Thursday, December 23, 2021
Putin Accuses West of ‘Coming with Its Missiles to Our Doorstep’
THE GUARDIAN: Russian president again voices anger at Nato expansion and says he would be prepared to intervene in Ukraine
‘They keep telling us: war, war, war’: Vladimir Putin during the press conference on Thursday.Photograph: Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP/Getty Images
Vladimir Putin has accused the west of “coming with its missiles to our doorstep” as he reiterated demands for no further Nato expansion in Europe.
The Russian president did little to reduce tensions over Ukraine as he spoke at a televised press conference, saying he would be prepared to launch an intervention if he felt Ukraine or its western allies were preparing an attack on Russia’s proxies in the country.
“They keep telling us: war, war, war,” Putin said on Thursday. “There is an impression that, maybe, they are preparing for the third military operation [in Ukraine] and give us a fair warning: do not intervene, do not protect these people but if you do intervene and protect them, there will be new sanctions. Perhaps, we should prepare for that.” » | Andrew Roth in Moscow | Thursday, December 23, 2021
Vladimir Putin has accused the west of “coming with its missiles to our doorstep” as he reiterated demands for no further Nato expansion in Europe.
The Russian president did little to reduce tensions over Ukraine as he spoke at a televised press conference, saying he would be prepared to launch an intervention if he felt Ukraine or its western allies were preparing an attack on Russia’s proxies in the country.
“They keep telling us: war, war, war,” Putin said on Thursday. “There is an impression that, maybe, they are preparing for the third military operation [in Ukraine] and give us a fair warning: do not intervene, do not protect these people but if you do intervene and protect them, there will be new sanctions. Perhaps, we should prepare for that.” » | Andrew Roth in Moscow | Thursday, December 23, 2021
At a Paris Market, Costs Rise, Even for the Humble Baguette
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Soaring inflation in Europe is starting to squeeze shopkeepers and consumers. Many are preparing for more price increases in the new year.
Florian Bocciarelli, right, a third-generation butcher in Paris. Meat prices are up 10 percent since the summer. | Andrea Mantovani for The New York Times
PARIS — At the Marché d’Aligre, a bustling open-air food and antiques market in the Bastille district of central Paris, Mohamed Sharif grabbed a piece of chalk and reluctantly marked up the price of the fragrant Valencia clementines that he sells to throngs of shoppers.
Transport costs for produce imported to France had more than doubled since autumn amid a surge in gasoline prices, he said, one of several factors that have driven up wholesale costs for oranges from Spain, lychee from south China and passion fruit from Vietnam — and the prices he must charge at his fruit stand.
“Customers don’t understand why they are having to pay more for what they buy,” Mr. Sharif said, pricing a pound of clementines on a recent weekend at 1.90 euros (about $2.15), up from 80 cents ($0.90) a week earlier. “People are buying less because costs are going up.”
Meat prices at a nearby butcher are up 10 percent since the summer. Some French cheeses are expected to rise 20 percent in the new year. Even the traditional baguette, a staple of the French diet, will get more expensive, bakers say. » | Liz Alderman | Published: Wednesday, December 22, 2021 ; Updated: Thursday, December 23, 2021
PARIS — At the Marché d’Aligre, a bustling open-air food and antiques market in the Bastille district of central Paris, Mohamed Sharif grabbed a piece of chalk and reluctantly marked up the price of the fragrant Valencia clementines that he sells to throngs of shoppers.
Transport costs for produce imported to France had more than doubled since autumn amid a surge in gasoline prices, he said, one of several factors that have driven up wholesale costs for oranges from Spain, lychee from south China and passion fruit from Vietnam — and the prices he must charge at his fruit stand.
“Customers don’t understand why they are having to pay more for what they buy,” Mr. Sharif said, pricing a pound of clementines on a recent weekend at 1.90 euros (about $2.15), up from 80 cents ($0.90) a week earlier. “People are buying less because costs are going up.”
Meat prices at a nearby butcher are up 10 percent since the summer. Some French cheeses are expected to rise 20 percent in the new year. Even the traditional baguette, a staple of the French diet, will get more expensive, bakers say. » | Liz Alderman | Published: Wednesday, December 22, 2021 ; Updated: Thursday, December 23, 2021
L'Arabie saoudite déjoue une attaque visant un aéroport
LE FIGARO : La coalition militaire dirigée par l'Arabie saoudite au Yémen a annoncé jeudi 23 décembre la destruction d'un drone piégé lancé en direction d'un aéroport du sud du royaume, sans faire de victime, les rebelles Houthis ayant multiplié les attaques ces derniers mois.
Ryad intervient au Yémen depuis 2015 pour appuyer les forces gouvernementales en guerre depuis sept ans contre les rebelles. Ces derniers, proches de l'Iran, lancent régulièrement des attaques depuis le Yémen vers le territoire saoudien. «Un drone piégé qui a tenté de viser l'aéroport international d'Abha a été détruit», a annoncé la coalition dans un communiqué cité par l'agence de presse officielle SPA. L'interception de l'engin n'a fait «aucune victime», avec seulement des éclats d'obus éparpillés aux alentours de l'aéroport. Un responsable de l'aéroport a assuré à l'AFP qu'«aucun vol n'a été annulé». » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | jeudi 23 décembre 2021
Ryad intervient au Yémen depuis 2015 pour appuyer les forces gouvernementales en guerre depuis sept ans contre les rebelles. Ces derniers, proches de l'Iran, lancent régulièrement des attaques depuis le Yémen vers le territoire saoudien. «Un drone piégé qui a tenté de viser l'aéroport international d'Abha a été détruit», a annoncé la coalition dans un communiqué cité par l'agence de presse officielle SPA. L'interception de l'engin n'a fait «aucune victime», avec seulement des éclats d'obus éparpillés aux alentours de l'aéroport. Un responsable de l'aéroport a assuré à l'AFP qu'«aucun vol n'a été annulé». » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | jeudi 23 décembre 2021
Stevie Wonder : Knocks Me Off My Feet
Wednesday, December 22, 2021
Ägypten: Ikone der Demokratiebewegung zu langjähriger Haft verurteilt
NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG: Im September verkündete Präsident Abdelfatah al-Sisi einen Fünfjahresplan zur Verbesserung der Menschenrechte in Ägypten. Dennoch geht das Regime weiterhin hemmungslos gegen Kritiker vor.
