Thursday, March 12, 2020
Everyone Questioning Biden's Mental Fitness
Labels:
Ana Kasparian,
Cenk Uygur,
Joe Biden,
TYT
Trump’s Re-election Chances Suddenly Look Shakier
President Trump faces the biggest challenge yet to his prospects of being re-elected, with his advisers’ two major assumptions for the campaign — a booming economy and an opponent easily vilified as too far left — quickly evaporating.
After a year in which Mr. Trump has told voters that they must support his re-election or risk watching the economy decline, the stock market is reeling and economists are warning that a recession could be on the horizon because of the worsening spread of the coronavirus.
And instead of elevating Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, as Mr. Trump made clear was his hope, Democrats have suddenly and decisively swung from a flirtation with socialism to former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who has run a primary campaign centered on a return to political normalcy.
“Biden’s success in the suburbs makes him an acceptable alternative to Trump,” said Scott Reed, the top political adviser for the United States Chamber of Commerce. “His turnout in the suburbs threatens the Republican Senate.” » | Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Martin | Thursday, March 12, 2020
Labels:
Bernie Sanders,
Donald Trump,
Joe Biden
Richard Wolff: Banks Are Trembling!
Labels:
banks,
Coronavirus,
Dr Richard Wolff
A Fumbled Global Response to the Virus in a Leadership Void
LONDON — In Frankfurt, the president of the European Central Bank warned that the coronavirus could trigger an economic crash as dire as that of 2008. In Berlin, the German chancellor warned the virus could infect two-thirds of her country’s population. In London, the British prime minister rolled out a nearly $40 billion rescue package to cushion his economy from the shock.
As the toll of those afflicted by the virus continued to soar and financial markets from Tokyo to New York continued to swoon, world leaders are finally starting to find their voices about the gravity of what is now officially a pandemic.
Yet it remains less a choir than a cacophony — a dissonant babble of politicians all struggling, in their own way, to cope with the manifold challenges posed by the virus, from its crushing burden on hospitals and health care workers to its economic devastation and rising death toll.
The choir also lacks a conductor, a role played through most of the post-World War II era by the United States.
President Trump has failed to work with other leaders to fashion a common response, preferring to promote his border wall over the scientific advice of his own medical experts. » | Mark Landler | Wednesday, March 11, 2020, updated Thursday, March 12, 2020
Labels:
Coronavirus,
global economy
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
A Room With a View • O Mio Babbino Caro • Kiri Te Kanawa
Labels:
O mio babbino caro
US Primary Election Results: Game Over for Sanders? | DW News
Labels:
Bernie Sanders,
Joe Biden,
US primaries
Monday, March 09, 2020
Joe: It Is Critical Trump Get His Arms around This Virus | Morning Joe | MSNBC
Labels:
Coronavirus,
Donald Trump,
Morning Joe,
MSNBC
Prince Andrew Won't Voluntarily Cooperate in Epstein Inquiry, Prosecutor Says
Prince Andrew has “completely shut the door” on cooperating with US investigators in the Jeffrey Epstein case and they are now “considering” further options, a New York prosecutor said on Monday.
Andrew was a friend of Epstein, the wealthy financier and convicted sex offender whose death in custody while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in New York last year was ruled a suicide.
Andrew denies all claims of sexual misconduct relating to the Epstein case but has stepped back from public duties as a result of his connection to it.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Manhattan US attorney Geoffrey Berman said: “Contrary to Prince Andrew’s very public offer to cooperate with our investigation into Epstein’s co-conspirators, an offer that was conveyed via press release, Prince Andrew has now completely shut the door on voluntary cooperation and our office is considering its options.” » | Martin Pengelly and Kenya Evelyn in New York | Monday, March 9, 2020
Labels:
Prince Andrew
Sunday, March 08, 2020
Saudi Crackdown Widens amid Reports of Further Arrests of Royals
Is Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Consolidating Power? – Inside Story
Media reports suggest at least 20 Princes, officials and army officers have been arrested in the Kingdom's latest purge. They include former Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Nayef and the King's last-surviving full brother, Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz.
The Saudi government hasn't officially responded to reports that the princes were accused of a coup plot. In just three years, Mohammed Bin Salman has silenced nearly all voices of dissent at home, with critics jailed, even killed. So, what are the implications of this crackdown?
Presenter: Jonah Hull | Guests: Roxane Farmanfamaian - Lecturer on Middle East Politics at the University of Cambridge; David Hearst - Editor in Chief of the online publication ‘Middle East Eye’; Ali Al-Ahmed - Director of the Gulf Affairs Institute and a former Saudi political prisoner.
