Is Israel Losing the War?

Here we go again. Every few weeks we get a new message from Disney‚ Inc. about the company’s lurch to the Left. In September‚ Disney CEO Bob Iger vowed to lower the volume on the culture wars. Just earlier this week‚ we learned the company admitted its progressive policies are hurting profits with little promise of addressing the issue. “For shareholders‚ it may seem counterintuitive that corporate executives would trade off profits for political or social agendas. However‚ it does serve as a rationale for individual corporate executives who are professionally advanced when they champion such causes‚” Jonathan Turley wrote. Now‚ Iger’s most recent statement suggests the powerful CEO has seen enough. This comes courtesy of World of Reel‚ citing information from CNBC’s Alex Sherman. Iger blamed the creators at Disney for losing sight of what their jobs should be — he explained that it got worse when he left as CEO/Chairman. In his own words‚ Iger says “entertain first‚ not messages”. He adds that stories infused with “positive messages for the world” can be great‚ but that it shouldn’t be forced upon an audience. Did Iger watch “South Park” like the rest of us? The Paramount+ show’s “Joining the Panderverse” episode skewered Disney for its woke makeover.     South Park: Joining the Panderverse | First Look Clip | Paramount+ Iger’s new comments are the most powerful signal that the CEO finally understands Disney’s progressive shift hurt its bottom line. Bigly. Box office flop after flop after flop after flop‚ for starters. Disney+ is still losing subscribers and money. Bulletproof franchises like “Star Wars” and the MCU no longer command respect like they once did. Except Iger’s past signals didn’t result in real change within the company. At least not yet. The latest Iger confession could be a response to activist investor Nelson Peltz’s quest to grab more Disney board seats in the new year. Peltz wants the once beloved company to return to its family-friendly‚ apolitical roots. Peltz’s Trian Partners said Thursday morning that‚ having not received a warm welcome from Disney’s board of directors or from CEO Bob Iger‚ “Trian intends to take our case for change directly to shareholders.” Plus‚ Disney recently yanked advertising from X‚ Elon Musk’s free speech friendlier version of Twitter. That’s an overtly political move.  Musk is a left-leaning soul‚ but he’s been drifting to the Right given the Left’s quest to silence free speech. Iger’s Disney followed a false narrative that Musk is an anti-semite and pulled ads from the platform in response. Meanwhile‚ TikTok promotes Osama bin Laden’s rhetoric and other social media giants teem with hateful content. Why single out X? We know why. Iger and co. haven’t gotten politics out of their system yet. Talk is talk until we see real action behind it. The ball’s in your court‚ Mr. Iger. There’s another factor in play. Iger may have political ambitions for his post-Disney career. He’s vowed to step aside‚ permanently this time‚ as CEO in 2026. What happens next? Iger’s ties to the Democratic Party are deep. His ABC network protected the Clintons during “The Path to 9/11” release debacle. The Democrat field has no clear presidential favorites beyond Joe Biden. Could Iger step into that void following the 2024 elections? He once dreamed about doing just that. “I think that America is gravely in need of optimism‚ of looking at the future and believing that so many things are going to be all right‚ or that we as a nation can attack some of the most critical problems of our day‚” he told Laurene Powell Jobs in 2019 at an ideas conference. Lately‚ he’s dropped such talk. Bringing Disney back from the brink is his main focus today. Still‚ the CEO’s ability to say multiple things at once and flip flop on key positions suggests he’s primed for a political career.

