Friday, December 10, 2021

Les hôpitaux libanais déstabilisés par l’exode de leurs médecins

Une infirmière circule dans le couloir d’un hôpital, le 31 mai, à Beyrouth. MOHAMED AZAKIR/REUTERS

LE FIGARO : REPORTAGE - L’Organisation mondiale de la santé estime que 30 à 40 % du personnel a démissionné à cause de la crise.

Un hall d’entrée quasi désert, personne ou presque dans les couloirs: difficile de croire qu’on est en milieu de journée, en pleine semaine, au cœur d’un des plus grands hôpitaux du Liban à 30 kilomètres de Beyrouth. «Quelle misère, mais quelle misère…», se lamente sœur Élisabeth Noirot alors qu’elle traverse au pas de charge l’aile fermée de l’hôpital général de Bhannes, dans le Metn. À l’âge où d’autres partent à la retraite, elle dirige ce centre hospitalier qui dépend des Filles de la charité, une congrégation catholique fondée en France au XVIIIe siècle sous l’autorité de l’Ordre de Saint-Vincent de Paul. «À ce rythme-là, on en a pour trois, quatre mois tout au plus.» Après? «Khalasse», dit-elle en arabe, comme si la fatalité trouvait plus facilement à s’exprimer dans la langue d’Avicenne. Si rien n’est fait, ce centre niché dans un parc immense, où cèdres et pins parasols se disputent les cimaises, fermera ses 250 lits au printemps prochain. «On ne veut pas perdre l’espoir, mais, en l’état, on n’a pas le budget pour survivre et notre ordre n’a pas les moyens de nous soutenir.» » | Par Cyrille Louis | vendredi 10 décembre 2021

Réservé aux abonnés

À LIRE AUSSI :

La France et l’Arabie saoudite au chevet du Liban : DÉCRYPTAGE - Riyad, qui a coupé les ponts avec Beyrouth, ne s’est engagé que sur de l’aide humanitaire. »

New Zealand Law Aims to Stamp Out Smoking – BBC News

• Dec 9, 2021 • New Zealand will ban the sale of tobacco to its next generation, in a bid to eventually phase out smoking.

Anyone born after 2008 will not be able to buy cigarettes or tobacco products in their lifetime, under a law expected to be enacted next year.

"We want to make sure young people never start smoking," Health Minister Dr Ayesha Verall said.

The move is part of a sweeping crackdown on smoking announced by New Zealand's health ministry on Thursday.

Doctors and other health experts in the country have welcomed the "world-leading" reforms, which will reduce access to tobacco and restrict nicotine levels in cigarettes.



Verwandt.

This is a draconian law being introduced by socialists. Should we be surprised? Socialists have got a nasty habit of wanting to legislate for everything. They love to ban this and ban that. It must be something in their DNA, I suppose.

I would say that this law, in the long-run, is unworkable. First of all, it is going to be fodder for an underworld of cheap, illicit imports; but more than this, there are many unanswered questions. For example, what happens when someone born after 2008 goes abroad to work as an ex-pat and takes up the smoking habit? What will happen to him/her upon return to New Zealand? If the ex-pat becomes ‘addicted’ to smoking whilst working abroad, he or she will face a dilemma when the tour of duty is over: Either keep on smoking and stay away from the homeland, or return home and struggle to live without cigarettes.

Apart from being draconian and undemocratic, this law is also bonkers! I despair of meddlesome politicians. – © Mark

Democracy Now! Top US News & World Headlines — December 10, 2021

Perfekt, um Sie im Winter warm zu halten: Ein liebevoller, schwuler Kuß!

Parfait pour vous garder au chaud en hiver : Un baiser amoureux et gay ! / Perfect for keeping you warm in winter: A loving, gay kiss!

Für dieses schöne Foto bedanke ich mich bei RJ Scott auf Pinterest.

Julian Assange's Fiancée Brands US Extradition Decision 'Cynical'

Dec 10, 2021 • Julian Assange can be extradited to the US, the High Court has ruled as senior judges overturned an earlier decision in the case of the WikiLeaks founder. The US Government won its bid on Friday, but Assange's fiancée Stella Moris said his lawyers intend to appeal against the High Court ruling.


Related.

The US’s poodle does what it has been told to do: it agrees to extradite Julian Assange. Free speech is on its last legs: the truth must never be told. This is the age of “alternative facts” ! »

Die Luft für Julian Assange wird dünner: Laut dem britischen High Court darf Julian Assange nun doch an die USA ausgeliefert werden. Seine Anhänger kündigten zwar eine Berufung an, doch ist offen, wie lange sich der Wikileaks-Gründer dem Zugriff der amerikanischen Justiz noch entziehen kann. »

Vladimir Poutine n’a jamais accepté le départ de l’Ukraine

Le président russe Vladimir Poutine et son homologue américain Joe Biden ont exposé mardi 7 décembre lors d’un entretien virtuel leurs positions divergentes sur la situation autour de l’Ukraine. SPUTNIK/via REUTERS

LE FIGARO : ANALYSE - Il y a clairement un déséquilibre fondamental entre ce que représente l’Ukraine pour la Russie, un membre vital dont elle a été amputée et dont elle ressent toujours l’absence, et l’intérêt plus lointain que lui porte l’Occident. Ce déséquilibre rend la tâche de Joe Biden et de ses partenaires face à Poutine très ardue. Mais ils semblent moins naïfs qu’en 2014.

Alors que Washington dit craindre une invasion russe de l’Ukraine début 2022 et a engagé une discussion musclée avec Vladimir Poutine pour le dissuader de répéter le coup de force de Crimée de 2014, il est utile de relire le texte que le président russe a écrit en juillet. «Russes et Ukrainiens, nous sommes un même peuple», explique-t-il dans cette méditation étonnamment longue sur l’histoire ukrainienne. Il y affirme qu’en acceptant en 1924 laisser un droit de sortie aux républiques lors de la création de l’URSS, les Bolcheviks ont mis en place «une bombe à retardement» qui a explosé à la face des dirigeants russes en 1991. » | Par Laure Mandeville | Jeudi 9 décembre 2021

Réservé aux abonnés

À LIRE AUSSI :

Biden et Poutine, sommet virtuel en quête de désescalade : DÉCRYPTAGE - Les deux chefs d’État évoqueront mardi, lors d’un sommet par vidéoconférence, les vives tensions en Ukraine. »

Boris Johnson pris dans une violente tempête politique

Boris Johnson (ici, le 1er décembre, à Downing Street), fait face à l’une des pires crises politiques depuis son accession au pouvoir. DAN KITWOOD/Getty Images via AFP

LE FIGARO : Le premier ministre est rattrapé par le scandale des «Christmas parties». Des députés de l’opposition appellent à sa démission.

