Sunday, November 14, 2021

Prepare for Armageddon: China's Warning to the World | 60 Minutes Australia

The message coming out of China is getting louder by the day. It doesn't like other countries, especially Australia, ganging up and meddling in its affairs. As we know Beijing is currently doing its best to punish us economically, but in the last few days President Xi Jinping has also ratcheted up the rhetoric by warning of the perils of a new cold war. A loose translation is if we don't stop poking the panda, we'll face serious consequences. Now it's worth taking the threat seriously because Xi controls the largest military force in the world, and as one of his supporters cautions tonight, the cost of conflict with China could be Armageddon.

Covid: Dutch Accept Life within 'Lockdown-lite'

People in Amsterdam enjoy their last drinks before all bars have to close their doors at 7pm | AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

BBC: Twinkling fairy lights embellish the Linden trees around the Dutch parliament square.

Flames warm friends huddled beneath heaters glowing amber against the autumnal dusk.

While the anti-lockdown, anti-vax protesters and conspiracy propagators who hurled fireworks at riot police dominated the front pages, they represent a minority. Most people in the Netherlands reluctantly agree that sacrificing parts of their social lives can contribute to the greater good.

The Dutch government has announced a lockdown-lite designed to limit social contacts, in response to a sharp increase in infections. A record 16,324 new cases were recorded in one day this week and they remain stubbornly high. » | Anna Holligan, BBC News, Amsterdam | Saturday, November 13, 2021

In Österreich sind ab Montag Ungeimpfte im Lockdown: Im Kampf gegen die vierte Corona-Welle gilt in Österreich von diesem Montag an ein Lockdown für Ungeimpfte. Das haben Bundeskanzler Alexander Schallenberg und die Regierungschefs der Länder am Sonntag in Wien beschlossen. »

Remembrance Sunday 2021 : Poppies in the Field

Photograph : Adobe Stock

In Flanders Fields by John McCrae »

WIKIPEDIA: About the poem and the poet »

Remembrance Sunday: Nation Falls Silent to Remember the War Dead

Veterans from the Chelsea Pensioners were among those attending the service | GETTY IMAGES

BBC: The nation has fallen silent as it remembers those who died in past conflicts this Remembrance Sunday.

The Queen is not attending the service at London's Cenotaph after spraining her back. A national two-minute silence was held at 11:00 GMT, with similar ceremonies taking place at war memorials across the country.

Events have seen the return of pre-pandemic numbers of veterans, military personnel and crowds.

The National Service of Remembrance in Whitehall was closed to the public last year, with only limited numbers taking part, because of coronavirus measures.

This year sees a return to normal, with hundreds of servicemen and women marching and lining up around the Cenotaph and nearly 10,000 veterans marching past the war memorial, watched by large crowds. » |Becky Morton | Sunday, November 14, 2021

Saturday, November 13, 2021

Thomas Markle on Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and the Leaked Letter in Exclusive Interview

For Meghan, an Image Rendered in a U.K.-U.S. Split Screen

THE NEW YORK TIMES: She has re-emerged in America as a formidable A-list celebrity and social activist. In Britain, however, Meghan remains a polarizing figure.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, at a gala for veterans in New York on Wednesday. | Craig Ruttle/Associated Press

LONDON — When Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, stepped out last week at a gala for veterans in New York City, the beaming, beribboned prince declared he was “living the American dream.” That might be even truer of Meghan, who has restyled herself since leaving Britain last year as a philanthropist, multimedia entrepreneur and outspoken campaigner for family leave rights.

Even as they were taking Manhattan, though, Meghan was shadowed by the couple’s old life in London. She was forced to apologize for erroneous statements she made in a lawsuit against a British tabloid, The Mail on Sunday, for violating her privacy by publishing a letter she had sent to her father.

Meghan said it was a case of faulty memory. But the tabloids, which have been at war with the couple since before they abandoned Britain for Southern California, leapt on the admission. “Little Miss Forgetful,” said The Sun, above an unflattering caricature of Meghan, drawn from “Little Miss,” an English children’s book series. » | Mark Landler | Saturday, November 13, 2021

La Russie et la Turquie assurent n'avoir «rien à voir» avec la crise migratoire à la frontière Pologne-Biélorussie

LE FIGARO : Le président russe Vladimir Poutine et le porte-parole de la présidence turque Ibrahim Kalin ont rejeté ce samedi toute responsabilité dans l'afflux de milliers de migrants.

