Monday, May 18, 2026
So war das Leben eines Juden in Deutschland | 1925–1932 | Vor der NS-Diktatur
Why Did Trump Fly to China to Kiss the Ass of the Most Powerful Man in the World?
May 17, 2026 | Trump flew to China to meet with Xi Jinping, and the whole thing looked less like strength and more like desperation.
He’s in way over his head with Iran. The war has exposed what many of us already knew:
Trump loves acting like a strongman, but when the pressure gets real, he runs to actual powerful leaders hoping they can bail him out. This trip wasn’t about “America First.” It was about Trump needing Xi Jinping’s help, needing China’s leverage, needing the red carpets, the dinners, the gifts, the praise, and the pageantry to cover up the fact that he has no real plan.
Reports say Trump left China without major breakthroughs on Iran, Taiwan, or AI, while Xi got the optics he wanted: China standing on equal footing with the United States.
Trump talked about lifting sanctions on Chinese companies buying Iranian oil, but there were no clear, concrete wins announced. This is the problem with fake strength. Trump can talk tough at rallies, insult journalists, threaten political opponents, and pretend he’s some fearless negotiator. But on the world stage, he looks small. Xi Jinping knows it. Iran knows it. The world knows it. Trump didn’t go to China looking powerful. He went looking for a way out.
He’s in way over his head with Iran. The war has exposed what many of us already knew:
Trump loves acting like a strongman, but when the pressure gets real, he runs to actual powerful leaders hoping they can bail him out. This trip wasn’t about “America First.” It was about Trump needing Xi Jinping’s help, needing China’s leverage, needing the red carpets, the dinners, the gifts, the praise, and the pageantry to cover up the fact that he has no real plan.
Reports say Trump left China without major breakthroughs on Iran, Taiwan, or AI, while Xi got the optics he wanted: China standing on equal footing with the United States.
Trump talked about lifting sanctions on Chinese companies buying Iranian oil, but there were no clear, concrete wins announced. This is the problem with fake strength. Trump can talk tough at rallies, insult journalists, threaten political opponents, and pretend he’s some fearless negotiator. But on the world stage, he looks small. Xi Jinping knows it. Iran knows it. The world knows it. Trump didn’t go to China looking powerful. He went looking for a way out.
Sunday, May 17, 2026
At Least Four People Killed in Russia as Ukraine Launches Retaliatory Strikes
THE GUARDIAN: Wave of almost 600 drones launched across 14 regions, after Moscow’s deadly three-day attack on Ukraine last week
One of Ukraine’s largest ever drone strikes against Russia’s regions, including Moscow, has killed at least four people and wounded a dozen more, the Russian authorities have said.
The wave of almost 600 Ukrainian drones struck overnight across 14 Russian regions, as well as the Crimean peninsula and the Black and Azov seas, the Russian defence ministry said on Sunday, with the area around the capital among the worst-hit.
Three people were killed in the Moscow region and one in the Belgorod region, the authorities said, as Russian air defences shot down 556 drones overnight and neutralised another 30 after dawn.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, confirmed the strikes, saying drones had flown more than 500km (310 miles) from Ukrainian territory and that Ukraine was “overcoming” Russian air defence systems concentrated in and around Moscow. » | Jon Henley and agencies | Sunday, May 17, 2026
One of Ukraine’s largest ever drone strikes against Russia’s regions, including Moscow, has killed at least four people and wounded a dozen more, the Russian authorities have said.
The wave of almost 600 Ukrainian drones struck overnight across 14 Russian regions, as well as the Crimean peninsula and the Black and Azov seas, the Russian defence ministry said on Sunday, with the area around the capital among the worst-hit.
Three people were killed in the Moscow region and one in the Belgorod region, the authorities said, as Russian air defences shot down 556 drones overnight and neutralised another 30 after dawn.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, confirmed the strikes, saying drones had flown more than 500km (310 miles) from Ukrainian territory and that Ukraine was “overcoming” Russian air defence systems concentrated in and around Moscow. » | Jon Henley and agencies | Sunday, May 17, 2026
À Kiev, la jeunesse danse sous les bombes pour défier l’ennemi
LE FIGARO : REPORTAGE - Le festival de musique électro Strichka bat son plein au lendemain de frappes russes qui ont fait 24 morts dans la capitale ukrainienne.
Le terrifiant fracas des explosions a cédé la place aux vibrations des basses et au rythme de la musique techno. Une foule joyeuse et excentrique afflue au club Closer dans le centre de Kiev, baignée par le doux soleil de printemps, pour assister au festival de musique électro Strichka : jeunes femmes déguisées en Superwoman, en statue de la Liberté avec des lamelles d’argent, ou tout simplement en maillot de bain ; hommes en cow-boys, en Vikings, ou vêtus de djellabas, certains d’entre eux arborant des écussons ou des tatouages de leur régiment des forces armées ukrainiennes. Et quelques grands-mères égarées ! Rien ne laisse deviner les traumatismes nocturnes de la capitale de ce pays en guerre devant le Closer au matin de l’ouverture du festival.
À l’intérieur, les fêtards se déhanchent dans les vapeurs de fumigènes striés par des lasers. À l’extérieur, ils dansent plus lascivement, un verre à la main ou en croquant dans des pommes rouges distribuées gratuitement. Barbe et cheveux soigneusement coiffés, imposante carrure moulée dans un tee-shirt qui porte l’inscription « Torturer les Russes au couteau », Nikita arrive directement du front. Le solide combattant âgé de 30 ans s’est enrôlé dans l’armée dès le premier jour de l’invasion russe, le 24 février 2022. » | Par Patrick Saint-Paul, envoyé spécial à Kiev | dimanche 17 mai 2026
Réservé aux abonnés
You Can't 'Put Britain at the Heart of Europe' After Brexit
Our politicians are clueless. Hardline Brexiteers are too. — © Mark Alexander
Audrey Hepburn et Hubert de Givenchy, l’icône du chic à la française et le maître de l’élégance
MADAME FIGARO : DUOS LÉGENDAIRES 3/5 - Depuis les débuts du cinéma, mode et septième art se sont toujours entrelacés donnant naissance à des affinités électives et des passions exclusives entre créateurs et stars du grand écran. Aujourd’hui, pleins feux sur la fabuleuse amitié entre Audrey Hepburn et Hubert de Givenchy.
Elle était sa muse, il était son double au masculin. Entre eux, une histoire d’amitié rare, inédite, une alchimie magique comme seul le cinéma peut les imaginer quand on l’habille de poésie. Hubert de Givenchy, le plus gentleman et le plus raffiné des couturiers d’après-guerre, et Audrey Hepburn, la plus élégante et la plus piquante des actrices hollywoodiennes des années 1950. Les silhouettes que le créateur aristocrate va créer pour elle sont encore citées dans le monde entier comme les références absolues du chic à la française. Il faut dire qu’elles étaient aussi magistralement interprétées par cette «drôle de frimousse». » | Par Marion Dupuis | dimanche 17 mai 2026
Bericht: Trump-Regierung wertet kubanisches Drohnenarsenal als Sicherheitsrisiko
BERLINER ZEITUNG: Kuba soll laut einem Medienbericht mehr als 300 Militärdrohnen beschafft haben. US-Geheimdienste registrierten demnach interne Beratungen über mögliche konkrete Angriffsziele in den USA.
Screenshot aus diesem Artikel genommen. | CIA-Direktor John Ratcliffe flog kürzlich nach Kuba. | © Oliver Contreras/AFP
Kuba soll nach Erkenntnissen US-amerikanischer Geheimdienste mehr als 300 militärische Drohnen angeschafft haben und intern über mögliche Angriffe auf US-Ziele beraten. Das berichtet das Nachrichtenportal Axios unter Berufung auf als geheim eingestufte Erkenntnisse.
Demnach sollen kubanische Militärvertreter zuletzt über Pläne gesprochen haben, mit den unbemannten Fluggeräten den US-Stützpunkt Guantánamo Bay, Schiffe der US-Marine sowie möglicherweise die rund 150 Kilometer nördlich von Havanna gelegene Stadt Key West in Florida anzugreifen. Die Informationen lassen sich unabhängig nicht überprüfen.
