Not A Still Life | Gay Jewish Documentary Portrait

Aug 13, 2018 • In this documentary portrait, a charismatic older, gay, Jewish man undergoes an evolution of awareness amid the joys and sorrows of his wild and fully lived life. In revealing his “naked truth,” he offers viewers an opportunity for reflection about the complexity of human identity.

In the words of the film’s spirited subject, “This is the story of a gay, Jewish, animal rights, vegetarian, recovering alcoholic ... individual.” Steve Stone is an ebullient, extroverted character and an engaging storyteller with a life full of captivating tales. He is also not unlike many gay men of a certain age who were almost brought to extinction with the AIDS epidemic of the 80’s. In that sense, this film, a portrait of a man, is also a chronicle of a time that was.

This one man’s story, his struggles with sexual orientation and various addictions, love and loss, taps into themes that encompass all our lives. His quirky and entertaining reflections come from a unique perspective. We cannot help but see ourselves in, and be inspired by, his distinctive outlook because for all the ways that we may not share his “outside the box” personality, his evolution, his journey through life and his deep desires are ours. They exemplify the conflicts and complexities in every human heart.

Not a Still Life punctuates the stories of Steve’s personal journey through the decades with a judicious use of title graphics to reflect key aspects of gay social history in America. His is the tale of a man who, in the homophobic period of the 50s, was ridiculed and dismissed as a child which led his irreverence, hyperactivity and rebelliousness. Determined to be himself rather than conform to social mores that made him uncomfortable, he came out to everyone in the early 60’s at the age of 17. Eight years before the Stonewall Rebellion, this was a brave move. Steve Stone has been openly gay for fifty years!


Viewer discretion is advised. Warning: Not suitable for children! – Mark

Caught Inside - Gay Surfers - Gay Short Documentary

Oct 5, 2018 • “Caught Inside” is a short documentary I produced exploring the taboo of homosexuality in surfing culture. I spoke to three vastly different Australian surfers to discuss their perspectives on why being gay in the lineup is still taboo and the experiences they’ve had growing up in a country full of surf, sand and waves. Producer, Motion Design: Gabriel Virata Cinematographer, Editor: Miles Bence

The Truth about Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (aka BoJo)

Populist Prime Minister Boris Johnson is more celebrity than politician. In this brief rundown of the Prime Minister's history, Byline Writer Otto English delves into what made the man born Alexander into Boris Johnson and calls into question whether the man the country affectionately calls 'Boris' is really quite such a loveable buffoon after all.

The education of Boris Johnson, the UK’s new Prime Minister »

Trump Organization Executive Surrenders to Face Charges in Tax Investigation

THE GUARDIAN: Trump Organization’s CFO, Allen Weisselberg, is preparing to face charges in tax-related investigation that marks a turning point for former president

The Trump Organization’s chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, surrendered to the Manhattan district attorney’s office early on Thursday as he and the Trump family business prepare to face criminal charges in a tax-related investigation.

Weisselberg, who has worked for the Trump family for nearly 50 years, entered a building housing Manhattan’s criminal court, where he and a Trump Organization representative are expected to appear later in the day.

These are the first criminal charges against the former president’s company since prosecutors began investigating it three years ago, and represent the latest stage of an escalating battle between New York prosecutors and the former president. » | Dominic Rushe in New York and agency | Thursday, July 1, 2021

Top Trump Executive Allen Weisselberg Surrenders to Face Charges »

China Uses Communist Party's Centenary for a Show of Strength and Defiance | DW News

Jul 1, 2021 • The Chinese Communist Party celebrated the 100th anniversary of its founding with a ceremony in Tiananmen Square. President Xi said the "great rejuvenation" of China is "irreversible."

Xi Jinping struck a defiant tone during a major address celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Beijing on Thursday. Xi told a massive audience gathered at Tiananmen Square that "the era of China being slaughtered and bullied is gone forever. Anyone who dares try to do that will have their heads bashed bloody against the Great Wall of steel forged by over 1.4 billion Chinese people," the Chinese leader added to roaring applause. He credited the CCP with lifting millions of Chinese out of poverty and said it has built a "moderately prosperous society" during its 100-year reign.

In regard to China's security, Xi said during his speech that the China "must accelerate the modernization of national defense and the armed forces." Under Xi, China has increased the size of its military, and has built outposts on islands in the South China Sea, while claiming most of the waters as Chinese territory. On Taiwan, Xi said he wants to achieve "complete reunification" of the country and "smash" any efforts to grant the island independence from the mainland. Taiwan responded shortly after Xi's speech, saying that its determination to defend its sovereignty and democracy remained unchanged.

