crickets
crickets's JournalNo, the video does not lie.
Harry is outlining the problems with the British press coverage exactly as I stated in my prior post. Constant (often false or distorted) press leaks by courtiers and other members of the royal family were the problem. The sad fact is that members of the royal family have a strategy for dealing with bad press: release something about another member to take the heat off and change the subject. This was covered extensively in the Netflix series as well as in Spare, and also has been covered in the press both before and after recent events. Harry was weary of having things that had been shared with a family member in confidence leaked to the press against his wishes or without his knowledge. His own father threw him under the bus more than once to make himself look better, and when Harry tried to talk to him about problems with the royal family and media coverage, his response was, "Darling boy, you can’t take on the media. The media will always be the media." Horrendous.
This is what he's talking about when he says his father and brother are trapped. He's sympathetic, but refuses to stay in the messy royal/tabloid relationship with them. He is unwilling to allow what happened to his mother happen to his wife, and I admire him for that.
https://archive.ph/ZxmEu (NYT)
Bolland was also accused of approving a News of the World article claiming a 16-year-old Harry had taken drugs, in exchange for praise for Charles for taking Harry to a rehab center, illustrated with what the tabloid said were photos of the visit. Harry writes that the seven-page tabloid spread left him sickened and horrified, and that the photos were from an earlier official visit he had made to the center. Bolland later admitted the sequence of events was distorted to make Charles look better. The coverage, after Diana’s death, spun the portrayal of Charles. “No more the unfaithful husband,” as Harry puts it in his memoir. “Pa would now be presented to the world as the harried single dad.”
Harry, as the spare, was not as important as "the principals" and therefore was a convenient punching bag when need arose. The above is just one example of the willingness for the Firm to deal in outright lies to get the desired results. One benefit of leaving was not just getting away from the British press, but getting away from the royal PR offices. It wasn't privacy (as in disappearing from public life) so much as wresting access and control of private information away from courtiers and other royal family members, and therefore also the British tabloids.
After their mother's death, Harry and William had promised one another they would never behave this way toward one another, would never kowtow to the press. When the Firm (in this case, William) was willing to put Harry's name to a press release he had never seen until it was published, that was the last straw.
https://archive.ph/48cL8 (Vogue)
“I rang M and she burst into floods of tears,” Harry says somberly, “because within four hours, they were happy to lie to protect my brother, and yet for three years, they were never willing to tell the truth to protect us.” (The “lie” he’s referring to, one can presume, is the inclusion of Harry’s name on a statement he didn’t know about, and not Prince William’s reported bullying.)
"Never complain, never explain" was the mantra of Queen Elizabeth, but this was not always followed. There have been occasional exceptions to defend Kate, to defend William, to defend Charles. Even when Harry begged for it, when it had gotten so bad that Meghan was getting death threats, there was no defense for her.
Harry and Meghan left because there was no way to have a healthy relationship, to raise their children in a safe and healthy environment, and for Meghan herself to remain safe and healthy if they stayed. Nowhere did they ever say that they wanted privacy completely away from any involvement with the public or the media in general. They wanted to get away from the royal pipeline to British media and they wanted to stop being used as convenient conversation changers for the other royals.
As mentioned in the press statement in my above post, the "privacy" meme was all about shutting them up. It didn't work, nor should it. They are free to be themselves as privately or publicly as they choose. For those who are tired of hearing about them: ignore them.
Also, they've known about the eviction for weeks. They were informed 24 hours after Spare dropped. They didn't say a word about it. The timing is obvious - it was a punishment. It's one of the few punishments Charles has left and it didn't work. The timing for the public to find out about it is also obvious. How embarrassing for Charles that none of the invited musical guests want to perform at his coronation. Subject change! 🙄
After reading Spare, I'd stopped paying any attention myself. If it hadn't been for this story, I wouldn't have known about Charles and his coronation woes, boo hoo, so in my case that kinda backfired on him. Oops.
Yahoo link:
https://news.yahoo.com/white-house-livid-over-republican-220828294.htmlWaPo article linked in story:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/03/01/beau-hunter-biden-james-comer/
No paywall: https://archive.ph/mTEJK
Yahoo didn't bother to mention this. WaPo buried it several paragraphs down. 🙄
Gee, folks.
All of those sarcastic, demeaning articles and interviews about ET over the decades have really trained people to dismiss the subject, haven't they? It's almost as frightening to see people dismiss the issue as the issue itself.
I believe the pilots who say they're seeing something they can't identify. This does not necessarily mean we're being visited by beings from another planet, but it does mean that there are things flying around in the sky that we do not understand. That's a problem that should be taken seriously.
"political technology" -- a term that should come into common use,
especially given the activities of Fox News and the Republican party. Excellent read, Ninga. Thanks for the link.
Under such manipulation, usually delivered in a firehose of outrageous and competing stories, people lost the ability to tell what was real and lost faith that they could have any effect on the political system.
In the hands of political technologists, democracy was no longer about voters choosing their representatives, but was simply a way to legitimize manipulation by corrupt politicians to keep themselves in power.
I adore Trae Crowder. He cuts right through the BS every time.
