MACHO MAN 

Oscars slap: Will Smith faces backlash online

The Oscar winner's slapping of Chris Rock at the Academy Awards has triggered heated debate on social media. Almost everyone agrees, however, that violence is no answer to a poor joke.

In a shocking turn of events, Will Smith slapped Chris Rock live onstage

Will Smith's win as best actor for his performance in "King Richard" is not what will go down in Oscars history. 

Instead, everyone is talking about how he went onstage to slap presenter Chris Rock in the face after taking offense at a joke made by the latter, which referenced the hairstyle of his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

While presenting the award for best documentary, Rock began by cracking a few jokes about members of the audience, including Pinkett Smith.

Calling her "G.I. Jane" for her buzz cut — in reference to Demi Moore's role and hairdo in the 1997 film of the same name — the camera initially captured Smith laughing uncomfortably while Pinkett Smith reacted with an angry eye roll. She had revealed her battle with alopecia in 2018,  a condition that causes hair loss.

Jada Pinkett Smith publicly opened up about her alopecia-related hair loss in 2018

Despite some disapproving groans from the crowd, Rock then continued, "That was a nice one!", which then prompted Smith to storm onstage and slap him.

Both the live audience and viewers worldwide, including Daily Show host Trevor Noah, were caught unawares, with some initially assuming that it was a planned stunt.

Smith then returned to his seat and shouted, "Keep my wife's name out of your f**ing mouth," which had everyone realize the actor was not joking.

The actor repeated himself from his seat, to which the visibly stunned Rock responded, "Wow, dude. It was a 'G.I. Jane' joke." Pausing briefly to compose himself, Rock then told the audience, "That was the greatest night in the history of television."

First onstage hit at the Oscars

Following Smith's slap, social media has been awash with tweets and memes commenting on the turn of events.

Many expressed empathy with Smith for wanting to protect his wife from a cruel joke, but most have underscored that resorting to violence isn't the way to go about it. 

Without naming Smith, the Academy indirectly reacted to the exchange, saying in a tweet that it "does not condone violence of any form."

Upon confirmation from an Academy librarian, Vanity Fair has reported that this was likely the first occurrence of real violence onstage at an Oscar ceremony

.

Reactions then came hard and fast on this unscripted altercation, with actor Mark Hamill using the hashtag #UgliestOscarMoment_Ever. Smith's son, Jaden Smith, simply tweeted, "And That's How We Do It."

Scott Feinberg of the The Hollywood Reporter reported that a tearful Smith needed to be "pulled aside and comforted" by Denzel Washington and Tyler Perry during a commercial break following the incident.

Smith later picked up his first Oscar for playing the father of tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams in "King Richard." In his tearful award acceptance speech, he revealed Washington's words of advice to him: "At your highest moment, be careful; that's when the devil comes for you." 

Smith referred to the chaotic incident, saying, "I look like the crazy father, just like they said about Richard Williams. But love will make you do crazy things," he added.

He also apologized to the Academy and his fellow nominees, without however apologizing to Rock. "I'm hoping the Academy invites me back," he added.

Smith's Oscar win has been clouded by the infamous slap

'Toxic masculinity'

However, Smith was criticized by many for exhibiting toxic masculinity for the assault.

Janai Nelson, president of the civil and human rights law organization, NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, noted that "the way casual violence was normalized tonight by a collective national audience will have consequences that we can’t even fathom in the moment."

While the Los Angeles Police Department reported that Rock had declined to bring assault charges against Smith, others questioned the actor being able to get away with it — and receiving a standing ovation when he picked up his golden statuette a short time later.

Maria Shriver, ex-wife of actor and former governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger, also condemned Smith's use of the word "love" in his speech.

Others have noted that Rock and Smith have had an ongoing feud for several years, with Rock already joking about the actor's wife at the 2016 Oscars. Actor and activist Sophia Bush also called out Rock's insensitivity in making a joke of Pinkett Smith's autoimmune disease, but nevertheless underscored that violence is still not the answer: 

Some observers have also pointed out that Smith experienced domestic violence as a child.

In "Will," his autobiography published last November, Smith writes about how his father would hit his mother: "When I was nine years old, I watched my father punch my mother in the side of the head so hard that she collapsed," he wrote, adding that he sees himself as "a coward" for having "failed to stand up to my father" as a child, and that his entire career is an attempt to make up for his inaction at the time. 

