À Van, en Turquie, les Afghans qui fuient racontent les pratiques talibanes moyenâgeuses

LE FIGARO : REPORTAGE - Avec la chute de Kaboul, ce dimanche 15 août, c’est désormais tout un peuple qui se retrouve condamné aux mêmes ténèbres, sans issue de secours.

Une famille afghane, épuisée, réfugiée depuis quelques jours à Van, en Turquie. OZKAN BILGIN/Anadolu Agency via AFP
Si le désespoir avait un visage, il ressemblerait à celui d’Abdul Karim Ouzbek. «J’avais déjà perdu deux enfants à cause des talibans. Aujourd’hui, j’ai perdu mon pays», chevrote ce natif de Takhar, en Afghanistan, réfugié in extremis à Van, en Turquie. Dimanche soir, il n’a pas fermé l’œil de la nuit, collé à l’écran de son smartphone, bombardé d’images de panique relayées sur les réseaux sociaux. Comme une traînée de poudre, le piège des «Étudiants en théologie» venait de se refermer sur l’Afghanistan. À 40 ans, ce père de six enfants connaît leurs méthodes moyenâgeuses - il les a déjà endurées de 1996 à l’intervention américaine de 2001. Il est familier de leurs menaces - il n’a cessé de les subir pendant la relative accalmie de ces deux dernières décennies. Jusqu’à ce que le danger frappe en direct à sa porte. » | Par Delphine Minoui | Publié : lundi 16 août 2021 ; mis à jour : mardi 17 août 2021

Réservé aux abonnés

Afghanistan: les dirigeants islamistes «veulent éviter d’être mis au ban des nations» – ENTRETIEN - Les talibans ont désormais une compréhension des enjeux internationaux qui devrait permettre aux Occidentaux d’obtenir des concessions, estime Romain Malejacq. »

EN DIRECT - Afghanistan : le chaos à l'aéroport de Kaboul est «une honte pour l'Occident», estime l'Allemagne »

«Die Länder müssen ihre Grenzen für afghanische Flüchtlinge öffnen»

Forderung von Malala Yousafzai
TAGES ANZEIGER: Die Friedensnobelpreisträgerin von 2014 spricht in einem BBC-Interview über die Situation der Menschen in Afghanistan.

«Jedes Land hat jetzt eine Rolle und eine Verantwortung»: Malala Yousafzai. Foto: Brendan Esposito (Keystone) | Oben ein Screenshot vom Tages Anzeiger
Die pakistanische Friedensnobelpreisträgerin Malala Yousafzai ruft Regierungen in aller Welt auf, Flüchtlinge aus Afghanistan aufzunehmen. «Jedes Land hat jetzt eine Rolle und eine Verantwortung», sagte die 24-Jährige in einem BBC-Interview, das am Montagabend ausgestrahlt wurde. «Die Länder müssen ihre Grenzen für afghanische Flüchtlinge öffnen, für die vertriebenen Menschen.»

Sie selbst habe sich bereits an Regierungen gewandt und auch den pakistanischen Premierminister Imran Khan um die Aufnahme von Geflüchteten gebeten. Ausserdem müssten Flüchtlingskinder und Mädchen in Camps Zugang zu Bildung bekommen. SP fordert Aufnahme von 10’000 Menschen aus Afghanistan » | cpm/sda | Dienstag, 17. August 2021


Read the BBC article here.

Malala: I Fear for My Afghan Sisters »

Afghanistan: Bilder des Zusammenbruchs

TAGES ANZEIGER: Die Taliban greifen nach der Macht in Afghanistan. Die Bilder der vergangenen Tage zeigen den ungebremsten Vormarsch der radikal-islamischen Milizen.

Screenshot von einem Bild in der Fotogalerie des Tages Anzeigers.
Hier können Sie die Fotogalerie anschauen und einen Kommentar hinzufügen.

The Taliban’s Victory in Afghanistan Has Laid Bare the Magnitude of Western Hubris

THE GUARDIAN: I was one of many who thought, in the wake of 9/11, that “something must be done”. We have learned a bitter lesson

Taliban fighters take control of the presidential palace in Kabul after the Afghan president Ashraf Ghani had fled the country. Photograph: Zabi Karimi/AP
Here ends the west’s grotesque delusion that it could use its military might to turn Afghanistan into a stable democracy, a shining path of moderate Islam. In the shadow of New York’s burning twin towers, I was one swept along on that “something must be done” tide, that drumbeat for a war to stop terror and liberate oppressed people. We have learned a bitter lesson.

How deceptively easy was the 2001 victory, as Taliban fighters fled to melt back into their own population famously murmuring, “You have watches, we have time.” They have just turned back the clock on 20 wasted years.

A year after that empty “victory”, I was in Afghanistan, seeking signs of cultural transformations and social progress. But it was already clear the west had neither the political will, financial generosity nor the attention span to match the windy rhetoric that breezed us there. » | Polly Toynbee | Tuesday, August 17, 2021

‘Was It Worth It?’: Veterans of Afghan Conflict Reel at Taliban Takeover

THE GUARDIAN: Former soldiers express anger and heartbreak as service in 20-year war rendered ‘pointless’

Chaos at Kabul airport as Afghans try to leave capital after the Taliban entered to city. Photograph: NurPhoto/Rex/Shutterstock
As chaotic scenes unfolded more than 4,000 miles away in Kabul, veterans of the 20-year conflict and families who lost loved ones on the battlefield have been asking the stark question: “Was it worth it?”

“There is a generation of Afghans who have been given a taste of what freedom is like, so you never know, but it feels pretty bleak at the moment,” said Andrew Fox, a former major in the Parachute Regiment who served on three tours of Afghanistan and who has spoken openly about the impact of PTSD on his own health.

“But as one of my friends said to me: it’s like the defining feature of our adult lives has turned out to be pointless. I think that’s where we all were … this week.

“On patrols we’d see the little girls and boys running around playing with their kites and they would talk to us and take a few sweets. They’re probably 16 or 17 now and the thought of those lovely little kids growing up to be adults who only knew a degree of freedom and suddenly being thrown back into oppression is heartbreaking.” » | Ben Quinn | Tuesday, August 17, 2021

Gay Humour

Image thanks to Snooki on Pinterest.
NB: It should be remembered that for some people, it is dangerous to come out. Especially for those living in less enlightened countries.

Queer Quote of the Day: Sir Ian McKellen on Coming Out

“I have never met a gay person who regrets coming out. …”
With thanks to the National Portrait Gallery for this partial quote. You can read the rest of the quotation here.
Photo of Sir Ian McKellen thanks to Google Images and The Stage, its origin.