Saturday, March 07, 2020
Saudi Crackdown: King Salman's Brother and Nephew Detained
Reports suggest that they have both been accused of treason. Saudi guards have also arrested one of Mohammed Bin Nayef's brothers. They are now likely under threat of life imprisonment or possible execution. Both could have been rivals to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the throne when King Salman dies.
Al Jazeera’s Jamal Elshayyal explains what these detentions mean for the kingdom and their impact on Saudi politics. We are also joined by Khalil Jahshan, the executive director of Arab Center Washington, DC.
Friday, March 06, 2020
Life in North Korea | DW Documentary
Perhaps no other country in the world is as mysterious as North Korea. In the West, it’s known as the last Stalinist dictatorship, the land of dictator Kim Jong Un, bombastic military parades and nuclear missile tests. And it is actually quite difficult to look beyond the political and examine the daily life of 25 million North Koreans. Are they allowed to laugh, dance and marry? What do they eat? Where do they go on holiday? These simple questions are difficult to answer given the isolation of the population from the rest of the world. The filmmakers behind Have Fun in Pyongyang visited people who have lived in the isolated mountainous nation for three generations. Over eight years, they visited North Korea forty times to attend festivals and harvest ceremonies, visit factories and listen to singing contests, in the process catching surprising, fascinating and bizarre glimpses of everyday life in North Korea. The documentary gives us an insight into North Korean life and helps us understand how the impoverished, isolated country has survived the end of the Cold War, the famine of the 1990s that cost hundreds of thousands their lives, and the never-ending diplomatic and military conflicts.
Troy Collings: North Korea's 'first budget travel agent' dies aged 33 »
Labels:
DW documentary,
North Korea
Thursday, March 05, 2020
Elizabeth Warren, Once a Front-Runner, Drops Out of Presidential Race
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts dropped out of the presidential race on Thursday, ending a run defined by an avalanche of policy plans that aimed to pull the Democratic Party to the left and appealed to enough voters to make her briefly a front-runner last fall.
Though her vision excited progressives, it did not generate enough excitement among the party’s working-class and diverse base, and her support had eroded by Super Tuesday. In her final weeks as a candidate she effectively drove former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York, a centrist billionaire, out of the race with debate performances that flashed her evident skills and political potential.
She entered the race railing against the corrosive power of big money, and one long-term consequence of her campaign is that Ms. Warren demonstrated that someone other than Senator Bernie Sanders, and his intensely loyal small-dollar donors, could fund a credible presidential campaign without holding fund-raisers. » | Astead W. Herndon and Shane Goldmacher | Thursday, March 5, 2020
Dubai Ruler Organised Kidnapping of His Children, UK Court Rules
The ruler of Dubai orchestrated the abductions of two of his children – one from the streets of Cambridge – and subjected his youngest wife to a campaign of “intimidation”, a damning UK family court judgment has found.
In findings that risk destabilising diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates, a close Gulf ally of Britain, the actions of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum were described by the judge as behaviour which, on the balance of probabilities, amounted to potentially breaking UK and international law.
The Guardian and other news organisations can reveal the ruling following months of private hearings and a legal dispute that reached the supreme court. It details an extraordinary family saga spanning 20 years during which the sheikh, 70, organised international kidnappings, imprisoned two of his daughters and “deprived [them] of their liberty”. » | Owen Bowcott and Haroon Siddique | Thursday, March 5, 2020
Dubai ruler's wife who shattered perception of a perfect couple »
Bernie Sanders and the Establishment Red Scare Meltdown
It has unfortunately become low hanging fruit to look at MSNBC’s coverage of this primary for a sense of how out of touch, delusional and, frankly, demoralized the Democratic establishment and its pundits are. But it is really something to behold.
And then you have this shameless class of neocons, lifelong right-wing Republicans, so-called conservative pundits who call themselves Never Trumpers. They have been in this weird alliance with the MSNBC/DNC crowd in the Trump era. And now they are all offering their totally unsolicited and unwanted panic-addled advice for what Democrats should do and how urgent it is to stop Bernie Sanders.
Bernie Sanders has been vetted. The campaign of Hillary Clinton spent substantial resources on so-called opposition research and produced absolutely nothing that could effectively tar Sanders.
One of the wealthiest people on earth, Michael Bloomberg, is spending megamillions right now trying to smear Bernie Sanders. And it is a bit ironic, and frankly nuts, that Bloomberg — with all of his heinous, well-documented skeletons walking around out in public — to pretend to be the vetter in chief of Bernie Sanders. Here is the fact: If there was any real dirt on Bernie Sanders, it would have already been weaponized and deployed. And so what do we have now? Red-baiting. McCarthyism is the central strategy of the bipartisan coalition trying to stop Bernie Sanders.
