Google, Venmo Apparently Pro-Child-Molestation, Iran Rises Up after 22-Year-Old Woman Murdered by the State, Go Ahead...Repair Your Own iPhone, Is This the next 007?! (The Five for 09/23/22)
Hey, welcome to The Five.
Let’s dive into Culture & Commentary.
[one]
Iran is experiencing a significant uprising after state forces allegedly murdered a 22 year old Kurdish woman, possibly for not wearing a hijab.
Violent clashes have continued in Iran and have now reportedly spread to 133 cities following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who fell into a coma after being detained by the country's so-called "morality police" last week.
Videos shared to social media show people burning hijabs - headwear that Iran requires women to wear in public - as well as attacks on images of the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
At least 35 people have now been killed, according to the AFP News Agency which cited figures from Iran's state media early on Saturday.
Much of the anger has been directed at Khamenei, while protesters have also clashed with police.
The protestors in Iran are risking their lives on a daily basis to stand up to a dictator.
Meanwhile, back in the land of safe, stable democracy…
Uhh, how is speaking up for the status quo “speaking truth to power” exactly?
(Side note: I work in Private Equity…if there were “stacks of cash” to be made in privatizing schools…my industry would be doing it).
Thinking you’re particularly brave for…saying stuff on social media…in America, is it’s own special brand of arrogance.
There’s no privilege quite like being ignorant to the rest of the world and falsely believing you’re persecuted in the U.S., but that’s exactly the false narrative many Americans live by.
God help those who are courageous enough to speak up in Iran. More of them will be meeting him soon…
[two]
A movement of LGBT individuals looking to protect children from sexual exploitation has been partially “canceled” from the internet.
Gays Against Groomers tweeted out a statement Tuesday that it had been banned from PayPal and Venmo. Late Tuesday evening, the organization announced its Google accounts had been shuttered as well.
Jaimee Mitchell, the founder of Gays Against Groomers, went on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" to talk about the ban.
"We’ve never gotten a violation before. They said that we violated, though, their user agreements, which, we’re not sure what in the agreement we violated," Mitchell said. "There was no really detailed message to that. Just the notification that we have been banned."
PayPal and Venmo did not answer questions about what agreements Gays Against Groomers violated or whether it would be eligible to have its accounts restored.
"PayPal has a long-standing and consistent Acceptable Use Policy," PayPal and Venmo wrote in a statement to FOX Business. "We take action when we deem that individuals or organizations have violated this policy. Per company policy, PayPal does not disclose specific account information for current or former customers."
So…people who don’t think children should be groomed for molestation…shouldn’t be allowed to have an email address?
Unlike Google and Venmo, Paypal at least (kinda) responded…but all the statement confirms is that tech giants believe it’s cool to crush whoever they feel like.
On social media, Gays Against Groomers has been surfacing concerning content such as this:
Note that Paypal, Venmo and Google refuse to address specifics here, and big tech doesn’t seem to worry about banning accounts that call for legalizing adult/child sexual relations.
[three]
A major controversy hit the new movie The Woman King, regarding the historical accuracy of the film.
Viola Davis won’t hear any slander against her new movie, “The Woman King.”
The star and producer of the female war epic has responded to critics and the recent #BoycottWomanKing movement.
Users across social media have been calling for fans to not buy a ticket to the film.
They believe that the film is historically inaccurate and glorifies the role that the African kingdom — the Dahomey — had in the slave trade in the 19th century.
The Oscar winner, 57, and her husband (as well as producing partner) Julius Tennon defended the flick to Variety in a recent interview.
“I agree with [director] Gina Prince-Bythewood’s saying is you’re not going to win an argument on Twitter,” Davis said. “We entered the story where the kingdom was in flux, at a crossroads.”
I haven’t seen the movie yet, but from what I’ve read…it’s a shame that such an interesting looking flick (about the world’s only confirmed historical all-female army) played a little fast and loose with the facts.
The article continues.
The historical drama follows Davis as a military general in Africa who trains new recruits for the king’s all-woman guard, the Agojie.
Trouble arises when a group of European traders wash up on the kingdom’s shore and make a deal with a neighboring empire, the Oyo, to purchase slaves.
The “How To Get Away With Murder” star continued: “They were looking to find some way to keep their civilization and kingdom alive. It wasn’t until the late 1800s that they were decimated. Most of the story is fictionalized. It has to be.”
