Category Archives: Politically Incorrect

With less than a week to go before a brand new President of what was once called The greatest country on earth yes, America is sworn in, the biggest question being asked is: what will Kamala Harris wear to the swearing in ceremony? And even more importantly, what will she sport earlier, when she prosecutes The (disgraced) Donald? From an unprecedented second impeachment of the President to peachy outfits worn by the Vice President elect, the world is literally sizing up the state of the United States of America. During the shocking invasion of Capitol Hill (come on, we have seen worse in India and elsewhere), there was a parallel breaking news story burning up the wires it involved a fashion shoot featuring Kamala Harris.

All sorts of political subtexts were being read into the cover of the fashion bible that has ruled without resistance for decades. Kamala was featured in a dull brown, utterly unflattering pant suit, in a particularly ungainly pose. I totally loved the real portrait of an accomplished woman who, excuse me, is not a professional model. It was in keeping with the mood and the times down to her statement-making Converse sneakers (I so hope she pairs them with her gown at the fancy-shmancy Inaugural Ball).

Kamala is a powerful symbol of all that women across the globe aspire to be. She does not need to look like an over-glamorised, pimped up mannequin with the full fashion diva treatment. What was all that fuss about? Baby blue pant suit versus mud brown? Arms across the chest versus a more relaxed body language? Baap re all this charcha and heated debate over a glossy cover? Can we not go beyond optics for once? Did anybody bother to read her interview with the same level of scrutiny? Most importantly: had a man been the Vice-President elect, would he have been featured like a rock star on the cover of a leading mens fashion magazine? Would political analysts have gone into a tizzy deconstructing his choice of a tuxedo?

Its surprising how the American public has supported the fashion positioning of their first ladies over the years, and given it such exaggerated importance. Whether it was the birdlike Nancy Reagan in borrowed designer feathers (she conveniently forgot to return a few gowns), or the trademark pearls worn by the motherly Barbara Carter, everybody was all eyes. When it came to the ultimate trend setter Jackie Kennedy-Onassis, her every public appearance started a fashion craze (pillbox hats, anyone?). More recently, Michelle Obama made sleeveless shifts a personal call for supporting inexpensive mass merchandise though it was only later when she showcased high fashion, clad in sexy off-shoulder gowns created by top designers, that she was dubbed a bona fide fashionista. The same fashion bible featured Michelle twice over as a cover girl. Much to Donald Trumps frustration, his stunning, former model wife Melania, was studiously snubbed by the clearly partisan fashion press a snub he will not forget.

The impeachment shenanigans are likely to keep Americans on their toes, given the long-term implications. Will the Trumps flee to some distant land to save their skins and escape charges? Media reports are talking about a flight ban, making Donald Trump same-same but different from our desi standup comic who faced a similar ban. Rich irony? Trumpji is facing multiple bans and dealing head on with todays cancel culture. However, he is capable of turning all the hate around and claiming it as a personal victory (No other US President has faced not one, but two impeachments!).

Next weeks Inaugural Ball has managed a decent line up of top entertainers clearly, Biden supporters. Trump didnt succeed beyond getting a choir for his big day. We are told Joe Biden will be dressed by Americas iconic designer Ralph Lauren. Im guessing no self-respecting male invitee will sport a red tie Trump gaya, laal tie bhi gayee. Im hoping Kamala will wear a saree by one of Indias best. Or at least stick on a bindi! Come on, Kamala your mother was Indian, even if she brought you up as a Black. We need that nod from you, okay? A bindi wont hurt sneakers and a bindi and/or a maang tikka?

Incitement to Insurrection is the phrase of the year. The spotlight is also on stylish Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who famously repeated her impeachment outfits. Nancys look and perfectly coiffured hair will be carefully analysed for hidden messages. As for the macho pantsuit that Hilary Clinton brought into the White House, looks like Kamala Harris will make it her uniform, as well. Unless, of course, she too starts flirting outrageously with fashion (please do!) and begins flashing her collar bones and false eyelashes a la Michelle Obama. Nothing like a dash of ummmm chutzpah and daring, to keep dem voters hooked!

Views expressed above are the author's own.

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Why so much charcha over Kamala Harriss clothes? - The Times of India Blog

Despite the difficulties of 2020, some beauty brands made strides that have set them up for long-term growth. Case in point: customized and personalized Function of Beauty, best known for its hair care products.

The 4-year-old startup closed out December 2020 with a $150 million Series B raise led by L Catterton, which it followed with a brick-and-mortar retail expansion with Target. And before that, the brand made several strategic moves, such as extending into body careandskin care, and launching national linear television ads.

Of the success, on this weeks episode of the Glossy Beauty Podcast, Function of Beauty co-founder and CEO Zahir Dossa said, Its getting borderline politically incorrect to ever say you had a great 2020, so I will not commit to having a great one. For the business itself, weve had some wins, but we had a lot of tough challenges to overcome, as well. Overall, I think it was a huge success with the ability to carry out all our ambitious plans, all in one year. Reportedly, the brand has hit $100 million in sales, and it currently has a $1 billion valuation.

But there were hiccups, namely shipping delays and effectively communicating those issues to the customer in the pandemic-filled year. We were negatively affected by much longer lead times and a harder time getting our products to our international customers, as well, he said.

Dossa admitted that, in a way, the company is a technology-powered version of the defunct Este Lauder Companies brand Prescriptives. Prescriptives did custom foundation with people hand-mixing things, but we were the first to automate. And I think thats the big difference maker of why were still around and continue to grow, he said.

Here are a few highlights from the conversation, which have been lightly edited for clarity.

How personalization and customization can work in traditional retailTheres still a small percentage of customers that shop solely online. So, it does become increasingly difficult to get more and more customers and make Function of Beauty and what our model is about not a niche. Target was a perfect partner for us and overlapped really well with our customer base. Its a really cool spot for [letting] customers, who are a little antsy about customization or dont want to take a full step into it, have a really easy way of learning the benefits of customization and what makes Function of Beauty so great. It also [allows us] to get a whole other target segment of customers who frankly just prefer shopping in brick-and-mortar stores and getting products right when they want them.

