Friday, July 29, 2022

Democracy Now! Top US News & World Headline – July 29, 2022

Macrons herzlicher Händedruck

Der französische Präsident Emmanuel Macron und der saudische Kronprinz Muhamad Bin Salman am Donnerstag in Paris | Bild: Getty

SAUDISCHER KRONPRINZ IN PARIS

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Der saudische Kronprinz Muhammad Bin Salman war in Europa lange geächtet. Er soll die Ermordung des Journalisten Khashoggi gebilligt haben. Emmanuel Macron empfing ihn jetzt ungewöhnlich herzlich in Paris.

Mit einem langen Händedruck vor den Kameras im Innenhof des Elysée-Palastes hat Emmanuel Macron dem saudischen Kronprinzen Muhammad Bin Salman am Donnerstagabend einen ungewöhnlich herzlichen Empfang bereitet. „Wir beglückwünschen uns zum verstärkten Austausch zwischen dem Königreich Saudi-Arabien und Frankreich“, heißt es im Abschlusskommuniqué, das am Freitag veröffentlicht wurde.

Bei ihrer Begegnung in Dschidda Mitte Juli hatten der amerikanische Präsident Joe Biden und Bin Salman nur kurz die Fäuste zur Begrüßung aneinandergestoßen. Biden gab sich sichtlich Mühe, distanziert aufzutreten, während Macron in Paris lange Minuten für die Kameras mit Bin Salman posierte und sich ein zweites Mal für die Fotografen mit dem Gast aus Saudi-Arabien an der gläsernen Eingangstür zum Elysée-Palast aufstellte. Der Kronprinz wurde vom Präsidenten zu einem Abendessen unter vier Augen empfangen, wie das Präsidialamt mitteilte. Zeitgleich fand ein Abendessen der wichtigsten Minister mit ihren saudischen Counterparts statt. » | Von Michaela Wiegel in Paris | Freitag, 29. Juli 2022

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The Rouble Is Soaring and Putin Is Stronger Than Ever - Our Sanctions Have Backfired

THE GUARDIAN: Energy prices are rocketing, inflation is soaring and millions are being starved of grain. Surely Johnson knew this would happen?

Western sanctions against Russia are the most ill-conceived and counterproductive policy in recent international history. Military aid to Ukraine is justified, but the economic war is ineffective against the regime in Moscow, and devastating for its unintended targets. World energy prices are rocketing, inflation is soaring, supply chains are chaotic and millions are being starved of gas, grain and fertiliser. Yet Vladimir Putin’s barbarity only escalates – as does his hold over his own people.

To criticize western sanctions is close to anathema. Defence analysts are dumb on the subject. Strategy thinktanks are silent. Britain’s putative leaders, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, compete in belligerent rhetoric, promising ever tougher sanctions without a word of purpose. Yet, hint at scepticism on the subject and you will be excoriated as “pro-Putin” and anti-Ukraine. Sanctions are the war cry of the west’s crusade.

The reality of sanctions on Russia is that they invite retaliation. Putin is free to freeze Europe this winter. He has slashed supply from major pipelines such as Nord Stream 1 by up to 80%. World oil prices have surged and eastern Europe’s flow of wheat and other foodstuffs to Africa and Asia has been all but suspended.

Britain’s domestic gas bills face tripling inside a year. The chief beneficiary is none other than Russia, whose energy exports to Asia have soared, driving its balance of payments into unprecedented surplus. The rouble is one of the world’s strongest currencies this year, having strengthened since January by nearly 50%. Moscow’s overseas assets have been frozen and its oligarchs have relocated their yachts, but there is no sign that Putin cares. He has no electorate to worry him. » | Simon Jenkins | Friday, January 29, 2022

Daniil Trifonov : Barcarolle in F sharp major, Op. 60 [Chopin Competition 2010]

The XVI International Chopin Piano Competition: Second Stage

Ina Garten Makes Perfect Roast Chicken | Food Network

The Barefoot Contessa shares her recipe for perfect roast chicken with vegetables.


Ingredients:

1 (5 - 6 lb) roasting chicken
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large bunch fresh thyme, plus 20 sprigs
1 lemon, halved
1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted
1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced
4 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks
1 bulb of fennel, tops removed, and cut into wedgesr
Olive oil

Directions / Method:

Preheat the oven to 425F [220C].

Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken.

Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken.

Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss wiih salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.

Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.

Copyright 1999, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, All Rights Reserved

Lionel Richie : Say You, Say Me

Jul 31, 2018 Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group | Views on YouTube: 20,204,975

Intime, zärtliche Momente

Intimate, tender moments / Moments intimes et tendres

Fürs schöne, ausdrucksvolle Bild bedanke ich mich bei Szymonss auf Pinterest.