YouTube for those who don't visit the bird links:
Edit to add another testimony from someone raised in the deep South who saw boys dressed in drag and didn't think a thing about it was wrong:
I grew up in the 1960s-70s, the last of the golden age of summer camp. For years every summer, my parents packed us out of the house to get a blissful break from the kids. The local YMCA sent busloads of children to N GA (Franklin Delano Roosevelt State Park - thank you, CCC!) for two weeks of swimming, canoeing, archery, arts and crafts, movie nights, and stories around the camp fire. (Movie nights were wholesome as can be. Toby Tyler, Follow Me, Boys! and The Biscuit Eater were in heavy rotation.) We didn't know how good we had it then, but we did know we were having a great time. One of the events everyone looked forward to was the "Miss Summer Camp" Contest. The big girls got together and made up & dressed the big boys for evening and swimwear, and helped them prep a talent, often a jokey one played for laughs. Everyone went all out, right down to the passing of the crown from the last year's winner, and it was a blast. This was a YMCA camp, and it was specifically a Christian camp with a daily devotional lesson and time set aside for meditation and prayer. The beauty contest was certainly not a secret and no parent ever raised a peep of protest. It was all in innocent fun and no one thought twice about it.
Bigotry and hatred are not inborn, they are carefully taught. The trans community is the latest hate-created boogeyman in the crosshairs of the fake "family values" brigade.
More grateful than ever to have Biden and his team in charge.
Also loving this new foreign policy tactic of preempting disinformation, and doing it in a way that protects the methods and sources of intel. Both Russia and China have felt the wind leave their sails because of it recently. GOOD.
We're currently enjoying the benefit of long institutional experience and a steady hand. The level of skill and professionalism required for this type of foreign policy finesse would be tough for any serious administration, and is completely beyond the understanding of the former buffoon and his circle of sycophants.
Speaking of long institutional experience, I dearly hope Joe does run for a second term. We could use the continuity and stability of four more years of his leadership. If he feels up to it (and he certainly seems to be) then I am behind him 1000%.
Both links are a great read. Highly recommended!
WaPo article linked by Marcy Wheeler:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/02/17/russia-spies-europe-arrests/
No paywall: https://archive.md/4PT84
eta WaPo article linked by Politico:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/russia-ukraine-invasion/2021/12/03/98a3760e-546b-11ec-8769-2f4ecdf7a2ad_story.html
No paywall: https://archive.md/mDfOe
From Maidan to Crimea, and here we are now.
Imagine driving down the freeway on an ordinary day and suddenly having a flock of huge military helicopters fly overhead -- the big ones with massive rotors, loud as fuck, low and ominous.
...the civilians suddenly caught up in the war, the volunteers from all walks of life who step up to serve, a filmmaker who stops making documentaries and turns to crafting a homemade drone from a foam RC airplane to send back video to the troops for intel, tanks blanketed with sunflowers for camouflage...
At times I found myself forcefully propelled back to childhood memories of Viet Nam coverage being shown on the evening news... and then some.
This is no simple war documentary, though, it is much more than that. Brotherhood and friendships, a love story, an examination of life's meaning and our place in it -- there's an astounding amount of physical and emotional ground covered in a mere 47 minutes.
The unswerving stoicism and hope of the Ukrainian people is more impressive with each day.
Jonathan Swift: A Modest Proposal.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Modest_ProposalA Modest Proposal For preventing the Children of Poor People From being a Burthen to Their Parents or Country, and For making them Beneficial to the Publick
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1080
Agreed x 1000000.
https://people.com/crime/texas-3rd-grader-finds-gun-superintendent-left-in-school-bathroom/https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PE/htm/PE.46.htm#46.03
(a) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly possesses or goes with a firearm, location-restricted knife, club, or prohibited weapon listed in Section 46.05(a):
(1) on the physical premises of a school or educational institution, any grounds or building on which an activity sponsored by a school or educational institution is being conducted, or a passenger transportation vehicle of a school or educational institution, whether the school or educational institution is public or private, unless:
(A) pursuant to written regulations or written authorization of the institution; or
(B) the person possesses or goes with a concealed handgun that the person is licensed to carry under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, and no other weapon to which this section applies, on the premises of an institution of higher education or private or independent institution of higher education, on any grounds or building on which an activity sponsored by the institution is being conducted, or in a passenger transportation vehicle of the institution...
Good that Stuteville resigned, but he should have been fired and charged immediately.
Also from the above article:
Oh. Well, that explains a lot. These people are insane.
It's about a young autistic boy named Brandon.
I love this kid's story. The video is sweet but it is more satisfying to read about it:
https://scoop.upworthy.com/lets-go-brandon-wholesome-spin-boy-autism-interprets-it-supportive-573274
It was during one such trip to Houston, Texas, in March 2022, that Brandon first came across the phrase used by Donald Trump supporters to show their dislike for President Joe Biden: "Let's go, Brandon." While attending Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, Brundidge noticed that her usually shy and anxious son had suddenly begun acting uncharacteristically outgoing. "We were in an RV park and my son kept saying, 'Mom, these people here love me!' And I was like, 'Boy, what are you talking about?'" the 40-year-old recalled. "And he said, 'They got my signs up everywhere! They were waiting for me to get here!' I just saw this sudden confidence come over him." [more]
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/07/17/us/lets-go-brandon-brundidge-nascar-book-good-news-cec/index.html
That’s how an innocent misunderstanding by her son became a viral children’s book, which led to a meaningful friendship with one of NASCAR’s top drivers. Together, they’re turning a hurtful phrase into something positive. [snip]
The book attracted the attention of President Joe Biden, who sent Brandon a letter of admiration. It also reached Brown, the NASCAR driver who unwittingly helped spawn the “Let’s Go Brandon” craze. Brown had been publicly ambivalent about the phrase, but was struggling to keep sponsors in light of its polarizing nature.
Brown’s team reached out to the Brundidges and invited them to an upcoming Xfinity Series race. Within a week, the family was at Wisconsin’s Road America racetrack, taking in the event as VIPs. Brown even had the cover of Brundidge’s book splashed across the hood of his Camaro. [more]
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