Der prominente ägyptische Aktivist Alaa Abdelfatah hat die letzten zehn Jahre mehr im Gefängnis als in Freiheit verbracht. | Khaled Desouki / AFP
Kürzlich schien es, als würden die Ermahnungen westlicher Regierungen an den ägyptischen Autokraten Abdelfatah al-Sisi Wirkung zeigen. Nach 22 Monaten Untersuchungshaft liess das Regime Anfang Dezember den Studenten und Menschenrechtler Patrick George Zaki frei.
Der Kopte hatte an der Universität Bologna studiert, um einen Masterabschluss in Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung zu erlangen. Zudem setzte er sich in Ägypten für Geschlechtergleichheit und Menschenrechte ein. Als er Anfang Februar 2020 für Ferien nach Kairo flog, wurde er festgenommen. Die Klage wurde zwar nicht fallengelassen, aber immerhin schien Zakis Freilassung ein Lichtblick. Das erste Ziel sei erreicht, twitterte der italienische Aussenminister Luigi Di Maio. | Erbarmungslos gegen Demokraten » | Inga Rogg, Jerusalem | Dienstag, 21. Dezember 2021
Kürzlich schien es, als würden die Ermahnungen westlicher Regierungen an den ägyptischen Autokraten Abdelfatah al-Sisi Wirkung zeigen. Nach 22 Monaten Untersuchungshaft liess das Regime Anfang Dezember den Studenten und Menschenrechtler Patrick George Zaki frei.
Der Kopte hatte an der Universität Bologna studiert, um einen Masterabschluss in Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung zu erlangen. Zudem setzte er sich in Ägypten für Geschlechtergleichheit und Menschenrechte ein. Als er Anfang Februar 2020 für Ferien nach Kairo flog, wurde er festgenommen. Die Klage wurde zwar nicht fallengelassen, aber immerhin schien Zakis Freilassung ein Lichtblick. Das erste Ziel sei erreicht, twitterte der italienische Aussenminister Luigi Di Maio. | Erbarmungslos gegen Demokraten » | Inga Rogg, Jerusalem | Dienstag, 21. Dezember 2021
The Guardian View on Liz Truss and Brexit: New Chapter, Same Story
THE GUARDIAN – EDITORIAL: Even with a will to be pragmatic, the foreign secretary will encounter high obstacles to a better relationship with Europe
‘Liz Truss will not want Brexit to consume all of her political bandwidth.’ Photograph: Reuters
Since her appointment as foreign secretary in September, Liz Truss has said little about the European Union. Her speeches exalt the UK as the broker of a global “network of liberty”, listing alliances with scarcely any reference to the club of democracies on Britain’s continental doorstep. That omission partly reflects the ideological temper of the Conservative party, to which Ms Truss is highly sensitised. It also expressed divisions of labour in the cabinet when David Frost was in charge of post-Brexit negotiations with Brussels. But since Lord Frost’s resignation, the European portfolio has returned to the Foreign Office. Silence on the subject is no longer an option for the secretary of state.
Her first intervention has been to restate Britain’s readiness to trigger article 16 of the withdrawal agreement, suspending its operation, if grievances regarding the Northern Ireland protocol are not satisfied. The terms demanded by Lord Frost for a renegotiation still stand.
The pugnacious tone disappointed those who had hoped that a change in personnel indicated a new willingness to compromise. That prospect is not entirely lost. Ms Truss had to signal continuity in the negotiating position. Anything else would have caused a commotion on the Tory benches and destabilised an already wobbly government. That does not rule out a pragmatic shift in the coming months. The foreign secretary will not want Brexit to consume all of her political bandwidth, and the most efficient way to avoid that is to take her finger off the article 16 trigger. » | Editorial | Wednesday, December 22, 2021
EU und Grossbritannien einigen sich auf Fischfangmengen »
Since her appointment as foreign secretary in September, Liz Truss has said little about the European Union. Her speeches exalt the UK as the broker of a global “network of liberty”, listing alliances with scarcely any reference to the club of democracies on Britain’s continental doorstep. That omission partly reflects the ideological temper of the Conservative party, to which Ms Truss is highly sensitised. It also expressed divisions of labour in the cabinet when David Frost was in charge of post-Brexit negotiations with Brussels. But since Lord Frost’s resignation, the European portfolio has returned to the Foreign Office. Silence on the subject is no longer an option for the secretary of state.
Her first intervention has been to restate Britain’s readiness to trigger article 16 of the withdrawal agreement, suspending its operation, if grievances regarding the Northern Ireland protocol are not satisfied. The terms demanded by Lord Frost for a renegotiation still stand.