Le président russe Vladimir Poutine a rejeté dans une interview diffusée samedi toute responsabilité dans la crise migratoire en cours à la frontière entre la Biélorussie et la Pologne, où des milliers de migrants sont massés depuis des jours. «Je veux que tout le monde le sache. Nous n'avons rien à voir là-dedans», a déclaré le président à la chaîne Vesti, après que plusieurs voix occidentales l'ont accusé cette semaine d'avoir orchestré avec Minsk l'envoi de ces migrants à la frontière.

Vladimir Poutine a également affirmé que les dirigeants européens devaient s'adresser directement au président biélorusse Alexandre Loukachenko pour résoudre cette crise. «D'après ce que j'ai compris, Alexandre Loukachenko et (la chancelière allemande Angela) Merkel sont prêts à se parler», a indiqué Poutine. «J'espère que cela arrivera dans un futur proche», a-t-il ajouté, rejetant la responsabilité de la crise sur l'Occident. Regarder la vidéo » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | samedi 13 novembre 2021

À LIRE AUSSI : Pour Vladimir Poutine, l’aubaine d’une crise aux portes de l’Union européenne : DÉCRYPTAGE - Le président russe, s’il n’a sans doute pas déclenché cette situation explosive, s’érige en recours incontournable. »

Sleaze & Corruption - Is This the End for Boris Johnson?

Nov 13, 2021 • Boris Johnson has demonstrated time and again that he is not a prime minister who is interested in detail. Instead, he prefers grand gestures and being in the limelight where he can wisecrack and entertain.

He has a widespread reputation for lying and for not keeping his word, something he does without any concern for the consequences.

He has presided over the mishandling of the Covid crises where the UK consistently comes second in the world for the number of new cases reported daily despite budgeting a staggering £37,000,000,000 on Test & Trace, which has generally been considered a failure.

His Brexit is a disaster which can only get worse ,especially if he triggers Article 16 next week.

The attempt to sweep away the Parliamentary Standards Committee and replace it with a more sympathetic alternative was an extraordinary misjudgment resulting in an embarrassing climb-down and U-turn a week later.

Recent events have annoyed many Tory backbenchers especially those with slim majorities such as those in the ‘red wall’ seats. Newspapers which have normally been supportive have been critical of him during the past week. His personal poll ratings are at an all-time low as it seems public opinion is turning against him. He has gone from being a vote winner to a vote loser and it seems difficult to see how he can find a way back


De Klerk Apologises for Apartheid in Posthumous Video

F.W. de Klerk, South Africa’s last white president, apologized for his past statements on apartheid, which had angered some people who still live with the legacy of its injustices, in a posthumous video. Mr. de Klerk had helped dismantle the apartheid system as the president.


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In a Hate-filled World, Making Love Is Always Good

Our world is filled with ‘hate’. We all know it is, because the news is filled with hatred from each and every corner of the world. For this reason, I say clearly, and without reservation, that bringing love into the world is always good, whichever way that is, or can be, done between two CONSENTING ADULTS.

But when it comes to relationships, be they in the straight or gay community, there is a vast difference between “making love” and “having sex”.

As my visitors and followers will surely be aware by now, I am strongly in favour of ‘gay rights’. By ‘gay rights’, I mean the right of gay people to fall in love with whomsoever they please. But that comes with a caveat: The two people involved should always be CONSENTING ADULTS. The converse is NEVER acceptable.

Further, when I refer to “making love”, I use that term in stark contradistinction with “having sex”. Animals “have sex”; human beings are meant to “make love”.

When and where this website refers to kissing and expressing love, it should always be borne in mind that I always mean “making love”, not “having sex”. Promiscuity, be it in the homosexual or heterosexual community, is always unacceptable and abhorrent in my view.

Further, there is absolutely nothing wrong with abstinence. Being celibate is an acceptable option until the right person comes along. I know – I have actually spent most of my adult life being celibate. I have never bed-hopped; and I am very proud of that!

PROMISCUITY is NEVER a good option. It leads to no good place for either party. It is far better to wait until the right person comes along. Then, you can express your love, your true love, for that person and go on and have many years of pleasure and enjoyment together.

