An open letter to you, our friends, in the US has been written. The world is showing you all its support. Everyone can show support, too. To do so, please sign this petition. Together, we can make this the biggest call for reproductive rights the world has ever seen. The world is showing its solidarity.
People are signing this incredibly important petition from all across the world. Please sign it too. Add your name here.
In the hope of restoring a modicum of sanity,
Mark Alexander
Jun 25, 2022 • Das Recht auf Abtreibung galt in vielen westlichen Ländern als unumstößlich. Doch in den letzten Jahren wird es zunehmend infrage gestellt. Der Dokumentarfilm legt offen, mit welchen Methoden die Abtreibungsgegner kämpfen. Das Recht auf Abtreibung wird auf unterschiedlichste Art angegriffen: offen oder versteckt, über die Gesetzgebung oder mittels öffentlicher Meinungsmache.
Sie hieß Valentina und sie starb, weil ihr Ärzte die lebensrettende Abtreibung verweigerten: Was sich wie ein Drama aus vergangenen Zeiten anhört, spielte sich erst 2016 in Italien ab. Dort ist Abtreibung zwar seit 40 Jahren gesetzlich zulässig, wird aber aus ethischen Gründen von den meisten Gynäkologen nicht vorgenommen. Wie in Italien versucht eine neue Generation von Aktivisten fast überall in Europa, die Gesetze über den legalen beziehungsweise straffreien Schwangerschaftsabbruch rückgängig zu machen oder zu umgehen. In Ungarn wurde sogar die Verfassung zugunsten dieser selbst ernannten „Lebensschützer“ geändert.
In Frankreich gehören die Abtreibungsgegner der jungen Generation an. Sie kämpfen in den Medien, auf Twitter und Facebook, und ihre Zielgruppe sind die 15- bis 35-Jährigen. Bei ihrer Überzeugungsarbeit nutzen sie das volle Potenzial der sozialen Netzwerke mit ihren Kurznachrichten und Schockbildern zur Verbreitung von verzerrten Informationen. All diese Kämpfe laufen auf EU-Ebene zusammen. Die Abtreibungsgegner haben zum Angriff auf die Festung Brüssel geblasen, wo sie intensives Lobbying betreiben – mit ebenso effizienten wie empörenden Methoden. Zur Finanzierung ihrer breit angelegten Kampagnen können die Abtreibungsgegner auf einflussreiche ausländische Sponsoren zählen, vor allem aus Russland und den Vereinigten Staaten.
Vor 70 Jahren sagte Simone de Beauvoir, man dürfe nie vergessen, dass eine politische, wirtschaftliche oder religiöse Krise genüge, um die Rechte der Frauen wieder infrage zu stellen, denn diese Rechte seien nie sicher, und die Frauen müssten ihr Leben lang wachsam bleiben. Heute bestätigt sich diese prophetische Warnung.
Dokumentarfilm von A. Jousset und A. Rawlins-Gaston (F 2017, 90 Min)
Video auf YouTube verfügbar bis zum 23/08/2022
Oct 7, 2016 • In a 2005 conversation with Access Hollywood Donald Trump discusses his approach to some women.
This video featuring Donald Trump’s views on women is too disgusting to embed on this website, but you can click here to watch it and listen to Trump’s foul language and take in his disgusting views on how to treat women. Please note that this short video is NOT SUITABLE for children AT ALL. They should be kept AWAY from it. – Mark
Jun 24, 2022 • The U.S. Supreme Court overturned a landmark ruling on abortion rights, removing the constitutional right in the U.S. to terminate a pregnancy.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-choice research group, 26 of America’s 50 states are expected to move immediately to crack down on clinics providing abortions.
I cannot write here what I really think of this Supreme Court ruling or the people that have made these judgments. Backward is too mild a word for this. This is truly ante-Diluvian. This will take America back decades – totally into darkness.
It will not stop abortions, it will merely push women, especially poor women, to go to backstreet operators, or even revert to the age-old ‘cure’ of hot baths, lots of gin, and knitting needles.
THE GUARDIAN: Ex-leader Michael Howard among Conservatives to call for resignation after byelection catastrophes
Boris Johnson: ‘I genuinely, genuinely don’t think the way forward in British politics is to focus on issues of personalities.’ Photograph: Reuters
Conservative grandees are urging Boris Johnson to quit after a historic double byelection defeat, as rebellious MPs began plotting new ways to oust him.
In his pointed resignation letter, widely regarded as a call to others to act, Dowden told the prime minister: “We cannot carry on with business as usual. Someone must take responsibility.”
Johnson’s critics are hoping to secure a majority on the executive of the influential 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, in the hope they can change the party’s rules to allow a fresh confidence vote without waiting for a year.
As the scale of the twin defeats sunk in – both with worse-than-expected swings against the Conservatives – a string of senior Tories added their voices to those calling for Johnson to go. Asked whether the prime minister should quit, Howard said: “I do”. » | Heather Stewart, Rowena Mason and Rajeev Syal | Friday, June 24, 2022
THE GUARDIAN: Rightwing justice appears to offer preview of the court’s potential future rulings after decision to remove US abortion rights
Donald Trump with Clarence Thomas as Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed to the supreme court in October 2020. Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP
Many Americans reacted to the supreme court’s decision to reverse Roe v Wade and remove federal abortion rights in the US with shock, but many also asked a terrified question: what might be next?
