Daily Archives: February 26, 2022

Philippines: Presidential candidates must commit to freeing senator unjustly detained for 5 years – Amnesty International

Posted: February 26, 2022 at 11:04 am

Candidates in the May 2022 national elections should commit to the immediate release of prisoner of conscience and Philippine Senator Leila de Lima, who marks her fifth year in arbitrary detention on politically motivated charges this week, Amnesty International said today.

After the killings and impunity that were a hallmark of the Duterte administrations so called war on drugs, human rights must feature front and centre in the election campaign agendas of all candidates. This includes the immediate and unconditional release of Senator de Lima, who continues to speak out against grave violations despite five years of unjust detention, Rachel Chhoa-Howard, Amnesty Internationals Philippines researcher, said.

After the killings and impunity that were a hallmark of the Duterte administrations so called war on drugs, human rights must feature front and centre in the election campaign agendas of all candidates.

Apart from Senator de Limas release, Filipinos and indeed the world look to the next government to address the pervasive culture of impunity in the country. The new government must end all human rights violations, work toward accountability, and provide justice to victims and their families.

Senator de Lima has spent the last five years in arbitrary detention. Her continued detention shows the awful lengths the Philippine government will go to silence its critics. Senator de Limas persecution alongside the killings and other human rights violations under the war on drugs and against human rights defenders will forever be a stain on the governments record. This situation must not be allowed to continue under the next government.

Background:

24 February 2022 marks five years since Senator de Lima was arrested by Philippine authorities and arbitrarily detained.

Senator de Lima was one of the first politicians to be targeted by the authorities after Duterte was elected in June 2016. The attacks against her began when, as the then Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights, she sought to investigate extrajudicial executions and other serious human rights violations under the so-called war on drugs.

The Department of Justice filed three drug-related cases against her on charges of illegal drug trading, which it later changed to conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading. All three cases have been marked by undue delays, including the repeated failure of prosecution witnesses to show up in court and changes in judges handling one case. On 17 February 2021, the court ordered the dismissal of one case; the two others are ongoing.

Amnesty International believes that Senator de Lima is a victim of political persecution, and that the charges against her clearly stem from her criticism of President Dutertes war on drugs, which has resulted in the extrajudicial execution of thousands of suspected drug offenders and other human rights violations.

There has largely been no justice or accountability for the victims and their families, save for the case of 17-year-old Kian delos Santos where three policemen were found guilty of murder in 2018, over a year after his death.

The unjust detention of Senator de Lima continues under the broader context of increasing impunity for human rights violations in the country, including killings, threats and harassment of political activists, human rights defenders, members of the media, and other targeted groups.

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REAGAN: The state of our union is sorry – Troy Record

Posted: at 11:04 am

My son Cameron and I can hardly wait for President Bidens upcoming State of the Union address.

What do you think hes going to say on March 1, Dad? he asked me earlier this week during our phone call.

That the State of the Union is . very sad? Screwed? You finish the sentence.

Seriously, Cameron said. The State of the Union is supposed to be upbeat positive or at least hopeful, right?

Yeah, I said. His speechwriters must be working overtime. The list of big things hes messed up in a single year is long and getting longer.

So whats he going to brag about to the country? Cameron asked.

Well, I said, he did a terrible job with Afghanistan, so he cant bring that up.

The economy is also a no-no.

Inflation is running at 7 percent, interest rates are headed up and millions of workers have still not gone back to work, thanks to the governments generous and never-ending pandemic help.

He sure cant mention crime, Cameron said.

Its spiking in every big city and his justice department is more interested in eliminating cash bail than catching criminals and putting them in jail.

And forget the war on COVID, I said.

Its been a disaster.

Bidens still wearing a mask 24/7, but even blue state governors have finally had enough of the mandates and are getting rid of them.

He cant bring up energy, either, Cameron said. Gas prices are high everywhere. Were paying five bucks a gallon.

