Rachel moved from the UK to Germany in 2016. As a relative newcomer she casts a fresh eye over German clichés and shares her experiences of settling into German life. Every two weeks she explores a new topic – from unusual bans to meaty cuisine or haunted castles. This week: LGBTQI+ life and Pride in Germany.
Tuesday, July 13, 2021
LGBTQI+ Germany: Pride and Being Queer in Germany | Meet the Germans
Jul 7, 2021 • What's it like to be gay, transgender or non-binary in Germany? For this week's Meet the Germans, Rachel flies the rainbow flag and looks at queer history, LGBTQI+ rights and "Christopher Street Day" (aka Pride) in Germany.
Rachel moved from the UK to Germany in 2016. As a relative newcomer she casts a fresh eye over German clichés and shares her experiences of settling into German life. Every two weeks she explores a new topic – from unusual bans to meaty cuisine or haunted castles. This week: LGBTQI+ life and Pride in Germany.
Rachel moved from the UK to Germany in 2016. As a relative newcomer she casts a fresh eye over German clichés and shares her experiences of settling into German life. Every two weeks she explores a new topic – from unusual bans to meaty cuisine or haunted castles. This week: LGBTQI+ life and Pride in Germany.
Harry Nilsson - Without You
Südafrika eskaliert: Heftige Ausschreitungen nach Inhaftierung von Ex-Präsident
Jul 13, 2021 • Brennende Autos und Plünderungen: In Südafrika halten die Proteste nach der Inhaftierung von Ex-Präsident Zuma an.
In Südafrika hat die Regierung nach tagelangen Ausschreitungen infolge der Inhaftierung von Ex-Präsident Jacob Zuma Soldatinnen und Soldaten in zwei Provinzen entsandt.
In Südafrika hat die Regierung nach tagelangen Ausschreitungen infolge der Inhaftierung von Ex-Präsident Jacob Zuma Soldatinnen und Soldaten in zwei Provinzen entsandt.
Cuba Blames US as the Country Sees Biggest Protests in Decades | DW News
Jul 13, 2021 • Cuba saw its largest anti-government protests in decades this weekend, with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel cracking down on the demonstrators. Cuban police were deployed to major cities such as Havana on Monday following the protests a day earlier. Streets in Havana were quiet due to the ramped up police presence. Authorities have blocked social media sites in an attempt to censor information about the demonstrations. Mobile internet outages — the only way Cubans can go online — are also common. At least 100 demonstrators, journalists and activists have been arrested since Sunday's protests, according to the exiled Cubalex human rights group.
Thousands of Cubans poured into the streets of Havana and other cities on Sunday in the largest demonstrations against the government in nearly 30 years. The protesters chanted slogans such as "Down with the dictatorship" and "We want liberty." Others shouted "No tenemos miedo" or "We are not afraid."
Diaz-Canel and other top Cuban officials have accused the US of orchestrating the unrest. The Cuban president said Monday that the US is pursuing a "policy of economic suffocation to provoke social unrest in the country." He tweeted that "the counterrevolution dreams of war between Cubans" and emphasized national unity. The US has put Cuba under a comprehensive embargo since 1962, limiting economic trade. Diaz-Canel had previously called on communist supporters to confront "provocations" by the protesters. Rogelio Polanco Fuentes, a top official in the Communist Party of Cuba, said the demonstrations were funded by the US government to foment "instability and chaos" in the country. He compared the protests to the US-backed demonstrations in 2019 against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, a Cuban ally.
More on this story here, here and here
Thousands of Cubans poured into the streets of Havana and other cities on Sunday in the largest demonstrations against the government in nearly 30 years. The protesters chanted slogans such as "Down with the dictatorship" and "We want liberty." Others shouted "No tenemos miedo" or "We are not afraid."