Ein hochrangiger US-Regierungsvertreter sagte Axios dem Bericht zufolge, die Informationen zeigten, in welchem Ausmaß die Regierung von US-Präsident Donald Trump Kuba inzwischen als Bedrohung einstufe. Hintergrund seien die Entwicklungen in der Drohnenkriegsführung und die Präsenz iranischer Militärberater in Havanna. » | Sophie Barkey | Sonntag, 17. Mai 2026
Kuba soll nach Erkenntnissen US-amerikanischer Geheimdienste mehr als 300 militärische Drohnen angeschafft haben und intern über mögliche Angriffe auf US-Ziele beraten. Das berichtet das Nachrichtenportal Axios unter Berufung auf als geheim eingestufte Erkenntnisse.
Demnach sollen kubanische Militärvertreter zuletzt über Pläne gesprochen haben, mit den unbemannten Fluggeräten den US-Stützpunkt Guantánamo Bay, Schiffe der US-Marine sowie möglicherweise die rund 150 Kilometer nördlich von Havanna gelegene Stadt Key West in Florida anzugreifen. Die Informationen lassen sich unabhängig nicht überprüfen.
Ein hochrangiger US-Regierungsvertreter sagte Axios dem Bericht zufolge, die Informationen zeigten, in welchem Ausmaß die Regierung von US-Präsident Donald Trump Kuba inzwischen als Bedrohung einstufe. Hintergrund seien die Entwicklungen in der Drohnenkriegsführung und die Präsenz iranischer Militärberater in Havanna. » | Sophie Barkey | Sonntag, 17. Mai 2026
El Pastificio de Nicola: Tarantela de manzanas — Bread and Apple Pudding — A Traditional Argentine Dessert
Click here for the recipe. Then click on ‘more’.
Sarajevo 1914: The Assassination That Sparked World War One I SLICE History | Full Documentary
Jan 9, 2026 | The Road to War uses elaborate re-enactments, fascinating computer-generated imagery and previously unseen archive footage to examine how the assassination in Sarajevo in 1914 came about and how Austria-Hungary used the death of the heir to the throne, Franz Ferdinand, to start a war against Serbia.
The film investigates how this regional conflict caused the central powers and the Triple Entente to enter the First World War - at the time, the biggest war in history, with 17 million soldiers and civilians killed and more than 20 million injured.
Documentary: The Road to War
Production: Metafilm for ORF (2014)
Directed by Robert Gokl
The film investigates how this regional conflict caused the central powers and the Triple Entente to enter the First World War - at the time, the biggest war in history, with 17 million soldiers and civilians killed and more than 20 million injured.
Documentary: The Road to War
Production: Metafilm for ORF (2014)
Directed by Robert Gokl
Venezuela: Alex Saab, un proche de Maduro, expulsé vers les États-Unis
LE FIGARO : Alex Saab s’était rapproché du gouvernement vénézuélien durant les dernières années du mandat d’Hugo Chavez et en était venu à gérer un vaste réseau d’importations pour le gouvernement de Nicolas Maduro
Alex Saab, homme clé du pouvoir vénézuélien sous Nicolas Maduro, a été expulsé vers les États-Unis samedi, ont annoncé les autorités vénézuéliennes dans un communiqué, cinq mois après la capture du président déchu par l’armée américaine.
« Le Venezuela informe de l’expulsion du citoyen de nationalité colombienne Alex Naim Saab Moran, menée à bien ce 16 mai 2026. La mesure d’expulsion a été adoptée en tenant compte du fait que ledit citoyen colombien est impliqué dans divers crimes aux États-Unis d’Amérique, comme cela est public, notoire et largement relayé par les médias », selon le communiqué des autorités migratoires vénézuéliennes (Saime). » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | dimanche 17 mai 2026
Alex Saab, homme clé du pouvoir vénézuélien sous Nicolas Maduro, a été expulsé vers les États-Unis samedi, ont annoncé les autorités vénézuéliennes dans un communiqué, cinq mois après la capture du président déchu par l’armée américaine.
« Le Venezuela informe de l’expulsion du citoyen de nationalité colombienne Alex Naim Saab Moran, menée à bien ce 16 mai 2026. La mesure d’expulsion a été adoptée en tenant compte du fait que ledit citoyen colombien est impliqué dans divers crimes aux États-Unis d’Amérique, comme cela est public, notoire et largement relayé par les médias », selon le communiqué des autorités migratoires vénézuéliennes (Saime). » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | dimanche 17 mai 2026
Traditional Palestinian Hummus | حمص فلسطيني تقليدي
Hummus is arguably one of the most iconic dishes to come out of the Levant. It’s creamy, it’s got a touch of lemon and garlic, it’s filling, and it’s just one of several mezze dishes we have.
In Arabic, hummus just means chickpeas. So sometimes when we say hummus we’re talking about the dip I’m sharing today and sometimes we’re talking about the chickpea itself - it really just depends on the context.
I’m a traditionalist. I love to learn the true recipes as they were intended to be made before I start playing around with new flavors, or ideas. It’s the best way to establish a strong foundation.
Overall, hummus is a very easy dish to make but one note is that technique and patience matter. If you try to rush this, you won’t get the result you’re looking for. So, take your time, be patient, and I promise you’ll make an incredible batch of hummus every single time.
Click here for the full recipe.
Waleed’s very own selection of spices can be found here. Don’t forget to use the code ZAWI10 for 10% off your first order.
Waleed’s favourite Lebanese olive oil, Les Cousines, can be found here. Don’t forget to use Waleed’s very own special introductory code for 15% off your first order.
In Arabic, hummus just means chickpeas. So sometimes when we say hummus we’re talking about the dip I’m sharing today and sometimes we’re talking about the chickpea itself - it really just depends on the context.
I’m a traditionalist. I love to learn the true recipes as they were intended to be made before I start playing around with new flavors, or ideas. It’s the best way to establish a strong foundation.
Overall, hummus is a very easy dish to make but one note is that technique and patience matter. If you try to rush this, you won’t get the result you’re looking for. So, take your time, be patient, and I promise you’ll make an incredible batch of hummus every single time.
Click here for the full recipe.
Waleed’s very own selection of spices can be found here. Don’t forget to use the code ZAWI10 for 10% off your first order.
Waleed’s favourite Lebanese olive oil, Les Cousines, can be found here. Don’t forget to use Waleed’s very own special introductory code for 15% off your first order.
„Nakba-Aktionstage“: Wandschmierereien, Angriffe auf Polizisten und Festnahmen
BERLINER ZEITUNG: Mehrere tausend Menschen demonstrieren in Kreuzberg und Neukölln gegen Israel. Es wird nicht die einzige Aktion bleiben.
Dieser Screenshot ist von diesem Artikel. | Tumult bei der Demonstration „Schluss mit der Besatzung Palästinas. 78 Jahre Al Nakba“: Die Polizei geht in die Menge. | © Fabian Sommer/dpa
BERLINER ZEITUNG: Mehrere tausend Menschen demonstrieren in Kreuzberg und Neukölln gegen Israel. Es wird nicht die einzige Aktion bleiben.
Das Wochenende in Berlin stand im Zeichen des palästinensischen Kampfes gegen Israel. Etwa 2000 Menschen zogen am Samstagnachmittag durch Kreuzberg nach Neukölln. Die Demonstration unter dem Motto „Schluss mit der Besatzung Palästinas – 78 Jahre Al Nakba“ begann am Oranienplatz und endete am Südstern. Die Demonstranten protestierten gegen Israels Militäraktionen im Gazastreifen und im Libanon sowie gegen den Krieg gegen Iran.
Die Polizei zählte rund 2000 Teilnehmer. Die Stimmung war aufgeheizt und zum Teil aggressiv. Laut Polizei wurden Einsatzkräfte angegriffen und verbotene Parolen skandiert. Auch Journalisten wurden attackiert. » | Andreas Kopietz | Sonntag, 17. Mai 2026
BERLINER ZEITUNG: Mehrere tausend Menschen demonstrieren in Kreuzberg und Neukölln gegen Israel. Es wird nicht die einzige Aktion bleiben.