The conservative justice Clarence Thomas appeared to offer a preview of the court’s potential future rulings, suggesting the rightwing-controlled court may return to the issues of contraception access and marriage equality, threatening LGBTQ rights.
“In future cases, we should reconsider all of this court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell,” Thomas wrote in his concurring opinion to the ruling on Roe.
Griswold v Connecticut established a married couple’s right to use contraception without government interference in 1965. The court ruled in the 2003 case of Lawrence v Texas that states could not criminalize sodomy, and Obergefell v Hodges established the right for same-sex couples to marry in 2015.
Thomas’s words confirmed what many progressive lawmakers and reproductive rights advocates have feared for years. The end of Roe marks the beginning, not the end, of judicial overreach by the court’s conservative majority, they say.
“It is important that Americans understand that this supreme court and Republicans in Congress will not stop here,” said Pramila Jayapal, the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. “It is clear [Thomas] and the court’s majority have no respect for other precedents that have been won in recent decades.” » | Joan E Greve in Washington | Friday, June 24, 2022
LE MONDE : La Cour suprême est revenue, vendredi, sur l’arrêt Roe vs Wade reconnaissant le droit à l’avortement aux Etats-Unis. Gilles Paris, ancien correspondant du « Monde » à Washington, a répondu à vos questions.
La Cour suprême des Etats-Unis a décidé, vendredi 24 juin, de revenir sur l’arrêt historique Roe vs Wade, qui reconnaît depuis près d’un demi-siècle le droit à l’avortement aux Etats-Unis. Un retour à la situation d’avant 1973, quand chaque Etat était libre d’interdire ou d’autoriser l’avortement.
Le ministre de la justice du Missouri a annoncé, dès vendredi, que son Etat devenait le premier à interdire la pratique de l’interruption volontaire de grossesse sur son territoire. Une douzaine d’Etats ont déjà adopté des législations de cette nature, qui n’attendaient qu’une décision finale de la Cour suprême en ce sens. Gilles Paris, éditorialiste et ancien correspondant du Monde à Washington, a répondu à vos questions lors d’un tchat en direct. » | Le Monde | vendredi 24 juin 2022
Jun 24, 2022 • In a highly-anticipated move, the US Supreme Court moved to overturn protections on abortion rights in the US.
The ruling comes after a draft opinion of the court was leaked to US media in early May. The report showed the US Supreme Court was ready to reverse Roe v. Wade, a landmark decision in 1973 that established a federal right to terminate a pregnancy.
Tens of millions of women across the US are expected to lose their right to abortion as mainly southern and midwestern states introduce bans.
NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG: Das Oberste Gericht der USA verfügt in der Frage des Schwangerschaftsabbruchs eine Rückkehr in die Vergangenheit. Diese brachte nicht weniger Abtreibungen, aber mehr Leid für die Frauen.
Unterstützerinnen des Rechts auf Abtreibung vor dem Supreme Court reagieren entsetzt auf den Entscheid des Gerichts. | Ting Shen / Bloomberg
Eine Überraschung ist das Ende des liberalen Abtreibungsrechts in den USA nicht mehr. Im Mai war bereits ein erster Urteilsentwurf durchgesickert, und es war vorhersehbar, dass dieser präzedenzlose Eklat die Ansichten am Supreme Court eher verfestigen würde. Alles andere hätte die Richter dem Vorwurf des Einknickens ausgesetzt und damit die ohnehin verbreitete Sicht eines politisierten Gremiums noch verstärkt.
Auch wenn die erste Schockwelle das Land schon vor Wochen erfasste, ist der definitive Entscheid ein Erdbeben. Zunächst ist es bemerkenswert, dass das Oberste Gericht ein fast fünfzig Jahre altes und mehrfach bestätigtes Leiturteil ohne klar ersichtlichen Grund aufhebt. Im angelsächsischen Raum kommt Präjudizien eine hohe, quasi rechtsetzende Bedeutung zu – Anpassungen bedürfen üblicherweise massgeblich veränderter Verhältnisse. » | Meret Baumann | Freitag, 24. Juni 2022
Related article in English here; related video in English here.
THE NEW YORK TIMES: The decision, eliminating the constitutional right to an abortion after almost 50 years, will lead to all but total bans on the procedure in about half of the states.
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday overruled Roe v. Wade, eliminating the constitutional right to abortion after almost 50 years in a decision that will transform American life, reshape the nation’s politics and lead to all but total bans on the procedure in about half of the states.
The ruling will test the legitimacy of the court and vindicate a decades-long Republican project of installing conservative justices prepared to reject the precedent, which had been repeatedly reaffirmed by earlier courts. It will also be one of the signal legacies of President Donald J. Trump, who vowed to name justices who would overrule Roe. All three of his appointees were in the majority in the 6-to-3 ruling.
