Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

I wonder if trump will be tried as an adult.

Cancel the cowardly WaPo and set up an equivalent monthly donation to ProPublica.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

Fight them, without becoming them!

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

There are some who say that there are too many strawmen arguments on this blog.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

The lights are all blinking red.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

Oh FFS you might as well trust a 6-year-old with a flamethrower.

Wake up. Grow up. Get in the fight.

In my day, never was longer.

Can we lighten up on the doomsday scenarios?

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

The current Supreme Court is a rogue court. Very dangerous.

Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.

You are here: Home / Civil Rights / LGBTQ Rights / LGBTQ Rights Are Human Rights / Saturday Morning Open Thread: Congratulations, Sir Elton John

Saturday Morning Open Thread: Congratulations, Sir Elton John

by | 137 Comments

This post is in: , , , ,


Here’s a recording of the whole thing; Sir Elton’s performance starts at approximately the 23:00 mark.

Reader Interactions

137Comments

  8. 8.

    p.a.

    The Big Tell: how decent human beings in the WH (O, Joe) drive a certain % of the population insane.

     

    Saw EJ years ago on a lark, wasn’t a fan (pop music; yes I was like that then) but it was a great show, great musician and great ENTERTAINER.  Certainly stoned (it was that long ago!) so I even found his duck outfit cool.  I wonder if he had to practice sitting on the piano bench to wear it?

  11. 11.

    Van Buren

    My 14 year old Lhasa Apso fell down the stairs about an hour ago. She’s limping but not whimpering, and if the pup will leave her alone, I think she’ll be OK. 22 year old son and I get 3rd boosters and flu shots today.

  14. 14.

    ColoradoGuy

    @Van Buren: Keep an eye on the old girl. Animals often try to conceal their injuries, and they have a much higher pain threshold than humans (reasons for humans being so sensitive to pain are unknown).

  15. 15.

    Ken

    For those who, like me, are culturally and musically illiterate, Google tells me that “Jardin D’Hiver” on the back of his coat is a song and means “Winter Garden”. But I still don’t know what the bat is about.

  17. 17.

    NotMax

    Currently working my way through episodes of A Private Affair on Prime. Innocuous, modestly entertaining whodunit series. Appreciate the noirish jazz opening theme and incidental music. Period costumes and automobiles are also a feast for the eyes. Was rankled at first by the occasional anachronisms but have since come to the personal conclusion they’re done on purpose, to tease viewers in a sort of Where’s Waldo? manner.

  19. 19.

    NotMax

    @NotMax

    Addendum.

    Note: The English dubbing is tolerable, but only just. If you can, suggest watching in the original Spanish with English subtitles.

  20. 20.

    p.a.

    @NotMax: I’m into season 3 The Borgias, wasn’t renewed for season 4 apparently because of cost.  I neither know nor care about historical accuracy, but Jeremy Irons is absolutlely AA++ as the second Borgia pope.

  21. 21.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @OzarkHillbilly: It gets worse because of course it does, being Alabama.

    A federal judge placed a hold on the execution after Alabama said it would not be ready to use nitrogen hypoxia to kill Miller, who had requested nitrogen be used, rather than lethal injection, citing a fear of needles.
    Miller testified that he turned in paperwork four years ago selecting nitrogen hypoxia as his execution method, a right in Alabama.
    The judge said the execution should be paused after finding it was “substantially likely” that Miller “submitted a timely election form even though the State says that it does not have any physical record of a form”.

  23. 23.

    stinger

    @Van Buren: I agree with ColoradoGuy. She might seem to recover but actually have a more serious injury that won’t manifest at first. Try to keep her from running, jumping up or down off furniture, and stair climbing, and even minimize her walking, for several days.

    Scritches to her and to the pup!

  24. 24.

    Geminid

    @Amir Khalid: I’m curious: have the protests in Iran been much of a story in Malaysia?

    I don’t think they’ve been that big a story here on national US media outlets, although I have seen interest and reporting on political Twitter accounts I often follow.

  29. 29.

    Betty Cracker

    @Baud: The good news is early tracks are usually off, sometimes by a lot! We’re better off here than we would have been at our old house in a beach town south of Tampa. That place is 9 feet above sea level in a 14-foot storm surge zone.

    Here, we’re more inland and at 39 feet, which is practically a mountaintop for Florida. Plus we’re in a stilt house, so even if the river rises, we should be okay. Though a nasty storm could knock out our power and make the already shitty dirt road impassable.

