UK’s Progress on Covid Now Squandered, Warns Top Scientist

THE GUARDIAN: Sir Jeremy Farrar, director of Wellcome Trust, suggests emergence of Omicron variant means pandemic is far from over

Farrar warned that rich countries had ‘a very blinkered domestic focus’ over Covid. Photograph: Nic Bothma/EPA
The emergence of the Omicron variant shows that the world is “closer to the start of the pandemic than the end”, one of Britain’s most senior scientific figures has warned, as he lamented a lack of political leadership over Covid.

Sir Jeremy Farrar, the director of the Wellcome Trust who stepped down as a government scientific adviser last month, said the progress in combatting Covid-19 since its emergence was “being squandered”.

Writing in the Observer, he said rich countries had been taking “a very blinkered domestic focus, lulled into thinking that the worst of the pandemic was behind us”. He said while he was cautiously hopeful that current vaccines would protect against severe illness from Omicron, that may not be true for future variants.

“The longer this virus continues to spread in largely unvaccinated populations globally, the more likely it is that a variant that can overcome our vaccines and treatments will emerge,” he writes. “If that happens, we could be close to square one. » | Michael Savage, Robin McKie | Saturday, December 4, 2021

Autriche : des dizaines de milliers de manifestants contre les mesures prises face au Covid-19

Plusieurs arrestations ont eu lieu pour troubles à l'ordre public. FLORIAN WIESER / APA / AFP
LE FIGARO : Des dizaines de milliers de personnes ont manifesté samedi en Autriche pour le troisième week-end consécutif contre les mesures gouvernementales de lutte contre le coronavirus, notamment la vaccination qui sera obligatoire à partir de février, a annoncé la police.

Plusieurs arrestations ont eu lieu pour troubles à l'ordre public, selon la police qui a recensé «plus de 40.000» manifestants à Vienne, après plusieurs rassemblements dans la capitale. Selon la police, certains manifestants ont jeté des «engins pyrotechniques» sur les forces de l'ordre qui ont répliqué par l'usage de gaz poivre et une contre-manifestation a rassemblé 1500 personnes. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | samedi 4 décembre 2021

Le bitcoin s'effondre soudainement, rattrapé par le coup de froid sur les marchés

LE FIGARO : La cryptomonnaie a perdu 10.000 dollars en moins d'une heure, avant de se reprendre un peu.

Le bitcoin a perdu 10.000 dollars en moins d'une heure dans la nuit de vendredi à samedi, soit près de 20%, avant de se reprendre un peu mais restait affecté par la prudence prévalant sur les marchés financiers. Vers 16h GMT samedi, la devise virtuelle s'échangeait à 48.210 dollars, en baisse de 10% par rapport à vendredi soir. Vers 5h GMT, il avait soudainement chuté jusqu'à 42.296 dollars, sans explication particulière a priori. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | samedi 4 décembre 2021

Almost $12,000 wiped off value of bitcoin in weekend ‘thumping’: Cryptocurrency settles to just below $50,000 after record-high last month, in continuation of recent volatility »

Dimitra’s Dishes: Greek Mini Olive Pies: Eliopitakia | Vegan (Optional)

Get the recipe here.

Boris Johnson, the 'Clown' - Mistakes, Misjudgments, U-turns and Lies

Dec 4, 2021 • Boris Johnson, surely the worst prime minister ever, is not only dishonest but also incompetent making mistakes, misjudgments and U-turns almost every day.

Brexit, confrontation with the EU and especially with France, failure to resolve the Northern Ireland issue, failing to agree any serious new trade deals and the complete mishandling of the pandemic, whereby we have the second or third highest levels of new cases almost every day amounting to 40 - 50,000 cases per day. In three weeks, that’s a million cases! These are all problems caused, or made worse, by the prime minister.

Unlike countries throughout the EU such as Italy and France, this government half-heartedly brings in a new law making it obligatory to wear a mask in shops and on public transport. The public, seeing how the prime minister and Conservative politicians flout such regulations do the same.

In the past week Johnson has been called a liar in Parliament and the French president has described him as a clown running a circus and a knucklehead.

Wie krank ist Homo-Heilung? | Doku | ARTE

May 19, 2021 • In Deutschland hat das Bundeskabinett am 18. Dezember 2019 einem Gesetzentwurf von Gesundheitsminister Jens Spahn zugestimmt, der sogenannte Konversionstherapien verbietet. Denn bis heute gibt es weltweit Geistliche und Therapeuten, die Menschen von ihrer homosexuellen Orientierung "heilen" wollen - mit gravierenden psychischen und gesundheitlichen Folgen für die Betroffenen

Der investigative Dokumentarfilm spürt Netzwerke auf, die äußerst fragwürdige Konversionstherapien betreiben – mit gravierenden psychischen und gesundheitlichen Folgen für die Betroffenen. Elektroschocks, frontale Lobotomien, Hormonbehandlungen und Aversionstherapien – seit Homosexualität in der WHO-Klassifizierung nicht mehr als psychische Erkrankung geführt wird, gelten diese dubiosen Praktiken eigentlich als verschwunden. Doch an ihre Stelle sind andere, ebenso grausame und menschenverachtende Methoden getreten, die weiterhin weltweit verbreitet werden. Wie es um solche Pseudotherapien steht, haben Bernard Nicolas und sein Journalistenteam zwei Jahre lang in den USA, in Frankreich, Deutschland, Polen und der Schweiz ermittelt. In den Vereinigten Staaten bekennen sich evangelikale Vereinigungen lautstark zu ihren Praktiken. In Frankreich, Deutschland und der Schweiz dagegen verhalten sich Katholiken und Evangelikale zurückhaltender, selbst wenn einige dieser „Heiler“ hohes Ansehen genießen und ein florierendes Geschäft betreiben. Der Dokumentarfilm enthält erschütternde Aussagen von Opfern, die erstmals vor der Kamera über die von ihnen erlittenen Qualen sprechen. So berichtet Benoit, dass ihn seine streng katholischen Eltern vom 15. bis zum 18. Lebensjahr in ein Sommerlager für Homosexuelle schickten, die dort umerzogen werden sollten. Deb, die Tochter eines evangelikalen Paares aus Arkansas, verfiel nach schlimmen Exorzismus-Sitzungen in eine tiefe Depression. Auch Jean-Michel erlitt die verheerenden Auswirkungen von Teufelsaustreibungen; er wähnte sich lange vom Dämon der Homosexualität besessen und lank>seiner Religion hielt. Ewa wiederum musste qualvolle Heilungsmessen, Umerziehungslager und Elektroschocks über sich ergehen lassen, die sie von ihrer Homosexualität „erlösen“ sollten.

Dokumentarfilm von Bernard Nicolas (F 2019, 90 Min)

Das Einbetten dieses Dokumentarfilms ist nicht erlaubt. Deshalb muß er an YouTube selber angesehen werden. Hier ist ein Link dazu. – Mark

In France, a Right-Wing Polemicist Tries Channeling De Gaulle to Win Votes

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Éric Zemmour has adopted imagery reminiscent of Charles de Gaulle, the wartime leader. But his call for reborn glory for France is sharply at odds with the realities of the country today.

PARIS — The retro choreography was heavy-handed, its intent obvious: Éric Zemmour in a dark tie, eyes averted from the camera, reading into an old-fashioned microphone from sheets of paper, just like Charles de Gaulle in his famous speech from London on June 18, 1940, when he called for the liberation of a fallen France.

