FIRST THINGS: Why I Became Muslim » | Jacob Williams *
* Jacob Williams is a writer living in London, England.
Friday, August 09, 2019
Islam and Western Civilization, Friends or Foes?
FIRST THINGS: Why I Became Muslim » | Jacob Williams *
* Jacob Williams is a writer living in London, England.
Fox's Tucker Carlson Calls White Supremacy Problem a Hoax
What President Donald Trump Was Really Doing During El Paso Visit | The Last Word | MSNBC
Independence for Scotland Is Inevitable – We Need a Plan for It
Ihope Scotland and Nicola Sturgeon realise how much they may yet owe Boris Johnson. If I were a Scot, I would vote for independence tomorrow. I would want nothing more to do with the shambles of today’s Westminster parliament, which goes on holiday for a month during the worst political crisis in a generation. Labour’s John McDonnell is entirely correct to reassure the Scots of their right to secede from the United Kingdom. The supreme civil right is that to self-government, and the inferior tier of a federation is entitled to claim it, not the superior one to permit.
Scotland has now voted itself a separatist Scottish National party local government unchallenged for 12 years. The party is 20 points ahead in the polls, while support for independence has topped 52%, the same percentage that voted for Brexit across the UK in 2016.
Johnson’s sidekick Dominic Cummings this week warned politicians that they “don’t get to choose which votes they respect”. That is exactly what Cummings and Johnson are doing. They are choosing to ignore the Brexit referendum pledge of frictionless trade, and Johnson is refusing to allow Sturgeon a referendum on independence. Sauce for the Brexit goose is sauce for the tartan gander. No wonder Johnson was about as welcome in Edinburgh last week as Donald Trump in El Paso. » | Simon Jenkins | Friday, August 9, 2019
Thursday, August 08, 2019
See Ex-Obama Adviser's Blunt Response When Asked about Fox Host
Was Donald Trump Trafficking Cocaine? (w/ David Cay Johnston)
Wall Street Confident That Trump Not Smart Enough To End Trade War
The Guardian View on British Foreign Policy: The Lost Art of Diplomacy
During the EU referendum campaign Barack Obama warned that Brexit put Britain at risk of relegation as a global trading power. Boris Johnson, then mayor of London, hit back, attributing the US president’s view to “ancestral” dislike of the UK, rooted in “part-Kenyan” heritage. It is not unusual for British politicians to resent being reminded of their country’s junior status in relations with the US (although most manage to express that frustration without nasty racial insinuations). There is no symmetry of clout in the “special relationship”. One side is a superpower, the other is not. Inability to grasp that disparity is a weakness among Eurosceptics. » | Editorial | Wednesday, August 7, 2019
New Rebel Bid to Halt No-deal Brexit amid Fury at PM’s Enforcer
Rebel MPs are working on a plan to thwart Boris Johnson pursuing a no-deal Brexit on 31 October that involves forcing parliament to sit through the autumn recess, amid growing outrage about the power and influence of his controversial aide, Dominic Cummings.
The cross-party group of MPs is looking at legislative options with mounting urgency because of the hardline tactics of Cummings, who one Conservative insider described as running a “reign of terror” in No 10 aimed at achieving Brexit on 31 October at any cost.
Three MPs have told the Guardian that one method under discussion is for members to amend the motion needed for parliament to break for party conferences in mid-September. This could give MPs another three weeks of sitting time to stop a no-deal and potentially open the door for days to be set aside for rebels to control parliamentary business. The ultimate aim would be to pass a bill forcing the government to request an extension to article 50 from Brussels. » | Rowena Mason and Jessica Elgot | Thursday, August 8, 2019
Wednesday, August 07, 2019
World Exclusive: Dubai Royal Insider Breaks Silence on Escaped Princesses | 60 Minutes Australia
How Sanctions Affect Iran... in Five Objects – BBC News
Police Break Down Door of Bahrain Embassy in UK after Roof Protester ‘Threatened’
Then, as other protestors and police watched from below, the embassy staff appeared to struggle with him. In an unprecedented move police broke in and arrested him. He claims the Bahrainis threatened his life, the Bahrainis say that's ridiculous and claim they called the police fearing a terrorist attack. Mr Mohammed has spoken to our Senior Home Affairs Correspondent Simon Israel who has been investigating what really happened.
