In despair about the hopelessness of his life, Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire on December 10, 2010. His fate moved hundreds of thousands of mostly young people to take to the streets in protest against the regime. The protests not only ousted the dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, they also sparked a series of uprisings that rocked the Arab world. A new era of democracy, dubbed the "Arabellion” or "Arab Spring," seemed to be dawning; it was hoped that authoritarian structures would be swept away. Taking stock a decade on, however, is sobering. All across the Arab world, old regimes have been restored, wars have broken out and people are fleeing their homelands. Yet the Arabellion was not in vain, because the pressure for reform is as great as ever. This documentary gives a comprehensive overview of developments, looking for similarities between the 2011 uprisings and the current unrest in Lebanon and Iraq. The Arabellion is recounted from today’s vantage point and through the eyes of local protagonists. What is life like today in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, ten years later?
Sunday, June 13, 2021
Ten Years after the Arab Spring, Is There Still Hope for Democracy? 2/2 | DW Documentary
A decade after the Arab Spring, this film tells the story of the uprisings known as the "Arabellion." The protagonists describe how it started, what happened and what life is like today in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt.
In despair about the hopelessness of his life, Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire on December 10, 2010. His fate moved hundreds of thousands of mostly young people to take to the streets in protest against the regime. The protests not only ousted the dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, they also sparked a series of uprisings that rocked the Arab world. A new era of democracy, dubbed the "Arabellion” or "Arab Spring," seemed to be dawning; it was hoped that authoritarian structures would be swept away. Taking stock a decade on, however, is sobering. All across the Arab world, old regimes have been restored, wars have broken out and people are fleeing their homelands. Yet the Arabellion was not in vain, because the pressure for reform is as great as ever. This documentary gives a comprehensive overview of developments, looking for similarities between the 2011 uprisings and the current unrest in Lebanon and Iraq. The Arabellion is recounted from today’s vantage point and through the eyes of local protagonists. What is life like today in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, ten years later?
In despair about the hopelessness of his life, Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire on December 10, 2010. His fate moved hundreds of thousands of mostly young people to take to the streets in protest against the regime. The protests not only ousted the dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, they also sparked a series of uprisings that rocked the Arab world. A new era of democracy, dubbed the "Arabellion” or "Arab Spring," seemed to be dawning; it was hoped that authoritarian structures would be swept away. Taking stock a decade on, however, is sobering. All across the Arab world, old regimes have been restored, wars have broken out and people are fleeing their homelands. Yet the Arabellion was not in vain, because the pressure for reform is as great as ever. This documentary gives a comprehensive overview of developments, looking for similarities between the 2011 uprisings and the current unrest in Lebanon and Iraq. The Arabellion is recounted from today’s vantage point and through the eyes of local protagonists. What is life like today in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, ten years later?
In Fiery Exit, Netanyahu Assails Bennett, Says He Can’t Stand Up to Iran, Biden
In his apparently final speech as prime minister of Israel before a new government is sworn in Sunday evening, Benjamin Netanyahu unleashed his fury on prime minister-designate Naftali Bennett and vowed to work tirelessly to topple the new coalition.
“I will fight daily against this terrible, dangerous left-wing government in order to topple it,” Netanyahu said at the conclusion of his lengthy speech in the Knesset plenum. “With God’s help, it will happen a lot earlier than you think it will.”
In comments warning Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah that he is not going anywhere, he declared in English: “We’ll be back soon!” » | Amy Spiro | Sunday, June 13, 2021
Benjamin Netanyahu: the former commando who became King Bibi »
After Brexit: Can the UK Really Go It Alone? | To the Point
Saturday, June 12, 2021
Brexit Bust-up Torpedoes Johnson’s Bid to Showcase ‘Global Britain’ at G7
THE OBSERVER: Northern Ireland border row hits summit in Cornwall as prime minister tells other leaders UK is ‘a single country’
Boris Johnson was embroiled in an extraordinary public spat with EU leaders over Northern Ireland on Saturday as tensions over Brexit boiled over at the G7 summit in Cornwall.
After a series of tense bilateral meetings at which the French president, Emmanuel Macron, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel and the European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, told their summit host the UK must implement the Brexit deal in full, an unrepentant Johnson said he had urged his EU colleagues to “get it into their heads” that the UK is “a single country”. » | Heather Stewart& Toby Helm | Saturday, June 12, 2021
Boris Johnson was embroiled in an extraordinary public spat with EU leaders over Northern Ireland on Saturday as tensions over Brexit boiled over at the G7 summit in Cornwall.
After a series of tense bilateral meetings at which the French president, Emmanuel Macron, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel and the European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, told their summit host the UK must implement the Brexit deal in full, an unrepentant Johnson said he had urged his EU colleagues to “get it into their heads” that the UK is “a single country”. » | Heather Stewart& Toby Helm | Saturday, June 12, 2021
Clamour for Wealth Tax Grows after Revelations about Super-rich’s Affairs
The revelation last week that the 25 richest US billionaires have paid very little tax even as their fortunes have soared has reignited demands for wealth taxes on both sides of the Atlantic.
An unprecedented leak of “a vast trove” of 15 years of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data to the investigative news site ProPublica has provided a staggering insight into the legal strategies the very rich deploy to avoid tax.
It discovered that Jeff Bezos – founder of Amazon and world’s richest person, with a $193bn (£136bn) fortune – paid no federal taxes in 2011 and even claimed $4,000 in tax credit for his children.
The second wealthiest person – the head of Tesla, Elon Musk – paid no tax in 2018 because he took out vast loans against his shareholdings and deducted the interest costs he paid on the loans from his taxes. » | Rupert Neate | Saturday, June 12, 2021
Trooping the Colour: Queen Celebrates Her Birthday with Scaled-back Ceremony at Windsor Castle
The Queen beamed in the sunshine and tapped her feet to music as she celebrated her official birthday on Saturday with a scaled-back military procession at Windsor Castle.
Her Majesty, 95, sat in the castle’s quadrangle to watch the annual Trooping the Colour, this year led by the Scots Guards.
Her Majesty, 95, sat in the castle’s quadrangle to watch the annual Trooping the Colour, this year led by the Scots Guards.
The Queen Meets G7 Leaders at Summit Reception
The Queen, the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrived at the G7 summit reception in Cornwall on Friday evening.
The Queen hosted G7 world leaders at an evening reception when a day of political talks gave way to the "soft diplomacy" of the monarchy. There, the Queen met US President Joe Biden for the first time.
Three generations of the royal family were present for the event staged at the Eden Project in Cornwall for presidents and prime ministers and their partners. The Queen was joined by the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
At one point during the photocall the Queen joked: "Are you supposed to be looking as if you're enjoying yourself?'
The Queen hosted G7 world leaders at an evening reception when a day of political talks gave way to the "soft diplomacy" of the monarchy. There, the Queen met US President Joe Biden for the first time.
Three generations of the royal family were present for the event staged at the Eden Project in Cornwall for presidents and prime ministers and their partners. The Queen was joined by the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
At one point during the photocall the Queen joked: "Are you supposed to be looking as if you're enjoying yourself?'
Brexit : Boris Johnson instrumentalise la xénophobie entre Européens
LE MONDE: Depuis la sortie du Royaume-Uni de l’UE, les Européens sont confrontés au durcissement des règles migratoires britanniques, une revendication de l’extrême droite reprise par le premier ministre. Une situation face à laquelle l’UE se doit de réagir.
Editorial du « Monde » Des jeunes filles au pair italiennes, espagnoles ou françaises interpellées à leur descente d’avion à Heathrow ou Gatwick et placées en centre de rétention, puis renvoyées dans leur pays. Des Polonais, Bulgares et Roumains contraints eux aussi de faire demi-tour car soupçonnés de chercher du travail. Pour les ressortissants de l’Union européenne (UE), le Brexit a désormais les allures d’un implacable poste de douane.
Au cours du seul premier trimestre, 3 294 d’entre eux ont été refoulés à une frontière britannique, soit six fois plus qu’au cours de la même période de 2020. Depuis la mise en œuvre du Brexit, le 1er janvier, travailler et, a fortiori, s’installer au Royaume-Uni nécessite un visa qui n’est délivré qu’aux détenteurs d’une offre d’emploi proposant un salaire d’au moins 2 500 euros par mois. » | Éditorial | mardi 8 juin 2021
Editorial du « Monde » Des jeunes filles au pair italiennes, espagnoles ou françaises interpellées à leur descente d’avion à Heathrow ou Gatwick et placées en centre de rétention, puis renvoyées dans leur pays. Des Polonais, Bulgares et Roumains contraints eux aussi de faire demi-tour car soupçonnés de chercher du travail. Pour les ressortissants de l’Union européenne (UE), le Brexit a désormais les allures d’un implacable poste de douane.
