Tuesday 28 January 2014

singing the Palestine Blues

UPDATE: Oxfam cans Scarlett who was their ambassador
of good tidings and nice be-hinds (see story at bottom)

This is a story about how a famous woman can get
embroiled in international controversy without
even trying. I would like to think that she is
intelligent since Scarlett Johannson seems to
play suave women in some of her movies, like
the Black Dahlia which is a movie I've yet
to understand, probably because bad noire
movies make me lose my patience.
Now that I've seen the clip below, I guess she
can be suave and not know how to act.
I'm a fan of sorts, I just don't think she pulls
off the acting thing.




"The 29-year-old actress has actually never been recognized for her acting performances at the Academy Awards. She wasn't nominated for transcending our view of sensuality with her tone and inflections in Match Point. Nor was she recognized for her sultry and famous performance opposite of Bill Murray in Lost in Translation. Though she hasn't been officially nominated for either song that's taken her to the Oscars, she's been the chief performer on both. Seeing as her greatest acting achievement to date was as a voice in Her, we might suggest a slight career redirection." [from policymic]
Firstly, she was horrible in Match Point, except the sex scene in the
field. She had one tone, screech. I was glad her character was
killed. And in Lost, she was not sultry in the least. She was
American Bland, but at least she seemed to act well, and
the opening credits were to her credit. Credit that butt.

Anyway, she's been pimping for Soda Stream,
the stream of soda people. If I were 6, the idea of a
soda stream would be fascinating.
Unfortunately, it's an Israeli company that has its
factory in occupied territory. I don't know all the
details but I'm sure Palestinians are not considered
equals there, even if they get a certain amount of
work.
So, I was thinking, that young lady doesn't know
what she's doing, and she's ruining her reputation.

But what if she did this knowingly? What if she
thought she had enough weight to kick this
Occupation thing into the mainstream for good,
helping push for a settlement. Of course, that
settlement is a pipe dream. The other side are
major league arseholes and  have billions
with which to plug their ears.

Anyway, she could have done this as her part in
upping the temperature over there, without it
seeming to be her fault. That would mean she has
taken a big risk when it was not necessary.
Check this quotation:


"Johansson went on to say that:
'Even though it is a side effect of representing SodaStream,
 I am happy that light is being shed on this issue in hopes 
that a greater number of voices will contribute to the 
conversation of a peaceful two-state solution in the near future.'
The ironic part is that the existence of SodaStream's factory
in the Ma'ale Adumim settlement is an enormous barrier to
the realization of that goal." [from policymic]

That's either a cunning response by SJ, or she thinks she can pull
off a stunning reversal in this horrible situation. She thinks
that she's the reason "light is being shed".
Interesting. or a massive ego? she's not Beyonce

So, let's summarise the points so far:
SJ is an average actress, but makes a scene
SJ is a crypto- activist
SJ is a poor judge of political risk
Now, this!

Also, she seems to be a natural at singing. I first noticed
a not bad karaoke singer in Lost in Translation.



However, if this below is her voice, then she's finally
found out how to act, like a singer.


from the movie Her, with Joachin Phoenix, whose voice is way off the Cash.


This is so reminiscent of Nina Simone, it's crazy.
Eat that, Michelle Pfiefer. just joking.

Maybe when she's done with the Soda Rollercoaster,
she'll be singing the Palestine Blues.


sources

Scarlett Johansson Should Win an Oscar, But Not For Acting By Madison Hamilton January 21, 2014
http://www.policymic.com/articles/79527/scarlett-johansson-should-win-an-oscar-but-not-for-acting


Scarlett Johansson's Quotes About Israel-Palestine Went Viral. Here's Why People Are Angry. Joseph Sarkisian's avatar image By Joseph Sarkisian January 26, 2014
http://www.policymic.com/articles/80109/scarlett-johansson-s-quotes-about-israel-palestine-went-viral-here-s-why-people-are-angry

checkit: Guardian
Scarlett Johansson is right – the face of SodaStream doesn't fit with Oxfam
Thanks to the star's involvement with the Israeli company, illegal settlement activity is under increased scrutiny
Vijay Prashad
theguardian.com, Thursday 30 January 2014 17.37 GMT

Global charities seek global ambassadors to help them raise the profile of their work. Simply doing their best to stem the tide of suffering is not enough to gain potential donors' attention. But if a celebrity goes among the poor on behalf of the charity, the media flocks to cover the story – or at least the fact that the celebrity is there. The nuts and bolts of inequality are often overlooked, but the charity gets its name in print or on the television. This is the sorry state our humanism has reached.