The decision, which echoed a leaked draft opinion published by Politico in early May, will result in a starkly divided country in which abortion is severely restricted or forbidden in many red states but remains freely available in most blue ones.
A screenshot from the accompanying video. | US Holocaust Memorial Museum
Jan 10, 2022 • This 13-minute film introduces the history of antisemitism. The term was coined in the 19th century and refers to prejudice against or hatred of Jews. But as this film shows, anti-Jewish hostility goes back many centuries—to the era of early Christianity and the Middle Ages. As a religious minority, Jews in Christian-dominant Europe were consistently persecuted as “outsiders.” They became scapegoats and victims of targeted violence in times of severe hardship and economic and political change.
Anti-Jewish prejudices endured and took on new forms as western societies became more secular in the 19th century, and Jews gained more rights and opportunities. Some politicians used “the Jews” as scapegoats in their attempts to gain support from people left behind by economic change. Ultra-nationalists, seeking ethnically homogeneous nations, saw Jews as biologically “foreign”—a different “race.” Antisemites also hatched conspiracy theories about “Jewish power” and that, after World War I and the Russian Revolution, linked Jews to Communism.
These radical strands of racial antisemitism, tied to ethnic nationalism and conspiracy myths, became core elements of Nazi ideology as the party was forming in the aftermath of World War I. After the Nazis took power in 1933, these ideas became state policy and underpinned anti-Jewish laws and decrees. Nazi propaganda portrayed Germany’s Jews as an “alien,” biological threat to the survival of the German people. During World War II, this racial antisemitism motivated Nazi policy that evolved into mass murder and genocide. Nazi officials also exploited longstanding traditional prejudices towards Jews in the countries they conquered to gain help from non-Germans to locate, round up, deport, and kill Jews.
This video is age-restricted; therefore, it is not embeddable on external websites. It must be viewed on YouTube itself. Please click here to watch it.
Jun 24, 2022 • The US is banning the sale of all products sold by Juul, one of the country's top e-cigarette companies.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it did not have enough data to be sure that marketing the firm's products was "appropriate for the protection of public health".
Juul said it would challenge the move, which comes after other recent anti-smoking efforts by the FDA, including plans to reduce the amount of addictive nicotine allowed in cigarettes.
Bring the price of real cigarettes down. Most of the price is tax anyway. Make sure the quality of the cigarettes is much improved (especially by banning dangerous chemicals put in them unnecessarily) and let people smoke in moderation. Stop being so meddlesome.
I am very much against the war on smoking, and I am also against my government promoting vaping when they don't know the long-term consequences of the new habit.
Everything is bad for health when done to excess: eating, drinking, smoking, etc. But it is ironic that at the very time the authorities are turning the screws on smokers, they are relaxing laws on soft drugs like marijuana and cannabis.
Let people have a little fun and pleasure. They will anyway, whether the authorities like it or not. If smoking were banned tomorrow, people would find other ways of getting their kicks; and those ways might well turn out to be more injurious to health than smoking ever has been. We shall never live in Utopia; Utopia is unachievable.
PM Boris Johnson: "There is more that we have got to do" | Screenshot from the accompanying BBC video.
BBC: Conservative co-chair Oliver Dowden has resigned following two by-election losses for the party to Labour and the Liberal Democrats.
The Lib Dems overturned a huge Tory majority in Tiverton and Honiton, Devon, their third by-election victory over Boris Johnson's party in a year.
And Labour retook the seat of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, which it lost at the 2019 general election.
The prime minister said he would "keep going" and address people's concerns.
In a letter to Mr Johnson, Mr Dowden said Tory supporters were "distressed and disappointed".
He wrote: "We cannot carry on with business as usual. Somebody must take responsibility and I have concluded that, in these circumstances, it would not be right for me to remain in office."
Mr Dowden also called his resignation "a deeply personal decision that I have taken alone" following a "run of very poor results for our party". With video » | Justin Parkinson, Political reporter, BBC News | Friday, June 24, 2022
A kick up the arse is what you needed and a kick up the arse is what you’ve been given. And deserved! Now it’s time to dust down the bike in your shed and get on it!
Just to get you into Number 10, I, and millions of others, have had to relinquish all our rights as a European citizens. And what a mess you’re making of the job!
You have written about Churchill a lot and you have identified with him; but I can assure you of one thing: you are no Winnie!
Jun 23, 2022 • New York Gov. Kathy Hochul reacted to the Supreme Court’s ruling that says the Constitution provides the right to carry a gun outside the home. Hochul called the decision “absolutely shocking” and said the state would “fight back.”
These judges have taken leave of their senses! They must be crackers! Wacko! – @ Mark Alexander
Spanische Polizisten heiraten und zeigen ihre Liebe und Verbundenheit zueinander.
/ Spanish police officers get married and show their love and attachment to each other.
Mes remerciements vont à O Verdoso sur Pinterest pour cette photo vraiment ravissante.
Jun 22, 2022 • Saudi Arabia's Mohammed bin Salman is visiting Turkey, less than four years after dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi entered his consulate in Istanbul, never to reemerge. Does President Recep Tayyip Erdogan burying the hatchet with the Gulf oil giant have anything to do with Turkey's skyrocketing inflation and soaring energy costs? As for the crown prince, this trip is part of a broader return to grace, precipitated by Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and the scramble for alternatives to Russian oil.
