Sunday, July 18, 2021

Dozens Arrested in Los Angeles as Anti-trans Protest Outside Spa Turns Violent

THE GUARDIAN: Wi Spa, a Koreatown business with a trans-inclusive policy, has become the target of a rightwing media storm

Dozens of people have been arrested in Los Angeles following a chaotic and at times violent demonstration by anti-transgender protesters who targeted a Koreatown spa that has a trans-inclusive policy allowing trans women to use women’s facilities.

Saturday marked the second weekend of violent protests this month in the streets around Wi Spa, a neighborhood business that has found itself at the heart of a right-wing media storm over an alleged incident in which a customer filmed herself complaining about a trans woman in the women’s area of the spa.

The far-right protesters called for a boycott of Wi Spa and chanted baseless claims about paedophilia, as women carrying signs reading “protect female spaces” and “It’s worse in women’s shelters” marched alongside men wearing helmets and masks that covered their faces. » | Lois Beckett and Sam Levin in Los Angeles | Sunday, July 18, 2021

GB News Turns to Nigel Farage as Its Saviour after Ratings Freefall

Nigel Farage has already been a guest on the newly launched TV channel GB News. Its main host, Andrew Neil, is currently off air. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA

THE OBSERVER: TV station also hit by internal dispute over its direction after Guto Harri dropped for ‘taking the knee’

Nigel Farage is to take centre stage at GB News in a victory for the rightwing faction at the beleaguered television channel. The former leader of Ukip is to host a nightly primetime show from Monday as part of a reboot of programming designed to attract more viewers.

The new channel is facing plummeting viewing figures and a split in management between those angling to keep broader-based regional news coverage and those planning to boost coverage of the “culture wars”.

And, if a bigger helping of Farage is not enough to entice audiences, another famous potential saviour could be on hand soon. Piers Morgan, who left Good Morning Britain in March, may step into a high-profile role on the new TV channel. Morgan, 56, is in protracted negotiations with management but must first deal with his contractual ties to ITV.

Farage made his announcement on Twitter on Saturday, urging his followers to “be there or be square”. Farage said he would not be taking the knee “for anyone”, a reference to the controversy that sparked last week’s viewer boycott. » | Vanessa Thorpe | Saturday, July 17, 2021

Tender, Gay Kiss of the Day


Queer kiss of the day courtesy of Queerty.

Jews & Arabs Kiss

Jan 6, 2016 • The Israeli Ministry of Education decided to ban from the school program a book describing an affair between a Jewish woman and an Arab man. So TimeOut Tel Aviv decided to ask Jews and Arabs to meet and to kiss.

Six couples of Jews and Arabs - male and female, gay and straight - decided to do the "forbidden deed" and express love in front of our camera.

Some of them were couples, some just friends, some had never met prior to the shoot. Jews and Arabs refused to be enemies.



The accompanying article in Hebrew here »

Queere Personen haben häufiger mit psychischen Erkrankungen zu kämpfen

DER TAGESSPIEGEL: Wer diskriminiert wird, hat ein deutlich höheres Risiko psychischer Krankheiten. Ansprechstellen wie die Schwulenberatung sind für viele wichtige Schutzräume.

Als die Bars, Szenetreffs und Sportvereine zu Beginn der Pandemie schließen mussten, hatte das gravierende Auswirkungen auf die Community. Denn gerade queere Menschen sind auf Safe Spaces fernab von gesellschaftlichem oder familiärem Druck angewiesen.

Das beobachtete auch Conor Toomey, Leiter des Bereichs psychologische Beratung bei der Schwulenberatung Berlin. „Während der Pandemie sind die Orte, an denen sich LSBTI treffen, fast komplett weggefallen.“ Typischerweise würden sich queere Personen nämlich nicht am Arbeitsplatz, sondern innerhalb der Community kennenlernen. „Dass solche Orte weggefallen sind, hat auf jeden Fall zu einer verstärkten Isolation geführt“, berichtet Toomey. » | Von Inga Hofmann | Montag, 28. Juni 2021

Report: Men in Same-Sex Marriages Make More Than Opposite-Sex Unions


ADVOCATE: But men in opposite-sex marriages have higher rates of employment.

A new analysis from the Pew Research Center has found that that people in same-sex marriages have a different demographic profile than those in opposite-sex marriages — especially men in same-sex marriages.

Pew’s analysis explored adults 18 years or older who had been married in the last decade. It’s based on data released this year by the U.S. Census Bureau, which found there almost 570,000 same-sex married couples in 2019.

Researchers found that men in same-sex marriages had higher levels of education and higher annual incomes than men in opposite-sex marriages. In same-sex marriages, 50 percent of men were found to have a bachelor’s degree, while 38 percent of men in opposite-sex marriages had one.

Women in same-sex marriages faired about the same, with 47 percent of women in same-sex marriages having a degree, while 45 percent of women in opposite-sex marriages had one.

Household incomes for women in same-sex marriages were higher by $10,800 on average than women in opposite-sex marriages, according to Pew.