CCP Chairman Mao Zedong established the People's Republic of China in 1949 amid a civil war. Xi has become the country's most powerful leader since Mao and has added his name to the country's constitution. Since his 8 years in power, Xi has marshaled major domestic and foreign policy reforms by launching an anti-corruption campaign, silencing dissent domestically, and boosting China's global influence through the Belt and Road Initiative development strategy. He has also been criticized by Western countries for putting members of the Muslim Uyghur minority into what are called "reeducation camps," but are considered by human rights groups to be internment camps where grave abuses are taking place. In 2022, the current Politburo Standing Committee is expected to step down and announce new leaders. The question looming over next year's party congress is whether Xi will revive Mao's title of party chair, potentially allowing him to remain in power longer.

Donald Rumsfeld, Architect of Iraq War, Has Died

Jul 1, 2021 • Donald Rumsfeld, the former U.S. defense secretary who was the main architect of the 2003 Iraq war, died at age 88.

Pandemic Surges Again in Many Parts of the World, Fueled by Variants

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The highly contagious Delta variant is on the rise, and countries that hoped they had seen the worst of Covid-19 are being battered again.

The nightmare is returning.

In Indonesia, grave diggers are working into the night, as oxygen and vaccines are in short supply. In Europe, countries are slamming their doors shut once again, with quarantines and travel bans. In Bangladesh, urban garment workers fleeing an impending lockdown are almost assuredly seeding another coronavirus surge in their impoverished home villages.

And in countries like South Korea and Israel that seemed to have largely vanquished the virus, new clusters of disease have proliferated. Chinese health officials announced on Monday that they would build a giant quarantine center with up to 5,000 rooms to hold international travelers. Australia has ordered millions to stay at home.

A year and a half since it began racing across the globe with exponential efficiency, the pandemic is on the rise again in vast stretches of the world, driven largely by the new variants, particularly the highly contagious Delta variant first identified in India. From Africa to Asia, countries are suffering from record Covid-19 caseloads and deaths, even as wealthier nations with high vaccination rates have let their guard down, dispensing with mask mandates and reveling in life edging back toward normalcy. » | Hannah Beech and Livia Albeck-Ripka | Wednesday, June 20, 2021

Gay Farmers Call for Help

Oct 22, 2019 • In the UK, many LGBTQ farmers feel isolated and live a life plagued by secrecy and guilt. Their only solace is a phone number. This short documentary illuminates their experiences through reconstructive visuals over recorded telephone conversations that are both shocking and candid.

Read more HERE »

The Right-wing Extremists Plot to Overthrow the German Government | DW Documentary

Jul 7, 2020 • Amid reports of right-wing extremist activity in the German police and armed forces, radical groups are said to be preparing a coup against the government. The federal Interior Ministry has promised to crack down on right-wing groups.

Concerns are growing about reports of right-wing extremist activity in the German police and armed forces -- but senior officers and politicians seem reluctant to deal with the situation.

Journalist Dirk Laabs has found evidence that far-right conspirators illegally received ammunition from government warehouses, stockpiled weapons, and made concrete plans for a coup attempt -- to be known as "Day X."

The attempt was supposedly to be carried out during a time of national emergency -- like the current coronavirus crisis. Some domestic security experts, including the Left Party’s Martina Renner, are worried about these developments. Renner says this may be the moment that the alleged plotters were waiting for.

In June 2019, several current and former officers of an elite police unit in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern were arrested, suspected of supplying one of these far-right conspirators with large quantities of ammunition. Investigators say that the ammo came from military and police units from all over Germany, including the states of Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia. Authorities in those two states have not yet been able to explain how the ammunition ended up in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Fears about right-wing activity among the German police and military have been growing for years. In December 2019, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer announced plans to expand and strengthen federal police agencies that are involved in the effort to combat right-wing extremism and terrorism.

‘A Form of Brainwashing’: China Remakes Hong Kong

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Neighbors are urged to report on one another. Children are taught to look for traitors. Officials are pressed to pledge their loyalty.

HONG KONG — With each passing day, the boundary between Hong Kong and the rest of China fades faster.

The Chinese Communist Party is remaking this city, permeating its once vibrant, irreverent character with ever more overt signs of its authoritarian will. The very texture of daily life is under assault as Beijing molds Hong Kong into something more familiar, more docile.

Residents now swarm police hotlines with reports about disloyal neighbors or colleagues. Teachers have been told to imbue students with patriotic fervor through 48-volume book sets called “My Home Is in China.” Public libraries have removed dozens of books from circulation, including one about the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela.