Opinion: Onstage altercation is a new low

 

for the Oscars

A slap onstage overshadows the 94th Academy Awards. Sunday's gala, which was supposed to be a turning point in the history of the US film awards, has instead brought the Oscars to their nadir, DW's Stefan Dege writes.


Actor Will Smith slapped presenter Chris Rock on Sunday


This year's Oscars could have been so enjoyable. Three awards, including best picture, went to the touching tragicomedy "Coda." Two Germans won Oscars. The presenters' show, ranging from audacious to emotional, along with its musical interludes, gave hope.

Then, along came Will Smith. By slapping the comedian Chris Rock in the face, the actor caused the night's scandal. O, Oscars, to what depths can you sink?

What a low point at the Oscars, says DW's Stefan Dege

Smith was reacting to an offensive joke about his wife's autoimmune disorder. He demystified the glitz and glamour show in one fell swoop, even before he received the Oscar for Best Actor for the biographical film "King Richard." For many, Oscars night was over, and Smith stole the show from of his colleagues.

It remains to be seen whether he will have to return his award or whether the academy will revoke it. Smith's outburst not only harmed himself, but even more so the Oscars. The most American of cinema ceremonies and in existence since 1929, the Academy Awards were just emerging from crisis. Now the 94th award ceremony in 2022 will go down in Hollywood history as the "slap-in-the-face-Oscars." It is not the hoped-for comeback!

In recent years, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has faced the criticism that the Oscars are too white and too male. Too few female directors and screenwriters were nominated or received Oscars, as well as too few filmmakers of color. Facts and figures have shown that diversity was long a foreign concept in Hollywood. Audiences were noticeably turning away. That forced the academy to think things over.

Night of firsts

The results were visible at last night's ceremony: The trio of presenters — comedians Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes — were entertaining. The attention on "Coda," Sian Heder's story about a hearing girl who grows up in a deaf fishing family, generated empathy. Incidentally, it was also a first for a film from a streaming service to win the Oscar for best picture.

For many film fans, an Academy Award is still considered the most important cinema prize in the world. But the Oscars remain focused on the United States. World cinema is quite something else — more diverse, more realistic, more international. The innovative filmmakers on other continents and in other nations are not celebrated with awards at the Oscars, but with the Palme d'Or in Cannes or the Golden Lion in Venice.

Before he died in 2020, DW film editor Jochen Kürten called the Academy Awards "misinterpreted in artistic terms and hopelessly overrated." That may be why many viewers initially believed the slap to have been part of the show by Hollywood's dream factory. Instead, it was a low point in the history of the Oscars. Now, things can only get better.

This article was originally written in German.

Academy Awards producers hoping to make

show more immersive

SO YOU CAN ACTUALLY FEEL THE SLAP

 

Russia Ukraine conflict: Impact of invasion on New York’s Little Odesa

Siobhan KennedyWashington Correspondent 27 Mar 2022

Odesa in Ukraine, has a namesake thousands of miles away – Little Odesa in New York.

The community in Brooklyn is home to America’s highest concentration of both Russian and Ukrainian immigrants, and it’s been profoundly shaken since the Kremlin’s forces marched into Ukraine just over a month ago.

The war has caused many people in this Russian-speaking neighbourhood to reflect on their identities.

Quebec likely heading toward 6th wave, says public health director

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In less than a week, 8,600 health-care workers have been

absent mostly due to COVID

Holly Cabrera · CBC News · Posted: Mar 27, 2022 1:16 PM ET | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

Dr. Luc Boileau, Quebec's public health director , is urging Quebecers to exercise more caution in the face of a potential sixth wave of COVID-19. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press)

Quebec's interim public health director said all signs point to Quebec heading toward a sixth wave of COVID-19.  

At a news conference Sunday, Dr. Luc Boileau came short of confirming another pandemic wave of infections, but said the spike in cases in recent weeks driven by the Omicron variant BA.2 suggests one is imminent.

Boileau said he would wait up to a couple of weeks to hear from Quebec's institute of public health (INSPQ) experts before announcing it. 

"We're not in the same situation as we were in December and January, but public health is following all of this very closely," he said, noting the BA.2 variant is even more contagious than the original Omicron strain.

"The increase of the variant is worrisome."

The health network in particular has taken a hit from its spread, he said.

In less than a week, 8,600 health-care workers have been absent because of illness and mostly due to COVID-19 — representing a 60 per cent rise in absences. 