Unter den Linden vor Ort - Die Wannseekonferenz und der geplante Massenmord
Michaela Kolster diskutiert mit ihren Gästen Julius H. Schoeps (Historiker und Gründungsdirektor Moses Mendelssohn Zentrum für europäisch-jüdische Studien) und Prof. Peter Longerich (Historiker).
Die Wannseekonferenz vom 20. Januar 1942 gilt gemeinhin als der Ausgangspunkt für die von Nazi-Deutschland organisierte Vernichtung der Juden in Deutschland und Europa. In einer Villa am Berliner Wannsee kamen seinerzeit 15 hochrangige Vertreter des NS-Regimes und der SS zusammen, um unter dem Vorsitz von Reinhard Heydrich den Holocaust an den Juden im Detail zu koordinieren.
Allerdings hatte die Deportation jüdischer Bürger aus dem Deutschen Reich und den besetzen Gebieten und die Errichtung jüdischer Ghettos schon deutlich früher begonnen – wenn auch nicht in den „geordneten“ Bahnen, die die Konferenz nun festlegte.
Welchen Stellenwert hat die Wannseekonferenz in der Genese des Holocausts nach neuester Forschung? Was macht die Einzigartigkeit dieses Völkermordes aus? Und wer waren die entscheidenden Köpfe hinter dem organisierten Massenmord?
2020 Dems Say Donald Trump’s Rhetoric Shares Blame For Shootings | Velshi & Ruhle | MSNBC
El Paso Residents To Donald Trump: “You Are Not Welcome Here” | The Last Word | MSNBC
Tuesday, August 06, 2019
Gove Says EU ‘Refusing to Negotiate’ on Brexit
'John Bolton Tried to Assassinate Me': Interview with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro
Trump Has Run 2,200 Facebook Ads Featuring The Word “Invasion”
White Nationalist Terror Attack in El Paso Was Not an Isolated Incident
Amanpour Clashes with Conway over Trump's Rhetoric
Joe: US Must Show Donald Trump White Supremacy A Dead-End Road | Morning Joe | MSNBC
Ivanka Trump Condemns White Supremacy – But Her Actions Tell Another Story
Ivanka Trump is very concerned that the US may have a white supremacist problem. On Sunday, as the country reeled from two mass shootings that killed at least 31 people, she implored her fellow Americans not just to pray for the victims, but to “raise our voices in rejection of these heinous and cowardly acts of hate, terror and violence”. She further tweeted: “White supremacy, like all other forms of terrorism, is an evil that must be destroyed.”
I had to sit down in shock after reading that tweet. The unthinkable had happened; for the first time in my life, I agreed with Ivanka. I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to the first daughter for bravely pointing out the obvious: white supremacy is terrorism. I would also like to point out the obvious: if Ivanka gave a damn about the rise of white supremacy, she could stroll over to her father’s office and have a word with him. She might suggest, for example, that Trump stop using the term “invasion” to describe asylum seekers and migrants. She might suggest that he not refer to Mexicans as “rapists”. She might suggest that he stop telling congresswoman of colour to “go back” to their countries. » | Arwa Mahdawi | Tuesday, August 6, 2019
Jair Bolsonaro Says Criminals Will 'Die Like Cockroaches' under Proposed New Laws
Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, has said he hopes criminals will “die in the streets like cockroaches” as a result of hard-line legislation he is pushing to shield security forces and citizens who shoot alleged offenders from prosecution. In an interview broadcast on Monday, Bolsonaro said he hoped Congress would approve his controversial plans to expand the so-called excludente de ilicitude – an article in Brazil’s criminal code that makes some normally illegal acts permissible. » | Tom Phillips, Latin America correspondent | Tuesday, August 6, 2019
Monday, August 05, 2019
'Trump Is on a Collision Course with Himself': Robert Malley on US Policy in the Middle East
Formerly a White House coordinator for the Middle East, North Africa and Gulf Region, Malley now heads leading think-tank, the International Crisis Group (ICG).
Under Barack Obama, Malley was part of the team that crafted the Iran nuclear deal - the one Donald Trump's White House then withdrew from in 2018, calling it "defective".
