2021 International Holocaust Remembrance Day Commemoration

Eight decades after the Holocaust began, people worldwide paused on the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz to honor the memory of Europe’s Jews, who were targeted for annihilation. During this ceremony, Holocaust survivors and leaders from the United States and Europe conveyed the urgent responsibility we all share to protect the lessons and legacy of this history and to defend the truth—now more than ever.

US Issues Terrorism Alert Early in Biden’s Term

CHICAGO SUN TIMES: The Department of Homeland Security issued a national terrorism bulletin Wednesday warning of the potential for lingering violence from people motivated by anti-government sentiment after President Joe Biden’s election.

WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security issued a national terrorism bulletin Wednesday warning of the potential for lingering violence from people motivated by anti-government sentiment after President Joe Biden’s election.

The department did not cite a specific threat, but pointed to “a heightened threat environment across the United States” that it believes “will persist” in the weeks since Biden took office. DHS said it consulted with law enforcement and intelligence agencies before issuing the alert about the potential for homegrown violent extremism.

“Information suggests that some ideologically-motivated violent extremists with objections to the exercise of governmental authority and the presidential transition, as well as other perceived grievances fueled by false narratives, could continue to mobilize to incite or commit violence,’’ the bulletin said. » | Associated Press | Wednesday, January 27, 2021

Romanovs: The Real Story

Unknown and unrevealed facts, which evince that many truths in regard to the life and death of the Romanovs remain silenced or distorted to this day. Nicholas II was surrounded by the forceful presence of his mother, the Dowager Empress, and his uncles. This generation of Romanovs could have, under normal circumstances, expected another two decades of service to and influence over their nation, and it was with both regret and misgivings that they kissed the hands of their new young sovereign and his Hessian bride.

This video is produced as part of the project for the book "The Romanov Royal Martyrs”, which is an impressive 512-page book, featuring nearly 200 black & white photographs, and a 56-page photo insert of more than 80 high-quality images, colorized by the acclaimed Russian artist Olga Shirnina (Klimbim) and appearing here in print for the first time.

European Union: Video Message on the Occasion of the Holocaust Remembrance Day

Video message by Charles MICHEL, President of the European Council, on the occasion of EJA International Holocaust Remembrance Day event (European Jewish Association), on 27 January 2021, in Brussels.

Holocaust Memorial Day: Remembering the Victims of All Genocides

Holocaust Memorial Day is dedicated to the millions of people, including six million Jews, who were murdered under Nazi rule during the Second World War and this year, its scope has been widened to include all victims of genocide.

In the decades since the Holocaust, the world has seen many more acts of genocide and Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis says lessons have not been learnt from the horrors of the Holocaust, with the plight of Uighur Muslims in China being frighteningly similar to the genocide of Europe's Jews many decades ago.

Verfahren gegen Trump: Fast alle Republikaner im Senat gegen Impeachment

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Nur fünf republikanische Senatoren stimmen mit den 50 Demokraten für den Fortgang des Amtsenthebungsverfahrens gegen den früheren amerikanischen Präsidenten. Die anderen halten es für verfassungswidrig. Damit wird eine Verurteilung extrem unwahrscheinlich.

Die Hoffnungen der amerikanischen Demokraten auf eine Verurteilung des früheren Präsidenten Donald Trump im Impeachment-Prozess haben einen deutlichen Dämpfer erlitten. Bei einer Abstimmung stellten sich am Dienstag 45 der 50 republikanischen Senatoren hinter einen Antrag, den Prozess wegen der Erstürmung des Kapitols für verfassungswidrig zu erklären. Nur fünf Republikaner stimmten mit den 50 Demokraten.

Das lässt es zunehmend unrealistisch erscheinen, dass im Senat die für eine Verurteilung Trumps notwendige Zweidrittelmehrheit zustande kommen wird. Sollten die 50 demokratischen Senatoren geschlossen für eine Amtsenthebung stimmen, müssten sich ihnen noch mindestens 17 Republikaner anschließen. » | Quelle: AFP/dpa | Mittwoch, 27. Januar 2021

Steve Schmidt Thinks Rand Paul Has ‘Soiled His Oath’ | Deadline | MSNBC

Steve Schmidt, co-founder of the Lincoln Project, calls out the current Republican party for its role in the insurrection and says the party is a “real life autocratic movement”. Aired on 01/22/2021.

Boris Johnson 'Deeply Sorry' as UK Covid Death Toll Passes 100,000

Boris Johnson said it was ‘difficult to compute the sorrow’ for every life lost to Covid as the official UK death toll passed 100,000. The prime minister said he took ‘full responsibility’ for the government's response to the crisis, and insisted the government 'did everything we could' to limit deaths

Keilar Calls Out Dr. Birx's Post-Trump Reputation Rehab Tour

Dr. Deborah Birx, former President Donald Trump's coronavirus task for coordinator, is making the rounds on television revealing the dysfunction in the Trump White House. CNN's Brianna Keilar rolls the tape on some of the times Birx could have spoken out about Trump but did not.