I’m not going to make it to the theater for this one (because I can’t make it to the theater at all right now with a newborn at home), but I’m sure I’ll catch The Woman King on streaming at some point.
Most historical action flicks are not super accurate to the pages of a history book. For example, Braveheart got many of the details of the uniforms, weapons, etc. wrong and left out a big chunk of William Wallace’s life (where he went abroad to ask foreign governments for help), but it’s still one of the greatest war movies of all time.
I’m fine with learning my history from books and taking my entertainment from the TV.
[four]
If you’ve ever broken a cell phone…the reason you can’t just hop on YouTube and fix it yourself is that…big tech has never wanted you to.
But as the “right to repair” movement gains steam, Apple has made a major change to the newest iPhone.
“Apple has completely redesigned the internals of the iPhone 14 to make it easier to repair,” wrote Kyle Wiens, founder of iFixit. “It is not at all visible from the outside, but this is a big deal.”
The high-end iPhone 14 Pro models don’t use the new, more repairable design, according to iFixit.
This year’s repair-friendly design on the iPhone 14 is in contrast to other iPhones and many Android devices that use glue and tight tolerances that make it more difficult to fix older phones.
Apple’s iPhone redesign comes as advocates continue to push for laws that give consumers access to manuals, tools and parts needed to repair increasingly complicated electronic devices and industrial machines, which they say will make them last longer, reducing e-waste and environmental impact, while saving money for users.
Very cool. Hopefully other tech companies follow this trend.
[five]
As always, let’s head into the weekend with a pop culture roundup.
Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises, Warrior) is a rumored favorite to fill don the Tuxedo as James Bond…no word on that yet, but Mr. Hardy is working to bring authenticity to his action roles, as the UK based actor entered the Ultimate Martial Arts Championship in England and took gold as an armature.
Hardy appeared in both Spiderman: No Way Home and the final season of Peaky Blinders in the last twelve months, but currently has no upcoming TV or film projects announced…so, either he is the next Bond and we’re waiting for the official word, or dude cleared his calendar to become a true martial arts expert.
Writer/Director M. Night Shyamalan is one of the best creative visionaries (Signs, The Sixth Sense, The Village) as well as one of the worst (most of his other movies).
Hopefully M. Night has re-discovered his creativity, because I’d love for Knock at the Cabin Door to be good. Starring Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy, Army of the Dead), the trailer plays like a straight up horror movie, a la The Purge or something.
But there’s something more to this story. Which will either be brilliant…or unwatchable.
I’ll give Shyamalon this…he doesn’t make lukewarm projects. They’re either blazing or arrive in theaters cold as a dead body.
If you’ve read more than a couple of issues of The Five, you’ve no doubt noticed I’m a huge fan of Kid Cudi, who almost single handedly set the direction of pop music for the last decade (if you think that’s overblown, watch A Man Named Scott on Prime Video).
Cudi returns to the spotlight next week (09/30) with a new album and…an animated romantic comedy?! on Netflix. I wouldn’t call myself a big fan of the romance genre, but I’m super interested.
Both the album and the film are entitled Entergalactic.
MUSIC NEWS:
If you haven’t checked out the lineup9 for your local county fair/town fall festival of late…you might not have noticed that Baby Boomer rock acts…literally never retire.
Lynyrd Skynyrd, a band I absolutely loved growing up, are out there zipping around the country as a living greatest hits CD that require dinner.
Which isn’t news. But this is…as of this year, Lynyrd Skynyrd contains no original members of Lynyrd Skynyrd.
And people, not from an original band…playing the songs of another band…is called a cover band.
Lynyrd Skynyrd are now the world’s most famous Lynyrd Skynyrd cover band.
NEW MUSIC
“Sad Boy Pop Punk” mainstays The Wonder Years released an album that the band describes as “a love letter to the city of Philadelphia.” (Read this for more).
Since I just criticized the rock genre for not bringing in new blood and exploring new ideas…I figured I’d better highlight a band doing it right…
Apple Music | YouTube Music | Amazon Music
Irish folk/soul singer-songwriter Dermot Kennedy has been posting videos of himself busking in cities all around the world. The live rendition of his latest single is an excellent introduction to one of the most exciting artists breaking right now.
Until the next one,
-sth