Mr. Zemmour is not a towering general, and France is not on its knees. But Mr. Zemmour, the far-right polemicist who this week announced his run for next year’s presidential election, understands the power of provocative imagery. Effrontery and scandal have propelled his outsider candidacy.

His campaign-launching video was a nationalistic call for reborn French glory. From Joan of Arc to the singer Johnny Hallyday, from Napoleon Bonaparte to Brigitte Bardot, from Voltaire to Versailles, from Notre Dame to village church bells, it took viewers on a tour of Mr. Zemmour’s imaginary France.

The France that — in the telling of this Jewish journalist of North African descent whose family arrived in France 70 years ago — existed before immigrants, Muslim veils, vandalism and mealy-mouthed elites led the country to its most recent strange defeat. » | Roger Cohen | Saturday, December 4, 2021

Anti-Semitism: 2021 Likely to Be 'the Worst Year on Record'

The related BBC webpage here.

It Is Impossible to Work Seriously with Boris Johnson’s Government

THE GUARDIAN: On refugees, fishing and the NI protocol, we need cooperation. But Britain and France are a long way from an entente cordiale

Macron said of Johnson’s letter tweet: “I am surprised when methods are not serious. One does not communicate on those issues, from one leader to another, via tweets or by a letter made public.” Photograph: Alastair Grant/PA
Britain and France have a long and intertwined history, encompassing great friendship and solidarity as well as war and rivalry. This was evident most recently following terrorist attacks in our respective countries. It’s a relationship that can still be characterised as “sweet enemies”, as Philip Sidney put it in a sonnet in 1591.

We are twin countries, with more or less the same population, similar economies, and the same status on the world stage, as permanent members of the United Nations security council, and nuclear countries with military projection capability. As members of the same international organisations, we have often held the same positions, and coordinated closely. This respect and cooperative spirit have been particularly strong among diplomats from our two nations.

Any prejudices and mockery have remained mostly friendly, or been delivered with a touch of humour – as in 2012, when both Boris Johnson and David Cameron riled François Hollande’s government by saying they would “roll out the red carpet” for French businessmen who were being highly taxed in France. The then French Minister of Labour, Michel Sapin, rejoindered: “Frankly, I don’t understand how you can unfurl a red carpet across the Channel. It could get quite wet.” » | Sylvie Bermann | Saturday, December 4, 2021

Sylvie Bermann is a former French ambassador to the UK

France rejects idea of joint patrols with UK forces on Calais coast: Boris Johnson proposal rebuffed with suggestion he offer legal alternatives to reduce risky Channel crossings »

Emmanuel Macron Accused of Trying to ‘Rehabilitate’ Mohammed bin Salman

THE GUARDIAN: Human rights groups criticise French president’s planned meeting with crown prince in Saudi Arabia

The meeting on Saturday will mark the first one-on-one between the crown prince and a major western leader since the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi. Photograph: Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters
Human rights groups have criticised Emmanuel Macron’s planned meeting with Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, which will mark the first one-on-one public meeting of a major western leader with the crown prince since the state-sponsored assassination of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

For three years since the 2018 murder, western heads of state have avoided direct one-on-one meetings with the crown prince in the kingdom. The US president, Joe Biden, has even avoided speaking to the future king in what has widely been seen as an attempt to avoid conferring legitimacy on the de facto ruler.

But Macron’s move suggests at least one major western leader is ready to formally re-establish ties to the crown prince directly, less than a year after US intelligence agencies released a report stating they believed that Prince Mohammed had approved the murder of Khashoggi. » | Angelique Chrisafis in Paris and Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington | Friday, December 3, 2021

Emmanuel Macron entame une visite contestée en Arabie saoudite : Le président français est l’un des premiers dirigeants occidentaux à rencontrer le prince héritier Mohammed Ben Salmane depuis l’assassinat, en 2018, du journaliste saoudien Jamal Khashoggi. »

Élysée : Depuis Djeddah, le Président Emmanuel Macron répond aux questions de la presse. »

En dix mois, Joe Biden a déçu une grande partie des Américains

Joe Biden quitte la Maison-Blanche, jeudi, pour aller visiter les Instituts de santé américains. NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP
LE FIGARO : RÉCIT - Covid, inflation, immigration, politique étrangère ou réformes intérieures: le président démocrate n’est pas jugé à la hauteur de ses promesses.

De notre correspondant à Washington
Il avait fait campagne sur le retour de la compétence à la Maison-Blanche, le rétablissement d’une certaine normalité et l’apaisement des divisions partisanes. Un an plus tard, Joe Biden n’a guère convaincu, ni par ses qualités de gestionnaire, ni sur sa capacité à tourner la page de la pandémie, et les États-Unis sont plus polarisés que jamais sur presque tous les sujets.

Une récente défaite électorale en Virginie en septembre, et une autre évitée in extremis dans le New Jersey, deux États remportés par Biden en 2020, ont créé un début de panique chez les démocrates. Ces résultats sont de mauvais augure pour les élections de mi-mandat de l’année prochaine, traditionnellement difficiles pour le parti au pouvoir. Détenant une très faible majorité au Congrès, les démocrates craignent de la perdre au Sénat comme à la Chambre. Et l’élection présidentielle de 2024 est aussi dans les esprits. Même si le président, qui vient d’avoir 79 ans, a l’intention de se représenter, la question d’une éventuelle relève se pose. » | Par Adrien Jaulmes | vendredi 3 décembre 2021

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Fall Osman Kavala: Europarat leitet Strafverfahren gegen die Türkei ein | DW Nachrichten

Dec 3, 2021 • Der Europarat hat wegen der anhaltenden Inhaftierung des türkischen Kulturförderers und Menschenrechtsaktivisten Osman Kavala ein Strafverfahren gegen die Türkei eingeleitet. Das Ministerkomitee mit Vertretern der 47 Mitgliedsstaaten forderte in Straßburg die Regierung in Ankara zugleich auf, bis zum 19. Januar ihren Standpunkt darzulegen, wie das Gremium mitteilte.

Doch die politische Führung unter Präsident Recep Tayyip Erdogan gibt sich hartleibig: Die anhaltende Inhaftierung Kavalas sei eine Sache der "unabhängigen Justiz" in der Türkei, bekräftigte sie jüngst. Ankara ermahnte den Europarat, auf jegliche "Einmischung" in türkische Justizangelegenheiten zu verzichten.

"Im schlimmsten Fall droht der Türkei ein Rausschmiss aus dem Europarat," sagt DW-Korrespondentin Julia Hahn.

Our Persian-American Wedding | Jonathan and Zachary Kiani | @jonkiani

After the outpouring of love and support we've received over the last few days. We felt compelled to share the entirety of what was truly the most special night of both our lives.

It is not lost on us how blessed we've been. To have the full unconditional support of all our loved ones is beyond priceless. Many still yearn for that reality. But in that evening, it was clear; a brighter future, void of ignorance and bigotry, familiar to far too many, is attainable. We love you all and are forever thankful.

(A huge thank you to our godmother and officiant, Ms. Shohreh Aghdashloo)

Instagram: @jonkiani

When a Far-right Candidate Has ‘le buzz’, France Shouldn’t Take Young People for Granted

THE GUARDIAN – OPINION: The youth movement around Éric Zemmour, though small, is an indication that this deeply political generation can also be nihilistic

A placard saying, ‘Stop spreading hatred, Monsieur Zemmour’, at a rally to mark Éric Zemmour’s visit to Geneva last week. Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images

They all rolled their eyes when I asked them what they thought of Éric Zemmour, the smirking far-right polemicist running for president. My students thought he was racist and wrote him off as a crank. They hated Marine Le Pen of the far-right Rassemblement National (National Rally) but took her seriously. You had to accept that she was part of the political furniture, but this guy was beyond the pale. He had, after all, been convicted of hate speech.