Yeah, I said. Remember way, way back in time 2020, I think it was, before Biden took over and started wrecking our fossil fuel industry? I could fill up my truck without taking out an equity loan.

We were energy independent then and the worlds number one producer of oil and natural gas, Cameron said.

Then Biden shut down the Keystone Pipeline, gave Russia the OK for its Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline to Germany and told us that to save the planet we all have to start driving $60,000 electric cars.

Biden wont be bragging on how hes winning the war on drugs, either.

Nope, I said. Hes done nothing about the drug overdose epidemic thats killing a hundred thousand people a year.

And the AMA says its only getting worse thanks mainly to all the illegal fentanyl that comes across our Southern border and is made in China.

Speaking of borders, Cameron said, whats this big deal about Ukraines?

Bidens sending troops and missiles to Europe to show Putin how tough he is. Hes helping Ukraine defend its borders, but he wont help Texas?

Yep, I said, hes working overtime trying to stop the invasion of Ukraine. But since the day he took office weve had a huge invasion on our southern border and its his fault.

I was just looking at an article on the Border Report web site, Cameron said. The headline was Migrant encounters top 2 million in calendar year 2021, on pace for repeat in 2022.

I dont think hell be talking to the country about the state of his immigration policy, I said.

If Putin doesnt send his troops across the Ukrainian border, Cameron said, maybe Biden will be able to brag that he used his great foreign policy expertise and the threat of sanctions to stop the Russians from invading Ukraine.

By the way, Dad, whats the latest on the war in Ukraine? Are we losing it yet?

After this discussion, Cameron, I think its safe to say that the Biden administration is not winning any wars anywhere.

Not the war on inflation. Not the war on illegal immigration. Not the war on drugs.

Given the sorry state of our Union under Biden, I dont expect the war in Ukraine if it comes to be any different.

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Timing of Citizen’s Assembly on drugs shows Government ‘out of touch’, Dil told – The Irish Times

Posted: at 11:04 am

TDs have questioned the Governments priorities after it emerged that a Citizens Assembly on a directly elected mayor for Dublin will take place ahead of one on the issue of drug use.

Assemblies examining whether a directly elected Dublin mayor should be considered and the issue of biodiversity are due to run concurrently from April. Assemblies on drug use and the future of education have also been announced, but they are not expected to take place until next year.

People Before Profit TD Gino Kenny said the Governments decision to delay a citizens assembly on drug use is an affront to the debate.

How any government can priortise a directly elected mayor to the urgent debate around drug use is beyond comprehension, he said.

Lets give this context, this issue has been delayed for decades, while thousands of people die and rot. The assembly that should be in the dock is not the citizens assembly, its this assembly.

This assembly, for decades, has left communities rot, thousands of people should be alive today if it wasnt for the antiquated laws around drug use.

The Dublin Mid-West TD said there were elements of the Government that did not want progress on the issue of drug use, backward elements in Fine Gael and Fianna Fail that have no interest in this issue at all.

They want to see people rot and die and be decrepit because they are happy with the status quo, he added.

Solidarity TD Mick Barry said the sequencing of the assemblies highlighted how out of touch the Government was. The Cork North-Central TD said communities in his constituency were absolutely plagued by drug-dealing with lives wrecked and even lost by misuse.

The war on drugs strategy clearly has failed and theres a clear need for alternative strategies and a real debate on them, he added. The Government think that an elected mayor for Dublin is more important than this, then you are quite simply living on another planet.

Social Democrats TD Cian OCallaghan said there was an absolute urgency in the area of drugs and addiction and there should be a citizens assembly being launched right now by the Government.

Theres no time for any delay on this and theres no justification for that whatsoever, he said.

Independent TD Joan Collins said it was absolutely astounding that a citizens assembly on a directly elected mayor for Dublin would take place ahead of one on drug use. The Dublin South Central TD called on the Government to reconsider the timelines or have three assemblies run concurrently.

Fianna Fil TD Paul McAuliffe said while his number one priority for a citizens assembly was to deal with drug use, the local government system was broken.