    I’m worried about my former neighbor south of Tampa, who is disabled and doesn’t have any family around. I’m trying to contact her to see if she thinks she’ll need any help getting out of the storm’s way next week, but haven’t reached her yet. (That’s not unusual for her — it typically takes a while.)

    This morning, I’m off to the grocery and liquor stores to lay in supplies. I’m sure it’ll be a damn zoo. Leaving just as soon as hubby gets back from fishing.

  31. 31.

    Ohio Mom

    I have never liked Elton John’s music or schtick, have never seen what other people see in it. Too overdone, I find it completely inauthentic, sometimes think he is basically another Liberace.

    But I recognize and appreciate that he is a mensch and I enjoy anything that throws shade on Trump. So, nice news to wake up to.

  33. 33.

    Suzanne

    It’s been a very hectic week.

    Y’all remember me telling you about the house two doors over from me that caught on fire? Well, the owners are a couple in their seventies, both of whom have significant health and mobility problems. The fire was significant, so the plan for the house was to gut the entire interior and rebuild and move back in next month. (They planned to put in a bedroom and bath on the first floor, but our houses are on a slope and you still need a flight of stairs just to get to the front door….I told a mutual neighbor that they should find somewhere flatter to live and not come back.) They had the interior demolition done (outside still looks terrible), and then all work stopped and it’s just been sitting there looking bad and now the boards over the broken windows are gone and rain has been blowing in…..just really bad. Anyway, the husband died this week. It’s really sad, that whole family has had a terrible year. And there is no way anyone is moving back in next month, the property is in no way ready. They also have this detached garage structure that is in terrible condition and could collapse at any moment, and this was the case for years before the fire. The whole situation is really bad. They have not been maintaining the exterior of the property at all and I hope the City condemns it and scrapes it. It is really unsafe.

    Also…..my cousin who is a state representative in Connecticut was canvassing for her reelection this week, and she got attacked and bitten by a dog, and now she can’t canvass (or even really drive or sit down or anything) until she is healed up, which will be some weeks. Just ahead of the election.

    School started at the beginning of the month, so sports and activities are getting underway. Work is hectic. Haven’t had much time to focus this week.

  34. 34.

    Geminid

    @Ken: There’s that. And there is the need of authoritarian institutions not to back down in public. Sometimes the more dubious the underlying moral issue, the more pressing the need.

  36. 36.

    Ohio Mom

    @Suzanne: We can hope the old lady’s family is just humoring her with the idea that she’ll be able to move back home and in the mean time are consulting real estate people about unloading the property.

  38. 38.

    Baud

    @Betty Cracker: 🤞 for you.

     

    @Geminid: Yes, authoritarian governments are ultimately grounded in the power of machismo.  It’s really hard for them to back down, because once they do, more people will stand up to them.

    It’s a large reason for Republican cruelty. They have to keep escalating because the alternative is losing face.

  39. 39.

    lowtechcyclist

    What’s this ‘Sir’ stuff? We don’t do honorific titles here in America.

    Yeah, I know, the Constitution doesn’t go so far as to say we can’t acknowledge the titles given to furriners by foreign governments, but the message of those titles is still to officially elevate someone over the hoi polloi, which runs counter to the small-d democratic ideal. No “to Sir, with love” from me: let him just be Elton John here, as he is in most or all of the references in AL’s post.

  42. 42.

    kalakal

    @Betty Cracker: I hear you, sitting here in Pinellas I’ve got a definite x marks the spot feeling right now. I am at least in  just about the highest spot in the county at around 80ft up.

  48. 48.

    Betty Cracker

    @Cameron: That’s what I’m hoping for! @kalakal: 80 feet in Pinellas County? Wow! I didn’t realize that was a thing! Y’all stay safe. I’ve been looking at all the models from Mike’s Weather Page, and it’s scary how they’re all converging on a Gulf Coast hit this early.

