Johnson's Non-apology, the Next Prime Minister? And the Smugness of Rees-Mogg

Jan 15, 2022 • At PMQ's this week Johnson effectively apologised for being found out. He admitted having visited a gathering for which 100 guests had been invited, noticed that the thirty who had turned up were drinking alcohol and eating and, having spent twenty minutes with them, decided that this was a work meeting and left. This was at a time when any gathering of more than two people outside was illegal.

He said he believed that no offence had been committed. This and the further revelations about another eleven parties held whilst lockdown was in place, has almost certainly sealed Johnson's fate.

In the meantime, those who seek to drink from the poisoned chalice and replace Johnson are preparing for action. The favourites appear to be Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, Jeremy Hunt and Michael Gove. Rees-Mogg, a man who has lived a life of privilege and wealth displays considerable levels of self-importance, condescension and pomposity. Despite his privileged education which he is always ready to display, he is a foolish man with a childish sense of humour and a tendency to make foolish and inappropriate remarks. Far from being the intellectual he seems to think he is, he is a rather foolish man. NOTE: I inadvertently referred to Sue Gray as Anne Gray – apologies.

'He's Got to Go': Keir Starmer Says Boris Johnson Is Unfit as Leader

Jan 15, 2022 • Keir Starmer has ramped up the pressure on Boris Johnson as the prime minister fights to save his job, arguing that the stream of explosive allegations of Downing Street parties has left him 'unable to lead'.

In a speech to the Fabian Society conference, the Labour leader accused the Conservatives of running the NHS into the ground Boris Johnson is ‘mired in deceit’ and is unable to lead, says Keir Starmer

Boris Johnson Must Resign in National Interest, Says Keir Starmer

THE GUARDIAN: Labour leader increases pressure on PM as more Tory politicians join calls for him to quit

Keir Starmer said ‘self-indulgent’ Tories were ‘having a fight about a leader who they should have known from the start is not fit for office’. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA
Keir Starmer has ramped up the pressure on Boris Johnson as the prime minister fights to save his job, arguing that it is in the “national interest” that he steps down as he is “unable to lead”.

In a speech to the Fabian Society conference, the Labour leader accused the Conservatives of running the NHS into the ground because they are “too preoccupied defending his rule breaking”. Stressing that “waiting times were the shortest on record” when Labour left government 12 years ago, he said: “Rather than concentrating on getting through the pandemic and bringing down waiting lists, this self-indulgent Tory party is instead having a fight about a leader who they should have known from the start is not fit for office.”

“We are witnessing the broken spectacle of a prime minister mired in deceit and deception, unable to lead,” Starmer said, adding that it was “very important that the Tory party does what it needs to do and gets rid of him”. » | Clea Skopeliti | Saturday, January 15, 2022

Ich liebe Dich so sehr mein Schätzlein!

I love you so much my darling! / je t'aime tellement mon cher !
Fürs schöne, coole Foto bedanke ich mich bei The Man in Black auf Pinterest.

Neue Eskalation in der Party-Affäre: Downing Street entschuldigt sich bei der Queen

NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG: Während die Queen einsam um ihren verstorbenen Gatten trauerte, feierten trotz Corona-Restriktionen Dutzende von Mitarbeitern Boris Johnsons mit Alkohol, Musik und Tanz bis tief in die Nacht. Damit nimmt der Druck auf den Premierminister weiter zu.

Königin Elisabeth II. sitzt bei der Beerdigung ihres Mannes während des Lockdowns ganz alleine. Doch in der Downing Street soll es am Vorabend gleich zwei Lockdown-Partys gegeben haben.
In der Affäre um Lockdown-Partys am Amtssitz von Premierminister Boris Johnson ist es am Freitag zu einer neuen Eskalation gekommen. Nachdem der «Daily Telegraph» enthüllt hatte, dass es an der Downing Street am Vorabend der Beisetzung von Prinz Philip vom 17. April 2021 zu zwei Partys gekommen war, sah sich das Büro von Boris Johnson genötigt, sich öffentlich beim Buckingham-Palast zu entschuldigen. Es sei «zutiefst bedauerlich», dass diese Vorkommnisse zur Zeit der nationalen Trauer stattgefunden hätten, sagte Johnsons Sprecher.

