I’ll Fight to Overturn US Ban on My ‘Queer Bible’, Says British Author

THE OBSERVER: Former model Jack Guinness caught up in furore over Mississippi mayor’s attempt to withhold funding for library until ‘homosexual materials’ are withdrawn

Jack Guinness said he was proud that the controversy had turned him into a campaigner. | Photograph: Pal Hansen/The Observer
A British writer, presenter and former model says he is shocked to find himself at the centre of an unprecedented wave of book banning in the US.

A Mississippi mayor has told the Madison County Library to remove LGBTQ+ books from its shelves or lose funding. One of the books singled out as an example was The Queer Bible, a collection of LGBTQ+ history essays edited by Jack Guinness. Ridgeland’s Republican mayor, Gene McGee, has refused to release funds to the library until “homosexual materials” are withdrawn.

Tonja Johnson, executive director of the Madison County Library System, said when she told McGee that the library served the whole community, he replied that he only served “the great Lord above”.

Guinness discovered his anthology had been caught up in the book ban on Twitter. “I couldn’t quite believe my eyes,” he told the Observer. “When you write a book, you kind of imagine people might read it, but you don’t imagine anyone will ban it. Referring to it as ‘homosexual material’ – that’s the sort of phrase my grandmother would have used to talk about my jeans.”

Guinness, once described by GQmagazine as “the coolest man in Britain”, worked as a model after university for fashion labels such as Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci and Dunhill and became a famous face on the capital’s social scene. He was friends with Pixie Geldof, DJ Nick Grimshaw and musician Florence Welch, and used to be Alexa Chung’s flatmate.

He soon segued from modelling into work as a presenter and as a writer for Vogue, GQ and the Guardian. Since starting the Queer Bible as a website in 2017, he has been included in Attitudemagazine’s trailblazers list of exceptional LGBTQ contributors to the arts. He is also now a member of London mayor Sadiq Khan’s diversity in the public realm commission. » | Alice Fisher | Sunday, February 13, 2022

Jewish Survivor Lilian Saunders’ Testimony

May 1, 2012 • You are watching Lilian Saunders, a Jewish survivor from the Holocaust.

These videos are brought to us by the USC Shoah Foundation Institute, which was founded by Steven Spielberg in 1994. The Institute has video testimonies of 52,000 Holocaust survivors, witnesses, liberators, and others.

Tories Nudge Donors into Plum State Jobs

THE SUNDAY TIMES: Chosen few receive help from little-known Downing Street unit

Ben Elliot, the party chairman, is among those to have helped donors | HOLLIE ADAMS/BLOOMBERG/GETTY IMAGES
The Conservative Party is helping donors apply for public roles, with officials offering behind-the-scenes support and directing applicants to a secretive Number 10 unit closed to members of the public.

Leaked documents show that Tory officials have referred supporters to the prime minister’s appointments unit, whose existence is not widely acknowledged and which operates using interchangeable names.

Ben Elliot, the party chairman, is among those to have helped donors navigate the appointments process, often raising funds for political purposes at the same time. In one instance, in May 2020, Elliot, 46, received a message from a donor who had conceived of a new role for himself overseeing emergency Covid-19 loans. Elliot responded by looping in two people to an email: one of Boris Johnson’s most … » | Gabriel Pogrund, Whitehall Editor | Saturday, February 12, 2022

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This is a classic case of "jobs for the boys"! How much longer must we, the people, tolerate this abuse of power at the top? How much longer must we tolerate this corruption? Once upon a time, the United Kingdom was known throughout the world for its honesty and fairness. This can hardly be said of the country today, especially under its current leadership. Sadly, it makes one feel ashamded to be British! – © Mark

He Knows Putin Well. And He Fears for Ukraine.

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The Finnish president, Sauli Niinisto, has carved out a vital role as interpreter between East and West, and he is not optimistic about the prospects for peace.

President Sauli Niinisto of Finland with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in 2016. Mr. Putin “respects the one who is fighting back,” Mr. Niinisto has said. | Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images
HELSINKI — As the threat of a new Russian invasion of Ukraine grew, the European head of state with the longest and deepest experience dealing with Vladimir V. Putin fielded calls and doled out advice to President Emmanuel Macron of France and other world leaders desperate for insight into his difficult neighbor to the east.

“‘What do you think about this about this, what about this, or this?’ That’s where I try to be helpful,” said Sauli Niinisto, the president of Finland, as the harsh light gleaming off the snow and frozen bay poured into the presidential residence. “They know that I know Putin,” he added. “And because it goes the other way around Putin sometimes says, ‘Well, why don’t you tell your Western friends that and that and that?’”

