THE CAMOUFLET TAKEN BY EMMANUEL MACRON FACING JOE BIDEN'S INFLATION REDUCTION ACT

Presented as a celebration of the "deep" relationship between two allies, the state visit, explains Chris Coons, an influential senator close to Joe Biden, of Emmanuel Macron in the United States will not produce a miracle for European industrialists, penalized by a US climate law. Focused mainly on climate and social spending, the plan, dubbed the “Inflation Reduction Act” (IRA), provides for more than $430 billion in investment, including $370 billion to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40%. by 2030, the largest effort ever made by the United States in this area.

On the first day of a state visit celebrating Franco-American friendship, the French president nevertheless called for "trying together to live up to what history has sealed between us, an alliance stronger than everything", considering that his second state visit to the United States in four years "also showed the strength, the link between the United States and France".

The IRA or "the United States looks first to the United States"

But he again warned his ally: "the risk is that, faced with the challenges of the time, the United States will first look at the United States, that's normal (...) and then look at the rivalry with China, and, in a way, that Europe and France become a sort of adjustment variable” between the two leading world powers.

In a speech to the French community at the French Embassy in Washington, French President Emmanuel Macron warned the United States on Wednesday that their $430 billion investment and subsidy program to help their businesses and fight against inflation risked "fragmenting the West".

He also warned against the "risk" that "Europe and France become a kind of adjustment variable" of the rivalry between the United States and China, the two leading world powers.

The French president told his compatriots at the embassy that he "said with great frankness, friendship (to the American elected officials) (...) that what has happened in recent months is a challenge for us because 'we are starting to shift our focus on energy issues and the cost of the war (in Ukraine) is not the same in Europe and the United States'. "But above all, the choices made, whose objectives I share, in particular the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA, a program of environmental and social reforms and investments for American companies) are choices that will fragment the West" , lamented the French president.

For Emmanuel Macron, the IRA “creates such differences between the United States of America and Europe that those who work in many companies will just say to themselves + we are no longer making investments on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. »

During this lunch with American parliamentarians, he denounced the “super aggressive” measures taken by Democratic President Joe Biden to boost American industry, pleading for better economic coordination on both sides of the Atlantic.

Yet the hope of French President Emmanuel Macron to obtain exemptions for European manufacturers, penalized by the "Inflation Reduction Act", Joe Biden's great climate law which gives preference to American car manufacturers, has been radically showered. by Joe Biden himself. This is THE current point of tension between the two countries, and the subject that came up the most during this conference: the American industrial program, the “Inflation Reduction Act”, deemed too protectionist by Paris.

“The United States will never apologize for the plan we are going to put in place”

There is no development in sight for the US aid package even though US and French Presidents Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron sought on Thursday to play down trade tensions between the European Union and the United States by saying want to "synchronize" their approaches in terms of green industry and avoid competition for jobs.

However, there is little chance that Washington will alter the Inflation Reduction Act, this 430 billion dollar investment program launched to help its American companies.

“We have the same objective: to invest massively in clean energies. Our teams will continue to talk to each other, to coordinate us”, tried to reassure Joe Biden. While being very clear: “The United States will never apologize for the plan that we are going to put in place”, did he -he adds,

As part of the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest clean energy transition investment in U.S. history was passed and with full force by the Biden administration A great victory and achievement for Biden therefore on which he will be judged in the next presidential election. Wanting to revitalize his industry and reassure a middle class shaken by globalization, while standing up to Beijing, the American Democratic President has voted this gigantic investment program, the IRA which worries Europeans.

The text rightly panics the European Union, which fears a massive industrial exodus across the Atlantic. And for good reason, the economic fabric of the Old Continent, which is already suffering from the gas crisis, risks suffering a little more, in the absence of equivalent subsidies.

“For me, the right policy in this matter is to seek European consensus first and then talk to the Americans from a common front. It is obvious that France does not have sufficient weight to influence American decisions. The French economy represents 2% of global GDP while the United States is around 20%. It's as if we were asking the question of whether Belgium (0.5% of world GDP) could influence the decisions of France. Very generally, in the national debate, we are particularly interested in the position of Germany and possibly Italy.

I rarely see the Belgian positions debated in France. “You have to be aware that seen from Washington, our country is a secondary player on the European scene. The Germans dominate. And on the global aspect, the French state is not at the same level as China with the Americans. So the right level to fight American protectionism is to bring this subject to the European level. “, concludes Gilles Babinet co-president of the National Digital Council, questioned by a colleague from Atlantico.

"Once again, we are not in a partnership of equals. The French state must agree to pursue a policy of middle power.", he concedes.

SMOKING YOUR CHRISTMAS SALMON

The holidays are coming soon, and if there is one key ingredient at this time, it's smoked salmon.

Rich in omega 3 !!

Would you like to smoke your salmon yourself, but you don't have a smokehouse?

Nothing is impossible.

Here are the ingredients and the steps to follow to amaze the whole family.

Ingredients for smoking salmon at home:

1 back or fillet of salmon with its plump skin

500 g coarse salt

125 g caster sugar

Espelette pepper or spices of your choice (optional)

Utensils :

big tweezers

clingfilm

mixing bowl

a large glass or stainless steel dish

a clean towel

a wok or casserole

150g beech sawdust

Preparation steps for smoking salmon at home without a smokehouse:

Step 1: start by preparing the salmon. To do this, remove all the bones from the back of the salmon using tweezers. Then split the fillet in half and remove the skin.

Eliminate the bloody parts in the middle of each fillet.step 2: in the bowl, mix the salt, sugar, pepper and spices.

Pour half of this mixture into a large dish and place the salmon on top, then cover it completely with the rest of the mixture.

Step 3: wrap the dish in film and leave to marinate for 24 hours in the refrigerator.

Step 4: Once the salmon is well marinated, remove it from the dish and wash it in cold water. Then dry it with the clean towel.

Step 5: Place the salmon on an oven rack.

Step 6: pour the sawdust into the bottom of the wok or casserole, put a transparent lid on to observe the formation of smoke and turn on the heat to maximum power.

Step 7: After a few minutes, when you have enough smoke, quickly place the grate with the salmon in the wok.

Step 8: leave the fire lit for a few more moments, always to have a very dense smoke.

At the same time, wrap your wok to seal the lid and trap the smoke.

Step 9: then remove the wok from the heat, and as soon as possible put everything in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

TO BE AT THE TOP AT CHRISTMAS !

In all the shops we see the new special holiday collections for Christmas and New Year's Day.

But I advise you to look in your dressing room if there is not something that could do the trick and on which you are going to put a new touch.

You no longer have to wear the traditional little black dress.

You can choose a skirt, a jumpsuit, trousers, a black or colored jacket, even shorts and, at the limit, black jeans.

Right now it's glitter madness.

Hence if you have a sequin piece you can match it with something more neutral.

For example, black sequin leggings would go well with a white or ecru bodice and with a little black jacket.

Black pants with a pretty red bodice or burgundy lace top.

If you choose the solution to put on jeans we had something very very very dressy like for example a suit jacket.

If you are in the countryside, have fun pairing a black skirt with a big colored wool sweater, you can also wear a fairly light floral dress by combining a big sweater over it, it's very trendy at the moment. .

You can find this look at Mage etc...

You can also choose to put on a red dress but then stay sober in the accessories.

We found nice little sweaters enhanced with a Peter Pan collar at Pablo or with ruffles at Kiabi or with sequins at H&M.

If you like long dresses or short dresses you will find pretty ones at Zara, and a little more kitsch but very pretty they are all lit up with sequins, there you will surely shine with a thousand lights.

Trying for once for this big evening to wear pumps is always elegant.

If you are dressed all in black, put on colored shoes.

Take out lots of accessories from bracelets to earrings to necklaces that shine shine shine like Christmas balls.

Don't forget even if we know it's very difficult to make love on Christmas Eve to invest in a little red babydoll like Mrs. Claus....

UNUSUAL BUT TRUE

187 COINS DISCOVERED

IN THE STOMACH OF A THIRTY INDIAN

But nothing could prepare the doctors at Hangal Sri Kumareshwar in Bagalkot, India for what they unearthed in late November from the bowels of a man in his thirties.

Taken to the hospital by his family, the patient complained of “sloshing” and frequent vomiting.

Preliminary examinations, X-rays and endoscopies, made it possible to quickly determine the cause of these disorders: an enormous quantity of coins, swallowed every day for three months.

A weight of 1.5 kilos of metal

A surgical intervention of more than two hours made it possible to extract a total of 187 pieces for a weight of 1.5 kg.

“The stomach was terribly distended and there were pieces in every corner,” explains Dr Eshwar Kalaburgi. But, miraculously, the man, whose identity has not been revealed, retains few after-effects of this bewildering diet: “We treated the onset of dehydration and a few other minor symptoms. But the patient is stable and can speak normally.”

The Japanese record: 1894 pieces

This coin-eater suffers from a psychiatric disorder no doubt related to pica, magpie in Latin, which pushes certain individuals to compulsively ingest materials of all kinds, paper, fabric, wood, plastic and, of course, metal.

Cared for by psychiatrists, this patient will probably not, and fortunately, have the opportunity to equal the Japanese record in this area: 1894 coins absorbed by a man in his fifties for two decades .

He too survived despite this 8.5 kilo “treasure” occupying most of his stomach.

CHINA LAUNCHES SHENZOU 15 MISSION

TO HIS SPACE STATION

China is launching the Shenzhou-15 space mission to China's space station today, the first since the structure's assembly was completed three weeks ago. Its launch takes place on November 29, 2022.

Shenzhou 15 (simplified Chinese: 神舟十五号; pinyin: Shénzhōu shíwǔ hào; lit. "Godship 15") is the tenth Chinese manned space mission and the fourth to the China Space Station (SSC). Long March 2F is expected to take place from Jiuquan Launch Base

The Shenzhou spacecraft is launched by a CZ-2F or Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. This launcher is 62 meters high and weighs 477 tons. It can place 8.5 tons to an orbit of 500 km.

Three taikonauts will take place on board to replace the three occupants of the station. The trio, led by Mission Commander Fei Junlong accompanied by two space newcomers, Deng Qingming and Zhang Lu, will transfer directly into orbit with the crew of Shenzhou-14 to the China Space Station currently under construction, which will mark a first in Chinese aerospace history.

Goals.

The mission should last six months, during which its members will be able to take full advantage of the three modules of the Chinese space station to carry out experiments. According to the mission plan, the Shenzhou-15 spacecraft will perform rapid and automated rendezvous and docking with the space station at the front port of the Tianhe core module, and then form a new combination of three spacecraft and three modules.

It will be the largest structure of the Chinese Space Station to date, with a total mass of nearly 100 tons. For comparison, the international space station can accommodate seven people and has 16 modules.

The Chinese Space Station is the first of its kind to be open to all UN member states. So far, several scientific experiment projects from 17 countries, including Switzerland, Poland, Germany and Italy, have been included in the selected projects of the Chinese Space Station, Zhao said.

Like the United States, China has great space ambitions. Behind, Russia is left behind. “For Beijing, space is above all a vector of prestige.

China aspires to become the world's leading power in all areas by 2049,” explains Marc Julienne, head of China activities at the French Institute for International Relations.

McKINSEY MACRON CASE ON THE SPOT ?

Last Friday, Emmanuel Macron, for his part, considered that he was not at the “heart of the investigation”, while declaring :

“I have no fear Macron could be summoned at the end of his second term.

The head of state, whose name does not appear in the press release from the prosecution, is protected by his criminal immunity, provided for in article 67 of the Constitution. According to this article of the supreme law, the Head of State "cannot, during his term of office and before any French jurisdiction or administrative authority, be required to testify or be the subject of an action, an act information, instruction or prosecution".

If the investigating magistrates were to consider that Emmanuel Macron must explain himself on these questions, they could summon him at the end of his second term at the Élysée, and only on the acts which were not committed in the exercise of his duties as President.

Ironically:

Emmanuel Macron is a child of the PNF. Without the intervention of the National Financial Prosecutor's Office in the 2017 electoral campaign and the questioning of François Fillon suddenly caught up in the alleged fictitious job of his wife, would the current president have found the keys to the Elysée ? .

During the 2022 presidential election, in the midst of controversy, Emmanuel Macron had estimated that the non-payment of corporate tax by McKinsey was explained by the tax rules in force. "If there is evidence of manipulation, let it go to the criminal court," he said.

The chairman of the Senate commission of inquiry, Arnaud Bazin, and the rapporteur Éliane Assassi indicated for their part that they had "full confidence in the justice system to conduct this investigation". “Full light must be shed on this affair, which is of major importance for our democratic life. »

They recalled that the Senate had unanimously adopted in mid-October a bill which aims to better regulate the services of consulting firms, but which must still be placed on the agenda of the Assembly.

Justice is however interested in the very close relations between the head of state and McKinsey.

"This is the first time that the PNF has opened an investigation against a President of the Republic in office... after having done so against his Secretary General, Alexis Kohler, and his Minister of Justice", recalls a journalist.

ZERO COVID POLICY PUSHES CHINESE

TO DEMONSTRATE "XI JINPING RESIGNATION !"

A rare occurrence in China, where the actions of citizens are constantly watched, demonstrations against health rules and confinements have multiplied in recent days. Whether it is the iPhone factory in Urumqi, where confinement has been imposed on employees, universities in Beijing or other cities in the country, anger is mounting against the regime and its decision to prosecute whatever happens its "zero covid" policy.

Anger is mounting in China over the draconian “zero Covid” policy practiced by the government for nearly three years. China is indeed tirelessly pursuing a zero Covid health policy, which involves strict confinements, quarantines for those diagnosed positive and almost daily PCR tests, provoking growing anger from the population. Students and workers are sometimes confined for many weeks to campuses or production sites, without the possibility of moving freely.

Call for "Xi Jinping, resign !" »

“We don't want PCR tests, we want freedom. According to a correspondent in Beijing for the German media Die Zeit, protests against the “zero Covid” policy and its strict restrictions continue. Protests erupted this morning in several cities across the country, including Shanghai, where demonstrators called for the resignation of President Xi Jinping.

Shanghai

A video widely circulated on the internet and geolocated in Shanghai by a news agency shows some protesters shouting "Xi Jinping, resign!" and also go after the Chinese Communist Party. To commemorate the victims of a fire that killed ten people Thursday in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, in the West.

