Sunday, September 12, 2021

Arkansas : Mountaintop Elopement

”This couple is holding a beautiful floral arrangement adorned in colors of the rainbow, crafted by Petal to the Metal Floristry. Pride, gay wedding, Arkansas, elopement, Arkansas elopement, Arkansas wedding, bouquets.” – Caitlin | Beaty Creative Photography. Her website can be found here.

Many thanks to Caitlin on Pinterest for this unusual photo. Caitlin's website can be found here.

New Research : Germany Leads as the Queerest European Country

”New research shows the largest population defining as LGBT is in Germany out of 28 EU countries.” – [Source: Dazed on Pinterest}

With thanks to Dazed on Pinterest for this super photo. Their website can be found here, where you can also read about the research.

Un baiser le jour de leur mariage.

Ein Kuss an ihrem Hochzeitstag. / A kiss on their wedding day.

Un grand merci à hellomay.com.au pour cette belle photo. Leur site web est disponible ici.

Al-Kaida veröffentlicht neues Video ihres Anführers Aiman al-Zawahri

NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG: Die Vereinigten Staaten haben auf Aiman al-Zawahri ein Kopfgeld von 25 Millionen Dollar ausgesetzt. Die neuste Botschaft widerlegt die Gerüchte zu seinem angeblichen Tod.

Ayman al-Zawahri (r.) in einer Aufnahme vom November 2001 neben dem damaligen Al-Kaida-Anführer Usama bin Ladin. | © Ho New / Reuters

(dpa) 20 Jahre nach den verheerenden Anschlägen vom 11. September hat das Terrornetzwerk al-Kaida eine neue Videobotschaft ihres Anführers Aiman al-Zawahri veröffentlicht. In dem am Samstag über die sozialen Netzwerke verbreiteten Film ruft Zawahri seine Anhänger dazu auf, die Staaten im Westen und ihre Verbündeten im Nahen Osten zu bekämpfen. Das rund 60 Minuten lange Video zeigt die erste Ansprache des Al-Kaida-Chefs, seitdem es Ende vergangenen Jahres unbestätigte Gerüchte über seinen Tod gegeben hatte. » | dpa | Samstag, 11. September 2021

Burt Bacherach : I'll Never Fall In Love Again

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group

Burt Bacharach : This Guy's In Love with You

Views on YouTube: 2,628,537

Saturday, September 11, 2021

Commémoration des 20 ans du 11-Septembre : l'Amérique en quête d'unité

Le président américain s'est rendu sur les trois lieux des attentats du 11 septembre 2001. Kevin Dietsch / AFP

LE FIGARO : Joe Biden a défendu le retrait des troupes américaines d'Afghanistan alors que Donald Trump a dénoncé son «incompétence». George W. Bush a quant à lui souligné la désunion du pays, évoquant des «forces du mal» à l'œuvre.

L'Amérique a commémoré ce samedi le 11-Septembre en rendant hommage aux quelque 3000 personnes tuées il y a 20 ans dans les pires attentats de l'histoire, des attaques djihadistes contre la première puissance mondiale aujourd'hui politiquement fracturée et en quête d'unité.

Une cérémonie très solennelle, qui a toutefois laissé une grande place aux émotions, s'est tenue quatre heures durant sous un ciel bleu limpide - comme lors de ce funeste matin du mardi 11 septembre 2001 - au très impressionnant musée mémorial de Manhattan, à New York, là où se dressaient les tours jumelles du World Trade Center détruites par les avions suicides d'Al-Qaïda. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | samedi 11 septembre 2021

Que les pauvres victimes du 11 septembre reposent dans une paix éternelle ! – Mark

Khatia Buniatishvili - Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1, Mov. 1

Jul 12, 2021 • Music video by Khatia Buniatishvili, Christoph Koncz, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, performing Tchaikovsky

America Mourns as Leaders and Families Mark 20th Anniversary of 9/11 Attacks

THE GUARDIAN: Ceremonies in New York, Pennsylvania and at Pentagon mark the 20th anniversary of the terror attacks

Joe Biden waves as he is joined by, left to right, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Jill Biden and the former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg at the 9/11 Memorial in Manhattan. Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/UPI/Rex/Shutterstock

Some wept. Some held photos of loved ones At 8.46am, precisely two decades after a passenger plane became a new and deadly weapon here, all fell silent in remembrance.