Au cours du seul premier trimestre, 3 294 d’entre eux ont été refoulés à une frontière britannique, soit six fois plus qu’au cours de la même période de 2020. Depuis la mise en œuvre du Brexit, le 1er janvier, travailler et, a fortiori, s’installer au Royaume-Uni nécessite un visa qui n’est délivré qu’aux détenteurs d’une offre d’emploi proposant un salaire d’au moins 2 500 euros par mois. » | Éditorial | mardi 8 juin 2021
Friday, June 11, 2021
A Change of Name
This blog has been going for many years. It was started at a time when Islam was a huge threat to the West. I believe the time has come for a change of name. I have chosen ‘Life. Leben. Vie.’ because this blog, though mainly English, is actually tri-lingual. It is also no longer about Islam and the threat that it poses, but it’s about life in general, including politics, health, changing patterns of life, even music, and much else besides.
I hope that my regular visitors will approve of the name change. Rest assured that content will remain largely the same. No change there. Welcome aboard! ©Mark
I hope that my regular visitors will approve of the name change. Rest assured that content will remain largely the same. No change there. Welcome aboard! ©Mark
An Officer and a Gentleman • Up Where We Belong • Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes
Stephen Fry Takes On Global Anti-LGBTI Leaders (2013)
New Calls to Replace ‘Empire’ with ‘Excellence’ in UK Honours System
A new push to strip the word “empire” from the British honours system has been launched by dozens of community activists who have accepted gongs but object to them being named after imperialism that caused “harm and trauma”.
They include Victor Adebowale, the chair of the NHS Confederation who accepted a CBE in 2000; John Amaechi, a British-American former NBA player and Dame Elizabeth Nneka Anionwu, a pioneering nurse born to Irish and Nigerian parents.
Last December the Cabinet Office said the names of medals such as the MBE, OBE and CBE would not change, but nearly 100 honours-holders have founded a campaign to replace the word empire with “excellence”. » | Robert Booth, Social affairs correspondent | Friday, June 11, 2021
Eine letzte Zigarette: Aufstieg und Fall des blauen Dunstes (2009)
A Final Cigarette (Swiss documentary) part 1 - Das war einmal: Schweizer TV-Moderatoren mit der Zigarette in der Hand, Swissair-Piloten, die sich nach dem Start mit einem Glimmstengel belohnen, Nationalräte im Tabakdunst: DOK dokumentiert den Aufstieg und Fall des blauen Dunstes. Ist die zunehmende Reglementierung des Rauchens richtig oder falsch?
Auf der Terrasse des rauchfreien Bundeshauses stehen schlotternde Nationalräte im Schneesturm und rauchen trotz beissender Kälte. DOK-Autor Fritz Muri vergleicht diese Szene mit Fundstücken aus Film- und Fotoarchiven aus einer Zeit, als mehr als 50 Prozent der Erwachsenen in der Schweiz noch rauchten.
Ein besonderes Highlight ist die Szene, in der Dichter Friedrich Dürrenmatt und Literaturpapst Marcel Reich-Ranicki während einer Fernsehdiskussion einen Studiobrand verursachten. Besonders die Eliten aus Kultur, Medien und Politik waren dem blauen Dunst zugetan. Kettenraucher gab es aber auch unter Piloten und Chirurgen. Models hüpften mit der Zigarette in der Hand über den Laufsteg, und die Werbung verbreitete omnipräsent den Duft der grossen weiten Welt.
Die weltweiten Kampagnien der Tabakmultis hatten damals ihre Gesichter. Zwei davon gehörten Schweizern: Der Berner George Herriger zog als Camel-Man durch den Dschungel, und Beat Wyss lächelte als Parisienne-Protagonist von den Plakatwänden der Luzerner wurde damals unfreiwillig zum Vorzeigeraucher und erforschte später als Professor der Kunst- und Mediengeschichte die Kulturgeschichte des Rauchens. Im Dokumentarfilm wird er zum Experten im doppelten Sinne.
Zu Wort kommen auch Präventivmediziner, Manager der Tabakmultis, der ehemalige Tabak-Lobbyist Edgar Oehler und der vormalige Tageschau-Chef Heiner Hug. DOK zeigt, wie in Büros, Fernsehstudios, Spitälern und Polizeistationen die Raucherinnen und Raucher immer mehr an den Rand gedrängt werden, aber auch wie eine Handvoll Genussraucher auf ein Zürichseeschiff flüchtet, um ungestört ihrem Laster zu frönen.
Fritz Muri schildert in seinem Film zudem die Geschichte des Bündner Volksmusikkönigs Peter Zinsli. Nach 60 Jahren als Raucher kann er heute nur noch mit einer Sauerstoffmaske überleben. Kann sein Beispiel seinen Sohn und seine Enkelin vom Rauchen abhalten? DOK gibt die Antwort.
Gaby gab auf zu rauchen. Nun verlangt sie, daß alle anderen auch zu rauchen aufhören. Scheinbar will sie nicht allein sein! »
Auf der Terrasse des rauchfreien Bundeshauses stehen schlotternde Nationalräte im Schneesturm und rauchen trotz beissender Kälte. DOK-Autor Fritz Muri vergleicht diese Szene mit Fundstücken aus Film- und Fotoarchiven aus einer Zeit, als mehr als 50 Prozent der Erwachsenen in der Schweiz noch rauchten.
Ein besonderes Highlight ist die Szene, in der Dichter Friedrich Dürrenmatt und Literaturpapst Marcel Reich-Ranicki während einer Fernsehdiskussion einen Studiobrand verursachten. Besonders die Eliten aus Kultur, Medien und Politik waren dem blauen Dunst zugetan. Kettenraucher gab es aber auch unter Piloten und Chirurgen. Models hüpften mit der Zigarette in der Hand über den Laufsteg, und die Werbung verbreitete omnipräsent den Duft der grossen weiten Welt.
Die weltweiten Kampagnien der Tabakmultis hatten damals ihre Gesichter. Zwei davon gehörten Schweizern: Der Berner George Herriger zog als Camel-Man durch den Dschungel, und Beat Wyss lächelte als Parisienne-Protagonist von den Plakatwänden der Luzerner wurde damals unfreiwillig zum Vorzeigeraucher und erforschte später als Professor der Kunst- und Mediengeschichte die Kulturgeschichte des Rauchens. Im Dokumentarfilm wird er zum Experten im doppelten Sinne.
Zu Wort kommen auch Präventivmediziner, Manager der Tabakmultis, der ehemalige Tabak-Lobbyist Edgar Oehler und der vormalige Tageschau-Chef Heiner Hug. DOK zeigt, wie in Büros, Fernsehstudios, Spitälern und Polizeistationen die Raucherinnen und Raucher immer mehr an den Rand gedrängt werden, aber auch wie eine Handvoll Genussraucher auf ein Zürichseeschiff flüchtet, um ungestört ihrem Laster zu frönen.
Fritz Muri schildert in seinem Film zudem die Geschichte des Bündner Volksmusikkönigs Peter Zinsli. Nach 60 Jahren als Raucher kann er heute nur noch mit einer Sauerstoffmaske überleben. Kann sein Beispiel seinen Sohn und seine Enkelin vom Rauchen abhalten? DOK gibt die Antwort.
Gaby gab auf zu rauchen. Nun verlangt sie, daß alle anderen auch zu rauchen aufhören. Scheinbar will sie nicht allein sein! »
Thursday, June 10, 2021
Aux Etats-Unis, un système fiscal inique
LE MONDE: Alors que les pays du G7 se sont accordés sur la mise en place d’un impôt minimal mondial sur les multinationales, les révélations du site d’investigation « ProPublica », selon lesquelles les milliardaires américains payeraient moins d’impôts que le reste de la population, relancent le débat sur la taxation des plus riches dans le pays.
Editorial du « Monde ». Sale temps pour l’optimisation fiscale. Quelques jours après l’initiative tardive mais salutaire des pays du G7 pour tenter d’nstaurer au niveau mondial un impôt plus juste sur les bénéfices des multinationales, la divulgation des déclarations fiscales des vingt-cinq premiers milliardaires américains relance le débat sur la taxation des plus riches aux Etats-Unis.
ProPublica, une association spécialisée dans le journalisme d’investigation d’intérêt public a eu accès à ces documents officiels, qui montrent que ces ultrariches, dont Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Michael Bloomberg (Bloomberg) et Elon Musk (Tesla), ont payé proportionnellement peu, voire pas du tout d’impôt sur le revenu entre 2014 et 2018. Le taux moyen qui leur a été appliqué s’élève à 15,8 %, alors que le taux marginal aux Etats-Unis est de 37 %. Les documents, théoriquement inaccessibles au public, leur divulgation pouvant constituer une infraction pénale, révèlent l’iniquité du système fiscal américain. » | Éditorial | vendredi 10 juin 2021
Editorial du « Monde ». Sale temps pour l’optimisation fiscale. Quelques jours après l’initiative tardive mais salutaire des pays du G7 pour tenter d’nstaurer au niveau mondial un impôt plus juste sur les bénéfices des multinationales, la divulgation des déclarations fiscales des vingt-cinq premiers milliardaires américains relance le débat sur la taxation des plus riches aux Etats-Unis.
