by dap | Dec 21, 2024 | The Guardian
You can’t simply set out to create a so-bad-it’s-good classic. But this year’s thinly veiled Taylor Swift biopic, Christmas in the Spotlight, could be a contender
As a lifelong enthusiast of the “so-bad-it’s-good” sub-strand of cinema, I approach every Christmas with a mix of excitement and trepidation. If at one end of the spectrum we have magical Christmas films (It’s a Wonderful Life, Home Alone, Jingle All the Way), passing through the slurry of mediocre, sentimental seasonal cash-ins, what I hope to find at the other extreme is something so truly awful it achieves a peculiar kind of transcendence.
Some recent contenders were
(a January resolution to eat more vegetables masquerading as a Christmas film; weird Brexit subplot; insufficient George Michael) and
(genuinely creepy, but giving way to a confusing, cumulative high as the film progresses, so that by the time Judi Dench says “a cat is not a dog” you have reached a sort of collective hysteria).
by dap | Dec 21, 2024 | The Guardian
Musk’s role in government shutdown drama could be a preview of role he plays for incoming president next year
’s relationship with Elon Musk is showing no signs of fraying, even after at times he appeared to eclipse the president-elect’s influence as he bullied House Republicans into paring down their bipartisan spending deal
with just hours to spare.
The move by Musk to detonate the political equivalent of a nuclear bomb – by demanding that Republicans sink the deal or face a primary challenge – was viewed as a test run of the kind of role Musk might play to pressure Congress once Trump takes office, people familiar with the matter said.
by dap | Dec 21, 2024 | The Guardian
Investigation by Senate Democrats found that Thomas accepted gifts and travel worth more than $4.75m since 1991
A nearly two-year investigation by Democratic senators of supreme court ethics details more luxury travel by Justice Clarence Thomas and urges Congress to establish a way to enforce a new code of conduct.
Any movement on the issue appears unlikely as Republicans prepare to take control of the Senate in January, underscoring the hurdles in imposing restrictions on a separate branch of government even as public confidence in the court has fallen to record lows.
by dap | Dec 21, 2024 | The Guardian
AGI in South Carolina investigated by government after leaked files revealed traumatic injuries and animal deaths
The US Department of Agriculture is investigating
from an animal rights organisation concerning
(AGI), the animal experimentation facility and breeder, from which
last month.
AGI is accused of “abuse and neglect”, and of violations of the Animal Welfare Act, as leaked documents show that between 2021 and 2023, multiple primates held at AGI centres endured preventable traumatic injuries and deaths.
by | Dec 21, 2024 | The Guardian
Lawsuits against Iowa paper and settlement with ABC signal beginning of aggressive legal action to silence criticsDonald Trump and his allies have started to wage
by dap | Dec 21, 2024 | The Guardian
Experts say they’re unsurprised by ‘expressions of anger’ at the healthcare system after the death of Brian Thompson
Americans are sharing stories of heartbreaking insurance denials – ones that led to worse illness and death – in the aftermath of the killing of Brian Thompson, CEO of the mega-insurer United Healthcare.
A rise in practices such as prior authorizations and automated denials of coverage have made it more difficult for Americans to access healthcare, and changes are urgently needed to reform practices like these and restore trust in the health system, experts said.
by dap | Dec 21, 2024 | The Guardian
Key figures in the incoming administration follow Curtis Yarvin, who’s pushing for an autocratic takeover of the US
Curtis Yarvin is hardly a household name in US politics. But the “neoreactionary” thinker and
blogger is emerging as a serious intellectual influence on key figures in
in particular over potential threats to US democracy.
Yarvin, who considers liberal democracy as a decadent enemy to be dismantled, is intellectually influential on vice president-elect
and close to several proposed Trump appointees. The aftermath of Trump’s election victory has seen actions and rhetoric from Trump and his lieutenants that closely resemble Yarvin’s public proposals for taking autocratic power in America.
by dap | Dec 21, 2024 | The Guardian
- Vonn places 14th in super-G at St Moritz
- US star announced comeback last month
Lindsey Vonn finished 14th position in a super-G on Saturday to mark her return to World Cup skiing at age 40.
Vonn crossed the line 1.18 seconds behind winner Cornelia Huetter.
by | Dec 21, 2024 | The Guardian
Premier League updates from the 12.30pm GMT kick-offLive scores | Tables | Fixtures | And you can email Barry “I handle the good moments –
by dap | Dec 21, 2024 | The Guardian
American confidence in the courts has hit a record low across party lines. This is worrying – if not surprising
The US supreme court has been hijacked by the extreme right and corrupted to its core.
American oligarchs bestow
on rightwing justices. The court’s conservative supermajority
deeply unpopular decisions that
,
for themselves and their friends and grease the
for their party.
is the author of the new book Antidemocratic: Inside the Right’s 50-Year Plot to Control American Elections as well as Ratf**ked: Why Your Vote Doesn’t Count