The pugnacious tone disappointed those who had hoped that a change in personnel indicated a new willingness to compromise. That prospect is not entirely lost. Ms Truss had to signal continuity in the negotiating position. Anything else would have caused a commotion on the Tory benches and destabilised an already wobbly government. That does not rule out a pragmatic shift in the coming months. The foreign secretary will not want Brexit to consume all of her political bandwidth, and the most efficient way to avoid that is to take her finger off the article 16 trigger. » | Editorial | Wednesday, December 22, 2021
EU und Grossbritannien einigen sich auf Fischfangmengen »
Stark, süß und liebevoll!
EU-Kommission eröffnet Verfahren gegen Polen
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Weil das polnische Verfassungsgericht nationales Recht über EU-Recht stellt, leitet die EU-Kommission ein Vertragsverletzungsverfahren gegen Polen ein. Dieses könnte zu abermaligen finanziellen Sanktionen führen.
Wegen umstrittener Urteile des polnischen Verfassungsgerichts zum Status von EU-Recht geht die EU-Kommission rechtlich gegen das Land vor. Die Brüsseler Behörde leitete am Mittwoch ein Vertragsverletzungsverfahren ein, das mit einer weiteren Klage vor dem Europäischen Gerichtshof (EuGH) und schließlich mit finanziellen Sanktionen gegen Warschau enden könnte.
Nach Ansicht der EU-Kommission verstoßen die Urteile des Verfassungsgerichts unter anderem gegen den Vorrang und das Prinzip der einheitlichen Anwendung des EU-Rechts sowie gegen die bindende Wirkung von EuGH-Urteilen. Zudem äußerte die Brüsseler Behörde erhebliche Zweifel an der Unabhängigkeit und Unparteilichkeit des Verfassungsgerichts. » | Quelle: DPA_Basis | Mittwoch, 22. Dezember 2021
Männer werden immer weiblicher | Männlichkeit im Gespräch | Sternstunde Philosophie | SRF Kultur
Arrests, Beatings and Secret Prayers: Inside the Persecution of India’s Christians
THE NEW YORK TIMES: “They want to remove us from society,” a Christian farmer said of Hindu extremists. Rising attacks on Christians are part of a broader shift in India, in which minorities feel less safe.
INDORE, India — The Christians were mid-hymn when the mob kicked in the door.
A swarm of men dressed in saffron poured inside. They jumped onstage and shouted Hindu supremacist slogans. They punched pastors in the head. They threw women to the ground, sending terrified children scuttling under their chairs.
“They kept beating us, pulling out hair,” said Manish David, one of the pastors who was assaulted. “They yelled: ‘What are you doing here? What songs are you singing? What are you trying to do?’”
The attack unfolded on the morning of Jan. 26 at the Satprakashan Sanchar Kendra Christian center in the city of Indore. The police soon arrived, but the officers did not touch the aggressors. Instead, they arrested and jailed the pastors and other church elders, who were still dizzy from getting punched in the head. The Christians were charged with breaking a newly enforced law that targets religious conversions, one that mirrors at least a dozen other measures across the country that have prompted a surge in mob violence against Indian Christians.
Pastor David was not converting anyone, he said. But the organized assault against his church was propelled by a growing anti-Christian hysteria that is spreading across this vast nation, home to one of Asia’s oldest and largest Christian communities, with more than 30 million adherents. » | Jeffrey Gettleman and Suhasini Raj | Photographs by Atul Loke | Undated
Antisemitismus? Wo denn?
TACHLES: Neue antisemitische Skandale jenseits des Kanals.
Grossbritannien ist - leider – ein Hort antisemitischer Vorfälle, wie eine breite Öffentlichkeit spätestens mit dem Aufstieg des antisemitischen Politikers Jeremy Corbyn zum Vorsitzenden der altehrwürdigen Labour-Partei erfahren konnte. Auch die zum Teil antisemitische BDS-Bewegung hat an den Campi britischer Universitäten mehr Erfolg als in so manch anderen Staaten. Nun gibt es neue antisemitische Vorfälle, in ganz unterschiedlichen Bereichen, die zeigen, wie tief sich der Judenhass auch in der Gegenwart in die britische Kultur hineingefressen hat. … » | Redaktion | Dienstag, 21. Dezember 2021
Grossbritannien ist - leider – ein Hort antisemitischer Vorfälle, wie eine breite Öffentlichkeit spätestens mit dem Aufstieg des antisemitischen Politikers Jeremy Corbyn zum Vorsitzenden der altehrwürdigen Labour-Partei erfahren konnte. Auch die zum Teil antisemitische BDS-Bewegung hat an den Campi britischer Universitäten mehr Erfolg als in so manch anderen Staaten. Nun gibt es neue antisemitische Vorfälle, in ganz unterschiedlichen Bereichen, die zeigen, wie tief sich der Judenhass auch in der Gegenwart in die britische Kultur hineingefressen hat. … » | Redaktion | Dienstag, 21. Dezember 2021
Héritage nazi : une artiste juive veut retirer ses œuvres du Kunsthaus de Zürich
LE FIGARO : La Suisse Miriam Cahn, dont la renommée est mondiale, a adressé une lettre ouverte à l'hebdomadaire Tachles dans laquelle elle revient sur les soupçons qui pèsent sur les origines de la collection Bürhle.
Miriam Cahn, une artiste suisse de confession juive veut retirer ses œuvres du Kunsthaus de Zürich, qui accueille la collection Bührle, ternie par le soupçon d'avoir été en partie constituée d'œuvres acquises à la faveur de la persécution des Juifs par les nazis.