Here is the major difference between those attacking Sanders and Bernie Sanders: Bernie Sanders has consistently opposed U.S. hegemony. That’s why they attack him. These people don’t care about human rights unless it fits their agenda. If you actually listen to what Bernie Sanders has said about left-wing governments, he constantly offers nuance. He calls out authoritarianism and anti-democratic policies.
Bernie Sanders is an imperfect messenger, for sure. But he has done the work, kept focus, and inspired so many people across racial, economic, gender, and ethnic lines to fight for something bigger than themselves. Remember that when you watch the desperate smears against him. Remember that what they are trying to stop has nothing to do with Fidel Castro or the Sandinistas.
This is about stopping the masses of people in this country who are sick and tired of a system based on oppression and rooted in defense of a system where the rich and powerful rule all of our lives.
Labels:
Bernie Sanders,
The Intercept
Tuesday, March 03, 2020
Super Tuesday: Wer wählt eigentlich Bernie Sanders?
Labels:
Bernie Sanders
Monday, March 02, 2020
Sunday, March 01, 2020
The Abolition of Monarchy | Constantine: A King's Story | Real Royalty
Friday, February 28, 2020
Alain de Botton: How Does Love Survive in Everyday Life? | Sternstunde Philosophie | SRF Kultur
Zwar bekommen sich nicht immer die Richtigen, und zuweilen braucht es mehrere Anläufe. Aber früher oder später landen die meisten in der «Zweierkiste». Doch was, wenn die sprichwörtlichen Schmetterlinge im Bauch davonfliegen und der nüchterne Alltag einzieht? Was, wenn Kinder und Karriere an den Nerven zehren und die Liebe auf der Strecke bleibt?
Darüber, wie es mit der Liebe weitergeht, wenn die erste Verliebtheit vorbei ist, wissen die Menschen erstaunlich wenig, sagt der Bestsellerautor Alain de Botton. Kein Wunder: Grimms Märchen und Hollywoods Traumfabrik beenden ihre Liebesgeschichten immer dann, wenn sich die Liebenden gefunden haben. Doch wie retten Dornröschen, Aschenputtel sowie Harry und Sally ihre Liebe über die Zeit?
Alain de Botton hat über diese Frage einen philosophischen Roman geschrieben - und kommt zu überraschenden Schlüssen: Partner sollten einander nicht annehmen, wie sie sind; Monogamie ist eine Tragödie, aber man kann mit ihr leben; wenn Paare streiten, sind sie selten wütend, sondern bedürftig.
Barbara Bleisch begibt sich mit Alain de Botton in die philosophische Paartherapie.
Alain de Botton »
Labels:
Alain de Botton,
love,
Sternstunde
Psychiatrist on Trump’s ‘Dangerous’ Response to Coronavirus Crisis | The Last Word | MSNBC
Thursday, February 27, 2020
“Pence Is Not a Medical Expert”: Is the Trump Administration Ready to Stop a US Coronavirus Pandemic?
The Debate: France and Muslims: What Will Macron's Declaration Change?
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
“The Billionaire Election”: Anand Giridharadas on How 2020 Is a Referendum on Wealth Inequality
Tuesday, February 25, 2020
Saturday, February 22, 2020
The Economy Is Actually Trump’s Biggest Weakness
Bernie Sanders Dismantles Wall Street "Crooks" at Santa Ana, CA Rally
Labels:
Bernie Sanders
Wallis Simpson's Hard Lessons for Harry and Meghan
In December 1936, The King gave up his throne and an Empire of half a billion souls so he could wed a woman who was divorcing her second husband.
The public vitriol spewed on his bride-to-be, Wallis Simpson, might strike a chord with the latest American to marry into Britain's royal family.
On top of being condemned as a social climber from a Baltimore, Maryland, row-house, Simpson was reviled as a cheap adventuress, a lesbian, a nymphomaniac, a Nazi spy and a hermaphrodite.
She was portrayed as a sexual enchantress who supposedly learned "ancient Chinese skills" in the brothels of Shanghai, where her first husband, a US Navy pilot, had been stationed.
But the media's attacks on Simpson weren't just in print.
Daily Express reporters hurled bricks through the window of her rented Regent's Park, London, home, the newspaper's owner, Lord Beaverbrook, would later acknowledge. » | Jude Sheerin, BBC, Washington | Saturday, February 22, 2020
Friday, February 21, 2020
Naturwunder und Powerfood: Fakten zum Ei - Dokumentation von NZZ Format (2007)
In "NZZ Swiss made": Die Kemmeriboden-Meringues. Die Geschichte einer berühmten Nachspeise aus dem Emmental.