Wilde Abschiedsfeste

Die höchst aussergewöhnliche Entschuldigung änderte freilich wenig daran, dass die Zustände in Johnsons Downing Street nun in scharfem Kontrast zur förmlichen Kultur des Königspalasts erscheinen. Die berührenden Bilder der pflichtbewussten Queen, die unter Einhaltung der rigiden Corona-Vorschriften an der Beerdigung ihres Gatten alleine in der Kapelle auf Schloss Windsor sitzen musste, gingen um die Welt. Damals waren strikte Abstandsregeln in Kraft, Mitglieder verschiedener Haushalte durften sich nicht in geschlossenen Räumen treffen. » | Niklaus Nuspliger, London | Freitag, 14. Januar 2022

Chicago : Hard To Say I'm Sorry | Official Music Video

Views on YouTube: 2,480,654

Secret Audio Sheds Light on Former Tunisian Dictator’s Final Hours - BBC News

Jan 14, 2022 • Extraordinary recordings of what is believed to be Tunisian president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali’s phone calls as he flew out of the country, have been obtained by the BBC.

These final moments show how the dictator’s authority crumbled, sealing the fate of his 23-year dictatorship and sparking the region's wave of pro-democracy Arab Spring uprisings.

The recordings have been forensically analysed by audio experts who found no evidence of manipulation.

The BBC has played the audio to people who know the individuals concerned, and they believe the voices to be genuine. However, some of the people concerned strongly dispute their veracity.

If genuine, they give an incredible insight into the change in Ben Ali's mood in the last 48 hours of his regime.

Prince Charles Commissions Artists to Paint Portraits of Holocaust Survivors

TATLER: The Prince of Wales asks leading painters for historically significant works

The Prince of Wales is paying tribute to survivors of the Holocaust by commissioning leading artists to paint portraits of seven men and women who were imprisoned in concentration camps as children. The paintings will become part of the Royal Collection and be displayed in The Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace and the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.

PRINCE CHARLES | Max Mumby / Indigo / Getty Images
Passionate in promoting tolerance between communities, the prince hopes the portraits will demonstrate ‘humanity's interconnectedness, as we strive to create a better world for our children, grandchildren and generations as yet unborn - one where hope is victorious over despair and love triumphs over hate’. His Royal Highness, who is Patron of National Holocaust Memorial Day, has often warned about the repercussions of extremism and in a speech marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, he insisted that the lessons of the Holocaust were still ‘searingly relevant’. » | Dora Davies-Evitt | Wednesday, January 12, 2022

Boris’s Dwindling Bunch of Supporters Must Now Come Clean

THE SPECTATOR: Why can't ministers like Nadine Dorries accept the truth about the PM?

Oh for heaven’s sake, come off it. British politics has long had a comfortable relationship with the absurd but this week – not yet over, its revelations not yet exhausted – takes a very pretty biscuit nonetheless. I do not imagine that 'Downing Street apologises to the Queen for party revels' is quite the kind of headline Conservative prime ministers dream of.

And while Boris Johnson has a copper-clad alibi for the suitcase-of-booze party in as much as he was at Chequers that night, it remains the case – as has always been the case – that a government is led from the top. Consequently, the character of the man or woman at its pinnacle slowly but surely informs other aspects of the government’s behaviour. It is a question of culture. And who can be surprised that a government led by a man famously impatient with rules, regulations and sundry other curbs on his own behaviour might in time be staffed by folk similarly impatient with such trivial things?

I know. Me neither. Yet here we are and here we shall remain until such time as some several dozen Tory MPs summon the courage – the decency, actually – to do something about it. The power to do so is in their hands and it is fair to judge them by their willingness to use it.

Jacob Rees-Mogg, the kind of supercilious fool born with a silver spoon in his mouth who thinks he earned the spoon, prattles on that the real difficulty is that the rules were jolly hard to follow and, consequently, no-one could reasonably expect the Prime Minister to observe them. I look forward to this charity being extended to benefit claimants caught in official quicksand and to anyone tempted to file a modestly dishonest tax return this month. DWP and HMRC rules are frightfully complicated too. » | Alex Massie, Scotland Editor of The Spectator. | Friday, January 14, 2022

Keftedes Saganaki: Greek-style Meatballs in Tomato and Feta Sauce

Get the recipe here.

Syrian Colonel Guilty of Murder, Rape and Torture in 'Hell on Earth' Jail - BBC News

Jan 13, 2022 • Syrian colonel Anwar Raslan has been sentenced to life in prison for crimes against humanity. He was linked to the torture of over 4,000 people in Syria's civil war in a jail known as "Hell on Earth".

