Tom Toles, Washington Post; Trump doesn’t really get the difference between rights and wrongs
"I needed to throw somebody under the bus."
Saturday, July 29, 2017
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
The Cruelty and Cynicism of Trump’s Transgender Ban; New Yorker, July 26, 2017
David Remnick, New Yorker; The Cruelty and Cynicism of Trump’s Transgender Ban: The President’s tweets are a naked attempt to divert attention from his scandals.
"Let’s begin with the retrograde cruelty. There are thousands of transgender people already serving among the 1.3 million active-duty members of the military. These are people who have volunteered their service and have potentially put their lives on the line, and yet their President, who managed to come up with a flimsy doctor’s note back in the day, denies them their dignity, their equality. He will not “accept or allow” them in the military. Imagine the scale of this insult...
"Let’s begin with the retrograde cruelty. There are thousands of transgender people already serving among the 1.3 million active-duty members of the military. These are people who have volunteered their service and have potentially put their lives on the line, and yet their President, who managed to come up with a flimsy doctor’s note back in the day, denies them their dignity, their equality. He will not “accept or allow” them in the military. Imagine the scale of this insult...
It is implausible that Trump paid much attention to his highest-ranking generals, or to experts, generally; Secretary of Defense James Mattis has supported transgender individuals joining the military. And the hardly radical Rand Corporation has published an in-depth study refuting the idea that transgender soldiers are somehow expensive, or that they undermine the morale and cohesion of the military over all. Trump’s decision to bar transgender people from the military is pure politics, cheap and cruel politics, a naked attempt to divert attention from his woes, to hold on to support from his base—a base that he believes will cheer his latest attempt to do battle with the secular-humanist coastal élites who are so obsessed with identity politics. (One Administration official told Axios’s Jonathan Swan that the move was intended to force Democrats from Rust Belt states to take “complete ownership of this issue.”) In other words, it is a decision straight out of the Steve Bannon playbook. Cue the organs of the alt-right press.
Trump likes to declare what a “disaster” the military is, how deeply it has fallen into disrepair, and how he will be its salvation. When you begin to consider the meanness of what Trump has done, it is worth remembering him saying that he was “smarter” than the generals on military matters, and that he mocked John McCain’s service in Vietnam because “I like people who weren’t captured.” When you begin to think about the scale of this offense, it is worth remembering Khizr Khan, the Gold Star father who lost a son in Iraq, addressing Trump directly from the lectern of the Democratic National Convention: “You have sacrificed nothing and no one.”"
The Gifted: X-Men TV Series is “About Bigotry” in 2017; Den Of Geek, July 25, 2017
David Crow, Den Of Geek; The Gifted: X-Men TV Series is “About Bigotry” in 2017
"Of all the many, many creations in Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s extensive oeuvre, few have ever proven as potent for allegory and transmutative topicality as the mutants themselves. In other words, no superhero creation has been as fertile for political commentary as the X-Men. This is something that The Gifted, a new Fox network series set in the X-Men universe, is going to expand on in new and challenging ways for 2017. And it’s something the cast is very proud about.
“Yeah, I’m going to say straight-up you guys, our show’s about bigotry,” actress Emma Dumont tells me during an interview for The Gifted after the series’ San Diego Comic-Con panel. “I’m sorry, but we see it in the first scene when Blink’s running for her life and a cop could easily kill her dead with zero consequences, because of prejudice, because of prejudging her for something people are uncomfortable with, that they don’t understand, because people are born with this thing, and that is literally where we live.”"
"Of all the many, many creations in Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s extensive oeuvre, few have ever proven as potent for allegory and transmutative topicality as the mutants themselves. In other words, no superhero creation has been as fertile for political commentary as the X-Men. This is something that The Gifted, a new Fox network series set in the X-Men universe, is going to expand on in new and challenging ways for 2017. And it’s something the cast is very proud about.
“Yeah, I’m going to say straight-up you guys, our show’s about bigotry,” actress Emma Dumont tells me during an interview for The Gifted after the series’ San Diego Comic-Con panel. “I’m sorry, but we see it in the first scene when Blink’s running for her life and a cop could easily kill her dead with zero consequences, because of prejudice, because of prejudging her for something people are uncomfortable with, that they don’t understand, because people are born with this thing, and that is literally where we live.”"
