Wednesday, September 08, 2021
Italia Squisita – Perfect Pasta: Five Ways to Cook It Right by Luciano Monosilio
Männer, Mullahs, Extremisten
SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG: Die neue Regierung in Kabul zerstört endgültig alle Illusionen: Die Taliban haben sich nicht neu erfunden.
Es ist düster um Afghanistan bestellt. Aufbruch, Ausgleich, Überraschungen - alles nicht vorhanden im neuen Kabuler Kabinett. Stattdessen haben die Taliban eine Riege aus Hardlinern als Regierungsmannschaft präsentiert. Keine einzige Frau darf neben den zahlreichen Mullahs am Kabinettstisch Platz nehmen. Einige der Herren stehen auf internationalen Terrorlisten. Der Innenminister zum Beispiel würde bei Betreten der USA sofort verhaftet werden. Der Verteidigungsminister ist der Sohn von Taliban-Gründer Mullah Omar.
Dieses mit Extremisten besetzte Kabinett soll den Übergang in dem vom Krieg ausgezehrten Land gestalten. Die Mittel dafür sind angesichts der weitgehend eingefrorenen internationalen Hilfe und der weggebrochenen westlichen Kriegsindustrie indes begrenzt. Aber das ficht die Taliban gerade nicht an. Sie signalisieren mit dieser Regierung zweierlei: Intern brauchten sie zunächst einmal einen Interessensausgleich der verschiedenen Strömungen, da mussten unterschiedliche Fraktionen Posten erhalten. Und nach außen, also vor allem im Umgang mit dem Westen, sind ihnen Gefälligkeiten gerade weitgehend egal. » | Kommentar von Tobias Matern | Mittwoch, 8. September 2021
Die neue Regierung der Taliban: Ein Déjà-vu des Grauens: Die neue Taliban-Regierung ist weder gemässigt, noch repräsentiert sie die breite Bevölkerung. Zu ihren Ministern zählen viele Hardliner und einer der meistgesuchten Terroristen. Legitimität im Volk und westliche Anerkennung ist so kaum zu bekommen. »
Wer ist der mysteriöse neue Emir, der als Ober-Mullah über die Taliban wacht?: Bis vor kurzem wusste keiner, wie Haibatullah Akhundzada aussieht und ob er überhaupt noch lebt. Nun wird der Taliban-Chef selbst als «Oberster Führer» das Islamische Emirat Afghanistan lenken und über die Konformität der Politik mit der Scharia wachen. »
Bruxelles veut mettre Varsovie à l’amende
LE FIGARO : RÉCIT - La Commission européenne s’inquiète du fonctionnement de la justice polonaise.
Le torchon n’en finit pas de brûler entre Bruxelles et Varsovie sur l’État de droit. La Commission a demandé mardi à la Cour de justice de l’UE d’imposer des sanctions financières à l’État polonais. Il lui est reproché de ne pas s’être mis en conformité avec un arrêt de la justice européenne publié le 14 juillet ni avec les mesures provisoires que celui-ci édictait concernant la chambre disciplinaire de la Cour suprême, un organe sensé être indépendant mais sur lequel le pouvoir polonais a la main. «Les systèmes judiciaires de l’Union européenne doivent être indépendants et équitables», a souligné la présidente de la Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. Comment, en effet, s’assurer du bon usage des deniers européens et que des poursuites seront lancées en cas de corruption, si le système judiciaire est tenu par un pouvoir en place et l’autonomie des juges bafouée? » | Par Anne Rovan | Publié : mardi 7 septembre 2021 ; mis à jour : mercredi 8 septembre 2021
Les partisans de Bolsonaro dans la rue
LE FIGARO : Des centaines de milliers de manifestants ont affiché leur soutien au président, qui traverse une mauvaise passe.
Des centaines de milliers de personnes à travers le Brésil ont répondu présentes à l’appel du président brésilien, Jair Bolsonaro, mardi 7 septembre, lors de vastes manifestations en soutien au leader d’extrême droite. Ces derniers mois, Bolsonaro a vu sa popularité chuter dans les sondages, ses projets de loi rejetés par le Parlement, et l’étau judiciaire se resserrer autour de son clan. Une sécheresse record menace la reprise économique du géant latino-américain, ainsi que l’approvisionnement en eau et en énergie de millions de familles, d’entreprises et d’agriculteurs.
À un peu plus d’un an de l’élection présidentielle, l’ancien capitaine de l’armée est dans l’impasse. Sa seule issue: convoquer les foules pour montrer à ses critiques et adversaires politiques qu’il reste un candidat à craindre en 2022. De Rio de Janeiro à Recife, de Sao Paulo à Brasilia, le socle dur du «bolsonarisme» - environ 30 % de l’électorat - a pris d’assaut les capitales, vêtu de jaune et de vert, couleurs du drapeau brésilien, pour encourager celui qu’ils surnomment «mito» («le mythe»). «Bolsonaro est un président de droite qui montre que le Brésil a un futur, une direction», estime Sonia Olives, 67 ans, sirotant une noix de coco en marge des rassemblements considérables à Copacabana, quartier emblématique de Rio. » | Par Diane Jeantet | mardi 7 septembre 2021br />
À LIRE AUSSI :
Au Brésil, une sécheresse historique plombe la reprise »
Le Brésil confronté à une forte inflation »
Procès des attentats du 13-Novembre: «La barbarie en face»
LE FIGARO : «On est parti, on commence.» Par ces quelques mots glaçants envoyés par SMS a été scellé, le 13 novembre 2015, le funeste dessein terroriste islamiste qui a fait 130 morts et des centaines de blessés et dont la France va revivre pendant plus de huit mois les terribles instants à travers le procès d’une ampleur inédite qui s’ouvre à Paris. Cette tragédie inextinguible, d’une violence inouïe, c’est celle des victimes et de leurs familles, de tous ceux dont l’existence a été à jamais fracturée par la folie meurtrière islamiste ; c’est aussi celle de l’ensemble des Français. À tous, la justice doit cette quête de vérité, cette mise à nu des faits tendue vers un certain aboutissement: le jugement. » | Par Laurence De Charette | mardi 7 septembre 2021
Réservé aux abonnés
EN DIRECT : Procès des attentats du 13 novembre 2015 : Abdeslam présent dans le box des accusés »
«La mémoire du 13 novembre se concentre sur la figure de la victime» : ENTRETIEN - C'est en cela qu'il se distingue d'un 11 septembre américain, qui a été «la véritable matrice du XXIe siècle», analyse Denis Peschanski, directeur de recherche au CNRS. »
« 5 ans après, c’est toujours présent », un rescapé du Bataclan raconte »
Les héros du Bataclan »
Trial Over November 2015 Paris Terrorist Attacks Begins
THE NEW YORK TIMES: The attacks carried out by Islamic State extremists that killed 130 people deeply rattled France and sent shock waves through Europe. The trial is scheduled to last at least nine months.
French police on Wednesday outside the Paris courthouse holding the trial. Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters
PARIS — Marilyn Garnier, a survivor of a terrorist attack at the Bataclan concert hall in Paris, can never forget that evening.
It was Nov. 13, 2015. Firecracker noises erupted at the back of the crowd. Her partner pushed her to the floor, where they lay still, overcome by the smell of blood and gunpowder. Bursts of gunfire punctuated a deathly silence.
“At that moment, you don’t think you are going to survive,” Ms. Garnier, now 30, recalled.
Nearly six years later, the historic trial of the those behind the 2015 attacks that also targeted an area outside France’s national soccer stadium and the terraces of cafes and restaurants in central Paris began on Wednesday in the French capital. It is expected to last a record nine months.
The coordinated attacks — a series of shootings and suicide bombings — were carried out by 10 Islamic State extremists who killed 130 people and wounded nearly 500, shaking France to its core. (One survivor who suffered from severe trauma and killed himself in 2017 was officially declared the 131st victim.)
Twenty men, including the sole surviving attacker, stand accused of charges — including murder and organizing a terrorist conspiracy — and will be tried by a panel of judges. Over 300 lawyers and nearly 1,800 plaintiffs will take part in the trial in a courtroom that can fit 550 people that was built specifically for the monumental proceedings. The proceedings will be the first to be accessible for plaintiffs on a live internet radio, and will also be filmed. » | Aurelien Breeden | Wednesday, September 8, 2021
PARIS — Marilyn Garnier, a survivor of a terrorist attack at the Bataclan concert hall in Paris, can never forget that evening.
