Tuesday, February 09, 2021
What Did Ancient Rome Look Like? (Cinematic Animation)
What Did Ancient Greece Look Like? (Cinematic Animation)
What Did Ancient Egypt Look Like? (Cinematic Animation)
Reaching for That Pack of Smokes? You Aren’t the Only One
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Lots of people seem to be smoking again or more during the pandemic, if anecdotal evidence and preliminary sales figures for tobacco products are any measure.
“Good quality surveys operate at a lag,” said Vaughan W. Rees, the director of the Center for Global Tobacco Control at Harvard University, referring to reliable smoking studies from institutions like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “But we are seeing interesting blips. The decline in tobacco sales has slowed in the past 10 months.”
While tobacco sales in the United States have generally fallen in recent decades (14 percent of Americans smoked in 2019, compared with nearly 21 percent in 2005, according to an annual report from the C.D.C. that tracks smoking rates), the decline flattened last year.
“The total volume of cigarettes sold in the U.S. typically declines by 3 or 4 percent,” said Adam Spielman, a managing director at Citi who follows the tobacco industry. “But in 2020, volume is flat and that’s a significant change, driven mostly by the fact that people have less things to spend money on right now.” Smokers also cited stress as a reason for lighting up. » | Monica Corcoran Harel | Saturday, February 6, 2021
“Good quality surveys operate at a lag,” said Vaughan W. Rees, the director of the Center for Global Tobacco Control at Harvard University, referring to reliable smoking studies from institutions like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “But we are seeing interesting blips. The decline in tobacco sales has slowed in the past 10 months.”
While tobacco sales in the United States have generally fallen in recent decades (14 percent of Americans smoked in 2019, compared with nearly 21 percent in 2005, according to an annual report from the C.D.C. that tracks smoking rates), the decline flattened last year.
“The total volume of cigarettes sold in the U.S. typically declines by 3 or 4 percent,” said Adam Spielman, a managing director at Citi who follows the tobacco industry. “But in 2020, volume is flat and that’s a significant change, driven mostly by the fact that people have less things to spend money on right now.” Smokers also cited stress as a reason for lighting up. » | Monica Corcoran Harel | Saturday, February 6, 2021
Saturday, February 06, 2021
Fury at Gove as Exports to EU Slashed by 68% since Brexit
THE OBSERVER: Hauliers say Cabinet Office minister ignored warnings, amid fears that worse is to come with introduction of import checks in July
The volume of exports going through British ports to the EU fell by a staggering 68% last month compared with January last year, mostly as a result of problems caused by Brexit, the Observer can reveal.
The dramatic drop in the volume of traffic carried on ferries and through the Channel tunnel has been reported to Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove by the Road Haulage Association after a survey of its international members. In a letter to Gove dated 1 February, the RHA’s chief executive, Richard Burnett, also told the minister he and his officials had repeatedly warned over several months of problems and called for measures to lessen difficulties – but had been largely ignored.
In particular he had made clear throughout last year there was an urgent need to increase the number of customs agents to help firms with mountains of extra paperwork. The number now, around 10,000, is still about a fifth of what the RHA says is required to handle the massive increase in paperwork facing exporters. » | Toby Helm | Saturday, February 6, 2021
The volume of exports going through British ports to the EU fell by a staggering 68% last month compared with January last year, mostly as a result of problems caused by Brexit, the Observer can reveal.
The dramatic drop in the volume of traffic carried on ferries and through the Channel tunnel has been reported to Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove by the Road Haulage Association after a survey of its international members. In a letter to Gove dated 1 February, the RHA’s chief executive, Richard Burnett, also told the minister he and his officials had repeatedly warned over several months of problems and called for measures to lessen difficulties – but had been largely ignored.
In particular he had made clear throughout last year there was an urgent need to increase the number of customs agents to help firms with mountains of extra paperwork. The number now, around 10,000, is still about a fifth of what the RHA says is required to handle the massive increase in paperwork facing exporters. » | Toby Helm | Saturday, February 6, 2021
Muslim Revert Stories - From Jewish Atheist to Islam
The Guardian View on Republican Extremism: Trumpism Flourishes
That someone is ludicrous doesn’t stop them being dangerous, as Donald Trump and now Marjorie Taylor Greene have demonstrated. The new Georgia congresswoman has not only repeatedly spread racist and antisemitic statements; she has suggested a Jewish banking family might have been involved in starting wildfires with “space lasers”, repeatedly endorsed QAnon conspiracy theories and questioned whether the Pentagon was attacked on 9/11. Her views are no less poisonous and extremist for being so bizarre.