Yet even then he was depressingly mainstream, writing bestsellers containing Vichy apologia and hate-filled screeds against feminism and homosexuality. He had a column at Le Figaro where he penned conspiratorial pieces arguing that Christianity had made France but Islam was trying to break it. Recently, Zemmour has become a semi-permanent TV fixture. A murky infrastructure of donors and online shock troops supporting him has emerged, and he tours France meeting fans.

Zemmour’s politics are horribly nihilistic. His ideas are straight from extremist Renaud Camus’ “great replacement” theory of a concerted demographic annihilation of white Europeans by immigration. Although his new book, La France n’a pas dit son dernier mot (France Has Not Spoken Its Last Word), is tinged marginally with optimism, his conclusion about the supposed renaissance ignores living standards and lapses into a war cry against foreigners and those who dare object to police brutality.

He is frequently compared to Donald Trump, though politically Zemmour is a different beast. He is, in his own words, engaged in a Gramscian struggle over culture. His strategy seems more considered than Trump’s spasmodic demagoguery. » | Oliver Haynes | Thursday, December 2, 2021

This article was highly commended in the Guardian Foundation’s 2021 Hugo Young award, which champions political opinion writing among 18- to 25-year-olds

From Abortion Bans to Anti-Trans Laws, a Christian Legal Army Is Waging War on America

As the Supreme Court looks poised to uphold Mississipi’s 15-week abortion ban and possibly overturn Roe v. Wade we speak to The Nation’s Amy Littlefield about her investigation into the Christian legal army behind the Mississippi law as well as anti-trans laws across the country. She also critiques the mainstream pro-choice movement’s failure to center the poor and people of color. “There is a change coming within the movement because of its reckoning with these past missteps including, frankly, the failure to adequately protect Black women and to stand up for the safety of the people whose rights were eroded first,” says Littlefield.

After nullifying abortion rights in the USA, extreme Christians will come after LGBT rights. You’d better believe it! Get ready for the fight! This side of the Atlantic, I wouldn't trust Éric Zemmour on LGBT rights either. He's also too extreme for comfort. – © Mark

TGF ! And TG It’s Absolut o’Clock Again !

via GIPHY

Democracy Now! Top US News & World Headlines — December 3, 2021

Dimitra’s Dishes: No-Bake Chocolate Biscuit Cake: Greek Mosaiko

Get the recipe here.

Moskau warnt vor „Alptraumszenario einer militärischen Konfrontation“

UKRAINE-KONFLIKT
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Der russische Außenminister Sergej Lawrow wirft der NATO vor, ihre militärische Infrastruktur näher an die russische Grenze zu bringen. Der amerikanische Außenminister Antony Blinken ruft Moskau zur „Deeskalation“ auf.

Russland hat vor dem Hintergrund der Spannungen an der ukrainisch-russischen Grenze vor einer Rückkehr zu einem „Alptraumszenario einer militärischen Konfrontation“ gewarnt. Der russische Außenminister Sergej Lawrow warf der Nato am Donnerstag bei einem OSZE-Treffen in Stockholm vor, „ihre militärische Infrastruktur näher an die russischen Grenzen zu bringen“. Der amerikanische Außenminister Antony Blinken rief Russland zu „Deeskalation“ und „Diplomatie“ auf. » | Quelle: AFP | Donnerstag, 2. Dezember 2021

Ces grands restaurants qui proposent encore un chariot à fromages

Le chariot à fromages bio du Clarence, dans le Triangle d’or (Paris 8e), sous la houlette du chef Christophe Pelé. imagerie
LE FIGARO : LA SÉLECTION DU FIGARO - Si l’époque rime avec repas légers et réduction du gaspillage, certaines grandes tables continuent de proposer cet emblème fastueux de la gastronomie française.

Élodie, 45 ans, Parisienne friande de nouvelles tables, ne résiste pas à l’appel du chariot à fromages: «Je ne vais pas jusqu’à choisir un restaurant pour ça, mais sa présence à la carte me met en joie et influence souvent le reste de mon menu. Je n’hésite pas à renoncer au dessert pour lui faire de la place.» Elle n’est pas séduite par le fromage en soi - qu’elle snobe lorsqu’il n’est servi qu’à l’assiette - mais par le rituel du chariot. «C’est un peu désuet, fastueux et ludique à la fois. Réaliser un chariot de qualité, qui attire l’œil à la manière de la vitrine d’un fromager, demande un vrai travail de la part du restaurateur.» Et apprécie tout particulièrement «le petit voyage à travers les régions de France» mais aussi les accompagnements imaginés par le chef: «Je garde un souvenir ému du chariot de la maison Roellinger à Cancale ; il y avait une multitude de chutneys, une huile pimentée pour accompagner le chèvre… Autant d’associations étonnantes, réfléchies dans la continuité de la cuisine!» » | Par Alice Bosio | vendredi 3 décembre 2021

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Yuja Wang – Rachmaninov: Prelude in G Minor, Op. 23, No. 5 | Live at Philharmonie, Berlin, 2018

Yuja Wang’s philosophy of music is both simple and profoundly complex. “I want to relate all life to music,” she recently told veteran British critic Fiona Maddocks. The Beijing-born pianist’s latest album for Deutsche Grammophon 'The Berlin Recital' captures the white heat of solo works by Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, Scriabin and Ligeti, a trio of Russians together with one of the late 20th-century’s greatest composers.

Bandenkriminalität in Schweden | ARTE Re:

Während in ganz Europa die Gewaltkriminalität sinkt, steigt ausgerechnet in Schweden die Waffengewalt. 124 Menschen kamen im Jahr 2020 durch Schusswaffen zu Tode. Es handelt sich dabei eher um unorganisierte, nicht um organisierte Kriminalität. "Wir sind als Gang von Freunden unterwegs", erklärt ein Bandenmitglied. "Es gibt keine Big Bosses im Hintergrund."

Jede Woche kommt es in Schweden zu Schießereien. Wiederkehrende Berichte über Waffengewalt in Brennpunktbezirken gehören mittlerweile zum medialen Grundrauschen. Die meisten Fälle werden kaum noch von der Öffentlichkeit registriert. Dabei ist die Statistik alarmierend: In Schweden sterben jedes Jahr mehr Menschen durch Schusswaffen als im Rest Europas – mit steigender Tendenz. In den vergangenen fünf Jahren kam es zu mehr als 2.500 Schießereien, 199 davon endeten tödlich, 588 Menschen wurden verletzt.

Die meisten Opfer, aber auch die Täter, sind junge Männer. Viele von ihnen gehören kriminellen Banden an. Das Problem betrifft das ganze Land, auch abseits der Großstädte. „Arte Re:“ sucht in Helsingborg, einer 150.000-Einwohnerstadt an der Grenze zu Dänemark, nach den Hintergründen.

Hier gibt es Drogenhandel, kriminelle Banden und Problemviertel. Und es kommt immer wieder zu Waffengewalt. Nour Habib war hier früher selbst in einer Gang. Viereinhalb Jahre saß er wegen bewaffneten Raubes im Gefängnis. Danach wollte er nicht wieder zurück in den Teufelskreis der Kriminalität und hat eine Allianz für gefährdete Jugendliche mit der lokalen Wirtschaft gegründet.