"His [Trump's] criticisms are either deliberately dishonest, or he hasn't read the deal or he doesn't know what's in it," Malley tells Al Jazeera.
He says Trump decided to withdraw from the deal to get a better deal and to curb Iran's behaviour in the region. But "what have we seen a year later? Iran is now itself moving away from the deal, so its nuclear activities are worse than they were under the deal."
"It could well lead to a war that I am profoundly convinced the president doesn't want," he says. "But I think he [Trump] is on a collision course with himself because his policies - whether he is aware of it or not - are leading towards the possibility of military confrontation that his instincts oppose."
Under the Obama administration, the US also got involved in Saudi's war in Yemen. In April, Malley wrote in the Atlantic: "For an American who had a hand in shaping US Mideast policy during the Barack Obama years, coming to Yemen has the unpleasant feel of visiting the scene of a tragedy one helped co-write."
He tells Al Jazeera that despite the US having "huge reservations", they agreed to get involved in the Yemen conflict in 2015 to support an ally, Saudi Arabia. "The feeling was we can't afford another rupture with Saudi Arabia - which could be a major one - after coming in the wake of the Iran negotiations. So the president [Obama] had this view of, we can help Saudi Arabia defend its security, defend its borders, defend its territorial integrity while trying not to get too involved in the war with the Houthis," he says.
"But in a way that was getting half pregnant. Because once you support Saudi Arabia - once you support the Saudi-led coalition - support is fungible. And the US became complicit in what today the United Nations says is the worst humanitarian crisis we face. So this is a case of tragedy in which US fingerprints are very present."
On US interests elsewhere in the region, Malley feels "the world is spending too much time talking about this 'deal of the century'" that Trump has proposed to solve the Israel-Palestinian crisis.
"We know that if and when this is put on the table, the Palestinians will say no," he says." Because even if it's slightly better than people expect, it's going to be far less than what President Clinton proposed to the Palestinians in 2000, less than what was on offer during the George W Bush presidency, less than what was on offer for the Palestinians during the Barack Obama presidency, so there is no way they are going to say yes.
"The gaps between the parties on the central issues of identity, of territory, of refugees, of security, of settlements, all those gaps are very wide. And it will take ... a very strong third party to try to get the parties where they need to go," Malley says.
Although he believes the two-state solution is "still the best possible outcome" for the region, he concedes that it's becoming harder to see it as the most realistic option.
"It's pretty easy today to say that the two-state solution is more and more a thing of the past," he says. "It's not very easy to say what's a thing of the present or the future."
Sunday, August 04, 2019
New Trade Minister Liz Truss Had Private Talks in US with Libertarian Groups
The cabinet minister in charge of negotiating a new US trade deal met with a series of rightwing American thinktanks to discuss deregulation and the benefits of “Reaganomics”, new documents have revealed.
Liz Truss, the international trade secretary, had a number of meetings with libertarian groups that have championed parts of Donald Trump’s deregulatory agenda and tax cuts.
New details of her three-day visit to Washington last September have been uncovered by Greenpeace’s investigative journalism team, Unearthed. Truss met senior representatives from the Heritage Foundation, a thinktank committed to shrinking the state and cutting environmental regulation, to discuss “regulatory reform”. Also at the meeting was the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Both groups were part of the “shadow trade talks” project, designed to advocate a wide-ranging US trade deal allowing the import of American goods currently banned in Britain. » | Michael Savage | Sunday, August 4, 2019
The Guardian View on Saudi Arabia’s Reforms: Not Just a Battle for Women
The jubilation of women in Saudi Arabia was real – and understandable. Last Friday, the kingdom announced that it is allowing women to apply for passports, to travel without permission and to have more control over family matters – registering a marriage, divorce or child’s birth, and being issued official family documents. These changes to the guardianship system should be genuinely transformative. But celebration can only be partial when women’s rights remain so tightly constricted and the activists who have fought hard for such changes are paying so high a price.
