Human rights groups have expressed alarm after some 66 boys determined to be “effeminate” by Malaysian public schools have been picked for re-education at a macho boot camp. The education department in Terengganu state established the camp to help boys deal with “identity issues” and place them on a “proper…
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Russell Brand steps into Dudley Moore’s shoes in this remake of the 1981 comedy, but it’s Peter Cook’s embarrassing Hollywood career that Peter Bradshaw is reminded of This frankly depressing film is an atonal symphony of wrong notes. British comedy star Russell Brand takes the lead in a joyless, unobservant remake of the 1981 hit, which had Dudley Moore as the lovable millionaire drunk in Manhattan, endangering his fortune and lifestyle by falling in love with a penniless woman of whom his family disapproves. It won John Gielgud a best supporting actor Oscar as Arthur’s droll manservant and another for its sugary theme song (“When you get caught between the moon and New York City …”). You only have to watch this one for a few minutes before you realise that it isn’t Moore that Brand resembles here, but Peter Cook – specifically, Cook in his unhappy 1980s era, cast as a posh British butler in the shortlived American sitcom The Two of Us. The analogy doesn’t hold entirely: Cook conspicuously failed to break America, and Brand is a smash-hit success there. But there is the same Hollywood way of getting an imported Brit comedian utterly wrong; the same way of failing to understand the subtly ironic style and playful mojo of a great performer, and instead forcing him into a naff, tourist template of Britishness. It is almost eerie to see how the funny has been removed from Brand’s performing style, leaving only the loopy, cheery, hyper-articulation. In one scene, Arthur irrepressibly buys Abraham Lincoln’s top hat at auction and clowns around in the streets wearing it. It’s an American president’s hat, but it’s what this film’s producers imagine a top-hole Brit might wear anyway. Actually, Brand looks as if he’s conducting some sort of voodoo funeral. What’s more baffling is that the screenplay is by Peter Baynham, a whip-smart writer who worked in British television with Steve Coogan, Armando Iannucci and Chris Morris in the 1990s, before establishing himself in Hollywood and working on Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat and Brüno films. The system appears here to have squeezed the life out of him, and suit-wearing execs must have been leaning on this script. In this new version, Arthur has a long-suffering driver called Bitterman; the name may be a joke about being resentful, but there’s nothing in the script for Luis Guzmán to work with. Instead of having a male butler, however, Arthur now has an exasperated nanny who has looked after him since he was a child. Why? Because he’s basically adorable. She is actually a “supernanny” like Jo Frost in the TV show, which has gone over well in the States. It is an unintentionally creepy, embarrassing, infantilising idea, and the indignity of this chillingly unfunny role is bravely borne by Helen Mirren. Arthur’s domineering mother, Vivienne, is played by Geraldine James, and she threatens to disinherit our hero, unless he gets married to a suitable woman: a joke-free, ball-breaking bitch played by Jennifer Garner. Her industrialist dad is Nick Nolte, who telexes in a performance of palpable detachment and contempt. Things go wrong when Arthur falls in love with free-spirit Naomi, played by mumblecore star Greta Gerwig. Just as with Brand, though in a different way, the movie’s casting directors have utterly failed to understand the talents that brought this performer to their notice in the first place. Gerwig’s gentle, complex style is here reduced to a kiddie-ish single note – quirky, asexual and unthreatening. Like Arthur, she is stuck with an icky and infantilising tic, living with her dad. For some reason, she conducts her own very unlikely, uninteresting and unofficial wacky tours of Grand Central Station, and yearns to be a children’s book illustrator. The absolute low point comes with a racist crack about Barack Obama. British matriarch Vivienne sneers at the “coffee-coloured” president, and Arthur feebly objects that “you can’t say that”. Oh yes you can – if you’re a cardboard Brit! Because it’s the sort of thing those meanie uptight Brits do, you see, like wearing monocles and drinking tea. There’s no way on earth an American character would be made to say it. Or if this did happen, it would be a very different sort of film – a dark thriller or drama and the person saying it would probably die in a hail of bullets. But this sort of racism is OK for a comedy Brit. Now, of course, there is racism in Britain, but there is here no real intention to satirise it and, in any case, specific racist resentment of Obama is an American thing, not a British thing. All of us Brits who have grown up avidly and gratefully consuming American movies and TV have become used to the way that country’s affectionate enthusiasm for Britain – Jon Stewart memorably called us “America’s deadbeat older brother” – sometimes tips over into tiring condescension. But for this condescension to include a racial joke about Obama left a very nasty taste in my mouth. All that’s left for Brand fans is to put on the DVDs of his live shows to remember what a great comic he is. (Somewhere, I have a copy of his tremendous, off-the-wall BBC4 documentary about Jack Kerouac.) For fans and non-fans alike, however, this new Arthur is one to miss. Rating: 1/5 Comedy Russell Brand Helen Mirren Peter Bradshaw guardian.co.uk