ProPublica, une association spécialisée dans le journalisme d’investigation d’intérêt public a eu accès à ces documents officiels, qui montrent que ces ultrariches, dont Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Michael Bloomberg (Bloomberg) et Elon Musk (Tesla), ont payé proportionnellement peu, voire pas du tout d’impôt sur le revenu entre 2014 et 2018. Le taux moyen qui leur a été appliqué s’élève à 15,8 %, alors que le taux marginal aux Etats-Unis est de 37 %. Les documents, théoriquement inaccessibles au public, leur divulgation pouvant constituer une infraction pénale, révèlent l’iniquité du système fiscal américain. » | Éditorial | vendredi 10 juin 2021
The Guardian View on Hosting the G7: To Biden, Britain Is Still Europe
It is a stroke of good luck for Boris Johnson that Britain is hosting this year’s G7 summit. As chair of the club for rich democracies, the prime minister’s centrality to the proceedings is guaranteed. He is first in line to meet Joe Biden, who flies in to Cornwall on Wednesday for his first official foreign trip as US president.
The choreography flatters Mr Johnson, casting him as America’s point man in Europe. That is the role that the UK traditionally sees for itself in transatlantic relations. The truth is more complicated. Leaving the EU removes Britain’s influence in Brussels, which diminishes its utility to Washington as a bridge to the rest of the continent. President Biden sees Brexit as strategic ineptitude, sowing gratuitous division among countries that the US would rather see united.
It does not help that Mr Johnson also exudes contempt for Britain’s nearest neighbours. He has prioritised nationalistic bravado over compromise. That has been noticed in Washington, especially as regards Ireland – the country from which the current US president’s ancestors originated and to which he has a strong cultural attachment. » | Editorial | Wednesday, June 9, 2021
The Guardian View on the Super-rich: A Billion Reasons for a Wealth Tax
This week, Jeff Bezos announced his plan to become the first billionaire in space. Next month, on the 52nd anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11, he will fly about 100 km above the rest of us, see the curve of the Earth and experience a few minutes of weightlessness, before a final descent. As a metaphor for the relationship between the super-rich and everyone else, it does not come much better. What also takes some beating is the justification from the world’s richest person for living out the sci-fi dreams he had as a boy: he has so much money he doesn’t know how to spend it.
“The only way that I can see to deploy this much financial resource is by converting my Amazon winnings into space travel,” he said in 2018. “That is basically it.” To which the possible counter-suggestions might include: pay your workers more. Or perhaps: pay higher taxes. Because the other big bit of Bezos news this week is that in 2007 and 2011 the multi-billionaire did not pay a cent in US federal income tax. He was in good company: in 2018 Elon Musk of Tesla also paid no federal income taxes. Michael Bloomberg, Carl Icahn and George Soros are also all recent members of the zero club. » | Editorial | Wednesday, June 9, 2021
Swearing On Rise But Parents Still Don’t Want Kids Hearing It, Report Finds
THE GUARDIAN: Third of people say they use strong language more than they did five years ago, according to BBFC survey
Swearing in everyday life is on the rise, according to research, but parents do not want to see it increase in the film and television their children watch.
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) published a report on Thursday into attitudes towards swearing and whether people want a more liberal approach in media content. » | Mark Brown, Arts correspondent | Thursday, June 10, 2021
Swearing in everyday life is on the rise, according to research, but parents do not want to see it increase in the film and television their children watch.
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) published a report on Thursday into attitudes towards swearing and whether people want a more liberal approach in media content. » | Mark Brown, Arts correspondent | Thursday, June 10, 2021
Boris Johnson Must Respect Rule of Law and Implement Brexit Deal, Says EU
THE GUARDIAN: Bloc leaders say UK must fully implement post-Brexit arrangements for Northern Ireland
Boris Johnson must respect the “rule of law” by fully implementing the post-Brexit arrangements for Northern Ireland, EU leaders have said ahead of the G7 summit in Cornwall.
Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, said the behaviour of the prime minister was of increasing concern to EU member states. “It’s paramount to implement what we have decided – this is a question of rule of law,” he said.
The prime minister will hold a trilateral meeting with Michel and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, in Cornwall.
The framing of the dispute between the UK and the EU as one of respect for the international legal order will chime with the US president, Joe Biden, who arrived in Cornwall on Thursday. Biden is expected to call for both sides to respect the Good Friday agreement. » | Daniel Boffey in Brussels | Thursday, June 10, 2021
Biden arrives with demand that UK settle Brexit row over Northern Ireland »
Boris Johnson must respect the “rule of law” by fully implementing the post-Brexit arrangements for Northern Ireland, EU leaders have said ahead of the G7 summit in Cornwall.
Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, said the behaviour of the prime minister was of increasing concern to EU member states. “It’s paramount to implement what we have decided – this is a question of rule of law,” he said.
The prime minister will hold a trilateral meeting with Michel and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, in Cornwall.
The framing of the dispute between the UK and the EU as one of respect for the international legal order will chime with the US president, Joe Biden, who arrived in Cornwall on Thursday. Biden is expected to call for both sides to respect the Good Friday agreement. » | Daniel Boffey in Brussels | Thursday, June 10, 2021
Biden arrives with demand that UK settle Brexit row over Northern Ireland »
The Thinking Atheist: Remembering My Father
Piers Morgan on Why Vegan Sausage Rolls Are Destroying Our Democracy | 60 Minutes Australia
I’ve never been a big fan of Piers Morgan, but I have to say that he’s spot on with this. – ©Mark
Surprising New Wave of Teen Celibacy Sweeping America | 60 Minutes Australia
Christ! Doesn’t the crap coming out of America ever end? Why don’t Americans try being normal and measured for a change? Why don’t they give up these extreme positions on everything? – ©Mark
Wednesday, June 09, 2021
Harry and Meghan Reject Claim Queen Not Consulted on Lilibet Name
THE GUARDIAN: BBC correspondent says palace source claims Sussexes did not ask for permission to use name for daughter
Buckingham Palace has become embroiled in a row over whether the Queen was consulted over the naming of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s daughter.
Harry and Meghan’s decision to name their second child Lilibet, a childhood nickname of the Queen, was seen as an attempt by the couple to try to mend their rift with the royal family.
But the couple’s suggestion, widely reported in the media, that the Queen gave her blessing for the name appears to have only deepened divisions with some at the palace.
The BBC’s royal correspondent, Jonny Dymond, reported that the Queen had not been consulted about the name. The BBC did not quote the source for its story directly, but Dymond said on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the source had made it very clear that the Sussexes had not asked permission to use the name and that none had been granted. » | Matthew Weaver | Wednesday, June 9, 2021
Harry wages war with BBC; threatens legal action »
Buckingham Palace has become embroiled in a row over whether the Queen was consulted over the naming of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s daughter.
Harry and Meghan’s decision to name their second child Lilibet, a childhood nickname of the Queen, was seen as an attempt by the couple to try to mend their rift with the royal family.
But the couple’s suggestion, widely reported in the media, that the Queen gave her blessing for the name appears to have only deepened divisions with some at the palace.
The BBC’s royal correspondent, Jonny Dymond, reported that the Queen had not been consulted about the name. The BBC did not quote the source for its story directly, but Dymond said on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the source had made it very clear that the Sussexes had not asked permission to use the name and that none had been granted. » | Matthew Weaver | Wednesday, June 9, 2021
Harry wages war with BBC; threatens legal action »
EU-UK Relations Deteriorate as Northern Ireland Talks End without Agreement
THE GUARDIAN: ‘Patience wearing very thin’ and relationship with London ‘at crossroads’, says EU negotiator Maroš Šefčovič
Talks between the EU and the UK over Northern Ireland appear on the brink of collapse as London indicated it was still considering unilateral action to keep unhindered supplies flowing from Great Britain into the region.
The European commission vice-president, Maroš Šefčovič, said patience was “wearing very very thin” and described the relationship with the UK as “at a crossroads”.
Amid fears that the escalating crisis over Northern Ireland would develop into a trade war, David Frost, the Brexit minister, said there had been “no breakthroughs” over the Brexit checks but no “breakdowns” after a two-hour meeting with Šefčovič in London.
They agreed to continue to try to find a solution before 30 June when a ban on chilled meats including sausages and mincemeat is due to come into force. » | Lisa O’Carroll and Peter Walker | Wednesday, June 9, 2021
Talks between the EU and the UK over Northern Ireland appear on the brink of collapse as London indicated it was still considering unilateral action to keep unhindered supplies flowing from Great Britain into the region.
