Richard Branson Wore a Pride Ribbon in Space to Honor Pulse Victims

ADVOCATE: The entrepreneur hopes to make traveling to the final frontier a reality for all.

Billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson made history on July 11 by flying to the edge of space in his Virgin Galactic rocket plane, and he did it while proudly wearing a rainbow flag pin in memory of the Pulse Nightclub victims.

“Somebody who lost a loved one at the Orlando massacre asked if I would do that,” Branson told the Daily Mail. “We also have many, many friends who are gay and I know people who lost friends there.”

Branson also posted a video to Twitter in which he showed off the pin. “My mission statement is to turn the dream of space travel into a reality for my grandchildren, for your grandchildren, for everyone,” punctuating the “for everyone” with a close-up of the ribbon affixed to his chest. » | Rachel Shatto | Monday, July 12, 2021

Israeli Court Makes Way for Same-Sex Couples to Access Surrogacy

ADVOCATE: Same-sex couples and single men will be able to access surrogacy services in the country in six months.

Israel’s Supreme Court opened up the path for same-sex couples to work with surrogate mothers to have children in what Israeli politicians and activists say is a win for the country’s LGBTQ+ community.

In 2018, the country expanded surrogacy access to single women. In 2020, the court ruled that expansion, which excluded single men and same-sex couple was unlawful. The high court found the policy “disproportionately harmed the right to equality and the right to parenthood,” according to the Associated Press. It then gave the Israeli government one year to pass a new law. However, parliament never did. » | Alex Cooper | Monday, July 12, 2021

F.D.A. Attaches Warning of Rare Nerve Syndrome to Johnson & Johnson Vaccine

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Federal regulators concluded that the risk of developing the syndrome was low, and that the benefits of the vaccine still strongly outweigh it.

The Food and Drug Administration warned on Monday that Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine can lead to an increased risk of a rare neurological condition known as Guillain–Barré syndrome, another setback for a vaccine that has largely been sidelined in the United States.

Although regulators have found that the chances of developing the condition are low, they appear to be three to five times higher among recipients of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine than among the general population in the United States, according to people familiar with the decision. The warning was attached to fact sheetsabout the vaccine for providers and patients. » | Sharon LaFraniere and Noah Weiland | Monday, July 12, 2021

Miami Mayor: ‘We Are Absolutely Ready’ for Possible Cuban Arrivals

Jul 13, 2021 • ABC News’ Linsey Davis speaks with Miami mayor and child of Cuban refugees, Francis Suarez, as Cuban Americans in South Florida take to the streets in solidarity with the demonstrations in Cuba.

‘Everyone Has a Tipping Point’: Hunger Fuels Cuba’s Protests »

France Gets Tough on Unvaccinated Citizens

MONACO LIFE: Covid-19 jabs will be mandatory for France’s health workers and anyone wanting to get into a cinema or board a train will need to show proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test under new rules announced by President Emmanuel Macron on Monday.

Unveiling sweeping measures to combat a surge in infections, Macron said vaccinations would not be compulsory for the general public but encouraged everyone to get a jab.

“We must go towards vaccination of all French people, it is the only way towards a normal life,” Macron said in a televised address to the nation.

“A new race against the clock is on,” he said, referring to the highly contagious Delta variant.

France has an entrenched anti-vaccination movement but authorities had so far believed they could curb the spread of the coronavirus by convincing enough people, including medical staff, to get inoculated voluntarily.

But a slowdown in vaccination rates and a sharp upturn in new infections due to the now-dominant Delta variant have forced a government rethink for health workers, who must now get vaccinated by 15th September.

Vaccination will also be compulsory for people working in retirement homes. » | Cassandra Tanti | Monday, July 12, 2021

Covid News: France Orders Health Care Workers to Get Vaccinated »

Homothérapies, conversion forcée | ARTE

Premiered Nov 20, 2019 • À travers la parole de victimes et un travail d’infiltration journalistique, une enquête sidérante sur les organisations religieuses qui, dévoyant le christianisme et la psychanalyse, prétendent "guérir" les personnes homosexuelles.

Électrochocs, lobotomies frontales, "thérapies" hormonales… : dans les années 1970, aux États-Unis, la dépsychiatrisation de l’homosexualité met progressivement fin à ces pratiques médicales inhumaines, tout en donnant naissance à des mouvements religieux qui prétendent "guérir" ce qu’elles considèrent comme un péché, une déviance inacceptable. Depuis, les plus actives de ces associations – les évangéliques d’Exodus ou les catholiques de Courage – ont essaimé sur tous les continents, à travers une logique de franchises. Bénéficiant d’une confortable notoriété aux États-Unis ou dans l’ultracatholique Pologne, ces réseaux œuvrent en toute discrétion en France et en Allemagne. Mais si les méthodes diffèrent, l’objectif reste identique : convertir les personnes homosexuelles à l’hétérosexualité ou, à défaut, les pousser à la continence. Comme Deb, fille d’évangélistes de l’Arkansas ouvertement homophobes, Jean-Michel Dunand, aujourd’hui animateur d’une communauté œcuménique homosensible et transgenre, a subi de traumatisantes séances d’exorcisme. De son côté, la Polonaise Ewa a été ballottée de messes de guérison en consultations chez un sexologue adepte des décharges électriques. Rongés par la honte et la culpabilité, tous ont souffert de séquelles psychiques graves : haine de soi, alcoolisme, dépression, tentation du suicide…

Manipulation destructrice

Étayée par le travail de deux jeunes journalistes, dont l'un s'est infiltré dans des mouvements français – des rencontres façon Alcooliques anonymes de Courage aux séminaires estivaux de Torrents de vie, avec transes collectives au menu –, cette enquête sur les "thérapies de conversion" donne la parole à des victimes de cinq pays. Leurs témoignages, à la fois rares et bouleversants, mettent en lumière les conséquences dévastatrices de pratiques qui s’apparentent à des dérives sectaires. "Nous avons affaire à une espèce de psychothérapie sauvage qui peut amener à la destruction de la personnalité", affirme ainsi Serge Blisko, ancien président de la Miviludes (Mission interministérielle de vigilance et de lutte contre les dérives sectaires). En mars 2018, le Parlement européen a voté une résolution appelant les États membres à interdire ces prétendues thérapies. Jusqu’à maintenant, seul Malte a légiféré sur le sujet.

Homothérapies, conversion forcée Documentaire de Bernard Nicolas (France, 2019, 1h30mn)

Ce documentaire ne peut pas être intégré. Il faut le regarder sur YouTube. Vous pouvez le regarder ici

Covid-19 : Londres lèvera ses restrictions le 19 juillet

LE POINT : La plupart des restrictions liées à la pandémie seront levées le 19 juillet en Angleterre, selon les récentes informations communiquées par le gouvernement.

« Nous sommes convaincus qu’il est temps que notre pays retrouve une vie normale, donc nous allons passer à l’étape suivante de notre plan de sortie le 19 juillet. » C’est en ces termes que le ministre britannique de la Santé, Savid Javid, a fait part de la levée prochaine des restrictions mises en place en raison de la crise sanitaire, lundi 12 juillet. L’été et les vacances scolaires offrent un moment opportun, selon lui. Il estime qu’attendre plus longtemps, jusqu’à l’hiver par exemple, pourrait donner un avantage au virus, au risque de ne rien pouvoir rouvrir.

