Millionaires Call On Governments Worldwide to ‘Tax Us Now’

THE GUARDIAN: Group of 102 wealthy people say tax would help tackle gulf between rich and poor

Gemma McGough, a British entrepreneur and founding member of Patriotic Millionaires UK.Photograph: PA
More than 100 members of the global super-rich called on Wednesday for governments around the world to “tax us now” to help pay for the pandemic response and tackle the gulf between rich and poor.

The group of 102 millionaires and billionaires, including Disney heiress Abigail Disney, said the current tax system is rigged in their favour and needs to be rewritten to make taxation fairer for hard-working people and restore trust in politics.

“As millionaires, we know that the current tax system is not fair,” they said in an open letter published on Wednesday. “Most of us can say that, while the world has gone through an immense amount of suffering in the last two years, we have actually seen our wealth rise during the pandemic – yet few if any of us can honestly say that we pay our fair share in taxes.”

The super-rich signatories, who brand themselves as “patriotic millionaires”, called for the introduction of “permanent wealth taxes on the richest to help reduce extreme inequality and raise revenue for sustained, long-term increases in public services like healthcare”. » | Rupert Neate Wealth correspondent | Wednesday, January 19, 2022

Witness Willing to Testify She Saw Prince Andrew with a ‘Young Girl’ at London Nightclub

THE GUARDIAN: Virginia Giuffre’s lawyers seek her statement to counter the royal’s insistence he has never met their client or visited the club

A witness is willing to testify that she saw Prince Andrew in a nightclub in 2001. Photograph: Hollie Adams/Getty Images
A woman who may have seen Prince Andrew with Virginia Giuffre at a London nightclub 20 years ago is “willing” to provide testimony in Giuffre’s civil lawsuit against the royal, whom she accuses of sexual abuse, the witness’s lawyer said.

“I am proud to represent Shukri Walker, who has bravely stepped forward as a witness and encourages others who may have information to do so as well,” the lawyer Lisa Bloom said in an email.

“She is willing to do the deposition Virginia Giuffre’s team is seeking.”

Giuffre, now 38, maintains that at age 17 she was coerced into having sex with the prince, by his associates Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Andrew emphatically denies all allegations of misconduct. » | Victoria Bekiempis in New York | Tuesday, January 18, 2022

Ein liebevoller Kuß inmitten der Bougainvillea.

Un baiser amoureux au milieu des bougainvilliers. / A loving kiss amid the bougainvillea.
Für dieses schöne und ausdrucksvolle Foto bedanke ich mich bei Taksim gay sohbet auf Pinterst..

Don McClean : Vincent

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group | Views on YouTube: 5,918,033

The Epic Rise and Fall of Elizabeth Holmes

THE NEW YORK TIMES: In Silicon Valley’s world of make-believe, the philosophy of “fake it until you make it” finally gets its comeuppance.

For a decade, Ms. Holmes fooled savvy investors, hundreds of smart employees, an all-star board and a media eager to anoint a new star. | Jenny Hueston
SAN FRANCISCO — Near the end of Elizabeth Holmes’s criminal trial, her lawyers submitted into evidence her punishing self-improvement plan.

“4 a.m. Rise and thank God,” the handwritten memo began.Exercise, meditation, prayer, breakfast (whey and, as she spelled it, “bannanna”) followed. By 6:45 a.m., a time when slackers were still fumbling for the alarm clock, she was at the office of Theranos, the blood-testing company she founded in 2003.

Ms. Holmes had many rules at Theranos: “I am never a minute late. I show no excitement. ALL ABOUT BUSINESS. I am not impulsive. I know the outcome of every encounter. I do not hesitate. I constantly make decisions and change them as needed. I speak rarely. I call bullshit immediately.”

It worked. Ms. Holmes’s resolve was so forceful, and fit so neatly into the Silicon Valley cliché of achieving the impossible by refusing to admit it was impossible, that it inspired belief right up to the moment on Monday when a jury officially convicted her of four counts of fraud.

The verdict signaled the end of an era. In Silicon Valley, where the line between talk and achievement is often vague, there is finally a limit to faking it. » | David Streitfeld | Monday, January 3, 2022

Leer en español :

El auge y la caída de Elizabeth Holmes : El caso de la fundadora de Theranos podría cambiar el estatus de culto que tienen algunos emprendedores tecnológicos a los que no se les cuestionan sus ambiciosos proyectos ni se les exige que rindan cuentas. »

Rabbi Describes Escape from Texas Synagogue Siege - BBC News

Jan 17, 2022 • The rabbi of a US synagogue who was taken hostage on Saturday has described how he threw a chair at the gunman in order to escape.

