Showing posts with label TV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TV. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 13, 2026
Thursday, November 06, 2025
Thursday, May 15, 2025
Steven Hill's Mission Impossible
Mission: Impossible
Hill was the original leader of the Impossible Missions Force, Dan Briggs, in the series Mission: Impossible beginning in 1966. The phrase "Good morning, Mr. Briggs..." was a fixture early in each episode, where a sound or film recording he retrieved detailed the task he must accomplish. However, he was replaced in the show in 1967 after the end of the first season. As one of the few Orthodox Jewish actors working in Hollywood, he made it clear in advance of production that he was not able to work on the Sabbath (i.e., sundown Friday to dusk Saturday), and that he would leave the set every Friday before sundown.[7] However, despite Hill's advance warnings, the show's producers were unprepared for his rigid adherence to the Sabbath, and on at least one occasion, Hill left the set while an episode was still in the midst of filming. The producers used a number of ways of reducing the role of Hill's character, Dan Briggs, whereby he would only obtain and hand out the mission details at the start of certain episodes, being unable to take further part in the mission as he was known to people they would encounter (used at least three times), or Briggs would need to don a disguise and another actor would then play his role incognito until the conclusion of the mission (and episode) when Briggs would peel off a face mask. On other occasions, Briggs was waiting to pick up the team at the end. Usually, Martin Landau's character (Rollin Hand) took over as the team leader for missions in Briggs' absence, Landau being initially a "special guest star" for the first season, not even included in the show's original opening credits.[7]
According to Desilu executive Herb Solow, William Shatner once burst into his office, claiming "Steve asked me how many Jews worked on Star Trek. He was recruiting a minyon, a prayer group of 10 men, to worship together on top of the studio's highest building and only had six Jews so far from Mission. He asked if I would come and bring Nimoy and Justman and you."[20]
Hill was briefly suspended from the show near the end of the season, during the production of episode 23, titled "Action!" In it, for the only time, Barbara Bain's character Cinnamon Carter obtained the mission details through the taped instructions, even though Landau's character, Rollin Hand, then actually led the team. The suspension was imposed after he refused to climb the rafters via a sound stage staircase, as was called for in the script.[21] This incident was ostensibly unrelated to any religious observances of Hill's. Consequently, Hill was written out of that episode and when he returned to Mission: Impossible for the five remaining episodes of the season, his role was severely reduced. Hill was not asked to return for season two, and was replaced as the show's star by Peter Graves.[22]
Source: Wikipedia - Steven Hill
Thursday, April 24, 2025
Conclave Viewership Shot Up 283 Percent Following Pope Francis’ Death
Angela Watercutter
Apr 22,2025 12:24 PM
Since Monday, viewers have watched nearly 7 million minutes of Conclave, a film about the process of choosing a new pope. The Two Popes saw its numbers go up 417 percent.
Since Monday, viewers have watched nearly 7 million minutes of Conclave, a film about the process of choosing a new pope. The Two Popes saw its numbers go up 417 percent.
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Courtesy of Philippe Antonello/Focus Features
In the Roman Catholic Church, it was called the “Francis effect,” a feeling that the arrival of the more inclusive Pope Francis in 2013 would invigorate the faith and get people back in the pews.
On Monday, Francis’ passing at the age of 88 led to an effect of a different kind: a surge in viewership for Conclave, director Edward Berger’s Oscar-winning film about what happens in the Vatican when church leaders are locked in a room—or, well, the Sistine Chapel—to decide who will be the next pope.
Streaming viewership for Conclave increased 283 percent after Pope Francis’ death, jumping from 1.8 million minutes watched on April 20 to 6.9 million minutes watched on Monday, according to data from analytics firm Luminate. Netflix’s The Two Popes, meanwhile, saw a 417 percent increase in viewership over that same period, jumping from 290,000 minutes to 1.5 million minutes.
In some ways, these numbers are to be expected. Conclave’s arrival last year and eight Oscar nominations (it won for Best Adapted Screenplay) had already made it a popular film. The fact that the Vatican is about to start a real-life conclave in just a few days only increases the attention on the film. The Two Popes, meanwhile, is about Pope Francis himself, and the relationship he had with his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI.
While the numbers are impressive, Luminate has seen similar boosts after other significant news events, according to spokesperson Jimmy Harney. When presidential candidate Donald Trump announced JD Vance as his running mate during the Republican National Convention last year, viewership for Netflix’s Hillbilly Elegy, based on Vance’s memoir, jumped 1,180 percent, according to Luminate. When news came out that Vice President Kamala Harris would likely be the Democrats’ candidate for president, US viewership for HBO’s Veep increased 353 percent.
Theoretically, Conclave’s viewership numbers could climb even higher in the coming days. On Monday, thanks to one of the many cumbersome deals that dictate the modern streaming landscape, viewers needed to rent or buy the movie in order to watch it. It cost between $6 and $20 on Amazon Prime Video. Early Tuesday, the movie became available to stream for Prime members.
Following Pope Francis’ death—an announcement that sent Catholics around the world into mourning—several news outlets (including this one) pointed to Conclave’s timeliness. The film, about a series of high-profile cardinals and their efforts to become the next pontiff, is a highly dramatized, and drama-filled, version of what the secretive conclave process looks like.
Francis’ funeral will be held in front of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome on Saturday. Cardinals from around the world are headed to Italy to attend. After which, they will take part in the conclave, a name that’s derived from the Latin “with key,” meaning they will be locked in the historic church while they deliberate. No outside contact is permitted during the process; no phones, televisions, newspapers, or messages are allowed. Members of the College of Cardinals, the church’s most senior clergy, under the age of 80 get a vote, so about 135 of the 250-member body will be involved in the choosing.