Le plaisir d'un baiser !

Der Genuß eines Kußes! / The enjoyment of a kiss!
Merci beaucoup à Advocate pour cette photo.

About to Kiss!

Sur le point d'embrasser ! / Bald wird geküßt!
With thanks to Advocate for this great photo.

Diese zwei Männer haben sich schon geküßt. Nun haben sie das Gefühl, völlig zufrieden zu sein! Wonne! Siebter Himmel!

Ces deux hommes se sont déjà embrassés. Ils ont maintenant le sentiment d'être entièrement satisfait ! Bonheur absolu ! Septième ciel ! / These two men have already kissed. They now have the feeling of being completely satisfied! Bliss! Seventh heaven!
Un grand merci à Pride.com pour cette photo.

Les talibans imposent l’ordre islamiste à Kaboul

LE FIGARO : RÉCIT - À Kaboul, les vainqueurs tentent d’amadouer la population et les diplomates, mais en province les exactions se multiplient.

Le siège de Kaboul, tant redouté, n’a pas eu lieu. Les talibans y sont entrés comme dans tant d’autres villes afghanes ces derniers jours: sans fracas, triomphant d’avance, et sans faire face à aucune opposition de l’armée. Dans les rues, des blindés vides gisent encore, désertés par leurs occupants. Le président du pays avait filé dès dimanche matin au Tadjikistan avec ses proches conseillers, et de nombreux autres cadres du gouvernement afghan avaient aussi rejoint l’étranger. La place était vide, et les talibans l’ont prise. » | Par Margaux Benn | lundi 16 Août 2021

Disturbing Videos Show Chaos at Kabul Airport as Taliban Re-takes Afghanistan | Newsfeed

Aug 16, 2021 • At least seven people have reportedly been killed at Kabul airport as hundreds of people desperately tried to flee the country after the Taliban seized control.

Incompetence is too mild a word to describe this utter failure and humiliation of the USA! So is the term ‘paper tiger’. This is a disaster of enormous and apocalyptic proportions; and no amount of positive spin put on it by politicians, of whichever stripe or position, will be able to change this fact. We have witnessed the humiliation of the world’s so-called ‘superpower’! – © Mark

Joe Biden Putting a Positive Spin on a Disaster!

This débâcle in Afghanistan has exposed the cracks, fissures and weaknesses of America today. The USA is looking more like a paper tiger with each passing day! It is a sad fact that the United Kingdom, if indeed that nomenclature is apt–it often feels more disUnited than United after Brexit!–has hitched its wagon to the USA and abandoned its brothers, sisters and allies in Europe, where its true loyalties lie and belong.

As much as I love America and Americans–indeed my late partner was an American, so no-one can accuse me of being anti-American–I cannot help but feel that my nation’s destiny lies in and with Europe, not with the USA. A transatlantic friendship and partnership with the USA is delightful and very welcome; however, our true destiny must lie with our brothers, sisters and close friends in Europe. Vive l’Europe ! Es lebe Europa! Long live Europe! – © Mark

Sur le tarmac de l’aéroport de Kaboul, des scènes de chaos et de désespoir

LE FIGARO : Les autorités américaines qui ont pris le contrôle du site désormais réservé aux seuls militaires, ont décidé, lundi en fin de matinée, de suspendre les vols, le temps de rétablir l’ordre.

L’image d’un gros hélicoptère Chinook survolant l’ambassade américaine à Kaboul avait déjà rendu évident le parallèle entre Kaboul 2021 et Saïgon 1975. Les scènes de chaos à l’aéroport Hamid-Karzaï résonnent plus encore avec celles du grand port vietnamien il y a près d’un demi-siècle. Le secrétaire d’État Antony Blinken a beau assurer sur CNN, que «ceci n’est pas Saïgon», rien n’y fait. «Si ce n’est pas un Saïgon 2.0, je ne sais pas ce que c’est», a taclé le député conservateur britannique Tobias Ellwood. » | Par Tanguy Berthemet | lundi 16 août 2021

Frédéric Chopin: Maurizio Pollini: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 11: Allegro maestoso – Philharmonia Orchestra / Paul Kletzki

Provided to YouTube by Warner Classics } Remastered

Afghan Women Fear What Will Happen with the Taliban Once Again in Power

Displaced Afghan women pleading for help from a police officer in Kunduz, Afghanistan, last month. Credit...Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times
THE NEW YORK TIMES: A high school student in Kabul, Afghanistan’s war-scarred capital, worries that she now will not be allowed to graduate.

The girl, Wahida Sadeqi, 17, like many Afghan civilians in the wake of the U.S. troop withdrawal and ahead of a Taliban victory, keeps asking the same question: What will happen to me?

The American withdrawal, which effectively ends the longest war on foreign soil in United States history, is also likely to be the start of another difficult chapter for Afghanistan’s people.

“I am so worried about my future. It seems so murky. If the Taliban take over, I lose my identity,” said Ms. Sadeqi, an 11th grader at Pardis High School in Kabul. “It is about my existence. It is not about their withdrawal. I was born in 2004, and I have no idea what the Taliban did to women, but I know women were banned from everything.”

Uncertainty hangs over virtually every facet of life in Afghanistan. It is unclear what the future holds and whether the fighting will ever stop. For two decades, American leaders have pledged peace, prosperity, democracy, the end of terrorism and rights for women.

Few of those promises have materialized in vast areas of Afghanistan, but now even in the cities where real progress occurred, there is fear that everything will be lost when the Americans leave. » | Thomas Gibbons-Neff | Published: Sunday, August 15, 2021; updated: Monday, August 16, 2021

Le retour des talibans à Kaboul scelle la déroute des Occidentaux

LE FIGARO : Vingt ans après en avoir été chassés, les combattants islamistes ont repris la capitale afghane. Le président Ashraf Ghani a quitté le pays et reconnu la victoire des talibans.

Un commerçant de Kaboul recouvre préventivement de blanc des publicités où l’ont voit des visages de femmes. Twitter Lotfullah Najafizada
Kaboul est tombée en quelques heures, sans combattre, scellant la victoire complète des talibans. Dimanche matin, les miliciens islamistes étaient dans les faubourgs de la capitale, devenue non officiellement une ville ouverte. Quelques heures plus tôt, ils avaient libéré les prisonniers de Pul-e Charkhi, l’immense prison de la ville. Pour éviter des «pertes de civils innocents», les responsables talibans ont ordonné à leurs troupes de freiner leur avancée.

