Archive for the ‘media’ Category

Review: Season 5 of Peaky Blinders

Posted: October 13, 2019 by John Ruberry in Always look at the bright side of Trump, culture, entertainment, media
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By John Ruberry

Earlier this month Season 5 of Peaky Blinders arrived on Netflix. If you haven’t heard of the BBC show, it centers on a Gypsy organized crime gang from Birmingham, England.

The Peaky Blinders are named for the razor blades the actual hoodlums,-they were an 1890s gang–wore in their flat caps.

The television Peaky Blinders, who usually refer to themselves as the Shelby Company, Ltd., are led by Thomas “Tommy” Shelby (Cillian Murphy), a World War I veteran. The first season takes place in 1919, Season 5 begins in the auspicious year of 1929.

Tommy, at the end of Season 4, is elected to Parliament as a member of the Labour Party.

A new season of course brings a new primary villain, this time it’s Sir Oswald Mosley (Sam Claflin), a minor member of the British nobility who also sits in the House of Commons. If you are American, it’s likely that you’ve never heard of Mosley, but he’s one of the most notorious figures of 20th century Great Britain. He didn’t go as far as Benedict Arnold did during the American Revolution, but had the Nazis defeated Britain in World War II, it’s probable that Mosley would have been prime minister—with Edward VIII restored to the throne. A 2005 poll of British historians determined that Mosley was the Worst Briton of the 20th century. Jack the Ripper took the title for the 19th. Mosley not surprisingly was a virulent anti-Semite.

Sir Oswald pursues Tommy as an ally while Winston Churchill (Neil Maskew) does the same. Maskew is the third actor to portray Churchill in this series. What’s up with that?

The Black Tuesday Wall Street Crash puts pressure on the rest of the Blinders, particularly Michael Gray (Finn Cole), who in the first episode of the season awakens from a stupor in Detroit to learn that the Shelby Company money he invested in America has evaporated. He wants a bigger say in the family business, as does his American wife (Anya Taylor-Joy). The family matriarch, Polly Gray (Helen McCrory), Michael’s mother, continues to struggle to keep the family from tearing itself apart, and their battles now directly effect her lover, Aberama Gold (Aidan Gillen). Tommy’s older brother, Arthur, continues to battle his “animal inside me.” While Tommy and Mosley, politically speaking, court each other, the Peaky Blinders face a new foe, the Billy Boys, a Scottish Protestant gang, who joyously sing their fight song, which is based on the melody of “Marching Through Georgia.” The Billy Boys hate Gypsies and Catholics–the Shelbys are both.

Peaky Blinders has always played loose with history. Lighten up, though, it’s fiction!

On the other hand…

As 1929 winds down, Mosely announces the formation of a new political party, the British Union of Fascists. But after leaving Labour, the real Mosley first formed another new party, called, well, the New Party. After that came his fascist party. I bring this up because in his introductory speech as leader of the BUF, Mosley, complaining about Indian competition forcing the closing of British textile mills, sounds a bit like Donald Trump, with a dash of UK Independence Party founder Nigel Farage thrown in. I’m not a fan of historical parallels with the present, particularly when it comes to individuals. And I get it, many people believe in “Orange Man Bad.” But sheesh, can TV scriptwriters give us a break from that for once?

I see Season 5, quality wise, as a step back for Peaky Blinders, but better than the Russian sinkhole two seasons back. But a Season 6 apparently is in the works, and maybe even a seventh. And perhaps we will see a couple of other men portray Churchill. The 1930s offers many plotlines as the world marches again to war. Still, even a below-par Peaky Blinders is worth your time.

Peaky Blinders is rated MA. It contains graphic violence, drug use, and overt sexual activity.

John Ruberry regularly blogs at Marathon Pundit.

Kurds oh Vey, NBAin’ts , CNN Comedy, Byron York Nails it and one Quibble with Stacy under the Fedora

Posted: October 8, 2019 by datechguy in media, middle east, News/opinion, politics

I must say that I’m not all that sure about the removal of US troops in northern Syria. As a general principle I don’t trust the Turks and I suspect that the Russians, Iranians nor the Syrian government have any interest in stopping Turkey from going after the Kurds who have been good friends to us. It’s generating a lot of critique and I think said critique is valid

It’s possible that this is just part of the standard Trump doctrine of disengagement when possible, it’s also possible that there is a bigger deal that has been made concerning Turkey that I’m unaware of (possibly concerning Israel and a deal there) but we really don’t know. My gut says it’s the wrong move but Potus has played a pretty good hand so far so I’m going to see how the cards fall before I go insane over it.

