Ginsburg was appointed in 1993 by President Bill Clinton and in recent years served as the most senior member of the court's liberal wing consistently delivering progressive votes on the most divisive social issues of the day, including abortion rights, same-sex marriage, voting rights, immigration, health care and affirmative action.
Saturday, September 19, 2020
Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Look Back at Her Life
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on Friday due to complications of metastatic pancreas cancer, the court announced. She was 87.
Ginsburg was appointed in 1993 by President Bill Clinton and in recent years served as the most senior member of the court's liberal wing consistently delivering progressive votes on the most divisive social issues of the day, including abortion rights, same-sex marriage, voting rights, immigration, health care and affirmative action.
Ginsburg was appointed in 1993 by President Bill Clinton and in recent years served as the most senior member of the court's liberal wing consistently delivering progressive votes on the most divisive social issues of the day, including abortion rights, same-sex marriage, voting rights, immigration, health care and affirmative action.
Trump Says He Can Negotiate a Third Term Because He's Entitled to It
Labels:
Donald Trump
Thailand: Anti-Government Protest in Bangkok Draws Massive Crowd | DW News
Labels:
Thailand
Coronavirus Protesters in London 'May Get Arrested', Police Warn
THE GUARDIAN: Officers try to disperse crowds after ‘outbreaks of violence’ at protest against restrictions
Protesters “may get arrested” if they defy orders to leave a demonstration in central London against coronavirus restrictions and mass vaccinations, the Met police has warned.
More than a thousand people are estimated to have joined the central London rally, among them 5G conspiracy theorists, coronavirus sceptics and “anti-vaxxers”.
Sections got into scuffles with police – some officers, with their batons drawn, were pushed back by crowds on the margins of the demo.
In a statement issued at 3pm on Saturday, the Met said it would take enforcement action to disperse the Resist and Act for Freedom rally following “outbreaks of violence towards officers”. » | Aaron Walawalkar and Damien Gayle | Saturday, September 19, 2020
Protesters “may get arrested” if they defy orders to leave a demonstration in central London against coronavirus restrictions and mass vaccinations, the Met police has warned.
More than a thousand people are estimated to have joined the central London rally, among them 5G conspiracy theorists, coronavirus sceptics and “anti-vaxxers”.
Sections got into scuffles with police – some officers, with their batons drawn, were pushed back by crowds on the margins of the demo.
In a statement issued at 3pm on Saturday, the Met said it would take enforcement action to disperse the Resist and Act for Freedom rally following “outbreaks of violence towards officers”. » | Aaron Walawalkar and Damien Gayle | Saturday, September 19, 2020
Labels:
Coronavirus,
London
Most Americans Think Trump Has Given Up Trying to Handle the Pandemic
Labels:
Coronavirus,
Donald Trump
England-wide Covid Lockdown Needed 'Sooner Rather Than Later', Says Former Adviser
THE GUARDIAN: Prof Neil Ferguson says new rules should be imposed to minimise deaths in ‘perfect storm’ second wave
The epidemiologist whose modelling helped shape Britain’s coronavirus lockdown strategy has warned that new coronavirus restrictions will be needed in England “sooner rather than later” if the government is to prevent the disease surging again.
Prof Neil Ferguson – who resigned from the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) – said the country was facing a “perfect storm” following the easing of controls over the summer. » | Nicola Slawson | Saturday, September 19, 2020
The epidemiologist whose modelling helped shape Britain’s coronavirus lockdown strategy has warned that new coronavirus restrictions will be needed in England “sooner rather than later” if the government is to prevent the disease surging again.
Prof Neil Ferguson – who resigned from the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) – said the country was facing a “perfect storm” following the easing of controls over the summer. » | Nicola Slawson | Saturday, September 19, 2020
Labels:
Coronavirus,
England
Is There a Global Movement behind Donald Trump?
Labels:
Donald Trump,
fascism
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court’s Feminist Icon, Is Dead at 87
THE NEW YORK TIMES: The second woman appointed to the Supreme Court, Justice Ginsburg’s pointed and powerful dissenting opinions earned her late-life rock stardom.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court and a pioneering advocate for women’s rights, who in her ninth decade became a much younger generation’s unlikely cultural icon, died at her home in Washington on Friday. She was 87.
The cause was complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer, the Supreme Court said.
By the time two small tumors were found in one of her lungs in December 2018, during a follow-up scan for broken ribs suffered in a recent fall, Justice Ginsburg had beaten colon cancer in 1999 and early-stage pancreatic cancer 10 years later. She received a coronary stent to clear a blocked artery in 2014.
Barely five feet tall and weighing 100 pounds, Justice Ginsburg drew comments for years on her fragile appearance. But she was tough, working out regularly with a trainer, who published a book about his famous client’s challenging exercise regime. » | Linda Greenhouse | Friday, September 18, 2020
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court and a pioneering advocate for women’s rights, who in her ninth decade became a much younger generation’s unlikely cultural icon, died at her home in Washington on Friday. She was 87.
The cause was complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer, the Supreme Court said.
By the time two small tumors were found in one of her lungs in December 2018, during a follow-up scan for broken ribs suffered in a recent fall, Justice Ginsburg had beaten colon cancer in 1999 and early-stage pancreatic cancer 10 years later. She received a coronary stent to clear a blocked artery in 2014.
Barely five feet tall and weighing 100 pounds, Justice Ginsburg drew comments for years on her fragile appearance. But she was tough, working out regularly with a trainer, who published a book about his famous client’s challenging exercise regime. » | Linda Greenhouse | Friday, September 18, 2020
Outcry as Super-rich Trump Donor Given Permission to Avoid Canada Quarantine
THE GUARDIAN: Billionaire Liz Uihlein landed in Toronto in August and did not have to follow mandatory 14-day coronavirus self-isolation rules
A billionaire backer of Donald Trump who has been outspoken in her criticism of coronavirus restrictions was granted an exemption to a mandatory quarantine when she visited Canada by private jet.
Liz Uihlein, the head of Wisconsin-based packaging company Uline, landed at Toronto’s Pearson airport on 25 August to visit one of the company’s warehouses, according to a report by CBC News.
Under the Quarantine Act, visitors to Canada are required to self-isolate for two weeks upon arrival to the country. Failure to comply with restrictions carry a maximum penalty of up to $750,000 in fines and/or imprisonment for six months.
But neither Uihlein, nor her two travelling companions, were required to quarantine. » | Leyland Cecco in Toronto | Friday, September 18, 2020
A billionaire backer of Donald Trump who has been outspoken in her criticism of coronavirus restrictions was granted an exemption to a mandatory quarantine when she visited Canada by private jet.
Liz Uihlein, the head of Wisconsin-based packaging company Uline, landed at Toronto’s Pearson airport on 25 August to visit one of the company’s warehouses, according to a report by CBC News.
Under the Quarantine Act, visitors to Canada are required to self-isolate for two weeks upon arrival to the country. Failure to comply with restrictions carry a maximum penalty of up to $750,000 in fines and/or imprisonment for six months.
But neither Uihlein, nor her two travelling companions, were required to quarantine. » | Leyland Cecco in Toronto | Friday, September 18, 2020
Labels:
Canada,
Coronavirus
Trump's October Surprise Could Be Explosive! (w/ Dr Trita Parsi)
Mike Pompeo is planning an October surprise. What surprise? Declaring an ‘election’ war on someone? Is the plan to start a conflict with Iran? Pompeo is said to be claiming to start UN sanctions which don’t exist, but why should reality affect an election war?
Dr. Trita Parsi from the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, joined Thom to discuss what Pompeo is up to.
Dr. Trita Parsi from the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, joined Thom to discuss what Pompeo is up to.
Labels:
Donald Trump,
Iran
Friday, September 18, 2020
Opinion: Facebook Has Been a Disaster for the World
THE NEW YORK TIMES: How much longer are we going to allow its platform to foment hatred and undermine democracy?
For years, Myanmar’s military used Facebook to incite hatred and genocidal violence against the country’s mostly Muslim Rohingya minority group, leading to mass death and displacement. It took until 2018 for Facebook to admit to and apologize for its failure to act.
Two years later, the platform is, yet again, sowing the seeds for genocidal violence. This time it’s in Ethiopia, where the recent assassination of Hachalu Hundessa, a singer and political activist from the country’s Oromo ethnic group, led to violence in its capital city, Addis Ababa. This bloodshed was, according to Vice News, “supercharged by the almost-instant and widespread sharing of hate speech and incitement to violence on Facebook, which whipped up people’s anger.” This follows a similar incident in 2019, where disinformation shared on Facebook helped catapult violencethat claimed 86 lives in Ethiopia’s Oromia region.
Facebook has been incredibly lucrative for its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, who ranks among the wealthiest men in the world. But it’s been a disaster for the world itself, a powerful vector for paranoia, propaganda and conspiracy-theorizing as well as authoritarian crackdowns and vicious attacks on the free press. Wherever it goes, chaos and destabilization follow. » | Jamelle Bouie, Opinion columnist | Friday, September 18, 2020
For years, Myanmar’s military used Facebook to incite hatred and genocidal violence against the country’s mostly Muslim Rohingya minority group, leading to mass death and displacement. It took until 2018 for Facebook to admit to and apologize for its failure to act.