Omar El-Almali hat 2020 einen seiner besten Freunde bei einer Schießerei verloren. Omar hat gerade sein Kriminalistik-Studium beendet und ist angehender Sozialarbeiter. Er will sich nicht damit abfinden, dass vor allem junge Männer mit Migrationshintergrund in Gewalt und Kriminalität verstrickt werden. Gemeinsam mit der Polizistin Mona Ammar Persson arbeitet er in seiner eigenen Community gegen die Perspektivlosigkeit.

Reportage (D 2021, 32 Min)

Recipe30: Sicilian Style Spaghetti – A Simple 20-minute Meal

A tasty spaghetti meal with the flavours of Sicily. This recipe uses a mixed variety of olives and cherry tomatoes, resulting in a beautiful and appetising rainbow of colours. It also contains garlic, chili, anchovies and capers for those tasty, delicious flavours.

A quick meal to make, if organized,, it should be done by the time the pasta is cooked, including boiling time, usually under 20 minutes.

I used the beautiful milder white anchovies, if you can’t find them, use the regular ones and halve the amount as they are stronger.

If you season your pasta water correctly (a little less salty than sea water), then no further seasoning is required. The anchovies, olives and cheese are salty enough. Enjoy this Sicilian Style spaghetti today!


To this chef’s website.

Boris Johnson’s Rule Is a Throwback to the 18th-century Golden Age of Sleaze

THE GUARDIAN – OPINION: This prime minister is a reminder of an era when government jobs were sold and political leverage was bought with cash

Boris Johnson speaks during Prime Minister's Questions, 3 November 2021. Photograph: Jessica Taylor/UK Parliament/AFP/Getty Images
Corruption is a word used nervously in the UK. We’re quite happy applying it to other countries; but in Britain even critics of the status quo can be surprisingly reluctant to describe as corrupt our society’s tight, often concealed circulation of power and rewards.

Partly, this is because corruption is a slippery concept. “There has never been a single, fixed, universal definition,” wrote Mark Knights of Warwick University in 2016. “Notions about what is unfair, unjust or immoral change over time.”

As a small, centralised country with a huge capital city, Britain has for centuries been run by elites with overlapping memberships and interests, and offered a wide range of services to foreigners with dubious fortunes. To attack this system as corrupt is to risk being called unworldly – and experience feelings of deep frustration and futility. From the House of Lords to the City of London, the capital is lined with ancient institutions that anti-corruption campaigners have failed to cleanse.

Yet there are periods when the charge of corruption suddenly acquires potency. Having struggled for two years to find an effective way of criticising Boris Johnson’s government, Labour seems finally to have discovered one. “Corruption,” said the party’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner, on Monday, “is rife right through this Conservative government.” Keir Starmer, often too measured, has become just as blunt about the issue. » | Andy Beckett | Friday, December 3, 2021

Michael Bolton : Drift Away

Germany Shuts Unvaccinated People Out of Much of Public Life

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Facing a huge coronavirus surge, Chancellor Angela Merkel, her successor, Olaf Scholz, and state governors agreed on tough new restrictions on people who have not been inoculated.

BERLIN — Germany announced tough new restrictions on Thursday to exclude unvaccinated people from much of public life, seeking to break a soaring fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic and blunt the worrisome new Omicron variant.

The new rules, which stopped short of enforcing a complete lockdown on the unvaccinated, followed an agreement hammered out between Chancellor Angela Merkel, her successor, Olaf Scholz, and state governors.

Under the new rules, those wishing to go to bars and restaurants, or shop anywhere but in stores carrying basic necessities — like pharmacies or grocery stores — have to present proof of vaccination or documentation of recovery from a recent coronavirus infection. Some of those restrictions have been in effect already in some states; the agreement sets a uniform nationwide standard.

With the new rules, and a promise by Mr. Scholz this week that he would push a law making vaccinations mandatory, Germany is following the path of Austria, which recently mandated that all adults be inoculated by February. It comes as both countries contend with strident anti-vaccination sentiment in their populations that have kept vaccination rates low compared with other western European countries. » | Christopher F. Schuetze | Thursday, December 2, 2021

Daily Telegraph Owner Could Go to Jail for Allegedly Failing to Pay Ex-wife £50m

THE GUARDIAN: Lady Hiroko Barclay asks judge to commit Sir Frederick Barclay to prison for non-payment of divorce settlement

Sir Frederick Barclay leaves the high court in London. Photograph: Kirsty O’Connor/PA
The reclusive billionaire owner of the Daily Telegraph could be sent to jail, after allegedly failing to pay his ex-wife £50m in one of the biggest divorce settlements in UK history.

Sir Frederick Barclay’s ex-wife has asked a judge to commit him to prison after claiming the businessman failed to make payments ordered by the high court.

Lady Hiroko Barclay said 87-year-old Sir Frederick is in contempt of court and accused him of breaching orders relating to the payment of money and production of documents.

Earlier this year Lady Barclay was awarded a settlement of £100m following the breakdown of their 34-year marriage. She now says Sir Frederick has failed to hand over the first half of the money and to produce relevant material. Lawyers representing Sir Frederick indicated he would mount a defence. » | Jim Waterson and agencies | Thursday, December 2, 2021

Homosexuality & The Bible 1: God Said It, I Believe It, That Settles It - John Corvino

John Corvino discusses some Bible verses from both the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, explores analogies to slavery and divorce, and points out the inconsistencies of those who cherry-pick the apparently anti-gay parts of the Bible while glossing over other problematic passages. (Passages read from New Revised Standard Version.)

Dr. John Corvino, also known as the "Gay Moralist," is a writer, speaker, and philosophy professor at Wayne State University in Detroit. He is the author of What's Wrong with Homosexuality? and the co-author (with Maggie Gallagher) of Debating Same-Sex Marriage, both from Oxford University Press.

Is It Ever Too Late? No, and Here's Why...

This week, Maya selected a viewers topic suggestion: "What advice would you give to someone who is 58 with two adult children who perhaps feels like it is too late to come out? What would you say to someone who thinks that "it's over and I might as well just live in the closet until I die"? Is it too late?"

George Michael - A Different Corner | Official Video

Views on YouTube: 28,363,329

But All I Can Think About Is You on World AIDS Day

Shutterstock
ADVOCATE: The unequal responses to two national tragedies trigger a flood of memories for one man recalling a dear friend he lost to the AIDS epidemic.

Dear M — I am supposed to be writing about World AIDS Day, but all I can think about is you.

Today also happens to be September 11, the 20th anniversary of the attacks. The President and a couple of former ones are here to mourn. The blue lights where the towers should be are back on, reaching for the heavens. The names of the dead, all 2977, are read aloud. “Never forget,” we’re told.

I am supposed to be writing about World AIDS Day; it’s the 40th anniversary of the epidemic. We don’t get the presidents mourning though. None of the names of our 106,776 dead in New York City alone are read aloud. We still don’t have a vaccine or a cure. But we have a day, and that red ribbon. » | Richie Jackson | Wednesday, December 1, 2021

Canada Votes to Ban Barbaric Conversion Therapy while the UK Dithers and Delays

Prime minister Boris Johnson and Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau (Getty/Leon Neal/Karwai Tang)
PINK NEWS: Canada’s House of Commons has voted unanimously to ban so-called LGBT+ conversion therapy, while Tory government officials continue to dither over a proposed ban in the UK.