Labels:
Eier,
NZZ Format
Soul-searching in Germany as Hanau Mourns Shooting Victims | DW News
Labels:
DW News,
far-right extremism,
Germany,
Hanau
Thursday, February 20, 2020
Rare Look Inside Secretive Mormon Temple (2012)
Labels:
Mormonism
California Governor Declares Homeless Crisis ‘a Disgrace’
SAN FRANCISCO — With tens of thousands of people living on the streets of California, the homelessness crisis has become the state’s defining issue. For Gov. Gavin Newsom, the emergency had become so dire that he devoted his entire State of the State address on Wednesday to the 150,000 Californians without homes.
“Let’s call it what it is: It’s a disgrace that the richest state in the richest nation, succeeding across so many sectors, is falling so far behind to properly house, heal and humanely treat so many of its own people,” Mr. Newsom told lawmakers in Sacramento. “Every day, the California dream is dimmed by the wrenching reality of families and children and seniors living unfed on a concrete bed.”
Vulnerable to the charge that the problem has exploded under Democratic rule in California, Mr. Newsom, a former mayor of San Francisco, pleaded with — and at times admonished — legislators to take action.
“The hard truth is for too long we’ve ignored this problem,” Mr. Newsom said. “We turned away.” » | Thomas Fuller | Wednesday, February 19, 2020
Labels:
California,
homelessness
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
How Germany's Universal Healthcare System Works
Labels:
Germany,
universal healthcare
Sabisky Row: Dominic Cummings Criticised over 'Designer Babies' post
Boris Johnson’s senior aide Dominic Cummings has been dragged further into the row over No 10’s decision to hire an adviser with eugenicist views after it emerged that he suggested in his own writings that the NHS should cover the cost of selecting babies to have higher IQs.
In a blogpost covering his views on the future of “designer babies”, Cummings said he believed rich would-be parents would inevitably select embryos with “the highest prediction for IQ” and floated the idea that “a national health system should fund everybody to do this” to avoid an unfair advantage for the wealthy.
Experts criticised Cummings’s theories about genetics, saying they were unworkable, unethical and amounted to eugenics, two days after Andrew Sabisky resigned as a No 10 contractor over his past claims that black Americans on average had lower IQs than white people. » | Rowena Mason and Ian Sample | Wednesday, February 19, 2020
Labels:
Dominic Cummings,
eugenics
Saudi Official: 'We Don't Have a History of Murdering Our Citizens' | Conflict Zone
Labels:
Adel Al-Jubeir,
Conflict Zone,
DW,
Jamal Khashoggi
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Die Fürstenfamilie Liechtenstein | 15.08.2017/ORF 2
Labels:
Liechtenstein
Why Democratic Socialism Is Gaining Popularity in the United States
Labels:
democratic socialism,
USA
8 Monarchies That No Longer Exist | British Pathé
Sunday, February 16, 2020
Why Being Gay in Russia Is about "Love and Passion"
This secret glimpse into their private lives was captured by Danish photographer Mads Nissen and received the prestigious World Press Photo Award in 2015.
But while people across the globe were admiring Nissen's work, life for Jon and Alex was only getting more difficult. Members of the LGBT community in Russia say social stigma and risk of physical attacks have increased since the country approved the law banning 'gay propaganda' in 2013. And for Jon, now that Alex is not alive, the picture is also a symbol of painful struggle and, ultimately, loss.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this film, you can get advice and information here. Reporter: Anastassia Zlatopolskai | Producer: Julia Malkin
Labels:
homophobia,
homosexuality,
Russia
Saturday, February 15, 2020
Pete Buttigieg: The Big Gay Interview | The Advocate x LGBTQ&A
Labels:
Pete Buttigieg
Pete Buttigieg’s Unlikely, Unprecedented 2020 Campaign | TIME
Labels:
Pete Buttigieg
Friday, February 14, 2020
US Election 2020: Buttigieg Sexuality Becomes Campaign Issue
Firebrand conservative Rush Limbaugh said Democrats must realise America is still not ready to elect a gay man.
Mr Buttigieg's Democratic rivals leapt to his defence, and President Donald Trump said he would vote for a gay man.
Mr Limbaugh was last week awarded a top civilian honour by the president.
On his radio show which is nationally syndicated to millions of listeners, Mr Limbaugh on Wednesday imagined Demcorats' deliberations over who to vote for.