Boris Johnson risque de ne pas savourer «l’esprit de Noël». Alors que la fin de l’année s’approche à pas prudents, les feux des fêtes de l’an dernier viennent d’exploser dans un ciel déjà chargé au-dessus du premier ministre britannique. Le pays tout entier s’indigne d’une fête qui aurait eu lieu à Downing Street malgré les restrictions anti-Covid. Et «BoJo» fait face à l’une des pires crises politiques depuis son accession au pouvoir.

Alors que le gouvernement plombait le Noël des Britanniques en leur interdisant de se réunir en famille ou de se rendre à l’enterrement de leurs proches, il semble que l’on s’amusait bien dans les bureaux de l’exécutif. » | Par Arnaud De La Grange | jeudi 9 décembre 2021

Réservé aux abonnés

À LIRE AUSSI :

Boris Johnson, ou la politique comme un match de boxe : PORTRAIT - À force de volontarisme, le premier ministre a remis son pays sur les rails du Brexit. »

LINKS IN ENGLISH:

Lies, damned lies: the full list of accusations against Boris Johnson: Alleged dishonesty over Downing Street Christmas party and flat redecoration join list of infamous controversies »

Scathing attack on Boris Johnson by his erstwhile chum, Dominic Cummings »

The Arguments about Abortion in the US Are about One Thing: Controlling Women

THE GUARDIAN: Anti-abortionists are intent on enhancing men’s privileges, while women cannot even have rights over their own bodies

Pro-choice protests outside the supreme court, Washington DC, 1 December 2021. Photograph: Allison Bailey/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock

Alot of people with a lot of power don’t see why women should have jurisdiction over their own bodies. That’s the anti-abortion argument in a nutshell, in that they claim a foetus, or even an embryo, or in some cases even a fertilised egg too small for the human eye to see, has rights that supersede those of the person inside whose body that egg, embryo or foetus might be.

What was clear from the rightwing pundits and conservative supreme court justices who have piped up over the last month as arguments were being heard in the most significant abortion rights case since Roe v Wade, is that in a country whose constitution is supposed to grant us all a lot of rights, they are happy to strip away a right so fundamental it’s unimaginable in other circumstances – or that it would be stripped from other people, namely men. In the case, Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the state of Mississippi is asking the court to rule on whether it can outlaw abortions after 15 weeks’ gestation. They are asking, in other words, for the right to punish women for being women.

The goal of the anti-abortionists seems to be to enhance men’s privileges by undermining women’s rights, by making us separate and unequal. (People who do not identify as female also get pregnant and bear children, but the animosity is directed at women and girls, so I’m going to talk about women and girls here.) Since acknowledging this would undermine the anti-abortion case, the emphasis is instead shifted to someone else whose rights are claimed to trump those of pregnant people, the unborn. The unborn are a convenient constituency to advocate for, since they have no voice or vote and anyone can claim to speak for them. » | Rebecca Solnit | Friday, December 10, 2021

Julian Assange Can Be Extradited to US to Face Espionage Charges, Court Rules

THE GUARDIAN: Decision overturns previous ruling that Wikileaks co-founder could not be extradited due to mental health concerns

Julian Assange can be extradited to the US, the high court has ruled as it overturned a judgment earlier this year.

The decision today deals a major blow to the Wikileaks co-founder’s efforts to prevent his extradition to the US to face espionage charges, although options to appeal remain open to his legal team. » | Ben Quinn | Friday, December 10, 2021

U.K. Court Rules Julian Assange Can Be Extradited to U.S.: The WikiLeaks founder can still appeal the verdict, which would leave him facing espionage charges that could put him in prison for decades. »

Thursday, December 09, 2021

Le Golfe persique à l’heure de la détente

Mohammed Ben Salman est reçu par le sultan d’Oman Haïtham BenTariq, à son arrivée à Muscat, mardi. SAUDI PRESS AGENCY/VIA REUTERS

LE FIGARO : Guidés par leurs intérêts économiques, l’Arabie saoudite et ses voisins s’efforcent de tourner la page de leurs disputes.

Après des années de tensions, l’heure est à la détente entre monarchies du Golfe, qui doivent se réunir en sommet à la mi-décembre en Arabie saoudite. Ces derniers jours, une série de visites entre leaders qui entretenaient des relations difficiles, voire même parfois hostiles, ont eu lieu dans plusieurs capitales de la péninsule arabique.

La plus marquante est celle qu’a entamée mercredi au Qatar, le prince héritier saoudien, Mohammed Ben Salman, la première depuis que l’homme fort de l’Arabie surnommé MBS a pris les rênes du royaume. » | Par Georges Malbrunot | mercredi 8 décembre 2021

Réservé aux abonnés

À LIRE AUSSI :

Arabie: sous la pression, MBS tend la main à l’ennemi iranien : DÉCRYPTAGE - Anticipant un accord entre Washington et Téhéran, le prince héritier cautionne des pourparlers secrets en Irak avec Téhéran. »

Global Gay: The Next Frontier In Human Rights - Documentary

Nov 16, 2018 • A global revolution is underway to obtain what UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and Barack Obama call ‘the final frontier in human rights’: the universal decriminalization of homosexuality. Homosexuality is forbidden in almost half of the world. Out of 196 UN member states, there are 7 where it is punishable by death. In 84 others, it can merit prison and physical punishment. But today, momentum is building and the debate on gay rights is omnipresent - whether it be regarding legalization in the Middle-East and Africa or the focus of gay marriage laws in the West. After years of long diplomatic struggle, several world leaders have declared themselves in favor of the universal decriminalization of homosexuality. But victory won’t come easily. The countries that still punish homosexuality refuse to give in to international pressure. Global acceptance and equality will take time to achieve. ‘Global Gay’ follows this battle for decriminalization through the lives and work of some of its fearless pioneers, providing a vibrant chronicle of the growing global social movement. In the words of Ban Ki Moon, “The time has come”. Filmed in Russia, Cuba, Cameroon, Nepal and South Africa. - Follow us on social media : Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/BestDocument...

Japans LGBT-Szene erreicht einen Meilenstein – Tokio will gleichgeschlechtliche Partnerschaften anerkennen

NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG: Auf lokaler Ebene in Japan schwindet der Widerstand gegen die gleichgeschlechtliche Ehe. Wird Japan das zweite Land Asiens, das die Ehe für alle beschliesst?

Tokio will den Weg ebnen für gleichgeschlechtliche Ehen. Bald könnte das ganze Land folgen. Auf dem Bild: Pride-Parade in Tokio 2019. | Alessandro Di Ciommo / Imago

Tokios konservative Bürgermeisterin Yuriko Koike gehört bei der Förderung von Lesben- und Schwulenrechten zu Japans Avantgarde. Anfang dieser Woche kündigte sie an, in der 14-Millionen-Einwohner-Metropole umzusetzen, was es auf Landesebene noch nicht gibt: eine Gleichstellung gleichgeschlechtlicher Partnerschaften.

«Um das Verständnis für sexuelle Vielfalt zu fördern und die Probleme der Betroffenen zu verringern, werden wir die Grundprinzipien für die Einführung eines Systems gleichgeschlechtlicher Partnerschaften im bis März 2022 laufenden Haushaltsjahr vorlegen», versprach Koike.