This is a very rare demonstration of hostility against the president and the regime in the economic capital of the country, subjected at the beginning of the year to an exhausting two-month confinement. In Shanghai, the police intervene to try to disperse the demonstrators, report on Twitter the journalists whofollow the situation. Our correspondent in Shanghai tweets images as well as testimonies collected in these unprecedented demonstrations, in a country which severely represses any protest. On Twitter, a Taiwan-based DW and Guardian correspondent gives voice to people protesting in Shanghai against government restrictions and its “zero Covid” policy. “Imagine who can accept not being allowed to leave the house for four months, with no food, no medicine for the chronically ill, and a woman in labor hemorrhaging in front of the hospital because she has no PCR test result ? »

“Imagine who can accept not being allowed to leave their home for four months, without food, without medicine for people who suffer from chronic illnesses, and a woman who gives birth and hemorrhages outside the hospital because she has no not the result of his PCR test? Or people dying on a bus that takes them to quarantine ? »

In Beijing, several hundred students demonstrate

Several hundred students from the prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing took part in a demonstration on Sunday against the policy to fight against Covid-19.

Other cities concerned

Videos on social media have also shown a large vigil at the Institute of Communications in Nanjing, where participants also held up sheets of white paper, as well as small gatherings in Xian, Wuhan and Guangzhou, but the authenticity of these images could not be verified Protests also broke out in Wuhan, against the “zero Covid” policy

#CHINA “I'm heading home now. Just want to add how amazing this is. Never seen anything like this in the decade that I report on China. The anger seems too much to crack down on. Wonder what happens next. »

#CHINA “I want to emphasize that what is happening is incredible. It's the first time I've seen this in 10 years that I've covered China, ”said a journalist from the Dutch media Trouw, on Twitter, last night.

An anger born in Urumqi

These rallies follow in the footsteps of the spontaneous rally that took place at dawn on Sunday in Wulumuqi Street, the Mandarin name of the city of Urumqi in Xinjiang, where ten people died three days earlier in a fire. A fire which fed the anger of the inhabitants against the sanitary measures, since the authorities are accused of having increased the human toll by having imposed a confinement of the building and by hindering the arrival of help. Then in the afternoon, hundreds of people demonstrated in silence in the center of the city, brandishing white flowers and sheets of white paper, which had become a symbol of protest against censorship, before being dispersed by the police.

Large protests also broke out on Wednesday (November 23) at the world's largest iPhone manufacturing plant, owned by Taiwanese subcontractor Foxconn, according to videos and photos posted on social media Weibo and Twitter. Always in question the containment. The Taiwanese company, Apple's main subcontractor, has indeed been confronted in recent months with an increase in Covid-19 cases at its Zhengzhou site, prompting it to take containment measures. Nicknamed "iPhone City", this huge industrial site typically employs some 200,000 people, most of whom reside on site in dormitories. First images circulating on social networks show a crowd of workers parading in a street during the day; some face a line of people in white coveralls and riot police. The #RiotsFoxconn hashtag appeared to be censored midday Wednesday on Chinese social media. A few posts referring to the protests, however, remained online.

In a statement, Foxconn confirmed on Wednesday that "violence" took place at its factory. The Taiwanese group acknowledged workers had complained about wages and working conditions at the factory, but denied accommodating new hires with coronavirus-positive staff. "Regarding any violence, the company will continue to communicate with employees and the [Chinese] government to prevent similar incidents from happening again," he said.

These events are proof that the anger has spread across the country, after almost three years of living under ultra-strict measures against the virus.

After three years of a zero Covid strategy applied with the greatest firmness in China, weariness is turning to exhaustion, and frustration, sometimes to anger. The consequences of this ultra-strict approach are felt as much on the daily life of most Chinese as on the economy (the International Monetary Fund forecasts growth in 2022 at 3.2%, the second lowest since 1977).

"Concentration of Power"

On November 11, the National Health Commission announced an attempt to ease restrictions related to Covid-19, specifying that it was “not a relaxation of prevention and control”. If a part of the population, in particular the inhabitants of the countryside and the oldest, continues to adhere to this approach which has made it possible to avoid hundreds of thousands of deaths, the absence of prospects weighs on the morale of the youngest.

In the broadcasts of the Football World Cup, the Chinese are discovering that they are the only ones in the world who have not made any progress in the fight against covid for three years. An exasperation which now translates into repeated demonstrations.

“Unheard of since 1989 and the Beijing Spring which ended in bloodshed. It's spontaneous and unorganized, the only form of action possible in China," commented Pierre Haski, president of Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

The lack of economic opportunities, but also of travel, leisure, freedom in general, leads a growing number of Chinese to dare to address political issues, usually avoided in everyday conversations. The confirmation of Xi Jinping for a third term as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), at the organization's 20th congress in mid-October, only accentuated the trend: on October 23, the Chinese leader unveiled a team made up exclusively of faithful.

DONALD TRUMP AND KANYE WEST ACCOUNTS REACTIVATED ON TWITTER

In fact, 51.8% of tweeters were in favor of Donald Trump's return to the social network, according to a survey launched on Elon Musk's account and to which 15 million followers responded.

The poll he had launched on his personal page about Donald Trump was called "Vox populi, vox dei". The new boss of Twitter, visibly attached to direct democracy, has therefore reactivated the official account of Donald J. Trump. The former president of the United States had been banned from Twitter by the previous team, after the Capitol riots, which occurred on January 6, 2021.

Within hours, Donald Trump's account was followed by three million people. The network has since restored the original subscriber count of the predict, close to 88 million.

The ex-president of the United States is not the only one to have been rehabilitated by Musk. Kanye West, also suspended following anti-Semitic remarks, has returned to the social network. His first message “Shalom: )”, or “Peace” in Hebrew.

Donald Trump has said he will stay on Truth Social, his own network. He had, however, encouraged his Truth followers to participate in Musk's poll.

He added, about the boss of Tesla: "He's a hell of a character and I like the sacred characters".

IRAN AYATOLLAH KHAMENI JUDGES THAT :

THE MAIN ENEMY IS WORLD ARROGANCE

The Iranian authorities continue to denounce the demonstrations triggered on September 16 by the death of Mahsa Amini. And consider that these are “riots” encouraged by the West, in particular by the United States.

“The problem is not four rioters in the street, even if each rioter, each terrorist must be punished (...). The battlefield is much larger. The main enemy is global arrogance,” said Ali Khamenei, referring to Washington and his allies.

Resentment towards the United States

The highest figure in the Iranian state made this statement, broadcast by state television, when he received a delegation of young paramilitaries in Tehran on Saturday November 27, 2022, on the occasion of Bassidji week. This militia is in charge of the country's internal security, a morality police rightly decried by the Iranians since the beginning of the demonstrations.

“Some people tell us in the newspapers or on the internet that all you need to do to put an end to the unrest, which started a few weeks ago, is to solve your problem with America and listen to the voice of the nation,” he said. he throws.

“How to solve the problem with America? Will the problem be solved by sitting down, negotiating and getting a commitment from America? “, he then asked?

" Nope. Bargaining won't solve anything. Our problem with America can only be solved by accepting to be held to ransom by this country,” he said.

According to Ali Khamenei, the United States demands, in order to put an end to hostilities, that Iran abandon its nuclear program, change the Constitution, confine its influence within its borders and close its defense industries. “No Iranian can accept such conditions,” he stressed.

The Bassidji also supported by the president

The Ayatollah of Iran also attacked those who say that we must “listen to the voice of the nation”. “The enormous voice of the nation resounded on November 4 (in pro-government demonstrations), or during the funeral of (General Qassem) Soleimani. This huge crowd was the voice of the Iranian nation,” he said.

This Iranian general was killed in Baghdad in a drone strike led by the United States, in a period of heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran.

On Saturday, on the occasion of Bassidji week, President Ebrahim Raisi for his part visited a unit of these forces in Tehran, the Tasnim agency said. "You had a brilliant performance in the fight against the rioters," he argued to the members of this unit.

In three days, Iran and the United States will face each other on a completely different ground, that of the World Cup. In Doha, the Iranian players did not lack the courage to denounce the repression in their country. In their first game against England, the team decided not to sing the national anthem. Staying in Iran, another Iranian footballer was however arrested Thursday by the regime for "propaganda", just after a Foolad Khouzistab training session

“If the nation rises, we will all be thrown into the sea”…..

Faced with the extent of the protest throughout the country, the mullahs only know how to use repression, denial, and the designation of an external agent as an enemy to stay in power, because it is their life. Ayatollah Javadi Amoli, Friday preacher in the great city of Qom is fully aware of this: “If the nation rises up, we will all be thrown into the sea”…..

The Iranian population is rising... especially since the economic situation is catastrophic. Inflation and unemployment have risen almost steadily over the past 40 years. The supreme guide acknowledged, in 2019, that he had never aimed to improve the lives of his fellow citizens, but to maintain the Islamic Republic. The population is exasperated.

Death sentences...

Ultra-conservative President Ebrahim Raïssi called on the police to "react firmly". Faced with the scale of the mobilization, the head of the Iranian judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, threatened to show "no leniency" vis-à-vis the demonstrators. In ten days, more than a hundred people were killed according to Iran Human Rights and hundreds arrested. A Tehran court has already sentenced to death a person found guilty of "burning down a government building, disturbing public order, gathering and conspiring to commit a crime against national security, being an enemy of God and corruption on earth".

Iranian justice has also pronounced a second death sentence in three days against a "rioter", announced Mizan Online, the agency of the Judicial Authority. In the same trial, a Revolutionary Court sentenced another person to death accused of "terrorizing people in the street using a bladed weapon, burning a citizen's motorcycle and attacking an individual with a knife,” the Mizan Online agency said on Tuesday evening. “The accused is an enemy of God for having used bladed weapons,” according to the verdict. Five other people were sentenced to five to 10 years in prison for “gathering and conspiring to commit crimes against national security and disturbing public order”.

It is that the characteristic of the Islamic Republic is the simultaneous use of the apparatus of a modern State and the religious ideology to establish its authority, to fight the dissensions and to control the women. What the population no longer supports!

For Farid Wahid, director of the Observatory of North Africa and the Middle East of the Jean-Jaurès Foundation, these protests are the result of years of "economic, political and social frustration". “It is a strong, symbolic movement, which scares the regime. The Iranian authorities have received a very hard blow, taboos are broken, Iranians are done with the systematic linking of politics and religion. The situation is so catastrophic that these young people are ready to die to change things. Mahsa Amini's death was the spark that caused the explosion,” he adds.

From revolt to revolution, all the ferments are united for the revolution, according to researcher Gérard Vespierre.

RISOTTO WITH MUSHROOMS AND ORANGE

Mushrooms, pumpkins, walnuts or chestnuts? Choose your champion, the original autumn recipes waltz traditions. Risotto with porcini mushrooms is reinvented with orange.

Ingredients :

250 g arborio rice (Italian rice with round grains)

40 g dehydrated porcini mushrooms

2 shallots

1 untreated orange

50 g grated parmesan

50g butter

1 C. olive oil

salt pepper

Preparation 20 mins

Cooking 21 mins

Rest 2 hours

1 Soak the porcini mushrooms in 1 liter of boiling water for 2 hours. Drain them, rinse them in cold water and pat them dry on absorbent paper. Chop them into small pieces.

2 Filter their soaking water through a strainer lined with a fine cloth and bring it to the boil.

3 Peel the shallots and chop them. Finely grate the orange zest and reserve 3 tbsp. tablespoons of its juice.

4 In a saucepan, sauté the shallots for 2 minutes with half the butter and the olive oil. Add the rice and mix for 2 minutes. Gradually sprinkle the water over the ceps. Let cook for 8 minutes while stirring.

5 Add the porcini mushrooms and cook for another 9 minutes.

6 Off the heat, stir in the orange zest and juice, the rest of the butter and the parmesan

THE "ZERO COVID" STRATEGY FAILED

THE CLOSURE IN BEIJING

RESTAURANTS AND SCHOOLS

Beijing reported a record number of Covid-19 cases in nearly three years on Tuesday, November 22, an increase that prompted authorities to order schools and restaurants to close, while many employees are called to work from at their home.

The capital of 22 million inhabitants, which had recorded 621 new local cases on Sunday, recorded 1,438 on Tuesday, a record since the start of the pandemic. Nationwide, the total number of daily cases, including imported cases, has now exceeded 28,000, with southern Guangdong Province and southwest Chongqing City being the most affected, according to health authorities.

New variants and first deaths since May

China is the last major world economy to apply a strict health policy, known as zero Covid, which aims to do everything to prevent contamination and death. It consists of imposing confinements as soon as cases appear, quarantines for people who test positive and almost daily PCR tests for the population. Following central government announcements, several cities had however announced the end of daily Covid tests. We have seen PCR kiosks in the streets close, including in Beijing. Then the test stations reopened. Same thing in Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei which surrounds Beijing. Here too, in this pilot city for the optimization or adjustment of “zero Covid” measures, massive tests have returned, as well as partial confinements.

China, however, is no longer in last year's "broad spectrum" lockdowns. The confined report that their tower is locked and that they must stay at home, because there is a positive resident a few floors higher or lower.

This temporary strengthening of health restrictions is linked to the first three deaths from Covid-19 since Saturday, among elderly people in Beijing and the first official deaths for six months in China. But it is above all linked to this epidemic outbreak at the end of autumn in several Chinese megalopolises, i.e. more than 26,800 new cases throughout the territory on Sunday, 594 new infections in the capital: we are almost back to the peaks of last April.

The capital's authorities seem to want to avoid strict confinement for the moment like the one applied in Shanghai in the spring, but have however reinforced health measures in recent days. Nearly 600 areas of the capital, including residential buildings, are considered "high risk", forcing their inhabitants to remain confined to their homes or to be transported to quarantine centers.

Zero Covid policy in default ?

Schools have switched to online classes, restaurants, gyms, parks and tourist sites have been closed and employees are being asked to work from home. In the streets, queues in front of Covid-19 test booths are getting longer, with most public places now requiring a negative result within 24 hours to enter.

But this strategy, initially effective in stemming the spread of the virus, seems to be running out of steam in the face of new variants and is dealing a severe blow to the economy, isolating China from the rest of the world and causing strong weariness among the Chinese.

KREMLIN ACCORDS THEIR OFFENSIVE IN UKRAINE WILL BE CONCLUDED BY "A SUCCESS"

THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF JOE BIDEN

IN ALL DISCRETION AND FOR GOOD REASON

A Joe Biden, whose age is debated as he plans to run for re-election

No public event was planned for Sunday, while on Saturday, the president had celebrated another important family milestone at the White House: the wedding of his granddaughter Naomi, closed to the press. 