Hong Kong had always been an improbability. It was a thriving metropolis on a spit of inhospitable land, an oasis of civil liberties under iron-fisted rule. A former British colony that returned to China in 1997, the city was promised freedoms of speech, assembly and the press unimaginable in the mainland, in an arrangement Beijing called “one country, two systems.” » | Vivian Wang and Alexandra Stevenson | Tuesday, June 29, 2021

What Neo-Nazis Have Inherited from Original Nazism | DW Documentary (Neo-Nazi Documentary)

Sep 21, 2019 • What resemblance do today’s ethnonationalistic ideologies bear to those which surged during the rise of the Nazis in the Weimar-era? Quite a lot, this documentary shows. Germany’s far-right neo-nazi scene is now bigger than at any time since National Socialism.

History may not repeat itself, but one can still learn from it. The years of the Weimar Republic were scarred by post-war trauma, political extremism, street fighting, hyper-inflation and widespread poverty. But they also saw economic boom, the establishment of a liberal democratic order and a parliamentary party system. Nobody could really imagine that the Nazis would brush aside the achievements of this young democracy just a few years later. But there were signs, warnings even that all was not well.

So how does that resonate today? How do today’s right-wing populist movements and parties achieve their political aims? Which slogans, images and stereotypes played a role then, and which ones are playing a role now?

The film also looks beyond Germany’s borders. How has Europe changed in the last few years and how have far-right movements been able to gain such influence? In the interwar period, democracies across the continent collapsed one after the other like a house of cards. What about today? Riding on the coat-tails of the political party the Alternative for Germany (AfD) the far-right has become a factor in both national and state parliaments, united by nationalist and often racist ideologies directly linked to those of the 1930s. At that time, global economic crisis and mass unemployment drove people straight into the fascists’ arms. So what will happen if crisis strikes now? Are our democracies and their achievements today any more stable than they were in the years before the Second World War?

Deadly Extreme Heatwave in Canada | DW News

Jun 30, 2021 • A slew of sudden deaths is being blamed on a record-breaking heatwave sweeping British Columbia and Alberta. Temperatures hit a record high for a third straight day on Tuesday, reaching 49.5 Celsius (121 Fahrenheit) in the village of Lytton.

Police in Vancouver said they had responded to 65 sudden-death calls between Friday and Tuesday. The deaths were still under investigation and many of the deceased were seniors.

British Columbia closed schools and educational institutions due to the record-breaking temperatures. Prior to the weekend, the historical high in Canada was 45 Celsius, set in Saskatchewan in 1937.

Opinion – Guest Essay: Northern Ireland Is Coming to an End

THE NEW YORK TIMES: BELFAST, Northern Ireland — It was meant to be a year of celebration.

But Northern Ireland, created in 1921 when Britain carved six counties out of Ireland’s northeast, is not enjoying its centenary. Its most ardent upholders, the unionists who believe that the place they call “our wee country” is and must forever remain an intrinsic part of the United Kingdom, are in utter disarray. Their largest party has ousted two leaders within a matter of weeks, while an angry minority has taken to the streets waving flags and threatening violence. And the British government, in resolving Brexit, placed a new border in the Irish Sea.

It’s harsh reward for what Northern Ireland’s first prime minister, James Craig, called “the most loyal part of Great Britain.” But the Protestant statelet is not what it was. Well on its way to having a Catholic majority, the country’s once dominant political force — unionism — now finds itself out of step with the community that traditionally gave it uncritical support. And for all his talk of the territorial integrity of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has made clear his government would cheerfully ditch this last little fragment of Britain’s empire if it continues to complicate Brexit. » | Susan McKay* | Wednesday, June 30. 2021

* Ms. McKay is an Irish journalist who writes extensively about the politics and culture of Northern Ireland.

Far-Right Group Was Preparing for "Day X" | "Germany's Neo-Nazis & the Far Right" | FRONTLINE

Jun 29, 2021 • Nordkreuz, a German far-right group, stockpiled weapons and prepped for violence. Its alleged leader wasn’t tried on terror charges. An excerpt from FRONTLINE's "Germany's Neo-Nazis & the Far Right."

“If you had an Islamist, a jihadi, doing the same thing, he would go to jail,” journalist Dirk Laabs tells FRONTLINE's Evan Williams of Nordkreuz's alleged leader.

The documentary includes photos found on a hard drive obtained by investigative journalist Dirk Laabs, showing members of the secret group of soldiers, police and civilians practicing military maneuvers and believed to be preparing for something they called Day X: a future moment when the German state would collapse in chaos, and the far right could step in and take control.