Das Wochenende in Berlin stand im Zeichen des palästinensischen Kampfes gegen Israel. Etwa 2000 Menschen zogen am Samstagnachmittag durch Kreuzberg nach Neukölln. Die Demonstration unter dem Motto „Schluss mit der Besatzung Palästinas – 78 Jahre Al Nakba“ begann am Oranienplatz und endete am Südstern. Die Demonstranten protestierten gegen Israels Militäraktionen im Gazastreifen und im Libanon sowie gegen den Krieg gegen Iran.
Die Polizei zählte rund 2000 Teilnehmer. Die Stimmung war aufgeheizt und zum Teil aggressiv. Laut Polizei wurden Einsatzkräfte angegriffen und verbotene Parolen skandiert. Auch Journalisten wurden attackiert. » | Andreas Kopietz | Sonntag, 17. Mai 2026
Affaire Epstein : « une dizaine » de nouvelles victimes sont entrées en contact avec le parquet de Paris
LE FIGARO : Le parquet de Paris a ouvert une large enquête pour « traite des êtres humains » après la publication par le gouvernement américain de milliers de fichiers.
« Une dizaine » de nouvelles victimes présumées de Jeffrey Epstein se sont manifestées auprès du parquet de Paris, a déclaré ce dimanche la procureure Laure Beccuau, interrogée sur RTL.
Le parquet de Paris a ouvert une large enquête pour « traite des êtres humains » après la publication par le gouvernement américain de milliers de fichiers appartenant au criminel sexuel décédé en 2019. L’objectif est notamment d’identifier ceux qui auraient pu lui permettre de faciliter ses crimes en France, par exemple en lui fournissant ses victimes. « Aucune des personnes susceptibles d’être mises en cause n’a été entendue » jusqu’à présent, a-t-elle précisé. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | dimanche 17 mai 2026
« Une dizaine » de nouvelles victimes présumées de Jeffrey Epstein se sont manifestées auprès du parquet de Paris, a déclaré ce dimanche la procureure Laure Beccuau, interrogée sur RTL.
Le parquet de Paris a ouvert une large enquête pour « traite des êtres humains » après la publication par le gouvernement américain de milliers de fichiers appartenant au criminel sexuel décédé en 2019. L’objectif est notamment d’identifier ceux qui auraient pu lui permettre de faciliter ses crimes en France, par exemple en lui fournissant ses victimes. « Aucune des personnes susceptibles d’être mises en cause n’a été entendue » jusqu’à présent, a-t-elle précisé. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | dimanche 17 mai 2026
Here Comes My Virtual Heartthrob*— Again! 😊 Bewitching Me, as Ever, with His Spellbinding Smile and Enchanting Me with His Dulcet Tones!
* Unfortunately, I’ll have to make do with a virtual heartthrob until I have the great good fortune of meeting my Mr Wonderful! 😊 — Mark
To Critics, Trump Remarks Reveal a Billionaire Out of Touch
THE NEW YORK TIMES: The president has never pretended to be an ordinary American, but a recent “truth bomb” has opened him to criticism that he doesn’t grasp the economic strain of his war with Iran.
Screenshot taken from this NYT article. | President Trump made remarks on Tuesday at the White House, ahead of departing for his trip to China. | Doug Mills/The New York Times
With his generational wealth, his 20-acre Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., and his lucrative family businesses around the world, President Trump has never purported to be an ordinary American.
Instead, he has argued that he could use his business savvy to help lift up the country’s forgotten men and women.
But in recent weeks, as Americans feel deep economic strain from the war he launched in Iran, Mr. Trump’s actions and words have opened him up to accusations that he is either out of touch with — or indifferent to — the lives of everyday Americans.
The costs are ballooning from his renovation, re-decoration and building spree in Washington, D.C., and at the White House. He goes on social media posting frenzies that often focus on his pet projects, gripes and personal triumphs, including a 22-year-old newspaper review of his television show, “The Apprentice.” But perhaps the most striking example came on Tuesday, when Mr. Trump was asked whether the economic hardship Americans are feeling would motivate him to make a deal to end the war.
“Not even a little bit,” he said.
“I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation,” Mr. Trump continued, a stunningly frank admission that came after weeks spent either downplaying the conflict’s economic toll or simply asking Americans to be patient. His only consideration, Mr. Trump said, was preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon: “That’s all.” » | Erica L. Green | Erica L. Green is a White House correspondent. She reported from Washington. | Sunday, May 17, 2026
To think that this grifting clown should have been locked up long ago! If only the then powers-that-be had had the balls to do the right thing! Think of how much better the quality of Americans’ lives would be today, and the quality of life of the rest of the world, too! And just think of how many innocent people have had to meet their Maker prematurely, long, long before their time, just to satisfy this jester’s fantasies!
Will the American electorate ever be forgiven for their wilful and selfish poor judgment. Will, indeed, America itself ever recover from this, with the ever more powerful China very clearly in the ascendancy?
Thinking about Donald Trump is puke-inducing; so is thinking about all his ill-thought-out, self-aggrandizing, self-enriching , corrupt schemes and policies which strip Americans of their individual and collective wealth, and have bereaved them of their rights and heritage.
The sooner Americans find a way to rid themselves and their country of this man, the better it will be for them and for us. — © Mark Alexander
With his generational wealth, his 20-acre Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., and his lucrative family businesses around the world, President Trump has never purported to be an ordinary American.
Instead, he has argued that he could use his business savvy to help lift up the country’s forgotten men and women.
But in recent weeks, as Americans feel deep economic strain from the war he launched in Iran, Mr. Trump’s actions and words have opened him up to accusations that he is either out of touch with — or indifferent to — the lives of everyday Americans.
The costs are ballooning from his renovation, re-decoration and building spree in Washington, D.C., and at the White House. He goes on social media posting frenzies that often focus on his pet projects, gripes and personal triumphs, including a 22-year-old newspaper review of his television show, “The Apprentice.” But perhaps the most striking example came on Tuesday, when Mr. Trump was asked whether the economic hardship Americans are feeling would motivate him to make a deal to end the war.
“Not even a little bit,” he said.
“I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation,” Mr. Trump continued, a stunningly frank admission that came after weeks spent either downplaying the conflict’s economic toll or simply asking Americans to be patient. His only consideration, Mr. Trump said, was preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon: “That’s all.” » | Erica L. Green | Erica L. Green is a White House correspondent. She reported from Washington. | Sunday, May 17, 2026
To think that this grifting clown should have been locked up long ago! If only the then powers-that-be had had the balls to do the right thing! Think of how much better the quality of Americans’ lives would be today, and the quality of life of the rest of the world, too! And just think of how many innocent people have had to meet their Maker prematurely, long, long before their time, just to satisfy this jester’s fantasies!
Will the American electorate ever be forgiven for their wilful and selfish poor judgment. Will, indeed, America itself ever recover from this, with the ever more powerful China very clearly in the ascendancy?
Thinking about Donald Trump is puke-inducing; so is thinking about all his ill-thought-out, self-aggrandizing, self-enriching , corrupt schemes and policies which strip Americans of their individual and collective wealth, and have bereaved them of their rights and heritage.
The sooner Americans find a way to rid themselves and their country of this man, the better it will be for them and for us. — © Mark Alexander
Andalucíans Vote in Election Seen as Gauge of Spain’s Wider Political Change
THE GUARDIAN: Conservatives expected to keep majority as socialists face drubbing and ballot tests trajectory of far-right Vox party
Voters in the southern Spanish region of Andalucía are casting their ballots in an election that is likely to deliver an absolute majority to the conservative People’s party (PP) and inflict another debilitating defeat on Pedro Sánchez’s embattled socialists in what was previously one of their proudest strongholds.
Sunday’s election in Spain’s most populous region – the last big poll before next year’s general election – will serve as a barometer of wider electoral opinion and could also reveal whether the popularity of the far-right Vox party is beginning to peak.
The PP, which has governed the former socialist bastion for the past seven years, is seeking to frame the election as a referendum on Sánchez, the country’s prime minister, whose inner circle, party and administration are facing an array of corruption allegations.