Regions such as Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Saguenay—Lac-St-Jean, the Côte-Nord, Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Bas Saint-Laurent, and the Capitale-Nationale have all seen a surge in cases. 

Although Montreal has seen a milder increase in hospitalizations than other areas, Boileau said the variant's spread is noticeable across the province. 

He said the BA.2 variant could soon be responsible for at least two thirds of COVID-19 cases in Quebec.

Boileau said that after reviewing the projections from Quebec's public health-care institute (INESSS) the current trend suggests the number of hospitalizations in the province will likely continue to rise.

No new measures

Quebec has no plans to reintroduce public health restrictions from previous waves, he said.

"Every person has to act responsibly, according to their situation for themselves and for others."

Despite the variant's spread, Boileau confirmed the province expects to lift public masking requirements April 15, as planned. 

"It's normal to have waves for this kind of infection," he said. "Let's try to live with it right now." 

He said most of the current outbreaks in the province stem from public and private gatherings and reminded Quebecers to be cautious about about the risks they take. 

"The time of going to work, even though you might have cold symptoms — that's over now," he said. "We have to stay at home. It's a question of respect." 

• If you live with someone who has COVID-19, Quebec will no longer ask you to stay home

People who are adequately vaccinated and who have symptoms of COVID-19 are asked to isolate themselves at home for a minimum of five days. Those who are not fully vaccinated are asked to isolate for 10 days. 

Although a fourth dose is being offered to residents of long-term care homes and seniors' residences and to people 80 years old and older, Quebec is not recommending one to the wider population. 

"We're not expecting to enlarge the population other than those [mentioned] for the benefit of the fourth dose right now," he said. "But in the future, in a few weeks to a few months from now, this might change." 

FAILURE OF CELIBACY COVER UP
Former Catholic bishop admits covering up sexual abuse allegations
IT WAS ABOUT SEX TO THEM
Howard Hubbard made admission during a deposition last year as part of a response to dozens of claims filed in New York

Bishop Howard Hubbard during an Ash Wednesday communion service at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany, New York, in 2004. Photograph: Jim Mcknight/AP

Associated Press

Sun 27 Mar 2022 

The former bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Albany, New York, has acknowledged covering up allegations of sexual abuse against children by priests in part to avoid scandal and protect the reputation of the diocese.

Howard Hubbard made the admission during a deposition taken last year as part of a response to dozens of claims filed under New York state’s Child Victims Act. A judge ordered the deposition released on Friday.

Hundreds of people have sued the Albany diocese over sexual abuse they say they endured as children, sometimes decades ago.

During the four-day deposition, Hubbard named several priests who had been accused of sexual abuse who were referred to treatment and later returned to ministry, without notification to the public. One, David Bentley, admitted to Hubbard that he had engaged in the behavior alleged.

Hubbard testified he didn’t report the allegations to law enforcement because he didn’t feel he was required by law to do so, and instead kept the allegations against Bentley, and others, secret out of concern for “scandal and the respect of the priesthood”. The diocese eventually removed Bentley from ministry.

The transcript “will be read with horror by the public”, Cynthia LaFave, an attorney representing some of the plaintiffs, said in an emailed statement. “The public will see the culpability of the Diocese in perpetuating a culture of sex abuse by priests that was allowed to continue for decades.”

Hubbard ran the diocese in New York’s state capital district from 1977 to 2014 and has himself been accused of sexual abuse, which he has denied.

He also testified that the diocese kept records documenting sexual abuse allegations in secret files in a locked room that only he and other top church officials could access.

In an emailed statement, a diocese spokesperson didn’t address Hubbard’s testimony directly but said the diocese’s priority is “the protection and assistance of victim/survivors and the discovery of the truth”, and that it “has and continues to resolve pending claims of victims/survivors in mediations with the assistance of the court”.

The liberal, theatrical family of John Wilkes Booth were 'every bit as interesting' as the presidential assassin himself

ABC Radio National /

AUSTRALIA  
By Claire Nichols for The Book Show

Lincoln's assassination marked the first time an American president's life had been so curtailed.

(Getty Images)

You might know the basics when it comes to John Wilkes Booth, America's original three-named assassin.

His acting career. His pro-slavery stance. The gun at the theatre. "Sic semper tyrannis." The outpouring of grief for Abraham Lincoln.

But did you know that John Wilkes Booth came from one of the most prominent acting families in America?