For men, the difference was $41,600. » | Alex Cooper | Thursday, July 8, 2021

Conférence "De l’interdiction de l’homosexualité dans la Rome Antique" par David Fürdös

Nov 24, 2016 • Cycle de conférences REGARDS CROISÉS SUR L’HOMOSEXUALITÉ

L’homosexualité, dit-on, est entrée dans les mœurs, du moins chez nous. Mais est-ce vraiment le cas ? Et si oui, qu’est-ce qui a permis cette acceptation ? Qu’est-ce qui a fait évoluer les moeurs ?

Les oppositions en France à la loi permettant le mariage entre personnes du même sexe montrent en tout cas que la question continue de diviser le monde occidental. Que sait-on réellement de ces luttes ? Quels sont les arguments des opposants ? Comment les religions se positionnent-elles par rapport à l’homosexualité ? Ont-elles un discours commun ou leurs positions varient-elles en fonction des différentes religions ? Comment l’image des homosexuels a-t-elle évolué dans notre société ? Les points de vue diffèrent-ils quand il s'agit de l'homosexualité féminine ou masculine ?

Ce sont ces questions, et bien d'autres, qui seront abordées dans ce cycle de conférences. Elles viseront autant à nous apprendre à poser un regard neuf sur l'homosexualité qu'à nous permettre de mieux comprendre notre société à travers ce prisme.

Les experts invités partageront avec le grand public leurs travaux et recherches à travers des disciplines aussi variées que la politique, sociologie, l’anthropologie, ou l’histoire des religions.



Related: Williams, Craig A. “Greek Love at Rome.” The Classical Quarterly, vol. 45, no. 2, 1995, pp. 517–539. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/639540. Accessed 18 July 2021.

Link: JSTOR: Journal Article: Greek Love at Rome by Craig A. Williams

‘No One Is Safe’: Extreme Weather Batters the Wealthy World


THE NEW YORK TIMES: Floods swept Germany, fires ravaged the American West and another heat wave loomed, driving home the reality that the world’s richest nations remain unprepared for the intensifying consequences of climate change.

Some of Europe’s richest countries lay in disarray this weekend, as raging rivers burst through their banks in Germany and Belgium, submerging towns, slamming parked cars against trees and leaving Europeans shellshocked at the intensity of the destruction.

Only days before in the Northwestern United States, a region famed for its cool, foggy weather, hundreds had died of heat. In Canada, wildfire had burned a village off the map. Moscow reeled from record temperatures. And this weekend the northern Rocky Mountains were bracing for ye/>t another heat wave, as wildfires spread across 12 states in the American West.

The extreme weather disasters across Europe and North America have driven home two essential facts of science and history: The world as a whole is neither prepared to slow down climate change, nor live with it. The week’s events have now ravaged some of the world’s wealthiest nations, whose affluence has been enabled by more than a century of burning coal, oil and gas — activities that pumped the greenhouse gases into the atmosphere that are warming the world. » | Somini Sengupta | Saturday, July 17, 2021

L'Homosexualité dans l'Antiquité

Jan 15, 2020 • L'Homosexualité dans l'antiquité nous en apprend beaucoup ! l'histoire de l'homosexualité n'a jamais été linéaire.On peut raisonnablement considérer que l'homosexualité existe depuis la nuit des temps, et cela aussi bien dans le règne animal que chez les êtres humains. L'histoire et l'évolution de l'homosexualité n'a jamais été constante et en parfaite ligne droite. Comme sur beaucoup d'autre sujet d'ailleurs, on constate souvent des alternances entre acceptations, tolérance, et rejet. Jusqu'à aujourd'hui, son appréciation continue encore de varier.

Saturday, July 17, 2021

Julio Iglesias, Stevie Wonder : My Love

Views on YouTube: 10,128,092

On That Sublime Gay Kissathon in Tel Aviv


I’ve now had some more time to watch this ‘gay kissathon.’ Oh my God! Such a delightful display of love and affection! Can kissing be more beautiful than this? Is it possible? Is it really possible? Little wonder Tel Aviv was set alight by this display of sublime gay affection! Two drop-dead gorgeous men displaying love and affection for each other like no-one has ever seen before. What could be more beautiful, more noble than that? Just what this world needs: more love in all its forms, less conflict. Make love, not war! – © Mark

Permakiss electrifies Tel Aviv »

Annie Lennox: A Whiter Shade of Pale (Tradução)

Harry Nilsson : Without You (1972 HD)

YouTube views : 7,756,872


Isn’t it delightful to see an image of a ‘real man’ who has a cigarette in his mouth? Smoking: a habit that was very naughty, but very, very nice and pleasurable! That was, before the politically-correct, do-gooder snowflakes took over and “de-normalized” the pleasurable habit. For “de-normalized,” read stigmatized.