Families of the victims gathered at the 9/11 memorial plaza in New York on Saturday to mark the 20th anniversary of terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people and helped shape the 21st century.

The sombre ceremony in bright sunshine that was eerily reminiscent of 11 September 2001 was attended by Joe Biden and former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama along with victims’ families and first responders. Many wore face masks because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Biden had hoped that the milestone anniversary could provide a much-needed moment of national unity after ending the war in Afghanistan, launched to root out al-Qaida, which carried out the attacks. But anger is still raw over the the chaotic withdrawal and return to power of the Taliban.

The 9/11 memorial plaza at the former World Trade Center site includes cascading water in the footprints of the twin towers. Mourners placed flowers on the names of the dead inscribed in bronze. » | David Smith in Washington | Saturday, September 11, 2021

The emotional scars of Sept. 11 are still there, but so is the memory of a simple act of kindness. »

11-Septembre : l'histoire glaçante derrière la photographie du «Falling Man» »

Trauer und Ratlosigkeit auch zwanzig Jahre nach dem 11. September: An den Gedenkfeiern zum Jahrestag der Terroranschläge von 2001 ist inständig an die Einheit aller Amerikaner appelliert worden. Bewegende Reden, Schweigeminuten und das Verlesen der Namen der 3000 Todesopfer bei Ground Zero konnten jedoch nicht über die Risse hinwegtäuschen, die die USA durchziehen. »

Message

That infantile hacker has been at it again! Doesn’t his mother give him toys to play with? Perhaps a rattle would do the trick!

Wait for my pageviews to go down this evening. Do people like this know nothing except destruction? It is ironic that it is the anniversary of 9/11! Haven’t they got a creative bone in their bodies? – © Mark

This Is What They Voted for: Top 5 Brexit Crises This Autumn. | Truth to Power


But aren’t BoJo & Co. re-building the British Empire? All will be well when we have an empire again!!!

Let’s face it: BoJo is a clown! He knows absolutely NOTHING about economics or geopolitics! He also doesn’t know anything about governing. In fact, he’s a know-nothing oaf! An oaf with a posh accent.

Despite being a one-time ‘dyed-in-the-wool’ Conservative voter, I declare here and now, I shall NEVER EVER vote Conservative again! They have taken my rights as a European citizen away from me/us, and that is unforgiveable. I am a European first and foremost! They have also caused food shortages in the shops and supermarkets. Before Brexit, you could get almost anything you wanted or needed. Not anymore! Now, so many shelves in supermarkets are bare. And prices are rising, too. Thank God I stopped voting Conservative when Cameron entered Number 10. I didn’t vote for him, either. I voted for Nick Clegg instead. One look at Cameron and I smelt the rat! I could see that he was slippery and not up to the job. I said to myself: I can’t possibly vote for this vacuous man! Never again will I trust the Conservatives to govern this country. Because of the nature of British polics, this renders me disenfranchised. On principle, I can't vote for the Labour Party; and voting for the LibDems is generally tantamount to wasting one's vote. I think the time is nigh for me to leave these shores. The country has turned into a madhouse! – © Mark

Bouchée à la reine : A Warm Starter Fit for a Queen – A French Classic


Recipe:

Ingredients:

6 small vol au vents or 4 large ones (puff pastry casings) You can see a previous video to learn how to make them.