According to the polls, the incumbent PP regional president, Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla, is on course to almost replicate his result at the last election in 2022, when the conservatives won 58 of the seats in the 109-seat regional parliament. » | Sam Jones in Madrid | Sunday, May 17, 2026
Google AI informs me that the Vox Party wants Spain to strip homosexuals of their hard-fought-for, hard-won rights. They want Spain’s laws on homosexuality to mirror those in darkest Africa! As we all know, most of Africa’s laws on homosexuality are dark and benighted!
I know little about the Vox Party, but I know that the Party’s take on LGBTQ+ rights are troubling indeed. Fie on the lot of them! — © Mark Alexander
Saturday, May 16, 2026
The Pressure of Existing in Trump's Authoritarian America
ANTHONY DAVIS can be supported on Patreon here.
Cuba, un país a oscuras
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Estados Unidos cortó el suministro de combustible a Cuba, sumiendo a la ya empobrecida isla en una aguda crisis energética.
Los cubanos no son ajenos a las penurias, tras más de seis décadas de régimen comunista y hostilidad y embargo estadounidenses.
Pero la isla no había sufrido nada parecido a lo que está padeciendo ahora. Este año, el gobierno de Donald Trump cortó el principal suministro de petróleo de Cuba, procedente de Venezuela, tras decapitar al régimen de Caracas, aliado de La Habana. Cualquier medida para conservar la energía solo pospuso lo inevitable: las reservas de petróleo de Cuba se han agotado, según dijo el gobierno esta semana.
La escasez de combustible y el desmoronamiento de las infraestructuras han provocado apagones cada vez más prolongados; mucha gente solo tiene electricidad una o dos horas al día. Eso ha generado pequeñas protestas, incluidas algunas en las que la gente ha encendido hogueras en las calles.
Cuba se está deslizando hacia un estado preindustrial de ciudades y pueblos oscurecidos, donde la gente depende de las llamas y del músculo para sustituir el combustible ausente y la maquinaria que permanece inactiva.
Sin un suministro fiable de electricidad y gas, mucha gente ha vuelto a recoger leña y carbón para hacer hogueras al aire libre. » | Por The New York Times | viernes 15 de mayo de 2026
Read in English.
Los cubanos no son ajenos a las penurias, tras más de seis décadas de régimen comunista y hostilidad y embargo estadounidenses.
Pero la isla no había sufrido nada parecido a lo que está padeciendo ahora. Este año, el gobierno de Donald Trump cortó el principal suministro de petróleo de Cuba, procedente de Venezuela, tras decapitar al régimen de Caracas, aliado de La Habana. Cualquier medida para conservar la energía solo pospuso lo inevitable: las reservas de petróleo de Cuba se han agotado, según dijo el gobierno esta semana.
La escasez de combustible y el desmoronamiento de las infraestructuras han provocado apagones cada vez más prolongados; mucha gente solo tiene electricidad una o dos horas al día. Eso ha generado pequeñas protestas, incluidas algunas en las que la gente ha encendido hogueras en las calles.
Cuba se está deslizando hacia un estado preindustrial de ciudades y pueblos oscurecidos, donde la gente depende de las llamas y del músculo para sustituir el combustible ausente y la maquinaria que permanece inactiva.
Sin un suministro fiable de electricidad y gas, mucha gente ha vuelto a recoger leña y carbón para hacer hogueras al aire libre. » | Por The New York Times | viernes 15 de mayo de 2026
Read in English.
Rival Protests Take Place in London, With a Major Security Effort
THE NEW YORK TIMES: The police have deployed thousands of officers, partly to keep far-right and pro-Palestinian marchers apart. The events drew tens of thousands to London.
Screenshot taken from this NYT article. | Supporters of the British far-right activist Tommy Robinson, left, and antiracism activists and pro-Palestinian marchers, right, in London on Saturday. | Justin Tallis/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images; Thomas Krych/Associated Press
The streets of the British capital hosted an ideological split-screen on Saturday as separate, far-right and pro-Palestinian demonstrators competed for attention in dueling protests.
Marching through central London, tens of thousands of far-right protesters wearing “Make Britain Great Again” hats and draped in Union flags demanded support for white culture and an end to migration.
Along another route, similar numbers of pro-Palestinian and anti-fascism demonstrators decried racism as they carried signs and banners calling for freedom for Palestinians in Gaza and an end to the genocide they said was taking place there.
The groups largely stayed separate, with few reports of arrests or violence, after what London police said was an “unprecedented” security operation designed to keep the protests from descending into a riot. » | Michael D. Shear and Megan Specia | Reporting from London | Saturday, May 16, 2026
The streets of the British capital hosted an ideological split-screen on Saturday as separate, far-right and pro-Palestinian demonstrators competed for attention in dueling protests.
Marching through central London, tens of thousands of far-right protesters wearing “Make Britain Great Again” hats and draped in Union flags demanded support for white culture and an end to migration.
Along another route, similar numbers of pro-Palestinian and anti-fascism demonstrators decried racism as they carried signs and banners calling for freedom for Palestinians in Gaza and an end to the genocide they said was taking place there.
The groups largely stayed separate, with few reports of arrests or violence, after what London police said was an “unprecedented” security operation designed to keep the protests from descending into a riot. » | Michael D. Shear and Megan Specia | Reporting from London | Saturday, May 16, 2026
Italie : ce que l’on sait de l’attaque à la voiture bélier qui a fait huit blessés à Modène
LE FIGARO : Le conducteur, âgé d’une trentaine d’années, aurait « visé le trottoir », selon les premiers témoignages. La première ministre italienne, Giorgia Meloni, dénonce un « fait extrêmement grave ».
Attaque à la voiture bélier à Modène. Un conducteur a renversé de nombreux piétons samedi 16 mai, dans le centre de cette ville du nord de l'Italie, faisant huit blessés dont quatre graves, a indiqué le maire de la ville à des médias.
Selon les premiers témoignages, le conducteur d'une trentaine d'années « a visé le trottoir, heurtant aussi un vélo, puis s'est écrasé en percutant de plein fouet une femme, la plus gravement atteinte, avec les jambes écrasées », a indiqué le maire Massimo Mezzetti à l'agence ANSA et aux journaux locaux. La Citroën grise a fini sa course dans la vitrine. « On l’a vu avec une arme à la main mais il n’a réussi à poignarder personne. Il semble qu’il ait tenté de frapper quelqu’un », a poursuivi le maire. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | samedi 16 mai 2026
Attaque à la voiture bélier à Modène. Un conducteur a renversé de nombreux piétons samedi 16 mai, dans le centre de cette ville du nord de l'Italie, faisant huit blessés dont quatre graves, a indiqué le maire de la ville à des médias.
Selon les premiers témoignages, le conducteur d'une trentaine d'années « a visé le trottoir, heurtant aussi un vélo, puis s'est écrasé en percutant de plein fouet une femme, la plus gravement atteinte, avec les jambes écrasées », a indiqué le maire Massimo Mezzetti à l'agence ANSA et aux journaux locaux. La Citroën grise a fini sa course dans la vitrine. « On l’a vu avec une arme à la main mais il n’a réussi à poignarder personne. Il semble qu’il ait tenté de frapper quelqu’un », a poursuivi le maire. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | samedi 16 mai 2026
Streeting: We Should Rejoin the EU
THE TELEGRAPH: Wes Streeting has called for the UK to rejoin the European Union, saying that “Britain’s future lies with Europe”.
The former health secretary said that leaving the EU was a “catastrophic mistake” as he confirmed he will run to replace Sir Keir Starmer at the next Labour leadership election.
Speaking on Saturday at a conference organised by the Labour pressure group Progress, Mr Streeting said: “In 2026, the British people increasingly see that in a dangerous world, we must club together, both to rebuild our economy and trade, and improve our defence against the shared threats from Russian aggression and America First.
“The biggest economic opportunity we have is on our doorstep. We need a new Special Relationship with the EU, because Britain’s future lies with Europe – and one day back in the European Union.”
