Thursday, January 19, 2023
Jacinda Ardern Resigns as Prime Minister of New Zealand
THE GUARDIAN: Labour leader to stand down no later than 7 February, saying she ‘no longer had enough in the tank’ to do the job
New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has said she is resigning, in an unexpected announcement that came as she confirmed a national election for October.
At the party’s first caucus meeting of the year on Thursday, Ardern said she “no longer had enough in the tank” to do the job. “It’s time,” she added.
“I’m leaving, because with such a privileged role comes responsibility – the responsibility to know when you are the right person to lead and also when you are not. I know what this job takes. And I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. It’s that simple,” she said.
Her term as prime minister will conclude no later than 7 February but she will continue as an MP until the election this year. With video » | Tess McClure in Auckland | Thursday, January 19, 2023
New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has said she is resigning, in an unexpected announcement that came as she confirmed a national election for October.
At the party’s first caucus meeting of the year on Thursday, Ardern said she “no longer had enough in the tank” to do the job. “It’s time,” she added.
“I’m leaving, because with such a privileged role comes responsibility – the responsibility to know when you are the right person to lead and also when you are not. I know what this job takes. And I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. It’s that simple,” she said.
Her term as prime minister will conclude no later than 7 February but she will continue as an MP until the election this year. With video » | Tess McClure in Auckland | Thursday, January 19, 2023
Wednesday, January 18, 2023
The Incredible Shrinking Man: Rishi Sunak’s Gut Reaction Is Always Wrong
THE GUARDIAN: The prime minister has chosen to pick a fight with the nurses – a battle he’s never going to win
Week after week, Sunak gets dismantled by Keir Starmer. Photograph: House of Commons/PA
Rishi Sunak is the incredible shrinking man. The more you see of him, the less there appears to be. When he became prime minister, he had the appearance of a moderately successful – if rather over-eager – tech bro, brought in to save the Conservative party from itself. But that was a chimera. Because Rish! isn’t even that successful. He’s a politician with the fatal flaw of not being very good at politics. A man unable to convince others that he inhabits their world. Now he’s just a ball of need. Desperate to be liked, but unable to make an emotional connection with voters.
To be fair, Sunak has the odds stacked against him. It’s not entirely his fault the Tories voted for Liz Truss rather than him. Though imagine how useless the Conservative membership must think him to be if they went full on Trussterfuck. It’s not his fault that Putin invaded Ukraine. But he has to take the blame for the Tories’ record of 13 years in government when it’s hard to think of anything that works better now than it did in 2010.
And it’s a unique talent to make every bad situation worse. His gut reaction is almost always the wrong one. Take the strikes. Everyone knows the endgame. The unions and the government get around a table and agree a compromise. Everyone except Rish!. He has chosen to pick a fight with the nurses and paramedics. A battle he’s never going to win, because almost the entire country has already picked a side. And it’s not with the government. When nurses pay has been eroded over such a long period – some are using food banks to get by – and their union calls for strike action for the first time in its history, then a stand has to be taken. » | John Crace | Wednesday, January 18, 2023
Rishi Sunak is like an overgrown 6th former! In actual fact, he’s a tw*t (supply your vowel of choice), to boot. After the pandemic, knowing how important nurses and other medical staff were to us, nobody in his right mind would pick a fight with essential workers such as these. Especially when the prime minister is so liberal with funds for CEOs of energy companies, and their henchmen, refusing to tax them to the full extent. Are CEOs of energy companies more essential to the economy than nurses? I repeat: What a tw*t!
FFS, pay the nurses and other medical staff a decent living wage/salary! You, Sir, are a disgrace! Anybody who has any decency is on the side of the nurses. Decent people are NOT, and cannot be, on your side. Redistribute the wealth of the nation fairly and equitably. Stop favouring those who have robbed the nation blind! – © Mark Alexander
Rishi Sunak is the incredible shrinking man. The more you see of him, the less there appears to be. When he became prime minister, he had the appearance of a moderately successful – if rather over-eager – tech bro, brought in to save the Conservative party from itself. But that was a chimera. Because Rish! isn’t even that successful. He’s a politician with the fatal flaw of not being very good at politics. A man unable to convince others that he inhabits their world. Now he’s just a ball of need. Desperate to be liked, but unable to make an emotional connection with voters.