«L’émirat islamique ordonne à toutes ses forces d’attendre aux portes de Kaboul, de ne pas essayer d’entrer dans la ville»,, annonçait en fin de matinée, sur Twitter, Zabihullah Mujahid, un porte-parole du mouvement. Dans ce communiqué, il promettait aussi une prise dans le calme, sans aucune vengeance envers les militaires ou les fonctionnaires ayant servi les autorités. Il assurait que toute personne désireuse de quitter la ville, notamment les étrangers, n’en serait pas empêchée. Dans une intervention à la BBC, Suhail Shaheen, un autre porte-parole, a affirmé que les talibans désiraient une «transition pacifique» sans se presser, «dans les jours prochains». » | Par Tanguy Berthemet | Publié : dimanche 15 août 2021 ; mis à jour : lundi 16 août 2021

Svjatoslav Richter: Rachmaninoff – Klavierkonzert Nr.2 in c-moll / Piano-Concerto No.2 in C minor; Op. 18

Sviatoslav Richter, Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra, Stanislaw Wislocki

Spain on a Fork: Spanish Onion Rice with Garlic Sauce | A Simply Delicious Recipe

Aug 16, 2021 • EPISODE 595 - How to Make Spanish Onion Rice with Garlic Sauce | Arroz a la Cebolla con Allioli

Get the recipe here.

If you wish to do so, you can become one of his patrons here.

Democracy Now! Top US News & World Headlines — August 16, 2021

For Biden, Images of Defeat He Wanted to Avoid

NEWS ANALYSIS
THE NEW YORK TIMES: President Biden will go down in history, fairly or unfairly, as the president who presided over a humiliating final act in the American experiment in Afghanistan.

After seven months in which the Biden administration seemed to exude much-needed competence, everything about America’s last days in Afghanistan shattered the imagery. Credit...Stefani Reynolds for The New York Times
Rarely in modern presidential history have words come back to bite an American commander in chief as swiftly as these from President Biden a little more than five weeks ago: “There’s going to be no circumstance where you see people being lifted off the roof of an embassy of the United States in Afghanistan.”

Then, digging the hole deeper, he added, “The likelihood there’s going to be the Taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is highly unlikely.”

On Sunday, the scramble to evacuate American civilians and embassy employees from Kabul — the very image that Mr. Biden and his aides agreed they had to avoid during recent meetings in the Oval Office — unfolded live on television, not from the U.S. Embassy roof but from the landing pad next to the building. And now that the Afghan government has collapsed with astonishing speed, the Taliban seem certain to be back in full control of the country when the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks is commemorated less than a month from today — exactly as they were 20 summers ago.

Mr. Biden will go down in history, fairly or unfairly, as the president who presided over a long-brewing, humiliating final act in the American experiment in Afghanistan. After seven months in which his administration seemed to exude much-needed competence — getting more than 70 percent of the country’s adults vaccinated, engineering surging job growth and making progress toward a bipartisan infrastructure bill — everything about America’s last days in Afghanistan shattered the imagery. » | David E. Sanger | Sunday, August 15, 2021

The Tragedy of Afghanistan

OPINION: THE EDITORIAL BOARD

A U.S. Chinook helicopter flew over the American Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Sunday. Credit...Rahmat Gul/Associated Press
THE NEW YORK TIMES: The rapid reconquest of the capital, Kabul, by the Taliban after two decades of a staggeringly expensive, bloody effort to establish a secular government with functioning security forces in Afghanistan is, above all, unutterably tragic.

Tragic because the American dream of being the “indispensable nation” in shaping a world where the values of civil rights, women’s empowerment and religious tolerance rule proved to be just that: a dream.

This longest of American wars was code-named first Operation Enduring Freedom and then Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. Yet after $83 billion and at least 2,448 American service members’ lives lost in Afghanistan, it is difficult to see what of lasting significance has been achieved.

It is all the more tragic because of the certainty that many of the Afghans who worked with the American forces and bought into the dream — and especially the girls and women who had embraced a measure of equality — have been left to the mercy of a ruthless enemy. » | The Editorial Board | Sunday, August 15, 2021

Afghanistan: la faillite colossale du renseignement américain

LE FIGARO : DÉCRYPTAGE - Malgré les mises en garde contre les conséquences d’un retrait militaire unilatéral, aucun analyste n’avait prévu que le régime s’effondrerait aussi vite.

À Kaboul, dimanche, un hélicoptère de transport de l’armée américaine survole l’ambassade des États-Unis, dont le personnel a été évacué vers l’aéroport. WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP
L’effondrement du régime de Kaboul vient de prendre par surprise les Américains en pleine opération d’évacuation de leurs derniers personnels de la capitale afghane. Après dix-neuf ans de présence, malgré les gigantesques sommes dépensées dans la guerre la plus longue de leur histoire, les responsables américains se sont montrés une nouvelle fois incapables de comprendre les dynamiques à l’œuvre dans ce pays complexe. Dans la longue liste des erreurs commises depuis le début de leur intervention, la faillite du renseignement reste la plus accablante.

De nombreuses voix avaient pourtant mis en garde contre les conséquences d’un retrait militaire unilatéral et sur la faiblesse politique et militaire du gouvernement afghan. Mais Joe Biden, poursuivant la politique de Donald Trump, avait choisi de passer outre, décidé à mettre fin à la présence américaine en Afghanistan. » | Par Adrien Jaulmes, Correspondant à Washington | Publié : dimanche 15 août 2021 ; mis à jour : lundi 16 août 2021

Réservé aux abonnés

Chinas Schadenfreude

MACHTERGREIFUNG DER TALIBAN
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Peking sieht im Scheitern der Militärintervention in Afghanistan einen Beleg für die schwindende Macht Amerikas – und hofft darauf, dass US-Verbündete wie Taiwan das Vertrauen in Washington verlieren.

Der chinesische Propaganda-Apparat konnte sich am Montag die Schadenfreude über den amerikanischen Gesichtsverlust in Afghanistan nicht verkneifen. „Chinesische Internetnutzer machen Witze darüber, dass die Machtübergabe in Afghanistan sogar noch reibungsloser vonstattengeht als die Übergabe der Präsidentschaft in den Vereinigten Staaten“, schrieb der einflussreiche Chefredakteur der Parteizeitung Global Times, Hu Xijin, auf Twitter.

Die Volkszeitung, die offizielle Stimme der Kommunistischen Partei, berief sich ebenfalls auf den angeblichen Volksmund und kommentierte, „die zwanzig Jahre Krieg enden wie ein Witz. Amerikanische Soldaten sind für nichts gestorben. Die Taliban sind zurück und der einzige Unterschied ist, dass viele Menschen gestorben sind und amerikanische Steuerzahler ihr Geld verschwendet haben, indem sie die militärisch-industriellen Tycoons gefüttert haben“. Jene Menschen, die fest an die USA geglaubt hätten, seien „von den Amerikanern wie Müll entsorgt worden“, schrieb die Volkszeitung weiter. Die Global Times nannte die Machtübernahme der Taliban in einem Kommentar „die klarste Demonstration der amerikanischen Kraftlosigkeit“. Das Land sei nicht mehr als ein „Papiertiger“.

