles east of Kyiv. If evidence was needed that Vladimir Putin’s invasion was faltering, the images emerging from Trostyanets of burnt-out howitzers and tanks belonging to the elite division will surely shake the resolve of even the Kremlin’s most loyal supporters."
Potential Wordle spoiler alert. Got the final four letters correct today in 3. Was then faced with the choice of 5 further unused first letters all of which made common words. Bit annoying. Not half as much if I hadn't got it on the second. But it became a pot luck guessing game, not a moderately diverting challenge.
He may be, but in this case Will Smith seems utterly to be in the wrong. And a bit of a violent thug as well.
A life tip, don't insult a man's wife while said man is in the fucking audience.
A life tip: don't go around hitting people just because they're an ass.
Nah, that's not a good tip. Maybe if you're one of life's doormats.
What a deeply unpleasant person you are.
What is it about this site? It seems to attract more than it’s fair share of violent right wing thugs.
Wouldn't you come out swinging if somebody insulted your wife in front of millions and she Was in the audience being humiliated? It's not right wing its being human
No - it's a form of sexism. My wife - believe me - can stick up for herself. It's all about Smith's ego.
Rock was making a joke. Sticks and stones etc.
arr sexism is now sticking up for your wife is it?
If it's more about the husband's ego - yes. This was violence - though Rock would have been entirely justified in defending himself against this attack.
i am sorry as I generally agree with you Stocky on a lot but here I cannot see how seeing your wife humiliated in front of millions by some wanky comedian is not going to make you want to deck him and nothing about ego.the ego is all on the Chris Rock especially with his lame joke afterwards which I think was along the lines of HIM making oscar history -
What. If. It. Was. Tyson. Fury.
Come on, let's think it through. "I cannot see how...is not going to make you want to deck him..."
What if (successful!) violence is taken away as an option.
Slightly off topic but I’m starting to think that Biden’s comments about the need for regime change in Russia, while unscripted, may turn out to be a work of unintentional genius. For several weeks, we’ve worried about what Putin may or may not do, and the risk of nuclear war etc. I suspect now, with these remarks, the shoe is on the other foot ie the Russians might be concerned about how far the US will go and / or whether Biden is nuts enough to go full on.
Wrong but ultimately right, I think. Biden's remarks are unhelpful because (a) no-one is quite clear what he means in a situation where absolute clarity is required; (b) it makes the argument about who is the Russian president rather than the unacceptable actions of the Russian state.
He is ultimately right because Russia must be defeated, and Russians must believe they are defeated, to draw a line on unprovoked aggression against neighbouring countries and on systematic war crimes. In effect Russia cannot be defeated while Putin stays in power.
There is no real distinction between Putin and the Russian state as far as decisions to take action are concerned. It was very clear that the invasion was his decision alone. There hasn’t been an argument about who is the Russian president for a good couple of decades.
The point is, Biden appeared to be making it into an argument about who is president rather than what Russia does. This isn't helpful even if Biden is surely right that Putin is the main problem. Russia would put itself on the right path if it removed him.
He may be, but in this case Will Smith seems utterly to be in the wrong. And a bit of a violent thug as well.
A life tip, don't insult a man's wife while said man is in the fucking audience.
A life tip: don't go around hitting people just because they're an ass.
Nah, that's not a good tip. Maybe if you're one of life's doormats.
What a deeply unpleasant person you are.
What is it about this site? It seems to attract more than it’s fair share of violent right wing thugs.
Wouldn't you come out swinging if somebody insulted your wife in front of millions and she Was in the audience being humiliated? It's not right wing its being human
No - it's a form of sexism. My wife - believe me - can stick up for herself. It's all about Smith's ego.
Rock was making a joke. Sticks and stones etc.
arr sexism is now sticking up for your wife is it?
Pls answer the question. Tyson Fury is on stage making jokes about your wife to a large audience. What's your next move.
you do what you can in these circumstances - what you dont do is get into a wanky debate about sexism and peace. Will Smith could hit Rock so he did and he was justified in doing so (not in law of course bu tin the court of public opinion)
He may be, but in this case Will Smith seems utterly to be in the wrong. And a bit of a violent thug as well.
A life tip, don't insult a man's wife while said man is in the fucking audience.
A life tip: don't go around hitting people just because they're an ass.
Nah, that's not a good tip. Maybe if you're one of life's doormats.
What a deeply unpleasant person you are.
What is it about this site? It seems to attract more than it’s fair share of violent right wing thugs.
Wouldn't you come out swinging if somebody insulted your wife in front of millions and she Was in the audience being humiliated? It's not right wing its being human
No - it's a form of sexism. My wife - believe me - can stick up for herself. It's all about Smith's ego.
Rock was making a joke. Sticks and stones etc.
arr sexism is now sticking up for your wife is it?
If it's more about the husband's ego - yes. This was violence - though Rock would have been entirely justified in defending himself against this attack.
i am sorry as I generally agree with you Stocky on a lot but here I cannot see how seeing your wife humiliated in front of millions by some wanky comedian is not going to make you want to deck him and nothing about ego.the ego is all on the Chris Rock especially with his lame joke afterwards which I think was along the lines of HIM making oscar history -
"want to deck him" - sure - absolutely - but that's not the same as actually doing so.
Violence is more likely if Boris does not trigger Art 16 now.
Most Unionists of course oppose the NIP
So the logic is that Unionists already pissed off by lack of Article 16 will be even aggravated by the increase in support for Sinn Féin. So better trigger A16 to hopefully reduce the chances of them being violent?
The EU were warned if they focused solely on avoiding a hard border in Ireland to avoid a return to violence by the IRA they risked a return to violence by loyalist paramilitaries like the UVF if they insisted on demanding a border in the Irish Sea for a UK and EU trade deal rather than finding a technical solution as the UK government wanted.
The EU and Dublin ploughed on regardless and the UVF bomb threat last week is the result.
There is of course NO increase in support for SF, latest Stormont poll has SF on 23%, down on the 27% they got in 2017
Before @HYFUD gets jumped on for his comment, he has a point. The talks around the risks to the Good Friday agreement on the border talks all came from one direction ie the worry that the IRA would start off again. Very few mentioned the opposite side of the coin ie what would the Unionists do. You might find one or two articles on it but the vast majority of opinion - mainly pushed by people who didn’t want Brexit - was the risk of what the Republicans would do.
Which is true, but that is why it was so damn stupid of Johnson to plonk the border in the Irish Sea as the EU wanted rather than keep the whole UK in the single market until a solution was found.
Which would likely have seen the Brexit Party get 15 to 20% of the vote in 2019, no Brexit still and no Tory majority.
What Boris proposed instead was a technical solution
What Johnson proposed was giving in to all the EU's demands and hoping something would turn up later.
It hasn't, and that's now a problem without an obvious solution.
Which is why the EU's idea was such a stupid idea, and Johnson was stupider still to accept it.
The solution is likely either a technical solution following Boris triggering Article 16 or closer alignment to the SM and CU under a PM Starmer.
I've exported and imported. I'm guessing you haven't. How would this technical solution work? I don't mean the details just the basics.
The basic principle is trusted trader.
Someone who is approved to ship goods into NI from the UK without checks
Products have a sticker on them “not for resale in RoI”
Spot checks exist to ensure compliance
You accept that there may be a small percentage of smuggling and use intelligence led policing to try and catch it
You obviously don't export/import either. So what about the vast majority who won't have that status and won't go into special warehouses. What about temporary exports eg demo stuff, Grand Prix stuff and such like, touring bands. I did lots of that. Had to go thru customs everytime.
If there was a technical solution they would have done it. They haven't, anywhere.
Most of my business is export, albeit invisibles not trade.
But you asked for the basics not the details… the trusted trader scheme captured 95% of volume relatively easily
But nothing like 95% of exporters/importers. No idea what the figure is but would not be surprised if under 10%. I asked for basic because I knew HYUFD wouldn't have a clue. Just comes up with 'technical solution ' without a clue what that is. Trusted Trader scheme is not a solution. You only have to look at Norway/Sweden where they have very amicable arrangements with a lot of tech and still waits are typically a couple of hours.
Looking at NI's relationship with the EU Friday, our business would actually be better off being Belfast based.
He may be, but in this case Will Smith seems utterly to be in the wrong. And a bit of a violent thug as well.
A life tip, don't insult a man's wife while said man is in the fucking audience.
A life tip: don't go around hitting people just because they're an ass.
Nah, that's not a good tip. Maybe if you're one of life's doormats.
What a deeply unpleasant person you are.
What is it about this site? It seems to attract more than it’s fair share of violent right wing thugs.
Wouldn't you come out swinging if somebody insulted your wife in front of millions and she Was in the audience being humiliated? It's not right wing its being human
No - it's a form of sexism. My wife - believe me - can stick up for herself. It's all about Smith's ego.
Rock was making a joke. Sticks and stones etc.
arr sexism is now sticking up for your wife is it?
Pls answer the question. Tyson Fury is on stage making jokes about your wife to a large audience. What's your next move.
Probably, if you are Will Smith, read your cue card again, and go over the stage punch you are going to throw as part of the "incident" to get the Oscars back on the front pages.
At the same time as mentally making a note to step on the turd who thought this stupid staged piece of stupidity up.
A fake feud in the American entertainment business?
Say it isn't so.
But yes, if this was a publicity stunt, it looks badly misjudged.
And if it was real, then [TEACHER MODE = ON] Will, Chris, you have both let yourselves down and I don't want to hear any excuses from either of you. Both of you are going to apologise and I will be more impressed with the one of you who has the courage to go first. [TEACHER MODE = OFF because I'm not in school today].
Are you guys for real that you think Will Smith agreed in advance to do this as a stunt?? Why would he care what the ratings are for the Oscars?
If they delivered something unsuitable for purpose, and ask millions for it, Mrs Mone can go ... herself. If the government pay, it's akin to asking for their JSA.
Exactly. If it doesn't work, you don't take it, and you don't pay for it.
THey seem to have paid for them before delivery ... unless I am misreading the Graun piece. They ceretainly seem to ihave been paid for when the DHSC etc actually inspected them in the UK.
Then you send the stuff back, and you demand a refund.
This isn't complicated stuff.
Might be confusing for Johnson though, he doesn't normally ask ladies to return his donations.