Damit wäre zwar nur eine gleiche Behandlung bei administrativen Akten wie Sozialleistungen oder im öffentlichen Wohnungsbau gewährleistet und keine volle legale Anerkennung homosexueller Ehen. Aber für die Organisatoren der japanischen Bewegung von Lesben, Schwulen, bisexuellen und transsexuellen Menschen (LGBT) ist Koikes Ankündigung ein wichtiger Meilenstein auf dem Weg, Japan zum zweiten Land Asiens zu machen, das die Ehe für alle ermöglicht. » | Martin Kölling, Tokio | Donnerstag, 9. Dezember 2021

La ville de Tokyo va reconnaître les unions homosexuelles : La gouverneure de la capitale japonaise a annoncé que des certificats pour les personnes de même sexe pourraient être prêts d’ici à début 2023. Le Japon est le dernier pays du G7 à ne pas autoriser le mariage pour tous. »

Apéritifs de fête : 5 conseils et 5 erreurs à ne plus commettre

Un blanc sec passera avec à peu près tous les fromages Adobe Stock

LE FIGARO : «Ouvrir» le temps des fêtes, un passage délicat à bien négocier. Voici 5 astuces et 5 erreurs à éviter pour un apéritif festif réussi.

Cinq conseils pour réussir l'apéritif » | Par Véronique Raisin | jeudi 9 décembre 2021

À LIRE AUSSI :

Comment choisir son champagne pour les fêtes ? 5 conseils malins et 5 erreurs à éviter : Le champagne est un vin et il en existe une multitude de variations et d’expressions. Traitez-le dignement et réservez-lui la meilleure place sur votre table. »

Business Insider: Why Cuban Cigars Are So Expensive | So Expensive

Jul 11, 2020 • Cuban cigars hold a reputation as the world's most opulent tobacco product. A box of good quality Habanos can cost thousands of dollars. Every hand-rolled Cuban cigar goes through about 500 manual tasks from seed to cigar. But over the last 25 years, cigars made in other countries in the Caribbean and Central America have become comparable in quality, consistency, and cost. Some experts suggest that up to 95% of all Cuban cigars in the US, which hasn't allowed the import of Cuban cigars since the 1962 embargo, are actually counterfeit. So why are Cuban cigars so desirable? And is that why they're so expensive?

Dimitra’s Dishes: Balsamic-glazed Chicken | A Meal in 30 Mins!


Get the recipe here.

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

How the Left Destroyed Paris

Dec 9, 2021 • Twenty years of socialist rule has destroyed what makes Paris so iconic: From systematically removing its beautiful 19th century benches and street lamps, to creating endless cycle lanes causing havoc across the city’s roads. The city of light has become smothered by weeds, uncollected rubbish and a rat epidemic. Watch as Parisian journalist Anne-Elisabeth Moutet investigates the state of France’s capital.

The Countries Banning Smoking and Taking On 'Big Tobacco' | 60 Minutes Australia

Dec 26, 2019 • What a fight it's become as governments around the world line up against Big Tobacco to outlaw smoking. Liz Hayes travels to California and Norway where they believe at last they're starting to win the war with tough new laws that say no ifs, no buts, no smoking - full stop.


The world is full of meddlesome people! They are not very consistent, either. At the very same time as the world is clamping down on cigarette-smoking, it is relaxing laws on the smoking of cannabis and other substances. How sensible, or logical, is that?

Furthermore, doctors and medical people are encouraging e-cigarettes and vaping; yet we don’t know the long-term consequences of that habit. Many a young person has suffered from “popcorn lung” because of vaping; some have even died.

Smoking cigarettes is not a healthy habit. That we know. But so many other habits are not healthy either. Moreover, are Americans today that much healthier than they used to be when they smoked a lot? I would say that they aren’t. Diabetes and obesity are huge problems in the States, indeed in the West in general. Diabetes, in particular, leads to cardiovascular disease just as smoking tobacco does. I would therefore posit that by making it difficult, and often virtually impossible, to smoke tobacco, we have merely traded in one set of illnesses for another, namely tobacco-related illnesses for sugar-related ones.

If you truly want a healthier population, find a way to encourage people to quit smoking (voluntarily) without those people taking up other bad habits to compensate for their loss of pleasure from smoking. But the fact remains that people throughout the ages have always got their fun, pleasures and kicks from something or other. If you take one source of pleasure away from them, they will find something else to replace it, something else to fill the void. And that ‘thing’ might yet turn out in the long-term to be unhealthier than smoking ever was! – © Mark

Black Market Tobacco Floods Australian Market

Mar 3, 2016 • As cigarette prices have risen, illegal tobacco or chop-chop is being imported into the country in increasing amounts. The Feed went undercover with Customs to see how hard it was to buy.

Neuseeland will Zigarettenverkauf an kommende Generationen verbieten

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Um sicherzustellen, dass junge Leute nie mit dem Rauchen anfangen, soll es ab Ende 2022 strafbar sein, rauchbare Tabakprodukte an Jugendliche zu verkaufen. Neuseeland möchte so zum ersten rauchfreien Land werden.

Neuseeland will zu einem rauchfreien Land werden und den Verkauf von Zigaretten an zukünftige Generationen verbieten. Jugendliche, die bei Inkrafttreten eines entsprechenden Gesetzes mit dem Namen „Smokefree 2025 Action Plan“ jünger als 14 Jahre seien, könnten in dem Pazifikstaat niemals legal Tabakprodukte kaufen, sagte die stellvertretende Gesundheitsministerin Ayesha Verrall am Donnerstag. Die neuen Regeln sollen voraussichtlich ab Ende kommenden Jahres gelten, berichtete die Zeitung New Zealand Herald.

„Wir wollen sicherstellen, dass junge Leute nie mit dem Rauchen anfangen, also machen wir es strafbar, rauchbare Tabakprodukte an Jugendliche zu verkaufen“, sagte Verrall. Dem Plan zufolge können Raucher dann auch nur noch Tabakwaren mit sehr niedrigem Nikotingehalt kaufen. Zudem sollen immer weniger Geschäfte die Erlaubnis erhalten, Tabakwaren anzubieten. „Dies ist ein historischer Tag für die Gesundheit unseres Volkes“, betonte Verrall. » | Quelle: dpa | Donnerstag, Dezember 9, 2021

Dummheit! Ein typisches Gesetz einer sozialistischen Regierung! Einmischen ins Privatleben der Menschen. Natürlich ist Rauchen nicht gesund, aber auch Alkohol, Zucker oder verarbeitete Junkfoods sind es nicht. Wird die neuseeländische Regierung diese auch verbieten? Und dies zu einer Zeit, in der ein Großteil der Welt das Rauchen weitaus gefährlicherer Substanzen als Tabak lockert und sogar legalisiert. Sozialisten werden nie lernen, Freiheit zu akzeptieren und zu feiern. – © Mark

New Zealand Plans to Eventually Ban All Cigarette Sales: The proposal, expected to become law next year, would raise the smoking age year by year until it covers the entire population. »

Business Insider: Why Frankincense And Myrrh Are So Expensive | So Expensive

Oct 10, 2020 • Frankincense and myrrh are perhaps best known for their biblical connotations. But this tree sap has been prized across the world for over 6,000 years. These fragrant incense pieces come from the Burseraceae family of trees and are found across the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. But despite recent attempts to protect these trees, they could soon be headed for extinction. So what makes frankincense and myrrh so expensive?