He and two other hostages were then able to get out "without a shot being fired", following a 10-hour siege in Texas.

The hostage-taker, named as British citizen Malik Faisal Akram, was shot dead after a stand-off with police.

US President Joe Biden has described the hostage-taking incident as "an act of terror".


Related articles.

Zu Tisch ... Oldenburger Land | ARTE

Jan 9, 2022 • Im Oldenburger Land ist Grünkohl das traditionelle Wintergemüse. In der Region im Nordwesten Deutschlands kommt der Kohl mit dem feuchten Meeresklima gut zurecht. Früher stand Grünkohl in fast jedem Garten in der Umgebung, denn er sicherte die Grundversorgung in der kalten Jahreszeit. Bio-Bauer Peter Kluin baut seltene Grünkohlsorten an und verkauft sie auf dem Wochenmarkt.

Peter Kluin ist Landwirt und verkauft seit über 30 Jahren auf dem Oldenburger Rathausmarkt Bio-Gemüse. Mit den ersten kühlen Tagen beginnt die Grünkohlsaison. Grünkohl ist ein Wintergemüse, es wird von November bis März geerntet. Auf seinem Hof südlich von Oldenburg baut Peter Kluin alte Sorten wie Lerchenzunge, Schwarzkohl oder Roten Grünkohl an. Seine Frau Susanne Bruns und er kochen mit dem Gemüse ausschließlich vegetarisch. Susanne verarbeitet den Kohl auch roh im Smoothie, geröstet als Chips und sogar als Dessert-Zutat.

Peter hat eine SoLaWi-Genossenschaft gegründet, um unabhängiger vom Wochenmarktgeschäft zu sein. Die Mitglieder der solidarischen Landwirtschaft erhalten wöchentlich eine Gemüse-Kiste und Peter mehr Planungssicherheit. Gemeinsam pflegen sie einen norddeutschen Brauch: Sie unternehmen eine Kohlfahrt. Trotz eisiger Temperaturen wird gewandert und anschließend Grünkohl gegessen. Zur Kohlfahrt gehört der Klassiker „Grünkohl mit Pinkel“ mit geräucherten Würsten aus Speck und Hafergrütze. Peter und seine Frau probieren auch eine vegane Variante mit kräftigen Gewürzen.

Während im Handel meist nur eine Sorte Grünkohl angeboten wird, setzen sich immer mehr Landwirte für den Erhalt seltener Sorten ein. Peter Kluin besucht den Saatgutretter Reinhard Lühring, der regionale Gemüsesorten sammelt und vermehrt. Bei ihm entdeckt Peter alte Sorten für die nächste Grünkohlsaison.

Esskulturreihe, Regie: Hanna Leissner (D 2021, 32 Min)

Is Historic Rome Villa the World's Most Valuable Property?

A historic Rome valued at €471m ($535m) has failed to sell at auction, with a new sale set for later this year.

The property is home to the only known ceiling mural by Italian baroque artist Michelangelo Merisi, better known as Caravaggio.

The BBC's Rome correspondent Mark Lowen was allowed in to take a sneak peek inside.


Villa Aurora: Rome property fails to sell for €471m at auction: A villa in the Italian capital Rome housing the only mural by Caravaggio has failed to sell at auction. »

The Downfall of Prince Andrew: Here’s What You Need to Know

THE NEW YORK TIMES: After a New York judge ruled that a civil suit against the prince could move forward, he was stripped of his military titles. What happens now?

Prince Andrew, Queen Elizabeth II’s second son, in Norfolk, Britain, in 2020. | Will Oliver/EPA, via Shutterstock
He was a dashing helicopter pilot and war hero, who captivated millions of Britons during the Falkland Islands war. Royal watchers liked to say he was a favorite of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

These days, however, Prince Andrew, 61, is drawing global infamy and revulsion over accusations that he raped a teenager in 2001.

The prince has repeatedly denied the accusations. But this week, his once-glittering royal life was shattered irreparably after a federal judge in Manhattan ruled that a civil case related to the sexual abuse accusations could proceed.