The most frightening and extraordinary thing about her, however, is that she is now welcome at the heart of the Republican party. Though Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, has described her “loony lies and conspiracy theories” as “a cancer for the Republican party”, his diagnosis comes much too late. Kevin McCarthy, his counterpart in the House, boasts of a “big tent” – so large that it now includes those who have supported the killing of political opponents. It took Democrats to strip Ms Greene of her committee positions via a House vote on Thursday, an unprecedented move that should never have been necessary. They are happy to seize the opportunity to portray the GOP as Ms Greene’s party. But they are not so wrong to do so. » | Editorial | Friday, February 5, 2021
Biden: Trump Should Not Receive Intelligence Briefings due to His 'Erratic Behavior'
THE GUARDIAN: Biden says predecessor shouldn’t have access to briefings, which are traditionally offered to presidents even after leaving office
Joe Biden has said that he doesn’t believe his predecessor, Donald Trump, should have access to any intelligence briefings due to his “erratic behavior”.
“I think not,” Biden said in a Friday evening interview, when asked by the CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell if Trump should get the briefings.
“Because of his erratic behavior unrelated to the insurrection,” Biden said, referring to the 6 January storming of the US Capitol by Trump’s supporters. Former US presidents traditionally receive some intelligence briefings even after they have left office. » | Reuters | Saturday, February 6, 2021
Joe Biden has said that he doesn’t believe his predecessor, Donald Trump, should have access to any intelligence briefings due to his “erratic behavior”.
“I think not,” Biden said in a Friday evening interview, when asked by the CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell if Trump should get the briefings.
“Because of his erratic behavior unrelated to the insurrection,” Biden said, referring to the 6 January storming of the US Capitol by Trump’s supporters. Former US presidents traditionally receive some intelligence briefings even after they have left office. » | Reuters | Saturday, February 6, 2021
Fox News Cancels Lou Dobbs Tonight
Fox Business Network has canceled the show of Lou Dobbs, the ardent Donald Trump supporter with a history of espousing misinformation who promoted baseless conspiracy theories of voting fraud after the election.
Friday evening marked the final airing of Lou Dobbs Tonight, Dobbs’ regular weeknight program. The Fox host was a major contributor to the false narrative that the election was stolen and continued espousing those views on his program even after admitting that they lacked actual proof.
“Eight weeks from the election and we still don’t have verifiable, tangible support for the crimes that everyone knows were committed,” he said on air in January.
Dobbs, 75, has hosted the program since 2011. Trump considered it must-see TV and even reportedly patched the host through during key policy meetings. » | Gabrielle Canon and agency | Saturday, February 6, 2021
Good riddance! – Mark
Thursday, February 04, 2021
Die Reise des Gläubigen | IMANTALK
Dies ist ein interessantes Gespräch mit einem Österreicher aus Wien, der sich vor etlichen Jahren zum Islam bekehrte. Er spricht über sein neues Leben und Glauben als Muslim. – ©Mark
UK Banks Given Six Months to Prepare for Negative Interest Rates
THE GUARDIAN: Bank of England’s monetary policy committee votes to keep rate at 0.1% but gives banks six-month deadline
The Bank of England took a step closer to introducing negative interest rates for the first time on Thursday, after it gave lenders six months to prepare for such a move.
Threadneedle Street’s monetary policy committee (MPC) voted unanimously to keep the official interest rate at historically low levels while it agreed to set the deadline for banks to prepare themselves after policymakers said they were ready to make negative lending rates part of their toolkit.
According to the minutes of the MPC meeting, officials were split over asking lenders to put in place the measures needed to facilitate negative rates on loans and mortgages, with some fearing it would signal to investors that the central bank planned to move ahead in the next few months. » | Phillip Inman | Thursday, February 4, 2021
The Bank of England took a step closer to introducing negative interest rates for the first time on Thursday, after it gave lenders six months to prepare for such a move.
Threadneedle Street’s monetary policy committee (MPC) voted unanimously to keep the official interest rate at historically low levels while it agreed to set the deadline for banks to prepare themselves after policymakers said they were ready to make negative lending rates part of their toolkit.