Taiwan Prepares for Possible Chinese Invasion (1997)

Jul 29, 2022 The Last Domino (1997): Following the handover of Hong Kong, China has turned its eyes towards the democratic island of Taiwan. It's enough to send a shiver of fear down the spines of all Taiwanese. They know they could be next and military exercises send a clear signal they are prepared to fight.

Xi Jinping a averti Joe Biden de ne « pas jouer avec le feu » à propos de Taïwan

LE MONDE : L’entretien de deux heures entre les deux dirigeants est leur cinquième sommet virtuel depuis l’élection de M. Biden, en novembre 2020. Il a été, selon l’agence Chine nouvelle, « sincère et approfondi ».

Le président américain, Joe Biden, discute avec le président chinois, Xi Jinping, lors d’un précédent sommet virtuel, à la Maison Blanche, à Washington, en novembre 2021. JONATHAN ERNST / REUTERS

Le président américain, Joe Biden, et son homologue chinois, Xi Jinping, ont discuté, jeudi 28 juillet, par téléphone pendant plus de deux heures, et abordé notamment les tensions croissantes entre leurs deux pays au sujet de Taïwan et de leurs différends commerciaux.

Un média d’Etat chinois a rapporté un entretien « sincère et approfondi », au cours duquel le président chinois a averti son homologue américain de ne « pas jouer avec le feu » à propos de Taïwan. « Ceux qui jouent avec le feu finissent par se brûler, a dit M. Xi à M. Biden, cité par l’agence Chine nouvelle. J’espère que la partie américaine comprend parfaitement cela. »

A ce sujet, M. Biden a, de son côté, affirmé que la position américaine n’avait « pas changé », selon la Maison Blanche. Le président américain a ajouté que « les Etats-Unis s’oppos[aient] fermement aux efforts unilatéraux pour modifier le statut ou menacer la paix et la stabilité dans le détroit de Taïwan », a fait savoir l’exécutif américain dans un communiqué. » | Le Monde avec AFP | jeudi 18 juillet 2022

US Supreme Court Justice Mocks Prince Harry and Boris Johnson’s Criticism of Roe v Wade Ruling

THE GUARDIAN: Samuel Alito, who authored the argument overturning the landmark case, dismisses complaints by foreign leaders at conference in Rome

US supreme court justice Samuel Alito on a banner attacking his position on Roe v Wade. He has mocked critics of his stance on abortion. Photograph: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

US supreme court justice Samuel Alito has mocked prominent figures around the world who have criticised last month’s ruling that overturned Roe v Wade, the landmark 1973 abortion rights decision.

In his first public remarks since the decision, which has led to various conservative US states imposing abortion bans, Alito dismissed criticism of the ruling, which has come from the likes of British prime minister Boris Johnson, French president Emmanuel Macron and Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau.

Alito, a conservative justice, also took aim at Prince Harry who referenced the abortion ruling in a speech at the United Nation’s last week. » | Reuters | Friday, July 29, 2022

Thursday, July 28, 2022

Democracy Now! Top US News & World Headlines – July 28, 2022

La visite du prince héritier saoudien « MBS » à l’Elysée provoque la colère des défenseurs des droits de l’homme

LE MONDE : Emmanuel Macron reçoit, jeudi soir, Mohammed ben Salmane, dont c’est la première visite en Europe depuis l’assassinat du journaliste Jamal Khashoggi par des agents saoudiens.

Le prince héritier saoudien, Mohammed Ben Salman, à Athènes, le 26 juillet 2022. LOUISA GOULIAMAKI / AFP

L’entente entre le royaume et la France ne passe pas inaperçue. Pour sa première visite en Europe depuis l’assassinat en 2018 du journaliste Jamal Khashoggi, Mohammed Ben Salman dîne, jeudi 28 juillet, avec Emmanuel Macron, suscitant la colère des défenseurs des droits de l’homme.

Cette venue en France est « une honte », a ainsi réagi sur Franceinfo Abdullah Alaoudh, directeur pour la région du Golfe de l’organisation Democracy for the Arab World Now, une organisation de défense des droits de l’homme américaine, dont Jamal Khashoggi avait eu l’idée, peu avant son assassinat. « Nous pensons que MBS cherche à blanchir ses crimes. Il a soutenu les leaders de la guerre en Libye et ailleurs, et qui a arrêté tant d’activistes, de défenseurs pacifiques et d’humoristes en Arabie saoudite », a-t-il souligné.

