Eight-year-old Becomes Youngest Person Charged with Blasphemy in Pakistan

THE GUARDIAN: Hindu boy faces possible death penalty after being accused of intentionally urinating in a madrassa library

An eight-year-old Hindu boy is being held in protective police custody in east Pakistan after becoming the youngest person ever to be charged with blasphemy in the country.

The boy’s family is in hiding and many of the Hindu community in the conservative district of Rahim Yar Khan, in Punjab, have fled their homes after a Muslim crowd attacked a Hindu temple after the boy’s release on bail last week. Troops were deployed to the area to quell any further unrest.

On Saturday, 20 people were arrested in connection with the temple attack.

The boy is accused of intentionally urinating on a carpet in the library of a madrassa, where religious books were kept, last month. Blasphemy charges can carry the death penalty. » | Haroon Janjua in Islamabad | Monday, August 9, 2021

Thousands Flee Greek Island as Wildfires Raze Forest and Homes

THE GUARDIAN: Firefighters tackle blazes on two fronts on Evia as heatwave-driven devastation across southern Europe continues

Thousands of people have fled wildfires that are destroying vast swathes of pine forest and razing homes on Greece’s second-largest island, Evia, as devastating summer blazes rage from southern Europe to Siberia.

“We have ahead of us another difficult evening, another difficult night,” Greece’s deputy civil protection minister, Nikos Hardalias, said on Sunday, adding that nearly a week after the blazes started, strong winds were driving two major fire fronts in the north and south of the island.

Seventeen firefighting planes and helicopters were in action on the island, just north-east of the capital, Athens, where fires in a northern suburb and the nearby Peloponnese region were stable, although the risk of rekindling remained high.

Wildfires have devastated large areas in southern Europe for a fortnight as the region endures its most extreme heatwave in three decades. Ten have died in Greece and Turkey, with many admitted to hospital. Italy has also suffered million[s] of euros of damage.

Huge fires also have been burning across Siberia in northern Russia for several weeks, forcing the evacuation on Saturday of a dozen villages. Wildfires have burned nearly 6m hectares (15m acres) of land this year in Russia, while hot, dry and windy conditions have also fuelled devastating blazes in California. » | Jon Henley, Bethan McKernan, and Helena Smith in Athens | Sunday, August 8, 2021

A Puzzle Indeed!

Hello to you all!

The last couple of days have presented me with a very disappointing puzzle: despite an ever-increasing number of visitors from all over the world coming to this, my blog, my page views have been downgraded – twice! On Saturday and yesterday.

On Saturday at around 1pm UK time, my page views stood at precisely 68,000. That days they went up rapidly.

I went to bed late on Saturday, because I was blogging until late into the evening. Before retiring, I took one last look at my blog to make sure that everything was in order. When I glanced at the page views, to my horror, I found that the system had taken approximately 2,400 page views off the total! A downgrade indeed! I was horrified! I went to bed in great disappointment.

Yesterday, throughout the day, the numbers started to recover those page views that I had lost the night before. Not all, of course, but the tally was growing satisfactorily. So, I thought I’d overlook it and put it down to a glitch in the system. I didn’t email Google, because in my experience, you’re wasting your time: they never answer you! Sending an email to Google requesting help and support is like sending an email into a big black hole!

But the story doesn’t end there. Last night, I went to bed later still. Again, I had been at my computer blogging and looking for interesting material for the blog. Before going to bed, I checked my page views and again I was horrified: Google had shaved many thousands off my page view counter!

This is beyond my comprehension! How could my page views at lunchtime on Saturday stand at 68,000, climb quickly throughout the day on Saturday and climb quickly yesterday too, and I end up at the moment with 65,593 page views (as I write this)?

I must say this: Google has a cruel way of dealing with its users. Until now, I have made no money from this blog at all. But it brings me great joy. You folks bring me a lot of pleasure; indeed a very great deal of pleasure. On the back side, I see all the hits I get from all over the world. That is very satisfying. But when I see that Google is taking those numbers away from me, I find it soul-destroying.

I simply cannot explain this. It makes absolutely no sense to me. It is way beyond my ken. So, may I ask one of you who understands this better than I to do me a huge favour and email me to explain why and how this is happening? Naturally, I want to try and stop it happening in future if I can. Maybe I am doing something wrong. Or is something fishy going on at Google? I am rather suspicious of foul play.

My email address is markalexander.librabunda@gmail.com

With many thanks to you all in advance; and again, I want to thank you all for your continued support. The joy you bring me is immense.

Warm wishes,
Mark

The Beauty and the Joy!

La beauté et la joie ! / Die Schönheit und die Freude!
With gratitude and appreciation to Pinterest for this inspiring image.

Jung, schwul, gläubig - Geht das für Christen, Juden und Muslime? | SWR Doku

May 3, 2020 • Unsere Reportage begleitet drei junge Menschen, die sich entschlossen haben, sich nicht mehr zu verstecken, sondern offen schwul und gläubig zu sein.

Vorbehalte, Ressentiments oder Ausschluss aus der Religionsgemeinschaft – diesen Problemen müssen sich gläubige Schwule stellen, wenn sie sich outen. Wie vereinbaren homosexuelle Christen, Juden und Muslime in Deutschland ihren Glauben und ihre sexuelle Ausrichtung in oft repressiven und konservativen Religionsgemeinschaften? Wie kämpfen sie für Anerkennung und Gleichberechtigung?

Die Reportage, gedreht 2019, erzählt die Geschichte dreier junger Menschen, die sich entschieden haben, Glauben und Homosexualität nicht mehr als Widerspruch und unvereinbar hinzunehmen. Alle drei sind Mitbegründer von Selbsthilfegruppen, die Betroffenen ein Sicherheitsnetz geben. Sie zelebrieren gemeinsam ihre Feiertage, leisten Aufklärungsarbeit, scheuen keine Konflikte und suchen selbst den Dialog zu konservativen Gläubigen.
Leo ist Mitbegründer von ‚Keshet‘, dem ersten queeren jüdischen Verein in Deutschland. Auf einer Tagung der jüdischen Gemeinden in Deutschland vertritt er als Pionier zum ersten Mal die jüdische LGBTQ-Gemeinde.

Tugay kämpft für die Rechte queerer Muslime – und wird deshalb bedroht. In der liberalen Ibn-Rushd-Goethe-Moschee in Berlin betet er nicht nur, sondern verfechtet sogar in einer Predigt das Recht, als Muslim lieben zu können, wen er will.

Timo brach aus der Enge seiner Wuppertaler Freikirche aus, in der er aufwuchs. Er veröffentlichte das Buch „Nicht mehr Schweigen“, in dem er queere Christen und Christinnen jeder Glaubensrichtung zu Wort kommen lässt. In seinen Lesungen trifft er auf Empathie, aber auch auf Skepsis uner> d Kritik.

Diese Doku von Uri Schneider aus der DAS ERSTE-Reihe "Echtes Leben" trägt den Originaltitel: Jung, schwul, gläubig - Geht das für Christen, Juden und Muslime?