© Mark Alexander

All Rights Reserved

Friday, November 12, 2021

Steve Bannon Indicted by Federal Grand Jury for Contempt of Congress

Nov 12, 2021 • Steve Bannon, a former advisor to former President Trump, has been indicted by a federal grand jury for two counts of contempt of Congress after he refused to testify before the January 6 select committee for their investigation into the Capitol riot. NBC's Pete Williams has details.

Covid-19 : les Pays-Bas reviennent au confinement partiel, des manifestations éclatent à La Haye

La police anti-émeute a dû employer un canon à eau afin de disperser les manifestants, qui jetaient des pierres et tiraient des feux d'artifice. JEROEN JUMELET / AFP

LE FIGARO : Des échauffourées ont eu lieu à La Haye, où 200 personnes se sont opposées à la police anti-émeute après l'annonce des nouvelles mesures sanitaires par le premier ministre Mark Rutte.

Le premier ministre néerlandais Mark Rutte a annoncé vendredi 12 novembre la réintroduction d'une série de restrictions sanitaires, touchant notamment le secteur de la restauration, pour faire face à un nombre record de cas de Covid-19. Mark Rutte a qualifié la nouvelle série de mesures de «grand coup de quelques semaines, car le virus est partout, dans tout le pays, dans tous les secteurs et à tous les âges». «Heureusement, la grande majorité (de la population) est vaccinée, sinon la misère dans les hôpitaux serait incalculable en ce moment», a déclaré Mark Rutte.

Les bars, les restaurants et les magasins essentiels tels que les supermarchés devront fermer à 20 heures et les magasins non essentiels à 18 heures. Les citoyens néerlandais sont appelés à ne pas accueillir plus de quatre personnes chez eux et à faire du télétravail, «sauf si cela n'est vraiment pas possible», a indiqué Mark Rutte. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | vendredi 12 novembre 2021

Bee Gees : You Win Again (1987)

Views on YouTube: 52,169,582

Lionel Richie : Love Will Conquer All

Ne soyez pas timide ! Exprimez votre amour !

via GIPHY


Seien Sie nicht schüchtern! Drücken Sie Ihre Liebe aus! / Don’t be shy! Express your love!

Ask Prof Wolff: Taxing Billionaires

Nov 12, 2021 • A Patron of Economic Update asks: "Now that Tesla is worth more than US $1 trillion, and Elon Musk is the wealthiest person in the world, there is more discussion of increasing the tax on billionaires specifically. Right-wingers are defending billionaires from taxation, arguing that unsold shares can't be taxed, and that billionaires, in their total pool of wealth, cannot fund the government for very long. Can you explain how taxation could work to include more progressive taxation of the billionaire class and refute some of the arguments from the right? Thanks." This is Professor Richard Wolff's video response.

Boris Johnson Holiday Villa Linked to Zac Goldsmith Firms Accused of Tax Evasion

THE GUARDIAN: Costa del Sol property firms owned by Goldsmith family ordered to pay €24m in unpaid taxes and fines

Zac Goldsmith (left) is a longstanding friend of Johnson and his wife, Carrie. In 2019, the PM personally appointed Goldsmith to the House of Lords.

The luxury villa where Boris Johnson stayed on holiday last month is linked to Costa del Sol property businesses owned by Zac Goldsmith’s family that engaged in a multimillion-pound tax evasion scheme, according to Spanish courts.

Court papers obtained by the Guardian show tax inspectors ordered two property companies owned by the Goldsmith family to pay €24m (£20m) in unpaid taxes and fines after investigating what they said was a suspicious property deal.

The tax authority’s findings have been upheld by one of Spain’s highest courts, with judges agreeing the companies effectively engaged in a deliberate effort to evade tax and committed “serious” violations of the law.

Documents indicate Spanish authorities are still seeking to recover the funds and could even seize parts of the family’s land, which is spread across more than 600 hectares (1,480 acres) of private woodland about 10 miles from the Marbella coastline. » | Harry Davies in Marbella | Friday, November 12, 2021

George Benson : Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You

Provided to YouTube by WM Japan: Views on YouTube: 10,780,564

George Benson : In Your Eyes

Provided to YouTube by Warner Records | Views on YouTube: 3,162,448

Dimitra’s Dishes : Greek Custard Pie : Galaktoboureko


Get the recipe here.