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Nach einer rassistischen Gewalttat hatte der amerikanische Bundesstaat New York kürzlich den Zugang zu Schusswaffen eingeschränkt. Nun kippt der Supreme Court die Bestimmung.
Das Oberste Gericht der USA hat das Tragen von Schusswaffen in der Öffentlichkeit als Grundrecht der Bürger eingestuft. Mit den Stimmen von sechs gegen drei Richtern annullierte der Supreme Court am Donnerstag eine Gesetzesregelung im Bundesstaat New York, wonach für eine Waffenlizenz der Nachweis eines besonderen Bedarfs an Selbstverteidigung erforderlich ist.
Diese Regelung verletze zwei Zusatzartikel zur Verfassung, befand das Gericht. Die einflussreiche Waffenlobbyorganisation National Rifle Association (NRA) begrüßte umgehend auf Twitter die Entscheidung und feierte einen „Sieg“. » | Quelle: AFP | Donnerstag, 23. Juni 2022
Mar 16, 2016 • After going home with another guy following an awkward experience in a parking lot, Ron Malott knew he was gay. He went home and he and his twin brother came out to each other. Then came the hard part: telling their mom that they're gay.
World-famous clerics and Muslim scholars are pointing to the same trend: There is a “tsunami” of #exMuslims. They cite our projects directly - they know we are altering the very ground they stand on. Help us continue our work.
If you wish to do so, you can help EXMNA by donating here.
"I live with a Muslim wife, I have no problem with it. Love and respect should be bigger than any religion!"
Soran has his priorities straight - Love and reality (and sometimes bacon) will always win over hate and superstition. Thank you for your submission! #AwesomeWithoutAllah / #ExMuslim
Jul 6, 2021 • Sarah Haider, co-founder of www.exmuslims.org, joins us to talk about a just-released survey of North American ex-Muslims and its compelling findings.
Aug 13, 2018 • This is a clip from the feature documentary Not a Still Life: In this documentary portrait, a spirited, older, gay, Jewish man undergoes an evolution of awareness amid his joys and sorrows.
In revealing the truth of his life, he offers us an opportunity for reflection about the complexity of human identity.
Should you wish to support this project and obtain the full version of Not a Still Life, either as a rental or purchase, please click here.
Jun 22, 2022 • Die Europäische Union blickt auf eine lange Geschichte zurück und ist stetig um neue Mitgliedsländer gewachsen, die ihre demokratischen Werte teilen wollen. Dennoch sucht die große europäische Gemeinschaft immer wieder nach ihrer politischen Einheit - umso mehr angesichts neuer Beitrittskandidaten. Europas Struktur der Zukunft muss noch überdacht werden.
Jun 23, 2022 • Archaeologists in Peru have unearthed human remains dating back to the Inca period. The discovery of the tomb, which included grave goods corresponding to the period, was made during the renovations of a residential property in the Peruvian capital
Jan 2, 2019 • This man’s name was Arthur Evans. He died in 2011. I, David Hoffman, interviewed him in 1989 for my television series on the Sixties.
He was a wonderful speaker and a very kind person who did his best to tell his story in a way that I could use in my series. What he relates about Greenwich Village and San Francisco in those days gives us a good understanding of what his life and times were like.
If you wish to do so, you can support David Hoffman on Patreon here.
THE GUARDIAN: Brussels has dramatically accelerated the process, amid outrage over the brutality of the unprovoked Russian attack
Ursula von der Leyen and Volodymyr Zelenskiy as seen on 11 June. Zelenskiy said: ‘This is like going into the light from the darkness.’ Photograph: Natacha Pisarenko/AP
European leaders are poised to grant Ukraine candidate status, in a historic decision that opens the door to EU membership for the war-torn country and deals a blow to Vladimir Putin.
EU leaders meeting in Brussels are expected to approve Ukraine’s candidate status later on Thursday, nearly four months after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy launched his country’s bid to join the bloc in the early days of the Russian invasion.
The move from applicant to candidate usually takes years, but the EU has dramatically accelerated the process, amid outrage over the brutality of the unprovoked Russian attack, and to show solidarity with Ukraine’s defenders.
“Ukraine is going through hell for a simple reason: its desire to join the EU,” tweeted the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, on the eve of the summit. The commission last week called on EU leaders to grant Ukraine’s candidate status. “Our opinion acknowledges the immense progress that [Ukrainian] democracy has achieved since the Maidan protests of 2014,” Von der Leyen said.
Welcoming the expected positive decision, Zelenskiy said: “This is like going into the light from the darkness.” » | Jennifer Rankin | in Brussels | Thursday, June 23, 2022
Jan 9, 2013 • An intimate portrait of Audrey Hepburn, by her son Sean Hepburn-Ferrer. Featuring many private photographs as well as clips from all her memorable films.