It is precisely because of this that Oxfam, founded in Oxford in 1942 as Famine Relief, turned to the actor Scarlett Johansson in 2007 to become its global ambassador. She travelled to Oxfam projects, something that provided photo opportunities for herself (as a caring artist) and for Oxfam (to shine a light on the important work that the charity does).

In January, Johansson was appointed the brand ambassador for SodaStream, an Israeli company that produces machines to carbonate beverages. SodaStream's factory is located in the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, near Jerusalem.

Israeli settlements (including Maale Adumim) are built on land seized from the Palestinians during the 1967 war. By the standards of the Geneva convention, the Rome Statute and the international court of justice, they have been developed illegally by Israel. Israel has thumbed its nose at international law and continued to build its settlements, including industrial parks such as the one that houses SodaStream.

The European Union has called the E1 parcel of land that Israel plans to build on, extending from Maale Adumim, a violation of international humanitarian law. Johansson, in other words, had become the face of illegal Israeli settlement activity.

Johansson's new job posed a serious problem for Oxfam. The charity has over the years taken a strong position against Israel's illegal settlement construction at the same time as it has worked to deliver much-needed goods and services to the encaged population in the occupied Palestinian territories. In a powerful briefing paper from 2012, Oxfam called on Israel to "immediately halt the construction of all illegal settlements" and end "policies and practices that are illegal under international law and harm the livelihood of Palestinian civilians".

Maale Adumim is built on the rubble of the Palestinian villages of Abu Dis, Al Izriyyeh, Al Issawiyyeh, Al Tur, Khan al Ahmar and Anata – names that exist now only in the memory of their displaced residents. How could Oxfam retain its global ambassador when her new job would undermine its principles?

Pro-Palestinian activists began to put pressure on Oxfam and Johansson to make a simple choice – either she break her contract with SodaStream or Oxfam would have to cut itself off from her complicity with settlement activity.

Within the US, the question of the boycott of Israel has become an important political issue, with the vote by the American Studies Association – and other scholarly bodies – to sanction Israel for its illegal occupation, an occupation that has been backed by US political, diplomatic and financial power. Several US lawmakers wish to make any talk of a boycott of Israel illegal within the US. In this context, it is understandable that Oxfam America had to tread lightly. Any link between the Johansson fiasco and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign would bring Oxfam America into this toxic environment. Eventually, good sense prevailed and Johansson cut her ties to Oxfam.

Small as it may seem in the context of a long battle, the Johansson affair is one more piece of evidence that illegal Israeli actions in the occupied Palestinian territories are being increasingly held up to scrutiny. There is no longer impunity for those willing to associate themselves with it.

Patience has run out and an honest debate on western support for Israel at all costs is now on the table. This debate is better than silence, or than celebrity airbrushing of deep-seated problems. I welcome it.

Sunday 26 January 2014

Matt Damon has had better days

Here I am trying to redeem the soul of an actor.

I trashed him for being conned by the
World Economic Forum.

Unless he did a Will Hunting act by dancing
on their massive egos (like he does in the video
below to the NSA guy), then he lost and he gave
some of his massive kudos to a bunch of
rapacious anti-democratic world- beating
middle class-destroying bastards.





the next target is Scarlett Johanssen for her support of
Soda Stream, the cool refreshing Drink of the Occupation.
Ya, that Occupation.

Saturday 25 January 2014

they're F&*(^%cking Matt Damon

It's a true masterpiece of social engineering to both
pat a man on the back for his achievements while
screwing his street cred.

From what little I remember, Matt Damon seems to be
an aware person who is involved in good works for
various charities. Well, so is everybody. But, I've
also seen that he seems to be aware of the political
problems of late. That's a lot to ask of a guy who
spends his time being a good actor. I don't expect
much from media people, because they're just
promoting themselves most of the time.

