Apropos of noting in particular, I’m enjoying the Acorn TV streaming service. It contains a lot of British TV police procedural dramas, and many more from other Commonwealth countries as well as from Europe.
I got hooked on it when I saw that the final season of the excellent police procedural/thriller “Happy Valley” was released on the service. I used the initial seven-day trial to watch the episodes and then tried a couple other series, and decided the price of just $70 per year was fair.
The service doesn’t boast the sprawling catalog of one of the bigger streamers like Netflix or Amazon Prime. But their offerings are often too extensive to find something interesting. Plus, at least with Amazon, the way the app moves content around each time you look at it makes it frustrating when trying to find shows you scrolled past and later think you might be interested in. When you scroll to where you saw it last, they’ve hidden it. If you happen to remember the name or some aspect to search for it in the app, it turns out it was just removed from the included “free” content, and you can now rent or buy it—paying extra above the subscription. Or it’s been moved to the ad-sponsored content. Or you can’t find it at all.
Anyway. I recall the occasional discussion here about shows on different streamers, and my experience with Acorn has generally been a good one. It doesn’t try to outsmart me and curate what it thinks I want. And the price has led me to consider dropping other services instead.
Josh Blumenthal’s brother David’s update:
We are in the 14th day of the Hamas Pogrom. By sundown, two full weeks will have passed since the attack.
The world is back to business as usual.
The Israelis and the Americans, with the help of the Egyptians, have agreed to funnel aid to Gaza, admitting publicly that Hamas will steal most of it. Still, Hamas is refusing it; the Gazans must be victims, not people who need help. Synagogues have been set on fire in Berlin, in Tunisia, and elsewhere. Hamas, with Qatar’s endless resources, continues firing rockets at Israeli civilian centers. Posters of the hostages are being torn down in New York. The western press is ‘moving on’ from the Hamas Pogrom and is refocusing on praising the offer of humanitarian aid and covering Hamas protests all over the world. Antisemitism, especially on American university campuses, is spreading. The few Islamic voices of protest have been drowned out and definitively silenced everywhere.
The entire Arab world has joined the celebration of the Hamas Pogrom. It is using its extensive social media and financial resources to rouse the masses to continue the jihad against the Jews. Here is the report from Lausanne, a small city with a large university, of the pro-Palestinian rally yesterday afternoon (if it comes up in French, ask Google to translate). It is well-organized and very well-funded. Note the organizations involved, the size, the chants, the banners, and even the suppression of Allahu Akbar to cover up the violent religious roots of what happened. Don’t scare the Europeans. In the Islamic countries, the demonstrations are truthful. It’s all about jihad – against the Jews and, then, against the west. Videos of Hamas murders circulate all over the world in social media - as acts of courage in the war against the Jews. Arab countries refuse to take Palestinian “refugees.”
The funerals for the victims continue and the death toll rises daily. Today’s statistics: 1400 dead, 4600 wounded, 30 children confirmed among the 250 hostages. The Israelis are refocusing on getting back the hostages. The Times of Israel has a special section of photos and biographical sketches of the hostages. Israeli Palestinians who express solidarity with Israel are beaten up by other Palestinians. The Israelis continue bombing Gaza and killing Hamas leaders. Gazan civilians have been warned to leave but, forced by Hamas to remain, they are left by Hamas to die. Jihad needs victims.
No Jewish hostages have been released in return for the humanitarian aid. This means that Hamas will hold these hostages for a very long time. They and their 250 families and friends will have to suffer for a long time. The children will be taken, separated, and raised as Muslims dedicated to hating and killing Jews in accordance with shari’a (Muslim law) and Muslim custom.
So much for the worldwide solidarity with Israel and the Jews. And so much for the worldwide effort for justice for the Jewish victims.
Hamas will survive.
Destroyed Gaza will become the icon of the jihad against the Jews.
Business as usual.
***
Update from David Blumenthal now beneath the main article--click on "Read ->".
I just can't read much about Israel today and have not done so, but this headline (and the fact that Al Jazeera is the source) caught my eye. Their report is less than conclusive as to the cause of the hospital blast. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/20/what-have-open-source-videos-revealed-about-the-gaza-hospital-explosion
I'm going back to my workshop. I have no further comment on this.