It is a system which we inherited from Victorian England and despite that jurisdiction reforming local government like many across Europe, Ireland remains stuck with that Victorian model, further limited by increasing centralisation, he said.

Minister of State Jack Chambers said the sequencing of the assemblies did not indicate or imply a hierarchy of importance.

It is, however, a recognition that each of the four assemblies committed to in the Programme for Government all need the adequate time, space and resources to operate to high quality deliberative forums that they are intended to be, he said.

It would simply not be feasible to run more than two assemblies in parallel. Indeed, much remains to be seen about the benefits and downsides in running two assemblies consecutively.

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Behind the Lens- the perspective that comes with war (audio and text) – SaultOnline.com

Posted: at 11:04 am

The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.G.K. Chesterton

War from card games to quick use slogans like war on drugs, war on crime, or our mothers favourite, Its like a bomb went off in here, has become something many in the western world have forgotten.

The 158 soldiers Canada lost while fighting in Afghanistan was a stark, yet quickly fading reminder of the cost of peace and democracy.

I know many parents and significant others who lost loved ones during that conflict. Anita Bowes is the mother of Private Chad Horn who was killed in 2008.

She shared with the world, lines Chad had inscribed on his back just before he left for his tour.

For those I love, I will sacrifice, Chad Horn.

As someone who signed the dotted line to protect my country in the face of evil, this week has been hard to watch.

In speaking with others who served on the front lines in multiple wars throughout generations, images being shared out of Ukraine bring back bad memories, night terrors, guilt and numerous other negative effects.

In speaking with an individual recently who saw combat first hand, they were beyond floored at how fast the word war comes out of peoples mouths who have no clue what they are talking about (I sanitized this statement).

Summing up his feelings about the use of that word, For all the cries of our government starting a war on protestors, or calls of a civil war, due to what happened, they have no fg clue what its like to have warplanes drop bombs nearby, bullets whiz past your head or the fear of what happens if I dont wake up tomorrow.

Over the last 72 hours, Ive watched the petty arguments about a Convoy fall quickly to the wayside as western society woke up to no more peace, less than half a world away.

That realization, that a world war could be on our doorstep, combined with a sobering threat of something much bigger if the world interfered, finally seemed to make people realize, in retrospect, how dumb some of the infighting was.

Whether its petty crime in your backyard, the use of an emergencies act, to wear or not wear a mask all of that, seems to have taken a back-seat to the realities of what is happening to a democracy.

I havent heard the word tyrant used in almost 4 days when describing our Prime Minister. Its amazing how the perspective that comes with war shows the true colours of world leaders. When a tyrant invades a country, some of the comparisons die down.

An invasion of this magnitude in Europe has not been seen since Germany and the real Nazis (not the name some give our current government) invaded Poland in 1939. That started a world war that lasted until 1945 and cost the world an estimated 70-80 million people.

For those of you concerned about a nuclear war based on the threat Vladimir Putin levelled against anyone wanting to fight the bully, I have a second theory.

Putin warned, Whoever tries to hinder us, and even more so, to create threats to our country, to our people, should know that Russias response will be immediate. And it will lead you to such consequences that you have never encountered in your history,

Most tech experts will tell you Russia and China have spent millions and possibly billions on creating a cyberattack ability that outpaces the western worlds ability to defend against it.

What if Russia decided to shut down the power grid with a virus?

What if they succeeded in taking over and destroying nuclear facilities across North America?

What about opening up the Hoover Dam, knocking out GPS and communications satellites or shutting down command and controls facilities, both military and civilian, at the push of a button?

To me, those consequences would be much harsher than anything weve seen in history and could do a significant amount of damage, without a single nuclear bomb being deployed.

I know this hasnt been my typical behind the lens in that it hasnt touched on local issues or even significantly on national issues.

But writing about potholes, green buildings, traffic accidents and protests seems to pale in comparison to the bigger picture this week. When the world is facing the distinct possibility of devolving into a significant cataclysmic event, as a journalist it brings perspective.

