Brexit : les Britanniques orphelins d’Erasmus

LE MONDE: Editorial. La décision de Boris Johnson de quitter le programme européen d’échanges universitaires est regrettable, autant pour les jeunes du Royaume-Uni que pour ceux de l’Union européenne.

Editorial du « Monde ». C’est l’une des nombreuses fausses promesses de Boris Johnson. Interpellé il y a un an par un député écossais dans la fièvre d’un débat sur le Brexit à la Chambre des communes, le premier ministre britannique garantissait que, non,« Erasmus n’était pas menacé ». La réalité s’impose aujourd’hui aux étudiants du Royaume-Uni avec « l’accord de commerce et de coopération » agréé le 24 décembre par Londres et Bruxelles : Erasmus, pour eux, c’est fini. Ils n’en bénéficieront plus pour aller étudier à l’étranger, pas plus que les universités britanniques n’en bénéficieront pour accueillir les étudiants de l’Union européenne. » | Éditorial | samedi 30 décembre 2020

Brexit: Seven Things Changing on 1 January

BBC: From 1 January, the free movement of people and goods and services between the UK and the EU will end. This means significant differences to how people live, work and travel.

Here are some of the most important things that are changing. » | Paul Kerley | Thursday, December 31, 2020

Stanley Johnson Confirms Application for French Passport on Eve of Brexit

THE GUARDIAN: Prime minister’s father campaigned to remain in the EU in 2016 while his son led the leave movement

Boris Johnson’s father Stanley has confirmed that he is applying for a French passport on the eve of Britain’s Brexit transition period coming to an end.

In an interview with the French radio station RTL, he said: “It’s not a question of becoming French. If I understand correctly I am French! My mother was born in France, her mother was completely French as was her grandfather. “For me it’s a question of obtaining what I already have and I am very happy about that.”

Johnson, 80, served as an MEP 40 years ago, and was one of the first UK civil servants to work in Brussels after Britain joined the European Union, then the European Economic Community, in 1973. He went on to work for the European commission. » | Harry Taylor | Thursday, December 31, 2020

The UK is good enough for the plebs, but only the European Union is good enough for the privileged few! This is sick and disgusting! We'll be told next that BoJo, his son, has secretly applied for French citizenship so as not to lose his EU rights! – ©Mark

View from the EU: Britain 'Taken over by Gamblers, Liars, Clowns and Their Cheerleaders'

THE GUARDIAN: European commentators weigh in on what Britain’s departure from the EU means

Britain faces an uncertain future as it finally pulls clear of the EU’s orbit, continental commentators have predicted, its reputation for pragmatism and probity shredded by a Brexit process most see as profoundly populist and dangerously dishonest.

“For us, the UK has always been seen as like-minded: economically progressive, politically stable, respect for the rule of law – a beacon of western liberal democracy,” said Rem Korteweg, of the Clingendael Institute thinktank in the Netherlands.

“I’m afraid that’s been seriously hit by the past four years. The Dutch have seen a country in a deep identity crisis; it’s been like watching a close friend go through a really, really difficult time. Brexit is an exercise in emotion, not rationality; in choosing your own facts. And it’s not clear how it will end.” » | Jon Henley, Europe correspondent | Thursday, December 31, 2020

BoJo – Coco’s Brother

The Clown Test: If it looks like a clown, behaves like a clown, and talks like a clown, then it probably is a clown. – ©Mark

The Guardian View on the Brexit Debate: No Scrutiny, No Choice

THE GUARDIAN: A truncated parliamentary session, less than 48 hours before the end of the transition period, was too little, too late

In a damning assessment of Wednesday’s token debate on Boris Johnson’s Brexit trade deal, the Hansard Society’s senior researcher dismissed it as “a farce.” As one of the most depressing and shambolic periods in British political history reaches a denouement, perhaps that should have come as no surprise.