Tuesday, July 25, 2017
"Doctor Who" boss tells reporters to shut up about female lead backlash; CBS News, July 24, 2017
Andrea Park, CBS News; "Doctor Who" boss tells reporters to shut up about female lead backlash
"["Doctor Who" showrunner Steven] Moffat added that fans "are more excited by the fact that there's going to be a brilliant actress playing the part than the fact that she's a woman. It's been incredibly progressive and enlightened and that's what really happened. I wish every single journalist who is writing the alternative would shut the hell up."
There is at least one person, though, who wishes Doctor Who were still played by a man.
Peter Davison, who played Doctor Who in the 1980s, told the Press Association, "If I feel any doubts, it's the loss of a role model for boys, who I think Doctor Who is vitally important for. So I feel a bit sad about that, but I understand the argument that you need to open it up ... As a viewer, I kind of like the idea of the Doctor as a boy but then maybe I'm an old fashioned dinosaur – who knows?"
But another Doctor Who, Colin Baker, hit back and said, "They've had 50 years of having a role model. So, sorry Peter, you're talking rubbish there – absolute rubbish. You don't have to be of a gender of someone to be a role model. Can't you be a role model as people?""
"["Doctor Who" showrunner Steven] Moffat added that fans "are more excited by the fact that there's going to be a brilliant actress playing the part than the fact that she's a woman. It's been incredibly progressive and enlightened and that's what really happened. I wish every single journalist who is writing the alternative would shut the hell up."
There is at least one person, though, who wishes Doctor Who were still played by a man.
Peter Davison, who played Doctor Who in the 1980s, told the Press Association, "If I feel any doubts, it's the loss of a role model for boys, who I think Doctor Who is vitally important for. So I feel a bit sad about that, but I understand the argument that you need to open it up ... As a viewer, I kind of like the idea of the Doctor as a boy but then maybe I'm an old fashioned dinosaur – who knows?"
But another Doctor Who, Colin Baker, hit back and said, "They've had 50 years of having a role model. So, sorry Peter, you're talking rubbish there – absolute rubbish. You don't have to be of a gender of someone to be a role model. Can't you be a role model as people?""
Amazon takes on small WA retailer Live Clothing in 'Glamazon' trademark stoush; ABC, July 24, 2017
Frances Bell, ABC; Amazon takes on small WA retailer Live Clothing in 'Glamazon' trademark stoush
"Live Clothing has been the registered owner of the Glamazon trademark for clothing, footwear and headgear since 1999, but has recently applied to extend the trademark to a wider range of retail and wholesale services.
But documents lodged with IP Australia show the application has been opposed by Amazon Technologies, which owns the trademark for the name "Glamazon fashionweek".
Glamazon is also the name of an internal Amazon social group for LGBTIQ employees, promoting diversity in the workplace."
"Live Clothing has been the registered owner of the Glamazon trademark for clothing, footwear and headgear since 1999, but has recently applied to extend the trademark to a wider range of retail and wholesale services.
But documents lodged with IP Australia show the application has been opposed by Amazon Technologies, which owns the trademark for the name "Glamazon fashionweek".
Glamazon is also the name of an internal Amazon social group for LGBTIQ employees, promoting diversity in the workplace."
Monday, July 24, 2017
After Supreme Court Decision, People Race To Trademark Racially Offensive Words; NPR, July 21, 2017
Ailsa Chang, NPR; After Supreme Court Decision, People Race To Trademark Racially Offensive Words
"CHANG: I wondered about the intent, too, so I set off to find this other guy. And he turned out to be a patent lawyer in Alexandria, Va., Steve Maynard.
Why swastikas?
STEVE MAYNARD: Because the term has an incendiary meaning behind it.
CHANG: Yeah.
MAYNARD: And it's currently used as a symbol of hate. And if we can own the brand, we will be able to control the sale of the brand and the use of the brand as well.
CHANG: Oh, so you're trying to basically grab the swastika so real, actual racists and haters can't grab the swastika as a...
MAYNARD: Correct.
CHANG: ...Registered trademark.
MAYNARD: Correct.
CHANG: But there's a catch. Maynard can't just get the trademark, put it in a drawer and make sure nobody else uses it. To keep a trademark, he actually needs to sell a swastika product. So he will - blankets, shirts, flags. But he plans to make these products so expensive he's hoping no one will ever buy them."