Two years later, the platform is, yet again, sowing the seeds for genocidal violence. This time it’s in Ethiopia, where the recent assassination of Hachalu Hundessa, a singer and political activist from the country’s Oromo ethnic group, led to violence in its capital city, Addis Ababa. This bloodshed was, according to Vice News, “supercharged by the almost-instant and widespread sharing of hate speech and incitement to violence on Facebook, which whipped up people’s anger.” This follows a similar incident in 2019, where disinformation shared on Facebook helped catapult violencethat claimed 86 lives in Ethiopia’s Oromia region.
Facebook has been incredibly lucrative for its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, who ranks among the wealthiest men in the world. But it’s been a disaster for the world itself, a powerful vector for paranoia, propaganda and conspiracy-theorizing as well as authoritarian crackdowns and vicious attacks on the free press. Wherever it goes, chaos and destabilization follow. » | Jamelle Bouie, Opinion columnist | Friday, September 18, 2020
Labels:
Facebook
Scaramucci: Trump Has Sycophants Who Are Willing to Lie for Him
Labels:
Donald Trump
Trump Again Says Virus Will Disappear, Discusses 'Herd Mentality' | Morning Joe | MSNBC
Labels:
Coronavirus,
Donald Trump
Thursday, September 17, 2020
America First: US Leads in Coronavirus Infections and Deaths | Covid-19 Special
Labels:
Coronavirus,
Donald Trump
Bob Woodward Induced a Confession of the Greatest Lie in American History Says Steve Schmidt | MSNBC
Labels:
Donald Trump
Former Model Alleges Sexual Assault by Donald Trump: 'I Feel Sick, Violated'
Read the article HERE»
Labels:
Donald Trump
1917 - Die russische Revolution (Arte - 2014)
Labels:
Revolution,
Russland
Wednesday, September 16, 2020
Putin's Russia and the Ghost of the Romanovs | The Economist
Labels:
Romanovs,
Russia,
Vladimir Putin
’Scientific American’ Makes Presidential Endorsement for the Very First Time
Labels:
Donald Trump
SE Cupp: Trump's Rallies Absolutely Asinine Right Now
Labels:
Coronavirus,
Donald Trump
Poland's 'LGBT-free Zones' Have No Place in the EU, Says Ursula von der Leyen
In her first ‘state of union’ speech, the European commission president said Poland’s LGBT-free zones were 'humanity-free zones' that had no place in the EU in her strongest criticism yet of Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party.
It comes amid a dispute between the EU and Poland over the rule of law, since the country embarked on policies that weaken independent courts.
Von der Leyen said the EU was 'a union where you can be who you are and love who you want to without fear and recrimination'
It comes amid a dispute between the EU and Poland over the rule of law, since the country embarked on policies that weaken independent courts.
Von der Leyen said the EU was 'a union where you can be who you are and love who you want to without fear and recrimination'
The English Home Counties in 1938
Labels:
England
BBC: We Visited a Bruderhof Commune. This Is What We Saw
Labels:
Christianity
Rechtsextreme in der Polizei: „Ich kann nicht mehr von Einzelfällen sprechen“
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Sie sollen in einem Chat unter anderem Fotos von Hitler ausgetauscht haben: Die Polizei in NRW ermittelt gegen 29 eigene Beamte wegen rechtsextremistischer Propaganda. Innenminister Herbert Reul revidiert seine bisherige Auffassung.
Die nordrhein-westfälische Polizei hat gegen 29 eigene Beamte wegen der Verbreitung und des Empfangs rechtsextremistischer Propaganda ermittelt. Alle 29 Polizisten seien sofort vom Dienst suspendiert worden, sagte Innenminister Herbert Reul(CDU) am Mittwoch während einer kurzfristig angesetzten Pressekonferenz. Gegen alle Beamten wurden Disziplinarverfahren vom Landesamt für Fortbildung der Polizei in NRW (LAFP) eingeleitet. In 14 Fällen zielt das Verfahren auf eine dauerhafte Entfernung vom Dienst. Die anderen 15 Beamten sollen Bilddateien mit rechtsextremistischem Inhalt nicht selbst versandt, sondern ausschließlich empfangen, ihre Dienstvorgesetzten darüber aber nicht in Kenntnis gesetzt haben. Reul sprach von einer Schande für die Polizei.
Die nordrhein-westfälische Polizei hat gegen 29 eigene Beamte wegen der Verbreitung und des Empfangs rechtsextremistischer Propaganda ermittelt. Alle 29 Polizisten seien sofort vom Dienst suspendiert worden, sagte Innenminister Herbert Reul(CDU) am Mittwoch während einer kurzfristig angesetzten Pressekonferenz. Gegen alle Beamten wurden Disziplinarverfahren vom Landesamt für Fortbildung der Polizei in NRW (LAFP) eingeleitet. In 14 Fällen zielt das Verfahren auf eine dauerhafte Entfernung vom Dienst. Die anderen 15 Beamten sollen Bilddateien mit rechtsextremistischem Inhalt nicht selbst versandt, sondern ausschließlich empfangen, ihre Dienstvorgesetzten darüber aber nicht in Kenntnis gesetzt haben. Reul sprach von einer Schande für die Polizei.
Labels:
Deutschland
US-UK Trade Deal in Danger If Good Friday Agreement Jeopardised, Democrats Warn
THE GUARDIAN: Dominic Raab faces backlash over Irish border and attempts to leave EU on own terms
The UK foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, is facing a growing backlash in the US Congress after senior Democrats warned they would scupper any future US-UK trade deal if the UK does anything to jeopardise the Good Friday agreement in an attempt to leave the European Union on its own terms.
Raab flew to Washington to try to repair relations with pro-Irish Democrats, including the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and the chairman of the House ways and means committee, Richard Neal. The tide of opinion in Congress is moving fast against the UK after a lobbying campaign by the Irish embassy.
The ad hoc committee a major pro-Irish lobby group to defend the Good Friday agreement, vowed to build “a green wall” to defend the agreement citing a compelling statement from former British prime ministers John Major and Tony Blair. » | Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor | Wednesday, September 16, 2020
The UK foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, is facing a growing backlash in the US Congress after senior Democrats warned they would scupper any future US-UK trade deal if the UK does anything to jeopardise the Good Friday agreement in an attempt to leave the European Union on its own terms.
Raab flew to Washington to try to repair relations with pro-Irish Democrats, including the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and the chairman of the House ways and means committee, Richard Neal. The tide of opinion in Congress is moving fast against the UK after a lobbying campaign by the Irish embassy.
The ad hoc committee a major pro-Irish lobby group to defend the Good Friday agreement, vowed to build “a green wall” to defend the agreement citing a compelling statement from former British prime ministers John Major and Tony Blair. » | Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor | Wednesday, September 16, 2020
Labels:
Brexit
Cooper: Trump's Actions Contradict What He Says in Private about Covid-19
Labels:
Coronavirus,
Donald Trump
Tuesday, September 15, 2020
Trump NO Nos Quiere : Trump Does Not Love Us
Labels:
Donald Trump,
Hispanics
Donald Trump vergleicht sich in Corona-Krise mit Winston Churchill
ZEIT ONLINE: Der US-Präsident will sein Herunterspielen der Corona-Gefahr als gutes Krisenmanagement verkaufen. Sein Herausforderer wirft Trump vor, die Bevölkerung belogen zu haben.
US-Präsident Donald Trump hat eine Parallele zwischen seinem Herunterspielen der Corona-Pandemie und dem Verhalten des britischen Premierministers Winston Churchill im Zweiten Weltkrieg gezogen. "Als Hitler London bombardierte, ging Churchill, ein großer Anführer, oft auf ein Dach in London und sprach", sagte Trump bei einer Wahlkampfveranstaltung in Freeland im US-Bundesstaat Michigan. "Und er sprach immer mit Gelassenheit. Er sagte, wir müssen Gelassenheit zeigen. Nein, wir haben es richtig gemacht, und wir haben eine Arbeit geleistet wie niemand sonst." » | Quelle: ZEIT ONLINE, dpa, sk | Freitag, 11. September 2020
US-Präsident Donald Trump hat eine Parallele zwischen seinem Herunterspielen der Corona-Pandemie und dem Verhalten des britischen Premierministers Winston Churchill im Zweiten Weltkrieg gezogen. "Als Hitler London bombardierte, ging Churchill, ein großer Anführer, oft auf ein Dach in London und sprach", sagte Trump bei einer Wahlkampfveranstaltung in Freeland im US-Bundesstaat Michigan. "Und er sprach immer mit Gelassenheit. Er sagte, wir müssen Gelassenheit zeigen. Nein, wir haben es richtig gemacht, und wir haben eine Arbeit geleistet wie niemand sonst." » | Quelle: ZEIT ONLINE, dpa, sk | Freitag, 11. September 2020
Labels:
Donald Trump
Amerikas Ansehen stürzt ab
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Die Reputation der Vereinigten Staaten ist in vielen befreundeten Staaten auf einen Tiefpunkt abgesackt. Dort vertrauen mittlerweile sogar mehr Bürger Xi Jinping und Putin als Trump.