On Instagram, moreover, the Democrat appears in top form, notably by posting his encouragement to American footballers for the World Cup On Instagram, the Democrat appears in top form, especially when he posts his encouragement to American footballers for the World Cup. "Let me play, I'm ready," he laughs in a video. A wink to make people forget that he is the oldest president to have taken office in the history of the United States.

It took until mid-afternoon for his wife Jill Biden to post an affectionate message, with two photos of the couple dancing in tuxedos and gala attire. “I wouldn't want to dance with anyone else. Happy birthday Joe! I love you,” the First Lady tweeted.

Start of generational change among Democrats

If Joe Biden is not an exception in the American political landscape, where it is not uncommon to come across influential personalities who have blithely passed 70 or even 75 years of age, the mid-term elections have however brought about the beginning of a change of generation. in his party. The very influential Nancy Pelosi, 82, for example, gave up Thursday to run for a new term as Speaker of the House of Representatives. The US president, meanwhile, underwent a detailed medical checkup about a year ago, concluding that he was "vigorous" and "in good health".

It is also with the family that the Democrat intends to discuss his possible candidacy for the presidency of 2024. So far, he repeats that he "intends" to start, and has promised to make his decision public at the beginning of the year. next. According to various polls, a majority of Americans reject the idea of ​​a new candidacy.

And yet Joe Biden bears, like the other presidents before him, the marks of an exhausting function. It is now difficult to forget his age, betrayed by his stiffer gait and certain moments of confusion. Joe Biden's age is a matter of concern for many Americans. The question comes up after each of the blunders he regularly commits, such as the day he looked around the room for a recently deceased parliamentarian, or the day he seemed to forget the name of his Australian counterpart.

Points on which his critics in the Republican camp, including Donald Trump, rely in particular.

PHENOMENON IN FULL EXPANSION

NIGHT BREAST EVENINGS

Here is a phenomenon that makes sense in a world where women take on, evenings topless!

No more complexes that they are very small, medium or big have the watches for are pleasures and those of the others !

Moreover in this matter there is amateur and whatever the size of the form and yes !

So more hesitation a topless evening is playful naughty cool and it opens a whole new relationship to the body !

Perhaps the most amazing thing is the benevolence that can be observed in topless parties.

No judgment and for those who think wrongly that her breasts are too small, not beautiful enough a topless evening will make her change the vision of herself and rid of its complexes by discovering the success that will have aroused from other members of the parties.

This type of party started in Europe but it just crossed the Atlantic to arrive in America which has the reputation of exacerbated puritanism.

Well in America it's success too and even a great success !!

An innovation specific to Americans who have even innovated is the marking, can be a trace of their Puritanism but it's fun !

The marking consists in sticking a colored pellet at the top of each breast

Red dot we do not touch, green dot can touch, and some even put a patch of different color for each breast, in this case we only touch the green pastille of course !

Evenings without pellets her so-called "free" and evenings with pellets called "controled" !

In Europe most of the evenings are "free" proof of Europe's advance in freedom but "free" nights are booming in America and are now much more numerous than "controlled".

( Figures from October 2022, 78% free, 17% controlled, 5% indefinite or not communicated )

In this summer period is the time to go to test a topless evening so good evening to all !

LONGEVITY ON THE PLATE

THE OPTIMAL DIET

TO GAIN 10 YEARS OF LIFE

Researchers at the University of Bergen (Norway) have developed an “optimal diet”. inspired by Mediterranean cuisine and the diet of the blue zones (countries where the longevity of the inhabitants is above the average), To do this they compared the latter to the typical Western diet, that is- that is, rich in meats and processed products.

And what did they discover ? 

That the transition to their healthier diet allowed to gain 10.7 years of life expectancy for women and 13 years for men. So it's up to us to abandon processed and fatty foods as soon as possible!

Opt for legumes.

For this research published in the journal PLOS Medicine in February 2022, scientists analyzed data from the Global Burden of Disease study which brings together thousands of participants from 204 countries. They found that eating more vegetables increased life expectancy by 2.3 years in both sexes.

Furthermore, the earlier a person adopts a healthy diet, the greater the gains in longevity. If a woman starts at age 20, she could gain up to 10.7 years of life according to the study's calculations. The gain is greater in men: 13 years.

Adopt the "optimal diet" at age 80 and you can still hope to benefit from 3.4 years of additional life expectancy! But the sooner the better !

THE MUSES OF THE PIRELLI 2023 CALENDAR

STRIPED

This time, the Italian brand called on the Australian Emma Summerton to take the photos for its famous calendar.

Make way for a colorful dreamlike universe, featuring fourteen muses.

"Art is the only goal, it's not about selling"

For the calendar, I wanted to go back to the etymology of the word "muse".

"Originally, the muse represents the source, not only inspiring but also having talents in the fields of literature, science or the arts", explains Emma Summerton, who took the twenty-eight shots during the two photo shoots held in New York and London last summer.

Karlie Kloss, Emily Ratajkowski, Cara Delevingne, Bella Hadid, Ashley Graham or even Lila Moss (daughter of Kate Moss) and Precious Lee...

All have agreed to pose for this 49th edition, which Emma Summerton dedicates "to all the women who have guided her in her quest for inspiration and her choices, as an artist and as a person".

CHALLENGES AND BELOW THE WORLD CUP 2022

IN QATAR

As a “rentier, oligarchic and clientelist” regime, Qatar has, as researcher Danyel Reiche explains, implemented a policy of soft power through sport. This, initiated in 1995 after the seizure of power by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, was reinforced in 2008 by the Qatar National Vision 2030, a program aimed at both strengthening national security and guaranteeing maintaining the reigning family in power.

Already very controversial, the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which officially begins this Sunday with Qatar - Ecuador at 5 p.m., is more than ever in the eye of the storm. In any case, the controversies accumulate dangerously around the organization of the most prestigious of competitions.

heated controversies

The years between the awarding of the competition (2010) – controversial and tainted by suspicions of corruption – and its organization were heatedly debated.

These controversies relate in particular to the cost of the work estimated at 200 billion dollars; on the ecological footprint of the event, although it will be the most compact World Cup geographically since the very first, organized in 1930 in Montevideo; on the working conditions on the construction sites, almost slave-like and the number of worker deaths, pointed out in particular by a survey by the Guardian…

Lack of respect for human and workers' rights

In the desert, it is indeed difficult to hear the voice of immigrant workers having worked on the construction sites of the Mondial. Despite some social progress highlighted by the Qatari authorities, NGOs denounce the lack of respect for human rights in the country. It is out of the question to speak openly about working conditions in the country. Manifest, don't even think about it. The last foreign workers who ventured there, in the streets of Doha at the end of August, inherited a one-way ticket to their country of origin, with no hope of returning.

Challenging the regime from within is simply impossible. In the radius of the accusations, a number comes up in a loop. Some 6,500 foreign workers have died in the host country since the event was awarded, according to a Guardian investigation published in February 2021. The NGO FairSquare went further. At the using the documents sent to the embassies of the nationals concerned, she was able to establish that 60% of the deaths were classified as "natural deaths" or "cardiac arrest", two hypotheses that are not very credible... Be that as it may, the candidates for the departure for Qatar are not lacking, especially in Southeast Asia. The large and modern houses built in the city, the businesses created by returning migrants are real incentives to leave in order to improve their social and economic status.

The British daily explains that these supporters, who were offered travel, accommodation and a place for the opening ceremony of the World Cup, were informed by the Qatari authorities that they would not receive their daily allowances. The bad image given off by this system put in place by Qatar seems to have motivated the organizing committee to backpedal.

This new revelation should further fuel the many criticisms around this 2022 World Cup, during which, against all odds, fans will not be able to consume alcohol around the stadiums.

The stadiums built especially for the World Cup which deploy innovative technologies. But behind the beautiful speeches of the organizers, their energy cost and their environmental impact raise questions.

The environmental cost

The Football World Cup, which opens this November 20 in Qatar, will broadcast to millions of enthusiasts the dazzling images of an abundance of energy at the wrong time.

Moved to winter to escape the extreme temperatures of this wealthy Middle Eastern emirate, the competition will take place in eight stadiums, seven of which have been built specifically to host the global event. So many "jewels of the desert" - this is also the nickname of one of them - firmly embedded in the story of a "sustainable" and "carbon neutral" World Cup, told by the organizers, the Fifa and the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee. Jewels of technology assimilated by environmental associations to greenwashing. “How can air-conditioned stadiums be sustainable? Here is the rhetorical question posed on the official World Cup website.

Also communicating on a "carbon neutral" competition and highlighting the energy performance of the stadiums - even in the aisles of the COP26 - does it amount to "greening the packaging, when the whole product is problematic", sums up a researcher . Especially since, “in the Gulf countries, air conditioning is not a bad word. It is part of the way of life. “, notes another researcher: in Qatar, lowering the temperature inside accounts for 60 to 70% of the total electricity consumption of the country, noted in 2021 the Qatari newspaper The Peninsula.

Thus individual and collective behavior in the public space: local dress traditions require covering the body, even if a certain tolerance is granted to tourists, and demonstrations of affection in public clash with local cultural values ​​and are prohibited; as for the consumption of alcohol and drunkenness on the public highway, they are punishable by law. However, it is possible to obtain alcohol in some international restaurants and hotels, and FIFA has announced that it will be possible to obtain beer from the main sponsor in the fan zones three hours before and one hour after the matches.

On the other hand, homosexuality is not tolerated in Qatar. It falls under the law and those found guilty are liable to seven years in prison.

FIFA, however, assures that it is committed with Qatar to “guarantee the safety and warm welcome of all participants in the FIFA World Cup. This includes ensuring that law enforcement activities related to the FIFA World Cup are strictly necessary and proportionate. 

As has been the case at several international events that Qatar has hosted, individuals' privacy will be respected. »

While several captains announced that they would wear the rainbow armband in support of the LGBTQ+ community during the World Cup in Qatar (a country where homosexuality is prohibited and criminally punished), Hugo Lloris explained to him that he would not, preferring to respect the host country of the 2022 World Cup. There is no doubt that ostensible demonstrations would offend the nationals to the point of disturbing public order...

In Western countries, we hear much more criticism of the non-respect of human and workers' rights as well as the ecological consequences and intolerance of customs than popular fervor. But the objective is elsewhere for the emirate.

"Put Qatar on the world map"

“The economic viability of the World Cup does not enter into the considerations of the Qataris. It is a country that has very different economic standards from ours with a colossal gas windfall for a small number of inhabitants. The GDP per capita there is one of the highest in the world,” recalls Mathieu Llorca. And recalls the priority of the Emir Al-Thani and his father Emir before him: "to put Qatar on the map of the world". At any price. Which he partly succeeded.

A leading international player

“How did a “young” State – it has only been independent since 1971 – and devoid of any classic attribute of power, become in the space of a few years a leading international player, on which the spotlight of the world whole are robbed when it hosts the Football World Cup?, wonders Lama Fakih, doctor in contemporary history and international relations, lecturer at Saint-Joseph University in Beirut, whose analysis published in TheConversation we reproduce .

Fifty years ago, Doha was just a small fishing village. To understand the spectacular trajectory of Qatar, Qatar has employed, mainly the alliance with the great powers, the practice of "hedging" (an approach consisting in maintaining good relations with all the actors of the international community, ignoring the differences that some may have among themselves), and "niche diplomacy". If this foreign policy was primarily intended to secure the sovereignty of the emirate, it was quickly put at the service of an excessive quest for power, favored by a weakening of traditional leadership in the Arab world.

British protectorate from 1916 to 1968, Qatar – a small emirate on the Arabian Peninsula with an area of ​​11,571 km2 (about that of the Île de France, to give an order of comparison) and populated by some 2.5 million people today, barely 10% of whom are Qataris, the other residents being foreign workers – has only one land border, which is moreover controversial: with the immense Saudi Arabia, almost two hundred times larger . Qatar is somehow stuck between the two giants of Saudi Arabia and Iran.

After its independence in 1971, the country evolved for nearly 25 years in the shadow of Riyadh.

The first Gulf War, in 1990-1991, was a historic turning point for the Gulf countries. In particular, it will have a major impact on the relationship between Doha and Washington. With Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, Qatar realizes its own vulnerability and the ease with which one of its powerful neighbors could annex it. He considers the American security umbrella as the only real guarantee of survival. The US military base in Al-Udeid, Qatar, will be used extensively during Operation Enduring Freedom against the Afghan Taliban.

The country is gradually emerging as a privileged regional ally of the Americans – especially after the palace revolution of 1995, to which Washington undoubtedly gave its consent.

If Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani seeks above all to ensure the sovereignty of his country by relying firmly on the United States, he does not intend to bet everything on this alliance: Qatar is multiplying partnerships, to the point of asserting itself fairly quickly as a key player in the concert of nations. Indeed, Doha opts for a “hedging” policy, which consists of maintaining good relations with opposing players to reduce possible risks in the long term. 

This approach allows the “little ones” to gain influence to promote their political autonomy. Finally, Qatar is developing niche diplomacy, a preferred strategy for small states and medium-sized powers. Through niche diplomacy, Doha is forging a national brand image and international visibility.

COP27 FIASCO WHICH ONLY LEADS TO

CLIMATE FINANCING

The countries gathered at the climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh (November 6-18, 2022) reached an agreement on the issue of climate finance, via the creation of a fund “for loss and damage”. In its final decision, COP27 thus opens up the prospect of expanding financial transfers from rich countries to less advanced countries.

Arm wrestling between the North and the South

With this question of financing at the center of the negotiations, the COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh promised a showdown between the North and the South. It did not thwart the forecasts and Africa, strongly represented (with 2.3 times more delegates than in 2021), gave voice to it.

"Loss and damage in vulnerable countries can no longer be ignored even if some developed countries had decided to ignore our suffering," said young Ugandan activist Vanessa Nakate.

Financing the irreversible damage of climate change caused by the countries of the North:

Pakistan has taken the leadership of these countries of the South which contribute very little to global warming, but which are already suffering major impacts. They demand means to compensate for the irreversible damage of this climate change.

