Latest news with #RealTalk
Middle East Eye
3 days ago
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
‘They used my chain to choke me': Chris Smalls speaks out after Israeli prison assault
'What I experienced is a glimpse of what Palestinians have to go through.' Prominent labour activist Chris Smalls speaks out after returning to his home in the United States following his detention in an Israeli prison. Weeks ago, Smalls decided to join the Handala flotilla, which sailed towards Gaza in an attempt to break Israel's siege. Now, after Israeli forces intercepted the ship in international waters, Smalls says he was singled out, violently assaulted and racially abused by Israeli forces. Following his return home, Smalls joined us on Real Talk to open up about what really happened. Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form . More about MEE can be found here .
Middle East Eye
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Middle East Eye
‘Gross betrayal': Indya Moore breaks silence on Hollywood's double standards on Gaza
'I haven't worked in a very long time.' What are the repercussions of speaking out for Gaza in Hollywood? In this Real Talk interview, US model and actor Indya Moore opens up about the cost of speaking out for Gaza, describing the 'devastating' fallout with her former agents at CAA over her use of the word 'genocide' and for her support for Palestine. Indya, who in 2019 was named as one of Time's 100 most influential people, is now highlighting the hypocrisy in how Gaza advocacy is punished and reveals that she herself has lost job opportunities in the entertainment industry because of it. We also talk about her upcoming satirical documentary 'Stealing Sunset', which confronts illegal Israeli settlements, and the emotional contradictions of filming in the occupied West Bank. Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form . More about MEE can be found here .
Daily Mirror
01-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
'Love Island is modern dating on steroids and that's why it feels so raw'
As entertaining as it is, Love Island is starting to hold up an uncomfortable mirror to modern dating especially for young people. But is Love Island truly identical to dating in 2025? This season of Love Island UK has been one of the most toxic yet. Another day, another islander is humiliated on national TV. Harrison, 22, attracted attention on the ITV2 show for what he described as a "back-and-forth" between his connections with Toni, 24, and Lauren, 26. This included him sleeping with Lauren while estranged from Toni and then encouraging Toni to choose him at the next recoupling. After recoupling with Toni, footballer Harrison ended up continuing to pursue things with Lauren more recently. Lauren was dumped from the villa last week by the actions of a bombshell and Harrison later left to reunite with her. Amid his stint on Love Island, a spokesperson for Women's Aid issued a statement to the Tab, which included mention of women being "lied to, slut-shamed and manipulated, as well as laughed at behind their backs." But Harrison's behaviour isn't the only casual cruelty and humiliation we've seen unfold and passed off as 'banter.' For many fans, the show is a reflection of just how messy modern dating has become. At times, it feels less like entertainment and more like a horrible reality check. While some people can switch off, most can't look away. Author of Real Talk and psychotherapist Tasha Bailey spoke to The Mirror about how shows like this affect dating culture and why so many of us seem drawn to toxic patterns in the first place. Is Love Island a true reflection of dating in 2025? Tasha agrees the show reflects some realities of dating for young people but with key differences. 'This season has especially shown us the ways misogyny shows up in the dating world, with many of the male contestants encouraging each other to act disrespectfully towards women and that creating even more competition between the women themselves,' she said. 'That being said, we have to remember that Love Island doesn't fully reflect everyday life. It lacks diversity and, ultimately, it's made for entertainment purposes,' she added. How public humiliation affects confidence For many viewers, there's real worry about the islanders particularly those who are humiliated on screen and how they'll cope after leaving the villa. For more stories like this subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The Weekly Gulp, for a curated roundup of trending stories, poignant interviews, and viral lifestyle picks from The Mirror's Audience U35 team delivered straight to your inbox. 