So, I implore you as a city, this week to put aside your differences. Build bridges with friends and loved ones whom you have disagreed with in the past. Reach out to your fellow citizen and give them a hand, even if you dont see eye to eye.

Because I can assure you the families in Kyiv, arent arguing over booster shots, emergencies acts and freedom convoys. They are in a fight for their lives and just seeing tomorrow is what matters most.

Maybe thats a perspective we all need, that tomorrow is not a given, live in today, fix where you messed up yesterday and hope the world will find its way through this conflict more or less the way we went into it.

Thats the way I see it, from behind the lens, Im Dan Gray.

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War against ‘chitta’: Bathinda villagers vow to ‘punish’ drug peddlers themselves – The Tribune India

Posted: at 11:04 am

Tribune News Service

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Bathinda, February 25

At a time when drug addiction is on the rise, residents of Kaljharani village in the district have literally waged a war against chitta, a highly addictive synthetic drug. Many youngsters have died due to drug overdose in the district in the recent past and the issue had been raked up by various political parties during the recently concluded Assembly elections.

Also read:Congress, Akalis' incompetence to blame for people taking law into own hands against drug menace: AAP

No help in securing bail: Panchayat

Muktsar: After a teenager allegedly died of drug overdose at Gurusar village in Gidderbaha, the panchayat on Friday decided not to help anyone secure bail if found selling drugs. The decision was taken after villagers assembled in protest.

Irked at the sale of drugs at the village, the Kaljharani panchayat has resolved to break the legs of drug peddlers selling contraband in the village. Alarmed at the move, the district police have approached the villagers seeking cooperation in their fight against drugs and warning them against taking law into their own hands.

Addressing villagers, sarpanch Kamal Kaurs husband Datinder Singh said they had decided to punish those peddling drugs in the village. Villagers claimed they had been forced to take law into their own hands owing to police inaction. On most occasions when the police are informed about drug peddlers, the offenders are taken into custody but released after some time, they claimed.

Bathinda SSP Amneet Kondal said: After the issue came to my notice, DSP (Rural) Gurdeep Singh and DSP (NDPS) Satvir Singh were sent to the village. Both held a meeting with villagers and assured them of taking strict action against drug peddlers. They sought their cooperation in our fight against drugs and warned them against taking law into their hands.

She said a notice had been issued to the Sangat police station SHO, asking him to explain why the village had taken such a decision and what action was being taken to deal with the drug menace.

As per cases registered in various police stations, 20 persons have died due to drug overdose in the past six months in Bathinda. However, sources claim the actual number could be higher as many cases went unreported.

Dr Vitull K Gupta, a social activist, said: FIRs are registered in only a fraction of cases as most cases go unreported. It is a grave issue and the administration must step up and take remedial measures.

#drug menace

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How Captain Jack Harkness Has Evolved In Doctor Who – BuddyTV

Posted: at 11:03 am

Despite featuring some of the best recurring adversaries to the Doctor, like the Master, the Doctor Who series also isnt short of its good guys, including the dashing and the brave Captain Jack Harkness.

But who exactly is Captain Jack Harkness, whats his relationship with the Doctor, and how has the character evolved through one of televisions longest-running series?

Captain Jack Harkness is a pseudonym adopted by a former Time Agent turned conman Javic Piotr Thane, who appears in the Doctor Who and Torchwood television series, where hes portrayed by John Barrowman, and The Lives of Captain Jack Harkness audio series, where hes voiced by the same actor.

Hes introduced to the Who universe in the New Who era, during Christopher Ecclestons tenure as the Ninth Doctor, though chronologically, he first met Colin Bakers Sixth Doctor in the aforementioned audio series.

Captain Jack Harkness is a known associate of the Doctor, mainly cooperating with Christopher Ecclestons Ninth Doctor, David Tennants Tenth Doctor, and had a brief encounter with Jodie Whittakers Thirteenth Doctor in 2021s festive special episode Revolution of the Daleks.

