S05.E26: Saudi Arabia

[Lantern7]

Nobody set up a thread? I would've watched this morning before leaving home, but the Harvey Birdman special took precedent.

Fun special . . . "fun" being subjective, of course. Basically, he examines the complex relationship between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, and the president's growing affection of the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. And John also takes the WWE behind the woodshed, what with their dealings in Saudi Arabia, its constant pimping of said country, and glossing over human rights issues.

Also: aggressive political campaigns ("Come on . . . TED.") and unfortunate newsman Instagram accounts, including Mika Brzezinski being unable to stop lifting pigs.

[peeayebee]

"Come on... Ted," was awesome. The guy reminded me of the Catheter Cowboy.

I'm surprised that for the longest time I sometimes thought the country was Saudia Arabia. Duh. This whole thing with the journalist is appalling and disgusting. First, of course, there's the apparent murder itself, and then there's Trump's [non]reaction to it. Unfortunately, this country, even before Trump, has an economic symbiotic relationship with Saudi Arabia -- We provide arms, they provide oil -- so ethics and morality always lose. And call me a skeptic, but I think that Trump or his people suggested to MBS that he say this was a rogue operation, and then we could be cool with it all.

Also, I have read that it's possible that earlier in the Trump administration, Jared had disclosed to his bestie MBS which people in his government were against him, which resulted in MBS's Ritz imprisonment of various people.

I have never seen that photo of Queen Elizabeth grinning that fake smile. Yikes. 

Those Instagram accounts from newspeople were so cringeworthy. David Muir's and, of course, Chris Cuomo's were so tone-deaf and just yucky.

[Annber03]

That politician's ad in which he was encouraging his young son to "build a wall" out of blocks or Legos or whatever those were. Oh, my god. Just...stop.

I shouldn't be surprised, though. I live in Iowa, but a couple of our local stations are out of southern Minnesota, so I get to see the political ads for that state's races, too. And right now the GOP candidate is making a big thing out of how the Democratic candidate supports Kapernick kneeling during the anthem, and clearly this is proof that he doesn't support America or its veterans. Never mind, of course, the fact that said Democratic candidate has actually served in the military, and the GOP candidate has not. But that's the level we're at with these kinds of ads. November can't get here fast enough, I swear. 

Does anyone think we'll get a president who will get tough with Saudi Arabia in the way we should when it comes to stuff like this? I'd like to think there's a few people out there who wouldn't put up with their shit so easily. 

That little pig squealing like that was unsettling. I feel awful when my cat yelps if I accidentally step on her tail, for cripes' sakes!

[attica]

The 'Come on....Ted' ad was directed by fancy-pants filmmaker Richard Linklater, as an FYI. I agree, that guy and Cath Cowboy should do something in tandem.

[paigow]

14 hours ago, peeayebee said:

 We provide arms, they provide oil -- 

And 5 Air Force bases...If they get evicted, would any other country in the region take them?

[BTBAM310]

The guy from the Ted Cruz ad is the actor in this infamous scene from Fast Times at Ridgemont High. I totally recognized him because the way he said "Ted" in the ad was very similar to the way he says "Brad" in the movie clip.

Edited October 16, 2018 by BTBAM310

[peeayebee]

Is that really him? I'm confused. I thought the guy in the ad was just a man being asked his opinion about Ted Cruz. What was the ad for? 

[Medicine Crow]

I thought his take on David Muir & Chris Cuomo was excellent.  Last night's ABC news was almost a total re-hash of Muir' participation in the Hurricane Michael ... so gratuitous!!!

[b2H]

15 hours ago, Annber03 said:

Never mind, of course, the fact that said Democratic candidate has actually served in the military, and the GOP candidate has not.

Sadly, that hypocrisy has never mattered to the GOP - one can go back to John Kerry being 'swift-boated' by the W campaign for one of the earlier vestiges of this irony.  And it routinely works.

There have been countless so-called efforts to get us out of Saudi oil, including fracking, but the reality is, they're also strategic access to the Middle East.  We lose SA, there's no way we can protect that region.

[lucindabelle]

doesn't look like same guy to me.

[Enigma X]

12 hours ago, lucindabelle said:

doesn't look like same guy to me.

To me either.

[Starbuck]

It is the same actor. His name is Sonny Carl Davis, and he appears to be reprising his character from Richard Linklater's Bernie. 

[link417]

LOL, per this Rolling Stone article (which mentions LWT), there’s another ad featuring the same actor that is burger-based: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/richard-linklater-ted-cruz-ad-fast-food-737939/

I freaking love this crazy-ass country.

[OneWhoLurks]

Quote

 

While the Last Week Tonight segment was doubtless the first many viewers had heard of the deal, the harder-core fanbase seems to have gained a new understanding of the Saudi issue from the coverage by Oliver and others. When The Undertaker mentioned “Crown Jewel” on last night’s 1,000th episode special edition of SmackDown, he was loudly booed. A surprise Vince McMahon appearance, by contrast, drew a massive ovation.

WWE has to hope that cognitive dissonance holds, because in spite of mounting public pressure, the promotion has not really changed course at all. Watch their weekly TV shows and you’ll notice that, starting on Monday, plugs for Crown Jewel no longer mention Saudi Arabia. You’ll also notice that that’s about it. WWE has been quietly confirming that the show will go on, while telling every news outlet that asks that “we are currently monitoring the situation.”

WWE has been doing a lot of monitoring in the last few months, as it happens. Recently, WWE had claimed to be “investigating” their ringside doctor admitting under oath that he had a sexual relationship with at least one wrestler patient and looking into resurfaced allegations that Randy Orton exposed himself to writers. Nothing has come out about either case in public since then, and WWE did not return a request for comment about the status of those “investigations.” It seems safe to assume that their “monitoring” of the Khashoggi “situation” means about as much as their “investigations.” Which is to say: not much.

 

WWE Is Not Handling The Backlash To Its Saudi Deal Very Well

[ottoDbusdriver]

1 hour ago, link417 said:

LOL, per this Rolling Stone article (which mentions LWT), there’s another ad featuring the same actor that is burger-based: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/richard-linklater-ted-cruz-ad-fast-food-737939/

I freaking love this crazy-ass country.

A triple-meat whataburger liberal -- what does that even mean Ted ?

That ad is pretty good too.

[lucindabelle]

On 10/18/2018 at 9:22 PM, Starbuck said:

It is the same actor. His name is Sonny Carl Davis, and he appears to be reprising his character from Richard Linklater's Bernie. 

 

Yep. I stand corrected! I was sure it was an actor because real people just don’t come across that expressively when you give them a script (and even if it’s their lines it would be scripted so they could do multiple takes).

And his multiple takes on John Oliver were sort of a giveaway that he’s a pro!

The actor is from Texas so I like to think it’s sincere!