MPs were allotted five hours to discuss the 1,246-page treaty, agreed last week, which completes Britain’s departure from the European Union. Such a derisory level of scrutiny, said Hansard’s Brigid Fowler, was “an abdication of parliament’s constitutional responsibilities.” Exuding insouciance, the leader of the House of Commons, Jacob Rees-Mogg, quickly revealed the government’s contempt for such notions. The risibly short session, he told MPs, was merely the “icing on the Christmas cake that the prime minister delivered for the nation”. So much, then, for the restoration of parliamentary sovereignty, the lodestar that supposedly guided the Brexit project. In the absence of any alternative, bar a disastrous no-deal exit on New Year’s Day, the European Union (future relationship) bill was rushed through by a majority of 448. Cognisant of its myriad flaws, Mr Johnson had good grounds for wanting it to be waved through on the fly. » | Editorial | Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Two Kingdoms in the Third Reich - Professor Alec Ryrie

Nazism was not a Christian movement in any meaningful sense https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-an...

German Protestants of the 1920s and 1930s shared many Nazi assumptions and voted disproportionately for the Nazi party, partly in the hope that they might use it for their own ends. One result was the German Christian movement, which tried to create a dejudaised Christianity which the Nazi state would accept with a place in the coming Aryan utopia. Many moderate, sensible Christians in Germany, even in the supposedly anti-Nazi 'Confessing Church', collaborated with the regime in other ways. This lecture will explore how so many Christians came to support Nazism, and how some managed to oppose it.

'Delusional': Watch Rev. Sharpton React to Trump’s Nobel Prize Fraud | The Beat with Ari Melber

Trump continues to foster chaos in his final days in office, releasing an odd video where he falsely suggests he won the Nobel Prize. Reverend Al Sharpton reacts to the video and slams Trump for suggesting he saved many lives during the pandemic. (This interview is from MSNBC’s “The Beat with Ari Melber", a news show covering politics, law and culture airing nightly at 6pm ET on MSNBC. http://www.thebeatwithari.com). Aired on 12/29/2020.

Is Cancer Caused by Sugar?

If you or someone you know has had cancer, this episode is going to matter to you. And since the odds are now that 1 in 3 adults in the US will get cancer, this really is a topic that matters to all of us.

The school of thought around cancer used to be focused only on the genetic component. But we now know that our environment—the air we breathe, the food we eat, even our relationships—have an enormous cellular impact on our ability to prevent and treat cancer.

I’m excited to sit down with Dr. Jason Fung on this episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy to talk about his amazing work in the field of cancer research and why this environmental component should give us all hope.

Dr. Fung is a physician, author, and researcher. His groundbreaking science-based books about diabetes and obesity, The Diabetes Code, The Obesity Code, and The Complete Guide to Fasting have sold over one million copies and challenged the conventional wisdom that diabetics should be treated with insulin. Dr. Fung is also the co-founder of The Fasting Method, a program to help people lose weight and reverse type 2 diabetes naturally with fasting. His latest book, The Cancer Code: A Revolutionary New Understanding of a Medical Mystery, was just released.

This episode is brought to you by Bioptimizers, Thrive Market, Apeel.

Earthquake Hits Croatia with 6.4 Magnitude | DW News

A powerful earthquake has struck Croatia near the capital Zagreb. The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre says the magnitude 6.4 event struck 46 kilometers southeast of Zagreb. According to official reports, it caused widespread damage, collapsing roofs, building façades and entire buildings. The tremors also prompted the precautionary shutdown of a nuclear power plant in neighbouring Slovenia. That region was hit by a slightly weaker tremor.

The Guardian View on Britain’s Global Role: Shrinking around Brexit

THE GUARDIAN: In a world of superpower rivalry, the UK must urgently rebuild the strategic alliances that were sabotaged by its departure from the EU

Boris Johnson has a range of political skills, but international diplomacy is not among them. His greatest asset is a campaigning charisma with limited cultural range. The dishevelled look and irreverent bombast are an act aimed at a domestic audience. It translates poorly abroad. In the global arena, reluctance to look serious forfeits respect sooner than it wins affection.