To be fair, Sunak has the odds stacked against him. It’s not entirely his fault the Tories voted for Liz Truss rather than him. Though imagine how useless the Conservative membership must think him to be if they went full on Trussterfuck. It’s not his fault that Putin invaded Ukraine. But he has to take the blame for the Tories’ record of 13 years in government when it’s hard to think of anything that works better now than it did in 2010.
And it’s a unique talent to make every bad situation worse. His gut reaction is almost always the wrong one. Take the strikes. Everyone knows the endgame. The unions and the government get around a table and agree a compromise. Everyone except Rish!. He has chosen to pick a fight with the nurses and paramedics. A battle he’s never going to win, because almost the entire country has already picked a side. And it’s not with the government. When nurses pay has been eroded over such a long period – some are using food banks to get by – and their union calls for strike action for the first time in its history, then a stand has to be taken. » | John Crace | Wednesday, January 18, 2023
Rishi Sunak is like an overgrown 6th former! In actual fact, he’s a tw*t (supply your vowel of choice), to boot. After the pandemic, knowing how important nurses and other medical staff were to us, nobody in his right mind would pick a fight with essential workers such as these. Especially when the prime minister is so liberal with funds for CEOs of energy companies, and their henchmen, refusing to tax them to the full extent. Are CEOs of energy companies more essential to the economy than nurses? I repeat: What a tw*t!
FFS, pay the nurses and other medical staff a decent living wage/salary! You, Sir, are a disgrace! Anybody who has any decency is on the side of the nurses. Decent people are NOT, and cannot be, on your side. Redistribute the wealth of the nation fairly and equitably. Stop favouring those who have robbed the nation blind! – © Mark Alexander
‘God Save the King’ Doesn’t Fall from Jamaican Lips So Easily. Soon We’ll Be a Republic
THE GUARDIAN: Barbados beat us to it, but this week our prime minister made throwing off the colonial yoke a top priority. It won’t be easy, but watch this space
King Charles and Jamaican prime minister Andrew Holness at Buckingham Palace, London, September 2022. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/AFP/Getty Images
Britain, take note. A post-Elizabethan era is taking shape here in Jamaica. And it looks like a republic. “The government will be moving with haste and alacrity towards transforming Jamaica into a republic,” said our prime minister, Andrew Holness, on Monday. “Please move ahead with speed,” he urged his minister of constitutional affairs. If there are obstacles, the government will do whatever it takes.
But then, the signs have long been there. Little or no notice was taken in Jamaica of the Queen’s jubilee last year. There was no bunting, no official party at King’s House. The main celebration was a big party celebrating a different jubilee – the 50th anniversary of The Harder They Come, the Jamaican feature film that introduced reggae and Rastafari culture to the world. But our most notable celebrations in 2022 honoured the year in which Jamaica also celebrated 60 years of independence from British colonial rule, with many activities, memorials and galas honouring that national history. » | Barbara Blake-Hannah | Wednesday, January 18, 2023
Post-Brexit Britain is beginning to look pretty sick, isn't it? Sick and feeble. – © Mark Alexander
Britain, take note. A post-Elizabethan era is taking shape here in Jamaica. And it looks like a republic. “The government will be moving with haste and alacrity towards transforming Jamaica into a republic,” said our prime minister, Andrew Holness, on Monday. “Please move ahead with speed,” he urged his minister of constitutional affairs. If there are obstacles, the government will do whatever it takes.