The new legislation, proposed by the Liberal government of prime minister Justin Trudeau, would make it illegal to have a child, or anyone who is unwilling, to undergo the dehumanising practice.

All efforts to change a person’s sexuality or gender identity have long been rejected by mainstream medical and mental health organisations in recent decades.

In fact, UN experts have called for a global ban saying such interventions are “degrading and discriminatory and rooted in the belief that LGBT+ persons are somehow inferior”. » | Nola Ojomu | Thursday, December 2, 2021

Dies könnte ein Clip aus der schwulen Version von Vom Winde verweht sein!

This could be a clip from the gay version of Gone with the Wind! / Cela pourrait être un extrait de la version gay d'Autant en emporte le vent !
Für dieses schöne Bild, bedanke ich mich bei animateglee.tumblr.com auf Pinterest.

Die große Hungersnot in Irland | Doku HD | ARTE

1845: Eine große Hungerkatastrophe hat Europa fest im Griff. Sie führte vor 175 Jahren zu politischen Unruhen und Umstürzen, unzählige Menschen starben. Mit einer Million Toten und zwei Millionen Auswanderern am weitaus stärksten betroffen war Irland, das von Großbritannien, der damals reichsten und mächtigsten Nation der Welt, regiert wurde.

Vor 175 Jahren wurde Europa von einer verheerenden Hungersnot heimgesucht. Ausgelöst wurde die Krise durch einen aus Südamerika eingeschleppten heimtückischen Pilz, der die Kartoffelernten vernichtete. In Frankreich, Belgien, Holland, Schottland und dem Königreich Preußen fielen Hunderttausende Menschen Hunger und Krankheiten zum Opfer.

In Irland, wo die Kartoffel das Hauptnahrungsmittel für die meisten Menschen darstellte, waren die Auswirkungen besonders extrem. Eine Million Iren starben, zwei Millionen wanderten zwischen 1845 und 1855 aus. Irland ist noch heute das einzige westliche Land mit einer geringeren Bevölkerungszahl als in den 1840er Jahren. Anhand von Gesprächen mit Historikern und von Zeitzeugenberichten ergründet „Die große Hungersnot in Irland“ die Hintergründe dieser humanitären Katastrophe des 19. Jahrhunderts auf dem europäischen Festland sowie in Großbritannien und Irland.

Der Dokumentarfilm veranschaulicht verheerende Zusammenhänge und Folgen: eine bäuerliche Unterschicht, die sich angesichts der existenziellen Bedrohung zu Mord, Plünderung und Kannibalismus getrieben sah; eine kapitalistische, meist britische Elite in Irland und Großbritannien, die vor nichts zurückschreckte, um die eigenen Interessen zu schützen. Irland war zwar seit 1801 offiziell scheinbar gleichberechtigt im Staatsnamen „Vereinigtes Königreich Großbritannien und Irland“ vertreten, de facto betrachteten die Briten Irland aber als eine ihrer vielen Kolonien. Deshalb gab es krasse Unterschiede beim Zugang zu Ressourcen. Eine skrupellose Mittelschicht schlug Profit aus dem Elend der Armen. Emigrationswellen erinnern an die heutige Zuwanderung aus Afrika und dem Nahen Osten nach Europa.

Der Dokumentarfilm geht auch auf die weitreichenderen Auswirkungen ein, die zum Teil bis in die Gegenwart hineinreichen: Die Krise führte 1846 zum Sturz der britischen Regierung unter Robert Peel, war Katalysator für die europäischen Revolutionen von 1848 und begründete die irische Diaspora, zu der sich heute mehr als 70 Millionen Menschen in aller Welt zählen. Und nicht zuletzt befeuerte sie den kulturellen Aufschwung und die Unabhängigkeitsbestrebungen Irlands. Erst gut 70 Jahre später, nach einem furchtbaren Weltkrieg und einem blutigen Bürgerkrieg, kam für Irland mit dem Irischen Freistaat die Unabhängigkeit und das Ende britischer Ausbeutung.

Dokumentarfilm von Ruán Magan (IE/F 2020, 91 Min)

As France Honors Black Artist Josephine Baker, Far-Right Pundit Éric Zemmour Launches Presidential Bid

Planned Parenthood CEO: If SCOTUS Restricts Abortion Access, Marginalized People Will Be Hurt Most

Abortion Under Attack: Supreme Court Hints It Will Uphold Mississippi’s Ban, Threatening Roe v. Wade

Democracy Now! Top US News & World Headlines — December 2, 2021

Barbados erklärt Unabhängigkeit: Zerfällt das Reich der Queen? | DW Nachrichten

Die Herrschaft von Queen Elizabeth II ist vorbei. Zumindest auf Barbados. Die ehemalige britische Kolonie hat sich zur Republik erklärt, eine Präsidentin ernannt - und damit die Königin von England als Staatsoberhaupt abgesetzt. Der Staatsakt wurde auf der Karibikinsel pompös gefeiert, ausgerechnet im Beisein des britischen Thronfolgers Prinz Charles. Damit bleiben nur noch 15 Nationen, die Queen Elizabeth II als Staatsoberhaupt anerkennen. Der Imperialismus-Forscher Benedikt Stuchtey sagt: „Das Königshaus muss sich dringend modernisieren“ – und hofft auf Prinz William.

As French Election Looms, Candidates Stake Out Tough Positions on Migrants

THE NEW YORK TIMES: France has fewer immigrants than other rich nations. But politicians are hardening their positions against immigration even as other countries compete for migrant workers.

Migrants waiting to be allocated emergency accommodation by a nonprofit organization in Paris in April. | Andrea Mantovani for The New York Times
PARIS — An out-of-control influx of immigrants. A threat to French identity and stability. A reason to urgently close France’s frontiers.

The issue of immigration is dominating political debate in the country five months before presidential elections, as candidates on the right as well as the left harden their positions. The drowning last week of 27 migrants off France’s northern coast has only added to the argument that migration must be checked.

Despite the fierce words on the campaign trail, the reality is far different: Nearly all of France’s neighbors have a greater proportion of immigrants in their populations. In the past decade, immigration has grown less in France than in the rest of Europe or in other rich nations worldwide.

The figures show that the migration situation in France is “rather ordinary, rather moderate,’’ said François Héran, a leading expert on migration who teaches at Collège de France. “We’re really not a country overrun by immigration,’’ Mr. Héran said. » | Norimitsu Onishi | Thursday, December 2, 2021

The End of Roe Is Coming, and It Is Coming Soon

Damon Winter/The New York Times
OPINION : GUEST ESSAY
THE NEW YORK TIMES: As someone who has spent my career studying the history of abortion, I thought I knew what to expect tuning into Wednesday’s oral arguments in the Supreme Court abortion case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. It was clear that big changes were coming to U.S. abortion law, no matter what. The Mississippi law at issue bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, even though Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey recognize a right to choose abortion significantly later in pregnancy. So if the court sides with Mississippi in this case — as it is widely expected to do — then American abortion rights will be fundamentally undermined.

The only real question is how the justices will rationalize their decision to side with Mississippi. And on that front, I fear I was wrong.

There are two likely scenarios for how this decision could go: The justices could throw out the so-called viability standard, which is the underpinning of abortion law today. (Viability is the point at which a fetus can survive outside the womb, or about 23 weeks of pregnancy.) Or they could do something much more radical and say — precedent be damned — there is no right to abortion in America at all.