The trial in Koblenz, Germany is the world's first criminal case brought over state-led torture in Syria.

Raslan was arrested in Germany in 2019 having successfully sought asylum there.

Democracy Now! Top US News & World Headlines — January 14, 2022

À la rencontre des Juifs d'Europe (1/2) | ARTE

Jan 13, 2022 • Un regard sur les Juifs de l'Europe contemporaine à travers la rencontre d'habitants de six villes, pour un portrait tout en nuances. Premier volet : Marseille, une ville ouverte, réputée pour son sens du brassage ; Strasbourg, surnommée "la petite Jérusalem" ; Francfort, rencontre avec le club de foot du Maccabi.

À Marseille, Alice Brauner et Yves Kugelmann découvrent une ville ouverte, réputée pour son brassage. Surnommée "la petite Jérusalem", Strasbourg s'affiche comme une cité vertueuse où la communauté juive est bien intégrée. À Francfort, rencontre avec le club de foot du Maccabi, qui accueille 70 % de licenciés non-juifs mais dont les joueurs sont parfois victimes de rejet…

Judéité contemporaine

Comment vivent les Juifs dans l'Europe d'aujourd'hui ? Leur quotidien est-il impacté par l'antisémitisme, les attentats passés ou la politique d'Israël ? Tous deux juifs, la productrice allemande Alice Brauner et le journaliste suisse Yves Kugelmann parcourent l'Ancien Continent pour rencontrer différents profils et personnalités. Rabbins, mais aussi restaurateurs, écrivains, musiciens, journalistes ou penseurs leur permettent de dessiner une image plus précise de la diversité de la judéité contemporaine et de nuancer leurs conditions d'existence selon les pays traversés. Fourmillant d'anecdotes et de témoignages, ce documentaire en deux parties ouvre le dialogue, éclaire et enrichit la connaissance du peuple juif.

Documentaire de Christoph Weinert (Allemagne, 2018, 52mn)
Disponible jusqu'au 12/04/2022

Schwul, lesbisch, queer ... und jüdisch?

Streamed live on May 10, 2021 • Ob Bibel, Koran oder Tora: Die drei monotheistischen Religionen tun sich erst einmal schwer mit der gleichgeschlechtlichen Liebe. Für fromme Juden gilt die Aussage aus dem Buch Wajikra (Levitikus): „Du sollst nicht bei einem Manne liegen wie bei einer Frau; es ist ein Gräuel.“ Viel mehr findet sich nicht in den Heiligen Schriften des Judentums, was die gleichgeschlechtliche Liebe betrifft, aber es finden sich durchaus Stellen zu diversen Geschlechtsidentifikationen. Ähnlich wie in anderen Religionen gab und gibt es auch im Judentum erst einmal eine breite Front der Ablehnung gegenüber Homosexualität, aber auch eine große Debatte im Umgang mit queeren Menschen und viel Offenheit gegenüber Intersexuellen und Transmenschen. Auch in Deutschland ist inzwischen viel in Bewegung gekommen: Es gibt in Deutschland LGBTIQ-freundliche Schabbatfeiern und im Verein ‚Keshet’ haben sich schwule, lesbische und queere junge Juden zusammengetan, um in den jüdischen Gemeinden für Anerkennung und Gleichberechtigung zu werben.

Wie schaut der Befund in den Heiligen Schriften und Gesetzestexten der Tradition konkret aus? Was meint ein Rabbiner dazu und wie wollen diese Textquellen gelesen werden? Wie hat sich das Bewusstsein in den jüdischen Gemeinden hierzulande verändert? Was erwarten junge, queer lebende Juden von ihrer Religion, von Rabbinern und Gemeinden?

2021 ist ein Erinnerungs- und ein Jubiläumsjahr: „1700 Jahre Jüdisches Leben in Deutschland“. In einer Webtalk-Reihe wird die Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung übers Jahr die Lebendigkeit jüdischen Lebens in Deutschland vorstellen. An diesem Abend steht das Gespräch über Homosexualität und Judentum im Mittelpunkt, die Begegnung eines orthodoxen Rabbiners mit zwei Aktivist*innen aus der jüdischen Queer-Bewegung.

Hören Sie das Gespräch über Homosexualität und Judentum hier zu.