The Guardian View on Boris Johnson: A Stranger to Honesty

THE GUARDIAN – EDITORIAL: The scandal of a Downing Street party in lockdown reveals something rotten at the very heart of government

Boris Johnson’s career path is paved with falsehood. He was fired from his first journalism job for fabricating a quote. As a correspondent in Brussels, he traded in grotesque Eurosceptic mythology. In 2004, he was sacked from the Conservative frontbench for lies he had told to Michael Howard, then opposition leader, about an extramarital affair.

In the 2016 referendum campaign, he misled the public over the cost of EU membership. In the 2019 general election, he boasted about the qualities of a Brexit deal he now wants to renegotiate. No one who has followed the prime minister’s dysfunctional relationship with the truth now believes him when he denies knowledge of a Christmas party in Downing Street on 18 December 2020, in contravention of pandemic restrictions. » | Editorial | Wednesday, December 8, 2021

Boris and Carrie Johnson Announce Birth of Baby Girl

THE GUARDIAN: Johnsons announce birth of daughter, their second child together following birth of son, Wilfred, in April 2020

Boris Johnson’s wife, Carrie, has given birth to a baby girl, they have announced, a second child for the couple and at least the seventh for the prime minister.

“The prime minister and Mrs Johnson are delighted to announce the birth of a healthy baby girl at a London hospital earlier today,” a statement said. “Both mother and daughter are doing very well. The couple would like to thank the brilliant NHS maternity team for all their care and support.” » | Peter Walker Political correspondent | Thursday, December 9, 2021

Gig Economy Workers to Get Employee Rights under EU Proposals

THE GUARDIAN: Draft legislation would improve status of millions of workers, with likely knock-on effect on UK despite Brexit

Gig economy companies operating in the European Union, such as Uber and Deliveroo, must ensure workers get the minimum wage, access to sick pay, holidays and other employment rights under plans for new laws to crack down on fake self-employment.

Publishing long-awaited draft legislation on Thursday, the European Commission said the burden of proof on employment status would shift to companies, rather than the individuals that work for them. Until now, gig economy workers have had to go to court to prove they are employees, or risk being denied basic rights.

Nicolas Schmit, EU commissioner for jobs and social rights, told the Guardian and other European newspapers that internet platforms “have used grey zones in our legislation [and] all possible ambiguities” to develop their business models, resulting in a “misclassification” of millions of workers.

In the EU’s 27 member states, about 5.5 million workers are misclassified as self-employed, when they should be treated as employees with benefits and protection, such as accident insurance, according the commission. Firms would only have to pay minimum wages, where they already exist. About 28 million people work for platforms in the EU, but this is expected to reach 43 million by 2025. » | Jennifer Rankin in Brussels | Thursday, December 9, 2021

Brexit may not stop EU’s gig economy reforms from reaching UK: Analysis: UK-based firms may find it easier to fall in with Brussels’ proposals to give casual workers more rights »

Wednesday, December 08, 2021

’The Kiss’ by Gustav Klimt: Great Art Explained

Camille Thomas – Gaetano Donizetti : L'elisir d'amore : Una furtiva lagrima | Le Musée des Arts Décoratifs


Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti.

Wedded Bliss

Bonheur conjugal / Eheglück

With thanks to Tumblr on Pinterest for this great photo.

Inside Karl Lagerfeld’s French Home Filled with Wonderful Objects | Vogue

Dec 1, 2021 • In this episode of Objects of Affection, Lady Amanda Harlech takes Vogue on a tour through Karl Lagerfeld’s treasures ahead of a landmark Sotheby's auction. Watch as Amanda shows everything from Karl's beautiful royal blue upholstered Bruno Paul couch to his replica Adolph Menzel paintings.

Democracy Now! Top US News & World Headlines — December 8, 2021

Patel's New Law Removes Your Fundamental Human Rights. | Truth To Power

La vie après la chancellerie: le dilemme d’Angela Merkel

Madame la chancelière – son titre reste inchangé – a toujours gardé secrète sa vie privée. Christoph Soeder/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images

LE FIGARO : À 67 ans, celle qui va quitter le pouvoir après l’avoir exercé pendant 5860 jours semble hésiter sur son avenir.

Une dernière réunion de son cabinet, une ultime séance au Bundestag, et Angela Merkel quittera le pouvoir, mercredi 8 décembre, après 5860 jours passés à l’exercer. La chancelière transmettra officiellement le témoin à Olaf Scholz et une longue page de l’histoire politique allemande se tournera, même si le record de longévité appartiendra encore, avec neuf jours de plus, à son mentor, feu Helmut Kohl. Les compliments vont pleuvoir. Son successeur social-démocrate a déjà salué une «chancelière qui a réussi» et est «restée fidèle» à elle-même. » | Par Pierre Avril | lundi 6 décembre 2021

Olaf Scholz elected to succeed Angela Merkel as German chancellor: Former Hamburg mayor secures 395 of 736 delegates’ ballots in parliamentary vote »

Steinmeier ernennt Scholz zum Bundeskanzler: Nachdem der Bundestag Olaf Scholz zum neuen Bundeskanzler gewählt hat, ernennt ihn der Bundespräsident formal. Nach der Vereidigung des Kanzlers müssen noch die neuen Minister ernannt werden. »

Germany's Olaf Scholz takes over from Merkel as chancellor: Olaf Scholz has been confirmed as Germany's new chancellor, bringing to an end Angela Merkel's historic 16 years as leader. »

Kühler Pragmatiker mit grosser Mission: Wer ist der neue Kanzler Olaf Scholz?: Nach sechzehn Jahren unter Merkel steht ein SPD-Politiker an der Spitze der Regierung. Scholz startet mit grossem Selbstbewusstsein. Die Pandemie aber, Konflikte mit der FDP und nicht restlos aufgeklärte Vorwürfe gegen ihn könnten den Start erschweren. »

Tuesday, December 07, 2021

One of Suspected Killers of Jamal Khashoggi Held in Paris

THE GUARDIAN: Khalid Aedh al-Otaibi arrested as he was about to board flight to Riyadh

Otaibi (not pictured) was among 17 individuals sanctioned by the US for their suspected role in the killing of Kashoggi (above) at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018. Photograph: Mohammed Al-Shaikh/AFP/Getty Images