Die Zeiten, in denen Amerika unter seinen Freunden und Verbündeten Begeisterungsstürme entfachte, sind schon eine Weile her. Auf der letzten Sympathiewelle ritten die Vereinigten Staaten, zu Recht oder zu Unrecht, während der Präsidentschaft Barack Obamas. Also bis vor dreieinhalb Jahren. Mit dem Einzug von Donald Trump ins Weiße Haus änderte sich das quasi über Nacht. Im Jahr der Corona-Krise aber stürzt das Ansehen der Vereinigten Staaten in vielen Ländern noch einmal richtig ab. Das geht aus der jüngsten Umfrage des „Pew Research Centers“ hervor, die am Dienstag veröffentlicht wurde. » | Von Lorenz Hemicker, Redakteur in der Politik | Dienstag, 15. September 2020
Die Zeiten, in denen Amerika unter seinen Freunden und Verbündeten Begeisterungsstürme entfachte, sind schon eine Weile her. Auf der letzten Sympathiewelle ritten die Vereinigten Staaten, zu Recht oder zu Unrecht, während der Präsidentschaft Barack Obamas. Also bis vor dreieinhalb Jahren. Mit dem Einzug von Donald Trump ins Weiße Haus änderte sich das quasi über Nacht. Im Jahr der Corona-Krise aber stürzt das Ansehen der Vereinigten Staaten in vielen Ländern noch einmal richtig ab. Das geht aus der jüngsten Umfrage des „Pew Research Centers“ hervor, die am Dienstag veröffentlicht wurde. » | Von Lorenz Hemicker, Redakteur in der Politik | Dienstag, 15. September 2020
Labels:
Donald Trump
Trump Dismisses Role of Climate Change in Wildfires | Morning Joe | MSNBC
Trump Threatens to Retaliate to Any Iran Attack with '1,000 Times Greater' Force
THE GUARDIAN: Tweet follows report of revenge plot for Soleimani killing / US intelligence said to fear attack on US envoy to South Africa
Donald Trump warned on Twitter on Tuesday that the US would retaliate with “1,000 times greater” force against any Iranian attack on its interests.
Trump referred to media reports that Iran was planning retaliation for the assassination by US drone in January of the Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. At the time of the assassination, analysts predicted that Iran would seek to retaliate over the long term.
A Politico story citing unnamed intelligence officials said Iran was plotting to kill the US ambassador to South Africa, Lana Marks, a handbag designer and longtime Trump friend. She is now under extra security protection.
“According to press reports, Iran may be planning an assassination, or other attack, against the United States in retaliation for the killing of terrorist leader Soleimani,” Trump tweeted on Monday night. » | Tom McCarthy | Tuesday, September 15, 2020
Donald Trump warned on Twitter on Tuesday that the US would retaliate with “1,000 times greater” force against any Iranian attack on its interests.
Trump referred to media reports that Iran was planning retaliation for the assassination by US drone in January of the Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. At the time of the assassination, analysts predicted that Iran would seek to retaliate over the long term.
A Politico story citing unnamed intelligence officials said Iran was plotting to kill the US ambassador to South Africa, Lana Marks, a handbag designer and longtime Trump friend. She is now under extra security protection.
“According to press reports, Iran may be planning an assassination, or other attack, against the United States in retaliation for the killing of terrorist leader Soleimani,” Trump tweeted on Monday night. » | Tom McCarthy | Tuesday, September 15, 2020
Labels:
Donald Trump,
Iran
Monday, September 14, 2020
Storm of the Century - the Blizzard of '49
Labels:
USA
Welsh Minister Warns of Possible National Lockdown as Covid Cases Rise
THE GUARDIAN: Updated rules must be followed, says government, as infection hotspots are detected in south Wales
A new national lockdown could be imposed in Wales within weeks unless people follow the updated rules on social gatherings, the country’s health minister has said.
Vaughan Gething also revealed that the Labour-controlled government was investigating a range of measures for Wales including imposing curfews to try to control the spread of the virus.
He said the same pattern seen in early February as Covid-19 spread across the UK was being observed again. The health minister pointed out that seven weeks later, in the third week of March, Wales, along with the rest of the UK, was in lockdown. » | Steven Morris and Severin Carrell | Monday, September 14, 2020
A new national lockdown could be imposed in Wales within weeks unless people follow the updated rules on social gatherings, the country’s health minister has said.
Vaughan Gething also revealed that the Labour-controlled government was investigating a range of measures for Wales including imposing curfews to try to control the spread of the virus.
He said the same pattern seen in early February as Covid-19 spread across the UK was being observed again. The health minister pointed out that seven weeks later, in the third week of March, Wales, along with the rest of the UK, was in lockdown. » | Steven Morris and Severin Carrell | Monday, September 14, 2020
Labels:
Coronavirus,
Wales
Germany: The Discreet Lives of the Super-Rich | DW Documentary
The rich in Germany been never been as well-off as they are today and assets have never been so unevenly distributed. But who are they? How do they live? And what do they think of their country? A journey into the discreet world of the super-rich.
One percent of Germans own over a quarter of the country's assets, whilst half of the country’s citizens have no assets at all. But while the German media report on the growing poverty in the country on a daily basis, little is known about the super-rich. They keep a very low profile and can walk the streets unrecognized. "Manager Magazin” says there were around 200 billionaires living in Germany in 2018, and their numbers are increasing. The documentary "Top of the World" asks why rich Germans are so unwilling to talk about their wealth. Its author immerses himself in the discreet world of big money and meets financial advisors with 800 years of family tradition behind them and billionaires such as drugstore king Dirk Rossmann and mail-order company heir Michael Otto - as well as a self-made businessmen such as Rainer Schaller. They talk about their notions of money and justice, the origins of their wealth and their fear of social envy.
One percent of Germans own over a quarter of the country's assets, whilst half of the country’s citizens have no assets at all. But while the German media report on the growing poverty in the country on a daily basis, little is known about the super-rich. They keep a very low profile and can walk the streets unrecognized. "Manager Magazin” says there were around 200 billionaires living in Germany in 2018, and their numbers are increasing. The documentary "Top of the World" asks why rich Germans are so unwilling to talk about their wealth. Its author immerses himself in the discreet world of big money and meets financial advisors with 800 years of family tradition behind them and billionaires such as drugstore king Dirk Rossmann and mail-order company heir Michael Otto - as well as a self-made businessmen such as Rainer Schaller. They talk about their notions of money and justice, the origins of their wealth and their fear of social envy.
Labels:
Germany
Don Winslow Films: Trump-Style Chain Migration
Labels:
chain migration,
USA
Israeli Government to Impose Second Covid-19 National Lockdown
THE GUARDIAN: Three-week lockdown will make Israel the first country to reimpose such stringent restrictions on a national scale
Israel’s government has decided to impose a lockdown lasting three weeks, the first country to reimpose such severe restrictions on a national scale, after a dramatic resurgence in coronavirus cases.
Fearing mass gatherings during a string of national holidays over the next month, the cabinet decided to shut down the country as of Friday, the Jewish new year, until 9 October.
Speaking at a press conference shortly after the vote, the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said hospital heads had warned the healthcare system would be overburdened if infection rates continue to rise. “They raised a red flag,” he said.
Netanyahu said people will be forced to remain within 500 metres from their homes, with exceptions for lone exercise. Schools and all but essential shops will be shuttered. A gradual loosening of the rules would only be implemented if the rate of infection drops. » | Oliver Holmes | Sunday, September 13, 2020
Israel’s government has decided to impose a lockdown lasting three weeks, the first country to reimpose such severe restrictions on a national scale, after a dramatic resurgence in coronavirus cases.
Fearing mass gatherings during a string of national holidays over the next month, the cabinet decided to shut down the country as of Friday, the Jewish new year, until 9 October.
Speaking at a press conference shortly after the vote, the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said hospital heads had warned the healthcare system would be overburdened if infection rates continue to rise. “They raised a red flag,” he said.
Netanyahu said people will be forced to remain within 500 metres from their homes, with exceptions for lone exercise. Schools and all but essential shops will be shuttered. A gradual loosening of the rules would only be implemented if the rate of infection drops. » | Oliver Holmes | Sunday, September 13, 2020
Labels:
Coronavirus,
Israel
Sunday, September 13, 2020
Paris. So schön war die Belle Époque! | Doku | ARTE
Labels:
Frankreich,
Paris
Blair and Major Hit Out at Boris Johnson's Plans to Override Brexit Deal
THE GUARDIAN: Former prime ministers urge MPs to reject legislation, saying it endangers Irish peace process
Boris Johnson is facing mounting criticism over his plans to introduce legislation to override his Brexit deal, as former prime ministers Sir John Major and Tony Blair criticised the threat to break international law.