Mr. Niinisto, 73, said his role was not merely that of a Nordic runner, shuttling messages between East and West, but of borderland interpreter, explaining to both sides the thinking of the other. The departure from politics of Angela Merkel, who for years as Germany’s chancellor led Europe’s negotiations with Mr. Putin, has made Mr. Niinisto’s role, while smaller, vital, especially as the drumbeat of war grows louder.

But Mr. Niinisto is not optimistic. Before and after his last long conversation with Mr. Putin last month, he said, he had noticed a change in the Russian. “His state of mind, the deciding, decisiveness — that is clearly different,” Mr. Niinisto said. He believed Mr. Putin felt he had to seize on “the momentum he has now.” » | Jason Horowitz | Sunday, February 13, 2022

Crise ukrainienne : pourquoi Vladimir Poutine menace d’entrer en guerre

LE MONDE : La crise à la frontière ukrainienne est à la fois le résultat de plusieurs années de tensions et d’un contexte en partie favorable à la Russie. Explication vidéo, avec Sylvie Kauffmann, journaliste au « Monde », spécialiste des questions diplomatiques.

Jusqu’où ira Vladimir Poutine ? Au début du mois de février 2022, plus de 100 000 militaires russes étaient massés aux frontières de l’Ukraine. La Russie nie avoir l’intension d’attaquer immédiatement l’Ukraine, mais Vladimir Poutine est engagé dans un bras de fer tendu avec les Etats-Unis et ses alliés occidentaux. Objectif affiché par le Kremlin : empêcher l’Ukraine de rejoindre l’OTAN. Regarder la vidéo » | Par Marc Bettinelli, Emile Costard, Elsa Longueville et Marceau Bretonnier | dimanche 13 février 2022

Swiss Vote on Tobacco Ad Ban Long after Neighbours

No-campaign posters have sprung up warning: "Today tobacco, tomorrow sausages?" | REUTERS
BBC: Swiss voters go to the polls on Sunday to decide on a raft of measures, including a ban on tobacco advertising anywhere young people might see it.

In effect it would be a complete ban.

That might cause some raised eyebrows among Switzerland's European neighbours, most of whom adopted strict rules on tobacco advertising years ago.

But Switzerland, despite its healthy, environmentally friendly image, has the most lax regulations on tobacco in Europe.

Long after smoking in pubs and restaurants was outlawed in the UK, France, or Germany, the Swiss were still puffing away.

Supermarket shoppers would be regularly approached by smiling young women giving away free samples of the latest cigarette brand. And while those things have now been banned, tobacco advertising remains.

The World Health Organization's historic Framework Convention on Tobacco Control was negotiated in Geneva almost 20 years ago.

Switzerland signed it, but still hasn't ratified it - the only country in Europe not to - because its legislation on advertising is not compliant. » | Imogen Foulkes, BBC News, Bern | Sunday, February 13, 2022

Smoking surge in young during Covid lockdown: England saw a rise in young adults taking up smoking during the first lockdown, according to a study. »

Viktor…

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It’s High Time for a Cocktail!

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Un baiser chaud par une froide nuit d'hiver !

Ein heißer Kuß in einer kalten Winternacht! / A hot kiss on a cold winter’s night!
Un grand merci à equallywed.com sur Pinterest pour cette superbe photo expressive.

Thousands of Ukrainians Rally in Kyiv amid Fear of Russian Invasion

THE GUARDIAN: President tells population not to panic as Russia surrounds country with more than 100,000 troops

Several thousand Ukrainians rallied in Kyiv on Saturday to show unity amid fears of a Russian invasion, as Ukraine’s leader told people not to panic and pushed back against what he said was a glut of bleak war predictions being reported in the media.

Tension has mounted as Russia has built up more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine and carried out large-scale exercises. The US said on Friday an invasion could start at any moment. Russia denies planning to invade.

Ukrainians filed through the centre of Kyiv in a column, chanting “Glory to Ukraine” and carrying Ukrainian flags and banners that said “Ukrainians will resist” and “Invaders must die”.

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who attended police drills in southern Kherson region, said a Russian attack could happen at any time, but pushed back against what he called excessive amounts of information about a major looming war.

It came amid reports that an invasion could happen as soon as Wednesday. With videos » | Agence France-Presse | Saturday, February 12, 2022

Boris Johnson’s Position ‘Difficult’ If Met Fines Him, Warns Iain Duncan Smith

THE GUARDIAN: Another former Conservative leader piles pressure on prime minister over Partygate allegations

Iain Duncan Smith’s intervention could influence backbench Conservative MPs. Photograph: Alberto Pezzali/AP
The former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith has warned Boris Johnson it will be hard to cling to power if the Metropolitan police finds he breached Covid rules.

