Latest news with #TheDeathofStalin
Irish Independent
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Today's top TV and streaming choices: Pushers, The Wedding Singer and Yolanthe
Heston: My Life with Bipolar BBC Two, 8pm In 2023, innovative chef Heston Blumenthal began having hallucinations and suicidal thoughts, leading to him being sectioned. Here, he discusses his experiences, as well as the impact that being diagnosed as bipolar has had on him. Capaillíní TG4, 8pm The final episode of this gentle series features pony enthusiast Mike Frank Ó Confhaola, who explains his passion for travelling by cart. Plus, there's a trip to the farm in Léim where famous pony Cannonball once lived and worked. Fíorscéal TG4, 10.50pm As concerns continue to grow about climate change, this programme offers insights into ways in which agriculture could become more sustainable. Pushers Channel 4, 10pm & 10.30pm If you have a good memory, you may remember that, back in 2022, Channel 4 broadcast Comedy Blaps, a series of short sitcoms of varying quality. Easily the best of them was Disability Benefits, co-written by comedian Rosie Jones and Peter Fellows, a screenwriter whose CV features The Death of Stalin, Veep, Avenue 5 and Fantastic Friends. Jones also played the lead role of Emily, a young woman facing a financial nightmare after losing her job and having the titular payments cut by the government, forcing her into a life of crime. That one-off won the Best Newform Drama Series trophy at the C21 International Drama awards, so it came as no surprise when Sharon Horgan's Merman Television was commissioned to turn it into a full series by Channel 4. 'Rosie has a truly unique voice and storytelling ability, alongside impeccable comedic timing, and we are proud to be working with her on her first scripted TV project,' says Merman's co-founder, Clelia Mountford. Jones herself adds: 'I am incredibly excited. It has always been my dream to have my own sitcom and now it is coming true! Bring it on!' ADVERTISEMENT Learn more The series, now titled Pushers, continues Emily's story, following her as she builds an illegal drugs empire, right under the noses of the authorities who underestimate her abilities. Clive Russell, Ryan McPartland, Lynn Hunter and Rhiannon Clements are also among the cast. The Wedding Singer RTÉ2, 9.35pm Charming romantic comedy with Adam Sandler as a popular wedding performer whose life takes a downward turn when his fiancée jilts him. However, things start looking up after he meets a perky waitress (Drew Barrymore) — sadly, she happens to be engaged to someone else. Yolanthe Prime Video, streaming now Some eyeball bubblegum in the form of Netflix's 'first Dutch reality series'. It follows Yolanthe Cabau as she builds a life in LA with Wesley Sneijder's son. America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Netflix, streaming now Expect gussets galore and grinning faces all over your Netflix landing page for the foreseeable. The creators of Cheer and Last Chance U bring you season two of the auditions. We Were Liars Prime Video, streaming now Based on E Lockhart's YA 2014 book. You can guess the rest. Trainwreck: Mayor of Mayhem Netflix, streaming now Initially dismissed as a joke by politicians and the media alike, Rob Ford's unexpected 2010 Toronto mayoral election bid defied expectations with a stunning landslide victory. However, his administration soon spiralled into chaos, marred by scandals and allegations of hard drug use, igniting an international media frenzy. Rob was 15 years too early; no one would bat an eyelid nowadays. Sally Disney+, streaming now Sally Ride made history as the first American woman in space, but behind her serene exterior lay a deeply personal story. For 27 years, she shared her life with writer and professional tennis player Tam O'Shaughnessy, who now unveils the untold journey of their relationship in this Cristina Costantini-directed film. American Thunder Prime Video, streaming now Celebrating its 100th anniversary in June 2023, the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans — one of motorsports' most prestigious endurance races — introduced an unexpected competitor: stock car aficionados Nascar. As for what they brought to proceedings? A Chevrolet Camaro to compete against cutting-edge Ferrari and Porsche prototypes in this almost fabled, gruelling test of long-distance racing. Competing at Le Mans was the lifelong dream of Nascar chairman and CEO Jim France. As such, he brought in Hendrick Motorsports, the most successful team in Nascar history, to build and race the car (which, again, was a Camaro). On the plus side, he also enlisted the help of elite drivers Jenson Button, Jimmie Johnson and Mike Rockenfeller. Over the course of 18 months, this team transformed a car built for (at most) three-hour oval track races in the US into one capable of surviving the relentless 24-hour challenge. Deep Cover Prime Video, streaming now Not to be mistaken for the 1990s movie starring Fishburne and Goldblum, this film is about an improv teacher and her two students posing as criminals to slip into London's underworld. Bryce Dallas Howard, Orlando Bloom, Nick Mohammed and Sean Bean have their work cut out for them to make this fly. Return to the Wild Disney+, streaming now Famed as 'the greatest living explorer', Sir Ranulph 'Ran' Fiennes joins his cousin, actor Joseph Fiennes (no sign of brother Ralph, unfortunately), on a breathtaking journey through British Columbia. As they navigate its rugged terrain, they reflect on Ran's legendary expeditions, his battle with Parkinson's, and the deepening bond forged through their shared adventure. Echo Valley AppleTV+, streaming now Julianne Moore and Domhnall Gleeson are getting all the work of late. Both co-star in this thriller about a mother who will do anything to keep her drug-addled daughter 'safe' (including body disposal). Written by Brad Ingelsby (Mare of Easttown), this moody (if a tad predictable) number stars Sydney Sweeney alongside 'dad' Kyle MacLachlan and Fiona Shaw.