On possible exit opportunitiesI think anything is possible. I mean, the ideal case is global domination At the end of the day, our real goal is to make personalization the norm, and were going to do anything and everything that makes that possible. If IPO is the right path, then so be it. If its a merger with with a big, traditional strategic, so to speak, then that could also be a possibility, or there is a world where we stayed private. Were constantly assessing each and every single one of those options to figure out just what makes most sense and is most true for our brand.

Can beauty companies be tech companies?Theres a new area of consumer tech companies, so tech companies that are really focused on delivering consumer products and goods. I definitely think were in that space. I think the downside of saying youre just a tech company, it makes it feel like youre almost all solutions-oriented and almost a service. You lose a lot of the beauty of the brand and that emotional experience that would distinguish us or would establish us as a beauty company or a consumer-first company. I think it is really hard to come up with, Heres, exactly what Function of Beauty is, when it comes to industries as a whole. I think we do high-end automated manufacturing better than anyone for being able to do products like we do. I think we have a stronger brand than anyone in beauty, as well.

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Function of Beautys Zahir Dossa: The ideal case is global domination - Glossy

Corn Nuts. Fotomat. A Truckasaurus rally.

The 1980s are alive and kicking in the San Fernando Valley courtesy of "Cobra Kai's" Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), a hard-drinking, heavy metal holdover from an era when Twisted Sister ruled the charts and "No Fat Chicks" bumper stickers were commonplace.

The karate dramedy's lead carries Season 3, which premiered New Year's Day on its new platform, Netflix. The streamer picked up the YouTube Premium series last year, delighting loyal "Kai" fans by adding the first two seasons to its catalog and announcing there would soon be a third.

Season 3 of the self-aware, kitschy soap takes place 36 years after the original "Karate Kid" movie, on which the series is based. Though Johnny and Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) are now in their 50s, their long-simmering rivalry has spilled over to the students of their competing dojos. Now the Valley is home to an all-out struggle between karate gangs. These food-court warriors include LaRusso's earnest daughter, Samantha (Mary Mouser); Johnny's delinquent son, Robby (Tanner Buchanan); and Johnny's neighbor, high schooler Miguel Diaz (Xolo Mariduena). And Johnny's former teacher, Kreese (Martin Kove), who stole his dojo, is more than happy to fan the flames.

Campy, fun and nostalgic, this series from Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg continues to build pop culture lore around the aging film franchise, looking toward the future by drawing from the past. The main characters' fortunes have reversed since they battled it out at the All-Valley Karate Tournament way back when. Rich kid Johnny is a broke, divorced handyman who lives alone in a crappy Reseda apartment. Poor kid Daniel is a successful businessman who lives in the upscale West Valley with his seemingly perfect family.

But while a lot has changed since 1984, Johnny is not part of the evolution. Watching the Coors Banquet-drinking, "Tango & Cash"-loving waster navigate today's Valley, with its vegan menus, overpriced rental market and confusing array of craft cocktails, is a blast.

The unapologetic throwback still calls women "babes," wears a long-sleeved thermal under his flannel shirt and rocks out to the Cre's "Kickstart My Heart." Pretty much everything he says is politically incorrect, and not in a Rush Limbaugh sort of way. Snowflakes are still just frozen water to Johnny.

Those of us who grew up in the Valley in the '80s will recognize Johnny as a former classmate or perhaps a version of our clueless, high school selves "Dude!" "Bro!" He'll either make you shudder or laugh. I did both.

But there's a charm and innocence in the way he views modern times through vintage Ray-Bans. Facebook is mostly still a mystery to him, but when he does manage to type a message out, it's in ALL CAPS. Why would that imply he's a serial killer?

Season 3 of "Cobra Kai" capitalizes on Johnny's woefully out-of-touch ways and the steep learning curve he faces while trying to impress an old flame, at once helping the viewer understand the character's time-capsule quality and poking fun at it. The teens he trains in karate even coach him on the basics of living in the 21st century: Bullying is bad, sexism is worse, and it's not OK to nickname students things like "penis breath." (Hand-to-hand combat never drops out of fashion in the world of "Cobra Kai" though.)

There are too many spoilers to get into plot specifics, but if you liked the last two seasons, you'll love the new one. Original characters from the first film appear throughout, giving the sense that the series has a much wider arc than it really does, while new characters continue to push the story forward.

"Cobra Kai" has already been renewed for a fourth season, so expect more high-flying kicks in the tony homes west of Ventura Boulevard and in the dilapidated mini-malls of Reseda. Or is it Van Nuys? Johnny doesn't care where it is or how the place has changed . The Valley is still the Valley, where rock rules and karate is as bitchin' as ever.

COBRA KAI

Where: Netflix

When: Any time

Rating: TV-14 (may be unsuitable for children under the age of 14)

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Review: 'Cobra Kai' is poignant and funny - News from southeastern Connecticut - theday.com

Celebrity birthdays for the week of Jan. 17-23

Jan. 17: Actor Betty White is 99. Actor James Earl Jones is 90. Talk show host Maury Povich is 82. Singer Chris Montez is 79. Singer William Hart of The Delfonics is 76. Actor Joanna David ("Downton Abbey") is 74. Actor Jane Elliott ("General Hospital") is 74. Former Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor is 73. Singer Sheila Hutchinson of The Emotions is 68. Singer Steve Earle is 66. Singer Paul Young is 65. Actor-comedian Steve Harvey is 64. Singer Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles is 62. Writer-Director Brian Helgeland ("42," Mystic River," L.A. Confidential") is 60. Actor Jim Carrey is 59. Actor Denis O'Hare ("The Good Wife," True Blood") is 59. Actor Joshua Malina ("The West Wing," Sports Night") is 55. Singer Shabba Ranks is 55. Drummer Jon Wysocki (Staind) is 53. Actor Naveen Andrews ("Instinct," "Lost") is 52. Electronic musician DJ Tiesto is 52. Musician Kid Rock is 50. Actor Freddy Rodriguez ("The Night Shift," Six Feet Under") is 46. Actor-writer Leigh Whannel ("Saw" and "Insidious" movies) is 44. Actor-singer Zooey Deschanel ("New Girl") is 41. Singer Ray J is 40. Country singer Amanda Wilkinson of The Wilkinsons is 39. Actor Ryan Gage ("The Hobbit") is 38. DJ Calvin Harris is 37. Drummer Jeremiah Fraites of The Lumineers is 35. Actor Jonathan Keltz ("Reign," Entourage") is 33. Actor Kelly Marie Tran ("Star Wars: The Last Jedi") is 32. Actor Kathrine Herzer ("Madame Secretary") is 24.

