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What are they talking about?
"Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg apologized Tuesday after drawing criticism for live-streaming a video of him taking a virtual reality tour of hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico to promote a new Facebook feature. Zuckerberg stumbled over references to the storm and never identified the hurricane by name. ‘‘One of the things that’s really magical about virtual reality is you can get the feeling that you’re really in a place,’’ the cartoon Zuckerberg said while video of flooded houses played in the background. ‘‘It feels like we’re really here in Puerto Rico where it’s obviously a tough place to get to now.’’
Related:
"In poorer communities, such as the San Juan neighborhood of Carolina and the mountain town of Canovanas, doctors are seeing worrying numbers of patients with conjunctivitis and gastritis brought on by contaminated water and poor hygiene. Large swaths of the island — and even many spots within the biggest cities — are cash-only zones. More than 40 percent of bank branches have yet to reopen, according to the governor’s office, and barely more than 560 ATMs are functioning for an island with a population of more than 3.4 million. On the upside, chronic gasoline shortages that plagued the early days after the storm seem to be easing, at least in the larger cities, and 86 percent of grocery stores have reopened. But in the sprawling metropolis of San Juan, most street lights are not functioning. It’s enough to make many Puerto Ricans consider fleeing the island for good, even though the thought of leaving a place they love can still seem implausible, but much of the rest of the island lies in the chokehold of a turgid, frustrating, and perilous slog toward recovery with worries about outbreaks of diseases such as scabies or Zika....."
Bringing that back are they (what, no cholera)?
What did they do, just vaccinate a bunch of them?
Also see: Puerto Rico can’t get aid ‘forever,’ Trump says
Maybe they should secede.
He's going to cut off the food supply like in Cuba, and they have completely forgotten Haiti.
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"Yale University’s endowment, the second-largest among the nation’s colleges, has been distinguished in recent years for its handsome returns — but its latest report card, issued Tuesday, was disappointing. At a time when many of the largest endowments are reporting gains in the mid-teens, Yale said it generated an 11.3 percent return for the fiscal year ended June 30, bringing its value to $27.2 billion. Among the better performers were the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which registered a 14.3 percent increase; Stanford University, with a 13.1 percent return, and Princeton, with 12.5 percent growth. Dartmouth, a far smaller school with a $4.96 billion endowment, appeared a strong winner with a 14.6 percent return. Yale’s return did outpace that of Harvard’s, which had a return of 8.1 percent....."
"US employers are advertising near-record levels of job openings, though the total slipped in August from July, the Labor Department said Wednesday. July’s figure was revised slightly lower but still....."
When you see a "but still" that is the signal to stop reading the BS.
"BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, is getting even larger. The company said Wednesday that it had taken in $264 billion in new funds so far this year, bringing its total assets under management to a staggering $5.9 trillion. BlackRock is the beneficiary of a global rush by investors to place their money in so-called passive investments, rather than the traditional actively managed mutual funds. The influx of money — along with soaring financial markets — helped boost Blackrock’s profits for the third quarter, which were up 13 percent."
"Character Group PLC, the British maker of Teletubbies and Peppa Pig toys, fell the most in more than eight years after saying the collapse of retailer Toys “R” Us Inc. is impacting every market in which it operates. Toys “R” Us, operator of around 1,600 stores across 38 countries, filed for bankruptcy protection last month, amid a mounting debt load and relentless competition from e-commerce giants such as Amazon.com....."
Calling it Toys “Not” Us now.
Brings back memories:
"Remember when your parents first let you shop at the mall by yourself? Amazon is trying to replicate that feeling for the digital generation....."
Mommy, why is the toy store empty and vacated?
Because of Amazon, Billy.
Coach Inc., the iconic New York-based leather goods maker, is changing its corporate name to Tapestry Inc. at the end of the month, a bid to broaden its image. The Coach brand isn’t going anywhere, even as the company changes its corporate identity. But executives are striving to show that they aren’t dependent on the Coach business to fuel growth. Still, the name change didn’t go over well with investors....."
Why not?
What's in a name?