Asia Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Asia Times
Why is Stalin back in the Moscow metro?
A statue of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin was unveiled in the Taganskaya metro station in Moscow in May, recreating a mural that was dismantled decades ago. It is the first such statue to be erected in central Moscow since Stalin's death in 1953 and marks a disturbing new stage in Russia's authoritarian path. Tens of millions of people died as a direct result of Stalin's policies between 1924 and his death. These policies included the forced collectivization of agriculture, the Gulag labor camp system and the 'great terror' – a wave of mass arrests between 1937 and 1938, including of key figures in the army. Yet ultimate victory over Nazi Germany in 1945, with the support of Britain and the US, redeems Stalin in the eyes of Russia's current rulers. For the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, this victory was one of the crowning achievements of the Soviet Union and remains a unifying force in modern Russia. De-Stalinization, which from 1956 to the late 1960s saw the dismantling of Stalin's policies and legacy, meant no statues of him were erected from his death until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. But 110 monuments have been built since then (as of the last count, in 2023), with 95 of them erected in the Putin era. The rate of construction multiplied after Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea. These statues initially tended to be in peripheral parts of the Russian Federation, such as Yakutia, North Ossetia and Dagestan, and not in city centers. The renaming by presidential decree of the airport in Volgograd as Stalingrad in April 2025, to echo the city's wartime name, was thus a significant moment. But the statue in the Moscow metro, an architectural gem in the centre of Russia's capital that is used by millions of people each day, is an even more important symbolic statement. Stalin's reputation in Russia continues to recover. According to a poll from 2015, 45% of the Russian population thought the deaths caused by Stalin's actions were justified (up from 25% in 2012). By 2023, 63% of Russians had an overall positive view of his leadership. This reflects the view promoted in schools and amplified by the Russian media, where criticism of Stalin is rare. Even the 2017 British comedy, The Death of Stalin, was banned in Russia for fear of popping the bubble of public approval. The purpose of rehabilitating Stalin is about boosting support for Putin's regime, training Russians' conformity reflex and instilling pride in their history. But it also has external ramifications. With the partial exception of Georgia, his birthplace, Stalin is widely reviled by Russia's neighboring countries, which were often the victims of Stalin's repressive policies. This is especially true of Ukraine. A famine known to Ukrainians as the Holodomor was deliberately imposed there between 1932 and 1933 as part of collectivization and killed as many as 3.8 million people. As a result, his death unleashed de-Stalinization accompanied by the destruction of his statues all over eastern Europe. This began during the 1956 Budapest uprising and was followed by later such reactions in Prague and elsewhere. The statue of Stalin in Budapest was torn down by demonstrators in 1956. Fortepan adományozó / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-NC-SA After the uprisings were put down, Stalin's place was typically taken by the less controversial Vladimir Lenin, the revolutionary leader who founded the Soviet Union. But since the 2014 Maidan revolution in Ukraine, which culminated in the ousting of pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych, Ukrainians have also been pulling down statues of Lenin. Other Soviet-era symbols have also been torn down in a wave of demonstrations known as Leninopad or Leninfall . This is what has informed the latest intensification of Stalin-washing. The Ukrainian refutation of the symbolic heritage of the Soviet Union seems to have supercharged the Russian embrace of it, Stalin included. Russia has restored statues of Lenin in the Ukrainian territories it occupies. And it has now also started erecting statues of Stalin, notably in the southeastern city of Melitopol, where a statue was unveiled in May to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory in the second world war. This is against the law in Ukraine, where there is a ban on pro-Communist (and pro-totalitarian) symbolism. Russian forces have meanwhile been destroying memorials to the Holodomor in a battle over the meaning of the Soviet legacy. The re-elevation of Stalin promotes a narrow interpretation of his rule, stressing Russia's military strength. Modern statues typically portray Stalin in a military uniform and evoke a sense of him as a victorious wartime leader. In fact, some