CNN senior political analyst John Avlon‚ with his signature “reality check” segments‚ fancies himself as someone who calls out political spin and misinformation‚ but on Friday’s edition of Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO it was Avlon who needed and got a much needed reality check on the Biden economy after he said the country was “objectively” better off than in 2020. PBS NewsHour special correspondent Jane Ferguson noted that‚ “the average person is‚ kind of‚ like‚ getting told by billionaires all the time and then going to the grocery store and finding things are way more expensive.”     Avlon responded by wasting no time in getting eye-raising claims‚ “And it's utterly screwed up and look‚ politics is perception‚ but the cost of living issue is real and we did take low inflation for granted for a long time. You know‚ you know‚ you don't hear a lot from the MMT crowd on the far-left‚ ‘none of this matters you can keep spending all the money you want.’ It does have an impact.”  Huh? People on the left have constantly denied that their spending hand anything to do with inflation. Still‚ Avlon insisted that‚ “Biden's got a good story to tell about the economy. It is objectively true that our country is better off economically than we were certainly three years ago and it's not just because of the pandemic.” Avlon then proceeded to list off a series of stats that very much were impacted by the pandemic‚ “I mean‚ you know‚ we've had 14 million jobs grown‚ we’ve got wages outpacing inflation‚ inflation is going down‚ unemployment rate is under 4 percent.” For Avlon the problem for Biden is one of messaging‚ “Main Street is actually doing well compared to Wall Street and we've got manufacturing coming back a lot of big bipartisan bills are starting to take effect including the infrastructure bill and the CHIPS Act. Those are good stories to tell. Democrats and Biden aren't telling them well but those are-- that kind of reality matters.” An unconvinced Maher then recalled‚ “Well‚ actually‚ what I read is that since 2020‚ prices are basically up 20 percent‚ but so are wages‚ so it's a complete draw. So‚ it doesn’t it doesn’t look like you won anything.” Probably not realizing that Maher just undermined his entire argument‚ Avlon agreed‚ “That’s a problem.” That would mean that the economy is not objectively doing better under Biden‚ but what else do you expect from a CNN reality checker? Here is a transcript for the December 8 show: HBO Real Time with Bill Maher 12/8/2023 10:38 PM ET JANE FERGUSON: Whatever you feel about that‚ the average person is‚ kind of‚ like‚ getting told by billionaires all the time and then going to the grocery store and finding things are way more expensive.  JOHN AVLON: And it's utterly screwed up and look‚ politics is perception‚ but the cost of living issue is real and we did take low inflation for granted for a long time. You know‚ you know‚ you don't hear a lot from the MMT crowd on the far-left‚ “none of this matters you can keep spending all the money you want.” It does have an impact.  That said‚ Biden's got a good story to tell about the economy. It is objectively true that our country is better off economically than we were certainly three years ago and it's not just because of the pandemic.  I mean‚ you know‚ we've had 14 million jobs grown‚ we’ve got wages outpacing inflation‚ inflation is going down‚ unemployment rate is under 4 percent‚ Main Street is actually doing well compared to Wall Street and we've got manufacturing coming back a lot of big bipartisan bills are starting to take effect including the infrastructure bill and the CHIPS Act. Those are good stories to tell. Democrats and Biden aren't telling them well but those are-- that kind of reality matters.  MAHER: Well‚ actually‚ what I read is that since 2020‚ prices are basically up 20 percent‚ but so are wages‚ so it's a complete draw.  FERGUSON: But‚ wages where?  MAHER: So‚ it doesn’t it doesn’t look like you won anything. FERGUSON: But wages where? AVLON: That’s a problem. FERGUSON: Like‚ what’s an average in this country? I mean‚ are wages up‚ you know‚ for people who work in the tech sector—and banking in cities. MAHER: But‚ again‚ it's the things that people buy all the time-- AVLON: Yeah. MAHER: --like eggs and gas and bullets.

The Hollywood home of Keanu Reeves was raided by burglars earlier this week‚ multiple reports say. A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department said officers responded to an anonymous call about trespassers at the home of the "John Wick" star around 7 p.m. on Wednesday. However‚ LAPD officers did not find anyone at the "Matrix" star's home in Hollywood Hills. Then around 1 a.m. on Thursday‚ police responded to an alarm that was tripped at the celebrity's home. Investigators reviewed security camera footage that reportedly showed multiple men in ski masks smashing a window and entering the property. The perpetrators allegedly fled the crime scene before police arrived. "According to our sources‚ the culprits took one firearm from the home before making a run for it. It's unclear if anything else was taken‚ but Keanu was not home at the time‚" TMZ reported.Los Angeles Magazine noted‚ "LAPD is currently investigating if the initial call was someone scouting the property to see the police’s response time out to the house."Authorities are still investigating the incident. This isn't the first time that the celerity home of Reeves was the target of intruders. In September 2014‚ his home was infiltrated by two intruders in two days. Reeves was awoken around 4 a.m. to find a woman sleeping in his library chair. TMZ previously reported‚ "Keanu calmly approached her and began speaking to her. She explained she was there to meet him. He very calmly called 911 and obtusely told the dispatcher cops needed to roll quick."Police arrived at the 59-year-old actor's home and allegedly took the woman into custody and she was taken for a psych evaluation.The day after the bizarre fan encounter‚ a second woman illegally entered his house when Reeves was not home. The 50-year-old woman purportedly slipped into the house through a door left unlocked by the cleaning crew inside. Law enforcement officials told TMZ the woman took a shower in his house and went skinny dipping in the pool. The cleaning staff alerted Reeves‚ who then contacted police. In February‚ Reeves and his partner‚ Alexandra Grant‚ were granted a restraining order against a 38-year-old man who is accused of stalking‚ harassing‚ and trespassing on the actor’s property. According to The Hollywood Reporter‚ "The order describes the individual as a transient stranger with no permanent residence‚ but who has 'engaged in an ongoing course of alarming and harassing/threatening conduct' since November 2022."The man‚ Bryan Dixon‚ allegedly went to Reeves' home and wore a "suspicious and alarming" backpack‚ which included a DNA testing kit that was “apparently intended to use on Mr. Reeves in a delusional attempt to prove they are blood-related."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

