FanFare

This week (11/7):

• The final pre-Election 2016 segment! Contains a couple of old Daily Show clips, of John Oliver 1. begging Donald Trump to run for the comedy potential, and 2. claiming the Cubs will never win.
• And Now: The Inevitable, Sad Consequences of Morning Shows Celebrating Halloween
• Main story: Multilevel marketing companies like Herbalife, Kyäni and "Nu Skin," and their suspecious similarity to pyramid schemes. With LWT's own pyramid scheme at the end -- money isn't involved, but passing a video around to five of your friends is. Because MLM companies are now targeting the Latino community, the segment is offered on YouTube with Spanish subtitles. English - Spanish subs (both about 32m))

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posted by JHarris on Nov 7, 2016 - 3 comments

Week of 10/30:

• Regrettably, more on the 2016 Election, putting aside a story on Pirate Party making progress in Iceland, among others, to make room for it. OH WELL:
• The FBI finds a few Clinton emails in an investigation into oh god I can't believe I'm typing this Anthony Weiner, yes HIM again, Carlos Danger himself. Worth watching just for the footage of Biden reacting to the words "Anthony Weiner."
• And Now: The Stream-Of-Consciousness Musings of WCBS-2 Meteorologist John Elliott
• Main story: School segregation, and its surprising continued prevalence, not in the South, but in New York state. YouTube (18m)
• How Is This Still A Thing: Voting On Tuesday (It turns out to have started because, in the 1800s, people were expected to be spending Monday travelling to the polling place to vote.) YouTube (4m)

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posted by JHarris on Nov 6, 2016 - 2 comments

This (last) week:

• The protests in Charlotte over yet another police shooting, and the release of video from the incident.
• Employees for Wells Fargo created a huge number of accounts for people without their knowing, in order to extract fees for those accounts, due to an "aggressive" sales campaign.
• And Now: Wait, Is WCBS2 News at 11 Just Fucking With Us At This Point?
• Main story: The scandals plaguing the Clinton and Trump campaigns, how the Clinton ones tend to be more annoying than truly serious, while the Trump ones tend to all be blockbusters that would doom any other candidate, resulting in scandal fatigue. YouTube (21m)

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posted by JHarris on Oct 4, 2016 - 2 comments

This week...

• Hillary Clinton releases her tax returns. Donald Trump claims Obama founded ISIS. He also claims that, if Hillary beats him, it must have been because of vote cheating. He also loves charts. Part 1 (4m) - Part 2 (4m)
• The American Petroleum institute airs a new commercial, and totally rips off the style of Last Week Tonight's intro! Of course you know, this means war. (4m)
• Main story: Predatory auto lending (18m) and its effects on the disadvantaged.

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posted by JHarris on Aug 17, 2016 - 3 comments

This week:

• Restrictive voting laws struck down in Wisconsin, Texas and North Carolina. (4m)
• A military coup fails in Turkey, and the Turkish President Erdogan seeks revenge. (4m)
• How Is This Still A Thing: Tanning Beds
• The 2016 Democratic National Convention (18m)
• And Now: Some More Highlights from the Democratic National Convention

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posted by JHarris on Aug 3, 2016 - 3 comments

This week....Hillary Clinton apologizes for remarks made about Nancy Reagan on the occaision of her death. Trump rallies erupt in violence, but he claims (despite multiple recorded examples) not to have encouraged it. International Women's Day is observed, sometimes oddly, throughout the world. Swiss president Johann Schneider-Ammann commemorates the Day of the Sick with a weird speech. And Now: Everybody Listen, Bernie Sanders Has Something to Say. Main story: Software encryption (18m), especially relevant concerning Apple's current court case. LWT made a commercial on behalf of Apple about the nature of software security. [more inside]
posted by JHarris on Mar 14, 2016 - 10 comments

This week: Hillary Clinton announces her candidacy for President of the United States. Brits prepare for upcoming electoral fights, including a heated race for Prime Minister between current PM David Cameron and Labour leader Ed Milliband. Obama meets Raúl Castro to work towards normalizing relations with Cuba. And Now: Excruciatingly Awkward Silences Caused By Technical Difficulties. Main story: The loathed IRS (YouTube 18m), the difficulty of their thankless job, and the issues an unpopular but essential agency faces when their budged gets slashed year after year. Michael Bolton sings a song in support; the word anus is used more than once.
posted by JHarris on Apr 13, 2015 - 12 comments