Though seemingly mundane, John Barrowmans Captain Jack Harkness is actually a time-traveling human from the 51st century, originating from the Boeshane Peninsula one of Earths future colony worlds. He later signs up for the Time Agency, an organization tasked with the safekeeping of time, and garnered the nickname the Face of Boe. Did we mention hes also immortal?

As a time-traveling agent, conman, and later companion, Jack Harkness possesses several unique abilities.

As a human from the 51st century, Captain Jack Harkness has an evolutionary advantage over typical humans/companions found in the Doctor Who series. This advantage comes in the form of evolved human pheromones, which made him naturally nice-smelling and attractive to others.

In fact, in the episode The Doctor Dance, Jack recalls being sentenced to death. Thanks to his evolved human pheromones, he managed to seduce and bed both executioners at the same time, referring to them as a lovely couple that has stayed in touch. Of course, there was some hypervodka involved as well.

One of his most crucial abilities is his immortality and the range of other abilities implied by the detachment of death, like resistance to heat and radiation. However, his immortality isnt innate to his being; it was accidentally acquired through a failed resurrection process.

Jack was brought back to life by Rose Tyler as the Bad Wolf after he was killed by the Daleks on Satellite 5. However, Rose couldnt control the newfound powers she wielded at the time, and instead of simply resurrecting Jack, Rose brought him back forever.

Because of this, Jack became a fixed point in time and space, and as a result, he is now eternal, never aging past his prime, and never capable of truly dying. Whenever he did die, he would resurrect almost instantly, followed by a deep breath as his respiratory system became active again.

Severe trauma could delay his resurrection; he once recovered from being blown up by a bomb, regenerating himself from just his arm. His body would first grow the bones, followed by internal organs, flesh, and skin. This also meant that he could regain consciousness during still incomplete resurrections and feel all the pain associated with the current state of his body.

The advantages, besides immortality, were resistance to heat and radiation, which had no effect on him due to his regenerative capabilities, which would keep him in nearly perfect health at all times. Smaller injuries, like superficial cuts and bruises, will remain and heal at the rate of a normal human.

Other than the evolved pheromones and immortality, Jack had no other superhuman abilities. However, he was physically strong and fit, a skilled fighter with extremely fast reflexes, and an expert in firearms.

So far, Captain Jack Harkness has appeared nine times in the entire Doctor Who series, not counting for the Torchwood spin-off. Heres a list of his appearances.

While there are previous records of Jack traveling with the Doctor before the time he met Rose, the most common account of Jack and Doctors first encounter states that the two met during the London Blitz in The Empty Child episode.

He became a recurring member of Team TARDIS throughout the Season One of the new Who series, up until he became immortal and was unfortunately stranded in the year 200,100. He was left there purposefully by the Doctor, explaining that Jacks nature fixed in time and space now prevented normal functioning of the TARDIS.

However, despite being on friendly terms, the Doctor and Jack have very little in common in terms of their respective physiologies. Jack resurrects himself as a response to fatal injury and does have some instantaneously regenerative abilities, but those arent similar to the Doctors ability to regenerate in any way.

While the Doctors regeneration is a part of his Time Lord physiology, allowing him to regenerate entirely from old age or fatal injuries, Jacks resurrection is entirely different. Sure, it allows him to regenerate as well, but unlike the Doctor, Jack apparently cant be permanently killed. By all accounts of the Doctor Who series, Captain Jack Harkness is endless.

As we previously said, he was resurrected by Rose Tyler, who had become the Bad Wolf after absorbing Time Vortex energies, during the Dalek invasion of Earth in the 2002nd century. However, Rose didnt have full control of her powers and ended up resurrecting Harkness forever a gift he sometimes saw as a curse.

Apart from becoming immortal in the series, Jack Harkness remained a forever dashing and handsome character that didnt see much development over the course of the Doctor Who series.