The European commission vice-president, Maroš Šefčovič, said patience was “wearing very very thin” and described the relationship with the UK as “at a crossroads”.
Amid fears that the escalating crisis over Northern Ireland would develop into a trade war, David Frost, the Brexit minister, said there had been “no breakthroughs” over the Brexit checks but no “breakdowns” after a two-hour meeting with Šefčovič in London.
They agreed to continue to try to find a solution before 30 June when a ban on chilled meats including sausages and mincemeat is due to come into force. » | Lisa O’Carroll and Peter Walker | Wednesday, June 9, 2021
The JFK Assassination | 72 Hours That Changed America
John F Kennedy at 100 - in pictures »
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis obituary »
March 24, 1961 - New First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Interviewed by Sander Vanocur
La longue liste des présidents de la République insultés ou attaqués
LE POINT: Du coup de canne au président Loubet à la gifle d’Emmanuel Macron, histoire d’une haine qui eut parfois des conséquences dramatiques.
Emmanuel Macron giflé, la scène humiliante interpelle et en rappelle bien d'autres que nos présidents ont connues dans leur carrière : on se souvient des sifflets et des huées qui ont accompagné le départ de Giscard d'Estaing de l'Élysée, en mai 1981, ou de Nicolas Sarkozy, violemment pris à partie par un employé municipal qui avait soudainement agrippé sa veste lors d'une visite près d'Agen, écopant de six mois avec sursis. » | Par Marc Fourny | vendredi 9 juin 2021
Le président giflé : un vent mauvais souffle sur la démocratie »
Emmanuel Macron giflé, la scène humiliante interpelle et en rappelle bien d'autres que nos présidents ont connues dans leur carrière : on se souvient des sifflets et des huées qui ont accompagné le départ de Giscard d'Estaing de l'Élysée, en mai 1981, ou de Nicolas Sarkozy, violemment pris à partie par un employé municipal qui avait soudainement agrippé sa veste lors d'une visite près d'Agen, écopant de six mois avec sursis. » | Par Marc Fourny | vendredi 9 juin 2021
Le président giflé : un vent mauvais souffle sur la démocratie »
Emmanuel Macron Slapped in the Face
Man who slapped Emmanuel Macron to appear at fast-track trial »
Photo: Damien Tarel »
L’homme qui a giflé Emmanuel Macron condamné à dix-huit mois de prison dont quatre ferme »
Raise Age for Sale of Cigarettes to 21 and Stop ‘Tobacco Epidemic’, Say UK MPs
THE GUARDIAN: Making it illegal for more young people to buy cigarettes would help meet the government’s target of ending smoking by 2030, MPs say
MPs have called for a consultation on raising the age for the sale of cigarettes to 21 from 18 in order to end the “tobacco epidemic” by 2030.
The all-party parliamentary group on smoking and health has recommended raising the age of sale from 18 to 21 as part of tougher tobacco regulations to protect children and young people from becoming smokers and help smokers quit.
The recommendations, backed by health charities and medical organisations, also include a “polluter pays” amendment to the health and social care bill to secure funding for a tobacco control programme, forcing manufacturers to pay to deliver the end of smoking.
The cross-party group of MPs and peers has warned the government that it can only build back “better and fairer” from the pandemic by making smoking obsolete and must commit now to the actions needed to secure its vision of a Smokefree 2030. » | Press Association | Wednesday, June 9, 2021
Somebody ought to shut these meddlesome do-gooders up! Kick them out of government! I am all for discouraging smoking, but I am against this nanny state. They are attacking smokers at every turn: they are making smokers’ lives intolerable. They are also turning the smoking habit into the preserve of the élite. I hope and trust that if they go ahead and raise the age to buy cigarettes to 21, they will not expect anyone under the age of twenty-one to go fight their damn wars! If you aren’t old enough to smoke, then you are certainly not old enough to kill! Politicians' time would be better spent putting an end to corruption in this extremely corrupt country of ours! –©Mark
MPs have called for a consultation on raising the age for the sale of cigarettes to 21 from 18 in order to end the “tobacco epidemic” by 2030.
The all-party parliamentary group on smoking and health has recommended raising the age of sale from 18 to 21 as part of tougher tobacco regulations to protect children and young people from becoming smokers and help smokers quit.
The recommendations, backed by health charities and medical organisations, also include a “polluter pays” amendment to the health and social care bill to secure funding for a tobacco control programme, forcing manufacturers to pay to deliver the end of smoking.
The cross-party group of MPs and peers has warned the government that it can only build back “better and fairer” from the pandemic by making smoking obsolete and must commit now to the actions needed to secure its vision of a Smokefree 2030. » | Press Association | Wednesday, June 9, 2021
Somebody ought to shut these meddlesome do-gooders up! Kick them out of government! I am all for discouraging smoking, but I am against this nanny state. They are attacking smokers at every turn: they are making smokers’ lives intolerable. They are also turning the smoking habit into the preserve of the élite. I hope and trust that if they go ahead and raise the age to buy cigarettes to 21, they will not expect anyone under the age of twenty-one to go fight their damn wars! If you aren’t old enough to smoke, then you are certainly not old enough to kill! Politicians' time would be better spent putting an end to corruption in this extremely corrupt country of ours! –©Mark
The Dangerous Delta Variant
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Covid cases are rising in Britain — and U.S. trends may soon follow.
Britain has had one of the world’s most successful Covid-19 responses in recent months.
Unlike the European Union, the British government understood that quickly obtaining vaccine doses mattered more than negotiating the lowest price. Unlike the United States, Britain was willing to impose nationwide restrictions again late last year to reduce caseloads. British officials also chose to maximize first vaccine shots and delay second shots, recognizing that the strategy could more quickly reduce Covid cases.
Thanks to these moves, Covid has retreated more quickly in Britain than in almost any other country. Fewer than 10 Britons per day have been dying in recent weeks, down from 1,200 a day in late January. On a per-capita basis, Britain’s death rate last month was less than one-tenth the U.S. rate.
Despite this success, Britain is now coping with a rise in Covid cases. The main cause appears to be the highly infectious virus variant known as Delta, which was first detected in India. Britain’s recent moves to reopen society also probably play a role.
The increase is a reminder that progress against the pandemic — even extreme progress — does not equal ultimate victory. Britain’s experience also suggests that cases may soon rise in the U.S. “What we’re seeing in U.K. is very likely to show up in other Western countries soon,” The Financial Times’s John Burn-Murdoch wrote. » | David Leonhardt | Monday, June 7, 2021
Britain has had one of the world’s most successful Covid-19 responses in recent months.
Unlike the European Union, the British government understood that quickly obtaining vaccine doses mattered more than negotiating the lowest price. Unlike the United States, Britain was willing to impose nationwide restrictions again late last year to reduce caseloads. British officials also chose to maximize first vaccine shots and delay second shots, recognizing that the strategy could more quickly reduce Covid cases.
Thanks to these moves, Covid has retreated more quickly in Britain than in almost any other country. Fewer than 10 Britons per day have been dying in recent weeks, down from 1,200 a day in late January. On a per-capita basis, Britain’s death rate last month was less than one-tenth the U.S. rate.
Despite this success, Britain is now coping with a rise in Covid cases. The main cause appears to be the highly infectious virus variant known as Delta, which was first detected in India. Britain’s recent moves to reopen society also probably play a role.
The increase is a reminder that progress against the pandemic — even extreme progress — does not equal ultimate victory. Britain’s experience also suggests that cases may soon rise in the U.S. “What we’re seeing in U.K. is very likely to show up in other Western countries soon,” The Financial Times’s John Burn-Murdoch wrote. » | David Leonhardt | Monday, June 7, 2021
Tuesday, June 08, 2021
Legal Storm Clouds Gather over Donald Trump’s Future
He’s Teflon Don no more, at least when it comes to court.
Donald Trump, no longer insulated by claims of presidential protections, faces a host of increasingly serious legal problems in some of the US’s most high-profile courts, including both criminal investigation and civil litigation.
So even as Trump maintains his grip on the Republican party and teases ambitions to run again for president in 2024 – his legal woes could render all that debate meaningless: Trump’s future could lie in the courtroom, not the Oval Office.
Trump “can face criminal charges for activities that took place before he was president, after he was president, and while he was president – as long as they were not part of his duties while he was president of the United States,” said attorney David S Weinstein, partner at Jones Walker LLP’s Miami office. » | Victoria Bekiempis | Tuesday, June 8, 2021
John F Kennedy Jr: The Story of His Final 24 Hours | Full Documentary
How Did a Gay Scientist of Jewish Descent Thrive Under the Nazis?