He said: "They're saying, 'OK, how's this going to look? Thirty-seven-year-old gay guy kissing his husband on stage, next to Mr Man, Donald Trump.'" » | Valentine’s Day, 2020
Sorry, Fossils! America needs a gay president. It will awaken the nation to the realities of the twenty-first century. Go for it, Pete! Your country needs you! – Mark
Thursday, February 13, 2020
Türkei: Staatsanwalt fordert hohe Haftstrafe für Deniz Yücel
Die türkische Staatsanwaltschaft wirft dem Welt-Reporter Deniz YücelTerrorpropaganda und Volksverhetzung vor. Dafür fordert sie für ihn nun bis zu 16 Jahre Haft, wie Yücels Anwalt Veysel Ok mitteilte. Der Staatsanwalt hatte sein Plädoyer nicht laut verlesen, sondern zuvor schriftlich eingereicht.
Ok forderte mehr Zeit für die Verteidigung. Der Prozess soll nun am 2. April fortgesetzt werden. Yücel selbst ist nicht anwesend. » | Quelle: ZEIT ONLINE, dpa, fin | Donnerstag, 13. Februar 2020
Labels:
Deniz Yücel,
Türkei
Wednesday, February 12, 2020
Blasphemy 'Is No Crime', Says Macron amid French Girl's Anti-Islam Row
Emmanuel Macron has waded into a row over a schoolgirl whose attack on Islam has divided France, insisting that blasphemy is “no crime”.
The French president defended the teenager, named only as Mila, who received death threats and was forced out of her school after filming an anti-religious diatribe on social media.
Macron’s intervention comes after his justice minister, Nicole Belloubet, was criticised for claiming Mila’s attack on religion was “an attack on freedom of conscience” while saying the death threats were “unacceptable”.
The case has sparked a furious public debate in France, a strictly secular republic with a large Muslim population. The education authorities have since found another school for the teenager. » | Kim Willsher in Paris | Wednesday, February 12, 2020
Labels:
blasphemy,
Emmanuel Macron,
France,
Islam
Johnson's Caribbean Christmas Holiday Was a Gift from Tory Donor
Boris Johnson’s Caribbean holiday over the New Year was a £15,000 gift from a wealthy and controversial Conservative donor, newly released documents disclose.
The prime minister and his partner Carrie Symonds accepted accommodation for a private holiday in St Vincent and the Grenadines.
David Ross, a Tory donor who co-founded the Carphone Warehouse chain, provided the accommodation, which was reportedly on the private island of Mustique, which is one of the Grenadines.
Ross, 54, has known Johnson for at least 15 years. He was a member of the London 2012 Board as a representative of then-London Mayor Johnson. » | Rajeev Syal | Wednesday, February 12, 2020
Islamic Conquests and Civil War
Labels:
Islamic conquest
Mohammed and the Arab Conquests
Tuesday, February 11, 2020
What Forced Meghan and Harry to Do a Royal Runner? | 60 Minutes Australia
As Tom Steinfort reports from London, the shame of it is the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had promised so much in the way of positive PR for the Royals. Sticking to the fairytale script, they'd fallen in love, married in a castle, and produced a beautiful boy. But somehow it's now all gone horribly askew.
Monday, February 10, 2020
BBC HARDtalk (2016): Julian Assange 4th Year in Ecuador Embassy Highlighted by Foreign Minister (Guillaume Long) Interview
Labels:
Ecuador,
Guillaume Long,
Julian Assange
Trump Has Total Meltdown over Viral Photo Showing His Tan Lines
Photo Credit: U.S. President Donald Trump walks across the South Lawn to the Oval Office as he returns from a day trip from North Carolina at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 7, 2020. - Joshua Roberts | Reuters
Labels:
Donald Trump
US Sanctions Venezuela Again to Prove Socialism Doesn't Work
Labels:
Donald Trump,
Juan Guaidó,
socialism,
The Real News,
USA,
Venezuela
Arab League Rejects Trump's Middle East Plan
Labels:
Arab League,
Donald Trump,
Mideast peace
The 200-year-old Diary That's Rewriting Gay History
Historians from Oxford University have been taken aback to discover that Matthew Tomlinson's diary from 1810 contains such open-minded views about same-sex attraction being a "natural" human tendency.
The diary challenges preconceptions about what "ordinary people" thought about homosexuality - showing there was a debate about whether someone really should be discriminated against for their sexuality.
"In this exciting new discovery, we see a Yorkshire farmer arguing that homosexuality is innate and something that shouldn't be punished by death," says Oxford researcher Eamonn O'Keeffe. » | Sean Coughlan | Monday, February 10, 2020
Labels:
homosexuality
Why a Young Former Mayor Is Surging in US Election
There's an old saying about the way the two parties pick their presidential nominees - Democrats fall in love; Republicans fall in line.