The documentary, which explores the rise of far-right and neo-Nazi violence in modern-day Germany and whether authorities are doing enough to stop it, is supported by "Exploring Hate," a multiplatform public media initiative from The WNET Group in New York aimed at offering an in-depth understanding of the rising tide of hatred, hate crimes, antisemitism and racism.

I Had to De-Gay My Voice for Work. I'm Not Alone.

ADVOCATE: I met my now-husband in 1996 at a time when I never imagined we would be able to get married in the same sense that heterosexual couples do. After the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, in 2015 — and a 19-year courtship — we exchanged vows on a mountaintop in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, in Canada. At that time, we still couldn’t legally marry in our home state of Georgia.

When we adopted our first child in 2011, the State of Georgia did not allow us to adopt him as a couple. We each had to adopt him individually, and separately. Today, and together with my husband and two sons, I live in a neighborhood with no other families with same-sex parents. We proudly fly our rainbow flag in front of our home each June in celebration of Pride Month and how far we’ve personally come, with the support and love of our neighbors and community. » | Rick McMurty | Monday, June 28, 2021

Record-breaking Heatwave Hits Western Canada

Jun 29, 2021 • There are worries about public safety as Western Canada’s dangerous heatwave intensifies, with no relief in sight.

Australien fürchtet sich vor der Delta-Variante

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINER ZEITUNG: In dem Land mit den bisher stets besonders niedrigen Infektionszahlen müssen gleich mehrere Regionen in den Lockdown. Jetzt rächt sich, dass Australien mit seiner Impfstrategie so zögerlich war.

Ob Darwin im Norden, Queensland im Osten oder Perth im Westen: In Australien lässt sich gerade beobachten, wie die hochansteckende Delta-Variante fast ein ganzes Land in kurzer Zeit in einen Ausnahmezustand stürzen kann. Australien war dank früher Grenzschließungen und strenger Quarantänemaßnahmen bisher relativ gut durch die Pandemie gekommen. Die meisten Australier konnten trotz Pandemie und punktueller regionaler Ausgangssperren ein vergleichsweise normales Leben führen. Dann kam Delta, und zunächst wurden in der Metropole Sydney vergangene Woche einige zentrale Stadtviertel in den Lockdown geschickt. Doch damit ließ sich die Ausbreitung der zuerst in Indien nachgewiesenen Corona-Variante nicht aufhalten. » | Von Till Fähnders, Singapur | Montag, 28. Juni 2021

Australie : avec le variant Delta, « 100 % de transmission au sein des foyers »

LE POINT : L’île fait face à une résurgence de l’épidémie. Trois États ont décrété des confinements éclairs, dont la Nouvelle-Galles du Sud qui dénombre 130 cas.

Confinement, port du masque, jauge en intérieur et extérieur… Des millions d'Australiens démarrent la semaine sous de nouvelles restrictions sanitaires. En cause, un rebond de l'épidémie de coronavirus – dû au variant Delta – sur l'ensemble du pays. En Nouvelle-Galles du Sud, la métropole de Sydney s'est confinée pour au moins deux semaines. Dix-huit nouvelles contaminations y ont été recensées au cours des dernières 24 heures, portant à 130 le nombre de cas positifs. À l'origine de ce cluster, un chauffeur effectuant la navette entre l'aéroport de Sydney et des hôtels de quarantaine. « Nous devons nous préparer à ce que les chiffres augmentent considérablement. Avec ce variant (Delta, NDLR), nous assistons à près de 100 % de transmission au sein des foyers », s'est inquiétée la Première ministre de Nouvelle-Galles du Sud, Gladys Berejiklian, lors de son dernier point presse tenu lundi midi, heure australienne. » | Marianne Murat, correspondante du Point à Melbourne | lundi 28 juin 2021

Pfizer and Moderna Vaccines Likely to Produce Lasting Immunity, Study Finds

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Immune cells are still organizing to fight the coronavirus months after inoculation, scientists reported.

The vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna set off a persistent immune reaction in the body that may protect against the coronavirus for years, scientists reported on Monday.

The findings add to growing evidence that most people immunized with the mRNA vaccines may not need boosters, so long as the virus and its variants do not evolve much beyond their current forms — which is not guaranteed. People who recovered from Covid-19 before being vaccinated may not need boosters even if the virus does make a significant transformation.

“It’s a good sign for how durable our immunity is from this vaccine,” said Ali Ellebedy, an immunologist at Washington University in St. Louis who led the study, which was published in the journal Nature. » | Apoorva Mandavilli | Monday, June 28, 2021

Democracy Now! Top U.S. & World Headlines — June 28, 2021