Talking about that sort of thing, I mean politics involving Ms Mone, I thought Ms Mone had promised to close down her ladies' underwear firm and emigrate from Scotland in the event of Yes winning indyref 1 ...
So she was going to shed her underwear and go down south if someone said yes?
Sorry I will stop now.
She still did it when someone said no, got rid of the firm and moved south. But job done, and Mr C happy (sure beat being photographed with the most passive-aggressive porridge factory workers a No 10 PR wonk never imagined existed).
She did it beacause it was going down the drain and saw better pickings and billionaires down south
The Johnson government took far too long to wake up to the mistakes of SAGE but eventually did so. The opposition parties never did so Johnson can quite rightly say Britain was better off under his government than it would have been otherwise.
Anecdata time: speaking to the (very pro-Western) Russian wife of a friend of mine. Has been having conversations with her sister who is still in Russia (is everyone still following this?). Sister in Russia overwhelmingly believes what the Russians are doing is right. There is apparently a law now about calling the war a special operation. But in Russia plenty of Russians are on Putin's side.
He may be, but in this case Will Smith seems utterly to be in the wrong. And a bit of a violent thug as well.
A life tip, don't insult a man's wife while said man is in the fucking audience.
A life tip: don't go around hitting people just because they're an ass.
Nah, that's not a good tip. Maybe if you're one of life's doormats.
What a deeply unpleasant person you are.
What is it about this site? It seems to attract more than it’s fair share of violent right wing thugs.
Wouldn't you come out swinging if somebody insulted your wife in front of millions and she Was in the audience being humiliated? It's not right wing its being human
No - it's a form of sexism. My wife - believe me - can stick up for herself. It's all about Smith's ego.
Rock was making a joke. Sticks and stones etc.
arr sexism is now sticking up for your wife is it?
Pls answer the question. Tyson Fury is on stage making jokes about your wife to a large audience. What's your next move.
Probably, if you are Will Smith, read your cue card again, and go over the stage punch you are going to throw as part of the "incident" to get the Oscars back on the front pages.
At the same time as mentally making a note to step on the turd who thought this stupid staged piece of stupidity up.
A fake feud in the American entertainment business?
Say it isn't so.
But yes, if this was a publicity stunt, it looks badly misjudged.
And if it was real, then [TEACHER MODE = ON] Will, Chris, you have both let yourselves down and I don't want to hear any excuses from either of you. Both of you are going to apologise and I will be more impressed with the one of you who has the courage to go first. [TEACHER MODE = OFF because I'm not in school today].
A friend, who works in personal finance, got the task of going to a dinner. One of those events at Park Lane hotel, black tie, charity, keeping clients etc.
The star of the show was Vinnie Jones. At the end of the evening, there was a raffle. The tickets were put in one of those things that spin around to mix them up. Then the door on the ticket spinner jammed. After some attempts to open it, Mr Jones grabbed it and smashed it to pieces. Amid applause he read out the tickets.
A couple of days later, my friend had to go to another one of these dinners - same thing, just a different night
The star of the show was Vinnie Jones. At the end of the evening, there was a raffle. The tickets were put in one of those things that spin around to mix them up. Then the door on the ticket spinner jammed. After some attempts to open it, Mr Jones grabbed it and smashed it to pieces. Amid applause he read out the tickets.
He may be, but in this case Will Smith seems utterly to be in the wrong. And a bit of a violent thug as well.
A life tip, don't insult a man's wife while said man is in the fucking audience.
A life tip: don't go around hitting people just because they're an ass.
Nah, that's not a good tip. Maybe if you're one of life's doormats.
What a deeply unpleasant person you are.
What is it about this site? It seems to attract more than it’s fair share of violent right wing thugs.
Wouldn't you come out swinging if somebody insulted your wife in front of millions and she Was in the audience being humiliated? It's not right wing its being human
No - it's a form of sexism. My wife - believe me - can stick up for herself. It's all about Smith's ego.
Rock was making a joke. Sticks and stones etc.
arr sexism is now sticking up for your wife is it?
If it's more about the husband's ego - yes. This was violence - though Rock would have been entirely justified in defending himself against this attack.
i am sorry as I generally agree with you Stocky on a lot but here I cannot see how seeing your wife humiliated in front of millions by some wanky comedian is not going to make you want to deck him and nothing about ego.the ego is all on the Chris Rock especially with his lame joke afterwards which I think was along the lines of HIM making oscar history -
What. If. It. Was. Tyson. Fury.
Come on, let's think it through. "I cannot see how...is not going to make you want to deck him..."
What if (successful!) violence is taken away as an option.
The point is that the academy wouldn't make Tyson Fury the host. I'm also surprised that they allowed a personal issue between the host and the winner of a major award get on stage.
Slightly off topic but I’m starting to think that Biden’s comments about the need for regime change in Russia, while unscripted, may turn out to be a work of unintentional genius. For several weeks, we’ve worried about what Putin may or may not do, and the risk of nuclear war etc. I suspect now, with these remarks, the shoe is on the other foot ie the Russians might be concerned about how far the US will go and / or whether Biden is nuts enough to go full on.
Wrong but ultimately right, I think. Biden's remarks are unhelpful because (a) no-one is quite clear what he means in a situation where absolute clarity is required; (b) it makes the argument about who is the Russian president rather than the unacceptable actions of the Russian state.
He is ultimately right because Russia must be defeated, and Russians must believe they are defeated, to draw a line on unprovoked aggression against neighbouring countries and on systematic war crimes. In effect Russia cannot be defeated while Putin stays in power.
There is no real distinction between Putin and the Russian state as far as decisions to take action are concerned. It was very clear that the invasion was his decision alone. There hasn’t been an argument about who is the Russian president for a good couple of decades.
The point is, Biden appeared to be making it into an argument about who is president rather than what Russia does. This isn't helpful even if Biden is surely right that Putin is the main problem. Russia would put itself on the right path if it removed him.
He may be, but in this case Will Smith seems utterly to be in the wrong. And a bit of a violent thug as well.
A life tip, don't insult a man's wife while said man is in the fucking audience.
A life tip: don't go around hitting people just because they're an ass.
Nah, that's not a good tip. Maybe if you're one of life's doormats.
What a deeply unpleasant person you are.
What is it about this site? It seems to attract more than it’s fair share of violent right wing thugs.
Wouldn't you come out swinging if somebody insulted your wife in front of millions and she Was in the audience being humiliated? It's not right wing its being human
No - it's a form of sexism. My wife - believe me - can stick up for herself. It's all about Smith's ego.
Rock was making a joke. Sticks and stones etc.
arr sexism is now sticking up for your wife is it?
Pls answer the question. Tyson Fury is on stage making jokes about your wife to a large audience. What's your next move.
you do what you can in these circumstances - what you dont do is get into a wanky debate about sexism and peace. Will Smith could hit Rock so he did and he was justified in doing so (not in law of course bu tin the court of public opinion)
The problem is that it only works 50% of the time when you can do that. It is the bully's option and hence as a strategy is wholly unsuccessful. All it teaches is how to be a bully. And everyone on here is applauding it while berating Russia for invading Ukraine.
I told you there was an analogy in there somewhere.
Just checking, am I supposed to know who Will Smith is married to? Or care?
Good morning
The media are all over celebrities behaving badly which should surprise nobody, and these award shows pampering to extreme wealth and privilege are a self indulgent bore fest far removed from the real world
"In the annals of Soviet military history, Russia’s 4th Guards tank division is legendary - its reputation forged at Stalingrad and in the liberation of Poland from the Nazis.
On Saturday, it was rooted in Trostyanets, a town 220 miles east of Kyiv. If evidence was needed that Vladimir Putin’s invasion was faltering, the images emerging from Trostyanets of burnt-out howitzers and tanks belonging to the elite division will surely shake the resolve of even the Kremlin’s most loyal supporters."
I think they mean routed, but either way - major set back for Putin's forces.
The most detailed reporting I have yet read in the press.
Yaroslav Trofimov, from The Wall Street Journal, who was born in Ukraine, described the recapturing of Trostyanets as probably the “most significant counter-offensive success so far”. Only one regional capital, Chernihiv, remained encircled, he said.
Just checking, am I supposed to know who Will Smith is married to? Or care?
Good morning
The media are all over celebrities behaving badly which should surprise nobody, and these award shows pampering to extreme wealth and privilege are a self indulgent bore fest far removed from the real world
He may be, but in this case Will Smith seems utterly to be in the wrong. And a bit of a violent thug as well.
A life tip, don't insult a man's wife while said man is in the fucking audience.
A life tip: don't go around hitting people just because they're an ass.
Nah, that's not a good tip. Maybe if you're one of life's doormats.
What a deeply unpleasant person you are.
What is it about this site? It seems to attract more than it’s fair share of violent right wing thugs.
Wouldn't you come out swinging if somebody insulted your wife in front of millions and she Was in the audience being humiliated? It's not right wing its being human
No - it's a form of sexism. My wife - believe me - can stick up for herself. It's all about Smith's ego.
Rock was making a joke. Sticks and stones etc.
arr sexism is now sticking up for your wife is it?
If it's more about the husband's ego - yes. This was violence - though Rock would have been entirely justified in defending himself against this attack.
i am sorry as I generally agree with you Stocky on a lot but here I cannot see how seeing your wife humiliated in front of millions by some wanky comedian is not going to make you want to deck him and nothing about ego.the ego is all on the Chris Rock especially with his lame joke afterwards which I think was along the lines of HIM making oscar history -
What. If. It. Was. Tyson. Fury.
Come on, let's think it through. "I cannot see how...is not going to make you want to deck him..."
What if (successful!) violence is taken away as an option.
The point is that the academy wouldn't make Tyson Fury the host. I'm also surprised that they allowed a personal issue between the host and the winner of a major award get on stage.
Well no they wouldn't make Tyson Fury the host but what if it was The Rock making a joke about Danny DeVito's wife. The point is that people should expect protection for whatever it is they are saying regardless of the content. Bad taste? I think that a walk out or using the same platform to respond is infinitely superior to violence.
People advocating violence have in their own minds a scenario where they are the certain winners. Hence of course they think it's great, you included, Max. But my point is that life isn't like that and once you go down the violence route you are in a world of trouble when the tables are turned and you are the weaker party.
He may be, but in this case Will Smith seems utterly to be in the wrong. And a bit of a violent thug as well.