I used to be a smoker. I was a really “happy camper” as a smoker, in those more tolerant days. These days, people have forgotten all about tolerance and they have also forgotten about the concept of ‘joie de vivre’, if they ever learnt it in the first place. These days, you have to jog, go to the gym, drink oat or almond milk, eschew meat-eating, take copious quantities of statins, and forget all about any of life's pleasures, derived from such good, old-fashioned substances as tobacco. But beware! Now, it's tobacco; soon, it will be alcohol. They've already stigmatized smoking and made people paranoid about the habit. They have also stigmatized smokers. Soon, they'll concentrate their efforts on alcohol and people who enjoy a drink. Addendum and warning: You might not live any longer following all their dubious advice – you probably won't; but it will surely feel like you have!

By the way, if you are a smoker, you are very welcome here. This is a safe space for you. Even though I no longer smoke, I'm still on your side. – © Mark

The Johnson Government – Yet Another Fiasco

Jul 17, 2021 • The government of Boris Johnson is a disaster. Brexit has set us on the road to ruin with no discernible benefits whatsoever. Businesses are struggling with excessive new paperwork, the loss of much of the EU market and shortages of Labour since EU workers are now reluctant to return given the strict new conditions for entry into the U.K. Brexit has happened at the worst possible time given the pandemic. The government’s handling of the pandemic and the delays in locking down by Boris Johnson are believed to have caused many thousands of unnecessary deaths. The government’s astonishingly expensive test & trace is a fiasco

Lionel Richie : Dancing on the Ceiling

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group. Views on YouTube: 1,800,066 views

Lionel Richie : Ballerina Girl

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group. Views on YouTube: 1,010,331

Pope Francis Restricts Use of Old Latin Mass, in a Blow to Conservatives

Celebrating a traditional Latin Mass in Clifton, Va., in 2007.Credit...Brendan Smialowski for The New York Times

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The pope placed new restrictions on where the old Latin Mass can be celebrated and who can celebrate it, and will require new permissions from local bishops.

Pope Francis took a significant step toward putting the Roman Catholic Church’s liturgy solidly on the side of modernization on Friday by cracking down on the use of the old Latin Mass, essentially reversing a decision by his conservative predecessor.

The move to restrict the use of an old Latin rite in celebrating Mass dealt a blow to conservatives, who have long complained that the pope is diluting the traditions of the church.

Francis placed new restrictions on where and by whom the traditional Latin Mass can be celebrated and required new permissions from local bishops for its use. » | Jason Horowitz | Friday, July 16, 2021

‘It’s All Wrecked’: German Town Stunned by Flood Damage

THE GUARDIAN: Residents of Erftstadt struggle to comprehend how their familiar landscape became treacherous terrain

Anatoli Neugebauer is standing just a hundred metres from his family home, at the edge of the Blessem district of Erftstadt, a commuter-belt town 12 miles (20km) south of Cologne. Even though flood waters from the Erft River had begun to recede by midday on Friday, he still had to wade through waist-high brown water just to get inside the stuccoed terrace house.

“It’s completely indescribable,” says Neugebauer, 40. “A catastrophe.”

“I was there twice yesterday trying to save what I could. But you open the door and the water’s to your chest and you just wonder, why am I even doing this? It’s all wrecked.”

Neugebauer was one of the 1,905 residents of the village evacuated on Thursday as the river began to overflow after record rainfall.

Familiar landscape turned into treacherous terrain: a gravel quarry south of Blessem, 40 hectares (99 acres) wide and 60 metres deep, rapidly filled with water, its edge expanding towards the town through headward erosion, swallowing up several cars, three half-timbered buildings and parts of a castle. » | Courtney Tenz in Erftstadt and Philip Oltermann in Berlin | Friday, July 16, 2021

Polémique en Haute-Savoie : la famille royale d'Abu Dhabi privatise deux hôtels pour l'été

Les touristes auront du mal à se loger dans un hôtel à Annemasse cet été. / PIXABAY / ALEXGAN

MIDI LIBRE : Le prince d'Abu Dhabi et sa famille ont privatisé deux hôtels en Haute-Savoie pour tout l'été, privant ainsi les touristes de plusieurs centaines de chambres. Une initiative qui a notamment provoqué la colère du maire d'Annemasse.

Cet été, les vacanciers qui ont prévu de se rendre en Haute-Savoie ne pourront loger ni au Novotel d'Annemasse ni à l'hôtel Mercure de Gaillard, aux portes de la Suisse. Comme le rapporte LCI jeudi 15 juillet, le prince d'Abu Dhabi a tout simplement privatisé les deux établissements jusqu'à la rentrée. Il compte ainsi y loger son personnel, tandis que sa famille et ses proches pourront profiter de ses propriétés situées à Vétraz-Monthoux. Une initiative qui est loin de faire l'unanimité dans la région. » | Midi Libre avec Newsgene | vendredi 16 juillet 2021

Violente agression homophobe en Corse le soir du 14 juillet : "J'ai pris cinq patates" raconte une victime


MIDI LIBRE : Un couple a été victime d'une agression homophobe, "par 20 personnes", le soir de la fête nationale à Macinaggio dans le Cap Corse. Le procureur de la République de Bastia a ouvert une enquête ce jeudi 15 juillet.

