Thursday, April 01, 2021
Opinion: Boris Johnson’s Government Is Built on Cruelty
LONDON — Last week, as Britain focused on its gradual emergence from lockdown, the home secretary, Priti Patel, laid out the government’s “New Plan for Immigration.”
The details were deeply sinister. Only those coming through resettlement schemes, who amount to less than 1 percent of refugees globally, would be welcomed. Everybody else, forced to take life-threateningly dangerous journeys, would be branded “illegal” and aggressively penalized. They would be blocked from key state support, given diminished family reunion rights and be permanently liable for removal, even if granted asylum.
These drastic proposals — which some suggest could contravene the United Nations’ 1951 Refugee Convention — have been months in the making. Last year, Ms. Patel reportedly raised the possibility of sending asylum seekers to islands in the south Atlantic and considered deploying the Navy to prevent people from reaching Britain’s shores. Her plan, inhumane and wrongheaded, exemplifies how the British government treats migrants and refugees.
But such cruelty goes further than the asylum process. Since Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government took office in December 2019, promising to “Get Brexit Done,” it has sought to institute a harsher, more punitive system of immigration and border control. In the name of British sovereignty, it has suffused its rule with anti-migrant authoritarianism. » | Maya Goodfellow | Thursday, April 1, 2021
Top UK Brain Surgeon Calls for Urgent Inquiry into Assisted Dying
Henry Marsh, one of the UK’s leading brain surgeons and a bestselling author, has called for an urgent inquiry into assisted dying after revealing he has advanced prostate cancer.
Marsh, the author of Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery, said dying of cancer could be “a very horrible business” but the law “insists I must suffer”. Politicians had “shown a striking lack of compassion by ducking this issue for too long and are inadvertently guilty of great cruelty”, he said.
His call for an inquiry is backed by more than 50 MPs and peers from different parties, some of whom have previously voted against changing the law. Their letter to Robert Buckland, the justice secretary, argues that the UK has now fallen behind many other countries on the issue of assisted dying.
Last month Spain became the latest European country to approve legislation giving patients with incurable diseases or unbearable conditions the right to choose to end their lives with the assistance of a doctor. » | Harriet Sherwood | Thursday, April 1, 2021
Wednesday, March 31, 2021
Leaders of Covid-hit German States Call for National Lockdown
THE GUARDIAN: Leading virologist says country is in ‘serious and complicated’ stage of pandemic
Regional leaders of two German states badly hit by a third wave of coronavirus have urged the rest of the country to reimpose a tough lockdown to flatten infection rates, as a leading virologist said Germany was in a “serious and complicated” stage of the pandemic.
In a joint letter reported on by Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, Bavaria’s conservative premier, Markus Söder, and the Green head of Baden-Württemberg, Winfried Kretschmann, said the situation was “more serious than many believe”.
“That is why we must live up to our responsibility now and not discuss it any longer,” the two politicians said, in an apparent swipe at other state leaders seen as reluctant to enforce an emergency break on easing restrictions. » | Philip Oltermann in Berlin | Wednesday, March 31, 2021
Regional leaders of two German states badly hit by a third wave of coronavirus have urged the rest of the country to reimpose a tough lockdown to flatten infection rates, as a leading virologist said Germany was in a “serious and complicated” stage of the pandemic.
In a joint letter reported on by Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, Bavaria’s conservative premier, Markus Söder, and the Green head of Baden-Württemberg, Winfried Kretschmann, said the situation was “more serious than many believe”.
“That is why we must live up to our responsibility now and not discuss it any longer,” the two politicians said, in an apparent swipe at other state leaders seen as reluctant to enforce an emergency break on easing restrictions. » | Philip Oltermann in Berlin | Wednesday, March 31, 2021
Tuesday, March 30, 2021
Prince Albert of Monaco Weighs In on Harry and Meghan's Interview: 'It Did Bother Me’
TATLER: The son of Grace Kelly opened up during an interview with the BBC
Prince Albert II of Monaco has become the first royal to speak out about the bombshell interview that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex gave to Oprah Winfrey at the beginning of the month, telling the BBC that it 'did bother [him] a bit'.
Speaking to journalist Yalda Hakim about his environmental work, including the need to preserve the planet's marine ecosystems, he was asked for his take on the royal drama.