Mehr als nur Propaganda?

Die Bilder von der hastigen Evakuierung der amerikanischen Botschaft in Kabul passen ins offizielle chinesische Narrativ, wonach „der Osten aufsteigt und der Westen absteigt“. Sie werden wohl in den Kanon der Bilder und Erzählungen aufgenommen, die von Peking seit Monaten verbreitet werden, um die eigene vermeintliche Stärke zu zelebrieren. Etwa die Bilder vom Sturm auf das Weiße Haus und die Statistik der an Corona verstorbenen Amerikaner. » | Von Friederike Böge, Peking | Montag, 16. August 2021

Kabul’s Sudden Fall to Taliban Ends US Era in Afghanistan

THE NEW YORK TIMES: A takeover of the entire country was all but absolute as the Afghan government collapsed and the U.S. rushed through a frenzied evacuation.

Taliban fighters in Kabul, the capital, on Sunday on a Humvee seized from Afghan forces. The speed of the Taliban’s sweep through the country startled American officials. Credit...Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times
Taliban fighters poured into the Afghan capital on Sunday amid scenes of panic and chaos, bringing a swift and shocking close to the Afghan government and the 20-year American era in the country.

President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan fled the country, and a council of Afghan officials, including former President Hamid Karzai, said they would open negotiations with the Taliban over the shape of the insurgency’s takeover. By day’s end, the insurgents had all but officially sealed their control of the entire country.

The speed and violence of the Taliban sweep through the countryside and cities the previous week caught the American military and government flat-footed. Hastily arranged American military helicopter flights evacuated the sprawling American Embassy compound in Kabul, ferrying American diplomats and Afghan Embassy workers to the Kabul military airport. At the civilian airport next door, Afghans wept as they begged airline workers to put their families on outbound commercial flights even as most were grounded in favor of military aircraft.

Amid occasional bursts of gunfire, the whump of American Chinook and Black Hawk helicopters overhead drowned out the thrum of traffic as the frenzied evacuation effort unfolded. Below, Kabul’s streets were jammed with vehicles as panic set off a race to leave the city.

Two decades after American troops invaded Afghanistan to root out Qaeda terrorists who attacked on Sept. 11, 2001, the American nation-building experiment was in ruins — undercut by misguided and often contradictory policies and by a relentless insurgency whose staying power had been profoundly underestimated by U.S. military planners. » | By David Zucchino | Sunday, August 15, 2021

Photographs by Jim Huylebroek and Kiana Hayeri

Leer en español.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace in Tears: Some “Won’t Get Back” from Afghanistan | LBC

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace breaks down in tears describing how some “won’t get back” from Afghanistan

The Fall of Kabul: A 20-year Mission Collapses in a Single Day

THE GUARDIAN: President Ashraf Ghani flees Afghanistan as Taliban sweep into city to seize control of country


Kabul falls to the Taliban as thousands of Afghans try to flee – video report
The final collapse of the 20-year western mission to Afghanistan took only a single day as Taliban gunmen entered the capital, Kabul, on Sunday, President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, and America abandoned its embassy in panic.

Even the militants themselves were surprised by the speed of the takeover, co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar admitted in a video statement in the evening. Now the group faces the challenge of ruling, he added. They are expected to proclaim a new Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan soon.

Many in Kabul do not trust promises made by the former insurgents of an amnesty for their old enemies and those, like women’s rights activists, who sought a different future for Afghanistan. The airport was mobbed with thousands of people desperate to escape. In the evening they flooded on to the runway, halting all air traffic.

In deeply humiliating scenes for the Biden administration, less than a month before the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on America, smoke spiralled from the embassy compound as staff hastily destroyed documents, before a final group took down the stars and stripes flag and headed to the airport by military helicopter. It was clear from early Sunday that a second era of Taliban rule had effectively begun. Taliban commanders started the day so confident of victory that after their fighters surrounded the capital, they ordered them to stay outside the city and wait. » | Emma Graham-Harrison and Luke Harding | Sunday, August 15, 2021

Humorous Queer Quotes

“I’m not a lesbian, but my girlfriend is.”
With thanks to The Best Queer & Lesbian Quotes To Inspire You(r Lover) for this funny quote.

Hot and Defiant!

I bet this handsome man doesn’t drink ‘milk’ made from oats or almonds!
Many thanks to Pinterest and misimagenesparatublog, its source, for this great photo.

Vintage Gay: Victorian Lesbian Defiance!

With thanks to Reddit.com for this photo.

La fascination et la sensualité des lèvres !

Die Faszination und Sinnlichkeit der Lippen! / The fascination and sensuality of the lips!
With thanks to Pink News and Google Images for this photo.

Céline Dion, Andrea Bocelli: The Prayer | Official Audio

Views on YouTube : 3,022,249

The Afghan Government Collapses as the President Flees the Country and the Taliban Enter Kabul

The Afghan government collapsed after the Taliban entered Kabul and took over every other major city in the country. U.S. diplomats were being evacuated and some civilians fled the capital as well. CreditCredit...Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times
Afghanistan’s government collapsed on Sunday with President Ashraf Ghani’s flight from the country and the Taliban’s entry into the capital, effectively sealing the insurgents’ control of the country after dozens of cities fell to their lightning advance.

On Sunday evening, former President Hamid Karzai announced on Twitter that he was forming a coordinating council together with Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of the Afghan delegation to peace talks, and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of the Hesb-i-Islami party, to manage a peaceful transfer of power. Mr. Karzai called on both government and Taliban forces to act with restraint.

Al Jazeera reported that it had interviewed Taliban fighters who were holding a news conference in the presidential palace in Kabul, the capital. The fighters said they were working to secure Kabul so that leaders in Qatar and outside the capital could return safely. Al Jazeera reported that the fighters had taken down the flag of Afghanistan.

As it became clear that Taliban fighters were entering Kabul and meeting no resistance, thousands of Afghans who had sought refuge there after fleeing the insurgents’ brutal military offensive watched with growing alarm as the local police seemed to fade from their usual checkpoints. The U.S. Embassy warned Americans to not head to the airport in Kabul after reports that the facility was taking fire, and said that the situation was “changing quickly.”