A life tip, don't insult a man's wife while said man is in the fucking audience.
A life tip: don't go around hitting people just because they're an ass.
Nah, that's not a good tip. Maybe if you're one of life's doormats.
What a deeply unpleasant person you are.
What is it about this site? It seems to attract more than it’s fair share of violent right wing thugs.
Wouldn't you come out swinging if somebody insulted your wife in front of millions and she Was in the audience being humiliated? It's not right wing its being human
No - it's a form of sexism. My wife - believe me - can stick up for herself. It's all about Smith's ego.
Rock was making a joke. Sticks and stones etc.
arr sexism is now sticking up for your wife is it?
Pls answer the question. Tyson Fury is on stage making jokes about your wife to a large audience. What's your next move.
Probably, if you are Will Smith, read your cue card again, and go over the stage punch you are going to throw as part of the "incident" to get the Oscars back on the front pages.
At the same time as mentally making a note to step on the turd who thought this stupid staged piece of stupidity up.
A fake feud in the American entertainment business?
Say it isn't so.
But yes, if this was a publicity stunt, it looks badly misjudged.
And if it was real, then [TEACHER MODE = ON] Will, Chris, you have both let yourselves down and I don't want to hear any excuses from either of you. Both of you are going to apologise and I will be more impressed with the one of you who has the courage to go first. [TEACHER MODE = OFF because I'm not in school today].
A friend, who works in personal finance, got the task of going to a dinner. One of those events at Park Lane hotel, black tie, charity, keeping clients etc.
The star of the show was Vinnie Jones. At the end of the evening, there was a raffle. The tickets were put in one of those things that spin around to mix them up. Then the door on the ticket spinner jammed. After some attempts to open it, Mr Jones grabbed it and smashed it to pieces. Amid applause he read out the tickets.
A couple of days later, my friend had to go to another one of these dinners - same thing, just a different night
The star of the show was Vinnie Jones. At the end of the evening, there was a raffle. The tickets were put in one of those things that spin around to mix them up. Then the door on the ticket spinner jammed. After some attempts to open it, Mr Jones grabbed it and smashed it to pieces. Amid applause he read out the tickets.
A similar anecdote exists about our very own Prime Minister, of course;
Some analysts predicted Russia would never invade Ukraine. Others predicted it would crush Ukraine within days. Nobody predicted Russia would invade and be stopped by a better Ukrainian army.
Except one. Alexander Nevzerov former deputy in the Duma, now facing 15 years in prison for saying the Russian bombing of sheltering civilians in a Mariupol theatre was a Russian bombing of civilians, produced this darkly hilarious and apparently accurate video last year.
Anecdata time: speaking to the (very pro-Western) Russian wife of a friend of mine. Has been having conversations with her sister who is still in Russia (is everyone still following this?). Sister in Russia overwhelmingly believes what the Russians are doing is right. There is apparently a law now about calling the war a special operation. But in Russia plenty of Russians are on Putin's side.
Meh. Skip forward a year or two. You will be hard pressed to find a Russian that admits to having ever supported it.
Anecdata time: speaking to the (very pro-Western) Russian wife of a friend of mine. Has been having conversations with her sister who is still in Russia (is everyone still following this?). Sister in Russia overwhelmingly believes what the Russians are doing is right. There is apparently a law now about calling the war a special operation. But in Russia plenty of Russians are on Putin's side.
I can confirm this of my own Russian acquaintances living here - i.e. their families back home buy the Kremlin line. Seems to be quite common.
Potential Wordle spoiler alert. Got the final four letters correct today in 3. Was then faced with the choice of 5 further unused first letters all of which made common words. Bit annoying. Not half as much if I hadn't got it on the second. But it became a pot luck guessing game, not a moderately diverting challenge.
Create a word with the options and see which comes up or what doesn’t. Then you’re good
He may be, but in this case Will Smith seems utterly to be in the wrong. And a bit of a violent thug as well.
A life tip, don't insult a man's wife while said man is in the fucking audience.
A life tip: don't go around hitting people just because they're an ass.
Yes, I'm shocked people are defending the action (even if they weasel about not meaning to). Being angry doesn't give you such a right. Most people who get angry can manage that.
That's what it is coming down to - people thinking "I'd be mad, so it's ok to hurt people". It wasnt ok when the pope joked about hitting those who insulted mothers and its not ok now.
Justifying violence because you're angry is still being a bully.
Slightly off topic but I’m starting to think that Biden’s comments about the need for regime change in Russia, while unscripted, may turn out to be a work of unintentional genius. For several weeks, we’ve worried about what Putin may or may not do, and the risk of nuclear war etc. I suspect now, with these remarks, the shoe is on the other foot ie the Russians might be concerned about how far the US will go and / or whether Biden is nuts enough to go full on.
Wrong but ultimately right, I think. Biden's remarks are unhelpful because (a) no-one is quite clear what he means in a situation where absolute clarity is required; (b) it makes the argument about who is the Russian president rather than the unacceptable actions of the Russian state.
He is ultimately right because Russia must be defeated, and Russians must believe they are defeated, to draw a line on unprovoked aggression against neighbouring countries and on systematic war crimes. In effect Russia cannot be defeated while Putin stays in power.
There is no real distinction between Putin and the Russian state as far as decisions to take action are concerned. It was very clear that the invasion was his decision alone. There hasn’t been an argument about who is the Russian president for a good couple of decades.
The point is, Biden appeared to be making it into an argument about who is president rather than what Russia does. This isn't helpful even if Biden is surely right that Putin is the main problem. Russia would put itself on the right path if it removed him.
The administration was quite right immediately to clarify / walk back the comment. An off the cuff expression of dismay at the abysmal leader Russia has is one thing; calling for regime change quite another. The latter is dangerously close to a declaration of war.
And it is, after all, one of the things we are condemning Putin for.
He may be, but in this case Will Smith seems utterly to be in the wrong. And a bit of a violent thug as well.
A life tip, don't insult a man's wife while said man is in the fucking audience.
A life tip: don't go around hitting people just because they're an ass.
Nah, that's not a good tip. Maybe if you're one of life's doormats.
What a deeply unpleasant person you are.
What is it about this site? It seems to attract more than it’s fair share of violent right wing thugs.
Wouldn't you come out swinging if somebody insulted your wife in front of millions and she Was in the audience being humiliated? It's not right wing its being human
What if it was Tyson Fury.
Good on him I say , he should have given the cheeky git a few more
He may be, but in this case Will Smith seems utterly to be in the wrong. And a bit of a violent thug as well.
A life tip, don't insult a man's wife while said man is in the fucking audience.
A life tip: don't go around hitting people just because they're an ass.
Nah, that's not a good tip. Maybe if you're one of life's doormats.
LOL. No.
I don't need to big myself up by pretending I'd deck anyone who annoys me.
Tell me, do you manage people? If so, do you hit or bully them if they're an ass?
I wouldn't have hit Rock but if he'd made a public joke about my wife - who had a medical condition - I might have left my seat and walked out; I'd have been very upset and would certainly have let him know what I thought about it later.
That was my thought, too. Would have made the best actor presentation interesting.
He may be, but in this case Will Smith seems utterly to be in the wrong. And a bit of a violent thug as well.
A life tip, don't insult a man's wife while said man is in the fucking audience.
A life tip: don't go around hitting people just because they're an ass.
Yes, I'm shocked people are defending the action (even if they weasel about not meaning to). Being angry doesn't give you such a right. Most people who get angry can manage that.
I'm not condoning Smith's actions, and I would recommend people avoid violence, but I think Rock and the Academy have a lot more to feel bad about in this incident.
He may be, but in this case Will Smith seems utterly to be in the wrong. And a bit of a violent thug as well.
A life tip, don't insult a man's wife while said man is in the fucking audience.
A life tip: don't go around hitting people just because they're an ass.
Nah, that's not a good tip. Maybe if you're one of life's doormats.
What a deeply unpleasant person you are.
What is it about this site? It seems to attract more than it’s fair share of violent right wing thugs.
Wouldn't you come out swinging if somebody insulted your wife in front of millions and she Was in the audience being humiliated? It's not right wing its being human
What if it was Tyson Fury.
Good on him I say , he should have given the cheeky git a few more
Good morning Malc one thing's for sure, Tyson Fury wouldn't have dared to make a joke about Mrs g if you were in the audience.
"In the annals of Soviet military history, Russia’s 4th Guards tank division is legendary - its reputation forged at Stalingrad and in the liberation of Poland from the Nazis.
On Saturday, it was rooted in Trostyanets, a town 220 miles east of Kyiv. If evidence was needed that Vladimir Putin’s invasion was faltering, the images emerging from Trostyanets of burnt-out howitzers and tanks belonging to the elite division will surely shake the resolve of even the Kremlin’s most loyal supporters."
I think they mean routed, but either way - major set back for Putin's forces.
"They built a range of surveillance drones, as well as large 1.5-metre eight-rotor machines capable of dropping bombs and rocket-propelled anti-tank grenades"
Interesting - if they have combined anti-tank weapons with a cheap(ish) drone, that is something that other militaries will need to think about. The big disadvantage of the basic man portable systems is the need to get close to the tanks. If instead of human bravery, you can send a machine.
Anecdata time: speaking to the (very pro-Western) Russian wife of a friend of mine. Has been having conversations with her sister who is still in Russia (is everyone still following this?). Sister in Russia overwhelmingly believes what the Russians are doing is right. There is apparently a law now about calling the war a special operation. But in Russia plenty of Russians are on Putin's side.
I can confirm this of my own Russian acquaintances living here - i.e. their families back home buy the Kremlin line. Seems to be quite common.
because they have been brainwashed for years by state media.
Morning all! Lets talk The Oscars because why not. 1. There really needs to be an end to "lets entertain" presenters. Whilst I have laughed in the past at Ricky Gervais roasting the Golden Globes - usually the profession as a whole - he has totally overstepped the line a few times with various actors (Tom Hanks FGS) really not happy. Why is Chris Rock trying to get laughs by mocking someone's embarrassing medical condition? 2. It is not right to hit someone 3. Smith's acceptance speech later put a bit of context into why he'd done it. They do have to put up with all kinds of abuse and as he said they have to smile and pretend its alright when it isn't. 4. I think actors are human beings like everyone else
This is a mess. Chris Rock will probably be fine as the kind of people who like to be entertained belittling other people (like a former boss of mine) will pay him more dollah for more "jokes".