For the boiled chicken:

1 chicken (approx 1.2 kilos)
100 grams of chopped leeks
100 grams of chopped onions
100 grams of chopped celery
100 grams of chopped carrots
1 large bouquet garni ( made with thyme, bay leaf, celery and parsley stalks)
1 teaspoon of black peppercorn
1 teaspoon of juniper berries
1 tablespoon of salt
Juice of half a lemon
1 length of cooking string to truss the chicken

For the velouté sauce (Parisian sauce):

1 litre of chicken broth
40 grams of plain flour
40 grams of butter
250 grams of mushrooms (150 grams of button mushrooms and 100 grams of morels)
2 chicken breasts diced (reserve some chicken meat to for serving)
1 egg yolk
Up to 200 ml of cream (heavy whipping creme or crème fraiche)
1 tablespoon of Cognac
1 tablespoon of chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to season

To ‘white cook’ the button mushrooms:

Water
1 tablespoon of butter
One squeeze of lemon juice

This vol au vent recipe has everything you would ever expect from a French classic dish. Personally, I like to describe it as an elegantly old-fashioned starter fit for Kings.

Some history:

With the pastry chefs of the court of Versailles, the queen of France, Marie Leszczynska (1703-1768), daughter of Stanislas Leszczynski, King of Poland, is the historical origin of this traditional recipe of French gastronomy.

Inspired by pastries made from sweet puff pastry like the ‘wells of love’ created by Vincent La Chapelle made for her rival Madame de Pompadour, she would have looked for aphrodisiac dishes and asked Nicolas Stohrer to create a salty version to regain the favors of Louis XV, her husband.

Brexit - Severe Shortages and Price Increases Coming

Sep 11, 2021 • One of the reasons why Brexit is a very costly disaster is because it makes it almost impossible for small- and medium-sized enterprises to export to the EU.

The imposition of UK border controls is likely to make it equally difficult or impossible for SME*'s from the EU to export to the UK. The erection of so many barriers in the form of import and export declarations, certificates of origin, health & phytosanitary certificates, veterinary certificates etc. all add to the new complications and barriers to trade with our biggest trading partners.

Shortages which are already apparent are set to become much more acute with the introduction of border controls. The ongoing shortage of UK lorry drivers, the reluctance of EU drivers to come to the UK and the likelihood that many farmers who have lost crops and livestock this year owing to shortage of labour will be reluctant to take further risks in the future resulting in much reduced UK food production.



*SME : Small and medium-sized enterprises.

History won't be kind to BoJo & Co. Nor will it be kind to Cameron or Nigel Farage and their entourages. They are all self-absorbed, know-nothing idiots! Political hacks! My late father always used to quote an old, but very wise, expression: "You never miss the water till the well runs dry!" How true that is! – © Mark

11-Septembre: Donald Trump dénonce «l'incompétence» de Joe Biden en Afghanistan

Donald Trump a dénoncé samedi «l'incompétence» de Joe Biden en Afghanistan, dans un message vidéo enregistré pour le vingtième anniversaire du 11-Septembre. SHANNON STAPLETON / REUTERS

LE FIGARO : L'ancien président américain a critiqué l'action de son successeur dans un message vidéo enregistré pour le vingtième anniversaire du 11-Septembre.

L'ex-président républicain Donald Trump a dénoncé samedi «l'incompétence» de Joe Biden, dont la gestion du retrait des troupes américaines d'Afghanistan l'a «fait passer pour un idiot», dans un message vidéo enregistré pour le vingtième anniversaire du 11-Septembre.

Après avoir rendu hommage au «courage» des pompiers, policiers ou secouristes intervenus ce jour-là, Donald Trump a sévèrement critiqué l'action de son successeur démocrate à la Maison-Blanche et la fin de la plus longue guerre de l'Amérique, déclenchée après les attaques d'al-Qaida le 11 septembre 2001 qui ont fait près de 3000 morts. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | samedi 11 septembre 2021

En anglais, trois mots me viennent immédiatement à l'esprit : pot, kettle, black ! – Mark

Tutanchamun | Doku HD – ARTE

Aug 29, 2021 • Der sagenhafte Schatz des Tutanchamun, der über 5.000 Objekte umfasst, darunter 2.000 Schmuck- und Goldschmiedearbeiten, wurde 1922 von dem britischen Archäologen Howard Carter entdeckt. Nun gibt der Schatz des Pharao ein neues Geheimnis preis: verborgene Spuren einer geheimnisvollen Pharaonin. Zudem soll ein britischer Archäologe einige Grabbeigaben entwendet haben ...

