Stephen Fry Takes On Global Anti-LGBTI Leaders (2013)

This important documentary should be shared with all people. The LGBTI community continues to face oppression, arrest and in some countries death just because of who they are, how they look or who the love. The haters need to be called out and Stephen Fry is doing just that.

New Calls to Replace ‘Empire’ with ‘Excellence’ in UK Honours System

THE GUARDIAN: Campaign has backing of honours-holders including health chief Victor Adebowale and NBA’s John Amaechi

A new push to strip the word “empire” from the British honours system has been launched by dozens of community activists who have accepted gongs but object to them being named after imperialism that caused “harm and trauma”.

They include Victor Adebowale, the chair of the NHS Confederation who accepted a CBE in 2000; John Amaechi, a British-American former NBA player and Dame Elizabeth Nneka Anionwu, a pioneering nurse born to Irish and Nigerian parents.

Last December the Cabinet Office said the names of medals such as the MBE, OBE and CBE would not change, but nearly 100 honours-holders have founded a campaign to replace the word empire with “excellence”. » | Robert Booth, Social affairs correspondent | Friday, June 11, 2021

Eine letzte Zigarette: Aufstieg und Fall des blauen Dunstes (2009)

A Final Cigarette (Swiss documentary) part 1 - Das war einmal: Schweizer TV-Moderatoren mit der Zigarette in der Hand, Swissair-Piloten, die sich nach dem Start mit einem Glimmstengel belohnen, Nationalräte im Tabakdunst: DOK dokumentiert den Aufstieg und Fall des blauen Dunstes. Ist die zunehmende Reglementierung des Rauchens richtig oder falsch?

Auf der Terrasse des rauchfreien Bundeshauses stehen schlotternde Nationalräte im Schneesturm und rauchen trotz beissender Kälte. DOK-Autor Fritz Muri vergleicht diese Szene mit Fundstücken aus Film- und Fotoarchiven aus einer Zeit, als mehr als 50 Prozent der Erwachsenen in der Schweiz noch rauchten.

Ein besonderes Highlight ist die Szene, in der Dichter Friedrich Dürrenmatt und Literaturpapst Marcel Reich-Ranicki während einer Fernsehdiskussion einen Studiobrand verursachten. Besonders die Eliten aus Kultur, Medien und Politik waren dem blauen Dunst zugetan. Kettenraucher gab es aber auch unter Piloten und Chirurgen. Models hüpften mit der Zigarette in der Hand über den Laufsteg, und die Werbung verbreitete omnipräsent den Duft der grossen weiten Welt.

Die weltweiten Kampagnien der Tabakmultis hatten damals ihre Gesichter. Zwei davon gehörten Schweizern: Der Berner George Herriger zog als Camel-Man durch den Dschungel, und Beat Wyss lächelte als Parisienne-Protagonist von den Plakatwänden der Luzerner wurde damals unfreiwillig zum Vorzeigeraucher und erforschte später als Professor der Kunst- und Mediengeschichte die Kulturgeschichte des Rauchens. Im Dokumentarfilm wird er zum Experten im doppelten Sinne.

Zu Wort kommen auch Präventivmediziner, Manager der Tabakmultis, der ehemalige Tabak-Lobbyist Edgar Oehler und der vormalige Tageschau-Chef Heiner Hug. DOK zeigt, wie in Büros, Fernsehstudios, Spitälern und Polizeistationen die Raucherinnen und Raucher immer mehr an den Rand gedrängt werden, aber auch wie eine Handvoll Genussraucher auf ein Zürichseeschiff flüchtet, um ungestört ihrem Laster zu frönen.

Fritz Muri schildert in seinem Film zudem die Geschichte des Bündner Volksmusikkönigs Peter Zinsli. Nach 60 Jahren als Raucher kann er heute nur noch mit einer Sauerstoffmaske überleben. Kann sein Beispiel seinen Sohn und seine Enkelin vom Rauchen abhalten? DOK gibt die Antwort.






Gaby gab auf zu rauchen. Nun verlangt sie, daß alle anderen auch zu rauchen aufhören. Scheinbar will sie nicht allein sein! »

Aux Etats-Unis, un système fiscal inique

LE MONDE: Alors que les pays du G7 se sont accordés sur la mise en place d’un impôt minimal mondial sur les multinationales, les révélations du site d’investigation « ProPublica », selon lesquelles les milliardaires américains payeraient moins d’impôts que le reste de la population, relancent le débat sur la taxation des plus riches dans le pays.