« Il y a vraiment une réhabilitation au niveau international de MBS. Et cet individu, c’est un meurtrier », a accusé Agnes Callamard, la secrétaire générale de l’ONG Amnesty International, sur France Inter. Cette dernière avait mené une enquête sur l’assassinat de Jamal Khashoggi, chroniqueur du Washington Post et critique du pouvoir saoudien, lorsqu’elle était rapporteure spéciale de l’ONU sur les exécutions extrajudiciaires. » | Le Monde avec AFP | jeudi 28 juillet 2022

Honneurs et tractations pour la visite à Paris de Mohammed Ben Salman, le prince héritier saoudien : Emmanuel Macron devait précipiter son retour de Guinée-Bissau, jeudi, pour un dîner de travail. Plusieurs paramètres expliquent les honneurs que l’Elysée lui accorde. »

Affaire Khashoggi : plainte à Paris contre le prince héritier saoudien : Deux ONG ont profité de la présence de « MBS » sur le sol français pour saisir le tribunal de Paris, sur la base de la compétence universelle. »

Top Ghanaian Doctors Use Misinformation to Train Nurses in ‘Conversion Therapy’

OPEN DEMOCRACY: Influential mental health figures call LGBTIQ identities ‘disease’ and ‘disorder’ – yet regulators remain silent

Leading Ghanaian doctors provided anti-LGBTIQ health misinformation and promoted controversial ‘conversion therapy’ practices at a workshop for medical professionals, openDemocracy has discovered.

The two-day workshop in the capital, Accra, on providing “treatment, care and support” for LGBTIQ people was run by the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association and aimed at nurses, psychologists, counsellors and midwives.

LGBTIQ people were described as “persons with sexual orientation and gender identity disorder”, and one speaker asked if homosexuality should be “rejected” as a vice treated “as a disease”. » | Khatondi Soita Wepukhulu | Thursday, July 28, 2022

China Vows ‘Serious Consequences’ If US Politician Nancy Pelosi Travels to Taiwan - BBC News

Jul 28, 2022 China has warned of "serious consequences" if US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi were to proceed with her visit.

Second in line to the presidency, after the vice-president, Ms Pelosi would be the highest ranking US politician to travel to the island since 1997.

This has angered China, which sees self-ruled Taiwan as a breakaway province that must become a part of the country, and Beijing has not ruled out the possible use of force to achieve this.


The Lincoln Project : Really, Lindsey?

Jul 27, 2022 Tell us how you really feel, Lindsey.| Views on YouTube: 514,564

British Exporters Report Stagnating Trade as Post-Brexit Delays Blamed

THE GUARDIAN: Customs checks and border queues cited as leading barriers, as only 29% of firms say sales increased in Q2

Lorries queue in Dover, south-east England, on 16 February 2022. A survey of 2,600 exporters found Brexit ‘red tape’ had had a chilling effect on trade. Photograph: Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty

Britain’s exporters have seen their overseas trade stagnate over the past year despite strong growth in domestic demand for their products and booming export markets, according to a survey.

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said that a survey of 2,600 exporters found a quarter had suffered a fall in exports and another 46% reported no change.

Only 29% reported an increase in sales in the second quarter, down from the 40% that reported an increase in the first quarter.

Firms said Brexit was one of the main barriers to exports, after the introduction of customs checks and delays at the border.

William Bain, the BCC’s head of trade policy, said that since last summer UK exports have stalled to the EU and the rest of the world while many other leading exporting countries have enjoyed a boom. » | Phillip Inman | Thursday, July 28, 2022

Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Tom Daley Condemns Homophobia across Commonwealth ahead of Games

THE GUARDIAN: Gold-medallist’s comment comes ahead of opening ceremony in Birmingham on Friday

Tom Daley will not compete in the Commonwealth Games this year to spend more time with his family. Photograph: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for The National Lottery

The Olympic diver Tom Daley has condemned homophobia across Commonwealth nations ahead of the start of competition in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Friday.

Daley, who won gold at the event in 2018, said: “Thirty-five out of the 56 Commonwealth member states criminalise same-sex relations. That’s half the countries in the world that outlaw homosexuality.

“Every single person should be free to live their true authentic self, no matter where they are born or who they are. We must all keep working until everyone is free and equal.” » | Jessica Murray, Midlands correspondent | Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Senior Tory Urges Liz Truss to Explain Deletion of Abortion Rights from Statement

THE GUARDIAN: Exclusive: Equalities committee chair Caroline Nokes joins international outcry after UK dilutes commitment to women’s rights without consultation

A senior Conservative MP has asked the foreign secretary, Liz Truss, to explain why the UK government appeared to perform a “sudden backtracking on women’s rights” after commitments to abortion and sexual health rights were removed from an official multi-nation statement on gender equality.

Caroline Nokes, who chairs the women and equalities select committee, has written to Truss, who is also the minister for women and equalities and a Tory leadership contender, asking why the key phrases relating to reproductive rights were deleted.

More than 20 countries had signed the original statement that resulted from a UK-hosted conference on freedom of religion and belief earlier this month. That version included a commitment to repeal laws that “allow harmful practices, or restrict women’s and girls’ … sexual and reproductive health and rights, bodily autonomy”. » | Lizzy Davies | Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Donald Trump Role in 2020 US Election Challenge Investigated by Prosecutors - BBC News

Jul 27, 2022 The US Justice department is examining Donald Trump's actions in connection with efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, US media say.