Diaz-Canel and other top Cuban officials have accused the US of orchestrating the unrest. The Cuban president said Monday that the US is pursuing a "policy of economic suffocation to provoke social unrest in the country." He tweeted that "the counterrevolution dreams of war between Cubans" and emphasized national unity. The US has put Cuba under a comprehensive embargo since 1962, limiting economic trade. Diaz-Canel had previously called on communist supporters to confront "provocations" by the protesters. Rogelio Polanco Fuentes, a top official in the Communist Party of Cuba, said the demonstrations were funded by the US government to foment "instability and chaos" in the country. He compared the protests to the US-backed demonstrations in 2019 against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, a Cuban ally.
More on this story here, here and here
Richard Branson Wore a Pride Ribbon in Space to Honor Pulse Victims
Billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson made history on July 11 by flying to the edge of space in his Virgin Galactic rocket plane, and he did it while proudly wearing a rainbow flag pin in memory of the Pulse Nightclub victims.
“Somebody who lost a loved one at the Orlando massacre asked if I would do that,” Branson told the Daily Mail. “We also have many, many friends who are gay and I know people who lost friends there.”
Branson also posted a video to Twitter in which he showed off the pin. “My mission statement is to turn the dream of space travel into a reality for my grandchildren, for your grandchildren, for everyone,” punctuating the “for everyone” with a close-up of the ribbon affixed to his chest. » | Rachel Shatto | Monday, July 12, 2021
Israeli Court Makes Way for Same-Sex Couples to Access Surrogacy
Israel’s Supreme Court opened up the path for same-sex couples to work with surrogate mothers to have children in what Israeli politicians and activists say is a win for the country’s LGBTQ+ community.
In 2018, the country expanded surrogacy access to single women. In 2020, the court ruled that expansion, which excluded single men and same-sex couple was unlawful. The high court found the policy “disproportionately harmed the right to equality and the right to parenthood,” according to the Associated Press. It then gave the Israeli government one year to pass a new law. However, parliament never did. » | Alex Cooper | Monday, July 12, 2021
F.D.A. Attaches Warning of Rare Nerve Syndrome to Johnson & Johnson Vaccine
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Federal regulators concluded that the risk of developing the syndrome was low, and that the benefits of the vaccine still strongly outweigh it.
The Food and Drug Administration warned on Monday that Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine can lead to an increased risk of a rare neurological condition known as Guillain–Barré syndrome, another setback for a vaccine that has largely been sidelined in the United States.
Although regulators have found that the chances of developing the condition are low, they appear to be three to five times higher among recipients of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine than among the general population in the United States, according to people familiar with the decision. The warning was attached to fact sheetsabout the vaccine for providers and patients. » | Sharon LaFraniere and Noah Weiland | Monday, July 12, 2021
The Food and Drug Administration warned on Monday that Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine can lead to an increased risk of a rare neurological condition known as Guillain–Barré syndrome, another setback for a vaccine that has largely been sidelined in the United States.
Although regulators have found that the chances of developing the condition are low, they appear to be three to five times higher among recipients of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine than among the general population in the United States, according to people familiar with the decision. The warning was attached to fact sheetsabout the vaccine for providers and patients. » | Sharon LaFraniere and Noah Weiland | Monday, July 12, 2021
Miami Mayor: ‘We Are Absolutely Ready’ for Possible Cuban Arrivals
‘Everyone Has a Tipping Point’: Hunger Fuels Cuba’s Protests »
France Gets Tough on Unvaccinated Citizens
MONACO LIFE: Covid-19 jabs will be mandatory for France’s health workers and anyone wanting to get into a cinema or board a train will need to show proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test under new rules announced by President Emmanuel Macron on Monday.
Unveiling sweeping measures to combat a surge in infections, Macron said vaccinations would not be compulsory for the general public but encouraged everyone to get a jab.
“We must go towards vaccination of all French people, it is the only way towards a normal life,” Macron said in a televised address to the nation.
“A new race against the clock is on,” he said, referring to the highly contagious Delta variant.
France has an entrenched anti-vaccination movement but authorities had so far believed they could curb the spread of the coronavirus by convincing enough people, including medical staff, to get inoculated voluntarily.