According to Luminate data, other pope-centric films like Netflix’s Pope Francis biographic series Call Me Francis, haven’t seen the same huge spikes—yet. Maybe viewers just need to get back in the habit of watching Catholic content.
In the Roman Catholic Church, it was called the “Francis effect,” a feeling that the arrival of the more inclusive Pope Francis in 2013 would invigorate the faith and get people back in the pews.
On Monday, Francis’ passing at the age of 88 led to an effect of a different kind: a surge in viewership for Conclave, director Edward Berger’s Oscar-winning film about what happens in the Vatican when church leaders are locked in a room—or, well, the Sistine Chapel—to decide who will be the next pope.
Streaming viewership for Conclave increased 283 percent after Pope Francis’ death, jumping from 1.8 million minutes watched on April 20 to 6.9 million minutes watched on Monday, according to data from analytics firm Luminate. Netflix’s The Two Popes, meanwhile, saw a 417 percent increase in viewership over that same period, jumping from 290,000 minutes to 1.5 million minutes.
In some ways, these numbers are to be expected. Conclave’s arrival last year and eight Oscar nominations (it won for Best Adapted Screenplay) had already made it a popular film. The fact that the Vatican is about to start a real-life conclave in just a few days only increases the attention on the film. The Two Popes, meanwhile, is about Pope Francis himself, and the relationship he had with his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI.
While the numbers are impressive, Luminate has seen similar boosts after other significant news events, according to spokesperson Jimmy Harney. When presidential candidate Donald Trump announced JD Vance as his running mate during the Republican National Convention last year, viewership for Netflix’s Hillbilly Elegy, based on Vance’s memoir, jumped 1,180 percent, according to Luminate. When news came out that Vice President Kamala Harris would likely be the Democrats’ candidate for president, US viewership for HBO’s Veep increased 353 percent.
Theoretically, Conclave’s viewership numbers could climb even higher in the coming days. On Monday, thanks to one of the many cumbersome deals that dictate the modern streaming landscape, viewers needed to rent or buy the movie in order to watch it. It cost between $6 and $20 on Amazon Prime Video. Early Tuesday, the movie became available to stream for Prime members.
Following Pope Francis’ death—an announcement that sent Catholics around the world into mourning—several news outlets (including this one) pointed to Conclave’s timeliness. The film, about a series of high-profile cardinals and their efforts to become the next pontiff, is a highly dramatized, and drama-filled, version of what the secretive conclave process looks like.
Francis’ funeral will be held in front of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome on Saturday. Cardinals from around the world are headed to Italy to attend. After which, they will take part in the conclave, a name that’s derived from the Latin “with key,” meaning they will be locked in the historic church while they deliberate. No outside contact is permitted during the process; no phones, televisions, newspapers, or messages are allowed. Members of the College of Cardinals, the church’s most senior clergy, under the age of 80 get a vote, so about 135 of the 250-member body will be involved in the choosing.
According to Luminate data, other pope-centric films like Netflix’s Pope Francis biographic series Call Me Francis, haven’t seen the same huge spikes—yet. Maybe viewers just need to get back in the habit of watching Catholic content.
Tuesday, March 04, 2025
Donald Trump’s speech addresses joint session of Congress, JD Vanc...
Scheduled for Mar 4, 2025 #jdvance
President Donald Trump is set to speak before a joint session of Congress this week, marking his first address since returning to the White House. This will be the first speech of its kind Trump has made during his second term in office. Traditionally, presidents deliver an annual report to Congress informing them about the state of play in the U.S., including goals, accomplishments, and plans for the year ahead. Usually, this occurs within the first few months of the year and is broadcast to the entire nation. Trump is expected to talk about what he's done since taking office in January and his agenda for the next four years. #jdvance
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P.S.
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
Saturday, October 27, 2018
Buffalo Catholic Diocese whistleblower to appear on 60 Minutes this Sunday
Posted: Oct 25, 2018 07:17 PM EDT Updated: Oct 26, 2018 06:16 PM EDT
(WIVB) - The woman who claims to have copied hundreds of incriminating documents from Bishop Malone's secret archives is coming forward.
Siobhan O'Connor, Malone's former executive assistant, will speak to 60 Minutes this Sunday night at 7 p.m.
60 Minutes will reveal what the documents she copied show.
According to CBSNEWS.com, O'Connor accuses him of withholding the names of dozens of priests with sex abuse accusations against them from a report released last March.
"Hundreds of documents O'Connor secretly copied from the confidential files of the Diocese of Buffalo offer an extraordinary window into Bishop Malone's decisions about priests accused of abuse. The devout O'Connor professes love for her church and her bishop. But she says she left the diocese last summer after three years because the documents she discovered indicated the bishop had allowed the accused priests to continue in ministry. "The reality of what I saw left me with no other option because at the end of my life, I'm not going to answer to Bishop Malone, I am going to answer to God," she tells Whitaker."
"I did betray [Bishop Malone], and yet I can't apologize for that, because there was a greater good to consider," says O'Connor.
Whitaker also interviews Deacon Paul Snyder of the Buffalo Diocese. He is the first clergyman of the diocese to call for Bishop Malone's resignation. The information exposed by O'Connor enraged him. "[Bishop Malone] is behaving in a way that you would typically think a CEO in a corporation that's being accused of corrupt practices might act, hiding behind attorneys," he says. Some of the documents O'Connor found were prepared by the dioceses' attorneys.
Since calling for Bishop Malone to step down, he has received 400 notes and emails. "They want to be part of the solution but they think this bishop is preventing that," says Deacon Synder.