That is one reason why Mr Johnson did not acquit himself well as foreign secretary in Theresa May’s government. Another was that he hates serving anyone but himself. As prime minister, he has not sharpened up his act, but he is at least free to pursue his own agenda. What does that mean in foreign policy terms? There is Brexit, of course. But that has been a parochial matter in UK politics – perversely so, given that the country’s orientation in the world is at stake. The domestic debate has consistently lacked global perspective. The remain side failed to communicate the cost of surrendering a seat at European summits. The view that EU membership amplified British power was drowned out by the rhetoric of regaining mythic sovereignty. » | Editorial | Monday, December 28, 2020

My opinion: As a one-time dyed-in-the-wool Conservative voter, I say this: Never again will I vote Tory! I wavered after the shabby way they treated Margaret Thatcher; but now, after this Brexit fiasco, NEVER AGAIN! It is to be hoped that the Tories go the way of the Whigs: into oblivion! Leaving the European Union has been a suicidal act. No self-respecting, economics-understanding, UK-loving voter could ever have voted for Brexit. Brexit has taken our rights as one-time European citizens away from us. And for what? Some spurious, nebulous concept of sovereignty – a concept most people probably don’t understand anyway. Make no mistake: the one-per-centers wanted Brexit because they will enrich themselves still further at our expense; the rest voted for Brexit out of ignorance because of the lies they were fed. But they have been fooled. The result: We, the people, have to put up with our European rights being taken away! Further, as a nation, we will be impoverished. – ©Mark Alexander

Game of Thrones Video Game Tycoon Dies in Suspected Poisoning

THE GUARDIAN: Police in China detain colleague of Yoozoo Games founder Lin Qi on suspicion of involvement in death

Shanghai police have detained a man in relation to the suspected poisoning death of the wealthy founder of a video games company

. Lin Qi, 39, died on Christmas Day, eight days after he was taken to hospital with “acute symptoms of illness”, according to his company, Yoozoo Games Co, known for the Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming strategy game and as the producer of a forthcoming Netflix adaptation of the science fiction hit The Three-Body Problem. » | Helen Davidson in Taipei | Monday, December 28, 2020

Saudi Rights Activist Loujain al-Hathloul Sentenced to Almost Six Years in Jail

THE GUARDIAN: Court suspends some of sentence and backdates start of term, meaning she only has three months left to serve

Loujain al-Hathloul, the Saudi women’s right activist detained three years ago by the Saudi government, has been sentenced to five years and eight months in jail after being found guilty of spying with foreign parties and conspiring against the kingdom.

But the court suspended 2 years and 10 months of her sentence and backdated the start of her jail term to May 2018, meaning she only has three months left to serve.

Although human rights campaigners will say she should never have been detained for so long without charge, the prospect of serving only a further three months in jail will help defuse a potentially damaging early confrontation with the Biden administration that would have occurred if she had been locked up for a further 20 years, as seemed possible at one point. » | Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor | Monday, December 28, 2020

'You Have a President Who Is Increasingly Out of Touch While Americans Are Dying' | MSNBC

President Trump is golfing at his private club in Florida over the Christmas weekend while a $900 billion coronavirus relief bill sits on his desk that would provide millions of Americans with desperately needed financial assistance. MSNBC’s host of “American Voices” Alicia Menendez speaks with Rolling Stone Washington Bureau Chief Andy Kroll, Politico White House Correspondent Tyler Pager, and MSNBC Political Analyst, host of “Zerlina,” and the author of “The End of White Politics” Zerlina Maxwell about what this roadblock means for vulnerable Americans.

SNP Confirms It Will Vote against 'Extreme Tory Brexit' Deal

THE GUARDIAN: Party says PM’s plan, to be voted on next week, reinforces the case for Scottish independence

The Scottish National party has confirmed its MPs will vote against what it called “Boris Johnson’s extreme Tory Brexit” next week, saying the newly agreed deal reinforced the case for Scottish independence.

The expected decision, made following a meeting of the SNP’s Westminster parliamentary group, guarantees at least some formal opposition when the deal is put to the Commons on Wednesday.