But a slowdown in vaccination rates and a sharp upturn in new infections due to the now-dominant Delta variant have forced a government rethink for health workers, who must now get vaccinated by 15th September.
Vaccination will also be compulsory for people working in retirement homes. » | Cassandra Tanti | Monday, July 12, 2021
Covid News: France Orders Health Care Workers to Get Vaccinated »
Unveiling sweeping measures to combat a surge in infections, Macron said vaccinations would not be compulsory for the general public but encouraged everyone to get a jab.
“We must go towards vaccination of all French people, it is the only way towards a normal life,” Macron said in a televised address to the nation.
“A new race against the clock is on,” he said, referring to the highly contagious Delta variant.
France has an entrenched anti-vaccination movement but authorities had so far believed they could curb the spread of the coronavirus by convincing enough people, including medical staff, to get inoculated voluntarily.
But a slowdown in vaccination rates and a sharp upturn in new infections due to the now-dominant Delta variant have forced a government rethink for health workers, who must now get vaccinated by 15th September.
Vaccination will also be compulsory for people working in retirement homes. » | Cassandra Tanti | Monday, July 12, 2021
Covid News: France Orders Health Care Workers to Get Vaccinated »
Homothérapies, conversion forcée | ARTE
Premiered Nov 20, 2019 • À travers la parole de victimes et un travail d’infiltration journalistique, une enquête sidérante sur les organisations religieuses qui, dévoyant le christianisme et la psychanalyse, prétendent "guérir" les personnes homosexuelles.
Électrochocs, lobotomies frontales, "thérapies" hormonales… : dans les années 1970, aux États-Unis, la dépsychiatrisation de l’homosexualité met progressivement fin à ces pratiques médicales inhumaines, tout en donnant naissance à des mouvements religieux qui prétendent "guérir" ce qu’elles considèrent comme un péché, une déviance inacceptable. Depuis, les plus actives de ces associations – les évangéliques d’Exodus ou les catholiques de Courage – ont essaimé sur tous les continents, à travers une logique de franchises. Bénéficiant d’une confortable notoriété aux États-Unis ou dans l’ultracatholique Pologne, ces réseaux œuvrent en toute discrétion en France et en Allemagne. Mais si les méthodes diffèrent, l’objectif reste identique : convertir les personnes homosexuelles à l’hétérosexualité ou, à défaut, les pousser à la continence. Comme Deb, fille d’évangélistes de l’Arkansas ouvertement homophobes, Jean-Michel Dunand, aujourd’hui animateur d’une communauté œcuménique homosensible et transgenre, a subi de traumatisantes séances d’exorcisme. De son côté, la Polonaise Ewa a été ballottée de messes de guérison en consultations chez un sexologue adepte des décharges électriques. Rongés par la honte et la culpabilité, tous ont souffert de séquelles psychiques graves : haine de soi, alcoolisme, dépression, tentation du suicide…
Manipulation destructrice
Étayée par le travail de deux jeunes journalistes, dont l'un s'est infiltré dans des mouvements français – des rencontres façon Alcooliques anonymes de Courage aux séminaires estivaux de Torrents de vie, avec transes collectives au menu –, cette enquête sur les "thérapies de conversion" donne la parole à des victimes de cinq pays. Leurs témoignages, à la fois rares et bouleversants, mettent en lumière les conséquences dévastatrices de pratiques qui s’apparentent à des dérives sectaires. "Nous avons affaire à une espèce de psychothérapie sauvage qui peut amener à la destruction de la personnalité", affirme ainsi Serge Blisko, ancien président de la Miviludes (Mission interministérielle de vigilance et de lutte contre les dérives sectaires). En mars 2018, le Parlement européen a voté une résolution appelant les États membres à interdire ces prétendues thérapies. Jusqu’à maintenant, seul Malte a légiféré sur le sujet.