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Turbulent central Asian state makes a traditional blood offering to drive evil spirits out of the parliament building It has suffered two popular revolts, a bloody fistfight and a police raid that turned up a Kalashnikov. The parliament chamber of Kyrgyzstan is clearly a place of discord, but MPs in the central Asian state have chosen an unusual way of soothing tensions, it has emerged. Deputies in the legislature sacrificed seven sheep this morning in order to drive evil spirits out of the building, which was damaged in unrest last spring and has been the scene of scuffles between rival factions. Shairbek Mamatoktorov, a spokesman for the assembly, the Jogorku Kenesh, told reporters the ceremony was attended by almost all members, who also gave prayers for those who died in the uprising that toppled President Kurmanbek Bakiyev a year ago this month. “We want peace and agreement to reign in both the parliament and the country,” one MP told news agencies. Kyrgyzstan has had a turbulent recent history. The ousting of Bakiyev was followed by ethnic clashes between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in the south of the central Asian country two months later, which left hundreds of people dead. Roza Otunbayeva, a former foreign minister, was sworn in as interim leader in July, but the country will choose a new president in elections in October. A new parliament with increased powers was voted in last autumn and has occasionally proved rowdy. Earlier this month, two MPs came to blows in the chamber. Police confiscated 11 guns — including an AK-47 assault rifle — in the building during a security sweep after the brawl. The pugilists later publicly exchanged traditional robes and hats as a sign of reconciliation. The current parliament building was the seat of government until last year, when it was ransacked after the fall of Bakiyev. It was also damaged in 2005, when President Askar Akayev was overthrown in the Tulip Revolution. Animal sacrifices are common in the Muslim central Asian states. Kyrgyzstan, a rural, mountainous country, has an estimated 4.25 million sheep; only slightly fewer than the human population. Mamatoktorov said the meat from today’s ceremony would be sent to retirement homes and orphanages. Not all politicians supported the throat-cutting ceremony. Ondorush Toktonasyrov, a leader of the protests against Bakiyev, told Reuters it was “a sign of backward mentality”. “Deputies have no idea about parliamentary culture,” he said. “This is an official building where the president works, and the parliament slaughters rams!” Kyrgyzstan Tom Parfitt guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …It’s enough to make Caesar roll over in his grave. An ancient Roman mausoleum has been discovered beneath an illegal toxic waste dump outside Naples. The huge, vividly decorated Second Century tomb was found in Pozzuoli beneath some 60 tons of refuse dumped on the 17th-century ruins of the ancient…
Continue reading …Germany’s debate over multiculturalism just got a lot spicier. Soap opera star Sila Sahin has become the first woman from the country’s 3.5-million strong Turkish community to strip for the German version of Playboy, reports Time . Sahin says she “feels like Che Guevara” and she wants the photoshoot to…
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Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei is controversial figure at odds with religious leaders for nationalist rather than theological narrative A close ally of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who favours cultural openness and opposes greater clerical involvement in politics, is being groomed as a possible successor to the Iranian president when he steps down in two years time. Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, Ahmadinejad’s chief-of-staff, is positioning himself as a candidate who will champion a nationalist rather than a theological narrative of Iran. Mashaei, whose daughter married Ahmadinejad’s son, has become the most controversial political figure in Iran, provoking harsh criticism from the conservative establishment, including the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Hardliners close to Khamenei have accused Mashaei of compromising the Islamic Revolution and the principles of Islam by focusing on Persian history. Mashaei infuriated conservatives in 2008 when he said that Iranians are “friends of all people in the world – even Israelis”. He was also criticised for applauding at a ceremony in Turkey in which women performed a traditional dance. Women are not allowed to dance in Iran. Mashaei used to head Iran’s cultural heritage organisation. He was appointed first vice-president in 2009 when Ahmadinejad resumed office following disputed elections that generated mass protests. But he was forced to step down when Khamenei intervened and said in a letter to the president that “the regime’s expediency” required Mashaei to leave his post. Ahmadinejad appointed Mashaei as chief-of-staff instead, a move seen by many as a blow to Khamenei and the first sign of split emerging between the president and the supreme leader. A confidential US diplomatic cable revealed by Wikileaks said the incident underlined Mashaei’s significance in Ahmadinejad’s team . “Ahmadinejad’s stubborn defence of Mashaei bespeaks his importance as a key adviser for the increasingly isolated president; he also has emerged as a spokesman for the Ahmadinejad administration. Ahmadinejad has even told press that he would gladly serve as vice-president in a Mashaei administration, prompting many to speculate that Ahmadinejad seeks to have Mashaei replace him in 2013,” the cable reads. Some analysts believe that a regime which has crushed the green opposition movement and is short of internal opposition, is merely creating one in order to create a show of legitimacy come the next election. Hooshang Amirahmadi, the president of the American Iranian Council who knows Mashaei, told the Guardian: “The reformist movement in Iran did not succeed for various reasons. I think Mashaei has become another alternative and the regime is using this opportunity to heat up the next election in Iran. Mashaei is saying that Iranians are at first Iranians and Islam comes afterward. “He is reviving a source of national pride of Iranians, something that has been neglected not only since the Islamic Revolution in 1979 but in the past two centuries.” Amirahmadi said: “After the revolution, an extensive obsession with Islam made the authorities neglect Iran’s history and Mashaei is now seeking to promote this sort of nationalistic narrative. I think Ahmadinejad himself is also in favour of Iran’s history and has sought to revive Iran’s ancient glory and power.” Iranians are proud of their history and still largely celebrate many ancient traditions that goes back as far as the country’s Zoroastrian era, such as the Persian new year, Nowruz. Mashaei is also believed to have played a crucial role in securing the loan from the British Museum of the Cyrus Cylinder . The artefact, considered the first human rights charter, was seen by a million visitors in Tehran during its six-month exhibition, although hardliners and clerics largely boycotted the event. The relic was returned to the UK last week. “Obviously Mashaei’s nationalistic views are a threat to clerics. They are afraid that their power might wane if people begin to respect their pre-Islamic history,” Amirahmadi said. Mashaei, whose name has been touted among political activists as a possible 2013 candidate, has not ruled out the possibility of running for president, recently telling reporters he would make a definitive decision six months from the election. Kayhan, a newspaper aligned with Khamenei, predicted that Iran’s powerful Guardian Council would block Mashaei’s candidacy if he decides to run. The Guardian Council vets all candidates before any elections in Iran. Mashaei, who is launching a newspaper next month, is also believed to have tried to secure the release of three Americans detained in Iran, a move that resulted in the release of one of the prisoners, Sarah Shourd . Her friends, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, remain in Tehran after their release was believed to have been blocked by hardliners. The US embassy cables Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Middle East United States US foreign policy US national security WikiLeaks Saeed Kamali Dehghan guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei is controversial figure at odds with religious leaders for nationalist rather than theological narrative A close ally of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who favours cultural openness and opposes greater clerical involvement in politics, is being groomed as a possible successor to the Iranian president when he steps down in two years time. Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, Ahmadinejad’s chief-of-staff, is positioning himself as a candidate who will champion a nationalist rather than a theological narrative of Iran. Mashaei, whose daughter married Ahmadinejad’s son, has become the most controversial political figure in Iran, provoking harsh criticism from the conservative establishment, including the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Hardliners close to Khamenei have accused Mashaei of compromising the Islamic Revolution and the principles of Islam by focusing on Persian history. Mashaei infuriated conservatives in 2008 when he said that Iranians are “friends of all people in the world – even Israelis”. He was also criticised for applauding at a ceremony in Turkey in which women performed a traditional dance. Women are not allowed to dance in Iran. Mashaei used to head Iran’s cultural heritage organisation. He was appointed first vice-president in 2009 when Ahmadinejad resumed office following disputed elections that generated mass protests. But he was forced to step down when Khamenei intervened and said in a letter to the president that “the regime’s expediency” required Mashaei to leave his post. Ahmadinejad appointed Mashaei as chief-of-staff instead, a move seen by many as a blow to Khamenei and the first sign of split emerging between the president and the supreme leader. A confidential US diplomatic cable revealed by Wikileaks said the incident underlined Mashaei’s significance in Ahmadinejad’s team . “Ahmadinejad’s stubborn defence of Mashaei bespeaks his importance as a key adviser for the increasingly isolated president; he also has emerged as a spokesman for the Ahmadinejad administration. Ahmadinejad has even told press that he would gladly serve as vice-president in a Mashaei administration, prompting many to speculate that Ahmadinejad seeks to have Mashaei replace him in 2013,” the cable reads. Some analysts believe that a regime which has crushed the green opposition movement and is short of internal opposition, is merely creating one in order to create a show of legitimacy come the next election. Hooshang Amirahmadi, the president of the American Iranian Council who knows Mashaei, told the Guardian: “The reformist movement in Iran did not succeed for various reasons. I think Mashaei has become another alternative and the regime is using this opportunity to heat up the next election in Iran. Mashaei is saying that Iranians are at first Iranians and Islam comes afterward. “He is reviving a source of national pride of Iranians, something that has been neglected not only since the Islamic Revolution in 1979 but in the past two centuries.” Amirahmadi said: “After the revolution, an extensive obsession with Islam made the authorities neglect Iran’s history and Mashaei is now seeking to promote this sort of nationalistic narrative. I think Ahmadinejad himself is also in favour of Iran’s history and has sought to revive Iran’s ancient glory and power.” Iranians are proud of their history and still largely celebrate many ancient traditions that goes back as far as the country’s Zoroastrian era, such as the Persian new year, Nowruz. Mashaei is also believed to have played a crucial role in securing the loan from the British Museum of the Cyrus Cylinder . The artefact, considered the first human rights charter, was seen by a million visitors in Tehran during its six-month exhibition, although hardliners and clerics largely boycotted the event. The relic was returned to the UK last week. “Obviously Mashaei’s nationalistic views are a threat to clerics. They are afraid that their power might wane if people begin to respect their pre-Islamic history,” Amirahmadi said. Mashaei, whose name has been touted among political activists as a possible 2013 candidate, has not ruled out the possibility of running for president, recently telling reporters he would make a definitive decision six months from the election. Kayhan, a newspaper aligned with Khamenei, predicted that Iran’s powerful Guardian Council would block Mashaei’s candidacy if he decides to run. The Guardian Council vets all candidates before any elections in Iran. Mashaei, who is launching a newspaper next month, is also believed to have tried to secure the release of three Americans detained in Iran, a move that resulted in the release of one of the prisoners, Sarah Shourd . Her friends, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, remain in Tehran after their release was believed to have been blocked by hardliners. The US embassy cables Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Middle East United States US foreign policy US national security WikiLeaks Saeed Kamali Dehghan guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei is controversial figure at odds with religious leaders for nationalist rather than theological narrative A close ally of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who favours cultural openness and opposes greater clerical involvement in politics, is being groomed as a possible successor to the Iranian president when he steps down in two years time. Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, Ahmadinejad’s chief-of-staff, is positioning himself as a candidate who will champion a nationalist rather than a theological narrative of Iran. Mashaei, whose daughter married Ahmadinejad’s son, has become the most controversial political figure in Iran, provoking harsh criticism from the conservative establishment, including the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Hardliners close to Khamenei have accused Mashaei of compromising the Islamic Revolution and the principles of Islam by focusing on Persian history. Mashaei infuriated conservatives in 2008 when he said that Iranians are “friends of all people in the world – even Israelis”. He was also criticised for applauding at a ceremony in Turkey in which women performed a traditional dance. Women are not allowed to dance in Iran. Mashaei used to head Iran’s cultural heritage organisation. He was appointed first vice-president in 2009 when Ahmadinejad resumed office following disputed elections that generated mass protests. But he was forced to step down when Khamenei intervened and said in a letter to the president that “the regime’s expediency” required Mashaei to leave his post. Ahmadinejad appointed Mashaei as chief-of-staff instead, a move seen by many as a blow to Khamenei and the first sign of split emerging between the president and the supreme leader. A confidential US diplomatic cable revealed by Wikileaks said the incident underlined Mashaei’s significance in Ahmadinejad’s team . “Ahmadinejad’s stubborn defence of Mashaei bespeaks his importance as a key adviser for the increasingly isolated president; he also has emerged as a spokesman for the Ahmadinejad administration. Ahmadinejad has even told press that he would gladly serve as vice-president in a Mashaei administration, prompting many to speculate that Ahmadinejad seeks to have Mashaei replace him in 2013,” the cable reads. Some analysts believe that a regime which has crushed the green opposition movement and is short of internal opposition, is merely creating one in order to create a show of legitimacy come the next election. Hooshang Amirahmadi, the president of the American Iranian Council who knows Mashaei, told the Guardian: “The reformist movement in Iran did not succeed for various reasons. I think Mashaei has become another alternative and the regime is using this opportunity to heat up the next election in Iran. Mashaei is saying that Iranians are at first Iranians and Islam comes afterward. “He is reviving a source of national pride of Iranians, something that has been neglected not only since the Islamic Revolution in 1979 but in the past two centuries.” Amirahmadi said: “After the revolution, an extensive obsession with Islam made the authorities neglect Iran’s history and Mashaei is now seeking to promote this sort of nationalistic narrative. I think Ahmadinejad himself is also in favour of Iran’s history and has sought to revive Iran’s ancient glory and power.” Iranians are proud of their history and still largely celebrate many ancient traditions that goes back as far as the country’s Zoroastrian era, such as the Persian new year, Nowruz. Mashaei is also believed to have played a crucial role in securing the loan from the British Museum of the Cyrus Cylinder . The artefact, considered the first human rights charter, was seen by a million visitors in Tehran during its six-month exhibition, although hardliners and clerics largely boycotted the event. The relic was returned to the UK last week. “Obviously Mashaei’s nationalistic views are a threat to clerics. They are afraid that their power might wane if people begin to respect their pre-Islamic history,” Amirahmadi said. Mashaei, whose name has been touted among political activists as a possible 2013 candidate, has not ruled out the possibility of running for president, recently telling reporters he would make a definitive decision six months from the election. Kayhan, a newspaper aligned with Khamenei, predicted that Iran’s powerful Guardian Council would block Mashaei’s candidacy if he decides to run. The Guardian Council vets all candidates before any elections in Iran. Mashaei, who is launching a newspaper next month, is also believed to have tried to secure the release of three Americans detained in Iran, a move that resulted in the release of one of the prisoners, Sarah Shourd . Her friends, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, remain in Tehran after their release was believed to have been blocked by hardliners. The US embassy cables Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Middle East United States US foreign policy US national security WikiLeaks Saeed Kamali Dehghan guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei is controversial figure at odds with religious leaders for nationalist rather than theological narrative A close ally of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who favours cultural openness and opposes greater clerical involvement in politics, is being groomed as a possible successor to the Iranian president when he steps down in two years time. Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, Ahmadinejad’s chief-of-staff, is positioning himself as a candidate who will champion a nationalist rather than a theological narrative of Iran. Mashaei, whose daughter married Ahmadinejad’s son, has become the most controversial political figure in Iran, provoking harsh criticism from the conservative establishment, including the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Hardliners close to Khamenei have accused Mashaei of compromising the Islamic Revolution and the principles of Islam by focusing on Persian history. Mashaei infuriated conservatives in 2008 when he said that Iranians are “friends of all people in the world – even Israelis”. He was also criticised for applauding at a ceremony in Turkey in which women performed a traditional dance. Women are not allowed to dance in Iran. Mashaei used to head Iran’s cultural heritage organisation. He was appointed first vice-president in 2009 when Ahmadinejad resumed office following disputed elections that generated mass protests. But he was forced to step down when Khamenei intervened and said in a letter to the president that “the regime’s expediency” required Mashaei to leave his post. Ahmadinejad appointed Mashaei as chief-of-staff instead, a move seen by many as a blow to Khamenei and the first sign of split emerging between the president and the supreme leader. A confidential US diplomatic cable revealed by Wikileaks said the incident underlined Mashaei’s significance in Ahmadinejad’s team . “Ahmadinejad’s stubborn defence of Mashaei bespeaks his importance as a key adviser for the increasingly isolated president; he also has emerged as a spokesman for the Ahmadinejad administration. Ahmadinejad has even told press that he would gladly serve as vice-president in a Mashaei administration, prompting many to speculate that Ahmadinejad seeks to have Mashaei replace him in 2013,” the cable reads. Some analysts believe that a regime which has crushed the green opposition movement and is short of internal opposition, is merely creating one in order to create a show of legitimacy come the next election. Hooshang Amirahmadi, the president of the American Iranian Council who knows Mashaei, told the Guardian: “The reformist movement in Iran did not succeed for various reasons. I think Mashaei has become another alternative and the regime is using this opportunity to heat up the next election in Iran. Mashaei is saying that Iranians are at first Iranians and Islam comes afterward. “He is reviving a source of national pride of Iranians, something that has been neglected not only since the Islamic Revolution in 1979 but in the past two centuries.” Amirahmadi said: “After the revolution, an extensive obsession with Islam made the authorities neglect Iran’s history and Mashaei is now seeking to promote this sort of nationalistic narrative. I think Ahmadinejad himself is also in favour of Iran’s history and has sought to revive Iran’s ancient glory and power.” Iranians are proud of their history and still largely celebrate many ancient traditions that goes back as far as the country’s Zoroastrian era, such as the Persian new year, Nowruz. Mashaei is also believed to have played a crucial role in securing the loan from the British Museum of the Cyrus Cylinder . The artefact, considered the first human rights charter, was seen by a million visitors in Tehran during its six-month exhibition, although hardliners and clerics largely boycotted the event. The relic was returned to the UK last week. “Obviously Mashaei’s nationalistic views are a threat to clerics. They are afraid that their power might wane if people begin to respect their pre-Islamic history,” Amirahmadi said. Mashaei, whose name has been touted among political activists as a possible 2013 candidate, has not ruled out the possibility of running for president, recently telling reporters he would make a definitive decision six months from the election. Kayhan, a newspaper aligned with Khamenei, predicted that Iran’s powerful Guardian Council would block Mashaei’s candidacy if he decides to run. The Guardian Council vets all candidates before any elections in Iran. Mashaei, who is launching a newspaper next month, is also believed to have tried to secure the release of three Americans detained in Iran, a move that resulted in the release of one of the prisoners, Sarah Shourd . Her friends, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, remain in Tehran after their release was believed to have been blocked by hardliners. The US embassy cables Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Middle East United States US foreign policy US national security WikiLeaks Saeed Kamali Dehghan guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …An elderly couple was killed and their son injured when they messed with a swarm of bees at their Texas ranch. William Steele, 90, was spraying to kill bees that had built a hive in the fireplace of a small house he owned in a remote area of the ranch…
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