After a 2016 election that turned conventional wisdom on its head by producing iconoclastic Donald Trump and establishment-favourite Hillary Clinton as the nominees, that nostrum could be reasserting itself. While the Republican Party is closing ranks behind the president, there's nothing logical or expected about the early success Pete Buttigieg is having in the Democratic fight to take on Trump in November.
He's the former mayor of a modest-sized Indiana city, the 306th-largest in the US - a college town like Oxford in the UK, only smaller.
He's 38 years old, which would make him the youngest president in US history.
He's also the first openly gay major-party presidential candidate, a historic candidacy that would have seemed inconceivable just a few decades ago, when Republicans were campaigning - and winning - on opposition to gay marriage and mainstream Democrats, by and large, avoided the issue. » | Anthony Zurcher, North America reporter | Sunday, February 9, 2020
Labels:
Pete Buttigieg
Saturday, February 08, 2020
Brexit : De Gaulle "La Grande Bretagne et l'Europe" | Archive INA
Simon Wallfisch ist einer von 3000 britischen Juden, die einen deutschen Paß nehmen
Zum Artikel »
Die Schwulenheiler | Panorama - die Reporter | NDR
Labels:
Deutschland,
Homosexualität,
NDR,
Panorama
Der "Schwulen-Paragraf" | Doku
Labels:
Deutschland,
Homosexualität
Verbrechen: Liebe - Seltene Bilder aus der NS-Zeit | Kontrovers | BR Fernsehen
Labels:
Deutschland,
Homosexualität,
NS-Zeit
Verbotene Liebe - Homosexualität im NS-Regime
Labels:
Deutschland,
Homosexualität,
NS-Zeit
Friday, February 07, 2020
Joe Scarborough Reads Bible to Critique Trump’s Prayer Breakfast Speech | Morning Joe | MSNBC
Labels:
Donald Trump,
Morning Joe,
MSNBC
Interview with Anita Lasker-Wallfisch
In this interview the cellist Anita Lasker-Wallfisch discusses her childhood in Breslau, studying cello with Leo Rostal in Berlin, being imprisoned for trying to escape to France, playing cello in the camp orchestra in Auschwitz, being liberated in Bergen-Belsen, arriving in Britain in 1946, starting to work as a musician in London, becoming a founder member of the English Chamber Orchestra and being part of a community of musical émigrés in London. She also speaks about her husband Peter Wallfisch, his career as a concert pianist and his time as a professor at the Royal College of Music, and about other émigrés including the violinist Maria Lidka and the pianist Alice Herz-Sommer.
This interview is presented as part of the ORAL HISTORY PROJECT "Singing a Song in a Foreign Land", which focuses on musicians who emigrated from Central Europe because of Nazi persecution in the 1930s and 40s.
Wednesday, February 05, 2020
Romney, Breaking With Republicans, Will Vote to Convict Trump of Abuse of Power
WASHINGTON — Senator Mitt Romney of Utah announced on Wednesday that he would vote to convict President Trump of abuse of power, making him the first Republican to support removing Mr. Trump for his bid to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political rivals.
“I think the case was made,” Mr. Romney said in an interview in his Senate office on Wednesday morning, ahead of an afternoon floor speech in which he grew emotional as he explained his decision. He declared Mr. Trump “guilty of an appalling abuse of public trust.”
Mr. Romney said he would vote against the second article of impeachment, obstruction of Congress, arguing that House Democrats had failed to exhaust their legal options for securing testimony and other evidence they had sought. But the first-term senator said that Democrats had proved their first charge, that the president had misused his office for his own personal gain. » | Mark Leibovich | Wednesday, February 5, 2020
Labels:
Donald Trump,
impeachment,
Mitt Romney
Mark Littlewood In Conversation with Simon Clark
Rep. Tim Ryan Walks Out of State of the Union: ‘Give Me a Break!’ | The Last Word | MSNBC
Tuesday, February 04, 2020
A Very Stable Genius: A Conversation with Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker
Labels:
Donald Trump
Comprendre la colonisation israélienne en cinq minutes
Labels:
Israël,
Palestine,
Proche-Orient
Khashoggi Fiancée: 'Saudi Arabia Can Get Away with Whatever It Wants'
The fiancee of Jamal Khashoggi has said the world has failed to hold Saudi Arabia to account over the journalist’s murder and the kingdom is being “encouraged to do whatever it wants”.
Hatice Cengiz, a Turkish scholar and activist, said the lack of meaningful global sanctions against Saudi Arabia more than a year after Khashoggi’s brutal killing inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, had sent a message that the kingdom “can do what it wants, and then get away with it”.
