Ann's Mega Dub: More flame wars from Charmed

Monday, June 13, 2022

More flame wars from Charmed

How pathetic on both of their parts. In case anyone needs instead of a video, TV Line reports:

If you thought the tension between Charmed old and new would cool off now that the latter has ended its run, you’d be wrong!

In the wake of the reboot’s CW series finale, one of the original series’ writers — Curtis Kheel — took to Twitter on Saturday to slam version 2.0’s climax. (The June 10 swan song ended with the current Charmed Ones — Mel, Maggie and Kaela — entering a portal to Halliwell Manor, the very home where Prue, Piper, Phoebe and Paige honed their craft in the original Charmed; read Andy Swift’s full recap here.)

“As an original Charmed writer, I can tell [you] what happened next: Piper, Phoebe and Paige vanquished the [three] imposters right after they invaded Halliwell Manor,” Kheel tweeted. “Then [Holly Marie Combs] blew up the portal to that other universe [and] quipped: ‘We wish them well.'” (The reference to original Charmed star Combs was not incidental; the actress’ displeasure with the reboot has been clear since the project was announced.)

Both shows were crap in that they focused on Maggie and Phoebe too much. I loathe Alyssa Milano but at least her Phoebe, shoved down our throats as a never ending object of desire actually looked the part. The woman playing Maggie got so fat and looked like she trapped in a sausage casing -- and don't get me started on that hideous perm again.

That said, the writers of the reboot should have fired back, "Now if only you had time to figure out why your show was set in San Francisco but never had any gay characters?"

It's really pathetic this was between the two shows.

I do get it on Alyssa and Holly Marie's part. They were overpaid on Charmed and they had lead roles. Now they're just middle aged actress struggling to get work. Maybe they could remake Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" as a story about 2 sisters, 1 on a show in the '90s and now old and unemployed and the other sister, the younger one, doing a reboot of the same show?

This is C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Monday, June 13, 2022. Inflation continues to increase but Joe Biden wants his war and wants to prop up Nazis in Ukraine while Iraq is hit by another sand storm.

Over the weekend, Joseph Adinolfi (MARKET WATCH) noted, "The May reading of the U.S. consumer-price index -- a closely followed gauge of price pressures in the economy -- deflated hopes on Wall Street, and in Washington, D.C., that inflation had already reached a 'peak.' Instead, the headline inflation number for May came in at 8.6% annualized, a new cycle high." This morning, Marcus Day (WSWS) notes:

Millions of workers in the US and around the world are being pushed to the brink by the staggering impact of rising prices for essential goods and services. “We can’t continue to live like this” is the sentiment gripping ever-growing numbers of people.

Inflation in the US surged 8.6 percent year over year in May, surpassing economists’ estimates. This was the fastest increase in consumer prices since 1981, more than 40 years ago.

Gasoline prices surged the most, rising 48.7 percent from last year, up 7.8 percent in just one month. A gallon of gasoline cost a record average of $5.01 as of Sunday. In many of the country’s most populous metro areas, the price is significantly higher, averaging nearly $6.50 in Los Angeles, close to $6.00 in the Chicago region and approximately $5.60 in Phoenix, Arizona.

Shannon Jones (WSWS) observes, "Led by food and energy prices, the US inflation rate rose to an 8.6 percent annual rate in May, blowing a hole in the budgets of working class families already struggling after more than two years of a deadly pandemic. It is the highest official inflation rate since 1981, more than 40 years ago. Energy costs, including gasoline, surged in May rising a staggering 34 percent year over year. The next highest price rise was in groceries, which rose 11.9 percent over last year. Both items are core essentials."

As the standard of living falls and the prices soar, never forget that the witch of Twitter, Bette Midler, was a-okay with inflation and rising gas prices. What did that ridiculous woman say? That she'd "happily pay more for gas." She just wanted her war on Russia and for her, a piece of garbage, it was worth it. It's not worth it for the American people.

Joe Biden's war of choice is destroying the economy and the way of life of working Americans. It's time the thugs in Ukraine -- that would their government -- stopped draining the American resources. They are a pro-Nazi regime and their racism is well known. It's time to cut off all US aid and any not delivered already should not be.

At SCHEERPOST.COM, Eric Denece explains:

Since 2014, Kyiv has conducted a completely reprehensible policy towards the Russian-speaking populations of the Donbass, to whom it has prohibited the use of their language and refused any autonomy within Ukraine, multiplying harassment, embargoes and bombardments against them without let no one in Europe denounce this scandalous situation, on the pretext that it would have been in line with Russia’s arguments.

Similarly, the West has allowed Zelensky and the oligarchs who sponsor him – notably Kolomoïski – to finance neo-Nazi groups and reinforce his army in order to take over the autonomist regions by force, rejecting any attempt at conciliation. Worse, on February 17, Kyiv deliberately launched into military action in order to reconquer the republics of Donetsk and Lugansk with the support of NATO, knowing full well that Moscow could not remain without reacting, thus triggering the crisis. current.

If it must be recognized that the Russian discourse is excessive concerning the denazification of Ukraine, it is however not without foundation. Individuals and units with extremist values – Azov and Aidar “battalions”, Svoboda and Pravy Sektor parties, etc. – are a reality that the West seeks to minimize in its support for Kyiv, despite the fact that their abuses since 2014 have been proven.