The comments from the senior Tory will ratchet up pressure on the prime minister to resign if he broke the law, after Johnson received a questionnaire from the Met on Friday regarding alleged parties in Downing Street.

Johnson has so far remained bullish, insisting he broke no rules and having rejected calls to go. But Duncan Smith’s intervention could guide backbenchers – many of whom are said to be waiting for the Met’s probe to conclude before deciding whether to submit letters of no confidence.

If Johnson broke the law, “I think it would be very tough for anyone to remain after that”, Duncan Smith told the i. “If you’ve set the laws, and you break them and the police decide you have broken them. » | Jem Bartholomew | Saturday, February 12, 2022

Boris Johnson Should Be Ashamed of Savile Slur, Says Bishop

THE GUARDIAN: Paul Bayes, retiring bishop of Liverpool, calls for an end to ‘rancid and dangerous’ political culture in Britain

Paul Bayes, the bishop of Liverpool, said Boris Johnson should take ‘serious stock of his position’ after what he said about the Labour leader Keir Starmer. Photograph: Rebecca Lupton/The Guardian
Today’s political culture is “rancid and dangerous” and Boris Johnson should be ashamed of telling a lie that led to street violence, a senior Church of England bishop has said.

Paul Bayes, the bishop of Liverpool, said the UK was facing a “struggle between those in whose interest it is to fragment society and those who want to sustain the common good”.

Speaking on the eve of his retirement, Bayes also said church law should change to define marriage as between two people regardless of gender – a highly controversial move that would overturn centuries of traditional biblical teaching.

Bayes said Johnson should take “serious stock of his position” after he told parliament that Keir Starmer had failed to prosecute the paedophile Jimmy Savile. Two days later, Starmer had to seek refuge from a mob accusing him of being a “paedophile protector”.

Bayes said: “I do not believe that was an honest statement, and I think [Johnson] should be ashamed of it. And the folks who trotted out to say ‘it’s not really a problem, it’s all part of the rough and tumble of politics’ should share that shame …

“The parallel in my mind is Donald Trump. [Johnson] is showing us who he is, and people seem to want that in politics. And I regret that. We need a politics that doesn’t have room for lies told in the House of Commons that might produce street violence two days afterwards.” » | Harriet Sherwood | Saturday, February 12, 2022

C of E bishop backs prosecution of those who defy ‘gay conversion’ ban: David Walker says faith leaders should face full force of law if they don’t comply with proposed ban »

Putin - Die Rückkehr des russischen Bären | Doku HD | ARTE

Feb 12, 2022 • Nach 20 Jahren an der Macht setzt Wladimir Putin mit Russlands Comeback auf der großen Bühne der Weltpolitik seine geopolitische Strategie um. Bereits 2007 hatte er sein Vorhaben angekündigt – und dennoch scheint es die westlichen Regierungen völlig unvorbereitet zu treffen. Was steckt hinter dieser Neuauflage des Kalten Krieges?

Nach dem Zerfall der Sowjetunion im Jahr 1991 schien die Zeit Russlands als Großmacht ein für alle Mal vorbei. Heute liegt das BIP Russlands gerade einmal auf dem Niveau Italiens, und die Truppenstärke des Landes ist kaum größer als die Frankreichs. Doch seit Beginn der 2020er Jahre redet Wladimir Putin auf der weltpolitischen Bühne wieder mit.

Von den ehemaligen Sowjetstaaten über Afrika bis zum Nahen Osten gibt es keine Wahl, keinen Konflikt und keine Verhandlung, zu denen Moskau nichts zu sagen hätte. Ob mittels Social-Media-Kampagnen, diplomatischen Gesprächen oder Handels- und Militärabkommen: der Kreml scheint fest entschlossen, zu alter Größe zurückzufinden.

Seine Ziele hatte Wladimir Putin bereits 2007 auf der Münchener Sicherheitskonferenz angekündigt. Er fühlte sich von seinen westlichen „Partnern“ despektierlich behandelt und unterschätzt, prangerte das Vormachtstreben der Vereinigten Staaten an und prophezeite das Ende der unipolaren Weltordnung. Seitdem sorgt der Kreml-Chef für die Sicherung der russischen Grenzen und bezieht außenpolitisch ganz unverhohlen Stellung, ohne dass ihm andere Staaten Einhalt gebieten. Es besteht kein Zweifel: Der russische Bär ist zurück auf dem internationalen Parkett!