The Romanov Dynasty and the Hunt for Russia's Incredible Tsar's Treasure

By tracing the way, in which the royal treasures were appreciated in the nearly 100 years since the murder of Tsar Nicholas II and his family in 1918, we get a very intimate and special look at Russia and its heritage – past and present.

The Romanovs. The History of the Russian Dynasty

It was 20 years before the beginning of the XX century. The country was in fever. Never before tsar’s power had been as unstable as at that time. It was Alexander III Aleksandrovich who had to take on responsibility for the future of the empire. He was able to extricate the country from economic crisis and turn it into one of the world’s mightiest powers. It was in this condition – at the peak of its power – that the country was inherited by Nicholas Aleksandrovich Romanov. Nobody could even guess at that time that the Russian Empire would collapse soon and Nicholas would be its last ruler, the last monarch of the great dynasty, the House of Romanov.

The most vivid pages of Russian history and the establishment and consolidation of Russian state power are associated with the eighteen Russian Tsars of the House of Romanov which include such historic names as Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, Nicholas I and Alexanders I, II and III. The dynasty ended with the brutal assassination of the last Tsar, Nicholas II and his family by the Bolsheviks in Ekaterinburg in 1917.

The Romanov dynasty played a hugely important role in world history, and the series highlights the life stories and characters of the tsars, recounting their rise to power and their contribution to the dynasty, their merits and their faults, their achievements and mistakes, their victories and defeats in war.

Courtrooms and Creditors Likely to Loom Large in Trump's Post-presidency Life

THE GUARDIAN: Carter campaigned for human rights, Bush painted … but Trump faces several criminal investigations and a mountain of debt

Each US president has charted a unique course after leaving the White House, taking up vocations from philanthropy to human rights to oil painting.

Donald Trump’s post-presidency appears likely to be taken up by meetings with lawyers and creditors, possible sworn depositions about tax practices or sexual assault allegations and, in some long-tail scenarios, fines, criminal charges, bankruptcy or other legal sanction.

With Trump gone from Washington, and now lacking the immunity protections of the presidency, prosecutors in at least three jurisdictions are either weighing or actively pursuing criminal cases against him, and a fourth prosecutor is investigating allegedly fraudulent business practices inside the Trump Organization.

Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, is reportedly a major figure in two of the investigations, over more than $700,000 in “consulting fees” she allegedly received from the Trump Organization, which then allegedly claimed those fees as tax-deductible business expenses. » | Tom McCarthy | Sunday, January 23, 2021

Sturgeon: SNP Will Hold Scottish Independence Vote If It Wins in May

THE GUARDIAN: First minister says she will hold advisory referendum, whether Westminster consents or not

Nicola Sturgeon has said she will hold an advisory referendum on independence if her Scottish National party wins a majority in May’s Holyrood elections, regardless of whether Westminster consents to the move.

Her party is setting out an 11-point roadmap for taking forward another vote, which was to be presented to members of the SNP’s national assembly on Sunday.

Scotland’s first minister told BBC One’s Andrew Marr show on Sunday morning: “I want to have a legal referendum, that’s what I’m going to seek the authority of the Scottish people for in May and if they give me that authority that’s what I intend to do: to have a legal referendum to give people the right to choose. That’s democracy. It’s not about what I want or what Boris Johnson wants.” » | Libby Brooks, Scotland correspondent | Sunday, January 24, 2021

Go for it, Nicola! Scotland's destiny is in Europe. – Mark

From the 60 Minutes Archives: Alexey Navalny

n 2017, Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny told 60 Minutes he was willing to risk his life for the cause, "I think I'm ready to sacrifice everything for my job."

Tens of thousands protest in Russia calling for Navalny's release »

Larry King, Breezy Interviewer of the Famous and Infamous, Dies at 87

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Over five decades, he chatted with an estimated 50,000 people from all walks of life, from presidents and pundits to swindlers and U.F.O. “experts.”

Larry King, who shot the breeze with presidents and psychics, movie stars and malefactors — anyone with a story to tell or a pitch to make — in a half-century on radio and television, including 25 years as the host of CNN’s globally popular “Larry King Live,” died on Saturday in Los Angeles. He was 87.

Ora Media, which Mr. King co-founded in 2012, confirmed the death in a statement posted on Mr. King’s own Twitter account and said he had died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

The statement did not specify a cause of death, but Mr. King had recently been treated for Covid-19. In 2019, he was hospitalized for chest pains and said he had also suffered a stroke.