That his dad's acting fame was only rivalled by his bigamy charges?

Or that Booth, one of history's most famous white supremacists, was raised in a home that was anti-slavery, atheist, and vegetarian?

The fascinating story of the Booth family, a wild bunch of actors, charmers, and drunks, is the focus of Booth, a novel by the American author Karen Joy Fowler.

Karen Joy Fowler didn't think John Wilkes Booth deserved her attention, but his family was a different story. (ABC News: Giulio Saggin)

But rather than shine a spotlight on John Wilkes Booth, Fowler focuses her attention on the people that surrounded him – his famous dad, brother Edwin and sisters Rosalie and Asia – all fascinating historical characters in their own right.

"I feel offended at the idea that a person who kills someone else is instantly an interesting person and more interesting than his brothers and sisters who didn't kill anybody," Fowler tells The Book Show on ABC RN.

"I think I wanted to make the argument that they were every bit as interesting as their notorious brother."

And interesting they were.

Junius Booth, the scandalous celebrity

The children's father was Junius Brutus Booth, an English-born Shakespearean actor, who was a huge celebrity in 1820s and 1830s America.

The poet Walt Whitman was a fan, describing one of Junius's performances as "one of the grandest revelations of my life, a lesson of artistic expression".

Junius moved in exalted circles. He was friends with Edgar Allen Poe and the American general Sam Houston. He even had a brief friendship with the US president Andrew Jackson until — in a twist that seems too strange to be true — he sent the president a death threat.

In 1835, Junius wrote a letter to Jackson, demanding that the president pardon two pirates who had been sentenced to death. He wrote: "You damn'd old scoundrel … I will cut your throat whilst you are sleeping."

Junius Brutus Booth was among the foremost tragic performers of his day.(Getty Images)

Fowler says it's a strange coincidence, knowing that Junius's son John would go on to kill a president. But the letter wasn't given much attention at the time.

"[Junius] was not only famous as for his acting but also famous for his bouts of insanity, so I don't think anybody took his threats seriously and I'm not sure he intended them seriously," Fowler says.

Indeed, the legends about Junius Booth, and his strange behaviour, are numerous. He drank heavily, and his performances – when he turned up – could be wild and unpredictable.

There's a surprising story about a pigeon funeral he conducted near his home in Maryland. But the most shocking headline, with implications for his children in America, was his bigamy.

A scandal that threatened the family name

Junius Booth already had another wife and son back in England, Fowler explains.

"And then he fell in love with a pretty young woman named Mary Ann Holmes (John Wilkes Booth's mother) and he persuaded her to run away with him and ran all the way to America," she says.

"And whether Mary Ann knew there was (another) wife or not, is not at all clear."

Karen Joy Fowler speaks to Claire Nichols Download 49.5 MB

Twenty-five years after her husband left England, Junius Booth's first wife, a woman called Adelaide, came looking for him. She stayed in Maryland for three years until she could be granted a divorce. Fowler says the scandal caused huge embarrassment for Booth's American children, including John.

"They were all strangely protective of the family name," Fowler says.

"They really wished to bring honour to it in some way, to do something that would make the family name an important one.

"They believed in their father's importance, and they tried their best to curate the stories about him so that his genius was the topic and not his strangeness.

"But I think whatever impulse they had towards trying to protect a family name was enormously heightened by learning that they were not actually his lawful children."
The progressive vegetarians

Junius Booth's politics were progressive for the time. He was opposed to slavery – though he did hire slaves to work on the family farm. He also raised his children to be atheists, and vegetarians.

"I was surprised that anybody was a vegetarian during that period, and such a committed one as Julius Booth was," Fowler says, although she suspects the family didn't always stick to the diet while their father was travelling away from home.

So how did Junius's son, John Wilkes Booth, who was raised in such a progressive household, become the pro-slavery, confederate sympathiser who killed Abraham Lincoln?

Booth is a novel — but Karen Joy Fowler says she tried to stick to proven facts.

(Supplied: Allen & Unwin)

"I think that [John's] politics came out of a period when he was at a boarding school," Fowler says.

"He was there with a lot of wealthy planters' sons, and I think that he wanted to be a part of that cohort.

"These people were wealthier than he was and higher placed than he was … I think the family were all very hyper-sensitive on the issue of what it meant to be a Booth and whether they were respected."

Fowler says John was treated better than Edwin, his older brother, who often travelled with his father trying to keep him out of bars.