After the Prince Andrew Scandal, It’s Time to Slim Down the Monarchy

THE GUARDIAN – OPINION: Royal offspring are accidents waiting to happen. Far better to cut down the throne to an heir and a spare

The royal family is engaged in frantic damage limitation ahead of the Queen’s platinum jubilee this summer. The Duke of York’s court case, which could turn out to be a high-octane festival of royal humiliation, risks contaminating the celebrations. This should have nothing to do with Britain’s monarchy, except that it has everything to do with it. The essence of monarchy is its image; right now, the royal family’s public appearance looks messy.

The lifestyles of the Queen’s son and grandson, the dukes of York and Sussex, have acquired the aura of a Shakespearean tragedy appropriate to their titles. The Duke of Sussex has done nothing wrong; as yet, neither has the Duke of York. Prince Harry was merely seeking to profit from his only marketable asset – royalty. Prince Andrew used the same asset to win unsavoury friendships, one of which laid him open to what he regards as outrageous blackmail, as yet untested in a court of law. His desperate hope was that a New York judge would disallow Virginia Giuffre’s suit. But American lawyers do not volunteer to starve. » | Simon Jenkins | Friday, January 14, 2022

Prince Andrew Will No Longer Be ‘HRH’ – and That Is Now the Least of His Worries

THE GUARDIAN – OPINION: Virginia Giuffre is unlikely to accept a settlement alone. A trial would be disastrous for the prince and his family

Prince Andrew at the Falklands veterans parade in Horse Guards Parade, London, June 2007. Photograph: Anwar Hussein Collection/ROTA/WireImage
In 1986, Prince Andrew married Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey to an avalanche of enthusiastic press coverage. Thirty-five years later, he faces a lawsuit for sexual assault from Virginia Giuffre, a woman who was trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein. He is disgraced, stripped of his military titles, will no longer be officially “His Royal Highness”, nor represent the Queen. After yesterday’s summit with his mother at Windsor Castle, Andrew is no longer a working royal in any capacity and must, as the statement from Buckingham Palace made clear, face the lawsuit as a “private citizen”.

Giuffre, a survivor of trafficking and abuse, has been courageous. Attacked and slandered by powerful individuals, she has continued to argue her case. She is, her team says, determined to have her day in court. The lawsuit may now go ahead as early as this autumn. In the year of the Platinum Jubilee, which was supposed to be all about celebrating the Queen and her long reign, the royal family are confronting the worrying possibility that attention will now be on the court case against Andrew. » | Kate Williams * | Friday, January 14, 2022

* Kate Williams is professor of history at Reading University and author of Rival Queens and The Edge of the Fall

Sarah Ferguson: will ex-wife continue to ‘remain steadfast’ for Prince Andrew’? : Duchess of York appears to be one of few people Andrew can still turn to for unconditional support »

The Guardian View on Criminalising Protest: The Lords Must Take a Stand

THE GUARDIAN – EDITORIAL: The attempt to evade parliamentary scrutiny over curbing the right to protest should be resisted

Checks and balances are built into every democracy. On Monday, the House of Lords has the chance to show how much this matters and why. Amendments added to the police, crime, sentencing and courts bill by the government late last year would restrict the right to protest beyond the measures already debated by MPs, and criminalise trespass. The new powers granted to the police by these extra clauses, along with sentences of up to a year for offences such as obstructing “nationally significant infrastructure” including roads and airports, are an assault on civil liberties. Freedom of expression, including the freedom of assembly, is central to a liberal democracy. Governments often need to hear what protesters have to say. For ministers to attack them is particularly worrying at a time when some senior Conservatives are pushing back against environmentalism more broadly, as well as against anti-racist initiatives. » | Editorial | Thursday, January 13, 2022

Ende einer Kutschfahrt

NIEDERLÄNDISCHES KÖNIGSHAUS
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Der niederländische König gesteht ein, dass die Darstellung schwarzer Menschen, die unterwürfig der niederländischen Jungfrau huldigen, Menschen verletzen kann. Deshalb wird das Gefährt erst einmal eingemottet.

Die Goldenen Kutsche des niederländischen Königshauses, die im Zentrum einer Debatte über den Um¬gang mit der kolonialen Vergangenheit steht, wird einstweilen aus dem Verkehr gezogen. „Die Goldenen Kutsche wird erst wieder fahren, wenn die Niederlande dafür bereit sind“, sagte König Willem-Alexander am Donnerstag in einer Videobotschaft, „und das ist jetzt nicht der Fall“. Das Gefährt kommt nun in den königlichen Stall.