'Public humiliation in a relationship can trigger toxic shame - the internal belief that there's something inherently wrong with us that deserves such humiliation,' Tasha explained. 'Instead of saying, 'something is wrong here,' we tell ourselves, 'something is wrong with me.'' She said this shame‑fuelled mindset can crush self‑esteem, invalidate our emotions, and make us ignore red flags in others. 'We learn to depend on other people's opinions and distrust ourselves,' she added. Why are people drawn to toxic relationship patterns Tasha believes we're often pulled towards what feels familiar, even if it's harmful. 'Both in reality TV and real life, we tend to be drawn to relationships that already feel familiar. So even if it's toxic, we're more inclined to repeat patterns we experienced in past romantic or family relationships,' she said. 'The patterns we tolerate and are drawn to often reflect our self‑worth and what we think we deserve.' Love Island takeaways While it's easy to get caught up in the drama, Tasha suggests using shows like Love Island as an opportunity to reflect on what you don't want in a relationship. 'Reality TV lets us bear witness to cycles of toxic patterns and the toll they take on people,' she said. 'But I'd recommend balancing these shows with more wholesome and reflective depictions of romantic relationships to help your brain recognise the green flags, too.' For those who recognise themselves in some of the unhealthy behaviours on screen, she adds 'Understand the narratives you're still carrying about love and relationships, that might be standing in the way of immersing yourself in the next healthy one. "Show compassion to your own unhealthy patterns, they have a root that needs to be attended to.'
RNZ News
03-07-2025
- RNZ News
Organised crime programme targets causes of drug use in communities
Meth use in New Zealand has doubled, with Wellington and Porirua particularly affected. Photo: French Customs A programme attempting to get people off meth and away from crime has been launched in Porirua, as part of a multi-million dollar government drive. The strategy aims to prevent organised crime taking hold in communities by reducing the demand for drugs. National co-ordinator of meth support group 'P' Pull Rowena Wiki said she knew firsthand the destruction done by meth. She took on full-time care for her grandchildren, because of her children's addictions. "Not still fully understanding how a parent could, I guess, not want their children, I think it's just their so absorbed and trapped in this addiction that they don't even know what they are doing, to be honest," Wiki said. She is based in Canons Creek, where the group runs walk-ins and advice, including directing people to the social services they need, when in the throws of addiction. "It's not just addiction," Wiki said. "It could be housing, it could be kai. "They might need help with their benefit or jobseeking, and we will find the correct people to send them to." Tania Carr is the founder of Real Talk, an organisation trying to prevent youth suicide. She said Porirua needed help to break the entrenched patterns of addiction and crime. "I say he waka eke noa, we are all in this together. We were all in this together. "The things that I experienced with my Dad being in the Mongrel Mob - the abuse, the drugs - it's the same situation our community is exposed to." The two community organisations have received funding as part of the Resilience to Organised Crime in Community Programme (ROCC), which aims to stop the drivers of crime, the demand for meth and to prevent young people from getting involved in gangs. The government has committed $36.7 million to the programme since 2022. The police allocate the funding to communities and have given $2.6 million to Porirua. Police Kāpiti-Mana area commander Renee Perkins said enforcement wouldn't eliminate the drug trade, when demand still existed. "We're in people's homes, we're in people's lives, often in the hardest moment of their lives, and we often leave with an offender, because they are under arrest. "We see what is left behind." Latest statistics show meth use has doubled throughout the country, and has increased significantly in Wellington and Porirua. "One of the key measures that we will be watching is that wastewater testing, so we know that it's doubled," Perkins said, "We want to see that going down." In Ōpōtiki last year, the police targeted high-level members of the local Mongrel Mob in Operation Highwater. Associate Police Minister Casey Costello said the ROCC programme had worked well in the town since then, with wastewater results for meth dropping after the operation. "When you've taken key parts of the community out, whether it's through arrests or removing people out of those communities, you need the social services to come in behind and that's where ROCC comes in." Costello said she wanted to see the programme expanded and a ministerial advisory group will look at the issue next month. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