Europeans have therefore become unashamed allies and donors of a regime that protects and finances neo-Nazi groups while we fight in each of our countries against the extreme right. Because these Ukrainian extremists are not harmless nationalists as they would have us believe. Their speech is clearly anti-Semitic and their fighters wear on their uniform the insignia of the infamous Das Reich division , made up of a majority of Ukrainians, responsible for the massacres of Oradour sur Glane in 1944.

Max Blumenthal Tweets:

You are paying astronomically high gas and food prices so Ukraine can lose 60-100 soldiers a day in a failing military campaign while the ruble grows stronger. If this scenario confuses or upsets you, you are likely following too many Russian-influenced accounts.

4:36 PM · Jun 12, 2022

If you're not connecting the dots, the UN is. Trevor Austin (WSWS) notes:

The United Nations Global Crisis Response Group warned in a report Wednesday that the ripple effects of the US-NATO conflict with Russia over Ukraine could exacerbate the human suffering of millions around the globe by escalating food and energy prices amid a worsening “global cost-of-living crisis unseen in at least a generation.”

According to the report, the war has the potential to amplify the ramifications of numerous challenges nations face, such as climate change, severe inflation and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Turning to Iraq, another sandstorm.

Sandstorm brings Iraq to standstill, Baghdad airport closed http://bit.ly/WCcjiB

6:36 AM · Jun 13, 2022

AFP reports:

Iraq temporarily closed Baghdad airport Monday as choking clouds of dust blanketed the capital, the latest crippling sandstorm in a country that has warned climate change poses an “existential threat.”
It is the tenth duststorm since mid-April to hit Iraq, which has been battered by soil degradation, intense droughts and low rainfall linked to climate change.
Earlier this month, to mark World Environment Day, President Barham Saleh warned that tackling climate change “must become a national priority for Iraq as it is an existential threat to the future of our generations to come.”

This is a serious issue, as Betty pointed out in yesterday's "Roundtable" for THIRD:

If you've missed it, for at least two weeks now, Iraq's been getting some attention from the western media. Why? A city, that might be the ancient city of Zakhiku -- dating from 1550 to 1350 BC -- has been discovered -- a place, several buildings. And this is resulted in giddy coverage. And maybe it deserves that because of the discovery. But the coverage should include the reality that this not good news. This is the result of climate change. The city, over 3,400 years old, has only been discovered because climate change is impacting Iraq and the water level of the Tigris River has gotten dangerously low. Again, cover the discovery. But at least equal space to the fact that we're seeing the effects of climate change. As much I appreciate the discovery of the city, I'm more concerned with the Iraqi people who are about go through a very hot summer and do so facing water shortages and drought.

Ayaz Ahmet (HABER TUSBA) notes of the sandstorms:

Experts attribute this phenomenon to climate change, lack of rain and desertification. Iraq is among the top five countries most vulnerable to climate change and desertification in the world, especially due to the increasing drought with high temperatures exceeding fifty degrees Celsius during the days in the summer. Early in the morning, the sky of Baghdad was covered with a layer of dust, which reduced visibility by several hundred meters. Therefore, the Baghdad International Airport Authority has decided to suspend flights in the morning before they can resume at 10:30 am Baghdad time, an airport source said. The dust storm forced authorities in Najaf province, south of Baghdad, to close the city’s airport for several hours before returning to work. Najaf Airport, which includes important religious centers, annually receives millions of visitors from around the world. In May, dust storms in Iraq killed one person and suffocated thousands.

In an interview with an Iraqi news agency, the director general of the Iraqi environment ministry’s technical department warned of an increase in sandstorms, especially after the number of dusty days rose to “272 days a year for two decades.” And he expected: “In 2050, the number of dusty days per year will reach 300.” According to the ministry, increasing vegetation cover and planting dense trees that act as windbreaks are the most important decisions needed to reduce the frequency of sandstorms. At the beginning June, Iraqi President Barham Salih called for action to combat climate change, saying, “Combating climate change must become a national priority for Iraq, and there is no room for inaction as it is an existential threat to Iraq.”

Meanwhile, the political stalemate continues. October 10th, elections were held and they still don't have a prime minister or a president. The Court has stated that the carry over government has limited powers. This hasn't been taken to the court yet but that also means this 'Cabinet minister meets with Saudi Arabia counterpart' nonsense the press keeps reporting really needs to stop as well and don't be surprised if this gets taken before the Court. They're not allowed to do certain things. They were supposed to be dissolved. Now a new hiccup, Qassim Abdul-zahra (AP) reports:

Dozens of lawmakers who make up the biggest bloc in Iraq's parliament resigned on Sunday amid a prolonged political impasse, plunging the divided nation into political uncertainty.

The 73 lawmakers from powerful Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s bloc submitted their resignation based on his request, to protest a persisting political deadlock eight months after general elections were held.

Parliament Speaker Mohammed Halbousi accepted their resignation.

Al-Sadr, a maverick leader remembered for leading an insurgency against U.S. forces after the 2003 invasion, emerged as the winner in the election held in October.

The election was held several months earlier than expected, in response to mass protests that broke out in late 2019, and saw tens of thousands rally against endemic corruption, poor services and unemployment.

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