French police have arrested a former member of the Saudi royal guard who has also served as a personal security official for the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for his suspected involvement in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Khalid Aedh al-Otaibi was taken into custody at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport as he was about to board a plane to the Saudi capital, Riyadh. The arrest marks the first time that any individual accused by international experts of participating in the grisly state-sponsored execution of the Washington Post columnist has been arrested outside Saudi Arabia. Otaibi, 33, has been named as one of the “commando” group in the Saudi Arabia consulate in Istanbul where Khashoggi was killed on 2 October 2018, and was among 17 individuals sanctioned by the US for their suspected role in the murder. » | Kim Willsher in Paris and Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington | Tuesday, December 7, 2021

Affaire Khashoggi : un suspect arrêté à Roissy : Il serait impliqué dans l'assassinat du journaliste saoudien. Son identité était mardi en cours de vérification. »

French Police Arrest Man in Connection With Khashoggi Killing: A man with the same name, Khalid Alotaibi, is wanted in connection with the murder of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. A Saudi official says France arrested the wrong man. »

Dernières Nouvelles :

Affaire Jamal Khashoggi : le suspect arrêté mardi soir à Roissy est un homonyme : INFO LE FIGARO - L'homme de 33 ans devrait être libéré au maximum demain matin. »

Lionel Richie : Love Will Conquer All

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group

Sufjan Stevens - Mystery of Love (From "Call Me By Your Name" Soundtrack)

Dec 1, 2017 • CALL ME BY YOUR NAME is a sensual and transcendent tale of first love, based on the acclaimed novel by André Aciman, written by Oscar® nominee James Ivory and starring Armie Hammer (The Man from U.N.C.L.E, On the Basis of Sex) and Timothée Chalamet (Lady Bird, Little Women). Its soundtrack is a mix of 80s pop, classical compositions & songs by singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens, including two songs written specifically for the film. …

Revisiting Call Me By Your Name

Call Me By Your Name - Official Trailer - Starring Armie Hammer and Timothée Chalamet

Aug 14, 2017 • Call Me By Your Name, the new film by Luca Guadagnino, is a sensual and transcendent tale of first love, based on the acclaimed novel by André Aciman.

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

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

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

Armie Hammerbr /> Timothée Chalamet
Michael Stuhbarg
Amira Cesar
Esther Garrel



If you haven’t seen this film yet, you might want to watch it when you have some spare time over the Christmas holidays. I watched it at Christmastime two years ago. I stumbled upon the film by chance. I’m glad I did: I was spellbound by it! I watched it so many times. I lost count how many times in total!

It’s a lovely story; but more than that, it transports one back to a bygone age, a simpler age, when people led less complicated lives. There’s lots of smoking in it, too. Something you don’t see much these days. People actually did smoke a lot back then before people became politically correct and when the notion of secondhand smoke hadn’t been thought of.

But what is particularly enjoyable about this movie, in my opinion, is the fact that one feels as if one is actually in Italy along with the characters. It’s the way it’s been filmed, apparently. The ending of the film is also very good – it’s moving. Very moving!

I was particularly taken by the film because of its setting. It reminded me of the times I spent in Ticino many years ago, in a similar setting. Watching this film was, for me, like a trip down memory lane. Not because of the relationship, because I didn’t have a gay relationship in Ticino, but because of the ambience of the film.

Do yourselves a favour and try and watch it. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. – © Mark

Democracy Now! US News & World Headlines – December 7, 2021

Gay Wrestler Anthony Bowens Lays the Smackdown on Christian Homophobes with Defiant Kiss

Anthony Bowens kisses boyfriend in front of crowd of homophobic protesters (Anthony Bowens/Instagram)

PINK NEWS: Pro-wrestler Anthony Bowens has received a flood of love and support after kissing his boyfriend in front of a crowd of homophobic protesters.

The All Elite Wrestling star posted a photo where he can be seen kissing his boyfriend, YouTube star Michael Pavano, in front of people holding signs bearing pro-Trump messages and anti-gay slurs.

Posting the photo to Instagram, Bowens said: “Stand up against hate” with the rainbow emoji.

Bowens, who came out as gay in 2019 after previously identifying as bisexual, shared the photo on Monday (6 December) and quickly received several supportive messages.

Fellow wrestling star and Olympic boxer Anthony Ogogo sent several emojis, including the rainbow flag, while producer Anthony Ramos wrote, “That’s right!!!”

Since coming out in 2017, Bowens has campaigned for LGBT+ visibility in sports. » | Emily Chudy | Tuesday, Dece,ber 7, 2021

Jewish in Europe (2/2) | DW Documentary

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

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

The second part of this two-part documentary takes Brauner and Kugelmann to Budapest, Warsaw and Venice. In the Hungarian capital, they talk with philosopher Agnes Heller about the anti-Jewish climate that has developed under the Orban government. In Warsaw, they visit the graves of resistance fighters from the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto uprising. In Venice, Italian writer and vice president of the local Jewish community Riccardo Calimani talks about everyday Jewish life in what he calls the "land of disorder".


Part 1 – (1/2) here.

Privatisation of the NHS: Allyson Pollock at TEDxExeter

Apr 29, 2014 • This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. The 1948 Act establishing the NHS gave the Secretary of State for Health the duty to provide universal health care.

The Health and Social Care Act 2012 removes this duty and introduces a market. Allyson Pollock describes why we need to worry. Allyson Pollock is Professor of Public Health Research & Policy at Queen Mary, University of London. She is one of the UK's leading medical intellectuals, and undertakes research and teaching intended to assist the realisation of the principles of social justice and public health, with a particular emphasis on health systems research, trade, and pharmaceuticals.

She trained in medicine in Scotland and became a consultant in public health. Among her previous roles she has been director of the Centre for International Public Health Policy at the University of Edinburgh and director of research & development at UCL Hospitals NHS Trust. She is the author of NHS plc and co-author of The New NHS: a guide.



If you believe in a public NHS, the new health and care bill should set off alarm bells: The government is easing the way for the privatisation of the health service – where is the opposition to their plans? »

UAE Cuts Working Week and Shifts Weekend Back a Day

THE GUARDIAN: ‘National working week’ aimed at improving work-life balance and economic competitiveness

Construction workers in Dubai. Moving to a Saturday-Sunday weekend will bring the UAE into line with most of the non-Arab world. Photograph: Karim Sahib/AFP/Getty Images

The United Arab Emirates is cutting its working week to four-and-a-half days and moving its weekend from Friday-Saturday to Saturday-Sunday in a major shift aimed at improving the country’s competitiveness, officials have said.

The “national working week” will be mandatory for government bodies from 1 January and bucks the regional norm of a full day-off on Friday for Muslim prayers.

While becoming the only Gulf state not to have a Friday-Saturday weekend, the move will bring the resource-rich and ambitious UAE into line with the non-Arab world.