Federal prosecutors have reportedly asked witnesses directly about the behaviour of the former president, but so far they have chosen not to open a formal criminal investigation into Mr Trump himself, who denies any personal wrongdoing.

The news coincides with the former president’s first major speech since leaving office, where he addressed supporters in Washington.


Democracy Now! Top US News & World Headlines – July 27, 2022

Tuesday, July 26, 2022

Simon & Garfunkel : Cecilia | Audio

Views on YouTube: 5,753,647

British Wine Wholesaler ‘Leaves Brexitland for Good’ over Paperwork

THE GUARDIAN: Daniel Lambert, who supplies M&S, Waitrose and 300 independent retailers, to set up in France after £150,000 hole in revenue

Daniel Lambert: ‘People are being in effect barred from importing from Europe unless they pay brokers lots of money’

A British wine wholesaler who last year criticised Brexit as the biggest threat to his business in 30 years has decided to leave the UK after post-Brexit paperwork made a £150,000 hole in revenue.

Daniel Lambert, who supplies Marks & Spencer, Waitrose and 300 independent retailers, is moving to Montpellier in France later this week with his wife and two teenage children.

There he will set up a French company to export back to his own company in Wales.

He said the only way he could get around the “incredibly complicated” paperwork for importing alcohol was to establish a French company to export into the UK, and do the administration in the EU himself. » | Lisa O’Carroll, Brexit correspondent | Tuesday, July 26, 2022

The Conservative Party is bringing the economy to its knees on account of this ridiculous Brexit and all because Nigel Farage & Co were able to whip up anti-EU feeling among the Europhobes and the Brits who live in the past, and all this to give Boris Johnson the keys to Number 10 so that he could enjoy his five minutes of fame and glory—and what a mess he has made of that five minutes of fame and glory!—we all now have to suffer an economy which will continue to shrink far more than it otherwise would have. Moreover, successful companies such as the one written about in the article above are having to relocate from “Brexitland” and an untold number of businesses will have already even gone out of business altogether.

The Conservative Party in its current form has a cheek, a nerve, to call itself the party of business and commerce. It so clearly is no longer a business-friendly party at all. In fact, it seems to me that the party no longer understands modern commerce at all. Does it really deserve to survive? Doesn’t this once great country deserve a more modern, pro-EU party to enable British business to thrive once again and to enable British companies to trade easily with a single market, ‘The Single Market’, a market of 500,000,000+ consumers, the largest and greatest single market in the world, a market which is right on our doorstep?

Economic ignorance in today's Conservative Party beggars belief! – © Mark Alexander

Simon & Garfunkel : America | Audio

Views on YouTube: 4,839,727

Truss v Sunak: A Sorry Spectacle of Playground Bragging from a Party without a Purpose

THE GUARDIAN: When it comes to the most pressing issues for our nation, all this divided Tory party can do is repress, displace and deny

Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss. ‘There is no ballast of gravitas to level out the swagger, so it comes across as the overcompensating neurosis of careerist nerds.’ Photograph: WPA/Getty Images

The two candidates in the race to succeed Boris Johnson represent two parties, although the distinction between them is not acknowledged. Rishi Sunak is the candidate of conservatism as it was until 2019, when Theresa May’s government was still trying to reconcile Brexit ideology with the demands of economic and diplomatic reality. Liz Truss appeals to the successor movement, the “Boris” party, which resolved the tension by denying its existence.

That conflict is buried in a contest that purports to be about other things. Tax policy is the measurable difference between the two candidates and so it dominated Monday night’s TV debate. The lines are by now well-rehearsed: Truss wants immediate cuts; Sunak wants to wait. He says fiscal loosening will stoke inflation; she says it will unleash growth. He frets that lost revenues will mean less money for the NHS; she would borrow the shortfall.

But those positions are proxies for different notions of what it now means to be a Conservative. Sunak embraced the label of “bean counter” when Truss used it as a pejorative. He is styling himself as a frugal Tory of the old school. Truss accused him of sounding like Gordon Brown, wedded to outmoded Treasury rules. She would “take on the orthodoxy” – an appeal to the Johnsonian maverick spirit. » | Rafael Behr | Monday, July 25, 2022

First Truss-Sunak Tory leadership debate: five key takeaways: The rivals did not pull their punches, on the economy or China, as they kicked off a month of debates »

Truss and Sunak trade blows in acrimonious first TV debate: Leadership candidates ignored calls from fellow Conservatives not to ‘tarnish the brand’ as they wrangled over tax cuts, inflation and relations with China »

Succession de Boris Johnson : Liz Truss conforte son statut de favorite : La ministre des affaires étrangères a évité les faux pas lors du premier débat, lundi sur la BBC, avec l’ancien chancelier de l’Echiquier, Rishi Sunak. Les échanges entre les deux candidats au 10 Downing Street se sont concentrés sur la question du pouvoir d’achat au Royaume-Uni. »