Mr Streeting’s remarks on the EU signal his first policy position since quitting Cabinet, as he launches a bid to become the next Prime Minister. » | Dominic Penna Senior Political Correspondent. Sabrina Miller Whitehall Correspondent. Camilla Turner Sunday Political Editor | Saturday, May 16, 2026
At last! A politician with the courage to say what needed to be said! We ARE Europeans and our place is right in the heart of Europe. It's our undeniable and inevitable destiny. — © Mark Alexander
ADDENDUM:
I was never a fan of Wes Streeting. Especially as the Health Secretary. But now he comes out with the need for the UK to rejoin the EU, showing his determination to take us back into the Union, he has shown that he is wiser than his youthful appearance would imply. Go for it, Wes! It’s what the young and forward-thinking people of this nation want. Ignore the pleadings of the fossils! — © Mark Alexander
China dämpft Erwartungen: Peking nennt Ergebnisse von Trump-Besuch „vorläufig“
BERLINER ZEITUNG: Nach dem Staatsbesuch von US-Präsident Trump relativiert Peking die Ergebnisse: Die Vereinbarungen zu Zöllen, Agrarprodukten und Flugzeugkäufen seien bislang nur „vorläufig“.
Nach dem Staatsbesuch von US-Präsident Donald Trump in Peking hat Chinas Handelsministerium die getroffenen Vereinbarungen zu Zöllen, Agrarprodukten und Flugzeugkäufen als „vorläufig“ eingestuft. Details zu Mengen, Werten oder Zeitplänen nannte die Behörde nicht.
In einer am Samstag auf der Internetseite des Ministeriums veröffentlichten Mitteilung hieß es, beide Seiten hätten vereinbart, ein Investitions- und ein Handelsgremium einzurichten. Diese sollten über wechselseitige, produktspezifische Zollsenkungen sowie weitergehende Kürzungen für nicht näher bezeichnete Waren einschließlich Agrarprodukten verhandeln. Die Gespräche über Einzelheiten dauerten an, die Abkommen sollten „so bald wie möglich“ finalisiert werden, teilte das Ministerium mit. » | Sophie Barkey | Samstag, 16. Mai 2026
Nach dem Staatsbesuch von US-Präsident Donald Trump in Peking hat Chinas Handelsministerium die getroffenen Vereinbarungen zu Zöllen, Agrarprodukten und Flugzeugkäufen als „vorläufig“ eingestuft. Details zu Mengen, Werten oder Zeitplänen nannte die Behörde nicht.
In einer am Samstag auf der Internetseite des Ministeriums veröffentlichten Mitteilung hieß es, beide Seiten hätten vereinbart, ein Investitions- und ein Handelsgremium einzurichten. Diese sollten über wechselseitige, produktspezifische Zollsenkungen sowie weitergehende Kürzungen für nicht näher bezeichnete Waren einschließlich Agrarprodukten verhandeln. Die Gespräche über Einzelheiten dauerten an, die Abkommen sollten „so bald wie möglich“ finalisiert werden, teilte das Ministerium mit. » | Sophie Barkey | Samstag, 16. Mai 2026
Visite de Trump en Chine : la délégation américaine a jeté tous les objets chinois avant de remonter dans l’avion
LE FIGARO : « Rien de Chine n’est autorisé à bord » d’Air Force One pour raisons de sécurité, a indiqué une journaliste américaine qui suivait la délégation.
Les cadeaux chinois n’auront pas passé les portes de l’avion. Selon une journaliste américaine envoyée par le New York Post en Chine pour y couvrir la visite de Donald Trump, la délégation américaine a jeté l’ensemble des objets offerts par la Chine « dans un panier » juste avant d’embarquer dans l’avion et de quitter le pays, ce vendredi 16 mai.
« Le personnel américain a pris tout ce que les officiels chinois ont distribué - accréditations, téléphones jetables du personnel de la Maison-Blanche, badges pour la délégation - les a collectés avant que nous montions à bord de l’AF1 et les a jetés dans un panier au bas des escaliers », a ainsi indiqué la correspondante à la Maison-Blanche Emily Goodin dans une publication postée sur X, qui a fait le tour de la toile. « Rien de Chine n’est autorisé à bord de l’avion », a poursuivi la reporter. » | Par Jeanne Durieux | samedi 16 mai 2026
Les cadeaux chinois n’auront pas passé les portes de l’avion. Selon une journaliste américaine envoyée par le New York Post en Chine pour y couvrir la visite de Donald Trump, la délégation américaine a jeté l’ensemble des objets offerts par la Chine « dans un panier » juste avant d’embarquer dans l’avion et de quitter le pays, ce vendredi 16 mai.
« Le personnel américain a pris tout ce que les officiels chinois ont distribué - accréditations, téléphones jetables du personnel de la Maison-Blanche, badges pour la délégation - les a collectés avant que nous montions à bord de l’AF1 et les a jetés dans un panier au bas des escaliers », a ainsi indiqué la correspondante à la Maison-Blanche Emily Goodin dans une publication postée sur X, qui a fait le tour de la toile. « Rien de Chine n’est autorisé à bord de l’avion », a poursuivi la reporter. » | Par Jeanne Durieux | samedi 16 mai 2026
Waleed Asadi: Levantine Chicken & Potatoes — Jaj w Batata | جَاج و بْطَاطَا
Click herehere for the full recipe.
Waleed’s very own selection of spices can be found here. Don’t forget to use the code ZAWI10 for 10% off your first order.
Waleed’s favourite Lebanese olive oil, Les Cousines, can be found here. Don’t forget to use Waleed’s very own special introductory code for 15% off your first order.
In standard Arabic, the recipe is called Djaj w batata (دجاج وبطاطا). The name given to the dish above is how it is written and said in dialect, omitting the ‘d’. In other words, it is a shortened form of the Arabic word for chicken. Hence it is written as shown in the title above.
"Lebensunwert" - Paul Brune. NS-Psychiatrie und ihre Folgen | Dokumentarfilm
May 14, 2026 | In drei Wochen werden auf dem YouTube Kanal „Westfalen im Film“ drei Dokumentarfilme aus den frühen 2000er Jahren erstmals online veröffentlicht. Sie erzählen die Lebensgeschichten verschiedener Zeitzeug:innen unter der NS-Diktatur.
Der erste der drei Filme „Lebens(un)wert“ beschäftigt sich mit dem Schicksal von Paul Brune, der Opfer der nationalsozialistischen Psychiatrieverbrechen war. Denn mit dem Ende des zweiten Weltkriegs endete zwar das „Euthanasie“-Mordprogramm, nicht aber das Leid und die Misshandlungen menschenunwürdiger Unterbringungsbedingungen und „Behandlungsmethoden“. Paul Brune litt bis an sein Lebensende an den Folgen dieser NS-Verbrechen. Anhand seiner tragischen Erfahrungen beleuchtet der Dokumentarfilm die NS-Psychiatrieverbrechen und ihre Kontinuitäten über das Jahr 1945 hinaus.
WARNUNG: Dieser Dokumentarfilm ist für empfindliche Menschen gar nicht geeignet. — Mark
Der erste der drei Filme „Lebens(un)wert“ beschäftigt sich mit dem Schicksal von Paul Brune, der Opfer der nationalsozialistischen Psychiatrieverbrechen war. Denn mit dem Ende des zweiten Weltkriegs endete zwar das „Euthanasie“-Mordprogramm, nicht aber das Leid und die Misshandlungen menschenunwürdiger Unterbringungsbedingungen und „Behandlungsmethoden“. Paul Brune litt bis an sein Lebensende an den Folgen dieser NS-Verbrechen. Anhand seiner tragischen Erfahrungen beleuchtet der Dokumentarfilm die NS-Psychiatrieverbrechen und ihre Kontinuitäten über das Jahr 1945 hinaus.
WARNUNG: Dieser Dokumentarfilm ist für empfindliche Menschen gar nicht geeignet. — Mark
Rob Groves: The Crypto Billions behind Farage & Reform UK
Michael Lambert: Starmer Going? - Will Andy Burnham Start to Reverse Brexit
May 16, 2026 | Since Brexit, Britain has had six prime ministers and is about to have a seventh — and not one of them has fixed the economy. Not one.
The ‘SS British Economy’ continues to sink, and changing the captain won't save the ship.