Under the new timetable, the public sector weekend starts at noon on Fridays and ends on Sunday. Friday prayers at mosques will be held after 1.15pm all year round. » | Agence France-Presse in Dubai | Tuesday, December 7, 2021

Jewish in Europe (1/2) | DW Documentary

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

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

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


Michael Lucas Shows You a Gay Israel Heaven | Gay Documentary | Israel: Gay Men in the Promised Land (2019)

A documentary written by American entrepreneur, columnist, gay activist and gay director Michael Lucas, and co-directed by Lucas and Israeli director Yariv Mozer. In his debut as a documentary filmmaker, Michael Lucas focuses on Israel’s thriving LGBTQ+ community through footage of Tel Aviv’s vibrant nightlife, a gay wedding, and candid interviews with a diverse range of local gay Israeli mean and women.

Monday, December 06, 2021

Israel: Gay Oasis

Mar 18, 2010 • We came to Israel from one of Americas most progressive and accepting cities, San Francisco. In search of common ground, we decided to look at Israel through the lens of the gay community. All we really had starting out was a BlueStar postcard telling us that gay Israelis could serve in the army, a right still not enjoyed by our fellow Americans. The question was, how does a country so wrapped up in religion and conflict exceed our relatively peaceful and secular nation in terms of gay rights. What kind of gay community has grown up in Israel in the last sixty years? And where will it lead. We found that Israels gay community has fought at least as hard as ours to secure its rights. And that even a nation surrounded by enemies can find a place for every one of its citizens to belong.

Gay Orthodox Rabbi

Sep 26, 2010 • This story was shot in October 2009. It focuses on Ron Yosef, an orthodox Rabbi living in the Israeli city of Netanya, who has come out of the closet and shaken his conservative community.

The story was filmed and edited by Yermi Brenner for the Video Journalist Movement


The Competition between China and the US - Global Capitalism with Richard Wolff

Dec 5, 2021 • Prof Wolff takes a look at where the United States and China are competing, and how they are influencing the rest of the world. Only time will tell what strategies will determine the future of this relationship.

"There is a fundamentally different strategy emerging on the part of China versus the United States in their struggle, given their interdependence and given their competition... They are trying to compete around the world by developing a different kind of society." - Richard Wolff


Verliebt, verknallt, verweht!

Madly love and blown away. / Fou amoureux et époustouflé.

Ich bedanke mich beim Guardian für dieses schöne, alte, ausdrucksvolle Foto.

The Pandemic Has Your Blood Pressure Rising? You’re Not Alone.

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Average blood pressure readings increased as the coronavirus spread, new research suggests. The finding portends medical repercussions far beyond Covid-19.

Last year was a tough one. Americans grappled with a global pandemic, the loss of loved ones, lockdowns that splintered social networks, stress, unemployment and depression.

It is probably no surprise that the nation’s blood pressure shot up.

On Monday, scientists reported that blood pressure measurements of nearly a half-million adults showed a significant rise last year, compared with the previous year.

These measurements describe the pressure of blood against the walls of the arteries. Over time, increased pressure can damage the heart, the brain, blood vessels, kidneys and eyes. Sexual function can also be affected.

“These are very important data that are not surprising, but are shocking,” said Dr. Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, president of the American Heart Association, who was not involved in the study.

“Even small changes in average blood pressure in the population,” he added, “can have a huge impact on the number of strokes, heart failure events and heart attacks that we’re likely to be seeing in the coming months.” » | Roni Caryn Rabin | Monday, December 6, 2021

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

Myanmar’s Junta Condemned over Guilty Verdicts in Aung San Suu Kyi Trial

THE GUARDIAN: First verdicts announced in cases against Myanmar’s former leader, who was deposed in a coup in February

Aung San Suu Kyi. Photograph: Christophe Archambault/AFP/Getty Images

A military court in Myanmar has found Aung San Suu Kyi guilty of incitement and breaking Covid restrictions, drawing condemnation from the United Nations, European Union and others, who described the verdicts as politically motivated.

The 76-year-old, who was deposed in a coup in February, is set to serve two years in detention at an undisclosed location, a sentence reduced from four years after a partial pardon from the country’s military chief, state TV reported.

The court in the capital Naypyidaw was delivering its first verdicts in numerous cases brought against Aung San Suu Kyi that have previously been described by her lawyer as absurd.

“The conviction of the state counsellor following a sham trial in secretive proceedings before a military-controlled court is nothing but politically motivated,” UN human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, said. » | Rebecca Ratcliffe South-east Asia correspondent | Monday, December 6, 2021

En Birmanie, la junte militaire inflige sa première condamnation à Aung San Suu Kyi : Condamnée à quatre ans de prison, l’ancienne dirigeante qui s’était opposée au coup d’Etat militaire du 1er février est sous le coup de nombreuses autres inculpations. »

Myanmars Militärjunta macht Aung San Suu Kyi politisch mundtot: Mindestens zwölf Anklagepunkte liegen gegen die einstige Ikone der myanmarischen Demokratiebewegung, Aung San Suu Kyi, vor. In einem ersten Verfahren ist sie am Montag zu vier Jahren Haftstrafe verurteilt worden. Stunden später wurde die Strafe auf zwei Jahre reduziert. Die Bevölkerung Myanmars versinkt abermals in Armut. »

Birmanie : Aung San Suu Kyi condamnée à 4 ans de prison, la peine réduite de moitié par la junte : Un tribunal birman a condamné lundi l'ex-cheffe du gouvernement civil pour incitation aux troubles publics et violation des règles sanitaires liées au Covid-19. La junte annoncé plus tard dans la journée une réduction de cette peine. »

Trump Attacks Media and Mark Milley in Foul-mouthed Mar-a-Lago Speech

THE GUARDIAN: Insults to press and chairman of joint chiefs of staff recall barbs while Trump was in power

Donald Trump looks on during his first post-presidency campaign rally in Wellington, Ohio, on 26 June 2021. Photograph: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

In remarks to diners at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Saturday night,Donald Trump called the American media “crooked bastards” and Gen Mark Milley, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, a “fucking idiot”.

The meandering, foul-mouthed speech to Turning Point USA, a group for young conservatives, was streamed by Jack Posobiec, a rightwing blogger and provocateur.

The insult to the press recalled barbs while Trump was in power, including calling reporters and editors “fake news” and the “enemy of the people”, attacks many in the media regarded as dangerous, inviting political violence.

“The country is at a very important, dangerous place,” Trump said, amid familiar lies about his defeat in the 2020 election, which he says was the result of electoral fraud. » | Martin Pengelly | Monday, December 6, 2021

Hamilton Says He's 'Not Comfortable' Racing, Calls Out Saudi Arabia's LGBTQ+ Laws

dpa/SIPA

SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: Lewis Hamilton continues to take a stand on human-rights issues and condemned Saudi Arabia's "terrifying" LGBTQ+ laws ahead of Sunday's Grand Prix.

"Do I feel comfortable here? I wouldn't say I do," the 36-year-old driver for Mercedes told reporters Thursday, per CNN. "But this was not my choice. Our sport has chosen to be here and whether it's fair or not, I think that, while we're here, it's still important to do some work on raising awareness."

Similarly to the Qatar Grand Prix, Hamilton will again wear a helmet with the Pride Progress Flag with the words "We Stand Together" during the Saudi Arabia Grand.