It's strange to be given an award for social
consciousness from the people representing
the opposite of social consciousness.
the World Economic Forum, or
WEF-TF
Socially-unconscious, yet intentional damage
The Davos playground is for the rich plutocrats
to whitewash their image. The banking, shadow-market
bastards who are taking a break from destroying the
planet to essentially say "woops" , implicitly:

These are 3 of their issues for discussion:

1 global inequality, when they f^%&ck governments
http://money.cnn.com/2014/01/20/news/economy/davos-economy-inequality/index.html
oxfam says it best:
"Oxfam report, suggesting there was a mixed message in play
with the title: “Davos Debates Income Inequality but Still Invites
Tax Avoiders.” New York Times
2 they "reshape the world" USA Today
- ya. reshape it to their liking
3 Davos theme recognises changed post-crisis world, Bdlive
from South Africa
-Ya. after they totally screwed it
-I think they've noticed a sombre spirit in the £10 000 suits
they buy.
Actually, it's like Matt is being inducted into Hell.
Who's at the gate but Bono, the world-saving 
tax-dodging miracle.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25833512

Matt, the good actor, and the shitty singer
at 2:15

Tuesday 21 January 2014

I pray for pancakes

This is another story about those beleaguered Christians.
Just when the new pope is trying to patch things up,
along comes the bourgeois priest in Madrid blessing
domesticated animals.

St Anton's Madrid

I wonder if they take a piss in the corner, whether they'll
get excommunicated.
What's the doggie wafer look like, a Scooby snack?

Friday 17 January 2014

Wild men resort to playing sports

Now that I see it in print, it makes so much sense. I played
team sports for a good decade or so, as a kid, and even
a bit as an adult. When we won things, I just thought the
Yaaaa! right on!!! awesome!!!
was a sign that we were happy. But the brutish ugliness of our
expressions say something else. It's:
I whupped your ass, bitch!
It really is a primal urge to impose ourselves on our
fellow humans. it
says a lot about what motivates bankers & m/billionnaires. 
And I used to think that games without 
winners was hippy sh*t pedagogy for creating losers.
I'm not so sure anymore.
[the goal. I think only le petit mort provides a wilder, more
primal view of the human psyche]
 sorry! Not yet. Here we go:
Oscar! Oscar! for Angelina

I guess sports are a good way to let off steam, if you can handle
the Neanderthal urges to bash the skulls of your 
competitors. If you can't, play rugby. One head crumpled below
you know how I see rugby guys without necks as Neanderthal
left-overs.

These rugby lads in NZ will do the wild chants even before
the game starts.

These fellows below are more likely to be used to scare seniors,
when they visit Fiji.Wait a sec! Gilligan?

I think women's sport experiences things differently. I think
that they do express pure joy.

"We won, and I'm gorgeous.  Why not smile?"

The beach volleyball twerk:

I'm not sure about this one. "That's right, bitch"
she seems to be saying

What's this? The ultimate in insults. She is offering her
buttocks in order for them to be kissed by the
opposition. As David Attenborough would say
"watch the defiant look on the face of the female
exposing her genitals, in a sign of superiority"