Ausstrahlungsdatum: 26. April 2020.


Ich stelle diesen Dokumentarfilm zum zweiten Mal auf, weil er so aufschlußreich ist. Der Film zeigt uns, wie schwierig es für gläubige Leute im Westen ist, sowie schwul als auch fromm zu sein. Es ist wirklich traurig, daß Leute im einundzwanzigsten Jahrhundert solche Schwierigkeiten durchleben müssen, um ihr eigenes Glück zu schmieden. - © Mark

Verbotene Liebe - Homosexualität im NS-Regime

Sep 29, 2015 • Gleichgeschlechtliche Liebe war in den Augen der Nazis entartete Sexualität. Tausende schwule Männer kamen in den Konzentrationslagern ums Leben. Das schwul-lesbische Filmfestival Pink Apple in Zürich widmete im Mai 2015 diesen verboteten Liebesgeschichten einen Schwerpunkt. | YouTube Aufrufe: 77,272

Russia's Lost Princesses – Documentary 2/2

1. The Gilded Cage: Interviews with leading historians, archive footage and dramatic reconstruction reveal the childhoods of Tsar Nicholas II's four daughters - Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia - and the truth behind the fairytale images. The sisters were the most photographed princesses of their day, attracting the same frenzied press attention as Princess Diana later would, but their public profile masked the reality of their strange and very isolated upbringing. | Views on YouTube: 5,131,685


2. The World Turned Upside Down:

Honey and Yoghurt Set Cheesecake - Ottolenghi - The Baking German

It’s super delicious! Honey and yoghurt set cheesecake from the new Ottolenghi cookbook. And it's simple to make. | Views on YouTube: 17,480

Taliban erobern Kundus

Taliban vor Regierungsgebäuden in der Provinzhauptstadt Sheberghan, die am Samstag eingenommen wurde | Foto: EyePress via AFP
Kampf um afghanische Provinzhauptstädte
SPIEGEL: Rund ein Jahrzehnt lang war die Bundeswehr in Kundus stationiert. Nun wurde die Stadt von den radikalislamischen Taliban erobert – wie zuvor schon zahlreiche weitere Provinzhauptstädte.

Die nordafghanische Provinzhauptstadt Kundus ist von den radikalislamischen Taliban erobert worden. »Kundus ist gefallen. Die Taliban haben alle wichtigen Gebäude der Stadt unter ihre Kontrolle gebracht«, berichtete ein Korrespondent der Nachrichtenagentur AFP und bestätigte damit eine Erklärung der Islamisten. Die Stadt wurde seit Wochen von den Taliban belagert.

Zuvor waren schwere Auseinandersetzungen aus dem Zentrum von Kundus gemeldet worden. »In verschiedenen Teilen der Stadt finden heftige Kämpfe in den Straßen statt«, sagte Amruddin Wali, ein Mitglied des Provinzrats. Einige Sicherheitskräfte hätten sich in Richtung des Flughafens zurückgezogen. » | dab/AFP/dpa | Sontag, 8. August 2021

Vorwürfe der sexuellen Belästigung: Erste Frau erstattet Strafanzeige gegen Andrew Cuomo

Immer mehr Frauen – die meisten davon sind frühere Mitarbeiterinnen des Gouverneurs – werfen New Yorks Gouverneur Andrew Cuomo sexuelle Belästigungen vor | © Timothy A. Clary / AFP
STERN: New Yorks Gouverneur Andrew Cuomo steht mit dem Rücken zur Wand: Eine Untersuchung hat ihn der sexuellen Belästigung für schuldig befunden. Eine Mitarbeiterin hat jetzt gegen ihn Strafanzeige erstattet.

Der Gouverneur des US-Bundesstaates New York, Andrew Cuomo, gerät durch die Vorwürfe sexueller Belästigung immer stärker unter Druck. Eine der Frauen, die dem prominenten Vertreter der Demokratischen Partei sexuelle Zudringlichkeiten vorwerfen, stellte nun Strafanzeige gegen ihn, wie ein Polizeivertreter am Freitag der Nachrichtenagentur AFP mitteilte. Bei der Frau handelt es sich um eine Mitarbeiterin des Gouverneurs.

Sie gehört zu den elf Frauen, die in einem offiziellen Untersuchungsbericht mit Belästigungsvorwürfen gegen Cuomo zitiert worden waren. Die am Dienstag veröffentlichte Untersuchung war im Auftrag der Generalstaatsanwältin des Bundesstaats New York, Letitia James, von zwei unabhängigen Juristen geführt worden. Andrew Cuomo weist alle Vorwürfe zurück » | jek AFP | Samstag, 7. August 2021

Napoléon Bonaparte, vu par Edouard Bignon

Napoléon Ier recevant l’ambassadeur d’Autriche lors de l’entrevue d’Erfurt en 1808, par Nicolas Gosse (Musée national du château de Versailles) Leemage/Corbis via Getty Images
BICENTENAIRE DE LA MORT DE NAPOLÉON I
PARIS MATCH : La commémoration du bicentenaire de la mort de l’empereur Napoléon Ier ne s’est pas arrêtée au jour J. du 5 mai. Aussi le Royal Blog continue-t-il à vous distiller chaque lundi une actu en lien avec cet événement. Seizième et dernier épisode: une anthologie de «L’Histoire de France» d’Edouard Bignon.

L’Empereur lui avait demandé. Il l’a fait. Dans son testament rédigé à la mi-avril 1821 sur l’île de Sainte-Hélène, alors qu’il sentait qu’il allait bientôt mourir, Napoléon Ier lègue 100.000 francs au baron Edouard Bignon. A une condition. Que cet homme, qui fut l’un de ses plus fidèles diplomates, écrive l’histoire de son règne sous le Consulat et le Premier empire. Ou plus exactement «celle de la diplomatie française de 1792 à 1815».

Dès 1829-1830, parurent les six premiers tomes de cette œuvre que Brignon intitula simplement «Histoire de France». Huit autres suivirent, jusqu’en 1850. Le bicentenaire du décès de Napoléon Bonaparte, en ce printemps 2021, a été l’occasion d’une réédition de ce travail qui n’avait jamais été republié en France. Mais en version «anthologie commentée ». C’est l’absence d’une paix solide qui a couté son trône à l’empereur » | Paris Match | lundi 21 juin 2021

Abonnez-vous à Paris Match ici et profitez de 30% de réductions supplémentaire grâce àu crédit d’impôt !

Covid-19 : l’Arabie saoudite va rouvrir ses frontières aux pèlerins vaccinés

LE MONDE : Par ailleurs, en Espagne, la quarantaine est prolongée pour les voyageurs de six pays.

La pandémie de Covid-19 a fait au moins 4,26 millions de morts et plus de 200 millions de cas ont été recensés dans le monde depuis la fin 2019, selon un comptage réalisé par l’Agence France-Presse à partir de bilans officiels. L’Organisation mondiale de la santé (OMS) estime, en prenant en compte la surmortalité directement et indirectement liée au Covid-19, que le bilan de la pandémie pourrait être deux à trois fois plus élevé que celui officiellement établi.