It was Nov. 13, 2015. Firecracker noises erupted at the back of the crowd. Her partner pushed her to the floor, where they lay still, overcome by the smell of blood and gunpowder. Bursts of gunfire punctuated a deathly silence.
“At that moment, you don’t think you are going to survive,” Ms. Garnier, now 30, recalled.
Nearly six years later, the historic trial of the those behind the 2015 attacks that also targeted an area outside France’s national soccer stadium and the terraces of cafes and restaurants in central Paris began on Wednesday in the French capital. It is expected to last a record nine months.
The coordinated attacks — a series of shootings and suicide bombings — were carried out by 10 Islamic State extremists who killed 130 people and wounded nearly 500, shaking France to its core. (One survivor who suffered from severe trauma and killed himself in 2017 was officially declared the 131st victim.)
Twenty men, including the sole surviving attacker, stand accused of charges — including murder and organizing a terrorist conspiracy — and will be tried by a panel of judges. Over 300 lawyers and nearly 1,800 plaintiffs will take part in the trial in a courtroom that can fit 550 people that was built specifically for the monumental proceedings. The proceedings will be the first to be accessible for plaintiffs on a live internet radio, and will also be filmed. » | Aurelien Breeden | Wednesday, September 8, 2021
Another Failed Presidency at Hand
THE NEW YORK TIMES: This Sept. 11, a diminished president will preside over a diminished nation.
We are a country that could not keep a demagogue from the White House; could not stop an insurrectionist mob from storming the Capitol; could not win (or at least avoid losing) a war against a morally and technologically retrograde enemy; cannot conquer a disease for which there are safe and effective vaccines; and cannot bring itself to trust the government, the news media, the scientific establishment, the police or any other institution meant to operate for the common good.
A civilization “is born stoic and dies epicurean,” wrote historian Will Durant about the Babylonians. Our civilization was born optimistic and enlightened, at least by the standards of the day. Now it feels as if it’s fading into paranoid senility.
Joe Biden was supposed to be the man of the hour: a calming presence exuding decency, moderation and trust. As a candidate, he sold himself as a transitional president, a fatherly figure in the mold of George H.W. Bush who would restore dignity and prudence to the Oval Office after the mendacity and chaos that came before. It’s why I voted for him, as did so many others who once tipped red.
Instead, Biden has become the emblem of the hour: headstrong but shaky, ambitious but inept. He seems to be the last person in America to realize that, whatever the theoretical merits of the decision to withdraw our remaining troops from Afghanistan, the military and intelligence assumptions on which it was built were deeply flawed, the manner in which it was executed was a national humiliation and a moral betrayal, and the timing was catastrophic.
We find ourselves commemorating the first great jihadist victory over America, in 2001, right after delivering the second great jihadist victory over America, in 2021. The 9/11 memorial at the World Trade Center — water cascading into one void, and then trickling, out of sight, into another — has never felt more fitting. » | Bret Stephens, Opinion Columnist | Tuesday, September 7, 2021
Mexico Hit by Powerful 7.0-magnitude Earthquake, Killing At Least One
THE GUARDIAN: A man was killed and buildings were damaged in the resort city of Acapulco, and the quake was also felt in Mexico City
A powerful earthquake has struck south-west Mexico near the beach resort of Acapulco, killing at least one man who was crushed by a falling post, and causing rock falls and damaging buildings.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said a 7.0 magnitude quake struck 11 miles (18km) north-east of the resort of Acapulco, Guerrero, in the early hours of Wednesday sending people running into the street for safety.
The quake shook the hillsides around the resort, downing trees and pitching large boulders on to the road. » | Staff and agencies | Wednesday, September 8, 2021
A powerful earthquake has struck south-west Mexico near the beach resort of Acapulco, killing at least one man who was crushed by a falling post, and causing rock falls and damaging buildings.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said a 7.0 magnitude quake struck 11 miles (18km) north-east of the resort of Acapulco, Guerrero, in the early hours of Wednesday sending people running into the street for safety.
The quake shook the hillsides around the resort, downing trees and pitching large boulders on to the road. » | Staff and agencies | Wednesday, September 8, 2021
Homophobes Carve ‘F****t’ into Man’s Flesh in Horrific Broad Daylight Attack in Madrid
PINK NEWS: A gang of eight hooded assailants launched a “vicious” attack on a gay man in Madrid, Spain, in broad daylight, carving the word “faggot” on his backside.
Two months after the horrific killing of Samuel Luiz, a 24-year-old gay man, in A Coruña, Spain, sparked international outrage, another homophobic attack has shocked and repulsed Spain.
The 20-year-old victim was assaulted in the Malasaña neighbourhood at around 5:15pm Sunday afternoon (5 September). His attackers sliced him with a knife as they barked “maricón [faggot]” at him outside his apartment complex, Policía Municipal Madrid said according to elDiario, a Spanish-speaking news outlet.
The victim, who has not been named, was returning home when the group “with their faces covered, ran and cornered him” and followed him into the building entrance.
They called him a “s**teater” and “disgusting” as they slit his upper lip. The man later reported the incident at a police station in the capital city.
The level of impunity seemingly felt by the attackers left officials stunned, a police spokesperson told elDiario.
“This is the first assault of this kind we have heard of,” they said.
“The investigation is focusing on CCTV footage and on finding witnesses in order to identify the alleged attackers.” Spain’s prime minister ‘vehemently’ decries homophobic attack that left activists speechless » | Josh Milton | Tuesday, September 7, 2021
Homophobic Attackers in Madrid Carve Antigay Slur Into Victim's Butt »
Gay Quote : Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir on Gay Rights
Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, a former Icelandic Prime Minister and the first openly gay head of state, uttered these words during a speech at a 2014 Pride festival. In this speech, she was thankful that her native country was making strides towards acceptance and equal rights for LGBTQ people. However, she emphasized that until these rights are status quo all over the world, we cannot consider ourselves truly free. This marked one of the first calls from a head of state to make LGBTQ rights the standard worldwide. [Source: HUMAN RIGHTS CAREERS.]
Un baiser amoureux
Absolut is truly a progressive company. This is a partial quote from their great website:
“Absolut believes in creating a better, more open world…
…One where everyone has the freedom to express their true selves, without fear or recrimination. For 35 years, we have been proud to stand behind the LGBTQ+ community, championing equal love for all. We celebrate the right of individuals to love whomever they choose, wherever they come from. ...” [Read the rest on their great website.] *
* And that is precisely what this website/blog is all about: Creating a more open, free world in which people are at liberty to love whomsoever they choose, without recrimination, fear or violence. We need to rid the world of backward thinking and bigotry. We all have an equal right to love and be loved, regardless of sexual orientation. This website is NOT about SEX; rather, it is about LOVE. It's a celebration of love, gay or straight. And in fact, that’s what true homosexuality should be all about: two men or two women falling in love with each other.
If what you're looking for is pornography, you have come to the wrong website. Click over! You will NEVER see pornography on this blog. – © Mark
Tuesday, September 07, 2021
Au mariage de la princesse Maria Anunciata de Liechtenstein, nièce du grand-duc Henri
PARIS MATCH : Fille aînée de la princesse Margaretha de Luxembourg et du prince Nikolaus de Liechtenstein, la princesse Maria Anunciata s’est mariée religieusement à Vienne ce samedi, en présence de nombreux membres de la famille grand-ducale luxembourgeoise.
Princes et princesses s’étaient donnés rendez-vous à Vienne ce samedi 4 septembre 2021. Ce jour-là, la capitale autrichienne accueillait, dans la baroque Schottenkirche (l’église écossaise), le mariage religieux de la princesse Maria Anunciata de Liechtenstein et d’Emanuele Musini. Le couple s’était uni civilement en août dernier au Liechtenstein. » | Dominique Bonnet | lundi 6 septembre 2021
L'image à gauche est une capture d'écran de la princesse à Vienne le 4 septembre 2021, jour de leur mariage.
Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.14 In C Sharp Minor, Op.27 No.2 - Moonlight / Mondschein / Au Claire de Lune - 1. Adagio sostenuto | Maurizio Pollini
Aux origines des divisions européennes: la question des racines chrétiennes
LE FIGARO : DÉCRYPTAGE - Si certains pays d’Europe centrale et orientale violent les règles de l’UE, ils reprochent à l’Ouest d’avoir renié son héritage chrétien
On reproche à juste titre à certains pays d’Europe centrale et orientale de s’être écartés des valeurs de l’Union européenne et de violer les règles garantissant l’État de droit et la démocratie. Freins à l’avortement, loi interdisant la «promotion» de l’homosexualité auprès des mineurs, fermeture des frontières aux migrants, instauration de «zones sans LGBT», restrictions à la liberté de la presse et à l’indépendance de la justice: les institutions de Bruxelles sont en conflit permanent avec la Pologne et la Hongrie, chefs de file de la rébellion. » | Par Isabelle Lasserre | mardi 7 septembre 2021
Réservé aux abonnés
L'Observatoire de la laïcité défend-il suffisamment la laïcité ? : LA VÉRIFICATION - Présidé par Jean-Louis Bianco, l'organisme qui conseille le gouvernement est accusé d'être trop conciliant avec l'islam politique. Est-ce vraiment le cas ? »
Die Taliban bilden eine Regierung – und darin sitzen weder andere politische Kräfte noch Frauen
NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG: Die Taliban hatten nach ihrer Machtübernahme in Kabul versprochen, eine «inklusive» Regierung zu bilden. Getan haben sie nun das Gegenteil.
Der Taliban-Sprecher Zabihullah Mujahid gibt in Kabul die Minister der neuen Regierung bekannt. | Muhammad Farooq / AP
Es gibt dieses Wort, das die Taliban in den vergangenen Wochen fast mantraartig wiederholt haben. «Inklusiv», sollte die neue Regierung Afghanistans werden, es war eines der Versprechen, dass die scheinbar geläuterten Taliban den besorgten Afghanen und der internationalen Gemeinschaft gaben. Am Dienstagabend haben die Taliban ihre Regierung nun bekanntgegeben. Und es ist ganz anders gekommen.
«Inklusiv» ist diese Regierung nicht. Es ist eine Regierung der Sieger. Auf der Liste, die am Dienstagabend den Medien übergeben wurde, stehen einzig die Namen von ranghohen Talibanvertretern. Die Besiegten, Repräsentanten der alten afghanischen Regierung, sind ausgeschlossen. Eine Art Generationenprojekt » | Andreas Babst, Delhi | Dienstag, 7. September 2021
Es gibt dieses Wort, das die Taliban in den vergangenen Wochen fast mantraartig wiederholt haben. «Inklusiv», sollte die neue Regierung Afghanistans werden, es war eines der Versprechen, dass die scheinbar geläuterten Taliban den besorgten Afghanen und der internationalen Gemeinschaft gaben. Am Dienstagabend haben die Taliban ihre Regierung nun bekanntgegeben. Und es ist ganz anders gekommen.
«Inklusiv» ist diese Regierung nicht. Es ist eine Regierung der Sieger. Auf der Liste, die am Dienstagabend den Medien übergeben wurde, stehen einzig die Namen von ranghohen Talibanvertretern. Die Besiegten, Repräsentanten der alten afghanischen Regierung, sind ausgeschlossen. Eine Art Generationenprojekt » | Andreas Babst, Delhi | Dienstag, 7. September 2021
Crusty Mussel Bake with Homemade 'sauce velouté' | Moules au gratin
Get the printable recipe here.
The Daily Life of Gay Parents | DW Documentary
I posted this documentary in German back in August; so, today I am posting it in English. There is no particular reason why I posted it in German first. I didn’t actually know that it existed in English until this afternoon. For the German version, please click here.
Warning of Income Gap, Xi Tells China’s Tycoons to Share Wealth
THE NEW YORK TIMES: As the country’s leader prepares for a likely third term, he is promising “common prosperity” to lift farmers and working families into the middle class.
Xi Jinping has declared that China’s Communist Party will work toward “common prosperity,” and he has pressed businesses and entrepreneurs to give back more to society. .Ju Peng/Xinhua, via Associated Press
Four decades ago, Deng Xiaoping declared that China would “let some people get rich first” in its race for growth. Now, Xi Jinping has put China’s tycoons on notice that it is time for them to share more wealth with the rest of the country.
Mr. Xi says the Communist Party will pursue “common prosperity,” pressing businesses and entrepreneurs to help narrow the stubborn wealth gap that could hold back the country’s rise and erode public confidence in the leadership. Supporters say China’s next phase of growth demands the shift.
“A powerful China should also be a fair and just China,” Yao Yang, a professor of economics at Peking University who endorses the shift in priorities, said by email. “China is one of the worst countries in terms of redistribution, despite being a socialist country. Public spending is overly concentrated in cities, elite schools and so on.”
Officials are pledging to make schooling, housing and health care less costly and more evenly available outside big cities, and to lift incomes for workers, helping more people secure a place in the middle class. The “common prosperity” campaign has converged with a crackdown on the country’s tech giants to curb their dominance. Facing scrutiny, some of China’s biggest billionaires, like Jack Ma, have lined up to pledge billions of dollars to charity.
The pledges hold out the prospect, endorsed by Mr. Xi in a meeting last month, that China is now affluent enough to shift closer to the Communist Party’s longstanding ideal of wealth sharing. For Mr. Xi, the Communist Party’s long-term authority is at stake. » | By Chris Buckley, Alexandra Stevenson and Cao Li | Tuesday, September 7, 2021
On the NYT website, under the image, there are links of translations of this article into “Simplified” Chinese and “Traditional” Chinese for your ease and convenience.
Four decades ago, Deng Xiaoping declared that China would “let some people get rich first” in its race for growth. Now, Xi Jinping has put China’s tycoons on notice that it is time for them to share more wealth with the rest of the country.
Mr. Xi says the Communist Party will pursue “common prosperity,” pressing businesses and entrepreneurs to help narrow the stubborn wealth gap that could hold back the country’s rise and erode public confidence in the leadership. Supporters say China’s next phase of growth demands the shift.
“A powerful China should also be a fair and just China,” Yao Yang, a professor of economics at Peking University who endorses the shift in priorities, said by email. “China is one of the worst countries in terms of redistribution, despite being a socialist country. Public spending is overly concentrated in cities, elite schools and so on.”
Officials are pledging to make schooling, housing and health care less costly and more evenly available outside big cities, and to lift incomes for workers, helping more people secure a place in the middle class. The “common prosperity” campaign has converged with a crackdown on the country’s tech giants to curb their dominance. Facing scrutiny, some of China’s biggest billionaires, like Jack Ma, have lined up to pledge billions of dollars to charity.
The pledges hold out the prospect, endorsed by Mr. Xi in a meeting last month, that China is now affluent enough to shift closer to the Communist Party’s longstanding ideal of wealth sharing. For Mr. Xi, the Communist Party’s long-term authority is at stake. » | By Chris Buckley, Alexandra Stevenson and Cao Li | Tuesday, September 7, 2021
On the NYT website, under the image, there are links of translations of this article into “Simplified” Chinese and “Traditional” Chinese for your ease and convenience.
Verlieh das Königshaus Orden gegen Geld?
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: In britischen Hofkreisen gilt es als üble Nachrede, dass man Orden kaufen kann. Enge Berater von Prinz Charles lassen daran nun aber keinen Zweifel mehr.
Großbritannien ist als Land der sogenannten self-deprecation bekannt, also des humorvollen Herunterspielens der eigenen Bedeutung. Das heißt aber nicht, dass Orden nicht äußerst beliebt wären. Das gilt auch und besonders für Ausländer, die schon lange im Königreich leben – erst recht, wenn sie gerne einen britischen Pass hätten. Der saudische Geschäftsmann Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz etwa sparte nicht mit Bemühungen um einen Orden und steckte in den vergangenen Jahren Hunderttausende Pfund in die Renovierung königlicher Besitztümer und Wohltätigkeitsprojekte.