Homothérapies, conversion forcée Documentaire de Bernard Nicolas (France, 2019, 1h30mn)
Ce documentaire ne peut pas être intégré. Il faut le regarder sur YouTube. Vous pouvez le regarder ici
Électrochocs, lobotomies frontales, "thérapies" hormonales… : dans les années 1970, aux États-Unis, la dépsychiatrisation de l’homosexualité met progressivement fin à ces pratiques médicales inhumaines, tout en donnant naissance à des mouvements religieux qui prétendent "guérir" ce qu’elles considèrent comme un péché, une déviance inacceptable. Depuis, les plus actives de ces associations – les évangéliques d’Exodus ou les catholiques de Courage – ont essaimé sur tous les continents, à travers une logique de franchises. Bénéficiant d’une confortable notoriété aux États-Unis ou dans l’ultracatholique Pologne, ces réseaux œuvrent en toute discrétion en France et en Allemagne. Mais si les méthodes diffèrent, l’objectif reste identique : convertir les personnes homosexuelles à l’hétérosexualité ou, à défaut, les pousser à la continence. Comme Deb, fille d’évangélistes de l’Arkansas ouvertement homophobes, Jean-Michel Dunand, aujourd’hui animateur d’une communauté œcuménique homosensible et transgenre, a subi de traumatisantes séances d’exorcisme. De son côté, la Polonaise Ewa a été ballottée de messes de guérison en consultations chez un sexologue adepte des décharges électriques. Rongés par la honte et la culpabilité, tous ont souffert de séquelles psychiques graves : haine de soi, alcoolisme, dépression, tentation du suicide…
Manipulation destructrice
Étayée par le travail de deux jeunes journalistes, dont l'un s'est infiltré dans des mouvements français – des rencontres façon Alcooliques anonymes de Courage aux séminaires estivaux de Torrents de vie, avec transes collectives au menu –, cette enquête sur les "thérapies de conversion" donne la parole à des victimes de cinq pays. Leurs témoignages, à la fois rares et bouleversants, mettent en lumière les conséquences dévastatrices de pratiques qui s’apparentent à des dérives sectaires. "Nous avons affaire à une espèce de psychothérapie sauvage qui peut amener à la destruction de la personnalité", affirme ainsi Serge Blisko, ancien président de la Miviludes (Mission interministérielle de vigilance et de lutte contre les dérives sectaires). En mars 2018, le Parlement européen a voté une résolution appelant les États membres à interdire ces prétendues thérapies. Jusqu’à maintenant, seul Malte a légiféré sur le sujet.
Homothérapies, conversion forcée Documentaire de Bernard Nicolas (France, 2019, 1h30mn)
Monday, July 12, 2021
Covid-19 : Londres lèvera ses restrictions le 19 juillet
LE POINT : La plupart des restrictions liées à la pandémie seront levées le 19 juillet en Angleterre, selon les récentes informations communiquées par le gouvernement.
« Nous sommes convaincus qu’il est temps que notre pays retrouve une vie normale, donc nous allons passer à l’étape suivante de notre plan de sortie le 19 juillet. » C’est en ces termes que le ministre britannique de la Santé, Savid Javid, a fait part de la levée prochaine des restrictions mises en place en raison de la crise sanitaire, lundi 12 juillet. L’été et les vacances scolaires offrent un moment opportun, selon lui. Il estime qu’attendre plus longtemps, jusqu’à l’hiver par exemple, pourrait donner un avantage au virus, au risque de ne rien pouvoir rouvrir.
« Nous sommes convaincus qu’il est temps que notre pays retrouve une vie normale, donc nous allons passer à l’étape suivante de notre plan de sortie le 19 juillet », a souligné le ministre devant les députés. Dès cette date, baptisée « jour de la liberté », la distanciation sociale et le port du masque ne seront plus obligatoires, même si ce dernier reste recommandé dans les endroits publics fermés et très fréquentés, comme les transports en commun. » | Source AFP | lundi 12 juillet 2021
« Nous sommes convaincus qu’il est temps que notre pays retrouve une vie normale, donc nous allons passer à l’étape suivante de notre plan de sortie le 19 juillet. » C’est en ces termes que le ministre britannique de la Santé, Savid Javid, a fait part de la levée prochaine des restrictions mises en place en raison de la crise sanitaire, lundi 12 juillet. L’été et les vacances scolaires offrent un moment opportun, selon lui. Il estime qu’attendre plus longtemps, jusqu’à l’hiver par exemple, pourrait donner un avantage au virus, au risque de ne rien pouvoir rouvrir.