After hearing arguments, I now believe that the justices will fully overturn Roe v. Wade when their decision comes down next year. » | Mary Ziegler * | Wednesday, December 1, 2021

* Ms. Ziegler is the author of “Abortion and the Law in America: Roe v. Wade to the Present.”

Abortion rights advocates vow to fight on after supreme court hearing: Leaders say they will look to statehouses and lower courts if justices allow undermining of Roe v Wade »

Conservative US supreme court justices signal support for restricting abortion in pivotal case: Case poses a direct threat to the legal underpinnings of the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade ruling that guaranteed the constitutional right to abortion »

Five takeaways from US supreme court’s Mississippi abortion rights case hearing: The Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Oganization case could weaken the provisions of the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade ruling »

Abortion at the Court: The Supreme Court seems likely to undermine or overturn Roe v. Wade. »

Covid Surge in Germany: Is a Lockdown Inevitable? | DW News

As Germany faces record-breaking infection numbers and fears of the omicron variant abound, Angela Merkel's designated successor Olaf Scholz is calling for a general vaccine mandate. Talking to Germany's Bild television on Tuesday, the chancellor-in-waiting said he would like to see mandatory vaccinations "not too far away in the future, so I suggest beginning of February or March." At the same time, he said that the decision would be made in the parliament, and that it would be a "matter of conscience" for individual lawmakers. Germany's Federal Medical Association also called for a vaccine mandate to put a stop to the "endless loop of lockdowns." It urged the German government to make arrangements that would apply to "all adult citizens with no medical contra-indications against a vaccine." The question of mandatory vaccination is considered controversial in Germany, partly due to forced medical treatments during the Nazi-era. Separately, spokesman for the outgoing German government Steffen Seibert said a decision on the vaccine mandate would be made "soon."

According to Reuters news agency, Scholz also supported the idea of introducing so-called 2G rules for customers in retail stores, meaning they must be either vaccinated ("geimpft") or have recovered ("genesen") from COVID-19. The rules would not apply in supermarkets or drugstores. Reuters said that Scholz had pledged to make changes to the Infection Protection Act to provide "states with high infection rates with a suitable set of instruments." Scholz also introduced Major General Carsten Breuer as the head of a planned COVID crisis team to be set up when the new coalition government commences work. The team is to primarily speed up Germany's vaccination program, including the administering of booster injections. States governed by premiers from Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD) called for the the protection given by vaccination to be officially recognized only for six months, the daily Rheinische Post reported, citing the waning efficacy of the vaccines after that period.

Also on Tuesday, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled that the "emergency brake" imposed by the federal government from April to June was compatible with the constitution. Under the measure, districts and regions were required to implement curfews, contact restrictions and other curbs when the infection rate rose above certain levels. Several state premiers have called for similar nationwide measures to be reintroduced as Germany struggles to contain a fourth wave of the pandemic that has recently been additionally complicated by the advent of the omicron variant.

Covid: Avoid ‘Snogging under Mistletoe’ This Christmas, Says UK Minister

THE GUARDIAN: Thérèse Coffey says people should not kiss anyone they do not know to limit spread of coronavirus

Thérèse Coffey: ‘I don’t think there should be much snogging under the mistletoe. You don’t need to do things like that.’ Photograph: DW Images/Rex/Shutterstock
Britons should avoid “snogging under the mistletoe” this Christmas, according to a government minister, as a leading scientist said people could enjoy Christmas if they took “sensible” precautions.

The work and pensions secretary, Thérèse Coffey, told ITV’s Peston programme that “we should all be trying to enjoy the Christmas ahead of us”, adding: “For what it’s worth, I don’t think there should be much snogging under the mistletoe.”

She added: “You don’t need to do things like that. But I think we should all be trying to enjoy the Christmas ahead of us, and that’s why we’re working so hard to get the deployment of as many vaccines as possible.”

Coffey said kissing should be avoided with “people you don’t already know”.

She later tweeted: “Watch the full interview folks … Don’t kiss with people you don’t know … government working exceptionally hard with NHS and the jabs army to get boosters in arms so we can all enjoy a proper Christmas knees up.” » | Alexandra Topping and Aubrey Allegretti | Thursday, December 2, 2021

MP Warns of Financial Corruption in UK Escaping ‘Toothless’ Enforcers

THE GUARDIAN: Economic crime needs to ‘be taken seriously’ alongside tougher anti-money laundering levy, says Hodge

The Pandora Papers leak shows that the UK is in danger of becoming a corrupt country because it is failing to take economic crime seriously enough, the former chair of the public accounts watchdog told MPs, as she called for more funding for financial crime enforcers.

Dame Margaret Hodge, a senior Labour MP, raised the issue in the Commons as part of a debate on the finance bill, highlighting the central role of London in facilitating economic crime.

She said the Pandora Papers, leaked to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and shared with media around the world including the Guardian, comprised “the largest cache of documents we have ever received” in relation to tax havens.

“The UK lies at the heart of everything revealed there,” she said. “Others have talked about secret property transactions that took place – £4bn identified in the Pandora Papers. There are more UK citizens cited in that tranche of leaks than from any other country. The relationship between the UK and our tax havens is central to the facilitation of economic crime, and again we see the weak and toothless enforcement agencies.” » | Rowena Mason, Deputy political editor | Thursday, December 2, 2021

Macron Privately Called Boris Johnson a ‘Clown’, Says French Magazine

THE GUARDIAN: Report follows French president’s complaint about PM’s behaviour after they discussed sinking of refugee boat in the Channel

Macron reportedly said of Johnson: ‘We have discussions like big people, and then he gives us a hard time before or afterwards in an inelegant way. It’s always the same circus.’ Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, referred to Boris Johnson in a private conversation as a “clown”, according to reports in France.

The political magazine Le Canard enchaîné, often described as the French equivalent of Private Eye, reported Macron as saying the British prime minister has “the attitude of a vulgarian”.

It came as Macron complained about Johnson’s behaviour after the leaders spoke by phone after last Wednesday’s sinking of a refugee boat in the Channel.

The French president was angered after Johnson tweeted a letter outlining a five-point plan to tackle the issue of Channel crossings. “I spoke two days ago with prime minister Johnson in a serious way,” Macron said at a press conference on Friday after the tweet. “For my part I continue to do that, as I do with all countries and all leaders. I am surprised by methods when they are not serious. We do not communicate from one leader to another on these issues by tweets and letters that we make public.” » | Tom Ambrose | Thursday, December 2, 2021

Democracy Now! Top US News & World Headlines — December 1, 2021

Prince Harry Compares Covid Vaccine Inequity to HIV Struggle

THE GUARDIAN: Duke of Sussex says on World Aids Day that vaccinating the world against Covid is ‘test of our moral character’

Prince Harry described the emergence of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 as of ‘deep concern’.Photograph: Caitlin Ochs/Reuters
The Duke of Sussex has warned of “corporate greed and political failure” prolonging the Covid pandemic, comparing a “spectacular failure” of global vaccine equity to the struggle by millions to access HIV medicines.

In a letter read out at a World Health Organization (WHO) and UNAIDS event on World Aids Day, Prince Harry said lessons must be learned from the HIV/Aids pandemic.

Vaccinating the world was a “test of our moral character”, he wrote. “It’s time to draw from the lessons we learned throughout the HIV/Aids pandemic, where millions died unnecessarily due to deep inequities in access to treatment.