But then, the signs have long been there. Little or no notice was taken in Jamaica of the Queen’s jubilee last year. There was no bunting, no official party at King’s House. The main celebration was a big party celebrating a different jubilee – the 50th anniversary of The Harder They Come, the Jamaican feature film that introduced reggae and Rastafari culture to the world. But our most notable celebrations in 2022 honoured the year in which Jamaica also celebrated 60 years of independence from British colonial rule, with many activities, memorials and galas honouring that national history. » | Barbara Blake-Hannah | Wednesday, January 18, 2023
Post-Brexit Britain is beginning to look pretty sick, isn't it? Sick and feeble. – © Mark Alexander
Two Beautiful Gay Men; One Beautiful Expression of Gay Love
Special Address by Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission | Davos 2023
‘Tax Us Now’: Ultra-rich Call on Governments to Introduce Wealth Taxes
THE GUARDIAN: Disney heiress and actor Mark Ruffalo among ‘patriotic millionaires’ who addressed world’s elite at Davos
Abigail Disney was part of a group of 205 millionaires and billionaires from 13 countries to sign the letter. Photograph: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
More than 200 members of the super-rich elite are calling on governments around the world to “tax us, the ultra rich, now” in order to help billions of people struggling with cost of living crisis.
The group of 205 millionaires and billionaires, including the Disney heiress Abigail Disney and The Hulk actor Mark Ruffalo, on Wednesday called on world leaders and business executives meeting in Davos for the World Economic Forum (WEF) to urgently introduce wealth taxes to help tackle “extreme inequality”.
“The current lack of action is gravely concerning. A meeting of the ‘global elite’ in Davos to discuss ’cooperation in a fragmented world’ is pointless if you aren’t challenging the root cause of division,” they said in an open letter published on Wednesday. “Defending democracy and building cooperation requires action to build fairer economies right now – it is not a problem that can be left for our children to fix.
“Now is the time to tackle extreme wealth; now is the time to tax the ultra rich.” » | Rupert Neate, Wealth correspondent | Wednesday, January 18, 2023
More than 200 members of the super-rich elite are calling on governments around the world to “tax us, the ultra rich, now” in order to help billions of people struggling with cost of living crisis.
The group of 205 millionaires and billionaires, including the Disney heiress Abigail Disney and The Hulk actor Mark Ruffalo, on Wednesday called on world leaders and business executives meeting in Davos for the World Economic Forum (WEF) to urgently introduce wealth taxes to help tackle “extreme inequality”.
“The current lack of action is gravely concerning. A meeting of the ‘global elite’ in Davos to discuss ’cooperation in a fragmented world’ is pointless if you aren’t challenging the root cause of division,” they said in an open letter published on Wednesday. “Defending democracy and building cooperation requires action to build fairer economies right now – it is not a problem that can be left for our children to fix.
“Now is the time to tackle extreme wealth; now is the time to tax the ultra rich.” » | Rupert Neate, Wealth correspondent | Wednesday, January 18, 2023
Church of England Bishops Refuse to Back Gay Marriage
THE GUARDIAN: Bishops resist change that would allow clergy to marry same-sex couples but propose civil marriages can be blessed in church
The Church of England has rejected demands to allow clergy to conduct same-sex marriages but is proposing that couples who married in a civil ceremony may have their union blessed in church.
The C of E released “historic plans” on Wednesday outlining a proposed way forward after decades of bitter and anguished division over sexuality. The proposal, endorsed by bishops this week, will be put to the C of E’s governing body, the General Synod, next month. » | Harriet Sherwood | Wednesday, January 18, 2023
The Church of England has rejected demands to allow clergy to conduct same-sex marriages but is proposing that couples who married in a civil ceremony may have their union blessed in church.
The C of E released “historic plans” on Wednesday outlining a proposed way forward after decades of bitter and anguished division over sexuality. The proposal, endorsed by bishops this week, will be put to the C of E’s governing body, the General Synod, next month. » | Harriet Sherwood | Wednesday, January 18, 2023
Tuesday, January 17, 2023
Court Battle Looms as UK Ministers Block Scottish Gender Recognition Law
THE GUARDIAN: Nicola Sturgeon says her government will ‘vigorously defend’ legislation by seeking judicial review of decision
The UK and the Scottish governments appear set on a major court battle on constitutional powers after Westminster ministers formally blocked a law passed by Scotland’s parliament creating a self-identification system for people who want to change gender.
Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, said the decision by Alister Jack, the Scottish secretary, would “inevitably end up in court”. Announcing the decision to the Commons, Jack also said he expected the issue to be decided this way.