  49. 49.

    cmorenc

    Even if you are not particularly a fan of Elton John’s music (I wasn’t) it’s well worth seeing the biopic movie “Rocket Man” – depicting how much of a brilliant musical prodigy John was, coming from a very humble, challenged background, and depicting how his fame and inner demons led him eventually down into a hard, humiliating on-stage crash fueled by cumulative severe alcohol and drug abuse, and extended time in a rehab facility getting himself and his life straight.  Elton John himself blessed the movie, brutal as its look into his descent into hitting bottom.  The actor portraying John did so brilliantly, and you may not come away as a general fan of John’s music, but you will appreciate much more that he is far more than just Barry Manilow with more outrageous costumes.  John himself appears at the end of the movie with his partner and their small child.

  51. 51.

    Geminid

    @cmorenc: Last I heard Mr. John was living in the Atlanta area. I wonder if he still is.

    Charlottesville, Virginia now has a good oldies station, WNRN 97.9,  “the Wren.” The music from the 50’s and 60’s is pretty good. The 70’s music is middling, but Elton John’s really stands out. He’s one heck of a singer/songwriter.

  55. 55.

    FelonyGovt

    I saw Elton John at Carnegie Hall (!) when he first released “Your Song”, before he became really popular (or flamboyant- he was wearing an orange T-shirt and jeans). He is a remarkable songwriter and entertainer.

  57. 57.

    Geminid

    @JPL:

    1st establishment Republican:

    “Maybe we’ve gone too far.”

    2nd establishment Republican:

    “Yeah, but maybe it will work.”

  59. 59.

    Kay

    They’re trailing in the polls, not raising much money, running bare-bones campaign operations, and garnering gripes from exasperated compatriots in their home states. They are also, in theory, supposed to be some of the Republican Party’s best bets anywhere in the country to flip governors’ offices this fall. With weeks to go until Election Day, the Republican candidates for governor in three Midwestern battlegrounds—Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota—are floundering in their challenges to Democratic incumbents.

    There was supposed to be so much pent-up anger over covid restrictions and the bullshit panic “CRT in schools” tactic, yet they’re really flailing in these governor’s races.
    Compare to 2010 – looks different, right?
    The whole national far Right has gone after Whitmer in Michigan for years now (female) she was a special target of Trumps, yet she’s at least 10 points ahead of whatever nutjob they’re running.

  61. 61.

    J R in WV

    Regarding Elton John, I recognize that he is a huge talent and deserves all the accolades for his humanitarian work, etc. But not my kind of thing.

    Regarding executions… why don’t they just use fentanyl? Tiny amount is toxic, let them snort up a big line and lay down. Is that no good because they would feel too good just before they die?

  62. 62.

    Kay

    One could add Pennsylvania too- a governors race they are going to lose in a supposedly “GOP wave year” – that’s not even a re-elect and they’re losing it.

    100% due to 1. Donald Trump and 2. religious extremists/Morality Police who want to roll back womens rights.

  68. 68.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Baud: ​I am still waiting for someone on trump’s security detail to take their oath of defending the constitution to heart. I suspect that will never happen.

  69. 69.

    Amir Khalid

    @Geminid:

    The media here tends to shy away from reporting — well, at least from playing up — excesses perpetrated by governments abroad in the name of Islamic propriety. It doesn’t play too well in a country that’s about three-fifths Muslim, and no news outlet thinks it’s a good idea to risk the Government’s wrath and possibly its publication.

  70. 70.

    kalakal

    @Betty Cracker: Yep, I think Countryside Mall is officially the oxygen deprived peak of Pinellas and we’re about a mile from that. The models are very scary right now, as the old joke goes, it’s like being stalked by a turtle

  71. 71.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Kay: I’m trying not to get too optimistic, we need to fight all the way up to election day. And I know lawn signs don’t vote.

    But here in my PA neighborhood I’ve seen maybe two Mastriano for Governor lawn signs, but many, many Shapiro signs. And this is, or used to be, a 50/50 neighborhood.

    Also a couple of Mastriano for Prison signs.

    And the guy with the Trump flag doesn’t fly it any more.

  72. 72.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Kay: Love to see it.  Thanks for sharing that.  The GOP is stuck in the quandary that in the Primary their voters only care about maximizing hatred of govt and those people.  Then in the General, all of those people who live predominantly in cities, get to chime in and put Dems over the top.  I have no idea how it plays out, long term for the GOP (have we ever seen anything like this level of radicalizing of one Perty in the past?), but I’m glad that it gives us some important wins (hopefully) in the near-term.

  73. 73.

    Geminid

    @Amir Khalid: Well, the media here have no such inhibitions. They just know that most Americans care very little about what goes in the rest of the world unless Americans are involved.