L’Arabie saoudite va rouvrir ses frontières aux pèlerins vaccinés

L’Arabie saoudite va rouvrir les portes du pèlerinage de l’oumra (petit pèlerinage) à la Mecque aux pèlerins de l’étranger vaccinés contre le Covid-19, a rapporté, dimanche, l’agence de presse saoudienne officielle. Les autorités saoudiennes commenceront à accepter les demandes d’entrée dans le pays à partir de lundi, précise l’agence. Les frontières avaient été fermées il y a quelque dix-huit mois en raison de la pandémie. » | Le Monde avec AFP | dimanche 8 août 2021

The Observer View on What Iran’s New President Means for the Middle East

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, left, gives his official seal of approval to Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran, Iran on 3 August.Photograph: AP
THE OBSERVER: Ebrahim Raisi is another hardliner, but western leaders must engage with him to cool the tensions threatening the region

A hardline president has taken charge in Iran. An inexperienced government in Israel is threatening military action against Tehran. A lethal shadow war is being waged in the Gulf. Iran’s ally, Hezbollah, is firing missiles into Israel from chaotic Lebanon. Bitter words fly in London over hostage-taking. US fears grow, meanwhile, that the Vienna nuclear talks have failed. Deal or no deal, it’s suggested, Iran may soon be able to build an atomic weapon.

This is a perilous, darkly portentous moment in the Middle East and specifically for the multifaceted conflict between Iran and the west. Ebrahim Raisi, who was sworn in as president on Thursday after a rigged, boycotted election, offered scant ground for optimism. “Tyrannical” sanctions imposed by Donald Trump, which have ravaged the country since 2018, must be lifted, he said. But he offered no plan to achieve it and nothing in the way of concessions.

Raisi’s ascent marks a definitive triumph for the fiercely conservative, anti-western factions associated with Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Raisi’s predecessor, Hassan Rouhani, like Mohammad Khatami before him, fought a long, ultimately losing internal battle for rapprochement with the US and Europe. Now, hardliners control all the Islamic republic’s main institutions, including the military, judiciary and parliament. » | Observer editorial | Sunday, August 8, 2021

Why Public Schoolboys Like Me and Boris Johnson Aren’t Fit to Run Our Country

‘Everyone who was not us, a boy at a private boarding school from the late 70s to the early 80s, was beneath us’: Boris Johnson, centre front, at Eton. Photograph: Richard Shymansky from News Syndication/Gillman & Soame UK Ltd / News Licensing
THE OBSERVER: Our elite schools foster emotional austerity and fierce clique loyalty. Here a privately educated writer of the prime minister’s generation reveals the lasting damage public schools do

Ihad a feeling I couldn’t immediately place. I wanted to go out but wasn’t allowed. Shelves were emptying at the nearest supermarket and instead of fresh fruit and vegetables I was eating British comfort food – sausages and mash, pie and beans. My freedom to make decisions like an adult was limited. I wondered when I’d see my mum again.

March 2020, first week of the first lockdown: I was 53 years old and felt like I was back at boarding school. Which wouldn’t have mattered, but for the fact that at a time of national crisis my generation of boarding-school boys found themselves in charge.

My first night at Pinewood school was two days after my eighth birthday in January 1975. A term earlier David Cameron had left his family home for Heatherdown preparatory school in Berkshire, while also in 1975, at the age of 11, Alexander Johnson was sent to board at Ashdown House in East Sussex. This means I know how two of the past three British prime ministers were treated as children and the kind of men their schools wanted to make of them. I know neither of these men personally but I do know that they spent the formative years of their childhood in boarding schools being looked after by adults who didn’t love them, because I did too. And if the character of our leaders matters then I’m in possession of important information. » | Richard Beard | Sunday, August 8, 2021

Boris Johnson’s approval rating slips to lowest level since he became prime minister »

Dissident Pakistani Exiles in UK ‘On Hit List’

Karima Baloch, who campaigned for an independent Balochistan, was found dead in Toronto, Canada, last December. Photograph: Baloch Students Organization Azad
THE OBSERVER: Critics of country’s military told by Met police of plots against them as security forces fear there may be an attack in Britain

Pakistani exiles living in London who have criticised the country’s powerful military have been warned that their lives are in danger, raising fresh concern over authoritarian regimes targeting foreign dissidents in the UK.

British security sources are understood to be concerned that Pakistan, a strong UK ally – particularly on intelligence issues – might be prepared to target individuals on British soil.

The Observer has been told of further warnings given by other intelligence services across Europe to Pakistani dissidents, including rights activists from the Pakistani province of Balochistan, journalists, and members of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement, a group representing ethnic Pashtuns. » | Kiyya Baloch and Mark Townsend | Saturday, August 7, 2021

Queer Quote of the Day: Dr Seuss

Quote thanks to Good Housekeeping.

Queer Quote of the Day: Lena Waithe

Quote thanks to Good Housekeeping.

Ah le plaisir !

Ach, das Vergnügen! / Oh, the pleasure!
Photo grâce à Pinterest.

Mahler: Symphony No. 5 in C-Sharp Minor - IV. Adagietto. Sehr langsam

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group | Berliner Philharmoniker | ℗ 1973 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Berlin | Views on YouTube: 1,218,440

Stonewall at 50 Documentary

Coming Out: The LGBT Cultural Revolution before Stonewall

Jackie Kennedy - Onassis, une femme de style - Documentaire complet

Dec 12, 2020 • Jackie Kennedy a su franchir toutes les passerelles avec grâce : entre le conformisme des années 50 et la révolution des années 60, entre bonheur et tragédie, jeunesse et pouvoir, vie publique et vie privée.

Des millions de gens restent encore fascinés par tous les détails de sa vie et de sa personnalité. Comme Première Dame, elle a fait entrer la beauté, l’intelligence et le bon goût à la Maison Blanche. Puis son courage durant l’assassinat du Président lui ont valu l’admiration du monde entier.

Mais si Jackie Kennedy Onassis est une icône de l’Amérique c’est avant tout un esprit libre et une battante.

Un film de Christopher Rowley

Herb-Baked Eggs with Ina Garten | Barefoot Contessa | Food Network

Apr 28, 2020 • Ina's Herbed-Baked Eggs are inspired by eggs she ate in Paris! And they'll be perfect for your brunch lineup. | Views on YouTube: 237,389

Get the recipe here.

Annie Lennox - Why | Official Music Video

Views on YouTube: 55,958,715

"Es ist eine biblische Katastrophe"

ZEIT ONLINE: 70 Prozent der Gegend im Süden der Peloponnes sind laut einer Bürgermeisterin vom Feuer zerstört. Athen ist in Rauch gehüllt. Euböas Gouverneur setzt einen Hilferuf ab.