In this video I explain why: The UK economy is falling behind the economy of every major European nation.
The ‘SS British Economy’ continues to sink, and changing the captain won't save the ship.
In this video I explain why: The UK economy is falling behind the economy of every major European nation.
On the Plight of the Longsuffering Palestinians
MARK ALEXANDER: One can but weep! How much more, and how much longer, must these poor, downtrodden people suffer?
Ironically, it was watching black and white documentaries on the Holocaust on BBC TV as a little boy in the 1950s that awakened my interest in, and later, love for, the German language! I wanted to understand how a people could commit such atrocities and such heinous crimes against their fellow man, against innocent, helpless and unsuspecting people?
Naturally, and unsurprisingly, my sympathies from that time forward were always with the downtrodden Jews. It goes without saying that I have loathed anti-Semitism ever since.
It took years for me to master German. It’s a very beautiful language, but with very complicated grammar, especially until the rules of the language all fall into place. But when I did master it, I found a people just like my own, the British. They had all the strong points and weaknesses that every other people have. I found a people capable of loving and hating, no different from my own compatriots. A people with all the same needs and aspirations as my own people.
I grew to love the German language, and by extension, the German people. In fact, I love all things German. The bottom line is this: Germans in the Third Reich were programmed to commit evil acts, led by a man who was without normal human feelings, without morals, and with an evil and wicked nature. This could happen to a people from any culture.
I never thought that all these years later, I would again have to watch documentaries and news footage about suffering of yet another people—this time the Palestinians—this time in colour, but this time committed by the very people I had watched on television being persecuted by the Nazis! One would have thought that having suffered persecution they would have known better.
There are common threads, though. Germany was led in the 1930s and 1940s by a megalomaniacal madman, who understood no limits and who understood no barriers to the fulfilment of his warped and twisted dreams. Now, Israel is led by such a ruthless person. The average Jew will surely be horrified by what is going on in Netanyahu’s Israel. Netanyahu has turned the dream of a homeland for the once suffering Jews into a nightmare for the longsuffering Palestinians. Surely, in the name of compassion and civility and decency, this persecution must STOP.
It defies comprehension that a once persecuted people could themselves persecute another people in this manner, bereft as it is of all mercy and compassion. One would have imagined that if any people would have mercy and compassion for the downtrodden, Jewry would.
It is high time that the civilized world put a STOP to the suffering of Palestinians, the majority of whom are fine people just wanting to live a normal, peaceful existence. Just like you and me.
All Rights Reserved
© Mark Alexander
Ironically, it was watching black and white documentaries on the Holocaust on BBC TV as a little boy in the 1950s that awakened my interest in, and later, love for, the German language! I wanted to understand how a people could commit such atrocities and such heinous crimes against their fellow man, against innocent, helpless and unsuspecting people?
Naturally, and unsurprisingly, my sympathies from that time forward were always with the downtrodden Jews. It goes without saying that I have loathed anti-Semitism ever since.
It took years for me to master German. It’s a very beautiful language, but with very complicated grammar, especially until the rules of the language all fall into place. But when I did master it, I found a people just like my own, the British. They had all the strong points and weaknesses that every other people have. I found a people capable of loving and hating, no different from my own compatriots. A people with all the same needs and aspirations as my own people.
I grew to love the German language, and by extension, the German people. In fact, I love all things German. The bottom line is this: Germans in the Third Reich were programmed to commit evil acts, led by a man who was without normal human feelings, without morals, and with an evil and wicked nature. This could happen to a people from any culture.
I never thought that all these years later, I would again have to watch documentaries and news footage about suffering of yet another people—this time the Palestinians—this time in colour, but this time committed by the very people I had watched on television being persecuted by the Nazis! One would have thought that having suffered persecution they would have known better.
There are common threads, though. Germany was led in the 1930s and 1940s by a megalomaniacal madman, who understood no limits and who understood no barriers to the fulfilment of his warped and twisted dreams. Now, Israel is led by such a ruthless person. The average Jew will surely be horrified by what is going on in Netanyahu’s Israel. Netanyahu has turned the dream of a homeland for the once suffering Jews into a nightmare for the longsuffering Palestinians. Surely, in the name of compassion and civility and decency, this persecution must STOP.
It defies comprehension that a once persecuted people could themselves persecute another people in this manner, bereft as it is of all mercy and compassion. One would have imagined that if any people would have mercy and compassion for the downtrodden, Jewry would.
It is high time that the civilized world put a STOP to the suffering of Palestinians, the majority of whom are fine people just wanting to live a normal, peaceful existence. Just like you and me.
All Rights Reserved
© Mark Alexander
Palestinians Forced to Demolish Own Homes to Make Way for Israeli Theme Park
THE GUARDIAN: Residents of al-Bustan district told to make way for Kings Garden, with knocking down own houses cheaper option
At the bottom of a steep and densely populated valley just below Jerusalem’s old city walls, the earth has been shaken in recent weeks by jackhammers and bulldozers.
These have been the sounds of Jerusalem for decades as the Israeli state has relentlessly sought to stamp a uniformly Jewish identity on to the occupied east of the city, while erasing its Palestinian character.
Typically it is workers for the state and municipality at the wheel of the bulldozers, but in the al-Bustan neighbourhood, in the shadow of the 11th-century al-Aqsa mosque, the clamour is from a more recent development.
It is the sound of Palestinians demolishing their own family homes.
“This is something really hard. This is something bitter,” Jalal al-Tawil said as he watched a tractor he had hired, with a front loader at the front and jackhammer at the back, rip apart the last remnants of the house his father had built, which in turn had been on the site of his grandparents’ home. » | Julian Borger, Quique Kierszenbaum and Sufian Taha in Jerusalem | Saturday, May 16, 2026
One can but weep! How much more, and how much longer, must these poor, downtrodden people suffer?
Ironically, it was watching black and white documentaries on the Holocaust on BBC TV as a little boy in the 1950s that awakened my interest in, and later, love for, the German language! I wanted to understand how a people could commit such atrocities and such heinous crimes against their fellow man, against innocent, helpless and unsuspecting people?
Naturally, and unsurprisingly, my sympathies from that time forward were always with the downtrodden Jews. It goes without saying that I have loathed anti-Semitism ever since.
It took years for me to master German. It’s a very beautiful language, but with very complicated grammar, especially until the rules of the language all fall into place. But when I did master it, I found a people just like my own, the British. They had all the strong points and weaknesses that every other people have. I found a people capable of loving and hating, no different from my own compatriots. A people with all the same needs and aspirations as my own people.
I grew to love the German language, and by extension, the German people. In fact, I love all things German. The bottom line is this: Germans in the Third Reich were programmed to commit evil acts, led by a man who was without normal human feelings, without morals, and with an evil and wicked nature. This could happen to a people from any culture.
I never thought that all these years later, I would again have to watch documentaries and news footage about suffering of yet another people—this time the Palestinians—this time in colour, but this time committed by the very people I had watched on television being persecuted by the Nazis! One would have thought that having suffered persecution they would have known better.
There are common threads, though. Germany was led in the 1930s and 1940s by a megalomaniacal madman, who understood no limits and who understood no barriers to the fulfilment of his warped and twisted dreams. Now, Israel is led by such a ruthless person. The average Jew will surely be horrified by what is going on in Netanyahu’s Israel. Netanyahu has turned the dream of a homeland for the once suffering Jews into a nightmare for the longsuffering Palestinians. Surely, in the name of compassion and civility and decency, this persecution must STOP.
It defies comprehension that a once persecuted people could themselves persecute another people in this manner, bereft as it is of all mercy and compassion. One would have imagined that if any people would have mercy and compassion for the downtrodden, Jewry would.
It is high time that the civilized world put a STOP to the suffering of Palestinians, the majority of whom are fine people just wanting to live a normal, peaceful existence. Just like you and me. — © Mark Alexander
”Donald Trump Kisses Up & Down President Xi’s Ass!”