Jan. 18: Singer-songwriter Bobby Goldsboro is 80. Comedian-singer Brett Hudson of the Hudson Brothers is 68. Actor-director Kevin Costner is 66. Country singer-actor Mark Collie ("Nashville") is 65. Actor Mark Rylance ("Bridge of Spies," The Other Boleyn Girl") is 61. Actor Alison Arngrim ("Little House on the Prairie") is 59. Actor Jane Horrocks ("Absolutely Fabulous") is 57. Comedian Dave Attell ("Insomniac") is 56. Actor Jesse L. Martin (TV's "The Flash," Law and Order") is 52. Rapper DJ Quik is 51. Singer Jonathan Davis of Korn is 50. Singer Christian Burns of BBMak is 47. Actor Derek Richardson ("Men in Trees") is 45. Actor-screenwriter Jason Segel ("How I Met Your Mother," Freaks and Geeks") is 41. Singer-actor Samantha Mumba is 38. Actor Ashleigh Murray ("Riverdale") is 33. Actor Zeeko Zaki ("FBI," "24: Legacy") is 31. Actor Mateus Ward ("Hostages") is 22.

Jan. 19: Actor Tippi Hedren is 91. Journalist Robert MacNeil is 90. Director Richard Lester ("A Hard Day's Night," "Superman II" and "III") is 89. Actor-singer Michael Crawford is 79. Actor Shelley Fabares is 77. Country singer Dolly Parton is 75. TV chef Paula Deen is 74. Singer Martha Davis of The Motels is 70. Singer Dewey Bunnell of America is 69. Actor Desi Arnaz Jr. is 68. Actor Katey Sagal ("Sons of Anarchy," Married... With Children") is 67. Comedian Paul Rodriguez is 66. Keyboardist Mickey Virtue (UB40) is 64. Actor Paul McCrane ("ER") is 60. Singer Whitfield Crane of Ugly Kid Joe is 53. Singer Trey Lorenz is 52. Actor Shawn Wayans ("White Chicks," Scary Movie") is 50. Singer-guitarist John Wozniak of Marcy Playground is 50. Actor Drea de Matteo ("Joey," The Sopranos") is 49. Comedian Frank Caliendo ("Frank TV," Mad TV") is 47. Actor Drew Powell ("Gotham") is 45. Actor Marsha Thomason ("Las Vegas") is 45. Actor Bitsie Tulloch ("Grimm") is 40. Actor Jodie Sweetin ("Full House") is 39. Actor Shaunette Renee Wilson ("The Resident") is 31. Actor Briana Henry ("General Hospital") is 29. Actor Logan Lerman ("Percy Jackson" films) is 29. Rapper Taylor Bennett is 25. Actor Lidya Jewett ("Hidden Figures") is 14.

Jan. 20: Singer Eric Stewart (10cc, Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders) is 76. Director David Lynch is 75. Drummer George Grantham of Poco is 74. Guitarist Paul Stanley of Kiss is 69. Bassist Ian Hill of Judas Priest is 69. TV host Bill Maher ("Politically Incorrect") is 65. Actor Lorenzo Lamas is 63. Actor James Denton ("Desperate Housewives") is 58. Bassist Greg K. of The Offspring is 56. Country singer John Michael Montgomery is 56. Actor Rainn Wilson ("The Office") is 55. Actor Stacey Dash ("Clueless") is 54. Actor Reno Wilson ("Mike and Molly") is 52. Singer Edwin McCain is 51. Actor Skeet Ulrich is 51. Drummer Questlove of The Roots is 50. Drummer Rob Bourdon of Linkin Park is 42. Singer-songwriter Bonnie McKee is 37. Country singer Brantley Gilbert is 36. Singer Kevin Parker of Tame Impala is 35. Actor Evan Peters ("American Horror Story") is 34.

Jan. 21: Opera singer Placido Domingo is 80. Actor Jill Eikenberry is 74. Guitarist Jim Ibbotson (The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) is 74. Singer-songwriter Billy Ocean is 71. Actor Robby Benson is 65. Actor Geena Davis is 65. Actor Charlotte Ross ("NYPD Blue") is 53. Singer Marc Gay of Shai is 52. Actor Karina Lombard ("The L Word") is 52. Actor Ken Leung ("Marvel's Inhumans," Lost") is 51. Rapper Levirt of B-Rock and the Bizz is 51. Drummer Mark Trojanowski of Sister Hazel is 51. Singer Cat Power is 49. DJ Chris Kilmore of Incubus is 48. Singer Emma Bunton (Baby Spice) of the Spice Girls is 45. Actor Jerry Trainor ("Wendell & Vinnie," iCarly") is 44. Singer Nokio of Dru Hill is 42. Actor Izabella Miko ("Coyote Ugly") is 40. Actor Luke Grimes (TV's "Yellowstone," film's "Fifty Shades") is 37. Actor Feliz Ramirez (TV's "Grand Hotel") is 29.