Dokumentation von Frédéric Tonolli (F 2021, 55 Min)
Video auf Youtube verfügbar bis zum 17/03/2022

Iran: un homme décapite son épouse «pour l’honneur»

Mona Heydari, jeune femme iranienne âgée de 17 ans, a été décapitée par son mari et son beau-frère, samedi, à Ahbaz, dans le sud-ouest de l’Iran. Collection personnelle via Farzad Seifikaran
LE FIGARO : Mona Heydari, 17 ans, avait fui pour échapper aux violences conjugales. À son retour, son mari l’a assassinée. Le féminicide mobilise la société civile.

C’est l’image que les amis de Mona Heydari auraient préféré garder d’elle. Celle d’un visage souriant, surmonté d’un bonnet de laine. Mais la violence de son assassinat l’a emporté sur la tendresse des souvenirs. Samedi 5 février, la jeune femme de 17 ans a été décapitée par son mari et son beau-frère à Ahvaz, capitale de la province du Khuzestan, dans le sud-ouest de l’Iran.

Depuis, la vidéo de l’époux paradant dans la rue, la tête de sa victime dans une main, son couteau dans l’autre, est devenue virale sur les réseaux sociaux. L’illustration flagrante, selon l’avocat Ali Mojtahedzadeh, «des lacunes» concernant la protection des femmes dans la République islamique. » | Par Delphine Minoui | vendredi 11 février 2022

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Als Dior die Mode erfand

Mannequin Renée Breton präsentierte an der Seine die Bar-Jacke mit ausgestelltem Rock. Foto: Willy Maywald - ADAGP France
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: 12. Februar 2022 · Heute vor 75 Jahren fand in Paris die Schau aller Schauen statt. Der 12. Februar 1947 veränderte mit dem „New Look“ die Mode – und symbolisierte den Wiederaufstieg Frankreichs nach dem Krieg.

Es war nicht der schönste Tag für eine Modenschau. Am Morgen des 12. Februar 1947 herrschten in Paris Minusgrade. Die Modewoche war fast zu Ende, die Gäste aus aller Welt waren erschöpft. Viele französische Journalisten streikten. Diese Schau jedoch wollte sich niemand entgehen lassen. Um 10.30 Uhr sollte sie beginnen. Aber es dauerte, bis alle ihren Platz gefunden hatten. In den Salons standen die Stühle dicht an dicht, und es gab viel zu wenige Sitzplätze. Die Erwartungen waren groß. Und sie wurden sogar noch übertroffen von dem Modeschöpfer, der gerade 42 Jahre alt geworden war, also erfahren genug für eine Sensation und unbekannt genug, um noch entdeckt zu werden. Dabei wollte Christian Dior eigentlich gar keine Revolution anzetteln, dazu war er viel zu sanftmütig. Vermutlich gab er genau deshalb der Nachkriegsmode und der gesamten Nachkriegszeit einen entscheidenden Impuls – weil seine höfliche Zurückhaltung nur die Kehrseite seiner inneren Überzeugungen war, weil er genau wusste, was er wollte, nämlich nicht das, was er in den drei Jahren seit dem Ende der deutschen Besatzung in Paris gesehen hatte. » | Von Alfons Kaiser | Quelle: F.A.Z. Magazin | Montag, 7. Februar 2022

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Operation London Bridge: Will the Monarchy Survive after the Queen Dies? | Under Investigation

Levelling Up - Will Anyone Be Fooled by This Silly Dumbed-down Propaganda?

Feb 12, 2022 • The government's plans for 'Levelling Up' Global Britain are literally beyond belief. Referring to the Medicis in Renaissance Florence and a new Fourth Industrial Revolution the plans promise higher pay, better productivity, greater investment in R & D, improved public transport, better schools and skills training, life expectancy being increased by five years by 2035, greater 'Pride in Place' and reduced homicide and other crime.

All of this to be achieved by 2030 with little or no extra money. All of the above could and should have been provided by the government over the past eleven years during which time they have been in power.

This mindless drivel and crude propaganda is an insult to the intelligence of any reasonable person.

In the meantime, Liam Fox, former Trade Minister under Theresa May has launched a new 'Global Britain Commission'. Dr Fox explains that all Global Britain needs to do in order to practically double exports is to double productivity to match that of Germany. He doesn't say how this can be done.

The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee, having reviewed Brexit progress so far, has concluded that there have been no noticeable benefits but considerable disadvantages in the form of red tape and other barriers to trade.

Krise um die Ukraine: Die USA und Russland ziehen ihr diplomatisches Personal bis auf Minimalpräsenz aus Kiew ab

NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG: Bereits zum zweiten Mal innerhalb eines Jahres löst Russland mit einem Truppenaufmarsch nahe der Grenze zur Ukraine grosse Besorgnis aus. Was ist über die Lage bekannt, und welche Interessen verfolgt Moskau? Ein Überblick.