« Je ne veux plus être représentée dans “ce” Kunsthaus de Zürich », déclare Miriam Cahn, une artiste de renommée mondiale dans une lettre adressée à l'hebdomadaire juif Tachles, paru mercredi 22 décembre. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | mercredi 22 décembre 2021
Miriam Cahn zieht ihre Bilder vom Kunsthaus Zürich ab: Die international renommierte Schweizer Künstlerin reagiert auf die Causa-Bührle. »
'The Big Quit' as Millions Leave Jobs in US - BBC News
Tuesday, December 21, 2021
Miles and Jim | Giving Ourselves the Permission to Thrive
Recently, I stumbled upon this great series on gays in the Mormon Church. I have already posted a few of these episodes here on this blog for you. I have posted them not because I have any connection to the Mormon Church; I don’t. But the quality of these discussions is excellent and commendable. These are also quality people: sincere, good-living people who simply have come to terms with same-sex attraction.
Further, there is much to be learnt from these discussions, there is much that crosses religious divides. I find that the people that are interviewed are very fascinating and very much to be respected. They are sincere people who have had great difficulty coming to terms with their sexuality. I therefore hope that you enjoy these discussions every bit as as much as I do. Please remember that this blog is open to people of all faiths and none. Hopefully, you will enjoy this discussion as much as I have. – © Mark
A Birthday Kiss.
Heston's Christmas Classics : Roasted Gammon with Maple-mustard Glaze | Waitrose & Partners
Get the recipe here.
Gabriel Boric Win in Chile Is “Huge Victory” for Social Movements That Fought Off Far-Right Threat
The Guardian view on Chile’s new president: Boric brings a fresh start: The leftist triumphed over his far-right rival with promises of a fairer deal for ordinary people. Can he achieve it? »
Barrister Who Sued after Colleague Asked Him to Stop Farting Loses Case
THE GUARDIAN: Lawyer said flatulence was caused by heart medication and argued the request violated his dignity
A senior barrister who sued the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) after a colleague asked him to stop breaking wind in the room they worked in together has lost his case.
Tarique Mohammed sued for harassment and told an employment tribunal that his repetitive flatulence was caused by medication he was on for a heart condition.
He said the comment from his colleague Paul McGorry was “embarrassing” and violated his dignity – but the panel found it was a reasonable request to have asked him to stop.
The prosecutor, who suffered a heart attack in 2014, also alleged he was discriminated against because of his disabilities and made a number of further allegations against his co-workers and bosses.
He claimed they threw away his water bottles, asked him to work one day a week 60 miles away and failed to pay for his barrister’s practising certificate while he was on sick leave. » | Tom Ambrose | Tuesday, December 21, 2021
A senior barrister who sued the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) after a colleague asked him to stop breaking wind in the room they worked in together has lost his case.
Tarique Mohammed sued for harassment and told an employment tribunal that his repetitive flatulence was caused by medication he was on for a heart condition.
He said the comment from his colleague Paul McGorry was “embarrassing” and violated his dignity – but the panel found it was a reasonable request to have asked him to stop.
The prosecutor, who suffered a heart attack in 2014, also alleged he was discriminated against because of his disabilities and made a number of further allegations against his co-workers and bosses.
He claimed they threw away his water bottles, asked him to work one day a week 60 miles away and failed to pay for his barrister’s practising certificate while he was on sick leave. » | Tom Ambrose | Tuesday, December 21, 2021
‘A Fire-eater Who’s Run Out of Fuel’: European Press Lays Into Boris Johnson
THE GUARDIAN: Continental media are in no mood to donner un break to the British PM, sensing the ‘beginning of the end’
El País said it was clear that Johnson’s ‘electoral magic has run out’. Photograph: Tolga Akmen/AP
For El País in Spain, his “magic has vanished”. For Libération in France he is “the only actor in the Boris Johnson show – which is, increasingly, a flop”. In Germany, Der Spiegel asked how long Britain could last being governed “almost exclusively by defiant optimism”.
As the scandals mount, the approval ratings plunge, the electoral defeats accumulate, the rebellions multiply, his trusted Brexit lieutenant jumps ship and the Omicron variant runs rampant, continental media seem – to coin a phrase – in no mood to donner un break to Britain’s beleaguered prime minister.
“Johnson says he accepts responsibility,” wrote Libération. “But for what? The spectacular defeat of his party in North Shropshire, which he himself triggered by supporting the local MP, accused of corruption? The multiple parties under his roof when the country was in lockdown?”
Does he also accept responsibility for “the total absence, for months, of any social distancing measures or masks” in the face of a rampaging virus that has killed nearly 150,000 people, the paper asked. And for “the ailing economy; the plunging foreign investments; Brexit, which still has not delivered the slightest positive result?” » | Jon Henley in Paris | Tuesday, December 21, 2021
For El País in Spain, his “magic has vanished”. For Libération in France he is “the only actor in the Boris Johnson show – which is, increasingly, a flop”. In Germany, Der Spiegel asked how long Britain could last being governed “almost exclusively by defiant optimism”.
As the scandals mount, the approval ratings plunge, the electoral defeats accumulate, the rebellions multiply, his trusted Brexit lieutenant jumps ship and the Omicron variant runs rampant, continental media seem – to coin a phrase – in no mood to donner un break to Britain’s beleaguered prime minister.
“Johnson says he accepts responsibility,” wrote Libération. “But for what? The spectacular defeat of his party in North Shropshire, which he himself triggered by supporting the local MP, accused of corruption? The multiple parties under his roof when the country was in lockdown?”