"CHANG: I wondered about the intent, too, so I set off to find this other guy. And he turned out to be a patent lawyer in Alexandria, Va., Steve Maynard.
Why swastikas?
STEVE MAYNARD: Because the term has an incendiary meaning behind it.
CHANG: Yeah.
MAYNARD: And it's currently used as a symbol of hate. And if we can own the brand, we will be able to control the sale of the brand and the use of the brand as well.
CHANG: Oh, so you're trying to basically grab the swastika so real, actual racists and haters can't grab the swastika as a...
MAYNARD: Correct.
CHANG: ...Registered trademark.
MAYNARD: Correct.
CHANG: But there's a catch. Maynard can't just get the trademark, put it in a drawer and make sure nobody else uses it. To keep a trademark, he actually needs to sell a swastika product. So he will - blankets, shirts, flags. But he plans to make these products so expensive he's hoping no one will ever buy them."
Saturday, July 15, 2017
Ramzan Kadyrov says there are no gay men in Chechnya — and if there are any, they should move to Canada; Washington Post, July 15, 2017
Adam Taylor, Washington Post; Ramzan Kadyrov says there are no gay men in Chechnya — and if there are any, they should move to Canada
[Kip Currier: Kudos to brave and principled journalists around the world for raising awareness of untold examples of barbarism and ignorance, giving voice to those who suffer and are often silenced and unrecognized. Humankind is indebted to you for your important work.]
"“This is nonsense,” Kadyrov said when asked about the allegations. “We don't have those kinds of people here. We don't have any gays. If there are any, take them to Canada.”
“Praise be to god,” the Chechen leader adds. “Take them far from us so we don't have them at home. To purify our blood, if there are any here, take them.”
Kadyrov's comments came during an interview with HBO reporter David Scott for the show “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.” The interview is just one part of a broader package that will air at 10 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday about how Kadyrov is using mixed martial arts (MMA) to spread a political message overseas...
In his interview with Scott, Kadyrov initially laughs dismissively at questions about the allegations. “Why did he come here?” he says to someone off camera. “What's the point of these questions?” But as Scott presses him, Kadyrov talks angrily about the reporters and activists who write about LGBT rights in Chechnya.
“They are devils. They are for sale. They are not people,” he says. “God damn them for what they are accusing us of. They will have to answer to the almighty for this.”
Elena Milashina, one of the two Novaya Gazeta reporters who broke the story, told WorldViews in April that she had gone into hiding after threats against her newspaper's staff from religious leaders in Chechnya. “It reminds us of the situation with Charlie Hebdo,” Milashina said, referring to the satirical French newspaper that was attacked by Islamist militant gunmen in 2015, resulting in the deaths of 12."
[Kip Currier: Kudos to brave and principled journalists around the world for raising awareness of untold examples of barbarism and ignorance, giving voice to those who suffer and are often silenced and unrecognized. Humankind is indebted to you for your important work.]
"“This is nonsense,” Kadyrov said when asked about the allegations. “We don't have those kinds of people here. We don't have any gays. If there are any, take them to Canada.”
“Praise be to god,” the Chechen leader adds. “Take them far from us so we don't have them at home. To purify our blood, if there are any here, take them.”
Kadyrov's comments came during an interview with HBO reporter David Scott for the show “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.” The interview is just one part of a broader package that will air at 10 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday about how Kadyrov is using mixed martial arts (MMA) to spread a political message overseas...
In his interview with Scott, Kadyrov initially laughs dismissively at questions about the allegations. “Why did he come here?” he says to someone off camera. “What's the point of these questions?” But as Scott presses him, Kadyrov talks angrily about the reporters and activists who write about LGBT rights in Chechnya.
“They are devils. They are for sale. They are not people,” he says. “God damn them for what they are accusing us of. They will have to answer to the almighty for this.”
Elena Milashina, one of the two Novaya Gazeta reporters who broke the story, told WorldViews in April that she had gone into hiding after threats against her newspaper's staff from religious leaders in Chechnya. “It reminds us of the situation with Charlie Hebdo,” Milashina said, referring to the satirical French newspaper that was attacked by Islamist militant gunmen in 2015, resulting in the deaths of 12."