A son of European immigrants who grew up in Brooklyn and never went to college, Mr. King began as a local radio interviewer and sportscaster in Florida in the 1950s and ’60s, rose to prominence with an all-night coast-to-coast radio call-in show starting in 1978, and from 1985 to 2010 anchored CNN’s highest-rated, longest-running program, reaching millions across America and around the world. » | Robert D. McFadden | Saturday, January 23, 2021

Demstrationen für Navalnyj: „Putin ist ein Dieb!“

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Zehntausende Menschen protestieren am Samstag gegen den russischen Staatspräsidenten und für die Freilassung Alexej Nawalnyjs. Die Staatsmacht geht hart gegen die friedlichen Demonstranten vor.

Im Zentrum Moskaus erschallt am Samstagnachmittag ein Hupkonzert. Zahlreiche Autofahrer hupen, winken den Leuten zu, die den Puschkin-Platz und die angrenzenden Straßen verstopfen. Polizisten flankieren die Straßen, ihre Gesichter von schwarzen Visieren verdeckt. Nur wenige derer, die sich hier versammeln, um „spazieren zu gehen“, wagen es, Schilder zu tragen, denn das liefert einen Anlass zur Festnahme. Die Veranstaltung ist aus Behördensicht illegal, daran erinnert eine Durchsage der Polizei in Dauerschleife. So wie auch die Demonstrationen in allen anderen russischen Städten, zu denen der Oppositionspolitiker Alexej Nawalnyj Anfang der Woche nach seiner Verhaftung für diesen Samstag aufgerufen hat. » | Von Friedrich Schmidt und Reinhard Veser | Samstag, 23. Januar 2021

One Winning Ticket Sold for $1.05bn Mega Millions Lottery Jackpot

THE GUARDIAN: Third-largest prize in US history awaits Michigan winner / Prize had been growing since September

One winning ticket was sold in Michigan for the $1.05bn Mega Millions jackpot, the third-largest lottery prize in US history.

The winning numbers drawn on Friday were 4, 26, 42, 50, 60 and a Mega Ball of 24. The winning ticket was purchased at a Kroger store in the Detroit suburb of Novi, the Michigan Lottery said.

“Someone in Michigan woke up to life-changing news this morning, and Kroger Michigan congratulates the newest Michigan multimillionaire,” said Rachel Hurst, a regional spokeswoman for the grocery chain. She declined to comment further.

The top prize had been growing since 15 September, when a winning ticket was sold in Wisconsin. The lottery’s next estimated jackpot is $20m.

Friday night’s draw came two days after a ticket sold in Maryland won a $731.1m Powerball jackpot. » | Associated Press in New York | Saturday, January 23, 2021

$1 Billion Lottery Prize Ticket Was Sold in Michigan »

Joe Biden Moved to Scrap Many of Trump's Policies | Inside Story

After one of the most bitterly contested and chaotic elections in American history, Joe Biden - the 46th president of the United States - began work in the Oval Office.

Within hours of being sworn in, Biden kicked off his term signing 17 executive orders to reverse some of Donald Trump's most contentious policies. They included repealing Trump's travel ban on some Muslim-majority countries, halting construction of the border wall with Mexico, and rejoining the Paris Climate Accord.

Can the new president repair fractured relations around the world?

Presenter: Mohammed Jamjoom | Guests: Rina Shah, Founder of Republican Women for Biden; Nizar Messari, Associate professor of International Studies at Al Akhawayn University; Jill Cartwright, Writer and Georgia Organizer at Southerners on New Ground Power.

Last of the Czars

«Die Mehrheit der Priester im Vatikan ist schwul» | Sternstunde Religion | SRF Kultur

Mit seiner These, wonach die Mehrheit der Prälaten, Bischöfe und Kardinäle des Vatikans schwul seien, generierte der französische Soziologe und Journalist Frédéric Martel im Frühling 2019 viel Aufmerksamkeit, aber auch Unverständnis.

Sein Buch «Sodom» erschien zeitgleich in acht Sprachen und Martel wurde in unzählige Talkshows eingeladen, doch der Vatikan hüllte sich in Schweigen. Wer sich in den 30er-, 40er- und 50er-Jahren des letzten Jahrhunderts als junger Mann irgendwie anders – eben homosexuell – fühlte, fand in der römisch-katholischen Kirche eine Oase, so Martel in seinem Buch «Sodom»: Männer, die unter Männern leben, andere Kleidung tragen und singen, das wäre für viele die Rettung gewesen, die zudem noch von der Gesellschaft akzeptiert war.

Gegen aussen seien diese in der Regel sehr alten Männer nun homophob, gegen innen aber homophil. Dies führe zu einer gefährlichen Doppelmoral, einer Kultur des Schweigens, die die Skandale rund um die katholische Kirche sehr unglücklich begünstigt hätten.