Major and Blair united to urge MPs to reject the legislation, saying it imperils the Irish peace process, trade negotiations and the UK’s integrity – despite the prime minister saying that Brussels could “carve up our country” without his new bill.
The former Conservative and Labour leaders united to condemn Johnson’s UK internal market bill in an article for the Sunday Times.
“We both opposed Brexit. We both accept it is now happening. But this way of negotiating, with reason cast aside in pursuit of ideology and cavalier bombast posing as serious diplomacy, is irresponsible, wrong in principle and dangerous in practice,” they said. » | Staff and agencies | Sunday, September 13, 2020
Boris Johnson is facing mounting criticism over his plans to introduce legislation to override his Brexit deal, as former prime ministers Sir John Major and Tony Blair criticised the threat to break international law.
Major and Blair united to urge MPs to reject the legislation, saying it imperils the Irish peace process, trade negotiations and the UK’s integrity – despite the prime minister saying that Brussels could “carve up our country” without his new bill.
The former Conservative and Labour leaders united to condemn Johnson’s UK internal market bill in an article for the Sunday Times.
“We both opposed Brexit. We both accept it is now happening. But this way of negotiating, with reason cast aside in pursuit of ideology and cavalier bombast posing as serious diplomacy, is irresponsible, wrong in principle and dangerous in practice,” they said. » | Staff and agencies | Sunday, September 13, 2020
Labels:
Brexit
Roger Stone to Donald Trump: Bring In Martial Law If You Lose Election
THE GUARDIAN: Trump meanwhile promises to ‘put down’ leftwing protests and says US Marshals killing Portland suspect was ‘retribution’
Roger Stone, whose 40-month prison sentence for lying to Congress and witness tampering in the Russia investigation was commuted by Donald Trump, has said Trump should seize total power and jail prominent figures including Bill and Hillary Clinton and Mark Zuckerberg if he loses to Joe Biden in November.
The long-time Republican strategist and dirty trickster, who has a tattoo of Richard Nixon on his back, lied about contacts with WikiLeaks during the 2016 election regarding emails hacked from Democratic party accounts.
In turn, special counsel Robert Mueller and the Senate intelligence committee suspected Trump lied when he said he could not recall discussing the leaks with Stone. » | Martin Pengelly | Sunday, September 13, 2020
Roger Stone, whose 40-month prison sentence for lying to Congress and witness tampering in the Russia investigation was commuted by Donald Trump, has said Trump should seize total power and jail prominent figures including Bill and Hillary Clinton and Mark Zuckerberg if he loses to Joe Biden in November.
The long-time Republican strategist and dirty trickster, who has a tattoo of Richard Nixon on his back, lied about contacts with WikiLeaks during the 2016 election regarding emails hacked from Democratic party accounts.
In turn, special counsel Robert Mueller and the Senate intelligence committee suspected Trump lied when he said he could not recall discussing the leaks with Stone. » | Martin Pengelly | Sunday, September 13, 2020
The Main Principles of Nazi Ideology
Labels:
Nazi ideology
Rechte Milizen in den USA | DW Reporter
Labels:
USA
Saturday, September 12, 2020
Waldbrände in den USA: Über 500.000 Menschen auf der Flucht | DW Nachrichten
Labels:
USA
Kristof: Trump Bragging about Protecting Saudi Crown Prince over Khashoggi’s Murder Breaks | MSNBC
Labels:
Donald Trump,
Jamal Khashoggi,
MbS
Velshi: QAnon’s Conspiracy Cult Has Infiltrated the White House | MSNBC
Labels:
US politics
Top Lawyers Slam Suella Braverman for Wrecking UK’s Reputation
THE OBSERVER: Attorney general faces fury of Bar Council as revolt over internal market bill spreads
The attorney general, Suella Braverman, was on Saturday accused of sacrificing the UK’s reputation, sidelining legal advisers and bypassing the ministerial code during an extraordinary confrontation with some of the country’s top lawyers.
During the annual general meeting of the Bar Council, the professional association for barristers, Braverman was asked how Britain could retain “a shred of credibility” in imploring other countries to follow international law after revealing its own willingness to breach agreements.
The criticisms came after the government last week unveiled plans to give ministers sweeping powers to “disapply” part of the Brexit deal that Boris Johnson signed in January. » | Michael Savage and Toby Helm | Saturday, September 12, 2020
The attorney general, Suella Braverman, was on Saturday accused of sacrificing the UK’s reputation, sidelining legal advisers and bypassing the ministerial code during an extraordinary confrontation with some of the country’s top lawyers.
During the annual general meeting of the Bar Council, the professional association for barristers, Braverman was asked how Britain could retain “a shred of credibility” in imploring other countries to follow international law after revealing its own willingness to breach agreements.
The criticisms came after the government last week unveiled plans to give ministers sweeping powers to “disapply” part of the Brexit deal that Boris Johnson signed in January. » | Michael Savage and Toby Helm | Saturday, September 12, 2020
Labels:
Brexit
Johnson's Hard Brexit Is About to Deliver a Devastating Hit to Our Covid-struck Economy
THE GUARDIAN: With its international reputation in tatters and businesses in despair, Britain has painted itself deeper into a corner
No one I know has a clue what the current row over last year’s Brexit withdrawal deal really means. All they see is another mess from a dysfunctional Downing Street.
One thing should be clear. The argument has nothing to do with the UK leaving the EU, which has already happened. It has to do with a different but related decision, Boris Johnson’s belief that the UK should also leave Europe’s single market, the lasting talisman of his “hard Brexit” bid to appear a macho Tory leader.
The UK leaving the single market had always carried a nightmare consequence, that of a hard border of some sort between northern and southern Ireland. Such a border would not just be near impossible to erect and unpopular across Ireland, it would be a gross breach of the 1998 Good Friday agreement, which pledged open trade. » | Simon Jenkins | Thursday, September 10, 2020
No one I know has a clue what the current row over last year’s Brexit withdrawal deal really means. All they see is another mess from a dysfunctional Downing Street.
One thing should be clear. The argument has nothing to do with the UK leaving the EU, which has already happened. It has to do with a different but related decision, Boris Johnson’s belief that the UK should also leave Europe’s single market, the lasting talisman of his “hard Brexit” bid to appear a macho Tory leader.
The UK leaving the single market had always carried a nightmare consequence, that of a hard border of some sort between northern and southern Ireland. Such a border would not just be near impossible to erect and unpopular across Ireland, it would be a gross breach of the 1998 Good Friday agreement, which pledged open trade. » | Simon Jenkins | Thursday, September 10, 2020
Labels:
Brexit
Johnson: EU plant „Lebensmittelblockade“
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Der britische Premierminister Johnson behauptet, die EU wolle den Transport von Lebensmitteln zwischen Nordirland und dem restlichen Königreich erheblich erschweren. Damit habe ihm Chefunterhändler Michel Barnier gedroht.
Der britische Premierminister Boris Johnson hat im Brexit-Streit schwere Vorwürfe gegen die EU erhoben. Brüssel plane, eine „Lebensmittelblockade“ zwischen Nordirland und dem Rest von Großbritannien zu errichten und damit die Lieferung von Lebensmitteln zwischen den Landesteilen deutlich einzuschränken, schreibt Johnson in einem Gastbeitrag für die britische Zeitung „Telegraph“ (Samstag). Das Austrittsabkommen gebe der EU in seiner derzeitigen Form die Befugnisse dazu. Der Chef-Unterhändler Michel Barnier habe gedroht, diese auch auszureizen, heißt es darin weiter. Das würde die Souveränität und den Zusammenhalt Großbritanniens gefährden, so Johnson. » | Quelle: dpa | Samstag, 12. September 2020
Der britische Premierminister Boris Johnson hat im Brexit-Streit schwere Vorwürfe gegen die EU erhoben. Brüssel plane, eine „Lebensmittelblockade“ zwischen Nordirland und dem Rest von Großbritannien zu errichten und damit die Lieferung von Lebensmitteln zwischen den Landesteilen deutlich einzuschränken, schreibt Johnson in einem Gastbeitrag für die britische Zeitung „Telegraph“ (Samstag). Das Austrittsabkommen gebe der EU in seiner derzeitigen Form die Befugnisse dazu. Der Chef-Unterhändler Michel Barnier habe gedroht, diese auch auszureizen, heißt es darin weiter. Das würde die Souveränität und den Zusammenhalt Großbritanniens gefährden, so Johnson. » | Quelle: dpa | Samstag, 12. September 2020
Labels:
Brexit
Boris Johnson's New Bill Will Damage the Union, and with It Devolved Government
THE GUARDIAN: Nicola Sturgeon has called it an ‘assault on devolution’, while Mark Drakeford, the Welsh first minister, says it’s a ‘power grab’
The government’s new “internal market” was initially portrayed as a means to allow for the “seamless functioning” of commerce between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. So it’s paradoxical that the presentation of the internal market bill to parliament this week cast fresh doubts over not only this “seamless” functionality, but on the sustainability of the devolved settlement itself.
