LGBTQ+ Groups Protest across Spain after 24-year-old Beaten to Death

Samuel Luiz, a 24-year-old nurse killed in A Coruña. (R.I.P.)
EL PAÍS: Police have not yet determined the motive of the brutal assault against Samuel Luiz in A Coruña, but the victim’s friends believe it was a homophobic attack

LGBTQ+ groups across Spain arranged street demonstrations on Monday to call for justice for Samuel Luiz, a young nurse who was killed in a brutal attack in the early hours of Saturday morning in the northwestern city of A Coruña in Galicia. While investigators are still working to find the authors of the crime and establish the motive, one of Luiz’s friends has claimed on social media that there was a homophobic motive to the assault, which apparently began outside a nightclub over a misunderstanding involving the 24-year-old victim.

The María Pita square in A Coruña was filled with thousands of people on Monday evening, expressing their support for friends and families of Luiz, who was killed during Pride weekend. The female friends who were accompanying the victim during his final moments were also there. They made public addresses calling for the case to be resolved and requesting respect for the family of the young man, who opted not to come to the protests. » | Caridad Bermeo, Elisa Lois, Marta Pinedo | A Coruña / Pontevedra / Madrid | Tuesday, July 6, 2021

English version by Simon Hunter (Twitter a/c here)

La comunidad LGTBI dice basta »

I first posted on this tragic story in German from the Swiss newspaper, Tages Anzeiger, here

Les Pays-Bas face à un inquiétant péril mafieux

LE MONDE : La tentative d’assassinat envers Peter de Vries, journaliste d’investigation spécialisé dans les affaires criminelles, souligne l’urgence, pour le gouvernement néerlandais, de revoir sa stratégie de lutte contre le trafic de drogue.

Editorial du « Monde ». Le crime était son univers, qu’il explorait avec obstination depuis des décennies. Le journaliste néerlandais Peter de Vries, 64 ans, a payé cher cet engagement : trois jours après avoir été atteint d’une balle dans la tête, mercredi 7 juillet, à Amsterdam, il était toujours, samedi, entre la vie et la mort, et son pays est sous le choc. » | Éditorial | samedi 10 juillet 2021

James Taylor : Shower the People

Provided to YouTube by Warner Records

Lionel Richie : Do It To Me

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Lionel Richie : Penny Lover

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Mahler Symphony No 5 Adagietto – Herbert von Karajan

Jul 25, 2013 • Slide-show of Venice with contemporary photographs and antique oil paintings. Symphony No5 /Mahler/ Adagietto/ Berlin Philharmoniker/Herbert von Karajan. The 1974 recording - Deutsche Grammophon

The Pink Triangles: The Story of the Gay Holocaust (Complete Documentary)

Premiered Jan 21, 2021 • The vastly ignored history of Germany's war on gay men during World War 2. A special note: Trans women were also persecuted but Germany categorized them as gay men so there's no official records to refer to.
This video is age-restricted; so, to watch it, you will have to verify your age with a credit card or a driver’s licence. The video cannot be embedded; it has to be watched on YouTube itself. This documentary is not for the faint-hearted. It shows how gays were persecuted in the Third Reich. People with a conscience should watch it, however. We need to ensure that such atrocities never ever happen again – anywhere.

Click here for viewing.

Emotional Gay Commercials

Jun 1, 2021 • Some of the best wholesome Gay commercials.

Annie Lennox: A Whiter Shade of Pale (Tradução)

"Woke Capitalism": Jetzt auch mit Haltung

ZEIT ONLINE: Unternehmen geben sich in sozialen und politischen Fragen neuerdings besonders progressiv. Wie glaubwürdig ist das?

Im Frühjahr ließ der Online-Modehändler Zalando einen Werbespot produzieren. In dem Film treten auf: ein schwarzes Plus-Size-Model, ein schwuler Skateboarder, ein Tänzer, der mit einem Arm geboren wurde. Vor ein paar Jahren hatte Zalando noch mit Kundinnen geworben, die beim Klingeln des Paketboten ausrasteten. Damals wollte Zalando bloß Schuhe verkaufen.

