BBC: It's all change for the trendy crowds along the canals of Milan, used to holding a glass of aperitivo in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Because a ban on smoking outdoors has just come into force in a range of public places.
Smoking within a 10m (30ft) distance of other people is no longer permitted from Tuesday at bus and tram stops as well as in the city's parks and green spaces, sports and recreational grounds, children's play areas, stadiums and cemeteries.
Italy was the first country in the EU to pass a law backing an indoor ban on smoking in public places in 2003.
Milan is now the first Italian city to introduce such an extensive outdoor ban, part of a package of measures to improve air quality and combat climate change.
Other planned regulations, which will come into effect in phases over the next three decades, also target factors like car emissions and heating fuels. » | Dany Mitzman | Bologna | Tuesday, January 19, 2021
Tuesday, January 19, 2021
Majority of Europeans Fear Biden Unable to Fix 'Broken' US
THE GUARDIAN: Survey finds more Europeans than not say US cannot be trusted after four years of Trump
A majority of Europeans believe America’s political system is broken, that China will be the world’s leading power within a decade, and that Joe Biden will be unable to halt his country’s decline on the world stage, according to a report.
While many welcomed Biden’s victory in November’s US election, more Europeans than not feel that after four years of Donald Trump the US cannot be trusted, according to the study by the European Council on Foreign Relations.
“Europeans like Biden, but they don’t think America will come back as a global leader,” said the thinktank’s director, Mark Leonard. “When George W Bush was president, they were divided about how America should use its power. With Biden entering the White House, they are divided about whether America has power at all.” » | Jon Henley | Tuesday, January 19, 2021
A majority of Europeans believe America’s political system is broken, that China will be the world’s leading power within a decade, and that Joe Biden will be unable to halt his country’s decline on the world stage, according to a report.
While many welcomed Biden’s victory in November’s US election, more Europeans than not feel that after four years of Donald Trump the US cannot be trusted, according to the study by the European Council on Foreign Relations.
“Europeans like Biden, but they don’t think America will come back as a global leader,” said the thinktank’s director, Mark Leonard. “When George W Bush was president, they were divided about how America should use its power. With Biden entering the White House, they are divided about whether America has power at all.” » | Jon Henley | Tuesday, January 19, 2021
Chris Hedges on the Bleak Future of the USA (Audio Only)
Lights Go Out on Trump's Reality TV Presidency but Dark Legacy Remains
THE GUARDIAN: For four years the outrages piled up so high they were hard to keep track of but the coronavirus pandemic proved to be one crisis he couldn’t bluster away
In a cold, sombre, damp Washington four years ago this Wednesday, Donald Trump took the oath of office as the 45th president of the United States and delivered an inaugural address now remembered for two words: American carnage.
He delivered, but not as he promised. Trump pledged to end the carnage of inner-city poverty, rusting factories, broken schools and the scourge of criminal gangs and drugs. Instead his presidency visited upon the nation the carnage of about 400,000 coronavirus deaths, the worst year for jobs since the second world war and the biggest stress test for American democracy since the civil war.
“It’s not just physical carnage,” said Moe Vela, a former White House official. “There’s also mental carnage and there’s spiritual carnage and there’s emotional carnage. He has left a very wide swath of American carnage and that is the last way I would want to be remembered by history, but that is how he will be remembered.” » | David Smith in Washington | Tuesday, January 19, 2021
In a cold, sombre, damp Washington four years ago this Wednesday, Donald Trump took the oath of office as the 45th president of the United States and delivered an inaugural address now remembered for two words: American carnage.
He delivered, but not as he promised. Trump pledged to end the carnage of inner-city poverty, rusting factories, broken schools and the scourge of criminal gangs and drugs. Instead his presidency visited upon the nation the carnage of about 400,000 coronavirus deaths, the worst year for jobs since the second world war and the biggest stress test for American democracy since the civil war.
