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Malcolm Tucker
Malcolm Tucker is the fictional antihero of the BBC political satire ''The Thick of It'', portrayed by Peter Capaldi. He is the Director of Communications for his party in both Government and Opposition, acting as the Prime Minister's chief enforcer overseeing cabinet ministers. Tucker was originally a secondary character, with Chris Langham's Hugh Abbot as the protagonist being watched over by Tucker. However, after Langham left the series the show directed more attention towards Tucker and his dealings with the fictional Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship (DoSaC) – originally the Department of Social Affairs (DSA) in series 1 and 2 – which is portrayed as inept and incompetent. He is one of several characters from the series to appear in the film '' In the Loop'', such as Malcolm's deputy, Jamie McDonald, Senior Press Officer at No. 10. Background and personal life Other than the fact that he is Scottish and the character traits he exhibits during the series, l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Thick Of It
''The Thick of It'' is a British comedy television series that satirises the inner workings of British government. Written and directed by Armando Iannucci, it was first broadcast for two short series on BBC Four in 2005, initially with a small cast focusing on a government minister, his advisers and their party's spin-doctor. The cast was significantly expanded for two hour-long specials to coincide with Christmas and Gordon Brown's appointment as prime minister in 2007, which saw new characters forming the opposition party added to the cast. These characters continued when the show switched channels to BBC Two for its third series in 2009. A fourth series about a coalition government was broadcast in 2012, with the last episode transmitted on 27 October 2012. The series has been described as the 21st century's answer to ''Yes Minister.'' It highlights the struggles and conflicts between politicians, party spin doctors, advisers, civil servants and the media. In similar fashi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chris Langham
Christopher Langham (born 14 April 1949) is an English writer, actor, and comedian. He is known for playing the cabinet minister Hugh Abbot in the BBC sitcom ''The Thick of It'', and as presenter Roy Mallard in '' People Like Us'', first on BBC Radio 4 and later on its transfer to television on BBC Two, where Mallard is almost entirely an unseen character. He subsequently created several spoof advertisements in the same vein. He also played similar unseen interviewers in an episode of the television series ''Happy Families'' and in the film '' The Big Tease''. He is also known for his roles in the television series ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'', ''Help'', and ''Kiss Me Kate'', and as the gatehouse guard in ''Chelmsford 123''. In 2006, he won BAFTA awards for ''The Thick of It'' and ''Help''. On 2 August 2007, Langham was found guilty of 15 charges of downloading and possessing level 5 child sexual abuse images and videos. Langham was jailed for 10 months, reduced to 6 months ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dimbleby Family
Dimbleby is an English-language surname, notable bearers of which include the following: *Richard Dimbleby (1913–1965), BBC television news commentator and war reporter *David Dimbleby (born 1938), elder son of Richard, journalist and host of BBC Election Night coverage from 1979 to 2017 **Josceline Dimbleby (born 1943), first wife of David, former cookery correspondent for ''The Sunday Telegraph'' **Henry Dimbleby (born 1970), son of David, businessman, cook and food writer **Kate Dimbleby (born 1973), daughter of David, cabaret singer and songwriter *Jonathan Dimbleby (born 1944), younger son of Richard, radio and television journalist and historian *Bel Dimbleby aka Bel Mooney (born 1946), first wife of Jonathan, journalist and broadcaster See also * Dimbleby & Capper, a stage name of singer-songwriter Laura Bettinson * Richard Dimbleby Cancer Fund, a charity * Richard Dimbleby Lecture The ''Richard Dimbleby Lecture'' (also known as the ''Dimbleby Lecture'') is an annual ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. The rise of the Russian Empire coincided with the decline of neighbouring rival powers: the Swedish Empire, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Qajar Iran, the Ottoman Empire, and Qing China. It also held colonies in North America between 1799 and 1867. Covering an area of approximately , it remains the third-largest empire in history, surpassed only by the British Empire and the Mongol Empire; it ruled over a population of 125.6 million people per the 1897 Russian census, which was the only census carried out during the entire imperial period. Owing to its geographic extent across three continents at its peak, it featured great ethnic, linguistic, religious, and economic diversity. From the 10th–17th centuries, the land ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cronyism
Cronyism is the spoils system practice of partiality in awarding jobs and other advantages to friends or trusted colleagues, especially in politics and between politicians and supportive organizations. For example, cronyism occurs when appointing "cronies" to positions of authority regardless of their qualifications. This is in contrast to a ''meritocracy'', in which appointments are made based on merit. Politically, "cronyism" is derogatorily used to imply buying and selling favors, such as votes in legislative bodies, as doing favors to organizations, giving desirable ambassadorships to exotic places, etc. Cronyism is a specific form of favoritism. Etymology The word "crony" first appeared in 17th-century London, according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' and is believed to be derived from the Greek word ''chronios'' (χρόνιος), meaning "long term". A less likely but oft-quoted source is the supposed Irish term ''Comh-Roghna'', which translates as "close pals", o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Classism
