Tag Archives: michael

Wait, So the New "Transformers" Movie Is a Pro-Immigration Allegory?

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

Michael Bay‘s big, loud action movies sometimes have plot elements resembling political messages. The Rock (1996) depicts the blowback from illegal American covert operations overseas. In Armageddon (1998), the NASA-recruited team of deep-core drillers agree to embark on a dangerous mission to save the planet from an asteroid—on the condition that they never have to pay taxes again. In Bad Boys II (2003), the film’s heroes illegally invade (and destroy large chunks of) Cuba, all in the name of fighting the drug war.

But could the 49-year-old director’s latest film, Transformers: Age of Extinction (in theaters June 27), actually be an allegory for the plight of undocumented immigrants in modern-day USA? Well, the film is currently being marketed that way. As flagged by Entertainment Weekly earlier this week, the Paramount Pictures-associated website TransformersAreDangerous.com documents the (obviously purely fictional) rise of anti-Transformer sentiment in America. In the previous Transformers film, some of these alien robots killed a bunch of people and blew up a lot of stuff in Chicago, so the advent of a “KEEP EARTH HUMAN” movement isn’t exactly stunning.

Much of the anti-Transformer/pro-human propaganda certainly resembles what you might expect from anti-immigration hardliners. Here are a couple posters from the website:

Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

And here’s a fake PSA on the “fall of Chicago”:

So will this dose of mindless, robots-battling-robots summer fun also double as Michael Bay’s impassioned cry for immigration reform? Dunno. We’ll have to wait until the end of June to find out. In the meantime, here’s a trailer for the upcoming Transformers flick:

Source article: 

Wait, So the New "Transformers" Movie Is a Pro-Immigration Allegory?

Posted in alo, Anchor, FF, GE, LAI, LG, ONA, Oster, PUR, Radius, Safer, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Wait, So the New "Transformers" Movie Is a Pro-Immigration Allegory?

This Video of Michael Sam & His Boyfriend Finding Out He Has Been Drafted Is Amazing

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

Earlier today, Michael Sam received a really great phone call. He had become the first openly-gay player to be drafted in NFL history. Cameras were present as he and his boyfriend found out the news together. Watch them share a kiss and beautiful embrace as they learn of the historic decision by the St. Louis Rams:

Link – 

This Video of Michael Sam & His Boyfriend Finding Out He Has Been Drafted Is Amazing

Posted in Anchor, FF, G & F, GE, LAI, LG, ONA, Radius, Sterling, Uncategorized, Venta, Vintage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on This Video of Michael Sam & His Boyfriend Finding Out He Has Been Drafted Is Amazing

We’re Still at War: Photo of the Day for February 14, 2014

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

Sgt Jason O. Lucas, an infantryman assigned to Predator Company, 4th Squadron “Longknife”, 3d Cavalry Regiment, kisses his wife Emily during a redeployment ceremony held Jan. 30 at the West Fort Hood Gym. Lucas returned from a nine-month long deployment in Afghanistan with III Corps. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Michael Dator, 3d Cavalry Regiment Public Affairs)

More:

We’re Still at War: Photo of the Day for February 14, 2014

Posted in Anchor, Dolphin, FF, GE, LG, ONA, Radius, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on We’re Still at War: Photo of the Day for February 14, 2014

The Untethered Soul – Michael A. Singer

READ GREEN WITH E-BOOKS

The Untethered Soul

The Journey Beyond Yourself

Michael A. Singer

Genre: Self-Improvement

Price: $11.99

Publish Date: October 3, 2007

Publisher: New Harbinger Publications

Seller: New Harbinger Publications, Inc.