Jan. 22: Actor Piper Laurie is 89. Singer Steve Perry (Journey) is 72. Bassist Teddy Gentry of Alabama is 69. Actor John Wesley Shipp ("The Flash," Dawson's Creek") is 66. Actor Linda Blair is 62. Actor Diane Lane is 56. Country singer Regina Nicks of Regina Regina is 56. Rapper-actor DJ Jazzy Jeff is 56. Celebrity chef Guy Fieri is 53. Actor Olivia D'Abo ("Law and Order: Criminal Intent," The Wonder Years") is 52. Actor Katie Finneran ("The Michael J. Fox Show") is 50. Actor Gabriel Macht ("Suits") is 49. Actor Balthazar Getty is 46. Actor Christopher Kennedy Masterson ("Malcolm in the Middle") is 41. Jazz singer Lizz Wright is 41. Singer Willa Ford is 40. Actor Beverley Mitchell ("Seventh Heaven") is 40. Guitarist Ben Moody of The Fallen (and formerly of Evanescence) is 40. Actor-singer Phoebe Strole ("Glee") is 38. Rapper Logic is 31. Actor Sami Gayle ("Blue Bloods") is 25.

Jan. 23: Actor Chita Rivera is 88. Actor-director Lou Antonio ("Cool Hand Luke") is 87. Jazz vibraphonist Gary Burton is 78. Actor Gil Gerard is 78. Singer Anita Pointer of the Pointer Sisters is 73. Bassist-keyboardist Bill Cunningham of The Box Tops is 71. Actor Richard Dean Anderson ("MacGyver") is 71. Singer-guitarist Robin Zander of Cheap Trick is 68. Singer Anita Baker is 63. Bassist Earl Falconer of UB40 is 62. Actor Peter Mackenzie ("black-ish") is 60. Actor Boris McGiver ("House of Cards," Boardwalk Empire") is 59. Actor Gail O'Grady ("American Dreams," NYPD Blue") is 58. Actor Mariska Hargitay ("Law and Order: Special Victims Unit") is 57. Singer Marc Nelson (Az Yet) is 50. "CBS Evening News" anchor Norah O'Donnell is 47. Actor Tiffani Thiessen ("Beverly Hills, 90210") is 47. Bassist Nick Harmer of Death Cab for Cutie is 46. Actor Lindsey Kraft ("Living Biblically") is 41.

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Celebrity birthdays for the week of Jan. 17-23 - Minneapolis Star Tribune

The attack on the US Capitol prompted unprecedented action from Twitter and Facebook, amid criticism that the president was using their platforms to foment an insurrection.

Tens of thousands of accounts, pages and groups tied to the more extreme parts of the pro-Trump movement have been suspended and banned following the attack - as have Donald Trump's own accounts - driving his supporters to fringe websites.

One alternative platform, Parler, was removed from Apple and Google's app stores over the weekend - with Amazon kicking Parler's website off its hosting infrastructure. Now, many of Mr Trump's supporters are seeking services that can resist action taken by tech giants and governments.

Sky News has observed a rise in the number of conversations and engagements taking place on platforms such as Gab, MeWe, Telegram and CloutHub.

The scale of the bans on mainstream social networks is not clear. Twitter says it has removed 70,000 accounts that promoted the QAnon conspiracy theory - but many users operated multiple accounts, so the size of the movement on the platform was smaller than it first appeared.

Facebook announced that it would begin removing posts quoting the QAnon catchphrase "stop the steal" ahead of Joe Biden's inauguration on 20 January due to the risk of additional violence.

But these messages have found new spaces to flourish, as Sky News found through direct observations and data from CrowdTangle, a public insights tool owned and operated by Facebook.

Social networks like Gab and MeWe are offering a replacement for Facebook and Twitter - while other aspects of the movement continue to foment on even more fringe forums including 4chan, 8chan, and The Donald.

Gab

Gab was launched as a self-proclaimed free speech website in 2016 by Andrew Torba and Ekrem Buyukkaya. It is now widely considered to be a digital haven for far-right extremists, with researchers linking it to radicalisation and offline violence.

Its users include US politician Marjorie Greene, a newly elected Republican member of the House of Representatives, who has regularly supported the QAnon conspiracy theory.

Ms Greene had posted a picture of herself on Facebook holding a rifle next to images of Democratic congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib - stating it was time to "go on the offence against these socialists who want to rip our country apart". Facebook deleted the image for inciting violence.

In a new post on Gab, Ms Greene said: "Dems are the hypocrites that call for violence. The people see through it all. No amount of censorship will hide the truth."

Gab's app was removed from the Google Play store in 2017 for violating hate speech policy, and it is not listed in Apple's app store for similar reasons.

Despite this, Google Trends data shows an increase in searches for Gab following Mr Trump's suspension from Twitter on 8 January - notably in traditionally conservative states such as Alaska and North Dakota.

CrowdTangle - which tracks public interactions such as likes, comments and shares on public Facebook posts - also shows an increase in interactions on posts that mention Gab. It recorded over 290,000 interactions on these posts since Sunday.

Following the move to take Parler offline, Gab claimed that it was adding more than 600,000 new users every day in a tweet that was subsequently deleted. Independent metrics gauging the social network's popularity are not available.

As the site appeared to deal with the apparent influx of new visitors, the company's chief technology officer said they had brought 10 new servers online and quoted Mr Trump in stating: "The best is yet to come."

Gab's owners have regularly used their Twitter accounts to express support for Donald Trump and actively market their platform on the basis of being sympathetic to causes popular with the far-right, including conspiracy theories they claim are being unfairly targeted for censorship.

Alongside these posts, the platform features news articles from Russia Today, as well as pseudo-religious messages from QAnon followers calling for the community to keep the faith, with one stating: "Do you have any idea what's going to happen next? Good. Neither do they."

MeWe

MeWe was founded in 2012 by Mark Weinstein, initially as a privacy-positive version of Facebook. The social networking service has grown in popularity with Mr Trump's supporters as a result of moderation efforts pushing some of them away from more mainstream platforms.