The SNP’s Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, said: “Boris Johnson’s extreme Tory Brexit is an unforgivable act of economic vandalism and gross stupidity, which will cause lasting damage to the economy and leave the UK much worse off at the worst possible time – during a pandemic and economic recession. » | Peter Walker, Political correspondent | Sunday, December 27, 2020

The Observer View on the Brexit Trade Deal

THE OBSERVER: A deal that makes us poorer, reduces global influence and imperils the nation’s integrity

Any deal is better than no deal. But the agreement that Boris Johnson struck with the European Union on Christmas Eve is no political triumph, no diplomatic feat. It will one day surely be regarded as one of the greatest-ever deceits inflicted on the British electorate. We were told that a free trade agreement with the EU would be “one of the easiest in human history” to get, that we were “going to get a great deal”. We were told that a free trade agreement would give us “the exact same benefits” of EU membership without any of the obligations or financial costs.

Yet the deal Johnson has reached will inflict all the costs he denied it ever would. It will take some weeks to fully digest the many pages of legal text. But it is already clear that this deal will have enduring consequences for Britain in the coming decades: for the wellbeing and resilience of communities across a highly unequal nation; for the potential for the UK to be an influence for good in an increasingly unstable world; and perhaps even for the very integrity of our nation. Johnson’s act of national harm could not come at a worse time. It will set in train significant economic damage during a global pandemic that has left the NHS and economy reeling. » | Observer Editorial | Sunday, December 27, 2020

Brexit: Big changes to our lives, and livelihoods, and on their way from 1 January when the transition period ends »

Splendid Isolation … Or Just a Bit-part Player? Europe Reacts to British ‘Victory’

THE OBSERVER: As Brussels officials scrutinise the detail, political pundits from Berlin to Madrid see a poor outlook for the UK

Questions about how the full details of the Brexit deal would be received, and warnings of the negotiations that will continue after its implementation, tempered widespread relief in Europe that a last-ditch agreement had been reached.

Many commentators also wondered how Britain would negotiate the reality of life outside the European Union after years of unsettled argument even within the pro-Brexit camp about the country’s strategic direction.

Le Monde said the country was now facing a dilemma from over half a century ago. “The United Kingdom finds itself once again facing a question that was never resolved after 1945: its place in the world,” wrote Philippe Bernard. “Its [sic] like Back to the Future, from the 1950s.

“While Germany and France launched themselves into building Europe, the British refused to join this project, too limited for their ambitions and initiated by two countries they considered, unlike themselves, losers of the war.” » | Emma Graham-Harrison | Sunday, December 27, 2020

Margaret Thatcher said plan for the euro was 'a rush of blood', archives reveal »

This Brexit disaster has been brewing in the Conservative party for 30 years »

Who Was the Real Jesus Christ (Biblical Documentary) | Timeline

After the death of Jesus, his followers split into two factions. They held radically different views about their leader – his identity, his message and his vision of the future. One of those factions flourished under the guiding genius of St Paul – and eventually wrote its version of the story in the Gospels of the New Testament. The other faction withered and died away, leaving behind no written records. But what if the losers in this power struggle had written their version of the story? The Real Jesus Christ reconstructs that lost biography of Jesus: an alternative version of his life as it would have been told by those who lost the battle for the succession, but who knew him better than anyone else – his closest followers and his family.

Don Winslow Films — Everybody Is Turning on Trump

#EverybodyIsTurningOnTrump

Brexit Going Forward: Who Are the Winners and Losers? | DW News

No one really thought the UK would vote to leave the EU. But they did and it up-ended politics in Britain and the EU.

When it takes effect it will change many aspects of life for people on both sides of the English Channel. Leaving the European Union. Leaving all the restrictions, duties, and the benefits of being part of a greater whole. Leaving behind freedom of movement, simple trade, and hundreds of common rules covering everything from human rights to light-bulb specifications.

DW Correspondents Birgit Maass in London and Georg Matthes in Brussels have had front-row seats at the Brexit process from the very beginning. They have not only reported from the endless summits and negotiations, but also traveled through the UK and Europe, and even beyond. They met people whose lives will be affected – in some ways that could have been predicted – and in some ways that couldn’t.

As Birgit and Georg look towards the future, they pick out those people whose fates show us what’s going to happen in a Brexit world. The fishing communities who set sail from different coasts looking to make a living from the same waters, and how bitter the fight has become for them. The British farmers who will see their income slashed, and what that’ll mean, depending on how big their farms are. The people who made their lives in Britain but are no longer welcome. And of course those on both sides of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.