"His father was often very unkind," she says.

"And yet [Edwin] grew up much better adjusted – a more careful, more charitable person then John, who was indulged at every moment."
The actor, the writer and the recluse

Karen Joy Fowler's book is told from the perspective of three of John Wilkes Booth's five surviving siblings. (Four other Booth children didn't survive to adulthood.)

Before the assassination, Edwin Booth was by far the most famous.

After his difficult childhood, he went on to become an acclaimed actor in his own right, with some theatrical historians calling him the greatest actor of the 19th century.

He was most acclaimed for his portrayal of Hamlet – with his quiet, naturalistic style standing in stark contrast to grand, bombastic performances that made his father a star

.

Edwin Booth was a famous actor in his own right. (Getty Images)

Edwin's politics were vastly different to those of his brother. However, his association with John Wilkes Booth saw his career take a hit in the months after Abraham Lincoln was killed.

He is said to have disowned his brother after the assassination, forbidding the name John Wilkes Booth to be spoken in his house.

Far more forgiving was his sister, Asia Booth, who eventually became a writer of books and poetry. Amongst her works was a book called John Wilkes Booth: A Sister's Memoir.

Fowler says the book reveals Asia's unwavering love for her brother, even after his terrible crime.

"Even as she tries, at the end, to agree that what he did was terrible … she can't help but defend him," Fowler says. "You can see her forgiving him."
Sifting truth from myth in historical fiction

The third sibling featured in Fowler's book is the eldest Booth daughter, Rosalie. Unlike her famous siblings, Rosalie was a mystery to Fowler.

"Very little about her remains," Fowler says.

"Her brothers and sisters always refer to her as an invalid and as 'Poor Rose'. I can't even find what was actually wrong with her — if anything was actually wrong with her."

In Fowler's retelling, Rosalie is a gentle woman who gradually descends into a quiet alcoholism.

"There was just this sort of hushed polite discussion of Rosalie's infirmities, and one source that I read … suggested that that that she drank quite a bit.

"Their grandfather was a terrible drunk, their father was a terrible drunk, the brothers were terrible drunks, so it would not surprise me if she had a tipple now and then."

The Tudor Hall museum in Bel Air, Maryland is devoted to Junius Brutus Booth.

(Getty Images: Andrew Mangum)

While Booth is a novel, Karen Joy Fowler says she tried at every moment to stick to proven facts. In parts, though, the truth is still hard to pin down.

"The problem is that there is a lot of mythology around the family as well," she says.

"So if you're trying to write a book, and you are trying, as I was trying, not to be inaccurate, it's a struggle to sift what appears to have been truth from stories that people told about them later."

Many Minneapolis Teachers and Educational Support Are Dissatisfied with Tentative Agreement

The Minneapolis Federation of Teachers (MFT) and the Educational Support Professional (ESP) chapter reached a tentative agreement that the rank and file has to frantically vote over this weekend.

Luigi Morris 

March 27, 2022

LEFTVOICE.ORG


The strike that began on March 8 has been a strong indictment of the defunding of public education. Building upon the 2018 and 2019 teacher strikes, while the Minneapolis strike is in a state of flux, Sacramento teachers have begun their strike in California. The struggle in Minneapolis is part of a larger process across the United States. The spirit for revolution is particularly high in Minneapolis, as residents still feel the effects of the uprising in the wake of the murder of George Floyd.

On Friday, both the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers (MFT) and the chapter representing Educational Support Professionals (ESP) reached a tentative agreement (TA) that, despite its presentation as a “historic” achievement, broad sectors of teachers and educational support staff are dissatisfied with. Frustration is not only limited to the result of the negotiations, but also comprises how the tentative agreement was presented. One of the main questions going around if there is forces to fight for more or not.

Some of the main shortcomings of the TA include:

Teachers getting 2 percent raises in the first year and 3 percent raises in the second year of the two-year contract. According to the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, in February, inflation rose 0.8 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 7.9 percent over the last 12 months. These raises simply cannot keep pace with inflation.

The baseline of $35,000 salary for all ESPs has not been reached. Instead, according to the ESP’s TA summary, only “a significant number of ESP will have an opportunity to make 35k at 40 hrs per week.”

Co-teaching models are being proposed as an alternative to lower class sizes
The extension of the school year

Accepting layoffs as a given, instead of fighting back against them

The agreement became available last night, the vote began this morning, and they are calling teachers and staff back to school this Monday to be ready to start classes on Tuesday. This puts more than 4000 education workers up against the wall to make an important decision that will affect the entire Minneapolis community.