of the appeal of the symbol of Stalin lies in welfare provisions of his leadership where, despite imposing an often cruelly authoritarian system, education and healthcare were free for all. The same can be said for his use of fear as a work incentive. Russians sometimes still denounce complacent or inept officials with the imprecation: 'If only Stalin was here to sort you out' ( Stalina na vas net in Russian). Nevertheless, it is the imperial version of Stalin that dominates, vindicating Russia's refusal to reckon with its colonial past as the center of the Soviet Union. Stalin's record is sometimes defended within Russia on the basis that Winston Churchill, for instance, remains a British national hero despite a bloody past (such as his role in the Bengal famine of 1943). While there is an element of truth in this, the difference is that Churchill's shortcomings and complicity in the death toll attributable to the British empire are publicly discussed. Such criticism of Stalin is not permitted in Russia. Even the new statue in Moscow was erected under cover of the night, evading public scrutiny and debate. Jeremy Hicks is a professor of post-Soviet cultural history and film at Queen Mary University of London. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Original Sin' Outlines the Plot Against the American Voter
Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson's deeply reported book, Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again, takes a sledgehammer to Joe Biden's legacy, already in grave disrepair. Claiming to have interviewed more than 200 sources around the 46th president, the CNN anchor and the Axios correspondent have written a necessary and deeply disturbing account of the Biden White House. For anyone interested in politics and Shakespearean tragedy, there's something on every page. For supporters of Biden's presidency and its considerable legislative achievements, this is an extremely grim read. Biden is both the most effective Democratic president since Lyndon Johnson and the man who helped usher Donald Trump back into the Oval Office by not stepping aside for a stronger candidate. The Biden presented in the book is both familiar and tragic, a King Lear on the Potomac with a Lady McBeth at his side in Jill Biden. The small cohort of longtime aides, dubbed the Politburo by insiders, protecting the president from the press, the American people and, it seems, reality, could be cast in a community theater version of The Death of Stalin. 'I blame his inner circle and I blame him,' one senior administration official told Tapper and Thompson after the election. 'What utter and total hubris not to step aside and be a one-term president, as he said he would, and have an open primary when there was time to let the process play out.' Hubris is a theme that runs throughout the book. Tapper and Thompson present compelling evidence for a plot to cover up for an octogenarian politician in steep physical and mental decline. It was an ineffective and inane effort, but the president's team, it seems, really did try to prop up a visibly aged man, who had carried decades of personal grief and was facing new family drama that would have broken most. There is an unforgettable eyewitness description of Biden as Mr. Burns from The Simpsons, all skin and bones, and short of breath. One can't help but wonder how Team Biden thought running for reelection was the best thing for the man, not to mention the country. It was malpractice and a scandal of the highest order. Given what's depicted in these pages, it's more than fair to ask: Who was leading America after 4:30 p.m., when, sources told Tapper and Thompson, the president's workday often ended after the early bird special? 'Five people were running the country, and Joe Biden was at best a senior member of the board,' one person in the know told Tapper and Thompson. Most presidents delegate some authority, but this sounds almost like Woodrow Wilson-in-a-stupor-level stuff. One of the many questions that haunts the pages: How far back was Biden sliding into infirmity and no longer up to the task? Aging is a complicated process that differs for everyone. But family tragedy seems, understandably, to have played a role here. There is some evidence in the book that points to the death of Beau Biden, back in 2014, as an inflection point. 'Before Beau died, he was 100 percent sharper,' one senior Biden White House official told Tapper and Thompson. 