Women will still need permission from a male relative to marry or divorce, or to leave prison or domestic violence refuges. The system needs not reform but abolition. Other laws still hold women back. And as Ms Saffaa, an Australia-based Saudi artist and activist, warned: “When women become equal to men, Saudi Arabia is still going to remain an authoritarian dictatorship that violates countless human rights.” » | Editorial | Sunday, August 4, 2019
The Guardian View on No-deal Brexit Plans: Parliament Must Take Back Control
To take Britain out of the European Union without a deal would be the most wilfully dangerous policy action that any government of this country has taken in modern times. No deal would materially threaten the economic security of the British people in both the short and long term, outrage millions of citizens, upend the stability and cohesion of the nation, put 20 years of peace in Northern Ireland in jeopardy, place needless and crippling extra strain on services and markets, further deepen the already damaging divisions of Brexit, appal our good European neighbours and do massive lasting damage to the country’s standing in the world. » | Editorial | Sunday, August 4, 2019
Climate Change: Europe's Melting Glaciers | DW Documentary
The permafrost in the Alps is thawing, and transforming what used to be sturdy slopes into loose screes. In addition, climate change is leading to significantly more extreme weather conditions every year, while heavy rainfall causes serious erosion. The result: avalanches and landslides like those in Bondo, Switzerland, or Valsertal in Austria. In Switzerland, residential areas are shrinking as people are forced to leave their homes forever. The disappearance of glaciers as water reservoirs is already posing a major problem. Farmers in Engadine, who have been using meltwater for irrigation for centuries, are already facing water shortages. Last summer, they had to rely on helicopters to transport water to their herds in the Grison Alps. Above all, alpine villages depend on winter tourism to survive. Yet experts are forecasting that by mid-century, there will only be enough natural snow left to ski above 2,000 meters, which will spell out the end for about 70 percent of the ski resorts in the Eastern Alps. But instead of developing alternatives, lots of money is still being invested in ski tourism. Snow cannon are used to defy climate change, and artificial snow systems are under construction at ever higher altitudes. As usual, it’s the environment that is set to lose as the unique alpine landscape is further destroyed by soil compaction and erosion. Some municipalities are now working on new models of alpine tourism for the future. As global temperatures continue to rise, the cooler mountain regions will become increasingly attractive for tourists, especially in the summer.
Athos | Feature Documentary
A Visit to the Holy Mountain Athos, Greece
The Good Struggle: Life In a Secluded Orthodox Monastery
“There were more before but not all could endure and prove their ability to stay in the monastery,” says a member of the Greek Orthodox Christian community. Theirs is a simple life that revolves around religious ceremony and the daily rituals of craft work and growing, picking and preparing fresh food.
Support for Impeachment Surges as Trump Grows More Unstable
Beto O'Rourke Slams Trump in Wake of El Paso Shooting
England Would Be Better Off without Scotland, Says Tory Candidate
The Tory candidate for one of the party’s target parliamentary seats has sought to distance himself from a column he wrote accusing Scotland of “fleecing” English taxpayers and claiming that Scotland remaining in the UK would be a “catastrophe” for England.
Ryan Henson was selected last year as the Conservative candidate for Bedford and Kempston, which Labour won from the previous Tory MP, Richard Fuller, in 2017 with a wafer-thin majority of 789 votes.
In a 2014 article for Conservative Home, Henson wrote that, except for its contribution to Britain’s armed forces, “Scotland’s single biggest offering to the union over the past 50 years has been to provide the Labour party with parliamentary lobby fodder.
“In exchange, the people of England have seen their prescriptions and their university fees go up, while in Scotland both have been abolished – using English taxes to pay for it.” » | Chaminda Jayanetti | Sunday, August 4, 2019
Saturday, August 03, 2019
Medieval Society
Boris Johnson Is the Last Person Young Brits Would Vote For
The Daily Express is calling it “the Boris effect”. Johnson’s election has reportedly caused a “record jump” in the polls for the Conservative party, with the Telegraph gleefully reporting that its prized former columnist has received the largest bounce of any Conservative leader in the past two decades.
Though Tory hopes were dented by the party’s defeat in Thursday’s Brecon and Radnorshire by-election, supporters still believe Johnson is capable of winning a general election – which could happen within months.