“It’s not just physical carnage,” said Moe Vela, a former White House official. “There’s also mental carnage and there’s spiritual carnage and there’s emotional carnage. He has left a very wide swath of American carnage and that is the last way I would want to be remembered by history, but that is how he will be remembered.” » | David Smith in Washington | Tuesday, January 19, 2021
Brexiters Are Waking Up to the Damage They've Done
THE GUARDIAN: From horse racing to fishing to road haulage, British industry is in chaos. No wonder leavers are turning on each other
Brexit has beached the fishing boats at Hastings. The two-man crew of Paul Joy’s boat Kaya have left for shore jobs, after the price of the huss they land fell to just 2p a kilo. Exports to the European Union are Brexit-blighted, with fishers across Britain poleaxed by new costs and regulations, their catches rotting before they reach EU markets. It’s costing them millions already.
For the past two years Joy, a passionate Brexiter, has consistently told me he believes his industry would be shafted in any trade deal. “Betrayed, sacrificed,” he says, outraged at the government’s failure to secure British fishing rights for 12 miles around the coast, and now crippled by the export costs. So when foreign secretary Dominic Raab has the effrontery to tell the BBC’s Andrew Marr that this is “a great deal for the fishing industry”, he must know it’s not true.
Other industries want to know if Boris Johnson’s promised “compensation” for fishing losses means a huge subsidy in perpetuity for this less than 0.2% sliver of the economy? Because the problems exploding in one industry after another, in less than three Brexit weeks, are not going away.
Friction is the new normal. As the chief EU negotiator, Michel Barnier said firmly last week, things have “changed for good”. UK choices mean “mechanical, obvious, inevitable consequences when you leave the single market and that’s what the British wished to do”. It’s not French revenge, or bloody-minded Brussels, but ordinary life as a third country. » | Polly Toynbee | Monday, January 18, 2021
Brexit has beached the fishing boats at Hastings. The two-man crew of Paul Joy’s boat Kaya have left for shore jobs, after the price of the huss they land fell to just 2p a kilo. Exports to the European Union are Brexit-blighted, with fishers across Britain poleaxed by new costs and regulations, their catches rotting before they reach EU markets. It’s costing them millions already.
For the past two years Joy, a passionate Brexiter, has consistently told me he believes his industry would be shafted in any trade deal. “Betrayed, sacrificed,” he says, outraged at the government’s failure to secure British fishing rights for 12 miles around the coast, and now crippled by the export costs. So when foreign secretary Dominic Raab has the effrontery to tell the BBC’s Andrew Marr that this is “a great deal for the fishing industry”, he must know it’s not true.
Other industries want to know if Boris Johnson’s promised “compensation” for fishing losses means a huge subsidy in perpetuity for this less than 0.2% sliver of the economy? Because the problems exploding in one industry after another, in less than three Brexit weeks, are not going away.
Friction is the new normal. As the chief EU negotiator, Michel Barnier said firmly last week, things have “changed for good”. UK choices mean “mechanical, obvious, inevitable consequences when you leave the single market and that’s what the British wished to do”. It’s not French revenge, or bloody-minded Brussels, but ordinary life as a third country. » | Polly Toynbee | Monday, January 18, 2021
Biden’s Incoming Chief of Staff Warns That the Virus Death Toll Will Reach 500,000 by the End of February.
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Officials in the incoming Biden administration braced the country for continued hardship in the days after the inauguration, with the president-elect assuming control of a struggling economy and surging coronavirus outbreak in less than three days.
Ron Klain, President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s incoming White House chief of staff, had a dire forecast for the course of the coronavirus outbreak in the new administration’s first weeks, predicting that half a million Americans will have died from the coronavirus by the end of February. The current toll is nearing 400,000.
“The virus is going to get worse before it gets better,” Mr. Klain said in an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “People who are contracting the virus today will start to get sick next month, will add to the death toll in late February, even March, so it’s going to take awhile to turn this around.”
Average daily U.S. deaths from the virus have risen to well past 3,000, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has sounded the alarm about a fast-spreading, far more contagious variant of the coronavirus that officials project will become the dominant source of infection in the country by March, potentially fueling another wrenching surge of cases and deaths. » | Chris Cameron | Sunday, January 17, 2021
Ron Klain, President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s incoming White House chief of staff, had a dire forecast for the course of the coronavirus outbreak in the new administration’s first weeks, predicting that half a million Americans will have died from the coronavirus by the end of February. The current toll is nearing 400,000.