  74. 74.

    Another Scott

    @Ken: Speaking of villains…

    WARNING – Potentially childhood illusion shattering thread:

    In remembering Patrick today, recalled the time he just decided to prove the hero of The Sound of Music was a war criminal, just because he could. Because he was there.https://t.co/dkhBwipA85

    — ResponsibleDispatchHat (@Popehat) September 23, 2022

    He made a good case!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  75. 75.

    Miss Bianca

    Open thread? Was awake much of the night  listening to my old girl Roxy coughing up a lung and feeling that helpless paralyzed feeling you get when you just can’t do a damn thing about a fur baby’s ailments at that time. (Why on a Friday? Why are the emergency vets so far away? Why why why etc.)

    Fortunately, my neighbor, who’s a vet, was kind enough to squeeze in a literal drive-by vet check on her early this am. Heart and lungs sound good, and probably *not* a collapsed trachea, which was my fear. Kennel cough? She just hasn’t been around enough other dogs recently.

    She’s sleeping right now after being doped up on antibiotics and Rimadyl. Hey-yo! Maybe I should seize the opportunity to take a nap myself…

  80. 80.

    Miss Bianca

    @raven: awww, no, too bad. Have been binge-watching Deep Space Nine lately and really enjoying her turn as Kai Winn – just a creamy and delicious blend of smarm, condescension, ambition, duplicity, and sincere religious fervor. Great actress who should have had way more work. RIP

  81. 81.

    Kay

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    If Democrats were running 4 hard Leftists for governor and losing it would be the only thing anyone in political media talked about.

    The double standard is ridiculous. We’re just not going to get any commentary on the fact that they recruited 4 ridiculous far Right religious extremists/morality police candidates and will therefore lose 4 state races? It’s interesting!  Much more interesting than Trump’s 57th stupid excuse for stealing documents- but it just isn’t going to be mentioned.

  82. 82.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @germy shoemangler: Pedant time! Taormina proper is inland and several hundred feet up the slopes that eventually lead to Etna. Funiculars, long steps, and a switchbacked road lead down from it to the station, at sea level on the coast, in an area called Taormina Giardina. I was through there in 1985, missed the steps, and was nearly run over several times walking the switchback (two lanes no shoulders) after I missed the bus back down to the station – the first and only unit of Italian public transportation I ever encountered that left early, pulling out of the parking lot as I was walking up with my luggage.

    (Fortunamente I was in time to catch my overnight train through Messina and Calabria to Salerno. Even luckier to find that the couchette I’d reserved in Catania earlier that day had not been sold out from under me when I hadn’t shown up in Catania to claim it…)

    Taormina, 1985: Restaurant menus were in German with Italian subtitles, and I heard more German than Italian as I walked the main street after supper. Closed my eyes and could easily imagine having fallen through to an alternate timeline where the bad guys won…

  85. 85.

    kalakal

    I’m not Elton’s biggest fan but I have to say he’s got some great songs in his catalog and he puts on a terrific live show. As a personality I’ve always had a soft spot for him since he happily played along with Morecombe & Wise* making him the running joke of their 1977 Christmas Special. Showed he both had a sense of humour and was not afraid of mockery ( albeit gentle & affectionate ) which a lot of celebs can’t handle. Elton was great on that

    *Morecombe & Wise were a British comedy act who were huge in the 70s. One of their staples was inviting celebs on and then making them part of the joke. They weren’t cruel and it was actually a major publicity boost but the celebs had to be able to laugh at themselves. The Christmas Special was the acme, get on that and you were somebody.

  86. 86.

    Miss Bianca

    @raven: I saw that in the article you linked. That would be one factor involved, the other being that there just aren’t roles in Hollywood for older women. :/

  87. 87.

    eclare

    @kalakal:   Strangely enough, my favorite music of his is from his album Tumbleweed Connection, which was a big departure for him stylistically.

  89. 89.

    Ruckus

    @Van Buren:

    Yea boosters!

    Got my third yesterday. I’d bet I was the only one in the CVS getting a Covid shot yesterday. I did try to make an appointment at the same CVS when the 3rd booster first appeared and they had few to no openings. Now they can’t give them away…. Sorry not sorry…

  91. 91.