THE GUARDIAN: Gen Timo Kivinen says Nato applicant is prepared and motivated to defend against neighbour and would be ‘tough bite’ to chew
Timo Kivinen, Finland's chief of defence forces, says: ‘The most important line of defence is between one’s ears, as the war in Ukraine proves.’ Photograph: Anne Kauranen/Reuters
Finland has prepared for decades for a Russian attack and would put up stiff resistance should one occur, its armed forces chief has said.
The Nordic country has built up a substantial arsenal. But aside from the military hardware, Gen Timo Kivinen said, a crucial factor is that Finns would be motivated to fight.
“The most important line of defence is between one’s ears, as the war in Ukraine proves at the moment,” Kivinen said in an interview.
Finland fought two wars in the 1940s against its eastern neighbour, with which it shares a 1,300-km (810-mile) border.
NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG: Der weissrussische Schriftsteller Sasha Filipenko ist sehr pessimistisch, was die Rolle des Westens betrifft im Ukraine-Krieg. Nach einem russischen Sieg, so sagt er im Interview, würde es aber nicht nur einen Ort wie Butscha geben, sondern Hunderte.
Nach einem russischen Bombenangriff auf Mikolajiw löscht die ukrainische Feuerwehr die ausgebrochenen Brände (Aufnahme vom 18. Juni 2022). | George Ivanchenko / AP
INTERVIEW
Herr Filipenko, Sie arbeiteten mehrere Jahre für den unabhängigen russischen TV-Sender Doschd. Bereits vor dem Einmarsch russischer Truppen in die Ukraine sagten Sie, Russland wahre bloss noch den Anschein einer freien Presse. Wie und wann kippte die verhältnismässig liberale Praxis in die Repression?
Wir haben beobachtet, wie das Regime schrittweise repressiver wurde. Als der Sender Doschd 2012 vom Kabel genommen wurde und danach nur noch als Online-Angebot bestand, gehörte meine Satiresendung zu einer der ersten, die gestrichen wurden. Es hiess, man habe jetzt einfach kein Geld mehr für so etwas.
War das eine Massnahme der Behörden, oder versuchte der Sender der Zensur zuvorzukommen?
Alle unsere Sponsoren haben ab diesem Zeitpunkt ihre Unterstützung beendet. Da musste entschieden werden, ob wir Satire und Kultur machen oder die Nachrichtensendungen. Die Entscheidung fiel dann auf die Nachrichten.
Oct 6, 2011 • Hélène Grimaud considers the concerto in A major "probably the most sublime concerto Mozart ever wrote", with a slow movement that is "an extremely deep and painful expression of longing, where you find the real Mozart." …
Jun 14, 2022 • Ina slow cooks her garlic in olive oil for a sweet and delicious addition to this elegant, make-ahead pasta sauce!
Ingredients:
2/3 cup good olive oil
1 cup whole peeled garlic cloves (24 cloves)
2 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes
2 teaspoons whole fennel seeds, chopped
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/3 cup dry red wine, such as Chianti
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup julienned fresh basil leaves, plus extra for serving
1 pound dry penne rigate, such as DeCecco
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
Directions:
In a medium (10-inch) pot or Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset, warm the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, tossing occasionally, until the garlic has softened and is lightly browned.
Meanwhile, drain the tomatoes, place them in a food processor fitted with the steel blade, and pulse until they're roughly chopped. With a slotted spoon, transfer the garlic to the food processor and pulse again to chop the garlic. Pour the tomato mixture into the pot with the olive oil, add the fennel, red pepper flakes, red wine, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in the basil, taste for seasonings (it will be very spicy!), and keep warm over very low heat. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a full boil. Add 2 tablespoons kosher salt and the penne and cook according to the directions of the package.
Two minutes before the pasta is al dente, using a wire or spider strainer, lift the pasta out of the boiling water and add it to the sauce, along with 1/4 cup of the pasta water. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, until the pasta is al dente. Spoon the pasta into low shallow bowls, sprinkle with extra basil and Parmesan cheese, and serve hot
WIKIPEDIA:
Check out the info on Arrabbiata sauce, also known as sugo all’arrabbiata, here.
MAIL ONLINE: Officials have found traces of a vaccine-derived poliovirus in sewage samples in North and East London / Thought that someone vaccinated with live vaccine shed part of virus and spread it to unvaccinated people / Parents are being urged to ensure their children's vaccinations are up to date, particularly after the pandemic / Officials said risk to public 'extremely low' with one in 100 chance of paralysis and high vaccine uptake
Polio may be spreading in the UK for the first time in nearly 40 years, health chiefs warned today as they declared a 'national incident'.
Officials have found traces of a vaccine-derived version of the virus in sewage samples in parts of London and say it is 'likely' transmitting within the community.
Parents are being urged to ensure their children are up to date with their polio vaccinations, particularly after the pandemic when school immunisation schemes were disrupted.
Polio spreads through coughs and sneezes or contact with objects contaminated with faeces, causing permanent paralysis in around one in 100 cases. Children are at a higher risk. » | Connor Boyd, deputy health editor for MailOnline | Wednesday, June 22, 2022
THE NEW YORK TIMES: LONDON — For Boris Johnson, Britain’s embattled and scandal-ridden prime minister, nowhere is safe.