Pakistan, in particular, has borne the brunt of global warming this year. Pakistan flood damage amounts to $30 billion

Pakistan was indeed affected by terrible floods between June and September. A third of the country was flooded after heavy rains. More than 30 million people have been directly affected and several million have had to flee, according to Imran Saqib, policy director for WWF Pakistan. "Most are still on the road and have nowhere to return, with problems accessing drinking water and sanitation," he said. 1,700 people were killed, 6,000 kilometers of roads were washed away and more than 1.5 million houses were destroyed or damaged, particularly in the country's most rural provinces, Sindh and Balochistan. Added to this is the problem of harvests: "many crops, such as cotton and sugar cane, have been affected", points out Imran Saqib.bad for future harvests.

What about emerging countries ?

This polarization of debates between rich and less advanced countries should not, however, make us forget the crucial role of emerging countries (China, India, Brazil, Indonesia, etc.) in confronting global warming. This group of countries controls more than 60% of global greenhouse gas emissions. It is on him that the decrease in these emissions depends in the first place.

Climate finance, a dispute with multiple causes

At the instigation of the United States, the developed countries promised in 2009 to transfer at least 100 billion dollars per year from 2020 to developing countries for the mitigation and adaptation to climate change.

In 2015, the promise was enshrined in the Paris Agreement. In 2020, the account was not there (83 billion according to the OECD). And it shouldn't be before 2023, according to the Climate Finance Delivery Plan.

A second bone of contention concerns the interpretation of Article 8 of the Paris Agreement on the concerted approach to “loss and damage” caused by global warming. The less developed or island countries, heavily impacted, claim transfers under what they call the “climate debt” of the rich countries, coming up against a front of refusal so far.

Less advanced countries do not have access to the sometimes substantial financing that certain emerging countries can obtain for the conversion of their energy infrastructures. South Africa and Indonesia, for example, have respectively obtained 8.5 and 20 billion dollars to accelerate the exit from coal within the framework of partnerships with developed countries.

Litigation is finally fueled by the recent worsening of fuel poverty and food insecurity in the world.

The year 2022 is likely to be the year of the first decline in several decades in the number of people with access to electricity. Today, the war in Ukraine combines with the recurrence of climatic shocks to increase the cost of basic foodstuffs which are becoming inaccessible for the poorest and are dramatically increasing hunger in the world, wiping out several decades of progress.

The expansion of funding

Hard won during the last two days of the conference, the final decision of COP27 will expand climate finance in three main ways.

First, COP27 endorsed the principle of a mechanism dedicated to the financing of loss and damage. It is a victory, imposed by the less developed countries and the island States which have broken the united front of the rich countries. It was facilitated by the mediation of the European Union, which is more open than the United States on the issue.

It remains to negotiate the details of the system, in particular the scope of donors (positioning of emerging countries?) and the rules governing access to this new financing.

Secondly, the countries have agreed to increase traditional climate financing, particularly that for adaptation, with an emphasis on agriculture to deal with food insecurity. This additional financing should make it possible to exceed the 100 billion promised in 2009.

Thirdly, the two mechanisms of article 6 on the carbon markets constitute a third source of financing. That concerning the States (article 6.2) can already be used, countries such as Japan and Switzerland being ready to finance emission reductions in other countries through this means.

It will be necessary to wait until 2024 for private actors to be able to access this type of market (article 6.4), which will facilitate the mobilization of private capital without which there can be no change in the scale of international climate financing.

The issue of 1.5°C has once again become a subject of debate

The inclusion of the objective of limiting global warming to 1.5°C relative to the pre-industrial era was a victory for the least developed countries and small island states which, in 2015 at COP21, made it a condition of their adherence to the Paris Agreement.

Paradoxically, the 1.5°C issue once again became a subject of debate when these countries obtained a second victory in the negotiations. According to some, 1.5°C would be unrealistic, even scientists say.

In all the climate scenarios analyzed in the 6th IPCC report published in 2021-2022, we reach a warming of 1.5°C within one to two decades, to then be slightly exceeded. This year, global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions generated by all human activities will have remained at record levels, according to a new analysis by the Global Carbon Project, an organization bringing together scientists from around the world. This year, global CO2 emissions from our operations are expected to reach 40.6 billion tonnes of CO2; which leaves us with a “remaining carbon budget” of 380 billion tonnes of CO2 to limit global warming to 1.5°C.

Humanity should therefore urgently reduce its emissions to be able to avoid the most catastrophic impacts of climate change.

The international community has, however, failed to be more ambitious on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Just before the COP, the United Nations had however warned that as things stood, the climate commitments made by the States were leading to a rise in mercury of 2.4°C, far from the 1.5 degrees targeted by the Paris Agreement. .

But several countries, such as Saudi Arabia and China, have tried to remove this 1.5°C target, which they consider too restrictive.

This bad debate on 1.5°C has polluted discussions on mitigation actions.

Emerging countries hold the key to accelerating the decline in global emissions

The other failure recorded in Sharm-El-Sheikh concerns the phasing out of fossil fuels. No mention of the subject in the final declaration, while we are talking about the first cause of global warming. This is probably due to the impact of the energy crisis and the accompanying fears of shortages. But also the result of intense lobbying by producing countries.

However, if new funding is available, the deployment of carbon-free energy sources in less advanced countries will be able to accelerate, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where investments in renewables have stalled for two years. We will then be in the scenario where all the conditional commitments made by the countries can be fulfilled.

Be that as it may, the key to accelerating the decline in global emissions by 2030 is held by emerging countries, which tend to be forgotten when discussing the sharing of responsibilities between North and South. More than 60% of global emissions are controlled by this group of countries, which no longer belong to the least developed countries without having joined the club of rich countries. However, these countries have generally not aligned their medium-term objectives with the neutrality target that they set for the long term. As soon as they do, the decline in global emissions will gain much faster momentum.

If COP27 removed a major obstacle to the acceleration of climate action by defusing the litigation that was accumulating on funding, it. on the other hand, did not bring any progress in resolutions that were nevertheless crucial. Many countries considered that the texts proposed by the Egyptian presidency constituted a step backwards on the commitments to regularly raise the level, made in Glasgow. "This COP has weakened the obligations for countries to present new and more ambitious commitments", regretted Laurence Tubiana, architect of the Paris agreements of 2015.

A radio-classical to conclude :

“This agreement in extremis is only a cover-up, the screen for one of the most conflictual COPs in history, marked by two very worrying setbacks. A screen that does not mask much, moreover, since it is a simple agreement in principle, the terms and contributors of which remain to be specified.

Suffice to say that the islands of the Pacific are not close to receiving the necessary aid for the construction of dikes to protect them from the rise in the level of the oceans. Rarely has the urgency been so great ".

SECOND DEATH SENTENCE IN IRAN

RELATED TO THE RIOTS

Second death sentence in Iran linked to the “riots” and 2000 charges filed.

Iranian justice pronounced Tuesday a death sentence against a "rioter", announced the press agency of the Judiciary Authority. This is the second such sentence in three days.

Iranian justice on Tuesday pronounced a second death sentence in three days against a "rioter", announced Mizan Online, the agency of the Judicial Authority.

Protests have been taking place in Iran since the death two months ago of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurd who was arrested for breaking a strict dress code that requires women to wear the Islamic veil in public.

The authorities denounce "riots" and hundreds of people have been arrested. On Sunday, a court in Tehran had already sentenced to death a person found guilty of "burning down a government building, disturbing public order, gathering and conspiracy to commit a crime against national security, to be an enemy of God and to corrupt on earth”.

“The accused is an enemy of God”

Five other people had also been sentenced to five to 10 years in prison for “gathering and conspiring to commit crimes against national security and disturbing public order”.

In the same trial, a revolutionary court condemned to death another person accused of having

"Terrorized people in the street using a bladed weapon, for having set fire to a citizen's motorcycle and attacked an individual with a knife," the Mizan Online agency reported on Tuesday evening.

"The defendant is an enemy of God for having used edged weapons", according to the verdict.

TARANTINO DOESN'T HAVE HIS TONGUE IN HIS POCKET

Whether economically or qualitatively, we often hear it said that the cinema lives a While he is currently on promotion for his new book, Cinema Speculation , the filmmaker has not had his tongue in his pocket. In particular, he was very harsh – or at least very direct – with regard to certain aspects of the modern film industry.

Tarantino notably clarified that he never intended to work for Marvel, judging himself as an author and not as a performer. It is also the fact that the big studios consider their directors as mercenaries rather than artists that revolts him. One of the problems which would contribute, according to him, to the standardization of modern Hollywood films and to a general mediocrity. Thus, for the director of Pulp Fiction, our era would be one of the worst in the history of cinema.

It was also revealed earlier this year that he was in talks to direct a revival of the crime drama series "Justified." Quentin Tarantino – who lives part-time in Israel with his wife, Israeli singer Daniella Pick and their two children – has directed nine feature films over the past 30 years including “Pulp Fiction”, “Inglourious Basterds”, “Reservoir Dogs and “Kill Bill” which won multiple awards.

He indicated that his next feature would be his last, although no timeline was given for it. The director's television experience is limited. He directed one episode of "ER" in 1995 and two episodes of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" in 2005.

In recent years, the director considered producing and possibly directing a Star Trek installment after pitching it to JJ Abrams, but later said he was "staying away" from the project.

SEDUCTION

The dredge before and today.

Nowadays there are plenty of applications to switch to flirt mode thanks to applications like Meetic or you register, badoo just one click to tell the person you like by making a "like"

But there are also ways to flirt. Already the first question is to try to see if the person is free or not because in this site there are plenty of married men or married women who pretend to be single they just want to get their shot.

You will notice this right away because the questions are more about your physique and if you have sex right away if you like blowjobs or pussy licking.

Yes now individuals no longer know how to flirt.

Just look at the rate of singles, which is growing and ranges from thirty to fifty, the age at which one would like to settle down.

But why because we are in a consumer society a small problem and hop we throw the being who shares our life. And after a new starting point, let's resume a lesson in seduction.

Here we go.

First you have to focus on the pick-up spot so as not to get the wrong target. If it's a one-night stand, a champagne bar is enough.

But if it's for more choose your place in relation to what you like.

The golfer will hang out at the bar of the club house, the jogger will do the shopping, the doctor the salons of his profession etc... then if it is without specific desire do not choose a restaurant because it is very difficult to hire the conversation rather take a bar because the dialogue passes more easily for a man too easy “I can offer you a drink” for a woman it is another woman.

For a young lady, she accidentally bumps into her male or female prey and plays her role of seduction by using very revealing factors.

Like touch patting the other on the shoulder taking a hand brushing it just a look of a cat them a cat says a lot a soft voice attracts more than a hoarse voice.

For an approach to play with all your senses of your assets, the art of making people laugh is a good approach.

Doubtful body "language" is very trendy we are no longer looking for an audible conversation but a quick rapprochement, for example to see if a man is receptive as in a man take his tie back in place but that's being a little player it takes time directly put your hand delicately on his pants at the...

To seduce a woman Blow in the back of her neck or brush against her bodice by touching her breasts.

The way of dressing is also a seduction because if you wear a turtleneck, a tie shirt closed to the top shows that you are "closed". On the contrary if you have a fluid dress an open top to see your skin gives a sexy look a man in a negligee tie gives an open look because the open flirt is open...

Personally I like to ask my route to a man who attracts me I do the one who doesn't understand anything at the end he always starts the route with me I tell him it's too nice and I end up:

DO NOT TOUCH MY TV

CYRIL HANOUNA'S COMMENTS ON THE MURDER

DE LOLA DISPLEAS ARCOM

It all started on October 18 on the set of the TPMP show. Cyril Hanouna spoke about the Lola case, this 12-year-old teenager brutally killed and found in a plastic trunk in the courtyard of her parents' home.

“If we have all the evidence, it's direct life. I am sorry. There is no alteration or non-discernment, ”said Cyril Hanouna on October 18 on the TPMP set. “This is the kind of case where, crazy or not crazy, she has to be in jail. It should not be treated, ”continued the star host.

Arcom notably criticizes the host for having repeatedly called for speedy trials and automatic life sentences in such cases.

Arcom, the audiovisual supervisory authority, announced Friday, November 18 the formal notice of the editor of the C8 channel following several sequences of the program "Touche pas à mon poste", hosted by Cyril Hanouna, concerning the murder of Lola, a 12-year-old girl killed on October 14 in Paris. The main suspect is a 24-year-old Algerian who was under an obligation to leave French territory (OQTF).

"The moderator, while the judicial investigation relating to this case was open, repeatedly made remarks relating both to the conditions in which the trial of the person charged was to be held and to its outcome, in particular with regard to the pain to inflict on him, than on his psychological profile . In particular, he has repeatedly called for speedy trials and automatic life sentences in such cases,” the organization wrote in a statement.

“The Autorité considers that these sequences, by their repetitive nature, reflect a breach by the publisher of the obligation to deal with moderation in an ongoing legal case, recorded in its deliberation of April 18, 2018 relating to honesty and the independence of the information and the programs that contribute to it. Arcom also notes that the host was able to express his opinion at length without a quick and effective contradiction being opposed to him, disregarding the obligation to respect the expression of the different points of view on the air on a subject lending controversial," adds Arcom.

Arcom has therefore put the publisher of the C8 channel on notice.

The circumstances of her death and the profile of the suspect, of Algerian nationality and under an obligation to leave French territory (OQTF), had generated strong criticism on the right and on the far right. Cyril Hanouna: “This is the kind of case where, crazy or not crazy, she must be in prison. She doesn't need to be treated. "Not aware of her actions?" It is a law that must also be revised. (…) Hearing this speech in France, I can't take it anymore, it's unbearable, and the laws must change, ”he concluded.

Asked about the host's position, the Minister of Justice, Eric Dupond-Moretti, had described it as "negation of the rule of law". "The rule of law protects us (...) and sweeping it away like that to arouse low instincts, to gain audience, ratings, it's something that personally, I cannot accept”, he declared in the program “C à vous” on France 5.

Little Lola, the rule of law did not protect her !!!

" You do not have to give your opinion on me”, replied on TPMP Cyril Hanouna, repeating himself in favor of “direct life".

FRANCE UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE

 AND THE PATH TO MODULATION

The senators must ratify at the end of the morning, by a final vote, a compromise found with the deputies on this text, which did not require the government to resort to the constitutional weapon of 49.3 thanks to an agreement reached with the right .

Labor Minister Olivier Dussopt's bill initially plans to extend the current unemployment insurance rules, resulting from a disputed reform of Macron's first five-year term. A decree to this effect was taken in advance at the end of October.