Auch rund ein Jahrhundert nach seiner Entdeckung erscheint der Schatz des Tutanchamun in neuem Licht. Die Grabbeigaben sollen an einem einzigen Ort zusammengeführt werden, dem Großen Ägyptischen Museum, das 2020 eröffnet werden soll und rund zwei Kilometer von der Nekropole von Giseh entfernt liegt. Aus diesem Grund befassten sich Forscher erneut mit dem Grab des Tutanchamun – mit erstaunlichen Ergebnissen. Tatsächlich soll ein Großteil des Grabschatzes von Tutanchamun nicht für ihn, sondern für seine ältere Schwester Meritaton bestimmt gewesen sein. Die historische Rolle dieser vergessenen Pharaonin muss neu beurteilt werden: Sie hätte nach dem Tod ihres Vaters für ihren unmündigen Bruder regiert und Ägypten aus einer strategisch schwachen Lage herausmanövriert. Während ihrer kurzen Herrschaft soll sie sich einen prächtigen Grabschatz zusammengestellt haben, den Tutanchamun, einmal zum Pharao gekrönt, schließlich für sich beanspruchte. Auch der berühmte goldene Thron des Tutanchamun soll ursprünglich für seinen Vater, Pharao Echnaton, angefertigt worden sein. Andere Grabbeigaben wie Gehstöcke, Zepter und Bekleidung weisen darauf hin, dass der Pharao unter einer Gehbehinderung litt und offenbar nicht lange stehen konnte. Weitere Enthüllungen betreffen die Entdeckung des Grabschatzes durch Howard Carter: Der britische Archäologe und sein Finanzier Lord Carnarvon sollen einige Grabbeigaben entwendet haben, die heute in alle Welt verstreut sind. Drei renommierte Forscher kommen in der Sendung zu Wort: Marc Gabolde, Professor an der Universität Montpellier und Experte für das Tutanchamon-Grab, Dimitri Laboury, Professor an der Universität Lüttich und weltweit anerkannter Experte der Amarna-Zeit, und Christian Loeben, Ägyptologe im Landesmuseum Hannover. „Tutanchamun, Neues aus dem Grab“ ist eine spannende Ermittlung über eine der spektakulärsten archäologischen Entdeckungen aller Zeiten.

Dokumentarfilm von Frédéric Wilner (F 2018, 92 Min)



WIKIPEDIA / WIKIPÉDIA: TUTANCHAMUN / TUTANKHAMUN / TOUTÂNKHAMON

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Message to My Visitors and Followers. My Website Has Been Hacked – Yet Again!

I apologise for all gold print that appears. That is not my work, but a hacker’s. Whoever it is must be very playful, but also rather nasty.

One strange observation I have made is this: I have been hacked only twice even though I have blogged for twenty or so years. The hacks have been recent – since I changed this blog’s name and made it gay-friendly. (Please note, I said ‘gay-friendly’, not gay. This blog is about many things which have no relation to gay issues at all: international politics, Islam, cookery, music, fashion and much else besides.) But each time I have been hacked, I have put something up in Arabic script. Also, the timing: The hackings have taken place about half an hour after putting something up in Arabic. It was just the same the last time. It could be a coincidence, but somehow I doubt that it is.

It is probably the same person who keeps shaving off thousands from my pageviews with alarming frequency.

Run away and play little boy! Stop your childish games and try and grow up! By the way, if you are worried about your good deeds… rest assured, this is not one of them! Were I to be your father, I would scold you severely! – Mark

EU Rejects UK’s Demand to Scrap Northern Ireland Protocol

THE GUARDIAN: Brussels repeats warning that renegotiation will mean more instability and insists Brexit protocol is ‘only solution we have’

European Union leaders have stressed they are not seeking a “political victory” over the UK as they pushed back sharply against demands that the Northern Ireland Brexit protocol be scrapped.