This pressure goes against the democratic right to have a sufficient amount of time to discuss the pros and cons of the agreement, assess how the frontliners would handle a continued strike, and discuss a plan to continue the fight in each school.

The negotiations took place behind closed doors, and there was no structure in place for teachers and educational support staff to get involved in the process. It was not until the last days that membership could get a better sense of the status of negotiation. And now, the vote is being hurried without time for due consideration, further complicating the process and making it more of a rush job.

Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS), with superintendent Ed Graff who makes $225,000 a year and Eric Moore at the helm, want to rush the workers’ decision. They have done everything possible to delay bargaining, including not showing up in person for several meetings. The conscious decision to drag out bargaining is intended to kill time until the workers are forced to vote on a deal feeling pressured and strangled by their economic situation, with the particularly cruel threat of getting rid of workers’ health insurance hanging over their heads.

This goes beyond MPS. Mayor Jacob Frey and Governor Tim Walz (both Democrats) have turned their backs on the thousands of teachers who have mobilized day after day in the schools and around Minneapolis in freezing temperatures. The union has consistently pointed out the budget surplus in Minnesota, and the state didn’t hesitate to make big concessions to the Minneapolis Police Department, including a starting salary of $74,000/yr with a $7,000 signing bonus. In contrast, ESPs under this tentative agreement still would not achieve a meager $35K per year.

One of the main concerns is the actual economic situation of the many workers who live paycheck to paycheck. No strike should be defeated for lack of money. On the one hand, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) should donate much more money to this strike, as the AFT is worth over 500 million dollars, and has millions already set aside for strike funds. Beyond funding the strike, the AFT must call upon its 1.7 million members to participate in solidarity actions nationwide. There should be solidarity actions all over the country— from wearing blue to show solidarity with Minneapolis teachers to street mobilizations. The same goes for other unions representing millions of workers. On the other hand, union rank and file members, community organizations, and socialist organizations need to multiply our efforts to contribute to their strike fund and nationalize their struggle if this continues. The outcome of this strike could be a source of inspiration for teachers across the country.

These almost three weeks of daily experience on the picket lines in front of the schools must inform the leadership of the struggle. The structures put in place by each school, such as electing their own strike captains, provide an already functioning network that should be having daily meetings to discuss the problems and make decisions as a group. Right now, multiple meetings via Zoom and chat rooms are happening to discuss the TA. These channels could also serve as a base to build links and relationships to continue the struggle.

If the contract is voted down, the strike has potential to become a larger phenomenon. For that, it needs to be organized in community with other unions demanding the AFT to push for a national campaign. The rank and file should discuss a plan to continue the struggle. Making the strike fund a top priority, coordinating with other unions and workers to organize strikes and solidarity actions, democratizing the bargaining process, building community networks, and continuing to target the political machine responsible for the defunding of public education are all key to continuing the fight that has started in Minneapolis.

Luigi Morris is a freelance photographer, socialist journalist and videographer. He is an activist for immigrants' rights.

Op/Ed: Putin’s puppet attempts to reshape Republican party, starting with Georgia


By Karen Graham
Published March 27, 2022
DIGITAL JOURNAL

Former US president Donald Trump continues to spread disinformation about the 2020 election - Copyright AFP/File STR

In Donald Trump’s push to fundamentally reshape the Republican Party, few places are a higher priority than Georgia, as primary races heat up before the midterm elections in November.

Saturday’s rally at a former drag strip in Commerce, 70 miles north-east of Atlanta headlined a slate of Republican candidates, all of whom Trump endorsed and, not coincidentally, all of whom have backed his false assertion that the 2020 election was stolen.

The rally featured Herschel Walker, a former football player running for the U.S. Senate; David Perdue, who is challenging Governor Brian Kemp; and congressional candidate Vernon Jones, a former Democratic state representative who began calling himself the “Black Donald Trump” after switching parties.

Trump is still furious at Governoor Kemp because the governor refused to go along with Trump’s lies about the election in 2020 being stolen.

The rally, ahead of the state’s May 24 primary was an attempt to boost Perdue in a campaign that is emerging as an early, critical test of whether the former president can live up to his professed role as a kingmaker in the GOP.

