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Welcome back! This week (and the past two months).... The Chicago Rat Hole. (wait, what?) Tucker Carlson had a fawning interview with Vladimir Putin. Israel continued its horrific assault on Gaza. Courts have hit Trump with gigantic fines, but he keeps on Trumping, saying (amidst the word salad) all the horrifying things he's now been saying for over eight years, including telling Russia to "do whatever the hell they want." And Now: Chuck Grassley Celebrates His Favorite Holiday (Groundhog Day). Main Story: The Supreme Court, which has been losing respect among many, has been rocked by news of gross financial impropriety by Justices, which is dangerous for an institution with no enforcement power. Thomas, in particular, has accepted millions of dollars of trips and other gifts from conservative billionaires, including some who frequently are involved in matters before the court, and almost never recuses himself from their cases, and in recognition of its status as the highest court, the law explicitly carves out exceptions for Supreme Court justices. Last Week Tonight offers to resolve the appearance of impropriety with its characteristic bluntness: if seats on the highest court of the land are so invulnerable to appearances of influence without consequence, then John Oliver himself will offer Justice Clarence Thomas a $2.4 million-dollar motor coach and a million dollars a year for the rest of his life, if he will just step down from his office. In Oliver's words: "How is this legal?" [more inside]
posted by JHarris on Feb 19, 2024 - 7 comments

This week... the main story is about the Israel-Hamas war, specifically about their leaders, "how they came to power, whose interests they do and don't represent, and what role they played in bringing us to this current conflict." Hamas undermined the efforts of the previous poltical party Fatah, which had been pursuing peace; and Netanhayu is currently widely reviled within Israel by those who blame him for the security lapses that allowed Hamas to attack, but has long had other very troubling issues, and currently presides over the most right-wing government in Israel's history. (On Youtube, 32 minutes) And Now: Rachel Campos-Duffy Really, Really Needs You To Know That Her Husband Was Once In Congress. Concluding the episode is an update over the New Zealand Bird of the Century election. [more inside]
posted by JHarris on Nov 14, 2023 - 3 comments

This week... a cold open about the situation in Gaza. The US House voted out Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and replacing him won't be easy. And Now: Jim Cramer Is Totally Untroubled By His Haters. The main story (Youtube, 20 minutes) involves food safety and the failings of the Food & Drug Administration in ensuring it. And Now: Check Out The Sexual Tension Between Fox Business' Liz Claman And Charlie Gasparino. [more inside]
posted by JHarris on Oct 16, 2023 - 2 comments

After the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre, the Israeli government secretly assigns Avner Kaufman (Eric Bana) to carry out a series of strategic retaliations. With the help of a driver (Daniel Craig), a forger (Hanns Zischler), a bomb-maker (Mathieu Kassovitz) and a former soldier (Ciarán Hinds), Avner conducts a worldwide operation, targeting 11 individuals. As the assassinations pile up, Avner begins to doubt the morality of his actions. [more inside]
posted by DirtyOldTown on Feb 6, 2023 - 5 comments

This week, once again from the void... . Local governments try different ways to incentivize getting vaccinated against COVID, from lottery money to free fast food. And Now: Ari Melber, Rap Genius, Will Just Not Fucking Stop. The conflict between Israel and Hamas terrorists escalates, a conflict that, despite the both-sides, tit-for-tat framing the news media uses for it, greatly harms innocent Palestinians more than Israelis. The main story concerns Stand Your Ground laws (19m), an unnecessary set of laws passed in 22 states that removes the "duty to retreat" from armed confrontations, sometimes with disastrous consequences. [more inside]
posted by JHarris on May 17, 2021 - 6 comments

"More than 65 million people around the world have been forced from their homes to escape famine, climate change and war, the greatest displacement since World War II. Filmmaker Ai Weiwei examines the staggering scale of the refugee crisis and its profoundly personal human impact. Over the course of one year in 23 countries, Weiwei follows a chain of urgent human stories that stretch across the globe, including Afghanistan, France, Greece, Germany and Iraq." [more inside]
posted by kokaku on Jul 20, 2019 - 3 comments

An Israeli film director interviews fellow veterans of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon to reconstruct his own memories of his term of service in that conflict. [more inside]
posted by MoonOrb on Mar 20, 2018 - 1 comment

The 2017 Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final begins Saturday! May 13th! at 2100 CEST / 3:00pm Eastern! with results announced usually between 6-630pm Eastern! Can you tell I am excite! Most of the world can watch via the main Eurovision YouTube channel. Fans located in the US can tune their TVs to LOGO or computing devices to LogoTV.com, where the show will be co-hosted by Ross Mathews and Michelle Visage of "Rupaul's Drag Race" fame. Other options for following the action include accessing the main Eurovision stream on YouTube using a VPN, or using the delightfully Swedish feed from SVT (co-hosted, although probably in Swedish, by 2015 winner Måns Zelmerlöw). [more inside]
posted by zebra on May 12, 2017 - 577 comments

Semifinal 2 of the 2017 contest begins Thursday, May 11th, at 2100 CEST / 3:00pm Eastern, with results announced ~2 hours later. Most of the world can watch via the main Eurovision YouTube channel. Fans located in the US, Canada, and Brazil have to deal with geoblocking. Use a VPN with endpoints outside the US to access the stream on YouTube, or use the delightfully Swedish feed from SVT. [more inside]
posted by zebra on May 10, 2017 - 172 comments