According to the minutes of the MPC meeting, officials were split over asking lenders to put in place the measures needed to facilitate negative rates on loans and mortgages, with some fearing it would signal to investors that the central bank planned to move ahead in the next few months. » | Phillip Inman | Thursday, February 4, 2021
The Caliph P1: Foundation | Featured Documentary
The Caliph - Part 1: Foundation - Featured Documentary
For almost 13 centuries, from the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632 to the overthrow of the last Ottoman caliph in 1924, the Islamic world was ruled by a caliph.
Translated from the Arabic ‘Khalifa’, the word ‘caliph’ means successor or deputy. The caliph was considered the successor to the Prophet Muhammad.
It is a term that has, at times, been abused.
In June 2014, a militant group calling itself the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (known as ISIL or ISIS) declared the establishment of a caliphate and proclaimed its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, a caliph. This proclamation was rejected by the overwhelming majority of the world’s Muslims.
ISIL had attempted to appropriate a title imbued with religious and political significance – and in doing so had cast a dark shadow over a rich history.
This is the story of the caliph, a title that originated 1,400 years ago and that spanned one of the greatest empires the world has ever known.
In this episode of the Caliph, Al Jazeera tells the story of the caliphate, providing a fascinating insight into how the first caliphs of Islam built and expanded their empire.
Director: Husein Alrazzaz
For almost 13 centuries, from the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632 to the overthrow of the last Ottoman caliph in 1924, the Islamic world was ruled by a caliph.
Translated from the Arabic ‘Khalifa’, the word ‘caliph’ means successor or deputy. The caliph was considered the successor to the Prophet Muhammad.
It is a term that has, at times, been abused.
In June 2014, a militant group calling itself the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (known as ISIL or ISIS) declared the establishment of a caliphate and proclaimed its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, a caliph. This proclamation was rejected by the overwhelming majority of the world’s Muslims.
ISIL had attempted to appropriate a title imbued with religious and political significance – and in doing so had cast a dark shadow over a rich history.
This is the story of the caliph, a title that originated 1,400 years ago and that spanned one of the greatest empires the world has ever known.
In this episode of the Caliph, Al Jazeera tells the story of the caliphate, providing a fascinating insight into how the first caliphs of Islam built and expanded their empire.
Director: Husein Alrazzaz
Conway: We're Watching Moral Collapse of Republican Party
Wednesday, February 03, 2021
Canada Designates Proud Boys as Terrorist Organization beside Isis and Al-Qaida
THE GUARDIAN: Move follows allegations that the rightwing group played a role in the mob attack on the US Capitol in January
Canada has designated the far-right Proud Boys group as a terrorist organization alongside Isis and al-Qaida, amid growing concerns over the spread of white supremacist groups in the country.
On Wednesday Bill Blair, public safety minister, also announced the federal government would designate the white nationalist and neo-Nazi groups the Atomwaffen Division, the Base and the Russian Imperial Movement as terrorist entities. The federal government also added offshoots of al-Qaida, Isis and Hizbul Mujahedin to its list.
“Canada will not tolerate ideological, religious or politically motivated acts of violence,” Blair said. » | Leyland Cecco in Toronto | Wednesday, February 3, 2021
Canada has designated the far-right Proud Boys group as a terrorist organization alongside Isis and al-Qaida, amid growing concerns over the spread of white supremacist groups in the country.
On Wednesday Bill Blair, public safety minister, also announced the federal government would designate the white nationalist and neo-Nazi groups the Atomwaffen Division, the Base and the Russian Imperial Movement as terrorist entities. The federal government also added offshoots of al-Qaida, Isis and Hizbul Mujahedin to its list.
“Canada will not tolerate ideological, religious or politically motivated acts of violence,” Blair said. » | Leyland Cecco in Toronto | Wednesday, February 3, 2021
Tuesday, February 02, 2021
Jeff Bezos to Step Down as Amazon Chief Executive
He will become executive chairman, a move he said would give him "time and energy" to focus on his other ventures.
Mr Bezos, the world's richest man, will be replaced by Andy Jassy, who currently leads Amazon's cloud computing business.
The change will take place in the second half of 2021, the company said.
"Being the CEO of Amazon is a deep responsibility, and it's consuming. When you have a responsibility like that, it's hard to put attention on anything else," Mr Bezos said in an [sic] letter to Amazon staff on Tuesday.
"As Exec Chair I will stay engaged in important Amazon initiatives but also have the time and energy I need to focus on the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post, and my other passions."