Un couple gay a été victime d'une violente agression homophobe le soir du 14 juillet en Haute-Corse. C'est dans le village de Macinaggio au nord de Bastia, que les deux hommes ont subi un déferlement de haine "par 20 personnes".

Ce jeudi 15 juillet, le procureur de la République de Bastia a ouvert une enquête pour "violences en réunion avec ITT inférieure ou égale à huit jours" et "en raison de l'orientation sexuelle de la victime" indique FranceInfo.

"Après avoir assisté au feu d’artifice de la commune, un groupe de cinq personnes, en vacances en Corse, se rendait dans un bar du port de Macinaggio pour y passer la soirée, relate le parquet dans un communiqué. Vers minuit trentedeux des membres de ce groupe, en couple, subissaient des insultes homophobes puis des violences à coups de pied et poings de la part de plusieurs individus, leur occasionnant des interruptions totales de travail de six et huit jours. Une troisième personne était blessée." » | Par Théo Ruiz | jeudi 15 juillet 2021

Kommentar: Was in Ungarn passiert, kann in Deutschland genauso passieren

Queere Menschen brauchen mehr als bunte Fahnen (Bild: teddyosterblom / unsplash)

QUEER.DE: An einem Abend die Regenbogenfahne zu schwenken, das Logo einzufärben und bei Twitter aufmunternde Noten der Solidarität zu posten, ist das eine. Doch nun müssen Taten folgen!

Verbote gibt es oft aus gutem Grund. Sie schützen Menschenleben, regeln das Zusammenleben und sorgen sinnvoll eingesetzt für ein gutes Miteinander. Doch also die UEFA diese Woche entschied, dass die Allianz-Arena nicht als Regenbogen erstrahlen darf, da sorgte dieses Verbot für etwas ganz anderes: Überall im Land und in Europa mobilisierte es Widerstand, Engagement und brachte dem dahinter liegenden Thema unfassbare Aufmerksamkeit.

Denn der Regenbogen sollte als Symbol für absolute Normalität erstrahlen. Als Symbol dafür, dass alle Menschen die gleichen Menschenrechte genießen müssen. Dass alle Menschen gleich sind. Unabhängig von ihrer Hautfarbe, ihres Geschlechts oder eben ihrer sexuellen und geschlechtlichen Identität.

Dass die Regierung von Viktor Orbán dies in Ungarn bestreitet und zensiert, war und ist bis jetzt der Stein des Anstoßes. Mit dem Argument, Kinder schützen zu wollen, wird eine perfide Argumentation bedient. Homo- und Transsexualität würde Kinder bedrohen. Sie seien also etwas Gefährliches, wovor man Kinder schützen müsse. Damit werden LGBTIQ* kriminalisiert, in unglaublicher Weise diffamiert und in die Unsichtbarkeit und ins Verstecken gedrängt. » | Von CSD Deutschland e.V. | Montag, 28. Juni 2021

The ‘Permakiss’ That Set Tel Aviv Alight!


The following video cannot be embedded, because it is age-restricted by YouTube; however, if you have an appetite for the REAL DEAL, click on FIRST KISS It’s a veritable KISSATHON! You will not be disappointed! Apparently, this is the kiss that excited—dare I say electrified?—Tel Aviv! Little wonder! Wonderful! Enjoy! – Mark

Schwuler Dauerkuss erregt Tel Aviv »

Schwuler Kuß des Tages

Courtesy of Google Images and myLot: Why does the idea of gay marriage upset so many people? »

Foreigner - I Don't Want to Live Without You (Official Music Video)

Views on YouTube: 2,877,917

European Floods Are Latest Sign of a Global Warming Crisis

A church and cemetery after flooding in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Germany.Credit...Friedemann Vogel/EPA, via Shutterstock

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Floods like these, which have left more than 100 dead, had not been seen in perhaps 1,000 years. For many, the warnings came too late, raising questions about lapses in Germany’s flood alert system.

BERLIN — Days before roiling waters tore through western Germany, a European weather agency issued an “extreme” flood warning after detailed models showed storms that threatened to send rivers surging to levels that a German meteorologist said on Friday had not been seen in 500 or even 1,000 years.

By Friday those predictions proved devastatingly accurate, with more than 100 people dead and 1,300 unaccounted for, as helicopter rescue crews plucked marooned residents from villages inundated sometimes within minutes, raising questions about lapses in Germany’s elaborate flood warning system.

Numerous areas, victims and officials said, were caught unprepared when normally placid brooks and streams turned into torrents that swept away cars, houses and bridges and everything else in their paths.