'Beau's death wrecked him. Part of him died that never came back.' At the 2020 Democratic National Convention, signs were there as well, according to the book. One top Democrat described seeing videos of Biden and thinking, 'This was like watching Grandpa who shouldn't be driving.' But the real cliff seems to have been reached in 2022 or 2023, when Biden's shuffling and other physical effects of his age became pronounced and inescapable. Descriptions of a confused and forgetful Biden fill these pages. Most of the sources here seem to be folks sympathetic toward the president, but he comes off more addled and confused as his presidency continues. Time comes for us all, but not all of us have the responsibilities of the presidency. Understandably, the stress of his son Hunter Biden's scandal-ridden life seems also to have taken a toll on the president. One cabinet secretary described Hunter's trial for gun possession to Tapper and Thompson as a 'five-hundred-pound weight dropped on the president's head.' Joe Biden's story of personal loss — his first wife and infant daughter killed in a car crash, the death of Beau — has been one of the things that made him an empathic figure. No one could doubt he understood and felt pain; it was there on his face. For much of the last decade or more, Joe Biden has had to worry about losing a third child, first to drugs and then to the criminal justice system. The pressures Biden faced, on the job and in his home, would age any human being. The debacle of the 2024 presidential debate is traced in great detail. For this was the moment when the jig was up. America saw what had been kept hidden: a man long past his prime, but still inexplicably auditioning to retain the most important job in the world. It was undeniable and damning and not just a bad night. This was one of the most stunning moments in recent presidential history, when the scales fell from a nation's eyes. A high-powered Democratic operative described it to me as 'like watching someone die.' Tapper was a moderator and writes that the performance was even worse in person. At one point, after another horrific Biden gaffe ('Look, if… we finally beat Medicare'), Tapper's colleague Dana Bash passed him a note that read: 'He just lost the election.' Some who dared to speak the uncomfortable truths about Biden's condition are owed an apology for the backlash they faced. Congressman Dean Phillips, who rang the alarm and tried to run against Biden in a primary last year, only to be shut out and shunned by the party. Special Counsel Robert Hur, who declined to prosecute Biden for his mishandling of classified documents, and described the president as 'a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.' Hur's integrity was attacked by partisans on both sides of the aisle — simply for being honest and doing his duty. The figure looming off-camera for much of the book is Donald Trump, and part of the story here is how destructive the negative partisanship of the MAGA moment has become — the political equivalent of a toxic speedball of rage, fear, and resentment. The ends justify the means, the thinking goes. Trump was such a danger to democracy that any tactic necessary was needed to keep him out of office. When reporters or public officials like Phillips and Hur brought up Biden's age, they were set upon in, well, Trumpian style. Team Biden's playbook: Deny, deflect, and attack. But deceiving the American people about a candidate's health and mental acuity was sure to backfire. They were asking the American voter to believe the White House, not their own lying eyes, about a man deteriorating before them. (Biden's stage IV cancer diagnosis, announced the day before Original Sin was released, only raises more questions and eyebrows.) If a candidate other than Trump had been running, would they have really tried such an outrageous ploy? At least in part, Biden seems to have convinced himself that only he could beat Trump and thus was not ready to honor his campaign pledge to be a 'bridge' to the next generation and pass the torch. Gov. Jerry Brown may have said it best, when reflecting on Biden's decision to stick around: 'Politics is addictive. It's exciting. It's a kind of psychic cocaine.' History will judge Biden's long-term impact, and Original Sin is but the first draft. His role in the Senate, as vice president, and as president will be chewed over for decades to come. There's a lot there, much of it very good, some bad, and more than a little bit ugly. He's been one of the most consequential politicians of his era. His achievements are real and profound. But this last chapter was brutal, unfortunate, and entirely preventable. More from Rolling Stone Jasmine Crockett: 'It's Time for Republicans to Question Trump's Mental Acuity' Mike Johnson Insists It's 'Moral' to Throw People Off Medicaid Trump's Crypto Grift Is the Latest Corruption Mike Johnson Says He's Too 'Busy' to Care About Best of Rolling Stone The Useful Idiots New Guide to the Most Stoned Moments of the 2020 Presidential Campaign Anatomy of a Fake News Scandal The Radical Crusade of Mike Pence
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Actor Michael Pitt arrested on sexual abuse charges