"I've never had more energy, and this isn't about retiring. I'm super passionate about the impact I think these organizations can have," he added. » | BBC | Tuesday, February 2, 2021
Russland: Kreml-Kritiker Nawalny zu mehr als zwei Jahren Straflager verurteilt | WELT Analyse
Der Kreml-Kritiker Alexej Nawalny ist in Russland zu mehr als zwei Jahren Haft in einem Straflager verurteilt worden. Das zuständige Gericht in Moskau entschied am Dienstag, dass der 44-Jährige eine bereits verhängte dreieinhalbjährige Bewährungsstrafe nun in einer Strafkolonie ableisten müsse. Allerdings werde ein früherer Hausarrest von der Zeit abgezogen.
Die im Hausarrest verbrachte Zeit gelte als abgeleistete Haftstrafe, sagte Richterin Natalja Repnikowa. Nach Angaben von Nawalnys Team würde dies etwa zweieinhalb Jahre Haft im Straflager für ihn bedeuten. Das Gericht machte zur genauen Zeitspanne zunächst keine Angaben.
Unmittelbar nach Bekanntgabe des Urteils riefen Anhänger des wichtigsten Widersachers von Präsident Wladimir Putin zu einer sofortigen Demonstration in Moskau auf. "Wir ziehen ins Zentrum von Moskau", schrieben sie im Online-Dienst Twitter und riefen die Menschen auf, sich ihnen anzuschließen.
Nawalny hatte sich in der Anhörung vehement gegen eine drohende Gefängnisstrafe gewehrt und die Russen zum weiteren Widerstand aufgerufen. Hauptziel des juristischen Vorgehens gegen ihn sei es, "Millionen Menschen Angst einzujagen", sagte der 44-Jährige vor Gericht.
Nawalny war 2014 wegen des Vorwurfs der Unterschlagung zu dreieinhalb Jahren Haft verurteilt worden, die Strafe wurde aber zur Bewährung ausgesetzt. Diese Aussetzung auf Bewährung wurde nun zurückgezogen, weil Nawalny gegen Bewährungsauflagen verstoßen haben soll.
Nawalny war direkt nach seiner Rückkehr aus Deutschland in sein Heimatland am 17. Januar am Flughafen in Moskau festgenommen und im Eilverfahren zu 30 Tagen Haft verurteilt worden. Es war eine von bereits mehreren kürzeren Haftstrafen gegen Nawalny, lange Zeitstrecken wie die nun drohenden zweieinhalb Jahre war er aber noch nie in Haft.
Die Festnahme am Moskauer Flughafen hatten die russischen Behörden bereits mit Verstößen gegen Bewährungsauflagen begründet: Nawalny sei unter anderem während seines Aufenthalts in Deutschland seiner Pflicht nicht nachgekommen, sich zweimal monatlich bei den Behörden zu melden. In Deutschland war der 44-Jährige nach einem Giftanschlag in Sibirien behandelt worden, durch den er beinahe getötet worden wäre und für den er den Kreml verantwortlich macht.
Die im Hausarrest verbrachte Zeit gelte als abgeleistete Haftstrafe, sagte Richterin Natalja Repnikowa. Nach Angaben von Nawalnys Team würde dies etwa zweieinhalb Jahre Haft im Straflager für ihn bedeuten. Das Gericht machte zur genauen Zeitspanne zunächst keine Angaben.
Unmittelbar nach Bekanntgabe des Urteils riefen Anhänger des wichtigsten Widersachers von Präsident Wladimir Putin zu einer sofortigen Demonstration in Moskau auf. "Wir ziehen ins Zentrum von Moskau", schrieben sie im Online-Dienst Twitter und riefen die Menschen auf, sich ihnen anzuschließen.
Nawalny hatte sich in der Anhörung vehement gegen eine drohende Gefängnisstrafe gewehrt und die Russen zum weiteren Widerstand aufgerufen. Hauptziel des juristischen Vorgehens gegen ihn sei es, "Millionen Menschen Angst einzujagen", sagte der 44-Jährige vor Gericht.
Nawalny war 2014 wegen des Vorwurfs der Unterschlagung zu dreieinhalb Jahren Haft verurteilt worden, die Strafe wurde aber zur Bewährung ausgesetzt. Diese Aussetzung auf Bewährung wurde nun zurückgezogen, weil Nawalny gegen Bewährungsauflagen verstoßen haben soll.
Nawalny war direkt nach seiner Rückkehr aus Deutschland in sein Heimatland am 17. Januar am Flughafen in Moskau festgenommen und im Eilverfahren zu 30 Tagen Haft verurteilt worden. Es war eine von bereits mehreren kürzeren Haftstrafen gegen Nawalny, lange Zeitstrecken wie die nun drohenden zweieinhalb Jahre war er aber noch nie in Haft.