“It went so fast. You tried to do something, and it was already too late,” a resident of Schuld told Germany’s ARD public television, after the Ahr River swelled its banks, ripping apart tidy wood-framed houses and sending vehicles bobbing like bath toys. Extreme downpours like the ones that occurred in Germany are one of the most visible signs that the climate is changing as a result of warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions. Studies have found that they are now happening more frequently for a simple reason: A warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture, generating more, and more powerful, rainfall. » | Melissa Eddy, Jack Ewing, Megan Specia and Steven Erlanger | Published: Friday, July 16, 2021; Updated: Saturday, July 17, 2021

Gay Pride 1979 – Inside Story


This is a very interesting look back to the early years of Gay Pride in the UK. It is well worth watching. How times have changed! – Mark

Friday, July 16, 2021

Indonesia: Diversity Under Threat | DW Documentary

May 27, 2020 • Indonesia is considered a model state for diversity and tolerance, but there are increasing indications that Islamists are gaining more influence in the most populous Muslim country in the world.

Far more Muslims live in Indonesia than in the Middle East. The archipelago is made up of more than 17,000 islands and home to 270 million people.

Following the end of the brutal Suharto dictatorship in 1998, Indonesia became a model for a democratic Muslim majority state. But in recent years, Islamist groups have gained influence.

The report begins in Aceh. It is only here, in the northernmost province of the island of Sumatra, that a rigid interpretation of Islamic Sharia law applies - including public floggings. The reasons for the humiliating punishments are manifold: sex before or outside marriage, alcohol consumption or homosexuality.

A growing tendency towards a more conservative interpretation of Islam is also noticeable in other parts of secular Indonesia. More women are wearing headscarves in public places. The niqab, the face veil, is becoming increasingly popular. Members of minority groups feel marginalized.

"Unfortunately, Indonesia is not immune to the worldwide increase in intolerance”, says politician Yenny Wahid.

The daughter of the first elected president after the Suharto dictatorship stands for cosmopolitanism and represents a liberal view of Islam. She, too, has observed a slow Islamization of her homeland and the tendency of politicians to make concessions to radical and populist groups.

Student activists blame the corruption of the ruling class for growing radicalism and undermining diversity.

The documentary "Indonesia - Diversity Under Threat" asks whether the country can preserve its religious tolerance.



Early in this excellent documentary, the narrator stated that Islam is compatible with democracy. It is not! If you hear anyone making such a statement, especially a politician, call him/her out! They are displaying their ignorance of both democracy and Islam! For a democracy to exist, it is absolutely essential that there be separation of Church and State. The temporal must be separated from the spiritual. Without this separation, democracy cannot exist, still less thrive.

The politically-correct try and hide the fact that there are many fundamental differences between Islam and Christianity. But there are many great differences! In Islam, the temporal and the spiritual are one organic whole – they are intertwined. There is no separation at all. You might think that this is a moot point; it is not! That there be a separation of Church or religious affairs and State or secular affairs is the sine qua non of democracy. Without that separation, democracy cannot survive.

I wrote the following essay on this subject many years ago. In 2007, to be precise. When I posted it, it went all around the world. What I wrote then applies both to democracy and to Islam today, as well, of course. The nature of Islam has not changed, nor has the nature of a true democracy.

By the way, that doesn’t make Islam bad and democracy good. It just makes the two systems different.

I hope you enjoy the read. – © Mark

Islam: The Enemy of Democracy and Freedom »

Democracy Now! Top US News & World Headlines — July 16, 2021

«Die Mehrheit der Priester im Vatikan ist schwul» | Sternstunde Religion | SRF Kultur

Mar 31, 2020 • Mit seiner These, wonach die Mehrheit der Prälaten, Bischöfe und Kardinäle des Vatikans schwul seien, generierte der französische Soziologe und Journalist Frédéric Martel im Frühling 2019 viel Aufmerksamkeit, aber auch Unverständnis.

Sein Buch «Sodom» erschien zeitgleich in acht Sprachen und Martel wurde in unzählige Talkshows eingeladen, doch der Vatikan hüllte sich in Schweigen. Wer sich in den 30er-, 40er- und 50er-Jahren des letzten Jahrhunderts als junger Mann irgendwie anders – eben homosexuell – fühlte, fand in der römisch-katholischen Kirche eine Oase, so Martel in seinem Buch «Sodom»: Männer, die unter Männern leben, andere Kleidung tragen und singen, das wäre für viele die Rettung gewesen, die zudem noch von der Gesellschaft akzeptiert war.

Gegen aussen seien diese in der Regel sehr alten Männer nun homophob, gegen innen aber homophil. Dies führe zu einer gefährlichen Doppelmoral, einer Kultur des Schweigens, die die Skandale rund um die katholische Kirche sehr unglücklich begünstigt hätten.


Homophobie im Islam | Kann man Moslem und schwul sein?

Jun 22, 2016 • Wie tolerant ist der Islam gegenüber Homosexualität? Wie ist es, als Moslem schwul zu sein? Wir sprechen mit Ibrahim, der in seiner Heimat dem Libanon um sein Leben fürchten musste, weil er Männer liebt. In Deutschland kämpft er für die Rechte homosexueller Flüchtlinge. Islamwissenschaftler Muhammad Murtaza verrät, was passieren müsste, damit Homosexualität in islamischen Gesellschaften ankommen kann.