Einsatzkräfte kämpfen unter anderem nördlich von Athen weiter gegen die Waldbrände. Temperaturen von über 40 Grad und starke Winde fachten die Feuer zusätzlich an.© Foto: Nicolas Economou/Reuters
Die Brandkatastrophe in Griechenland droht zu eskalieren. In der Millionenmetropole Athen herrscht starke Rauchbildung, am dritten Tag in Folge geht Asche nieder. "Schließen Sie alle Fenster und gehen Sie nicht aus dem Haus", riefen die Behörden die Einwohner auf. Am Freitagabend wurden Orte im Norden der griechischen Hauptstadt evakuiert und die Menschen in Hotels, bei Verwandten und Bekannten untergebracht.

Weil die Winde in der Nacht und am frühen Morgen nachließen, gebe es ein "Zeitfenster" für die Feuerwehr, die Brände im Norden Athens in den Griff zu bekommen, sagte der für den Zivilschutz zuständige Vizegouverneur des Großraums Athens, Wassilis Kokkalis, im Staatsfernsehen. » | Quelle: ZEIT ONLINE, dpa, cst | Samstag, 2. August 2021

Grèce : de violents incendies continuent de ravager le pays, des milliers de personnes ont été évacuées

Un homme regarde les flammes gagner la plage de Kochyli, près du village de Limni, sur l’île d’Eubée, le 6 août 2021. THODORIS NIKOLAOU / AP
LE MONDE : Au moins 1 450 pompiers grecs, aidés de renforts d’autres pays, poursuivent leur lutte contre cinq incendies majeurs au nord d’Athènes, sur l’île d’Eubée, et trois feux sur la péninsule du Péloponnèse.

Le feu, qui a causé la mort de deux personnes, gagne du terrain en Grèce pour le 11e jour d’affilée, dévorant forêts et habitations. Au moins 1 450 pompiers grecs, aidés de renforts d’autres pays, poursuivaient, samedi 7 août, leur bataille acharnée contre cinq incendies majeurs au nord d’Athènes, sur l’île d’Eubée, à 200 kilomètres à l’est de la capitale, et trois feux sur la péninsule du Péloponnèse, à l’ouest.

Au nord d’Athènes, le violent incendie continuait d’avancer avec vigueur vers l’est et le lac Marathon, la plus grosse réserve d’eau de la capitale, après avoir provoqué l’évacuation d’une dizaine de localités. Ses fumées épaisses et son odeur âcre s’étaient à nouveau répandues sur la capitale dans la nuit, alors que des vents forts sont prévus dans la journée. L’autoroute qui relie Athènes au nord du pays reste coupée par précaution tandis que des camps de migrants à proximité ont été évacués. » | Le Monde avec AFP | samedi 7 août 2021

Ceuta: un morceau d’Espagne au Maghreb

La presqu’île de Ceuta s’enfonce dans la Méditerranée. Au fond, le mont Hacho. PASCAL MAITRE pour Le Figaro Magazine
LE FIGARO : REPORTAGE - Sur la côte d’Afrique du Nord, face à Gibraltar, la ville autonome dont la moitié des habitants est musulmane maintient une présence espagnole sous le regard envieux des Marocains.

De nos envoyés spéciaux Jean-Marc Gonin (texte) et Pascal Maitre / MYOP (photos)

Ceuta est-elle un morceau d’Espagne en Afrique ou un bout d’Afrique en Espagne? Est-elle en Europe ou au Maghreb? Accéder à ce territoire espagnol de la rive sud de la Méditerranée appartient aux rares voyages où une heure et demie de ferry suffit pour changer de continent tout en restant dans le même pays. Située sur le détroit de Gibraltar, à la pointe septentrionale du Maroc, à 75 kilomètres à l’est de Tanger et à 40 kilomètres au nord de Tétouan, la péninsule de Ceuta ressemble à un doigt pointé vers la Méditerranée. Le mont Hacho qui la surplombe constitue avec le célèbre rocher britannique de l’autre côté du détroit les fameuses Colonnes d’Hercule. La mythologie veut que le héros grec ait réussi par sa seule force à briser une montagne en deux, ouvrant le passage entre océan Atlantique et mer Méditerranée.

Cette situation géographique privilégiée permettant le contrôle des 14 kilomètres qui séparent Afrique … » | Par Jean-Marc Gonin | vendredi 6 août 2021

Cet article est réservé aux abonnés. Il vous reste 93% à découvrir. Abonnez-vous ici . Le prix : 1€ pendant 2 mois.

Archbishop of York Calls for New Vision of What It Means to be English

Cottrell said courage and compassion seemed the two best words ‘to define the Englishness I long for’.Photograph: Danny Lawson/PA
THE GUARDIAN: Stephen Cottrell says it is time to ‘rediscover a national unity more fractured than I have ever known it’

The archbishop of York has called for a new “expansive” vision of what it means to be English to counter a “negative political discourse and a hopeless future”.

Courage and compassion should be the cornerstones of an Englishness that people could be proud of, said Stephen Cottrell, the second most senior cleric in the Church of England.

Many people in England felt left behind by “metropolitan elites” in London and the south-east and strengthened regional identities in Scotland and Wales, he said. “Their heartfelt cry to be heard is often disregarded, wilfully misunderstood or patronised as backwardly xenophobic.”

It was time to acknowledge “our strong regional identities going back centuries”, Cottrell wrote in an article in the Daily Telegraph. » | Harriet Sherwood | Saturday, August 7, 2021

Queensland Crocodile Attack: Two Army Personnel Mauled North of Lockhart River

A soldier whose head and body were bitten by a crocodile in far north Queensland, and his friend, have been airlifted to Cairns with serious injuries. Photograph: William West/AFP/Getty Images
THE GUARDIAN: Soldier in his 20s, who was swimming in croc-infested waters, and friend who went to help, suffer serious injuries

A soldier has head, chest and arm injuries after being mauled by a saltwater crocodile that also attacked an army colleague who went to his aid in far north Queensland.

The men, who were reportedly swimming in croc-infested waters north of the Lockhart River on Friday afternoon when the attack occurred, have been airlifted to Cairns with serious injuries.

The ambulance service said the most seriously injured man, aged in his early 20s, suffered head, chest and arm injuries. He is in a serious but stable condition.

The other man, in his early 30s, suffered wrist and arm injuries and is in a stable condition. » | Australian Associated Press | Saturday, August 7, 2021

Taliban Captures Provincial Capital in Afghanistan

THE GUARDIAN: Loss of Zaranj in Nimroz, near the border with Iran, a major blow to the western-backed government

The Taliban has captured an Afghan provincial capital after pleas for reinforcements by local security forces went unheard, in a major blow to the western-backed government.

Zaranj, in the south-western province of Nimroz, fell after just three hours of fighting becoming the first provincial capital to be taken by the insurgents who have intensified their nationwide offensive as foreign forces withdraw from Afghanistan after 20 years of war.

Late on Friday, heavily armed Taliban fighters driving captured Humvees were patrolling the streets of Nimroz, one of the country’s main financial hubs, where Taliban commanders declared an overnight curfew.

