Jeff Bezos to Step Down as Amazon Chief Executive

BBC: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is to step down as chief executive of the e-commerce giant that he founded in his garage nearly 30 years ago.

He will become executive chairman, a move he said would give him "time and energy" to focus on his other ventures.

Mr Bezos, the world's richest man, will be replaced by Andy Jassy, who currently leads Amazon's cloud computing business.

The change will take place in the second half of 2021, the company said.

"Being the CEO of Amazon is a deep responsibility, and it's consuming. When you have a responsibility like that, it's hard to put attention on anything else," Mr Bezos said in an [sic] letter to Amazon staff on Tuesday.

"As Exec Chair I will stay engaged in important Amazon initiatives but also have the time and energy I need to focus on the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post, and my other passions."

"I've never had more energy, and this isn't about retiring. I'm super passionate about the impact I think these organizations can have," he added. » | BBC | Tuesday, February 2, 2021

Russland: Kreml-Kritiker Nawalny zu mehr als zwei Jahren Straflager verurteilt | WELT Analyse

Der Kreml-Kritiker Alexej Nawalny ist in Russland zu mehr als zwei Jahren Haft in einem Straflager verurteilt worden. Das zuständige Gericht in Moskau entschied am Dienstag, dass der 44-Jährige eine bereits verhängte dreieinhalbjährige Bewährungsstrafe nun in einer Strafkolonie ableisten müsse. Allerdings werde ein früherer Hausarrest von der Zeit abgezogen.

Die im Hausarrest verbrachte Zeit gelte als abgeleistete Haftstrafe, sagte Richterin Natalja Repnikowa. Nach Angaben von Nawalnys Team würde dies etwa zweieinhalb Jahre Haft im Straflager für ihn bedeuten. Das Gericht machte zur genauen Zeitspanne zunächst keine Angaben.

Unmittelbar nach Bekanntgabe des Urteils riefen Anhänger des wichtigsten Widersachers von Präsident Wladimir Putin zu einer sofortigen Demonstration in Moskau auf. "Wir ziehen ins Zentrum von Moskau", schrieben sie im Online-Dienst Twitter und riefen die Menschen auf, sich ihnen anzuschließen.

Nawalny hatte sich in der Anhörung vehement gegen eine drohende Gefängnisstrafe gewehrt und die Russen zum weiteren Widerstand aufgerufen. Hauptziel des juristischen Vorgehens gegen ihn sei es, "Millionen Menschen Angst einzujagen", sagte der 44-Jährige vor Gericht.

Nawalny war 2014 wegen des Vorwurfs der Unterschlagung zu dreieinhalb Jahren Haft verurteilt worden, die Strafe wurde aber zur Bewährung ausgesetzt. Diese Aussetzung auf Bewährung wurde nun zurückgezogen, weil Nawalny gegen Bewährungsauflagen verstoßen haben soll.

Nawalny war direkt nach seiner Rückkehr aus Deutschland in sein Heimatland am 17. Januar am Flughafen in Moskau festgenommen und im Eilverfahren zu 30 Tagen Haft verurteilt worden. Es war eine von bereits mehreren kürzeren Haftstrafen gegen Nawalny, lange Zeitstrecken wie die nun drohenden zweieinhalb Jahre war er aber noch nie in Haft.

Die Festnahme am Moskauer Flughafen hatten die russischen Behörden bereits mit Verstößen gegen Bewährungsauflagen begründet: Nawalny sei unter anderem während seines Aufenthalts in Deutschland seiner Pflicht nicht nachgekommen, sich zweimal monatlich bei den Behörden zu melden. In Deutschland war der 44-Jährige nach einem Giftanschlag in Sibirien behandelt worden, durch den er beinahe getötet worden wäre und für den er den Kreml verantwortlich macht.

Russian Opposition Leader Alexei Navalny Jailed for Two Years and Eight Months

THE GUARDIAN: Court locks up Putin’s foe despite threat of protests and international condemnation

A Moscow court has sentenced Alexei Navalny to two years and eight months in a prison colony in a landmark decision for Vladimir Putin’s crackdown on the country’s leading opposition figure.

Navalny, who has accused the Russian president and his allies of stealing billions, was jailed for violating parole from a 2014 sentence for embezzlement in a case he has said was politically motivated.

The court’s decision makes Navalny the most prominent political prisoner in Russia and may be the most important verdict against a foe of Putin’s since the 2005 jailing of the oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

After a judge read the verdict, subtracting the 10 months he had spent under house arrest from his original three-and-a-half-year sentence, Navalny and his wife Yulia stared at each other across the court room. She took off her mask, smiled, waved, and then shrugged. “Don’t be sad! Everything’s going to be alright!” he yelled to her. She declined to comment as she walked out of the courtroom, looking straight ahead.

Minutes before he had drawn a heart on the glass surrounding the dock as a message to her. » | Andrew Roth in Moscow | Tuesday, February 2, 2021

Impeachment Managers: 'Trump’s Responsibility for the Events of January 6 Is Unmistakable'

THE GUARDIAN: The House impeachment managers have filed a brief outlining their argument for Donald Trump’s conviction ahead of the former president’s second Senate impeachment trial.

“In a grievous betrayal of his Oath of Office, President Trump incited a violent mob to attack the United States Capitol during the Joint Session, thus impeding Congress’s confirmation of Joseph R. Biden, Jr. as the winner of the presidential election,” the brief says. “President Trump’s responsibility for the events of January 6 is unmistakable.” » | Joan E Greve (now) and Martin Belam (earlier) | Tuesday, February 2, 2021

Americans Smoking More Cigarettes during COVID-19 Pandemic

NEW YORK POST: Smoking has made a comeback as the stress of the coronavirus pandemic takes its toll — with cigarette sales rebounding in 2020.

Sales rose by 0.4 percent last year — reversing a decades-long steady decline — as people in lockdown lit up more often and vapers switched back to tobacco over health concerns, according to data released by Marlboro maker Altria Group Inc.

Bored Americans who weren’t able to travel or dine out regularly also had more disposable income to spend on smoke sticks, the tobacco maker said.

An FDA spokeswoman said changes in cigarette smoking can’t be tied to one specific event, but admitted the pandemic has played a role.

“COVID-19 has created a drastic change in daily life, including increased stress and anxiety, that may contribute to a smaller-than-expected reduction in cigarette sales,” she told the Wall Street Journal. » | Jesse O'Neill | Friday, January 19, 2021

Notturno, Op. 27: No. 2 in D-Flat Major

Notturno, Op. 27: No. 2 in D-Flat Major · Maurizio Mastrini | Chopin & Liszt: Immortal Piano

Truss: Asia Pacific Countries 'Where the Big Markets Are'

BBC: International trade secretary Liz Truss says Asia Pacific countries "will provide big markets" in the future for British products.

The UK is applying to join a free trade area made up of 11 Asia and Pacific nations, under its post-Brexit plans. » | BBC | Sunday, January 31, 2021

Dumb is as dumb does! – Mark

In Russia, Economic Slump Erodes Consensus That Shielded Putin

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The rally-around-the-flag effect of President Vladimir V. Putin’s assertive foreign policy known as the Crimea consensus is unraveling with the economy.

KALININGRAD, Russia — Aleksandr Dobralsky took to the streets to protest the arrest this past month of Russia’s most prominent opposition leader. But he had other grievances as well.

“It’s like somebody stepped on your toe and said, ‘Just be patient with this for a little while,’” Mr. Dobralsky, a lawyer, said of the country’s economic woes. “How can you just wait for it to be over?”

Opinion polls have for a few years been tracking a pivot in the national mood, away from what was called the “Crimea consensus” of wide support for President Vladimir V. Putin for annexing the Ukrainian peninsula. Now, people are focused on their disappointment over slumping wages and pensions.

In Russia, the competition between the rally-around-the-flag effect of Mr. Putin’s assertive foreign policy and anger over the sagging economy is often referred to as the battle between the television and the refrigerator: Do Russians pay attention to the patriotic news on TV or notice their empty fridges? » | Andrew E. Kramer | Sunday, January 31, 2021

Thousands Arrested at Fresh Protests in Support of Kremlin Critic Navalny

Chanting slogans against President Vladimir Putin, tens of thousands took to the streets Sunday across Russia to demand the release of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, keeping up nationwide protests that have rattled the Kremlin. More than 4,700 people were detained by police, according to a monitoring group, and some were beaten.