CrowdTangle data shows a rise in interactions with public posts mentioning MeWe following 8 January, with nearly 100,000 interactions recorded on the following day. There was also a marked increase in public interactions on posts of this kind in the weeks that followed the election.

MeWe has jumped almost 100 places in the US app store rankings over the past two days - and according to Sensor Tower, it is now the seventh-most popular free app. It also saw a surge in popularity after November's vote.

The app's pro-Trump user base appears to have been increasing over recent months - although it has not been courted by Mr Weinstein.

He has said: "I think sites where anything goes are terrible. At MeWe we have strict rules in our terms prohibiting content inciting violence, posting hate, bullying, breaking the law, etc."

Telegram

Telegram is one of the most popular apps outside of the English-speaking world, especially among protesting communities.

It offers end-to-end encryption (although not by default), as well as large chat rooms - both public and private - where users can share photos, videos and files with each other.

Pro-Trump Telegram channels have noted the increasing number of influential conservative commentators joining Telegram after Parler was taken offline.

Like Gab and MeWe, CrowdTangle shows an increase in interactions on public posts mentioning the word Telegram on Facebook in the days leading up to and after Trump's suspension from social media.

Membership appears to be growing especially significantly in extremist Telegram chats, according to Professor Megan Squire. She warned on Twitter that white nationalists are attempting to win over Trump supporters who are joining the platform due to the actions taken by Twitter and Facebook.

The Washington Post reported that talk of guns and potential violence was "rife" on the messaging app ahead of the mob attack on the Capitol following the president's rally.

Telegram has climbed up the app store rankings in the days since 8 January - where it now occupies the second spot, according to Sensor Tower.

This may be partially driven by privacy concerns regarding WhatsApp rather than by supporters of Donald Trump.

CloutHub

Founded in 2018, CloutHub markets itself as "the people's platform" for users engaged in political, social and community activism. Like Gab, they have been vocal about their opposition to perceived censorship by Big Tech.

CloutHub has enjoyed a surge in interest in recent days. There were 512 interactions on public Facebook posts mentioning CloutHub on 512 - but according to CrowdTangle, this rose to 32,100 a day later.

This came after the anti-Democrat #WalkAway campaign announced it was moving to CloutHub following its removal by Facebook.

Google Trends data also indicates an increase in interest in the site in the US through its analysis of search queries.

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Extremists spread across platforms

According to Fred Burton, a former special agent, the distribution of potential extremists across fringe platforms doesn't necessarily make things more difficult for law enforcement monitoring potential threats.

The executive director of the Centre for Protective Intelligence at Ontic said: "The US intelligence community is geared for these kinds of investigations.

"The ability to go back and look at some of these individuals that are on these fringe kind of elements, the howlers that are out there, whether it be on fringe social media platforms - even with Parler being shut down now - law enforcement is very good at looking and ferreting out those kinds of individuals.

"Since 9/11, technology has been enhanced to the point that all of your digital signals can be looked at from an investigative perspective if there's probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed, or if someone's on there fomenting hate speech.

"Social media is a double-edged sword, we all know that, but it also provides law enforcement with the opportunity to be able to do some continuous monitoring of individuals that might be predisposed towards that kind of violence."

Mr Burton, who has worked in the arena of protective intelligence since the 1980s, said: "The ones that you can see are the ones that - yes, at times, you have to worry about - but there are others [that you can't see] always, that you really have to be concerned about."

Addressing the threat posed by these individuals "takes more human intelligence efforts, and the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force - again another byproduct of what happened after 9/11 - are very good at ferreting out those kinds of individuals".

Far-right terrorists have been known to use sites such as 4chan and 8chan, which aren't replacements for social networks clamping down on some of Mr Trump's supporters, but remain key locations fomenting many of the ideological messages that drive the movement on other platforms.

Shortly before the mass shootings at two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch, the gunman posted a link on 8chan to the Facebook page where he would livestream his attack, as well as a copy of his manifesto.

8kun/8chan

Following two other domestic terror attacks in the US in August 2019 - one involving a mass shooting at a Walmart in Texas, and another at a bar in Ohio - 8chan lost its hosting provider and renamed itself 8kun.

Its original founder, Fredrick Brennan, now disavows the site entirely. Mr Brennan accuses its current owner, Jim Watkins, of facilitating the person or group behind the QAnon conspiracy theory.

The eponymous "Q" came to fame by posting their messages on the forum. The QAnon community now dominates the site with numerous boards dedicated to understanding the quasi-religious prophecies that the account posts there.

As a result of significant efforts to deplatform the site, 8kun now features only hundreds of posts every hour - compared with tens of thousands at its pinnacle.

However the discussions show the extremist influences on the pro-Trump movement, including extensive neo-Nazi and antisemitic imagery.

One post seen by Sky News read: "To any ******** who doesn't believe there'll be a civil war, here's a newsflash - it's already happening. We're already in the beginning stages.

"We're gonna soon experience the full effects pretty soon. Get trained, get prepared. Our side has already thrown some blows."

As examples of these "blows", the post listed neo-Nazi terrorist Dylann Roof, the Unite the Right white supremacist rally, and the date of the Capitol building attack.

4chan's Politically Incorrect board

4chan's notorious Politically Incorrect discussion board (known as /pol/ due to its URL) has become one of the most significant fringe communities online for the far-right.

Although the forum is owned by Japanese entrepreneur Hiroyuki Nishimura, it is not known who the board's controlling moderators are, despite the significant editorial control they can wield over what threads are allowed to remain on the site.

Alongside 8kun, 4chan was one of the primary locations for QAnon conspiracy theories to be developed. Numerous false claims about electoral integrity which would eventually be articulated by unreliable media outlets - including the debunked conspiracy theory regarding Dominion Voting Systems computers - originated there.

The Donald

The Donald originated as a page on Reddit before that social media platform banned the community in June 2020 for trying to "weaponise parts of Reddit against other people".

The moderators of the forum, who are also anonymous, created a mirror on a new domain. The site appears to be much busier following the moves from Twitter and Facebook.