« Nous sommes convaincus qu’il est temps que notre pays retrouve une vie normale, donc nous allons passer à l’étape suivante de notre plan de sortie le 19 juillet », a souligné le ministre devant les députés. Dès cette date, baptisée « jour de la liberté », la distanciation sociale et le port du masque ne seront plus obligatoires, même si ce dernier reste recommandé dans les endroits publics fermés et très fréquentés, comme les transports en commun. » | Source AFP | lundi 12 juillet 2021
Président Emmanuel Macron : Adresse aux Français
Palais de l’Élysée ici
Chris Snowden on the Ever-Growing Nanny State
These interfering dudes in government have absolutely no sense of 'joie de vivre'! Further, they forget that they work for us: they are our public sevants. Their positions are paid for by our taxes! They should get off our backs and let us lead our lives as we see fit! I can think of a few people in politics in the UK—I won’t name them – today—who behave like interfering old women! In years gone by, we used to call them Betsys! Even though I have successfully given up smoking, listening to this discussion makes me want to start again!
People are not becoming healthier from quitting smoking at all. Instead of smoking, people now eat loads of junk food instead, and grow fatter abd fatter. As a result, obesity and type-2 diabetes rates are soaring. So, instead of dying from tobacco-related illnesses, they are now dying of illnesses related to obesity, insulin-resistance and metabolic syndrome instead. And that's a fact!
Whilst it is healthier not to smoke, it is healthier not to do so only if one vice is not substitued for another. Political hacks don't seem to understand this. One could speak of the law of unintended consequences here. – @ Mark
"It's Coming Home": Neuinfektionen statt Pokal +++ Impfpflicht in Frankreich | DW Nachrichten
Jul 12, 2021 • Mehr als 31.000 Neuinfektionen - in Großbritannien verdoppeln sich die Covidfälle gerade von Woche zu Woche. Trotz der raschen Ausbreitung der Delta-Variante hält der Premierminister Boris Johnson für England daran fest, alle Alltags-Auflagen zum 19. Juli aufzuheben.
Jenseits des Ärmelkanals, in Frankreich, fährt die Regierung einen anderen Corona-Kurs. Auch hier steigen die Neuinfektionen durch die Verbreitung der Delta-Variante. Aber der französische Präsident Emmanuel Macron setzt nicht mehr auf Lockerungen, sondern auf eine teilweise Impfpflicht. Alle, die im Gesundheitswesen arbeiten, insbesondere Kranken- und Pflegekräfte sollen geimpft werden. Die Betroffenen zweifeln, ob das der richtige Weg aus der Coronakrise sein soll.
Jenseits des Ärmelkanals, in Frankreich, fährt die Regierung einen anderen Corona-Kurs. Auch hier steigen die Neuinfektionen durch die Verbreitung der Delta-Variante. Aber der französische Präsident Emmanuel Macron setzt nicht mehr auf Lockerungen, sondern auf eine teilweise Impfpflicht. Alle, die im Gesundheitswesen arbeiten, insbesondere Kranken- und Pflegekräfte sollen geimpft werden. Die Betroffenen zweifeln, ob das der richtige Weg aus der Coronakrise sein soll.
Is the Georgian Government Complicit in Alexander Lashkarava's Death? | DW News
More on this tragic story here
Nazis, Fear and Violence: When Reporting from Berlin Was Dangerous
THE GUARDIAN: Our Germany correspondent salutes the man who did his job 100 years ago, when it was far more perilous and unpredictable
Frederick Augustus Voigt, who was the Manchester Guardian’s Berlin correspondent between 1920 and 1932, did not look like an intrepid reporter.
