Category: Uncategorized

And the Wall Fell Down

The media’s wall of silence protecting Neil Gaiman has finally collapsed thanks to Amazon and Disney putting their productions on hold in response to the accusations of sexual assault made by seven different women against the erstwhile Scientologist auditor.

Amazon drama Good Omens halted over ‘disturbing’ sexual misconduct allegations into show’s co-creator Neil Gaiman

The production of Amazon drama Good Omens has reportedly been suspended in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations made against the show’s co-creator Neil Gaiman.

The author – who co-wrote the 1990 novel of the same name – has denied the allegations made against him by five women, branding the accusations as ‘disturbing’.

It comes after Disney also hit pause on its feature adaptation of Gaiman’s 2008 ‘The Graveyard Book’ after the allegations surfaced.

According to showbusiness website Deadline, the 63-year-old has since made an offer to Amazon to step back so that pre-production for the third and final season of Good Omens can continue.

The offer is not an admission of wrongdoing by Gaiman.

Although not completely. The Guardian, which produces puff pieces about and even by Neil Gaiman more often than it publishes hit pieces on me, still isn’t saying anything negative about its pet fantasy writer.

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Clown World’s Candidate

I’ve been paying closer attention – well, any attention is closer attention – to the LDP leadership contest this time around because it’s clear that there is a Japanese faction that wants to break from US control and align with the sovereign nations. However, it’s now evident that the leading candidate is not aligned with that faction.

Japan’s former Environment Minister and leading prime ministerial candidate Shinjiro Koizumi said he would respect the central bank’s independence in setting monetary policy if he is chosen to lead the country, according to a television program on Wednesday.

“I will respect the Bank of Japan’s independence,” Koizumi was quoted as saying in the BS 11 program, adding that he would focus on ensuring smooth dialogue and communication between the government and the central bank.

He ranked as the most favored candidate to become the next LDP leader in a poll taken by the Nikkei newspaper on Aug 21-22, followed by former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

If you don’t see the connection, read Richard Werner’s Princes of the Yen. An independent central bank is always reliable evidence of a nation’s submission to Clown World.

Sooner or later, the Japanese will decide the decline of US naval power is sufficient to go their own way, at which time it will be a very, very bad time to be a gaijin in Japan, if the last time the Japanese decided to break with foreign influences is any guide.

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Europe’s Economic Suicide

This is not an accident. It’s not as if everyone with an economics degree didn’t see the economic meltdown coming when the EU decided to prevent its member states from using Russian gas:

The European Union decided to analyze why their economy is collapsing. They commissioned the former head of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, to figure this out.

It is noteworthy that the study was commissioned by the European Commission, but the conclusions were still disappointing. Draghi came to the conclusion that the basis of Europe’s economic problems is the cost of energy for industry – electricity is 158% more expensive than in the US, natural gas – 345%.

Thus, in fact, Ursula von der Leyen’s department confirmed its own professional incompetence with statistics and research, because thanks to anti-Russian sanctions, there was a vast jump in energy prices and, as a result, a decline in the economy.

The wicked and self-destructive nature of the EU can be seen in its embrace of migrants – who are supposed to help the economy, but are massive net economic and social negatives – combined with its rejection of Russian energy – which was always going to destroy the economy. There are only two reasons for member states to continue to stay in the EU: 1) transfer payments to the member state and 2) corrupt politicians working against the interests of the nation.

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Meme Magic Strikes Twice

Meme Review tonight on UATV. You know the drill. MemeWars in the subject. One meme per customer; if you send more, they’re all disqualified. Provide a name for the file too, please. I don’t need six “image01.jpg” files. And don’t send a Trump Cat meme unless it’s an unusually good one, given that is obviously the meme du jour. Neil Gaiman memes are legit, but find one that, unlike this one, isn’t from r/neilgaimanmemes.

You want to talk about meme magic. This one is already legendary in that regard.

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CS Lewis was Right

Actually, Clive Staples Lewis was right about many things. But he was especially right about the quality of his friend JRR Tolkien’s work:

‘When I reviewed the first volume of this work, I hardly dared to hope it would have the success which I was sure it deserved. Happily I am proved wrong. There is, however, one piece of false criticism which had better be answered: the complaint that the characters are all either black or white. Since the climax of Volume I was mainly concerned with the struggle between good and evil in the mind of Boromir, it is not easy to see how anyone could have said this. I will hazard a guess. “How shall a man judge what to do in such times?” asks someone in Volume II. “As he has ever judged,” comes the reply. “Good and ill have not changed…nor are they one thing among Elves and Dwarves and another among Men.” (II, 40-41).