“Because these people were not punished for what they have done, and because the world has chosen to just move on, they can still do what they want,” she said. » | Stephanie Kirchgaessner | Tuesday, February 4, 2020
Labels:
Jamal Khashoggi
C of E Sex Guidance Row: Synod Member Calls Out 'Deep' Hypocrisy
The Church of England has “leaders who preach one thing and practise something completely different” when it comes to sex, according to a prominent member of the church’s ruling body.
In an explosive speech on Monday, Jayne Ozanne, a member of the General Synod and a leading campaigner for LGBT+ equality, called out “the deep levels of hypocrisy that exist among certain church leaders”.
Speaking to the William Temple Association in Bournemouth, she said: “We have leaders who are married and have affairs. We have leaders who make unwanted passes and comments to those they work with and whom they pastor.
“We have leaders who are gay but won’t admit it – who then have sex with someone of the same sex – and then chastise those who who work for them, who are in openly gay relationships, for doing the same.
“It is a despicable abuse of power by those who believe that their only sin is getting caught. So they get away with it because they can, because of the power they hold and exert over those in their charge. And many of us in the church know about it and feel powerless to stop it.” » | Harriet Sherwood, Religion correspondent | Tuesday, February 4, 2020
Labels:
Anglicanism
Khashoggi Murder: Western Powers Are 'Sending the Wrong Message' | UpFront (Special Interview)
"I believe," Callamard said, "the hacking of Jeff Bezos is linked to a targeted campaign against dissidents and against anyone of strategic interest for information, communication, and public relations."
Since effectively taking control of Saudi Arabia, MBS has been ramping up the country's influence abroad. Khashoggi wrote critically about the de facto ruler for The Washington Post and in October 2018 was murdered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Though the Saudi government has jailed and sentenced to death some of the individuals who carried out the killing, Callamard has dismissed the process as a "mockery of justice".
"The individuals that had been identified as having, at the minimum, planned and organised the killing, those individuals are walking free," Callamard explained.
Callamard laments the response by countries in the West. In the US, where Khashoggi was a resident, President Donald Trump has not been shy in expressing his admiration for MBS, saying he would be a "fool" not to conduct business with the kingdom.
"So far, the governments of the United States, of France, of the UK, have been unwilling to challenge the crown prince for his behaviours, and by so doing, they are sending the wrong message," said Callamard.
This week's special interview is with the UN's Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Killings, Agnes Callamard.
Labels:
Jamal Khashoggi,
Jeff Bezos,
MbS,
UpFront
Analysis: Trump's Middle East Plan: The Farce, the Fraud and the Fury
Monday, February 03, 2020
Radio Host Rush Limbaugh Reveals He Has Advanced Lung Cancer
The conservative “shock jock” Rush Limbaugh revealed on Monday that he had been diagnosed with advanced lung cancer.
The hugely influential radio host made the announcement during his nationally syndicated radio show.
Limbaugh, 69, added that although his intention is to continue working “as competently and as expertly as [he does] each and every day”, he will begin undergoing treatment immediately, taking him off-air for the next couple of days. He said he was aiming to be back by Thursday, calling the program “the source of [his] greatest satisfaction”.
“Every day I’m not here, I’ll be missing you and thinking about you,” he said. In the segment, Limbaugh said doctors discovered the issue after he complained of shortness of breath. » | Kenya Evelyn in Washington | Monday, February 3, 2020
Labels:
Rush Limbaugh
Trump's "Deal of the Century": Mideast Plan Imposes Conditions on Palestinians
Labels:
Donald Trump,
F24 Debate,
Mideast peace
Brexit Sparks Renewed Calls for Scottish Independence
Labels:
Brexit,
Scotland,
Scottish independence
The Guardian View on Trump’s Impeachment Trial: The Perils of Outrageous Immunity
The line that best sums up last week’s Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump probably comes from the lips of Omar Little, the stickup artist who robs drug dealers in HBO’s the Wire. “You come at the king,” warned Mr Little “you best not miss”. The truth came for Mr Trump but after the smoke cleared on Friday, the president was still standing. He remains in the Oval Office because almost every Republican senator preferred being in power to upholding the democratic principles upon which the US was founded. By Wednesday Mr Trump will have defied justice. He will then be free to continue his campaign of grievance and resentment safe in the knowledge that there is no genuine check on his executive overreach. » | Editorial | Sunday, February 2, 2020
Labels:
Donald Trump
'Pathological Liar': Bloomberg Hits Back at Trump 'Mini Mike' Insult
Michael Bloomberg traded insults with Donald Trump on Sunday, calling the president “a pathological liar who lies about everything: his fake hair, his obesity and his spray-on tan”.
The comment, made through the Democratic presidential candidate’s press secretary, came in response to abusive tweets and remarks the president made in a Super Bowl interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity.