“Nowhere in the entire Nimroz province is under government control – the Taliban has captured it all,” said one local official. “Security forces have either fled to other provinces or surrendered to the Taliban.” » | Akhtar Mohammad Makoiiin Herat | Friday, August 6, 2021

Afghanistan: les talibans s'emparent d'une deuxième capitale provinciale : Après Zaranj, c'est au tour de la ville de Sheberghan de tomber dans les mains des insurgés en moins de 24 heures. »

Six EU States Overtake UK Covid Vaccination Rates as Britain’s Rollout Slows

THE GUARDIAN: Malta, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Denmark and Ireland overtake UK in fully jabbed percentages

Six EU states have now fully inoculated a larger share of their total populations with a coronavirus vaccine than the UK, after the bloc’s dire initial rollout took off while Britain’s impressive early jab rate has slumped.

According to government and health service figures collated by the online science publication Our World In Data, Malta, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Denmark and Ireland have all overtaken the UK in terms of the percentages of their populations who are fully vaccinated.

While Britain’s hugely successful campaign was bound to slow first as it ran into harder-to-reach, more vaccine-hesitant groups, the rate of decline is dramatic: the UK is currently administering a fraction of the daily doses of some EU states. » | Jon Henley, Europe correspondent | Friday, August 6, 2021

As Covid Surges in Florida, DeSantis Refuses to Change Course

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida has been unyielding in his approach to the pandemic. Credit...Joe Raedle/Getty Images
THE NEW YORK TIMES: A virus spike connected to the Delta variant has led to a record number of Covid-19 hospitalizations in Florida. Gov. Ron DeSantis has not altered his approach, for better or worse.

MIAMI — Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida snapped this week at a reporter who asked if masks might help keep children safe in a state that now has more Covid-19 hospitalizations, including for pediatric patients, than anywhere else in the nation.

He blamed President Biden’s purported failure to control the spread of the virus across the border after the president suggested that governors like Mr. DeSantis should either “help” fight the coronavirus or “get out of the way.”

And he touted a new state rule, adopted on Friday, that will counter local school mask mandates by allowing parents to request private school vouchers if they feel that the requirements amount to “harassment.”

Mr. DeSantis has been unyielding in his approach to the pandemic, refusing to change course or impose restrictions despite uncontrolled spread and spiking hospitalizations — an approach that forced him to undertake the biggest risk of his rising political career.

The governor reopened his state’s economy last spring and kept it that way, defying coronavirus surges that filled hospitals, and then celebrated as a statewide vaccination campaign took hold and life in Florida began to look normal.

Now Mr. DeSantis is gambling again. A new virus spike has led to a record number of Covid-19 hospitalizations that have undone some of Florida’s economic and public health gains and again raised the stakes for Mr. DeSantis. » | Patricia Mazzei | Friday, August 6, 2021

Immer mehr Menschen entdecken die Schönheit des Schwulseins!

Fürs Bild der Gay Pride Flagge bedanke ich mich bei Oprah Daily.
Scheinbar, immer mehr Leute identifizieren sich als LGBTQ+ . Jemand muß die Katze aus dem Sack gelassen haben! Unser gepflegtes, wundervolles Geheimnis ist gezeigt worden. Bald wird ,queer‘ normal sein! Dann werden die Leute sich fragen, warum es so lange gedauert hat, um herauszufinden, was wahre Schönheit ist? Leider wird dann für uns dadurch die Konkurrenz härter.

Der folgende Artikel vom Juni aus Deutschland gibt uns die interessante Statistik: Immer mehr Menschen identifizieren sich als LGBTQ+ » – Mark

Queer Quote of the Day by Rachel Maddow

Quote thanks to Good Housekeeping.

Young, Handsome and in Love!

Jung, schön und verliebt! / Jeune, beau et amoureux !
Photo thanks to Pinterest

Amsterdam ‘Stumbling Stones’ Commemorate Gay Victims of Nazis

A Stolperstein for Karel Pekelharing, an artist who joined the resistance in the Netherlands and worked to sabotage the persecution of Jews. Photograph: Anja Robertus voor COC Netherlands
THE GUARDIAN: Four brass memorial plaques embedded in street remember Jews and resistance fighters

More than 75 years after they were murdered in the gas chambers or shot, gay victims of Nazi persecution were remembered with “stumbling stones” laid in Amsterdam this week.

The Netherlands has about 8,500 Stolpersteine, (stumbling stones), the brass memorial plaques embedded in the street that call on passers-by to remember individual victims of the Nazi genocide and oppression, a mental “stumbling” that forces pedestrians to reckon with the past.

Four stones laid this week are the first in the Netherlands to commemorate Jews and resistance fighters who were known to be gay, according to the Dutch historian Judith Schuyf, who played a leading role in the project. » | Jennifer Rankin in Brussels | Friday, August 6, 2021

Joe Cocker: Up Where We Belong

Provided to YouTube by Parlophone UK. | Views on YouTube: 1,359,321

Il y a 76 ans, Little Boy réduisait Hiroshima en cendres

LE POINT : LE MONDE D’AVANT. Le 6 août 1945, Paul Tibbets largue la première bombe atomique sur une ville. Les 80 000 morts ne l'empêcheront jamais de dormir.

Les Américains en ont marre de cette guerre à l’autre bout du monde qui s'éternise. Malgré des bombardements incessants ayant tué des centaines de milliers de Japonais, l’empereur du Japon Hiro Hito refuse de capituler. Les Américains prennent alors la lourde décision de larguer une bombe atomique sur Hiroshima, puis une seconde, trois jours plus tard, sur Nagasaki. Au total, pas moins de 200 000 personnes seront tuées, dont des femmes, enfants, vieillards et même quelques prisonniers américains. Cette fois-ci, le Japon capitule.

Le 5 août 1945, le colonel Paul Tibbets, âgé de 30 ans, est désigné pour commander et piloter le Superfortress qui larguera la bombe. Il s’empresse de le baptiser du nom de sa mère Enola Gay. Curieux hommage. Tibbets est préféré au pilote habituel du Boeing B-29, car il a veillé sur la conception du bombardier et a conduit toutes les missions d’entraînement. Le lendemain, 6 août, il convoque un peu après minuit les équipages des sept avions impliqués. Il y a donc celui d’Enola Gay (12 membres en tout), ceux des deux B-29 qui l’accompagneront pour effectuer des relevés scientifiques et pour prendre des images du bombardement, trois autres qui les précèderont de trois quarts d’heure pour effectuer un relevé météo au-dessus d’Hiroshima, mais aussi des deux villes de Nagasaki et de Kokura pouvant servir de cibles de substitution en cas de besoin. Enfin, le 7e équipage est celui d’un B-29 susceptible de remplacer un appareil tombant en panne à la dernière minute. » | Par Frédéric Lewino | vendredi 6 août 2021

6 août 1945 : et si Hiroshima n'avait servi à rien ? »

Les abonnements sont disponibles ici.