Much of Western Australia Goes into Five-day Lockdown after Hotel Guard Tests Positive to UK Covid Variant

THE GUARDIAN: Restrictions imposed in Perth, Peel and South West, with schools suspended and residents only allowed to leave home for essential reasons

Western Australia has imposed a five-day lockdown in metropolitan Perth, the Peel region and the state’s South West amid fears a hotel quarantine worker who has tested positive to Covid-19 has contracted the highly contagious UK variant.

The state premier, Mark McGowan, said the “full lockdown” would begin at 6pm on Sunday, meaning residents could only leave their homes for essential grocery shopping, medical reasons, to care for the vulnerable or exercise within their neighbourhood.

Schools were due to return on Monday but will now remain closed; masks will become mandatory during the lockdown’; and venues including bars, pubs, clubs, gyms and places of worship will need to close. Restaurants and cafes will be limited to takeaway service. Elective surgery has also been suspended. » | Luke Henriques-Gomes | Sunday, January 31, 2021

Brexit 'Teething Problems' Endemic and Could Ruin Us, Say UK Businesses

THE GUARDIAN: Ease of trading is key measure of success, say cross-channel businesses, not lack of lorry traffic

It was billed as a deal that would secure tariff-free access to the EU, that “sunlit uplands” would follow initial disruption to trade.

But one month since the Brexit trade deal came into force, businesses are warning that the “teething problems” Boris Johnson described in a visit to Scotland last week are in fact symptomatic of endemic disruption that will force many businesses to restructure and will mean the end of some British businesses altogether.

“The last month has been like Dante’s fifth circle of hell” for importers and exporters unable to move supplies because of new red tape, said Ben Fletcher, the policy director of Make UK, which represents manufacturers across the UK.

One internationally renowned car manufacturer had “1,000 cars sitting in their car park partially built because they could not get the parts in time,” said Fletcher. “They said this has never happened ever before.” » | Lisa O’Carroll, Brexit correspondent | Sunday, January 31, 2021

Brexit is for fossils and fools! – Mark

Paris, Shuttered, Must Be Imagined

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The pandemic has enshrouded and dimmed the City of Light. But there are many reasons to soldier through the fog.

PARIS — “We’ll always have Paris.” Turns out perhaps the most famous line in the movies was wrong.

Paris is gone for now, its lifeblood cut off by the closure of all restaurants, its nights silenced by a 6 p.m. curfew aimed at eliminating the national pastime of the aperitif, its cafe bonhomie lost to domestic morosity. Blight has taken the City of Light.

Taboos fall. People eat sandwiches in the drizzle on city benches. They yield — oh, the horror! — to takeout in the form of “le click-and-collect.” They dine earlier, an abominable Americanization. They contemplate with resignation the chalk-on-blackboard offerings of long-shuttered restaurants still promising a veal blanquette or a boeuf bourguignon. These menus are fossils from the pre-pandemic world.

Gone the museums, gone the tourist-filled riverboats plying the Seine, gone the sidewalk terraces offering their pleasures at dusk, gone the movie theaters, gone the casual delights of wandering and the raucous banter of the most northern of southern cities. In their place, a gray sadness has settled over the city like fog. » | Roger Cohen | Published: Saturday, January 30, 2021; Updated: Sunday, January 31, 2021

Amtsenthebung: Donald Trump verliert vor Verfahren seine Anwälte

ZEIT ONLINE: Kurz vor Beginn des Amtsenthebungsverfahrens muss sich der frühere US-Präsident laut Medienberichten neue Verteidiger suchen. Grund dafür seien strategische Differenzen.

Kurz vor Beginn des Amtsenthebungsverfahrens gegen Donald Trumpim Senat sind dem früheren US-Präsidenten Medienberichten zufolge seine Verteidiger abhanden gekommen. Wie unter anderem der Nachrichtensender CNN berichtete, würden die fünf vorgesehenen Anwälte den Republikaner in dem Verfahren nun doch nicht verteidigen. Unter ihnen seien auch die beiden Anwälte Butch Bowers und Deborah Barbier, die eigentlich Trumps Verteidigung im Senat hätten anführen sollen. » | Quelle: ZEIT ONLINE, dpa, AP, AFP, msk | Sonntag, 31. Januar 2021

Russie : plus de 4 400 arrestations lors d’une nouvelle journée de manifestations à l’appel de l’opposant Navalny

LE MONDE: Des rassemblements ont notamment eu lieu à Moscou, Saint-Pétersbourg et Iekaterinbourg. Selon l’Union des journalistes russes, au moins 35 professionnels de la presse ont été arrêtés.

Malgré la pression croissante des autorités russes, qui ont multiplié les mises en garde et les procédures judiciaires, les partisans d’Alexeï Navalny manifestaient, dimanche 31 janvier, lors d’une nouvelle journée de mobilisation pour appeler à la libération de l’opposant emprisonné. La police russe a déployé un important dispositif et fermé l’accès au centre de plusieurs villes pour empêcher les protestataires de participer à ces réunions non autorisées.

D’après l’organisation OVD-Info, spécialisée dans le suivi des manifestations, au moins 4 407 personnes ont été interpellées dans 85 villes, principalement à Moscou (1 357) et Saint-Pétersbourg (950). Selon l’Union des journalistes russes, au moins 35 professionnels de la presse ont été arrêtés. » | Le Monde avec AFP | dimanche 31 janvier 2021

Reputations - Coco Chanel

…There are some ”...missing sound clips - YouTube automatically strips out music/soundtracks that has copyright issues also stripping out the narration.” …

How Big a Threat Is Navalny to Putin's Power? | DW News

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been coming under unusual pressure. A billion-dollar palace allegedly paid for illegally has been making global headlines, while young Russians flood TikTok with calls for protests. Thousands hit the streets in some of the most widespread demonstrations in years. And the president himself faced the public to deny accusations of stolen wealth. Much of the agitation was sparked by Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, now watching from prison.

With parliamentary elections looming, does Navalny pose a growing threat to President Putin's rule?

Corona-Krawalle in den Niederlanden: So knallhart greift die Polizei jetzt durch

Es ist Freitag, 21.24 Uhr. Seit 24 Minuten greift die nächtliche Ausgangssperre. Bis 4.30 Uhr morgens müssen alle Niederländer in ihren Häusern bleiben. So will die Regierung die Zahl der Corona-Neuinfizierungen in den Griff bekommen und Krawalle unterbinden.

Jetzt greifen die Behörden in den Niederlanden hart durch. Dutzende Polizisten sind im Einsatz, um für Recht und Ordnung zu sorgen.

One on One - Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia

The Crown Prince with No Kingdom

Crown Prince Alexander is royalty, but he has no kingdom to rule. CBC News spoke to the crown prince about his views on Serbia's democracy, bringing back a monarchy, and the excitement over the British Royal Family's latest wedding.

'Half-friends Is Not a Concept': UK Should Decide Who Its Allies Are, Says Macron

THE GUARDIAN: History and geography don’t change – I don’t think British destiny is different to ours,’ says French president

Emmanuel Macron has warned that Boris Johnson’s government has to decide who its allies are, insisting that “half-friends is not a concept”.

“What politics does Great Britain wish to choose? It cannot be the best ally of the US, the best ally of the EU and the new Singapore … It has to choose a model,” the French president said, in an interview with the Guardian and a small group of other media.

“But I have the impression the country’s leaders have sold all these models [to the people]. If it decides on a completely transatlantic policy then we [the EU] will need clarification, because there will be divergence on rules and access to markets.

“If it decides to be the new Singapore, which it has once suggested … well, I don’t know. It’s not for me to decide, but I would like good, peaceful relations. Our destinies are linked, our intellectual approach is linked, our researchers and industrials work together … I believe in a sovereign continent and nation states; I don’t believe in neo-nationalism.