In Hofkreisen gilt es natürlich als üble Nachrede, dass Orden sich erkaufen lassen, aber nun veröffentlichten zwei Zeitungen eindeutige E-Mails aus den Jahren 2014 bis 2017. Darin ließen enge Berater von Mahfouz und von Prinz Charles keinen Zweifel daran, dass hier Geld gegen Orden getauscht wurden. Am Wochenende ließ sich die langjährige rechte Hand des Kronprinzen, Michael Fawcett, von seiner Funktion entbinden, bis eine interne Untersuchung abgeschlossen sei. Ein früherer Minister kündigte sogar an, Scotland Yard einzuschalten. » | Jochen Buchsteiner, London | Sonntag, 5. September 2021
The prince, his valet and a Saudi billionaire: meritocracy in action »
Journée de manifestations pro-Bolsonaro à haut risque au Brésil, un barrage policier forcé à Brasília
LE FIGARO : Le président a appelé ses partisans à se réunir ce mardi à Brasília et à Sao Paulo, où deux millions de personnes sont attendues. Les opposants descendront aussi dans la rue.
Des manifestations de soutien à Jair Bolsonaro sont prévues mardi à l'occasion d'une fête nationale à haut risque dans des centaines de villes du Brésil, mais aussi de l'opposition soucieuse de frustrer le président d'une démonstration de force.
La tournure que prendront les mobilisations est incertaine et a monopolisé le débat public au Brésil, avec notamment des alertes pour éviter un événement similaire à l'invasion du Capitole des États-Unis en janvier dernier par des partisans du président de l'époque, Donald Trump, un modèle pour Jair Bolsonaro. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | mardi 7 septembre 2021
Mort de Jean-Paul Belmondo : un hommage national sera rendu jeudi aux Invalides, annonce l'Élysée
LE FIGARO : L'acteur est décédé lundi à l'âge de 88 ans. Emmanuel Macron a fait part de ses condoléances «à sa famille et à ses proches, ainsi qu'à tous les Français qu'il a fait rire et qu'il a émus durant plus de 60 ans».
«En lui, nous nous retrouvions tous», a salué sur Twitter Emmanuel Macron en hommage à Jean-Paul Belmondo, décédé ce lundi à l'âge de 88 ans. «Il restera à jamais Le Magnifique. Jean-Paul Belmondo était un trésor national, tout en panache et en éclats de rire, le verbe haut et le corps leste, héros sublime et figure familière, infatigable casse-cou et magicien des mots», a-t-il écrit.
L'Élysée a annoncé mardi matin qu'un hommage national à l'acteur serait rendu jeudi 9 septembre aux Invalides. » | Par Le Figaro | Publié : lundi 6 septembre 2021 ; mis à jour : mardi 7 spetembre 2021
Liens pertinents vers d'autres articles ici.
Princess of Monaco Rushed to Hospital in South Africa
MONACO LIFE: Princess Charlene is in a “reassuring state” after being admitted to hospital in South Africa and later released, the Palace has confirmed.
Just days after saying goodbye to her husband Prince Albert and children Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella who were in South Africa for a brief visit, Princess Charlene was rushed to hospital on Wednesday night after collapsing.
Following widespread media reports of the late-night dash to the emergency room, the Prince’s Palace issued a statement Friday evening confirming the Princess’ health situation: » | Cassandra Tanti | Saturday, September 4, 2021
Tom Hardy, a Real Man, Enjoying a Really Good Smoke
A Wedding
One More ‘Precious’ Kiss…
Boris Johnson’s Biggest Lie about Europe Is Finally Coming Home to Roost
THE GUARDIAN: From plummeting trade to drastic shortages of workers, needlessly leaving the single market has been disastrous
‘The sensible path now would be for Boris Johnson to eat humble pie.’ Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images
It was the big Brexit lie. No, not the £350m a week to spend on the NHS or the “bonfire” of red tape. The lie was that the shambles now enveloping British trade with Europe was an unavoidable price worth paying to leave the EU. That was rubbish.
In order to further his chances of becoming Tory leader Boris Johnson made two commitments. One was to resign from the EU, the other was to depart Europe’s customs union and single market, aspects of which embrace other non-EU states such as Norway. The second decision was an almost casual gesture to make him look macho to the party’s hardline Brexiters. It was not put to referendum and was beyond stupid.
No news item today is free of the consequences. Earlier this year, the effects of leaving the single market could be seen in plummeting trade with the continent, even accounting for the pandemic. Additional red tape is awesome. HMRC estimates traders will be handling 215m more import/export documents a year, at an estimated bureaucratic cost of £7.5bn a year. Tariffs may not apply but rules of origin and health standards do. Every truck, every cargo requires inspection.
As for migration, the overall shortage of seasonal farm labour, according to BBC Radio 4’s Farming Today, is 20% and often more. Fruit will rot in fields, pigs cannot get to abattoirs and Christmas turkeys will be a “nightmare”. Meanwhile, care homes in England are short of 170,000 staff, and delivery firms short of 100,000 drivers. Hotels have abandoned rooms and restaurant tables. Creative industries – worth £110bn to the UK economy – were forgotten by the Brexit negotiators and are now virtually isolated from Europe. » | Simon Jenkins | Monday, September 6, 2021
Our decision to leave the European Union was as stupid as it is showing to be economically disastrous. The once great and respectable Conservative Party has been hijacked by fools – self-serving fools!
I was raised in a Conservative-voting household; indeed, the very word ‘socialism’ in my family was a dirty word! In fact, I myself have been a Conservative voter. I voted Conservative all my adult life – until Cameron came along! I took one look at him and smelled trouble (my instincts proved to be dead right!); so, I voted for Nick Clegg (LibDem) instead. But that was the very first time in my life that I deviated from the Conservative cause.
After the fiasco of Brexit, however, I shall never vote for the Conservatives again. The 1 percenters in the Conservative Party have manipulated the masses in order to fill their own pockets, fill their own banks accounts. But in so doing, they have taken people’s rights as European citizens away; and many of us resent that. I know I certainly do.
Much of it started with Trump. It was he who stoked the fires of anti-EU politics in this country. The man who neither knew nor understood anything about geopolitics. What Trump knew about geopolitics, or economics, you could write on the back of a cigarette packet!
Boris Johnson is a Trump clone. He is also a Trump-like clown. The only difference between Trump and BoJo is that Johnson has a posh accent and a better education, much of which, incidentally and ironically, was paid for by the EU! (His father worked for the EU for years.) Such hypocrisy!
Margaret Thatcher must be turning in her grave! Although she was against a federal Europe, which I most certainly am not, she was very pro-EU trade and bringing down all barriers to trade. Indeed, ‘Maggie’ was one of the Single Market’s principal architects: she worked tirelessly to bring it about. Now BoJo and his band of über-rich nation-destroyers have undone all her hard work. These people can indeed be thought of as nation-destroyers, because in all my adult life, I have never seen this country so divided. Even friendships and family ties have been destroyed by Brexit. And this is true right across the country. The cracks and fault-lines in British society have been laid bare. One now has cause to doubt whether they will ever heal. This Brexit nonsense could quite possibly lead to the break-up of the once so united, United Kingdom.
Boris Johnson’s posh accent doesn’t make him any less of a clown. The man is not fit to lead this nation and his administration is not fit for purpose. – © Mark
It was the big Brexit lie. No, not the £350m a week to spend on the NHS or the “bonfire” of red tape. The lie was that the shambles now enveloping British trade with Europe was an unavoidable price worth paying to leave the EU. That was rubbish.
In order to further his chances of becoming Tory leader Boris Johnson made two commitments. One was to resign from the EU, the other was to depart Europe’s customs union and single market, aspects of which embrace other non-EU states such as Norway. The second decision was an almost casual gesture to make him look macho to the party’s hardline Brexiters. It was not put to referendum and was beyond stupid.
No news item today is free of the consequences. Earlier this year, the effects of leaving the single market could be seen in plummeting trade with the continent, even accounting for the pandemic. Additional red tape is awesome. HMRC estimates traders will be handling 215m more import/export documents a year, at an estimated bureaucratic cost of £7.5bn a year. Tariffs may not apply but rules of origin and health standards do. Every truck, every cargo requires inspection.
As for migration, the overall shortage of seasonal farm labour, according to BBC Radio 4’s Farming Today, is 20% and often more. Fruit will rot in fields, pigs cannot get to abattoirs and Christmas turkeys will be a “nightmare”. Meanwhile, care homes in England are short of 170,000 staff, and delivery firms short of 100,000 drivers. Hotels have abandoned rooms and restaurant tables. Creative industries – worth £110bn to the UK economy – were forgotten by the Brexit negotiators and are now virtually isolated from Europe. » | Simon Jenkins | Monday, September 6, 2021
Our decision to leave the European Union was as stupid as it is showing to be economically disastrous. The once great and respectable Conservative Party has been hijacked by fools – self-serving fools!