Does he also accept responsibility for “the total absence, for months, of any social distancing measures or masks” in the face of a rampaging virus that has killed nearly 150,000 people, the paper asked. And for “the ailing economy; the plunging foreign investments; Brexit, which still has not delivered the slightest positive result?” » | Jon Henley in Paris | Tuesday, December 21, 2021
Ruler of Dubai Ordered to Pay Divorce Settlement That Could Exceed £500m
THE GUARDIAN: Payment to protect Princess Haya and children from threat sheikh poses to them is highest awarded by a UK court
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum and Princess Haya attending Derby Day at Epsom Downs Racecourse in 2016. Photograph: David M Benett/Getty Images
The ruler of Dubai has been ordered to pay his ex-wife Princess Haya and their two children a divorce settlement which could reach over half a billion pounds – the highest ever awarded by a UK court – to protect them from the threat he poses to them.
In a written judgment, Mr Justice Moor said that “uniquely” the “main threat” to Haya and the children came from Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, who is also prime minister of the United Arab Emirate, a close Gulf ally of Britain.
Haya fled to Britain in April 2019 with her two children. Since then, in a series of hearings concerned with custody, access and financial support, which have so far cost over £70m in legal fees, high court judges have found on the balance of probabilities that: » | Haroon Siddique, Legal affairs correspondent | Tuesday, December 21, 2021
Dubai ruler’s divorce settlement reveals ‘truly opulent’ standard of living: Couple spent £2m on strawberries in a summer and children had annual £10m allowances »
The ruler of Dubai has been ordered to pay his ex-wife Princess Haya and their two children a divorce settlement which could reach over half a billion pounds – the highest ever awarded by a UK court – to protect them from the threat he poses to them.
In a written judgment, Mr Justice Moor said that “uniquely” the “main threat” to Haya and the children came from Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, who is also prime minister of the United Arab Emirate, a close Gulf ally of Britain.
Haya fled to Britain in April 2019 with her two children. Since then, in a series of hearings concerned with custody, access and financial support, which have so far cost over £70m in legal fees, high court judges have found on the balance of probabilities that: » | Haroon Siddique, Legal affairs correspondent | Tuesday, December 21, 2021
Dubai ruler’s divorce settlement reveals ‘truly opulent’ standard of living: Couple spent £2m on strawberries in a summer and children had annual £10m allowances »
Monday, December 20, 2021
The Guardian View on the Police Bill: A Fight for the Right to Protest
THE GUARDIAN – EDITORIAL: Labour and the Lords must take a stand against the draconian crackdown on demonstrators proposed by ministers
Insulate Britain activists protest in London last month. Photograph: Belinda Jiao/Sopa Images/Rex/Shutterstock
An already illiberal police and crime bill threatens to become even more so, if 18 pages of amendments added to it by the government in the House of Lords last month are accepted. A new criminal offence of obstructing major transport works, the expansion of stop and search powers and a new power for police to ban named people from demonstrations are clearly intended to strangle off what ministers are worried could be a new line in disruptive climate protests, after two months of roadblocks organised by the direct-action group Insulate Britain – and a decision by the supreme court earlier this year reaffirming the right of protesters to cause disruption.
Emboldened by the angry response to Insulate Britain from some members of the public, and criticism from paramedics about delays to ambulances, the home secretary, Priti Patel, and her colleagues have calculated that they can risk bypassing the scrutiny by MPs that is an essential part of our parliamentary process. In January, the Lords will have the opportunity to prove them wrong by rejecting these tacked-on, kneejerk measures.
The police, crime, sentencing and courts bill was bad enough before, as was vividly illustrated by criticism of it from David Blunkett and Theresa May – neither of whom remotely resembles the stereotype of the out-of-touch-with-public-opinion, human-rights-obsessed liberal that some on the right love to hate. The bill, wrote Lord Blunkett earlier this year, would make Britain “more like Putin’s Russia”. More than 600,000 people signed a petition objecting to it. » | Editorial | Sunday, December 19, 2021
An already illiberal police and crime bill threatens to become even more so, if 18 pages of amendments added to it by the government in the House of Lords last month are accepted. A new criminal offence of obstructing major transport works, the expansion of stop and search powers and a new power for police to ban named people from demonstrations are clearly intended to strangle off what ministers are worried could be a new line in disruptive climate protests, after two months of roadblocks organised by the direct-action group Insulate Britain – and a decision by the supreme court earlier this year reaffirming the right of protesters to cause disruption.
Emboldened by the angry response to Insulate Britain from some members of the public, and criticism from paramedics about delays to ambulances, the home secretary, Priti Patel, and her colleagues have calculated that they can risk bypassing the scrutiny by MPs that is an essential part of our parliamentary process. In January, the Lords will have the opportunity to prove them wrong by rejecting these tacked-on, kneejerk measures.
The police, crime, sentencing and courts bill was bad enough before, as was vividly illustrated by criticism of it from David Blunkett and Theresa May – neither of whom remotely resembles the stereotype of the out-of-touch-with-public-opinion, human-rights-obsessed liberal that some on the right love to hate. The bill, wrote Lord Blunkett earlier this year, would make Britain “more like Putin’s Russia”. More than 600,000 people signed a petition objecting to it. » | Editorial | Sunday, December 19, 2021
Seong-Jin Cho – Chopin: Impromptu No. 1 in A Flat Major, Op. 29
«L’Occident devient une civilisation de la démission»
LE FIGARO : TRIBUNE - Renoncer - à sa charge, à son travail - est très bien vu, désormais. C’est un véritable bouleversement de nos valeurs, que pourtant nous remarquons à peine, analyse finement l’écrivain Xavier Patier.