At the start of the 20th century, the German Empire was the undisputed hub of the scientific universe. From 1901, when the Nobel Prizes were established, through 1932, Germans won almost a third of all the Nobels awarded to scientists — 31 in total. (American scientists, in contrast, won five during the same time period.) This impressive track record was fueled, in part, by Jewish researchers who just decades earlier would have been excluded from prominent academic positions. When the Nazis seized power in March 1933, it was not unusual for major scientific institutes to be led by Nobel laureates with Jewish roots: Albert Einstein and Otto Meyerhof, both Jewish, ran prestigious centers of physics and medical research; Fritz Haber, who’d converted from Judaism in the late 19th century, ran a chemistry institute; and Otto Warburg, who was raised as a Protestant but had two Jewish grandparents, was the director of a recently opened center for cell physiology. » | Seth Mnookin | Sunday, June 6, 2021
Monday, June 07, 2021
Could a Third Wave of Covid Be More Serious Than UK’s First Two?
THE GUARDIAN: Analysis: Concern over Delta variant means decision on ending restrictions on 21 June hangs in balance
Summer has nearly arrived and the UK is beginning to unlock from coronavirus restrictions, with a full lifting still on the cards in England on 21 June.
Yet the spectre of the Delta variant is casting an ominous shadow, with concerns it could fuel a third wave. So just how serious could the next peak be – and could it be more serious than Britain’s first two waves?
In May members of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (Spi-M) from the University of Warwick released results from models that suggested a variant 40% more transmissible than the Alpha variant – first detected in Kent and known as B.1.1.7 – could result in up to 6,000 hospital admissions a day. » | Nicola Davis, Science correspondent | Monday, June 7, 2021
Summer has nearly arrived and the UK is beginning to unlock from coronavirus restrictions, with a full lifting still on the cards in England on 21 June.
Yet the spectre of the Delta variant is casting an ominous shadow, with concerns it could fuel a third wave. So just how serious could the next peak be – and could it be more serious than Britain’s first two waves?
In May members of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (Spi-M) from the University of Warwick released results from models that suggested a variant 40% more transmissible than the Alpha variant – first detected in Kent and known as B.1.1.7 – could result in up to 6,000 hospital admissions a day. » | Nicola Davis, Science correspondent | Monday, June 7, 2021
Die Philip Morris Story (2012)
Philipp Morris, British American Tobacco und JTI produzieren starken Tabak in der Schweiz (2014)
Elisabeth II: 90 photos pour 90 ans de vie
Meghan et Harry : Lili Diana, le bébé de la réconciliation ?
LE POINT: En donnant à leur fille le prénom de la reine Elizabeth, les Sussex envoient un signal positif aux Windsor. Un geste que Buckingham pourrait apprécier.
Avec Meghan et Harry, on pouvait s'attendre à tout à l'occasion de cette naissance : allaient-ils encore en profiter pour envoyer une nouvelle salve négative par-dessus l'Atlantique ? Depuis trois mois, ils n'ont pas retenu leurs coups, avec des attaques et des reproches réguliers contre la famille royale, qui sort à chaque fois les boucliers en espérant que l'offensive se calme… Et là, surprise : un message positif accompagne cette fois l'arrivée de leur deuxième enfant, puisque le couple a choisi de donner à leur fille le prénom de Lilibet, le surnom privé de la reine Elizabeth II. Dans un message aux allures de faire-part, les Sussex ont même précisé qu'ils ont voulu ainsi rendre hommage à la reine, que Harry considère toujours comme son « commandant en chef », comme il se plaît à le répéter en interview. » | Par Marc Fourny | lundi 7 juin 2021
Avec Meghan et Harry, on pouvait s'attendre à tout à l'occasion de cette naissance : allaient-ils encore en profiter pour envoyer une nouvelle salve négative par-dessus l'Atlantique ? Depuis trois mois, ils n'ont pas retenu leurs coups, avec des attaques et des reproches réguliers contre la famille royale, qui sort à chaque fois les boucliers en espérant que l'offensive se calme… Et là, surprise : un message positif accompagne cette fois l'arrivée de leur deuxième enfant, puisque le couple a choisi de donner à leur fille le prénom de Lilibet, le surnom privé de la reine Elizabeth II. Dans un message aux allures de faire-part, les Sussex ont même précisé qu'ils ont voulu ainsi rendre hommage à la reine, que Harry considère toujours comme son « commandant en chef », comme il se plaît à le répéter en interview. » | Par Marc Fourny | lundi 7 juin 2021
Power vs People? Ft. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Former President of Brazil
Sunday, June 06, 2021
Meghan and Harry Announce Birth of Baby Daughter Lilibet
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have announced the birth of a daughter they have named Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor.
Harry and Meghan’s daughter, who was born in hospital in California on Friday, weighed 7lb 11oz and has been named after the family nickname for the Queen, the baby’s great-grandmother. Her middle name was chosen to honour her late grandmother Diana, Princess of Wales, the couple said. The baby is the Queen’s 11th great-grandchild and is eighth in line to the throne.
Both mother and child were healthy and well, a statement said, and Lilibet – a younger sister for two-year-old Archie – was “settling in at home” after her birth at Santa Barbara Cottage hospital. » | Jessica Murray | Sunday, June 6, 2021
Harry and Meghan Announce Birth of Second Baby, Lilibet Diana »
What’s in a name? The meanings of Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor »
Health Care: America vs. the World
Österreich: Raucher gegen Nichtraucher – die große Diskussion (OE24.TV – 2017)
Dieses Gespräch war animiert und interessant. In der Zwischenzeit ist in Österreich ein generelles Rauchverbot in Kraft gestellt worden. Seither ist es strengstens verboten überall in Gaststätten und Hotels.
Nichtraucherschutz und Rauchverbote »
Falls Sie dieses Jahr einen Urlaub machen wollen, wo es erlaubt ist zu rauchen, sollten Sie vielleicht Serbien oder Rumänien in Betracht bringen. Es scheint als ob überall in Europa das Rauchen nicht mehr erlaubt ist in Restaurants, Bars oder oft auch außerhalb eines Restaurants unter einem Sonnenschirm!
Ich rauche nicht mehr, aber als Raucher hätte dieses Verbot mich dermaßen gestört! Es hätte mir die Ferien sogar verdorben. Vergessen Sie West-Europa! Hier ist alles so stark reguliert. Nach der Pandemie, fahren Sie doch weiter weg, wo die Vorschriften lockerer sind, um Ihre Ferien zu genießen! ©Mark
Wo in Europa ist das Rauchen noch erlaubt? »
The US’ Position as the Dominant Capitalist Power Is Changing - Richard Wolff [Global Capitalism]
Saturday, June 05, 2021
Is the COVID-19 Vaccine Causing Rare Myocarditis Cases?
LIVE SCIENCE: Researchers in Israel say they've found a possible link between the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and cases of heart inflammation in young men ages 16 to 30, according to a report submitted this week to the country's Ministry of Health.
The report concluded that around 1 in 5,000 men who receive the vaccine may experience this side effect, known as myocarditis, which is higher than the rate seen for the whole vaccinated population during that time period, which was 1 in 50,000.
So far, the data isn't yet strong enough to prove that the vaccine caused these cases — experts say there are a number of factors that make it difficult to definitively tie the vaccine to heart inflammation, a link that's also being investigated in the United States. » | Rachael Rettner, Senior Writer | Saturday, June 5, 2021
The report concluded that around 1 in 5,000 men who receive the vaccine may experience this side effect, known as myocarditis, which is higher than the rate seen for the whole vaccinated population during that time period, which was 1 in 50,000.
So far, the data isn't yet strong enough to prove that the vaccine caused these cases — experts say there are a number of factors that make it difficult to definitively tie the vaccine to heart inflammation, a link that's also being investigated in the United States. » | Rachael Rettner, Senior Writer | Saturday, June 5, 2021
English Councils Start Banning Smoking Outside Pubs and Restaurants
Five local authorities have banned smoking in pavement pubs, cafes and restaurants, and others are considering following suit, before a new push by the government to make England smoke-free in less than a decade.
The Covid outdoor eating culture has given the issue of smokers outside pubs and cafes a new visibility. Last summer there was an attempt to push through an amendment to legislation in the House of Lords to make pavements smoke-free, but it failed.
However, Northumberland county council, Durham, North Tyneside, Newcastle, and the City of Manchester have all banned smoking on stretches of the pavement where bars, restaurants and cafes are licensed to put out tables. Although it does not have a policy, all the licences granted by Gateshead also stipulate that pavement cafes must be smoke-free.