Will Smith? Is a violent response ok now? I totally understand what made him do it but that doesn't make it ok.
Potential Wordle spoiler alert. Got the final four letters correct today in 3. Was then faced with the choice of 5 further unused first letters all of which made common words. Bit annoying. Not half as much if I hadn't got it on the second. But it became a pot luck guessing game, not a moderately diverting challenge.
Hmm - at word 4 you could have either guessed, or reached for the swamp of truth and brief of justice.
"In the annals of Soviet military history, Russia’s 4th Guards tank division is legendary - its reputation forged at Stalingrad and in the liberation of Poland from the Nazis.
On Saturday, it was rooted in Trostyanets, a town 220 miles east of Kyiv. If evidence was needed that Vladimir Putin’s invasion was faltering, the images emerging from Trostyanets of burnt-out howitzers and tanks belonging to the elite division will surely shake the resolve of even the Kremlin’s most loyal supporters."
I think they mean routed, but either way - major set back for Putin's forces.
The most detailed reporting I have yet read in the press.
Yaroslav Trofimov, from The Wall Street Journal, who was born in Ukraine, described the recapturing of Trostyanets as probably the “most significant counter-offensive success so far”. Only one regional capital, Chernihiv, remained encircled, he said.
"In the annals of Soviet military history, Russia’s 4th Guards tank division is legendary - its reputation forged at Stalingrad and in the liberation of Poland from the Nazis.
On Saturday, it was rooted in Trostyanets, a town 220 miles east of Kyiv. If evidence was needed that Vladimir Putin’s invasion was faltering, the images emerging from Trostyanets of burnt-out howitzers and tanks belonging to the elite division will surely shake the resolve of even the Kremlin’s most loyal supporters."
I think they mean routed, but either way - major set back for Putin's forces.
The most detailed reporting I have yet read in the press.
Yaroslav Trofimov, from The Wall Street Journal, who was born in Ukraine, described the recapturing of Trostyanets as probably the “most significant counter-offensive success so far”. Only one regional capital, Chernihiv, remained encircled, he said.
The Special Military Disaster is going well.
But how to deal with a cornered rat is the question that arises.
Mr. Borough, while I think there's something in that it's always worth remembering people tend (certain Corbynite cretins aside) to side with their own country if there's any doubt. And sometimes even when one's own side is in the wrong.
Potential Wordle spoiler alert. Got the final four letters correct today in 3. Was then faced with the choice of 5 further unused first letters all of which made common words. Bit annoying. Not half as much if I hadn't got it on the second. But it became a pot luck guessing game, not a moderately diverting challenge.
Then you guess a word containing multiple letters from your possible list to narrow it down.
Morning all! Lets talk The Oscars because why not. 1. There really needs to be an end to "lets entertain" presenters. Whilst I have laughed in the past at Ricky Gervais roasting the Golden Globes - usually the profession as a whole - he has totally overstepped the line a few times with various actors (Tom Hanks FGS) really not happy. Why is Chris Rock trying to get laughs by mocking someone's embarrassing medical condition? 2. It is not right to hit someone 3. Smith's acceptance speech later put a bit of context into why he'd done it. They do have to put up with all kinds of abuse and as he said they have to smile and pretend its alright when it isn't. 4. I think actors are human beings like everyone else
This is a mess. Chris Rock will probably be fine as the kind of people who like to be entertained belittling other people (like a former boss of mine) will pay him more dollah for more "jokes".
Will Smith? Is a violent response ok now? I totally understand what made him do it but that doesn't make it ok.
Will Smith hitting Chris Rock after he insulted his wife was by far the most memorable event of any Oscars since Warren Beatty got the name of the Best Film wrong.
Smith shouldn't have done it but certainly it ensured the Oscars made the headlines this morning after declining ratings
Will Smith? Is a violent response ok now? I totally understand what made him do it but that doesn't make it ok.
The most consequential decision of the evening was that the people in charge of the show, and the people in charge of the venue, did not decide to escort Will Smith from the premises.
That there is official sanction for violence, and that is a worrying development.
Potential Wordle spoiler alert. Got the final four letters correct today in 3. Was then faced with the choice of 5 further unused first letters all of which made common words. Bit annoying. Not half as much if I hadn't got it on the second. But it became a pot luck guessing game, not a moderately diverting challenge.
Then you guess a word containing multiple letters from your possible list to narrow it down.
He may be, but in this case Will Smith seems utterly to be in the wrong. And a bit of a violent thug as well.
A life tip, don't insult a man's wife while said man is in the fucking audience.
A life tip: don't go around hitting people just because they're an ass.
Yes, I'm shocked people are defending the action (even if they weasel about not meaning to). Being angry doesn't give you such a right. Most people who get angry can manage that.
I'm not condoning Smith's actions, and I would recommend people avoid violence, but I think Rock and the Academy have a lot more to feel bad about in this incident.
As I say, people claim not to be condoning it, but if they are caveating their response because Smith was understandably angry, then they are in effect condoning it. I think the latter response cannot be combined with the former.
As one of my preferred expressions go, if I deliberately trod on your toe I am in the wrong, but if you respond by thumping me in the face you are much more in the wrong, and my actions in no way justify or explain what you did, it does not mitigate what you did.
Sorry to be harsh about it, but I cannot see in any equation where someone saying a nasty joke has any equivalence to deliberately choosing to be physically violent - not even as though they were right next to each other and it was an instinctive reaction. A cold, methodical choice, which people are despite their words condoning because the bad man shouldn't have said that mean thing.
People are dicks every single day - and normal people can condemn dicks properly. Really surprised this has even been a debate outside the conrtrarian 'Yeah, I'd lump him too, cause I'm a hard man' crowd.
"In the annals of Soviet military history, Russia’s 4th Guards tank division is legendary - its reputation forged at Stalingrad and in the liberation of Poland from the Nazis.
On Saturday, it was rooted in Trostyanets, a town 220 miles east of Kyiv. If evidence was needed that Vladimir Putin’s invasion was faltering, the images emerging from Trostyanets of burnt-out howitzers and tanks belonging to the elite division will surely shake the resolve of even the Kremlin’s most loyal supporters."
I think they mean routed, but either way - major set back for Putin's forces.
The most detailed reporting I have yet read in the press.
Yaroslav Trofimov, from The Wall Street Journal, who was born in Ukraine, described the recapturing of Trostyanets as probably the “most significant counter-offensive success so far”. Only one regional capital, Chernihiv, remained encircled, he said.
Jomini (on twitter) reports that some Russian BTGs have been observed pulling back to the east south of Konotop, though it's not yet clear whether that is to reinforce the area around Sumy, or to be removed from the NE and redeployed elsewhere (presumably the Donbas). A couple of weeks ago the Russians were reportedly pulling troops back from Kharkiv to redeploy to take Sumy - so will be interesting to see how this develops.
Will Smith? Is a violent response ok now? I totally understand what made him do it but that doesn't make it ok.
The most consequential decision of the evening was that the people in charge of the show, and the people in charge of the venue, did not decide to escort Will Smith from the premises.
That there is official sanction for violence, and that is a worrying development.
Doubt its that - they simply were embarrassed and didn't know what to do. From my scan of the Guardian live feed there were various huddled groups in conversation in an ad break, including one where Denzel Washington calmed Smith down and gave him the Devil line he quoted when accepting his gong later.
Never mind an official sanction for violence - which is questionable - there IS a official sanction for abuse of academy members at their own awards where the members are supposed to suffer personal abuse as if its ok.
They need to rethink the whole thing. Its not a celebration of the art any more, its a spectacle that has been painful to watch for a long time.
Will Smith? Is a violent response ok now? I totally understand what made him do it but that doesn't make it ok.
The most consequential decision of the evening was that the people in charge of the show, and the people in charge of the venue, did not decide to escort Will Smith from the premises.
That there is official sanction for violence, and that is a worrying development.
Doubt its that - they simply were embarrassed and didn't know what to do. From my scan of the Guardian live feed there were various huddled groups in conversation in an ad break, including one where Denzel Washington calmed Smith down and gave him the Devil line he quoted when accepting his gong later.
Never mind an official sanction for violence - which is questionable - there IS a official sanction for abuse of academy members at their own awards where the members are supposed to suffer personal abuse as if its ok.
They need to rethink the whole thing. Its not a celebration of the art any more, its a spectacle that has been painful to watch for a long time.
This shouldn't be difficult. If someone is violent in your venue then they are a clear threat to your other guests, and you eject them from your premises.
They didn't do so because giving him an award was more important to them. The discussions would seem to be more about ensuring he would give a sufficient apology, rather than to invite others to come and have a go if they were hard enough.
It's one thing for individuals to say that they'd thump someone who insulted their wife, but it's quite another for an organisation to gloss it over.
Will Smith? Is a violent response ok now? I totally understand what made him do it but that doesn't make it ok.
The most consequential decision of the evening was that the people in charge of the show, and the people in charge of the venue, did not decide to escort Will Smith from the premises.
That there is official sanction for violence, and that is a worrying development.
Doubt its that - they simply were embarrassed and didn't know what to do. From my scan of the Guardian live feed there were various huddled groups in conversation in an ad break, including one where Denzel Washington calmed Smith down and gave him the Devil line he quoted when accepting his gong later.
Never mind an official sanction for violence - which is questionable - there IS a official sanction for abuse of academy members at their own awards where the members are supposed to suffer personal abuse as if its ok.
They need to rethink the whole thing. Its not a celebration of the art any more, its a spectacle that has been painful to watch for a long time.
[/Rant mode on/] "Scuffle breaks out an industry awards do." If actors weren't so utterly self-absorbed and the rest of us weren't so keen to feed their vanity this would barely merit a mention on page 16 in whatever Los Angeles's equivalent of the Manchester Evening News is.
[/Rant mode off/] More levelly, I'd say I don't think this is an incident from which any great lessons can be learned.
Anecdata time: speaking to the (very pro-Western) Russian wife of a friend of mine. Has been having conversations with her sister who is still in Russia (is everyone still following this?). Sister in Russia overwhelmingly believes what the Russians are doing is right. There is apparently a law now about calling the war a special operation. But in Russia plenty of Russians are on Putin's side.