“I am for common ambition and a common destiny. I hope Boris Johnson is also on that path, because I think the British people are. We remain allies. History and geography don’t change, so I don’t think the British people have a different destiny to ours.” » | Kim Willsher in Paris | Saturday, January 30, 2021

Remarkable Private Pictures of the Russian Royal Family Found in a Remote Urals Museum

THE SIBERIAN TIMES: Tsar Nicholas II appears in a photograph to be teaching his daughter Grand Duchess Anastasia how to smoke.

Another picture taken by the emperor dated 1916 shows Tsarevich Alexei - heir to an autocratic throne that would be abolished the following year - posing on a tree in winter with his beloved pet spaniel Joy.

These images of the Russian royal family, captured in photographs taken by the Tsar himself or his children, mostly date from the years of the First World War, and some very soon before the Romanov dynasty crumbled, to be rapidly replaced by Communism.

Found in a vault in Zlatoust, the album shows the private moments of the royals as the storm clouds gather over a dynasty that had ruled for more than three centuries.

The smoking picture shows the youngest princess Anastasia, then 15, evidently imbibing from a cigarette with every encouragement from the Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias. At the time there was not the same stigma attached to smoking and in fact a year earlier Anastasia had written to her father: 'I am sitting here with your old cigarette that you once gave me, and it is very tasty'. » | The Siberian Times Reporter | Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Diary of Olga Romanov: Smoking Cigarettes »

Poland to Implement Near-total Ban on Abortion Imminently

THE GUARDIAN: Move comes three months after original ruling prompted country’s biggest protests in recent history

A controversial ruling that imposes a near total-ban on abortion in Poland will come into effect imminently, the government has announced, three months after the original ruling prompted the biggest protests in the country’s recent history.

The announcement led protesters to gather again in Warsaw and other cities on Wednesday evening. “We are inviting everyone, please, go out, be motivated, so we can walk together, make a mark,” said protest group leader Marta Lempart.

The ruling, handed down by the constitutional tribunal in October, found that terminating pregnancies due to severe foetal abnormalities is unconstitutional. Poland already has some of the strictest abortion laws in Europe, and most of the small number of legal abortions that take place in the country are cases of foetal defects.

Once the ruling goes into effect, abortion will only be permitted in cases of rape, incest or when the mother’s life is in danger. » | Shaun Walker, Central and eastern Europe correspondent | Wednesday, January 27, 2021

American Psychosis - Chris Hedges

Chris Hedges on the US empire of narcissism and psychopathy.

2021 International Holocaust Remembrance Day Commemoration

Eight decades after the Holocaust began, people worldwide paused on the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz to honor the memory of Europe’s Jews, who were targeted for annihilation. During this ceremony, Holocaust survivors and leaders from the United States and Europe conveyed the urgent responsibility we all share to protect the lessons and legacy of this history and to defend the truth—now more than ever.

US Issues Terrorism Alert Early in Biden’s Term

CHICAGO SUN TIMES: The Department of Homeland Security issued a national terrorism bulletin Wednesday warning of the potential for lingering violence from people motivated by anti-government sentiment after President Joe Biden’s election.

WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security issued a national terrorism bulletin Wednesday warning of the potential for lingering violence from people motivated by anti-government sentiment after President Joe Biden’s election.

The department did not cite a specific threat, but pointed to “a heightened threat environment across the United States” that it believes “will persist” in the weeks since Biden took office. DHS said it consulted with law enforcement and intelligence agencies before issuing the alert about the potential for homegrown violent extremism.

“Information suggests that some ideologically-motivated violent extremists with objections to the exercise of governmental authority and the presidential transition, as well as other perceived grievances fueled by false narratives, could continue to mobilize to incite or commit violence,’’ the bulletin said. » | Associated Press | Wednesday, January 27, 2021

Romanovs: The Real Story

Unknown and unrevealed facts, which evince that many truths in regard to the life and death of the Romanovs remain silenced or distorted to this day. Nicholas II was surrounded by the forceful presence of his mother, the Dowager Empress, and his uncles. This generation of Romanovs could have, under normal circumstances, expected another two decades of service to and influence over their nation, and it was with both regret and misgivings that they kissed the hands of their new young sovereign and his Hessian bride.

This video is produced as part of the project for the book "The Romanov Royal Martyrs”, which is an impressive 512-page book, featuring nearly 200 black & white photographs, and a 56-page photo insert of more than 80 high-quality images, colorized by the acclaimed Russian artist Olga Shirnina (Klimbim) and appearing here in print for the first time.

European Union: Video Message on the Occasion of the Holocaust Remembrance Day

Video message by Charles MICHEL, President of the European Council, on the occasion of EJA International Holocaust Remembrance Day event (European Jewish Association), on 27 January 2021, in Brussels.

Holocaust Memorial Day: Remembering the Victims of All Genocides

Holocaust Memorial Day is dedicated to the millions of people, including six million Jews, who were murdered under Nazi rule during the Second World War and this year, its scope has been widened to include all victims of genocide.

In the decades since the Holocaust, the world has seen many more acts of genocide and Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis says lessons have not been learnt from the horrors of the Holocaust, with the plight of Uighur Muslims in China being frighteningly similar to the genocide of Europe's Jews many decades ago.

Verfahren gegen Trump: Fast alle Republikaner im Senat gegen Impeachment

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Nur fünf republikanische Senatoren stimmen mit den 50 Demokraten für den Fortgang des Amtsenthebungsverfahrens gegen den früheren amerikanischen Präsidenten. Die anderen halten es für verfassungswidrig. Damit wird eine Verurteilung extrem unwahrscheinlich.

Die Hoffnungen der amerikanischen Demokraten auf eine Verurteilung des früheren Präsidenten Donald Trump im Impeachment-Prozess haben einen deutlichen Dämpfer erlitten. Bei einer Abstimmung stellten sich am Dienstag 45 der 50 republikanischen Senatoren hinter einen Antrag, den Prozess wegen der Erstürmung des Kapitols für verfassungswidrig zu erklären. Nur fünf Republikaner stimmten mit den 50 Demokraten.

Das lässt es zunehmend unrealistisch erscheinen, dass im Senat die für eine Verurteilung Trumps notwendige Zweidrittelmehrheit zustande kommen wird. Sollten die 50 demokratischen Senatoren geschlossen für eine Amtsenthebung stimmen, müssten sich ihnen noch mindestens 17 Republikaner anschließen. » | Quelle: AFP/dpa | Mittwoch, 27. Januar 2021

Steve Schmidt Thinks Rand Paul Has ‘Soiled His Oath’ | Deadline | MSNBC

Steve Schmidt, co-founder of the Lincoln Project, calls out the current Republican party for its role in the insurrection and says the party is a “real life autocratic movement”. Aired on 01/22/2021.

Boris Johnson 'Deeply Sorry' as UK Covid Death Toll Passes 100,000

Boris Johnson said it was ‘difficult to compute the sorrow’ for every life lost to Covid as the official UK death toll passed 100,000. The prime minister said he took ‘full responsibility’ for the government's response to the crisis, and insisted the government 'did everything we could' to limit deaths

Keilar Calls Out Dr. Birx's Post-Trump Reputation Rehab Tour

Dr. Deborah Birx, former President Donald Trump's coronavirus task for coordinator, is making the rounds on television revealing the dysfunction in the Trump White House. CNN's Brianna Keilar rolls the tape on some of the times Birx could have spoken out about Trump but did not.

The Romanov Dynasty and the Hunt for Russia's Incredible Tsar's Treasure

By tracing the way, in which the royal treasures were appreciated in the nearly 100 years since the murder of Tsar Nicholas II and his family in 1918, we get a very intimate and special look at Russia and its heritage – past and present.

The Romanovs. The History of the Russian Dynasty

It was 20 years before the beginning of the XX century. The country was in fever. Never before tsar’s power had been as unstable as at that time. It was Alexander III Aleksandrovich who had to take on responsibility for the future of the empire. He was able to extricate the country from economic crisis and turn it into one of the world’s mightiest powers. It was in this condition – at the peak of its power – that the country was inherited by Nicholas Aleksandrovich Romanov. Nobody could even guess at that time that the Russian Empire would collapse soon and Nicholas would be its last ruler, the last monarch of the great dynasty, the House of Romanov.

The most vivid pages of Russian history and the establishment and consolidation of Russian state power are associated with the eighteen Russian Tsars of the House of Romanov which include such historic names as Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, Nicholas I and Alexanders I, II and III. The dynasty ended with the brutal assassination of the last Tsar, Nicholas II and his family by the Bolsheviks in Ekaterinburg in 1917.