Oxfordshire is also planning to ban smoking from outdoor restaurants as part of a major strategy that aims to make the county smoke-free by 2025, which is five years ahead of the government’s plan for England as a whole. It also plans to take tougher action to stop the sale of tobacco to under-18s and work to discourage smoking in homes, cars, play parks and at the school gates. » | Sarah Boseley | Wednesday, June 2, 2021
These health Nazis are dangerous killjoys! They are totally out of control! They are taking the law into their own hands. Somebody should stop them – NOW! Their time would be better spent trying to tackle the real problem in this country: drug-taking. I speak as a non-smoker. An ex-smoker to be precise. But just because I have given up smoking, I don’t expect the rest of the world to give it up with me. I am not a killjoy! – ©Mark
Cumbrian pub owner Dianne Irving and councillors warn against pavement smoking ban »
Brexit Update - The Chaos and Incompetence Continues
Rishi Sunak Announces ‘Historic Agreement’ by G7 on Tax Reform
THE GUARDIAN: Finance ministers agree deal to force multinationals to pay tax in all countries where they operate
The G7 group of wealthy nations have signed a landmark deal to tackle tax abuses by some of the world’s biggest multinationals and establish a minimum global corporation tax for the first time.
Finance ministers from the world’s richest economies agreed the historic deal on Saturday as part of talks held in London, the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, said.
As part of the plan, finance ministers also agreed to the principle of a global minimum rate that ensures multinationals pay tax of at least 15% in each country in which they operate.
Sunak said: “These seismic tax reforms are something the UK has been pushing for and a huge prize for the British taxpayer – creating a fairer tax system fit for the 21st century. » | Phillip Inman | Saturday, June 5, 2021
The G7 group of wealthy nations have signed a landmark deal to tackle tax abuses by some of the world’s biggest multinationals and establish a minimum global corporation tax for the first time.
Finance ministers from the world’s richest economies agreed the historic deal on Saturday as part of talks held in London, the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, said.
As part of the plan, finance ministers also agreed to the principle of a global minimum rate that ensures multinationals pay tax of at least 15% in each country in which they operate.
Sunak said: “These seismic tax reforms are something the UK has been pushing for and a huge prize for the British taxpayer – creating a fairer tax system fit for the 21st century. » | Phillip Inman | Saturday, June 5, 2021
DER BOMBE NÄHER DENN JE: Was Trump in Iran geschafft hat
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: So viel hochangereichertes Uran wie derzeit hatte Iran noch nie. Das kann es sich in den Atomverhandlungen zunutze machen. Ein neuer Deal ist gefährdet.
Irans Atomprogramm ist eine tickende Zeitbombe. Zwar hat das von der Obama-Biden-Regierung 2015 durchgesetzte Abkommen schmerzlich bewiesen, dass eine Einhegung von Teherans atomaren Ambitionen beileibe nicht alle Probleme löst, welche die Islamische Republik in ihrer Nachbarschaft verursacht. Entscheidend ist aber die Gegenprobe: Jedes Problem, das der Region aus dem Machtkampf zwischen dem schiitischen Iran und den sunnitischen Golf-Arabern erwächst, potenziert sich, wenn die Führung in Teheran über Atomwaffen verfügen könnte. » | Ein Kommentar von Andreas Ross | Samstag, 5. Juni 2021
Irans Atomprogramm ist eine tickende Zeitbombe. Zwar hat das von der Obama-Biden-Regierung 2015 durchgesetzte Abkommen schmerzlich bewiesen, dass eine Einhegung von Teherans atomaren Ambitionen beileibe nicht alle Probleme löst, welche die Islamische Republik in ihrer Nachbarschaft verursacht. Entscheidend ist aber die Gegenprobe: Jedes Problem, das der Region aus dem Machtkampf zwischen dem schiitischen Iran und den sunnitischen Golf-Arabern erwächst, potenziert sich, wenn die Führung in Teheran über Atomwaffen verfügen könnte. » | Ein Kommentar von Andreas Ross | Samstag, 5. Juni 2021
Friday, June 04, 2021
Meet Israel’s Likely New Prime Minister | The Mehdi Hasan Show
Opinion: Netanyahu Embodied Dishonest, Divisive Demagoguery. If He’s Gone, Good Riddance
It could be over before it starts. As you read this, it may already be unravelling. But a new government has been formed in Israel, thereby removing the man who has ruled that country longer than anyone else. Benjamin Netanyahu has dominated Israeli politics for most of the past quarter-century: first elected as prime minister in 1996, he has ruled Israel uninterrupted for the past 12 years. But now, if the new coalition holds together – a big if – the reign of Bibi, King of Israel, will come to an end. Even if we should have no illusions about what comes next, that itself is a cause for celebration.
It is also the new government’s sole, animating purpose. The motley collection of parties, which runs from the settler hard right through the centre to the liberal left – and which includes a Palestinian Islamist party – has next to nothing else in common. It cannot be described as hawkish or dove-ish, left or right: it is simply the anti-Netanyahu bloc, forged to prise his fingers off the prime ministerial desk once and for all. » | Jonathan Freedland | Friday, June 4, 2021
Right-wing Populists and the EU | DW Documentary (2019)
2019 looks to be a good year for right-wing populists in Europe. Be it Italy, France, Hungary, Poland or Germany, many European countries are experiencing a shift to the right. Right-wing populists are expected to make significant gains in the European Parliament elections this spring.
Right-leaning party representatives have an agenda: they want to dismantle to the European Union. Guido Reil of Germany’s AfD party believes the best way to do that is by going to Brussels. "It is easier to destroy something from the inside than from the outside." Joseph Sauvage, a cafe owner in Denain in northern France, backs Marine Le Pen's Rassemblement National party, because he doesn't want to see people in Denain abandoned. "When the factories closed, the small shops closed. There is nothing here, economically speaking. No work. It’s also changed politically. It used to be communist. But that changed with the end of opportunities for the working class." His view of migration has also changed. "Immigrants are entitled to the same social benefits without ever having worked here." Like Joseph Sauvage, Luca Davide, a member of Italy’s Northern League party, says he's had enough of living in a run-down block in a small city full of foreigners. "We don't need drug dealers, we don't need illegals! We just want to live here in peace and safety." In early February 2018, a right-wing supporter targeted Africans in a drive-by shooting rampage. According to Northern League leader Matteo Salvini, the EU shares "moral responsibility” for the act because it "filled the country with illegal foreigners." Messages like these are met with support. Evidence of just how a state’s society and institutions change when right-wing populists come to power is evident in Hungary. Many judges, organizations that support refugees or human rights, scientists, and journalists speak of massive restrictions in Orban's "illiberal democracy". But a lot of young Hungarians starting to push back.
Right-leaning party representatives have an agenda: they want to dismantle to the European Union. Guido Reil of Germany’s AfD party believes the best way to do that is by going to Brussels. "It is easier to destroy something from the inside than from the outside." Joseph Sauvage, a cafe owner in Denain in northern France, backs Marine Le Pen's Rassemblement National party, because he doesn't want to see people in Denain abandoned. "When the factories closed, the small shops closed. There is nothing here, economically speaking. No work. It’s also changed politically. It used to be communist. But that changed with the end of opportunities for the working class." His view of migration has also changed. "Immigrants are entitled to the same social benefits without ever having worked here." Like Joseph Sauvage, Luca Davide, a member of Italy’s Northern League party, says he's had enough of living in a run-down block in a small city full of foreigners. "We don't need drug dealers, we don't need illegals! We just want to live here in peace and safety." In early February 2018, a right-wing supporter targeted Africans in a drive-by shooting rampage. According to Northern League leader Matteo Salvini, the EU shares "moral responsibility” for the act because it "filled the country with illegal foreigners." Messages like these are met with support. Evidence of just how a state’s society and institutions change when right-wing populists come to power is evident in Hungary. Many judges, organizations that support refugees or human rights, scientists, and journalists speak of massive restrictions in Orban's "illiberal democracy". But a lot of young Hungarians starting to push back.
German Cardinal’s Resignation Offer Sends Shockwaves through the Catholic Church | DW News
Germany's most senior cleric has offered his resignation to Pope Francis. Munich's Cardinal Reinhard Marx said that he wanted to share responsibility for what he called the "catastrophe of sexual abuse" by members of the Catholic church.
Marx has long been a leading voice in the call for church reforms. Those calls have been growing louder as sex abuse investigations revealed a decades-long cover-up by the clergy. Marx said investigations and reports of the past 10 years showed him there had not only been "a lot of personal failure and administrative errors," but "also institutional and systemic failure" within the Catholic Church.
Recent discussions had shown "that some in the church do not want to acknowledge this element of co-responsibility and thus also complicity of the institution and are therefore opposed to any reform and renewal dialogue in connection with the abuse crisis," he wrote in a letter to the pope dated May 21 and published on Friday by his archdiocese in Munich.
The archdiocese said in its press release on the issue that Pope Francis had since responded to Cardinal Marx, telling him that he could make the letter public, and to remain in his role until he received an answer.
Marx has long been a leading voice in the call for church reforms. Those calls have been growing louder as sex abuse investigations revealed a decades-long cover-up by the clergy. Marx said investigations and reports of the past 10 years showed him there had not only been "a lot of personal failure and administrative errors," but "also institutional and systemic failure" within the Catholic Church.