« Nous sommes convaincus qu’il est temps que notre pays retrouve une vie normale, donc nous allons passer à l’étape suivante de notre plan de sortie le 19 juillet », a souligné le ministre devant les députés. Dès cette date, baptisée « jour de la liberté », la distanciation sociale et le port du masque ne seront plus obligatoires, même si ce dernier reste recommandé dans les endroits publics fermés et très fréquentés, comme les transports en commun. » | Source AFP | lundi 12 juillet 2021

Président Emmanuel Macron : Adresse aux Français

Alors que le pays est confronté à une reprise forte de l'épidémie, le Président Emmanuel Macron a annoncé de nouvelles mesures pour lutter contre le variant Delta.

Palais de l’Élysée ici

Chris Snowden on the Ever-Growing Nanny State

May 31, 2021 • Gary sits down with Christopher Snowdon, author of the Nanny State Index. They discuss vaping; smoking; sugar taxes; Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) for alcohol; the drive towards increased nanny statism coming from NGOs; & what consumers can do to fight back.

These interfering dudes in government have absolutely no sense of 'joie de vivre'! Further, they forget that they work for us: they are our public sevants. Their positions are paid for by our taxes! They should get off our backs and let us lead our lives as we see fit! I can think of a few people in politics in the UK—I won’t name them – today—who behave like interfering old women! In years gone by, we used to call them Betsys! Even though I have successfully given up smoking, listening to this discussion makes me want to start again!

People are not becoming healthier from quitting smoking at all. Instead of smoking, people now eat loads of junk food instead, and grow fatter abd fatter. As a result, obesity and type-2 diabetes rates are soaring. So, instead of dying from tobacco-related illnesses, they are now dying of illnesses related to obesity, insulin-resistance and metabolic syndrome instead. And that's a fact!

Whilst it is healthier not to smoke, it is healthier not to do so only if one vice is not substitued for another. Political hacks don't seem to understand this. One could speak of the law of unintended consequences here. – @ Mark

"It's Coming Home": Neuinfektionen statt Pokal +++ Impfpflicht in Frankreich | DW Nachrichten

Jul 12, 2021 • Mehr als 31.000 Neuinfektionen - in Großbritannien verdoppeln sich die Covidfälle gerade von Woche zu Woche. Trotz der raschen Ausbreitung der Delta-Variante hält der Premierminister Boris Johnson für England daran fest, alle Alltags-Auflagen zum 19. Juli aufzuheben.

Jenseits des Ärmelkanals, in Frankreich, fährt die Regierung einen anderen Corona-Kurs. Auch hier steigen die Neuinfektionen durch die Verbreitung der Delta-Variante. Aber der französische Präsident Emmanuel Macron setzt nicht mehr auf Lockerungen, sondern auf eine teilweise Impfpflicht. Alle, die im Gesundheitswesen arbeiten, insbesondere Kranken- und Pflegekräfte sollen geimpft werden. Die Betroffenen zweifeln, ob das der richtige Weg aus der Coronakrise sein soll.

Is the Georgian Government Complicit in Alexander Lashkarava's Death? | DW News

Jul 12, 2021 • In Georgia, protesters have been calling for the Prime Minister to resign over the death of a journalist. Alexander Lashkarava worked for an independent TV news channel. He was found dead in his home on Sunday, after being beaten by far-right activists during a protest against an LGBTQI+ Pride march in the capital, Tbilisi. DW spoke to Zura Abashidze, Georgian writer and LGBTQI+ activist, about the incident.

More on this tragic story here

Nazis, Fear and Violence: When Reporting from Berlin Was Dangerous

A Nazi demonstration by the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin calling for a ‘strong Germany’, 1931. Photograph: Imagno/Getty Images
THE GUARDIAN: Our Germany correspondent salutes the man who did his job 100 years ago, when it was far more perilous and unpredictable

Frederick Augustus Voigt, who was the Manchester Guardian’s Berlin correspondent between 1920 and 1932, did not look like an intrepid reporter.

A 1935 portrait by the Bauhaus photographer Lucia Moholy makes it appear as though he wants to back away from the camera, distrustful eyes barricaded behind thick, round glasses. His physical appearance was described in his 1957 obituary as “fragile-looking and nervous in manner, shortsighted, with a trick of smiling from the mouth downwards.”

So nervy could Voigt be, he once confided to his editor that on a bad day he did not feel brave enough to cross a street during heavy traffic. “Like so many hatreds, my hatred of motorcars arises from fear.”

And yet brave is the only suitable adjective to describe Voigt’s journalism. Known as “Freddy” to colleagues in England, as “Fritz” to friends in Berlin, but only as “our own correspondent” to readers of the Manchester Guardian, Voigt always went straight to where the story was, even if the story might imperil his life. » | Philip Oltermann in Berlin | Monday, July 12, 2021

Gay Pride: Kitty Fischer on Gay Male Rescuer in Auschwitz

Jun 18, 2015 • For National Gay Pride Month, USC Shoah Foundation featuried a testimony clip every week in June of eyewitnesses to the Nazi persecution of gay men in the Holocaust. Kitty Fischer recounts her time in Auschwitz-II Birkenau when, as a young girl, she encountered for the first time a gay male prisoner who turned out to save her life. To learn more and explore the stories of other eyewitnesses to the Holocaust and other genocides, visit sfi.usc.edu | Copyright USC Shoah Foundation – The Institute for Visual History and Education.


Viewer discretion is advised. – Mark

Pride Month: The Nazi Persecution of Gay People

Jun 3, 2020 • Before the Nazis came to power, Berlin was home to a vibrant gay community. Within weeks of their rise in March 1933, the Nazis drove this population underground and waged a violent campaign against homosexuality. Over the next 12 years, more than 100,000 men were arrested for violating Germany's law against "unnatural indecency among men.” During this time, proof was often not required to convict an individual. Some were sent to concentration camps and subjected to hard labor, cruelty, and even medical experiments aimed at “curing” them. Moderator: Dr. Edna Friedberg, Historian, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum; Speaker: Dr. Jake Newsome, Historian, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

In ewiger Erinnerung: Mögen die im Dritten Reich verfolgten Homosexuellen—in den Vorkriegsjahren, während des Krieges selber, und sogar bis 1969, als der Paragraph 175 schließlich abgeschafft wurde—in Frieden sein. Sie haben kein Verbrechen begangen. Sie wurden geschlagen, gefoltert und getötet umsonst, nur weil sie einen anderen Menschen liebten. Das ist die Tragödie. Ruhe in Frieden. – © Mark

Cubans Take to the Streets in Protests against Communist Regime | DW News

Jul 12, 2021 • Anti-government protests in Cuba amid food shortages and COVID surge.

Protests have broken out in Cuba, with thousands of people taking to the streets against the communist regime.

Demonstrators expressed frustration at food shortages, rising prices and the lack of COVID-19 vaccines. The government has tried to blame the US for the unrest and is rallying its own supporters. It is the greatest show of discontent with the socialist government since the 1990s. Like back then, the trigger for this protest is the desperate economic situation.

Right now, the country is suffering from food shortages. Soon the police arrived and began to drag off people in the crowd. The arrests and the violence only make the demonstrators angrier. "We are not afraid" they cry out. Supporters of the government have been out in the streets too. President Miguel Diaz-Canel himself led a rally. It was organized quickly - in a town outside Havana, where the anti-government protests began early on Sunday.

With the president encouraging his supporters to mobilize against his opponents - there were ugly confrontations. A group of government supporters detain opposition protesters.

A communist regime has ruled Cuba since 1959. It has survived the fall of the Soviet Union and the death of its founder, Fidel Castro. Now, it is again being challenged. But displays like these show it is unlikely to go without a fight.