Related: JetBlue says hurricanes cost it more than $100 million
They mention Irma and Maria, but not Harvey.
Speaking of name changes:
"After Weinstein, time for some introspection" by Ty Burr Globe staff October 12, 2017
Is this, finally, the moment of reckoning? Will the metastasizing Harvey Weinstein scandal create a wave of soul-searching in Hollywood, corporate America, or men in general? Will anything change?
Oh, please.
Well, all right, not to be wholly cynical: With any luck, more women may feel that society or their human resources departments have their backs when they are physically or verbally subjected to the unwanted sexual behavior of men, powerful or not. The engines of public opinion, including our daily newspapers and weekly magazines, may be inclined to trust the rumors they hear and force themselves to dig a little deeper, work harder to get sources on the record, and resist the temptation to run cheesecake photos of the victims (as the New York Daily News, among others, has a tendency to do). The average guy may look into the darker corners of his heart and ask himself, have I ever crossed the line in any way and, if so, am I prepared to do anything about it?
Don't they mean the engineers of public opinion?
Maybe. But don’t hold your breath. We still live in a patriarchy, and men still set most of the rules. That’s the only reason Harvey Weinstein thought he could get away with it. He was the guy in power at Miramax and The Weinstein Company — and, for a number of years, Hollywood in toto — and he knew that everyone who worked for him, feared him, or wanted something from him would protect his secrets. Because if they didn’t, he would use the force of the system to crush them.
This worked fine for three decades, as it continues to work for men in corridors of power large and small.
Has anything changed? It has changed for Weinstein, certainly — right now, nobody can get away from him fast enough. The Weinstein board has fired him, his wife and legal adviser have left him, the politicians to whom he donated are returning his money, and there’s a possibility his company will shut down entirely, or at least change its name. He has become the toxic spill of popular culture; you need a hazmat suit just to talk about him.
It's what they call cutting someone loose and feeding him to the wolves.
On the heels of the New York Times investigation that was published Oct. 5 came this week’s New Yorker article written by Ronan Farrow of NBC — he took the story to his bosses at the network but they declined to run with it.
I don't mean to wein about it, but..... the NYT and NBC killed the story, huh?
Related: Trump takes to Twitter to blast NBC
Trump on the right side of the issue for a change?
You be the judge.
Suddenly, everyone had a story: Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Rosanna Arquette, actresses Katherine Kendall, Judith Godreche, Dawn Dunning, and more. Others in the entertainment industry claimed not to have known, and maybe they’re telling the truth about themselves, or believe they are. When Meryl Streep issued a forceful statement against Weinstein, she was pilloried on social media — She has 20 Oscar nominations! She must have known! Whereas George Clooney gave an interview to the Daily Beast acknowledging that he had “heard rumors,” which he “took with a grain of salt,” and his comments were met with general applause.
Some of the younger dudes came out swinging as well, including some who maybe shouldn’t have.
Ben Affleck was reminded by former TRL host Hilarie Burton that he groped her breasts on TV in 2004; by Wednesday’s end, the actor had issued a belated apology to Burton.
Related:
“TRL” host Hilarie Burton posted a video clip from the 2003 show in which she talked about the incident. “He comes over and tweaks my left boob,” she says, apparently referring to Affleck. Affleck apologized on Twitter Wednesday afternoon, saying that he “acted inappropriately.”
That's all?
Weak!
And then there is his friend Matt Damon.
Which raises a pretty good question: What’s a man’s proper response to the Weinstein scandal? To performatively mark one’s distance from lewd behavior by issuing public statements, reminding people that you have daughters or, I don’t know, writing a newspaper column? Or to just work harder at shutting up, listening, and thinking about the behavior you may engage in or admire or tolerate or simply never speak up against?
Why do I have to have a response at all?
That’s the sea change, maybe — not that a lot of badly behaved men may think twice now that the conversation is slightly more public and we have a few examples of punishment, but that the majority of good men (I hope I’m not being idealistic here) will think every day about what they excuse in their own attitudes and the attitudes of others, and about whether those attitudes are so baked into the systemic structure of our social and business cultures that they’re impossible to yank out.