On Thursday, that may become inescapably clear. Two local elections — one in a traditional Tory area in South Devon that the party has controlled almost continuously since 1885, the other in a postindustrial seat in North England that the Tories took from Labour for the first time in 90 years in 2019 — will deliver a decisive assessment of Mr. Johnson’s flailing popularity. As things stand, the Conservatives are set to lose both.
Mr. Johnson’s ability to win over such disparate people and places — affluent farmers and neglected manufacturers, the shires in the South and old Labour heartlands in the North — once ensured his position at the top of the Conservative Party. Yet now, as Britain hovers on the brink of economic recession, the constituencies that previously united around the prime minister appear to be rejecting him. For Mr. Johnson, his authority frayed by a recent no confidence vote, a double defeat would leave his tenure hanging by a thread.
But the Conservatives’ problems are much bigger than the prime minister. After 12 years in office, under three different leaders, the Conservatives have collectively set the stage for Britain’s woes. The balance sheet is dire: Wages haven’t risen in real terms since 2010, austerity has hollowed out local communities, and regional inequality has deepened. Britain’s protracted departure from the European Union, pursued by the Conservatives without a clear plan, has only made matters worse. » | Samuel Earle * | Wednesday, June 22, 2022
* Mr. Earle is a British journalist who writes about politics and culture.
Oct 24, 2018 • When author and journalist Lewis Lapham, founder of Lapham’s Quarterly and former editor of Harper’s, turned his shrewd gaze on the go-go ‘80s in “Money and Class in America,” he never imagined the era’s avatar of greed would one day become President Donald Trump. Three decades later, Lapham shares his views on the decades-long deterioration of democracy in an interview with INET’s Lynn Parramore. An expanded and revised edition of his book is now available with a new foreward by Thomas Frank from OR Books.
Lord Etherton will be asked to recommend how the government can redress veterans affected by the pre-2000 ban | HOUSE OF LORDS
BBC: Britain's first openly gay senior judge will lead a review into the impact of a historical ban on LGBT people serving in the armed forces.
Lord Etherton's inquiry will look at how those affected can be redressed.
Campaigners are hoping for compensation for lost livelihoods and suffering as well as mental health support.
The review will apply to veterans who served between 1967, when homosexual acts began to be decriminalised, and 2000.
Until then it was illegal to be gay in the British military - with more than 5,000 people in the armed forces thought to be affected.
Those who were, or perceived to be, homosexual faced intrusive investigations and were dismissed or otherwise forced to leave the military. Many still have the conviction on their criminal record.
Some veterans say it meant a complete loss of income which still affects them today, due to years of missed pension contributions.
In the review, expected to start in the next few weeks, Lord Etherton will be asked to recommend ways in which the government could "seek to mitigate any impacts, including any financial impact", the BBC has learned. » | Josh Parry, LGBT producer | Wednesday, June 22, 2022
FRANCE 24: In May the official Turkish statistics institute established the inflation rate at 73.5 percent, the highest in the country since 1998 – a figure ENAG, an independent group of researchers, immediately disputed. It puts the real rate at around 160.80 percent. The director of the organisation became the target of judicial inquiries and political pressure, and is losing his position at his university.
His hands deep in the pockets of his apron, sporting a large drooping grey moustache, Zeki looks wearily at the fruits and vegetables lying in full view in his shop in Moda, in the heart of the Kadikoy district in Istanbul on the Asian side of the city. "Look at these beautiful pink heirloom tomatoes," he says, pointing his chin in their direction. "They're coming straight from Antalya. Normally in this season everyone wants them. What a waste."
A year ago, Zeki was selling the tomatoes for eight Turkish liras (.45 euros) per kilogramme. Today, he can't sell them for less than 20 (1.10 euros), more than double last year's price. Economists say inflation is to blame, but President Recep Tayyip Erdogan disagrees. He explained on June 6 that inflation doesn't exist in Turkey and that price increases are due to the growing cost of living. Denial » | Ludovic DE FOUCARD | Wednesday, June 22, 2022
THE GUARDIAN: Headline CPI rate will add to cost of living crisis, fuelled by rises in food and transport costs
UK inflation has increased to 9.1%, its highest rate in 40 years amid record prices for petrol and the soaring cost of food.
The figures from the Office for National Statistics showed an increase in May from 9% in April, as measured by the consumer price index, in a reading that matched the forecasts of City economists. In a fresh high, the headline inflation rate has hit a level not seen since February 1982, piling pressure on households in the cost of living crisis.
Inflation is being fuelled by food and non-alcoholic drink prices, which are rising at the fastest annual rate since 2009, the ONS said, with the most dramatic increases seen in the cost of bread, cereals and meat.
Soaring prices for petrol and diesel also drove up inflation in May, adding to the pressure on motorists and business costs with a 32.8% jump motor fuels over the past year – the biggest annual increase on records dating back to 1989. » | Richard Partington and Rowena Mason | Wednesday, June 22, 2022
LE MONDE – ÉDITORIAL : Le premier ministre britannique a présenté, lundi 13 juin, un projet de loi qui remet en cause le « protocole nord-irlandais » contenu dans l’accord sur le Brexit signé avec l’UE. Les Vingt-Sept doivent s’opposer fermement à ces manœuvres destinées avant tout à faire oublier les déboires intérieurs de Boris Johnson.