Most of his characters backstory and numerous adventures were explored in the Doctor Who spin-off series, Torchwood, which ran for four seasons, before concluding its run in 2011.

According to numerous reports, the future of Captain Jack Harkness within the Who universe is questionable, at best. John Barrowman has been systematically distanced from the projects tangentially connected to the Doctor Who series following the stings of accusations questioning his on-set professionalism and discipline.

In Torchwood: Children of Earth What Was the Unusual Reason the 456 Wanted Human Children?

They Needed Them to Eat

They Needed Them as a Recreational Drug

They Needed Them for Their Religion

They Needed Them to Help Increase Their Numbers

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Doctor Who Has Long Hinted That Jack Harkness Will Evolve Into the Oldest Living Creature in Existence One Day with What Apt Name?

The Man Who Beat Death

The Chin of Gilgamesh

The Everlaster

The Face of Boe

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In Doctor Who Spin-Off "Torchwood," What Was Revealed to be the Name of Jack's Long Lost and Thought Dead Brother?

Continue >>

How Did Jack Know That if He Based Himself in Cardiff the Doctor Would Eventually Make an Appearance?

Susan Secretly Has an Apartment in Cardiff

He Knew the Doctor Would Come Looking for Him

Cardiff Has a Time Rift That is Needed to Refuel the Tardis

Cardiff has the Best Jelly Babies in all of London

Continue >>

After the events of Jack's Resurrection on Satellite 5 What Year did the Vortex Manipulator End up Stranding Him on Earth?

Continue >>

Excellent Job! You know your stuff

Play Again!

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Dr. Stones Big Villain Explains Why the World Was Turned to Stone – Verve Times

Posted: at 11:03 am

Dr. Stones big villain explained why the world was petrified and turned to stone in the first place with the latest chapters of the manga series! Ever since Riichiro Inagaki and Boichis original manga series kicked off its final arc last Fall, the Stone to Space phase of the series saw Senku Ishigami working together with people all over Earth to eventually craft a ship that could make the journey into space. When finally making their way to the moon successfully, the newest string of chapters have seen him now coming face to face with the one who started it all, Why-Man.

The series is inching closer and closer to its immediate end (which is looking all the more palpable with some of the reveals we have gotten lately), and after it was revealed that the true villain of the series was a mass of Medusas that serve as a parasitic technological life force that seeks to advance their own means through the exploitation of intelligent life, its explained that the Earth was turned to stone in the first place as their intelligent life could understand the allure of eternal life. Thus keeping the cycle going.

Chapters 229-230 of the series sees the Medusas explain that they first test intelligent life with their petrification, and that humanity was one of the species that recognized that this power could keep them alive forever. This granted immortality was meant to be a lure to eventually experiment enough to keep the Medusas going. Monitoring the radio waves given by humanity over the millennia, the Medusas sought to teach humans about this immortality by forcing activation throughout the years.

Its why the Meduas seemed to activate on their own, and its why the Do you want to die? question comes into play as the Medusas are literally asking humanity if theyd prefer death over that eternal life. The petrification is made to break easier with high mental activity (its why Senku is one of the first to break out), and when the humans chose to avoid the Medusa use at first, then they started to act even more. Now its just a matter if Senku can work with such a mentality.

The Medusas cant understand why humanity would devlop technology that isnt specifically meant for saving the Medusas, and Senku needs to understand more about this advanced technological life. As the series comes to an end, theres one last agreement that Senku wants to reach. Well see if that works out, but what do you think? How do you feel about the Why-Mans reveal overall? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animated and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!

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Legacies Revealed Another Supernatural Entity, And A Surprising New Ally For Hope – CinemaBlend

Posted: at 11:03 am

Warning! The following contains spoilers for the Legacies episode called The Story Of My Life. Read at your own risk!

