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☆ Opinion | What Does Hollywood Owe Its Jewish Founders?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-23 | by ( Pamela Paul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Jews who founded Hollywood — and make no mistake, the big studio heads were overwhelmingly Jewish — shared several things: ambition, creative vision and killer business instincts. But more than anything else, the men who were the driving forces behind Paramount, 20th Century Fox, Warner Brothers, Universal, Columbia and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer shared a very 20th-century sense of being Jewish in America. They were assimilationists who considered themselves American above all else and who molded Hollywood to reflect and shape their American ideals. Beyond a few brief mentions, including Billy Wilder fleeing Nazi Germany, a photo of the MGM mogul and academy founder Louis B. Mayer looming over Judy Garland, and a few scoundrels in an exhibit on #MeToo, Jews were absent. Jewish studio heads, business leaders and actors were almost entirely shut out, an oversight that led to much outcry.

Persons: —, Mayer, assimilationists, ” Neal Gabler, ” Louis B, Hollywood’s, Billy Wilder, Louis B, Judy Garland Organizations: Hollywood —, Paramount, Century Fox, Warner Brothers, Universal, Columbia, Metro, Goldwyn, MGM, Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Locations: America, An, Nazi Germany

☆ Putin is now going after people's money and property if they criticize the war in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewVladimir Putin is doubling down on critics of Russia's war in Ukraine. The punishment applies only to assets gained via criminal means or "used for activities aimed against Russia's national security," per TASS. Multiple people in Russia have already been jailed for criticizing the war in Ukraine, the Associated Press reported in July 2022. Russia's new law comes as the war in Ukraine approaches its third year, and a month before Putin seeks a fifth presidential term in a presidential election slated for March.

Persons: —, Vladimir Putin, Vyacheslav Volodin, Putin Organizations: Service, TASS, Business, Associated Press Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Russia

☆ Billy Dee Williams told Donald Glover to 'just be charming' as Lando Calrissian in 'Star Wars': 'In my mind there was and ever will be only one Lando, and that's me.'
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Eammon Jacobs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Portraits of a Life," Billy Dee Williams recalled the advice he gave to Donald Glover before he played the young Lando Calrissian in "Solo: A Star Wars Story." Glover is, however, developing a future "Lando" movie to star in himself. Advertisement"In the spirit of full disclosure, I wished that I had been able to jump back in time to play young Lando, because in my mind there was and ever will be only one Lando, and that's me," he said. The pair discussed why Lando was so iconic in the first place, as Williams wrote: "I didn't play Lando as a Black man," I explained. In 2017, Glover told The Hollywood Reporter that he dissected a number of ideas about Lando to Williams.

Persons: —, Billy Dee Williams, Donald Glover, Lando Calrissian, Williams, didn't, Lando, Glover, scoundrels, Mrs Smith, I've Organizations: Service, Business, Lucasfilm, Disney, Hollywood

☆ Trump ‘insurrectionist ban’ ruling: Takeaways from the blockbuster decision
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-18 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —A Colorado judge on Friday issued a stunning ruling that fell just short of removing former Donald Trump from the state’s 2024 ballot based on the 14th Amendment’s insurrectionist ban. The 102-page decision was a win for Trump, but it read more like a condemnation. The Colorado ruling isn’t binding on other courts, but it’s the most comprehensive fact-finding to date by a judge about Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election. And it’s the first time that any court in the country has ruled that Trump engaged in the insurrection, a watershed moment in the quest for accountability for January 6. “Trump was unable to provide the Court with any credible evidence which would discredit the factual findings of the January 6th Report,” Wallace said.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, Sarah Wallace, –, Wallace, ”, “, Biden’s, Jack Smith, Trump’s, “ Trump, ‘, it’s, ” Wallace, United States ’, scoundrels ” Organizations: CNN, Trump, GOP, US Capitol Police, Capitol, Electoral, United, United States ”, White, Trump Republicans Locations: Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, United States

☆ Naming a species after a celebrity may do more harm than good
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-12 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

But it's very difficult to change a species' scientific name, and that can lead to regrets. The list of species named for celebrities is lengthy and includes everything from flies (Beyoncé) to lichen (Oprah Winfrey) to lizards (Lionel Messi). An eponym is a scientific species name based on a person, either real or fictional. AdvertisementAdvertisementUniversity of Oxford biologist Katie Blake and her co-authors found that species with celebrity names had almost three times as many page views on Wikipedia as non-famously monikered control species. AdvertisementAdvertisementSome examples include Adolf Hitler, Cecil Rhodes, and George Hibbert, all of whom have species named after them.