I can confirm this of my own Russian acquaintances living here - i.e. their families back home buy the Kremlin line. Seems to be quite common.
The Russian propoganda machine is relentless, and has been for years on the subject of Ukraine. A huge proportion of Russians have been totally brainwashed.
For all that we complain about Western media, and I have been pretty vocal about their very poor performance during the pandemic, having a free press is the hallmark of a democratic state.
Some analysts predicted Russia would never invade Ukraine. Others predicted it would crush Ukraine within days. Nobody predicted Russia would invade and be stopped by a better Ukrainian army.
Except one. Alexander Nevzerov former deputy in the Duma, now facing 15 years in prison for saying the Russian bombing of sheltering civilians in a Mariupol theatre was a Russian bombing of civilians, produced this darkly hilarious and apparently accurate video last year.
He may be, but in this case Will Smith seems utterly to be in the wrong. And a bit of a violent thug as well.
A life tip, don't insult a man's wife while said man is in the fucking audience.
A life tip: don't go around hitting people just because they're an ass.
Yes, I'm shocked people are defending the action (even if they weasel about not meaning to). Being angry doesn't give you such a right. Most people who get angry can manage that.
I'm not condoning Smith's actions, and I would recommend people avoid violence, but I think Rock and the Academy have a lot more to feel bad about in this incident.
As I say, people claim not to be condoning it, but if they are caveating their response because Smith was understandably angry, then they are in effect condoning it. I think the latter response cannot be combined with the former.
As one of my preferred expressions go, if I deliberately trod on your toe I am in the wrong, but if you respond by thumping me in the face you are much more in the wrong, and my actions in no way justify or explain what you did, it does not mitigate what you did.
Sorry to be harsh about it, but I cannot see in any equation where someone saying a nasty joke has any equivalence to deliberately choosing to be physically violent - not even as though they were right next to each other and it was an instinctive reaction. A cold, methodical choice, which people are despite their words condoning because the bad man shouldn't have said that mean thing.
People are dicks every single day - and normal people can condemn dicks properly. Really surprised this has even been a debate outside the conrtrarian 'Yeah, I'd lump him too, cause I'm a hard man' crowd.
Yes and no. I'm not justifying violence and have never and will never hit anyone. But there are degrees of it like everything else. An unprovoked assault is much worse than an angry reaction to something. Doesn't make it in any way acceptable, but at least a little understandable.
A lot of people take things way too personally. My thick skin rule is to ask if I respect or have any interest in what this person thinks? If I don't then they can't insult me as their opinion has no value.
And I have done that. Thornaby Town Council. Being verbally abused by His Eminence the Mayor for Life. My wife - who wasn't at that one - being described as a "donkey with a red rosette". Amongst other things. I just grinned at him and let the insults die on the table in silence, then pulled him back to the question I had asked 10 minutes earlier which he'd turned personal to avoid answering. Which would drive him even crazier.
Happened several times and each time I'd just sit there grinning at him in amazement at his Ronnie Pickering impression. Including he stopping his rant and switching to "I don't know what you're grinning at" - "you, have you heard yourself?"
Would have a lot more respect for Smith had he sat there, shouted at Rock to SHUT UP and stop mocking his wife. Be the bigger man.
Will Smith? Is a violent response ok now? I totally understand what made him do it but that doesn't make it ok.
The most consequential decision of the evening was that the people in charge of the show, and the people in charge of the venue, did not decide to escort Will Smith from the premises.
That there is official sanction for violence, and that is a worrying development.
Doubt its that - they simply were embarrassed and didn't know what to do. From my scan of the Guardian live feed there were various huddled groups in conversation in an ad break, including one where Denzel Washington calmed Smith down and gave him the Devil line he quoted when accepting his gong later.
Never mind an official sanction for violence - which is questionable - there IS a official sanction for abuse of academy members at their own awards where the members are supposed to suffer personal abuse as if its ok.
They need to rethink the whole thing. Its not a celebration of the art any more, its a spectacle that has been painful to watch for a long time.
[/Rant mode on/] "Scuffle breaks out an industry awards do." If actors weren't so utterly self-absorbed and the rest of us weren't so keen to feed their vanity this would barely merit a mention on page 16 in whatever Los Angeles's equivalent of the Manchester Evening News is.
[/Rant mode off/] More levelly, I'd say I don't think this is an incident from which any great lessons can be learned.
I hadn't thought of that. Just about every award/company event I have been to involves someone getting drunk and making a scene.
Will Smith? Is a violent response ok now? I totally understand what made him do it but that doesn't make it ok.
The most consequential decision of the evening was that the people in charge of the show, and the people in charge of the venue, did not decide to escort Will Smith from the premises.
That there is official sanction for violence, and that is a worrying development.
Doubt its that - they simply were embarrassed and didn't know what to do. From my scan of the Guardian live feed there were various huddled groups in conversation in an ad break, including one where Denzel Washington calmed Smith down and gave him the Devil line he quoted when accepting his gong later.
Never mind an official sanction for violence - which is questionable - there IS a official sanction for abuse of academy members at their own awards where the members are supposed to suffer personal abuse as if its ok.
They need to rethink the whole thing. Its not a celebration of the art any more, its a spectacle that has been painful to watch for a long time.
[/Rant mode on/] "Scuffle breaks out an industry awards do." If actors weren't so utterly self-absorbed and the rest of us weren't so keen to feed their vanity this would barely merit a mention on page 16 in whatever Los Angeles's equivalent of the Manchester Evening News is.
[/Rant mode off/] More levelly, I'd say I don't think this is an incident from which any great lessons can be learned.
I hadn't thought of that. Just about every award/company event I have been to involves someone getting drunk and making a scene.
Will Smith? Is a violent response ok now? I totally understand what made him do it but that doesn't make it ok.
The most consequential decision of the evening was that the people in charge of the show, and the people in charge of the venue, did not decide to escort Will Smith from the premises.
That there is official sanction for violence, and that is a worrying development.
Doubt its that - they simply were embarrassed and didn't know what to do. From my scan of the Guardian live feed there were various huddled groups in conversation in an ad break, including one where Denzel Washington calmed Smith down and gave him the Devil line he quoted when accepting his gong later.
Never mind an official sanction for violence - which is questionable - there IS a official sanction for abuse of academy members at their own awards where the members are supposed to suffer personal abuse as if its ok.
They need to rethink the whole thing. Its not a celebration of the art any more, its a spectacle that has been painful to watch for a long time.
[/Rant mode on/] "Scuffle breaks out an industry awards do." If actors weren't so utterly self-absorbed and the rest of us weren't so keen to feed their vanity this would barely merit a mention on page 16 in whatever Los Angeles's equivalent of the Manchester Evening News is.
[/Rant mode off/] More levelly, I'd say I don't think this is an incident from which any great lessons can be learned.
I hadn't thought of that. Just about every award/company event I have been to involves someone getting drunk and making a scene.
At Company X we had a really mild-mannered engineer. But if he got a little alcohol in him, he would start fights with strangers.
To make matters worse, he would then run away, leaving everyone he was with to sort things out.
He then used to complain that no-one would go drinking with him...
According to @bellingcat the Russian FSB paid billions of $ to ensure that some shadowy political class in Ukraine supported this war & created an internal coup d'état immediately after the invasion. But Ukrainian agents who took the money ditched them. They just screwed them over https://twitter.com/IuliiaMendel/status/1508092951997595650
Will Smith? Is a violent response ok now? I totally understand what made him do it but that doesn't make it ok.
The most consequential decision of the evening was that the people in charge of the show, and the people in charge of the venue, did not decide to escort Will Smith from the premises.
That there is official sanction for violence, and that is a worrying development.
Doubt its that - they simply were embarrassed and didn't know what to do. From my scan of the Guardian live feed there were various huddled groups in conversation in an ad break, including one where Denzel Washington calmed Smith down and gave him the Devil line he quoted when accepting his gong later.
Never mind an official sanction for violence - which is questionable - there IS a official sanction for abuse of academy members at their own awards where the members are supposed to suffer personal abuse as if its ok.
They need to rethink the whole thing. Its not a celebration of the art any more, its a spectacle that has been painful to watch for a long time.
They couldn't boot Will Smith out, he was going to win an award later.
Or I guess they could have had Chris Rock collect it on his behalf. "I'll see he gets it later...." On pay per view.
According to @bellingcat the Russian FSB paid billions of $ to ensure that some shadowy political class in Ukraine supported this war & created an internal coup d'état immediately after the invasion. But Ukrainian agents who took the money ditched them. They just screwed them over https://twitter.com/IuliiaMendel/status/1508092951997595650
Will Smith? Is a violent response ok now? I totally understand what made him do it but that doesn't make it ok.
The most consequential decision of the evening was that the people in charge of the show, and the people in charge of the venue, did not decide to escort Will Smith from the premises.
That there is official sanction for violence, and that is a worrying development.
Doubt its that - they simply were embarrassed and didn't know what to do. From my scan of the Guardian live feed there were various huddled groups in conversation in an ad break, including one where Denzel Washington calmed Smith down and gave him the Devil line he quoted when accepting his gong later.
Never mind an official sanction for violence - which is questionable - there IS a official sanction for abuse of academy members at their own awards where the members are supposed to suffer personal abuse as if its ok.
They need to rethink the whole thing. Its not a celebration of the art any more, its a spectacle that has been painful to watch for a long time.
[/Rant mode on/] "Scuffle breaks out an industry awards do." If actors weren't so utterly self-absorbed and the rest of us weren't so keen to feed their vanity this would barely merit a mention on page 16 in whatever Los Angeles's equivalent of the Manchester Evening News is.
[/Rant mode off/] More levelly, I'd say I don't think this is an incident from which any great lessons can be learned.
I hadn't thought of that. Just about every award/company event I have been to involves someone getting drunk and making a scene.
I wonder what proportion of the whole population of UK could actually identify Will Smith and Chris Rock before this spat. And what proportion of the R4 news listening population ditto. And what proportion care anything at all.
This morning it beat Ukraine and Covid in the headlines. That seems a misjudgement to me.
According to @bellingcat the Russian FSB paid billions of $ to ensure that some shadowy political class in Ukraine supported this war & created an internal coup d'état immediately after the invasion. But Ukrainian agents who took the money ditched them. They just screwed them over https://twitter.com/IuliiaMendel/status/1508092951997595650
I think they mean routed, but either way - major set back for Putin's forces.