It also triggers the possibility, by decree, of modulating certain rules of unemployment insurance so that it is "stricter when too many jobs are unfilled, more generous when unemployment is high", according to the campaign promise of Emmanuel Macron.

Consultation is underway with the social partners, and the government will announce "the arbitrations adopted" on November 21, for an application of the modulation at the start of 2023. "We are working on a modulation of the maximum duration of compensation", currently 24 to 36 months depending on age, Mr. Dussopt told MPs on Tuesday.

Thus “we do not plan to modify the conditions of affiliation to the unemployment insurance system”. It takes six months of work over a reference period of 24 months to be eligible. The executive insists that there is urgency in the face of the recruitment difficulties of companies, and makes this reform a first stone of its strategy to achieve full employment in 2027, i.e. an unemployment rate of around 5% against 7, 4% currently.

"We did not fold"

Deputies and senators reached a compromise on this text of the law in a joint committee last week, but at the cost of a hardening imposed by the LR senators, to which the minister was initially opposed.

It was added that the refusal twice in one year of a CDI after a CDD or an interim contract on the same post, the same place and with the same remuneration, will lead to the loss of unemployment compensation. It will be up to the employer (or both employers) to inform Pôle emploi, which poses a “technical difficulty” so that it is not a “gas plant”, according to Mr. Dussopt.

"The government did not want it, but we did not bend," said the rapporteur for the text in the Senate Frédérique Puissat (LR). His counterpart in the Assembly Marc Ferracci (Renaissance) finds the measure "little operational and legally fragile", and sees in it "a somewhat ideological approach, even if there is a real subject on the refusal of CDI".

Another provision, added by amendments from the presidential majority and LR deputies, is still debated: “abandonment of post” will now be equated with a resignation, to limit access to unemployment insurance.

Right-wing elected officials “have been force of proposal, both in the Assembly and in the Senate”, welcomes the deputy LR Stéphane Viry, who however believes that the bill “does not exhaust” the reforms to be carried out. In unison with the unions, the left criticizes "a right-wing reform" whose objective would be to "lower unemployment benefits".

Before the final vote Tuesday in the Assembly, acquired by 210 votes against 140, the Insoumis defended in vain a last motion to reject this text bearing, according to them, "a disposable vision of employees". The Socialists have announced a referral to the Constitutional Council. RN deputies also voted against the bill, by which "punishment and guilt are the order of the day", according to them.

The bill also records the opening of a consultation on the governance of unemployment insurance. Another component programs a “drastic simplification” of the validation of acquired experience (VAE), according to Minister Delegate Carole Grandjean.

EIGHT BILLION PEOPLE ON EARTH

LITTLE NEWS AND OVERCROWDING ?

We are now eight billion humans on the planet. According to UN models, humanity crosses this milestone on Tuesday, November 15, eleven years after passing that of seven billion, on October 31, 2011.

For some, this announcement is to be welcomed as proof of the improvement in the living conditions of individuals on a planetary scale. For others, it brings its share of concerns and questions.

How far will population growth go ?

And as world leaders come together at COP27 to find solutions to climate change, will the planet be able to support and meet the needs of a growing population ?

“We are awaiting the birth of the eight billionth inhabitant of planet Earth. This event must both allow us to marvel at the progress in health, which has made it possible to extend lifespan and considerably reduce maternal and infant mortality rates, but must also sound like a reminder of our shared responsibility. to take care of our planet", summed up the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, on 11 November.

Symbolic bar of 8 billion

Eight billion people on Earth. According to United Nations estimates, the world population will cross this symbolic threshold of eight billion on Tuesday, November 15, 2022.

The number has doubled in almost fifty years, compared to the four billion human beings who inhabited the planet in 1975. The curve will continue to climb in the years to come, to a peak of 10.4 billion people, which should be reached by the end of the 2080s.

A decline should then begin until the end of the century, according to the latest UN projection, entitled “World Population Outlook 2022”, released in July.

59% of the world's population now live in Asia

4.7 billion of the planet's eight billion inhabitants now live in Asia, where the two most populous countries in the world are located: China, with 1.4 billion inhabitants, and India. Note that this ranking between the two giants should be reversed by 2023.

The Asian continent represents 59% of the world's population, compared to 18% for Africa, 9% for Europe, 8% for Latin America and the Caribbean, 5% for North America and 1% for l 'Oceania.

The countries with the highest population growth are mainly in the regions of South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

Demographic growth is especially important in Africa – it is “ the countries of sub-Saharan Africa which should contribute to more than half of the increase projected until 2050”, according to the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations.

Some countries stand out with very rapid changes in their birth rate. If we compare these two maps produced by the World Population Prospects, the demographic dynamics of all the continents have dropped, even if some maintain a high rate.

But others, like Kenya, are well ahead of their neighbours. Although it was already declining, in 2011 its fertility rate was still at its highest, at more than 35 births per 1,000 people. Today, its demographic transition is nearing completion:

in 40 years, Kenya thus went from 8 to 3.8 children per woman, this is what is called the demographic transition. The example of Kenya, however, retains a high average compared to Europe, for example.

European countries find their balance between 1.3 and 1.9 children per woman. However, the fertility rate in sub-Saharan Africa remains at 4.7 children per woman according to AFD.

As a result, if the demographic transition in Africa advances, in particular thanks to much lower infant mortality than before, the African population should reach 2.4 billion inhabitants in 2050, estimates INED reports. More than half of the world's population growth will then take place in Africa.

South and Southeast Asia are also experiencing significant growth, but again the dynamics are changing.

If China completed its demographic transition more than ten years ago, it is now India's turn to see its birth rate plummet. The country, with 1.3 billion inhabitants, is almost on a par with China...but in 2021 its birth rate has just fallen below the replacement level for the first time. The country should therefore decrease after a peak reached around 2070.

Conversely, there are eight countries to concentrate more than half of the world's population expected in the coming decades. These are the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Tanzania.

However "most of the population growth is behind us"

According to UN projections released in July, world population is expected to peak in the 2080s and then stabilize at around 10.4 billion. “Ten billion may seem enormous, but it is ultimately a small increase if we compare it to that of the last sixty years”, affirms Gilles Pison, specialist in world demography, professor emeritus at the National Museum of Natural History and adviser with the National Institute for Demographic Studies (INED).

The symbolic bar of the first billion people on the planet had been crossed in 1800, that of two billion in 1927 then that of three billion in 1960. dizzyingly, with population growth of 2% per year. At the dawn of the 2000s, there were six billion of us on the planet, six times more than two hundred years earlier,” explains the demographer.

“Since then, the population has certainly continued to grow, but less and less quickly. Today, population growth is only 1%. And it will most certainly continue to decline. »

"The threat of a 'demographic bomb' that some feared is receding", for Gilles Pison.

“Most of the population growth is even behind us. »

But above all, once the ten billion mark has been reached, the population should stabilize and then begin to decrease slowly. For good reason, according to the UN, the fertility rate should drop from 2.3 children per woman, on average, in the world today to 2.1 in 2050. It would then stabilize at 1.8 in 2100 – the threshold that marks the end of generational renewal.

Birth control ?

Faced with this prospect, however, the question of what the planet can bear resurfaces. The anguish is not recent: from Antiquity, Plato and Aristotle worried, in their writings, about the destruction of forests and the disappearance of food sources. Later, in 1798, in his "Essay on the principle of population", Thomas Malthus was in turn alarmed by an imbalance between population and resources. But today, in the face of climate change, the fear is doubled, with both the fear that the planet will not be able to meet the needs of all the population, but also that the latter, too numerous, will end up destroying its habitat. .

“We are heading for disaster because the population is increasing much too quickly,” says Michel Sourrouille, author of the book Alerte surpopulation: le combat de demographie responsable (Édilivre editions). The 75-year-old man calls himself a Malthusian, advocating a drop in the birth rate so that population growth does not exceed that of resources.

“We cannot outlive the resources that the planet gives us”

Stabilizing the population, or even reducing it, is the solution to save the planet, thinks Michel Sourrouille: “We cannot outlive the resources that the planet gives us. It's the law of diminishing returns: the more resources we take from the Earth, the more we deplete it. In 2022, Overshoot Day – the date by which humanity has consumed all the resources the planet can regenerate in one year, calculated by the Global Footprint Network – has been set to July 28…

For many scientists, population growth is thus “one of the main factors of environmental threats”. For them, the answer is therefore simple: the human population must be reduced to alleviate the pressure on the planet. In France, the Responsible Demography association is campaigning, for example, to cap family allowances at two children. Same fight, in the United Kingdom, for the organization Population Matters.

A solution swept away by the demographer Gilles Pison. "To stop population growth suddenly, there are only three solutions: cause an increase in mortality - which no one wants -, move to another planet - which is unrealistic - or, effectively, control the birth rate" "However, this solution is just as unrealistic. It is an illusion to believe that it is enough to adopt birth control policies to see the world population drop. »

For Emmanuel Pont, engineer, more nuanced in his words and author of the book Should we stop having children to save the planet? (2022 , Payot), reducing the population is not the "priority"

Emmanuel Pont also points to the chronophagy of a birth control policy. “It takes a long time for the population to change. I had done the math, if we introduce the one-child policy in France, we will have to wait around 2100 for the population to be halved, he explains. Knowing that the objective is to achieve carbon neutrality in 2050, it will already be too late. »

Under no circumstances should authoritarian measures be imposed. An opinion shared by Emmanuel Pont: “In history, birth control policies have always gone wrong. There is a rather dark history of abuse of forced sterilizations, of eugenics finally. There is a fine line between deciding who has the right to have a child and who has the right to live… And it is also a policy that would be imposed on women, on minorities, once again. »

Stopping having children "to save the planet" also raises "philosophical questions about the right to procreation", he continues. “We're not going to put the fact of having children on the same level as consumer choices like flying or eating a steak… I find that this is a debate that quickly becomes slippery. »

24% of over 18s in some developed countries would however question their desire for a child because of the climate.

Some people have already chosen not to have children for ecological reasons. They are designated by the acronym "Gink", for Green Inclination No Kid in English, or people who claim not to want to have children to save the planet, and not to inflict on their offspring a life on a polluted Earth. and overheating.

Extremes to avoid, it seems to us.

“Changing our way of life”

Indeed for Emmanuel Pont as for Gilles Pison, the problem is less the increase in the population than our ways of living and consuming. "We must change our lifestyles, the political and economic mechanisms of society, the distribution of power and wealth between countries, the consumerist culture", details the first. “To fight against global warming, we must not be less, but we must strive, all together, for more sobriety and less consumption. “, underlines the second.

In 2015, an Oxfam report showed that countries with high birth rates – often also among the least developed – such as Pakistan (3.45), Nigeria (5.32) or Ethiopia (4. 15) represent only 3.5% of global CO2 emissions despite being home to 20% of the world's population. Conversely, the most developed countries, which have a low fertility rate, such as China (1.7), the United States (1.71) or European countries, emit 78% of CO2 while that they represent only half of humanity.

“In terms of food, for example, the planet has enough to feed ten billion people properly. Provided that he is not asked to feed them as the richest 1% eat today, with a diet that is too meaty and totally unbalanced,” continues Gilles Pison.

And this issue is all the more important since, in a few years, the maps of world demography will be completely reshuffled. India will become the most populous country and one in three people on the planet will live in Africa. “The challenge is to allow these countries to develop without becoming more aggressive for the environment. In this, the developed countries must now serve as models,” pleads the demographer.

“Furthermore, we now know that there is a correlation between improved living conditions and lower fertility. If we want to stabilize the world population, this will have to go through a reduction of inequalities, a fight against poverty, access to care and contraception everywhere in the world..."

Admittedly, but great disparities remain: in the West we are witnessing a suicidal drop in the birth rate, while in Africa an uncontrolled excess birth rate. The socio-economic and political consequences are likely to be significant.

CHARLES III CELEBRATES HIS 74TH YEARS

An anniversary that will be special this year since it is the first since he took office as sovereign. Like his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, Charles III will celebrate his birthday twice, with a busy schedule.

Thanks to the decision taken by his ancestor, King George III in 1760, the English sovereign is the only person in the world to have two birthdays in the year. If his real birthday, marking his date of birth, is not celebrated by the rest of the country, he benefits, like his mother before him, from a national holiday to mark his birthday, next June.

This event, named Trooping the Colour, or "Salut aux couleurs" in French, is the official birthday of the British sovereign, and therefore the king's second birthday. Another occasion to celebrate this very special holiday with great pomp.

It is tradition. Like the queen before him, King Charles III will therefore celebrate his birthday twice in order to have a summer date for outdoor festivities.

Of course, festivities still take place on November 14 to properly celebrate the king's 74th birthday. The festivities kicked off at 11 a.m. with a concert by the Household Cavalry Band. At noon, 41 cannons were fired in Green Park in honor of the King. A second 62-gun salute was scheduled for 1 p.m. from the Tower of London.

For the moment, the second date of the birthday of Charles III is not yet known.

SEX AND INTIMATE CARESES

The caresses of the nipples

The most effective caress on the male or female nipples mimics the sucking of a newborn. This is a powerful stimulation concerning both the areola and the nipple.

This caress automatically increases the level of excitement, erection in men and vaginal lubrication in women. It is that sufficiently prolonged stimulation of the nipples produces a discharge of oxytocin, a hormone triggering both orgasm and the ejection of milk during breastfeeding.

Thus, in both men and women, the nipples have been an erogenous zone that has been known for centuries. Leonardo da Vinci himself imagined that there was a connection, a vessel between the tip of the breasts and sex, and he also drew it...

Vaginal orgasm in men ?

If the women can perhaps obtain two types of orgasms, with vaginal or clitoral starting point, the men also perhaps… The clitoral orgasm would be comparable to a male orgasm triggered by the stimulation of the glans penis. The vaginal orgasm could be triggered by stimulation of the shaft of the penis, at the level of the corpora cavernosa, that is to say on the top of the penis.

Be careful, depending on the area, the effective stimulations are different. At the level of the glans, which is very sensitive, the caresses must be gentle. At the level of the cavernous bodies, to be effective, they must be much firmer and exert relatively strong pressure.

Some men get a different orgasm this way. Note that another male area, less easy to reach, could trigger what looks like vaginal orgasm, the prostate accessible only through the anus...

The inner caress

To fit during love is a constant pleasure in the couple, with or without orgasm. To increase the pleasure of this moment of fusion, it is possible to lavish mutual caresses from inside the body.