Editorial du « Monde ». Sale temps pour l’optimisation fiscale. Quelques jours après l’initiative tardive mais salutaire des pays du G7 pour tenter d’nstaurer au niveau mondial un impôt plus juste sur les bénéfices des multinationales, la divulgation des déclarations fiscales des vingt-cinq premiers milliardaires américains relance le débat sur la taxation des plus riches aux Etats-Unis.

ProPublica, une association spécialisée dans le journalisme d’investigation d’intérêt public a eu accès à ces documents officiels, qui montrent que ces ultrariches, dont Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Michael Bloomberg (Bloomberg) et Elon Musk (Tesla), ont payé proportionnellement peu, voire pas du tout d’impôt sur le revenu entre 2014 et 2018. Le taux moyen qui leur a été appliqué s’élève à 15,8 %, alors que le taux marginal aux Etats-Unis est de 37 %. Les documents, théoriquement inaccessibles au public, leur divulgation pouvant constituer une infraction pénale, révèlent l’iniquité du système fiscal américain. » | Éditorial | vendredi 10 juin 2021

Piers Morgan - Monte Carlo | Documentary

The Luxury Life Of Monte Carlo (Monaco)

The Guardian View on Hosting the G7: To Biden, Britain Is Still Europe

THE GUARDIAN: Boris Johnson’s diplomatic priority should be repairing relations with the UK’s continental neighbours

It is a stroke of good luck for Boris Johnson that Britain is hosting this year’s G7 summit. As chair of the club for rich democracies, the prime minister’s centrality to the proceedings is guaranteed. He is first in line to meet Joe Biden, who flies in to Cornwall on Wednesday for his first official foreign trip as US president.

The choreography flatters Mr Johnson, casting him as America’s point man in Europe. That is the role that the UK traditionally sees for itself in transatlantic relations. The truth is more complicated. Leaving the EU removes Britain’s influence in Brussels, which diminishes its utility to Washington as a bridge to the rest of the continent. President Biden sees Brexit as strategic ineptitude, sowing gratuitous division among countries that the US would rather see united.

It does not help that Mr Johnson also exudes contempt for Britain’s nearest neighbours. He has prioritised nationalistic bravado over compromise. That has been noticed in Washington, especially as regards Ireland – the country from which the current US president’s ancestors originated and to which he has a strong cultural attachment. » | Editorial | Wednesday, June 9, 2021

The Guardian View on the Super-rich: A Billion Reasons for a Wealth Tax

THE GUARDIAN: When America’s richest are paying proportionately less in tax than those struggling from paycheck to paycheck, the tax system demands a radical overhaul

This week, Jeff Bezos announced his plan to become the first billionaire in space. Next month, on the 52nd anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11, he will fly about 100 km above the rest of us, see the curve of the Earth and experience a few minutes of weightlessness, before a final descent. As a metaphor for the relationship between the super-rich and everyone else, it does not come much better. What also takes some beating is the justification from the world’s richest person for living out the sci-fi dreams he had as a boy: he has so much money he doesn’t know how to spend it.

“The only way that I can see to deploy this much financial resource is by converting my Amazon winnings into space travel,” he said in 2018. “That is basically it.” To which the possible counter-suggestions might include: pay your workers more. Or perhaps: pay higher taxes. Because the other big bit of Bezos news this week is that in 2007 and 2011 the multi-billionaire did not pay a cent in US federal income tax. He was in good company: in 2018 Elon Musk of Tesla also paid no federal income taxes. Michael Bloomberg, Carl Icahn and George Soros are also all recent members of the zero club. » | Editorial | Wednesday, June 9, 2021

Swearing On Rise But Parents Still Don’t Want Kids Hearing It, Report Finds

THE GUARDIAN: Third of people say they use strong language more than they did five years ago, according to BBFC survey

Swearing in everyday life is on the rise, according to research, but parents do not want to see it increase in the film and television their children watch.

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) published a report on Thursday into attitudes towards swearing and whether people want a more liberal approach in media content. » | Mark Brown, Arts correspondent | Thursday, June 10, 2021

Boris Johnson Must Respect Rule of Law and Implement Brexit Deal, Says EU

THE GUARDIAN: Bloc leaders say UK must fully implement post-Brexit arrangements for Northern Ireland

Boris Johnson must respect the “rule of law” by fully implementing the post-Brexit arrangements for Northern Ireland, EU leaders have said ahead of the G7 summit in Cornwall.

Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, said the behaviour of the prime minister was of increasing concern to EU member states. “It’s paramount to implement what we have decided – this is a question of rule of law,” he said.

The prime minister will hold a trilateral meeting with Michel and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, in Cornwall.

The framing of the dispute between the UK and the EU as one of respect for the international legal order will chime with the US president, Joe Biden, who arrived in Cornwall on Thursday. Biden is expected to call for both sides to respect the Good Friday agreement. » | Daniel Boffey in Brussels | Thursday, June 10, 2021


Biden arrives with demand that UK settle Brexit row over Northern Ireland »

The Thinking Atheist: Remembering My Father

A few thoughts at the close of a personal chapter by ‘The Thinking Atheist’.

Piers Morgan on Why Vegan Sausage Rolls Are Destroying Our Democracy | 60 Minutes Australia

I’ve never been a big fan of Piers Morgan, but I have to say that he’s spot on with this. – ©Mark

Surprising New Wave of Teen Celibacy Sweeping America | 60 Minutes Australia

Christ! Doesn’t the crap coming out of America ever end? Why don’t Americans try being normal and measured for a change? Why don’t they give up these extreme positions on everything? – ©Mark

Childhood Home of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in McLean, Virginia

Harry and Meghan Reject Claim Queen Not Consulted on Lilibet Name

THE GUARDIAN: BBC correspondent says palace source claims Sussexes did not ask for permission to use name for daughter

Buckingham Palace has become embroiled in a row over whether the Queen was consulted over the naming of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s daughter.

Harry and Meghan’s decision to name their second child Lilibet, a childhood nickname of the Queen, was seen as an attempt by the couple to try to mend their rift with the royal family.

But the couple’s suggestion, widely reported in the media, that the Queen gave her blessing for the name appears to have only deepened divisions with some at the palace.

The BBC’s royal correspondent, Jonny Dymond, reported that the Queen had not been consulted about the name. The BBC did not quote the source for its story directly, but Dymond said on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the source had made it very clear that the Sussexes had not asked permission to use the name and that none had been granted. » | Matthew Weaver | Wednesday, June 9, 2021

Harry wages war with BBC; threatens legal action »

EU-UK Relations Deteriorate as Northern Ireland Talks End without Agreement

THE GUARDIAN: ‘Patience wearing very thin’ and relationship with London ‘at crossroads’, says EU negotiator Maroš Šefčovič

Talks between the EU and the UK over Northern Ireland appear on the brink of collapse as London indicated it was still considering unilateral action to keep unhindered supplies flowing from Great Britain into the region.

The European commission vice-president, Maroš Šefčovič, said patience was “wearing very very thin” and described the relationship with the UK as “at a crossroads”.

Amid fears that the escalating crisis over Northern Ireland would develop into a trade war, David Frost, the Brexit minister, said there had been “no breakthroughs” over the Brexit checks but no “breakdowns” after a two-hour meeting with Šefčovič in London.

They agreed to continue to try to find a solution before 30 June when a ban on chilled meats including sausages and mincemeat is due to come into force. » | Lisa O’Carroll and Peter Walker | Wednesday, June 9, 2021

The JFK Assassination | 72 Hours That Changed America

The day John F. Kennedy was assassinated has sparked conspiracy theories, impacted witnesses for a lifetime and even inspired a JFK assassination tour.

John F Kennedy at 100 - in pictures »

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis obituary »

March 24, 1961 - New First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Interviewed by Sander Vanocur

First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in a television interview. The first she granted since becoming first lady. The commentator Sander Vanocur sitting beside Mrs. Kennedy by the fireplace in the green room in the White House.

La longue liste des présidents de la République insultés ou attaqués

LE POINT: Du coup de canne au président Loubet à la gifle d’Emmanuel Macron, histoire d’une haine qui eut parfois des conséquences dramatiques.