Who are you? When you start to explore this question, you find out how elusive it really is. Are you a physical body? A collection of experiences and memories? A partner to relationships? Each time you consider these aspects of yourself, you realize that there is much more to you than any of these can define. The Untethered Soul, spiritual teacher Michael Singer explores the question of who we are and arrives at the conclusion that our identity is to be found in our consciousness, the fact of our ability to observe ourselves, and the world around us. By tapping into traditions of meditation and mindfulness, Singer shows how the development of consciousness can enable us all to dwell in the present moment and let go of painful thoughts and memories that keep us from achieving happiness and self-realization. This book, copublished with the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS), offers a frank and friendly discussion of consciousness and how we can develop it. In part one, he examines the notion of self and the inner dialogue we all live with. Part two examines the experience of energy as it flows through us and works to show readers how to open their hearts to the energy of experience that permeates their lives. Ways to overcome tendencies to close down to the rest of the world are the subject of part three. Enlightenment, the embrace of universal consciousness, is the subject of part four. And finally, in part five, Singer returns to daily life and the pursuit of unconditional happiness. Throughout, the book maintains a light and engaging tone, free from heavy dogma and prescriptive religious references. The easy exercises that figure in each chapter help readers experience the ideas that Singer presents.

Link to article – 

The Untethered Soul – Michael A. Singer

Posted in alo, FF, GE, ONA, Pines, PUR, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Untethered Soul – Michael A. Singer

Climate Desk Live: A Conversation With Climate Scientist Michael Mann

In DC? Join us on Wednesday, May 15 for the next Climate Desk Live event. James West/Climate Desk One of the chief scientists behind the famous “hockey stick” graph, Michael Mann is among the most influential climate researchers in the United States. He’s also, perhaps, the most regularly attacked. It started with swipes at the hockey stick—the graph seemed to show global warming so unequivocally that skeptics made it their number one target. The furor became even more intense when some of Mann’s emails were exposed in the “ClimateGate” pseudo-scandal. Now, Mann receives regular threats and has found his personal emails pursued by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. And all of this has only made Michael Mann more outspoken. At the next Climate Desk Live event, Mann and host Chris Mooney will discuss new research that reaffirms the validity of the hockey stick. They’ll also talk about public opinion on climate change—and why Mann believes it’s changing. Please join us: Wednesday, May 15, 2013, 6:30 p.m. at the University of California Washington Center, 1608 Rhode Island Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036. To attend, please RSVP to cdl@climatedesk.org Original post:  Climate Desk Live: A Conversation With Climate Scientist Michael Mann Related ArticlesObama Campaign Launches Plan to Shame Climate Sceptics in CongressMeet Alvin, the Climate-Change Fighting PuppetWhy Do Conservatives Like to Waste Energy?

Originally from: 

Climate Desk Live: A Conversation With Climate Scientist Michael Mann

Posted in ALPHA, eco-friendly, FF, G & F, GE, Monterey, ONA, PUR, RSVP, solar, solar power, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Climate Desk Live: A Conversation With Climate Scientist Michael Mann

Americans are consuming less high-fructose corn syrup

Americans are consuming less high-fructose corn syrup

High-fructose corn syrup was our sweetener of choice in the late ’90s, when we were all high on junk food and the potential for this crazy new thing called The Internet. Those were fast times!

Now we are jaded and less interested in the sweet stuff. According to the USDA, this year only 4.5 percent of the U.S. corn crop is expected to be used for production of high-fructose corn syrup, the lowest amount since 1997.

Fuck you, soda!

Corn costs have tripled since 2004, making the syrup a less cost-effective sweetener. And some health advocates say efforts to combat obesity have helped to curb HFCS consumption, including New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s much-despised and much-lauded big soda ban.

From Bloomberg the news source, not Bloomberg the mayor:

Americans consumed an average of 131 calories of the corn sweetener each day in 2011, down 16 percent since 2007, according to the most recent USDA data. Meanwhile, consumption of sugar, also blamed for weight gain, rose 8.8 percent to 185 calories daily, the data show.

Even with the increase in sugar use, total U.S. sweetener production remains down 14 percent from a 1999 peak, according to the USDA.