I was raised in a Conservative-voting household; indeed, the very word ‘socialism’ in my family was a dirty word! In fact, I myself have been a Conservative voter. I voted Conservative all my adult life – until Cameron came along! I took one look at him and smelled trouble (my instincts proved to be dead right!); so, I voted for Nick Clegg (LibDem) instead. But that was the very first time in my life that I deviated from the Conservative cause.
After the fiasco of Brexit, however, I shall never vote for the Conservatives again. The 1 percenters in the Conservative Party have manipulated the masses in order to fill their own pockets, fill their own banks accounts. But in so doing, they have taken people’s rights as European citizens away; and many of us resent that. I know I certainly do.
Much of it started with Trump. It was he who stoked the fires of anti-EU politics in this country. The man who neither knew nor understood anything about geopolitics. What Trump knew about geopolitics, or economics, you could write on the back of a cigarette packet!
Boris Johnson is a Trump clone. He is also a Trump-like clown. The only difference between Trump and BoJo is that Johnson has a posh accent and a better education, much of which, incidentally and ironically, was paid for by the EU! (His father worked for the EU for years.) Such hypocrisy!
Margaret Thatcher must be turning in her grave! Although she was against a federal Europe, which I most certainly am not, she was very pro-EU trade and bringing down all barriers to trade. Indeed, ‘Maggie’ was one of the Single Market’s principal architects: she worked tirelessly to bring it about. Now BoJo and his band of über-rich nation-destroyers have undone all her hard work. These people can indeed be thought of as nation-destroyers, because in all my adult life, I have never seen this country so divided. Even friendships and family ties have been destroyed by Brexit. And this is true right across the country. The cracks and fault-lines in British society have been laid bare. One now has cause to doubt whether they will ever heal. This Brexit nonsense could quite possibly lead to the break-up of the once so united, United Kingdom.
Boris Johnson’s posh accent doesn’t make him any less of a clown. The man is not fit to lead this nation and his administration is not fit for purpose. – © Mark
Monday, September 06, 2021
Rachmaninov - Symphony No. 2 Op. 27 III. Adagio: Adagio (LSO)
Pourquoi la reine d’Angleterre parle un anglais bizarre ? – 28 Minutes – ARTE
Der Glanz der Fifties - Dokumentation von NZZ Format (2007)
May 1, 2015 • Brigitte Bardot, Grace Kelly, Sophia Loren, Audrey Hepburn, Kim Novak, Frank Sinatra, Pablo Picasso - die "Hauptdarsteller" des irischen Fotografen Edward Quinn (1920 – 1997) waren vor allem Stars und große Künstler.
Ort der Handlung war die Côte d’Azur der 50er und frühen 60er Jahre, deren Glanz und Grandezza Edward Quinn mit unvergleichlichem Blick auf über 100 000 Negativen verewigt hat. Quinn war Einzelgänger und entschiedener Anti-Paparazzo: hartnäckig zwar, aber immer korrekt; manchmal ironisch, doch nie verletzend. Weltstars schätzten ihn und seine Bilder genauso wie sein Freund Pablo Picasso, der ihm einzigartige Einblicke in seine Arbeitswelt und sein Privatleben gewährte.
Edward Quinns schwarz/weisse-Welt – so farbig und lebendig, als gäbe es kein THE END.
Ort der Handlung war die Côte d’Azur der 50er und frühen 60er Jahre, deren Glanz und Grandezza Edward Quinn mit unvergleichlichem Blick auf über 100 000 Negativen verewigt hat. Quinn war Einzelgänger und entschiedener Anti-Paparazzo: hartnäckig zwar, aber immer korrekt; manchmal ironisch, doch nie verletzend. Weltstars schätzten ihn und seine Bilder genauso wie sein Freund Pablo Picasso, der ihm einzigartige Einblicke in seine Arbeitswelt und sein Privatleben gewährte.
Edward Quinns schwarz/weisse-Welt – so farbig und lebendig, als gäbe es kein THE END.
Chicken Tagine Mchermel | طاجين الدجاج مشرمل | CookingWithAlia
INGREDIENTS:
1.5 kg chicken cut into pieces, or just thighs
For the marinade:
Saffron water: A large pinch of saffron + 1 cup of warm water. You can store up to 1 month in the fridge. We will use 1 teaspoon of saffron water.
The pulp of 1 large preserved lemon, or 2 small ones.
A handful of fresh cilantro and parsley.
2 large garlic cloves
2 teaspoons ground paprika
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
2 tablespoons of olive oil
For the tagine:
2 onions (grated)
2 tablespoon olive oil
Pinch of salt and ground turmeric
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
A handful of green olives
The skin of 1 preserved lemon, cut into quarters
METHOD:
Preparing the ingredients:
1. Prepare saffron water: Soak the saffron threads in some warm water for 10 minutes. This method boosts the saffron flavors and is economical as you can store this flavored water and use it when needed.
2. Quarter the preserved lemon. Separate the pulp from the skin. Finely chop the pulp and reserve the skin for later.
3. Finely chop the parsley and cilantro.
4. Grate the garlic cloves
Marinating the chicken:
5. Now we are ready to make the chermoula. In a large bowl combine: the chopped parsley and cilantro, chopped preserved lemon pulp, garlic, ground paprika, ginger, cumin, pepper, saffron water, and olive oil. Mix well.
6. Place the chicken in the chermoula marinade and massage into the flesh. I use only chicken tights, but you can use any other chicken parts.
7. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.
Setting the tagine:
8. Peel and grate the onions. Finely chop the leftover onion pieces.
9. Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of the tagine and cover with the onions.
10. Sprinkle a little bit of salt and turmeric over the onions.
11. Add the chicken over the onion bed, and cover with any leftover chermoula.
Cooking the tagine:
12. When cooking in a traditional tagine over the stove, use a heat diffuser to avoid burning and cracking the bottom of the tagine. It’s a must!
13. On low-medium heat, place the diffuser first, then the tagine on top of it. Cover and cook for around 15-20 minutes until the onions and chicken release their juices and the liquids start simmering.
14. Then, reduce the heat to low, cover the tagine, and cook until the chicken is tender. This can take 1 hour or more, depending on the chicken parts and quality of your tagine. Very important! Make sure that the heat is low.
15. Add the lemon juice and green olives to the sauce. 16. Top the chicken with the preserved lemon skins
17. Taste your sauce and add salt if necessary – we wait until the end to add salt, because the preserved lemons in the chermoula are already salty!
18- Do not cover the tagine, and continue cooking for another 15 minutes or so, until the liquids have evaporated and the sauce has thickened. Serve immediately with crusty bread.
Bon appétit !
Jean-Paul Belmondo, le Magnifique, est mort à 88 ans
LE FIGARO : DISPARITION - Héraut de la Nouvelle Vague puis héros aussi rigolard qu'invincible, l'acteur est décédé le lundi 6 septembre comme l'annonce son avocat.
L'enfant gâté du cinéma français s'est éteint. Acteur, producteur, directeur de théâtre, il avait interprété avec panache, au cinéma comme sur les planches, une foule de personnages au cours d'une carrière longue de plus de cinquante ans. De Pierrot le Fou à L'Homme de Rio ou L'As des as, il incarnait le cinéma français.