Emmanuel Macron giflé, la scène humiliante interpelle et en rappelle bien d'autres que nos présidents ont connues dans leur carrière : on se souvient des sifflets et des huées qui ont accompagné le départ de Giscard d'Estaing de l'Élysée, en mai 1981, ou de Nicolas Sarkozy, violemment pris à partie par un employé municipal qui avait soudainement agrippé sa veste lors d'une visite près d'Agen, écopant de six mois avec sursis. » | Par Marc Fourny | vendredi 9 juin 2021

Le président giflé : un vent mauvais souffle sur la démocratie »

Emmanuel Macron Slapped in the Face

French President Emmanuel Macron was slapped in the face on Tuesday by a man in a crowd of onlookers while on a walkabout in southern France.


Man who slapped Emmanuel Macron to appear at fast-track trial »

Photo: Damien Tarel »

L’homme qui a giflé Emmanuel Macron condamné à dix-huit mois de prison dont quatre ferme »

Raise Age for Sale of Cigarettes to 21 and Stop ‘Tobacco Epidemic’, Say UK MPs

THE GUARDIAN: Making it illegal for more young people to buy cigarettes would help meet the government’s target of ending smoking by 2030, MPs say

MPs have called for a consultation on raising the age for the sale of cigarettes to 21 from 18 in order to end the “tobacco epidemic” by 2030.

The all-party parliamentary group on smoking and health has recommended raising the age of sale from 18 to 21 as part of tougher tobacco regulations to protect children and young people from becoming smokers and help smokers quit.

The recommendations, backed by health charities and medical organisations, also include a “polluter pays” amendment to the health and social care bill to secure funding for a tobacco control programme, forcing manufacturers to pay to deliver the end of smoking.

The cross-party group of MPs and peers has warned the government that it can only build back “better and fairer” from the pandemic by making smoking obsolete and must commit now to the actions needed to secure its vision of a Smokefree 2030. » | Press Association | Wednesday, June 9, 2021

Somebody ought to shut these meddlesome do-gooders up! Kick them out of government! I am all for discouraging smoking, but I am against this nanny state. They are attacking smokers at every turn: they are making smokers’ lives intolerable. They are also turning the smoking habit into the preserve of the élite. I hope and trust that if they go ahead and raise the age to buy cigarettes to 21, they will not expect anyone under the age of twenty-one to go fight their damn wars! If you aren’t old enough to smoke, then you are certainly not old enough to kill! Politicians' time would be better spent putting an end to corruption in this extremely corrupt country of ours! –©Mark

The Dangerous Delta Variant

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Covid cases are rising in Britain — and U.S. trends may soon follow.

Britain has had one of the world’s most successful Covid-19 responses in recent months.

Unlike the European Union, the British government understood that quickly obtaining vaccine doses mattered more than negotiating the lowest price. Unlike the United States, Britain was willing to impose nationwide restrictions again late last year to reduce caseloads. British officials also chose to maximize first vaccine shots and delay second shots, recognizing that the strategy could more quickly reduce Covid cases.

Thanks to these moves, Covid has retreated more quickly in Britain than in almost any other country. Fewer than 10 Britons per day have been dying in recent weeks, down from 1,200 a day in late January. On a per-capita basis, Britain’s death rate last month was less than one-tenth the U.S. rate.

Despite this success, Britain is now coping with a rise in Covid cases. The main cause appears to be the highly infectious virus variant known as Delta, which was first detected in India. Britain’s recent moves to reopen society also probably play a role.

The increase is a reminder that progress against the pandemic — even extreme progress — does not equal ultimate victory. Britain’s experience also suggests that cases may soon rise in the U.S. “What we’re seeing in U.K. is very likely to show up in other Western countries soon,” The Financial Times’s John Burn-Murdoch wrote. » | David Leonhardt | Monday, June 7, 2021

Legal Storm Clouds Gather over Donald Trump’s Future

THE GUARDIAN: As the ex-president hints at running once again, his future could lie in the courtroom, not the Oval Office

He’s Teflon Don no more, at least when it comes to court.

Donald Trump, no longer insulated by claims of presidential protections, faces a host of increasingly serious legal problems in some of the US’s most high-profile courts, including both criminal investigation and civil litigation.

So even as Trump maintains his grip on the Republican party and teases ambitions to run again for president in 2024 – his legal woes could render all that debate meaningless: Trump’s future could lie in the courtroom, not the Oval Office.