Der König hatte es zuletzt 2015 verwendet, zur feierlichen Eröffnung des Parlaments am Prinzentag. Anschließend wurde die 1898 gebaute Kutsche sechs Jahre lang aufwendig restauriert; seit Juni vorigen Jahres wird sie im Amsterdam Museum im Rahmen einer historisch-kritischen Ausstellung gezeigt. Da die Ausstellung im kommenden Monat zu Ende geht und das Museum danach selbst komplett um-gebaut wird, musste der König über das Schicksal der Kutsche entscheiden. Auf ihr ist allegorisch dargestellt, wie die Niederlande den von ihnen eroberten Kolonien die Zivilisation bringen. » | Von Thomas Gutschker, Brüssel | Freitag, 14. Januar 2022

Dutch Royals to Retire Golden Coach With Echoes of Colonialism: The horse-drawn coach, a gift from the city of Amsterdam to Queen Wilhelmina in 1898, has long been the target of critics. »

Dette, chômage, impôts, illettrisme... La vérité sur l’état de la France par Agnès Verdier-Molinié

Agnès Verdier-Molinié, directrice de la Fondation Ifrap. ©Léa Crespi pour le Figaro Magazine
LE FIGARO : EXCLUSIF - Dans un essai incisif à paraître le 19 janvier, Agnès Verdier-Molinié dénonce le grand décrochage de la France. Entretien avec la directrice de la Fondation Ifrap et extraits, en avant-première, de son livre Le vrai État de la France.

À force de repousser sans cesse les réformes, de dépenser sans compter et de s’endetter comme jamais, la France est en train de décrocher par rapport aux autres pays de taille comparable, prévient Agnès Verdier-Molinié qui dénonce l’omerta régnant sur l’état véritable de notre pays à l’approche de l’élection présidentielle. Voilà des années que la directrice de la Fondation Ifrap tire la sonnette d’alarme. En vain, même si les politiques en mal d’inspiration sont de plus en plus nombreux à venir consulter ce think tank libéral qui n’a de cesse de mettre en évidence les failles des administrations, les travers des politiques publiques, le poids des impôts qui décourage d’entreprendre, d’investir voire de s’enrichir en France.

Au fil de son diagnostic, Agnès Verdier-Molinié pointe, chiffres à l’appui, d’autres écueils qui sont, pour elle, autant de signes annonciateurs du déclin de la France: le développement de la pauvreté, le sentiment croissant d’insécurité, le nombre toujours plus inquiétant de laissés-pour-compte du système éducatif, l’essor de l’économie parallèle et de la fraude, la perte de contrôle des flux migratoires… Malgré tout, Agnès Verdier-Molinié garde l’espoir, confiante dans l’avenir et les capacités de notre pays. Mais «c’est maintenant qu’il faut faire le job», prévient-elle, soufflant au passage quelques pistes de réformes à celui ou celle qui, dans quelques mois, dirigera la France. » | Par Ghislain de Montalembert | vendredi 14 janvier 2022

Réservé aux abonnés

À LIRE AUSSI :

Impôts: ces hausses qu’on nous cache... Les révélations d’Agnès Verdier-Molinié : EXCLUSIF - La Fondation Ifrap a fait le bilan des baisses et des hausses d’impôts sous le quinquennat d’Emmanuel Macron. Sa directrice générale tire la sonnette d’alarme: la diminution des impôts directs annoncée n’est pas au rendez-vous pour les ménages, surtout les plus aisés. »

Collapsing Turkish Lira May Bring Erdogan Down with It

THE TIMES: The Turkish president’s disastrous response to an inflation crisis has stirred up anger at his authoritatian rule

President Erdogan has insisted on cutting interest rates, against most economic advice, because he believes interest is condemned in the Quran | GETTY
When anti-government protests spread through Kazakhstan, President Erdogan was quick to offer Turkish support and try to rally other Turkic-speaking countries to the cause. The reason is clear: Erdogan faces a similar threat of a popular uprising at home and he is determined to hang on to power at all costs.

Like in Kazakhstan, there has been an explosion of anger in Turkey over the rising cost of living, corruption and the increasingly autocratic tendencies of its leader. Kazakh anger was triggered by a sharp rise in gas prices; in Turkey it was the precipitous fall over the past six months in the value of the lira, which has wiped out savings, bankrupted small businesses and caused soaring inflation. » | Michael Binyon | Thursday, January 13, 2022 [£]