“Are we really comfortable repeating the failures of the past? Everything I’ve learned from the youth of Sentebale [his charity in Lesotho and Botswana] tells me not. They see how repeating these mistakes is destructive and self-defeating, it is a betrayal of the next generation.”

He said his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, who helped to highlight the work of Aids charities, would be “deeply grateful” to the scientific community for their work in combating the disease. » | Caroline Davies | Wednesday, December 1, 2021

Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex:

Meghan calls for tabloid industry overhaul as Mail on Sunday loses appeal: ANL had brought appeal after duchess sued publisher over articles relating to letter she sent to estranged father »

Une cheffe étoilée parie sur le vegan | ARTE Regards

Début 2021, l’établissement bordelais "ONA", acronyme de "Origine Non Animale", est le premier restaurant vegan à recevoir une étoile Michelin. Une petite révolution ! Jusqu’alors, gastronomie et politique avaient réussi à empêcher l'innovation dans cette cuisine d’excellence obnubilée par la viande

. La fameuse haute gastronomie française serait-elle sur le point de changer radicalement ?

Reportage (Allemagne, 2021, 32mn)

Disponible jusqu'au 23/08/2022

La Cour suprême, épicentre des batailles politiques américaines

La Cour suprême est composée de neuf juges, nommés à vie. ERIN SCHAFF/AFP
LE FIGARO : DÉCRYPTAGE - Désormais dominée par la droite, l’institution se penche à partir de mercredi sur la question de l’avortement.

Correspondant à Washington
La Cour suprême américaine doit examiner ce mercredi la constitutionnalité d’une loi votée par le Mississippi qui restreint l’avortement à 15 semaines après le début de la grossesse. La Cour doit aussi rendre sa décision sur une autre loi, votée par le Texas, qui empêche depuis septembre tout avortement au-delà de six semaines. Les démocrates craignent de voir une Cour dorénavant dominée par une majorité conservatrice annuler la décision Roe vs Wade de 1973, et revenir sur le droit à l’avortement aux États-Unis.

Ils sont neuf, nommés à vie. Arbitres des lois, chargés de garantir l’égalité devant la justice, les juges de la Cour suprême sont aussi les interprètes d’une Constitution rédigée à la fin du XVIIIe siècle, et qui reste la clef de voûte de la république américaine. Dans un climat politique profondément divisé, entre un Congrès fréquemment paralysé, et un président dont les pouvoirs législatifs ne sont pas infinis, la Cour a vu son pouvoir croître. En face du Capitole, derrière les colonnes de la façade inspirée de celle du Parthénon, la Cour suprême est devenue de plus en plus fréquemment un contre-pouvoir aux politiques progressistes démocrates. » | Par Adrien Jaulmes | mardi 30 novembre 2021

Réservé aux abonnés

It Gets Better - John Corvino

Prepare for More Extreme Weather, Britons Warned in Wake of Storm Arwen

THE GUARDIAN: Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng says climate crisis likely to cause future extreme weather events

A fallen tree in north Tyneside after Storm Arwen’s winds of up to 100mph hit the UK.Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA
Storm Arwen was “an event the likes of which we haven’t seen for 60 years” and the UK needs to be prepared for more extreme weather due to the climate crisis, according to the business secretary, as more than 30,000 homes remain without power.

Kwasi Kwarteng said the majority of those people will have power restored “in the next day or two”, although he conceded some in remote locations may have to wait much longer.

Paying tribute to the three people who died in the storm, the business secretary said the exceptionally strong winds of almost 100mph had damaged power lines and required an enormous restoration effort by engineers.

The most severely affected areas are the Wear valley, surrounding Eastgate and north Northumberland, the north Peak District and the south Lakes in northern England, and Aberdeen and Perth in Scotland. » | Maya Wolfe-Robinson and agencies | Wednesday, December 1, 2021

The Rise of Éric Zemmour Shows How Far France Has Shifted to the Right

THE GUARDIAN: The far-right media pundit is now a presidential candidate – and his toxic ideas have ever more mainstream support

Éric Zemmour announces his candidacy for the 2022 presidential election in a video broadcast on social media, Paris, 30 November 2021. Photograph: Thomas Samson/AFP/Getty Images
On 17 November, the far-right journalist and polemicist Éric Zemmour went on trial in Paris on charges of incitement to racial hatred. In September 2020, he had said on the French news broadcaster CNews that unaccompanied foreign minors were “thieves, they’re murderers, they’re rapists, that’s all they are. We must send them back”. He did not appear at the trial and was represented by his lawyers, who said the charges were unfounded. The verdict is expected to be delivered next year.

Zemmour has previously been convicted of incitement to racial hatred and religious hatred and been tried and acquitted in several other cases. But the stakes are different this time: the defendant is now a candidate for president of the French republic. In early November, polls indicated that up to 17% of the electorate would choose him for next president. This placed him behind only Emmanuel Macron, suggesting that the second round of the election could be between the two men. On 30 November, he officially announced his candidacy. » | Didier Fassin * | Wednesday, November 1, 2021

* Didier Fassin is a professor at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, and director of studies at the École des Hautes Études, Paris

Donald Trump Accuses Meghan of Disrespect towards Royal Family

THE GUARDIAN: Former president says Prince Harry ‘has been used horribly’ in interview with Nigel Farage

The former US president Donald Trump has accused the Duchess of Sussex of being “disrespectful” to the Queen and the royal family.

In a wide-ranging interview with the politician turned broadcaster Nigel Farage, Trump said he thought the Duke of Sussex had been “used horribly”.

The interview with Trump, 75, whose presidency ended in January 2021, took place in Florida on Monday and will be broadcast on GB News.

Speaking about Meghan, Trump said: “I’m not a fan of hers. I wasn’t from day one. I think Harry has been used horribly and I think some day he will regret it.”

According to GB News, he added: “I think Harry’s been used and been used terribly. I think it’s ruined his relationship with his family, and it hurts the Queen.” » | Jamie Grierson | Wednesday, November 1, 2021

Füreinander da sein.

Être là l'un pour l'autre. / Being there for each other.
Ich bedanke mich bei anderson-hummels.tumblr.com auf Pinterest für dieses schöne und ausdrucksvolle Foto.

Just a Little Passion!

via GIPHY

Juste un peu de passion ! / Nur ein bißchen Leidenschaft!

Former VP Mike Pence Asks US Supreme Court to Overturn Abortion Rights - BBC News

Former Vice-President Mike Pence has called on the Supreme Court to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade case that legalised abortion in the US. Mr Pence said the ruling was "a misguided decision" that harmed millions of unborn babies.

If Roe v Wade is quashed, millions of women would lose access to abortions. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments over a Mississippi law banning abortion after 15 weeks. The ban includes abortions on pregnancies caused by rape or incest.


If Mike Pence gets his way, desperate women in the USA will soon have to resort to the Victorian solution to abort unwanted babies: gin and knitting needles! – © Mark

CNN Suspends Chris Cuomo After New Details on Help He Gave His Brother

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The cable news network’s top-rated anchor was an intimate adviser to Andrew Cuomo in the last 18 months of his governorship.

The star CNN anchor Chris Cuomo was suspended indefinitely by the network on Tuesday after new details emerged about his efforts to assist his brother, Andrew M. Cuomo, the former governor of New York, as he faced a cascade of sexual harassment accusations that led to the governor’s resignation.