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Banned from Twitter and Facebook, which sites are the pro-Trump movement using now? - Sky News

There are many reasons And Just Like That,the forthcoming HBO Max reboot ofSex and the City, is a terrible idea. Theres the fact that the most recent installment of the franchise, Sex and the City 2, was released more than a decade ago, roughly the same time as the Eyjojakfull volcano, or eons ago in internet years. Theres the fact that Sex and the City 2was critically reviled due to its bloated two-and-a-half-hour run time, inherent Islamophobia, and clunky screenplay featuring such sterling wordplay as Lawrence of my labia. And theres the fact that, while critically acclaimed and hailed as subversive at the time of its release, Sex and the Cityitself has aged rather poorly, presenting a fantasia of New York City in which everyone is white, thin, heterosexual, and prone to wearing oddly positioned belts.

But the primary reason the Sex and the Cityreboot is a bad idea is the glaring absence of one of its four main characters the one who constituted the heart and soul, and arguably the moral center, of the entire franchise: the sexually voracious publicist Samantha Jones, played by Kim Cattrall.

Cattrall has been publicly warring with the other main players in the Sex and the Citycast in case you just woke up from a coma: Sarah Jessica Parker as navel-gazing writer Carrie Bradshaw; Cynthia Nixon as uptight attorney Miranda Hobbes; and Kristin Davis as WASPy gallerist Charlotte York for years, accusing them of forming a mean-girl clique that excluded her at every turn. (Naturally, at one point there was a dispute over being invited to a rental property while shooting in the Hamptons.) She repeatedly told interviewers that she would not participate in another installment of the franchise. Whether or not you think her stance is justified depends on numerous factors, like whether you tend to align yourself with the underdog (in this case, Cattrall) or youre a fan of celebrity-branded $400 shoes (SJP). Regardless, anyone actively rooting for a SATCreboot knew in their hearts that it would be one without Samantha, which last weeks release of the And Just Like Thatteaser confirmed.

But aSex and the Cityreboot without Samantha is noSex and the Cityat all. Its a paltry cash-grab, a facsimile of its former self, a screen grab of a Xerox copy of the very elements that have engendered such a rabidly loyal fan base to this day. Because as even the biggest SATCcritics know, at its core Sex and the Cityis neither about sex nor the city, nor shoes nor Chris Noths cleft chin, nor inexplicably wearing belts around your midriff its about the enduring power of female friendship. And the absence of one of the core group of female friends at its heart betrays that very idea.

In a different world, on a different series, and with a different actor, Samantha would have failed to rise above a mere caricature. She is libidinous to a comical degree, with a level of horniness rarely seen outside a MILF porn or tweets about Jon Ossoff. She has a propensity for snappy, Mae West-esque one-liners (dirty martini, dirty bastard, she purrs as she splashes a drink on a loutish ex-lover) and a level of confidence that seems borderline chemically induced, a fortysomething version of a homophobes conception of a drag queen. Indeed, more than one person has referred to the character as effectively a gay man in drag, though that perspective says a lot more about a persons views of gay male sexuality than it does about Cattralls portrayal.

But despite the cartoonishness of the character, and some of the politically incorrect lapses for which the show has been retroactively flagellated (see: the one time Samantha dated a man of color, referring to his big black cock), Samantha also has a bounty of admirable qualities. She is unapologetic about her lifestyle, continuously rebuffing judgmental health care professionals and snooty society wives. In the face of adversity, she is indefatigable, as seen in the final season when, struggling with breast cancer, she delivers a frank, vulgar speech at a cancer benefit, culminating in all the attendees proudly tossing their wigs into the air. Above all else, she is fiercely loyal to her friends, taking their sides even in petty skirmishes. At a baby shower, when Charlotte accuses a pregnant woman of stealing her future baby name, Samantha doesnt hesitate in calling the pregnant woman a bitch and ushering Charlotte out of the party; when a fragile Carrie tells her she is having an affair with her shitty ex, Samantha is unflappable, coolly telling Carrie that judging her for such a transgression is not [her] style. Critics have accused the four women at the heart of Sex and the City of being pathologically shallow and self-involved, but that applies the least to Samantha. In fact, despite being the most hedonistic, vice-indulging member of the quartet, she is arguably the most ethical.

Its hard to overemphasize just how large a role Cattralls performance plays in this. A less deft performer would play Samantha as little more than a man-eating cougar, Mrs. Robinson meets Jessica Rabbit with a dash of RuPaul thrown in for good measure. But while Cattralls campy delivery of punny lines like, Youre dating Mr. Big, Im dating Mr. Too Big is not beyond parody (and Christina Aguilera did so to pitch-perfect effect on an old episode of Saturday Night Live), she consistently imbues it with a level of fragility that goes above and beyond the material the writers gave her. Theres no better example of this than when she is betrayed by Richard (James Remar), the loutish hotelier who is the only man to truly scale Samanthas steely exterior. After she walks in on him giving oral sex to a random woman, she smashes a painting of a heart over her knee. There. Now your hearts broken too, she sobs. In the hands of a lesser actor, the line would be laughable. But Cattrall delivers it with such exquisite sorrow and conviction that its hard not to have your heart break along with hers.

Critics are not shy about pointing outSex and the Citys multifarious flaws, its attitudes toward race and sexuality among them (remember when Samantha becomes a lesbian?), as well as its healthy doses of Catskill comic-level puns. Few have singled out Cattralls virtuoso performance, how nimbly she fills out what should have been a wolfish caricature with warmth and vigor which is even more impressive considering how miserable Cattrall says she was during the duration of the series. (She claims she was subject to the worst treatment of all by Parker; the fact that Parker publicly has been nothing but kind and infuriatingly gracious in response makes Cattrall look terribly petty and makes me believe she is telling the truth.) People often single out Nixons understated, Emmy-winning performance as an example of real acting on the series, but nothing will ever make me laugh or make my heart soar more than Samantha triumphantly defending her life choices to Carrie by proclaiming she will blow whoever she wants as long as she can breathe or kneel.