Lebanon Crisis Escalates as Designated Prime Minister Hariri Resigns | DW News

Jul 16, 2021 • Lebanon’s PM-designate Hariri steps down as crisis deepens. Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri says he will not be able to form a government as a bitter political rivalry continues to keep Lebanon without a government. The Middle Eastern country has been without a government since October. This period of political crisis has been accompanied by an unprecedented economic meltdown that has seen the free fall of the Lebanese currency, which has nosedived 90% since 2019 against the dollar. Poverty has skyrocketed and the country faces a dire shortage of medicines, fuel and electricity.

Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey - When You Believe (Official HD Video)

"When You Believe" by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey from The Prince of Egypt Listen to Whitney Houston: Views on YouTube: 330,717,310

Homosexualité masculine au Moyen Âge | L'Histoire nous le dira

Au Moyen Âge, l’homosexualité, il serait absurde de le nier, est difficilement acceptée par les religions monothéistes, avec une attention toute particulière portée aux hommes qui gaspilleraient leur semence dans des relations interdites et stériles.


Catherine Kickuchi : Sodomie médiévale : l’amour entre hommes, envers et contre tous »

Justizreform europarechtswidrig: EuGH sieht Unabhängigkeit von Polens Richtern gefährdet

Jul 16, 2021 • Wie unabhängig die Polens Gerichte von der Regierung des Landes? Seit Jahren streitet die EU mit ihrem Mitgliedsstaat über diese Frage. Nun ist erneut ein Urteil zur umstrittenen Justizreform Polens am Europäischen Gerichtshof in Luxemburg gefallen.

Das in Polen eingeführte neue Disziplinarrecht für Richter verstößt nach einer Entscheidung des Europäischen Gerichtshofs (EuGH) gegen EU-Recht. Die beim polnischen Obersten Gericht angesiedelte Disziplinarkammer erfülle nicht alle Ansprüche an die Unparteilichkeit und Unabhängigkeit von Richtern, erklärte der EuGH in Luxemburg.

Die Disziplinarkammer ist das Herzstück der umstrittenen Reformen des polnischen Justizsystems der nationalkonservativen PiS-Regierung. Die Disziplinarkammer kann jeden Richter oder Staatsanwalt entlassen.


EU Launches Legal Action against Hungary, Poland over LGBTQ Rights • FRANCE 24 English

Jul 15, 2021 • The #EuropeanCommission on Thursday launched legal action against the conservative governments of EU members #Hungary and Poland in response to measures seen as discriminating against #LGBTQ citizens.


Zuerst, in den schrecklichen dreißiger Jahren, hörten die Leute in Deutschland das Wort „judenrein“; jetzt kommen Ungarn und Polen auf die Idee, Nachbarschaften „schwulenrein“ zu machen! Hoffentlich käme dieser reaktionäre Viktor Orbán nicht auf die Idee, Konzentrationslager zu bauen! Der Mann ist einfach verrückt! Schrecklich! Schockierend! Geführt von Leuten wie Orbán, gehört Ungarn wirklich zur EU? Die gleiche Frage gilt für Polen! Um Gottes willen, hören Sie endlich auf mit diesem Wahnsinn! Die Leute sollten in Frieden leben können, egal ob sie heterosexuell oder homosexuell sind! Alle Leute sollten integriert und gleichberechtigt sein! - © Mark

Intempéries en France : dix départements toujours en vigilance orange

LE MONDE : Des pluies abondantes se sont abattues sur l’est de la France jeudi, entraînant des perturbations dans les transports ferroviaires et fluviaux.

Les pluies abondantes sur l’est de la France ont entraîné jeudi 15 juillet des inondations dans plusieurs départements placés en vigilance orange et des perturbations dans les transports ferroviaires et fluviaux. Dans la région Grand Est, sept départements sur dix étaient toujours en vigilance orange vendredi matin pour « crues », de même que le Nord et l’Aisne dans les Hauts-de-France, et le département de l’Ain, selon Météo-France. » | Le Monde avec AFP | Publié : jeudi 15 juillet 2021 ; mis à jour : vendredi 16 juillet 2021

Le Conseil scientifique approuve la validation du passe sanitaire sept jours après la seconde injection

LE FIGARO : Le ministre de la Santé avait annoncé cette mesure mardi dans la foulée de la prise de parole d'Emmanuel Macron.

Jusqu'ici, il fallait attendre 14 jours après l'injection de la dernière dose de vaccin à ARN messager (Pfizer et Moderna) ou AstraZeneca pour disposer d'un passe sanitaire valide attestant d'une vaccination complète, synonyme d'efficacité maximum dans la protection contre la Covid. » | Par Le Figaro | vendredi 16 juillet 2021

Hundreds Missing and Scores Dead as Raging Floods Strike Western Europe

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Strong rains caused rivers to burst their banks and wash away buildings in Belgium and Germany, where at least 1,300 remained missing. Homes and streets in the Netherlands and Switzerland also flooded.