Related: Thousands March in Cuba in Rare Mass Protests amid Economic Crisis »

P.R.I.D.E. - A Very GAY Documentary

8 Openly Gay Billionaires In the World in 2016

CLEAR lesson here: NEVER let your sexual preferences hold you back! Further, don't worry about God. If it was a problem for Him, He wouldn't have made you gay in the first place! Remember this: If God exists, we are ALL God's children, whether we are gay or straight! – © Mark

Thousands March in Cuba in Rare Mass Protests amid Economic Crisis

THE GUARDIAN: US sanctions and coronavirus crisis lead to food shortages and high prices, sparking one of the biggest such demonstrations in memory

The biggest mass demonstrations for three decades have rippled through Cuba, as thousands took to the streets in cities throughout the island, demonstrating against food shortages, high prices and communist rule.

The protests began in the morning, in the town of San Antonio de los Baños in the west of the island, and in the city of Palma Soriano in the east. In both cases protesters numbered in the hundreds.

With millions of Cubans now with mobile internet on their phones, news of the protests quickly swept to Havana. By early afternoon, thousands marched through central Havana, chanting “homeland and life” and “freedom”.

“I’m here because of hunger, because there’s no medicine, because of power cuts – because there’s a lack of everything,” said a man in his 40s who didn’t want to give his name for fear of reprisals.

“I want a total change: a change of government, multiparty elections, and the end of communism.” » | Ed Augustin and Daniel Montero in Havana | Monday, July 12, 2021

Pope Francis Leads Prayer from Rome Hospital

Pope Francis greeted the faithful from a balcony at Gemelli hospital in Rome on Sunday, his first public appearance since undergoing colon surgery last week.

Georgian Cameraman Dies after Attack by Far-right, Anti-LGBTQ Mob

Alexander Lashkarava, 37, sustained fractures to his facial bones after being attacked last Monday. Photograph: Tv Pirveli/Reuters (R.I.P.)
THE GUARDIAN: Government accused of ‘culpable passivity’ after dozens of journalists were attacked covering Pride protest

A Georgian TV cameraman has died after being badly beaten by far-right assailants during a protest against an LGBTQ Pride march, his station said on Sunday, as pressure mounts on authorities over attacks on journalists.

Alexander Lashkarava, a 37-year-old cameraman working for the independent station TV Pirveli, was found dead in his bed in the early hours on Sunday, the channel reported.

Last Monday he was assaulted by a violent mob of anti-LGBTQ protesters and sustained fractures to his facial bones.

More than 50 journalists were attacked that day by anti-LGBTQ groups protesting against the planned Pride march in Tbilisi, which was cancelled due to safety fears. » | Agence France-Presse in Tbilisi | Sunday, July 11, 2021

Harry Nilsson: Without You

Protests Erupt in Spain after Killing of Samuel Luiz

Jul 9, 2021 • Protests have erupted across Spain after a gay man was killed over Pride weekend.

More on this tragic and heartbreaking story here

Jewish in Europe (2/2) | DW Documentary

Jul 11, 2021 • What is life like for Jews in Europe today? What are their stories? How do they combine traditional and modern life? And how do they deal with marginalization and threats?

"There is an everyday Jewish life in Europe that rarely gets shown. Debates about politics, the Middle East and anti-Semitism overshadow the diversity of Jewish life. That's why it was important for us to be able to capture it, just by spontaneously going there and seeing what was happening." This was the mission statement that led Swiss writer Yves Kugelmann and German film producer Alice Brauner, both Jewish, on a journey across Europe.

The first part of this two-part documentary takes Brauner and Kugelmann to Marseille, Strasbourg, Frankfurt and Berlin. They talk about life in the Jewish quarter with Harold Weill, Chief Rabbi of Strasbourg, and ask whether he and his community feel threatened. Alon Meyer, chairman of intercultural soccer club Makkabi Frankfurt and president of the Jewish sports organization Makkabi Germany, describes the hostility his team faces away from the field. In Berlin, Brauner and Kugelmann meet the writer and dramatist Sasha Marianna Salzmann.

Hongkong: Das Ende der freien Presse | DW Reporter

Jul 11, 2021 • Nachdem Peking ihre Konten gesperrt hatte, musste die Zeitung "Apple Daily“ aufgeben. Damit ist eine der letzten chinakritischen Stimmen Hongkongs verstummt. Wie geht es für die Stadt nun weiter? Wir begleiten einen Reporter und einen Fotografen.

Les dessins de Christian Dior | ARTE

Jun 11, 2021 • Dans les années 1950, Christian Dior réinvente la silhouette de la femme. Les lignes folles de ses merveilleux dessins, dévoilés par Loïc Prigent, témoignent de dix années de création foisonnantes.

Des tailles de guêpe corsetées, des hanches exagérées, des jupes amples et bouffantes : le style Dior révolutionne la mode d'après-guerre. Finie l'époque du rationnement, l'inventeur du fameux new-look déroule des mètres de tissu – suscitant au passage la polémique – pour habiller la femme. De 1947 à 1957, "une explosion de féminité" défile sur les podiums. De la mythique "Junon", une robe du soir perlée encore réalisée dans ses ateliers pour des clientes fortunées, à l'emblématique tailleur "Bar", le couturier renouvelle tout en élégance ses silhouettes de saison en saison. Mais à force d'enchaîner à un rythme effréné les collections, celui qui aime se décrire comme "un paysan normand bedonnant" s'épuise. Parti en Italie en août 1957 pour une cure de remise en forme – alors que sa voyante lui a déconseillé ce voyage –, Christian Dior ne reviendra jamais. Deux ans avant sa mort, il avait pris soin d'embaucher le jeune Yves Saint Laurent pour lui succéder.

Révolutionnaire

Après Les dessins d'Yves Saint Laurent, Loïc Prigent dévoile les croquis de Christian Dior, conservés précieusement à Paris dans un lieu tenu secret. De ses esquisses dans les pages mode du Figaro, quand il était fauché, aux ébauches de ses innombrables créations en passant par ses carnets d'idées, ce documentaire éblouissant nous plonge dans l'effervescence des années 1950. Avec les sons de l'époque, les dessins, déjà pleins de mouvement, prennent littéralement vie. Riche d'anecdotes émouvantes d'anciennes couturières, d'intimes de "Monsieur Dior", mais aussi de spécialistes de la mode, le film célèbre le talent d'un révolutionnaire qui a construit un empire en seulement dix ans.

Documentaire de Loïc Prigent (France, 2018, 52mn)

Disponible jusqu'au 17/08/2021

Julio Iglesias, Diana Ross – All of You

"Music video by Julio Iglesias;Diana Ross performing All Of You. (C) 1984 Sony BMG Music Entertainment"

Global Philanthropists Pledge £94m to Cover UK Foreign Aid Cuts

THE GUARDIAN: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation among organisations picking up some of bill for health projects

A group of global philanthropists, including Bill Gates, have pledged £93.5m to help cover the shortfall left by the UK government’s cuts to foreign aid.

After the government cut funding by about a third in the autumn spending review, many “critical” projects have stalled or been put at risk.

The consortium, according to the Sunday Times, said they did not want to see drugs wasted because health projects had been forced to close down.

The philanthropists, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, the ELMA Foundation and the Open Society Foundations, are picking up some, but not all, of the bill for these projects. » | Robyn Vinter | Sunday, July 11, 2021

Labour to Vote against Tory ‘Hate Speech’ Bill

THE OBSERVER: Plans to protect free speech leave universities in England and Wales ‘at risk of being sued’ by anti-vaxxers and Holocaust deniers

Government plans to “safeguard” free speech in universities would allow Holocaust deniers, anti-vaccination groups and conspiracy theorists to take legal action against higher education organisations that denied them a platform to air their views, Labour said last night.