The Telegraph is shocking these days - just incompetence, not the heroically bad efforts of the Grauniad, which tends to mis-spelling, rather than simple ignorance and using the wrong word.
Potential Wordle spoiler alert. Got the final four letters correct today in 3. Was then faced with the choice of 5 further unused first letters all of which made common words. Bit annoying. Not half as much if I hadn't got it on the second. But it became a pot luck guessing game, not a moderately diverting challenge.
Hmm - at word 4 you could have either guessed, or reached for the swamp of truth and brief of justice.
At that point, you have to prioritise the best fit for Wordle. I had four options for three guesses, but two of them were unlikely Wordle words.
Anecdata time: speaking to the (very pro-Western) Russian wife of a friend of mine. Has been having conversations with her sister who is still in Russia (is everyone still following this?). Sister in Russia overwhelmingly believes what the Russians are doing is right. There is apparently a law now about calling the war a special operation. But in Russia plenty of Russians are on Putin's side.
Meh. Skip forward a year or two. You will be hard pressed to find a Russian that admits to having ever supported it.
A year or two may be optimistic. Took about a decade for Vietnam, Afghanistan. Less for Iraq. But still years. Hope not. But not confident.
Will Smith? Is a violent response ok now? I totally understand what made him do it but that doesn't make it ok.
The most consequential decision of the evening was that the people in charge of the show, and the people in charge of the venue, did not decide to escort Will Smith from the premises.
That there is official sanction for violence, and that is a worrying development.
Doubt its that - they simply were embarrassed and didn't know what to do. From my scan of the Guardian live feed there were various huddled groups in conversation in an ad break, including one where Denzel Washington calmed Smith down and gave him the Devil line he quoted when accepting his gong later.
Never mind an official sanction for violence - which is questionable - there IS a official sanction for abuse of academy members at their own awards where the members are supposed to suffer personal abuse as if its ok.
They need to rethink the whole thing. Its not a celebration of the art any more, its a spectacle that has been painful to watch for a long time.
[/Rant mode on/] "Scuffle breaks out an industry awards do." If actors weren't so utterly self-absorbed and the rest of us weren't so keen to feed their vanity this would barely merit a mention on page 16 in whatever Los Angeles's equivalent of the Manchester Evening News is.
[/Rant mode off/] More levelly, I'd say I don't think this is an incident from which any great lessons can be learned.
I hadn't thought of that. Just about every award/company event I have been to involves someone getting drunk and making a scene.
Potential Wordle spoiler alert. Got the final four letters correct today in 3. Was then faced with the choice of 5 further unused first letters all of which made common words. Bit annoying. Not half as much if I hadn't got it on the second. But it became a pot luck guessing game, not a moderately diverting challenge.
Create a word with the options and see which comes up or what doesn’t. Then you’re good
Yes. However they were five consonants. So wouldn't have been easy. Edit. I see Pulpstar had the right idea. Maybe a bit early with the clock change for me. Made a rookie Go error too. All before 7:30.
According to @bellingcat the Russian FSB paid billions of $ to ensure that some shadowy political class in Ukraine supported this war & created an internal coup d'état immediately after the invasion. But Ukrainian agents who took the money ditched them. They just screwed them over https://twitter.com/IuliiaMendel/status/1508092951997595650
Of course the FSB paid them billions.
Yeah, right.
#BillionsNeverLeftMoscow
Reminds me of that joke about the guy who had 4kg of cocaine, was arrested for possession of 3kg of cocaine, charged with having 2kg of cocaine, found guilty of having 1kg of cocaine, and cleared on appeal because the police didn't actually find any coke.
Potential Wordle spoiler alert. Got the final four letters correct today in 3. Was then faced with the choice of 5 further unused first letters all of which made common words. Bit annoying. Not half as much if I hadn't got it on the second. But it became a pot luck guessing game, not a moderately diverting challenge.
Hmm - at word 4 you could have either guessed, or reached for the swamp of truth and brief of justice.
At that point, you have to prioritise the best fit for Wordle. I had four options for three guesses, but two of them were unlikely Wordle words.
Hard to second guess what is a Wordle word after they had "BLOKE" once....
I think they mean routed, but either way - major set back for Putin's forces.
The Telegraph is shocking these days - just incompetence, not the heroically bad efforts of the Grauniad, which tends to mis-spelling, rather than simple ignorance and using the wrong word.
Not as bad as the Express. Which someone on Twitter described as "like the Telegraph but for people who like their racism with more pictures and less words".
Some of the Express Boris stories are mind-blowing. One linked to a story that sahid thanks to Boris "Britain to launch nuclear reactor into space" and benefit from unlimited power. Then the standfirst said "we may launch a fusion reactor in 2027".
Once I'd stopped laughing I wondered if the launch would be planned or simply that Culham self-launches itself into orbit when the fusion reactor gets switched on.
Potential Wordle spoiler alert. Got the final four letters correct today in 3. Was then faced with the choice of 5 further unused first letters all of which made common words. Bit annoying. Not half as much if I hadn't got it on the second. But it became a pot luck guessing game, not a moderately diverting challenge.
Create a word with the options and see which comes up or what doesn’t. Then you’re good
Yes. However they were five consonants. So wouldn't have been easy.
I contrived a word with 3 or 4 consonants and a vowel I had. All drew a blank. What was left however unlikely was the truth.
Potential Wordle spoiler alert. Got the final four letters correct today in 3. Was then faced with the choice of 5 further unused first letters all of which made common words. Bit annoying. Not half as much if I hadn't got it on the second. But it became a pot luck guessing game, not a moderately diverting challenge.
Hmm - at word 4 you could have either guessed, or reached for the swamp of truth and brief of justice.
At that point, you have to prioritise the best fit for Wordle. I had four options for three guesses, but two of them were unlikely Wordle words.
There's 8 possibilities (ignoring that you've eliminated some) - all quite admissible for wordle I'd have thought. After epoxygate anything is possible
Despite my great reluctance to comment on showbiz, here goes:
1. Chris Rock's 'joke' was in very poor taste. Mrs (?) Smith has alopecia; if she'd lost her hair through having chemo for cancer, for example, people would have been horrified at the joke. It's not that different. 2. Nevertheless, Smith shouldn't have assaulted him. 3. Despite 1. and 2. above, I really couldn't give a flying fuck.
Some analysts predicted Russia would never invade Ukraine. Others predicted it would crush Ukraine within days. Nobody predicted Russia would invade and be stopped by a better Ukrainian army.
Except one. Alexander Nevzerov former deputy in the Duma, now facing 15 years in prison for saying the Russian bombing of sheltering civilians in a Mariupol theatre was a Russian bombing of civilians, produced this darkly hilarious and apparently accurate video last year.
I like the comment that the first thing that the war means for the Russian elite is an opportunity to steal. From their own army....
The YouTube video is posted by a Ukrainian outfit. The talk has a feel of a late night festival event.
I was impressed by Nevzerov's remark that there are only two possible outcomes for this war: Russia crushes Ukraine or Ukraine crushes Russia. Either outcome is a disaster for Russia.
Will Smith? Is a violent response ok now? I totally understand what made him do it but that doesn't make it ok.
The most consequential decision of the evening was that the people in charge of the show, and the people in charge of the venue, did not decide to escort Will Smith from the premises.
That there is official sanction for violence, and that is a worrying development.
Doubt its that - they simply were embarrassed and didn't know what to do. From my scan of the Guardian live feed there were various huddled groups in conversation in an ad break, including one where Denzel Washington calmed Smith down and gave him the Devil line he quoted when accepting his gong later.
Never mind an official sanction for violence - which is questionable - there IS a official sanction for abuse of academy members at their own awards where the members are supposed to suffer personal abuse as if its ok.
They need to rethink the whole thing. Its not a celebration of the art any more, its a spectacle that has been painful to watch for a long time.
[/Rant mode on/] "Scuffle breaks out an industry awards do." If actors weren't so utterly self-absorbed and the rest of us weren't so keen to feed their vanity this would barely merit a mention on page 16 in whatever Los Angeles's equivalent of the Manchester Evening News is.
[/Rant mode off/] More levelly, I'd say I don't think this is an incident from which any great lessons can be learned.
I hadn't thought of that. Just about every award/company event I have been to involves someone getting drunk and making a scene.
I wonder what proportion of the whole population of UK could actually identify Will Smith and Chris Rock before this spat. And what proportion of the R4 news listening population ditto. And what proportion care anything at all.
This morning it beat Ukraine and Covid in the headlines. That seems a misjudgement to me.
Yes, but the media (even R4) are primarily about entertainment, and a NEW story beats an old story most of the time. I'm really interested in Ukraine and Covid (cough, sneeze, shiver), but I'm not really following every twist and turn either.
According to @bellingcat the Russian FSB paid billions of $ to ensure that some shadowy political class in Ukraine supported this war & created an internal coup d'état immediately after the invasion. But Ukrainian agents who took the money ditched them. They just screwed them over https://twitter.com/IuliiaMendel/status/1508092951997595650
Of course the FSB paid them billions.
Yeah, right.
#BillionsNeverLeftMoscow
Reminds me of that joke about the guy who had 4kg of cocaine, was arrested for possession of 3kg of cocaine, charged with having 2kg of cocaine, found guilty of having 1kg of cocaine, and cleared on appeal because the police didn't actually find any coke.
That’s Russian military procurement. The Kremlin funded 100 planes The General received an order for 90 The manufacturer received an order for 80 The factory received an order for 70 The delivery to the regiment was of 60 An inspection of the hanger found 50 …but only 30 had engines installed, and 15 of those were missing avionics and weapons systems.
10 were shot down in Ukraine, so Putin thinks he has 90 left..
Despite my great reluctance to comment on showbiz, here goes:
1. Chris Rock's 'joke' was in very poor taste. Mrs (?) Smith has alopecia; if she'd lost her hair through having chemo for cancer, for example, people would have been horrified at the joke. It's not that different. 2. Nevertheless, Smith shouldn't have assaulted him. 3. Despite 1. and 2. above, I really couldn't give a flying fuck.
Its Ricky Gervais I feel sorry for...