Persons: —, Taylor Swift, Leonardo DiCaprio, David Attenborough, Oprah Winfrey, Lionel Messi, Jimmy, Sericomyrmex radioheadi, Tarantobelus, roundworm, Jeff Daniels, Taylor Swift's millipede, Katie Blake, cuvier, Georges Cuvier, Andre Seale, Blake, Hitler, Christopher Bae, Adolf Hitler, Cecil Rhodes, George Hibbert, Sergio Pitamitz, Bae, Cecil John Rhodes, There's, heidelbergensis, CESAR MANSO, Rhodes, bodoensis, Bodo D'ar, Jimmy Buffett’s “, Hal Horowitz, Hibbert, George Rinhart, Stephen B, Heard, Charles Darwin's Barnacle, David Bowie's Spider Organizations: Service, Virginia Tech, University of Oxford, VW, Getty, University of Hawai'i, American Ornithological Society, NPR Locations: Mano, Slovenia, Africa, Rhodesia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Right, Spain, AFP, Ethiopia

A crowds gathers at the Makhachkala Uytash Airport (MCX) in Dagestan, southern Russia, on October 29. Crowds stormed the runway at Makhachkala Uytash Airport (MCX) on October 29. “Israeli Ambassador to Russia Alex Ben Zvi is working with the Russian authorities to secure the well-being of Jews and Israelis at the site,” it added. “The United States vigorously condemns the antisemitic protests in Dagestan, Russia,” National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson wrote on social media. We call on Russian authorities to ensure their safety,” Lipstadt said.

Persons: ”, Israel, Russia Alex Ben Zvi, Adrienne Watson, Amb, Deborah E, Lipstadt, ” Lipstadt, Sergey Melikov, ” Melikov Organizations: CNN, Dagestan Health Ministry, TASS, Makhachkala Uytash, Russian Federal Air Transport Agency, Red Wing Airlines, Sunday, Jewish, Palestinian Ministry of Health, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ” National Security, US Locations: Russia’s, Dagestan, Israel, Makhachkala, Tel Aviv, Russia, ”, Gaza, Ramallah, United States, Dagestan Republic

NEW YORK (AP) — The actor picked to play the iconic, baby-faced flapper Betty Boop in a new stage musical is a triple threat from Texas with a contagious laugh. Jasmine Amy Rogers will star in “BOOP! The Betty Boop Musical” making its debut this fall in Chicago with hopes that it can charm itself to Broadway. I have so many people around me that are helping me find her and bring her to life, and so it’s really, really exciting,” Rogers told The Associated Press before her official unveiling Wednesday. Betty Boop has been a queen of animated cartoon characters since 1930, wearing round eyes, a strapless minidress, with a garter peeking out above her knee and large hoop earrings in her ears.

Persons: Betty Boop, Jasmine Amy Rogers, “ BOOP, ” Rogers, Jerry Mitchell, Rogers, Nancy ”, they’ve, ‘, ’ ”, Mitchell, Tony, “ Kinky Boots, ”, Rotten, “, She’s, David Foster, Susan Birkenhead, Bob Martin, Betty, she’s, “ I’m, Jasmine, Gretchen Wieners, ” “, ‘ ’, it’s, I’ve, Roger Rabbit, ___ Mark Kennedy Organizations: Broadway, Associated Press, Alliance Theatre, Manhattan School of Music, ” Fleischer Studios Locations: Texas, Chicago, Atlanta, New Jersey, Nancy

Navalny, 47, now faces a transfer to a "special regime" prison colony, the harshest grade in Russia's penal system, with the prospect of staying there until he is in his mid-70s. Daniel Kholodny, a TV technician who worked for Navalny, was sentenced to eight years in jail in August as part of the same trial. "For all of us - their colleagues and friends - this is constant pain," Navalny aide Leonid Volkov posted on X, formerly Twitter. The Kremlin has tried to portray Navalny as politically irrelevant, and Putin makes a point of never speaking his name. Moscow has cast him as an extremist and, without providing evidence, as a puppet of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.

Persons: Alexei Navalny, Viktor Rogov, Vladimir Putin, Daniel Kholodny, Alexei, Kholodny, Navalny, Leonid Volkov, Putin, Russia's, Nelson Mandela, Vladimir Kara, Murza, PUTIN, scoundrels, Mark Trevelyan, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: IK, Navalny, U.S . Central Intelligence Agency, Kremlin, U.S . State Department, European Union, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Vladimir, Navalny, Moscow, Ukraine, Siberia, Melekhovo, Russia, Germany

☆ Book Review: Middle Grade Mysteries Featuring Girl Detectives
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Robin Stevens | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Childhood is a constant state of trying to unravel the mysteries of the world, while being thwarted at every turn. Beth Lincoln’s THE SWIFTS: A Dictionary of Scoundrels (Dutton, 352 pp., $17.99, ages 8 to 12), illustrated by Claire Powell, is deliciously, quirkily Gothic, like “Gormenghast” for children. Martha Brockenbrough’s TO CATCH A THIEF (Scholastic, 256 pp., $17.99, ages 8 to 12) is a slice of small-town coziness. And Johan Rundberg’s THE NIGHT RAVEN: The Moonwind Mysteries, Book 1 (Amazon Crossing Kids, 192 pp., $17.99, ages 10 and up), translated by A.A. Prime, is chilly Nordic noir. But they all share the same worldview: that children can and should act out, that what they care about matters.