Announcing that its MPs would vote against the higher education (freedom of speech) bill, which has its second reading in the Commons this week, Labour claimed that it was a hugely divisive and harmful “hate speech bill”.

Universities UK and the National Union of Students have also expressed grave concerns about the bill, suggesting it is wildly disproportionate, and could leave institutions and student unions wide open to costly legal actions from people making vexatious or frivolous claims that they have been denied public platforms. » | Toby Helm, Political editor | Sunday, July 11, 2021

Xavier Bettel est sorti de l’hôpital

LE QUOTIDEN : Le Premier ministre Xavier Bettel a pu quitter jeudi le Centre hospitalier de Luxembourg (CHL), où il était soigné depuis dimanche dernier pour son infection au Covid, a annoncé le ministère d’État.

L’état de santé du Premier ministre, testé positif le 27 juin, s’est amélioré au terme de quatre jours de traitement. Pour rappel, au moment de son admission, il lui avait été diagnostiqué une saturation d’oxygène insuffisante. Son état était alors jugé “sérieux, mais stable”. » | LQ | jeudi 6 juillet 2021

Zürcher Geschnetzeltes, Schweiz | 50 Küchen, eine Heimat

Apr 21, 2018 • Im eleganten Berliner Großstadt-Ambiente des "Restaurant 44" wartet das Team von André Egger eine kreative Schweizer Küche auf. Der Klassiker "Zürcher Geschnetzeltes" wird hier mit Rösti serviert – mit was auch sonst.

My Life under Putin - Homosexuals in Russia | Full Documentary

Sep 2, 2015 • Neo-Nazis that chase homosexuals. And Russia´s president Vladimir Putin adds fuel to the flames. He signs the bill that treats homosexuality the same as pedophilia. How is life under fear of death? The video diary "My life under Putin - Homosexuals in Russia" shows how enemy stereotypes are being created in Putins Russia, how rights of minorities like LGBTs (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender) are cut back by law and their life is put in danger.

June 2013: Russian president Wladimir Putin signs the, so-called, “Anti-Gay” law, which equates homosexuality with pedophilia. Lesbians or gays who confess to their homosexuality or exchange caresses in public take the risk of facing fines or even imprisonment. Meanwhile, an increasing number of Neo-Nazis are hunting down gays. In many Russian cities, the “Occupy Pedophilia”-group forms under the leadership of Neo-Nazi Maxim Martsinkevich, who is now imprisoned. Under the guise of child protection they abuse gays and make a public spectacle of it by uploading the videos on the internet. However, hostilities towards homosexuals take place almost anywhere and at any time in Russia. Thus, during medical examination Ilmira Shyakhraznova, a lesbian, was asked if she knows that homosexuality was incompatible with religion.

Where does the broad rejection of homosexuality come from? Yury Gavrikov, organizer of Gay-Prides in St. Petersburg and Moscow, which have been banned by now, explains why Russian politicians keep on presenting gays as an enemy: “You need an opponent to distract people from domestic political problems.” Viacheslav Revin, who first left his hometown and finally Russia after receiving death threats and Artem Gorbunov fled to the USA to seek political asylum there. They tell us how they had to hide for several years and how they feel like being treated equally first the first time in their lives. The video diary “My Life under Putin” demonstrates impressively how Putin’s Russia establishes images of the enemy, weakens rights of minorities by law and even threatens their lives.

Global Gay: Fight For Human Rights | Social Documentary | Real Stories

Oct 21, 2020 • A global revolution is underway to obtain what UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and Barack Obama call ‘the final frontier in human rights’: the universal decriminalization of homosexuality.

Homosexuality is forbidden in almost half of the world. Out of 196 UN member states, there are 7 where it is punishable by death. In 84 others, it can merit prison and physical punishment. But today, momentum is building and the debate on gay rights is omnipresent – whether it be regarding legalization in the Middle-East and Africa or the focus of gay marriage laws in the West.

After years of long diplomatic struggle, several world leaders have declared themselves in favor of the universal decriminalization of homosexuality. But victory won’t come easily. The countries that still punish homosexuality refuse to give in to international pressure. Global acceptance and equality will take time to achieve.

‘Global Gay’ follows this battle for decriminalization through the lives and work of some of its fearless pioneers, providing a vibrant chronicle of the growing global social movement. In the words of Ban Ki Moon, “The time has come”.

Geschichte einer Verfolgung - Der "Schwulenparagraph" | Dokus und Reportagen

Mar 24, 2021 • Man nannte sie "die 175er". Verhaftet wurden diese Männer schon mal direkt beim Liebesspiel, nicht selten am Arbeitsplatz, oder die Polizei holte sie von zu Hause ab. Ein paar Stunden später saßen sie oft schon in Haft, die Kündigung vom Arbeitgeber ließ meist nicht lange auf sich warten. Ihr begangenes Verbrechen: einvernehmlicher Sex unter erwachsenen Männern. Damit verstießen sie gegen den Paragrafen 175.

La Corée du Nord et la Chine veulent renforcer leurs liens

LE POINT : Pyongyang et Pékin s’engagent à faire entrer leurs relations dans une « nouvelle phase ». Au total, les deux chefs d’État se sont rencontrés cinq fois.

À l’occasion du 60e anniversaire de leur traité d’amitié, le président chinois Xi Jinping et le leader nord-coréen Kim Jong-un se sont engagés à faire entrer les relations bilatérales dans une « nouvelle phase », rapportent, dimanche 11 juillet, leurs médias officiels. Pékin est, en effet, le principal soutien économique et diplomatique de la Corée du Nord. Une relation héritée de la guerre de Corée (1950-1953), quand Mao Tsé-toung avait envoyé des millions de « volontaires » combattre la force de l’ONU emmenée par Washington.

Le 11 juillet 1961, les deux pays signent un traité d’amitié, de coopération et d’assistance mutuelle, Mao affirmant que les deux alliés ont alors la même proximité que « les lèvres et les dents ». Les relations ont évolué au gré des décennies, marquées notamment par les ambitions de plus en plus fortes de la Corée du Nord dans le domaine de l’armement nucléaire – qu’elle estime nécessaire pour se protéger des États-Unis. » | Source AFP | dimanche 11 juillet 2021

The Top Journalist, the Mafia Boss and the Gunman: Dutch Fear the Rise of ‘Narco Crime’

THE OBSERVER: While Peter R de Vries fights for life in an Amsterdam hospital the nation reflects on how to end the grip of drug gangs

Five gunshots blasted like fireworks on a sunny evening, just behind Amsterdam’s busy Leidseplein. To the horror of the Netherlands, a cold-blooded shooting has left prominent Dutch crime journalist Peter R de Vries fighting for his life in hospital.

Everyone from European leaders to the Dutch king Willem-Alexander and Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema have expressed their shock at the ambush of “national hero” De Vries as he walked back to his car on Tuesday after recording a chatshow, on a busy street in broad daylight.

Within hours, the Dutch police arrested two men on the A4 motorway and are holding a 21-year-old from Rotterdam and a 35-year-old Polish national. The younger man has been named in Dutch media as rapper Delano G, the Polish man as Kamil Pawel E.

But many are speculating whether it is coincidence that De Vries, who made his name reporting on the kidnap of brewing magnate Freddy Heineken in the 1980s, has recently been involved in a high-profile gangland drug and murder court case, known as the Marengo trial. » | Senay Boztas | Saturday, July 10, 2021

You will find more about this brutal attack here and here.