Class discrimination, also known as classism, is prejudice or discrimination on the basis of social class. It includes individual attitudes, behaviors, systems of policies and practices that are set up to benefit the upper class at the expense of the lower class. Social class refers to the grouping of individuals in a hierarchy based on wealth, income, education, occupation, and social network. History Class structures existed in a simplified form in pre-agricultural societies, but it has evolved into a more complex and established structure following the establishment of permanent agriculture-based civilizations with a food surplus. Classism started to be practiced around the 18th century. Segregation into classes was accomplished through observable traits (such as race or profession) that were accorded varying status and privileges. Feudal classification systems might include merchant, serf, peasant, warrior, priestly, and noble classes. Rankings were far from invariant wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meritocracy
Meritocracy (''merit'', from Latin , and ''-cracy'', from Ancient Greek 'strength, power') is the notion of a political system in which economic goods and/or political power are vested in individual people based on talent, effort, and achievement, rather than wealth or social class. Advancement in such a system is based on performance, as measured through examination or demonstrated achievement. Although the concept of meritocracy has existed for centuries, the first known use of the term was by sociologist Alan Fox in the journal ''Socialist Commentary'' in 1956. It was then popularized by sociologist Michael Dunlop Young, who used the term in his dystopian political and satirical book ''The Rise of the Meritocracy'' in 1958. Definitions Early definitions Meritocracy was most famously argued by Plato, in his book '' The Republic'' and stood to become one of the foundations of politics in the Western world. The "most common definition of meritocracy conceptualizes merit in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 1945. He was one of Adolf Hitler's closest and most devoted acolytes, known for his skills in public speaking and his deeply virulent antisemitism, which was evident in his publicly voiced views. He advocated progressively harsher discrimination, including the extermination of the Jews in the Holocaust. Goebbels, who aspired to be an author, obtained a Doctor of Philology degree from the University of Heidelberg in 1921. He joined the Nazi Party in 1924, and worked with Gregor Strasser in its northern branch. He was appointed ''Gauleiter'' of Berlin in 1926, where he began to take an interest in the use of propaganda to promote the party and its programme. After the Nazis came to power in 1933, Goebbels's Propaganda Ministry quickly gained a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gorbals
The Gorbals is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, on the south bank of the River Clyde. By the late 19th century, it had become densely populated; rural migrants and immigrants were attracted by the new industries and employment opportunities of Glasgow. At its peak, during the 1930s, the wider Gorbals district (which includes the directly adjoined localities of Laurieston and Hutchesontown) had swollen in population to an estimated 90,000 residents. Along with its relatively small size, this gave the area a very high population density of around 40,000/km². Redevelopment after WWII has taken many turns, and the area's population is substantially smaller today. Meaning of placename The name is first documented in the 15th and 16th centuries as ''Gorbaldis'', and its etymology is unclear. It may be related to the Ecclesiastical Latin word ('sheaf'), found in the Scottish Gaelic term ('tenth sheaf'), a tithe of corn given to a parish rector. The taking of was a right ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Self-made Man
"Self-made man" is a classic phrase coined on February 2, 1842 by Henry Clay in the United States Senate, to describe individuals whose success lay within the individuals themselves, not with outside conditions. Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, has been described as the greatest exemplar of the self-made man. Inspired by Franklin's autobiography, Frederick Douglass developed the concept of the self-made man in a series of lectures that spanned decades starting in 1879. Originally, the term referred to an individual who arises from a poor or otherwise disadvantaged background to eminence in financial, political or other areas by nurturing qualities, such as perseverance and hard work, as opposed to achieving these goals through inherited fortune, family connections, or other privileges. By the mid-1950s, success in the United States generally implied "business success". In the intellectual and cultural history of the United States, the idea of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geoffrey Streatfeild
Geoffrey Streatfeild (born 1975) is an English actor in film, television, stage and radio. He is a member of the Streatfeild family. Career His notable film and TV roles include ''The Other Boleyn Girl'' and '' Kinky Boots''. He also appeared in the Royal Shakespeare Company's "Histories" company in 2007-08 as Prince Hal/Henry V ('' Henry IV Part One'', '' Henry IV Part Two'' and ''Henry V''), Suffolk (''Henry VI Parts I and II''), Rivers ('' Henry VI Part III'' and ''Richard III''). His elder brother Richard Streatfeild, as a serving Major in the Rifles, advised Geoffrey on military life for his roles in ''Henry V'' and ''Journey's End''. Streatfeild joined the cast of '' Spooks'' for its final series in 2011, playing the character of Calum Reed, a Junior Case Officer at MI5 until its end. In 2012 Streatfeild joined the cast of the BBC2 political satire ''The Thick of It'' as the "Inbetweener" junior minister in DoSac. In 2015 he reprised his role as Calum Reed in the spy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Westminster Cathedral and much of the West End shopping and entertainment district. The name ( ang, Westmynstre) originated from the informal description of the abbey church and royal peculiar of St Peter's (Westminster Abbey), west of the City of London (until the English Reformation there was also an Eastminster, near the Tower of London, in the East End of London). The abbey's origins date from between the 7th and 10th centuries, but it rose to national prominence when rebuilt by Edward the Confessor in the 11th. Westminster has been the home of England's government since about 1200, and from 1707 the Government of the United Kingdom. In 1539, it became a city. Westminster is often used as a m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