60 Minutes has learned that the Buffalo diocese is under investigation by federal authorities. Bishop Malone declined to be interviewed by 60 Minutes.
You can catch 60 Minutes on Channel 4.
Saturday, July 07, 2018
Scoop: ABC News To Air TRUTH AND LIES: WACO Documentary On 7/7 on ABC
The ABC Television Network presents a documentary on the 25th anniversary of the deadly Waco, Texas, raid on the Branch Davidian compound that led to a gunfight killing four ATF agents and six of David Koresh's followers. After a 51-day standoff with FBI agents, the compound burned to the ground, leaving 74 more people dead. The crisis that ignited national outrage and a media firestorm have been described as the worst debacle in federal law enforcement history. The government's misleading disclosure of key facts in the case following the event has given RISE to conspiracy theories from far-right movements that cite this event as a rallying cry for their distrust of the government. The "Truth and Lies" documentary includes new details and interviews with FBI and ATF agents about the tactics they used during the standoff. ABC also interviews survivors of the fire and children of Koresh's followers who talk about how those events changed their lives. "Truth and Lies: Waco" airs Saturday, July 7 (9:00 - 11:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC. (Rebroadcast. ABC OAD: 01/04/18)
Growing up in a troubled household to a teenage mom, Koresh turned to the Bible. He eventually joined the Branch Davidian church, a splinter group of the Seventh Day Adventists, and would proclaim himself to be a prophet and leader of the group. Koresh preached an apocalyptic message: that the end of the world was imminent. He also preached that the United States government was going to fatally attack the Branch Davidians. He maintained absolute authority with draconian rules, and allegedly committed physical and sexual abuse against some members including children.
Koresh began to militarize his followers, calling them soldiers of God. The ATF started an investigation after they received reports that the compound was obtaining deliveries of illegal weapons. When the ATF moved in, followers felt Koresh's prophecy was being fulfilled. The ensuing gun battle resulted in the deaths of four ATF agents and six Davidians. The FBI took over the operation from the ATF in a 51-day siege that seized the attention of the nation, but culminated in disaster. On April 19, the FBI tear-gassed the compound. Soon after, the building burned to the ground causing the deaths of dozens of Davidians.
The documentary on WACO is the fifth installment of the No. 1 rated "Truth and Lies" series. Launched in January 2017, the first four specials were on the Menendez brothers, Charles Manson, Watergate and Laci Peterson.
The special is produced by ABC News. David Sloan is senior executive producer and Muriel Pearson is senior producer.
Source
Saturday, June 30, 2018
‘Drag Tots!’ and ‘Super Drags’ cartoons wooing kids
Michael Haverluck, OneNewsNow.com
6:40 am June 23, 2018
Adding more controversial programming to its lineup this year, Netflix – along with another network – has announced plans to air a new animated series about cross-dressing drag queens to introduce, desensitize or incite children to the homosexual lifestyle.
The sexual and perverted nature of Netflix’s and the World of Wonder channel’s disturbing cartoons has spurred Christian entertainment and movie critics to send out a warning to parents.
“More than ever, parents need to be on top of what their children may be watching, because the days of innocent Saturday morning cartoons is officially over – honestly, it’s been over for a while,” MovieGuide advised. “Two new shows coming this year are pushing cross-dressing lifestyles on children.”
Shows for the whole family to avoid
The World of Wonder channel is premiering one of the disturbingly perverse cartoon series on June 28, using the world’s most recognized drag queen as a voiceover for one of the characters.
“The first is Drag Tots! – a disturbing cartoon from the production company that makes Rupaul’s drag race about toddler drag queens,” MovieGuide’s Dr. Ted Baehr informed. “The cast voicing the toddlers are famous drag queens, like RuPaul himself.”
Netflix – which has already pushed the controversial envelope with its arguably suicide-glorifying 13 Reasons series and its new series paying the Obamas $50-million – is also getting into promoting alternative lifestyles to kids through its debut of Super Drags this year.
Here is how the streaming network giant is introducing the release of its new kids’ animated TV series:
Friday, March 09, 2018
CNN The Pope: The Most Powerful Man in History
Grace Hill
Published on Feb 23, 2018
The series also delves into the important historical moments that forever changed the Catholic Church – from the foundations of the Reformation to the origins of a new religious order within Catholicism – the Jesuits.
The series also delves into the important historical moments that forever changed the Catholic Church – from the foundations of the Reformation to the origins of a new religious order within Catholicism – the Jesuits.
†*******†
The upcoming new CNN Original Series, American Dynasties: The Kennedys and Pope: The Most Powerful Man in History, premiering Sunday, March 11, at 9 and 10 p.m. ET/PT respectively.
Friday, January 26, 2018
‘Waco’ Actor Talks New Show, Playing FBI Negotiator
Duration: 03:53s - Published: 2 days ago< > Embed
Tonight on the Paramount Network, the first of a six part mini-series called "WACO." The series is based on what happened almost 25 years ago near Waco, Texas.
Joining us is actor Michael Hyland, who plays an FBI negotiator. (3:53) WCCO Mid-Morning – Jan. 24, 2018.
Tonight on the Paramount Network, the first of a six part mini-series called "WACO." The series is based on what happened almost 25 years ago near Waco, Texas.
Joining us is actor Michael Hyland, who plays an FBI negotiator. (3:53) WCCO Mid-Morning – Jan. 24, 2018.