A 1935 portrait by the Bauhaus photographer Lucia Moholy makes it appear as though he wants to back away from the camera, distrustful eyes barricaded behind thick, round glasses. His physical appearance was described in his 1957 obituary as “fragile-looking and nervous in manner, shortsighted, with a trick of smiling from the mouth downwards.”
So nervy could Voigt be, he once confided to his editor that on a bad day he did not feel brave enough to cross a street during heavy traffic. “Like so many hatreds, my hatred of motorcars arises from fear.”
And yet brave is the only suitable adjective to describe Voigt’s journalism. Known as “Freddy” to colleagues in England, as “Fritz” to friends in Berlin, but only as “our own correspondent” to readers of the Manchester Guardian, Voigt always went straight to where the story was, even if the story might imperil his life. » | Philip Oltermann in Berlin | Monday, July 12, 2021
Gay Pride: Kitty Fischer on Gay Male Rescuer in Auschwitz
Viewer discretion is advised. – Mark
Pride Month: The Nazi Persecution of Gay People
In ewiger Erinnerung: Mögen die im Dritten Reich verfolgten Homosexuellen—in den Vorkriegsjahren, während des Krieges selber, und sogar bis 1969, als der Paragraph 175 schließlich abgeschafft wurde—in Frieden sein. Sie haben kein Verbrechen begangen. Sie wurden geschlagen, gefoltert und getötet umsonst, nur weil sie einen anderen Menschen liebten. Das ist die Tragödie. Ruhe in Frieden. – © Mark
Cubans Take to the Streets in Protests against Communist Regime | DW News
Jul 12, 2021 • Anti-government protests in Cuba amid food shortages and COVID surge.
Protests have broken out in Cuba, with thousands of people taking to the streets against the communist regime.
Demonstrators expressed frustration at food shortages, rising prices and the lack of COVID-19 vaccines. The government has tried to blame the US for the unrest and is rallying its own supporters. It is the greatest show of discontent with the socialist government since the 1990s. Like back then, the trigger for this protest is the desperate economic situation.
Right now, the country is suffering from food shortages. Soon the police arrived and began to drag off people in the crowd. The arrests and the violence only make the demonstrators angrier. "We are not afraid" they cry out. Supporters of the government have been out in the streets too. President Miguel Diaz-Canel himself led a rally. It was organized quickly - in a town outside Havana, where the anti-government protests began early on Sunday.
With the president encouraging his supporters to mobilize against his opponents - there were ugly confrontations. A group of government supporters detain opposition protesters.
A communist regime has ruled Cuba since 1959. It has survived the fall of the Soviet Union and the death of its founder, Fidel Castro. Now, it is again being challenged. But displays like these show it is unlikely to go without a fight.
Related: Thousands March in Cuba in Rare Mass Protests amid Economic Crisis »
Protests have broken out in Cuba, with thousands of people taking to the streets against the communist regime.
Demonstrators expressed frustration at food shortages, rising prices and the lack of COVID-19 vaccines. The government has tried to blame the US for the unrest and is rallying its own supporters. It is the greatest show of discontent with the socialist government since the 1990s. Like back then, the trigger for this protest is the desperate economic situation.
Right now, the country is suffering from food shortages. Soon the police arrived and began to drag off people in the crowd. The arrests and the violence only make the demonstrators angrier. "We are not afraid" they cry out. Supporters of the government have been out in the streets too. President Miguel Diaz-Canel himself led a rally. It was organized quickly - in a town outside Havana, where the anti-government protests began early on Sunday.
With the president encouraging his supporters to mobilize against his opponents - there were ugly confrontations. A group of government supporters detain opposition protesters.
A communist regime has ruled Cuba since 1959. It has survived the fall of the Soviet Union and the death of its founder, Fidel Castro. Now, it is again being challenged. But displays like these show it is unlikely to go without a fight.
Related: Thousands March in Cuba in Rare Mass Protests amid Economic Crisis »
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