Saul goes to Abu Dhabi. Carrie delivers bad news. Quinn senses something. [more inside]
posted by Nelson on Feb 1, 2017 - 8 comments

EUROVISION DAY IS HERE! The 2016 Grand Final begins at 2100 CET / 3pm Eastern / 12pm Pacific. As before, the live stream will be available via the Eurovision website, the Swedish broadcaster, SVT, and for the first time, through the LOGO TV website. (Note to LOGO viewers: commentary will be provided by Carson Kressley and Michelle Collins.) Viewers located outside the US can also watch via YouTube. [more inside]
posted by zebra on May 14, 2016 - 428 comments

It's time for the next round of the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest! Semifinal 2 begins at 2100 CET / 3pm Eastern / 12pm Pacific. As before, the live stream will be available via the Eurovision website. Viewers located outside the US can also watch via YouTube. Thanks to LOGO TV's contract to broadcast Saturday's Grand Final, the semifinal rounds are not available to viewers in the US via YouTube, and the Eurovision.tv stream is relatively low quality. One freely available (no VPNs necessary!) and high-quality source is the Swedish broadcaster, SVT. This is probably the correct link for today's stream. In case it's not, check the SVT Play home page. [more inside]
posted by zebra on May 12, 2016 - 11 comments

Twenty years ago, the prime minister of Israel was assassinated. The killer was a lone gunman, Israeli and Jewish, just like the prime minister. Lots of witnesses saw it happen; the assassin confessed immediately, that night, and has never recanted. But today, oddly, lots of people don't believe it happened that way. And a question hangs over the country: did this act change the fate of the nation?
posted by ellieBOA on Oct 25, 2015 - 3 comments

Vladimir Putin launches air strikes against ISIS in Syria. Quick takes from the United Nations general debate: Zimbabwe leader Robert Mugabe defends their anti-homosexuality laws; Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declaims the Iran nuclear deal by silently staring them down for 45 seconds; dictator of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko brings his 11-year-old son to sit beside him in the General Assembly. The Secret Service hits scandal yet again by trying to embarass Congressman Jason Chaffetz by leaking his old job application to their agency. And Now: People On Television Talking Shit About Their Producers. Main story: the horrifying plight of the mentally ill in the United States. YouTube (12m) And Now: Newscasters Stretching The Definition Of The Word "Exclusive." And finally, the new "Yelp for people" app, Peeple... wait that sounds a bit familiar. Last Week Tonight launches a website to facilitate people saying awful things on the internet without actually hurting anyone: screamintothevoid.com. Or consider another suggestion by LWT: Peeble, an app which rates people according to the opinion of Mario Van Peebles. [more inside]
posted by JHarris on Oct 5, 2015 - 3 comments

This week: Elections in Israel go again to PM Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party. --- Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz asks employees to discuss race matters with customers. --- 4th Graders in New Hampshire draft a bill to declare the Red-Tailed Hawk the official state raptor and travel to the state capital only to watch it get (metaphorically) shot down in flames. To make it up to the kids, LWT declares it the show's official bird, brings one into the studio, and airs a short promotional video. --- And Now: People On TV Honoring St. Patrick's Day In The Most Offensive Way Possible. --- Main story: Municipal violations in the US and how grievously they punish the poor. (YouTube 18m) LWT produced a short video piece against the practice, using hashtag #shutdownthefuckbarrel.
posted by JHarris on Mar 23, 2015 - 9 comments

This week: Federal civil rights committee finds evidence of systemic racism in Ferguson police department. Upcoming elections in Israel. Fanta ad pulled in Germany for referencing war-related origins. (Last Week Tonight makes a commercial for Fanta.) Main story: the rights of citizens and nationals in US territories. (YT 13m) How Is This Still A Thing: Daylight Savings Time. (YT 3m) And an update on the tobacco industry, and LWT's #jeffwecan tag and meme.
posted by JHarris on Mar 9, 2015 - 6 comments

This BBC/Sundance production by Hugo Blick, starring Maggie Gyllenhaal, Andrew Buchan, Stephen Rea, and Lubna Azabal, is a critically-lauded eight episode series that's certain to appear prominently in next year's Emmy nominations. Reminiscent of le Carré, this is a story of duplicity, of familial and personal tragedy, and is set within the context of the Palestinian occupation and the diplomacy, politics, and espionage of the British, Israelis, and Americans. "It is a wonder we trust anyone at all." [more inside]
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich on Sep 18, 2014 - 14 comments

This week: Americans striking ISIS in Iraq with aerial bombardment. Russian gang steals 1.2 billion internet passwords. A three-day cease-fire in Gaza doesn't quite go the distance. A long piece on the payday loan industry. (16m) Russia bans Western food imports.
posted by JHarris on Aug 11, 2014 - 9 comments

This week: Conflict in Gaza. Ukraine rebels shoot down airliner. The Commonwealth Games. John Oliver says the overall theme of the week was how depressing it was, so let's have a long piece on prisons in America... but with a puppet song at the end! John Oliver suffers so that we might laugh.
posted by JHarris on Jul 21, 2014 - 10 comments