Last week, my local movie theater ran the first two episodes of the new limited television series, Mussolini: Son of the Century, and with all the recent fear about fascism threatening global democracy, it couldn’t have come at a better time.

It is, unsurprisingly, violent and gritty, highlighting Benito Mussolini’s rise to power that began in the year 1919, when he founded the National Fascist Party in Italy. But it’s also beautifully shot, with military and fight scenes stunningly choreographed to electronic music by Tom Rowlands of the Chemical Brothers. At times it feels like an intense musical — without the song and dance. (See trailer below.)

Director Joe Wright showed up to do a Q&A after the screening, where he admitted that he did not know too much about the world’s first fascist leader before the year 2016, because there really wasn’t much that depicted Mussolini in a way that didn’t feel cartoonish. “He was always just a bit of comical figure,” Wright told us. “I remember seeing some film of him when I was a teenager and impersonating him with these ridiculous gestures afterwards.”

But as “the word started to reemerge in the public consciousness,” Wright continued, he “felt it was sort of incumbent upon us all, really, to understand what fascism was, and the etymology of the word, where it came from, and so this was an opportunity to educate myself.”

The 8-part mini-series, all in Italian (with English subtitles), focuses on Mussolini’s early years, ending when the strongman gained full power over Italy in 1924. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to give away the series’ very last word, which Wright let slip: “Silenzio!” Of course, this refers to the enabling silence of those around Mussolini who did nothing to stop him from becoming Italy’s cruel and brutal tyrant. It also serves as a direct warning to viewers who might be noticing a rising fascist movement in their own society.

Adapted from Antonio Scurati’s 2018 novel, M: Son of the Century, Wright’s series stars Italian actor Luca Marinelli, who does an incredible job balancing Mussolini’s monstrous side with his more vulnerable, even charismatic side. The show first aired on the Sky network last January in Italy, Ireland, and the UK. Now, it is finally available in the United States on MUBI, where new episodes will stream on Wednesdays, starting today.

Originally published on It Is Happening

Previously: The headquarters of Mussolini’s Italian Fascist Party, 1934

Google says Veo 3, which is the company’s state-of-the-art video generator, is now shipping to everyone using the Gemini app with a $20 subscription.

Previously, Veo 3 was only available in the United States via Flow, but you can now try it inside the Gemini app in India, Indonesia, and all of Europe.

Google says you’ll get 3 video generations per day and limit resets every 24 hours.

To get started, you need to subscribe to the $20 Gemini AI Pro plan.

Once done, open the Gemini app or Gemini.google.com, and select video. Then, you need to describe your video, including the story, context, characters, and you can even write your own dialogues.

Gemini will create a video with sound in minutes.

Unfortunately, as I mentioned, you can only create 3 videos a day, but that might change in the future.

Veo 3 isn’t free, but since it’s part of Google Cloud, you can use it for free by subscribing to the $300 trial offered by Google.

Just because the Big Beautiful Bill passed does not mean it’s big, nor beautiful. Just ask the Republican lawmakers who hated it, said they would not support it, and then, after a call from their boss, snapped into submission with a panic-stricken “aye!”

“What they did to our bill was unconscionable,” said South Carolina GOP Rep. Ralph Norman. “I’ll vote against it here, and I’ll vote against it on the floor,” he declared — before voting for it on the floor.

“You’re going to hear a lot about the tax cuts, but the deficit? Nobody is talking about the deficit. Nobody!” complained Texas GOP Rep. Keith Self. “We cannot saddle our children and our grandchildren with an exploding national debt,” he said — before saddling his children and grandchildren with his yea vote.

“Do I like this bill? No,” grumbled Alaska GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski. “I know, I know, that in many parts of the country, there are Americans that are not going to be advantaged by this bill,” she warned — before voting to disadvantage Americans. (See video below, posted by Aaron Rupar.)

And why did the MAGA holdouts crumble after posing as principled lawmakers? According to The Hill, Trump called them early Thursday morning and bullied them into obedience. For example, “During the conversation, Massie — who has been at odds with Trump over the megabill for weeks — suggested he was ready to drop his opposition and support the rule if Trump stops attacking him.” Fear tactics always work in a totalitarian regime.

Previously: Dictator Trump declares it’s “illegal” to criticize him the way CNN does (video)

Google is rolling out Veo 3 to everyone using Vertex AI, which is an ML-testing platform provided by Google Cloud.

Unlike Sora and other generative video AI models, Veo 3 is a state-of-the-art video generator trained on millions of YouTube videos, and it can generate realistic videos, but great quality comes at a high cost.

Veo 3 isn’t free, but since it’s part of Google Cloud, you can use it for free by subscribing to the $300 trial offered by Google.

To get started, you can sign up for a Google Cloud trial credit, which applies to all Google Cloud services, including Vertex AI.

Your Google Cloud trial, which requires a credit or debit card for human verification, offers $300 of Cloud Billing credits, valid for 90 days. You will not be charged until you exhaust the limit and upgrade to a regular account.

$300 is more than enough to generate several clips, but remember that Vertex AI can generate Veo 3 clips of 8 seconds only.

A basic prompt is more than enough to generate video clips with audio, which can even match the native accent of several languages.

Google’s YouTube channel has several unlisted videos that show off the quality of Veo 3.

Something to look forward to: Weeks after updating its Ray-Ban smart glasses with real-time translation and other AI-powered features, Meta has unveiled a new pair in collaboration with Oakley, offering enhanced camera functionality and additional upgrades. Pre-orders begin on July 11, with the standard model starting at $399 and the limited-edition version available for $499.

The new Oakley Meta HSTN (pronounced HOW-stuhn) smart glasses combine Meta’s AI and smart glass technology with Oakley’s HSTN-style frames. Compared to Meta’s Ray-Ban Stories model, the HSTN glasses support video recording at 3K resolution, offer up to eight hours of battery life, and introduce IPX4 water resistance.

Oakley claims the glasses can last up to eight hours with typical use, and up to 19 hours on standby. The included charging case provides up to 48 hours of battery life and can recharge the glasses to 50% capacity in just 20 minutes.

However, Meta and Oakley primarily advertise the HSTN glasses by showcasing features it shares with the $299 Ray-Ban model. These include a 12MP camera that captures photos and video with a button press, as well as built-in speakers for playing music from various streaming services.

The headline feature is Meta AI integration, which was introduced with the Ray-Ban glasses last month. Like those, the Oakley glasses support real-time translation, music playback controls, and an AI assistant equipped with visual processing capabilities.

Visual processing enables Meta AI to respond to natural language commands based on what users see. It’s designed for tasks such as translating signage or offering cooking advice. A recent clip from Oakley shows golfer J.R. Smith receiving instant wind speed and direction information from the digital assistant. Meta also announced support for sending text, audio, video, and photos to contacts via Instagram.

Real-time translation is currently available in English, French, Italian, and Spanish. Language packs can be downloaded to enable offline use.

Oakley will showcase the glasses at Fanatics Fest from June 20 to 22, UFC International Fight Week from June 25 to 27, and other sporting events later this year.

Availability is expected to begin later this summer in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Australia, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark. The Meta HSTN glasses will also launch in Mexico, India, and the United Arab Emirates in 2025.

Available styles will include:

• Warm Grey with PRIZM Ruby Lenses
• Black with PRIZM Polar Black Lenses
• Brown Smoke with PRIZM Polar Deep Water Lenses
• Black with Transitions Amethyst Lenses
• Clear with Transitions Grey Lenses
• Black with clear Lenses