Friday, July 14, 2017
'Game Of Thrones' Finds Fans Among Disability Rights Activists, Too; NPR, July 10, 2017
Neda Ulaby, NPR; 'Game Of Thrones' Finds Fans Among Disability Rights Activists, Too
""You don't want to learn to fly," [David Perry, writer and activist for disability rights] says dryly. "You want a ramp built into your castle."
Still, Perry admires how the series explores such a wide range of characters with different sorts of bodies and minds. Cokley admires that too; she's especially effusive about the books' author, George R. R. Martin.
"He obviously hangs out with a rabble-rousing group of disabled people," she says. "I know it. I sense it."
This fantasy universe is far more realistic than lots of other television shows, Cokley says, when it comes to representing people with disabilities on screen."
""You don't want to learn to fly," [David Perry, writer and activist for disability rights] says dryly. "You want a ramp built into your castle."
Still, Perry admires how the series explores such a wide range of characters with different sorts of bodies and minds. Cokley admires that too; she's especially effusive about the books' author, George R. R. Martin.
"He obviously hangs out with a rabble-rousing group of disabled people," she says. "I know it. I sense it."
This fantasy universe is far more realistic than lots of other television shows, Cokley says, when it comes to representing people with disabilities on screen."
Distinguished African-American Alumni Honored for Service, Achievements; Pittwire, July 12, 2017
Pittwire, Distinguished African-American Alumni Honored for Service, Achievements
"Trailblazers, role models and inspirations are just a few words to describe five Pitt alumni who were recognized in June for their accomplishments and community outreach.
"Trailblazers, role models and inspirations are just a few words to describe five Pitt alumni who were recognized in June for their accomplishments and community outreach.
The alumni, Elayne Arrington (ENG ’61), Martha Richards Conley (LAW ’71), Robert Grier (BUS ’57), Dame Vivian Hewitt (SIS ’44) and Cecile Springer (GSPIA ’71) were each honored by the African American Alumni Council with its Distinguished Alumnus Award.
More about the honorees:..
Dame Vivian Hewitt
Hewitt received her library science degree from Pitt’s School of Library and Information Sciences. She began her career as the first black librarian for the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Later, she became the first black chief librarian at The Rockefeller Foundation, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Council on Foreign Relations. Hewitt and her husband began buying works of Haitian and African-American art while still a young couple, and now the Hewitt Collection is considered to be one of the finest collections of its type in the world. It was purchased by Bank of America and gifted to the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Art + Culture in Charlotte, North Carolina. The collection recently was on display at Pittsburgh’s August Wilson Center."
Monday, July 10, 2017
EXCLUSIVE: She Makes Comics Documentary Celebrates the Women of X-Men; Comic Book Resources, July 7, 2017
Albert Ching, Comic Book Resources; EXCLUSIVE: She Makes Comics Documentary Celebrates the Women of X-Men
"New documentary She Makes Comics aims to chronicle the vast contributions of women in the comic book industry, and in a CBR-exclusive clip from the film, the impact of women on the X-Men get the spotlight...
Speaking of the male-dominated climate in comics at the time, Claremont comments in the clip that Nocenti and Simonson “provided a perspective that was rarely available elsewhere.”
That perspective had a lasting effect, as not only are the X-Men known for featuring multiple female characters at a time — as opposed to one token woman on a super-team — the X-Men have also historically counted more women as fans than many other long-running superhero franchises...
Directed by Marisa Stotter and funded via Kickstarter in 2014, She Makes Comics will be available on VOD and iTunes on July 11 from XLrator Media, and also includes interviews with major comics names including Trina Robbins, Karen Berger, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Becky Cloonan and Jenette Kahn."
"New documentary She Makes Comics aims to chronicle the vast contributions of women in the comic book industry, and in a CBR-exclusive clip from the film, the impact of women on the X-Men get the spotlight...
Speaking of the male-dominated climate in comics at the time, Claremont comments in the clip that Nocenti and Simonson “provided a perspective that was rarely available elsewhere.”
That perspective had a lasting effect, as not only are the X-Men known for featuring multiple female characters at a time — as opposed to one token woman on a super-team — the X-Men have also historically counted more women as fans than many other long-running superhero franchises...
Directed by Marisa Stotter and funded via Kickstarter in 2014, She Makes Comics will be available on VOD and iTunes on July 11 from XLrator Media, and also includes interviews with major comics names including Trina Robbins, Karen Berger, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Becky Cloonan and Jenette Kahn."
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