Trump “can face criminal charges for activities that took place before he was president, after he was president, and while he was president – as long as they were not part of his duties while he was president of the United States,” said attorney David S Weinstein, partner at Jones Walker LLP’s Miami office. » | Victoria Bekiempis | Tuesday, June 8, 2021

John F Kennedy Jr: The Story of His Final 24 Hours | Full Documentary

John Kennedy Jr. was American royalty and a cultural icon. His promise of living out his political legacy bequeathed to him on the day of his father’s assassination, was cut short over the Atlantic Ocean one July night. Kennedy’s death and that of his wife and sister-in-law, were the result of a series of bad decisions Kennedy had made during his last day. A day plagued by stress when his life depended on his ability to think clearly. Final 24 examines the string of errors that led to his tragic demise.

How Did a Gay Scientist of Jewish Descent Thrive Under the Nazis?

THE NEW YORK TIMES: RAVENOUS Otto Warburg, the Nazis, and the Search for the Cancer-Diet Connection By Sam Apple

At the start of the 20th century, the German Empire was the undisputed hub of the scientific universe. From 1901, when the Nobel Prizes were established, through 1932, Germans won almost a third of all the Nobels awarded to scientists — 31 in total. (American scientists, in contrast, won five during the same time period.) This impressive track record was fueled, in part, by Jewish researchers who just decades earlier would have been excluded from prominent academic positions. When the Nazis seized power in March 1933, it was not unusual for major scientific institutes to be led by Nobel laureates with Jewish roots: Albert Einstein and Otto Meyerhof, both Jewish, ran prestigious centers of physics and medical research; Fritz Haber, who’d converted from Judaism in the late 19th century, ran a chemistry institute; and Otto Warburg, who was raised as a Protestant but had two Jewish grandparents, was the director of a recently opened center for cell physiology. » | Seth Mnookin | Sunday, June 6, 2021

Could a Third Wave of Covid Be More Serious Than UK’s First Two?

THE GUARDIAN: Analysis: Concern over Delta variant means decision on ending restrictions on 21 June hangs in balance

Summer has nearly arrived and the UK is beginning to unlock from coronavirus restrictions, with a full lifting still on the cards in England on 21 June.

Yet the spectre of the Delta variant is casting an ominous shadow, with concerns it could fuel a third wave. So just how serious could the next peak be – and could it be more serious than Britain’s first two waves?

In May members of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (Spi-M) from the University of Warwick released results from models that suggested a variant 40% more transmissible than the Alpha variant – first detected in Kent and known as B.1.1.7 – could result in up to 6,000 hospital admissions a day. » | Nicola Davis, Science correspondent | Monday, June 7, 2021

Die Philip Morris Story (2012)

Der mächtigste Tabakkonzern der Welt sitzt ziemlich fest im Sattel. Wie kann Philip Morris, zu dem auch Marlboro gehört, trotz Nichtraucherschutzgesetzen so erfolgreich sein?

Philipp Morris, British American Tobacco und JTI produzieren starken Tabak in der Schweiz (2014)

Was kaum bekannt ist: Die Schweiz ist ein Exportland von Zigaretten. Die drei grossen Produzenten haben vergangenes Jahr Zigaretten im Wert von über einer halben Milliarde Franken ins Ausland exportiert. Das ist nur deshalb möglich, weil die Gesetze in der Schweiz weit weniger hart sind als in der Europäischen Union: Schweizer Zigaretten dürfen mehr Teer, Nikotin und Kohlenmonoxid enthalten als in der EU produzierte.

Elisabeth II: 90 photos pour 90 ans de vie

BBC: Une grande sélection de photos de la reine Elizabeth II des archives de l’agence Press Association marquant chaque année de sa vie jusqu'en 2015. Compilé pour la célébration du 90e anniversaire de la reine. » | mercredi 9 septembre 2015

Meghan et Harry : Lili Diana, le bébé de la réconciliation ?

LE POINT: En donnant à leur fille le prénom de la reine Elizabeth, les Sussex envoient un signal positif aux Windsor. Un geste que Buckingham pourrait apprécier.