“The virus is going to get worse before it gets better,” Mr. Klain said in an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “People who are contracting the virus today will start to get sick next month, will add to the death toll in late February, even March, so it’s going to take awhile to turn this around.”
Average daily U.S. deaths from the virus have risen to well past 3,000, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has sounded the alarm about a fast-spreading, far more contagious variant of the coronavirus that officials project will become the dominant source of infection in the country by March, potentially fueling another wrenching surge of cases and deaths. » | Chris Cameron | Sunday, January 17, 2021
Opinion: The Extraordinary Courage of Aleksei Navalny
THE NEW YORK TIMES: After a near-fatal poisoning, Russia’s top dissident steps back into the bear’s den.
Aleksei Navalny knew he would be arrested as soon as he stepped foot on Russian soil, and he had no illusions about what this could mean.
Mr. Navalny had been abroad since August, after all, because President Vladimir Putin’s political goons had poisoned him, and had failed to kill him only because a pilot had diverted his flight to Omsk, where doctors kept him alive until he could be evacuated to Germany. Ironically, his flight was diverted again on Sunday — this time by Russian authorities afraid of the welcoming crowd gathering at the Moscow airport where his flight was supposed to land.
Mr. Navalny knew he would be arrested, because he has been arrested several times before. Repression is the only way Mr. Putin knows. But he is also learning that, in the era of social media, every arrest on a trumped-up charge only broadens Mr. Navalny’s following and amplifies his indictment of the corruption of Russia’s rulers. » | The Editorial Board | Sunday, January 17, 2021
Aleksei Navalny knew he would be arrested as soon as he stepped foot on Russian soil, and he had no illusions about what this could mean.
Mr. Navalny had been abroad since August, after all, because President Vladimir Putin’s political goons had poisoned him, and had failed to kill him only because a pilot had diverted his flight to Omsk, where doctors kept him alive until he could be evacuated to Germany. Ironically, his flight was diverted again on Sunday — this time by Russian authorities afraid of the welcoming crowd gathering at the Moscow airport where his flight was supposed to land.
Mr. Navalny knew he would be arrested, because he has been arrested several times before. Repression is the only way Mr. Putin knows. But he is also learning that, in the era of social media, every arrest on a trumped-up charge only broadens Mr. Navalny’s following and amplifies his indictment of the corruption of Russia’s rulers. » | The Editorial Board | Sunday, January 17, 2021
Monday, January 18, 2021
Nicholas and Alexandra | by HRH Prince Michael of Kent | Parts 1 & 2
Narrated by Jack Perkins, presented by HRH Prince Michael of Kent, includes interviews with Prince Nicholas Romanov (1922-2014), and people who were born in the late 19th century, and witness to Nicholas II's reign.
For almost a century their fabled dynasty and tragic fate have been enveloped in myth and surrounded by mystery. Now, with the opening of the former Soviet Union, the true story of Nicholas and Alexandra can be told. This groundbreaking production, filmed on location throughout the former Soviet Union and Europe, presents a treasure trove of information and documents that have been kept secret for decades. Intimate diaries, letters, and personal effects from the once-sealed imperial archives tell the astonishing story of the Romanovs' reign. Chilling eyewitness accounts, testimony from executioners, and a somber exhumation finally put to rest the enigma of their dynasty's horrifying end. Stunning, fact-filled and grand, this is the ultimate chronicle of a romance that changed the world.
Originally produced by A&E Biography, 1998.
For almost a century their fabled dynasty and tragic fate have been enveloped in myth and surrounded by mystery. Now, with the opening of the former Soviet Union, the true story of Nicholas and Alexandra can be told. This groundbreaking production, filmed on location throughout the former Soviet Union and Europe, presents a treasure trove of information and documents that have been kept secret for decades. Intimate diaries, letters, and personal effects from the once-sealed imperial archives tell the astonishing story of the Romanovs' reign. Chilling eyewitness accounts, testimony from executioners, and a somber exhumation finally put to rest the enigma of their dynasty's horrifying end. Stunning, fact-filled and grand, this is the ultimate chronicle of a romance that changed the world.
Originally produced by A&E Biography, 1998.