Sunday, August 13, 2017
Married Celebrity Christians Take Center Stage in 'Black Love' Docu-Series
Sponsored by PureFlix Campaign
By Christine Thomasos , CHRISTIAN POST CONTRIBUTOR | Aug 5, 2017 2:57 PM
(Photo: Courtesy of Omg! Publicity)
DeVon Franklin and Meagan Good release their first book, "The Wait" on February 2, 2016.
Married Christian couples will be the focus of a new OWN docu-series called "Black Love."
The series will explore five celebrity marriages with the goal of answering the age old question: "What is the secret to making a marriage work?"
The couples who will appear on the OWN series include Oscar winner Viola Davis and Julius Tennon; Hollywood power couple Meagan Good and DeVon Franklin; NAACP Image Award-winner Tia Mowry-Hardrict and actor Cory Hardrict; NAACP Image Award-nominee Flex Alexander and Grammy-nominated recording artist Shanice; gospel singer Erica Campbell and music producer Warryn Campbell; and NAACP Image Award nominee Vanessa Bell Calloway and Dr. Anthony Calloway.
The series which debuts on Aug. 29 was created by Codie and Tommy Oliver, husband-and-wife filmmakers who are known for films like "1982."
"Husband-and-wife filmmakers Codie and Tommy Oliver present real, honest, emotional and sometimes cringeworthy love stories from some of the most successful people in business and entertainment as well as everyday couples," according to OWN's description of the series.
Many of the Christian couples who will be featured on the show have spoken about their God-centered unions in the past. One of those people is Viola Davis who previously revealed that she prayed for her husband.
"I asked for a husband who was emotionally available, someone who was older, someone who maybe had a family before," Davis told Essence magazine during an interview in 2013. "I like older men. Someone from the South. Someone who loves God more than he loves himself."
Franklin and Good previously wrote a book about dating, celebacy, and marriage in their book, The Wait: A Powerful Practice for Finding the Love of Your Life and the Life You Love. In an interview with The Christian Post the Hollywood power couple spoke about how they want their God-centered relationship to be an example and guide other people in love.
For more information about the OWN docu-series, click here.
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
Religious Hardtalk - Delving into Prophetic Matters with David Mould
Ryan Francis
Published on Dec 19, 2016
Religious Hardtalk - Delving into Prophetic Matters with Ian Boyne interviewing David Mould.
Sunday, July 03, 2016
Babylonian Wine - Voice of the Eternal Gospel (Program 1)
1.- BABYLONIAN WINE - TV PROGRAM # 1 - VOICE OF THE ETERNAL GOSPEL
Published on Jun 8, 2016
1.- Babylonian Wine - TV Program # 1 - Voice of the Eternal Gospel. Pr Raphael Perez, Paul Forrest, Jose Rivera & Patrick Jones. It was viewed on Christian Television Network
Saturday, January 23, 2016
LUCIFER | Inside Look | FOX BROADCASTING
Published on May 11, 2015
Executive Producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Director Len Wiseman and others talk about FOX’s devilish new drama, LUCIFER.
Coming to FOX in 2016!
Subscribe now for more Lucifer clips: http://fox.tv/SubscribeFOX
See more of Lucifer on our official site: http://fox.tv/Lucifer
Like Lucifer on Facebook: http://fox.tv/LuciferFB
Follow Lucifer on Twitter: http://fox.tv/LuciferTW
Follow Lucifer on Instagram: http://fox.tv/LuciferIG
Like FOX on Facebook: http://fox.tv/FOXTV_FB
Follow FOX on Twitter: http://fox.tv/FOXTV_Twitter
Add FOX on Google+: http://fox.tv/FOXPlus
The Devil has come to Los Angeles…
Based upon the characters created by Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth and Mike Dringenberg for DC Entertainment’s Vertigo imprint, LUCIFER is the story of the original fallen angel. Bored and unhappy as the Lord of Hell, LUCIFER MORNINGSTAR (Tom Ellis, “Merlin”) has abandoned his throne and retired to L.A., where he owns Lux, an upscale nightclub.
Charming, charismatic and devilishly handsome, Lucifer is enjoying his retirement, indulging in a few of his favorite things – wine, women and song – when a beautiful pop star is brutally murdered outside of Lux. For the first time in roughly 10 billion years, he feels something awaken deep within him as a result of this murder. Compassion? Sympathy? The very thought disturbs him – as well as his best friend and confidante, MAZIKEEN aka MAZE (Lesley-Ann Brandt, “The Librarians”), a fierce demon in the form of a beautiful young woman.
The murder attracts the attention of LAPD homicide detective CHLOE DANCER (Lauren German, “Chicago Fire”), who initially is dismissive of Lucifer. But she becomes intrigued by his talent for drawing out people’s secrets and his desire to dispense justice, doling out punishment to those who deserve it. As they work together to solve the pop star’s murder, Lucifer is struck by Chloe’s inherent goodness. Accustomed to dealing with the absolute worst of humanity, Lucifer is intrigued by Chloe’s apparent purity and begins to wonder if there’s hope for his own soul yet.
At the same time, God’s emissary, the angel AMENADIEL (DB Woodside, “Suits,” “24”), has been sent to Los Angeles to convince Lucifer to return to the underworld…can the Devil incarnate be tempted toward the side of Good, or will his original calling pull him back toward Evil?
LUCIFER | Inside Look | FOX BROADCASTING
http://www.youtube.com/user/FoxBroadc...
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Saturday, January 09, 2016
CNN: Guns in America town hall with President Obama
Full HD Video - CNN's Guns in America Town Hall - US President Barack Obama Town Hall
World SX
Published on Jan 7, 2016
During CNN's Guns in America town hall, President Barack Obama answers the questions
President Barack Obama rejected the "imaginary fiction" that he wanted to take away the guns of law-abiding Americans during a town hall meeting on his gun policies aired on CNN Thursday night.