Heute genügt dem Unternehmen das nicht mehr, es hat sich eine neue Mission verpasst. "Diversität und Inklusion" seien für Zalando "weit mehr als nur eine Geschäftsstrategie – sondern der einzig richtige Weg", schrieb Konzernvorstand Rubin Ritter im November. Zalando versprach, den Anteil von Frauen in Führungspositionen bis Ende 2023 auf mindestens 40 Prozent zu erhöhen. Neuerdings sind in Zalandos Kampagnen auch nicht mehr nur Models zu sehen, die dem ultraschlanken Schönheitsideal der Modeindustrie entsprechen. Und als vor einem Jahr auch in Deutschland Zehntausende gegen den gewaltsamen Tod des Afroamerikaners George Floyd protestierten, versicherte Zalando seinen 1,2 Millionen Instagram-Followern, "unsere Stimme" für die "schwarze Community" zu erheben.

Woke capitalism, aufgeweckter Kapitalismus, hat der US-Kolumnist Ross Douthat es genannt, wenn Unternehmen sich in sozialen oder politischen Fragen besonders progressiv geben; wenn es ihnen nicht mehr allein ums Geldverdienen geht, sondern darum, auf der richtigen Seite zu stehen. Richtig, das heißt in diesem Fall: für die Gleichberechtigung von Frauen und Minderheiten zu sein – oder auch für den Klimaschutz. » | Von Heike Buchter, Ann-Kathrin Nezik und Theresa Rauffmann | Mittwoch, 7. Juli 2021

Brazilian Potential Presidential Candidate Announces He Is Gay

AL JAZEERA: Governor Eduardo Leite of Rio Grande do Sul could challenge Jair Bolsonaro, who has espoused anti-gay rhetoric.

Brazilian governor and potential major party presidential candidate Eduardo Leite, a prominent critic of President Jair Bolsonaro, came out as gay in a TV interview.

Leite, governor of the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, would be the first openly gay presidential candidate in Brazil. Anti-gay rhetoric has been a staple of speeches by Bolsonaro, who once declared that if he had a gay son, he would rather the child died in an accident. “I have never spoken about a subject related to my private life,” Leite told Brazilian journalist Pedro Bial in a TV interview on Thursday evening. “But during this moment of low integrity in Brazil, I have nothing to hide, I am gay. I am a governor who is gay, not a gay governor, as former President Obama in the US was a president who was Black, not a Black president. And I am proud of that.” » | Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies | Friday, July 2, 2021

CORREIO BRAZILIENSE: Governador do RS, Eduardo Leite namora médico capixaba há nove meses »

Related: Brazilian Presidential Hopeful Comes Out as Gay ahead of Jair Bolsonaro Challenge »

Brazilian presidential hopeful Eduardo Leite comes out as gay: “I’m proud of this” »

Alone Out Here: A Gay Farmer on Love, Isolation, and Disrupting the Meat Industry in Australia | The New Yorker

Jun 9, 2021 • In “Alone Out Here,” by Philip Busfield and Luke Cornish, an Australian rancher who is openly gay in a conservative industry fights to reduce carbon emissions through his cattle farming.

Washington de nouveau confronté au chaos haïtien

LE MONDE : Editorial. Après l’assassinat du président haïtien, Jovenel Moïse, aider les Haïtiens à former un gouvernement de transition, susceptible de stabiliser le pays afin de le mener à des élections, devrait être la priorité des Etats-Unis.

Editorial du « Monde ». C’est peu de dire que Haïti, dont le président, Jovenel Moïse, a été assassiné, mercredi 7 juillet, est un Etat failli. La malédiction semble frapper ce pays de 11 millions d’habitants qui partage, avec la République dominicaine, l’île d’Hispaniola et qui fut, avec les Etats-Unis, la première nation indépendante des Amériques. Dictatures, coups d’Etat, corruption, tremblements de terre, cyclones et épidémies ont entretenu depuis des décennies la misère et l’insécurité d’une population impuissante.