I’m a little pleased at the unity among left & right in the critique of the NBA over their kowtowing to China over a tweet on Hong Kong. When you’ve got Ted Cruz, Beto O’Rourke, Julian Castro, Rick Scott, Allahpundit, Rick Wilson and I all on the same page that’s really something.

The irony of NBA champs unwilling to go to the White House but NBA stars wiling to beg China’s forgiveness for one man’s support of the people of Hong Kong tells us all we need to know about the virtue signaling league and the degree of respect it deserves.

Was at the Happy Jack’s Buffet yesterday enjoying the all you can eat prime rib (yes you read that right) in it when I noticed CNN continuing to go over the top on Trump and impeachment in their on screen blurbs on one of the big screen which thankfully had no sound.

This is what happens when you decide to serve a niche market They simply aren’t trying anymore because it’s all about keeping said niche market happy. They’ve become a giant liberal infomercial and are just as informative and reliable.

Kinda sad.

Byron York has noticed something interesting about the so called “impeachment hearings“:

The hearings are part of an effort to remove the president from office. There could not be a matter of more pressing public concern. There could not be a matter in which the American people have a greater stake. And yet the public has no idea what is being discovered.
Last week’s sessions weren’t just secret. They were super-secret. The first hearing, in which the witness was former Ukraine special envoy Kurt Volker, was held in what is known as a SCIF, which stands for sensitive compartmented information facility. It is a room in the Capitol built to be impervious to electronic surveillance so that lawmakers can discuss the nation’s most important secrets without fear of discovery.
The second hearing, in which Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson testified, was also held in the SCIF.
Were highly classified matters discussed at the Volker and Atkinson hearings? Apparently not. Neither interview was classified. And even if some classified information were involved, it would be astonishing for Democrats to believe they could attempt to remove the president on the basis of information that is not available to the public.

I think it’s not astounding at all. If those hearing were public the networks that have been hyping them would be obliged to carry information that is devastating to their narrative. And while the number of viewers who would actually watch them are small, the amount of video it would provide to the Trump campaign illustrating that there is no “there” there would be more than the media/left could bear.

Finally while I would highly recommend Stacy McCain’s latest essay (he’s really been on a roll lately btw) I’d like to take issue with one impression that it gives.

Stacy’s history, particularly about the Hartford convention and New England being afraid of losing power is impeccable as are his assertions concerning Slavery in history and the left’s use of this for political purposes today. It leaves the impression that slavery itself was not the driving cause of the division and the Civil War which it produced.

This is a pet peeve of mine. In every way shape and form slavery was the driving force behind the American Civil War. If you read the newspapers of the era, the speeches of the era and the magazines of the era there can be no doubt that this was the case. Were there other issues involved as well, without question. Were the motives of some pushing abolition less that pure, I’d be shocked if it were otherwise. But let’s acknowledge the simple fact slavery was the engine that drive drove the separation and the war that followed.

Tlaib makes a bigoted statement and gets a pass, Blackhawks announcer gets pilloried for innocent remark

Posted: October 6, 2019 by John Ruberry in culture, media, News/opinion, politics, Sports
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Blogger on the left, as broadcast on WGN-TV Chicago during a Blackhawks game in Nashville in 2018

By John Ruberry

Oh, the things the left gets away with…

Unless you are consumer of conservative media, or news sources from Detroit–I’m both of those things—you probably missed a piece of awful offal from US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), a member of “the Squad.”

If you live in the Chicago area, as I do, you probably heard about the “racially insensitive” comments made by longtime Chicago Blackhawks announcer Pat Foley during a preseason game against a German team.

Tlaib, the first Palestinian-American woman elected to Congress, was touring Detroit’s Real Time Crime center, which utilizes facial recognition technology to identify criminal suspects. Tlaib has her issues with facial recognition forensics, She Tweeted in August, “@detroitpolice You should probably rethink this whole facial recognition bulls**t.”

In a tour last Tuesday of the center with Detroit’s police chief, James Craig, one that the Detroit News described as “tense,” the freshman congresswoman told Craig that only blacks should be employed as facial recognition analysists at the center. Yep. She said that. Her actual comments were, “Analysts need to be African Americans, not people that are not. I think non-African Americans think African Americans all look the same.”

Wow.

Craig, who is black, took the high ground by replying, “I trust people who are trained, regardless of race; regardless of gender. It’s about the training.”

Of course it is.

Craig later condemned Tlaib’s remarks. “If I had made a similar comment people would be outraged,” he told Detroit’s ABC affiliate, “they would be calling for my resignation.”