Comment devient-on le champion du box-office français pendant des années, attirant dans les salles quelque 130 millions de spectateurs ? En restant soi-même, en faisant de quelques films des classiques (À bout de souffle, Le Doulos, Le Magnifique, L'As des as, Le Cerveau, Peur sur la ville) et en tournant avec les plus grands réalisateurs, Godard, bien sûr, mais aussi Jean-Pierre Melville, Alain Resnais, Gérard Oury, Claude Chabrol, François Truffaut, Philippe de Broca, Louis Malle, Claude Sautet, Georges Lautner. » | Par Jean-Luc Wachthausen | lundi 6 septembre 2021
Réservé aux abonnés
À LIRE AUSSI :
Jean-Paul Belmondo, un acteur qui travaillait sans filet »
Belmondo : l'hymne à la joie de vivre »
Macron rend hommage à Belmondo : «Il restera à jamais Le Magnifique» : Le chef de l'État a considéré que l'acteur, décédé ce lundi, était un «trésor national». Il a fait part de ses condoléances «à sa famille et à ses proches, ainsi qu'à tous les Français qu'il a fait rire et qu'il a émus durant plus de 60 ans». »
AUF DEUTSCH:
Jean-Paul Belmondo hat die Nouvelle Vague geprägt – und dann das Actionkino. Nun ist der Draufgänger aus Passion mit 88 Jahren gestorben: In Filmen wie Jean-Luc Godards «À bout de souffle» (1959) wurde der französische Schauspieler zur Kultfigur. Seinen Ruhm verdankt er aber ebenso den Rollen als Haudegen der siebziger und achtziger Jahre. »
«Er war ein Mensch mit einem enormen Herzen» - Frankreich trauert um Schauspiellegende Belmondo: Das nationale Fernsehprogramm wird umgestellt, die Würdigungen und Erinnerungen reissen nicht ab. Frankreich trauert um einen seiner ganz grossen Schauspieler. Der Tod von Jean-Paul Belmondo bewegt selbst die Feuerwehr und die Fremdenlegion. »
BILDSTRECKE: Jean-Paul Belmondo stirbt im Alter von 88 Jahren - ein Blick zurück auf seine Filmkarriere »
IN ENGLISH:
Jean-Paul Belmondo, Magnetic Star of the French New Wave, Dies at 88: He was compared to Marlon Brando and James Dean for his acclaimed portrayals of tough, alienated characters, most memorably in Godard’s “Breathless.” »
À Kaboul, ces Afghanes qui défient les talibans
LE FIGARO : REPORTAGE - Les femmes se rassemblent en secret et manifestent face au nouveau pouvoir pour réclamer leurs droits.
Malgré la chaleur étouffante et la présence tout aussi oppressante de combattants talibans, un petit groupe de femmes aux tenues bariolées arpente une rue de Kaboul. Direction: le palais présidentiel, vidé depuis trois semaines de ses occupants et solennellement gardé par des membres du mouvement extrémiste qui s’est emparé du pays trois semaines plus tôt.
Munies de haut-parleurs et de pancartes sur lesquelles elles ont rédigé des slogans en persan et en anglais, elles interpellent leurs nouveaux dirigeants et la communauté internationale: «Éducation, travail, liberté!», «Nous voulons des droits humains», réclament-elles en chœur.
Lunettes de soleil sur le nez, voiles chatoyants posés sur l’arrière de la tête révélant des chevelures aux teintes blondes ou cuivrées, elles se passent un micro: «Les femmes ont des droits politiques, économiques et sociaux !» Résonnent ces quelques voix, sous l’œil curieux des passants, masculins pour la plupart, dont certains ont pris l’initiative de laisser pousser leur barbe afin de se prémunir contre d’éventuelles représailles. » | Par Margaux Benn, Envoyée spéciale à Kaboul | Publié : dimanche 5 septembre 2021 ; mis à jour : lundi 6 septembre 2021
Réservé aux abonnés
Taliban Claim Control over Panjshir Valley, but Resistance Vows to Fight On
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Militants posted images apparently taken in Bazarak, the capital of Panjshir Province in Afghanistan, where opposition forces have fought against their rule.
Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Taliban, during a news conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Monday. Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times
The Taliban claimed on Monday to have captured the Panjshir Valley, the last bastion of Afghanistan not firmly under their control, even as representatives of the opposition forces there maintained that they still had control over strategic positions in the region and vowed to fight on.
The conflicting accounts of what was happening on the ground in the area 70 miles north of Kabul, the country’s capital, were hard to verify because internet and telephone service into the region has been cut off.
If the Taliban has gained control over the rugged region and manages to keep it under its rule, it would be both a final strategic victory in its lightning-quick conquest of the country and a deeply resonant moment.
The Taliban never managed to control Panjshir the last time they ruled Afghanistan, from 1996 to 2001, and it was the launching point for the U.S.-led invasion after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and the Pentagon.
Soviet forces, during their occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s, made advances into the territory on at least nine occasions, only to be repelled each time, sometimes after suffering brutal casualties.
The Taliban have always been bitterly opposed to the fighters of the Panjshir and were complicit in the assassination of their storied commander Ahmad Shah Massoud 20 years ago.
While rumors of the Taliban’s having taken over in Panjshir swirled this past weekend, it was not until Monday morning that the group officially claimed control. » | By Sami Sahak, Wali Arian and Jim Huylebroek | Monday, September 6, 2021
Afghanistan : les talibans annoncent avoir pris le contrôle complet du Panchir : La résistance s'était organisée dans cette vallée depuis la prise du pouvoir par les talibans en Afghanistan à la mi-août. »
The Taliban claimed on Monday to have captured the Panjshir Valley, the last bastion of Afghanistan not firmly under their control, even as representatives of the opposition forces there maintained that they still had control over strategic positions in the region and vowed to fight on.
The conflicting accounts of what was happening on the ground in the area 70 miles north of Kabul, the country’s capital, were hard to verify because internet and telephone service into the region has been cut off.
If the Taliban has gained control over the rugged region and manages to keep it under its rule, it would be both a final strategic victory in its lightning-quick conquest of the country and a deeply resonant moment.
The Taliban never managed to control Panjshir the last time they ruled Afghanistan, from 1996 to 2001, and it was the launching point for the U.S.-led invasion after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and the Pentagon.
Soviet forces, during their occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s, made advances into the territory on at least nine occasions, only to be repelled each time, sometimes after suffering brutal casualties.
The Taliban have always been bitterly opposed to the fighters of the Panjshir and were complicit in the assassination of their storied commander Ahmad Shah Massoud 20 years ago.
While rumors of the Taliban’s having taken over in Panjshir swirled this past weekend, it was not until Monday morning that the group officially claimed control. » | By Sami Sahak, Wali Arian and Jim Huylebroek | Monday, September 6, 2021
Afghanistan : les talibans annoncent avoir pris le contrôle complet du Panchir : La résistance s'était organisée dans cette vallée depuis la prise du pouvoir par les talibans en Afghanistan à la mi-août. »
Brazil: Warning Bolsonaro May Be Planning Military Coup amid Rallies
THE GUARDIAN: Former world leaders and public figures say nationwide marches are modelled on US Capitol insurrection
Jair Bolsonaro warned on 21 August that the rallies were a ‘necessary counter-coup’ against Congress and the supreme court. Photograph: Adriano Machado/Reuters
THE GUARDIAN: Former world leaders and public figures say nationwide marches are modelled on US Capitol insurrection
The Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, and his allies could be preparing to mount a military coup in Brazil, according to an influential group of former presidents, prime ministers and leading public figures on the left.
An open letter claims rallies that Bolsonaro followers are staging on Tuesday represent a danger to democracy and amount to an insurrection modelled on Donald Trump supporters’ attack on the US Capitol on 6 January.
They assert the nationwide marches by Bolsonaro supporters against the supreme court and Congress, involving white supremacist groups, military police, and public officials at every level of government, are “stoking fears of a coup in the world’s third largest democracy”. » | Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor | Monday, September 6, 2021
THE GUARDIAN: Former world leaders and public figures say nationwide marches are modelled on US Capitol insurrection
The Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, and his allies could be preparing to mount a military coup in Brazil, according to an influential group of former presidents, prime ministers and leading public figures on the left.
An open letter claims rallies that Bolsonaro followers are staging on Tuesday represent a danger to democracy and amount to an insurrection modelled on Donald Trump supporters’ attack on the US Capitol on 6 January.
They assert the nationwide marches by Bolsonaro supporters against the supreme court and Congress, involving white supremacist groups, military police, and public officials at every level of government, are “stoking fears of a coup in the world’s third largest democracy”. » | Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor | Monday, September 6, 2021
Islamism Remains First-order Security Threat to West, Says Tony Blair
THE GUARDIAN: In speech marking 20 years since 9/11 attacks, former British PM warns that non-state actors may turn to bio-terrorism
The west still faces the threat of 9/11-style attacks by radical Islamist groups but this time using bio-terrorism, Tony Blair has warned.
Blair also challenged the US president, Joe Biden, by urging democratic governments not to lose confidence in using military force to defend and export their values.
In a speech to the defence thinktank Rusi marking the 20th anniversary of the 11 September 2001 al-Qaida terrorist attacks on the US, Blair, who was British prime minister at the time , and supported military interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan, insisted the terrorist threat remained a first order issue.
He suggested “the pressure of short-term political imperatives is giving both allies and opponents of liberal open societies the belief that ‘our time is over’”.