For this, once nested, you must remain motionless. Then the woman contracts her perineum, tightening her vaginal walls, which then leads to a gentle caress on her partner's sex.

Then the man's turn to contract his perineum, which causes his penis to move, thus caressing the internal surface of his partner's sex.

Then, it is enough to start again several times in order to alternate the mutual interior caresses. This practice has two marvelous faculties:

slow down ejaculation for men who want it, and then increase the feeling of love and tenderness in the couple.

What better way to be happy ?

Intravaginal caresses

The inside of the vagina is a very sensual area, rich in pleasure sensors. It is also an important surface, with very different sensitivities depending on the vaginal geography. Thus, manual caresses make it possible to explore, to discover in the partner the most reactive zones.

For some women, it is the region of the entrance to the vagina, for others, the anterior face (belly side) corresponding to the famous G-spot, for others the back of the vagina, or even the bottom of this vagina, whether forwards, backwards or to the sides.

And of course, because a woman is never simple, the most sensitive surfaces vary according to the moment, the mood or the posture...

And then also according to the mode of stimulation, tender, soft, fast, slow, strong, vibratory, in tapping, light touches, each zone reacts in its own way.

TERRORIST ATTACK IN ISTANBUL TURKEY

Istiklal Avenue, the city's busiest pedestrian thoroughfare, was packed with people and the sun gave off the air of an Indian summer. When the sound of an explosion sounded, at 4:20 p.m., right in the middle of the passage, at the intersection of the small Imam-Adnan street, between the Mango clothing store and the Mado ice cream parlor.

The explosion occurred around 4:20 p.m. (1:20 p.m. GMT), when the crowd was particularly dense in this popular walking spot on Sundays for Istanbulites and tourists.

According to videos broadcast by social networks, the explosion emits a powerful detonation, accompanied by flames, and immediately triggers a movement of panic. A large black crater is also visible in these images, along with several bodies on the ground nearby. Families with children in their arms tried to run away from the neighborhood.

Many victims

The attack killed six people and injured 81, including two seriously, according to a latest report, given this Sunday evening by Turkish Vice-President Fuat Oktay. A father and his young daughter lost their lives, said Derya Yanik, Minister of Family and Social Services. She was 9 years old, according to public television TRT and the daily Cumhuriyet.

A 38-year-old mother and her 15-year-old daughter, as well as a couple aged 27 and 40 also died in the attack, details the Turkish daily.

Reactions from the authorities

For fear of a second explosion, the area was completely evacuated. An imposing deployment of security forces also blocks all access. The police cordoned off access to Istiklal Street and adjacent streets, and helicopters flew over the city center where numerous sirens sounded. In the neighboring district of Galata, many shops have lowered their curtains.

Less than an hour after the events, the Turkish Audiovisual High Council banned the audiovisual media from broadcasting images of the scene to "prevent fear-mongering". In addition, access to social networks was restricted in Turkey after the attack, according to online restrictions monitor Netblocks.

The Suspects A Syrian Woman and the PKK

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denounced, live on television, "a vile attack". “We consider this to be a terrorist attack due to the explosion of a bomb set off by an assailant,” said Fuat Oktay, the vice president.

While the latter had evoked a "suicide bomber" at first, the Minister of Justice, Bekir Bozdag, then evoked a "bag" placed on a bench. “A woman sat on a bench for 40 to 45 minutes and after a while there was an explosion,” he continued. “Either this bag contained a timer or someone activated it remotely,” he added.

“Let our people be sure that the perpetrators will be punished. Attempts to trap Turkey and the Turkish nation in terror will not be able to achieve their goal today or tomorrow, any more than they did yesterday,” promised Erdogan, who had already faced a campaign of terror in across the country in 2015-2016. Claimed in part by the Islamic State group, it had killed nearly 500 people and injured more than 2,000. "We will find those who are behind this attack, whoever it is, even if it goes to the other side of the world" promised Fuat Oktay.

Turkish Interior Minister Souleyman Soylu announced on Monday the arrest of 46 people, including some in Kucukcekmece, on the outskirts of Istanbul. Among them, a woman suspected of having planted the bomb and of Syrian nationality admitted the facts, confirmed the Turkish police. She would have declared to have acted on the orders of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and received directives in northeast Syria.

The city is famous for the battle that took place there and allowed Kurdish forces to repel the Islamic State (IS) group in 2015. It is controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), of which the People's Protection Units (YPG), allied to the PKK, are a major component.

The PKK, considered a terrorist organization by Ankara but also by its Western allies including the United States and the European Union, had since Sunday been accused of being behind the attack by the Turkish authorities. "Operations continue" to arrest other suspects, said the Minister of the Interior.

Turkey "rejected" this Monday morning the condolences of the United States which

“support the Kurdish terrorists” of Kobané, indicated Souleyman Soylu.

“We do not accept condolences from the United States. Our alliance with a state that maintains Kobané and pockets of terror (…) must be debated”, declared the minister, again questioning the PKK.

WHAT IS MY SMALL BREAST ?

Is having a small breast complexing ?

No: make it a strength and assume!

The positives and negatives :

For the former, you don't suffer from back pain, pain during a race, you can walk for whole days without a bra...

For the latter, hard to find a 28A !

Then you turn to H&M !

It's up to lingerie brands to stick to these small sizes !

Key moment : you find yourself for the first time in the dark in a bed with your boyfriend.

Hi ! hey !! your boyfriend doesn't care about having to deal with a 35D or a 28A !!!

YOUR CONCLUSION:

Finally, the chest measurement is far from being as important as we would have us believe. Goodbye Nabila and Bella Habib !

NO your boyfriend is not going to leave you because you do not go beyond cup A.

If he dares to make you a reflection, LEAVE !!

OECD EXPECTS RECESSION

IN EUROPE FOR 2023

And the euro zone occupies a prominent place in this very dark picture: its growth is undergoing the most significant revision of all the regions of the world, forecast at 0.3% – against 1.6% in June. The OECD also anticipates a recession scenario for Germany in 2023, that is to say a period of decline in its economic activity over at least two consecutive quarters. German GDP – the largest European economy – is expected to plunge next year, down 0.7%, while the previous forecast predicted an increase of 1.7%.

“This OECD forecast is realistic. It is consistent to consider that in the Euro Zone, it is probably Germany that will suffer the most this winter from the energy shock”, explains Gustavo Horenstein, economist and fund manager at Dorval Asset Management. “The recession that will affect Berlin is expected because of its dependence on Russian gas and the importance of the manufacturing industry in its GDP – a sector which is very sensitive to questions of energy supply. »

Unlike Berlin, its main European neighbors should escape this prospect: growth of 0.4% is expected in Italy, 1.5% in Spain and 0.6% in France – while Bercy still expects 1% for its 2023 budget. But these OECD forecasts could still be revised downwards depending on the evolution, this winter, of the current energy crisis.

"If it's very cold, stocks will run out faster"

“Significant uncertainties surround these projections”, notes the organization, which points to a risk “of worsening fuel shortages, in particular gas” in the event of a particularly harsh winter. Growth in the euro zone, forecast at 0.3%, could then be further reduced by an additional 1.25 percentage points in this worst-case scenario. This would then have the effect of inevitably plunging the vast majority of countries in the region into recession for the whole of 2023.

The recession in several European countries “will quite simply depend on the temperatures this winter”, according to Gustavo Horenstein. “If it's very cold, stocks will run out faster. The risk is that the demand for gas and electricity for heating is much higher than the production capacities (of these two energies). »

And in a context of already high gas and electricity prices, the risk of shortages exists this winter according to the OECD: “This could happen if additional non-Russian supplies from non-EU countries do not materialize to the extent expected, or if gas demand is exceptionally high due to a severe winter. »

The organization acknowledges that EU gas stocks have been “significantly boosted” this year – between 80% and 90% in most member states – but may prove to be “insufficient”. “A harsh winter could significantly accentuate shortage phenomena,” warns the OECD.

The OECD has established three scenarios relating to the levels of European gas stocks over the winter of 2022-2023.

The international organization for economic studies has also established different scenarios relating to the levels of European gas stocks over the period October 2022 - April 2023. The first assumes a 10% drop in gas consumption , the result of the implementation of energy sobriety plans by several European countries. In this case, stocks would be sufficient for this winter.

In the other two scenarios, the energy situation would become really tense in Europe: in the case of gas consumption similar to the period 2017-2021, there would be an "acute risk of disruption of energy supplies" in February 2023. And for the “harsh winter” scenario, the fall in the level of gas stocks below 30% – corresponding to a normal operating level – would take place in January.

In addition to the winter weather, the "ability of industry in particular, and of European economies in general, to manage their energy consumption will also be important", notes Gustavo Horenstein.

“Probably no improvement before 2024”

The vertiginous rise in energy prices is already threatening the activity of a growing number of energy-intensive industries – some are forced to reduce their activity, like Duralex and others in the steel industry.

“Most governments, when it comes to dealing with energy issues, prioritize households, utilities, hospitals… and productive industry comes last. In the event of a recession, this is probably where there will be the most damage this winter in Europe, ”said Gustavo Horenstein. In the event of an aggravation of the energy crisis, gas and electricity savings could in fact primarily affect industries which, by reducing their production, would have an impact on the economy of the Euro Zone – this sector represented 23% of European GDP in 2021, according to the World Bank.

Whatever measures are taken in the short term, “the reconstruction of the European energy sector will take years”, notes Gustavo Horenstein.

"We will probably go through a difficult time with a strong economic slowdown. The recession and the domestic inflation to fight are in front of us, we will probably not see an improvement before 2024."

SABOTAGE OF NORD STREAM 1 AND 2 GAS PIPELINES

OR THE OTHER WAR

Nord Stream 1 is affected by two leaks, according to the Swedish Maritime Authority, one in the Swedish exclusive economic zone, the other in the Danish economic zone, northeast of the island of Bornholm. Denmark, for its part, discovered on Monday a leak on Nord Stream 2, which runs parallel to 1.

According to the German geological research center GFZ, two earthquakes were recorded on Monday, one shortly after 2 a.m., the other at 5 p.m. The institute, however, refused to establish a formal link with the leaks detected on the gas pipelines. The Swedish police, however, announced on Tuesday the opening of a preliminary investigation for "sabotage", said a spokesman.

Objects of geopolitical arm wrestling in recent months, the two pipelines operated by a consortium dependent on the Russian giant Gazprom are no longer operational because of the consequences of the war in Ukraine. But they were filled with gas.

A complex sabotage

The accidental cause of these explosions was quickly ruled out as implausible. The three explosions with a power equivalent to 6 tons of TNT occurred in international waters a few minutes apart on the two gas pipelines at a depth of 70 to 100 meters. For Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, “these are deliberate acts. We are not talking about an accident”.

The “sabotage” thesis is therefore highly favored to explain the spectacular leaks from the Nord Stream gas pipelines, an operation that is certainly complex but by no means beyond the reach of a competent army. And there are plenty of them in the area. But the method used remains unknown as the presumed author, object of multiple conjectures.

The three leaks identified since Monday, which are located in the Baltic Sea, off the Danish island of Bornholm, between southern Sweden and Poland, nevertheless belong to an area that has been highly monitored for decades. “The Baltic Sea is confined and shallow and almost every movement is tracked and observed by the coastal states and their ships,” notes Julian Pawlak, of Helmut Schmidt University in Hamburg.

In addition, the operation requires intervention at a depth of 70 meters. " It's heavy. Damaging two gas pipelines at the bottom of the sea is an important event, so a state actor is likely, ”notes Lion Hirth, professor at the Hertie School in Berlin, implicitly ruling out the terrorist or villainous act. But a competent army knows how to do it. "Ships and submarines are capable of deploying covert combat divers" and other remotely guided underwater vehicles.

But nothing is impossible for an army experienced in the art of clandestine operations.

Who are the responsibles ?

It remains to be seen who could have sabotaged these installations and who would have an interest in cutting off these gas pipelines. No one has claimed responsibility for the explosions. For Ulrich Bounat, geopolitical analyst and specialist in Central and Eastern Europe, few countries have the capacity to commit these acts. And all eyes are on Moscow.

For its part, the Kremlin refutes its responsibility and said it was “extremely concerned”, considering that “no” hypothesis should be excluded, including that of sabotage, without giving more details on its origin. Russia will also request a meeting of the UN Security Council on the leaks detected on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines, after having summoned Joe Biden to say if the United States was at the origin of this “Sabotage”, Russian diplomacy announced on Wednesday.

“Russia intends to convene an official meeting of the UN Security Council in the context of the provocations concerning the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines,” Russian diplomatic spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Telegram.

For his part, the adviser to the Ukrainian presidency, Mykhaïlo Podoliak, denounces him "a planned terrorist attack" by Moscow, without however providing evidence. Washington is reserved, the Americans refusing to "confirm" an act of sabotage.

It remains to be seen who is responsible for the operation. Some countries have an interest in the “pipe” never being able to work again. The opponents of Nord Stream 2 have been numerous for years, the United States in the lead. On February 7, shortly before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, US President Joe Biden raised the possibility of "ending" it.

Asked about the method used for an infrastructure under the control of his German ally, he replied: “I promise you, we will be able to do it”. The video has been circulating widely for 24 hours on social networks.

This Tuesday, September 27, moreover, Poland, Norway and Denmark inaugurated a strategic gas pipeline which will allow Poles and Europeans to be less dependent on deliveries from Moscow. “The era of Russian dominance in gas is coming to an end,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said at his inauguration.

Europe's cautious response

If Europe believes that it can only be a deliberate act, it remains cautious about its origin and its author. The European Union warned on Wednesday against any attack on its energy infrastructure in a statement issued by the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell.

“Any deliberate disruption of Europe's energy infrastructure is completely unacceptable and will be met with a vigorous and united response,” said Josep Borrell, speaking on behalf of the 27 EU member states.

Because the consequences for Europe are very real. The two gas pipelines were certainly not functional but the explosions reduced to nothing the possibility of a negotiation to deliver gas to Europe this winter. According to Denmark, it will already be “one or two weeks” before the damaged pipelines can be inspected. In the meantime, even when the Nord Stream pipelines were not supplying, Europe has never bought so much Russian gas. Since the beginning of the year, imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) delivered by ship by Russia have increased by 13%, according to data from the International Group of LNG Importers (GIIGNL). They already amounted to 11 million tonnes at the end of August. They should greatly exceed the level of Russian LNG imports in 2021, which were 13 million tonnes.