Late in Kabul’s evening, Mr. Ghani released a written statement on Facebook saying he had departed the country to save the capital from further bloodshed. » | Carlotta Gall and Ruhullah Khapalwak | Sunday, August 15, 2021

Le retour des talibans à Kaboul scelle la déroute des Occidentaux : Vingt ans après en avoir été chassés, les combattants islamistes ont repris la capitale afghane. Le président Ashraf Ghani a quitté le pays et reconnu la victoire des talibans. »

Taliban nehmen Kabul ein: Jämpfen wäre sinnlos gewesen: Niemand leistet Gegenwehr, als die Taliban nach Kabul zurückkehren. Die Menschen fürchten die Islamisten, zunächst aber die Gesetzlosigkeit – denn die Tore der Gefängnisse stehen weit offen. »

Afghanistan: amers, les habitants de Kaboul se préparent au retour des interdits et des châtiments corporels : TÉMOIGNAGES - L’immense majorité des Afghans sont piégés dans un pays plus instable que jamais depuis deux décennies. »

Tschaikowsky: Konzert für Klavier und Orchester Nr.1 b-moll, op. 23 | Van Cliburn / Kyrill Kondraschin | Académie Charles Cros, Paris : Grand Prix du Disque

Abrau-Durso, le géant du vin russe où Poutine rêve de travailler après sa présidence

LE FIGARO : REPORTAGE - Fondée en 1870, la prestigieuse maison vinicole russe est touchée par la loi fédérale russe 345-FZ, qui s’attaque notamment à l’appellation «champagne».

Vladimir Poutine désire mettre en avant le mousseux russe, dans une logique protectionniste, en plein contexte de tensions avec l’Occident. POOL New/REUTERS
À l’approche du village d’Abrau-Durso (prononcer «Abraou-Diourso»), on se croirait en région Rhône-Alpes. Un lac couleur émeraude peuplé de bateaux, l’Abrau, est entouré de moyennes collines. Une petite église orthodoxe rappelle que l’on est en Russie. Non loin, 800 hectares de vigne profitent d’un terroir et d’un climat propices.

C’est ici, près de la mer Noire, dans la région viticole de Krasnodar (près de 50 % de la production russe, devant la Crimée), que l’œnologue français Georges Blanck, 59 ans, s’est installé en 2016. Recruté par le groupe Abrau-Durso, il supervise toute sa production viticole. «Je n’ai pas hésité un instant, après être venu visiter, confie-t-il. Le potentiel est immense, car la Russie est dans une phase de reconstruction de son capital viticole (démantelé par la prohibition décidée par Gorbatchev en 1985, NDLR). Le pays essaie de revenir au niveau qui était le sien il y a cent ans. Mais nos vins sont désormais d’un niveau international, basés sur la finesse et la légèreté. C’est dû à notre climat, plus ensoleillé. » | Par Julian Colling | Publié : mercredi 11 août 2021 ; mis à jour : jeudi 12 août 2021

Réservé aux abonnés

Dimitra’s Dishes: One-Pan Lemony Chicken & Potatoes | Classic Greek Food

Get the recipe here.

The Taliban Close In on Kabul, the Last Government Stronghold

Taliban militants displaying their flag on Sunday after taking control of Jalalabad, a city in eastern Afghanistan. Credit...EPA, via Shutterstock
THE NEW YORK TIMES: The Taliban’s relentless, rapid advance across Afghanistan brought them on Sunday to the outskirts of the capital, Kabul, the last major city controlled by the government.

As it became clear that the Taliban were at the gates of the capital, thousands of Afghans who had sought refuge there after fleeing the insurgents’ brutal military offensive watched with growing alarm as the local police seemed to fade from their usual checkpoints.

Wais Omari, 20, a street vendor in the city, reflected those concerns. “The situation is not good,” he said. “If it gets worse, I will hide in my home.”

The Taliban, in a statement, said that they were in negotiations with the government and would not take the capital by force.

“The Islamic Emirate instructs all its forces to stand at the gates of Kabul, not to try to enter the city,” a spokesman said, using the name by which the insurgents refer to themselves.

The Afghan government had no immediate public response. Afghan news media reported that President Ashraf Ghani had left the country on Sunday afternoon. » | David E. Sanger and Helene Cooper | Sunday, August 15, 2021

A frenzied U.S. flight from Kabul as chaos descends »

Le retour des talibans fait planer la peur sur Kaboul et Kandahar

LE FIGARO : RÉCIT - Rien que vendredi, quatre capitales provinciales sont tombées, parfois sans qu’aucune résistance soit opposée aux combattants islamistes.

Des combattants talibans dans une rue de Kandahar le 13 août 2021. -/AFP
En vingt-quatre heures, les deuxième et troisième plus grandes villes afghanes sont tombées aux mains des talibans. Jeudi, d’abord, Hérat, cité millénaire connue pour ses poètes et son architecture, dont la célèbre «mosquée bleue». Puis, vendredi, la guérilla fondamentaliste est entrée dans Kandahar, capitale de la province éponyme connue pour avoir été le berceau du mouvement.

Abdul Matin Amiri, journaliste à Kandahar et pourtant habitué à couvrir les zones de conflit, ne peut plus exercer son métier tant l’insécurité règne dans les rues de sa ville. «Je suis calfeutré à la maison. Avec ma femme, nous prions toute la journée pour que nos enfants s’en sortent vivants», écrit-il dans un message au Figaro, ajoutant qu’«on entend et on voit les tirs dans le ciel: c’est terrifiant». … » | Par Margaux Benn | vendredi 13 août 2021

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L’Amérique sidérée par l’ampleur de sa défaite en Afghanistan : DÉCRYPTAGE - Le Pentagone a dû se résoudre à l’envoi de renforts à l’aéroport de Kaboul pour protéger les opérations d’évacuation, encore qualifiée de partielle, de son ambassade. »

Afghan Women’s Defiance and Despair: ‘I Never Thought I’d Have to Wear a Burqa. My Identity Will Be Lost’

Outside a beauty parlour in Kabul last week; the burqa is synonymous with Afghan women’s identity worldwide. Photograph: Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty Images
Women’s report in Afghanistan [WR]: Global development [GD]
THE GUARDIAN: As city after city falls to the Taliban, women fear that the freedoms won since 2001 will be crushed

In a market in Kabul, Aref is doing a booming trade. At first glance, the walls of his shop seem to be curtained in folds of blue fabric. On closer inspection, dozens and dozens of blue burqas hang like spectres from hooks on the wall. As the Taliban close in on Kabul, women inside the city are getting ready for what may be coming. “Before, most of our customers were from the provinces,” says Aref. “Now it is city women who are buying them.”