Hopes continued fight against Aurora is chugging along, although the situation definitely got more complicated in the latest Legacies episode. In short, we now have another supernatural entity added to the mix, and Hope realized after tussling with one of them that she needs an ally if she wants to achieve her goals. If Hope is going to take down Aurora and risk scuffles with demi-gods and gods, she needs Lizzies help. Lizzie didnt want to help, but as we learned in the latest episode, she didnt have a choice.

Lizzies transition to Heretic (witch and vampire hybrid) gave her more strength to take on Hopes Tribrid abilities, but it came at a terrible price. Because the blood Lizzie ingested was that of Hope, shes now sired to Hope and cannot disobey any order that Hope should give. As such, Lizzie doesnt really have a choice but to tag along when Hope asked her to join, though its worth noting that Hope didnt need to force Lizzie to come along despite her objections of risking her newfound immortality on a suicide mission.

We didnt learn the identity of the slacker student who Hope suspected was a god after the girl blasted the Tribrid aside like she was nothing and flew away. Legacies did, however, reveal that Ben, the person who the teens back at the Salvatore School helped, was actually the god Prometheus. Prometheus is known in mythology for giving humans fire and being punished for it by the gods in a rather gruesome way. Thankfully Ben confirmed some of that is a myth, though didn't go deep into specifics.

In this telling, it appeared Legacies credited Prometheus with awarding humans the ability of magic. Ben was grateful the Salvatore kids helped him out and seemed to forge a close bond with Jed. It seemed like something a little deeper than a bromance could form on that front, but its too soon to tell.

Legacies adding gods to the mix is an exciting development, though its not known exactly how big of a role theyll play in the story at this point. For example, next weeks episode, called Follow The Sound Of My Voice, takes the typical show detour, and it seems the heroes will wind up at some random carnival that is anything but normal. Check out the synopsis for the episode, which doesnt mention gods once.

Hope (Danielle Rose Russell) and Lizzie (Jenny Boyd) find themselves at a carnival with an unusual cast of characters. Back at the Salvatore School, students are speaking their minds without knowing why, which makes Jed (Ben Levin) reveal a secret, and Cleo (Omono Okojie) works on protecting one of their own. Meanwhile, Kaleb (Chris Lee) and MG (Quincy Fouse) set out on a mission, which does not go as planned.

At least based on the episode description, we can safely say that Lizzie is actually forced to stay by Hopes side, because I doubt the Legacies character would stick around if she didnt have to. Who knows, though? Perhaps Hope can benefit from teaming up with someone who is always willing to embrace her humanity. Lizzie could just convince Hope to return to her normal self, but thats going to take time.

Legacies airs on The CW on Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. ET. Its just one of the few returning shows worth checking out this year, and hopefully, one that is better than when it went into break.

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David Feherty to Host World Golf Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony – Golf Channel

Posted: at 11:03 am

Golf Channel personality David Feherty will host next months World Golf Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

The ceremony will be held March 9, on the eve of the Players Championship. The event will air live on Golf Channel at 7 p.m. ET.

Tiger Woods is among the four Hall of Fame inductees, along with Tim Finchem, Susie Maxwell Berning and the late Marion Hollins.

The ceremony will be held at the PGA Tours new headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

As someone who has been around golf practically my entire life, I know firsthand that the highest possible honor in our sport is the immortality that is reserved for members of the World Golf Hall of Fame, Feherty said in a release. Im thrilled to contribute in some small way to what will be a historic evening as the Hall of Fame honors its new inductees.

The Hall ceremony will also recognize Peter Ueberroth and the late Dick Ferris as recipients of a newly created lifetime achievement honor. Renee Powell will also receive the inaugural Charlie Sifford Award for advancing diversity in golf.

Feherty, an Emmy-nominated golf personality, has been with Golf Channel and NBC Sports since 2015.

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Review: Conversation and Conflict, as Warhol Meets Basquiat – The New York Times

Posted: at 11:02 am

LONDON Opposite art world titans attract in The Collaboration, a new play that opened Thursday at the Young Vic Theater here. Chronicling the creative partnership between Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat during the 1980s, Anthony McCartens play offers bravura performances from Paul Bettany and Jeremy Pope as the two cultural icons.