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways "Boardwalk Empire" actor Michael Pitt was arrested and indicted in Brooklyn on Friday on charges of sexual abuse, criminal sex act, assault and strangulation, according to court documents. The actor pleaded not guilty and was released until his next court date in June. Steve Buscemi on his role in the new satirical comedy 'The Death of Stalin' The charges stem from alleged incidents that occurred in 2020 and 2021, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office. The indictment alleges Pitt sexually abused an unnamed individual in April 2020 "by means of forcible compulsion." PHOTO: Michael Pitt seen at 'Day Of The Fight' Special Screening at DGA Theater Complex on December 06, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Eric Charbonneau/KCFEOLA PR via Getty Images) In August 2020, the indictment claims he allegedly forced oral sex on an individual. The indictment claims Pitt allegedly injured an individual with "a four by four" that same month. In June 2021, the indictment claims Pitt allegedly assaulted an individual with a cinderblock. In August 2021, the indictment claims he allegedly tried to strangle someone. Individual identities are redacted in the indictment, so it is unclear if one or more persons is making allegations against Pitt. In a statement to ABC News on Wednesday, Pitt's attorney James Goldman said, "Unfortunately, we live in a world where somebody like Mr. Pitt -- an accomplished professional who would never so much as contemplate these crimes -- can be arrested on the uncorroborated word of an unreliable individual. In reality, this baseless claim is suspiciously raised some four or five years after the alleged incident, from a time when the two parties were in a completely consensual relationship. We have already uncovered exonerating evidence and this case will be dismissed." Pitt is best known for his role as Jimmy Darmody in the hit Atlantic City-based period crime drama "Boardwalk Empire." Haley Joel Osment arrested at California ski resort for alleged public intoxication In his role, Pitt starred opposite Steve Buscemi as an up-and-coming gangster in the underground crime world portrayed in the show. Pitt, who also appeared in "Dawson's Creek" earlier in his career, has taken on several television roles since the end of "Boardwalk Empire," appearing in several episodes the NBC show "Hannibal." He's also starred in film roles such "The Dreamers" and "Last Days." Actor Michael Pitt arrested on sexual abuse charges originally appeared on
Sydney Morning Herald
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Masterly chaos as Steve Coogan stars in stage reboot of Dr Strangelove
DR. STRANGELOVE ★★★½ CTC. 150 minutes. In cinemas Armando Iannucci's latest excursion into the wackiest regions of the political world is here. The man who brought us The Death of Stalin has revived Stanley Kubrick's absurdist classic, Dr. Strangelove or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Bomb, judging quite rightly that its particular brand of insanity is in tune with our times. He and director and co-writer Sean Foley have produced it as a play for Britain's National Theatre and the filmed version of one of its West End performances is in the cinemas as part of the NT LIVE series. Steve Coogan, Iannucci's collaborator on the satirical British TV series featuring Alan Partridge, is cast in the roles originally played by Peter Sellers, including both Strangelove, a former Nazi scientist, and the US president, whom Strangelove likes to call 'Mein Fuhrer'. Old habits die hard. As you can tell, subtlety was never part of the film's appeal. Its caricatures are broad, as are its jokes, but it presents a masterly display of choreographed chaos set in motion by Jack D. Ripper (John Hopkins), a deranged American general who is about to send a squadron of B-52s off to Russia with orders to drop a nuclear bomb. A man of many obsessions, General Ripper strikes a contemporary note with his belief that water fluoridation is a Russian plot aimed at robbing him and other similarly macho males of their 'natural bodily fluids'. Ripper is in charge of a US Air Force base in Britain when he makes his momentous decision and the first person to hear about it is Group Captain Mandrake (Coogan again), a mild-mannered and very English Englishman who manages to contact the Pentagon. A clutch of five-star generals then start falling over one another in their competing efforts to find the nuclear recall code and avert the end of the world. Filmed theatre is a strange hybrid. No matter how artfully it's shot, it leaves you feeling rather remote from the action. Nonetheless, Strangelove is, in essence, so overblown that theatricality is all part of the experience. We move between the British base, the Pentagon war room and one of the B-52s and in each place, the craziest person present is getting the upper hand. The B-52 has a gung-ho pilot set on carrying out his mission despite the protests of his crew. Loading