“Before we can defeat the Democrat socialists and communists … we first have to defeat the RINO sellouts and the losers in the primaries this spring,” Trump told the crowd, lacing into Kemp again and again as he accused him of betraying Republican voters with the derisive acronym, “Republican in name only.”

“Brian Kemp is a turncoat. He’s a coward and he’s a complete and total disaster,” Trump went on, calling Perdue the only Republican who can defeat Stacey Abrams, a Democrat who is running for governor a second time.

And it looks like the race for governor is going to be a lot harder than Trump has figured because Kemp may be the favorite in the race. Kemp has a 10-point lead in most of the polls and has opened up a significant fundraising advantage as well.

Actually, Perdue, being Trump’s mouthpiece, has not had any original ideas on how he proposes to lead Georgia, other than to say he has Trump’s endorsement and to reiterate the former presidnt’s claims that the election was stolen from him.

“This race is the ultimate test of the enduring strength of a Trump endorsement,” said Brian Robinson, a prominent GOP political consultant in Georgia. “If Perdue wins, we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that a Trump endorsement has messianic influence,” he added.

America really should be wary of Trump

Although it is not mentioned in many news stories, Trump choose his rally on Saturday night to again praise Vladimir Putin, calling the Russian president “smart” even as he said the invasion of Ukraine amounted to a “big mistake.”

Trump also had warm words for China’s president Xi Jinping and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and referred to such leaders collectively by saying: “The smartest one gets to the top.”

He spoke admiringly of Xi in terms of the fact that he “runs 1.5 billion people with an iron fist” and referred to Kim as “tough.”

Trump also praised Putin’s strategy of putting his military forces on Ukraine’s border before the invasion, saying, “That’s a hell of a way to negotiate, put 200,000 troops on the border…That was a big mistake, but it looked like a great negotiation. That didn’t work out too well for him.”

This kind of talk, from a “Putin-wanna-be” is disturbing to me. It leads me to think that if Trump were to get back in power, he would quickly hand over the United States to the first regime that approached him, and that is scary.

And secondly, if Trump is trying to remake the Republican party into his own image of what it should be, then it is about time that sane minds speak out and stop the devisive and hate-filled ramblings of Putin’s puppet.

#FALC

 

Humanitarian aid for Ukraine starting to wane: health official
By Staff Reuters
Posted March 27, 2022


WATCH ABOVE: Canada provides humanitarian support to Ukraine as it looks to join EU – Mar 1, 2022

The amount of humanitarian aid arriving in Ukraine is beginning to wane even as the Russian bombardment persists, Ukrainian Deputy Health Minister Oleksii Iaremenko said on Sunday.

Speaking in a cargo warehouse near Warsaw’s Chopin airport during a delivery of medical equipment facilitated by charity Direct Relief, Iaremenko said he was grateful to the international community for the relief provided so far.

The shipment bound for Ukraine included everything from metal beds to gauze to asthma inhalers and oxygen concentrators. But more support was desperately needed, Iaremenko added, calling on other organizations to send aid.

READ MORE: Sick babies and bomb shelters: How a children’s hospital in Ukraine is protecting its most vulnerable patients

“For the last week what we see that the level of humanitarian support is a little bit down. We hope that it will be some pause to find new resources and because Russian aggression are increasing and they are bombing civilians,” he told Reuters.

“What we are asking, if you can support, please support right now,” he said. “Don’t wait for weeks and months, because we need the support right now.”

2:15European nations add services as Ukraine’s refugee crisis grows

The conflict in Ukraine has caused a humanitarian crisis and displaced an estimated 10 million people, nearly a quarter of the country’s population, according to the United Nations.

Moscow says it is conducting what it calls a “special military operation” with the aim of demilitarizing and “denazifying” its neighbor, and denies targeting civilians.

Ukraine and its Western allies characterize Russia’s actions as an unprovoked invasion.

—Reporting by Joanna Plucinska

Some evangelicals claim Ukraine war means the end times — as usual, they're wrong
Nathaniel Manderson,

 Salon
March 27, 2022

Photo via Franklin Graham's Twitter fee, 4/4/2017
I remember a time when Barack Obama was seen as a possible Antichrist. Before that, it was Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in the '80s. For those just catching up, the Antichrist is a diabolical figure who will unite the world against Christians and rule for a time. Don't worry, the story has a happy ending: Christ eventually returns and kicks the Antichrist's ass, like in a theological action movie. Either way, many Christians long for the return of Christ, along with the Rapture of the faithful and — perhaps most important — the suffering of those who have rejected Christ.