Habituelle, la manœuvre n’en est pas moins détestable. A chaque déconvenue en politique intérieure, Boris Johnson dégaine son arme ultime, le conflit avec l’Union européenne (UE), destinée à mobiliser ses partisans et à détourner l’opinion britannique de ses propres turpitudes. En témoigne la présentation, lundi 13 juin, au Parlement de Westminster, d’un projet de loi supprimant des pans entiers du « protocole nord-irlandais », une partie sensible de l’accord sur le Brexit de 2019 avec l’UE.
Alors qu’il a lui-même paraphé ce traité international, le premier ministre britannique le remet en cause unilatéralement sur des points cruciaux. Le « protocole » vise en effet à concilier deux objectifs : maintenir une Irlande sans frontière afin de garantir la paix sur l’île, et éviter que l’Irlande du Nord ne devienne un sas d’entrée frauduleux dans le marché unique européen. Pour ce faire, l’Irlande du Nord a été dotée d’un statut mixte : la province a été maintenue à la fois dans la zone douanière britannique et dans le marché unique de l’UE.
Pareil arrangement suppose des contrôles douaniers et sanitaires entre la Grande-Bretagne et l’Irlande du Nord. Une contrainte que rejette le DUP, parti unioniste nord-irlandais allié de Boris Johnson, dont les élus refusent de siéger au gouvernement local de Belfast tant que le « protocole » avec l’UE n’est pas abrogé. » | Éditorial « du Monde » | mercredi 15 juin 2022
THE NEW YORK TIMES: The 5.9 magnitude quake struck about 28 miles southwest of the city of Khost, in the country’s southeast.
A photo released by the state-run news agency Bakhtar of earthquake destruction in Paktika Province, in eastern Afghanistan. The 5.9 magnitude earthquake, which struck early Wednesady, was felt across several provinces.Credit...Bakhtar News Agency, via Associated Press
KABUL, Afghanistan — A 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck southeastern Afghanistan overnight, killing as many as 280 people and injuring more than 600 others, the country’s state-run Bakhtar news agency said on Wednesday.
The quake struck early Wednesday morning about 28 miles southwest of the city of Khost, a provincial capital in the country’s southeast, the United States Geological Survey said, and it had a depth of about six miles.
Raees Hozaifa, the director of information and culture in the eastern province of Paktika, said the earthquake was felt across several provinces, and that death toll in Paktika alone was at least 250 people.
“We have 250 bodies, around 150 wounded,” he said, adding that more than 100 homes had been destroyed across four districts of the province. A rescue effort was underway, he said. » | Safiullah Padshah and Mike Ives | Wednesday, June 22, 2022
THE GUARDIAN: The ex-president’s attacks on officials to overturn the election resulted in them being harassed by his followers
Donald Trump was the most powerful man in the world. But he was also a paranoid fantasist who did not care how his lies destroyed people’s lives.
That was the picture of the former US president that came into focus with startling clarity at Tuesday’s hearing of the congressional committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.
Dead people, shredded ballots and a USB drive that was in fact a ginger mint were all part of the delusional narrative of election fraud peddled by Trump and his lawyer Rudy Giuliani. They would have been as comical as flat-earthers but for the way they posed a danger to both individual citizens and American democracy.
“The president’s lie was and is a dangerous cancer on the body politic,” committee member Adam Schiff said at the hearing into how Trump pressured state officials to overturn [overturn] results.
It was worth remembering that Trump once boasted that he had passed a cognitive test by reciting the words, “Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV,” in the right order. And that, according to the Washington Post, he made 30,573 false or misleading claims during his four-year presidency. » | David Smith in Washington | Wednesday, June 22, 2022
Jun 21, 2022 • The inside story of how Harvey Weinstein allegedly sexually harassed and abused dozens of women, and the elaborate ways he tried to silence his accusers.
FRONTLINE’s documentary investigates the disgraced mogul’s spectacular downfall, and what Hollywood itself knew — and when. With allegations going back to Weinstein’s early years, the film draws on exclusive insider accounts and examines how Weinstein used lawyers and private detectives to help him suppress sexual harassment allegations.
Jun 21, 2022 • Russia has demanded that Lithuania lift its ban on the transit of sanctioned goods by road and rail to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad - threatening "serious and sensitive consequences" for the Lithuanian people if it doesn't.
Speaking in Kaliningrad, the head of Russia's security council described it as a "hostile action" and warned "retaliatory measures will follow".
Lithuania has insisted there's no blockade and it's simply implementing EU sanctions.
NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG: Ein erwachsenes Kind des Tesla- und SpaceX-Firmenchefs hat demonstrativ seinen Namen abgelegt, weil es angeblich keine verwandtschaftliche Verbindung mehr zu ihm haben möchte.