The Romanov dynasty played a hugely important role in world history, and the series highlights the life stories and characters of the tsars, recounting their rise to power and their contribution to the dynasty, their merits and their faults, their achievements and mistakes, their victories and defeats in war.

Courtrooms and Creditors Likely to Loom Large in Trump's Post-presidency Life

THE GUARDIAN: Carter campaigned for human rights, Bush painted … but Trump faces several criminal investigations and a mountain of debt

Each US president has charted a unique course after leaving the White House, taking up vocations from philanthropy to human rights to oil painting.

Donald Trump’s post-presidency appears likely to be taken up by meetings with lawyers and creditors, possible sworn depositions about tax practices or sexual assault allegations and, in some long-tail scenarios, fines, criminal charges, bankruptcy or other legal sanction.

With Trump gone from Washington, and now lacking the immunity protections of the presidency, prosecutors in at least three jurisdictions are either weighing or actively pursuing criminal cases against him, and a fourth prosecutor is investigating allegedly fraudulent business practices inside the Trump Organization.

Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, is reportedly a major figure in two of the investigations, over more than $700,000 in “consulting fees” she allegedly received from the Trump Organization, which then allegedly claimed those fees as tax-deductible business expenses. » | Tom McCarthy | Sunday, January 23, 2021

Sturgeon: SNP Will Hold Scottish Independence Vote If It Wins in May

THE GUARDIAN: First minister says she will hold advisory referendum, whether Westminster consents or not

Nicola Sturgeon has said she will hold an advisory referendum on independence if her Scottish National party wins a majority in May’s Holyrood elections, regardless of whether Westminster consents to the move.

Her party is setting out an 11-point roadmap for taking forward another vote, which was to be presented to members of the SNP’s national assembly on Sunday.

Scotland’s first minister told BBC One’s Andrew Marr show on Sunday morning: “I want to have a legal referendum, that’s what I’m going to seek the authority of the Scottish people for in May and if they give me that authority that’s what I intend to do: to have a legal referendum to give people the right to choose. That’s democracy. It’s not about what I want or what Boris Johnson wants.” » | Libby Brooks, Scotland correspondent | Sunday, January 24, 2021

Go for it, Nicola! Scotland's destiny is in Europe. – Mark

From the 60 Minutes Archives: Alexey Navalny

n 2017, Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny told 60 Minutes he was willing to risk his life for the cause, "I think I'm ready to sacrifice everything for my job."

Tens of thousands protest in Russia calling for Navalny's release »

Larry King, Breezy Interviewer of the Famous and Infamous, Dies at 87

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Over five decades, he chatted with an estimated 50,000 people from all walks of life, from presidents and pundits to swindlers and U.F.O. “experts.”

Larry King, who shot the breeze with presidents and psychics, movie stars and malefactors — anyone with a story to tell or a pitch to make — in a half-century on radio and television, including 25 years as the host of CNN’s globally popular “Larry King Live,” died on Saturday in Los Angeles. He was 87.

Ora Media, which Mr. King co-founded in 2012, confirmed the death in a statement posted on Mr. King’s own Twitter account and said he had died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

The statement did not specify a cause of death, but Mr. King had recently been treated for Covid-19. In 2019, he was hospitalized for chest pains and said he had also suffered a stroke.

A son of European immigrants who grew up in Brooklyn and never went to college, Mr. King began as a local radio interviewer and sportscaster in Florida in the 1950s and ’60s, rose to prominence with an all-night coast-to-coast radio call-in show starting in 1978, and from 1985 to 2010 anchored CNN’s highest-rated, longest-running program, reaching millions across America and around the world. » | Robert D. McFadden | Saturday, January 23, 2021

Demstrationen für Navalnyj: „Putin ist ein Dieb!“

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Zehntausende Menschen protestieren am Samstag gegen den russischen Staatspräsidenten und für die Freilassung Alexej Nawalnyjs. Die Staatsmacht geht hart gegen die friedlichen Demonstranten vor.

Im Zentrum Moskaus erschallt am Samstagnachmittag ein Hupkonzert. Zahlreiche Autofahrer hupen, winken den Leuten zu, die den Puschkin-Platz und die angrenzenden Straßen verstopfen. Polizisten flankieren die Straßen, ihre Gesichter von schwarzen Visieren verdeckt. Nur wenige derer, die sich hier versammeln, um „spazieren zu gehen“, wagen es, Schilder zu tragen, denn das liefert einen Anlass zur Festnahme. Die Veranstaltung ist aus Behördensicht illegal, daran erinnert eine Durchsage der Polizei in Dauerschleife. So wie auch die Demonstrationen in allen anderen russischen Städten, zu denen der Oppositionspolitiker Alexej Nawalnyj Anfang der Woche nach seiner Verhaftung für diesen Samstag aufgerufen hat. » | Von Friedrich Schmidt und Reinhard Veser | Samstag, 23. Januar 2021

One Winning Ticket Sold for $1.05bn Mega Millions Lottery Jackpot

THE GUARDIAN: Third-largest prize in US history awaits Michigan winner / Prize had been growing since September

One winning ticket was sold in Michigan for the $1.05bn Mega Millions jackpot, the third-largest lottery prize in US history.

The winning numbers drawn on Friday were 4, 26, 42, 50, 60 and a Mega Ball of 24. The winning ticket was purchased at a Kroger store in the Detroit suburb of Novi, the Michigan Lottery said.

“Someone in Michigan woke up to life-changing news this morning, and Kroger Michigan congratulates the newest Michigan multimillionaire,” said Rachel Hurst, a regional spokeswoman for the grocery chain. She declined to comment further.

The top prize had been growing since 15 September, when a winning ticket was sold in Wisconsin. The lottery’s next estimated jackpot is $20m.

Friday night’s draw came two days after a ticket sold in Maryland won a $731.1m Powerball jackpot. » | Associated Press in New York | Saturday, January 23, 2021

$1 Billion Lottery Prize Ticket Was Sold in Michigan »

Joe Biden Moved to Scrap Many of Trump's Policies | Inside Story

After one of the most bitterly contested and chaotic elections in American history, Joe Biden - the 46th president of the United States - began work in the Oval Office.

Within hours of being sworn in, Biden kicked off his term signing 17 executive orders to reverse some of Donald Trump's most contentious policies. They included repealing Trump's travel ban on some Muslim-majority countries, halting construction of the border wall with Mexico, and rejoining the Paris Climate Accord.

Can the new president repair fractured relations around the world?

Presenter: Mohammed Jamjoom | Guests: Rina Shah, Founder of Republican Women for Biden; Nizar Messari, Associate professor of International Studies at Al Akhawayn University; Jill Cartwright, Writer and Georgia Organizer at Southerners on New Ground Power.

Last of the Czars

«Die Mehrheit der Priester im Vatikan ist schwul» | Sternstunde Religion | SRF Kultur

Mit seiner These, wonach die Mehrheit der Prälaten, Bischöfe und Kardinäle des Vatikans schwul seien, generierte der französische Soziologe und Journalist Frédéric Martel im Frühling 2019 viel Aufmerksamkeit, aber auch Unverständnis.

Sein Buch «Sodom» erschien zeitgleich in acht Sprachen und Martel wurde in unzählige Talkshows eingeladen, doch der Vatikan hüllte sich in Schweigen. Wer sich in den 30er-, 40er- und 50er-Jahren des letzten Jahrhunderts als junger Mann irgendwie anders – eben homosexuell – fühlte, fand in der römisch-katholischen Kirche eine Oase, so Martel in seinem Buch «Sodom»: Männer, die unter Männern leben, andere Kleidung tragen und singen, das wäre für viele die Rettung gewesen, die zudem noch von der Gesellschaft akzeptiert war.

Gegen aussen seien diese in der Regel sehr alten Männer nun homophob, gegen innen aber homophil. Dies führe zu einer gefährlichen Doppelmoral, einer Kultur des Schweigens, die die Skandale rund um die katholische Kirche sehr unglücklich begünstigt hätten.