    Suzanne

    @Ohio Mom: Yeah, I hope they just sell it and someone scrapes and redevelops it. If they try to hang onto it, they’re going to lose more money, I think. If that garage falls and causes damage to the adjacent property — and it looks like it will go at any moment — they could be on the hook for a lot of money.

    They have not really been good neighbors (though I feel for them regardless). The recently-passed owner was a hoarder and he refused to maintain the property….the fire department had a hard time navigating the house. They had dogs they couldn’t care for well, who the tied out and who barked all the time. And when the fire was going on, there was this constant popping…..turned out they were stockpiling ammunition, which was going off in the heat.

  92. 92.

    Alison Rose 💙🌻💛

    Oh, this was good for a chuckle:

    Trump lawyer Christina Bobb says if Democrats nominate Gavin Newsom for president in 2024, “it only highlights the fact that they are planning on stealing the election” since he rigged his election and the recall vote. pic.twitter.com/0syZN9N0nQ
    — Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 (@RonFilipkowski) September 23, 2022

    There is video. It’s hilarious.

    I love how these dipshits are completely convinced that the only way Newsom beat the recall was by cheating. Because, you know…how else could a Democrat win an election in…*checks notes*…Califuckingfornia. Where last I saw, we have 47% of registered voters who are Democrats vs 24% Republicans. YES OBVIOUSLY IT WAS ALL A CHEATING SCAM HOAX.

  94. 94.

    ian

    Elton John, a Favorite of Trump, Performs at the Biden White House

    That has got to sting someone’s ego.  Thanks NYtimes.  Normally, your headlines either let us down or feed DougJ material.  Today, the arrow has hit the mark.

  97. 97.

    Ruckus

    @J R in WV:

    It is possible that someone has a bit of tolerance to it if they’ve used it before, but I’d bet that one reason is that those that like executions as a punishment is that they want you to be alert and feel the concept of your death, not be so stoned you have no idea you aren’t waking up. My feeling is that many people see the death penalty as punishment. But I see it as the not as painful method. A lifetime in prison seems to me to be worse than the death penalty. Ask Leslie Van Houten.

  98. 98.

    Mike in NC

    Elton John was King of the Universe in the 1970s. “Rocketman” was a fun movie. The best that shitbag Trump could do was Ted Nugent, a fellow draft dodger.

  99. 99.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @ian: Maybe they are like bears, and they are just as scared of you.  Or maybe they are just prehistoric killing machines with no pity.  It is anyone’s guess.

  100. 100.

    Miss Bianca

    @raven: Really? I remember you talking about Lil Bit’s Laryngeal Paralysis, but don’t remember the details. Was a hacking, wheezing cough, retching, throwing up clear/mucus-y fluids part of the deal with her condition?

  102. 102.

    Tony Jay

    Elton John is one of those geriatric legends whose music stands the test of time because so much of it was fricking awesome. He and Bernie Taupin had one of those magical partnerships where talent and ability and showmanship married ever so happily and had lots and lots of riotously entertaining children. I thought Rocketman was, once you got part the magical-realism overlay, damned entertaining* with a truly great performance from Taron Egerton and his vocal chords. I mean, seriously, that guy has pipes on him, but to do Elton John while doing Elton John? Wow.

    * Much better than Bohemian Rhapsody, which as far as I could make out was a set of scenes put together to show that Queen were a bunch of really nice guys who always made the right decisions because they were just so totally devoted to their musical genius. Which is nice, but probably not what actually happened.

  103. 103.

    Glidwrith

    @Suzanne: Somewhat off topic for you, but I wanted to take the opportunity to thank you. A few weeks ago, you and another Juicer were talking about a physical therapist on YouTube, Tone and Tighten, for a tendon issue. Not only did that help me, but also led me to therapy for the fasciitis in my heel and a way to heal damage from pregnancy over 16 years ago. A heartfelt thank you and know this was life-changing.

    Thank you.

  104. 104.

    eclare

    @Omnes Omnibus:   I’ll go with prehistoric killing machines with no pity.  And yes I have seen the articles about the man with the emotional support alligator.  I have no words, hope he keeps it well fed.

  105. 105.

    Miss Bianca

    @Omnes Omnibus: Oh, dear, I did think about adding a “Sorry for the graphic description” tag afterwards. (Or, since I’ve been watching Slings and Arrows lately, perhaps more of a Canadian-inflected “Sooory!”)

  106. 106.