He said he found it deeply depressing to hear western opinion claim “that we are foolish in believing that western notions of liberal democracy and freedom are exportable or will ever take root except in the somewhat decadent terrain of western society.”
He insisted that “despite the decline in terrorist attacks, Islamism, both the ideology and the violence, is a first-order security threat; and, unchecked, it will come to us, even if centred far from us, as 9/11 demonstrated. Covid-19 has taught us about deadly pathogens. Bio-terror possibilities may seem like the realm of science fiction; but we would be wise now to prepare for their potential use by non-state actors.” Read all the article and watch the video » | Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor | Monday, September 6, 2021
Photo : A screenshot taken from the accompanying video.
A Kiss from Brokeback Mountain.
La Hongrie : Orbán et l'État de droit | ARTE
Sep 5, 2021 • Le Premier ministre hongrois Viktor Orban a annoncé le 3 mars que son parti quittait le groupe du Parti populaire européen (PPE) au Parlement européen, en réaction à un vote des eurodéputés sur une réforme des statuts ouvrant la voie à une exclusion. Une décision qui met un point d'orgue à une crise qui oppose la Hongrie de l'ultra-conservateur Viktor Orbán à l'Union européenne sur la question de l’État de droit. Ce documentaire revient sur cette série d'événements.
Depuis l’été 2020, la bataille fait rage au Parlement européen : alors que le futur plan de relance post-Covid, fruit d’âpres négociations entre les États membres, prévoit de conditionner l’attribution des aides européennes au respect des règles démocratiques, la Hongrie de Viktor Orbán a opposé un veto ferme à ce projet. Soutenu par le gouvernement polonais, le dirigeant ultraconservateur a précipité une crise politique de plusieurs mois, mettant en exergue les tensions à l’œuvre dans une Union qui achoppe sur la question des valeurs fondamentales et de l’État de droit. Face à l’obstruction d’Orbán, l’Allemagne, à la tête du Conseil de l’UE jusqu’à la fin de l’année 2020, s’est résolue à négocier un compromis, permettant la levée du veto polono-hongrois. L’Union cède-t-elle aux autocrates ? Michael Wech se lance dans un road-movie à travers l’Europe pour décrypter cette crise inédite.Erratum : Gergely Karácsony a été élu maire de Budapest en octobre 2019 et non en décembre de cette année comme il est dit dans le film.
Documentaire de Michael Wech (Allemagne, 2020, 1h29mn)
Disponible jusqu'au 22/09/2021
Depuis l’été 2020, la bataille fait rage au Parlement européen : alors que le futur plan de relance post-Covid, fruit d’âpres négociations entre les États membres, prévoit de conditionner l’attribution des aides européennes au respect des règles démocratiques, la Hongrie de Viktor Orbán a opposé un veto ferme à ce projet. Soutenu par le gouvernement polonais, le dirigeant ultraconservateur a précipité une crise politique de plusieurs mois, mettant en exergue les tensions à l’œuvre dans une Union qui achoppe sur la question des valeurs fondamentales et de l’État de droit. Face à l’obstruction d’Orbán, l’Allemagne, à la tête du Conseil de l’UE jusqu’à la fin de l’année 2020, s’est résolue à négocier un compromis, permettant la levée du veto polono-hongrois. L’Union cède-t-elle aux autocrates ? Michael Wech se lance dans un road-movie à travers l’Europe pour décrypter cette crise inédite.Erratum : Gergely Karácsony a été élu maire de Budapest en octobre 2019 et non en décembre de cette année comme il est dit dans le film.
Documentaire de Michael Wech (Allemagne, 2020, 1h29mn)
Disponible jusqu'au 22/09/2021
Sunday, September 05, 2021
Afghanistan : les talibans gagnent du terrain dans la vallée du Panchir, dernier foyer de résistance
LE FIGARO : Les nouveaux maîtres de l'Afghanistan auraient pénétré 25 km à l'intérieur de la vallée, longue de 115 kilomètres, contrôlée par les troupes d'Ahmad Massoud et de l'ancien vice-président Amrullah Saleh.
Les talibans ont affirmé dimanche avoir gagné du terrain dans la vallée du Panchir, dernier gros foyer de résistance armée aux nouveaux maîtres de l'Afghanistan. Depuis le 30 août et le départ des dernières troupes américaines du pays, les forces du mouvement islamiste ont lancé une série d'offensives contre cette vallée enclavée et difficile d'accès, située à 80 km au nord de Kaboul. Un responsable taliban a affirmé sur Twitter que plusieurs parties de la région étaient désormais sous contrôle des forces du régime. Côté résistance, Ali Maisam Nazary, porte-parole du FNR, a assuré sur Facebook que la résistance «n'échouerait jamais». » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | dimanche 5 septembre 2021
À LIRE AUSSI : Face aux talibans, le «lionceau» du Panchir »
L‘affiche : La naissance de la publicité moderne | ARTE
Sep 5, 2021 • Au début du XXe siècle, trois graphistes germanophones, les Allemands Lucian Bernhard et Ludwig Hohlwein, ainsi que l’Autrichien Julius Klinger ont révolutionné le monde de la publicité.
L'art de la publicité, dont l'essor récent est intimement lié à celui de l’industrialisation, a connu un tournant majeur à Berlin, Munich et Vienne, au début du XXe siècle. Trois graphistes, les Allemands Lucian Bernhard et Ludwig Hohlwein, ainsi que l’Autrichien Julius Klinger décident alors de mettre leur talent au service des industriels de l’automobile, du tabac ou de la mode. Simplifiées à l’extrême, leurs Sachplakaten (affiches-objet) ne ressemblent plus en rien aux publicités de style Art nouveau : désormais, les biens de consommation et leur marque sont placés au centre des affiches publicitaires. Une révolution.
Documentaire d'Adolfo Conti (Allemagne, 2017, 52mn)
Disponible jusqu'au 03/12/2021
With the US Becoming a Less Reliable Ally, Britain Needs to Make Friends in Europe
THE GUARDIAN: Britain urgently needs to repair its relations with its neighbours but Boris Johnson’s government is singularly ill-equipped to do so
Boris Johnson with Joe Biden at the G7 summit in June. ‘The display of beach bonhomie looks all the more phoney after the US president’s brutal refusal to consult Britain over Afghanistan.’ Photograph: Leon Neal/PA
After the rout, the recriminations. British fingers furiously jab at the Americans for a shaming scuttle from Kabul that will embolden the west’s adversaries. Sir John Major yesterday called the withdrawal of western forces a “strategically very stupid” decision. Tony Blair, the prime minister who sent British forces into Afghanistan 20 years ago, goes so far as to call the precipitous exit “imbecilic”. Number 10 has been forced to deny that Boris Johnson refers to the US president as “Sleepy Joe”, the insult minted by Donald Trump. Supporters of Joe Biden counter-accuse the British and other European countries of expecting the US to continue to expend its blood and treasure in Afghanistan when most Nato members had wound down their commitments long ago.
In Whitehall, an ugly three-way blame game rages between the Foreign Office, the Ministry of Defence and the Home Office about why the government didn’t anticipate the swiftness of the fall of Kabul or make timely preparations to help vulnerable people to whom Britain owes obligations. We’d be in a better place if they’d devoted as much energy to planning for the evacuation as they are expending on excoriating each other. There will be more finger pointing when the Commons returns tomorrow. Yet it is not buck-passing between politicians desperate to save their careers that this country needs if anything useful is to be learned from this debacle. What is required is a cool reassessment of where this leaves Britain in a perilous and unpredictable world.