The reaction from Buckingham Palace was swift and punishing. Just a day later, the prince’s 95-year-old mother stripped him of his military titles and royal patronages. Going forward, the prince will no longer use the title “His Royal Highness,” a symbol of his status as a senior member of the royal family. The Sun, a popular British tabloid, summed it up: Prince Andrew had been “effectively banished.”

Looming over the case is the prince’s friendship with the former financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who the accuser, Virginia Giuffre, claimed had trafficked her to the prince. Mr. Epstein committed suicide in prison in 2019.

The case has deeply shaken the royal family, already buffeted by scandal and the rancorous departure of Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan. The timing could hardly be worse: Queen Elizabeth is poised to celebrate her 70th anniversary on the throne this year, and the monarchy — the symbol and unifier of an often restive nation — has been seeking to burnish and renew its brand for future generations. » | Dan Bilefsky | Sunday, January 16, 2022

Leer en español :

La caída del príncipe Andrés: esto es lo que hay que saber : Al príncipe se le retiraron sus títulos militares luego de que un juez de Nueva York falló que una demanda civil en contra suya era procedente. ¿Qué pasará ahora? »

1918-1939 : les rêves brisés de l’entre-deux guerres (2/8) | ARTE

Jan 8, 2022 • Treize destins de célébrités ou d'anonymes brossent le portrait des années troubles de l'entre-deux-guerres. Une fresque historique internationale, magistrale. Dans ce volet : 1919. La conférence de paix de Paris, qui réunit les grandes puissances face à l'Allemagne vaincue, entérine le traité de Versailles.

Silvio Crespi, ministre italien, réclame de nouveaux territoires en compensation de l'effort de guerre. Marie-Jeanne Picqueray fait la découverte des milieux anarchistes, tombe amoureuse et change d'identité. Jeune plongeur au Ritz, Nguyen Ai Quoc (futur Hô Chi Minh) tente de convaincre ses collègues de condamner le joug colonialiste français sur le Viêtnam. Pour le jeune lieutenant allemand Rudolf Höss, fervent patriote et futur commandant d'Auschwitz, la défaite allemande est une catastrophe. La star du muet Pola Negri doit rentrer en Pologne suite aux émeutes révolutionnaires qui enflamment l'Allemagne.

Années fiévreuses

Après 14, des armes et des mots, qui restituait la barbarie de la Première Guerre mondiale à travers les itinéraires singuliers d’hommes, de femmes et d’enfants originaires de six pays belligérants, cette nouvelle fresque historique se penche sur la période 1918-1939, cet entre-deux-guerres où la guerre n'a jamais vraiment cessé. À partir de leur correspondance, de leurs journaux intimes et de récits biographiques, les huit épisodes de cette coproduction internationale s’attachent aux destinées contrastées de treize personnages, célèbres ou anonymes, qui furent les témoins et acteurs des bouleversements de la période. Entremêlant images d’archives issues de vingt-trois pays et reconstitutions remarquablement soignées, Jan Peter et Frédéric Goupil ressuscitent, par le prisme de l’intime, la chronologie de ces fiévreuses années, entre fureur de vivre, convulsions économiques et luttes politiques – dominées par l’affirmation des idéologies communiste et fasciste. De l’armistice de 1918 à la déclaration de guerre du 3 septembre 1939, une plongée magistrale dans une époque qui ambitionnait d’accoucher d’un nouveau monde et engendra une nouvelle tragédie.

Série documentaire (2018, 52mn)
Disponible jusqu'au 11/02/2022


La partie 1 est disponible ici.

Democracy Now! Top US News & World Headlines — January 18, 2022

Are NATO and Russia on the Brink of War over the Ukraine Crisis? | Guest: Ex-UK Ambassador to Russia

Tonga Volcano: How Much Damage Did It Cause? | DW News

Jan 18, 2022 • A closed airport and lack of communication have continued to hinder international relief measures on the Pacific island nation of Tonga after Saturday's massive volcanic eruption and tsunami, even as significant damage was reported along the western coast of the country’s main island on Tuesday. The New Zealand High Commission reported damage on the island of Tongatapu, which is home to many holiday resorts, and the waterfront of capital Nuku'alofa. The United Nations also said that satellite visuals showed extensive damage on the western coast of Tongatapu, with several resorts and houses destroyed or severely damaged.