"A lot of change needs to take place and our sport needs to do more," Hamilton said.

This penultimate race marks the first in Saudi Arabia for Formula One, which will be held at the Red Sea port city of Jeddah. The country has been widely criticized for its human-rights record, and per The Guardian, multiple groups wrote to the league, criticizing their decision to compete there. » | Madeline Coleman | Friday, December 3, 2021

Leaving the Ultra-orthodox – Jews Seeking a New Life in Germany | DW Documentary

Feb 16, 2021 • Increasing numbers of Jews have been leaving ultra-orthodox communities in recent years. Surprisingly, Germany has become a popular refuge for them. Rabbi Akiva Weingarten has been helping them.

More than 1.3 million Jews live in ultra-orthodox communities worldwide. It’s a kind of parallel universe — in which only God’s laws count. Every aspect of everyday life is clearly regulated: The women are responsible for the home and for looking after the children while the men devote their lives to religious study. But some ten percent of ultra-orthodox Jews in Israel go on to quit their communities - and that figure is growing. The majority are young adults and, surprisingly, many come to Germany. Akiva Weingarten was one of them. He grew up in an ultra-orthodox Satmar community in New York State but made a radical break in 2014. He left his wife and children and started a new life in Berlin - without a credit card, a bank account or a job, or any relatives to fall back on. He is now surrounded by a free community of former ultra-orthodox Jews - who turn to the rabbi for practical and religious advice. Moshe Barnett and David Lamberger have only been flat mates in Dresden for a few months now. They are not just seeking a new life, but a new relationship with God.


Sunday, December 05, 2021

Far-right French Presidential Candidate Put in Headlock by Protester at Rally

THE GUARDIAN: Éric Zemmour formally declared his candidacy on Tuesday, highlighting his anti-migrant and anti-Islam views

The far-right French presidential candidate Éric Zemmour appeared to be put in a headlock by a protester at his first campaign, a few days after he formally declared his candidacy in a video highlighting his anti-migrant and anti-Islam views.

Videos online appeared to show Zemmour being grabbed by a man at the heated rally near Paris on Sunday, during which anti-racism activists were also reportedly attacked. He was later reported to have suffered light injuries.

The former TV pundit announced on Tuesday that he would run in next April’s election, joining the field of challengers seeking to unseat centrist President Emmanuel Macron.

He held his first event at an exhibition centre in a suburb of Paris where thousands cheered every mention of reducing immigration and booed every reference to Macron loudly.

“The stakes are huge: if I win it will be the start of winning back the most beautiful country in the world,” Zemmour told the crowd. » | Guardian staff and agency | Sunday, December 5, 2021

Meeting d’Eric Zemmour : des militants antiracistes agressés par des participants : Des militants de l’association SOS-Racisme ont été violemment frappés par des participants au meeting après avoir scandé « Non au racisme » dans la salle. Ces militants « n’avaient pas à être là, il ne faut pas venir faire de provocation dans notre salle », a réagi l’équipe de campagne d’Eric Zemmour. »

Immigration, sécurité, identité, haine des médias… Pour son premier meeting, Eric Zemmour décline ses thèmes de prédilection : Le candidat d’extrême droite a officialisé, dimanche, le nom de sa formation politique, « Reconquête », lors d’un discours marqué par de violents affrontements entre des participants au meeting et des militants antiracistes. »

Zemmour agressé à son meeting et blessé au poignet, selon son équipe : L'essayiste et candidat à l'élection présidentielle a été agressé par un individu avant qu'il ne monte sur scène pour prononcer son discours. »

Tumulte und Protest bei Wahlkampfauftritt von Rechtspopulist Zemmour »

Zemmour-Anhänger greifen Aktivisten und Journalisten an: Eric Zemmour wirbt mit einem strammen Law-and-Order-Kurs. Aber die erste Wahlkampfkundgebung des französischen Präsidentschaftskandidaten war von Gewalt und Chaos geprägt. »

Jan Lisiecki – Chopin: Nocturne in E Minor, Op. posth. 72/1 | Live from Würzburg, 2018

Sep 17, 2021 • “These remarkable pieces invite you to think and feel whatever you want", says Lisiecki, "There’s no ‘right’ response to them, other than the one you’re having.”

Veteran Republican Leader Bob Dole Dies

GETTY IMAGES

BBC: Bob Dole, a World War Two veteran who went on to be a long-time Republican senator and US presidential candidate, has died aged 98.

His death was announced in a statement from the Elizabeth Dole Foundation: "It is with heavy hearts we announce that Senator Robert Joseph Dole died early this morning in his sleep. At his death, at age 98, he had served the United States of America faithfully for 79 years."

Earlier this year Dole had said that he was receiving treatment for lung cancer.

His political career was marked by a decade-long stint as the top Republican in the US Senate, and running unsuccessfully for the White House against Bill Clinton in 1996.

But decades before his bid for the presidency, on 14 April 1945, Bob Dole was lying on a World War Two battlefield in northern Italy, left for dead. » | BBC | Sunday, December 5, 2021

Bob Dole, Old Soldier and Stalwart of the Senate, Dies at 98: Mr. Dole, a son of the Kansas prairie who was left for dead on a World War II battlefield, became one of the longest-serving Republican leaders. »

L'ex-sénateur Bob Dole, figure de la politique américaine, est mort à 98 ans : L'ancien sénateur avait été le candidat malheureux du Parti républicain face au président démocrate sortant Bill Clinton en 1996. »

Einstiger US-Präsidentschaftskandidat gestorben: Der Republikaner war ein Gegenspieler von Bill Clinton – unterlag ihm aber bei der amerikanischen Präsidentschaftswahl 1996. Nun ist Bob Dole im Alter von 98 Jahren gestorben. »

Bob Dole: ehemaliger amerikanischer Senator und Präsidentschaftskandidat im Alter von 98 Jahren gestorben: Der Weltkriegsveteran hat als einflussreicher Senator Jahrzehnte der amerikanischen Politik geprägt. Um den Chefsessel im Weissen Haus bemühte sich Bob Dole mehrfach vergeblich. »

The Preprandial Expression of Love and Affection.

Der präprandiale Ausdruck von Liebe und Zuneigung. / L’expression préprandiale de l'amour et de l'affection.

With many thanks to Andrew BeauChamp for this delightful photo on Pinterest.

On Syria’s Ruins, a Drug Empire Flourishes

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Powerful associates of Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, are making and selling captagon, an illegal amphetamine, creating a new narcostate on the Mediterranean.

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Built on the ashes of 10 years of war in Syria, an illegal drug industry run by powerful associates and relatives of President Bashar al-Assad has grown into a multibillion-dollar operation, eclipsing Syria’s legal exports and turning the country into the world’s newest narcostate.

Its flagship product is captagon, an illegal, addictive amphetamine popular in Saudi Arabia and other Arab states. Its operations stretch across Syria, including workshops that manufacture the pills, packing plants where they are concealed for export and smuggling networks to spirit them to markets abroad.