Recent discussions had shown "that some in the church do not want to acknowledge this element of co-responsibility and thus also complicity of the institution and are therefore opposed to any reform and renewal dialogue in connection with the abuse crisis," he wrote in a letter to the pope dated May 21 and published on Friday by his archdiocese in Munich.
The archdiocese said in its press release on the issue that Pope Francis had since responded to Cardinal Marx, telling him that he could make the letter public, and to remain in his role until he received an answer.
Grèce : vrai départ pour la loi anti-tabac ?
Grèce : vrai départ pour la loi anti-tabac ? »
How Canada Became a Country of Smokers | The Agenda
Australia’s Mouse Plague
Thursday, June 03, 2021
Want to Live to 100? Dan Buettner Tells You How | Amanpour and Company
3 Dinge die Dein Leben verlängern! - Ein Arzt packt aus und verrät, worauf es wirklich ankommt
Israel May Have Avoided a Fifth Election and Ended Up with Two Prime Ministers | ABC News
Israeli Opposition Parties Strike Deal to Form New Government | DW News
An unlikely coalition of disparate Israeli opposition parties struck a deal on Wednesday night to form a government. The agreement could potentially resolve an extended period of political deadlock and force beleaguered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from the political stage after 12 years in office. Yair Lapid, a centrist, and Naftali Bennett, an ultranationalist, announced the deal after they succeeded in cobbling together a coalition government with a number of parties from across the political spectrum. Lapid managed to pull together signatures from seven parties signaling their willingness to form a coalition shortly before his mandate to form a new government expired at midnight.
Lapid has officially informed President Rivlin that he has the backing of the majority of the Knesset to form a cabinet — over two months after the March 23 election. The new government could face a vote of confidence in Israel's Knesset parliament sometime before next Wednesday unless Lapid asks for time to negotiate any disagreements before parties sign on to a binding coalition. Such a move would delay the vote by another week and give parties time to iron out any disagreements about the policies and appointments of the new government. It is expected that Netanyahu, the country's longest-serving prime minister, will attempt to bring lawmakers from the coalition over to his side. Unless the newly formed coalition collapses before being sworn in, Netanyahu's 12-year stint in the top job will come to an end.
Lapid has officially informed President Rivlin that he has the backing of the majority of the Knesset to form a cabinet — over two months after the March 23 election. The new government could face a vote of confidence in Israel's Knesset parliament sometime before next Wednesday unless Lapid asks for time to negotiate any disagreements before parties sign on to a binding coalition. Such a move would delay the vote by another week and give parties time to iron out any disagreements about the policies and appointments of the new government. It is expected that Netanyahu, the country's longest-serving prime minister, will attempt to bring lawmakers from the coalition over to his side. Unless the newly formed coalition collapses before being sworn in, Netanyahu's 12-year stint in the top job will come to an end.
Die unglaubliche Wahrheit: Das musst Du wissen, wenn Du zum Arzt gehst - Ein Mediziner packt aus!
Der Medizinethiker Prof. Dr. Giovanni Maio fordert einen radikalen Umbruch im Medizinsektor. Denn viele Ärzte sind von wirtschaftlichen Zwängen getrieben - der Mensch, der Patient und seine Krankheit geraten dabei aus dem Fokus. Die Verwirtschaftlichung eines eigentlich sozialen Bereiches - der Medizin - schadet den Patienten. Der Fehler liegt im System: So erhalten Ärzte beispielsweise nur eine Pauschale von etwa 100 € pro Quartal für alle Gespräche mit ihren Patienten. Geld verdienen sie nur durch mehr oder weniger notwendige Behandlungen. Im Gespräch mit Robert Fleischer schildert Prof. Mayo die Abgründe des deutschen Medizinsystems, in dem die Behandlung eines Patienten davon abhängt, wie profitabel seine Genesung ist.
Prof. Dr. Giovanni Maio ist Direktor des Instituts für Ethik und Geschichte der Medizin an der Uni Freiburg, Mitglied der zentralen Ethik-Kommission für Stammzellenforschung, Mitglied des Ausschusses für ethische und juristische Grundsatzfragen der Bundesärztekammer und seit 2010 ständiger Berater der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz.
Prof. Dr. Giovanni Maio ist Direktor des Instituts für Ethik und Geschichte der Medizin an der Uni Freiburg, Mitglied der zentralen Ethik-Kommission für Stammzellenforschung, Mitglied des Ausschusses für ethische und juristische Grundsatzfragen der Bundesärztekammer und seit 2010 ständiger Berater der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz.
Psychiatrist: ‘Donald Trump Is Delusional’ Even Out of Office
‘It’s Dehumanizing’: Texas Valedictorian Goes Off Script to Attack Abortion Ban
THE GUARDIAN: Paxton Smith criticizes near-total ban that makes no exception for rape or incest
The valedictorian at a Texas high school went off script while delivering her graduation speech, criticising the state’s extreme abortion ban in an address that has since been widely shared on social media.
School administrators had signed off on Paxton Smith’s pre-written speech on how TV and media have shaped her worldview. But, when it came time to address the graduating class of Lake Highlands high school, she pivoted.
“In light of recent events, it feels wrong to talk about anything but what is currently affecting me and millions of other women in this state,” she said, her voice shaking as she began. » | Maanvi Singh | Thursday, June 3, 2021
The valedictorian at a Texas high school went off script while delivering her graduation speech, criticising the state’s extreme abortion ban in an address that has since been widely shared on social media.
School administrators had signed off on Paxton Smith’s pre-written speech on how TV and media have shaped her worldview. But, when it came time to address the graduating class of Lake Highlands high school, she pivoted.
“In light of recent events, it feels wrong to talk about anything but what is currently affecting me and millions of other women in this state,” she said, her voice shaking as she began. » | Maanvi Singh | Thursday, June 3, 2021
Wednesday, June 02, 2021
Opinion: France Is Becoming More Like America. It’s Terrible.
THE NEW YORK TIMES: PARIS — It’s become a familiar refrain in French political life. From President Emmanuel Macron and his cabinet to the far-right opposition, from print columnists to talking heads, “Americanization” is increasingly held responsible for a whole set of social ills ailing the nation.
For some of these critics, it’s the reason so many young people — adopting the view of Black Lives Matter activists — believe police violence is a problem. For others, it explains why the quality of academic research is in decline, as fanciful ideas concocted on American college campuses like intersectionality and post-colonialism supposedly flourish. To others still, it’s why people can’t speak their mind anymore, suffocated by the threats of “ cancel culture.”
Perhaps the most common gripe is that ideas and practices imported from the United States are making the French obsessed with ethnic , religious and sexual difference at the expense of their shared identity as citizens of the universal Republic.
They’re not wrong: French politics are, in fact, becoming Americanized. But the problem is not left-wing theories or censorious scolds. It is instead the rise of an insular, nationalistic, right-wing discourse driven by a belligerent style of press coverage. Distinctively French in content, the form this discourse takes — grievance-wallowing hosts conjuring embittered conversations about national decline, immigration and religion — follows America’s lead. As in the United States, the result is a degraded political landscape that empowers the far right, dragging mainstream politicians into its orbit. » | Cole Stangler * | Wednesday, June 2, 2021
* Mr. Stangler is a journalist based in France who writes extensively about the country’s politics and culture.
For some of these critics, it’s the reason so many young people — adopting the view of Black Lives Matter activists — believe police violence is a problem. For others, it explains why the quality of academic research is in decline, as fanciful ideas concocted on American college campuses like intersectionality and post-colonialism supposedly flourish. To others still, it’s why people can’t speak their mind anymore, suffocated by the threats of “ cancel culture.”
Perhaps the most common gripe is that ideas and practices imported from the United States are making the French obsessed with ethnic , religious and sexual difference at the expense of their shared identity as citizens of the universal Republic.
They’re not wrong: French politics are, in fact, becoming Americanized. But the problem is not left-wing theories or censorious scolds. It is instead the rise of an insular, nationalistic, right-wing discourse driven by a belligerent style of press coverage. Distinctively French in content, the form this discourse takes — grievance-wallowing hosts conjuring embittered conversations about national decline, immigration and religion — follows America’s lead. As in the United States, the result is a degraded political landscape that empowers the far right, dragging mainstream politicians into its orbit. » | Cole Stangler * | Wednesday, June 2, 2021
* Mr. Stangler is a journalist based in France who writes extensively about the country’s politics and culture.