Truss und Sunak liefern sich harten Schlagabtausch: Die Bewerber um die Nachfolge von Boris Johnson an der britischen Regierungsspitze streiten sich über die Steuerpolitik und China. Der frühere Finanzminister Sunak bezeichnet die Pläne von Außenministerin Truss als „nicht verantwortungsvoll und sicherlich nicht konservativ“. »

Monday, July 25, 2022

Stevie Wonder : I Just Called to Say I Love You | Reupload

Jul 26, 2018 Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group | Views on YouTube: 26,901,920

Motion to Oppose Same-sex Marriage Forces Rethink of Anglican Summit

THE GUARDIAN: Division flares in run-up to first meeting of bishops from around world in 14 years

The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, faces a global Anglican community that is deeply divided on homosexuality. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA

The archbishop of Canterbury has been forced into a last-minute rethink of plans to ask Anglican bishops to oppose same-sex marriage when they meet this week for the first Lambeth conference – held in Canterbury – in 14 years.

Liberal Anglicans and gay rights campaigners in the Church of England voiced outrage after the conference recently circulated a series of “calls” – similar to motions – for the 650 bishops and archbishops from around the world to consider.

They included one that calls for a reaffirmation of a position that “upholds marriage as between a man and a woman”, that “legitimising or blessing of same-sex unions” cannot be advised, and that “it is the mind of the Anglican communion as a whole that same-gender marriage is not permissible”.

The bishop of Los Angeles, the Right Rev John H Taylor, was among those aghast at the call, warning the conference was on course to register support for a position that “divides, hurts, scapegoats and denies”. » | Robert Booth, Social affairs correspondent | Monday, July 25, 2022

La communauté homosexuelle de New York se mobilise contre la variole du singe

LE MONDE : Avec plus de 800 cas recensés, la ville est à l’épicentre américain de l’épidémie, qui touche principalement les homosexuels multipartenaires. Les associations dénoncent l’inertie de l’administration Biden.

Une manifestation appelant à davantage d’action du gouvernement pour lutter contre la propagation de la variole du singe, à New York, le 21 juillet 2022. JEENAH MOON / AFP

Ils étaient une petite centaine devant le palais de justice de Manhattan à avoir répondu à l’appel de l’association Act Up. Ce jeudi 21 juillet, Mordechai Levovitz, fondateur de Jewish Queer Youth, une association d’aide aux homosexuels juifs, harangue la foule : « Etes-vous en colère ? » Et de s’en prendre à l’administration Biden, accusée de répondre trop timidement à l’épidémie de variole du singe qui touche principalement les homosexuels multipartenaires new-yorkais : « Cette administration dit qu’elle est notre amie. Mais mettre le drapeau arc-en-ciel ne veut rien dire si vous ne vous occupez pas de vos amis homosexuels. »

Selon le département de la santé de la ville, il y avait le 19 juillet à New York 639 cas confirmés de variole du singe, touchants à 97,7 % des hommes – une seule femme était contaminée. Les malades sont à 52,4 % LGBT, 1,4 % hétérosexuels et 46,2 % à l’orientation sexuelle encore non précisée. » | Par Arnaud Leparmentier (New York, correspondant) | lundi 25 Juillet 2022

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Democracy Now! Top US News & World Headlines – July 25, 2022

Elio & Oliver | From the Movie Call Me by Your Name


Being straight must be awfully boring! – Mark

lvaro & Fernando | Enfermeras (Alvaro & Fernando) | Nurses | TV @SebastianYatraVEVO

Londres et Paris : si lointaines et si proches

LE MONDE : RÉCIT | « Le Royaume-Uni, la France et moi » (1/6). Le journaliste et écrivain Simon Kuper, chroniqueur au « Financial Times » et installé à Paris, décrit ce qui oppose et unit les Français et les Britanniques. Il observe deux capitales que tout séparait ou presque et qui, désormais, semblent se confondre.

Au début du siècle, je suis installé à Londres dans un appartement insalubre, juste au-dessus d’une boutique de vins et spiritueux. Quand le nouveau propriétaire menace de faire démolir l’immeuble entier, je me retrouve dans l’un de ces grands dilemmes que doit affronter tout Londonien : dois-je vraiment sauter le pas et dépenser une fortune (que je suis loin de posséder) dans l’achat d’un petit appartement étriqué dans une banlieue morose et consacrer ma vie au remboursement du prêt ? Mon but dans la vie est pourtant simple : vivre au cœur d’une grande ville, vivre de ma plume, vivre sans jamais perdre mon temps à me soucier de choses aussi assommantes que l’argent. A vrai dire, je commence à prendre conscience de l’irréalisme de telles ambitions. » | Pa Simon Kuper | lundi 25 juillet 2022

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Lawrow: Russisches und ukrainisches Volk leben künftig zusammen

UKRAINE-UPDATE

FRANFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Der russische Außenminister äußert sich wie nie zuvor über den Willen, die ukrainische Regierung stürzen zu wollen. Aus Kiew folgt prompt die Antwort: Selenskyj bezeichnet Moskau als „geschichtsfeindliches Regime“.