L’assassinat d’un chef d’Etat élu est en soi un traumatisme politique majeur. Il est encore plus déstabilisant lorsque, comme c’est le cas à Haïti, il intervient dans un vide de pouvoir quasi total. Jovenel Moïse fut d’ailleurs l’un des artisans de cette faillite politique, gouvernant par décret depuis janvier 2020 après avoir échoué à organiser des élections législatives. » | Éditorial | Samedi 10 juillet 2021

Un abonnement numérique du Monde (mensuel ou annuel) est disponible ici »

Julio Iglesias, Stevie Wonder - My Love

Les prix de l’immobilier flambent dans les stations balnéaires

LE MONDE : La pandémie de Covid-19 entraîne une demande grandissante pour les résidences secondaires en bord de mer. La Bretagne est de plus en plus recherchée, à l’inverse de la région PACA en perte de vitesse.

Dans les grandes villes, la tendance est à l’exode depuis le début de la crise sanitaire. Conséquence, les prix de l’immobilier s’emballent sur les littoraux français, selon une étude publiée vendredi 2 juillet par Meilleurs Agents.

Au palmarès des plus fortes hausses, citons la Bretagne (+ 7,2 % en un an, à 2 996 euros du mètre carré), la Manche (+ 5,9 %, à 3 110 euros du mètre carré) et la côte Atlantique (+ 5,6 %, à 4 372 euros du mètre carré). « La Bretagne et la Manche sont des territoires où les prix n’ont rien à voir avec la Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur [PACA] ni même le Sud-Ouest, il y a donc un effet de rattrapage », explique Thomas Lefebvre, directeur scientifique de Meilleurs Agents.

Les stations balnéaires de la Manche séduisent les Parisiens par leur facilité d’accès : à peine trois heures de voiture séparent la capitale du Touquet-Paris-Plage, la station manchoise la plus chère (6 544 euros du mètre carré en moyenne). » | Par Isaline Thomas | Samedi 10 juillet 2021

Meals by Wheels: UK Drive-through Booms as Brands Invest in New Sites

THE GUARDIAN: Social distancing is feeding an appetite for a new generation of US-style drive-through restaurants

Drive-through restaurants used to be a US-inspired novelty but a big increase in custom during the pandemic means money is pouring into new UK sites, with even upmarket names looking to serve food through car windows for the first time.

New property research suggests that demand for drive-throughs has increased by 25% post-Covid with restaurant chains looking to open a total of 200 sites a year. The clamour comes as established names such as McDonald’s and Burger King face competition from North American brands such as Tim Hortons, famous for its coffee and doughnuts, and burger chain Wendy’s.

The growing trend for ordering burgers, fizzy drinks and coffee from our cars, which comes at a time when the UK is trying to reduce car use and obesity, is spreading beyond its traditional heartland of Big Macs and chicken nuggets. » | Zoe Wood, Consumer affairs correspondent | Saturday, July 10, 2021

More junk food for the troughs! There’ll be no shortage of baby elephants by the end of the decade! – Mark

US West Heatwave: 31 Million People Brace for Record-breaking Temperatures

THE GUARDIAN: Las Vegas could surpass its record-high of 117F as residents of US west face very high risk of heat-related illness

More than 31 million people across the US west and south-west are bracing for a brutal heatwave that could bring triple-digit temperatures this weekend, with authorities warning that records could be broken in many regions of California and Nevada. Officials have said that Las Vegas could even surpass its record-high temperature of 117F.

The “heat risk” is classified as “very high” across much of this area, meaning all residents there face “very high risk of heat-related illness due to both the long duration heat, and the lack of overnight relief”, the National Weather Service (NWS) has said. » | Victoria Bekiempis | Saturday, July 10, 2021

Haiti Calls US for Troops, after Wild Day of Gunfights and Suspicion

THE NEW YORK TIMES: At least 20 people were arrested in the assassination of the Haitian president — 18 Colombians and 2 Americans of Haitian descent — on a day of deepening mystery.