Brutal Assault in Barcelona Raises Concerns about Growing Homophobia

EL PAÍS: LGBTQ+ groups are reporting a rise in attacks as the far right makes new inroads in a polarized society

It’s just a few minutes past 10pm on May 29, a Saturday. The scene is Somorrostro beach in the Barceloneta neighborhood of Barcelona, where nightlife venues remain closed due to Covid-19 but the cosmopolitan vibe lives on. Two homosexual couples and a heterosexual couple meet and strike up a conversation as they sit in a circle on the sand. They laugh, drink and chat. Four individuals suddenly approach. “You fucking faggots!” shouts one of them. Another spits at one of the young men. “I’ll cut the throat of anyone who raises an eyebrow!” yells a third.

The threats are followed by a relentless series of punches and kicks. One of the attackers pushes the heterosexual couple aside so they can focus on the four gay men. Israel (not his real name) is knocked to the ground. He tries to get up, but receives a brutal kick in the mouth that leaves him semi-conscious on the sand. His jaw is broken and he has lost several teeth. The other three victims were luckier; despite their injuries, they did not require medical treatment.

The aggression in Somorrostro is one of the most serious attacks against members of the LGBTQ+ community in Barcelona in recent memory. There were two other incidents on the same day, though there is no connection between them. On the morning of June 5, a protest was held in the center of the Catalan capital against any act of hatred against the LGBTQ+ community. “We aren’t familiar with violence such as that of last Saturday in Somorrostro. It is a very serious crime that produced very serious injuries,” said Eugeni Rodríguez, president of Barcelona’s Observatory Against Homophobia (OCH). » | Alfonso L. Congostrina | Barcelona | Wednesday, June 9, 2021

LGBTQ+ Groups Protest across Spain after 24-year-old Beaten to Death

Samuel Luiz, a 24-year-old nurse killed in A Coruña. (R.I.P.)
EL PAÍS: Police have not yet determined the motive of the brutal assault against Samuel Luiz in A Coruña, but the victim’s friends believe it was a homophobic attack

LGBTQ+ groups across Spain arranged street demonstrations on Monday to call for justice for Samuel Luiz, a young nurse who was killed in a brutal attack in the early hours of Saturday morning in the northwestern city of A Coruña in Galicia. While investigators are still working to find the authors of the crime and establish the motive, one of Luiz’s friends has claimed on social media that there was a homophobic motive to the assault, which apparently began outside a nightclub over a misunderstanding involving the 24-year-old victim.

The María Pita square in A Coruña was filled with thousands of people on Monday evening, expressing their support for friends and families of Luiz, who was killed during Pride weekend. The female friends who were accompanying the victim during his final moments were also there. They made public addresses calling for the case to be resolved and requesting respect for the family of the young man, who opted not to come to the protests. » | Caridad Bermeo, Elisa Lois, Marta Pinedo | A Coruña / Pontevedra / Madrid | Tuesday, July 6, 2021

English version by Simon Hunter (Twitter a/c here)

La comunidad LGTBI dice basta »

I first posted on this tragic story in German from the Swiss newspaper, Tages Anzeiger, here

Les Pays-Bas face à un inquiétant péril mafieux

LE MONDE : La tentative d’assassinat envers Peter de Vries, journaliste d’investigation spécialisé dans les affaires criminelles, souligne l’urgence, pour le gouvernement néerlandais, de revoir sa stratégie de lutte contre le trafic de drogue.

Editorial du « Monde ». Le crime était son univers, qu’il explorait avec obstination depuis des décennies. Le journaliste néerlandais Peter de Vries, 64 ans, a payé cher cet engagement : trois jours après avoir été atteint d’une balle dans la tête, mercredi 7 juillet, à Amsterdam, il était toujours, samedi, entre la vie et la mort, et son pays est sous le choc. » | Éditorial | samedi 10 juillet 2021

James Taylor : Shower the People

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Lionel Richie : Do It To Me

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Lionel Richie : Penny Lover

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Mahler Symphony No 5 Adagietto – Herbert von Karajan

Jul 25, 2013 • Slide-show of Venice with contemporary photographs and antique oil paintings. Symphony No5 /Mahler/ Adagietto/ Berlin Philharmoniker/Herbert von Karajan. The 1974 recording - Deutsche Grammophon

The Pink Triangles: The Story of the Gay Holocaust (Complete Documentary)

Premiered Jan 21, 2021 • The vastly ignored history of Germany's war on gay men during World War 2. A special note: Trans women were also persecuted but Germany categorized them as gay men so there's no official records to refer to.
This video is age-restricted; so, to watch it, you will have to verify your age with a credit card or a driver’s licence. The video cannot be embedded; it has to be watched on YouTube itself. This documentary is not for the faint-hearted. It shows how gays were persecuted in the Third Reich. People with a conscience should watch it, however. We need to ensure that such atrocities never ever happen again – anywhere.

Click here for viewing.

Emotional Gay Commercials

Jun 1, 2021 • Some of the best wholesome Gay commercials.

Annie Lennox: A Whiter Shade of Pale (Tradução)

"Woke Capitalism": Jetzt auch mit Haltung

ZEIT ONLINE: Unternehmen geben sich in sozialen und politischen Fragen neuerdings besonders progressiv. Wie glaubwürdig ist das?

Im Frühjahr ließ der Online-Modehändler Zalando einen Werbespot produzieren. In dem Film treten auf: ein schwarzes Plus-Size-Model, ein schwuler Skateboarder, ein Tänzer, der mit einem Arm geboren wurde. Vor ein paar Jahren hatte Zalando noch mit Kundinnen geworben, die beim Klingeln des Paketboten ausrasteten. Damals wollte Zalando bloß Schuhe verkaufen.

Heute genügt dem Unternehmen das nicht mehr, es hat sich eine neue Mission verpasst. "Diversität und Inklusion" seien für Zalando "weit mehr als nur eine Geschäftsstrategie – sondern der einzig richtige Weg", schrieb Konzernvorstand Rubin Ritter im November. Zalando versprach, den Anteil von Frauen in Führungspositionen bis Ende 2023 auf mindestens 40 Prozent zu erhöhen. Neuerdings sind in Zalandos Kampagnen auch nicht mehr nur Models zu sehen, die dem ultraschlanken Schönheitsideal der Modeindustrie entsprechen. Und als vor einem Jahr auch in Deutschland Zehntausende gegen den gewaltsamen Tod des Afroamerikaners George Floyd protestierten, versicherte Zalando seinen 1,2 Millionen Instagram-Followern, "unsere Stimme" für die "schwarze Community" zu erheben.

Woke capitalism, aufgeweckter Kapitalismus, hat der US-Kolumnist Ross Douthat es genannt, wenn Unternehmen sich in sozialen oder politischen Fragen besonders progressiv geben; wenn es ihnen nicht mehr allein ums Geldverdienen geht, sondern darum, auf der richtigen Seite zu stehen. Richtig, das heißt in diesem Fall: für die Gleichberechtigung von Frauen und Minderheiten zu sein – oder auch für den Klimaschutz. » | Von Heike Buchter, Ann-Kathrin Nezik und Theresa Rauffmann | Mittwoch, 7. Juli 2021

Brazilian Potential Presidential Candidate Announces He Is Gay

AL JAZEERA: Governor Eduardo Leite of Rio Grande do Sul could challenge Jair Bolsonaro, who has espoused anti-gay rhetoric.

Brazilian governor and potential major party presidential candidate Eduardo Leite, a prominent critic of President Jair Bolsonaro, came out as gay in a TV interview.