Today, Russia accounts for around 12% of LNG supplies in Europe. This gas arrives in Europe via LNG terminals in the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Spain.

However, we have two certainties at this stage: first, the event is linked to the war in Ukraine. "NATO Maritime Command and Allied ships are considering and preparing for hybrid activities, including the sabotage of critical infrastructure, on the sidelines of the primary objective of collective defence," says Julian Pawlak.

Then, it creates additional instability in the European economy. "It's a stark reminder of the vulnerability of our energy infrastructure," said Lion Hirth.

Whoever they are, those who attacked Nord Stream also make it clear that they could strike at other energy infrastructures serving a Europe thirsty for gas and oil.

CHIC EAT CHOCOLATE THIS WINTER !

Rejoice! New research reveals that cocoa and dark chocolate contain significant amounts of vitamin D2, a vitamin that can help fight the seasonal winter blues, among other health benefits.

Did you say chic ?

As if candy addicts need another reason to love the sweet taste of chocolate, researchers from Martin Luther University published their findings on chocolate, as a new super-blues weapon, in the journal " Food Chemistry ”.

These German experts have indeed discovered that chocolate, in its many forms, contains a significant amount of vitamin D2. And choco lovers have reason to be happy, because our body needs vitamin D to strengthen bones and reduce the risk of respiratory diseases.

In lack of light

"Lots of people don't get enough vitamin D," nutritionist professor Gabriele Stangl of MLU said in a statement. "The problem gets worse in winter, when the sun is scarce."

Vitamin D is thus known as the “sun vitamin” because it is produced by the body's exposure to 90% of the sun's rays, but it can also be obtained through food or food supplements.

Thus the absence of sun during long winter days could reduce our level of vitamin D and cause the famous "seasonal effective disorder" (SAD) or the winter blues.

In addition to helping keep our bones on top, we can read in "Medical News", vitamin D also boosts our cardiovascular health and our immune system, finally regulates our insulin levels. A real ally.

Milk versus black

In a press release, the researchers said that chocolate was a previously unknown source of vitamin D. Experts say "Cocoa Butter and Dark Chocolate Contains the Highest Levels of Vitamin D", While Milk and White Chocolate Contains the Lowest Levels of Vitamin Toblerone or spread: be careful not to fall into extreme consumption, because the sugar content does not change!

But still a few squares in front of the fireplace, right ?

LITTLE GUILTY PLEASURES OF CHARLES III

With the disappearance of his mother, Prince Charles finally acceded to the British throne. Since his birth, the “trainee” heir has never ceased to be at the heart of everyone's attention. Here are his little guilty pleasures.

The love story between the future heir to the Crown, Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles is a perfect example. Curious, His Majesty's subjects were also attentive to their daily habits, idealizing, even fantasizing.

However, as the writer Bertrand Meyer-Stabley revealed in his book Majesté. The reign of Elizabeth II, the habits and gourmet secrets of members of the royal family are not so far from ours.

Thus, the writer affirmed that the queen liked "very sweet coffee with milk, that Prince Philippe liked black coffee with a little sugar, while Charles never drinks coffee".

What about the taste preferences of the new King Charles III. According to this book, the father of princes William and Harry "loves smoked salmon, peach Melba and bread and butter pudding". Dishes much less whimsical than some might imagine.

And to accompany her dishes, Bertrand Meyer-Stabley reveals that the queen preferred champagne and white wines "like Moselle or Sauternes".

His son prefers “white wine, champagne (Bollinger 1975 is his favorite) and Martini”.

FRANCE BLIND TO THE EVOLUTION OF COVID

On paper, France is back in the green. With just over 20,000 new cases of Covid-19 contamination detected every day, the few figures that are today communicated by the health authorities show a marked improvement in the situation on the epidemic front.

Can the French rejoice? Not so much, and for good reason: it is difficult to trust the data that is currently shared. “These data cannot be interpreted, indicates Public Health France in a weekly report. Some rates are underestimated. »

Why ?

Firstly because since October 27, medical analysis laboratories no longer communicate the results of screening tests against Covid-19 to the national screening test file (SI-DEP). The latter are indeed opposed to the 2023 provisional budget of Social Security, which will force biologists to make 250 million euros in savings each year: an "unacceptable planing blow" for the profession:

"Faced with the deafness of the public authorities, we have decided to suspend the transmission of screening data on the SI-DEP platform", announced a few days ago Alain Le Meur, spokesperson for the Alliance for Medical Biology ( APBM).

The Department of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics (Drees) noted a decrease of nearly 80% in the number of test results shared in this database at the start of this movement... According to our colleagues from Parisian, the laboratories have resumed sharing data since Wednesday, November 2, but professionals in the sector are threatening a strike from November 14 if they do not win their case with Thomas Fatôme , Director of Health Insurance.

A new sub-variant – BQ.1.1, spoilsport ?

To this is also added the drop in the number of tests carried out in France. On average, just under 90,000 tests are recorded every day in the country: such a low figure has not been observed since August 2020. The fewer the tests, the less visibility is good on the Covid-19 front. 19. This epidemiological monitoring is all the more important as a new sub-variant - BQ.1.1. - is gradually establishing itself in the country and gaining ground. BQ.1.1. could become dominant in the country within the next few weeks.

“We have never seen one of the Omicron sub-variants impose itself without causing an epidemic wave, and it is not very clear why this would not be the case this time”, affirms Antoine Flahault, director of the Institute of Global Health in Geneva.

WHY IS KHERSON RETURNING

UNDER THE CONTROL OF UKRAINE

AND DO THE RUSSIAN MILITARY SURRENDER ?

The Ukrainian army entered this Friday, November 11 in Kherson, a key city in the south of the country, after the withdrawal of Russian forces, said the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense. “Kherson is returning to Ukrainian control, Ukrainian Armed Forces units are entering the city,” the ministry said on Facebook.

The ministry called on the Russian soldiers remaining on the spot to "surrender immediately", promising to "preserve life and safety" to those who do so. “Any Russian soldier who puts up resistance will be eliminated. You have only one chance to avoid death: surrender immediately,” he pressed on Facebook. The Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, for its part relayed on Telegram photos of civilians waving Ukrainian flags in Kherson.

Moscow announced a little earlier that it had completed the withdrawal of its troops from this territory. In total, more than 30,000 Russian soldiers have withdrawn to the Kherson region by leaving the right bank of the Dnieper River and deploying on the left, the Russian army announced on Friday. A major setback for the forces of Vladimir Putin, a month after claiming the annexation of the Oblast and losing the Kharkiv region in the northeast. The news had been received without triumphalism, and with circumspection, by kyiv, which suspected an ambush. Volodymyr Zelensky reacted on Wednesday with “extreme caution”.

Ukrainian diplomacy today hails an "important victory" in the face of this third major withdrawal of the Russian army, which "proves that whatever Russia says or does, Ukraine will win", the minister said on Twitter. Ukrainian Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kouleba. Ukrainian forces had, in recent days, made several important advances and recaptured several localities around Kherson.

Despite this huge defeat for Russia, the Kremlin spokesman estimated on November 10 that the area remains “a subject of the Russian Federation”. The Russian president had warned in September that he would defend "by all means" what he considers to be Russian territories, brandishing the threat of recourse to nuclear weapons.

In Mykolaiv, five Ukrainians killed by a Russian strike

About 100 kilometers northwest of Kherson, in the large southern city of Mykolaiv, at least five people were killed and several injured overnight from Thursday to Friday in a missile strike on a residential building, according to regional authorities. The balance sheet is provisional. "In a cynical response by the terrorist state to our successes on the front, a strike hit a five-storey building, completely destroyed," the head of the regional administration said on Telegram.

On the eastern front, the fighting also continues to rage, particularly in Bakhmout, a city that Moscow has been trying to conquer since the summer and the main battlefield where the Russian army, supported by the men of the paramilitary group Wagner, stay on the offensive.

The United States announces an additional 400 million for Ukraine

Given Russia's "relentless and brutal airstrikes on critical civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, additional air defense capabilities are paramount," the Pentagon said Friday (November 11th). To do this, the United States has announced that it will provide additional missiles for the defense of kyiv, for a total value of some 400 million dollars.

This new tranche of aid includes four Avenger short-range anti-aircraft systems, an unspecified number of Stinger and Hawk missiles, as well as shells and missiles for Himars precision artillery systems.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Joe Biden. This new aid brings to more than 18.6 billion dollars the military assistance of the United States to Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian offensive, on February 24. On Wednesday, November 9, the American Chief of Staff, Mark Milley, had nevertheless hoped for talks to end the war, a military victory being, according to him, not possible for either Russia or Ukraine.

Seoul denies supporting Ukraine militarily via the United States

South Korea denied on Friday that it sold artillery shells to the United States for Ukrainian forces. The Wall Street Journal had revealed the day before that Washington was close to reaching an agreement to purchase 100,000 155mm artillery shells from Seoul, which would then be delivered to kyiv, citing "officials Americans familiar with the case.

For its part, Seoul insists that if the current negotiation is finalized, the ammunition will be intended for American forces only. In a statement, the South Korean government clarified that the "South Korean policy of not supplying lethal weapons to Ukraine remains unchanged". The goal for the country is to preserve its ties with Russia, a key intermediary with the North.

EU will no longer recognize Russian passports from Ukraine

Holders of Russian passports issued in the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson, unilaterally annexed by Russia in September, will no longer be recognized in the European Union and will no longer be able to enter the Schengen area. This is also the case of Crimea, annexed in 2014 by Moscow, as well as pro-Russian separatist regions in Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, recognized as independent only by Russia.

The American fear of a generalized nuclear conflict.

After eight months of intense fighting in Ukraine which saw the Ukrainians begin to regain the advantage over Russian forces, the United States now appears to be pushing for the two sides to return to the path of negotiations. At the start of the week, several "leaks" in the American press went in this direction. Monday, we learned in the Wall Street Journal that Jake Sullivan, national security adviser of the United States, had recently spoken, and on several occasions, with two senior Russian officials who have "the ear of President" Putin . About these discussions: the American desire that the Ukrainian crisis does not turn into a general nuclear conflict.

Secret channel between Washington and Moscow

In fact, behind the communication postures of each other, the discussions between the two nuclear superpowers that are the United States and Russia have never been broken since the start of the war last February. Thus, a secret channel has been set up in recent months between the two countries, bypassing the head of diplomacy Antony Blinken, head of the State Department (the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) in Washington.

Monday, we learned in the Wall Street Journal that Jake Sullivan, national security adviser of the United States, had recently spoken, and on several occasions, with two senior Russian officials who have "the ear of President" Putin .

The day after the publication of the Wall Street Journal article, it was the Washington Post's turn to explain that the same Jake Sullivan had gone to kyiv in recent days to convince Volodymyr Zelensky not to close the door to possible negotiations. The Americans wanted to make the Ukrainians understand that they could no longer demand the departure of Vladimir Putin from power as a prerequisite for any start of discussions.

“A window of opportunity for negotiation” between Moscow and Kyiv

Clearly, Joe Biden is pushing President Zelensky to declare that Ukraine is open to negotiations with Russia so as not to appear as a blocking factor: "The fatigue of certain allies towards Ukraine is a reality", thus declared anonymously a US official at the Washington Post. If these words are intended to be benevolent, we are indeed witnessing a big pressure blow from Washington on kyiv, according to the analysis of the journalist Endeweld that we take up.

A few days after the publication of these articles, it was Joe Biden himself who declared: “We have to see if Ukraine is ready to compromise”. This statement comes just after the midterm elections.

A few days after the publication of these articles, it was Joe Biden himself who declared: “We have to see if Ukraine is ready to compromise”. This statement comes just after the midterm elections, which saw the Democrats resist much better than expected against the Republicans led by Donald Trump. At the same time, the Chief of the American Armed Forces, General Mark Milley, announced that there was “a window of opportunity for negotiation” between Moscow and kyiv. We are a long way from the warlike declarations of last spring against Vladimir Putin.

It's that we are a few days away from the G20 summit which is to meet in Bali.

The organizing country, Indonesia, has also called for “resolving our differences at the negotiating table, not on the battlefield”. According to an off-the-record source, the Americans are today anxious to contain the wind of anti-Americanism which is blowing outside the West regarding the war in Ukraine. To the point that the idea of ​​a meeting between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin on the occasion of the G20 has been mentioned in recent days. An aborted project, because the master of the Kremlin preferred to give up traveling to Bali, instead sending his head of diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, to represent him

A wind of anti-Americanism

And as Russian troops retreat to the Kherson region, Putin continues to flex his muscles in his speeches recently explaining that Russia has "not yet started the serious business". Next Monday, however, a decisive meeting between the two greatest world leaders, Xi Jinping and Joe Biden, is announced in Bali.

THE BEGINNING OR THE END OF TAX HAVEN ?

If the words still have a meaning then let's take a closer look at them !

The notion of Paradise is a notion common to most religions and it is opposed to hell.

The obvious conclusion is that everyone is living in a tax hell and we want to eliminate paradise for good.

When the citizens go out of their towns they can observe in the countryside shepherds leading flocks.

But have you seen many flocks of wolves led by a shepherd ? No, it is more common to see sheep, indeed a flock of sheep is easier to lead, the risk of being bitten or being devoured is almost zero.

Sheep are docile and easier to lead to the slaughterhouse !

States and politicians are Shepherds, and citizens are sheep !

Another important evidence is that it is easier to build a hell than a paradise.

Fiscal hell leads to poverty, to the dependence of citizens who, in order not to suffer additional punishments, blindly obey the directives given to them.

For the many States, which have put a tax hell in place, tax havens are proof that we can do otherwise, which is why they are the sworn enemy that we must destroy at all costs.

When we observe the top 10 countries in which the taxation is the highest in the world, it is clear that they are generally in debt for an amount greater than their GDP !

For these tax hells there is never enough money, we could double, triple the amount of taxes that they would always remain in debt !

These states behave like compulsive gamblers, like alcoholics, over and over again !

By definition hell is the punishment and Heaven the reward so why should the majority of citizens be punished, what original fault did they commit to suffer hell ?

All the maneuvers of the states of many nations which aim to destroy tax havens by implementing increasingly warlike measures hope that they will put an end to havens.

So here we are before the Eternal, fighting evil against good.

Should evil win at all costs, should hell become the norm ?

The citizens must do their conscience examination, they too often forget that they still have one weapon of choice against the politicians who manage the States, it is the vote during the elections.