    RaflW

    (Lightly edited and reposted from downstairs, because apparently my coffee hasn’t really kicked in today):

    I gotta say: Can anyone remember any sort of culture or music performance at the Turnip White House?

    He had some fireworks and probably the Marine Band. But no stars, because stars can outshine a dimly polished turd.

    So glad to see a return to the WH being a venue for music, as well as recognizing Sir Elton’s long work on HIV/AIDS. Seeing him tear up and apparently genuinely surprised was a treat.

    Interesting, too, to see Laura Bush attending. I’m no fan of shrub, but had no particular animosity towards the former First Librarian. If her presence makes the MAGA schism against the ‘old guard’ even an iota stronger, I don’t mind that either.

  107. 107.

    Tony Jay

    Also, it’s been another 24 hours since I mentioned part one of Al Jazeera’s programme investigating the largest leak of internal political party documentation in British history, exposing some of the bullying and international collusion at the heart of the Labour Right’s sabotage campaign against the previous leader and his supporters i.e. the vast majority of the Party and its membership). Number of mentions of this pretty major scandal in the FTF Guardian? Zero. Zilch. Hey Nonny Nonny None.

    Nice article about Alan Rickman’s diaries, though. Sounds like a lovely bloke.

  109. 109.

    RaflW

    In the endless kerfuffle of that previous ‘administration’ I guess I had missed this tidbit offered in the NYT ‘arts are back’ article: Kim Darroch, Ms. Pierce’s predecessor, resigned in 2019 after leaked emails showed him calling the Trump administration “clumsy and inept.”

    Fired for saying the plain truth. I guess that is a violation of diplomatic norms, though.

  110. 110.

    MagdaInBlack

    My best friend and I were big Elton fangirls back in the day ( 70’s.)  Me not so much anymore but she still is. We both got a bit weepy at the award clip tho, triggered when he grabbed Jill’s hand. Thank you for that clip.

  111. 111.

    Miss Bianca

    @Tony Jay: While I am as avid as the next fangirl for any snippet of anything about Alan Rickman (RIP), I have to say I’m beyond disappointed at what the Guardian’s political coverage seems to have warped into. Hell, back when I was reading/indexing it regularly in the late 80s, I thought it was the best English-language newspaper on the planet. Was I wrong? Just a young, naive lefty who was so gobsmacked that *any* paper covered, say, the Palestinians as if they were actual people actually being harmed by Israeli policies, that I read too much into it? Or have they really changed that much in the intervening 30+ years?

    ETA: Became absolutely *livid* about their Bernie Sanders-fluffing while tearing down “establishment” Dems. Only to watch them do a volte-face when it came to covering Jeremy Corbyn. That’s what got me wondering whether Russian rat-fuckers had somehow infiltrated the editorial staff.

  112. 112.

    Mike in NC

    @RaflW: Fat Bastard invited Sarah Palin, Kid Rock, and Ted Nugent into the Oval Orifice at the same time. A true White Trash trifecta.

  113. 113.

    kalakal

    @Miss Bianca: I’m with you on this. I can’t work out whether I’ve changed or the Grauniad has.  It seems to have degenerated into centrist ‘don’t scare the horses’ oatmeal

  117. 117.

    Tony Jay

    @Miss Bianca:

    I think it’s as simple as the Guardian being owned by a hedge-fund that wants it to fill the ‘Newspaper for Middle-Class left of centre folk who’d never vote Tory’ niche while actually providing ‘reasons Middle-Class left of centre folk should never vote for smelly left of centre candidates’ coverage. It sells more subscriptions with Tories in power than it would if Labour were there, so keeping Tories in power is their narrative setter.

    When Corbyn was Labour leader there was a genuine chance that a left-progressive manifesto could get enacted and start taxing the very rich for the benefit of the country, so he (or, more precisely, the political ideology he was the standard bearer for) simply had to be destroyed. Hence the deep-dive into Likudnik propaganda and wholesale character assassination between 2016 and 2020, and the sheer panic it displays whenever that narrative is challenged by facts. If the morons running the NuNew Labour Party think they won’t stab them in the back to keep the Tories in Government, though, they’re in for a shock.

    Where its US coverage is concerned, particularly its Wilmer fluffing, there was zero chance of him becoming the Democratic candidate, so using him (and the wider Democratic Left) to spin a narrative that might just drive down the Democratic vote and result in a win for the GOP was right up their alley.