Trump talks such BS! — © Mark Alexander
Wie steht es um LGBTQ+-Rechte in Europa? | ARTE Europa - Die Woche
Affichant sa force, Xi tient en respect l’Amérique de Trump et promeut la stabilité
LE FIGARO : RÉCIT - Le président américain a qualifié d’« incroyable » sa visite en Chine. Mais le bilan de son voyage reste maigre. Les démonstrations d’amitié entre les deux pays n’ont pas masqué leur rivalité stratégique, esquisse de l’émergence d’un monde bipolaire.
Surnommée « the Beast », la limousine blindée de Donald Trump s’est engouffrée entre les colonnes ocre du portail traditionnel protégeant le saint des saints de la Chine communiste, vendredi. Le président Xi Jinping a offert le thé à son homologue américain à Zhongnanhai, la résidence barricadée des dirigeants du Parti à Pékin, en point d’orgue d’une visite affichant une bonne entente de façade entre les deux premières puissances mondiales.
Des lieux familiers pour ce « prince rouge », élevé à quelques encablures de la Cité interdite à l’ère maoïste, et qui a tenu en respect le magnat de l’immobilier new-yorkais pendant cette visite de deux jours, placée sous la bannière de la stabilité, en s’affichant sur un pied d’égalité. « Nous devons être des partenaires et non des rivaux », a ainsi lancé Xi, qui a déployé un faste impérial pour son hôte, de la place Tiananmen au Temple du ciel, hauts lieux de la capitale chinoise. Et lui a offert un brownie au chocolat après des raviolis à la vapeur pour conclure leur ultime déjeuner de travail avant l’envol d’Air Force One. » | Par Sébastien Falletti, correspondant en Asie | vendredi 15 mai 2026
Réservé aux abonnés
Surnommée « the Beast », la limousine blindée de Donald Trump s’est engouffrée entre les colonnes ocre du portail traditionnel protégeant le saint des saints de la Chine communiste, vendredi. Le président Xi Jinping a offert le thé à son homologue américain à Zhongnanhai, la résidence barricadée des dirigeants du Parti à Pékin, en point d’orgue d’une visite affichant une bonne entente de façade entre les deux premières puissances mondiales.
Des lieux familiers pour ce « prince rouge », élevé à quelques encablures de la Cité interdite à l’ère maoïste, et qui a tenu en respect le magnat de l’immobilier new-yorkais pendant cette visite de deux jours, placée sous la bannière de la stabilité, en s’affichant sur un pied d’égalité. « Nous devons être des partenaires et non des rivaux », a ainsi lancé Xi, qui a déployé un faste impérial pour son hôte, de la place Tiananmen au Temple du ciel, hauts lieux de la capitale chinoise. Et lui a offert un brownie au chocolat après des raviolis à la vapeur pour conclure leur ultime déjeuner de travail avant l’envol d’Air Force One. » | Par Sébastien Falletti, correspondant en Asie | vendredi 15 mai 2026
Réservé aux abonnés
Friday, May 15, 2026
American Greatness Is a Lie We’ve Been Told Since Birth - Nationalist Propaganda!
May 15, 2026 | My trip to Europe made something painfully clear: America is not the “greatest country on Earth.”
That phrase is not patriotism — it’s nationalism. It’s a lie we are taught through flags, bald eagles, patriotic songs, military worship, gun culture, and the constant demand that we treat America like it is above criticism.
But loving your country does not mean worshipping it. Patriotism means wanting your country to be better. Nationalism means pretending it already is. When you look at what America actually leads the world in, the truth is ugly: gun violence, mass incarceration, military spending, and white supremacy.
Meanwhile, many European countries have universal healthcare, minimal gun violence, affordable or free college, stronger worker protections, and a better quality of life.
America has convinced people that freedom means struggling to afford healthcare, working yourself to death, fearing gun violence, and calling it liberty.
We traded quality of life for capitalism — and then called it greatness.
This video is not anti-American. It is anti-lie. If we actually love this country, we need to stop worshipping symbols and start fighting for the people.
That phrase is not patriotism — it’s nationalism. It’s a lie we are taught through flags, bald eagles, patriotic songs, military worship, gun culture, and the constant demand that we treat America like it is above criticism.
But loving your country does not mean worshipping it. Patriotism means wanting your country to be better. Nationalism means pretending it already is. When you look at what America actually leads the world in, the truth is ugly: gun violence, mass incarceration, military spending, and white supremacy.
Meanwhile, many European countries have universal healthcare, minimal gun violence, affordable or free college, stronger worker protections, and a better quality of life.
America has convinced people that freedom means struggling to afford healthcare, working yourself to death, fearing gun violence, and calling it liberty.
We traded quality of life for capitalism — and then called it greatness.
This video is not anti-American. It is anti-lie. If we actually love this country, we need to stop worshipping symbols and start fighting for the people.
Jesse Dollemore: Trump Sets Up Taxpayer Slush Fund to Pay for Private Insurrectionist Army
Why Americans didn’t do the right thing and put that despicable man in the slammer when they had the chance to do so is totally beyond my comprehension! The felon is ruining a once admired nation. — © Mark Alexander
Democracy Now! Nakba Day: Muhammad Shehada on Israel's Ethnic Cleansing in Gaza & Ongoing Palestinian Resilience
Democracy Now! can be supported here.
MESSAGE to MY VISTORS and to the HACKER’S MUMMY
MARK ALEXANDER: Someone is F*****G ABOUT with this, my blog. I take great pride in the aesthetics of this labour of love. And before posting anything, I try to ensure everything is in order.
However, in the past week or so, I have had some blog posts altered by someone unknown to me: a hacker. Even in the last hour or so, whilst I was eating my supper, someone has been fiddling with the HTML of the posts, causing script to be published as italics, where no italics are wanted. God only knows what is motivating this demented soul!
I have some advice for the hacker’s mummy: For heaven’s sake, give the child a rattle to comfort him! And a dummy, too. Maybe a little honey dabbed on the nipple, or teat, of the dummy would be a good idea as well. It would help to sweeten him up! And hopefully, he might then refrain from bothering me.
Mark
However, in the past week or so, I have had some blog posts altered by someone unknown to me: a hacker. Even in the last hour or so, whilst I was eating my supper, someone has been fiddling with the HTML of the posts, causing script to be published as italics, where no italics are wanted. God only knows what is motivating this demented soul!
I have some advice for the hacker’s mummy: For heaven’s sake, give the child a rattle to comfort him! And a dummy, too. Maybe a little honey dabbed on the nipple, or teat, of the dummy would be a good idea as well. It would help to sweeten him up! And hopefully, he might then refrain from bothering me.
Mark
STOP the WAR on SMOKING!
MARK ALEXANDER: All these stupid ideas come here from America! The home of most bad ideas and all clownery!
We Europeans follow those Americans like lemmings! Whatever stupid idea those clowns come up with, whatever the new trend is, we must follow! Stop this NONSENSE! AT ONCE!
We can all see just how stupid Americans can be. We now have proof aplenty! Need I say more?
This anti-smoking movement has gained a seemingly unstoppable momentum out of the self-righteousness of the exceedingly intolerant. It has lost all sense of reason and rationality. And politicians who are motivated and governed by having wet dreams about being liked, take the anti-smoking message, and run with it, hoping to become even more popular.
Were longevity and good health the goal, there would be plenty of things to be banned: alcohol, excessive sugar consumption, tattoos, and drug-taking. And plenty more things besides. But people who indulge in these things are allowed to live in peace. Politicians do not molest them with ever more restrictive laws!
As a person who has survived a few near-death experiences—I have kissed the angel of death on more occasions than I would care to recall—I view life differently from these lemmings. None of those near-death experiences, by the way, have been related to my one-time, very pleasurable, daily smoking habit. (I have been a non-smoker for more than four years now.)
All pleasures in these Puritanical days have either been banned or are in the process of being banned. All pleasures not yet banned soon will be. All pleasures have already been made too expensive to be enjoyed by anyone other than the superrich. All is possible for those people, of course.
And then come the proscriptions on smoking anywhere other than perhaps one’s own home.
Incompetent politicians have listened to the intolerant amongst us and have OUTLAWED the pleasure. Those clowns prefer the people to take drugs like cannabis, cocaine, ketamine, and whatever the hell else those people take. Because those substances are usually enjoyed in secrecy, and anyway, the people who take those substances are not compliant like the struggling middle classes.