In a quick-fire section of the interview, Trump was asked what he thought of when he heard the names of various political rivals.
“Very little,” he said of Bloomberg. “I just think of little.”
Bloomberg, 77, is 5ft 8in tall. Trump, 73, is 6ft 3in.
Trump then repeated an evidence-free claim, also made on Twitter earlier, about Bloomberg demanding special treatment in the Democratic presidential primary because of his height. » | Martin Pengelly in New York | Sunday, February 2, 2020
Sunday, February 02, 2020
After Elizabeth II: Monarchy in Peril? | British Royal Family Documentary | Timeline
This film looks at the shaky future of the House of Windsor, once the beloved Queen passes the crown to her son Charles. The aging and opinionated Prince of Wales is not widely loved in Britain or abroad. The public still resent his treatment of Lady Diana, his adulterous relationship with Camilla, now destined to be Queen, and his relentless meddling in politics. “An overtly political king”, says British columnist Johann Hari, “will be death for the monarchy.” Many agree and look to Charles’ older son Prince William. But “Wills” is a reluctant Royal, still haunted by the brutal demise of his glamorous mother Diana. His brother, Prince Harry, is best known for an unflattering series of public scandals.
This documentary chronicles the storm gathering over the House of Windsor and asks the once unthinkable question: Will the monarchy still be around after Elizabeth?
Nicola Sturgeon: Independence Best for Scotland Post-Brexit
Boris Johnson recently rejected Sturgeon’s request for the legal powers to hold a second referendum, but the Scottish National party leader said independence was the only way for the country to maintain its parliamentary sovereignty and connection to the EU Sturgeon calls for unity and focus in push for Scottish independence
'Empathy' for Independent Scotland Joining the EU Says Tusk
Tusk: EU would be enthusiastic if Scotland applied to rejoin »
Labels:
Donald Tusk,
EU,
Scotland,
Scottish independence
Saturday, February 01, 2020
Republican Pastor Says Jesus Wants to “Beat the Crap” Out of John Bolton
Labels:
Farron Cousins,
John Bolton,
Ring of Fire
Wednesday, January 29, 2020
Will the US Mideast Plan Boost or Undermine Peace? I Inside Story
However, Palestinian leaders weren't involved in the process and they immediately rejected it as a conspiracy. The plan sides with Israel on the so-called 'final status issues' to be resolved with the Palestinians.
Israel gets Jerusalem as its capital, as well as sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Palestinians have been promised a path towards their own state, but only after four years of monitoring to determine whether their leaders are doing enough to fight 'terrorism'.
So does the proposal boost or undermine peace? And what does it say about America's evolving position on the conflict?
Presenter: Sami Zeidan | Guests: Robbie Sabel - Professor at Hebrew University of Jersualem and Former Legal Adviser to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Nabil Sha'ath - Senior Palestinian Official and Adviser to President Mahmoud Abbas; Phyllis Bennis - Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies and author of the book, 'Understanding the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict.'
Mehdi Hasan: Trump’s Middle East Plan Is a Policy of Apartheid & Settler Colonialism
Tuesday, January 28, 2020
Anti-Semitism On The Rise in Germany
Labels:
anti-Semitism,
Germany
Trump's Mideast Peace Plan: Is It Really the 'Plan of the Century'?
Labels:
Donald Trump,
Mideast peace
Joe: A Confederacy of Dunces Defends President Donald Trump | Morning Joe | MSNBC
Labels:
Donald Trump,
impeachment
Anti-Semitism Rears Its Head 75 Years after Auschwitz | DW News
Labels:
anti-Semitism,
Auschwitz
'A Very Stable Genius' Details History as It Happened in Trump White House | The 11th Hour | MSNBC
Monday, January 27, 2020
We Shall Not Die Now | Holocaust Documentary | Timeline
With the help of the US Holocaust Museum's archival team and Claude Lanzmann’s daughter, Angelique, the production was able to explore dozens of hours of unused material filmed for the 1985 documentary “Shoah.” Select reels of that footage was incorporated into the film with the blessing of the Lanzmann family. The film also includes new footage filmed at the camps in Poland, new interviews with survivors and liberators, and original music composed by Golden-globe nominated composer, Benjamin Wallfisch.
The film was created by 19-year-old Indianapolis-based filmmaker Ashton Gleckman, who traveled around the country to interview survivors. He worked with the various memorial sites in Poland to film at the concentration camps and historical sites and went on to edit the film and help to compose the score. The film commemorates the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
Labels:
documentary,
Holocaust,
Timeline
Holocaust Survivor Dita Kraus: 'For Children, Auschwitz Was Less Horrible Than for Adults'
Labels:
Auschwitz,
Holocaust survivors
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