The bill had already sent shockwaves through the north and south of Ireland before it was published. Rumours circulated that Westminster intended to unravel legally binding arrangements for Northern Ireland, prompting new anxieties about the prospect of a hard border. The shock resignation of the permanent secretary to the government legal department over the legal consequences of the bill heightened fears. Brandon Lewis, the secretary of state for Northern Ireland, admitted prior to publication that the Brexit strategy breaks international law. » | Miriam Brett | Saturday, September 12, 2020
The government’s new “internal market” was initially portrayed as a means to allow for the “seamless functioning” of commerce between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. So it’s paradoxical that the presentation of the internal market bill to parliament this week cast fresh doubts over not only this “seamless” functionality, but on the sustainability of the devolved settlement itself.
The bill had already sent shockwaves through the north and south of Ireland before it was published. Rumours circulated that Westminster intended to unravel legally binding arrangements for Northern Ireland, prompting new anxieties about the prospect of a hard border. The shock resignation of the permanent secretary to the government legal department over the legal consequences of the bill heightened fears. Brandon Lewis, the secretary of state for Northern Ireland, admitted prior to publication that the Brexit strategy breaks international law. » | Miriam Brett | Saturday, September 12, 2020
Labels:
Brexit
Family Members, Politicians Pay Tribute to 9/11 Victims
Labels:
9/11
Friday, September 11, 2020
Coronavirus: England 'On Knife-edge' as Cases Rise and Lockdowns Grow
THE GUARDIAN: Former chief scientific adviser issues warning to government after huge surge in cases
New cases of coronavirus are doubling almost weekly across England, figures revealed, as Birmingham became the biggest local authority to announce a tightening of lockdown measures and health officials flagged “worrying signs” of infections in elderly people.
The measures to be introduced in Birmingham next week mean more than 7.3 million people – 11% of the UK population – will be living in areas affected by some level of local lockdown, according to a Guardian analysis.
After signs that the number of virus infections is accelerating sharply, the former UK government chief scientific adviser Sir David King urged ministers to improve the NHS test-and-trace system. He said England was on a “knife-edge”. » | Robert Booth, Nicola Davis, Nazia Parveenand Pamela Duncan | Friday, Sptember 11, 2020
New cases of coronavirus are doubling almost weekly across England, figures revealed, as Birmingham became the biggest local authority to announce a tightening of lockdown measures and health officials flagged “worrying signs” of infections in elderly people.
The measures to be introduced in Birmingham next week mean more than 7.3 million people – 11% of the UK population – will be living in areas affected by some level of local lockdown, according to a Guardian analysis.
After signs that the number of virus infections is accelerating sharply, the former UK government chief scientific adviser Sir David King urged ministers to improve the NHS test-and-trace system. He said England was on a “knife-edge”. » | Robert Booth, Nicola Davis, Nazia Parveenand Pamela Duncan | Friday, Sptember 11, 2020
Labels:
Coronavirus,
England
Trump Admits to Watching 9 Hours of Fox News a Day
Labels:
Donald Trump
Donald Trump: This Pennsylvanian Tells It Like It Is
Labels:
Donald Trump
How Hitler's Third Reich Terrified Europe | Impossible Peace | Timeline
Labels:
Adolf Hitler,
Third Reich
Belgian King's Daughter Fights for Right to Call Herself a Princess
THE GUARDIAN: Delphine Boël, whose mother had affair with ex-king Albert II, also wants to take her father’s surname
A woman who successfully fought a seven-year legal battle to prove she was the daughter of the former king of Belgium, Albert II, will learn next month whether, against the wishes of her father, she will be able to use the titles Her Royal Highness and the Princess of Belgium.
Delphine Boël, 52, an artist and sculptor, whose mother had an extra-marital affair with Albert in the 1960s and 70s, argued in the Brussels court of appeal that she should also be able to use her biological father’s surname of Saxe-Coburg. The court will give its judgment on 29 October.
King Albert, 86, who abdicated from the Belgian throne in 2013, was forced to acknowledge he was Boël’s biological father after a court-ordered DNA test last January. » | Daniel Boffey in Brussels | Friday, September 11, 2020
A woman who successfully fought a seven-year legal battle to prove she was the daughter of the former king of Belgium, Albert II, will learn next month whether, against the wishes of her father, she will be able to use the titles Her Royal Highness and the Princess of Belgium.
Delphine Boël, 52, an artist and sculptor, whose mother had an extra-marital affair with Albert in the 1960s and 70s, argued in the Brussels court of appeal that she should also be able to use her biological father’s surname of Saxe-Coburg. The court will give its judgment on 29 October.
King Albert, 86, who abdicated from the Belgian throne in 2013, was forced to acknowledge he was Boël’s biological father after a court-ordered DNA test last January. » | Daniel Boffey in Brussels | Friday, September 11, 2020
Trump Tries to Contain Fallout; Editorial Board Plays Down Woodward Book | Morning Joe | MSNBC
Labels:
Coronavirus,
Donald Trump
Ireland Accuses Boris Johnson of Trying to Sabotage Peace Process
THE GUARDIAN: Dublin minister says UK plan to undo Brexit deal would have ‘unthinkable’ consequences
The Irish government has accused Boris Johnson of trying to sabotage the Northern Ireland peace process with a “unilateral provocative act” based on spurious claims about the Good Friday agreement.
As Brexit talks hang by a thread following the UK’s threat to renege on parts of the withdrawal agreement, Thomas Byrne, Ireland’s European affairs minister, branded the UK government’s claims that its move was to protect the peace process as “completely false”.
He said what would happen as a result of this bill becoming law was “completely unthinkable”.
Relations with the EU have plunged to a new low in the last 24 hours after the UK rejected Brussels demands to withdraw the parts of the internal markets bill that would give the government power to override the Northern Ireland protocol.
The move has also soured Anglo-Irish relations, with no warning of the plan to undo the Brexit arrangements on Northern Ireland by one of the co-guarantors of the Good Friday agreement. » | Lisa O’Carroll and Daniel Boffey | Friday, September 11, 2020
The Irish government has accused Boris Johnson of trying to sabotage the Northern Ireland peace process with a “unilateral provocative act” based on spurious claims about the Good Friday agreement.
As Brexit talks hang by a thread following the UK’s threat to renege on parts of the withdrawal agreement, Thomas Byrne, Ireland’s European affairs minister, branded the UK government’s claims that its move was to protect the peace process as “completely false”.
He said what would happen as a result of this bill becoming law was “completely unthinkable”.
Relations with the EU have plunged to a new low in the last 24 hours after the UK rejected Brussels demands to withdraw the parts of the internal markets bill that would give the government power to override the Northern Ireland protocol.
The move has also soured Anglo-Irish relations, with no warning of the plan to undo the Brexit arrangements on Northern Ireland by one of the co-guarantors of the Good Friday agreement. » | Lisa O’Carroll and Daniel Boffey | Friday, September 11, 2020
Labels:
Brexit
Thursday, September 10, 2020
Strzok: Trump's Financial Involvement with Russia Is Very Broad | Morning Joe | MSNBC
Labels:
Donald Trump,
Russia
113 Reasons Republicans Aren't Voting for Trump in 2020
Labels:
Donald Trump
How Europe Prepared for WW2 | Impossible Peace | Timeline
Labels:
World War II
Schumer's Response to Woodward Tapes: 'They're Just Awful' | Morning Joe | MSNBC
Labels:
Coronavirus,
Donald Trump
Corona in den USA: Ist Trump am Ende? | Auf den Punkt (Juli 9, 2020)
Labels:
Coronavirus,
Donald Trump
'State of Shock' Inside White House, Says Reporter | Morning Joe | MSNBC
Labels:
Coronavirus,
Donald Trump
The UK Is One of the Most Corrupt Nations on Earth
THE GUARDIAN: Fortunes are being made by political favourites, while Brexit could cement London’s reputation for money laundering
Fear, shame, embarrassment: these brakes no longer apply. The government has discovered that it can bluster through any scandal. No minister need resign. No one need apologise. No one need explain.
As public outrage grows over the billions of pounds of coronavirus contracts issued by the government without competition, it seems determined only to award more of them. Never mind that the consulting company Deloitte, whose personnel circulate in and out of government, has been strongly criticised for the disastrous system it devised to supply protective equipment to the NHS. It has now been granted a massive new contract to test the population for Covid-19. » | George Monbiot | Thursday, September 10, 2020
Cummings ally's PR firm given Covid-19 contracts without tenders »
Fear, shame, embarrassment: these brakes no longer apply. The government has discovered that it can bluster through any scandal. No minister need resign. No one need apologise. No one need explain.