checkit: CBC News


Olympians' aggressive victory stances may be inherited
 Displays of 'aggressive dominance' likely evolutionary, researchers say
By Matt Kwong, Posted: Jan 10, 2014 1:03 PM ET|Last Updated: Jan 10, 2014 1:09 PM
A victory dance is one thing, but scientists studying Olympians' triumphant body language are now talking about how the aggressive — even threatening — victory stance may be inherited.
Rather than initially expressing joy or pride after winning, researchers with San Francisco State University say athletes instinctively display "aggressive dominance" over the opponents they just bested.
San Francisco State University researchers analyzed footage from more than 40 Olympic judo matches, and found victors often express aggression and dominance before pride immediately after winning. (Toru Hanai/Reuters)
Witness the seemingly rage-filled face of Sidney Crosby after the NHL star scored Team Canada's gold medal-winning goal at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
It's likely an evolutionary trait, said David Matsumoto, an SFSU psychology professor and author of the paper published Friday in the journal Motivation and Emotion.
"We see these behaviours occur, like the chest out, torso pushed out, the head titled back, arms raised above the shoulders, a hand in fist, a punching motion, and the face either grimacing or showing aggression and anger," Matsumoto said from San Francisco.
Such bodily reactions are also common among animals, but they have never been studied in humans, he said.
'Don't screw with me'
"Many animals seem to have a dominant threat display that involves making their body look larger," he said.
"The alpha male goes to fight the other in a group and kills the other; the alpha male then shows that victory by enlarging the body and giving a roar, signalling, 'Don’t screw with me.'"
'The alpha male goes to fight the other in a group and kills the other; the alpha male then shows that victory by enlarging the body and giving a roar.'- David Matsumoto, San Francisco State University psychology professor
The SFSU researchers wanted to analyze physical gestures by winners in combative or "antagonistic competitions," so they reviewed footage from 42 judo medal matches from the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games as well as the 2004 Paralympics. (There are 14 divisions or weight classes in judo, spread over three Olympic or Paralympic Games.)
Video of judo players from more than 35 countries was reviewed.
While dozens of different behaviours were coded "right at the moment of winning or losing a match," a consistent behaviour among the victors was the displaying of an enlarged body with aggressive facial contortions, Matsumoto said.
"It's like saying, 'Who's the boss?'"
The intensity of the physical cues was ranked by psychologists on a scale of 1 to a high of  5.
As for whether the initial chest-thumping celebrations might simply be learned behaviours rather than innate reactions, Matsumoto, who coached the 1996 and 2000 U.S. Olympic judo teams, said examinations of congenitally blind judo players from the 2004 Paralympics would seem to indicate otherwise.
'Power distance' across cultures
"They're also producing the same expressions, even though they've never been able to see from birth," he said. "They didn't learn that from watching others, so it's got to be something ingrained in all of us."
Miami Heat forward LeBron James celebrates a basket during the 2013 Eastern Conference semi-finals. San Francisco researchers say athletes react with expressions of dominance immediately after triumphing in competition. (Jeff Haynes/Reuters)
Matsumoto added that the intensity of the aggressive displays from athletic champions appeared to differ across cultures. One theory is that the expressions of triumph might depend on the "power distance" of a person's cultural background or nationality.
Power distance (or PD), Matsumoto explained, is a measurement representing the degree to which a culture encourages or discourages power, status or hierarchy.
"Other researchers have created a way to measure how different cultures are status-oriented versus egalitarian. We took their data for different countries and correlated it with our data," he said.
Nations on the higher end of the PD spectrum may have a greater need for people to exhibit body language showing power and status, he said. Examples of those nations would be Malaysia, Slovakia, Romania, he said, while countries with less of an emphasis on status orientation include Israel, Austria and Finland.
Matsumoto said North Americans fall in the middle of the pack. [BULL-FUCKING-SHIT- Cos67]
He said he would like to try to replicate the results in other contexts and collect more evidence to strengthen his theory that triumph and pride are separate expressions.

the Nature Oscars 2014

I don't know about North America, but nature documentaries
are big business in the UK.
They have a guy Bear Grylls who presented himself living
in nature, with no aids, but he had a camera crew shadowing him.

The crew were likely chewing on subs and refused to give any
to Bear. I'm sure there were signs up saying
"don't feed the Bear"
BTW I don't buy that name. How could parents know
that their son would be a nature freak?

Anyway, he wins the human acting award for the Nature Oscars
because he and his crew were caught staying in hotels
during filming. We really are not part of nature any more.
Just watching his stupid doc credulously is proof of that.
We watch nature on a box!

Best Human Faking Living in Nature: Bear Grylls 

[this is Bear preparing to accept his Nature Oscar]

Now for the animals. They have starred in documentaries
despite the fact that docs are supposed to be
scientifically-run, with no interference from humans.

Best Actor in a leading role: Cheeky
[Cheeky the Tiger, trained at the Chicago Zoo & the Actors' Studio,
starred in director David Attenborough's latest yarn]

more soon

checkit: Guardian- Rachel Aroesti
Hidden Kingdoms tv listing
BBC1
Following the controversy over Frozen Planet's "faked" scenes,
this series takes a more transparent approach to wildlife film-making.
Usually the supporting cast, dung beetles, shrews and mice living in
Africa and the Sonoran desert in North America are the stars of this
opener. But the close-up footage is rounded off with a peek behind
the scenes, exposing the miniature sets constructed by the crew
and the unwitting animal actors scouted on location, revelations
that make it hard to take nature docs at face value