Theres been much discussion over how theSATCreboot will deal with Samanthas absence. Cattrall has said she would like to see the character recast, perhaps with a woman of color or a nonbinary person, a laudable goal if not one that glosses over the privileged, white femaleness of the character. Meanwhile, Parker has responded to fans objections by primly saying: Samantha isnt part of this story. But she will always be part of us. No matter where we are or what we do. This leads me to believe that the writers have probably killed her off, perhaps by the breast cancer that she so valiantly fought in the shows final season. This strikes me as both a betrayal of the character and of Cattrall herself. All of the main characters on the show are fantasy versions of women, and fantasies by definition do not die, especially one with as much vibrancy as Cattrall gave Samantha. To casually murder the woman she spent nearly two decades embodying at great personal cost, according to her seems like nothing short of a slap in the face. But above all else, SATCwithout a Samantha is an insult to the fans who have spent 20 years falling in love with the world the show has built and the women who live in it and they should accept nothing less than the complete version of the real thing.

See more here:
There Is No Sex and the City Without Samantha - Rolling Stone

Itwas always irreverent, often controversial and fiercely independent. As of thisweek, Indian Charlie is no more.

Thesardonic newsletter that Ed Musselman distributed free of charge for nearly 27years, first on racetrack backstretches in Kentucky and more recently throughdigital media, was posted for the last time Monday, according to its leadstory. (See the final issue here.)

Notbeing able to interact directly with horsemen and women at both racetracks andat horse sales due to the coronavirus took away any advantage we had to reporton issues and stories not otherwise covered in mainstream Thoroughbred racingpublications, the story said.

Withoutgetting into specifics, the note to readers mentioned some mistakes wemade last year that also entered into this decision, that Indian Charliewas a bit of a rerun in 2020 and that, in some ways, the game has passed usby.

Musselmanturned down a request from HRN for an interview Monday.

Inits familiar legal-sized format, but without the usual back page full ofadvertisements, Mondays edition was the first in two months, although aThanksgiving-to-New Years Day break has been the norm for years.

Withits slogan we never let the truth get in the way of a good story, IndianCharlie was equal parts TMZ and The Onion. Its biting, anti-establishmentattitude made it popular with many backside denizens. But it also was polarizing.

Itsstaunchest supporters praised its no-boundaries, take-no-prisoners style, whileits loudest critics said Indian Charlie was too often racist and sexist.Churchill Downs, Keeneland and racetracks run by the New York RacingAssociation and The Stronach Group took turns banning it when their executives believedits content was too politically incorrect.

Aflashpoint came in 2014, when Louisville Metro police were called to investigatethe report of a fistfight at Churchill Downs between Musselman and one of thenewsletters frequent targets, trainer Dale Romans. Yes, it was over somethingthat Muggins wrote.

IndianCharliewent down swinging Monday, saying the new Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act bringshope that it will be the answer (to) suspect governing bodies like theKentucky Horse Racing Commission and the New York State Racing and WageringBoard calling balls and strikes in our sport.

Thelast of its trademark caricatures, always with an accurately depicted face,lampooned horse owner Don Gamble, perhaps making him the answer to a triviaquestion about the history of Indian Charlie.

Therewas also a serious editorial calling into question the absence of trainers DavidWhiteley, Richard Hazleton and Dickie Small; jockeys Larry Snyder and JohnLively; and horses Nodouble and Broad Brush from the National Racing Museum andHall of Fame.

TheLast Word took a swipe at animal-rights activists while being 100 percent allin for the federal intervention and tightening of all approved medications exceptLasix.

Musselmandid not go into detail about plans for his future. Instead, it was left tothe newsletter to say whatever direction we go in, any new pursuits going forward,will be announced first on this website.

IndianCharliearchives will remain available at IndianCharlie.com.

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After 27 years, the Indian Charlie newsletter is out of business - Horse Racing Nation

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Guest Column: But then again, writes Mithila Saraf, Business Head, Famous Innovations, no industry should have such few women leaders

Advertising is overwhelmingly, unapologetically, unabashedly a boys club. All-male panels, all-male juries, all-male boardrooms werent unheard of until recently when having all-male anything became politically incorrect. You can count the number of women CCOs in our country on one hand (and you wouldnt even need the whole hand). The situation is no less grim at the bottom, take a look at any creative team in any agency. So much so that I have seen even the few creative women who are at the top, often turn themselves into pseudo-guys, laughing, joking and spitting like men (metaphorically, of course) to fit into this gang. Its no surprise then, that when a publication starts hunting for the people behind some of the years best work, they run into a wall full of men.

So yes, lets get mad at IMPACT, but lets also realize that this cover is a symptom of the issue and not the issue itself. The covers will change when our creative leadership and creative teams change. Otherwise, wed only be fixing advertisings PR problem, not its diversity problem. Otherwise, wed only be signaling to journalists that the next time you have a cover like this, go far and beyond to find women to put on the cover. This will then worsen the oft-repeated narrative, shes only there because shes a woman or shes only there for the diversity count. The point is, they shouldnt have to look far and beyond. And they wont. If all of us decide to look a little harder in our everyday hiring, nurturing and promoting decisions.

The secondary cause for concern here is also whose idea makes it to covers like these. Barring a few, you will mostly see Agency Heads on this cover. Do only Agency Heads at these agencies come up with ideas that make headlines? Do younger people in their teams not come up with good ideas? And if so, what are they doing in that agency? No, its just that it is the senior-most people whose ideas finally go through and see the light of day. Talk to any creative at any network agency and you will hear this story every day. At a time when advertising is already losing its sheen, this tells younger people, youre better off in content or just freelancing. This makes things worse for the representation of women because the number of women at the top is scanty anyway.