The End of the Romanov Dynasty

On March the 2nd, 1917, two representatives of the Duma, arrived in Pskov to receive Nicholas’ II abdication. That was the end of the Romanov Dynasty. The video follows the events from the February Revolution 1917 until the murder of the Romanov family and the discovery of their remains, in 1991.

One of the main features of this video is the film with V. Shulgin, one of the two Duma members who met Tsar Nicholas II and received from him his abdication statement. Shulgin related the story in 1957, after Stalin’s death, in a film that was shot in the very same train compartment where they met Nicholas II and received his abdication.

This video is produced as part of the project for the book "The Romanov Royal Martyrs”, which is an impressive 512-page book, featuring nearly 200 black & white photographs, and a 56-page photo insert of more than 80 high-quality images, colorized by the acclaimed Russian artist Olga Shirnina (Klimbim) and appearing here in print for the first time.


Explore the book HERE »

Order the book HERE »

In a Slight to E.U., U.K. Says Not All Ambassadors Are Equal

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Just weeks into its official break from the bloc, Britain is refusing to grant the bloc’s ambassador the same status as other top diplomats.

BRUSSELS — For all the complications and wounded feelings Brexit has introduced in the relationship between the European Union and its erstwhile member, Britain, this week saw the addition of a diplomatic spat reminiscent of a similar argument initiated by former President Donald J. Trump.

So far, at least, Britain is refusing to grant the European Union ambassador the same diplomatic status as other ambassadors.

The British argument is that the European Union is an international federation, not a nation state, and should receive the same treatment as other international organizations, further down the diplomatic ranking. There is also the suspicion that the British government is trying to embarrass Brussels and contrast its own status as a nation state with the confederation it chose to leave. » | Steven Erlanger | Thursday, January 21, 2021

The Last of the Romanovs | Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna

The extraordinary story of Tsar Nicholas’ sister and her journey from the palaces of St. Petersburg to death in obscurity above a barbershop in Toronto. A life full of passion and love, set at the backdrop of an entire century. She was raised at the Gatchina Palace outside Saint Petersburg. Olga was her father’s favorite, but Tsar Alexander III died when she was only 12. After the Russian Revolution, Olga escaped to Denmark with her second husband and their two sons, in February 1920, where they lived as farmers. Finally, in 1948, she relocated with her immediate family to a farm in Campbellville, Ontario, Canada. At the end of her life and afterwards, Olga was widely labeled the last Grand Duchess of Imperial Russia.

This video is produced as part of the project for the book "The Romanov Royal Martyrs”, which is an impressive 512-page book, featuring nearly 200 black & white photographs, and a 56-page photo insert of more than 80 high-quality images, colorized by the acclaimed Russian artist Olga Shirnina (Klimbim) and appearing here in print for the first time.

President Biden's Full Inaugural Address

Biden Prepares Ambitious Agenda Even as He Cleans Up Trump's Mess

THE GUARDIAN: Analysis: The new administration faces no shortage of obstacles to progress – but Biden is setting his sights high nonetheless

The last time a Democratic president took control of the White House, the wreckage he inherited was so great, there was little else his incoming team could prioritize.

Twelve years ago, Barack Obama’s blunt-spoken chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, liked to describe the Republican legacy – a financial crisis, deep recession and two wars – as a giant shit sandwich wrapped in a red ribbon.

Recovering from the economic crisis of George W Bush’s final year would require most of the Obama team’s focus in their first two years, when they controlled both sides of Congress with large majorities. Obama handed over his signature campaign issue – winding down the war in Iraq – to his vice-president to manage.

Now that former vice-president takes over the presidency with even more wreckage to sift through.

Joe Biden must overcome a pandemic, rebuild an economy, tackle racist insurrectionists and the ex-president who incited them, and reassert American leadership across a distrustful world. Somehow he must do all that while also confirming his senior officials in a Senate with no working majority. » | Richard Wolffe | Wednesday, January 20, 2021

Stricter Rules and Tougher Controls as Germany Extends Lockdown | DW News

Germany extends its lockdown until at least mid-February, with stricter rules on mask-wearing as part of tougher controls to curb new variants of Covid-19. Although the country has been reporting a drop in new infections, German leaders hope further restrictions can slow the spread of more transmissable coronavirus variants that have emerged in other countries. The government is imposing new rules that include the wearing of higher-quality masks and more people working from home.

Biden Gets Emotional Talking about His Journey to White House

President-elect Joe Biden gave an emotional speech in Delaware before he departs for Washington ahead of his inauguration tomorrow.

A Message from First Lady Melania Trump

The Financial Minefield Awaiting an Ex-President Trump

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Baseless election fraud claims and the Capitol riot have compounded already-looming threats to his bottom line. And the cash lifelines he once relied on are gone.

Not long after he strides across the White House grounds Wednesday morning for the last time as president, Donald J. Trump will step into a financial minefield that appears to be unlike anything he has faced since his earlier brushes with collapse.

The tax records that he has long fought to keep hidden, revealed in a New York Times investigation last September, detailed his financial challenges:

Many of his resorts were losing millions of dollars a year even before the pandemic struck. Hundreds of millions of dollars in loans, which he personally guaranteed, must be repaid within a few years. He has burned through much of his cash and easy-to-sell assets. And a decade-old I.R.S. audit threatens to cost him more than $100 million to resolve. » | Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig | Tuesday, January 19, 2021

Farewell Address of President Donald J. Trump

This man is delusional! He won’t be missed! Farewell! And good riddance! – Mark

Biden Administration 'To Declassify Report' into Khashoggi Murder

THE GUARDIAN: Decision would mean US could assign blame for death on to Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman

The Biden administration will declassify an intelligence report into the murder by the Saudi government of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to Avril Haines, who has been nominated to serve as director of national intelligence.

The decision means that the US is likely to officially assign blame for Khashoggi’s brutal murder to the kingdom’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Khashoggi, a Washington Post journalist and US resident who wrote critical columns about the Saudi crown prince, was murdered by Saudi agents inside the Saudi consulate in Turkey in October 2018.

While media reports have said that the US intelligence community determined with a medium to high degree of confidence that Prince Mohammed ordered the killing, that assessment has never officially been stated. The crown prince has denied he ordered the murder. » | Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington | Tuesday, January 19, 2021

The Nazi Officer's Wife

The Nazi Officer's Wife: How One Jewish Woman Survived the Holocaust is a 1999 autobiography by Austrian-born Edith Hahn-Beer. Written with the help of Susan Dworkin, the book's first edition was published by Rob Weibach Books and William Morrow and Company. A documentary film based on the source material and starring Hahn-Beer herself was released in 2003.

«La violence n'est jamais la solution» : Melania Trump publie une vidéo d'adieu

LE FIGARO: La première dame s'apprête à quitter la Maison-Blanche et n'a qu'à peine évoqué son mari.


Vous pouvez lire l’article ici »

Brexit Was a Typically English Revolution – One That Left the Elites Unharmed

THE GUARDIAN: Our ruling class is expert in maintaining a myth of continuity, and absorbing supporters from the ranks of the aggrieved

Jacob Rees-Mogg’s star has waned since his glory days leading backbench rebellions against Theresa May. He is on TV less, playing to smaller crowds. I caught him the other week on the BBC Parliament channel telling the Commons that fish unable to reach EU markets were “better and happier” because Brexit makes them more British.

Watching his performance, I recalled the perennially startling fact about Rees-Mogg: he is younger than Kylie Minogue (also Noel Gallagher and Damon Albarn, but Minogue is the more arresting comparator for some reason).

No one expects politicians and pop stars from the same generation to sound and dress alike, but how many people realise that the artist known to fans as Moggy is of Kylie’s generation? His style implies something ancient, but that is the point. It is a look, tailored for an audience – just like any theatrical costume. Except his stage is parliament. » | Rafael Behr | Tuesday, January 19, 2021

The Last Christmas of the Romanovs

Christmas 1917 would be the last for the Romanov family. Isolated from the world, exiled in Siberia, they lived the joy of the feast of love, distributing gifts to the members of their staff that they had made themselves. Under house arrest and closely guarded, they were able to organize a traditional Christmas that was in many ways their closest family holiday.