Sauve qui peut! Le suicide, le retrait, la démission: la fin violente ou soudaine des aventures humaines est en train de devenir une norme en Occident. La lente promotion de l’euthanasie, l’essor des lynchages médiatiques ou judiciaires, la déconstruction constante de la «valeur travail» après les lois Aubry, et enfin le culte du «lâcher prise», ressassé dans nos magazines deviennent chaque jour davantage un marqueur de la nouvelle civilisation en train de naître sous nos yeux.
La même semaine, deux chanceliers autrichiens, Schallenberg et Kurtz, l’archevêque de Paris et un ministre clé du gouvernement libanais ont annoncé leur démission, toujours immédiatement acceptée. Peu de jours après, Guy Forget, héros de notre tennis national, à son tour a jeté l’éponge: il quitte brusquement la direction de Roland-Garros au motif que son nom figure dans une affaire qui n’a pourtant donné lieu jusqu’ici à aucune poursuite pénale. » | Par Xavier Patier | Publié : dimanche 19 décembre 2021 ; mis à jour : lundi 20 décembre 2021
Réservé aux abonnés
Sauve qui peut! Le suicide, le retrait, la démission: la fin violente ou soudaine des aventures humaines est en train de devenir une norme en Occident. La lente promotion de l’euthanasie, l’essor des lynchages médiatiques ou judiciaires, la déconstruction constante de la «valeur travail» après les lois Aubry, et enfin le culte du «lâcher prise», ressassé dans nos magazines deviennent chaque jour davantage un marqueur de la nouvelle civilisation en train de naître sous nos yeux.
La même semaine, deux chanceliers autrichiens, Schallenberg et Kurtz, l’archevêque de Paris et un ministre clé du gouvernement libanais ont annoncé leur démission, toujours immédiatement acceptée. Peu de jours après, Guy Forget, héros de notre tennis national, à son tour a jeté l’éponge: il quitte brusquement la direction de Roland-Garros au motif que son nom figure dans une affaire qui n’a pourtant donné lieu jusqu’ici à aucune poursuite pénale. » | Par Xavier Patier | Publié : dimanche 19 décembre 2021 ; mis à jour : lundi 20 décembre 2021
Réservé aux abonnés
Brigitte Macron va engager des poursuites après les rumeurs transphobes à son propos
LE FIGARO : La Première dame, ciblée sur Twitter par des rumeurs absurdes, l'accusant d'être un homme du nom de Jean-Michel Trogneux, va porter plainte.
Les fausses informations transphobes circulant à propos de Brigitte Macron ne sont pas prises à la légère par la Première dame. Contacté, son entourage confirme en effet au Figaro que Brigitte Macron compte engager des poursuites et qu'une plainte sera déposée contre les instigateurs de cette rumeur sur son identité.
Pendant plusieurs jours, le mot-dièse #JeanMichelTrogneux s'est en effet retrouvé parmi les sujets les plus discutés en France sur Twitter. Cette fausse information, à la fois mensongère et transphobe, a été largement relayée par une myriade d'utilisateurs du réseau social versés dans les théories du complot. » | Par Jean Cittone | lundi 20 décembre 2021
Brigitte Macron is set to take legal action over an internet conspiracy theory that she is a transgender woman and was born male. »
Bernie Jessop | From Mormon to Polygamist: How A Gay Man Found His Path
Attacking Stonewall for Defending Trans Rights Is a Slippery Slope
THE GUARDIAN: The gender wars are being fuelled by a Tory government – don’t let infighting destroy the LGBTQ+ community’s greatest champion
A Pride message at Piccadilly Circus, central London, on 27 June to commemorate the Stonewall uprising of 1969. Photograph: Hollie Adams/Getty Images
The UK’s national LGBTQ+ charity, Stonewall, has recently been accused of advocating for trans rights. Six years ago, there was another “Stonewall question”, but the issue wasn’t whether the organisation should be advocating for trans rights, but instead why it wasn’t.
For those of us who remember these fights, it’s discombobulating to witness a reframing of Stonewall as a sinister organisation that sneaked trans rights on to its agenda when nobody was looking. The very opposite was the case: it was hard won. Many petitions were circulated, letters written and debates had. The inclusion of trans men, trans women and all transgender people eventually followed in 2015.
Stonewall public campaigns, training, policy, work with employers and sports organisations, for example, included trans and transgender people. They could seek advice if they faced discrimination at work, in housing or health provision. For many people, this was an obvious broadening out of the title, to reflect the solidarity and diversity that already had long existed in LGBTQ+ communities, clubs, organisations and social groups. » | Finn Mackay | Monday, December 20, 2021
The UK’s national LGBTQ+ charity, Stonewall, has recently been accused of advocating for trans rights. Six years ago, there was another “Stonewall question”, but the issue wasn’t whether the organisation should be advocating for trans rights, but instead why it wasn’t.
For those of us who remember these fights, it’s discombobulating to witness a reframing of Stonewall as a sinister organisation that sneaked trans rights on to its agenda when nobody was looking. The very opposite was the case: it was hard won. Many petitions were circulated, letters written and debates had. The inclusion of trans men, trans women and all transgender people eventually followed in 2015.