One of these women is Aaila, who is haggling with another shopkeeper over rapidly inflating burqa prices. “Last year these burqas cost AFS 200 [£2]. Now they’re trying to sell them to us for AFS 2,000 to 3,000,” she says. As the fear among women in Kabul has grown, the prices have risen.

For decades, the traditional Afghan burqa, mostly sold in shades of blue, was synonymous with Afghan women’s identity around the world. Usually made of heavy cloth, it is specifically designed to cover the wearer from head to toe. A netted fabric is placed near the eyes so that the woman inside can peer out through the meshing but nobody can see inside. It was enforced strictly during the Taliban regime in the late 1990s, and failure to wear one while in public could earn women severe punishments and public lashings from the Taliban’s “moral police”.

After the fall of the Taliban in 2001, even though many continued to choose to wear the burqa in adherence to religious and traditional beliefs, its rejection by millions of others across the country became a symbol of a new dawn for the country’s women, who were able to dictate what they wore for themselves again.

Today, there are burqas in the streets of downtown Kabul but women are also dressed in an array of different styles, many mixing traditional materials with colourful modern patterns and fashion inspiration from across the region. » | Zainab Pirzad and Atefa Alizada from Rukhshana Media | Sunday, August 15, 2021

Afghanische Regierung kündigt friedliche Machtübergabe an

TALIBAN VOR KABUL
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Das afghanische Innenministerium versucht, die Einwohner Kabuls zu beruhigen: „Es wird keinen Angriff auf die Stadt geben“, sagte Innenminister Mirsakwal. Demnach solle eine friedliche Übergabe erfolgen und eine Übergangsregierung gebildet werden.

Die radikalislamischen Taliban sind nach Angaben des afghanischen Innenministeriums in die afghanische Hauptstadt Kabul vorgedrungen. Das Innenministerium teilte mit, die Islamisten stießen von allen Seiten auf die Stadt vor. Die Regierung kündigte eine friedliche Machtübergabe an. „Es wird keinen Angriff auf die Stadt geben“, sagte Innenminister Abdul Sattar Mirsakwal in einer aufgezeichneten Ansprache. Demnach solle eine Übergangsregierung gebildet werden.

Auch der Stabschef von Präsident Aschraf Ghani, Matin Bek, schrieb im Onlinedienst Twitter: „Keine Panik! Kabul ist sicher.“ Noch am Samstag hatte Präsident Aschraf Ghani in einer Rede an die Nation eine „Remobilisierung“ der afghanischen Streitkräfte angekündigt. Zugleich sprach er jedoch auch von einer möglichen „politischen Lösung" in dem Konflikt. Ghanis Äußerung wurde bereits als Bereitschaft zur Kapitulation gewertet. Das afghanische Präsidialamt rief die Einwohner zu Ruhe und Besonnenheit auf. Gleichzeitig wurden in der Hauptstadt Regierungsgebäude geräumt. Die US-Botschaft flog Personal mit Helikoptern zum Flughafen. Auch andere Staaten, darunter Deutschland, bereiteten die Evakuierung ihrer Staatsbürger vor. » | Quelle: dpa/AFP/Reuters | Sonntag, 15. August 2021

Afghanistan: des combattants talibans entrent dans Kaboul malgré l'ordre de rester hors de la ville

LE FIGARO : Les talibans ont reçu l'ordre de rester aux portes de Kaboul selon leur porte-parole, mais des combattants insurgés ont été aperçus par des habitants en banlieue éloignée. Après avoir conquis Jalalabad, la capitale reste la dernière grande ville non conquise par les insurgés.

Le président Ashraf Ghan et le ministre de la Défense par intérim Bismillah Khan Mohammadi visitent le corps militaire à Kaboul, le 14 août 2021. AFGHAN PRESIDENTIAL PALACE / REUTERS
Les talibans se rapprochent dimanche de la prise complète du pouvoir en Afghanistan, après une campagne militaire d'une rapidité stupéfiante. Seule Kaboul, la capitale isolée et encerclée, reste à conquérir. Dimanche matin, des combattants ont néanmoins été aperçus par des habitants en banlieue éloignée, alors même que les insurgés ont reçu l'ordre de rester aux portes de la cité, selon leur porte-parole.

«L'Émirat islamique ordonne à toutes ses forces d'attendre aux portes de Kaboul, de ne pas essayer d'entrer dans la ville», a affirmé sur Twitter Zabihullah Mujahid, un porte-parole des talibans. «Il y a des combattants talibans armés dans notre quartier, a pourtant déclaré à l'AFP un habitant d'une banlieue à l'est de la capitale, mais il n'y a pas de combats».

Quelques heures après avoir pris Mazar-i-Sharif, la quatrième plus grande ville afghane et le principal centre urbain du nord du pays, les insurgés se sont emparés sans résistance dimanche de la ville de Jalalabad à l'est du pays. «Nous nous sommes réveillés ce matin avec les drapeaux blancs des talibans partout en ville. Ils sont dans la ville. Ils sont entrés sans combattre», a déclaré à l'AFP Ahmad Wali, un habitant de Jalalabad. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | dimanche 15 août 2021

Afghanistan: «Déshonneur» – L’éditorial du Figaro, par Patrick Saint-Paul. »

Jalalabad Falls, Leaving Kabul the Only Major City under Government Control

A security checkpoint in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, last month. Credit...Ghulamullah Habibi/EPA, via Shutterstock
THE NEW YORK TIMES: After a week of rapid victories, the Taliban seized the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad on Sunday, leaving Kabul, the capital, as the only major urban center still in the government’s hands.

The insurgents’ brutal offensive, which began in May as the United States started withdrawing troops, has intensified over the past week, with one city after another falling. Their capture of Jalalabad, the bustling capital of Nangarhar Province, gives them control of every key city but Kabul.

The insurgents have now encircled the capital. Mazar-i-Sharif, the last major northern city held by the government, was lost to the Taliban on Saturday night. A day earlier, the insurgents seized major cities in the south and west.

In Kabul, neighborhoods have filled with arrivals from other parts of the country that are under Taliban control. While many, particularly those with connections abroad, are scrambling to try to find a way out of the country, others said they were resigned to the likelihood of a complete Taliban takeover. » | Austin Ramzy | Sunday, August 15, 2021

The USA has gone from being led by a clown to being led by a fool in just one election! If the USA wishes to continue leading the free world, I implore American voters to start taking into account the impact of their leader’s foreign policy decisions on the rest of the free world! This decision to abandon Afghanistan, to throw the Afghans to the wolves, will have an enormous impact on the rest of us, especially Europe. We will have to pay the high price of Biden’s folly. Domestically, Biden has done some very good things, but this foreign policy decision is disastrous: it’s going to cause total chaos. Moreover, it will mark a further rightward shift in European politics. American politicians need to start behaving responsibly or else lose their pole position in the world and allow someone else to take up the position of leadership. – © Mark

Vintage: Queer Romance

With many thanks to Jheyda L for this great sepia photo.