After 24 hours of wild gun battles with suspects in the assassination of Haiti’s president, the nation’s authorities announced the arrests of 20 people and called on the United States to send troops to help protect crucial infrastructure.

Haiti’s remarkable request for military assistance from the United States, a former colonial overlord that has repeatedly intervened in the nation’s affairs, is a measure of how deeply shaken the nation has been by days of chaos and intrigue. As new developments unfolded at a dizzying pace on Friday, the mystery over who was ultimately behind the assassination only deepened.

On the streets, vigilantes prowled for suspects, and the police killed at least three people in gunfights. The vast majority of those arrested have turned out to be from Colombia — former military men said to have turned mercenaries — as questions arose about why it had been so easy for attackers to burst into President Jovenel Moïse’s home and kill him, seemingly with no shots fired from security staff. » | Natalie Kitroeff, Anatoly Kurmanaev, Catherine Porter and Julie Turkewitz | Friday, July 8, 2021

Political Crisis in Haiti Deepens Over Rival Claims to Power »

Citizens, Not the State, Will Enforce New Abortion Law in Texas

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The measure bans abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. And it effectively deputizes ordinary citizens to sue people involved in the process.

People across the country may soon be able to sue abortion clinics, doctors and anyone helping a woman get an abortion in Texas, under a new state law that contains a legal innovation with broad implications for the American court system.

The provision passed the State Legislature this spring as part of a bill that bans abortion after a doctor detects a fetal heartbeat, usually at about six weeks of pregnancy. Many states have passed such bans, but the law in Texas is different.

Ordinarily, enforcement would be up to government officials, and if clinics wanted to challenge the law’s constitutionality, they would sue those officials in making their case. But the law in Texas prohibits officials from enforcing it. Instead, it takes the opposite approach, effectively deputizing ordinary citizens — including from outside Texas — to sue clinics and others who violate the law. It awards them at least $10,000 per illegal abortion if they are successful.

“It’s completely inverting the legal system,” said Stephen Vladeck, a constitutional law professor at the University of Texas at Austin. “It says the state is not going to be the one to enforce this law. Your neighbors are.” » | Sabrina Tavernise | Friday, July 9, 2021

Journalist’s Monthslong Hunger Strike Points to Perils of Reporting in Morocco

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Soulaimane Raissouni, who has been held without trial for over a year, is more than 80 days into a hunger strike.

For years, Soulaimane Raissouni, a Moroccan newspaper editor, didn’t shy away from reporting on some of the most sensitive issues in the North African kingdom, including antigovernment protests that erupted in 2011 and 2016. But his criticism of how the authorities have handled the pandemic appeared to go too far.

A little over a year ago, he was arrested at his home in Casablanca after accusations of a sexual assault — allegations that he says are false and trumped up to intimidate him. Imprisoned ever since, he launched a hunger strike almost three months ago in protest.

On June 10, he appeared in court, emaciated and unable to walk without assistance. “Please take me back to prison to die,” he told the judge.

Mr. Raissouni is one of at least 10 Moroccan journalists who have been jailed in recent years, most of them accused of sex crimes and other acts deemed illegal in Morocco, including certain forms of abortion. Rights groups say the cases are being pursued by authorities whose true aim is to silence the country’s small cadre of independent journalists with false and politically motivated accusations.

All of the journalists detained had published articles about corruption or abuse of power within the kingdom, many of them targeting businesses or security officials with ties to King Mohammed VI.

Morocco, a constitutional monarchy in which the elected Parliament has little sway over the royal palace, has close ties to the United States and is a reliable ally in counterterrorism cooperation. But rights groups have long criticized the kingdom over its limits on freedom of expression and violations of human rights. » | Nicholas Casey and Aida Alami | Saturday, July 2, 2021

Maroc : le journaliste Soulaimane Raissouni condamné à cinq ans de prison »

Au Maroc, le combat désespéré du journaliste Soulaimane Raissouni contre l’« injustice » de son emprisonnement »

Soulaimane Raissouni »

“Goodbye! Where? I don’t know” »