Then again maybe not. He has been asked what he would have been saying if he was hosting. And he tweeted:
I'd start with "Hello. I hope this show helps cheer up the ordinary people watching at home. If you’re unemployed for example, take some comfort in the fact that even if you had a job, your salary probably wouldn't be as much as the goody bag all the actors have just been given." https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/1508133398480576512
and
"I'm proud to announce that this is the most diverse and progressive Oscars ever. Looking out I see people from all walks of life. Every demographic under the sun. Except poor people, obviously. Fuck them." https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/1508146459039916033
Despite my great reluctance to comment on showbiz, here goes:
1. Chris Rock's 'joke' was in very poor taste. Mrs (?) Smith has alopecia; if she'd lost her hair through having chemo for cancer, for example, people would have been horrified at the joke. It's not that different. 2. Nevertheless, Smith shouldn't have assaulted him. 3. Despite 1. and 2. above, I really couldn't give a flying fuck.
I wonder how many people, after a badly spelt Google search, are today wondering why Chris Rock was taking the piss out of Mrs Smith's alpaca?
Potential Wordle spoiler alert. Got the final four letters correct today in 3. Was then faced with the choice of 5 further unused first letters all of which made common words. Bit annoying. Not half as much if I hadn't got it on the second. But it became a pot luck guessing game, not a moderately diverting challenge.
Hmm - at word 4 you could have either guessed, or reached for the swamp of truth and brief of justice.
At that point, you have to prioritise the best fit for Wordle. I had four options for three guesses, but two of them were unlikely Wordle words.
Hard to second guess what is a Wordle word after they had "BLOKE" once....
I did a practice quordle last night, and the top two words were 'semen' and 'mouth'.
The only think to do about the Will Smith spat is to ignore it. I say that on the basis that the hacks love this and tabloid rags feast on this sort of thing.
Otherwise the Oscars just make me sad, without falling for false nostalgia it does seem that films are not what they once were. Wouldn’t it be great if Hollywood started chucking out some decent films?
I blame the internet personally. It’s hard to create something new, when the entire archive is available on demand for little money.
Potential Wordle spoiler alert. Got the final four letters correct today in 3. Was then faced with the choice of 5 further unused first letters all of which made common words. Bit annoying. Not half as much if I hadn't got it on the second. But it became a pot luck guessing game, not a moderately diverting challenge.
Hmm - at word 4 you could have either guessed, or reached for the swamp of truth and brief of justice.
At that point, you have to prioritise the best fit for Wordle. I had four options for three guesses, but two of them were unlikely Wordle words.
Hard to second guess what is a Wordle word after they had "BLOKE" once....
I did a practice quordle last night, and the top two words were 'semen' and 'mouth'.
The only think to do about the Will Smith spat is to ignore it. I say that on the basis that the hacks love this and tabloid rags feast on this sort of thing.
Otherwise the Oscars just make me sad, without falling for false nostalgia it does seem that films are not what they once were. Wouldn’t it be great if Hollywood started chucking out some decent films?
I blame the internet personally. It’s hard to create something new, when the entire archive is available on demand for little money.
The problem is that 'decent' is subjective. My Aussie ex and myself loved the film 'American Pie', but some critics absolutely hated it. Critics seem to dislike the Transformer series (with good reason IMO, except for 'Bumblebee'), but they're popular. I find some films that are lauded by critics imponderably dull.
I really loved 'The Hitman's Bodyguard', but will freely admit it was a ridiculous film. But I'd much rather give it a couple of hours of my time than some other films deemed 'worthy'.
IMO (and IANAE, and expect MM and Roger to object) about the only categories that really count are the technical ones, such as lighting, costumes and perhaps music. The idea of a 'best film' is ridiculous most years.
Despite my great reluctance to comment on showbiz, here goes:
1. Chris Rock's 'joke' was in very poor taste. Mrs (?) Smith has alopecia; if she'd lost her hair through having chemo for cancer, for example, people would have been horrified at the joke. It's not that different. 2. Nevertheless, Smith shouldn't have assaulted him. 3. Despite 1. and 2. above, I really couldn't give a flying fuck.
Its Ricky Gervais I feel sorry for...
Then again maybe not. He has been asked what he would have been saying if he was hosting. And he tweeted:
I'd start with "Hello. I hope this show helps cheer up the ordinary people watching at home. If you’re unemployed for example, take some comfort in the fact that even if you had a job, your salary probably wouldn't be as much as the goody bag all the actors have just been given." https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/1508133398480576512
and
"I'm proud to announce that this is the most diverse and progressive Oscars ever. Looking out I see people from all walks of life. Every demographic under the sun. Except poor people, obviously. Fuck them." https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/1508146459039916033
I never have thought much of him. Now my opinion has changed. I think even less of him.
According to @bellingcat the Russian FSB paid billions of $ to ensure that some shadowy political class in Ukraine supported this war & created an internal coup d'état immediately after the invasion. But Ukrainian agents who took the money ditched them. They just screwed them over https://twitter.com/IuliiaMendel/status/1508092951997595650
Of course the FSB paid them billions.
Yeah, right.
#BillionsNeverLeftMoscow
Reminds me of that joke about the guy who had 4kg of cocaine, was arrested for possession of 3kg of cocaine, charged with having 2kg of cocaine, found guilty of having 1kg of cocaine, and cleared on appeal because the police didn't actually find any coke.
That’s Russian military procurement. The Kremlin funded 100 planes The General received an order for 90 The manufacturer received an order for 80 The factory received an order for 70 The delivery to the regiment was of 60 An inspection of the hanger found 50 …but only 30 had engines installed, and 15 of those were missing avionics and weapons systems.
10 were shot down in Ukraine, so Putin thinks he has 90 left..
There was a claim by Ukraine yesterday that the Russians have setup a centre for refurbishing the tanks they have in storage, and that they're finding some of them don't have engines.
The only think to do about the Will Smith spat is to ignore it. I say that on the basis that the hacks love this and tabloid rags feast on this sort of thing.
Otherwise the Oscars just make me sad, without falling for false nostalgia it does seem that films are not what they once were. Wouldn’t it be great if Hollywood started chucking out some decent films?
I blame the internet personally. It’s hard to create something new, when the entire archive is available on demand for little money.
Potential Wordle spoiler alert. Got the final four letters correct today in 3. Was then faced with the choice of 5 further unused first letters all of which made common words. Bit annoying. Not half as much if I hadn't got it on the second. But it became a pot luck guessing game, not a moderately diverting challenge.
Hmm - at word 4 you could have either guessed, or reached for the swamp of truth and brief of justice.
At that point, you have to prioritise the best fit for Wordle. I had four options for three guesses, but two of them were unlikely Wordle words.
Hard to second guess what is a Wordle word after they had "BLOKE" once....
Not really. "Bloke" is an interesting word, with a good selection of letters. Some of the options today were not concepts you would want to entertain over breakfast.
According to @bellingcat the Russian FSB paid billions of $ to ensure that some shadowy political class in Ukraine supported this war & created an internal coup d'état immediately after the invasion. But Ukrainian agents who took the money ditched them. They just screwed them over https://twitter.com/IuliiaMendel/status/1508092951997595650
Of course the FSB paid them billions.
Yeah, right.
#BillionsNeverLeftMoscow
Reminds me of that joke about the guy who had 4kg of cocaine, was arrested for possession of 3kg of cocaine, charged with having 2kg of cocaine, found guilty of having 1kg of cocaine, and cleared on appeal because the police didn't actually find any coke.
That’s Russian military procurement. The Kremlin funded 100 planes The General received an order for 90 The manufacturer received an order for 80 The factory received an order for 70 The delivery to the regiment was of 60 An inspection of the hanger found 50 …but only 30 had engines installed, and 15 of those were missing avionics and weapons systems.
10 were shot down in Ukraine, so Putin thinks he has 90 left..
There was a claim by Ukraine yesterday that the Russians have setup a centre for refurbishing the tanks they have in storage, and that they're finding lots of them don't have engines.
IIRC during the First Gulf war, the UK military stripped all the spares etc from the Army of The Rhine to send to Saudi.
As a result they were down to single figures of running tanks in Germany.
The only think to do about the Will Smith spat is to ignore it. I say that on the basis that the hacks love this and tabloid rags feast on this sort of thing.
Otherwise the Oscars just make me sad, without falling for false nostalgia it does seem that films are not what they once were. Wouldn’t it be great if Hollywood started chucking out some decent films?
I blame the internet personally. It’s hard to create something new, when the entire archive is available on demand for little money.
The problem is that 'decent' is subjective. My Aussie ex and myself loved the film 'American Pie', but some critics absolutely hated it. Critics seem to dislike the Transformer series (with good reason IMO, except for 'Bumblebee'), but they're popular. I find some films that are lauded by critics imponderably dull.
I really loved 'The Hitman's Bodyguard', but will freely admit it was a ridiculous film. But I'd much rather give it a couple of hours of my time than some other films deemed 'worthy'.
IMO (and IANAE, and expect MM and Roger to object) about the only categories that really count are the technical ones, such as lighting, costumes and perhaps music. The idea of a 'best film' is ridiculous most years.
Sometimes the sole purpose of the cinema is to disengage your brain and just let the stupidity of the movie take over.
Both the Hitman's Bodyguard and it's sequel meet the criteria - the director just wanted a silly plot device that allowed them to do things to Ryan Reynolds. Moonfall is another example - you brain can't cope with the stupid and the plot is utterly contrived to fit the next special effect but it's 2 hours of mindless fun.
The only think to do about the Will Smith spat is to ignore it. I say that on the basis that the hacks love this and tabloid rags feast on this sort of thing.
Otherwise the Oscars just make me sad, without falling for false nostalgia it does seem that films are not what they once were. Wouldn’t it be great if Hollywood started chucking out some decent films?
I blame the internet personally. It’s hard to create something new, when the entire archive is available on demand for little money.
'Belfast' was good on several levels.
Excellent, maybe I’m wrong and just an old fart. I do get the impression that things are different these days even if I cannot quite articulate precisely how. I can’t recall the last ‘must see’ film and just roll my eyes at every rehash or comic book film however good.
Comments
At the same time as mentally making a note to step on the turd who thought this stupid staged piece of stupidity up.
Say it isn't so.
But yes, if this was a publicity stunt, it looks badly misjudged.