Democracy Now! Top US & World Headlines — January 19, 2021

President Trump: The 24 Final Hours in the White House | DW News

Washington has become a fortress city of roadblocks and barricades, and the FBI is vetting all 25,000 people providing security for President-elect Joe Biden's upcoming inauguration. Rehearsals of the ceremony are taking place in a city that now resembles a ghost town.

Le nouveau président de la CDU, un choix rassurant pour l’Allemagne et l’Europe

LE MONDE: Editorial. En choisissant de porter Armin Laschet, fidèle de la chancelière Angela Merkel, à la tête de leur parti, les conservateurs allemands réaffirment leur ancrage dans une ligne européenne et centriste.

Editorial du « Monde ». Quinze ans après l’élection d’Angela Merkel à la tête du gouvernement allemand, le congrès de l’Union chrétienne-démocrate (CDU), vendredi 15 et samedi 16 janvier, avait un parfum d’adieu : « Selon toute vraisemblance, c’est mon dernier congrès en tant que chancelière », y a déclaré Mme Merkel, qui s’est engagée à quitter le pouvoir après les élections législatives du 26 septembre.

Si elle s’apprête à tourner la page des années Merkel, la droite allemande n’entend toutefois pas rompre avec le « merkélisme ». Armin Laschet, 59 ans, le nouveau président de la CDU, est un fidèle de la chancelière, dont il a toujours soutenu la politique, y compris quand elle se heurta à de vives critiques dans le parti, comme en 2015, lors de la crise des réfugiés. » | Éditorial | lundi 18 janvier 2021

Covid-19 : la lourde responsabilité de Donald Trump dans l’hécatombe américaine

LE MONDE: Editorial. Le bilan de 400 000 morts apparaît comme la conséquence de ce mélange d’arrogance, de cynisme, de mépris pour les scientifiques et de mensonge caractéristique de la personnalité du président américain.

Editorial du « Monde ».Il y a tout juste quatre ans, Donald Trump promettait devant le monde abasourdi de « mettre fin au carnage américain ». A la veille de quitter la Maison Blanche, le président républicain laisse derrière lui un pays en lambeaux, parcouru de divisions rarement égalées, secoué par des violences politiques inédites et, surtout, ravagé par une pandémie galopante et, par endroits, totalement hors de contrôle.

Sa gestion de la crise sanitaire, marquée tour à tour par l’indifférence, le déni, les mensonges et l’instrumentalisation politique, laisse les Etats-Unis face à un bilan unique au monde : près de 400 000 morts en onze mois, 23 millions de personnes contaminées. A son actif demeureront seulement les efforts financiers déployés pour permettre la découverte rapide d’un vaccin. » | Éditorial | Samedi 16 janvier 2021

Tunisia Protests: Hundreds Arrested as Clashes Continue

BBC: Police in Tunisia say they have arrested more than 600 people as a fourth night of violent protests saw protesters return to the streets.

On Monday, crowds of mainly young demonstrators again gathered in the centre of the capital, Tunis, throwing stones and petrol bombs at police.

Security forces responded with tear gas and water cannon.

Tunisia faces severe economic problems and a third of its young people are unemployed.

The economic crisis has worsened under the pandemic.

The latest unrest comes almost exactly 10 years since the Tunisian revolution ushered in democracy and triggered the Arab Spring revolts across the region. However, hopes that this would bring more jobs and opportunities have been disappointed.

Outside Tunis, clashes were reported on Monday in the cities of Kasserine, Gafsa, Sousse and Monastir. » | Tuesday, January 19, 2021

Italy Smoking: Want to Light Up in Milan? Not Any More, You Can't

BBC: It's all change for the trendy crowds along the canals of Milan, used to holding a glass of aperitivo in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Because a ban on smoking outdoors has just come into force in a range of public places.

Smoking within a 10m (30ft) distance of other people is no longer permitted from Tuesday at bus and tram stops as well as in the city's parks and green spaces, sports and recreational grounds, children's play areas, stadiums and cemeteries.

Italy was the first country in the EU to pass a law backing an indoor ban on smoking in public places in 2003.

Milan is now the first Italian city to introduce such an extensive outdoor ban, part of a package of measures to improve air quality and combat climate change.

Other planned regulations, which will come into effect in phases over the next three decades, also target factors like car emissions and heating fuels. » | Dany Mitzman | Bologna | Tuesday, January 19, 2021

Majority of Europeans Fear Biden Unable to Fix 'Broken' US

THE GUARDIAN: Survey finds more Europeans than not say US cannot be trusted after four years of Trump

A majority of Europeans believe America’s political system is broken, that China will be the world’s leading power within a decade, and that Joe Biden will be unable to halt his country’s decline on the world stage, according to a report.

While many welcomed Biden’s victory in November’s US election, more Europeans than not feel that after four years of Donald Trump the US cannot be trusted, according to the study by the European Council on Foreign Relations.

“Europeans like Biden, but they don’t think America will come back as a global leader,” said the thinktank’s director, Mark Leonard. “When George W Bush was president, they were divided about how America should use its power. With Biden entering the White House, they are divided about whether America has power at all.” » | Jon Henley | Tuesday, January 19, 2021

Chris Hedges on the Bleak Future of the USA (Audio Only)

A chilling speech by Chris Hedges, Pulitzer prize winning journalist and political activist, given at St. Andrew's - Wesley United Church in Vancouver, CA on March 3, 2017.
Listen HERE »

Lights Go Out on Trump's Reality TV Presidency but Dark Legacy Remains

THE GUARDIAN: For four years the outrages piled up so high they were hard to keep track of but the coronavirus pandemic proved to be one crisis he couldn’t bluster away

In a cold, sombre, damp Washington four years ago this Wednesday, Donald Trump took the oath of office as the 45th president of the United States and delivered an inaugural address now remembered for two words: American carnage.

He delivered, but not as he promised. Trump pledged to end the carnage of inner-city poverty, rusting factories, broken schools and the scourge of criminal gangs and drugs. Instead his presidency visited upon the nation the carnage of about 400,000 coronavirus deaths, the worst year for jobs since the second world war and the biggest stress test for American democracy since the civil war.

“It’s not just physical carnage,” said Moe Vela, a former White House official. “There’s also mental carnage and there’s spiritual carnage and there’s emotional carnage. He has left a very wide swath of American carnage and that is the last way I would want to be remembered by history, but that is how he will be remembered.” » | David Smith in Washington | Tuesday, January 19, 2021

Brexiters Are Waking Up to the Damage They've Done

THE GUARDIAN: From horse racing to fishing to road haulage, British industry is in chaos. No wonder leavers are turning on each other

Brexit has beached the fishing boats at Hastings. The two-man crew of Paul Joy’s boat Kaya have left for shore jobs, after the price of the huss they land fell to just 2p a kilo. Exports to the European Union are Brexit-blighted, with fishers across Britain poleaxed by new costs and regulations, their catches rotting before they reach EU markets. It’s costing them millions already.

For the past two years Joy, a passionate Brexiter, has consistently told me he believes his industry would be shafted in any trade deal. “Betrayed, sacrificed,” he says, outraged at the government’s failure to secure British fishing rights for 12 miles around the coast, and now crippled by the export costs. So when foreign secretary Dominic Raab has the effrontery to tell the BBC’s Andrew Marr that this is “a great deal for the fishing industry”, he must know it’s not true.

Other industries want to know if Boris Johnson’s promised “compensation” for fishing losses means a huge subsidy in perpetuity for this less than 0.2% sliver of the economy? Because the problems exploding in one industry after another, in less than three Brexit weeks, are not going away.

Friction is the new normal. As the chief EU negotiator, Michel Barnier said firmly last week, things have “changed for good”. UK choices mean “mechanical, obvious, inevitable consequences when you leave the single market and that’s what the British wished to do”. It’s not French revenge, or bloody-minded Brussels, but ordinary life as a third country. » | Polly Toynbee | Monday, January 18, 2021

Biden’s Incoming Chief of Staff Warns That the Virus Death Toll Will Reach 500,000 by the End of February.

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Officials in the incoming Biden administration braced the country for continued hardship in the days after the inauguration, with the president-elect assuming control of a struggling economy and surging coronavirus outbreak in less than three days.