"The way it is described, is that we are trying to take away everybody's guns," Obama said, charging that his opponents had twisted his plans on gun safety measures.
"Our position is consistently mischaracterized," Obama said. "If you listen to the rhetoric, it is so over-the-top, it is so overheated."
The town hall was a rare forum for a President who is entering his final full year in office. He fielded questions from those who support his actions, including a priest and victims of gun violence at the "Guns in America" special. But he also heard from a wide range of advocates opposed to his policies, including a gun executive, a sheriff, a rape survivor and a widow who criticized his executive actions that would, among other things, narrow the so-called "gun-show loophole" on background checks.
The President also said that he would be happy to meet with representatives of the National Rifle Association, which declined to take part in the town hall meeting even though other gun rights advocates did attend. But he said the conversation would have to be based on facts, "not some imaginary fiction in which Obama is trying to take away your guns."
He dismissed such accusations as conspiracies, and that the notion that he would be paving the way for eventual martial law as absurd given that he didn't have much time left in the White House.
"I'm only going to be here for another year," he said.
Obama is headlining the "Guns in America" event exclusively on CNN to press for public support for the executive measures he announced on Tuesday. In an interview with Anderson Cooper, Obama attributed some of the tensions over the issue to divergent perceptions on gun ownership between rural and inner city communities.
"Part of the reason, I think, that this ends up being such a difficult issue is because people occupy different realities," he said.
The President opened the event by acknowledging that he himself has never owned a gun and had little experience with them, stemming in part from his upbringing in Hawaii, where he said sport shooting is not as popular as in other parts of the country.
He then disputed the notion that most criminals got guns illegally or through personal connections, making background checks -- a major focus on his policy initiative on guns -- of little utility.
"All of us can agree that It makes sense to do everything we can to keep guns out of the hands of people who would do others harm, or themselves harm," he said.
He called on Congress to set up a system that is "efficient" and doesn't inconvenience lawful gun owners to create a background check system that would stem at least some illegal gun activity.
"The fact that the system doesn't catch every single person ... has to be weighed against the fact that we might be able to save a whole bunch of families from the grief that some of the people in this audience have had to go through," he said.
He made a similar argument in response to a question from Arizona Sheriff Paul Babeu, who said that the executive actions wouldn't have prevented the mass shootings that prompted much of Obama's push for greater gun control.
"How are we going to get them to follow the laws?" Babeu asked of those who commit gun crimes.
After Babeu was introduced as a Republican running for Congress, Obama responded with a hint of sarcasm as he wished him good luck in his race.
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Thursday, November 12, 2015
Russian TV 'Mistakenly' Airs Plans For New Nuclear Weapon
Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin has also not been shy about reminding the West and the world of Russia's nuclear might lately.
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By Tony Wesolowsky
November 12, 2015
Last year, state TV told viewers that Russia was the only country capable of turning the United States into "radioactive ash." This week, two pro-Kremlin channels revealed how Moscow's military might go about doing it.
For a few seconds on November 10, evening news programs showed a document with drawings and details of a planned Russian nuclear-capable underwater drone that would be launched from a submarine, dubbed Status-6.
In bland but chilling language, the document said the purpose of the pilotless subs -- still on the drawing board and at least a decade away from any possible production -- would be to "strike important enemy economic facilities in coastal areas." Such attacks, it said, would create "zones of extensive radioactive contamination unfit for military, economic or other activity for a long period of time."
The Kremlin quickly described it as a mistake.
President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said that NTV and state-run First Channel and NTV had erred by slipping "secret data" into their broadcasts, and that the authorities would take steps to ensure it doesn't happen again.
But some observers suspect it was no accident.
The alleged TV snafu followed an escalation of bellicose rhetoric from the Kremlin.
Relations between Russia and the West, already at Cold War levels over Moscow's interference in Ukraine, have been further strained by Russia's dramatic new role in the civil war in Syria, where it launched air strikes targeting foes of longtime Moscow ally Bashar al-Assad in late September.
The document shown on NTV and First Channel was filmed during a meeting between Putin and Russian military officials in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on November 10.
Its matter-of-fact talk of nuclear Armageddon on "enemy" territory echoed remarks last year by a top presenter on another state channel, Rossia.
"Russia is the only country in the world that is realistically capable of turning the United States into radioactive ash," Dmitry Kiselyov said on his weekly current affairs show in March 2014, a few months after Putin named him to head state news media company Rossia Segodnya:
Lately, Putin himself has not been shy about reminding the West and the world of Russia's nuclear might.
As tensions with the West escalated over Ukraine, Putin mentioned in August 2014 that Russia was a leading nuclear power and advised potential enemies: "It's best not to mess with us."
An Accident?
The rhetoric has not gone unnoticed in the United States.
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on November 7 that "Moscow’s nuclear saber-rattling raises questions about Russian leaders’ commitment to strategic stability, their respect for norms against the use of nuclear weapons, and whether they respect the profound caution nuclear-age leaders showed with regard to the brandishing of nuclear weapons."
Pavel Podvig, the author of a blog called Russian Forces, says it's unclear whether the broadcasts showing the document were a security slip or an intentional piece of propaganda.
The fact the video was quickly pulled by the broadcasters suggests it was a mistake, Podvig says. "So, maybe Moscow decided that the leak would not be such a big deal. Still, they would have probably preferred to keep some details out of it," he writes.
But Pavel Felgenhauer, a Russian military analyst, told the Washington Free Beacon newspaper that the "disclosure could have been deliberate." "Without knowing [the weapon exists] there is no deterrence," he said.