'This kind of display of public dissatisfaction, to say the least, these type of conversations should be held within the intimate quarters of the family. It doesn't really have to be laid out in the public sphere like that,' he says. 'So it did bother me a little bit. I can understand where they are coming from in a certain way but I think it wasn't the appropriate forum to be able to have these kinds of discussions.' » | Rebecca Cope | Friday, March 26, 2021
Prince Albert II of Monaco has become the first royal to speak out about the bombshell interview that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex gave to Oprah Winfrey at the beginning of the month, telling the BBC that it 'did bother [him] a bit'.
Speaking to journalist Yalda Hakim about his environmental work, including the need to preserve the planet's marine ecosystems, he was asked for his take on the royal drama.
'This kind of display of public dissatisfaction, to say the least, these type of conversations should be held within the intimate quarters of the family. It doesn't really have to be laid out in the public sphere like that,' he says. 'So it did bother me a little bit. I can understand where they are coming from in a certain way but I think it wasn't the appropriate forum to be able to have these kinds of discussions.' » | Rebecca Cope | Friday, March 26, 2021
No Joke: Volkswagen Confirms It Will Change Name to Voltswagen in US
THE GUARDIAN: In what was initially thought to be an April Fool’s prank, company confirms name change to reflect its investment in electric cars
For 65 years, Volkswagen has been one of the most popular and best-known names in American motoring, its iconic VW Beetle snaring generations of enthusiasts and helping sell millions of vehicles.
But now, in North America at least, the Volkswagen brand is no more. In what was initially thought to be an April Fool’s prank, apparently thanks to a premature announcement by an overeager publicist, the German auto giant has confirmed its metamorphosis into Voltswagen – an attempt to reflect its investment in the growing electric vehicle (EV) market.
A statement posted to Volkswagen’s US website on Tuesday hailed the move, which takes effect on 21 May, as “a public declaration of the company’s future-forward investment in e-mobility”. » | Richard Luscombe in Miami | Tuesday, March 30, 2021
For 65 years, Volkswagen has been one of the most popular and best-known names in American motoring, its iconic VW Beetle snaring generations of enthusiasts and helping sell millions of vehicles.
But now, in North America at least, the Volkswagen brand is no more. In what was initially thought to be an April Fool’s prank, apparently thanks to a premature announcement by an overeager publicist, the German auto giant has confirmed its metamorphosis into Voltswagen – an attempt to reflect its investment in the growing electric vehicle (EV) market.
A statement posted to Volkswagen’s US website on Tuesday hailed the move, which takes effect on 21 May, as “a public declaration of the company’s future-forward investment in e-mobility”. » | Richard Luscombe in Miami | Tuesday, March 30, 2021
W5: The Shadowy Underworld of Contraband Tobacco (2018)
Black Market Tobacco Floods Australian Market (2016)
Price Rankings by Country of Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro) (Markets) »
An Alliance of Autocracies? China Wants to Lead a New World Order
THE NEW YORK TIMES: As President Biden predicts a struggle between democracies and their opponents, Beijing is eager to champion the other side.
President Biden wants to forge an “alliance of democracies.” China wants to make clear that it has alliances of its own.
Only days after a rancorous encounter with American officials in Alaska, China’s foreign minister joined his Russian counterpart last week to denounce Western meddling and sanctions.
He then headed to the Middle East to visit traditional American allies, including Saudi Arabia and Turkey, as well as Iran, where he signed a sweeping investment agreement on Saturday. China’s leader, Xi Jinping, reached out to Colombia one day and pledged support for North Korea on another.
Although officials denied the timing was intentional, the message clearly was. China hopes to position itself as the main challenger to an international order, led by the United States, that is generally guided by principles of democracy, respect for human rights and adherence to rule of law. » | Steven Lee Myers | Monday, March 29, 2021
President Biden wants to forge an “alliance of democracies.” China wants to make clear that it has alliances of its own.
Only days after a rancorous encounter with American officials in Alaska, China’s foreign minister joined his Russian counterpart last week to denounce Western meddling and sanctions.
He then headed to the Middle East to visit traditional American allies, including Saudi Arabia and Turkey, as well as Iran, where he signed a sweeping investment agreement on Saturday. China’s leader, Xi Jinping, reached out to Colombia one day and pledged support for North Korea on another.
Although officials denied the timing was intentional, the message clearly was. China hopes to position itself as the main challenger to an international order, led by the United States, that is generally guided by principles of democracy, respect for human rights and adherence to rule of law. » | Steven Lee Myers | Monday, March 29, 2021
No More Tax Breaks for Billionaires
Monday, March 29, 2021
Brexit Is a Catastrophic Mistake and the Government Knows It
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