Sunday, January 17, 2021
Sterben & Tod – Warum haben wir Angst davor? | Philosophie | Bleisch & Bossart | SRF Kultur – Ein Gespräch in Schweizerdeutsch (Schwiezertüütsch)
Hebrew University's Prof. Yuval Noah Harari on the Era of the Coronavirus: Living in a New Reality
Evangelical Christians in the USA | DW Documentary
Evangelical Christians often have a huge impact on American politics. Many of these people are socially conservative, consider themselves patriots, and believe that Americans have a constitutional right to own guns.
This documentary explores the core beliefs of America's fundamentalist Christians - including the concept of creation, as opposed to evolution.
Our report features interviews with conservative evangelicals who, for example, believe that God created the world in six days about 6,000 years ago. Our reporters traveled to the state of Kentucky to visit a Creation Museum and a Christian theme park that features a life-size model of Noah's Ark.
Christian churches in the US play a major social role, especially in rural areas. They operate schools and universities and organize music festivals that celebrate their faith.
Most fundamentalist Christians are opposed to abortion, pre-marital sex, and homosexuality. They believe that those who engage in these activities will be condemned to Hell. And some have formed paramilitary groups to defend themselves against those whom they perceive as enemies - including non-believers, Communists, and Muslims.
This documentary explores the core beliefs of America's fundamentalist Christians - including the concept of creation, as opposed to evolution.
Our report features interviews with conservative evangelicals who, for example, believe that God created the world in six days about 6,000 years ago. Our reporters traveled to the state of Kentucky to visit a Creation Museum and a Christian theme park that features a life-size model of Noah's Ark.
Christian churches in the US play a major social role, especially in rural areas. They operate schools and universities and organize music festivals that celebrate their faith.
Most fundamentalist Christians are opposed to abortion, pre-marital sex, and homosexuality. They believe that those who engage in these activities will be condemned to Hell. And some have formed paramilitary groups to defend themselves against those whom they perceive as enemies - including non-believers, Communists, and Muslims.
Donald Trump Isolated and Enraged ahead of Biden Inauguration
It was once easy to determine Donald Trump’s mood. All it took was a look at his Twitter account. But with that gone, it has never been so difficult to gain a glimpse into the president’s mindset.
Where frequently a series of all-caps tweets might have suggested an emotional, frustrated Trump, there is silence.
Where posts screeching at fellow Republicans would have indicated a more vindictive bent, or messages with exclamation points a triumphant mood, all that is left of Trump’s Twitter account – which once had 88.7m followers – is a curt message from Twitter’s admin team: “Account suspended. Twitter suspends accounts which violate the Twitter Rules.”
So how has Trump reacted to the events of the past few weeks? By the accounts available, not well. A notoriously excitable president has remained in a state of high alarm. » | Adam Gabbatt in New York | Saturday, January 16, 2021
Saturday, January 16, 2021
What Will Be Trump's Legacy? Hear Historian's Prediction
Friday, January 15, 2021
Deadly Earthquake Hits Indonesia's Sulawesi Island | DW News
Saukälte in Sibirien: Minus-Rekord - Temperatur sinkt auf minus 49 Grad
Kalt, kälter, am kältesten: Im Süden und Westen Sibiriens haben Meteorologen neue Kälterekorde gemessen. Im Dorf Teguldet nahe der Großstadt Tomsk sei das Thermometer am Wochenende auf minus 49 Grad gesunken, sagte ein Wetterexperte am Montag der russischen Staatsagentur Tass. «Westsibirien hat die Meteorologen tief beeindruckt.»
In Nowosibirsk wurden demnach zwischen minus 37 und minus 41 Grad gemessen. Frühere Rekorde in Sibiriens größter Stadt seien um 5 Grad getoppt worden. In anderen Regionen sei es so kalt gewesen wie in den vergangenen 50 bis 100 Jahren nicht mehr, sagte der Sprecher. Nach Angaben der Behörden mussten viele Menschen mit Erfrierungen behandelt werden. Außerdem habe es zahlreiche Verkehrsunfälle und Flugausfälle gegeben.