Right now, many evangelicals are ramping up their teachings about the end of the world. They can barely contain their excitement: Soon the people who have mocked their faith, changed the definition of marriage, given women the right to choose and supported feminism will finally be punished by God. The current war in Ukraine, for some of these supposedly devout Christians, yet another Biblical prophecy realized.

I have a family member who is part of an end-of-the-world Christian cult. They have lots of guns and own a lot of land, and they believe they can survive there for as long as the apocalypse lasts. I am pretty sure some of the older leaders in that group have even taken on a few concubines to "preserve the church."

RELATED: Evangelicals are teaching false doctrine. Who says so? Jesus Christ

For every fringe group like the one found in my family, there are the evangelical ministers who have broader appeal that have inspired the lunatics. Recently I communicated with historian and author Martyn Whittock about his latest book, "The End Times, Again? 2000 Years of Use & Misuse of Biblical Prophecy." Throughout his book, he argues with great clarity that these misguided discussions around Biblical prophecy are nothing new, but remain deeply dangerous, especially when mixed with the current political discourse. He makes the fascinating point that end-times beliefs used to be associated with radical politics, but more recently have become a tool of the far right:
End-times reflections have increasingly become associated with the outlook of the evangelical right in the USA; and this has influenced the political flavor of such views when adopted by those globally, who are influenced by US evangelical culture. This rightward political shift is highly significant and in direct contrast with the way that eschatological beliefs in periods of the past have been associated with political radicalism.

This apocalyptic pull has allowed the evangelical leadership to dominate the religious political landscape, far out of proportion to the actual number of evangelical believers. This has driven too many of their followers down a path that relinquishes any sense of responsibility to the current generation. Healing the sick, welcoming the foreigner and serving the poor are set aside, in favor of a so-called religious war for the soul of God's creation.

This movement toward the end of days isn't limited to American culture and politics. As Whittock suggests, it is prominent in the U.K. as well:

From the US nationalism that has characterized the evangelical right in alliance with Donald Trump, to the UK Christian Brexit-nationalists denouncing the EU, eschatology has become the preserve of many who wish to promote nationalism and conservatism, oppose international commitments and supranational organizations, and resist aspects of modernity as varied as credit cards, vaccination, gun control legislation, and action on climate change. It has become, for many, a component part of a besieged outlook that pits them against disconcerting aspects of the modern world and expects justification in the form of future catastrophe — from which they will be rescued, while those left behind will suffer tribulation.

The Biblical perspective on all this has also been misunderstood. The people who followed Jesus Christ in his own time believed he would destroy the temple, become some kind of political leader and start a revolution against Roman rule. That was why he was charged with sedition and crucified. Jesus was none of those things, however, as his teachings clearly reflect.

The faithful misunderstood Jesus during his lifetime; they misunderstand him now. Some theologians believe that the Book of Revelation — from which most doctrines about the Antichrist are drawn — was actually written in code as a set of warnings to Christians about the Roman Emperor Nero. He was hunting Christians down at the time the letter was written, and John's imagery was attempting a form of clandestine communication. Discussions about the Antichrist have also been interpreted as words of caution about a certain dangerous type of all-too-human leader, not about some mythological figure with supernatural powers taking over the world. After all, human history has seen many such leaders who come into power and then use that power to kill and destroy, and even more specifically to wage some form of genocidal murder.

A few years ago, the leading evangelical pastor Robert Jeffress made this comment about then-President Obama while promoting another one of his highly profitable books: "What I am saying is this: the course [Obama] is choosing to lead our nation is paving the way for the future reign of the Antichrist." You must understand that Obama, for many evangelicals, was an ideal fit for the role of Antichrist. In their minds, he was not a real Christian, he endorsed gay marriage, he pushed forward government health insurance — which for some reason is evil — he defended Islam (even setting aside those Christians who believed Obama actually was a Muslim) and he was a leader who inspired great unity. It is of course pure lunacy to see those things as profoundly evil, but there we are.

My bold prediction is that this moment, although certainly a dangerous time in human history, is not the end of the world either. Every single minister who has predicted the return of Jesus has been wrong for 2,000 years, and this generation is no different. I believe we should all stop looking to supernatural forces for answers and start looking within. If I had any significant influence among Christians, I would argue that this a time to put aside concerns about the end of the world and visions of the hereafter, and get back to loving your neighbor.