CNN.com covered the Tlaib facial recognition comments, as did Fox News, but the national media otherwise ignored her obnoxious remarks, although a Washington Post technology writer covered some practical issues with facial recognition in response to what she said.

In short, Tlaib got a pass because she is woke. She’s also a Democratic Socialist.

Not so Pat Foley, the television voice of the Chicago Blackhawks. I don’t know Foley’s politics. Perhaps he’s apolitical. But Foley, who is white, is not woke. He has not spoken of the glories of Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren. He does not make large contributions to left-wing organizations. He has not apologized for his “white privilege.”

Oh, what did Foley say that got the left so upset? During that ‘Hawks preseason game against Eisbären Berlin, while opposing forward Austin Ortega handled the puck, Foley said, “Ortega, who sounds like he ought to be a shortstop.”

Yep, that’s it. A Chicago Tribune writer deemed Foley’s quip “racially insensitive.” The Blackhawks, in their apology stopped short of that, calling what he said only “insensitive.” Sports Illustrated covered the kerfuffle.

The Blackhawks in that statement noted that Foley, a recipient of the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award by the Hockey Hall of Fame, apologized to the Berlin team.

What appears to have ignited the controversy was a Tweet from an Hispanic hockey fan, Ghostchant, who distorted Foley’s words. “‘Ortega, sounds like he should be a shortstop’ instead of hockey.” Yep, “instead of hockey.”

But there is something else. Foley didn’t say “instead of hockey.” The Tweeter, who, if he has a sense of honor would place himself into his personal penalty box for a spell, added those words.

Here’s the entire Tweet along that “insensitive” comment from Foley.

In this split-second-glance-at-my-smartphone world, it’s easy to see why Ghostchant’s dishonest Tweet went viral. Many people look, get outraged, then re-Tweet or post on Facebook, without digging into the veracity of information on that puny screen, or, as I suspect in this instance, bothering to play the accompanying video clip.

Foley’s reputation has taken an undeserved dirty hit.

Tlaib, on the other hand, just keeps going.

What happened to Foley reminds me of a comment made by Nixon White House thug, Charles Colson, who later redeemed himself post-prison. “Anyone who opposes us, we’ll destroy,” he said, “as a matter of fact, anyone who doesn’t support us, we’ll destroy.”

That’s today’s left. Destroy first. Ask questions later. If at all.

There’s a lesson here. If you are a prominent person, unless you are deemed woke, you cannot comment on race or ethnicity, according to the rules of the high priests of the left.

John Ruberry regularly blogs at Marathon Pundit.

Shocked SHOCKED about California Crime, Lies on Impeachment, Mass, Brady as #1 & the 86th min Revolution comeback Under the Fedora

Posted: September 26, 2019 by datechguy in crime, media, nfl, Sports
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When I saw this piece at Hotair about folks being Shocked SHOCKED at an increase in theft once it was decriminalized in California all I could think of is this. This is basically what people are doing with the attempts to redefine what sin is, with the full knowledge that it will cause an increase in it. This is a feature not a bug to these folks in charge.

I don’t understand why people seem so Shocked SHOCKED that the Democrats seem to be redefining impeachable offenses and to a large degree even truth. After redefining what “marriage” and “man” and “woman” is why would anyone be surprised that they will redefine truth on the fly when it suits them?

Was at Mass today (actually two) , I was still stewing concerning something at work that has really angered me when I went and viola, the sermon (at the 1st mass) talked about approaching prayer in general and in particular God with the wrong expectations. After all these years you would think I wouldn’t be Shocked SHOCKED at getting exactly what I needed from a short sermon at a daily mass but the surprise still comes.

On a pair of sports shows there were folks Shocked SHOCKED that Tom Brady being ranked as the #1 QB in the league at this point with Pat Mahomes at 6. While I agree that at 6 Mahomes is too low I think I’d be more Shocked SHOCKED if the defending champion superbowl QB who has outscored opponents 106 to 17 and is doing it at the age of 42 wasn’t ranked #1 in the league at this point.

Finally I was surfing sports radio yesterday as I drove home and the only game on was the New England Revolution vs Portland Timbers. It was 1-0 as I drove home and when Portland scored again in the 81 minutes. As this is soccer you figure it’s over but not only does the Revolution score in the 87th minute but in the 96th minute after a desperate throw in and kick into the box a video review showed that a Rev Player was pulled down in the box for a penalty kick which would tie the game.

I’m not a soccer guy but I confess that I stayed in the car for the end and was Shocked SHOCKED that they tied that game after being down 2-0 in the 86 min. If I was the revolution I’d be using this to push the game locally.

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