France Votes: ‘The Determining Factor Is Personality’

French voters in Paris cast their ballots for the presidential election on Sunday in a tense first-round poll that’s seen as a test for the spread of populism around the world. Some 47 million eligible voters in the country will choose between 11 candidates. Voters in Paris said the choice was complex while others expressed doubts

Read the Guardian article here

Tobacco Wars - Episode One - Lighting Up; Episode Two - Smokescreen; Episode Three - Smoked Out

TOBACCO WARS is a comprehensive history of the cigarette, providing an in-depth, balanced, and often shocking look at the tobacco industry. The series' three one-hour episodes are organized chronologically, from the advent of the cigarette through its ascension to one of the most profitable consumer products the world has ever seen. Via first person accounts and insider documentation, TOBACCO WARS vividly portrays what the companies really knew about the link between smoking and disease, explains how mankind became seduced by such a dangerous product, provides a status report on Big Tobacco today, and looks towards the future of this most controversial of industries.

French Voters to Cast Ballots in Wake of Terror Incident

Apr. 22, 2017 - 4:47 - 'Terror in France' author Gilles Kepel weighs in on 'America's News HQ'

Scientists Make Stand Against Trump

Scientists across the country are taking to the streets to oppose the Trump administration. Cenk Uygur, John Iadarola, Michael Shure, and Amna Nawaz, the hosts of The Young Turks, tell you why scientists are marching.

Libre-échange: les Etats-Unis prêts à négocier avec l'Union européenne

L’EXPRESS: Au cours de son voyage aux Etats-Unis le mois dernier, Angela Merkel a convaincu Donald Trump de traiter avec l'Europe. Ce qui remise le Royaume-Uni au second plan.

La nouvelle est inquiétante pour Theresa May. D'après le Times, qui cite des sources officielles à la Maison Blanche, l'administration Trump a changé son fusil d'épaule en matière d'accords de libre-échange. Alors que le président américain avait promis de conclure "rapidement et dans les règles" un accord commercial avec le Royaume-Uni, c'est maintenant vers l'Europe qu'il se tourne.

Deux raisons à ce revirement. D'abord, les Etats-Unis ne peuvent conclure aucun accord avec le Royaume-Uni avant mars 2019, date théorique à laquelle le Brexit deviendra effectif si les négociations se déroulent correctement. "Rapidement et dans les règles" devient donc illusoire. » | Par Laurent Martinet | samedi 22 avril 2017

Xavier Jugelé, 37, Officer Killed in Paris, Was Defender of Gay Rights

THE NEW YORK TIMES: PARIS — He was a proud gay man and a committed policeman.

He was among the officers who responded to a terrorist attack at the Bataclan concert hall in November 2015, and he was in the crowd when Sting helped reopen the 19th-century building a year later.

Xavier Jugelé, 37, a Paris police officer since 2010, himself fell victim to terrorism Thursday evening. He was in a police vehicle on the heavily guarded Champs-Élysées, Paris’s most famous boulevard, when a gunman opened fire, killing him and wounding two other officers, along with a bystander.

The gunman was shot dead as he tried to flee; the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack a short while later.

Officer Jugelé was mourned on Friday by friends and fellow officers. » | Lilia Blaise | Friday, April 21, 2017

Andrew Sullivan On Donald Trump: 'Huge Mistake' That He's President | MTP Daily | MSNBC

Andrew Sullivan joins MTP Daily to assess the Trump administration, criticize Democrats and decipher elections and unrest overseas.

Netanyahu: US Shift in Stance on Iran Is an Important Change

Apr. 21, 2017 - 9:10 - Israeli prime minister discusses how his country faces its security challenges on 'Hannity'

Plight of Christians in Pakistan

American Converts to Islam Defy Stereotypes

Decline of Christianity and Rise of Islam in the UK

Chemical ‘Attack’ Was False Flag to Justify Strike on Airbase – President Assad

Syrian President Bashar Assad warned that what he called “false flag” incidents and provocations, similar to the one he said took place in the town of Khan Shaykhun, are likely to occur in future to give the US a pretext for an attack.

Up for Grabs: Total Uncertainty ahead of French Presidential Election (Parts 1 & 2)

Champs-Elysées Attack: What Impact on Sunday's French Election?

Ivanka And Jared Are Spectacularly Unqualified — And Why That Matters

FORWARD: In the family business that passes for this White House, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner have acquired seats at the grown-ups’ table, with offices steps away from the Oval Office, portfolios that seem to grow by the day and unparalleled access to the levers of power.

To cite a recent New York Times story, they “have emerged as President Trump’s most important advisers, at least for now.”

And surely the most unqualified ones to ever hold such august positions.

But that last part doesn’t seem to matter. Because beyond everything else — the astonishing conflicts of interest and the continued, brazen self-enrichment — these two represent the end of any expectation that expertise is required for government work. Even in a Cabinet that is viewed as the most inexperienced in American history, the president’s daughter and son-in-law stand out for having neither the knowledge nor the experience to reasonably pursue any of the many missions they have been given. » | Jane Eisner | Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Jared Kushner: The Man Who Has President Trump's Ear

Brexit: Come What May

Top US & World Headlines — April 21, 2017

Bill O’Reilly Sacked, Finds It ‘Tremendously Disheartening'

Former news anchor Bill O’Reilly's 21-year tenure on Fox News came to an end on Wednesday amid an avalanche of sexual allegations. Media and legal analyst Lionel of Lionel Media joins “News With Ed” to give his take on the situation.

Fox News Viewers Boycott Over O'Reilly

Fox News fans are mad! Cenk Uygur, Hannah Cranston, and Amberia Allen, the hosts of The Young Turks, tell you why they’re boycotting.