The official toll of deaths, injuries and damage from the disaster is still unclear, as the South Pacific archipelago has remained severed from the rest of the world after its main undersea communications cable was cut during the eruption on the uninhabited volcanic island of Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai. In the first known death from the catastrophe, British national Angela Glover, 50, was killed in the tsunami as she attempted to save dogs at a rescue shelter she had set up with her husband in Tonga, her brother said. High waves from the eruption also caused two deaths in faraway Peru, where two women drowned. The country also reported an oil spill after a ship was affected while transferring oil at a refinery. "We don't have any further information that would suggest... significant casualties, although, as you would appreciate, information is still relatively patchy," Australia's Minister for the Pacific Zed Seselja said on Nine's Today show on Tuesday. He said the airport could likely open by Wednesday, with volcanic ash currently preventing planes from landing safely.

The UN said on Tuesday that it had detected a distress beacon from Tonga. eThe UN office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) expressed concern about the small low-lying islands of Mango and Fonoi. An active distress signal was detected from Mango. "Communication is still the most challenging single issue as internet and international phone lines are still out of order," the OCHA said. "Satellite phones are the only reliable instrument for communication with the outside but they, too, do not always work reliably." Meanwhile, the New Zealand High Commission said that it was trying to establish communications with smaller islands "as a matter of priority." The eruption triggered atmospheric shockwaves and unusually large waves that traveled as far as Alaska, Japan and South America.


Related articles

Greece: Petrol Bombs Fly on Thessaloniki Streets as University Squat Protest Turns Violent

A protest in support of a 34-year-old squat in the basement of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki turned violent on Saturday.

Unidentified protesters threw petrol bombs at the police who responded with tear gas. Several were detained amid clashes.

The university squat, which had been allegedly used as a hideout for self-styled anarchists, had been cleared out in December in a police operation.

30 Years after the Collapse of the USSR - Spring of Hope or Winter of Despair? | DW Documentary

Jan 17, 2022 • Thirty years ago the Soviet Union, the bastion of communism, fell apart after member states declared their independence. What do people who were born at that time think about the USSR? We ask young adults in Georgia, Ukraine and Russia.

While Ukrainian Sergey Sobol and Georgian Irakli Rusadze see their future in Europe, Russian Igor Tischkowetz is convinced that Russia is the place to be. Thirty years after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, none of these young men longs to be back in the USSR. Still, there are a few remnants of the era that Igor Tischkowetz appreciates. A report by Juri Rescheto.

Heftige Kritik aus dem House of Lords an Johnsons Polizeigesetz

BRITISCHES OBERHAUS
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Mit einer Gesetzesreform will die britische Regierung das Versammlungsrecht ändern. Es ist nur eine von mehreren Maßnahmen, die Kritiker der Regierung als Frontalangriff auf Demokratie und Gewaltenteilung verurteilen. Der Widerstand dagegen wächst.

Autoritär, reaktionär, repressiv: Die Kritik an möglichen Einschränkungen der Demonstrationsfreiheit durch das geplante britische Polizeigesetz im Oberhaus hätte kaum beißender sein können. Die Mitglieder im House of Lords fügten der Regierung von Premierminister Boris Johnson in der Nacht zum Dienstag eine Abstimmungsniederlage nach der anderen zu.

Mit großer Mehrheit lehnten die Lords mehrere Paragrafen im Entwurf des geplanten neuen Polizeigesetzes ab. Darin waren beispielsweise erhebliche Einschränkungen von Protesten vorgesehen, wenn diese nach Ansicht der Polizei eine Lärmbelästigung darstellen oder Verkehrswege blockieren. „Menschenrechte ernsthaft infrage gestellt“ » | Quelle: dpa | Dienstag, 18. Januar 2022

Boris Johnson bataille pour sa survie politique

Boris Johnson, lors d’un débat au Parlement britannique, le 5 janvier, à Londres. REUTERS TV/REUTERS
LE FIGARO : RÉCIT - Le premier ministre prépare une salve de mesures populaires chez les tories pour tenter de désamorcer le scandale.

Dans les couloirs de Whitehall, on la dénomme «Operation Save Big Dog» (sauver le gros chien)… L’opération de sauvetage de Boris Johnson est lancée. Sérieusement touché par le «Partygate», le premier ministre lutte pour sa survie politique. Les conclusions de l’enquête interne sur les «fêtes de confinement» au sommet du pouvoir pourraient être rendues en fin de semaine. La contre-attaque passe par le nettoyage des positions de Downing Street et une salve de mesures populaires dans les rangs conservateurs.