And if it was real, then [TEACHER MODE = ON] Will, Chris, you have both let yourselves down and I don't want to hear any excuses from either of you. Both of you are going to apologise and I will be more impressed with the one of you who has the courage to go first. [TEACHER MODE = OFF because I'm not in school today].
On Saturday, it was rooted in Trostyanets, a town 220 miles east of Kyiv. If evidence was needed that Vladimir Putin’s invasion was faltering, the images emerging from Trostyanets of burnt-out howitzers and tanks belonging to the elite division will surely shake the resolve of even the Kremlin’s most loyal supporters."
Telegraph.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/27/ukraine-bounced-back-embarrass-russia-recapture-bombarded-cities/
I think they mean routed, but either way - major set back for Putin's forces.
Got the final four letters correct today in 3.
Was then faced with the choice of 5 further unused first letters all of which made common words.
Bit annoying.
Not half as much if I hadn't got it on the second.
But it became a pot luck guessing game, not a moderately diverting challenge.
Come on, let's think it through. "I cannot see how...is not going to make you want to deck him..."
What if (successful!) violence is taken away as an option.
The star of the show was Vinnie Jones. At the end of the evening, there was a raffle. The tickets were put in one of those things that spin around to mix them up. Then the door on the ticket spinner jammed. After some attempts to open it, Mr Jones grabbed it and smashed it to pieces. Amid applause he read out the tickets.
A couple of days later, my friend had to go to another one of these dinners - same thing, just a different night
The star of the show was Vinnie Jones. At the end of the evening, there was a raffle. The tickets were put in one of those things that spin around to mix them up. Then the door on the ticket spinner jammed. After some attempts to open it, Mr Jones grabbed it and smashed it to pieces. Amid applause he read out the tickets.
I told you there was an analogy in there somewhere.
The media are all over celebrities behaving badly which should surprise nobody, and these award shows pampering to extreme wealth and privilege are a self indulgent bore fest far removed from the real world
Yaroslav Trofimov, from The Wall Street Journal, who was born in Ukraine, described the recapturing of Trostyanets as probably the “most significant counter-offensive success so far”. Only one regional capital, Chernihiv, remained encircled, he said.
People advocating violence have in their own minds a scenario where they are the certain winners. Hence of course they think it's great, you included, Max. But my point is that life isn't like that and once you go down the violence route you are in a world of trouble when the tables are turned and you are the weaker party.
https://reaction.life/jeremy-vine-my-boris-story/
Except one. Alexander Nevzerov former deputy in the Duma, now facing 15 years in prison for saying the Russian bombing of sheltering civilians in a Mariupol theatre was a Russian bombing of civilians, produced this darkly hilarious and apparently accurate video last year.
Well worth watching
https://youtu.be/OutvYSl_TLc
That's what it is coming down to - people thinking "I'd be mad, so it's ok to hurt people". It wasnt ok when the pope joked about hitting those who insulted mothers and its not ok now.
Justifying violence because you're angry is still being a bully.
The latter is dangerously close to a declaration of war.
And it is, after all, one of the things we are condemning Putin for.
NB, if he did, I missed it.
Interesting - if they have combined anti-tank weapons with a cheap(ish) drone, that is something that other militaries will need to think about. The big disadvantage of the basic man portable systems is the need to get close to the tanks. If instead of human bravery, you can send a machine.
1. There really needs to be an end to "lets entertain" presenters. Whilst I have laughed in the past at Ricky Gervais roasting the Golden Globes - usually the profession as a whole - he has totally overstepped the line a few times with various actors (Tom Hanks FGS) really not happy. Why is Chris Rock trying to get laughs by mocking someone's embarrassing medical condition?
2. It is not right to hit someone
3. Smith's acceptance speech later put a bit of context into why he'd done it. They do have to put up with all kinds of abuse and as he said they have to smile and pretend its alright when it isn't.
4. I think actors are human beings like everyone else
This is a mess. Chris Rock will probably be fine as the kind of people who like to be entertained belittling other people (like a former boss of mine) will pay him more dollah for more "jokes".
Will Smith? Is a violent response ok now? I totally understand what made him do it but that doesn't make it ok.
So you burn a guess but nail it on the second.
Smith shouldn't have done it but certainly it ensured the Oscars made the headlines this morning after declining ratings
That there is official sanction for violence, and that is a worrying development.
As one of my preferred expressions go, if I deliberately trod on your toe I am in the wrong, but if you respond by thumping me in the face you are much more in the wrong, and my actions in no way justify or explain what you did, it does not mitigate what you did.
Sorry to be harsh about it, but I cannot see in any equation where someone saying a nasty joke has any equivalence to deliberately choosing to be physically violent - not even as though they were right next to each other and it was an instinctive reaction. A cold, methodical choice, which people are despite their words condoning because the bad man shouldn't have said that mean thing.
People are dicks every single day - and normal people can condemn dicks properly. Really surprised this has even been a debate outside the conrtrarian 'Yeah, I'd lump him too, cause I'm a hard man' crowd.
Never mind an official sanction for violence - which is questionable - there IS a official sanction for abuse of academy members at their own awards where the members are supposed to suffer personal abuse as if its ok.
They need to rethink the whole thing. Its not a celebration of the art any more, its a spectacle that has been painful to watch for a long time.
They didn't do so because giving him an award was more important to them. The discussions would seem to be more about ensuring he would give a sufficient apology, rather than to invite others to come and have a go if they were hard enough.
It's one thing for individuals to say that they'd thump someone who insulted their wife, but it's quite another for an organisation to gloss it over.
"Scuffle breaks out an industry awards do." If actors weren't so utterly self-absorbed and the rest of us weren't so keen to feed their vanity this would barely merit a mention on page 16 in whatever Los Angeles's equivalent of the Manchester Evening News is.
[/Rant mode off/]
More levelly, I'd say I don't think this is an incident from which any great lessons can be learned.
For all that we complain about Western media, and I have been pretty vocal about their very poor performance during the pandemic, having a free press is the hallmark of a democratic state.
I like the comment that the first thing that the war means for the Russian elite is an opportunity to steal. From their own army....
A lot of people take things way too personally. My thick skin rule is to ask if I respect or have any interest in what this person thinks? If I don't then they can't insult me as their opinion has no value.
And I have done that. Thornaby Town Council. Being verbally abused by His Eminence the Mayor for Life. My wife - who wasn't at that one - being described as a "donkey with a red rosette". Amongst other things. I just grinned at him and let the insults die on the table in silence, then pulled him back to the question I had asked 10 minutes earlier which he'd turned personal to avoid answering. Which would drive him even crazier.
Happened several times and each time I'd just sit there grinning at him in amazement at his Ronnie Pickering impression. Including he stopping his rant and switching to "I don't know what you're grinning at" - "you, have you heard yourself?"
Would have a lot more respect for Smith had he sat there, shouted at Rock to SHUT UP and stop mocking his wife. Be the bigger man.
To make matters worse, he would then run away, leaving everyone he was with to sort things out.
He then used to complain that no-one would go drinking with him...
https://twitter.com/IuliiaMendel/status/1508092951997595650
Or I guess they could have had Chris Rock collect it on his behalf. "I'll see he gets it later...." On pay per view.
Yeah, right.
#BillionsNeverLeftMoscow
This morning it beat Ukraine and Covid in the headlines. That seems a misjudgement to me.
Took about a decade for Vietnam, Afghanistan. Less for Iraq. But still years.
Hope not. But not confident.
However they were five consonants. So wouldn't have been easy.
Edit.
I see Pulpstar had the right idea.
Maybe a bit early with the clock change for me. Made a rookie Go error too. All before 7:30.
Some of the Express Boris stories are mind-blowing. One linked to a story that sahid thanks to Boris "Britain to launch nuclear reactor into space" and benefit from unlimited power. Then the standfirst said "we may launch a fusion reactor in 2027".
Once I'd stopped laughing I wondered if the launch would be planned or simply that Culham self-launches itself into orbit when the fusion reactor gets switched on.
1. Chris Rock's 'joke' was in very poor taste. Mrs (?) Smith has alopecia; if she'd lost her hair through having chemo for cancer, for example, people would have been horrified at the joke. It's not that different.
2. Nevertheless, Smith shouldn't have assaulted him.
3. Despite 1. and 2. above, I really couldn't give a flying fuck.
I was impressed by Nevzerov's remark that there are only two possible outcomes for this war: Russia crushes Ukraine or Ukraine crushes Russia. Either outcome is a disaster for Russia.
We're seeing this play out.
The Kremlin funded 100 planes
The General received an order for 90
The manufacturer received an order for 80
The factory received an order for 70
The delivery to the regiment was of 60
An inspection of the hanger found 50
…but only 30 had engines installed, and 15 of those were missing avionics and weapons systems.
10 were shot down in Ukraine, so Putin thinks he has 90 left..
Then again maybe not. He has been asked what he would have been saying if he was hosting. And he tweeted:
I'd start with "Hello. I hope this show helps cheer up the ordinary people watching at home. If you’re unemployed for example, take some comfort in the fact that even if you had a job, your salary probably wouldn't be as much as the goody bag all the actors have just been given." https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/1508133398480576512
and
"I'm proud to announce that this is the most diverse and progressive Oscars ever. Looking out I see people from all walks of life. Every demographic under the sun. Except poor people, obviously. Fuck them." https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/1508146459039916033
My inner teenager couldn't help but laugh.
Otherwise the Oscars just make me sad, without falling for false nostalgia it does seem that films are not what they once were. Wouldn’t it be great if Hollywood started chucking out some decent films?
I blame the internet personally. It’s hard to create something new, when the entire archive is available on demand for little money.
I really loved 'The Hitman's Bodyguard', but will freely admit it was a ridiculous film. But I'd much rather give it a couple of hours of my time than some other films deemed 'worthy'.
IMO (and IANAE, and expect MM and Roger to object) about the only categories that really count are the technical ones, such as lighting, costumes and perhaps music. The idea of a 'best film' is ridiculous most years.
As a result they were down to single figures of running tanks in Germany.
Both the Hitman's Bodyguard and it's sequel meet the criteria - the director just wanted a silly plot device that allowed them to do things to Ryan Reynolds. Moonfall is another example - you brain can't cope with the stupid and the plot is utterly contrived to fit the next special effect but it's 2 hours of mindless fun.