Jack told MPs he was making the so-called section 35 order under the 1998 Scotland Act, which created the devolved parliament, which meant the gender recognition reform Scotland bill would not receive royal assent.
The Welsh first minister, Mark Drakeford, said the decision to use a section 35 order marked “a very dangerous moment”, adding: “I agree with the first minister of Scotland that this could be a very slippery slope indeed.” » | Peter Walker, Political correspondent | Tuesday, January 17, 2023
ALSO READ:
Conversion practices ban will include transgender people, Donelan confirms: Latest government U-turn on policy comes amid row over Scotland’s gender recognition bill »
London will Gender-Gesetz in Schottland verhindern: Transpersonen sollen in Schottland bald einfacher ihren Geschlechtseintrag ändern dürfen. Gegen das Gesetz hat die Regierung in London ein Veto eingelegt. Nun droht ein langer Rechtsstreit. »
The UK and the Scottish governments appear set on a major court battle on constitutional powers after Westminster ministers formally blocked a law passed by Scotland’s parliament creating a self-identification system for people who want to change gender.
Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, said the decision by Alister Jack, the Scottish secretary, would “inevitably end up in court”. Announcing the decision to the Commons, Jack also said he expected the issue to be decided this way.
Jack told MPs he was making the so-called section 35 order under the 1998 Scotland Act, which created the devolved parliament, which meant the gender recognition reform Scotland bill would not receive royal assent.
The Welsh first minister, Mark Drakeford, said the decision to use a section 35 order marked “a very dangerous moment”, adding: “I agree with the first minister of Scotland that this could be a very slippery slope indeed.” » | Peter Walker, Political correspondent | Tuesday, January 17, 2023
ALSO READ:
Conversion practices ban will include transgender people, Donelan confirms: Latest government U-turn on policy comes amid row over Scotland’s gender recognition bill »
London will Gender-Gesetz in Schottland verhindern: Transpersonen sollen in Schottland bald einfacher ihren Geschlechtseintrag ändern dürfen. Gegen das Gesetz hat die Regierung in London ein Veto eingelegt. Nun droht ein langer Rechtsstreit. »
Der Bitcoin steigt über die 20 000-Dollar-Marke. Ist der Krypto-Winter damit schon wieder vorbei?
NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG: Die bekannteste Krypto-Währung Bitcoin hat am Wochenende bisweilen mehr als 21 000 Dollar gekostet. Anleger fragen sich nun, ob die Branche den Untergang der Krypto-Börse FTX bereits verdaut hat.
Der Kollaps von FTX letzten November kam einem Erdbeben in der Krypto-Welt gleich. Hinzu kamen die steil steigenden Zinsen. Diese beiden Faktoren führten dazu, dass die Kurse vieler Krypto-Währungen markant fielen. Allen voran der Bitcoin-Kurs. Der Wert der gemessen an der Marktkapitalisierung wertvollsten Digitalwährung brach seit letztem April von rund 46 000 Dollar auf 16 000 Dollar ein. Am Wochenende hat der Bitcoin die 20 000-Dollar-Marke aber wieder überschritten. » | Isabelle Wachter | Montag, 16. Januar 2023
Der Kollaps von FTX letzten November kam einem Erdbeben in der Krypto-Welt gleich. Hinzu kamen die steil steigenden Zinsen. Diese beiden Faktoren führten dazu, dass die Kurse vieler Krypto-Währungen markant fielen. Allen voran der Bitcoin-Kurs. Der Wert der gemessen an der Marktkapitalisierung wertvollsten Digitalwährung brach seit letztem April von rund 46 000 Dollar auf 16 000 Dollar ein. Am Wochenende hat der Bitcoin die 20 000-Dollar-Marke aber wieder überschritten. » | Isabelle Wachter | Montag, 16. Januar 2023
Reputations: Coco Chanel | BBC Documentary
Mar 18, 2019 | This is a documentary about Chanel's life and legacy. @ 35:57, it includes an interview with Karl Lagerfeld about the first appearance of the Chanel suit.
Some sound clips are missing because YouTube automatically strips out copyrighted music/soundtracks and this also strips out narration.
This documentary goes into detail about how Chanel reinvented herself because of a simple misspelling of her name at a childhood convent.