Der Berater für nationale Sicherheit, Jake Sullivan, am Freitag bei seiner Mitteilung vor der Presse im Weissen Haus. | Shawn Thew / Imago
DIE NEUSTEN ENTWICKLUNGEN
Die USA räumen ihre Botschaft in Kiew bis auf eine Minimalpräsenz. Dies teilte die amerikanische Botschaft in Kiew am Samstag (12. 2.) auf Twitter mit. Zuvor hatten Nachrichtenagenturen über die Pläne des Aussenministeriums berichtet. Hintergrund ist die Furcht vor einer russischen Invasion, die amerikanische Geheimdienste in den kommenden Tagen erwarten. Russland zieht laut der staatlichen Agentur Ria ebenfalls diplomatisches Personal ab. Eine Sprecherin des russischen Aussenministeriums sagte am Samstag, man habe sich entschieden, die Anzahl der Mitarbeiter «zu optimieren». In den vergangenen Stunden hatten mehrere westliche Länder ihren Staatsangehörigen zur Ausreise geraten bzw. von Reisen in die Ukraine abgeraten. Jake Sullivan, der Sicherheitsberater von Joe Biden, bat am Freitag amerikanische Bürger, die Ukraine innerhalb der nächsten 24 bis 28 Stunden zu verlassen.

Grossbritannien hat nochmals bekräftigt, keine Kampftruppen in die Ukraine schicken zu wollen. Der russische Präsident Wladimir Putin und seine Kollegen würden sehr gerne in der Lage sein, zu sagen, dass ihr mögliches Vorgehen eine Folge westlicher Aggression in der Ukraine sei, sagte der britische Verteidigungsstaatssekretär James Heappey am Samstag (12. 2:) im BBC-Frühstücksfernsehen. Es sei deshalb sehr wichtig, deutlich zu machen, dass man keine «aktive Rolle in der Ukraine» spielen werde. Auf die Frage, ob im Kriegsfall keine britischen Kampftruppen in der Ukraine sein werden, antwortete er: «Es ist absolut wesentlich, dass die Leute in Moskau das hören: Ja.» Britische Bürger dürften auch nicht mit Evakuierungen durch das Militär wie im Sommer aus Afghanistan rechnen, sagte Heappey im TV-Sender Sky News. » |Andreas Rüesch | Samstag, 12. Februar 2022

Bitcoin Paradise? Briton Creates ‘Crypto Utopia’ in South Pacific

THE GUARDIAN: Anthony Welch and partner try to woo cryptocurrency investors to regulation-free island on Vanuatu archipelago

Vanuatu is a South Pacific Ocean nation made up of approximately 80 islands. Photograph: Westend61/Getty Images
For the past 12 years Anthony Welch and his partner Theresa have been living a Robinson Crusoe life alone on a South Pacific island mostly untouched by humanity.

Welch, a retired British property investor, hopes the tranquility will soon be shattered by 21,000 cryptocurrency investors he is trying to convince to move to his island and form a regulation-free “crypto utopia”.

Under Welch’s plan, the 3,000m sq metre (32,000m sq ft) island, which is part of the Vanuatu archipelago between Australia and Fiji, would be transformed from 90% undisturbed rainforest into a “sustainable smart city”, filled with multistorey apartment blocks and offices for cryptocurrency investors from around the world.

Welch, who has renamed the island from its native name Lataro to Satoshi (in a nod to Satoshi Nakamoto the pseudonym of the person who invented bitcoin), has joined forces with cryptocurrency evangelists to create a “blockchain-based democracy” and “the crypto capital of the world”.

However, Welch will first have to unwind his previous marketing of the island as a “wildlife nature reserve” home to rare giant crabs. » | Rupert Neate, Wealth correspondent | Saturday, February 12, 2022

Isle of Man to Pardon Men Convicted for Homosexual Acts

THE GUARDIAN: New act will pardon those convicted for a historical sexual offence if the act in question is no longer a crime

Men who have been convicted for homosexual acts on the Isle of Man will be automatically pardoned later this year in what campaigners said was a long overdue and necessary change in law.

Homosexuality was decriminalised on the Isle of Man in 1992 and its first Gay Pride event took place last summer.

Jane Poole-Wilson, the home affairs minister, said new legislation would come into force in June at the latest.

The new act will pardon those convicted for a historical sexual offence if the act in question is no longer a crime. While the pardons will be automatic, people will have to apply to have historical convictions struck from their records in a “disregard process”. » | Helen Pidd, North of England editor | Friday, February 11, 2022