Ron Klain, President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s incoming White House chief of staff, had a dire forecast for the course of the coronavirus outbreak in the new administration’s first weeks, predicting that half a million Americans will have died from the coronavirus by the end of February. The current toll is nearing 400,000.

“The virus is going to get worse before it gets better,” Mr. Klain said in an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “People who are contracting the virus today will start to get sick next month, will add to the death toll in late February, even March, so it’s going to take awhile to turn this around.”

Average daily U.S. deaths from the virus have risen to well past 3,000, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has sounded the alarm about a fast-spreading, far more contagious variant of the coronavirus that officials project will become the dominant source of infection in the country by March, potentially fueling another wrenching surge of cases and deaths. » | Chris Cameron | Sunday, January 17, 2021

Opinion: The Extraordinary Courage of Aleksei Navalny

THE NEW YORK TIMES: After a near-fatal poisoning, Russia’s top dissident steps back into the bear’s den.

Aleksei Navalny knew he would be arrested as soon as he stepped foot on Russian soil, and he had no illusions about what this could mean.

Mr. Navalny had been abroad since August, after all, because President Vladimir Putin’s political goons had poisoned him, and had failed to kill him only because a pilot had diverted his flight to Omsk, where doctors kept him alive until he could be evacuated to Germany. Ironically, his flight was diverted again on Sunday — this time by Russian authorities afraid of the welcoming crowd gathering at the Moscow airport where his flight was supposed to land.

Mr. Navalny knew he would be arrested, because he has been arrested several times before. Repression is the only way Mr. Putin knows. But he is also learning that, in the era of social media, every arrest on a trumped-up charge only broadens Mr. Navalny’s following and amplifies his indictment of the corruption of Russia’s rulers. » | The Editorial Board | Sunday, January 17, 2021

Nicholas and Alexandra | by HRH Prince Michael of Kent | Parts 1 & 2

Narrated by Jack Perkins, presented by HRH Prince Michael of Kent, includes interviews with Prince Nicholas Romanov (1922-2014), and people who were born in the late 19th century, and witness to Nicholas II's reign.

For almost a century their fabled dynasty and tragic fate have been enveloped in myth and surrounded by mystery. Now, with the opening of the former Soviet Union, the true story of Nicholas and Alexandra can be told. This groundbreaking production, filmed on location throughout the former Soviet Union and Europe, presents a treasure trove of information and documents that have been kept secret for decades. Intimate diaries, letters, and personal effects from the once-sealed imperial archives tell the astonishing story of the Romanovs' reign. Chilling eyewitness accounts, testimony from executioners, and a somber exhumation finally put to rest the enigma of their dynasty's horrifying end. Stunning, fact-filled and grand, this is the ultimate chronicle of a romance that changed the world.

Originally produced by A&E Biography, 1998.

Prof. Wolff on the Capitol Hill Riot: Capitalism's Last Gasp?

Sterben & Tod – Warum haben wir Angst davor? | Philosophie | Bleisch & Bossart | SRF Kultur – Ein Gespräch in Schweizerdeutsch (Schwiezertüütsch)

Muss man vor dem Tod Angst haben? Vielleicht nicht vor dem Tod, denn den Zustand des Totseins erleben wir ja nicht mehr. Ist es also das Sterben, das uns beschäftigt? Barbara Bleisch und Yves Bossart diskutieren über Facetten der Endlichkeit – vom Sekundentod bis zum ewigen Leben und fragen: Wäre Unsterblichkeit die Lösung?

Hebrew University's Prof. Yuval Noah Harari on the Era of the Coronavirus: Living in a New Reality

Interview between journalist Romi Noimark and Hebrew University's Prof. Yuval Noah Harari on The Era of the Coronavirus: Living in a New Reality

Evangelical Christians in the USA | DW Documentary

Evangelical Christians often have a huge impact on American politics. Many of these people are socially conservative, consider themselves patriots, and believe that Americans have a constitutional right to own guns.

This documentary explores the core beliefs of America's fundamentalist Christians - including the concept of creation, as opposed to evolution.

Our report features interviews with conservative evangelicals who, for example, believe that God created the world in six days about 6,000 years ago. Our reporters traveled to the state of Kentucky to visit a Creation Museum and a Christian theme park that features a life-size model of Noah's Ark.

Christian churches in the US play a major social role, especially in rural areas. They operate schools and universities and organize music festivals that celebrate their faith.

Most fundamentalist Christians are opposed to abortion, pre-marital sex, and homosexuality. They believe that those who engage in these activities will be condemned to Hell. And some have formed paramilitary groups to defend themselves against those whom they perceive as enemies - including non-believers, Communists, and Muslims.

Donald Trump Isolated and Enraged ahead of Biden Inauguration

THE GUARDIAN: A slew of aides have deserted the president and the Pentagon has decided not to hold an armed forces farewell tribute

It was once easy to determine Donald Trump’s mood. All it took was a look at his Twitter account. But with that gone, it has never been so difficult to gain a glimpse into the president’s mindset.

Where frequently a series of all-caps tweets might have suggested an emotional, frustrated Trump, there is silence.

Where posts screeching at fellow Republicans would have indicated a more vindictive bent, or messages with exclamation points a triumphant mood, all that is left of Trump’s Twitter account – which once had 88.7m followers – is a curt message from Twitter’s admin team: “Account suspended. Twitter suspends accounts which violate the Twitter Rules.”

So how has Trump reacted to the events of the past few weeks? By the accounts available, not well. A notoriously excitable president has remained in a state of high alarm. » | Adam Gabbatt in New York | Saturday, January 16, 2021

What Will Be Trump's Legacy? Hear Historian's Prediction

CNN's presidential historian Douglas Brinkley talks with CNN's Don and former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci about what President Trump's legacy will be once he leaves office, and how the riots at the US Capitol have affected that legacy.

Deadly Earthquake Hits Indonesia's Sulawesi Island | DW News

An earthquake struck Indonesia's Sulawesi island early on Friday morning, leaving at least 34 people dead and injuring over 600 others. The head of the local disaster mitigation agency Ali Rahman told AFP that "the latest information we have is that 26 people are dead in Mamuju city." The national disaster agency said that a further eight people had died to the south of the city. Many buildings were damaged. Two hospitals and the building that houses the provincial government offices collapsed, said Muhammad Idris, secretary to the governor on national television. A large number of people are trapped under the rubble, officials said. The epicenter of the 6.2 magnitude quake was 6 kilometers (3.73 miles) northeast of Majene city and measured at a depth of 18 kilometers. Thousands of people left their homes when the quake hit. They were evacuated to temporary shelters.

Saukälte in Sibirien: Minus-Rekord - Temperatur sinkt auf minus 49 Grad

Kalt, kälter, am kältesten: Im Süden und Westen Sibiriens haben Meteorologen neue Kälterekorde gemessen. Im Dorf Teguldet nahe der Großstadt Tomsk sei das Thermometer am Wochenende auf minus 49 Grad gesunken, sagte ein Wetterexperte am Montag der russischen Staatsagentur Tass. «Westsibirien hat die Meteorologen tief beeindruckt.»

In Nowosibirsk wurden demnach zwischen minus 37 und minus 41 Grad gemessen. Frühere Rekorde in Sibiriens größter Stadt seien um 5 Grad getoppt worden. In anderen Regionen sei es so kalt gewesen wie in den vergangenen 50 bis 100 Jahren nicht mehr, sagte der Sprecher. Nach Angaben der Behörden mussten viele Menschen mit Erfrierungen behandelt werden. Außerdem habe es zahlreiche Verkehrsunfälle und Flugausfälle gegeben.

Jacob Rees-Mogg Says British Fish Are 'Happier' because of Brexit Deal

The leader of the House of Commons claimed fish delayed for export because of the introduction of the post-Brexit fishing regime were 'happier' because they are now British. 'The key is we’ve got our fish back,' he told MPs. 'They’re now British fish and they’re better and happier fish for it'

Jacob Rees-Mogg? What a tw*t! (Please insert the vowel of your own choosing.) – Mark

Former Spanish King's Ex-lover Says She Was Threatened by Spy Chief

THE GUARDIAN: Corinna Larsen tells court ‘chilling’ warning to her and her children came on the orders of King Juan Carlos

The ex-lover of Spain’s former king Juan Carlos has told a court in Madrid of the “chilling” moment when she claimed the head of the country’s intelligence services threatened her and her children on the monarch’s orders.