And I am responsible for that how?
Also: Maybe we should try believing women more. Like, a lot. Maybe even give them the benefit of the doubt for a change. It’s a radical step, but I think we’re up to it.
The Duke lacrosse case didn't help matters, along with numerous other cases regarding false charges. Nor has feminist distortion helped.
Maybe next time they will believe Valerie Plame.
We’ll always have sexual predators. They cross lines of race, class, industry, creed, political party, and — to a much lesser degree — gender. They hit on men as well as women, sometimes even tough guys like actor Terry Crews, who went public this week with his own story of being groped by a Hollywood executive. At least two of our former presidents, John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton, have almost certainly engaged in behavior that would today at least be called (and was, in Clinton’s case) sexual harassment. Donald Trump bragged on an open mic about grabbing women by their genitalia and still got elected to the White House.
And yet Bill is still given a pass by the party and pre$$.
So what should a man do? Maybe stop assuming that you have to act on every physical attraction. (Because guess what? If you’re not 200 percent sure the feeling’s mutual, it’s not.) Maybe start looking at every woman as if she were Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
Or not look at all? Why do I have to do anything anyway?
Or maybe just start practicing more simple human kindness to everyone you meet, male and female.
That's coming from a lying-at-worst, distorting at best, war-promoting pre$$.
Btw, that is what I try to do every single day in my interactions with fellow human beings, no matter what race, gender, sex preference, etc, that the pre$$ seems intent on harping.
As Vox writer David Roberts essentially said in a long, thoughtful online thread, teach your male children not to be jerks (he used stronger language) and call out your friends or intervene when they’re being same, even if that gets you called a wuss or worse.
Given all that’s stacked against them, the women who have called to account the likes of Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby, Roger Ailes, and others are unimaginably brave. The least a guy can do in response is man up a little.
By the end of this man-hating, front page, collective guilt trip that blames all men because of what Harvey did, my only reaction is wow. This stinks of an agenda.
--more--"
Remember, they all laughed in 2013.
Hope Harvey has a good lawyer:
"National legal network formed to combat sex discrimination" by David Crary Associated Press October 11, 2017
NEW YORK— A prominent women’s rights advocacy group has recruited more than 70 attorneys from 15 states to form a national legal network intended to assist women and girls who are victims of sex discrimination.
Fatima Goss Graves, president of the Washington-based National Women’s Law Center, announced the formation of the Legal Network for Gender Equity on Wednesday, depicting it as the first of its kind. She said the initiative was prompted by growing concerns that protections against sex discrimination were being weakened under the Trump administration.
Then get on top.
Several high-profile gender discrimination lawsuits have been filed in recent months. Targets include Google and the prestigious Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego. Both disputed the allegations.
There have also been numerous high-profile sexual harassment scandals this year, including those that led to the recent firing of movie producer Harvey Weinstein and the ousters of Bill O’Reilly and Roger Ailes at Fox News.
Creation of the new legal network was welcomed by Lenora Lapidus, who heads the American Civil Liberties Union’s Women’s Rights Project.
‘‘Bringing in more attorneys to really focus on these cases is a good idea,’’ she said. ‘‘We become like a tide that can push change more rapidly.’’
--more--"
Yeah, the thing with women is they are less corrupt and likely to loo..... never mind.
Must be an art to delivering propaganda.
Woman says NESN anchor harassed her with text messages
Nooooooooooooo, not at NESN!
Related: Never a Title For Tittle
The operative word is tit.
See: John Farrell fired
On to the next job.
I don't know how much he lost in Vegas, and the collapse of the cover story for that mind-bending psyop means it is a good time to wax nostalgic for us old-timers -- along with the gangs of terror and their Sachs of gold.
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‘He threw a fit’: Trump’s anger over Iran deal forced aides to scramble for compromise
Thought it was a battle already won.
Netanyahu tells Trump what to do, it is pretty obvious by now (as Gaza gets squeezed just a bit more). There will be no impeachment, sorry, and that sukkahs.
Time to lay low again.