“We’re seeing a real decline, and that people aren’t just switching to sugar,” said Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington.

Let’s not celebrate just yet, though — the full picture on our sweet habits is a bit more grim.

This week, researchers in Philadelphia found a 70 percent increase in diabetes rates for kids under age 5 over a 20-year period. That scary rise has leveled off over the last decade, as has our taste for corn syrup. Good news, sure, but that decade of living the high life on high fructose has given us a serious public health hangover. And diet cola isn’t going to make it feel any better.

Susie Cagle writes and draws news for Grist. She also writes and draws tweets for

Twitter

.

Read more:

Business & Technology

,

Food

Also in Grist

Please enable JavaScript to see recommended stories

Read more:  

Americans are consuming less high-fructose corn syrup

Posted in GE, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Americans are consuming less high-fructose corn syrup

Scot who stood up to Trump development deservedly named ‘Top Scot’

Scot who stood up to Trump development deservedly named ‘Top Scot’

Earlier this year, a film was released documenting the efforts of a Scottish farmer to oppose a new development by Donald Trump. The movie is called You’ve Been Trumped, and it is racking up accolades and awards.

I haven’t seen the film. But I am confident that part of the reason it’s earning such praise is that Donald Trump is an odious, preening buffoon. We’ve written before about his development plans in Scotland, and about his methane-soaked project in the Bronx. We have not, however, spent a lot of time otherwise mocking his stupid opinions and trolly comments. This is because one does not engage with children as though they are your equals. If the child is yours, you would put him in timeout; if he is not, if you are just an observer to a child’s bad behavior, you merely sigh heavily and thank the Heavens that you were not cursed with such a useless little pile of crap.

Anyway. The farmer at the center of the film, Michael Forbes, is in the news again. This time, it’s for winning “Top Scot” at the Spirit of Scotland awards.

Shutterstock

“Blah blah blah blah.”

From The Scotsman:

Mr Forbes — who won the award after an open public ballot — had consistently refused to move out of his crofter’s house and sell his land, which was ­famously branded a “pigsty” by Trump, to make way for the tycoon’s golf course development.

Last night Mr Forbes, 60, who says he still lives with the threat of eviction by Trump ­International, was honoured at the Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Awards, along with Scotland’s Olympic heroes, film actress Kelly Macdonald, Gaelic singer Julie Fowlis and author Ewan Morrison.

Forbes described meeting Trump.

“I had no idea who he was at that point. I might have kept my mouth shut, but I went right off him the first time I met him.

“He was being all nicey, nicey and talking about how successful he was and how much money he had. That was it for me. I took an instant dislike to him. He called me a village idiot and accused me of living in a pigsty but I think everyone knows by now that he’s the clown of New York.”

Indeed we do! What did Trump have to say about the award?

Mr Trump’s organisation did not respond to a request from The Scotsman for a comment on Mr Forbes’ success.

That is because Donald Trump is literally one of the worst people in America (and therefore in the top 20 worst people worldwide). He inflates the extent of his wealth, promotes idiotic conspiracies like anti-vaccine nonsense and birtherism, and has repeatedly argued against wind turbines because they kill huge numbers of birds (they don’t) while his tacky, crumbling high-rise in Toronto certainly kills a huge number of birds every year. If you made a movie that was simply the words “Donald Trump is an execrable jackass” flashing for 120 minutes, I would found a film festival simply to give the film my top award.

Anyway. Congratulations to Michael Forbes, global hero. Here’s hoping Donald Trump doesn’t take your house.

Philip Bump writes about the news for Gristmill. He also uses Twitter a whole lot.

Read more:

Living

,

Politics

Also in Grist

Please enable JavaScript to see recommended stories

Read more: 

Scot who stood up to Trump development deservedly named ‘Top Scot’

Posted in GE, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Scot who stood up to Trump development deservedly named ‘Top Scot’