Furthermore, without having any acceptable evidence, politicians have encouraged people to vape instead, So they have endangered the lives of children with those ridiculous, exotic, and enticing flavours. I would wager that vaping, in the long run, will be shown to be far more damaging to health than smoking ever was! And for reasons I can enumerate on another occasion. In my opinion, politicians have been IRRESPONSIBLE to encourage the habit as a healthier option, as a smoking substitute — a habit they cannot possibly know enough about to evaluate. People haven’t been vaping long enough for them to know a great deal about its long-term deleterious effects on health. So, we have yet to reap the consequences of politicians’ bad decisions.
It is high time that the people be liberated; it is high time for them to be unchained. If the worst that a person does in this life is enjoy a smoke twixt birth and death, then it can be said that that person really has lived a pretty clean life.
All Rights Reserved
© Mark Alexander
Steve Schmidt: The Real Cost of Trump’s Political Machine
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Blocus naval, pannes de courant... À Cuba, Donald Trump accroît la pression sur le régime castriste
LE FIGARO : RÉCIT - Le directeur de la CIA a exceptionnellement fait le voyage de La Havane pour pousser les autorités cubaines à des réformes « radicales ».
Les Havanais ont aperçu, stupéfaits, un avion aux couleurs de l’US Air Force se poser jeudi sur les pistes de l’aéroport José-Marti de la capitale. L’événement, exceptionnel, a d’abord suscité l’inquiétude des Cubains. À bord, en provenance de la base d’Andrews, dans le Maryland, le directeur de la CIA, John Ratcliffe, accompagné d’une importante délégation de hauts fonctionnaires américains. Officiellement, les émissaires des deux pays ennemis ont évoqué des thèmes de coopération bilatérale, qu’il s’agisse de la lutte contre le trafic de drogue, de l’immigration irrégulière ou du terrorisme.
Puis, dans un bref communiqué, le Parti communiste cubain a précisé que « les échanges avec la délégation américaine ont clairement démontré que Cuba ne constitue pas une menace pour la sécurité nationale des États-Unis et qu’il n’existe aucune raison légitime de l’inscrire sur la liste des pays soutenant prétendument le terrorisme ». Une réponse à Donald Trump qui ne cesse de clamer, depuis un décret présidentiel de janvier dernier, que Cuba est une menace pour la sécurité nationale de son pays. » | Par Hector Lemieux | vendredi 15 mai 2026
Réservé aux abonnés
Les Havanais ont aperçu, stupéfaits, un avion aux couleurs de l’US Air Force se poser jeudi sur les pistes de l’aéroport José-Marti de la capitale. L’événement, exceptionnel, a d’abord suscité l’inquiétude des Cubains. À bord, en provenance de la base d’Andrews, dans le Maryland, le directeur de la CIA, John Ratcliffe, accompagné d’une importante délégation de hauts fonctionnaires américains. Officiellement, les émissaires des deux pays ennemis ont évoqué des thèmes de coopération bilatérale, qu’il s’agisse de la lutte contre le trafic de drogue, de l’immigration irrégulière ou du terrorisme.
Puis, dans un bref communiqué, le Parti communiste cubain a précisé que « les échanges avec la délégation américaine ont clairement démontré que Cuba ne constitue pas une menace pour la sécurité nationale des États-Unis et qu’il n’existe aucune raison légitime de l’inscrire sur la liste des pays soutenant prétendument le terrorisme ». Une réponse à Donald Trump qui ne cesse de clamer, depuis un décret présidentiel de janvier dernier, que Cuba est une menace pour la sécurité nationale de son pays. » | Par Hector Lemieux | vendredi 15 mai 2026
Réservé aux abonnés
Großbritannien: Starmer unter Druck – Britisches Pfund fällt
BERLINER ZEITUNG: Hohe Energiepreise und innenpolitische Unsicherheiten belasten die britische Wirtschaft. Die Währung Pfund Sterling fällt.
Britische Staatsanleihen, Aktien und das Pfund Sterling sind am Freitag gefallen, wie die Nachrichtenagentur Reuters berichtet. Innenpolitische Unsicherheit und Sorgen um einen Inflationsschock infolge des Iran-Kriegs trugen dem Bericht zufolge dazu bei.
Das Pfund fiel laut Reuters auf ein Fünf-Wochen-Tief und verlor in dieser Woche fast zwei Prozent gegenüber dem US-Dollar. Damit steuert die britische Währung dem Bericht zufolge auf den größten Wochenverlust seit November 2024 zu. Zuletzt fiel der Kurs demnach um 0,3 Prozent auf 1,3364 US-Dollar, nachdem er zuvor mit 1,3335 US-Dollar den niedrigsten Stand seit über fünf Wochen erreicht hatte. » | Anika Schlünz | Freitag, 15. Mai 2026
Britische Staatsanleihen, Aktien und das Pfund Sterling sind am Freitag gefallen, wie die Nachrichtenagentur Reuters berichtet. Innenpolitische Unsicherheit und Sorgen um einen Inflationsschock infolge des Iran-Kriegs trugen dem Bericht zufolge dazu bei.
Das Pfund fiel laut Reuters auf ein Fünf-Wochen-Tief und verlor in dieser Woche fast zwei Prozent gegenüber dem US-Dollar. Damit steuert die britische Währung dem Bericht zufolge auf den größten Wochenverlust seit November 2024 zu. Zuletzt fiel der Kurs demnach um 0,3 Prozent auf 1,3364 US-Dollar, nachdem er zuvor mit 1,3335 US-Dollar den niedrigsten Stand seit über fünf Wochen erreicht hatte. » | Anika Schlünz | Freitag, 15. Mai 2026
Donald Trump met en garde Taïwan contre toute proclamation d’indépendance
LE FIGARO : Le président américain a également déclaré vendredi avoir évoqué la question sensible de Taïwan avec son homologue chinois Xi Jinping lors de sa visite d’État en Chine, sans toutefois prendre d’engagement « dans un sens ou dans un autre ».
Donald Trump a mis en garde Taïwan contre toute proclamation d’indépendance, dans un entretien télévisé enregistré peu avant son départ de Pékin, où le président chinois Xi Jinping lui a tenu des propos particulièrement fermes à propos de l’île. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | vendredi 15 mai 2026
Donald Trump a mis en garde Taïwan contre toute proclamation d’indépendance, dans un entretien télévisé enregistré peu avant son départ de Pékin, où le président chinois Xi Jinping lui a tenu des propos particulièrement fermes à propos de l’île. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | vendredi 15 mai 2026
Waleed Asadi: Levantine Tray-baked Kufta — Kufta B'Siniyeh | كفتة بالصينية
Mar 11, 2026 | Kufta B'Siniyeh literally translates to "kufta in a tray." Siniyeh is the Arabic word for tray, and the "B" is short hand for "bil" which means "in". So literally ‘kufta in a tray’.
This is what a majority of people like me grew up with. Some sort of oven-baked kufta with potatoes, tomatoes, and. Sometimes, onions. It's the most basic way you can prepare kufta. So, for that reason, I think it's also a very, very easy way to step into the world of our cuisine.
It's really quite simple to do, so I hope you will give it a try.
Click here for the full recipe.
Waleed’s very own selection of spices can be found here. Don’t forget to use the code ZAWI10 for 10% off your first order.
Waleed’s favourite Lebanese olive oil, Les Cousines, can be found here. Don’t forget to use Waleed’s very own special introductory code for 15% off your first order.
This is what a majority of people like me grew up with. Some sort of oven-baked kufta with potatoes, tomatoes, and. Sometimes, onions. It's the most basic way you can prepare kufta. So, for that reason, I think it's also a very, very easy way to step into the world of our cuisine.
It's really quite simple to do, so I hope you will give it a try.
Click here for the full recipe.
Waleed’s very own selection of spices can be found here. Don’t forget to use the code ZAWI10 for 10% off your first order.
Waleed’s favourite Lebanese olive oil, Les Cousines, can be found here. Don’t forget to use Waleed’s very own special introductory code for 15% off your first order.
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