An investigation by The New York Times found that much of the production and distribution is overseen by the Fourth Armored Division of the Syrian Army, an elite unit commanded by Maher al-Assad, the president’s younger brother and one of Syria’s most powerful men.

Major players also include businessmen with close ties to the government, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and other members of the president’s extended family, whose last name ensures protection for illegal activities, according to The Times investigation, which is based on information from law enforcement officials in 10 countries and dozens of interviews with international and regional drug experts, Syrians with knowledge of the drug trade and current and former United States officials. » | Ben Hubbard and Hwaida Saad | Sunday, December 5, 2021

At the Lights? Ft. Werner Patzelt, Emeritus Professor of Comparative Government

Dec 5, 2021 • Like her trademark jackets, Angela Merkel’s political style came in one shape and size but all colours of the rainbow. Measured and at times even dull, she nonetheless managed to steer Germany and Europe through many upheavals. Can the traffic light coalition, now poised to replace her, do the same without running into red at every corner? To discuss this, Oksana is joined by Werner Patzelt, Emeritus Professor of Comparative Government at Dresden Technical University.

Fraudsters of the World, Come to London. And Bring Your Dirty Money

THE OBSERVER: Kleptocrats love this country, knowing full well they’ll be free from proper scrutiny

There is no better representation of the decline of the English upper class into the global rich’s servant class than Ben Elliot. On the one hand, the co-chairman of the Tory party is now a rent collector, hauling in money for the Johnson administration from the Russian rich and native hedge fund bosses.

On the other, he is an actual servant: an upmarket flunkey, to be sure, praised by society magazines for his “puppyish schoolboy charm”, but a flunkey nonetheless. Elliot is a founder of the Quintessentially “concierge” service that gives the super-rich anything they want: luncheon on an iceberg; the Sydney Harbour bridge closed for a wedding proposal. There’s nothing Elliot won’t do for paying customers up to and including arranging a meeting with our future sovereign. Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, is Elliot’s aunt and it appears that no considerations of good form or good manners have prevented him monetising the connection. Not that the prince appears to mind. A Quintessentially advert interrupts a montage of shots of yachts and celebrities to quote his royal highness as saying he is “particularly grateful” to Quintessentially for organising a party he attended. Members of Elliot’s Quintessentially club donate to the Conservatives. The Conservatives gave Elliot £1.4m of taxpayers’ money in 2016 to “attract the right high-value individual investors to the UK through bespoke programmes”. If on arrival, those high-value individuals went on to show how valuable they were by hiring Quintessentially and donating to the Tories, the circle would be complete.

Upstairs has moved downstairs in the remains of the Tory day and a large segment of British capitalism is now employed as the best servants money can buy. The law, PR, City, estate agency and banking know that easy riches come from serving the large part of the world where it pays to forget Balzac’s warning that the secret of a great fortune no one can explain is invariably an undetected crime. For want of an agreed name I propose “Corruptistan” to cover Russia and the ex-Soviet states, the kleptocracies of Africa and the Middle East and probably soon China as the communist elite learns how to expatriate its wealth. » | Nick Cohen | Saturday, December 2021

Johnson Faces Trust Crisis as Sleaze Shatters Faith in MPs

THE OBSERVER: Poll reveals huge public cynicism, with just 5% of respondents believing politicians work for public good

Boris Johnson campaigning in the North Shropshire byelection, which was called following the resignation of Owen Paterson. Photograph: Andrew Parsons CCHQ/Parsons Media

Trust in politicians to act in the national interest rather than for themselves has fallen dramatically since Boris Johnson became prime minister, according to figures contained in a disturbing new study into the state of British democracy.

The polling data from YouGov for the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) shows a particularly sharp fall in trust in the few weeks since the Owen Paterson scandal triggered a rash of Tory sleaze scandals.

In 2014, when David Cameron was prime minister, 48% of voters believed politicians were “out merely for themselves” as opposed to their country or party. This had increased to 57% by May 2021 after nearly two years of Johnson in No 10, and leapt to 63% last week in the wake of the Paterson affair. In the same poll, just 5% of voters thought politicians were in the job primarily for the good of their country.

While the polls have asked about politicians of all colours, the main opposition parties now believe the Tories are particularly vulnerable on questions of trust and sleaze, offering them a chance to break through. » | Toby Helm and Michael Savage | Saturday, November 4, 2021

Why trust politicians? How UK voters lost faith in our leaders: More people than ever before feel disaffected by our political system. But what are the reasons for this and what risks does it pose? »

One thing is for sure: history will not be kind to Boris Johnson. In years to come, pages in the history books describing his administration will be stamped with the words ‘sleaze and corruption’. In addition, the chapters written on Brexit will be stamped almost certainly with the following words: sleazy, corrupt, undemocratic, ‘financed by foreigners’.

Johnson’s apparent victory is but an illusion. One day, it will be shown to have been pyrrhic. – © Mark

Konsum im Zeitalter der Aufklärung | Geschichte schreiben | ARTE

Dec 5, 2021 • Mit der Kunst- und Wissenschaftshistorikerin Noémi Etienne als Gast wird in der heutigen Folge gezeigt, wie im 18. Jahrhundert bedruckte Stoffe ihren Weg aus Indien nach Europa fanden. Der Handel mit den Stoffen fand schon damals auf globaler Ebene statt und leistete so einen entscheidenden Beitrag zur Globalisierung der heutigen Zeit.

Die sogenannten Indienne-Stoffe sind Baumwollstoffe, die in bunten Farben und Mustern bemalt oder bedruckt sind. Wie der Name schon sagt, stammen sie ursprünglich aus Indien, wobei sich ihr Trend im 18. Jahrhundert bis nach Europa ausbreitete. Dort standen sie hoch im Kurs – sowohl als Kleiderstoff in bürgerlichen Kreisen als auch als Bezüge für verschiedene Möbel. Mit der Kunst- und Wissenschaftshistorikerin Noémi Etienne als Gast wird in der heutigen Folge von "Geschichte schreiben" gezeigt, wie die bedruckten Stoffe ihren Weg nach Europa fanden. Der Handel mit den Stoffen fand schon damals auf globaler Ebene statt und leistete so einen entscheidenden Beitrag zur Globalisierung der heutigen Zeit. Da sie zunächst vordergründig in Asien produziert wurden, um dann nach Europa importiert zu werden, gelten die Indienne-Stoffe als erster Schritt in Richtung der sogenannten Fast Fashion, wie wir sie derzeit kennen. Die französische YouTuberin Manon Bril schlägt an dieser Stelle die Brücke zwischen der Geschichte und dem digitalen Zeitalter der Gegenwart. "Indienne-Stoffe - Konsum im Zeitalter der Aufklärung" veranschaulicht die Geschichte der Indienne-Stoffe und zieht Paralellen zur heutigen Fast-Fashion-Industrie.

Dokureihe, Regie: Tamara Erde (F 2020, 18 Min)