Ist Auguste Victoria mitverantwortlich für das Ende der Monarchie? | Terra X

Apr 11, 2021 • Sie war die Frau an der Seite von Kaiser Wilhelm II. 30 Jahre Landesmutter der Deutschen. Die Stütze des Kaiserthrons. Öffentlich stand die Kaiserin im Schatten ihres Gatten Wilhelm II., doch hinter den Kulissen nahm sie Einfluss auf seine Entscheidungen, prägte und gestaltete das Kaiserreich mit - weit mehr als bekannt. Inwieweit trug August Victoria Mitschuld am Untergang des Kaiserreichs?

An der Seite des sprunghaften und gelegentlich depressiven deutschen Kaisers Wilhelm II. gewann Auguste Victoria an Macht. Sie schirmte ihren Mann ab von liberalem Ideengut und verhinderte Reformen hin zu einer parlamentarischen Monarchie. Je mehr dem Kaiser die Fäden entglitten, desto mehr kämpfte die erzkonservative, bibelfeste Frau an seiner Seite für den Erhalt der in ihren Augen gottgewollten und -begnadeten Königsherrschaft.

Daneben engagierte sie sich als Landesmutter in besonderem Maße für kirchliche Einrichtungen, karitative Vereine und Institutionen. Auguste Victoria gründete die Evangelische Frauenhilfe und startete ein gigantisches Kirchenbau-Programm. Allein in den Arbeitervierteln Berlins entstanden 66 neue Kirchen, mit Gemeindehäusern und Kindergärten. "Kirchenjuste" nannte sie deshalb spöttisch der Volksmund.

Als 1914 der Erste Weltkrieg ausbrach, winkte Auguste Victoria vom Balkon des Berliner Stadtschlosses dem Volk zu. Sie hielt Krieg wie viele für ein legitimes Mittel der Politik. Sie glaubte noch an den Sieg, als der Erste Weltkrieg längst verloren war. Als es darum ging, den Weg frei zu machen für Verhandlungen um einen Waffenstillstand, sprach sie sich gegen die Abdankung aus. Sie folgte ihrem Mann ins Exil, wo sie 1921 starb.

Autorin: Annette von der Heyde
Schnitt: Christoph Schuhmacher
Dieses Video ist eine Produktion des ZDF

Snickers Spain Pulls Advert after Accusations of Homophobia

In the advert, an effeminate man who eats a Snickers ice-cream turns into a bearded, low-voiced man who feels ‘better’. Photograph: Frank Baron/The Guardian
THE GUARDIAN: Controversial commercial comes as series of homophobic attacks are reported across Spain

Snickers in Spain has pulled a controversial advertisement and apologised for any “misunderstanding that may have been caused” after the 20-second film was widely condemned for being homophobic.

The advert shows the Spanish influencer Aless Gibaja ordering a “sexy orange juice” while a friend trades puzzled looks with the waiter. The waiter responds by handing Gibaja a Snickers ice-cream bar, and after a bite, Gibaja appears to transform into a bearded man with a deep voice.

“Better?” the friend asks. “Better,” replies the man as the tagline reads: “You’re not yourself when you’re hungry.” » | Ashifa Kassam in Madrid | Friday, August 6, 2021

Bertram Schaffner on Helping Gay Soldiers during WWII

WWII Veteran Bertram Schaffner, a gay man himself, talks about how he dealt with the military's anti-gay policy while evaluating draftees.

Democracy Now! Top US News & World Headlines — August 6, 2021

Taliban Gains Trigger Exodus from Afghanistan | DW News

Aug 6, 2021 • In Afghanistan Taliban fighters are making gains across the country, forcing many Afghans to flee. Most are headed west, crossing over the border to Iran. Many will continue on from there into Turkey, where the media are reporting increasing numbers of migrants arriving every day. With refugee facilities in Turkey already overcrowded, most Afghans hope to continue on to Europe. Observers worry that this latest exodus from Afghanistan is just the start and could escalate in the coming months.

The Bee Gees - Alone

Views on YouTube: 17,412,170

Australia’s Covid Crisis: Victoria Enters 6th Lockdown as New South Wales Cases Hit New Record

The Sydney Harbour Bridge in New South Wales. The Australian state recorded 262 new locally acquired cases of Covid-19 in 24 hours. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP
THE GUARDIAN: Three largest states under strict controls as Delta variant spread worsens and Sydney warned to expect more bad news in coming days

The Australian state of Victoria has entered its sixth lockdown to join the country’s two other largest states under varying degrees of coronavirus restrictions as the Delta variant continues to spread.

Lockdowns have been enforced across the east coast, including Australia’s three largest cities – Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane – putting more than 60% of the country’s 25 million population under strict stay-home orders.

Victoria, which endured one of the world’s longest lockdowns in 2020, began a snap, seven-day lockdown on Thursday in response to an outbreak of unlinked new infections.

The latest round of restrictions include rules that have become wearily familiar to Victorians – including only being allowed to leave home for five reasons, a 5km travel limit for exercise and shopping, and compulsory masks indoors and outdoors – and come only 10 days after the last mini-lockdown ended. » | Martin Farrer | Friday, August 6, 2021

1959 : Coco Chanel "Les femmes sont toujours trop habillées" | Archive INA

Cinq colonnes à la une | RTF | 06/02/1959 Première interview à la télévision de Mademoiselle Coco CHANEL sur la mode, sa prochaine collection, l'élégance, son don, son style et les imitations. A celle-ci succède une présentation des modèles de la collection 1959 par le mannequin vedette de Chanel, Marie-Hélène ARNAUD, et d'autres mannequins. Phrase finale de Mlle CHANEL dans l'escalier sur la collection présentée : "elle est déjà démodée, elle a une semaine". | Vues sur YouTube : 50,594

Ottolenghi's Potato & Gochujang Braised Eggs

Apr 28, 2021 • Chef Yotam Ottolenghi demonstrates how to make his scrumptious Potato & Gochujang Braised Eggs, using Clarence Court eggs.

Fünf Dinge, die man über Billigfleisch wissen sollte

Aug 6, 2021 • Große Aufregung in der Lebensmittelbranche als Aldi im Juni verkündet, ab 2030 kein Billigfleisch mehr anzubieten. Andere Lebensmittelketten ziehen nach. Im Umfragen sprechen sich viel Deutsche für artgerechte Tierhaltung und Qualitätsfleisch aus. Im Supermarkt greifen die meisten dann doch wieder zu den Fleischpackungen mit den Dumpingpreisen. Doch was ist Billigfleisch überhaupt?

Reduce methane or face climate catastrophe, scientists warn »

Opinion: Tucker Carlson Has a New Hero

Justin T. Gellerson for The New York Times
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Tucker Carlson is only the latest — and most famous — American conservative to find inspiration in the autocratic government of Hungary under Viktor Orban. The Fox News personality is hosting his show, one of the most popular on cable news, from the capital in Budapest and on Saturday will deliver a speech, advertised as “The World According to Tucker Carlson,” to a conference of far-right activists.

To critics, Orban’s Hungary is corrupt, repressive and authoritarian, a place where democracy is little more than window-dressing and the state exists to plunder the public on behalf of a tiny ruling elite. To Carlson, it’s a model for the United States, a showcase for anti-immigrant policies and reactionary cultural politics.