Die Festnahme am Moskauer Flughafen hatten die russischen Behörden bereits mit Verstößen gegen Bewährungsauflagen begründet: Nawalny sei unter anderem während seines Aufenthalts in Deutschland seiner Pflicht nicht nachgekommen, sich zweimal monatlich bei den Behörden zu melden. In Deutschland war der 44-Jährige nach einem Giftanschlag in Sibirien behandelt worden, durch den er beinahe getötet worden wäre und für den er den Kreml verantwortlich macht.
Russian Opposition Leader Alexei Navalny Jailed for Two Years and Eight Months
A Moscow court has sentenced Alexei Navalny to two years and eight months in a prison colony in a landmark decision for Vladimir Putin’s crackdown on the country’s leading opposition figure.
Navalny, who has accused the Russian president and his allies of stealing billions, was jailed for violating parole from a 2014 sentence for embezzlement in a case he has said was politically motivated.
The court’s decision makes Navalny the most prominent political prisoner in Russia and may be the most important verdict against a foe of Putin’s since the 2005 jailing of the oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
After a judge read the verdict, subtracting the 10 months he had spent under house arrest from his original three-and-a-half-year sentence, Navalny and his wife Yulia stared at each other across the court room. She took off her mask, smiled, waved, and then shrugged. “Don’t be sad! Everything’s going to be alright!” he yelled to her. She declined to comment as she walked out of the courtroom, looking straight ahead.
Minutes before he had drawn a heart on the glass surrounding the dock as a message to her. » | Andrew Roth in Moscow | Tuesday, February 2, 2021
Impeachment Managers: 'Trump’s Responsibility for the Events of January 6 Is Unmistakable'
THE GUARDIAN: The House impeachment managers have filed a brief outlining their argument for Donald Trump’s conviction ahead of the former president’s second Senate impeachment trial.
“In a grievous betrayal of his Oath of Office, President Trump incited a violent mob to attack the United States Capitol during the Joint Session, thus impeding Congress’s confirmation of Joseph R. Biden, Jr. as the winner of the presidential election,” the brief says. “President Trump’s responsibility for the events of January 6 is unmistakable.” » | Joan E Greve (now) and Martin Belam (earlier) | Tuesday, February 2, 2021
“In a grievous betrayal of his Oath of Office, President Trump incited a violent mob to attack the United States Capitol during the Joint Session, thus impeding Congress’s confirmation of Joseph R. Biden, Jr. as the winner of the presidential election,” the brief says. “President Trump’s responsibility for the events of January 6 is unmistakable.” » | Joan E Greve (now) and Martin Belam (earlier) | Tuesday, February 2, 2021
Americans Smoking More Cigarettes during COVID-19 Pandemic
NEW YORK POST: Smoking has made a comeback as the stress of the coronavirus pandemic takes its toll — with cigarette sales rebounding in 2020.
Sales rose by 0.4 percent last year — reversing a decades-long steady decline — as people in lockdown lit up more often and vapers switched back to tobacco over health concerns, according to data released by Marlboro maker Altria Group Inc.
Bored Americans who weren’t able to travel or dine out regularly also had more disposable income to spend on smoke sticks, the tobacco maker said.
An FDA spokeswoman said changes in cigarette smoking can’t be tied to one specific event, but admitted the pandemic has played a role.
“COVID-19 has created a drastic change in daily life, including increased stress and anxiety, that may contribute to a smaller-than-expected reduction in cigarette sales,” she told the Wall Street Journal. » | Jesse O'Neill | Friday, January 19, 2021
Sales rose by 0.4 percent last year — reversing a decades-long steady decline — as people in lockdown lit up more often and vapers switched back to tobacco over health concerns, according to data released by Marlboro maker Altria Group Inc.
Bored Americans who weren’t able to travel or dine out regularly also had more disposable income to spend on smoke sticks, the tobacco maker said.
An FDA spokeswoman said changes in cigarette smoking can’t be tied to one specific event, but admitted the pandemic has played a role.
“COVID-19 has created a drastic change in daily life, including increased stress and anxiety, that may contribute to a smaller-than-expected reduction in cigarette sales,” she told the Wall Street Journal. » | Jesse O'Neill | Friday, January 19, 2021
Sunday, January 31, 2021
Notturno, Op. 27: No. 2 in D-Flat Major
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