Leite, governor of the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, would be the first openly gay presidential candidate in Brazil. Anti-gay rhetoric has been a staple of speeches by Bolsonaro, who once declared that if he had a gay son, he would rather the child died in an accident. “I have never spoken about a subject related to my private life,” Leite told Brazilian journalist Pedro Bial in a TV interview on Thursday evening. “But during this moment of low integrity in Brazil, I have nothing to hide, I am gay. I am a governor who is gay, not a gay governor, as former President Obama in the US was a president who was Black, not a Black president. And I am proud of that.” » | Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies | Friday, July 2, 2021

CORREIO BRAZILIENSE: Governador do RS, Eduardo Leite namora médico capixaba há nove meses »

Related: Brazilian Presidential Hopeful Comes Out as Gay ahead of Jair Bolsonaro Challenge »

Brazilian presidential hopeful Eduardo Leite comes out as gay: “I’m proud of this” »

Alone Out Here: A Gay Farmer on Love, Isolation, and Disrupting the Meat Industry in Australia | The New Yorker

Jun 9, 2021 • In “Alone Out Here,” by Philip Busfield and Luke Cornish, an Australian rancher who is openly gay in a conservative industry fights to reduce carbon emissions through his cattle farming.

Washington de nouveau confronté au chaos haïtien

LE MONDE : Editorial. Après l’assassinat du président haïtien, Jovenel Moïse, aider les Haïtiens à former un gouvernement de transition, susceptible de stabiliser le pays afin de le mener à des élections, devrait être la priorité des Etats-Unis.

Editorial du « Monde ». C’est peu de dire que Haïti, dont le président, Jovenel Moïse, a été assassiné, mercredi 7 juillet, est un Etat failli. La malédiction semble frapper ce pays de 11 millions d’habitants qui partage, avec la République dominicaine, l’île d’Hispaniola et qui fut, avec les Etats-Unis, la première nation indépendante des Amériques. Dictatures, coups d’Etat, corruption, tremblements de terre, cyclones et épidémies ont entretenu depuis des décennies la misère et l’insécurité d’une population impuissante.

L’assassinat d’un chef d’Etat élu est en soi un traumatisme politique majeur. Il est encore plus déstabilisant lorsque, comme c’est le cas à Haïti, il intervient dans un vide de pouvoir quasi total. Jovenel Moïse fut d’ailleurs l’un des artisans de cette faillite politique, gouvernant par décret depuis janvier 2020 après avoir échoué à organiser des élections législatives. » | Éditorial | Samedi 10 juillet 2021

Un abonnement numérique du Monde (mensuel ou annuel) est disponible ici »

Julio Iglesias, Stevie Wonder - My Love

Les prix de l’immobilier flambent dans les stations balnéaires

LE MONDE : La pandémie de Covid-19 entraîne une demande grandissante pour les résidences secondaires en bord de mer. La Bretagne est de plus en plus recherchée, à l’inverse de la région PACA en perte de vitesse.

Dans les grandes villes, la tendance est à l’exode depuis le début de la crise sanitaire. Conséquence, les prix de l’immobilier s’emballent sur les littoraux français, selon une étude publiée vendredi 2 juillet par Meilleurs Agents.

Au palmarès des plus fortes hausses, citons la Bretagne (+ 7,2 % en un an, à 2 996 euros du mètre carré), la Manche (+ 5,9 %, à 3 110 euros du mètre carré) et la côte Atlantique (+ 5,6 %, à 4 372 euros du mètre carré). « La Bretagne et la Manche sont des territoires où les prix n’ont rien à voir avec la Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur [PACA] ni même le Sud-Ouest, il y a donc un effet de rattrapage », explique Thomas Lefebvre, directeur scientifique de Meilleurs Agents.

Les stations balnéaires de la Manche séduisent les Parisiens par leur facilité d’accès : à peine trois heures de voiture séparent la capitale du Touquet-Paris-Plage, la station manchoise la plus chère (6 544 euros du mètre carré en moyenne). » | Par Isaline Thomas | Samedi 10 juillet 2021

Meals by Wheels: UK Drive-through Booms as Brands Invest in New Sites

THE GUARDIAN: Social distancing is feeding an appetite for a new generation of US-style drive-through restaurants

Drive-through restaurants used to be a US-inspired novelty but a big increase in custom during the pandemic means money is pouring into new UK sites, with even upmarket names looking to serve food through car windows for the first time.

New property research suggests that demand for drive-throughs has increased by 25% post-Covid with restaurant chains looking to open a total of 200 sites a year. The clamour comes as established names such as McDonald’s and Burger King face competition from North American brands such as Tim Hortons, famous for its coffee and doughnuts, and burger chain Wendy’s.

The growing trend for ordering burgers, fizzy drinks and coffee from our cars, which comes at a time when the UK is trying to reduce car use and obesity, is spreading beyond its traditional heartland of Big Macs and chicken nuggets. » | Zoe Wood, Consumer affairs correspondent | Saturday, July 10, 2021

More junk food for the troughs! There’ll be no shortage of baby elephants by the end of the decade! – Mark

US West Heatwave: 31 Million People Brace for Record-breaking Temperatures

THE GUARDIAN: Las Vegas could surpass its record-high of 117F as residents of US west face very high risk of heat-related illness

More than 31 million people across the US west and south-west are bracing for a brutal heatwave that could bring triple-digit temperatures this weekend, with authorities warning that records could be broken in many regions of California and Nevada. Officials have said that Las Vegas could even surpass its record-high temperature of 117F.

The “heat risk” is classified as “very high” across much of this area, meaning all residents there face “very high risk of heat-related illness due to both the long duration heat, and the lack of overnight relief”, the National Weather Service (NWS) has said. » | Victoria Bekiempis | Saturday, July 10, 2021

Haiti Calls US for Troops, after Wild Day of Gunfights and Suspicion

THE NEW YORK TIMES: At least 20 people were arrested in the assassination of the Haitian president — 18 Colombians and 2 Americans of Haitian descent — on a day of deepening mystery.

After 24 hours of wild gun battles with suspects in the assassination of Haiti’s president, the nation’s authorities announced the arrests of 20 people and called on the United States to send troops to help protect crucial infrastructure.

Haiti’s remarkable request for military assistance from the United States, a former colonial overlord that has repeatedly intervened in the nation’s affairs, is a measure of how deeply shaken the nation has been by days of chaos and intrigue. As new developments unfolded at a dizzying pace on Friday, the mystery over who was ultimately behind the assassination only deepened.

On the streets, vigilantes prowled for suspects, and the police killed at least three people in gunfights. The vast majority of those arrested have turned out to be from Colombia — former military men said to have turned mercenaries — as questions arose about why it had been so easy for attackers to burst into President Jovenel Moïse’s home and kill him, seemingly with no shots fired from security staff. » | Natalie Kitroeff, Anatoly Kurmanaev, Catherine Porter and Julie Turkewitz | Friday, July 8, 2021

Political Crisis in Haiti Deepens Over Rival Claims to Power »

Citizens, Not the State, Will Enforce New Abortion Law in Texas

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The measure bans abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. And it effectively deputizes ordinary citizens to sue people involved in the process.

People across the country may soon be able to sue abortion clinics, doctors and anyone helping a woman get an abortion in Texas, under a new state law that contains a legal innovation with broad implications for the American court system.

The provision passed the State Legislature this spring as part of a bill that bans abortion after a doctor detects a fetal heartbeat, usually at about six weeks of pregnancy. Many states have passed such bans, but the law in Texas is different.

Ordinarily, enforcement would be up to government officials, and if clinics wanted to challenge the law’s constitutionality, they would sue those officials in making their case. But the law in Texas prohibits officials from enforcing it. Instead, it takes the opposite approach, effectively deputizing ordinary citizens — including from outside Texas — to sue clinics and others who violate the law. It awards them at least $10,000 per illegal abortion if they are successful.