Persons: you’re, Daisy Wells, Hazel Wong, sleuths, Beth Lincoln’s, Dutton, Claire Powell, ”, Martha Brockenbrough’s, Johan Rundberg’s, A.A Organizations: Scoundrels

☆ Egypt's Sisi seeks to tamp down media clash with Saudi Arabia
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Hatem Maher | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Saudi Arabia along with other energy-rich Gulf states has long provided crucial funding to Egypt, upping support after Sisi took power nearly a decade ago, and as an acute financial crisis took hold last year. "The mean, the scoundrels and the nouveau-riche have no right to insult their masters," he wrote, drawing on derogatory stereotypes and claims of historical superiority. Another well-known Saudi commentator, Ali Shihabi, later tweeted: "Egypt is a black hole that will never close unless the govt is able to make material structural reforms." Tawfik's article has been removed from Al Gomhuria's website and replaced by an editorial lauding Egyptian-Saudi relations as "historic and eternal". Additional reporting by Nadine Awadalla and Aziz El Yaakoubi, Writing by Aidan LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Jailed Navalny vows to keep resisting the Kremlin as campaign to free him launches
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny on Tuesday used the second anniversary of his incarceration to reinforce his promise to keep opposing the Kremlin, as his family and allies launched a campaign to free him. I'm not going to surrender my country to them, and I believe that the darkness will eventually fade away." And now they're tormenting him and depriving him of any connection with the outside world in order to silence him," said Navalnaya. Russia's federal prison service, FSIN, has defended Navalny's conditions in the past, while the authorities say his incarceration is legally sound. The campaign to secure his release is designed to marshal support in Russia, and to publicise his fate and seek financial support abroad.

☆ Trump rages against the 'Thugs and Scoundrels' of the House January 6 committee on Truth Social ahead of the panel's likely criminal referrals to DOJ
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Donald Trump railed against the Jan. 6 committee on Truth Social, calling the members "Thugs and Scoundrels." The committee is expected to recommend to the DOJ that Trump be criminally charged in connection to the Capitol riot. The former president took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to share his thoughts on Sunday morning. "The Unselect Committee of political hacks are the same group that came up with the RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA HOAX, not to mention many others. Minutes later, he added: "Republicans and Patriots all over the land must stand strong and united against the Thugs and Scoundrels of the Unselect Committee.

☆ Cramer: Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Google will fuel the next rally — but not in the usual way
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Those who fought this trend abandoned Twitter, hired bodyguards and tried to hide from the angry mob that was attempting to will stocks higher by savaging the sellers. As a result, they overran their brains and outsourced them to others who claimed to know more than they did. My point is this: The crypto con and the Robinhood dollar conflagration can't produce enough money to buoy stocks. We will hold Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOGL) and Amazon , even as we've trimmed them higher. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

☆ Soman Chainani Creates Complex Fantasy Tales
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Emily Bobrow | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Growing up as a gay Indian kid on the posh island of Key Biscayne, Fla., outside of Miami, Soman Chainani sensed he didn’t fit in. He felt alien among his mostly white peers, and overlooked by the Disney films he watched until he knew every frame. “I remember not seeing myself in anything,” he says over video from his home in Manhattan. He found in the grisly yarns of Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm a more nuanced appreciation of good, evil, luck and hubris. “I realized that fairy tales were meant to do something other than engender jealousy or resentment in those of us who don’t get the happy ending,” he says.

☆ Joe Biden says it was 'totally irresponsible' for Donald Trump to keep top-secret documents at Mar-a-Lago
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

President Biden sat down with "60 Minutes" in an interview that aired on Sunday night. Biden said that Trump's retention of classified documents was "totally irresponsible." "I don't want to get myself in the middle of whether or not the Justice Department should move or not move on certain actions they could take," Biden told "60 Minutes." Biden also reiterated that he was not given advance notice of the FBI search of Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate on August 8. In the wide-ranging interview with "60 Minutes", Biden also declared that the "pandemic is over" and that he wouldn't commit to running again in 2024.

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