Going Nuclear
According to the document, the drone would be launched from two new models of submarines that Russia has started producing over the past three years. It said the drone would reportedly have a maximum range of 5,400 nautical miles (10,000 kilometers) while traveling at a depth of 1,000 meters.
According to Bill Gertz, a military analyst writing for the Washington Free Beacon, the Pentagon was already aware that Russia is developing a drone submarine capable of carrying a nuclear warhead to be used to attack harbors and coasts.
At the meeting in Sochi, Putin said -- as he has several times in the past decade -- that Russia was building weapons designed to penetrate missile shields. He reiterated the Russian accusation that the purpose of a missile defense system the United States is building in Europe is to undermine Russia's security, a charge Washington denies.
"Their true aim is to neutralize the strategic nuclear potential of other nuclear countries...especially our country," Putin was quoted as saying by the state-run TASS news agency.
Putin also said Russia was developing antiballistic-missile-defense systems, but will at first "work on strike systems able to overcome any missile defense system."
A report by the U.S. Congressional Research Service in 2014 said Russia "seems to have increased its reliance on nuclear weapons in its national security concept."
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Saturday, April 11, 2015
Daredevil’s Greatest Superpower Is His Catholicism
It’s also his greatest enemy.
By Charles Moss
Charlie Cox stars in the Netflix series Marvel’s Daredevil.
Photo by Barry Wetcher
Netflix’s latest series, Marvel’s Daredevil—all 13 episodes of which began streaming Friday—opens with the titular blind lawyer Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) in confession. As he babbles about the complicated state of his family, the priest interrupts him, suggesting it might be easier if he just confessed what he’s done. Murdock responds: “I’m not seeking forgiveness for what I’ve done, Father. I’m asking forgiveness for what I’m about to do.”
To really understand Daredevil—both the comic book and the new show—you need to understand his Catholicism.
Created by Stan Lee, Bill Everett, and Jack Kirby, Daredevil No. 1, which was published in 1964, told the story of Matt Murdock, a boy blinded by a radioactive chemical while saving an old man from being hit by a car. Though he lost his sight, Murdock’s other senses were heightened to superhuman standards, giving him a radarlike ability. After his mother left when he was a baby, his father, a down-and-out boxer who worked as an enforcer for the mob, raised him. His father was eventually murdered by that same mob, and Murdock grew up to become a lawyer by day and a rooftop-leaping vigilante by night—fighting for justice to avenge his father’s death. But the Netflix show takes a lot of cues from Frank Miller’s Man Without Fear comic book series, his retelling of the classic Daredevil origin story.
Miller—who’s known for 300, Sin City, and The Dark Knight Returns—worked on Daredevil in the 1980s and again briefly in the ’90s, redefining the character from a Spider-Man–like wise guy swinging from rooftops, quipping funnies, and beating up bad guys, to a dark, violent hero. By adding these elements as well as a spotlight on Murdock’s conflicted Catholicism—particularly in the 1986 Catholic-themed story arc Born Again—he turned a poorly selling comic series on the verge of cancellation into one of the top-selling Marvel titles of the ’80s. Miller wasn’t the first to claim Daredevil was Catholic. But he was the first to bring Murdock’s religion to the forefront, making it essential to his identity.
Netflix’s version understands this, which is what makes the show work: It tries to reconcile the lawyer who defends the law with the Daredevil who breaks it. Murdock’s brutal justice is more than his way of taking personal responsibility for the sins of others; it’s his way of atoning for his own. Murdock’s real superpower, and also his biggest foe, is his Catholicism.
In the documentary The Men Without Fear: Creating “Daredevil,” a DVD special feature that goes along with the maligned 2003 film starring Ben Affleck, Miller says, “Along the way, I decided he needed to be Catholic because only a Catholic could be a vigilante and an attorney at the same time.” Miller’s idea in Born Again was to deconstruct the character and reinvent him by putting him through his own personal hell. The mobster Kingpin beats him nearly to death, he loses his law firm and becomes homeless, and his ex-girlfriend, Karen Page, becomes a drug addict and porn star who sells his secret identity to Kingpin for another fix. Miller uses these plot devices as a way for Murdock to re-emerge a stronger, better hero, born again. The illustrations mimic the imagery, putting Murdock, who is out of costume for much of the story, in various poses clearly reminiscent of the death and rebirth of Jesus.
For Miller, this decision was personal. Later in The Men Without Fear, he says, “Matt’s been the character I punish for all my mistakes and sins. Because he really is a flawed hero, in that he’s a man who intends to do good and causes much damage. Matt should have been a villain. He had a horrible childhood, his romantic life was the worst … but somehow he redeems himself and moves ahead. He just doesn’t give up.”
Another Daredevil writer who appears in the documentary and mined the Catholic theme of redemption through weakness is Kevin Smith, he of Clerks, Mallrats, and Dogma fame. Smith wrote the eight-issue storyline Guardian Devil, in which Daredevil finds himself caring for a newborn baby who may or may not be the Antichrist, as more or less a continuation of Miller’sBorn Again, and it is arguably the most in-your-face story about Daredevil’s Catholicism to date, due to Smith’s own struggles with the denomination.
“[Daredevil’s] not a dude going to church every Sunday and receiving the host, but he had a very Catholic streak running through him,” he says. “I really appreciated that. I played with that a lot more in my storyline, actually putting him in the confessional and whatnot. I really steeped it in Catholicism a bit more because it lent itself to it based on the work that had gone before. I think the angst that goes along with being raised Catholic is quite obvious in that character and inherent to how powerful that character is and can be.”