“It’s completely inverting the legal system,” said Stephen Vladeck, a constitutional law professor at the University of Texas at Austin. “It says the state is not going to be the one to enforce this law. Your neighbors are.” » | Sabrina Tavernise | Friday, July 9, 2021

Journalist’s Monthslong Hunger Strike Points to Perils of Reporting in Morocco

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Soulaimane Raissouni, who has been held without trial for over a year, is more than 80 days into a hunger strike.

For years, Soulaimane Raissouni, a Moroccan newspaper editor, didn’t shy away from reporting on some of the most sensitive issues in the North African kingdom, including antigovernment protests that erupted in 2011 and 2016. But his criticism of how the authorities have handled the pandemic appeared to go too far.

A little over a year ago, he was arrested at his home in Casablanca after accusations of a sexual assault — allegations that he says are false and trumped up to intimidate him. Imprisoned ever since, he launched a hunger strike almost three months ago in protest.

On June 10, he appeared in court, emaciated and unable to walk without assistance. “Please take me back to prison to die,” he told the judge.

Mr. Raissouni is one of at least 10 Moroccan journalists who have been jailed in recent years, most of them accused of sex crimes and other acts deemed illegal in Morocco, including certain forms of abortion. Rights groups say the cases are being pursued by authorities whose true aim is to silence the country’s small cadre of independent journalists with false and politically motivated accusations.

All of the journalists detained had published articles about corruption or abuse of power within the kingdom, many of them targeting businesses or security officials with ties to King Mohammed VI.

Morocco, a constitutional monarchy in which the elected Parliament has little sway over the royal palace, has close ties to the United States and is a reliable ally in counterterrorism cooperation. But rights groups have long criticized the kingdom over its limits on freedom of expression and violations of human rights. » | Nicholas Casey and Aida Alami | Saturday, July 2, 2021

Maroc : le journaliste Soulaimane Raissouni condamné à cinq ans de prison »

Au Maroc, le combat désespéré du journaliste Soulaimane Raissouni contre l’« injustice » de son emprisonnement »

Soulaimane Raissouni »

“Goodbye! Where? I don’t know” »

In Spanien hat das Virus wieder Hochsaison

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Auf der Iberischen Halbinsel stecken sich vor allem Jüngere mit den Mutanten an. Die fünfte Corona-Welle gefährdet die spanische Sommersaison.

Die spanische Sommersaison ist in Gefahr. Nachdem die französische Regierung vor einem Spanien-Urlaub gewarnt hatte, hat die deutsche Bundesregierung am Freitag das gesamte Land zum Risikogebiet erklärt. Bisher war das nur für rund ein halbes Dutzend Regionen der Fall – allen voran Katalonien, das zum neuen Corona-Hotspot Spaniens wurde. Seit drei Wochen steigen die Fallzahlen wieder stark an. Nach Angaben des Gesundheitsministeriums lag die Sieben-Tage-Inzidenz am Freitagmittag bei 179 und am Abend bereits bei 199 Neuinfektionen pro 100.000 Einwohnern.

In Katalonien betrug die Inzidenz sogar 448. Immer mehr spanische Regionen verhängen deshalb neue Restriktionen. In Katalonien mussten am Freitag Diskotheken und Nachtclubs nach nur gut drei Wochen wieder schließen. Auf Mallorca und seinen Nachbarinseln verzichtet man auf geplante Öffnungen im Nachtleben. Valencia, die Kanaren und andere Regionalregierungen forderten die Zentralregierung dazu auf, nächtliche Ausgangssperren zu ermöglichen. » | Von Hans Christian Rößler, Madrid | Freitag, 9. Juli 2021

Sufjan Stevens - Mystery of Love – from the Soundtrack of Call Me By Your Name

Lebanon Faces Dire Crisis after the Elite Plundered the State for Decades, Exacerbating Inequality

Jul 9, 2021 • Lebanon is days away from a “social explosion,” according to the country’s prime minister, amid what the World Bank has described as one of the worst economic depressions in modern history. The country’s currency has lost more than 90% of its value, unemployment has skyrocketed, and fuel prices have soared. Most homes and businesses, and even hospitals, only have power for a few hours each day, and pharmacies are running low on medicine. The U.N. has warned over three-quarters of households in Lebanon do not have enough food or money to buy food. Lebanon is also facing a massive political crisis following the devastating explosion at the Port of Beirut last August, which killed over 200 people, injured 7,000 and left more than a quarter-million Beirut residents unhoused. Nisreen Salti, an economics professor at the American University of Beirut, says “the entire system crumbled” in Lebanon due to decades of structural inequality. “The business and political class that benefited from the system was able to plunder the economy for 20-odd years,” Salti says. We also speak with Middle East scholar Ziad Abu-Rish of Bard College. He says the economic crisis and the port explosion, for which there have been no major prosecutions, both reveal the impunity with which the country’s elites operate. “Part of the problem is the total lack of accountability,” Abu-Rish says.

Joe Cocker: Up Where We Belong

Provided to YouTube by Parlophone UK

The Beach Boys: I Can Hear Music

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group

The Beach Boys: God Only Knows (Remastered)

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group

Covid-19 : Emmanuel Macron s’adressera aux Français lundi à 20 heures ; le variant Delta « bientôt majoritaire » dans le pays, selon Olivier Véran

LE MONDE : Ce vendredi, le conseil scientifique a préconisé « une obligation vaccinale pour les soignants » ainsi que des « mesures partielles de restriction » pour cet été dans les zones les plus touchées.

Emmanuel Macron prendra la parole lundi 12 juillet à 20 heures pour s’adresser aux Français, a annoncé l’Elysée vendredi. Cette allocution intervient dans un contexte de dégradation de la situation sanitaire en raison de la propagation du variant Delta du SARS-CoV-2.

Cette allocution, prévue depuis plusieurs jours, interviendra deux mois et demi après l’entretien qu’avait donné, le 29 avril, le chef de l’Etat à la presse quotidienne régionale, et dans lequel il détaillait le calendrier du déconfinement. L’Elysée n’a pas donné de détails quant au contenu de l’intervention, mais l’entourage d’Emmanuel Macron a récemment fait savoir qu’elle avait pour objectif de définir le cap à suivre pour les dix derniers mois de la fin du quinquennat, en particulier sur des réformes telles que celle des retraites. » | Le Monde avec AFP | vendredi 9 juillet 2021

Un abonnement numérique du Monde (mensuel ou annuel) est disponible ici »

Taliban Sweep through Herat Province as Afghan Advance Continues

THE GUARDIAN: Fears grow for Kabul government after militant group seizes two key border crossings

The Taliban has swept through western Herat province, seizing two key border crossings to Iran and Turkmenistan, and much of the countryside beyond city limits.

It was the latest part of Afghanistan to collapse in the face of a rapid militant advance, during which they have taken control of areas far beyond their original southern strongholds. Their speed has fuelled fears the government in Kabul could fall within months.

In Herat, the civil war era warlord Ismail Khan called up his supporters overnight, and deployed armed units to guard key parts of the city and its outskirts. He is in his mid-70s, but called on all armed men in the city to join the fight and promised to go to the frontline himself. » | Emma Graham-Harrison in Kabul and Akhtar Mohammad Makoii in Herat | Friday, July 9, 2021

La Lituanie va construire un mur à la frontière avec la Biélorussie

LE QUOTIDIEN : La Lituanie a annoncé vendredi qu’elle allait construire un mur à la frontière avec le Bélarus, suite à une forte augmentation du nombre de migrants arrivant via ce pays.