Stonewall public campaigns, training, policy, work with employers and sports organisations, for example, included trans and transgender people. They could seek advice if they faced discrimination at work, in housing or health provision. For many people, this was an obvious broadening out of the title, to reflect the solidarity and diversity that already had long existed in LGBTQ+ communities, clubs, organisations and social groups. » | Finn Mackay | Monday, December 20, 2021
‘Peeing Is Very Easy’: Japanese Billionaire Returns to Earth after Documenting Life on ISS
THE GUARDIAN: Yusaku Maezawa spent 12 days at the space station, marking Russia’s return to space tourism after a decade-long pause
Yusaku Maezawa emerges from the Soyuz capsule in Kazakhstan with the help of a Russian space agency team after touching down from the space tourism trip. Photograph: AP
A Japanese billionaire has returned to Earth after 12 days spent on the International Space Station, where he made videos about performing mundane tasks in space including brushing his teeth and going to the toilet.
Online fashion tycoon Yusaku Maezawa and his assistant Yozo Hirano parachuted on to Kazakhstan’s steppe at around the expected landing time of 03.13 GMT on Monday, along with Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin, Russia’s space agency said.
“The flight of the ‘tourist’ spacecraft Soyuz MS-20 has been completed,” Roscosmos said in a statement on its website. » | Agence France-Presse | Monday, December 20, 2021
A Japanese billionaire has returned to Earth after 12 days spent on the International Space Station, where he made videos about performing mundane tasks in space including brushing his teeth and going to the toilet.
Online fashion tycoon Yusaku Maezawa and his assistant Yozo Hirano parachuted on to Kazakhstan’s steppe at around the expected landing time of 03.13 GMT on Monday, along with Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin, Russia’s space agency said.
“The flight of the ‘tourist’ spacecraft Soyuz MS-20 has been completed,” Roscosmos said in a statement on its website. » | Agence France-Presse | Monday, December 20, 2021
‘We Need Free Speech’: Protests Erupt across Poland over Controversial Media Bill
THE GUARDIAN: The bill, yet to be signed into law, would tighten rules around foreign ownership of media
Protesters march in Krakow on Sunday to demand Poland’s head of state veto a law they say would limit media freedoms in the country. Photograph: Alex Bona/Sopa Images/Rex/Shutterstock
Poles have staged nationwide protests including a thousands-strong rally outside the presidential palace to demand the head of state veto a law they say would limit media freedoms in the European Union’s largest eastern member.
Unexpectedly rushed through parliament on Friday, the legislation would tighten rules around foreign ownership of media, specifically affecting the ability of news channel TVN24, owned by US media company Discovery Inc, to operate.
The bill, yet to be signed into law by president Andrzej Duda, has soured ties between Nato-member state Poland and the United States at a time of heightened tension in eastern Europe amid what some countries see as increased Russian assertiveness.
It has also fuelled wider fears about attacks on media freedoms that have been running high since state-run oil company PKN Orlen said last year it was taking over a German-owned publisher of regional newspapers.
“This is not just about one channel,” the Warsaw mayor and a former opposition candidate for president, Rafal Trzaskowski, told the crowd on Sunday. “In a moment [there will be] censorship of the internet, an attempt to extinguish all independent sources of information – but we will not allow that to happen.” » | Guardian staff and agencies | Monday, March 20, 2021
Poles have staged nationwide protests including a thousands-strong rally outside the presidential palace to demand the head of state veto a law they say would limit media freedoms in the European Union’s largest eastern member.
Unexpectedly rushed through parliament on Friday, the legislation would tighten rules around foreign ownership of media, specifically affecting the ability of news channel TVN24, owned by US media company Discovery Inc, to operate.
The bill, yet to be signed into law by president Andrzej Duda, has soured ties between Nato-member state Poland and the United States at a time of heightened tension in eastern Europe amid what some countries see as increased Russian assertiveness.
It has also fuelled wider fears about attacks on media freedoms that have been running high since state-run oil company PKN Orlen said last year it was taking over a German-owned publisher of regional newspapers.
“This is not just about one channel,” the Warsaw mayor and a former opposition candidate for president, Rafal Trzaskowski, told the crowd on Sunday. “In a moment [there will be] censorship of the internet, an attempt to extinguish all independent sources of information – but we will not allow that to happen.” » | Guardian staff and agencies | Monday, March 20, 2021
The Case for a Universal Basic Income | Free Lunch on Film
City Firms Set to Revive EU Relocation Plans in 2022, Brexit Report Predicts
THE GUARDIAN: Tracker from EY finds 44% of big UK financial services players are moving staff to bloc or considering it
London’s financial sector faces pressure from EU regulators to stay in UK or commit fully to Europe. Photograph: Tim Grist Photography/Getty Images
City firms are likely to revive plans to shift staff to the EU once Covid-related travel restrictions ease next year, a financial sector report has said, as the number contemplating such moves continues to rise.
Of the 222 largest UK financial services firms monitored by accountancy firm EY since the 2016 referendum, 97 of them (44%) have confirmed they are relocating staff or operations to the continent, or are considering it – up from 41% in January 2020.
While announcements regarding Brexit-related relocations have slowed in recent years, EY suggested further moves had probably been delayed, rather than reversed, over the past year because of Covid lockdowns and concessions on home working. » | Kalyeena Makortoff, Banking correspondent | Monday, December 20, 2021
Brexit was a dumb idea from the very beginning. Nobody with even an elementary understanding of economics would have ever voted in favour of Brexit. How could anyone expect that leaving the world’s largest single market, the Single Market, would ever lead to prosperity? Fact is, Brexit is a disaster for Britain’s economic future and prosperity. Nothing good will ever come out of Brexit; moreover, it will impoverish the nation. Dumb is as dumb does! – © Mark
City firms are likely to revive plans to shift staff to the EU once Covid-related travel restrictions ease next year, a financial sector report has said, as the number contemplating such moves continues to rise.