So what can be done about all of this? Start by looking around the floor at your team. Go back and review the last few multi-crore films you released. Do you see enough young people and women represented there? Its easy to say, we dont get talent / good ideas from these groups. Its harder to ensure that you sit down with them, help them with their ideas and give them the time they need to do what you could do in a matter of minutes in your sleep. Further, when you are invited to a jury, a panel or a cover, ask what is the ratio of men to women there. And the next time you hear a colleague or a friend undermine the success of a woman (even jokingly), remember that she was 9 times less likely to make it up there.

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not in any way represent the views of pitchonnet.com.

Read more here:
No magazine cover should have 1 woman and 9 men - Pitch

Spitting Image, the legendary political satire starring puppets, have savaged recently knighted Sir Lewis Hamilton in a tongue-in-cheek skit released on the occasion of his 36th birthday last week.

In Lewis Hamilton, Crusader For Justice he is depicted driving a car and justifying his stance on the environment, racing in politically incorrect countries and basically taking the mickey of the causes close to his heart, while wickedly suggesting double-standards by the seven-times F1 World Champion.

In an unprecedented year for the planet, Lewis has become a crusader for human rights and injustice around the globe. He instigated taking a knee by F1 drivers during the national anthem before a Grand Prix.

#BlackLivesMatter issues are close to his heart and the Briton galvanised awareness of the movement through his symbolic gestures and high-profile comments.

Mercedes went as far as changing the Silver Arrows livery to black.

The legendary, hold no punches, Spitting Image satire TV series is back since last year after a hiatus stretching from 1996, and are now back exclusively on BritBox. More information here>>>

More than 100 puppets have been crafted for the new series with the original shows co-creator Roger Law back to head the creative team with some of the worlds biggest names in his sights, Sir Lewis has not been spared..

f1formula 1formula oneLewis Hamiltonseasonspitting imagesworld championship

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Hamilton savaged by Spitting Image on his birthday - Grand Prix 247

Words have long been humanitys most useful tool.

Few have described this more eloquently than Rabbi Jonathan Sacks ztl, the former Chief Rabbi of the UK, who passed away last year:

With words God created the universe: And God said, Let there beand there was. Through words He communicated with humankind. In Judaism, language itself is holy God created the natural universe with words.

God, in the narrative of Genesis, could have chosen any medium with which to create the world. He could have used a paintbrush to create life forms, or He could have merely thought the world into existence. Instead, he chose speech. He did this to convey a message that is no less significant today as it was in the days of old. In Sacks words:

We create worlds with words.

To put it in scientific terms: Yuval Noah Harari, the acclaimed Israeli author of the New York Times bestseller Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind,argues that the distinguishing characteristic of Homo sapiens is its unique ability to create complex systems of communication. Other species can communicate, but only on a basic level. But the human affinity for creating complex languages has allowed us to communicate beliefs, value systems, and/or myths to others that eventually result in mass cooperation cooperation on a scale that no other species has been able to achieve. Language has allowed humans to develop rich cultures and thriving civilizations. Hararis anthropological message is the same as Rabbi Sacks religious one: worlds emerge from words.

Anything that can be used for good can also be used for bad, and words are no exception. While words can bring rights for minorities, they can also lead to their subjugation at the hands of the majority. While words can bring freedom, they can also bring tyranny. While words can make society progress, they can also make it regress. While words can build worlds, they also have the power to destroy them.

Alternatively, to paraphrase Joe Biden: while words can inspire, they can also incite. Irrespective of ones views of the President-elect, that is an unavoidable truth.

We saw the power of words on display last week at the US Capitol insurrection. Instead of being used to build and inspire, words were used to destroy and incite.

Thousands of people, present because of the disproven falsehoods that were fed to them about the election in an effort to stop the steal, attended a Trump-organized rally in Washington D.C. on the day Congress was to conclusively certify Joe Biden as the winner of the election. But this was no mere demonstration. Trump urged his supporters to fight much harder against bad people; affirmed that his followers can never take back our country with weakness, [that they] have to show strength and [they] have to be strong; and told them that when [they] catch somebody in a fraud, [they] are allowed to go by very different rules. He invited them to march over to the Capitol. If you dont fight like hell, he asserted, youre not going to have a country anymore, also proclaiming, We will never give up. We will never concede.

The speech he delivered was deeply terrifying. Ultimately, whether it was from his speech that day or the lies he had been spewing beforehand, the destruction we saw was brought about as a result of words.

Throughout the past four years, many people have dismissed much of Trumps problematic use of words. Hes Trump, some would say. Hes rough around the edges; hes politically incorrect. Sometimes he phrases things wrongly. He isnt a conventional politician, and thats precisely why people like him. Dont overreact to mere words. But what people, among whom I include myself, didnt fully understand was the full powerof those words. The power they had to foment a political climate of falsehood, conspiracy theories, and extremism. The power they had to bring people to storm the US Capitol with QAnon, neo-Nazi, and white supremacist symbols. The power they had to result in the first siege of the US Capitol since the War of 1812.

Embed from Getty Images

Whenever a significant event happens, we should always think about what we can learn from it and how we can apply what we learn to our personal lives. Here is the simple message I think we should internalize after last weeks events: words matter. The way we speak matters. Problematic rhetoric should not be dismissed as just words, or just political incorrectness. There is a direct correlation between dangerous words and violent action. We arent the President, and we dont have such a wide-ranging audience as he does. But words are powerful even coming from regular people, people like you and me. While we dont have presidential powers, we do have another type of power, one constantly used in everyday life. It is a power that can be used for societys betterment if used to bring people together, but one that can also lead to societys destruction if used to tear people apart. Such is the power of words. The choice of how we use this power is solely up to us.

The way we talk indicates who we are. The words we choose demonstrate who we choose to be. Let us all internalize the timeless message that can be learned from last weeks horrific events, that while words can build worlds, they can, if not chosen carefully, be used to destroy them.

Lets use them to build.

Zev Bell is a Jewish 17 year-old student who attends TanenbaumCHAT high school in Toronto. He has a particular interest in politics, Judaism, philosophy, and science.

Original post:
The worlds we build and destroy with words - The Times of Israel