Les forces armées de Lituanie, pays membre de l’Union européenne et de l’Otan, ont d’ores et déjà commencé à installer des barbelés le long de la frontière, une mesure rapide destinée à dissuader les migrants, pour la plupart originaires du Moyen-Orient et d’Afrique, de passer du côté lituanien. “La première étape est une clôture en fil de fer barbelé. Dans un deuxième temps, nous allons construire une clôture physique”, longue d’environ 550 kilomètres, a déclaré la ministre lituanienne de l’Intérieur, Agne Bilotaite. » | LQ/AFP | vendredi 9 juillet 2021

Call Me By Your Name | Official Trailer HD (2017)

Aug 1, 2017 • CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, the new film by Luca Guadagnino, is a sensual and transcendent tale of first love, based on the acclaimed novel by André Aciman.

It’s the summer of 1983 in the north of Italy, and Elio Perlman (Timothée Chalamet), a precocious 17- year-old American-Italian boy, spends his days in his family’s 17th century villa transcribing and playing classical music, reading, and flirting with his friend Marzia (Esther Garrel).

Elio enjoys a close relationship with his father (Michael Stuhlbarg), an eminent professor specializing in Greco-Roman culture, and his mother Annella (Amira Casar), a translator, who favor him with the fruits of high culture in a setting that overflows with natural delights. While Elio’s sophistication and intellectual gifts suggest he is already a fully-fledged adult, there is much that yet remains innocent and unformed about him, particularly about matters of the heart.

One day, Oliver (Armie Hammer), a charming American scholar working on his doctorate, arrives as the annual summer intern tasked with helping Elio’s father. Amid the sun-drenched splendor of the setting, Elio and Oliver discover the heady beauty of awakening desire over the course of a summer that will alter their lives forever.


I am no film buff, but I streamed this movie two Christmases ago. It put more than a little sparkle into what would otherwise have been a pretty dull Christmas for me. If you’re feeling blue, try this fix: it is sure to buck you up. It did me; no end!

Actually, I found the movie by chance; I stumbled upon an ad for it online. God knows how it got there! You know the kind of ad I mean: one of those often bothersome ads dangling in the ether in the corner of your screen. So, without further ado and out of more than a little boredom, I clicked on it. Thank God! I had never heard of the film before. Watching that film turned out to be a Christmas-changer for me! I cannot tell you how many times I watched it over the Christmas period because I lost count!

The film hits all your senses – head on! You’ll feel as if you’re in Italy with all the characters. In a grand, old villa. It’s rather mesmerizing; it’s certainly delightful, too. Truly delightful! Warning: It is not for those without an iota of fantasy, for the boring, or for the prudes. If you are easily shocked, don’t watch it! The movie will take you on a ride. You might even end up in seventh heaven! Go for it! And enjoy! © Mark

Democracy Now! Top US & World Headlines — July 9, 2021

Climate Change in the Desert | DW Documentary

Jun 30, 2020 • Climate change is leaving its mark on Morocco’s oases, too. Sandstorms are becoming more and more frequent, groundwater levels are sinking and palm trees are shrivelling up and dying. An age-old way of life is in danger.

Halim Sbai says an oasis really is a paradise. But drought and desertification are now taking their toll on oases like M'hamid El Ghizlane in southeastern Morocco where he grew up. The survival of a whole region is at stake. Over hundreds of kilometers between the Anti-Atlas Mountains and the Sahara desert there is one palm-fringed oasis after the next. Close to two million people live in these settlements. Up to now, many earned their living by harvesting dates from the palm trees. But this is proving more and more difficult. Decreasing and irregular rainfall is having a devastating impact on the trees and their yields.

Halim Sbai is planting new palm trees and preserving as much precious water as he can in a bid to keep the oasis of M'hamid El Ghizlane and the region’s traditional way of life alive. Up to now, he has also been supplementing his income with earnings from tourism. Global warming could put an end to all this.

Jetzt auch in der Schweiz: Ehe für alle kann kommen

Jun 11, 2020 • Das Schweizer Parlament hat den Weg dafür freigemacht, homosexuelle Paare heterosexuellen gleichzustellen. Heißt: Ehe für alle, Adoptionsrecht und die Möglichkeit künstlicher Befruchtung für lesbische Paare.

Der Weg wurde vom Ständerat am 1. Dezember 2020 für „Ehe für Alle“ freigemacht; das Referendum soll am 26. September dieses Jahr stattfinden. – Mark

Gladys Berejiklian Faces Instability Within as a Covid Storm Brews Outside

THE GUARDIAN: Disgruntled cabinet colleagues touting a plan B are making NSW premier’s job of imposing a lockdown on the public even harder

The New South Wales premier, Gladys Berejiklian, emerged from her crisis briefing at the Department of Health on Friday looking more stressed – with good reason.

All the signs are that NSW is losing control of this outbreak of the Delta strain of Covid-19, despite the increasingly stringent lockdown rules.

“To 8pm last night there were 44 cases of community transmission. Regrettably, 29 of those were either partially or fully exposed to the community and that is the number that is really concerning us,” Berejiklian said on Friday.

“It tells us that both the case numbers and unfortunately the number of people who may be exposed or have been exposed in the community is going to go up.” » | Anne Davies | Friday, July 9, 2021

Cold, wet and windy weather ahead for Sydney could pose added risk in Covid lockdown »

NSW Covid update: stronger restrictions for Sydney as Gladys Berejiklian flags lockdown extension »

Attacke in Spanien: «Vom Patriarchat getötet»

TAGES ANZEIGER: In Spanien stirbt ein 24-jähriger homosexueller Mann nach einem Angriff auf offener Strasse. Zehntausende protestieren gegen das Hassverbrechen.

Es war am vergangenen Samstag gegen drei Uhr morgens, als der 24-jährige Samuel L. zusammen mit ein paar Freundinnen vor einer Diskothek im galicischen A Coruña stand. Erst am Tag zuvor hatte die Region im Nordwesten Spaniens die Discos nach langer Corona-Pause wieder aufgemacht. Samuels Freundinnen sagten hinterher, er habe per Video telefoniert, da habe ihn ein anderer junger Mann angepöbelt: Er solle aufhören, ihn zu filmen, wenn er nicht wolle, dass er ihn umbringe. Er habe Samuel einen Faustschlag verpasst. Dann hätten sich noch mehr Leute, sechs oder sieben, auf Samuel gestürzt, ihn geschlagen und getreten und mit abfälligen Ausdrücken für Homosexuelle beschimpft. Samuel L. überlebte diese Attacke nicht, er starb kurze Zeit später in einem Spital. » | Karin Janker aus Madrid | Donnerstag, 8. Juli 2021

Bangladesh: plus de 50 morts dans le gigantesque incendie d'une usine

LE POINT : Au moins 52 personnes ont péri et une trentaine ont été blessées selon les autorités vendredi dans un gigantesque incendie qui a ravagé une usine près de Dacca au Bangladesh, où de nombreux ouvriers ont dû sauter par les fenêtres pour échapper au brasier.

On ignorait encore vendredi le nombre total de personnes qui se trouvaient dans le bâtiment de six étages situé à Rupganj, une ville industrielle proche de la capitale. Et des familles continuaient d'attendre des nouvelles de leurs proches près de l'usine qui était toujours la proie des flammes. » | Source AFP | vendredi 9 juillet 2021

James Taylor : How Sweet It Is (to Be Loved by You)

ClioHughes : Siccome trovavo solo versioni live, ho pensato di caricare la canzone originale. Tutti i diritti riservati ©

The Eagles : Lyin' Eyes (Remastered)

Nov 1, 2018 • Provided to YouTube by Rhino/Elektra

The Eagles : Hotel California (Remastered)

Nov 1, 2018 • Provided to YouTube by Rhino/Elektra