In Nowosibirsk wurden demnach zwischen minus 37 und minus 41 Grad gemessen. Frühere Rekorde in Sibiriens größter Stadt seien um 5 Grad getoppt worden. In anderen Regionen sei es so kalt gewesen wie in den vergangenen 50 bis 100 Jahren nicht mehr, sagte der Sprecher. Nach Angaben der Behörden mussten viele Menschen mit Erfrierungen behandelt werden. Außerdem habe es zahlreiche Verkehrsunfälle und Flugausfälle gegeben.
Jacob Rees-Mogg Says British Fish Are 'Happier' because of Brexit Deal
Jacob Rees-Mogg? What a tw*t! (Please insert the vowel of your own choosing.) – Mark
Former Spanish King's Ex-lover Says She Was Threatened by Spy Chief
The ex-lover of Spain’s former king Juan Carlos has told a court in Madrid of the “chilling” moment when she claimed the head of the country’s intelligence services threatened her and her children on the monarch’s orders.
Corinna Larsen told the court Félix Sanz Roldán met her in London after her relationship with the king had ended to warn her that if she did not follow his instructions he could not guarantee her safety. She claimed she later returned to her home in Switzerland where she discovered a book about the death of Princess Diana and subsequently received a cryptic phone call about tunnels, which she took to be an allusion to the princess’s fatal accident in 1997. » | Sam Jones in Madrid | Friday, January 15, 2021
Philipp Blom: Wie sieht unser Lebensmodell nach Corona aus? | Sternstunde Philosophie | SRF Kultur
Für den Bestsellerautor, Historiker und Philosoph Philipp Blom ist klar: Unser Selbstbild und unser Wirtschaftssystem sind bankrott. Wir brauchen ein neues Lebensmodell für die Zukunft. Denn wir Menschen stehen nicht über der Natur. Wir sind Teil von ihr, abhängig und verletzlich. Das zeigt die Pandemie ebenso wie die Klimakrise.
«Menschen lernen nicht aus der Geschichte, aber sie reagieren auf Traumata», schreibt der deutsche Historiker und Philosoph Philipp Blom. Hinterlässt die Pandemie ein solches Trauma? Oder die Klimakrise?
Nach Blom befinden wir uns derzeit am Ende von 3000 Jahren Kulturgeschichte. Am Anfang stand das göttliche Gebot: Macht euch die Erde untertan! Aufklärung, Industrialisierung und Kolonialismus folgten diesem Glauben.
Sternstunde Philosophie vom 10.01.2021
«Menschen lernen nicht aus der Geschichte, aber sie reagieren auf Traumata», schreibt der deutsche Historiker und Philosoph Philipp Blom. Hinterlässt die Pandemie ein solches Trauma? Oder die Klimakrise?
Nach Blom befinden wir uns derzeit am Ende von 3000 Jahren Kulturgeschichte. Am Anfang stand das göttliche Gebot: Macht euch die Erde untertan! Aufklärung, Industrialisierung und Kolonialismus folgten diesem Glauben.
Sternstunde Philosophie vom 10.01.2021
Thursday, January 14, 2021
Zucker – Die süsse Droge | Wie Zucker unsere Gesundheit gefährdet | Doku | SRF DOK
Vier von zehn Schweizern sind übergewichtig. Unter anderem ist auch der zu hohe Zuckerkonsum daran schuld. Überall ist Zucker drin. Selbst dort, wo wir es nicht für möglich halten. Eine fünfköpfige Familie aus dem Aargau hat einen Monat lang zuckerfrei gelebt. Mit überraschenden Erkenntnissen.
«Zucker macht süchtig, denn Zucker aktiviert im Hirn die gleichen Rezeptoren wie andere Drogen», sagt die Basler Ärztin Bettina Wölnerhanssen. Darum sei es auch so schwierig, Eigenverantwortung zu übernehmen, und den eigenen Zuckerkonsum zu reduzieren. Wir alle lieben Süsses. Auch die Familie Rechsteiner mit drei Kindern im Teenageralter aus Döttingen ist der süssen Verführung nicht abgeneigt. Allerdings will die Familie nun herausfinden, was der Zuckerkonsum bei ihnen bewirkt, und lässt sich auf einen Versuch ein: Alle fünf Familienmitglieder wollen einen ganzen Monat lang auf Lebensmittel mit zugefügtem Zucker verzichten. Das ist einfacher gesagt als getan. Denn in vier von fünf Lebensmitteln versteckt sich zugefügter Zucker. Selbst in solchen, die gar nicht besonders süss schmecken.