Chris Cuomo had previously apologized for advising Andrew Cuomo’s senior political aides — a breach of traditional barriers between journalists and lawmakers — but thousands of pages of evidence released on Monday by the New York attorney general, Letitia James, revealed that the anchor’s role had been more intimate and involved than previously known.

“The documents, which we were not privy to before their public release, raise serious questions,” CNN said in a statement on Tuesday. “When Chris admitted to us that he had offered advice to his brother’s staff, he broke our rules and we acknowledged that publicly. But we also appreciated the unique position he was in and understood his need to put family first and job second. However, these documents point to a greater level of involvement in his brother’s efforts than we previously knew.

“As a result, we have suspended Chris indefinitely, pending further evaluation,” the network added. » | Michael M. Grynbaum and John Koblin | Published: Tuesday, November 30, 2021; Updated: Wednesday, December 1, 2021

Zemmours düstere Zukunftsvision

PRÄSIDENTENWAHL IN FRANKREICH
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Eric Zemmour sieht Frankreich auf dem Weg zu einem „Dritte-Welt-Land“. Deshalb hat der rechtsextreme Publizist seine Präsidentschaftskandidatur erklärt. Doch er verliert wichtige Unterstützer – zu groß sind seine Skandale.

In einer Videoaufzeichnung hat der rechtsextreme Publizist Eric Zemmour am Dienstag seine Präsidentschaftskandidatur erklärt: „Wir haben eine Mission zu erfüllen“, sagte der 63 Jahre alte Politiker. Er wolle „Frankreich retten“, deshalb habe er sich dazu entschieden, bei der Präsidentenwahl im nächsten Frühjahr anzutreten. Das Land sei nicht mehr wiederzuerkennen, sagte er und verwies auf „Masseneinwanderung, die alle Probleme verschärft hat“. Frankreich sei „eine große Nation“ und „ein großes Volk“. Er wolle diese Nation vor dem Aussterben bewahren. » | Von Michaela Wiegel, Paris | Dienstag, 30. November 2021

Tessin: Kultur einer Küche - Dokumentation von NZZ Format (2004)

Jun 24, 2016 • Im Kanton Tessin hat sich die alpinlombardische Küche in manchen Gerichten bis heute sehr reich erhalten. Denn die Beziehung zu den Produkten der Landwirtschaft ist hier intensiver als in den benachbarten italienischen Gebieten. Und auch wenn das Tessin heute eine große Agglomeration ist: Die Erinnerung an die Dorfheimat der Großeltern und damit an die traditionelle Tessiner Küche haben sich viele, auch junge Tessiner, bewahrt. «Tessin – Kultur einer Küche» entstand in Zusammenarbeit mit Alice Vollenweider, Romanistin, Buchautorin und ausgewiese Kennerin der italienischen Literatur und Küche. Auf der „Menukarte“ (Auswahl): Die Wiederentdeckung der Kastanien. Die wahrhaftigen Tessiner Wurstwaren. Alltagsbrot und Festgebäck.

John Corvino: What's Morally Wrong with Homosexuality? | Full DVD Video

Jul 10, 2013 • In this widely presented lecture (recorded here in 2007), John Corvino dismantles common arguments against same-sex relationships, including those based on nature, harm, and religion.

Anna Netrebko - Verdi: Trovatore - Tacea la notte placida | Live from Red Square Concert / 2013

Sep 20, 2013 • Watch Anna Netrebko live at the Red Square Concert 19. June 2013, performing Verdi's Il Trovatore "Tacea la notte placida" together with the State Academic Symphony Orchestra "Evgeny Svetlanov" conducted by Constantine Orbelian – to be released on DVD and Blu-ray soon. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience when soprano Anna Netrebko and baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky took to an open-air stage in June 2013 -- two of the leading names in opera, singing live in Moscow's Red Square. The audience, 7,500 strong, showed its appreciation for Russia's two biggest opera stars with unbridled enthusiasm, lending even more magic to the midsummer-night's atmosphere of a spectacular concert. This autumn, the historic two-hour performance, Live from Red Square, is set for release by Deutsche Grammophon on DVD and Blu-ray.

Dimitri’s Dishes: Chocolate Walnut Biscotti – Paximadia

Get the recipe here.

Greece Makes Vaccines Mandatory for People 60 or Older, with Fines for Not Complying.

THE NEW YORK TIMES: In a bid to bolster vaccinations among older people, the prime minister of Greece announced on Tuesday that Covid shots would be obligatory for people ages 60 or older, and that those who failed to book a first shot by Jan. 16 would face fines.

Τhe move came as the Greek health authorities try to curb a spike in coronavirus cases and deaths, while bracing for the possible effect of the Omicron variant.

About 500,000 people in Greece ages 60 or older have yet to be vaccinated against Covid-19, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told a cabinet meeting. Those who fail to meet the deadline will face a monthly fine of 100 euros ($113), the revenue from which will go toward funding state hospitals that have been stretched by the pandemic, he said.

Describing the policy as “an act of justice for the vaccinated,” Mr. Mitsotakis said he had worried about penalizing people but hoped they would see the move as an act of “encouragement, not repression.” » | Niki Kitsantonis | Tuesday, November 30, 2021

Democracy Now! Top US News & World Headlines — November 30, 2021

Janet Daley: Like McCarthyism, America Will Soon Wake Up to Wokeism | Off Script

Oct 22, 2021 • Do not be fooled by the dominance of the woke movement; it is already running out of steam. In this week’s Off Script Janet Daley joins Steven Edginton to discuss America and Britain: what divides the two nations and what unites them.

This is a very interesting discussion. Janet Daley makes many interesting observations in it. I do not, however, agree with all she states. In particular, being an ardent Remainer, I have a totally different take on Brexit than she does. Nevertheless, I feel that many of Janet Daley’s insights are well worth listening to.

FYI, I was for many years a subscriber to The Telegraph; but I cancelled my subscription when the newspaper became anti-EU, pro-Brexit, and pro-Trump! That combination was simply too much for me to handle! However, when I was a subscriber, Janet Daley was one of my favourite contributors. – © Mark

Ghislaine Maxwell: Prozess gegen Epstein-Vertraute beginnt | DW Nachrichten

Nov 29, 2021 • Sie war in den höchsten Kreisen unterwegs und bestens vernetzt: Millionärstochter Ghislaine Maxwell. Doch seit Juli 2020 sitzt sie in Untersuchungshaft. Sie ist die Schlüsselfigur im Fall des Finanzmoguls und Sexualstraftäters Jeffrey Epstein. Maxwell soll für ihn und andere Männern unzählige junge Frauen, teils minderjährige Mädchen, zum Missbrauch angeworben haben. Epstein nahm sich im August 2019 in seiner Gefängniszelle das Leben. In New York beginnt jetzt der Prozess gegen Ghislaine Maxwell. Wer ist diese Frau? Journalistin Lisa Ulrich-Gödel gewährt Einblicke in das Leben der Ghislaine Maxwell.

The Treasures of Empress Josephine Bonaparte

Nov 26, 2021 • These two exquisite jewellery suites, offered in Sotheby’s upcoming Treasures auction (7 December 2021 | London) feature the finest craftsmanship fit for an Empress. In this latest episode of Expert Voices, Head of Jewellery Kristian Spofforth tells how they were gifted to Empress Josephine, first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte. Find out about the stunning cameos and intaglios that feature in these jewellery suites, and how these iconic pieces were held in one of the leading jewellery galleries in the world.