Corinna Larsen told the court Félix Sanz Roldán met her in London after her relationship with the king had ended to warn her that if she did not follow his instructions he could not guarantee her safety. She claimed she later returned to her home in Switzerland where she discovered a book about the death of Princess Diana and subsequently received a cryptic phone call about tunnels, which she took to be an allusion to the princess’s fatal accident in 1997. » | Sam Jones in Madrid | Friday, January 15, 2021

Philipp Blom: Wie sieht unser Lebensmodell nach Corona aus? | Sternstunde Philosophie | SRF Kultur

Für den Bestsellerautor, Historiker und Philosoph Philipp Blom ist klar: Unser Selbstbild und unser Wirtschaftssystem sind bankrott. Wir brauchen ein neues Lebensmodell für die Zukunft. Denn wir Menschen stehen nicht über der Natur. Wir sind Teil von ihr, abhängig und verletzlich. Das zeigt die Pandemie ebenso wie die Klimakrise.

«Menschen lernen nicht aus der Geschichte, aber sie reagieren auf Traumata», schreibt der deutsche Historiker und Philosoph Philipp Blom. Hinterlässt die Pandemie ein solches Trauma? Oder die Klimakrise?

Nach Blom befinden wir uns derzeit am Ende von 3000 Jahren Kulturgeschichte. Am Anfang stand das göttliche Gebot: Macht euch die Erde untertan! Aufklärung, Industrialisierung und Kolonialismus folgten diesem Glauben.


Sternstunde Philosophie vom 10.01.2021

Zucker – Die süsse Droge | Wie Zucker unsere Gesundheit gefährdet | Doku | SRF DOK

Vier von zehn Schweizern sind übergewichtig. Unter anderem ist auch der zu hohe Zuckerkonsum daran schuld. Überall ist Zucker drin. Selbst dort, wo wir es nicht für möglich halten. Eine fünfköpfige Familie aus dem Aargau hat einen Monat lang zuckerfrei gelebt. Mit überraschenden Erkenntnissen.

«Zucker macht süchtig, denn Zucker aktiviert im Hirn die gleichen Rezeptoren wie andere Drogen», sagt die Basler Ärztin Bettina Wölnerhanssen. Darum sei es auch so schwierig, Eigenverantwortung zu übernehmen, und den eigenen Zuckerkonsum zu reduzieren. Wir alle lieben Süsses. Auch die Familie Rechsteiner mit drei Kindern im Teenageralter aus Döttingen ist der süssen Verführung nicht abgeneigt. Allerdings will die Familie nun herausfinden, was der Zuckerkonsum bei ihnen bewirkt, und lässt sich auf einen Versuch ein: Alle fünf Familienmitglieder wollen einen ganzen Monat lang auf Lebensmittel mit zugefügtem Zucker verzichten. Das ist einfacher gesagt als getan. Denn in vier von fünf Lebensmitteln versteckt sich zugefügter Zucker. Selbst in solchen, die gar nicht besonders süss schmecken.

In der Schweiz ist jedes sechste Kind zu dick. Eine halbe Million Schweizerinnen und Schweizer leiden an Diabetes. Vielen Menschen ist zu wenig bewusst, dass sie Zucker aus gesundheitlichen Überlegungen meiden oder nur in geringen Mengen konsumieren sollten. Eine staatlich verordnete Zuckerreduktion stösst auf wenig Akzeptanz: 2019 wurde die Einführung einer Zuckersteuer von den eidgenössischen Räten abgelehnt. In England hingegen hat man das Problem erkannt und reagiert. Mit der Einführung einer happigen Zuckersteuer konnte dort der Zuckergehalt in Süssgetränken massiv gesenkt werden. Heute enthält beispielsweise eine Orangenlimonade in London nur noch halb so viel Zucker wie eine Limonade derselben Marke in Zürich oder Genf.

Erwachsenen Menschen empfiehlt die Weltgesundheits-Organisation nicht mehr als 50 Gramm Zucker pro Tag. Für Kinder die Hälfte. In der Schweiz sind wir mit der doppelten Zuckermenge alarmierend weit von den WHO-Richtwerten entfernt. Die Politik macht wenig Druck auf die Nahrungsmittelproduzenten. Sie setzt auf die Eigenverantwortung der Konsumentinnen und Konsumenten. Wie schwierig das ist, musste auch Familie Rechsteiner feststellen.


Dieser Dokumentarfilm ist zum grossen Teil in Schyzertüütsch (Schweizerdeutsch) übertragen worden. – Mark

Trump 'Refusing to Pay' Rudy Giuliani's Legal Fees after Falling Out

THE GUARDIAN: President said to be offended by personal lawyer’s demand for a reported $20,000 a day

Donald Trump has fallen out with his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and is refusing to pay the former New York mayor’s legal bills, it was reported, with the president feeling abandoned and frustrated during his last days in office.

Giuliani played a key role in Trump’s failed attempts to overturn the results of November’s presidential election through the courts. The lawyer mounted numerous spurious legal challenges, travelling to swing states won by Joe Biden, and spread false claims the vote was rigged.

According to the Washington Post, relations between Trump and Giuliani have dramatically cooled. Trump has instructed his aides not to pay Giuliani’s outstanding fees. The president is reportedly offended by Giuliani’s demand for $20,000 a day – a figure the lawyer denies, but which is apparently in writing. White House officials have even been told not to put through any of Giuliani’s calls. » | Luke Harding | Thursday, January 14, 2021

The Last Days of Pompeo: Secretary of State Lashes Out as Reign Comes to an End

THE GUARDIAN: Trump’s foreign policy chief has pursued confrontation with Iran and other perceived enemies, but his efforts to disrupt diplomacy will end in failure

The finale of Mike Pompeo’s reign at the state department has been as controversial and clamorous as the rest of his 32-month tenure, but it is unclear what traces will remain after he has gone.

The last days of Pompeo have been played out in a blizzard of self-congratulatory tweets, at the rate of two dozen a day, as he seeks to write his own first draft of history.

The former Kansas congressman, with evident ambitions for a presidential run in 2024, has accented his claims of success by frequent derogatory references to the previous administration, portrayed as hapless appeasers. The political point-scoring and aggrandizement have made the use of the megaphone provided by a government Twitter account, with 3 million followers. » | Julian Borger in Washington | Thursday, January 14, 2021

Gay Hollywood: The Last Taboo (2009 – Documentary*

This documentary looks at the challenges facing gay artists in Hollywood past and present. Hollywood in the 1920s was the most homosexual-friendly place to be as most of the behind-the-camera staff were gay. However, for those in front of the camera there was no tolerance from the movie-going public. Any homosexual who wanted to maintain a career had to remain in a well-locked closet. During the 1950s, the studios provided their own "police" who would be the first to arrive at any scene of an "indiscretion" or other scandalous act. Their task was to collect and remove any evidence and then call the real police if necessary. The studios, wanting to safeguard their investments, even forced male gay actors, like Rock Hudson and Cary Grant, into sham marriages.
Watch the documentary HERE »
* This documentary is age-restricted, so it cannot be embedded. It must be watched on YouTube.

Trump Impeached Again

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The House voted on an article of impeachment that accuses President Trump of “incitement of insurrection,” and 10 Republicans supported the move. Senator Mitch McConnell said he would not agree to use emergency powers to bring the Senate back into session for a trial before Jan. 19. » | ohn Eligon and Thomas Kaplan | Nicholas Fandos and Glenn Thrush contributed reporting | Wednesday, January 13, 2021

“American Abyss”: Fascism Historian Tim Snyder on Trump’s Coup Attempt, Impeachment & What’s Next

As the House votes to impeach President Trump, the FBI warns there could be a repeat of the violent insurrection he encouraged on January 6, with Trump loyalists planning to hold armed protests nationwide ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration. We speak with Timothy Snyder, a historian of fascism, who says the riot at the U.S. Capitol was “completely and utterly predictable” given President Trump’s record of stoking extremism and undermining democratic institutions. “The American republic is hanging by a thread because the president of the United States has sought to use violence to stay in power and essentially to overthrow our constitutional system,” says Snyder.