Looks like Netflix buys Warner Brothers turned out to be wrong while NBC and CNBC report on likely Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger turned out to be wrong. I'm not happy about that, but not as unhappy as John Oliver will be. I'm looking forward to see what he says tonight. If it's about this deal, I'll post it tomorrow. Stay tuned.Oliver had two comments about Paramount purchasing Warner Bros. Discovery, but the first one didn't get uploaded to YouTube and the second is buried deep inside last night's main story. I'll embed that after the season premiere, ICE & DHS.
John Oliver discusses ICE’s repeated atrocities over the past months and explores the massive entity overseeing it all: the Department of Homeland Security. How it started, who runs it, and how many hats Kristi Noem owns.I knew DHS was big, but I didn't know it was the third largest federal government department by number of employees behind the Department of Defense (not War, not until Congress acts) and Department of Veterans Affairs. By size of budget, DHS is sixth behind Health and Human Services, Defense, Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, and Transportation. Welcome to the US government being an insurance company with an army. That's still a lot of money. As the graphic below shows, ICE alone has a budget larger than militaries of Turkey, Spain, and the Netherlands and just smaller than Canada's.
All of those are facts I didn't know before watching this segment, which meant that I learned three new things, making today a good day.
Now for the sequel, last night's Police Body Cameras. Watch carefully for the remark about Paramount; blink and you'll miss it.
John Oliver discusses why police body cameras can be useful, or useless, depending on whether they’re used properly, and yeah, he also discusses what it looks like to arrest a giant mouse. Because of course he does.In theory, body cameras are a good thing, but we should be careful, if not downright vigilant, about how police use them in practice. This includes review of body camera footage, the equivalent of which Oliver seems to be daring Paramount to do to his show. Looks like he will have an even more hostile relationship with Paramount than he had with AT&T. That should be entertaining.
Since I haven't featured Oliver since 'Last Week Tonight' examines police chases, I'm closing by recognizing an award the show won, Best Variety Series at the Critics Choice Awards.
Congratulations! May the new ownership keep Oliver around for the awards the show wins, although that didn't save Stephen Colbert. Then again, Paramount renewed The Daily Show, so there's hope.
That's a wrap for today. Stay tuned for three holidays, Purim, Holi, and Marching Music Day, closer looks at the Iran war, and more Saturn Awards coverage.