As public outrage grows over the billions of pounds of coronavirus contracts issued by the government without competition, it seems determined only to award more of them. Never mind that the consulting company Deloitte, whose personnel circulate in and out of government, has been strongly criticised for the disastrous system it devised to supply protective equipment to the NHS. It has now been granted a massive new contract to test the population for Covid-19. » | George Monbiot | Thursday, September 10, 2020
Cummings ally's PR firm given Covid-19 contracts without tenders »
Wednesday, September 09, 2020
This Brexit Bill Finally Buries the Conservative Party of Law and Order
THE GUARDIAN: For a Cummings-influenced government to break promises is no surprise. But breaking the law is still a jaw-dropping move
To the patron saint of modern Conservatives, the rule of law was always fundamental to economic prosperity. It was also always distinctively British. In her memoirs, Margaret Thatcher identified the rule of law as the foundational underpinning of commercial confidence in any society. And in a 1982 interview she said that Britain gave the very idea of the rule of law to Europe. As she put it: “The law came from us.”
Thatcher also shared the view of her favourite lawyer, Lord Denning, that the law should uphold the keeping of promises. She extended this to upholding the obligations of international treaties too. In 1975, she told the Tory women’s conference that: “In the same way that government and individuals should be bound by law so countries should be bound by treaties.” She added: “Britain does not renounce treaties. Indeed, to do so would damage our own integrity as well as international relations.” » | Martin Kettle | Wednesday, September 9, 2020
To the patron saint of modern Conservatives, the rule of law was always fundamental to economic prosperity. It was also always distinctively British. In her memoirs, Margaret Thatcher identified the rule of law as the foundational underpinning of commercial confidence in any society. And in a 1982 interview she said that Britain gave the very idea of the rule of law to Europe. As she put it: “The law came from us.”
Thatcher also shared the view of her favourite lawyer, Lord Denning, that the law should uphold the keeping of promises. She extended this to upholding the obligations of international treaties too. In 1975, she told the Tory women’s conference that: “In the same way that government and individuals should be bound by law so countries should be bound by treaties.” She added: “Britain does not renounce treaties. Indeed, to do so would damage our own integrity as well as international relations.” » | Martin Kettle | Wednesday, September 9, 2020
Labels:
Brexit
'A Fool': Trump Insider Backs Cohen, Putin Playing Trump Like a Sucker | MSNBC
Labels:
Donald Trump
Tuesday, September 08, 2020
Trump ‘Deserves to Have His Real Record’ & ‘Hypocritical Use of Military as a Prop Exposed’ | MSNBC
Labels:
Donald Trump
Draft Dodger Don: Trump Hates Our Troops
Labels:
Donald Trump
Brexit: Johnson droht EU mit Abbruch der Verhandlungen | DW Nachrichten
Der Ton in der britischen Regierung wird rauer. Am Wochenende erklärte UK-Unterhändler David Frost, er habe keine Angst, die Handelsgespräche mit der EU zu beenden. Aber das war nur zum Aufwärmen: Jetzt will Premierminister Boris Johnson ein Ergebnis bis Mitte Oktober, sonst würde er das Land auf eine Zukunft ohne Abkommen vorbereiten. Das könnte noch als Verhandlungspoker gelten, wenn es nicht Pläne gäbe, Teile des Nordirland-Protokolls außer Kraft zu setzen, wie die Financial Times berichtet. Der Bruch des Austrittsabkommens aber ist für die EU die ultimative rote Linie.
Auch ein No-Deal wäre für Großbritannien ein "gutes Ergebnis", behauptet Boris Johnson in seiner Erklärung. Und sein Land könne "mächtig prosperieren", wenn es sich ab 1. Januar 2021 ohne Abkommen von der EU lösen würde.
Beobachter sind unsicher, wie die letzten Schachzüge in London zu bewerten sind: Stellen sie Teil der Verhandlungsstrategie dar und sind nur Säbelrasseln? Will Boris Johnson lediglich seine Brexit-Hardliner beschwichtigen, die schon seit dem Sommer gegen das Austrittsabkommen agitieren? Oder bereitet der britische Premier tatsächlich sein Land auf einen harten Ausstieg, einen No-Deal, Ende des Jahres vor? Das Klima für die Gespräche in dieser Woche wirkt jedenfalls vergiftet und sie scheinen derzeit zum Scheitern verdammt.
Auch ein No-Deal wäre für Großbritannien ein "gutes Ergebnis", behauptet Boris Johnson in seiner Erklärung. Und sein Land könne "mächtig prosperieren", wenn es sich ab 1. Januar 2021 ohne Abkommen von der EU lösen würde.
Beobachter sind unsicher, wie die letzten Schachzüge in London zu bewerten sind: Stellen sie Teil der Verhandlungsstrategie dar und sind nur Säbelrasseln? Will Boris Johnson lediglich seine Brexit-Hardliner beschwichtigen, die schon seit dem Sommer gegen das Austrittsabkommen agitieren? Oder bereitet der britische Premier tatsächlich sein Land auf einen harten Ausstieg, einen No-Deal, Ende des Jahres vor? Das Klima für die Gespräche in dieser Woche wirkt jedenfalls vergiftet und sie scheinen derzeit zum Scheitern verdammt.
Labels:
Brexit
Monday, September 07, 2020
Trump Emerges as Inspiration for Germany’s Far Right
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Among German conspiracy theorists, ultranationalists and neo-Nazis, the American president is surfacing as a rallying cry, or even as a potential “liberator.”
BERLIN — Just before hundreds of far-right activists recently tried to storm the German Parliament, one of their leaders revved up the crowd by conjuring President Trump.
“Trump is in Berlin!” the woman shouted from a small stage, as if to dedicate the imminent charge to him.
She was so convincing that several groups of far-right activists later showed up at the American Embassy and demanded an audience with Mr. Trump. “We know he’s in there!” they insisted.
Mr. Trump was neither in the embassy nor in Germany that day — and yet there he was. His face was emblazoned on banners, T-shirts and even on Germany’s pre-1918 imperial flag, popular with neo-Nazis in the crowd of 50,000 who had come to protest Germany’s pandemic restrictions. His name was invoked by many with messianic zeal.
It was only the latest evidence that Trump is emerging as a kind of cult figure in Germany’s increasingly varied far-right scene.
“Trump has become a savior figure, a sort of great redeemer for the German far right,” said Miro Dittrich, an expert on far-right extremism at the Berlin-based Amadeu-Antonio-Foundation. » | Katrin Bennhold | Monday, September 7, 2020
BERLIN — Just before hundreds of far-right activists recently tried to storm the German Parliament, one of their leaders revved up the crowd by conjuring President Trump.
“Trump is in Berlin!” the woman shouted from a small stage, as if to dedicate the imminent charge to him.
She was so convincing that several groups of far-right activists later showed up at the American Embassy and demanded an audience with Mr. Trump. “We know he’s in there!” they insisted.
Mr. Trump was neither in the embassy nor in Germany that day — and yet there he was. His face was emblazoned on banners, T-shirts and even on Germany’s pre-1918 imperial flag, popular with neo-Nazis in the crowd of 50,000 who had come to protest Germany’s pandemic restrictions. His name was invoked by many with messianic zeal.
It was only the latest evidence that Trump is emerging as a kind of cult figure in Germany’s increasingly varied far-right scene.
“Trump has become a savior figure, a sort of great redeemer for the German far right,” said Miro Dittrich, an expert on far-right extremism at the Berlin-based Amadeu-Antonio-Foundation. » | Katrin Bennhold | Monday, September 7, 2020
Labels:
Donald Trump,
Germany
Aleksei Navalny Out of a Coma and Responsive, German Doctors Say
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Doctors treating the Russian opposition leader said his condition had improved, but they could not rule out lasting effects of “severe poisoning.” Germany said it was from a military-grade nerve agent.
BERLIN — The Russian opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny is no longer in a medically induced coma and is responsive, doctors treating him at the Charité hospital in Berlin said on Monday. But they did not rule out lasting damage from what they called his “severe poisoning” with what the German government has said was a military-grade nerve agent. » | Melissa Eddy | Monday, September 7, 2020
BERLIN — The Russian opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny is no longer in a medically induced coma and is responsive, doctors treating him at the Charité hospital in Berlin said on Monday. But they did not rule out lasting damage from what they called his “severe poisoning” with what the German government has said was a military-grade nerve agent. » | Melissa Eddy | Monday, September 7, 2020
Labels:
Aleksei Navalny
Michel Barnier 'Worried' by No 10 Plans to Renege on Brexit Deal
THE GUARDIAN: EU’s chief Brexit negotiator said full implementation of withdrawal agreement vital for avoiding a hard border
Michel Barnier said he was “worried” by the latest twists in the Brexit negotiations and would seek answers from the UK’s chief negotiator, David Frost, over claims that Downing Street is planning to negate parts of the withdrawal agreement.
The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator said full implementation of the international treaty was vital for avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland as it was reported that the government is planning legislation to override parts of the deal struck last year.