Avec Meghan et Harry, on pouvait s'attendre à tout à l'occasion de cette naissance : allaient-ils encore en profiter pour envoyer une nouvelle salve négative par-dessus l'Atlantique ? Depuis trois mois, ils n'ont pas retenu leurs coups, avec des attaques et des reproches réguliers contre la famille royale, qui sort à chaque fois les boucliers en espérant que l'offensive se calme… Et là, surprise : un message positif accompagne cette fois l'arrivée de leur deuxième enfant, puisque le couple a choisi de donner à leur fille le prénom de Lilibet, le surnom privé de la reine Elizabeth II. Dans un message aux allures de faire-part, les Sussex ont même précisé qu'ils ont voulu ainsi rendre hommage à la reine, que Harry considère toujours comme son « commandant en chef », comme il se plaît à le répéter en interview. » | Par Marc Fourny | lundi 7 juin 2021

Power vs People? Ft. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Former President of Brazil

Hard times always bring out the best and the worst in people and their governments, and in this sense, COVID-19 seems to be a pretty accurate reality check on individuals, nations and the world as a whole, rewarding those who practice and punishing those who only preach. But is it potent and scary enough to put politics back into the service of policy and not the other way around? To discuss this, Oksana is joined by Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Former President of Brazil

Michael Cohen: Does Donald Trump Have a 'Secret' Pardon? | 60 Minutes Australia (February 2021)

Meghan and Harry Announce Birth of Baby Daughter Lilibet

THE GUARDIAN: Child named after the family nickname for the Queen, the baby’s great-grandmother

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have announced the birth of a daughter they have named Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor.

Harry and Meghan’s daughter, who was born in hospital in California on Friday, weighed 7lb 11oz and has been named after the family nickname for the Queen, the baby’s great-grandmother. Her middle name was chosen to honour her late grandmother Diana, Princess of Wales, the couple said. The baby is the Queen’s 11th great-grandchild and is eighth in line to the throne.

Both mother and child were healthy and well, a statement said, and Lilibet – a younger sister for two-year-old Archie – was “settling in at home” after her birth at Santa Barbara Cottage hospital. » | Jessica Murray | Sunday, June 6, 2021

Harry and Meghan Announce Birth of Second Baby, Lilibet Diana »

What’s in a name? The meanings of Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor »

Health Care: America vs. the World

Millions of Americans have no health insurance and live in fear that one illness could bankrupt them. Even though the U.S. spends far more on health care than other wealthy nations, Americans die of preventable diseases at greater rates. The PBS NewsHour special, “Critical Care: America vs the World,” examines how four other nations achieve universal care for less money, with better outcomes.

Why Piers Morgan Refuses to Be 'Cancelled' in Explosive Interview | 60 Minutes Australia

Österreich: Raucher gegen Nichtraucher – die große Diskussion (OE24.TV – 2017)

Moderatorin: Sabrina Blagojevic

Dieses Gespräch war animiert und interessant. In der Zwischenzeit ist in Österreich ein generelles Rauchverbot in Kraft gestellt worden. Seither ist es strengstens verboten überall in Gaststätten und Hotels.
Nichtraucherschutz und Rauchverbote »

Falls Sie dieses Jahr einen Urlaub machen wollen, wo es erlaubt ist zu rauchen, sollten Sie vielleicht Serbien oder Rumänien in Betracht bringen. Es scheint als ob überall in Europa das Rauchen nicht mehr erlaubt ist in Restaurants, Bars oder oft auch außerhalb eines Restaurants unter einem Sonnenschirm!

Ich rauche nicht mehr, aber als Raucher hätte dieses Verbot mich dermaßen gestört! Es hätte mir die Ferien sogar verdorben. Vergessen Sie West-Europa! Hier ist alles so stark reguliert. Nach der Pandemie, fahren Sie doch weiter weg, wo die Vorschriften lockerer sind, um Ihre Ferien zu genießen! ©Mark

Wo in Europa ist das Rauchen noch erlaubt? »

The US’ Position as the Dominant Capitalist Power Is Changing - Richard Wolff [Global Capitalism]

This is a clip from the May 2021 Global Capitalism lecture in which Richard Wolff gives three examples that indicate the US's position of global power is changing, and its ability to influence global events is shrinking.

Is the COVID-19 Vaccine Causing Rare Myocarditis Cases?

LIVE SCIENCE: Researchers in Israel say they've found a possible link between the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and cases of heart inflammation in young men ages 16 to 30, according to a report submitted this week to the country's Ministry of Health.

The report concluded that around 1 in 5,000 men who receive the vaccine may experience this side effect, known as myocarditis, which is higher than the rate seen for the whole vaccinated population during that time period, which was 1 in 50,000.