Das russische Militär bestätigt den Beschuss der ukrainischen Hafenstadt Odessa, die Moskauer Führung sieht das Getreideabkommen trotzdem nicht in Gefahr. Gleichzeitig nannte Russlands Außenminister Sergej Lawrow während seiner Afrikareise offen den Sturz der ukrainischen Führung, die er als „volks- und geschichtsfeindlich“ bezeichnete, als Ziel.

Widerspruch aus Kiew ließ nicht lange auf sich warten. Den Angriff auf die Ukraine könne nur jemand befehlen, der die wahre Geschichte des Volkes nicht kenne, konterte Selenskyj am Abend. Am Montag ist der 151. Tag des Kriegs. » | Quelle: dpa | Montag, 25. Juli 2022

Lavrov says Russian aim is to overthrow Volodymyr Zelensky: Russia appears to reverse itself after the country’s top diplomat says Moscow’s overarching goal is to to »

US Consider Declaring Climate Emergency as Wildfires Tear through California - BBC News

Jul 25, 2022 US President Joe Biden is said to be considering whether to declare a climate emergency as wildfires tear across California.

Around 6,000 people have already been evacuated from their homes as firefighters admit high temperatures are hampering their efforts.

A state of emergency has already been declared around Yosemite National Park where ancient woodland and wildlife could fall victim to the fires.


The Archies - Sugar, Sugar (1969 - Original TV-Show Music Video)

Views on YouTube: 53,021,811

This Is Brexit

Jul 24, 2022 Massive lorry queues right the way into Dover starting with Operation Brock on the M20.


”Led by Dokeys”, asses, morons, dickheads, clowns and court jesters. – Mark

Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits

Sunday, July 24, 2022

Tax-cut Stunts Can’t Cover Up the Disaster That Is Brexit

THE GUARDIAN: Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak feel bound to talk lower spending to party members, but the former chancellor at least must see the folly of losing billions off our GDP

Liz Truss’s loathing for the EU is not lost on Brussels and Dublin. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

‘They are trying to hide the failure of Brexit behind policy stunts.” This observation about the fiasco of the Conservative party’s leadership contest came from an economist friend and neatly sums it up.

Liz Truss, who voted Remain but is now an ardent Brexiter, cannot admit to herself that she was right first time, and that the trade deals she goes on about that are supposed to have made up for our crass departure from the European Union do not amount to a hill of beans.

Sunak, who was always a Brexiter, must surely have learned from his time as chancellor that the Treasury’s hostility to Brexit was right all along. He is an intelligent man but, like Truss, is fantasising about Brexit “opportunities” that the Treasury and other Whitehall departments know are chimerical.

Whichever contender succeeds the worst prime minister in living memory will have to come to terms with two fundamental consequences of Brexit. One is that the Office for Budget Responsibility’s estimate of a 4% annual loss to gross domestic product not only makes the country poorer but severely limits their tax-cutting ambitions – hers now, his later. Foolishly losing tens of billions of potential tax revenues through Brexit is not a good start to either of their ambitions.

The second is the devaluation of the pound by up to 12%, which the financial markets attribute to, yes, Brexit. This has not only made the country poorer but has also severely aggravated the inflation problem the government and Bank of England now face – with price growth running significantly higher than in most other European and G7 nations. » | William Keegan | Sunday, July 24, 2022

Droht Tunesien ein Rückfall in die Diktatur?

NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG: Neun Millionen Menschen sind aufgefordert, am 25. Juli in Tunesien über eine neue Verfassung abzustimmen. Sie würde Präsident Saieds Macht ausweiten. Kritiker warnen vor den autoritären Zügen des Textes. Doch die breite Mehrheit hat andere Sorgen.

Tunesiens Präsident Kais Saied will mehr Befugnisse. (Bild aufgenommen am 13. Oktober 2019 in Tunis) | Monasse / Andia / Getty

«Seid ihr für ein neues Tunesien oder für eine Rückkehr zu der Misere, in der wir gelebt haben?», ruft Zouhair Maghzaoui ins Mikrofon, bis die Lautsprecher scheppern. Der Generalsekretär der panarabistischen Partei Die Volksbewegung gibt am Ende seiner Rede noch einmal alles.

Die anwesenden Parteimitglieder klatschen energisch, doch sie geben ein eher trauriges Bild ab. Rund vierzig Personen haben sich an einem Samstagabend auf den Treppen des Stadttheaters von Tunis versammelt. Sie wollen die Passanten dazu motivieren, am kommenden Montag für eine neue Verfassung zu stimmen. Doch die meisten gehen desinteressiert vorbei. Nur eine Handvoll ist stehen geblieben und hört den Rednern zu.