Ahead of the start on Tuesday of the latest round of trade and security negotiations with the British government, Barnier said the Northern Ireland protocol in the withdrawal deal was a “prerequisite for peace since the end of the conflict ... and it’s the prerequisite for a united and coherent economy for the entire island, and also to respect the single market”. » | Daniel Boffey and Jennifer Rankin in Brussels | Monday, September 7, 2020
Michel Barnier said he was “worried” by the latest twists in the Brexit negotiations and would seek answers from the UK’s chief negotiator, David Frost, over claims that Downing Street is planning to negate parts of the withdrawal agreement.
The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator said full implementation of the international treaty was vital for avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland as it was reported that the government is planning legislation to override parts of the deal struck last year.
Ahead of the start on Tuesday of the latest round of trade and security negotiations with the British government, Barnier said the Northern Ireland protocol in the withdrawal deal was a “prerequisite for peace since the end of the conflict ... and it’s the prerequisite for a united and coherent economy for the entire island, and also to respect the single market”. » | Daniel Boffey and Jennifer Rankin in Brussels | Monday, September 7, 2020
Ex-Trump Official Shares His Prediction If Trump Loses 2020
Labels:
Donald Trump
Multiple News Outlets Mirror Report of Trump Denigrating Veterans, Military Service | MSNBC
Labels:
Donald Trump
Reneging on Brexit Deal Would Strengthen Case for Breaking Up UK, Government Told
THE GUARDIAN: Johnson to deliver ultimatum to EU as minister defends plan as addressing ‘a few loose ends’
Reneging on any obligations under the Brexit withdrawal agreement would make the case for breaking up the UK stronger, the government has been warned, as a minister defended the plan as simply addressing “a few minor loose ends”.
After it emerged Boris Johnson is drawing up legislation that will override the Brexit withdrawal agreement on Northern Ireland, threatening the collapse of talks with the EU, the SNP said leaving without a deal would cause “lasting damage to Scottish jobs and the economy in the middle of a pandemic”.
Ian Blackford, the SNP’s leader, said “By threatening to undermine the UK’s international treaty obligations and impose a catastrophic no-deal Brexit on Scotland against our will, the prime minister is proving he cannot be trusted and is underlining the need for Scotland to become an independent country.” » | Peter Walker, Political correspondent | Monday, September 7, 2020
Reneging on any obligations under the Brexit withdrawal agreement would make the case for breaking up the UK stronger, the government has been warned, as a minister defended the plan as simply addressing “a few minor loose ends”.
After it emerged Boris Johnson is drawing up legislation that will override the Brexit withdrawal agreement on Northern Ireland, threatening the collapse of talks with the EU, the SNP said leaving without a deal would cause “lasting damage to Scottish jobs and the economy in the middle of a pandemic”.
Ian Blackford, the SNP’s leader, said “By threatening to undermine the UK’s international treaty obligations and impose a catastrophic no-deal Brexit on Scotland against our will, the prime minister is proving he cannot be trusted and is underlining the need for Scotland to become an independent country.” » | Peter Walker, Political correspondent | Monday, September 7, 2020
Sunday, September 06, 2020
Is Trump a Fascist? Philosopher Jason Stanley Considers the Evidence after "Four Years of Chaos"
Labels:
Donald Trump,
fascism
A ‘Tyrant-Clown’ Has Destroyed My Love Affair with America
THE OBSERVER: With its cynical disabling of the body politic, the Trump administration has contaminated the well of US independence
Once upon a time, at the start of the last century, PG Wodehouse declared, with the fervour of the convert, that to live in America was “like being in heaven … without the bother and expense of dying”.
America used to do that to a certain kind of Brit, and to those who saw themselves as Greeks to the Americans’ Romans: we’d fall hopelessly in love, however much they abused the relationship.
My own long affair with America, as an idea as much as a reality, began in the bicentennial year, 1976, with a graduate scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania. Among the lovely red brick of old Philadelphia, I maxed out on the promise and possibilities of the American revolution, its majesty, optimism and rhetoric. Those pioneers of radical political self-expression, Jefferson, Franklin, et al, became idols of deep faith. For instance, years later, on a return visit to the Constitution Center, I was brought to tears by a video devoted to that love letter to democratic principles, the US constitution, and the eternal magic of “We, the people”. » | Robert McCrum | Sunday, September 6, 2020
Once upon a time, at the start of the last century, PG Wodehouse declared, with the fervour of the convert, that to live in America was “like being in heaven … without the bother and expense of dying”.
America used to do that to a certain kind of Brit, and to those who saw themselves as Greeks to the Americans’ Romans: we’d fall hopelessly in love, however much they abused the relationship.
My own long affair with America, as an idea as much as a reality, began in the bicentennial year, 1976, with a graduate scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania. Among the lovely red brick of old Philadelphia, I maxed out on the promise and possibilities of the American revolution, its majesty, optimism and rhetoric. Those pioneers of radical political self-expression, Jefferson, Franklin, et al, became idols of deep faith. For instance, years later, on a return visit to the Constitution Center, I was brought to tears by a video devoted to that love letter to democratic principles, the US constitution, and the eternal magic of “We, the people”. » | Robert McCrum | Sunday, September 6, 2020
Labels:
America,
Donald Trump
Buttigieg: Trump ‘Shouldn’t Be Allowed within a One Mile Radius of a POW Flag’ | Deadline | MSNBC
CNN Exclusive Interview with Sen. Kamala Harris (Parts 1 & 2)
Labels:
Kamala Harris
Biden Fires Back at Trump: My Son Wasn't a Sucker
Labels:
Donald Trump,
Joe Biden
CNN's Keilar Rolls the Tape on Trump's Attacks on Military Members and Their Families
Labels:
Donald Trump
Tricks of Treats? Ft. Tim Noakes, Prominent South African Athlete & Scientist
Labels:
Worlds Apart
Saturday, September 05, 2020
Outrage, But Not Surprise, at Reports That Trump Called Fallen Veterans ‘Suckers’, ‘Losers’ | MSNBC
Labels:
Donald Trump
The Nazi Romance With Islam Has Some Lessons for the United States
TABLET: Two new important histories look at Hitler’s fascination with Islam and Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey
Both Hitler and Himmler had a soft spot for Islam. Hitler several times fantasized that, if the Saracens had not been stopped at the Battle of Tours, Islam would have spread through the European continent—and that would have been a good thing, since “Jewish Christianity” wouldn’t have gone on to poison Europe. Christianity doted on weakness and suffering, while Islam extolled strength, Hitler believed. Himmler in a January 1944 speech called Islam “a practical and attractive religion for soldiers,” with its promise of paradise and beautiful women for brave martyrs after their death. “This is the kind of language a soldier understands,” Himmler gushed.
Surely, the Nazi leaders thought, Muslims would see that the Germans were their blood brothers: loyal, iron-willed, and most important, convinced that Jews were the evil that most plagued the world. “Do you recognize him, the fat, curly-haired Jew who deceives and rules the whole world and who steals the land of the Arabs?” demanded one of the Nazi pamphlets dropped over North Africa (a million copies of it were printed). “The Jew,” the pamphlet explained, was the evil King Dajjal from Islamic tradition, who in the world’s final days was supposed to lead 70,000 Jews from Isfahan in apocalyptic battle against Isa—often identified with Jesus, but according to the Reich Propaganda Ministry none other than Hitler himself. Germany produced reams of leaflets like this one, often quoting the Quran on the subject of Jewish treachery. » | David Mikics | Monday, November 24, 2014
Both Hitler and Himmler had a soft spot for Islam. Hitler several times fantasized that, if the Saracens had not been stopped at the Battle of Tours, Islam would have spread through the European continent—and that would have been a good thing, since “Jewish Christianity” wouldn’t have gone on to poison Europe. Christianity doted on weakness and suffering, while Islam extolled strength, Hitler believed. Himmler in a January 1944 speech called Islam “a practical and attractive religion for soldiers,” with its promise of paradise and beautiful women for brave martyrs after their death. “This is the kind of language a soldier understands,” Himmler gushed.
Surely, the Nazi leaders thought, Muslims would see that the Germans were their blood brothers: loyal, iron-willed, and most important, convinced that Jews were the evil that most plagued the world. “Do you recognize him, the fat, curly-haired Jew who deceives and rules the whole world and who steals the land of the Arabs?” demanded one of the Nazi pamphlets dropped over North Africa (a million copies of it were printed). “The Jew,” the pamphlet explained, was the evil King Dajjal from Islamic tradition, who in the world’s final days was supposed to lead 70,000 Jews from Isfahan in apocalyptic battle against Isa—often identified with Jesus, but according to the Reich Propaganda Ministry none other than Hitler himself. Germany produced reams of leaflets like this one, often quoting the Quran on the subject of Jewish treachery. » | David Mikics | Monday, November 24, 2014
Labels:
Adolf Hitler,
Islam,
Third Reich
Seth Andrews: From Religion to Reason
Labels:
Seth Andrews
The Mennonites – A Trip Back in Time | DW Documentary
Like the Amish in the US, the Mennonite Christian community shuns the modern world. Most Mennonites live in secluded, self-sufficient colonies. We get a rare glimpse into the life of a devout and isolated community.