This is the basis of the whole Tolkinian world. I think some readers, seeing (and disliking) this rigid demarcation of black and white, imagine they have seen a rigid demarcation between black and white people. Looking at the squares, they assume (in defiance of the facts) that all the pieces must be making bishops’ moves which confine them to one colour. But even such readers will hardly brazen it out through the last two volumes. Motives, even on the right side, are mixed.

Those who are now traitors usually began with comparatively innocent intentions. Heroic Rohan and imperial Gondor are partly diseased. Even the wretched Smeagol, till quite late in the story, has good impulses; and by a tragic paradox, what finally pushes him over the brink is an unpremeditated speech by the most selfless character of all.

It’s interesting that whereas most people laud Tolkien’s worldbuilding – and rightly so – Lewis recognizes the significance and depth of his friend’s characters. Aragorn and Treebeard and Samwise Gamgee have lasted decades, whereas Harry Potter and Hermione are already being forgotten, because they were magnificently conceived and written.

As for Jon Snow and Tyrion and Arya, they have already been forgotten. About all anyone can remember about Jon Snow is that he knew nothing.

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3 Strikes, He’s Out

In the aftermath of multiple accusations of sexual assault directed at showrunner Neil Gaiman, the Amazon show Good Omens has been effectively cancelled as its Season 3 was “paused”:

Production has been paused on the third and final season of fantasy drama Good Omens, the Neil Gaiman drama for Amazon that’s shooting in Scotland.

Deadline is hearing there are discussions about possible production changes. A spokesperson would not comment.

News about the future of Good Omen comes less than a week after Disney put a planned feature adaptation of Gaiman’s 2008 YA title The Graveyard Book on pause amid a series of sexual assault allegations against the award-winning author.

While the mainstream media’s wall of silence about the accusations is still mostly holding firm – none of the major newspapers that have regularly published puff pieces on Gaiman for years have published an investigative article – the third cancellation in series of a Gaiman-related show isn’t something that can be reasonably ignored.

And yes, in this context, “paused” likely means “cancelled”.

Didn’t want to comment on this before the official drop, but I heard this yesterday from various pals who worked on the previous series. From what those crew are saying, it’s less “paused” and more “cancelled”.

Impressive, very nice. Now do Sandman.

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Not the Worst Idea

Australia contemplates a ban on social media for children under the age of 16:

Australia will ban children from using social media with a minimum age limit as high as 16, the prime minister said Tuesday, vowing to get kids off their devices and ‘onto the footy fields’.

Federal legislation to keep children off social media will be introduced this year, Anthony Albanese said, describing the impact of the sites on young people as a ‘scourge’.

The minimum age for children to log into sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok has not been decided but is expected to be between 14 and 16 years, Albanese said.

The prime minister said his own preference would be a block on users aged below 16.

Social media can literally be as dangerous as driving for children, as they are far too immature to be dealing with some of the personal issues and challenges that social media can create for them. Also, it will be considerably harder for child predators to groom and lure children away from their homes if they have no electronic access to them.

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RIP James Earl Jones

The man truly was a legend. In addition to all of his acting accomplishments, he was a lieutenant in the US Army. 93 is a very respectable run, and it’s not as if they’ll be needing him for Star Wars anymore. To cap it all off, that appearance on The Big Bang Theory was an incredibly funny take on celebrity and fandom. Even if you don’t like the show, you really have to see that episode.

Right across the border from my favorite city on Earth…

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The End of Schengen

Germany has finally bowed to the inevitable and will be bringing the era of free movement across Europe to an end:

Germany will bring in controls on all its land borders to deal with the ‘continuing burden’ of migration and ‘Islamist terrorism’, the country’s interior minister has told the EU.

Nancy Faeser of the struggling Social Democrat party (SPD) has finally accepted that Germany has no choice but to enforce proper border controls if it has any hope of coping with the staggering amount of unauthorised entries.

According to German newspaper Bild, the new rules will see ‘harsh rejections of migrants at the borders’.

Faeser has reportedly already informed the EU Commission of the decision, which is fuelled by deep-rooted panic over Germany’s current migrant situation and internal security threats.

I lived in Europe pre-Schengen, and I won’t lie, it was really nice to be able to blitz right through the borders that used to take up to 45 minutes to get through. But what was convenient for day-trippers and tourists has been an absolute nightmare due to the criminals and migrants who were also provided with easy and invisible movement throughout the European Union states and the non-EU Schengen signees.

This has been coming for two or three years now; we’ve seen some of the big border infrastructure being built at the borders of France and Spain, even though it isn’t being used yet. The police mostly use the toll booths as an ersatz border, but that only works for the highways.

Brexit marked the beginning of the end for the EU, but the effective demise of Schengen marks another important step.

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