The Netflix show drives home the idea that Murdock can’t ever be absolved from sin, because he fears that admitting what he’s doing as Daredevil will risk his capture. Midseason, the priest he half-confessed to in the first episode offers his ear once again, in case Murdock wants to tell his secret, but Murdock plays coy. Not only does he feel he can’t confess, he doesn’t want to. Being Daredevil (or, at this early stage of his career, the Man in Black, as he’s called before his dons his iconic red costume), sacrificing himself over and over again each night he goes out to fight crime, is his way of dealing with the guilt he feels about the murder of his father.
Cox’s Daredevil is no saint. He breaks bones. He uses excessive force. He almost murders a man. But what stops him from going too far are not wise words from an Uncle Ben–like character or a sacred oath made at the graves of his murdered parents; it’s his faith.
Daredevil is far from the perfect superhero. He makes mistakes. He doesn’t have “an iron suit or a magic hammer.” And his relentless sacrifice night after night, his ability to gain strength from his weaknesses, and his guilt over the terrible things he does to bring justice to Hell’s Kitchen may not make him the perfect Catholic either, but they do make his faith an ever greater superpower than his heightened senses.
Charles Moss is a freelance writer based in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He’s written for theAtlantic, Paste, Tablet, and the Week. Follow him on Twitter.
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Photo by Barry Wetcher
Netflix’s latest series, Marvel’s Daredevil—all 13 episodes of which began streaming Friday—opens with the titular blind lawyer Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) in confession. As he babbles about the complicated state of his family, the priest interrupts him, suggesting it might be easier if he just confessed what he’s done. Murdock responds: “I’m not seeking forgiveness for what I’ve done, Father. I’m asking forgiveness for what I’m about to do.”
To really understand Daredevil—both the comic book and the new show—you need to understand his Catholicism.
Created by Stan Lee, Bill Everett, and Jack Kirby, Daredevil No. 1, which was published in 1964, told the story of Matt Murdock, a boy blinded by a radioactive chemical while saving an old man from being hit by a car. Though he lost his sight, Murdock’s other senses were heightened to superhuman standards, giving him a radarlike ability. After his mother left when he was a baby, his father, a down-and-out boxer who worked as an enforcer for the mob, raised him. His father was eventually murdered by that same mob, and Murdock grew up to become a lawyer by day and a rooftop-leaping vigilante by night—fighting for justice to avenge his father’s death. But the Netflix show takes a lot of cues from Frank Miller’s Man Without Fear comic book series, his retelling of the classic Daredevil origin story.
“I decided he needed to be Catholic because only a Catholic could be a vigilante and an attorney at the same time.” Frank Miller
Miller—who’s known for 300, Sin City, and The Dark Knight Returns—worked on Daredevil in the 1980s and again briefly in the ’90s, redefining the character from a Spider-Man–like wise guy swinging from rooftops, quipping funnies, and beating up bad guys, to a dark, violent hero. By adding these elements as well as a spotlight on Murdock’s conflicted Catholicism—particularly in the 1986 Catholic-themed story arc Born Again—he turned a poorly selling comic series on the verge of cancellation into one of the top-selling Marvel titles of the ’80s. Miller wasn’t the first to claim Daredevil was Catholic. But he was the first to bring Murdock’s religion to the forefront, making it essential to his identity.
Netflix’s version understands this, which is what makes the show work: It tries to reconcile the lawyer who defends the law with the Daredevil who breaks it. Murdock’s brutal justice is more than his way of taking personal responsibility for the sins of others; it’s his way of atoning for his own. Murdock’s real superpower, and also his biggest foe, is his Catholicism.
In the documentary The Men Without Fear: Creating “Daredevil,” a DVD special feature that goes along with the maligned 2003 film starring Ben Affleck, Miller says, “Along the way, I decided he needed to be Catholic because only a Catholic could be a vigilante and an attorney at the same time.” Miller’s idea in Born Again was to deconstruct the character and reinvent him by putting him through his own personal hell. The mobster Kingpin beats him nearly to death, he loses his law firm and becomes homeless, and his ex-girlfriend, Karen Page, becomes a drug addict and porn star who sells his secret identity to Kingpin for another fix. Miller uses these plot devices as a way for Murdock to re-emerge a stronger, better hero, born again. The illustrations mimic the imagery, putting Murdock, who is out of costume for much of the story, in various poses clearly reminiscent of the death and rebirth of Jesus.
For Miller, this decision was personal. Later in The Men Without Fear, he says, “Matt’s been the character I punish for all my mistakes and sins. Because he really is a flawed hero, in that he’s a man who intends to do good and causes much damage. Matt should have been a villain. He had a horrible childhood, his romantic life was the worst … but somehow he redeems himself and moves ahead. He just doesn’t give up.”
Another Daredevil writer who appears in the documentary and mined the Catholic theme of redemption through weakness is Kevin Smith, he of Clerks, Mallrats, and Dogma fame. Smith wrote the eight-issue storyline Guardian Devil, in which Daredevil finds himself caring for a newborn baby who may or may not be the Antichrist, as more or less a continuation of Miller’sBorn Again, and it is arguably the most in-your-face story about Daredevil’s Catholicism to date, due to Smith’s own struggles with the denomination.
“[Daredevil’s] not a dude going to church every Sunday and receiving the host, but he had a very Catholic streak running through him,” he says. “I really appreciated that. I played with that a lot more in my storyline, actually putting him in the confessional and whatnot. I really steeped it in Catholicism a bit more because it lent itself to it based on the work that had gone before. I think the angst that goes along with being raised Catholic is quite obvious in that character and inherent to how powerful that character is and can be.”