BERLIN — Following a day of frantic rescue efforts and orders to evacuate towns rapidly filling with water unloosed by violent storms, the German authorities said late Thursday that after confirming scores of deaths, they were unable to account for at least 1,300 people.

That staggering figure was announced after swift-moving water from swollen rivers surged through cities and villages in two western German states, where news outlets said more than 80 people were known to have died in the hardest-hit regions and other fatalities were expected.

With communication badly hampered, the authorities were hoping that the missing people were safe, if unreachable. But the storms and the floods have already proved deadly

. At least 11 more people were reported to have died in Belgium, according to authorities who also ordered inhabitants of downtown Liège to evacuate as the Meuse River, which flows through its center, overflowed its banks. » | Melissa Eddy | Published: Thursday, July 15, 2021; Updated: Friday, July 16, 2021

La Hongrie d’Orban attaquée.

Inverti actu : La Hongrie est officiellement menacée d’une procédure d’infraction.

Youpi !

Calmos
a Tutti… Cette action peut mener à une saisine de la Cour Européenne pour une procédure entraînant des sanctions à l’encontre de ce pays. Car la loi anti LGBTIQ+ ou pour le moins discriminatrice contrevient aux règles de l’UE. » | lemarquis | samedi 10 juilet 2021

Bisou gay du jour


Source : Google Images – à l'origine du site inverti : actu ici.

Page d'accueil »

Whitney Houston - I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Official Video)

YouTube views: 287,948,434

EU leitet Verfahren wegen Vertragsverletzung gegen Ungarn und Polen ein

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Wegen der Diskriminierung nichtheterosexueller Menschen hat Brüssel die Schritte eingeleitet. „Die Kommission wird alle Instrumente nutzen, die ihr zur Verfügung stehen“, um die Werte der EU zu verteidigen, heißt es.

Die EU-Kommission hat am Donnerstag drei Vertragsverletzungsverfahren eingeleitet, weil sie eine Diskriminierung von Menschen befürchtet, die nicht heterosexuell sind. Dafür hat sich die Abkürzung LGBTQI eingebürgert. Zwei Verfahren betreffen Ungarn, eines Polen. In einer Mitteilung verwies die Kommission auf die in Artikel 2 des EU-Vertrags garantierte Achtung der Menschenwürde, die Wahrung der Menschenrechte und den Gleichheitsgrundsatz: „Die Kommission wird alle Instrumente nutzen, die ihr zur Verfügung stehen, um diese Werte zu verteidigen.“ » | Von Thomas Gutschker, Amsterdam | Donnerstag, 15. Juli 2021

Related article here

EU Launches Legal Action against Hungary and Poland over ‘Fundamental Violations’ of LGBT+ Rights

PINK NEWS: The European Union has launched legal action against Hungary and Poland over their vile anti-LGBT+ laws.

Hungary has faced widespread condemnation from the European Union (EU) since it passed a law that bans the “promotion” of LGBT+ lives to minors in schools, advertising and in the media. In Poland, more than 100 regions have declared themselves “LGBT-free zones”, inviting harsh criticism from the bloc.

The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, announced Thursday (15 July) it would be taking action against both nations for “violations of fundamental rights of LGBTIQ people”.

In a statement, the commission said that Hungary’s anti-LGBT+ legislation runs counter to several EU laws and principles. It added that the law “violates human dignity, freedom of expression and information, the right to respect of private life” and the “right to non-discrimination”.

The EU is also targeting Hungary over its demand that the publisher of a children’s book with LGBT+ content include a disclaimer warning of “behaviour deviating from traditional gender roles”. » | Maggie Baska | Thursday, July 15, 2021

L’Autriche interdit les symboles des Frères musulmans

LE POINT : L’Autriche est le premier pays d’Europe à s’en prendre directement aux Frères musulmans. Depuis les années 1970, Vienne abrite l’argent de la confrérie.

Le 8 juillet 2021, le Parlement autrichien a interdit d’exposer, d’afficher, de porter ou de distribuer les symboles des Frères musulmans. Cette interdiction concernait déjà depuis 2020 Daech, Al-Qaïda, le Hamas, et la branche armée du Hezbollah. Elle touche également aujourd’hui le PKK kurde, les Loups gris turcs et un mouvement fasciste croate. Par ailleurs, la confrérie des Frères musulmans, créée en 1928 en Égypte par Hassan al-Banna, rejoint la liste noire des « groupes extrémistes liés à la criminalité à motivation religieuse ». L’Autriche devient ainsi le premier pays européen à prononcer une semi-interdiction des Frères musulmans. Même Donald Trump, durant sa présidence, n’avait pas franchi le pas. » | Par Ian Hamel | jeudi 15 juillet 2021

Une large majorité des Français soutiennent les mesures annoncées par Emmanuel Macron

LE FIGARO : SONDAGE EXCLUSIF - Selon un sondage Odoxa-Backbone Consulting pour Le Figaro, 62% des personnes interrogées pensent que ces mesures sont efficaces sans être si contraignantes que cela.