Some sound clips are missing because YouTube automatically strips out copyrighted music/soundtracks and this also strips out narration.
This documentary goes into detail about how Chanel reinvented herself because of a simple misspelling of her name at a childhood convent.
Margaret Thatcher (1988): The Woman at Number 10
Monday, January 16, 2023
Can There Be a More Beautiful Expression of Gay Love Than This? | Reupload
Anyone who can object to this expression of love is absolutely and totally benighted. He/she is also bigotted in the extreme. Grow up! Live and let live! Liberate yourselves from the shackles that bind you! Gay love is something very beautiful. Gays are how they are because the inerrant God made them that way. Don't try and buck God's desires, God's creations! You cannot worship God and deny His creations at one and the same time. If you do so, you are a hypocrite. – © Mark Alexander
Top Hat, Mark Sandrich, 1935 : Heaven | Reupload
Gina Lollobrigida, Italian Star of the 1950s and 60s, Dies Aged 95
THE GUARDIAN: Actor, photojournalist and sex symbol was best known for appearances in films such as Beat the Devil, Solomon and Sheba and Buona Sera, Mrs Campbell
Gina Lollobrigida as Esmeralda in the 1956 film of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Photograph: Allstar/Cinetext /Allied Artists
Gina Lollobrigida, the Italian actor once called “the most beautiful woman in the world”, has died at the age of 95 Corriere della Sera reported the news, saying she had been “hospitalised for some time”.
Through the 1950s and 60s, Lollobrigida was one of the world’s most desired performers and starred in a large number of European and American films opposite many of Hollywood’s leading men of the day.
Born in 1927 in Subiaco, in the mountains east of Rome, she was the daughter of a furniture maker. In her teenage years she did some modelling and entered beauty contests, and in 1947 placed third in the Miss Italia pageant. On her entry form for that competition, she wrote that she had a talent for acting but that she wanted to do something serious with her skills. » | Alan Evans | Monday, January 16, 2023
LIRE AUSSI :
L’actrice italienne Gina Lollobrigida est morte : Coqueluche des paparazzi, héroïne de roman-photo au début de sa carrière, elle a accédé ensuite aux premiers rôles auprès des plus grands metteurs en scène et joué avec Gérard Philipe, Burt Lancaster, Yul Brynner. Elle est morte le 16 janvier, à l’âge de 95 ans. »
LESEN SIE AUCH:
Klarer Kopf, wildes Temperament: Zu ihrer Zeit brauchte man für wahre Berühmtheit so viel Schönheit wie Talent. An diesem Montag ist Gina Lollobrigida, die selbstbewusste, große Filmdiva, im Alter von 95 Jahren gestorben. »
Gina Lollobrigida, the Italian actor once called “the most beautiful woman in the world”, has died at the age of 95 Corriere della Sera reported the news, saying she had been “hospitalised for some time”.
Through the 1950s and 60s, Lollobrigida was one of the world’s most desired performers and starred in a large number of European and American films opposite many of Hollywood’s leading men of the day.
Born in 1927 in Subiaco, in the mountains east of Rome, she was the daughter of a furniture maker. In her teenage years she did some modelling and entered beauty contests, and in 1947 placed third in the Miss Italia pageant. On her entry form for that competition, she wrote that she had a talent for acting but that she wanted to do something serious with her skills. » | Alan Evans | Monday, January 16, 2023
LIRE AUSSI :
L’actrice italienne Gina Lollobrigida est morte : Coqueluche des paparazzi, héroïne de roman-photo au début de sa carrière, elle a accédé ensuite aux premiers rôles auprès des plus grands metteurs en scène et joué avec Gérard Philipe, Burt Lancaster, Yul Brynner. Elle est morte le 16 janvier, à l’âge de 95 ans. »
LESEN SIE AUCH:
Klarer Kopf, wildes Temperament: Zu ihrer Zeit brauchte man für wahre Berühmtheit so viel Schönheit wie Talent. An diesem Montag ist Gina Lollobrigida, die selbstbewusste, große Filmdiva, im Alter von 95 Jahren gestorben. »
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