After a two-day trip to Northern Ireland, the European Commission vice-president, Maroš Šefčovič, repeated his warning that a renegotiation would merely lead to more instability for businesses and communities.

“I will not mince my words. The protocol is not the problem. On the contrary, it is the only solution we have. Failing to apply it will not make problems disappear, but simply take away the tools to solve them,” he said. Read the rest of the article and watch the video » | Lisa O'Carroll, Brexit correspondent | Friday, September 10, 2021

‘My son misses his Papa’: Brexit rules force families to split »

What a pickle BoJo & Co. and that loudmouthed gold digger Farage et al have got this country into! This mess was all so unnecessary. We have lost much, but gained little. – © Mark

Morocco’s King Appoints Billionaire Akhannouch to Head Government after Election Win

THE GUARDIAN: King Mohammed VI asks businessman to form government after his RNI* party trounced the long-ruling Islamists

Businessman Aziz Akhannouch’s RNI party won 102 of parliament’s 395 seats. He is is worth $2bn, according to Forbes magazine. Photograph: Fadel Senna/AFP/Getty Images

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has named businessman Aziz Akhannouch to lead a new government after his liberal RNI party thrashed the long-ruling Islamists in parliamentary elections.

The king appointed Akhannouch “head of the government and tasked him with forming a new government”,following Wednesday’s polls, a statement from the palace said on Friday.

The RNI won 102 of parliament’s 395 seats, trouncing the moderate PJD Islamists, which had headed the governing coalition for a decade but took just 13 seats, according to results released by the interior ministry.

Akhannouch hailed the results as “a victory for democracy”.

The billionaire businessman – worth $2bn according to Forbes – has led the RNI since 2016. » | Agence France-Presse | Saturday, September 11, 2021

*RNI stands for Rassemblement National des Indépendants. In English known as 'The National Rally of Independents'. (التجمع الوطني للأحرار)

Prince Andrew Served with Lawsuit from Jeffrey Epstein Accuser Virginia Giuffre

THE GUARDIAN: A US court document showed paperwork was filed at Royal Lodge and a response is due by 17 September

Prince Andrew has been served with an affidavit for a lawsuit from Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre. Photograph: Reuters

Prince Andrew has been served with an affidavit for a lawsuit say lawyers for Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who alleges she was forced to have sex with the royal when she was 17 years old.

A document filed in a US court on Friday showed that paperwork for Giuffre’s lawsuit was filed at Andrew’s home, Royal Lodge, in Windsor on 27 August. The affidavit was accepted by a Metropolitan police officer at the gates of the property at 9.30am, after the agent filing the document had been turned away the previous day, according to the documents.

Court documents show that a response is now due from Andrew by 17 September.

Buckingham Palace referred the Guardian to an external PR agency that represents the Duke of York. A spokesperson then said: “No comment.” » | Adam Gabbatt | Friday, September 10, 2021

Prince Andrew’s reputation damaged for ever by Giuffre claims, experts say »

Queen Commemorates ‘Terrible Attacks’ of 9/11 in Message to Joe Biden

THE GUARDIAN: The Queen, Keir Starmer and the PM sent messages to mark the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks

The Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, lays flowers in the September 11 Memorial Garden in Grosvenor Square, London, to mark the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attack. Photograph: David Parry/PA

THE GUARDIAN: The Queen, Keir Starmer and the PM sent messages to mark the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks

The Queen has sent a message to the US president, Joe Biden, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11, and remembered her visit to Ground Zero, the site of the attack on the World Trade Center.

Her message said: “As we mark the 20th anniversary of the terrible attacks on September 11 2001, my thoughts and prayers – and those of my family and the entire nation – remain with the victims, survivors and families affected, as well as the first responders and rescue workers called to duty.

“My visit to the site of the World Trade Center in 2010 is held fast in my memory. It reminds me that as we honour those from many nations, faiths and backgrounds who lost their lives, we also pay tribute to the resilience and determination of the communities who joined together to rebuild.” » | Jedidajah Otte | Saturday, Semptember 11, 2021