Of the 222 largest UK financial services firms monitored by accountancy firm EY since the 2016 referendum, 97 of them (44%) have confirmed they are relocating staff or operations to the continent, or are considering it – up from 41% in January 2020.
While announcements regarding Brexit-related relocations have slowed in recent years, EY suggested further moves had probably been delayed, rather than reversed, over the past year because of Covid lockdowns and concessions on home working. » | Kalyeena Makortoff, Banking correspondent | Monday, December 20, 2021
Brexit was a dumb idea from the very beginning. Nobody with even an elementary understanding of economics would have ever voted in favour of Brexit. How could anyone expect that leaving the world’s largest single market, the Single Market, would ever lead to prosperity? Fact is, Brexit is a disaster for Britain’s economic future and prosperity. Nothing good will ever come out of Brexit; moreover, it will impoverish the nation. Dumb is as dumb does! – © Mark
Leftist to Become Chile’s Youngest Ever President after Beating Far-right Rival
THE GUARDIAN: Former student leader Gabriel Boric claims 55.8% of votes counted to defeat far-right opponent José Antonio Kast
Supporters of Chilean president-elect Gabriel Boric celebrate in Santiago following the official results of the runoff presidential election on 19 December. Photograph: Claudio Reyes/AFP/Getty Images
A eftist former student leader has stormed to a resounding victory to become Chile’s president-elect.
With nearly 97% of the vote already counted, Gabriel Boric claimed 55.8% to take a 12 percentage point lead over his far-right opponent, José Antonio Kast, an ultra-conservative father of nine, who quickly accepted his defeat and called Boric to congratulate him.
“I would like to thank the millions of Chileans who believed in us,” said Kast on stage outside his campaign headquarters. “Gabriel Boric can count on us,” he concluded.
Boric was due to address expectant crowds on Sunday night, with the air split by the sound of car horns and the jubilant chants of his supporters who have thronged the street corners, plazas and wide boulevards of downtown Santiago. » | John Bartlett in Santiago | Sunday, December 19, 2021
A eftist former student leader has stormed to a resounding victory to become Chile’s president-elect.
With nearly 97% of the vote already counted, Gabriel Boric claimed 55.8% to take a 12 percentage point lead over his far-right opponent, José Antonio Kast, an ultra-conservative father of nine, who quickly accepted his defeat and called Boric to congratulate him.
“I would like to thank the millions of Chileans who believed in us,” said Kast on stage outside his campaign headquarters. “Gabriel Boric can count on us,” he concluded.
Boric was due to address expectant crowds on Sunday night, with the air split by the sound of car horns and the jubilant chants of his supporters who have thronged the street corners, plazas and wide boulevards of downtown Santiago. » | John Bartlett in Santiago | Sunday, December 19, 2021
Sunday, December 19, 2021
Two Beautiful Men; One Beautiful Kiss!
France Urges Johnson to Use Frost’s Exit to Rebuild Trust with EU
THE GUARDIAN: Minister for the EU Clément Beaune admits to difficult relationship with ex-Brexit minister and calls for reset
The French minister for EU affairs, Clemént Beaune, says resignation of David Frost is chance for UK to improve relations with the EU. Photograph: John Thys/AFP/Getty Images
The French government has called on Boris Johnson to use David Frost’s resignation as Brexit minister to “rebuild trust” with the EU amid uncertainty over the prime minister’s approach in the new year.
Clément Beaune, France’s EU affairs minister, who had a series of run-ins with the prime minister’s pugnacious minister, suggested that Downing Street should use the moment to reset the troubled relationship.
He said: “We had difficult relations but we always continued the dialogue. I send my best with respect to David Frost after his resignation. It is time for the British government to rebuild a climate of trust with France and the EU in the interest of all.”
While Frost has proved to be a tough negotiating partner over the last two and a half years, his formal resignation on Sunday set off alarm bells in Brussels and EU capitals. » | Daniel Boffey in Brussels and isa O'Carroll in London | Sunday, December 19, 2021
The French government has called on Boris Johnson to use David Frost’s resignation as Brexit minister to “rebuild trust” with the EU amid uncertainty over the prime minister’s approach in the new year.
Clément Beaune, France’s EU affairs minister, who had a series of run-ins with the prime minister’s pugnacious minister, suggested that Downing Street should use the moment to reset the troubled relationship.
He said: “We had difficult relations but we always continued the dialogue. I send my best with respect to David Frost after his resignation. It is time for the British government to rebuild a climate of trust with France and the EU in the interest of all.”
While Frost has proved to be a tough negotiating partner over the last two and a half years, his formal resignation on Sunday set off alarm bells in Brussels and EU capitals. » | Daniel Boffey in Brussels and isa O'Carroll in London | Sunday, December 19, 2021
Margaret Thatcher - Speech to the College of Europe | "The Bruges Speech"
The Bruges speech, 20 September 1988
It is very interesting to listen to Margaret Thatcher's remarkable Bruges speech. Maggie was so often thought of as anti-EU. But was she really?
It is true that she was an anti-federalist. But she was certainly NOT anti co-operation in Europe. We hear this in this very polished speech. She worked so hard to free up trade in the European Union, working so hard for the creation of the Single Market.
One can but wonder what she would have thought about the idiocy of Brexit and especially of Britain's withdrawal from the Single Market, the greatest single market in the world.
The current Conservative administration has destroyed Maggie's hard work and legacy. They should be ashamed of themselves! I realise that Margaret Thatcher wasn't everyone's cup of tea; however, it cannot be denied that she was hard-working, committed, sincere in her beliefs, and delivered her speeches with polish and class. That is far more than can be said of Conservative politicians today. – © Mark
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