Listet Fehler und Versäumnisse der Medizingeschichte auf | Dr. Gerd Reuther | Radiologe | SWR1 Leute
Das Geschäft mit der Krankheit: Das solltest Du wissen, bevor Du zum Arzt gehst - Dr. Gerd Reuther
Was dieser Spezialist über Medikamente zu sagen hat sollte gar nicht verpaßt sein! Er spricht über Vieles Klartext. Was er über Medikamente für hohen Blutdruck, Blutverdünnungsmittel, Beta Blocker, und vieles Andere zu sagen hat ist maßgebend und ist zudem ein Augenöffner! – ©Mark
USA: Conspiracy Theories Pose a Real Threat
A Professor Gives the Most Well-researched Analysis of the 1950s
Tuesday, June 01, 2021
Amazon US Customers Have One Week to Opt Out of Mass Wireless Sharing
THE GUARDIAN: Critics raise transparency fears over plan to turn all smart home devices into ‘mesh network’
Amazon customers have one week to opt out of a plan that would turn every Echo speaker and Ring security camera in the US into a shared wireless network, as part of the company’s plan to fix connection problems for its smart home devices.
The proposal, called Amazon Sidewalk, involves the company’s devices being used as a springboard to build city-wide “mesh networks” that help simplify the process of setting up new devices, keep them online even if they’re out of range of home wifi, and extend the range of tracking devices such as those made by Tile. » | Alex Hern, Technology editor | Tuesday, June 1, 2021
Amazon customers have one week to opt out of a plan that would turn every Echo speaker and Ring security camera in the US into a shared wireless network, as part of the company’s plan to fix connection problems for its smart home devices.
The proposal, called Amazon Sidewalk, involves the company’s devices being used as a springboard to build city-wide “mesh networks” that help simplify the process of setting up new devices, keep them online even if they’re out of range of home wifi, and extend the range of tracking devices such as those made by Tile. » | Alex Hern, Technology editor | Tuesday, June 1, 2021
Homosexuality: It's about Survival - Not Sex | James O'Keefe | TEDxTallaght
This passionate talk from Dr. James O'Keefe MD gives us a deeply personal and fascinating insight into why homosexuality is indeed a necessary and extraordinarily useful cog in nature's wheel of perfection.
James H O'Keefe MD, is a Board Certified Cardiologist and Director of both the Charles & Barbara Duboc Cardio Health & Wellness Center and the Preventive Cardiology service at Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute. He is also Professor of Medicine at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. His postgraduate training included a cardiology fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Dr O’Keefe is board-certified in Cardiology, Internal Medicine, Nuclear Cardiology, and Cardiac CT Imaging. He is consistently ranked among the ‘Top Doctor’ lists regionally and nationally as one of America’s Top Rated Physicians in Cardiology. He has been named as one of USA Today’s Most Influential Doctors. Dr O’Keefe has contributed more than 300 articles to the medical literature and has authored best-selling cardiovascular books for health professionals including: The Complete Guide to ECGs (which is used for Cardiology Board Certification), Dyslipidemia Essentials, and Diabetes Essential.
James H O'Keefe MD, is a Board Certified Cardiologist and Director of both the Charles & Barbara Duboc Cardio Health & Wellness Center and the Preventive Cardiology service at Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute. He is also Professor of Medicine at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. His postgraduate training included a cardiology fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Dr O’Keefe is board-certified in Cardiology, Internal Medicine, Nuclear Cardiology, and Cardiac CT Imaging. He is consistently ranked among the ‘Top Doctor’ lists regionally and nationally as one of America’s Top Rated Physicians in Cardiology. He has been named as one of USA Today’s Most Influential Doctors. Dr O’Keefe has contributed more than 300 articles to the medical literature and has authored best-selling cardiovascular books for health professionals including: The Complete Guide to ECGs (which is used for Cardiology Board Certification), Dyslipidemia Essentials, and Diabetes Essential.
Seven European Countries Begin Issuing a Digital Covid Certificate for Travel
THE NEW YORK TIMES: A digital Covid certificate system that will facilitate travel within the European Union became operational in seven countries on Tuesday — ahead of schedule — previewing what could become a standard for post-pandemic global mobility.
The document, known as a digital green certificate, records whether people have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, recovered from the virus or tested negative within 72 hours. Travelers can move freely if at least one of those three criteria is met.
Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Croatia and Poland made the certificates available to their citizens as of Tuesday and are accepting them for visitors. The European Commission, the bloc’s administrative branch, said the system would be used in all 27 E.U. countries as of July 1. » | Matina Stevis-Gridneff | Tuesday, June 1, 2021
The document, known as a digital green certificate, records whether people have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, recovered from the virus or tested negative within 72 hours. Travelers can move freely if at least one of those three criteria is met.
Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Croatia and Poland made the certificates available to their citizens as of Tuesday and are accepting them for visitors. The European Commission, the bloc’s administrative branch, said the system would be used in all 27 E.U. countries as of July 1. » | Matina Stevis-Gridneff | Tuesday, June 1, 2021
Ein sehr interessantes Gespräch über die Gesundheit! Rechnet nach 30 Jahren als Arzt mit seinem Berufsstand ab | Gerd Reuther | Radiologe | SWR1 Leute
Monday, May 31, 2021
BJ Thomas Obituary
In 1969, BJ Thomas, who has died of complications from lung cancer aged 78, spent four weeks at the top of the US chart with Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head, from the soundtrack of the popular film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It is the song he will always be synonymous with, but he nearly didn’t get to sing it. » | Adam Sweeting | Monday, May 21, 2021
'Hooked on a Feeling' singer B.J. Thomas dies at 78 »
Macron and Merkel Demand Explanations over US-Denmark Spy Claim
India Covid Variant Spreading across England, Data Shows
THE GUARDIAN: Scientists say geographical spread ‘entirely predictable’ and window of opportunity has been missed
The coronavirus variant of concern first detected in India is continuing to spread acrossEngland, with cases emerging beyond “hotspot” areas, data suggests.
The variant, known as B.1.617.2, is thought to be driving a rise in Covid cases in parts of the UK and is believed to be both more transmissible than the variant first detected in Kent, which previously dominated, and somewhat more resistant to Covid vaccines, particularly after just one dose.
At present up to three-quarters of new Covid cases in the UK are thought to be caused by the India variant. There have also been signs of a slight rise in hospitalisations.
The situation has led some scientists to warn that the country is now in the early stages of a third wave of coronavirus which, despite the vaccination programme, modelling suggests could lead to a rise in hospitalisations and deaths, and that full easing of restrictions in England on 21 June should be reconsidered. » | Nicola Davis, Science correspondent | Monday, May 31, 2021
The coronavirus variant of concern first detected in India is continuing to spread across
The variant, known as B.1.617.2, is thought to be driving a rise in Covid cases in parts of the UK and is believed to be both more transmissible than the variant first detected in Kent, which previously dominated, and somewhat more resistant to Covid vaccines, particularly after just one dose.
At present up to three-quarters of new Covid cases in the UK are thought to be caused by the India variant. There have also been signs of a slight rise in hospitalisations.
The situation has led some scientists to warn that the country is now in the early stages of a third wave of coronavirus which, despite the vaccination programme, modelling suggests could lead to a rise in hospitalisations and deaths, and that full easing of restrictions in England on 21 June should be reconsidered. » | Nicola Davis, Science correspondent | Monday, May 31, 2021
Israeli Opposition Parties Unite in Bid to Oust Netanyahu | DW News
Political opponents of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are joining forces - with little in common besides a desire to oust him.
A former Netanyahu aide and right-wing hardliner, Naftali Bennett, says he's looking to form a diverse minority government and avoid another round of elections in Israel and put an end to the Netanyahu era.
Netanyahu has been on the defensive for some time. Israel's longest serving prime minister has been able to brush off public outrage over corruption charges. But after failing to form a majority government after the fourth election in two years, Netanyahu's hold on power had become tenuous.
Former TV Host Yair Lapid is determined to pull together parties from the far right to the left, including Arab-Israeli parties. The commitment by Bennett, who leads the right-wing, pro-settler Yamina party, is crucial to the proposed alliance.
Netanyahu responded by painting the broad coalition as a threat to national security. But he knows that the biggest threat posed by the new government is to current prime minister himself.
A former Netanyahu aide and right-wing hardliner, Naftali Bennett, says he's looking to form a diverse minority government and avoid another round of elections in Israel and put an end to the Netanyahu era.
Netanyahu has been on the defensive for some time. Israel's longest serving prime minister has been able to brush off public outrage over corruption charges. But after failing to form a majority government after the fourth election in two years, Netanyahu's hold on power had become tenuous.
Former TV Host Yair Lapid is determined to pull together parties from the far right to the left, including Arab-Israeli parties. The commitment by Bennett, who leads the right-wing, pro-settler Yamina party, is crucial to the proposed alliance.
Netanyahu responded by painting the broad coalition as a threat to national security. But he knows that the biggest threat posed by the new government is to current prime minister himself.
Trump Org Was ‘Rotten to Its Core’ Says Deputy Assistant AG
‘Chronic Corruption’ & Neoliberal Capitalism’s Role in Boris Johnson’s Britain’s COVID Disaster
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)