Dry Humour!

With many thanks to whisper.sh for this great image and pithy quip.

Queer Quote of the Day

With many thanks to imgur for this great quote..

Jung, stark, schön, heiß und sexy!

Jeunes, forts, beaux, chauds et sexy ! / Young, strong, handsome, hot and sexy!
Ich bedanke mich bei Google Images und Facebook fürs schöne Foto.

Poland’s President Signs Bill to Curb Claims on Property Seized by Nazis

THE GUARDIAN: Move to limit Jewish people’s opportunity to seek restitution sparks furious response from Israel

Poland’s president, Andrzej Duda. The law would set limits on the ability of Jews to recover property seized by Nazi German occupiers and retained by postwar communist rulers. Photograph: Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters
Poland’s president has decided to sign a bill that would set limits on the ability of Jews to recover property seized by Nazi German occupiers and retained by postwar communist rulers, drawing fury from Israel, which said the law was antisemitic.

“I made a decision today on the act, which in recent months was the subject of a lively and loud debate at home and abroad,” Andrzej Duda said in a statement published on Saturday. “After an in-depth analysis, I have decided to sign the amendment.”

Before the second world war Poland had been home to one of the world’s biggest Jewish communities but it was almost entirely wiped out by the Nazis, and Jewish former property owners and their descendants have been campaigning for compensation.

Up to now Jewish expatriates or their descendants could make a claim that a property had been seized illegally and demand its return, but Polish officials argued this was causing uncertainty over property ownership. » | Reuters | Saturday, August 14, 2021

This is truly disgraceful! Have you no shame? Have you no heart? Have you no conscience? – © Mark

Julio Iglesias - Can't Help Falling In Love | From Starry Night Concert

Nov 4, 2016 • Music video by Julio Iglesias performing Can't Help Falling In Love. (C) 1991 Sony Music Entertainment (Holland) B.V. | Views on YouTube: 1,132,743

Met Police to Review Decision Not to Investigate Jeffrey Epstein amid Prince Andrew US Lawsuit

Aug 13, 2021 • Scotland Yard says it will review its decision not to investigate whether the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein committed crimes in London, after one of his accusers lodged a civil case against Prince Andrew in New York.

The Met Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick said no-one was above the law, but would not be opening an investigation into Prince Andrew, who has denied all the allegations.

Julio Iglesias - Crazy

Views on YouTube: 8,823,842

Maurizio Pollini: Schumann: Sonata for Piano Op.11; Fantasia Op.17

Durchaus fantastisch und leidenschaftlich vorgetragen - im Legendenton - Erstes Tempo · Maurizio Pollini | ℗ 1973 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Berlin | Released on: 1973-01-01 | ℗ 1973 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Berlin | Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group

Queers of Yore: Soldiers about to Make Out

L’intimità e l’affetto dei soldati in 15 foto vintage
With many thanks to Gay.it for this great vintage photo.

Joe Biden Accused of Abandoning Afghanistan

Aug 14, 2021 • The Pentagon has said that Kabul is not under imminent threat. But the Taliban's advance has been far swifter and more decisive than expected. Since US forces began to withdraw, the group has swept through one provincial capital after another. Critics have accused President Biden of abandoning Afghanistan to its fate.

Afghanistan’s commercial hub, Mazar-i-Sharif, falls to the insurgents: KABUL, Afghanistan — The last major city in northern Afghanistan fell to the Taliban on Saturday night, marking the complete loss of the country’s north to the Taliban as the insurgents appear on the verge of a full military takeover. »

Les confidences de Guillaume Gomez, chef des cuisines de l'Élysée pendant vingt-cinq ans

LE FIGARO : ENTRETIEN - Le chef, qui a vu passer quatre présidents et préparé des millions de repas aux commandes de sa brigade élyséenne, revient sur son expérience au plus près du pouvoir. Ou comment vivre les soubresauts de l'Histoire, de la victoire des Bleus en 2018 aux attentats du 13 Novembre, depuis les cuisines du palais.

Le chef Guillaume Gomez a quitté les cuisines de l'Élysée après les avoir dirigées durant vingt-cinq ans. (Paris, le 24 février 2021.) Abaca presse.
Un chef exemplaire

«Après vingt-cinq ans d'un engagement de chaque instant, il était temps de passer la main», estime Guillaume Gomez. À 42 ans, le chef parisien vient de passer le flambeau à Fabrice Desvignes, son successeur à la tête des cuisines de l'Élysée. Récemment nommé ambassadeur de France pour la gastronomie, Guillaume Gomez n'entend pas pour autant regarder en arrière. Au menu de ce poste qu'il est le premier chef de l'Hexagone - et du monde - à occuper : mettre avant les produits du terroir et repenser, aux côtés de ses pairs, l'avenir de la gastronomie mondiale. Arrivé en tant que militaire dans les brigades élyséennes, sous la présidence de Jacques Chirac, celui qui est aussi Meilleur Ouvrier de France revient sur ses souvenirs et les millions de repas préparés pour les présidents et leurs invités.Premiers pas à l'Élysée » | Par Chloé Friedmann | Publié : mardi 27 juillet 2021 ; mis à jour : mercredi 28 juillet 2021

L'article complet est réservé aux abonnés.

Maurizio Pollini: Brahms – Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 83 - 1. Allegro non troppo – Wiener Philharmoniker – Claudio Abbado

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group.

Abbado conducts Piano Concertos ℗ 1977 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Berlin Released on: 2020-08-22 Composer: Johannes Brahms

”I Have No Words” - Former Royal Marine “Ashamed” of Situation in Afghanistan

Aug 13, 2021 • Former Royal Marines Commando Paul 'Pen' Farthing says there's "absolute panic" in Kabul as "thousands" of people from across Afghanistan seek refuge in the capital.

Mr Farthing said there are "no words to describe the hurt, the upset and the confusion" after the UK withdrew its troops from the country. The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, is to convene an emergency Cobra meeting as Taliban fighters continue to make advances across the country.

Haiti Struck by 7.2-Magnitude Earthquake

THE GUARDIAN: US Geological Survey says quake struck about 150km west of Port-au-Prince at about 8.30am local time

Haiti has been struck by a major 7.2-magnitude earthquake.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake struck about 150km (93 miles) west of the capital, Port-au-Prince, at about 8.30am local time and had a depth of 10km.