Les mesures sanitaires annoncées par Emmanuel Macron hier soir lors de son allocution télévisée ont convaincu les Français. Alors que certains élus de La France Insoumise ou du Rassemblement nationalont largement critiqué les décisions prises par le chef de l'État, celles-ci semblent plutôt bien acceptées par l'opinion publique. Selon un sondage Odoxa-Backbone Consulting pour Le Figaro, plus de deux tiers des Français (67%) soutiennent les quatre principales mesures contraignantes annoncées hier soir. » | Par Wally Bordas | Publié : mardi 13 juillet 2021 ; mis à jour : mercredi 14 juillet 2021

L’allocution d’Emmanuel Macron »

GB News Shows Attracted Zero Viewers after Boycott over Taking the Knee

GB News presenter Guto Harri taking the knee on air on Tuesday. Photograph: GB News

THE GUARDIAN: Channel label Guto Harri’s on-air gesture in solidarity against racist abuse suffered by the England team ‘unacceptable’

GB News attracted zero viewers during some of its broadcasts this week, according to official television audience figures produced by rating agency Barb, after a viewer boycott prompted by one of its presenters taking the knee in solidarity with the England football team.

The channel has now said the decision of Guto Harri to make the on-air gesture on Tuesday in solidarity against the racist abuse suffered by English players was “an unacceptable breach of our standards”.

A GB News spokesperson declined to say whether Harri, a former spokesperson for Boris Johnson, was still with the channel.

Business editor Liam Halligan and former Labour MP Gloria De Piero attracted no measurable audience to their show between 1pm and 1.30pm on Wednesday afternoon. During the same timeslot the BBC News channel attracted 62,000 viewers, while Sky News had 50,000 people watching. » | Jim Waterson | Thursday, July 15, 2021

This country needed this God-damn awful TV channel like a hole in the head! GB News, for those who aren’t aware of it, is the UK’s very own version of Fox News. You could say, ‘nuff said! This channel will be spewing out anti-European, pro-American, far-right garbage to manipulate the masses—the people that they perceive to be “The Little People” – normal people, in other words, the people whose daddies were not squillionaires so were not rich enough to send their little darlings to our most expensive élite schools for a super-privileged education.

I have more than a little experience of watching Fox News. My late American partner was ostensibly ‘addicted’ to it. He had it on a loop, much to my chagrin. I can assure you that YOU DO NOT WANT TO WATCH AND LISTEN to the likes of Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and many more TV hosts like that for extended periods. Unless, that is, you want a nervous breakdown! They manipulate the unthinking. Now we have a cloned version our side of the Pond.

If you didn’t know it, GB News has surely been set up to indoctrinate the masses into being anti-Europe, especially anti-EU, be pro-America, and to bring its viewers to the point of learning how to enjoy being ‘raped’ by their masters! Wasn’t it Confucius who said, “If rape is inevitable, lie back and enjoy it.” I can’t vouch for the veracity of that statement, but it sure is a good line!

For your information, and for what it is worth, I have never watched GB News and I have no intention of doing so anytime soon. – © Mark

Bank of England ‘Addicted’ to Creating Money, Say Peers

THE GUARDIAN: BoE must be more transparent and justify use of quantitative easing, says Lords report

The Bank of England risks becoming addicted to creating money and needs to come clean about how it plans to unwind its £895bn bond-buying programme, the House of Lords has warned.

A report from a Lords committee – the members of which include the former Threadneedle Street governor Mervyn King – said there was a threat of quantitative easing (QE) leading to higher inflation and causing damage to the government’s finances.

The Bank started using QE, a process whereby it creates money by buying government and corporate bonds, in 2009 during the global financial crisis, but has stepped up its use during the coronavirus pandemic.

But the Lords economic affairs committee said the Bank had become too dependent on the use of QE, which it said was widening Britain’s wealth gap by boosting asset prices.

Michael Forsyth, the committee’s chairman, said: “The Bank of England has become addicted to quantitative easing. It appears to be its answer to all the country’s economic problems and by the end of 2021, the Bank will own an eye-watering £875bn of government bonds and £20bn in corporate bonds.” » | Larry Elliot, Economics editor | Friday, July 16, 2021

The clowns of Threadneedle Street! The fools don’t understand the first principles of sound economics! It’s all to do with Economics 101! They must have missed those lectures at university! We are being led by fools! We really are! By creating a distortion in the market—in this case, the distortion of super cheap money, brought about by setting extremely low and unhealthy interest rates, and for such a protracted period of time (11+ years)—they have unwittingly enriched the already superrich, the squillionaires, and impoverished the rest. In fact, it has been made virtually impossible for the less-than-privileged young to gain a foothold in the housing market unless, of course, Daddy is able to help darling son or darling daughter along the way with a generous pecuniary gift! Alas, for many of our young people today, such a scenario is a pipe dream. There is one thing that our central bankers need to understand: The economy should be run for the benefit of the many, not the few! – © Mark