An Oakland-based coffee shop recently issued an apology after a video cropped up on social media of staffers apparently blocking a Jewish woman from using the restroom and spewing anti-Israel comments.The video showing the incident was apparently removed by X account @StopAntisemites‚ at the request of the victim in the situation. However‚ the account stated that Farley's Coffee — the business in question — issued an apology following the incident‚ claiming that they are currently in the process of "taking corrective action." But it is still not clear if any of the employees involved in the debacle have been fired. — (@) Fox News Digital reported that the Jewish woman recorded the coffee shop's employees standing in front of the restroom door‚ asking her to leave the establishment. The employees apparently did not want the woman to record the graffiti scrawled inside the restroom‚ which equated fascism and Zionism. The staffers also accused the woman of "misgendering" an employee. In the video‚ one employee told the woman‚ "We've given you all your food. You've eaten‚ you're holding up s**t."However‚ the woman insisted that she wanted to go into the restroom. However‚ one employee claimed that the restaurant was private property‚ saying "I need you to leave." A second employee told the woman‚ "I know Israel loves taking private property and saying it's their own‚ but you gotta head..."The woman responded‚ "You're not going to let me go into the restroom?"One of the employees then claimed that the woman had misgendered one of them. The woman said that she "patroned" the location‚ insisting that she had a right to use the restroom.The debacle continued until the woman was‚ eventually‚ allowed to enter the restroom.Farley's Coffee issued an apology on their Instagram page following the incident‚ writing: "Dear Valued Community‚ In response to the recent incident at our family-owned cafe‚ we want to offer an acknowledgement and a sincere apology. As context‚ hate speech graffiti was written in our bathroom. We do not support hate speech; this does not reflect our values. After a customer used the bathroom and wished to return to document the graffiti‚ they were initially denied access and then allowed to re-enter to document the graffiti." See on Instagram "The staff handled the situation poorly and we apologize for this error and the distress caused to the customer. We've taken corrective measures with our staff and removed the offensive graffiti. We're not anti-Semitic; we value diversity and inclusivity. We're committed to ongoing staff training for a safe and welcoming environment. Thank you for understanding that we are a small business doing our best to operate a community business in a difficult environment."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Some say it was little more than a 'Sgt. Pepper' ripoff. Others consider it one of their most original LPs. We gave a fresh listen. The post ‘Their Satanic Majesties Request’—The Rolling Stones’ Worst‚ or An Unfairly Maligned Gem? appeared first on Best Classic Bands.

The 14th edition of the tour‚ named after the Turtles song‚ features recording artists who have earned many Top 10 hits The post Happy Together 2024 Tour Sets Lineup‚ First Dates appeared first on Best Classic Bands.

After a two-year relationship filled with abuse that largely went ignored by others‚ George Huguely murdered Yeardley Love in a drunken rage inside her apartment on May 3‚ 2010. The post The Chilling Story Of George Huguely‚ The Star Lacrosse Player Who Brutally Murdered His Ex-Girlfriend Yeardley Love appeared first on All That's Interesting.

Trump leads Biden by four points in a head-to-head rematch‚ and by six points when other candidates are added to the mix.

The Week of Monday‚ December 4: The ESG debate (continued)‚ labor‚ fiscal policy‚ antitrust‚ and much‚ much more