    They’re just awful people in it for the money.

  118. 118.

    cain

    @Kay: I hate reporting about all this ‘bare bones” etc etc.

    Anybody remember back in 2015 in the run up? Trump didn’t even have offices everywhere. It looked like Hillary was killing it – but then it just went downhill. Stories about low money donor and stuff like that lull us into a false sense of complacency. We cannot be complacent. Women are on the ballot. Democracy is on the ballot. We need it to be a rout. An utter rout.

  119. 119.

    cain

    @J R in WV: Regarding Elton John, I recognize that he is a huge talent and deserves all the accolades for his humanitarian work, etc. But not my kind of thing.

    I suppose, his response would be “I’m still standing, better than I ever did.” :-)

    More seriously, I like a lot of his songs – they are comfortable. I enjoy them and I’m the guy into heavy metal, rock n roll.. but then again I like me some Duran Duran. I don’t know.. I like what I like and fuck y’all.

  120. 120.

    Yutsano

    I guess we pretty much just get this thread eh?

    Amir, you were talking about how the coverage of the Iran protests was muted in Malaysia? Looks like Al Jazeera is adopting a similar approach. At least there is some information there, but it’s being pretty obscured.

  123. 123.

    MagdaInBlack

    @cain: The purpose of music is to give joy. Not everyone is gonna like everything and thats OK. There’s lots of music you and I don’t care for, but someone somewhere does and that’s what matters

    Eta: as you say, we like what we like and fuk ya’ll

  124. 124.

    Geminid

    @Yutsano: I’ve noticed that too. Al Jazeera does serve the interests of the Qatari government, which steers a middle course between Iran and the other Gulf Arab countries. Qatar’s highest priority now probably is pulling the World Cup off without problems.

    Al Monitor seems to take an independent approach in its coverage of the region, but I have not checked them out recently. I’ve been getting some news on the Iran protests through Europe-based Iran News Wire.

  126. 126.

    cain

    What is this I hear about a coup in China??? The hashtag #XiJinping is climbing but it seems confirmed that he’s under house arrest – goddam we are living in crazy times!

     

    ETA -https://twitter.com/InsightGL/status/1573498904272052225

    Indian twitter seems to be going kinda nuts.

  129. 129.

    cain

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: This stuff is being largely driven by Indian twitter sources. But China has yet to respond. Perhaps someone of our readers from there could weigh in.

    But apparently, a lot of flights were canceled.

  131. 131.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    The Casulers @casulers 10

    The mass flight cancellations on Sep 21st & troop movements towards Beijing on Sep 22nd seem to be the main visible data for the coup rumor. A number of people verified that that Beijing airport still has a lot of cancellations.

    Could something that big really be kept quiet for three days? Lots of tweets, none from sources I’m familiar with, nothing on any major news sites.

  132. 132.

    Another Scott

    @cain: (Apparently one has to have an account to see that.)

    I was very skeptical in my comment an hour or so ago, but…

    There is the Party Congress coming up, and Xi has been working to do away with the 2-term limit.  That has to be upsetting a lot of people, but enough for the military to take action against him?  That would be very, very big if true.  The Party is supposed to be top dog, so big people in the Party would have had to moved around him.

    I am now remembering a bit about the Gang of Four days (immediately after Mao died).  When leadership changes hands via death, etc., big things can happen.  If someone doesn’t give up leadership when they are supposed to, I suppose big things could happen then as well.

    Nothing on Angry_Staffer yet.

    I assume YY will keep his head down until more is known…

    We’ll see!  :-/

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  135. 135.

    barbequebob

    The tweet about A-list performers returning to white house now that Trump is gone reminded me of this great story about the Stones and Trump in 1989
    The night the Rolling Stones fired Donald Trump: Keith Richards once pulled a knife to get the GOP-frontrunner out of Atlantic City venue
    “One of us is leaving the building,” said Keef of the billionaire villain-turned-politician, “either him, or us”
     

    https://www.salon.com/2016/03/17/the_night_the_rolling_stones_fired_donald_trump_keith_richards_once_pulled_a_knife_to_get_the_gop_frontrunner_out_of_atlantic_city_venue/

  136. 136.

    David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    @Another Scott: ​
    You got that right about big things. They arrested Mao’s wife and sentenced her to life in prison, where she eventually hung herself. Now that’s some transition.

Comments are closed.