Kaum Plakate, Flugblätter, Infostände oder Kundgebungen – das bevorstehende Referendum ist in der Öffentlichkeit wenig präsent. An den Cafétischen im Stadtzentrum drehen sich die Gespräche um andere Themen. Die alles lähmende Wirtschaftskrise und die ständig steigenden Lebensmittelpreise, die vielen Tunesiern den Alltag schwermachen, zum Beispiel. Oder die ständig zunehmende Zahl junger Menschen, aber auch ganzer Familien, die versuchen, irregulär mit dem Boot über das Mittelmeer nach Italien zu gelangen. Fragen nach der neuen Verfassung werden höchstens mit einem Schulterzucken beantwortet. Die Zeiten, in denen politische Angelegenheiten in Tunesien Menschenmassen auf die Strasse getrieben haben, sind vorbei. » | Sarah Mersch, Tunis | Sonntag, 24. Juli 2022

Article associé : En Tunisie, la révolution autocratique de Kaïs Saïed »

Orson & Eloy | Boyfriend [Welcome to Eden]

This is a lovely short clip, actually; but it could offend some straight people; so, just to be careful, I have decided not to embed it, but to provide you with an external link to it on YouTube instead. It is not suitable for children, though it appears not to have been categorized as age-restricted by YouTube. It is very short, but very sweet and very well directed and filmed. Enjoy! To view it, click here.

Michael & Thomas | Man in an Orange Shirt | Perfect | Movie Clip

Premiered Dec 26, 2021 | Views on YouTube: 83,648


This is a clip from the film. I have not watched the film yet, but I shall certainly try to do so sometime soon. It looks superb. This film clip, despite being very beautiful, is pretty graphic, so viewer discretion is advised. It is not suitable for children. – Mark

W.H.O. Declares Monkeypox Spread a Global Health Emergency

THE NEW YORK TIMES: There have been more than 16,000 cases in 75 countries, overwhelmingly among men who have sex with men.


Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the World Health Organization, declared monkeypox a “public health emergency of international concern” after a panel of advisers could not reach a consensus. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images

For the second time in two years, the World Health Organization has taken the extraordinary step of declaring a global emergency. This time the cause is monkeypox, which has spread in just a few weeks to dozens of countries and infected tens of thousands of people.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the W.H.O.’s director general, on Saturday overruled a panel of advisers, who could not come to a consensus, and declared a “public health emergency of international concern,” a designation the W.H.O. currently uses to describe only two other diseases, Covid-19 and polio.

“We have an outbreak that has spread around the world rapidly through new modes of transmission, about which we understand too little, and which meets the criteria” for a public health emergency, Dr. Tedros told reporters. It was apparently the first time that the director general had sidestepped his advisers to declare an emergency. » | Apoorva Mandavilli * | Saturday, July 23, 2022

Apoorva Mandavilli has covered the 2022 monkeypox outbreak since the first case in the United States was identified.

Orbán wettert gegen „Brüssel“ und Soros

Viktor Orbán im Mai in Budapest | Bild: REUTERS

REDE IN RUMÄNIEN

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Die Kraft des Westens sei im Schwinden begriffen, sagt der ungarische Ministerpräsident bei seiner jährlichen Rede in Rumänien. Er gibt auch vor zu wissen, wer daran Schuld sei.

Der ungarische Ministerpräsident Viktor Orbán sieht sich im Kampf mit dem Westen, der seinem Land eine falsche Sanktionspolitik und fremde Werte aufzwingen wolle. „Die Kraft, die Leistung, das Ansehen und die Handlungsfähigkeit der westlichen Zivilisation sind im Schwinden begriffen“, erklärte der rechtsnationale Politiker am Samstag vor Tausenden Anhängern im rumänischen Kurort Baile Tusnad.

Orbán regiert seit 2010 in dem EU-Land Ungarn. Wegen des Abbaus von Demokratie und Rechtsstaatlichkeit steht Orbán mit der Europäischen Union in Konflikt. Gegen Ungarn laufen derzeit mehrere Verfahren, darunter eines im Rahmen des neuen Rechtsstaatsmechanismus, das zum Entzug von EU-Fördermitteln führen kann. » | Quelle: dpa | Samstag, 23. Juli 2022

Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I : Also Known as 'The Lady in Gold' or 'The Woman in Gold'

A portrait by Gustav Klimt, completed between 1903 and 1907. Adele Bloch-Bauer died in 1925. The painting was stolen by the Nazis in Vienna after the Anschluss (also Anschluß) (Nazi Germany’s annexation of Austria) in March 1938. This portrait is the one used in the film, Woman in Gold. The film is about Maria Altman’s fight to get the painting returned to her family after it had been misappropriated by the Nazis after the Anschluss. The movie is excellent and well worth watching.

Many thanks to The Art Diva on Pinterest for this delightful image.