So far, the data isn't yet strong enough to prove that the vaccine caused these cases — experts say there are a number of factors that make it difficult to definitively tie the vaccine to heart inflammation, a link that's also being investigated in the United States. » | Rachael Rettner, Senior Writer | Saturday, June 5, 2021

English Councils Start Banning Smoking Outside Pubs and Restaurants

THE GUARDIAN: Five local authorities take matters into own hands amid Covid outdoor eating culture

Five local authorities have banned smoking in pavement pubs, cafes and restaurants, and others are considering following suit, before a new push by the government to make England smoke-free in less than a decade.

The Covid outdoor eating culture has given the issue of smokers outside pubs and cafes a new visibility. Last summer there was an attempt to push through an amendment to legislation in the House of Lords to make pavements smoke-free, but it failed.

However, Northumberland county council, Durham, North Tyneside, Newcastle, and the City of Manchester have all banned smoking on stretches of the pavement where bars, restaurants and cafes are licensed to put out tables. Although it does not have a policy, all the licences granted by Gateshead also stipulate that pavement cafes must be smoke-free.

Oxfordshire is also planning to ban smoking from outdoor restaurants as part of a major strategy that aims to make the county smoke-free by 2025, which is five years ahead of the government’s plan for England as a whole. It also plans to take tougher action to stop the sale of tobacco to under-18s and work to discourage smoking in homes, cars, play parks and at the school gates. » | Sarah Boseley | Wednesday, June 2, 2021

These health Nazis are dangerous killjoys! They are totally out of control! They are taking the law into their own hands. Somebody should stop them – NOW! Their time would be better spent trying to tackle the real problem in this country: drug-taking. I speak as a non-smoker. An ex-smoker to be precise. But just because I have given up smoking, I don’t expect the rest of the world to give it up with me. I am not a killjoy! – ©Mark

Cumbrian pub owner Dianne Irving and councillors warn against pavement smoking ban »

Brexit Update - The Chaos and Incompetence Continues

It is now five months since the U.K. finally left the E.U. Since then fishing, farming, small and medium sized businesses, the financial sector, the arts and the vital U.K. tourist industries have all begun to feel the effects of Brexit. Whilst the government desperately searches for trade deals all over the world with little or no success our openly hostile border policy advertises to the world that we are no longer a friendly or welcoming country. The prime minister, ever concerned with his personal image, has announced his intention to buy a £200 million yacht to sail around the world looking for trade deals.

Rishi Sunak Announces ‘Historic Agreement’ by G7 on Tax Reform

THE GUARDIAN: Finance ministers agree deal to force multinationals to pay tax in all countries where they operate

The G7 group of wealthy nations have signed a landmark deal to tackle tax abuses by some of the world’s biggest multinationals and establish a minimum global corporation tax for the first time.

Finance ministers from the world’s richest economies agreed the historic deal on Saturday as part of talks held in London, the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, said.

As part of the plan, finance ministers also agreed to the principle of a global minimum rate that ensures multinationals pay tax of at least 15% in each country in which they operate.

Sunak said: “These seismic tax reforms are something the UK has been pushing for and a huge prize for the British taxpayer – creating a fairer tax system fit for the 21st century. » | Phillip Inman | Saturday, June 5, 2021

DER BOMBE NÄHER DENN JE: Was Trump in Iran geschafft hat

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: So viel hochangereichertes Uran wie derzeit hatte Iran noch nie. Das kann es sich in den Atomverhandlungen zunutze machen. Ein neuer Deal ist gefährdet.

Irans Atomprogramm ist eine tickende Zeitbombe. Zwar hat das von der Obama-Biden-Regierung 2015 durchgesetzte Abkommen schmerzlich bewiesen, dass eine Einhegung von Teherans atomaren Ambitionen beileibe nicht alle Probleme löst, welche die Islamische Republik in ihrer Nachbarschaft verursacht. Entscheidend ist aber die Gegenprobe: Jedes Problem, das der Region aus dem Machtkampf zwischen dem schiitischen Iran und den sunnitischen Golf-Arabern erwächst, potenziert sich, wenn die Führung in Teheran über Atomwaffen verfügen könnte. » | Ein Kommentar von Andreas Ross | Samstag, 5. Juni 2021

Meet Israel’s Likely New Prime Minister | The Mehdi Hasan Show

Israel has reached a deal to oust longtime prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But is the likely replacement Naftali Bennett much better? Mehdi introduces the right-wing politician.