Elon Musk kommt bei der diesjährigen Met Gala am 2. Mai in New York an. Eines seiner Kinder wendet sich nun demonstrativ von ihm ab. | Andrew Kelly / Reuters
Elon Musk ist der Meinung, dass die Welt mehr Leute brauche. Sonst zerfalle die Zivilisation. «Ich kann es nicht genug betonen, es gibt zu wenig Menschen», sagte Musk im vergangenen Dezember während einer Veranstaltung des «Wall Street Journal». Er selbst scheint einen Beitrag dazu zu leisten, damit seine schlimme Befürchtung nicht eintrifft. Musk ist bereits siebenfacher Vater.
Ob er auch ein guter «dad» ist, wird gerade durch eine aufsehenerregende Nachricht infrage gestellt. Eines seiner Kinder wendet sich demonstrativ von ihm ab. Es will seinen Nachnamen ändern, weil «ich nicht mehr mit meinem biologischen Vater zusammenlebe oder in irgendeiner Form mit ihm verwandt sein möchte».
Familiengeschichte wiederholt sich
Ein Stück weit wiederholt sich da eine Familiengeschichte. Musk sagte zu seinem Biografen: «Ich hatte keine glückliche Kindheit, es war ein Elend.» Seinen eigenen Vater nannte Elon Musk «ein furchtbares menschliches Geschöpf». Daher verhindert der Milliardär auch, dass seine Kinder ihren Grossvater kennenlernen.» | Michele Coviello, Sonja Blaschke | Dienstag, 21. Juni 2022
Streamed live on Jun 15, 2022 • President Joe Biden is delivering remarks to celebrate Pride Month and will also give an update regarding his targeting of some ‘hateful’ anti-LGBT+ laws.
He will sign an executive order to protect LGBT+ Americans following a wave of discriminatory legislation and Republican-led measures targeting transgender healthcare.
(Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)
PINK NEWS: Elon Musk’s daughter has reportedly filed for a name change, explaining that she is trans and no longer wants a relationship with her father.
The Tesla tycoon’s daughter from his first marriage to Justine Wilson has filed a petition to change her name, citing that she does not “wish to be related to my biological father in any way, shape or form”
The daughter, who just turned 18, also petitioned for a new birth certificate with a female gender marker at the Los Angeles County Superior Court in April, according to Reuters.
The Daily Beast reported that Musk replied to its request for comment ahead of the news of Wilson’s name change being made public, stating: “She does not want to be a public figure. I think it is important to defend her right to privacy.
“Please don’t out someone against their will – it’s not right.”
THE GUARDIAN: Tesla CEO says slump is likely to come in near term, amid plan to lay off 10% of firm’s salaried staff
Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, says a US recession is ‘more likely than not in the near term’.Photograph: Joe Skipper/Reuters
Elon Musk has warned that a US recession is “more likely than not” as the Tesla chief executive confirmed plans to cut 10% of salaried staff at the electric carmaker over the next three months.
The world’s richest man said a recession in the US was inevitable but would most probably come in the short term.
“A recession is inevitable at some point. As to whether there is a recession in the near term, that is more likely than not,” Musk said in an interview via videolink at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha on Tuesday.
Musk said Tesla was planning to reduce salaried staff numbers by 10%, confirming plans revealed in an internal email this month by Reuters. » | Dan Milmo and agency | Tuesday, June 21, 2022
ADVOCATE: The platform, adopted over the weekend, also opposes “all efforts to validate transgender identity.”
The Republican Party of Texas is well known for its anti-LGBTQ+ stances, but the party platform it adopted this year goes beyond even previous ones, with language calling homosexuality “an abnormal lifestyle choice” and opposing “all efforts to validate transgender identity.”
The party adopted the platform Saturday at its convention in Houston, The Texas Tribune reports. Republican elected officials aren’t required to follow the platform, but the document indicates the general feelings and direction of the party.
Previous platforms included much antigay and anti-trans language, but the “abnormal lifestyle choice” statement is new. The platform also endorses conversion therapy, as it has in the past, and calls it by a new name, “reintegrative therapy.”
“Homosexuality is an abnormal lifestyle choice,” the platform reads. “We believe there should be no granting of special legal entitlements or creation of special status for homosexual behavior, regardless of state of origin, and we oppose any criminal or civil penalties against those who oppose homosexuality out of faith, conviction, or belief in traditional values. No one should be granted special legal status based on their LGBTQ+ identification.”
At least one delegate, David Gebhart, tried to soften this language, saying, “We are the Republican Party of Texas, not the Westboro Baptist Church,” Tribune editor Sewell Chan tweeted. Gebhart’s suggestion was met with laughter and boos. Other delegates made homophobic and sexually charged comments. » | Trudy Ring | Monday, June 20, 2022
Jun 20, 2022 • President Emmanuel Macron has lost control of the French National Assembly following a strong performance by a left alliance and the far right in the elections. His centrist coalition lost dozens of seats in an election that has left French politics fragmented.
The prime minister he had only recently appointed, Elisabeth Borne, who said the situation was unprecedented. "This situation represents a risk for our country, given the risks we're facing nationally and internationally," she said. "We will work as of tomorrow to build a working majority."