In der Schweiz ist jedes sechste Kind zu dick. Eine halbe Million Schweizerinnen und Schweizer leiden an Diabetes. Vielen Menschen ist zu wenig bewusst, dass sie Zucker aus gesundheitlichen Überlegungen meiden oder nur in geringen Mengen konsumieren sollten. Eine staatlich verordnete Zuckerreduktion stösst auf wenig Akzeptanz: 2019 wurde die Einführung einer Zuckersteuer von den eidgenössischen Räten abgelehnt. In England hingegen hat man das Problem erkannt und reagiert. Mit der Einführung einer happigen Zuckersteuer konnte dort der Zuckergehalt in Süssgetränken massiv gesenkt werden. Heute enthält beispielsweise eine Orangenlimonade in London nur noch halb so viel Zucker wie eine Limonade derselben Marke in Zürich oder Genf.
Erwachsenen Menschen empfiehlt die Weltgesundheits-Organisation nicht mehr als 50 Gramm Zucker pro Tag. Für Kinder die Hälfte. In der Schweiz sind wir mit der doppelten Zuckermenge alarmierend weit von den WHO-Richtwerten entfernt. Die Politik macht wenig Druck auf die Nahrungsmittelproduzenten. Sie setzt auf die Eigenverantwortung der Konsumentinnen und Konsumenten. Wie schwierig das ist, musste auch Familie Rechsteiner feststellen.
Dieser Dokumentarfilm ist zum grossen Teil in Schyzertüütsch (Schweizerdeutsch) übertragen worden. – Mark
«Zucker macht süchtig, denn Zucker aktiviert im Hirn die gleichen Rezeptoren wie andere Drogen», sagt die Basler Ärztin Bettina Wölnerhanssen. Darum sei es auch so schwierig, Eigenverantwortung zu übernehmen, und den eigenen Zuckerkonsum zu reduzieren. Wir alle lieben Süsses. Auch die Familie Rechsteiner mit drei Kindern im Teenageralter aus Döttingen ist der süssen Verführung nicht abgeneigt. Allerdings will die Familie nun herausfinden, was der Zuckerkonsum bei ihnen bewirkt, und lässt sich auf einen Versuch ein: Alle fünf Familienmitglieder wollen einen ganzen Monat lang auf Lebensmittel mit zugefügtem Zucker verzichten. Das ist einfacher gesagt als getan. Denn in vier von fünf Lebensmitteln versteckt sich zugefügter Zucker. Selbst in solchen, die gar nicht besonders süss schmecken.
In der Schweiz ist jedes sechste Kind zu dick. Eine halbe Million Schweizerinnen und Schweizer leiden an Diabetes. Vielen Menschen ist zu wenig bewusst, dass sie Zucker aus gesundheitlichen Überlegungen meiden oder nur in geringen Mengen konsumieren sollten. Eine staatlich verordnete Zuckerreduktion stösst auf wenig Akzeptanz: 2019 wurde die Einführung einer Zuckersteuer von den eidgenössischen Räten abgelehnt. In England hingegen hat man das Problem erkannt und reagiert. Mit der Einführung einer happigen Zuckersteuer konnte dort der Zuckergehalt in Süssgetränken massiv gesenkt werden. Heute enthält beispielsweise eine Orangenlimonade in London nur noch halb so viel Zucker wie eine Limonade derselben Marke in Zürich oder Genf.
Erwachsenen Menschen empfiehlt die Weltgesundheits-Organisation nicht mehr als 50 Gramm Zucker pro Tag. Für Kinder die Hälfte. In der Schweiz sind wir mit der doppelten Zuckermenge alarmierend weit von den WHO-Richtwerten entfernt. Die Politik macht wenig Druck auf die Nahrungsmittelproduzenten. Sie setzt auf die Eigenverantwortung der Konsumentinnen und Konsumenten. Wie schwierig das ist, musste auch Familie Rechsteiner feststellen.
Dieser Dokumentarfilm ist zum grossen Teil in Schyzertüütsch (Schweizerdeutsch) übertragen worden. – Mark
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)