The Netflix show drives home the idea that Murdock can’t ever be absolved from sin, because he fears that admitting what he’s doing as Daredevil will risk his capture. Midseason, the priest he half-confessed to in the first episode offers his ear once again, in case Murdock wants to tell his secret, but Murdock plays coy. Not only does he feel he can’t confess, he doesn’t want to. Being Daredevil (or, at this early stage of his career, the Man in Black, as he’s called before his dons his iconic red costume), sacrificing himself over and over again each night he goes out to fight crime, is his way of dealing with the guilt he feels about the murder of his father.
Cox’s Daredevil is no saint. He breaks bones. He uses excessive force. He almost murders a man. But what stops him from going too far are not wise words from an Uncle Ben–like character or a sacred oath made at the graves of his murdered parents; it’s his faith.
Daredevil is far from the perfect superhero. He makes mistakes. He doesn’t have “an iron suit or a magic hammer.” And his relentless sacrifice night after night, his ability to gain strength from his weaknesses, and his guilt over the terrible things he does to bring justice to Hell’s Kitchen may not make him the perfect Catholic either, but they do make his faith an ever greater superpower than his heightened senses.
Charles Moss is a freelance writer based in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He’s written for theAtlantic, Paste, Tablet, and the Week. Follow him on Twitter.
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Monday, June 09, 2014
Chris Cuomo: Media Has Given Hillary A 'Free Ride'
Washington Free Beacon
Published on Jun 9, 2014
Chris Cuomo: Media Has Given Hillary A 'Free Ride'
June 9, 2014
www.FreeBeacon.com
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Wednesday, January 29, 2014
The Politics of HDTV in the United States
Photo (Courtesy)
http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/J0JInEBgYZ4/maxresdefault.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0JInEBgYZ4
Policy Studies Journal, Vol. 22, No. 2, (213-228)
Jeffrey A. Hart
Policies adopted by the United States government between 1987 and 1993 regardinghigh definition television (HDTV) were made primarily by the Federal Communica-tions Commission (FCC). A brief effort by members of Congress and their bureaucratic and industrial allies to link HDTV to broader industrial policies was thwarted by the George Bush Administration between 1988 and 1990. The FCC's policies with respect to simulcasting and digital signals reflected the concern of that agency to protect the interests of consumers, broadcasters, and electronics manufacturers. The first two interests traditionally were protected bythe FCC, whereas the protection of electronics was somewhat unusual and was influenced by perceptions of declining United States competitiveness. In addition, United States policymaking in this area depended strongly on the framing effect of
policies adopted in Japan and Western Europe.
Introduction
The politics of high definition television (HDTV) provides a window into the world of business-government relations in a new international economic environment of intense competition among the advanced industrial nations. HDTV involves a set of advanced technologies that arise out of a growing convergence between entertainment television and digital electronics. These new technologies include new types of advanced semiconductors, high-resolution displays, and digital recording and transmission technolo-gies.
The public unveiling of working HDTV technologies by the Japanese public broadcaster NHK (Nippon Hoso Kyokai) in 1981 was a shock to the global broadcasting, television, and electronics industries. Japan appeared to be far in front of the rest of the world in what many saw as a set of critical new technologies not just for consumer electronics but for information technology in general.
In the 1960s and 1970s, there was a rapid retreat of United States firms from consumer electronics markets under intense competition from Japan. The United States consumer electronics industry was in a very weak position in the early 1980s. As a result.the United States semiconductor industry was having increased difficulty competing with the larger and more integrated Japanese electronics concerns. When the European Commu-nity reacted negatively in 1986 to a Japanese effort to have its version of HDTV technology recognized as an international standard, many Americans in information technology industries looked to the United States government to respond with special industrial policies for HDTV. Why such policies were proposed, but for the most part not adopted, in the United States is one of the questions to be addressed here.
What is HDTV?
HDTV differs from the current generation of televisions by doubling the horizontal and vertical resolution of video images, and by providing a wider screen and digital stereosound.
Wider screens and digital sound are included in the practical definition of HDTV because market studies indicated that these have strong appeal to consumers. The high Policy Studies Journal, 22:2 definition part of HDTV is more important than wider screens and digital sound technologi-cally, however, because adequate handling of high definition images requires a greater advance in technology.
Definition in television refers to the sharpness, or resolution, of the picture transmitted and received. Potential resolution is affected by the number of horizontal lines scanned onto the video screen, which is why one sees "number of lines" featured in advertisements for many new TV products. Actual vertical and horizontal resolution is measured directly using a test pattern to determine what degree of detail can be displayed on a TV monitor. Actual resolution may vary widely for monitors with the same number of scanning lines. The monitors used in TV studios, for example, display much sharper images than one can get on a TV set at home, partly because they are more expensive and
higher quality devices, but also because they are not subject to the errors and distortions introduced in the transmission of TV signals.
The two main standards families in color TV today, NTSC (the American standard) and PAL/SECAM (the European standards), have 525 and 625 scanning lines respectively.'
Another difference between the two systems is the number of fields displayed per second: in NTSC it is 59.94, in PAL/SECAM only 50. The maximum theoretical resolution of an NTSC image is 360 by 360 pixels; 2 PAL/SECAM resolution theoretically can be higher because of the greater number of scanning lines. The greater frequency of fields per secondof NTSC cuts down on various artifacts, however, such as flicker and moird effects. HDTV production cameras will have 700 or more scanning lines and HDTV images will have atheoretical resolution of at least 700 by 700 pixels. This makes the theoretical horizontal and vertical resolution of HDTV sets at least double that of NTSC or PAL/SECAM sets.
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