“If you care about Western civilization and democracy and families and the ferocious assault on all three of those things by the leaders of our global institutions,” he told his audience on Monday, “you should know what is happening here right now.”

Carlson is not alone. “Orban’s fans in the West include notable writers at major conservative and right-leaning publications like National Review, the American Conservative and the New York Post,” Zack Beauchamp wrote in a piece for Vox last year. » | Jamelle Bouie, Opinion Columnist | Friday, August 6, 2021

Related video here.

Tammy Duckworth: Tucker Carlson Doesn’t Know What Patriotism Is »

Eintritt in Restaurants und Cafés bald nur noch mit Gesundheitspass

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Die Regelungen zum Gesundheitspass und die Impfpflicht für Gesundheitspersonal können durch das Votum der Richter wie geplant in Kraft treten. Gegen die Pläne waren in ganz Frankreich Menschen auf die Straße gegangen.

Der französische Verfassungsrat hat die Verschärfung der Corona-Restriktionen im Land gebilligt. Die Richter befanden die vom Parlament verabschiedeten Neuregelungen am Donnerstag für verfassungskonform. Die Ausweitung der Regelungen zum Gesundheitspass und die Impfpflicht für Gesundheitspersonal können damit wie geplant am Montag in Kraft treten. Gegen die Pläne hatte es in den vergangenen Wochen in ganz Frankreich Massenproteste gegeben. » | Quelle: AFP | Donnerstag, 5. August 2021

La tech chinoise sous la férule du régime

LE MONDE : La radicalité de la mise au pas du secteur par Pékin interpelle sur la compatibilité de la nature du régime avec le fonctionnement d’une économie de marché.

Editorial du « Monde ». La mise au pas du high-tech chinois par le régime de Xi Jinping n’est pas nouvelle mais elle est en train de prendre une ampleur inédite. Ces derniers jours, les fleurons du secteur ont subi un sérieux tour de vis réglementaire qui a provoqué une vague de défiance parmi les investisseurs internationaux. Alors que ces entreprises promettaient jusque-là des taux de croissance attractifs, l’heure est au doute aujourd’hui. En quelques jours, leur capitalisation boursière s’est effondrée de plusieurs centaines de milliards d’euros.

Les attaques portées contre ces géants chinois de l’Internet sont tous azimuts. Il y a quelques mois, Jack Ma, le fondateur d’Alibaba, le numéro un du commerce électronique, avait déjà subi les foudres du régime, l’obligeant à renoncer brutalement à l’introduction en Bourse d’Ant, sa filiale spécialisée dans les prêts financiers. » | Éditorial | jeudi 5 août 2021

Les abonnements au Monde sont disponibles ici.

The Truth Behind Tucker Carlson's Disturbing Trip to Hungary

Aug 6, 2021 • Right-wing FOX News host Tucker Carlson is broadcasting from Hungary and praising that nation's hardline policies. We discuss what's really going on with Democratic Strategist Don Calloway and fmr. adviser to Republican presidents Mark McKinnon.

Uruguay to Vote on Whether to Allow Bitcoin to Become Legal Tender

THE RIO TIMES: In his bill, in addition to Bitcoin's use as a means of payment, Uruguayan Senator Sartori proposes the creation of three types of licenses for companies directly related to the country's crypto market.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - After El Salvador recently made Bitcoin legal tender in the country; Uruguay is now thinking about doing the same.

Uruguayan Senator Juan Sartori has announced a bill to make Bitcoin a legal tender in Uruguay, allowing companies to introduce the cryptocurrency and create specific regulations for the sector.

"Cryptocurrencies are an opportunity to create investment and jobs. Today I presented a globally groundbreaking bill that aims to establish a legitimate, legal and secure use for companies related to the production and commercialization of cryptocurrencies in Uruguay," he said on Twitter. » | The Rio Times | Thursday, August 5, 2021

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Queer Quote of the Day by George Takei

Quote thanks to Good Housekeeping.

Un baiser chaud et sensuel l

A hot and sensual kiss! / Ein heißer, sinnlicher Kuß!
Photo grâce à Deviat Art.

„Ich liebe Dich so sehr mein Schatz!“

« Je t’aime tellement mon chéri ! » / “I love you so much my darling!”

Fürs Foto bedanke ich mich bei Pinterest.

We Need a Rebirth of the Enlightenment!

Wir brauchen eine Wiedergeburt der Aufklärung! / Nous avons besoin d'une renaissance de l'Éclaircissement !
Perhaps unbeknownst to us all, we are falling backwards: And as a result, darkness is befalling the world! We need a rebirth of the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment ‘mark 2’, if you will.

Each day, we read stories of anti-Semitism, homophobia, confusion of homosexuality with paedophilia and even with bestiality. We also hear of people believing in demons and in eastern Europe and in the Middle East, stories of their ‘exorcism’, and much else dark besides.

In my lifetime, I have seen a seismic shift in values and ideas. In my childhood and early years, I never heard people talk seriously of demons and their power over man. (Yes, ‘man’! I don’t do politically correct jargon if I can help it.) Further, I never heard my parents’ generation talk in such derisory, derogatory terms even about homosexuals, though I feel sure that they probably didn’t understand it or condone their mode of loving. That’s a generational thing. However, it appears that with increased access to higher education, people have become more certain of their ignorance! They speak with certitude about matters they simply don’t understand; they quote the Bible, even though most of them have never read it, still less led a life based on its teachings.

I do not profess to be religious; indeed, I do not wish to be. These days, I prefer to say that I am spiritual. But I have lived my whole life, as best as I have been able to, based on sound Christian principles, as set out by Jesus: not to judge others lest you yourself be judged; not to harm others; not to steal; not to kill and to help others when are where possible.

But these days, it seems that so many people, though ignorant of the core teachings of Christianity, are willing to cast the first stone – the very thing that Jesus Christ Himself told us not to do. So many people live dissolute lives; yet are willing to judge the lifestyles of others, even when they know nothing about those lifestyles they are judging.

It is, perhaps, worth noting that Jesus said nothing—zilch—about homosexual love in his teachings. Upon close examination of Jesus’s teachings in the Bible, precisely nothing is to be found. You’d think if He thought it so important that He would have done so, wouldn’t you? In fact, in the Bible in its entirety, there is very little to be found about homosexuality at all; and NOTHING about homosexuality in its modern understanding. What is to be found, comes not from Christ Himself, but from Paul, for example, who was a convert to Christianity. Paul was previously known as Saul of Tarsus, who had his conversion to Christianity on the road to Damascus. Incidentally, Paul was in a protracted dispute with Jesus’s brother James about how Christianity should develop after Jesus’s death. James, apparently, wanted Christianity to remain close to its Judaic origins. Had James won the dispute, perhaps we’d all be donning phylacteries, or tefillin, when in prayer now! Just as practising Jews do.