See What Ralph Pittman Revealed to a Producer About Porsha Williams: "I Had No Idea…"
When Ralph Pittman invited Shamea Morton to dinner on The Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 16, he claimed to have anticipated a friendly one-on-one business discussion. But then — surprise! — Porsha Williams walked in unannounced. "Disclaimer: I had no idea Porsha was gonna be arriving at all," Ralph insisted to a RHOA producer in an Episode 10 confessional. Because Porsha had taken issue all season with ex-fiancé Dennis McKinley filming with Drew Sidora (i.e. Ralph's estranged wife), she similarly felt the need to defend the trio's on-camera outing. Phaedra Parks Is Back and She's Got a Plus-One in Spicy RHOA Midseason Trailer Drew Sidora Makes a Damning Declaration About Ralph Pittman: "It's Like a Nightmare" Ralph Makes a Major Declaration About His and Drew Sidora's Finances: "I Pay…" "I want to clear this up," she added in a separate interview. "I'm not hangin' with Ralph, OK? I didn't call him and ask him to come to dinner tonight. This is not tit for tat. … I'm just hungry." As it turns out, Shamea was behind the whole thing. Ralph had wanted to run a podcast idea by her, since they previously appeared together on Real Talk with Atlanta Househusbands Todd Tucker and Aaron Ross. Her reason for including Porsha? "It's very important to always have a witness because what I'm not finna do is be the person that Ralph went off with when he disappeared," she explained. "I'm not that girl. No, ma'am. And I know how this group is." Regardless, Shamea said she didn't think there was "anything wrong with meeting up with Ralph," adding, "Honestly, I don't know if Ralph had any ill intent in reaching out to me, but you know what, I'm a concerned citizen. And if [the] people of the United States of Atlanta want to know if Ralph's wife and Dennis are making hot dogs, it's gonna be gotten to the bottom of." Before Porsha even showed up, Shamea wasted no time addressing "the elephant in the room," bringing up his and Drew's "heartbreaking" divorce. When Ralph mentioned his ex's "situation with Dennis" Shamea added her opinion that their friendship is "so inappropriate." Related: Drew Sidora Intensely Defends Relationship With Dennis: "This Is the Thing..." (EXCLUSIVE) Even so, Ralph revealed, "Dennis reached out to me to get the blessing," adding that he appreciated the "respect" of him running their business relationship by him first. When Porsha arrived, however, she dropped the bombshell that Dennis had texted her about Drew supposedly "trying to sleep with" him, even though her ex previously insisted in Episode 9 that she was "interpreting that incorrectly." In a confessional, Porsha claimed she simply wanted Ralph to know that "Drew and Dennis had not had sex because he was basically telling her no." Meanwhile, Shamea asked Ralph if he believed that Drew and Dennis were "romantically linked," to which he replied, "I don't know. I thought she had somebody else that she was dealing with." RHOA newbie Angela Oakley spilled the tea about the dinner to Drew, but the latter was more concerned with Dennis' text message than the meetup itself. Plus, she and Ralph had already "ceased communication" three weeks earlier, following their contentious court hearing. At the very least, Drew was unbothered enough to still attend the May 11 episode's Pampered by Porsha event. "Things have been intense between Porsha and I for a few weeks now, but she did invite me and I'm gonna see what's up," she explained in a confessional. "And that's that." Porsha, for her part, told Angela that "even if there was a place to fix" her friendship with Drew, she still couldn't get past the fact that she "talked about [her] child," Pilar Jhena 'PJ' Mckinley, and supposedly said that she would be the one to pay for her college education someday. Related: Porsha Tears up Recalling Heartbreaking Story About Pilar & Simon: "I Couldn't Even Breathe" Later, though, Porsha expressed interest in keeping the peace — for now. "When it comes to Drew, at a certain point, you have to decide not to keep arguing with somebody who is dead-set on believing their lie or what they [are] telling themself or the narrative that they want people to believe," she added in a confessional. "I don't wanna argue with her [anymore]. This is what I call growth, OK?" As the drama plays out, don't miss how Dennis defended himself for filming RHOA with Drew "behind [Porsha's] back."