This humiliating episode has shattered assumptions that have been central to elite thinking about foreign policy. That was very evident when the Policy Exchange thinktank convened a panel of speakers who were notable for their credentials and their anxieties about the future. Sir Mark Sedwill, the former cabinet secretary who also served as national security adviser, was certain that the return of Taliban rule would have an “inspirational” effect on jihadists that will fuel terrorism worldwide. Tom Tugendhat, the Conservative MP who served in Afghanistan and chairs the foreign affairs select committee, worried that we have moved closer to a hot conflict between America and China because Beijing will read the west’s defeat as an encouragement to flex its muscles more aggressively. I was also struck by a contribution from George Robertson, who was defence secretary during New Labour’s first term and Nato general secretary at the time of 9/11. He has always been staunchly in the Labour Atlanticist tradition established by Clement Attlee and Ernest Bevin after the Second World War. It was arresting to hear such a vigorous champion of the alliance with America as Lord Robertson suggest that Britain and other Europeans would have to do more for themselves “to keep our people safe” because “we cannot any longer rely on the American umbrella being there in all situations at all times”. » | Andrew Rawnsley | Sunday, September 5, 2021
This is what I wrote on the matter yesterday. Read my thoughts here. We are being led by clowns and fools! – Mark
After the rout, the recriminations. British fingers furiously jab at the Americans for a shaming scuttle from Kabul that will embolden the west’s adversaries. Sir John Major yesterday called the withdrawal of western forces a “strategically very stupid” decision. Tony Blair, the prime minister who sent British forces into Afghanistan 20 years ago, goes so far as to call the precipitous exit “imbecilic”. Number 10 has been forced to deny that Boris Johnson refers to the US president as “Sleepy Joe”, the insult minted by Donald Trump. Supporters of Joe Biden counter-accuse the British and other European countries of expecting the US to continue to expend its blood and treasure in Afghanistan when most Nato members had wound down their commitments long ago.
In Whitehall, an ugly three-way blame game rages between the Foreign Office, the Ministry of Defence and the Home Office about why the government didn’t anticipate the swiftness of the fall of Kabul or make timely preparations to help vulnerable people to whom Britain owes obligations. We’d be in a better place if they’d devoted as much energy to planning for the evacuation as they are expending on excoriating each other. There will be more finger pointing when the Commons returns tomorrow. Yet it is not buck-passing between politicians desperate to save their careers that this country needs if anything useful is to be learned from this debacle. What is required is a cool reassessment of where this leaves Britain in a perilous and unpredictable world.
This humiliating episode has shattered assumptions that have been central to elite thinking about foreign policy. That was very evident when the Policy Exchange thinktank convened a panel of speakers who were notable for their credentials and their anxieties about the future. Sir Mark Sedwill, the former cabinet secretary who also served as national security adviser, was certain that the return of Taliban rule would have an “inspirational” effect on jihadists that will fuel terrorism worldwide. Tom Tugendhat, the Conservative MP who served in Afghanistan and chairs the foreign affairs select committee, worried that we have moved closer to a hot conflict between America and China because Beijing will read the west’s defeat as an encouragement to flex its muscles more aggressively. I was also struck by a contribution from George Robertson, who was defence secretary during New Labour’s first term and Nato general secretary at the time of 9/11. He has always been staunchly in the Labour Atlanticist tradition established by Clement Attlee and Ernest Bevin after the Second World War. It was arresting to hear such a vigorous champion of the alliance with America as Lord Robertson suggest that Britain and other Europeans would have to do more for themselves “to keep our people safe” because “we cannot any longer rely on the American umbrella being there in all situations at all times”. » | Andrew Rawnsley | Sunday, September 5, 2021
This is what I wrote on the matter yesterday. Read my thoughts here. We are being led by clowns and fools! – Mark
Crypto’s Rapid Move into Banking Elicits Alarm in Washington
THE NEW YORK TIMES: The boom in companies offering cryptocurrency loans and high-yield deposit accounts is disrupting the banking industry and leaving regulators scrambling to catch up.
BlockFi, a fast-growing financial start-up whose headquarters in Jersey City are across the Hudson River from Wall Street, aspires to be the JPMorgan Chase of cryptocurrency.
It offers credit cards, loans and interest-generating accounts. But rather than dealing primarily in dollars, BlockFi operates in the rapidly expanding world of digital currencies, one of a new generation of institutions effectively creating an alternative banking system on the frontiers of technology.
“We are just at the beginning of this story,” said Flori Marquez, 30, a founder of BlockFi, which was created in 2017 and claims to have more than $10 billion in assets, 850 employees and more than 450,000 retail clients who can obtain loans in minutes, without credit checks.
But to state and federal regulators and some members of Congress, the entry of crypto into banking is cause for alarm. The technology is disrupting the world of financial services so quickly and unpredictably that regulators are far behind, potentially leaving consumers and financial markets vulnerable.
In recent months, top officials from the Federal Reserve and other banking regulators have urgently begun what they are calling a “crypto sprint” to try to catch up with the rapid changes and figure out how to curb the potential dangers from an emerging industry whose short history has been marked as much by high-stakes speculation as by technological advances. » | By Eric Lipton and Ephrat Livni | Sunday, September 5, 2021
Artwork for The New York Times by Dalbert B. Vilarino.
It offers credit cards, loans and interest-generating accounts. But rather than dealing primarily in dollars, BlockFi operates in the rapidly expanding world of digital currencies, one of a new generation of institutions effectively creating an alternative banking system on the frontiers of technology.
“We are just at the beginning of this story,” said Flori Marquez, 30, a founder of BlockFi, which was created in 2017 and claims to have more than $10 billion in assets, 850 employees and more than 450,000 retail clients who can obtain loans in minutes, without credit checks.
But to state and federal regulators and some members of Congress, the entry of crypto into banking is cause for alarm. The technology is disrupting the world of financial services so quickly and unpredictably that regulators are far behind, potentially leaving consumers and financial markets vulnerable.
In recent months, top officials from the Federal Reserve and other banking regulators have urgently begun what they are calling a “crypto sprint” to try to catch up with the rapid changes and figure out how to curb the potential dangers from an emerging industry whose short history has been marked as much by high-stakes speculation as by technological advances. » | By Eric Lipton and Ephrat Livni | Sunday, September 5, 2021
Artwork for The New York Times by Dalbert B. Vilarino.
Fears of Violence on Brazil’s Streets as Millions Rally to Back Bolsonaro
THE OBSERVER: His rural voters see the embattled president as a ‘messenger from God’. And this week they will march in the cities to support him
Supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro take part in the ‘march of the Christian family for freedom’, in Brasilia, Brazil, on 15 May. Photograph: Joédson Alves/EPA
Jair Bolsonaro supporters aren’t hard to find in Sinop, an agricultural boomtown in the Brazilian Amazon where nearly 80% of voters backed the country’s ultra-conservative leader in the 2018 election.
“He’s a president of the people,” said Marcos Watanabe, the head of the city’s conservative association, sporting a T-shirt stamped with Bolsonaro’s name.
Few, however, are as passionate as the president of Sinop’s farmers’ union, Ilson José Redivo, who has placed a billboard of his leader outside its headquarters with the slogan: “We believe in God and we value the family. We’re with Bolsonaro.”
“He’s trying to change Brazil,” said the 64-year-old corn and soya bean farmer who hosted the rightwing populist in Sinop last year at an event attended by members of the region’s powerful agribusiness elite.
Redivo is one of millions of Bolsonaro devotees expected to hit the streets on 7 September for one in a series of mass rallies that have jolted Brazilian politics and left many citizens fretting over the future of their country’s young democracy.
“It will be the largest demonstration Brazil has ever seen,” Redivo claimed on Friday as he prepared to make the 780-mile journey to Brazil’s capital, Brasília, where one of the largest mobilisations will be held. » | Tom Phillips in Sinop | Sunday, September 5, 2021
Jair Bolsonaro supporters aren’t hard to find in Sinop, an agricultural boomtown in the Brazilian Amazon where nearly 80% of voters backed the country’s ultra-conservative leader in the 2018 election.
“He’s a president of the people,” said Marcos Watanabe, the head of the city’s conservative association, sporting a T-shirt stamped with Bolsonaro’s name.
Few, however, are as passionate as the president of Sinop’s farmers’ union, Ilson José Redivo, who has placed a billboard of his leader outside its headquarters with the slogan: “We believe in God and we value the family. We’re with Bolsonaro.”
“He’s trying to change Brazil,” said the 64-year-old corn and soya bean farmer who hosted the rightwing populist in Sinop last year at an event attended by members of the region’s powerful agribusiness elite.
Redivo is one of millions of Bolsonaro devotees expected to hit the streets on 7 September for one in a series of mass rallies that have jolted Brazilian politics and left many citizens fretting over the future of their country’s young democracy.
“It will be the largest demonstration Brazil has ever seen,” Redivo claimed on Friday as he prepared to make the 780-mile journey to Brazil’s capital, Brasília, where one of the largest mobilisations will be held. » | Tom Phillips in Sinop | Sunday, September 5, 2021
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