What people of yore understood about loving someone of the same sex was very different from what we understand by this attraction today. Indeed, the very term ‘homosexuality’ was coined in recent times. People who lived in Biblical times had no understanding of ‘being gay’ as we understand it.

Now back to the Enlightenment…

The Enlightenment brought with it an ability to put aside superstition and irrational thought. Nowadays, we are losing that ability: so we are reverting to irrational thought!

This pandemic should have shown us all just how fragile life truly is. None of us can be sure of tomorrow. Not one of us! So why can’t we just learn to live together, side by side, in harmony, regardless of skin colour, sexual orientation, nationality, etc. If we are to believe in the Almighty, then one thing is certain: We are all God’s children; and we are just as He created us – with skin colour, eye colour, varying degrees of abilities and intelligence, and yes, sexual orientation, too.

To question God’s judgment is itself a manifestation of lack of religiosity. It is tantamount to questioning God’s wisdom. Further, how can we worship God and ask for and expect His mercy when we cannot ourselves show mercy to others? He who expects God’s mercy must, of necessity, show mercy to others. Not to do so, if one is a believer, is asking for God to judge you too – and be merciless! We are all God’s children; and He alone is our judge. The Day of Judgment will come soon enough! And I speak as a spiritual person rather than a committed religious one. I am simply applying Christian teachings as I was taught them and as I understand them. If I have erred, then the errors are mine alone.

But one thing is sure: The world would be a whole lot better and more peaceful place to live in if we adopted one simple principle, which is in accord with Christian teachings: Live and let live!

All rights reserved

© Mark Alexander

Behind the Scenes at a French Bakery

Bread is a huge part of French life, but do you know what it's like early morning at a French bakery? This video is a behind-the-scenes look at all the work that goes into making baguettes, croissants, and a whole lot more. I got there at 4am. and the bakers were already hard at work.

Bee Gees - You Win Again (1987)

Views on YouTube: 50,366,225

Audrey Hepburn Interviewed on a French TV Show Entitled "Du côté de chez Fred" | 22nd May, 1989

Audrey Hepburn joins Frédéric Mitterrand to talk about her work with UNICEF.Views on YouTube: 269,825

C'était une femme si belle, élégante et sereine ! Elle était tout simplement merveilleuse ! – Mark

Audrey Hepburn - Le choix de l'élégance

Audrey Hepburn... by Her Son

Jan 9, 2013 • An intimate portrait of Audrey Hepburn, by her son Sean Hepburn-Ferrer. Featuring many private photographs as well as clips from all her memorable films. |

When I Need You - Julio Iglesias

Jan 11, 2014 • (The best song performed by Julio Iglesias at Jakarta, December 1994) | Views on YouTube: 20,279,553

Democracy Now! Top US News & World Headlines — August 5, 2021

Michael Bolton: A Love So Beautiful

Apr 8, 2017 • Provided to YouTube by Columbia | Views on YouTube: 7,529,978

Alarmed Louisiana Residents Turn to Vaccines in ‘Darkest Days’ of Pandemic

North Oaks Medical Center in Hammond, La., has been slammed with Covid-19 patients: There were 93 on a recent day, breaking the record of 65 set in December. Credit...Emily Kask for The New York Times
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Louisiana is leading the nation in an explosion of new cases. Hospitals are overflowing and admitting more young people than before. But the crisis is also driving some to get vaccinated.

HAMMOND, La. — Officials in Louisiana have been willing to try just about anything to jolt the state’s lagging Covid-19 vaccination rates, from a $1 million cash giveaway to a public service announcement featuring the recent 14-year-old national spelling bee champion.

But when Madeline LeBlanc relented and got her first vaccine dose this week, she was motivated by something entirely different: fear.

After seeing news reports about the Delta variant raging across the state, Ms. LeBlanc, 24, had come to see that without a vaccine, she risked not just her own life but those of others around her. “I don’t want to be the one inhibiting someone else’s health,” said Ms. LeBlanc, who lives in Baton Rouge.

Demand for the shots has nearly quadrupled in recent weeks in Louisiana, a promising glimmer that the deadly reality of the virus might be breaking through a logjam of misunderstanding and misinformation. » | Rick Rojas | Thursday, August 5, 2021

Emmanuel Macron dénonce le «pari du pourrissement» des dirigeants libanais

Emmanuel Macron, mercredi au fort de Brégançon, pendant la conférence internationale d’aide au Liban, qui marque le premier anniversaire de l’explosion du port de Beyrouth. POOL/via REUTERS
LE FIGARO : RÉCIT - Depuis un an, malgré une crise qui n’en finit pas de s’aggraver, les leaders libanais ont été sourds à tous les appels du chef de l’État français, en pointe sur ce dossier, et d’autres responsables internationaux.

Depuis sa résidence d’été au fort de Brégançon, Emmanuel Macron a, une nouvelle fois, tancé les dirigeants libanais à l’occasion de la troisième conférence internationale d’aide à la population d’un pays, qui marquait le premier anniversaire de l’explosion au port de Beyrouth (200 morts).

«Les dirigeants libanais semblent faire le pari du pourrissement (….). Je pense que c’est une faute historique et morale», a lancé le chef de l’État à l’ouverture de cette visioconférence internationale qui a permis de rassembler environ 370 millions de dollars, c’est-à-dire un peu plus que l’objectif initial.

«Les dirigeants libanais semblent faire le pari du pourrissement (….). Je pense que c’est une faute historique et morale», a lancé le chef de l’État à l’ouverture de cette visioconférence internationale qui a permis de rassembler environ 370 millions de dollars, c’est-à-dire un peu plus que l’objectif initial.

Depuis un an, malgré une crise qui n’en finit pas de s’aggraver, les leaders libanais ont été sourds à tous les appels, pressions et menaces proférés par Emmanuel Macron, en pointe sur ce dossier, et d’autres responsables internationaux. «Tous les rendez-vous ont été manqués, aucun engagement n’a été tenu, a regretté le président de la République. Le Liban mérite définitivement mieux que de vivre de… » | Par Georges Malbrunot | mercredi 4 août 2021

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Collapse: Inside Lebanon’s Worst Economic Meltdown in More Than a Century »

New Yorks Gouverneur Cuomo drohen Strafverfahren

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Nachdem eine offizielle Untersuchung Andrew Cuomo der sexuellen Belästigung mehrerer Frauen für schuldig befunden hat, drohen dem Gouverneur von New York nun auch strafrechtliche Konsequenzen.

Nachdem eine offizielle Untersuchung Andrew Cuomo der sexuellen Belästigung mehrerer Frauen für schuldig befunden hat, drohen dem Gouverneur von New York nun auch strafrechtliche Konsequenzen. Mindestens drei regionale Staatsanwaltschaften im Bundesstaat New York, in Manhattan, Westchester County und Albany County, beantragten nach Angaben vom Mittwoch bei Generalstaatsanwältin Letitia James Beweismaterialien zur Prüfung. » | Quelle: dpa | Donnerstag, 5. August 2021

Famous Gays in History

A montage of pics and videos of famous gay persons in history. | Views on YouTube: 1,051,499