The earthquake, which was felt across the Caribbean, including in Cuba and Jamaica, comes just over a month after Haiti’s president, Jovenel Moïse was murdered at his residence in Port-au-Prince. » | Tom Phillips, Latin America correspondent | Saturday, August 14, 2021

Powerful Earthquake Strikes Haiti: Seismologists reported that a magnitude 7.2 quake struck in the west of the country, and heavy damage was reported in at least two cities. »


Un séisme de magnitude 7,2 secoue Haïti : Une alerte au tsunami a été lancée dans la foulée. Des édifices religieux, des écoles et des habitations ont été endommagés lors du tremblement de terre. »

Loi LGBT en Hongrie : un «scandale», selon Clément Beaune

LE FIGARO : Pour le secrétaire d'État français aux Affaires européennes, les gouvernants qui discriminent les personnes LGBT «n'ont plus rien à faire dans l'Union européenne».

Clément Beaune, secrétaire d'État français aux Affaires européennes. Jean-Christophe Marmara / Le Figaro
La lutte contre les discriminations est un «combat culturel» que l'Europe se doit de mener, a estimé jeudi 8 juillet le secrétaire d'État français aux Affaires européennes, qualifiant de «scandale» la loi accusée de discriminer les personnes LGBT, qui entre en vigueur en Hongrie.

«C'est une loi scélérate qui assimile pédophilie et homosexualité. C'est un scandale aujourd'hui en Europe», a estimé Clément Beaune sur France 2, dénonçant ceux qui «considèrent que discriminer, ne pas respecter l'égalité des droits les plus élémentaires, c'est possible». La présidente de la Commission européenne Ursula von der Leyen a menacé mercredi 7 juillet de lancer une procédure d'infraction contre la Hongrie si elle ne revenait pas sur cette loi. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | jeudi 8 juillet 2021

Wildfires in Greece Spark Criticism of the Government | DW News

Aug 14, 2021 • Greece is looking for strategies to better prepare for wildfires in the future. On the island of Evia, some residents say authorities have been negligent.

Cannes : cambriolage de la résidence de l'émir du Qatar, des montres de luxe dérobées

LE FIGARO : Quatre hommes se sont introduits dans la gigantesque résidence de la famille al-Thani à Mouans-Sartoux, sur les hauteurs de Cannes.

La propriété de l'émir du Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, ici en janvier 2021, a été cambriolée à Cannes. BANDAR AL-JALOUD / SAUDI ROYAL PALACE / AFP
L'immense propriété de l'émir du Qatar, située sur les hauteurs de Cannes, dans les Alpes-Maritimes, a été cambriolée dans la nuit de jeudi à vendredi. Quatre hommes se sont introduits dans les murs vers trois heures du matin, vraisemblablement en franchissant un des murs d'enceinte sur lequel des traces d'escalade ont pu être retrouvées. D'après les informations de RTL confirmées par une source proche du dossier, ils sont repartis avec plusieurs montres de luxe. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | samedi 14 août 2021

Le frère de l'Émir du Qatar annonce la venue prochaine de Messi au PSG : La superstar argentine de 34 ans est plus que jamais aux portes de Paris après les annonces de l'un des membres de la famille royale qatarie. »

James Hormel, First Out Gay U.S. Ambassador, Dead at 88

Hormel, an activist and philanthropist, saw conservative pushback to his ambassadorial nomination because of his work for LGBTQ+ causes.
ADVOCATE: James Hormel, the first out gay U.S. ambassador, has died. He was 88.

An heir to the Hormel meatpacking fortune, he was a philanthropist and LGBTQ+ activist, based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

President Bill Clinton nominated him to be ambassador to Luxembourg in 1997. But because of controversy over his identity and his activism, the Senate denied Hormel a confirmation vote. Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel called him too “aggressively gay,” for which Hagel apologized years later, and another Republican senator, Tim Hutchinson, claimed Hagel was anti-Catholic because he laughed at the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Clinton put him in the ambassadorial post through a recess appointment, bypassing the Senate, in 1999. Hormel served until 2001.

Pete Buttigieg, who this year became the first out Cabinet member as secretary of Transportation, often spoke of the homophobia that kept Hormel from being confirmed. Watching the story play out, “I learned about some of the limits that exist in this country when it comes to who is allowed to belong,” Buttigieg said when President Joe Biden nominated him to the Transportation post in December. “And just as important, I saw how those limits could be challenged.” » | Trudy Ring | Friday, August 13, 2021

Canberra, la capitale de l'Australie, à son tour confinée

FIGARO / LIVE : Un confinement de sept jours de Canberra, la capitale australienne a été décrété jeudi par les autorités après la découverte d'un cas de coronavirus. Environ 400.000 habitants de cette ville, où siège le gouvernement, seront confinés à compter de jeudi, et rejoindront ainsi les millions d'Australiens du sud-est de l'immense île continent déjà contraints de demeurer chez eux. Avec une vidéo en anglais » | Publié : jeudi 12 août 2021 ; mis à jour : vendredi 13 août 2021

Poverty, Disease, Customs: Why So Many Indonesian Children Die of Covid

The grave of Alesha Kimi Pramudita, a 22-month-old who died after being infected with the coronavirus in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, in July. Credit...Ulet Ifansasti for The New York Times
THE NEW YORK TIMES: BULUS WETAN, Indonesia — When Debiyantoro, a hotel repairman, first lost his sense of taste, he wondered briefly if it might be Covid-19, but he quickly dismissed the idea. Having the disease would mean not being able to make a living.

Now he blames his reluctance to get tested for the death of his 22-month-old daughter, Alesha Kimi Pramudita. All 10 members of their crowded household suffered Covid-like symptoms but none were tested until Kimi went for an unrelated checkup. Hospitalized immediately, she died a day later.

“Although I thought it might have been Covid, I was afraid I wouldn’t be allowed to work, which means I couldn’t have supported my family,” Mr. Debiyantoro, who like many Indonesians uses one name, said as he tried to hold back tears. “But now I am filled with remorse that I lost my daughter.”

Across Indonesia, children have fallen victim to Covid in alarming numbers, with a striking increase since June, when the Delta variant began taking hold. The pandemic has killed at least 1,245 Indonesian children and the biggest recent jump has been among those under age 1, said Dr. Aman Bhakti Pulungan, head of the Indonesian Pediatric Society.

Researchers point to many reasons children would be more likely to die in developing countries, but many of those factors boil down to a single one: poverty. » | Dera Menra Sijabat, Richard C. Paddock and Muktita Suhartono | Saturday, August 14, 2021