And there are those on the newly energised right who feel that, after three years of the dour Theresa May, the sheer force of Johnson’s “personality” or “charisma” – yet to be convincingly defined – could yet bring young people into the fold and unite the country around a hard Brexit. His time as London mayor is often cited as evidence that a brand of socially liberal, business-friendly leadership can be repackaged and sold to younger voters. » | Lara Spirit | Saturday, August 3, 2019
Friday, August 02, 2019
Who Sounds Gay? | Op-Docs | The New York Times
Saxe Appeal: King of Belgium Reintroduces German Lineage
A century after emulating the British royals by removing vestiges of its German lineage in the wake of the first world war, the Belgian monarchy has reintroduced the shield of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, a former surname, to its coat of arms.
The family name was changed in 1920 to van België, de Belgique or von Belgien (“of Belgium”) in the country’s three official languages as a response to fierce anti-German sentiment.
The German army had killed more than 6,000 Belgian citizens during its invasion and occupation in 1914, in what came to be known as the ”viol de la Belgique”, or rape of Belgium.
As well as ridding the Belgian monarchy of its German name – as did the British royal family, who replaced Saxe-Coburg-Gotha with Windsor in 1917 – Albert I removed the shield of his German ancestry from the royal coat of arms. » | Daniel Boffey in Brussels | Friday, August 2, 2019
Boris Johnson Heads to Istanbul to Trace His Political Past | Who Do You Think You Are
Ex-Health Insurance Exec: Industry Is Using Decades-Old Scare Tactics to Fight Medicare for All
Charming but Dishonest and Duplicitous: Europe's Verdict on Boris Johnson
He is clever, cultivated, charming; witty, self-deprecating, wildly entertaining and oh so terribly British. Also dissembling, dishonest, dark, duplicitous, and a danger to his country and to Europe – a poker player whose bluff is about to be called.
As Boris Johnson settles into his new role, vowing, do or die, to take the UK out of the EU without a deal in 90 days unless the 27 nations ditch an accord that took two years to negotiate, European politicians and commentators are both fascinated and appalled.
“Like many people, I was easily charmed by his demeanour, his self-confidence, his intelligence,” said Han ten Broeke, a former Dutch MP specialising in EU affairs. “He’s a pleasure to listen to. I have a soft spot for Britain, and Boris was one reason why.”
Ten Broeke has since revised his opinion. “The charm, the intellect, the confidence – it all now looks a lot like over-confidence,” he said. “A promise of simple solutions to complex problems. And it could have disastrous consequences.” » | Jon Henley and Guardian correspondents | Friday, August 2, 2019
Jo Swinson: Lib Dems Winning and on the Up after Byelection Victory
Jo Swinson has declared the Liberal Democrats are “winning and on the up” after reducing Boris Johnson’s majority to one by taking a seat off the Conservatives in the Brecon and Radnorshire byelection.
The Lib Dem leader said her party would consider future electoral pacts with other pro-EU parties after its candidate, Jane Dodds, was aided by the decision of Plaid Cymru and the Greens to stand aside.
“The country doesn’t have to settle for Boris Johnson or Jeremy Corbyn,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “There is another positive alternative that is the Liberal Democrats who are winning again and on the up.” » | Steven Morris and Rowena Mason | Friday, August 2, 2019
Thursday, August 01, 2019
Analysis: Iranian Foreign Minister's Reaction to US Sanctions
Zarif has hit back on Twitter, thanking the Trump administration for considering him a "huge threat" to his agenda, and saying the sanctions have "no effect" on him or his family. Al Jazeera's Dorsa Jabbari reports live from Tehran
Saudi Women Can Now Travel without Male Guardian's Approval – Report
Women in Saudi Arabia will no longer need the permission of a male guardian to travel, according to local news reports. The policy, if confirmed, would mark a key step in dismantling controls that have made women second-class citizens in their own country.
Saudi women over the age of 21 will be able to apply for a passport and travel outside the country, without approval, Okaz newspaper reported on Thursday. The change would put them on an equal footing with men. They would also reportedly be able to register births and deaths, a right previously restricted to men.
The paper did not say where it got the information, but the country’s official gazette tweeted that amendments to travel rules, labour law and civil status law would be included in its next edition, Bloomberg reported. » | Emma Graham-Harrison | Thursday, August 1, 2019
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