Opinion: Netanyahu Embodied Dishonest, Divisive Demagoguery. If He’s Gone, Good Riddance

THE GUARDIAN: Although the new coalition taking shape may not agree on much, the prime minister’s downfall is long overdue

It could be over before it starts. As you read this, it may already be unravelling. But a new government has been formed in Israel, thereby removing the man who has ruled that country longer than anyone else. Benjamin Netanyahu has dominated Israeli politics for most of the past quarter-century: first elected as prime minister in 1996, he has ruled Israel uninterrupted for the past 12 years. But now, if the new coalition holds together – a big if – the reign of Bibi, King of Israel, will come to an end. Even if we should have no illusions about what comes next, that itself is a cause for celebration.

It is also the new government’s sole, animating purpose. The motley collection of parties, which runs from the settler hard right through the centre to the liberal left – and which includes a Palestinian Islamist party – has next to nothing else in common. It cannot be described as hawkish or dove-ish, left or right: it is simply the anti-Netanyahu bloc, forged to prise his fingers off the prime ministerial desk once and for all. » | Jonathan Freedland | Friday, June 4, 2021

Right-wing Populists and the EU | DW Documentary (2019)

2019 looks to be a good year for right-wing populists in Europe. Be it Italy, France, Hungary, Poland or Germany, many European countries are experiencing a shift to the right. Right-wing populists are expected to make significant gains in the European Parliament elections this spring.

Right-leaning party representatives have an agenda: they want to dismantle to the European Union. Guido Reil of Germany’s AfD party believes the best way to do that is by going to Brussels. "It is easier to destroy something from the inside than from the outside." Joseph Sauvage, a cafe owner in Denain in northern France, backs Marine Le Pen's Rassemblement National party, because he doesn't want to see people in Denain abandoned. "When the factories closed, the small shops closed. There is nothing here, economically speaking. No work. It’s also changed politically. It used to be communist. But that changed with the end of opportunities for the working class." His view of migration has also changed. "Immigrants are entitled to the same social benefits without ever having worked here." Like Joseph Sauvage, Luca Davide, a member of Italy’s Northern League party, says he's had enough of living in a run-down block in a small city full of foreigners. "We don't need drug dealers, we don't need illegals! We just want to live here in peace and safety." In early February 2018, a right-wing supporter targeted Africans in a drive-by shooting rampage. According to Northern League leader Matteo Salvini, the EU shares "moral responsibility” for the act because it "filled the country with illegal foreigners." Messages like these are met with support. Evidence of just how a state’s society and institutions change when right-wing populists come to power is evident in Hungary. Many judges, organizations that support refugees or human rights, scientists, and journalists speak of massive restrictions in Orban's "illiberal democracy". But a lot of young Hungarians starting to push back.

German Cardinal’s Resignation Offer Sends Shockwaves through the Catholic Church | DW News

Germany's most senior cleric has offered his resignation to Pope Francis. Munich's Cardinal Reinhard Marx said that he wanted to share responsibility for what he called the "catastrophe of sexual abuse" by members of the Catholic church.

Marx has long been a leading voice in the call for church reforms. Those calls have been growing louder as sex abuse investigations revealed a decades-long cover-up by the clergy. Marx said investigations and reports of the past 10 years showed him there had not only been "a lot of personal failure and administrative errors," but "also institutional and systemic failure" within the Catholic Church.

Recent discussions had shown "that some in the church do not want to acknowledge this element of co-responsibility and thus also complicity of the institution and are therefore opposed to any reform and renewal dialogue in connection with the abuse crisis," he wrote in a letter to the pope dated May 21 and published on Friday by his archdiocese in Munich.

The archdiocese said in its press release on the issue that Pope Francis had since responded to Cardinal Marx, telling him that he could make the letter public, and to remain in his role until he received an answer.

Grèce : vrai départ pour la loi anti-tabac ?

Le dispositif législatif était resté jusque-là lettre morte.…

Grèce : vrai départ pour la loi anti-tabac ? »

How Canada Became a Country of Smokers | The Agenda

Daniel Robinson's new book, "Cigarette Nation," draws a link between cigarette marketing strategies of the 1950s and today's global pandemic and examines the history of smoking to discover why Canadians continued to light up despite the health risks. Robinson, a historian and associate professor in the Faculty of Information and Media Studies at the Western University, discusses his research.