The Mennonites embrace isolation, which in their eyes helps protect them from the temptations of the modern world. At first glance, time seems to have stood still in the Mennonite colony in Belize, where people still travel by horse-drawn carriage and do without conveniences such as televisions and electricity. They still speak an old form of the German dialect Plattdeutsch. But modern life is slowly making inroads in Little Belize. Wilhelm, the community’s former doctor, was expelled for owning a mobile phone. Fearing that their community was being tainted, some more traditional members decided to found a new colony in a remote jungle in Peru, where they hope to live according to old customs and religious beliefs. For the first time ever, a camera team was granted access to one of Central and South America’s traditional Mennonite colonies.
The Mennonites embrace isolation, which in their eyes helps protect them from the temptations of the modern world. At first glance, time seems to have stood still in the Mennonite colony in Belize, where people still travel by horse-drawn carriage and do without conveniences such as televisions and electricity. They still speak an old form of the German dialect Plattdeutsch. But modern life is slowly making inroads in Little Belize. Wilhelm, the community’s former doctor, was expelled for owning a mobile phone. Fearing that their community was being tainted, some more traditional members decided to found a new colony in a remote jungle in Peru, where they hope to live according to old customs and religious beliefs. For the first time ever, a camera team was granted access to one of Central and South America’s traditional Mennonite colonies.
The Danger Is Now Clear: Trump Is Destroying Democracy in broad daylight
THE GUARDIAN: More and more, the president voices contempt for the voting process. Imagine what he’d do if re-elected
This is not a normal election. I don’t say that because it is now clear that, against some stiff competition, Donald Trump is the most repellent individual ever to have sought, let alone won, the presidency of the United States. The latest proof comes in a quadruple-sourced account of Trump describing US troops who died for their country as “losers” and “suckers”, and demanding that a military parade exclude wounded veterans, lest spectators glimpse an amputee. “Nobody wants to see that,” he said.
There was a time when the Atlantic’s jaw-dropping report, later corroborated “in its entirety” by the Associated Press, would have proved terminal for a politician in a country where respect for the military supposedly has the status of a religious obligation. But that time is long past. It ended in 2015 when Trump branded John McCain – who had spent more than five years in a Hanoi cell as a prisoner of war – a “loser”, though of course now Trump swears blind that he never said any such thing, despite the existence of videoshowing him saying exactly that. » | Jonathan Freedland | Friday, September 4, 2020
This is not a normal election. I don’t say that because it is now clear that, against some stiff competition, Donald Trump is the most repellent individual ever to have sought, let alone won, the presidency of the United States. The latest proof comes in a quadruple-sourced account of Trump describing US troops who died for their country as “losers” and “suckers”, and demanding that a military parade exclude wounded veterans, lest spectators glimpse an amputee. “Nobody wants to see that,” he said.
There was a time when the Atlantic’s jaw-dropping report, later corroborated “in its entirety” by the Associated Press, would have proved terminal for a politician in a country where respect for the military supposedly has the status of a religious obligation. But that time is long past. It ended in 2015 when Trump branded John McCain – who had spent more than five years in a Hanoi cell as a prisoner of war – a “loser”, though of course now Trump swears blind that he never said any such thing, despite the existence of videoshowing him saying exactly that. » | Jonathan Freedland | Friday, September 4, 2020
Labels:
Donald Trump
Brits, Take It from an Aussie: If Tony Abbott Is Your Solution, You've Got Big Problems
THE GUARDIAN: Our former PM has not only made deeply sexist remarks, he’s also inept – and unsuited to be anyone’s trade envoy
It’s true that Tony Abbott was a highly effective opposition leader.
Between 2013 and 2015, he was involved in enough domestic scandals, international embarrassments and local protests to damage the reputation of a sitting Australian prime minister.
Alas for Abbott, he was prime minister himself at the time.
We Australians have been obliged to reflect on the qualities of our former conservative “Liberal” leader at the prompting of the British. For reasons that are inexplicable to us, Abbott has been given the role of trade adviser by Boris Johnson’s government.
The task ahead is to skilfully create for Britain a post-Brexit trade environment. The nation must replace a forsaken European common market membership with international exchanges that are profitable, advantageous and – fingers crossed! – don’t result in too much visible pus in the food.
I can only imagine someone in the appointment process believed the whole endeavour is destined to fail and only a fool would take the job. In that case, Britain, fair enough: Abbott romps it home on both fronts. » | Van Badham | Friday, September 4, 2020
It’s true that Tony Abbott was a highly effective opposition leader.
Between 2013 and 2015, he was involved in enough domestic scandals, international embarrassments and local protests to damage the reputation of a sitting Australian prime minister.
Alas for Abbott, he was prime minister himself at the time.
We Australians have been obliged to reflect on the qualities of our former conservative “Liberal” leader at the prompting of the British. For reasons that are inexplicable to us, Abbott has been given the role of trade adviser by Boris Johnson’s government.
The task ahead is to skilfully create for Britain a post-Brexit trade environment. The nation must replace a forsaken European common market membership with international exchanges that are profitable, advantageous and – fingers crossed! – don’t result in too much visible pus in the food.
I can only imagine someone in the appointment process believed the whole endeavour is destined to fail and only a fool would take the job. In that case, Britain, fair enough: Abbott romps it home on both fronts. » | Van Badham | Friday, September 4, 2020
Labels:
Tony Abbott
Boris Johnson Fascinated by Donald Trump, Says Ex-Ambassador
THE GUARDIAN: PM is intrigued by Trump’s ‘relationship with the truth’, Kim Darroch writes in new book
Kim Darroch, a former British ambassador to the US, has said Boris Johnson is fascinated and inspired by Donald Trump, and is intrigued by the US president’s patchy relationship “with the facts and the truth”.
In a new book serialised in the Times, Lord Darroch said Johnson must share the blame for his resignation as ambassador to Washington, which followed the leaking of diplomatic cables disparaging Trump.
Darroch wrote that Johnson had been “fascinated” by Trump on his visits to Washington as foreign secretary before he became prime minister, with particular focus on the president’s use of language.
This includes “the limited vocabulary, the simplicity of the messaging, the disdain for political correctness, the sometimes incendiary imagery, and the at best intermittent relationship with facts and the truth”, the former diplomat wrote. » | PA media | Saturday, September 5, 2020
Kim Darroch, a former British ambassador to the US, has said Boris Johnson is fascinated and inspired by Donald Trump, and is intrigued by the US president’s patchy relationship “with the facts and the truth”.
In a new book serialised in the Times, Lord Darroch said Johnson must share the blame for his resignation as ambassador to Washington, which followed the leaking of diplomatic cables disparaging Trump.
Darroch wrote that Johnson had been “fascinated” by Trump on his visits to Washington as foreign secretary before he became prime minister, with particular focus on the president’s use of language.
This includes “the limited vocabulary, the simplicity of the messaging, the disdain for political correctness, the sometimes incendiary imagery, and the at best intermittent relationship with facts and the truth”, the former diplomat wrote. » | PA media | Saturday, September 5, 2020
Friday, September 04, 2020
Trump: Americans Who Died in War Are ‘Losers’ and ‘Suckers’
THE ATLANTIC: The president has repeatedly disparaged the intelligence of service members, and asked that wounded veterans be kept out of military parades, multiple sources tell The Atlantic.
When President Donald Trump canceled a visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris in 2018, he blamed rain for the last-minute decision, saying that “the helicopter couldn’t fly” and that the Secret Service wouldn’t drive him there. Neither claim was true.
Trump rejected the idea of the visit because he feared his hair would become disheveled in the rain, and because he did not believe it important to honor American war dead, according to four people with firsthand knowledge of the discussion that day. In a conversation with senior staff members on the morning of the scheduled visit, Trump said, “Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.” In a separate conversation on the same trip, Trump referred to the more than 1,800 marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood as “suckers” for getting killed. » | Jeffrey Goldberg | Thursday, September 3, 2020
When President Donald Trump canceled a visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris in 2018, he blamed rain for the last-minute decision, saying that “the helicopter couldn’t fly” and that the Secret Service wouldn’t drive him there. Neither claim was true.
Trump rejected the idea of the visit because he feared his hair would become disheveled in the rain, and because he did not believe it important to honor American war dead, according to four people with firsthand knowledge of the discussion that day. In a conversation with senior staff members on the morning of the scheduled visit, Trump said, “Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.” In a separate conversation on the same trip, Trump referred to the more than 1,800 marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood as “suckers” for getting killed. » | Jeffrey Goldberg | Thursday, September 3, 2020
Labels:
Donald Trump
Trump 'Is a Man of Many Fears': Former Military Leaders React to the Atlantic's Reporting | MSNBC
Labels:
Donald Trump
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)