Boris Johnson veut changer la «petite» musique qui se fait entendre à travers tout le pays. L’idée s’imprime dans l’opinion qu’il n’est pas - ou plus - à sa place. Que ses jours sont comptés. Que politiquement, il n’est plus qu’un «homme mort qui marche» comme l’a asséné le député conservateur Roger Gale. Ses soutiens montent au front mollement. D’autres se tiennent à l’écart comme on s’écarte des malades. Cette fois-ci, celui qu’on surnommait «Mr Teflon» parce que les polémiques glissaient sur lui, est sérieusement accroché. Il reste à savoir si la blessure est mortelle ou non. » | Par Arnaud De La Grange | Publié : lundi 17 janvier 2022 ; mis à jour : mardi 18 janvier 2022

Réservé aux abonnés

À LIRE AUSSI :

Royaume-Uni: Boris Johnson face au lent poison du «Partygate» : De nouvelles révélations sur une «garden-party» organisée à Downing Street en plein confinement fragilisent le premier ministre. »

LESEN SIE AUCH:

Wie Johnson versucht, dem Affärensumpf zu entkommen: Boris Johnson ist unter anderem durch seine Corona-Partys schwer angeschlagen. Mit der „Operation rotes Fleisch“ sollen nun Wähler wieder angelockt werden, die von den Affären des Premierministers enttäuscht sind. »

MI5 Investigated Texas Synagogue Hostage-taker in 2020

THE GUARDIAN: UK intelligence concluded Malik Faisal Akram posed no threat, which allowed him to travel to US and buy gun

The British man who took hostages at a Texas synagogue had been under investigation by MI5 as a possible Islamist terrorist threat as recently as 2020, Whitehall sources have acknowledged.

British intelligence closed the investigation, however, after officers had concluded Malik Faisal Akram from Blackburn posed no threat, and as a result he was able to travel freely to the US and purchase a gun.

It is understood the investigation was “mid-level” and took place in the second half of 2020 – but once it had ended Akram was left as a closed subject of interest on MI5’s records, and no information of concern appears to have been passed to the US authorities before the synagogue attack.

The Security Service’s investigation lasted “over four weeks”, a source said. But it ended with an assessment that Akram did not pose a jihadist terror risk and there was no reason to prevent him from travelling abroad.

The acknowledgment is a particular embarrassment to the agency, which prides itself on a close working relationship with its US counterparts. The FBI has known about MI5’s previous investigation for some time, although British sources declined to say whether they had apologised.

Akram, a 44-year-old from Blackburn, was killed after an 11-hour hostage standoff at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in the Dallas suburb of Colleyville on Saturday evening. All four hostages survived the siege unharmed. » | Dan Sabbagh | Tuesday, January 18, 2022

The Hostages Escaped. But Synagogues Ask, How Can They Be More Secure? »

Ravissant !

Herrlich! / Splendid!
Merci beaucoup à achuy tan sur Pinterest pour cette super photo.

Anne Frank et sa famille pourraient avoir été dénoncées par un notaire juif, selon un livre

LE MONDE : Selon « Qui a trahi Anne Frank ? », à paraître le 19 janvier, Arnold Van den Bergh aurait dénoncé la famille Frank dans l’espoir de sauver la sienne. La Maison Anne-Frank juge « l’hypothèse fascinante » mais demande des recherches plus approfondies.

Des journalistes prennent des photos de clichés d’Anne Frank, lors de la réouverture du musée, après des travaux de rénovation, en novembre 2018. PETER DEJONG / AP
C’est peut-être la fin de près de quatre-vingts années d’interrogations. Après six ans d’enquête sur cette affaire judiciaire non élucidée, le mystère entourant la dénonciation d’Anne Frank et de sa famille aux nazis pourrait avoir été élucidé.

C’est Arnold Van den Bergh, un notaire juif, qui aurait trahi la famille Frank pour sauver la sienne, selon Rosemary Sullivan, l’auteure canadienne d’un nouvel ouvrage intitulé Qui a trahi Anne Frank ? (Harpercollins, à paraître le 19 janvier). Un documentaire sur CBS en accompagne la publication. » | Le Monde avec AFP | lundi 17 janvier 2022