And if the writing isnt fully the equal of its star turns, well, a film version of this play is already planned. A movie should give McCarten the opportunity to sharpen a script that, as of now, only begins to deliver on its promise in the second act.

This writers track record with biopics certainly bodes well for Bettany and Pope when they transfer to the screen: The movies McCarten wrote about Stephen Hawking (The Theory of Everything), Winston Churchill (The Darkest Hour) and Freddie Mercury (Bohemian Rhapsody) brought Oscar wins for each of their leading men. His 2019 film, The Two Popes, earned nominations for the co-stars Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins and is the closest of those movies in structure to The Collaboration.

Like that film, with his new play McCarten imagines a duos conversations and conflicts. At the beginning, Bettanys lean, languid Warhol isnt sure about the commingling of talent that the Swiss art dealer Bruno Bischofberger (an excitable Alec Newman) has in mind for him and Basquiat: a joint exhibition to decide which of the two is the worlds greatest artist. Bischofberger has an eye on publicity and regards painters, he says, as boxers.

Gee, Warhol objects to the gallerist, you make it sound so macho, like a contest. Popes initially indrawn, pouty Basquiat, 30 years Warhols junior, isnt any more certain that he wants to be part of a double act: Hes old hat. Does anyone really care about Warhol now? One man traffics in brands and pop culture iconography (we see Warhols signature Marilyn Monroes on the walls of Anna Fleischles flexible, white-walled set), the other sees logos as the enemy. Art, Basquiat maintains, has to have a purpose.

The material follows a dramatically predictable course from mutual wariness to admiration, leading eventually to love. In fact, that very word is voiced in the penultimate line. Dismissive of Warhols attraction to surfaces at the expense of substance, Basquiat comes to adore him as a protective rival turned father figure, of sorts.

I hope you dont die, Jean, Warhol cautions, insisting that the addiction-prone Basquiat clean up his act. The younger artists reply is to insist on his own immortality, unaware, of course, that both men would die not long after, within 18 months of each other. When they do actually collaborate on a sequence of paintings its given surprisingly little stage time; you miss the specific attention to the artistic process that fueled a play like John Logans Tony-winning Red, about Mark Rothko.

The director Kwame Kwei-Armah gets up close and personal with Warhol and Basquiat as the duo move beyond some fairly labored exposition (like when Basquiat, on cue, details his Haitian-Puerto Rican parentage) to achieve real power. The two actors manage to find something primal beyond the boilerplate writing.

Pope, an Emmy and two-time Tony Award nominee, fills with fury as we see Basquiat at work on Defacement (The Death of Michael Stewart), a painting created in response to the police brutality that resulted in the death of a young graffiti artist in 1983. The canvas inevitably chimes with the Black Lives Matter movement Basquiat never got to see, and lends The Collaboration a wrenching topicality.

A springy, restless stage presence, that sweet-faced actor communicates the heightened edginess of a man hurtling toward disaster. Its a shame, therefore, that the belated arrival into the play of Basquiats girlfriend Maya (Sofia Barclay) seems perfunctory, as if McCarten werent sure quite how to broaden the story beyond the artist duo.

Bettany, in turn, is a marvel in his first stage role in several decades. The Englishman, a longtime U.S. resident, has starred in Marvel movies and recently impressed as a forbidding Duke of Argyll in the BBC TV show A Very British Scandal, which will come to the United States in April.

A figure of white-wigged insouciance still reeling from having been shot by Valerie Solanas some years before the play starts, this Warhol reveals an insecurity and disgust that take the part well beyond caricature. Survival, you sense, is no less precarious for him than it is for Basquiat. The two legends are hellbent on self-laceration, reminding us that, no matter how great our cultural legacy, were all mortal.

The Collaboration.Through April 2 at the Young Vic in London; youngvic.org.

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Review: Conversation and Conflict, as Warhol Meets Basquiat - The New York Times

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