WIKIPEDIA : Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I.

En Hongrie, des milliers de personnes défilent lors de la marche des fiertés

LE MONDE : Les participants ont condamné le texte adopté l’été 2021, qui interdit « la représentation ou la promotion » de l’homosexualité et du changement de sexe auprès des mineurs.

Lors de la marche des fiertés budapestoise, samedi 23 juillet 2022, en Hongrie. AP

Un an après l’entrée en vigueur d’une loi jugée discriminatoire, plusieurs milliers de Hongrois ont défilé samedi 23 juillet à Budapest pour défendre les droits des LGBT+. Cœur géant, drapeaux et ombrelles aux couleurs de l’arc-en-ciel, la manifestation s’est déroulée en toute légalité le long du Danube par une chaleur caniculaire.

Les participants, parmi lesquels des diplomates étrangers, ont condamné le texte adopté à l’été 2021, qui interdit « la représentation ou la promotion » de l’homosexualité et du changement de sexe auprès des mineurs. Sur un pont de la ville, des contre-manifestants avaient déployé une banderole faisant l’amalgame entre homosexualité et pédophilie, à l’image de la loi. » | Le Monde avec AFP | samedi 23 juillet 2022

Acceptance : Gay Short Film

May 18, 2022 Acceptance is an LGBTQ Short Film about a gay man who is struggling to deal with the loss of his boyfriend while stranded in isolation. | Views on YouTube: 69,966

Erotic

Érotique / Erotisch

Many thanks to Simona Vitale on Pinterest for this super photograph.

Saturday, July 23, 2022

Thousands of Lorries Queue Near Dover amid Travel Chaos

Jul 23, 2022 Aerial footage shows thousands of lorries queueing on the main road towards the port of Dover on Saturday, with UK authorities blaming French officials for the chaos – a claim France has denied. A major incident was declared as a second day of travel disruption consumed the key port amid additional post-Brexit checks. It comes as most schools in England and Wales broke up for the summer holidays, marking the start of one of the busiest periods for foreign travel Brexit blamed for Dover gridlock on second day of travel chaos


France rejects blame for Dover gridlock, saying it is ‘not responsible for Brexit’: Travellers told to allow three to four hours to pass through security and French border checks at port »

Marvelous thing, Brexit! This move is really enhancing the lives of us Brits, isn’t it? We have lost all our rights as European citizens, we have shortages of foods on supermarket shelves as a result of it, we have difficulty travelling to destinations in Europe as a result of it, there are long, long lines of lorries and other goods vehicles in Dover, trying to gain access to France and the rest of the continent, we have also lost our free reciprocal healthcare rights in European countries, Liz Truss wants us Brits to go back to eating traditional British goods and apples—I presume she means baked beans, greasy, fried bacon and eggs and fried bread. God Almighty! What a dud party the Tory party has turned into! Oh, and Truss wants us to eat English apples exclusively, British cheeses, and drink Yorkshire tea.

Oh, and she is ready for a trade war with the EU over the N.I. Protocol as well. She is such an uplifting soul, isn’t she? She also wants to have a bonfire of EU rules and regulations by 2023, presumably to turn is back to the Victorian Age. Does she want children going down the mines and pits, too?

To think that this woman could be governing us in a few weeks’ time sends shivers down my spine!

She compares herself to Margaret Thatcher. Dream on, Lizzie! You are no Thatcher! Thatcher, love her or loathe her, had lots and lots of stature and presence. She was also glamorous. And beautifully spoken.

I didn’t agree with everything Thatcher did; but then, I wouldn’t agree with everything anyone did, of whatever political stripe. But for the time, largely the Eighties, her policies were just what the country needed to get us out of the grip of socialism, which had crippled the nation prior to Thatcher entering Downing Street.

In my opinion, the problem with returning to Thatcherism is not that Thatcherism was bad, it wasn’t; however,it was right for the UK economy in its day. Now, we are faced with very different problems. So, we need new and fresh solutions to these problems.

Liz Truss is no Margaret Thatcher. She has neither Thatcher’s intellect nor Thatcher’s presence.

What we need right now is a leader, be he/she Conservative, Liberal Democrat, or even Labour, who is pro-business and pro-EU too. This country needs to return to the European fold asap. If it doesn’t, there is only one direction of travel for the nation; and that’s south!

Fellow countrymen! Wake up from your slumbers! – © Mark Alexander


Travel chaos is ‘the new normal’ after Brexit, British tourists are warned: Anger over lack of cash for Dover upgrade as Tory candidates vie to blame France for delays »

Thatcher ministers turn on Liz Truss over tax cut plans: Chris Patten, Norman Lamont and Malcolm Rifkind warn former PM would never have approved borrowing to fund £30bn cuts »

Rupert Murdoch describes Brexit as 'wonderful': The media mogul likened leaving the EU to a prison break and shared his view of Donald Trump as a ‘very able man’ »