Yes, by voting, citizens can overturn the table and make tax paradise the new norm, paradise and wealth for all, as a reality that is imposed on the whole planet!

Despite all the coercive measures to destroy paradise, the increasingly rogue regulations, the war led by a fierce battle (Common Reporting Standard "CRS", Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act "FATCA" ...) and communication, always more and more aggressive and dependent, the tax havens resist and organize themselves, and even, oh surprise, certain new havens appear, more discreet and more refined.

In the concert of states we are faced with a hypocrisy: most states are indeed waging a merciless fiscal war against each other. As proof, it suffices to observe the different tax rates in each country, for example in the European Union (Is France 27.31%, Is Germany 15%, Is Luxembourg 15%, Is Ireland 12.5%, Is Poland 9%, etc ...) and sometimes even within the same country, as for example in the different States which constitute the United States.

What if we made all the countries on this planet a tax haven by applying a tax rate of 2% globally ?

Yes, of course, expensive states should put themselves on a strong diet, thus discovering the virtues of savings and budgetary rigor.

Not possible !, impossible !! , this is what you will surely hear from everywhere, but ....

Everyone knew it was impossible, but a day came when a "fool", who didn't know it was not possible, tried to achieve this thing, and he succeeded in doing it  !!

What we do with it will not be the future. Prefer paradise to hell, we say impossible !?

Personally I like to think that a day will come when a “fool” will definitely transform hell, which has become too generalized, into “Paradise for all” !!!

WHAT FUTURE FOR DONALD TRUMP 

AFTER THE MIDTERMS ?

"It's definitely not a Republican wave, that's for sure," Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told NBC. “We expected a Republican wave and it's a very slight wavelet. Neither side really won.

What seems pretty clear to me is that the United States has entered the 2024 campaign. We do not know if Joe Biden will be a candidate, a priori no, or if Donald Trump will be, a priori yes, but the Will Republicans let him do it?” Comments specialist André Kaspi on the results of the midterms.

The Republicans won control of the House of Representatives. This is extremely important because it allows them to block the Biden agenda. In the senate, it is possible that they will lose a seat - maybe more - when they hoped to win two and maybe more. For them it is a disappointment.

The victories of the Republican camp are indeed fewer than expected. Donald Trump intended to place his MAGA foals in key positions for the next presidential election, and triumphantly announce his candidacy next Tuesday. Instead, Republicans performed somewhat poorly, with swing states rejecting the most extreme conspiratorial candidates.

Positive attitude

Silent all morning, and "angry" according to the gossip, Donald Trump reacted on his network, Truth Social. A rare occurrence for this die-hard “positive thinking” borrowed from Pastor Norman Vincent Peale, the former president admitted that the results of this election were “somewhat disappointing”. For the others. "From a personal point of view, it was a great victory," he says.

Maths in support, he says that the candidates to whom he has given his support have won 219 victories for 16 defeats. An exaggerated flattering ratio. Keeping only the statewide polls (governor, senator, secretary of state), and not just a district, Donald Trump's score is 21 wins for 24 defeats. And much less if we only look at the "swing states", where you have to seduce a more centrist electorate.

The most striking successes of the Republicans come above all from the local elections, which are held at the same time as the midterms, and first of all from the large states of Texas and Florida which are anchored resolutely to the right, champions of a new revolution. conservative that we had detailed in a previous column

Those who campaigned on the negation of the 2020 results, on the other hand, are all beaten. It's that the Americans want prospects for getting out of the crisis, waiting for dynamic people for that.

In the United States, today, everyone is talking about only one man, Ron DeSantis, who did very well in Florida, not only personally but more broadly by electing people around him. The DeSantis system works in Florida. He proposed another way, which remains despite everything that of a strong conservatism. He is young, 44, and that may be attractive to Republican voters who are looking for a new leader today.

Moreover, last summer, Mitch McConnell had he not criticized the “quality” of the Republican candidates chosen during the primaries, most often novices in politics having pledged allegiance to the “Don”. “You cannot nominate candidates who are unable to appeal to the electorate beyond a narrow base,” moderate Republican Senator from Pennsylvania, Pat Toomey, attacked on Wednesday. “The more the candidates were MAGA, the more they underperformed in their state”, he continues, denouncing a “debacle for which Donald Trump is responsible”.

Ron DeSantis, a potential rival

To make matters worse Ron DeSantis, whom Donald Trump had helped a lot in 2018, won a resounding victory by nearly 20 points in Florida. To the point of conquering Miami-Dade, a county however predominantly Hispanic that Trump had lost by 7 points against Biden and 29 against Clinton.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, surrounded by his wife and their three children, was easily re-elected on November 8, 2022. According to the polls at the polls, DeSantis won 57% of the Latino vote, managing to seduce not only the Cuban immigrants, traditionally conservative, but also the Puerto Rican electorate. Unheard of for a candidate ideologically close to Donald Trump but with the discipline of a former Navy lawyer who went to Harvard, who seems less repulsive to independents. His triumphant re-election in Florida makes Republican Ron DeSantis a strong rival to Donald Trump, whose foals are getting mixed results.

Several lessons emerge from the results of this election

First of all, these results highlight a phenomenon of an outgoing bonus. A striking example is that of Wisconsin, which voted again for its outgoing governor and senator even though they were Democrats and Republicans. The fact of being in a period of crisis leads voters no longer to make a choice guided solely by the question of ideological positioning, but to favor the experience of outgoing candidates.

This brings us back to an American tradition which is that if the incumbents do the job, the voters say to themselves: “why take another one? ".

Some find themselves elected ad vitam eternam or almost, like Nancy Pelosi who has just obtained her 19th term and was re-elected with 82% of the vote.

According to CNN polls, the defining issues in these elections were inflation, followed by abortion.

And it appears that from June 24, the question of the right to abortion emerged in the battle of the midterms following the decision of the Supreme Court to put an end to the constitutional right to abortion by reversing the Roe judgment. v. Wade.

Democrats have used this divisive campaign theme to outvote Republicans. During this period, an increase in registrations on the electoral lists could also be recorded. On election day, in order to finally witness a rise in the question of the right to abortion in the reasons for the choices of the vote (from 4th to the second position

The Democrats were therefore able to benefit from the return of a favorable subject for them on the day of the vote but also were able to use the flexibility of the postal vote to vote at times when they had the wind in their sails.

Furthermore Biden flipped what was supposed to be a referendum against him into a referendum against Trump running a campaign that talked about democracy and the threat to it. In addition, it allowed him not to have to discuss his balance sheet, when that's what midterms are normally for.

The socio-demographic divisions of the country

The midterms reveal clear political divides that reflect American society today. Quite traditionally, we find the town-country divide but also federalism versus local power. Added to this is a certain traditionalism in the vote, as shown by the outgoing bonus. This vote is very similar to what was done in the past.

Joe Biden left for a second term?

According to Emeric Guisset and William Thay, "the first consequence of this ballot is that Joe Biden should have the ability to run again in 2024 despite his age and his faults if he wishes. Indeed, despite his reasons which lead him to be with less than 40% popularity in public opinion, he has once again demonstrated that he is the best barrier to Donald Trump in the Democratic camp. He manages to seduce part of the white working classes and thus cut Donald Trump of what made him successful in 2016: the Rust Belt."

However, the Republicans in the House, who should be able to choose Californian Representative Kevin McCarthy as speaker, have already promised to carry out numerous parliamentary investigations, on the model of those suffered, according to them wrongly, by Donald Trump. The future Republican Chamber would thus endeavor to launch an in-depth investigation into Hunter Biden, the President's son, and his dubious business, or even on the Ministry of Justice, which dares to question the faulty management of the presidential archives by Donald Trump.

The case of Hunter Biden could indeed seriously destabilize his father. In addition to an incredible computer case recovered by an almost blind and totally Trumpist repairman in which salacious photos and compromising emails were found, Hunter Biden, in turn a lawyer, lobbyist and financier, is regularly accused of corruption in connection with his business in the oil and gas, especially in Ukraine, without proof for the moment. He is, however, under federal investigation for tax evasion. Each time, he is suspected of having taken advantage of his father's position, as vice-president then president of the United States, to set up dubious businesses...

A mini-crisis among the Republicans

The Republicans, for their part, risk seeing a mini-crisis open up. The absence of a large victory for the Republicans does not allow Donald Trump to establish himself as an indisputable candidate for 2024. He could be challenged by the governor of Florida, Ron DeSentis. Ron DeSantis, still little known to the general public a few years ago, has become one of the heavyweights of the Republican Party: can he dethrone Donald Trump at the head of the Republican Party?

Rising star of the hard right, this 40-year-old won without surprise or difficulty against ex-governor Charlie Crist, a former Republican who had changed parties. “We not only won re-election, we redefined the political map,” rejoiced Ron DeSantis after the announcement of the results.

“For me, the fight has only just begun,” added the man to whom presidential ambitions are attributed, which he has not yet confirmed. Donald Trump's leadership over the conservatives therefore risks being undermined by his rival Ron DeSantis, triumphantly re-elected as governor of Florida, and presented by the Miami Herald as the possible new "sheriff" of the Republican Party.

Ron DeFuture?

No wonder Donald Trump recently nicknamed him “Ron-la-Morale”. A slick ex-military family man, he offers a stark contrast to former President Donald Trump's stormy style. The real estate magnate had however given him a major boost in the race for the seat of governor in 2018, by giving him his support; The rivalry between the two Republicans recently escalated. The New York Post, which is also owned by the Murdoch family, ran its front page on "Ron DeFuture."

Feeling the threat rising like a hurricane strengthening in the Gulf of Mexico, Donald Trump, who ruled out postponing his announcement, made a veiled threat: “I don't know if he's going to be a candidate. But if he does, I'll reveal unflattering things about him. I know more about him than anyone, maybe except his wife.

If Ron DeSantis chose to run for the nomination, "I think he would make a mistake," Donald Trump said on Monday. “I don't think the base would appreciate it. I don't think it would be good for the party," he added.

Because if Ron DeSentis achieved a very good score in Florida, does that make him a good presidential candidate?

Does he have the ability to reach out to Rust Belt voters with his Southern Republican profile?

For his part, Donald Trump has already demonstrated his ability to win the presidential election and to make the synthesis between the traditional Republican electorate of the "SunBelt" and the working class electorate of the "Rust Belt". . However, the MAGAs are still there with a desire to win and Trump does not necessarily seem to be the one able to bring victory. In the United States, traditionally, when you have lost, you let the others pass. And this is what is catching up with Donald Trump today.

At the end of these midterms, the Republicans must therefore face more doubts than certainties.

ROYALTY ALL ABOUT MEMORIES

OF PRINCE HARRY "THE ALTERNATE"

Spare, the long-awaited and dreaded memoir of Prince Harry, will be published early next year, four months before the coronation of King Charles III. It will be released in the UK as well as Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa.

“We are delighted to announce the remarkably personal and emotionally powerful story of Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex,” tweeted publisher Penguin Random House.

Since the announcement of the writing of these memoirs, in July 2021, rumors have been rife about its content: "explosive", with "the effect of a bomb", filled with "shocking revelations"? So far, nothing has leaked.

“As the man I have become”

At the time, Prince Harry issued a statement through his publisher, Penguin Random House, recalls the New York Times: "I write this not as a prince as I was born, but as a man I became ". It announced an "accurate and entirely truthful first-hand account of [his] life" recounting "ups and downs, mistakes, lessons learned", in the hope of "helping to show that no matter where we come, we have more in common than we think”.

The book is described, on the website created for him by the publisher, as an open window on how the prince reacted to the death of his mother, Princess Diana, and how this tragedy affected his life by the following. And to enrich the 400 pages of his book, the husband of Meghan Markle would have asked his friends and ex-girlfriends to testify.

"With its blunt and unflinching honesty, 'Spare' is a landmark work filled with information, revelation, introspection and hard-earned wisdom about love's eternal power over grief," says the editor.

The symbolic title "Spare" or The substitute

Harry and his wife Meghan stunned the monarchy by leaving the royal family with a bang in early 2020 and moving to the United States, California. During a smashing interview in March 2021, the couple accused the royal family of insensitivity and racism.

In addition to the release date, we know the title of the book: Spare. In other words, the "alternate", a reference to Prince Harry's place within the royal family, outside the direct line of succession for the throne. .

We also know the cover of the book, which will be the same regardless of the edition. This is a meaningful photo since it represents Prince Harry as a soldier, reports the media.

The Duke of Sussex is shown in close-up with a “brown t-shirt and leather collar around his neck”. This photo was taken by Ramona Rosales, an American photographer who is not in her first collaboration with the Sussexes since she had already worked with Meghan Markle, 41 years old.

The cover: Private Harry

Prince Harry's attitude and clothes are no coincidence, according to the Daily Telegraph. By representing his profession in the British army as a soldier for nearly 10 years, including two missions in Afghanistan, he presents himself as a strong man, according to the Gala.

Presenting himself as a soldier shows his strength as a man, but above all his strength of character although he no longer has the right to represent the British army following his departure from the royal family. This choice would also be a way of "defying future reprisals from his family, and showing his strength of character", according to our colleagues.

Harry will donate part of the proceeds

Proceeds from the sale of the memoirs will be donated to various charities supported by the Duke of Sussex. “Prince Harry wishes to support certain British charities by donating part of the revenue generated by the sales of the Substitute”, continues the publishing house.

The Duke of Sussex has already donated $1,500,000 to Sentebale, the organization he co-founded with Prince Seeiso in honor of their respective mothers and which helps children and all young people in Lesotho and Botswana affected by AIDS. "Prince Harry will also donate £300,000 to the non-profit organization WellChild, which he has sponsored as a member of the Royal Family for fifteen years," the statement said.

Concerns of the "Firm" and reshuffles

The announcement of the publication of Prince Harry's memoirs aroused a wave of concern, particularly within "La Firme".

Since the death of Queen Elizabeth II on September 8, rumors have swelled that the delay of the book, announced for the end of the year and finally postponed to the beginning of next year, would be due to cuts made in the text. The reason for this postponement would be related to the content since Prince Harry, 38, had a lot to tell and he had a hard time organizing everything.

More aware of the bad timing, the Duke of Sussex would have decided to resume his text after the death of his grandmother. According to a source reported by Page Six magazine, “Harry wants to delete some passages that involve Elizabeth II, out of respect for her. In addition, he wishes to relate his feelings about the death of the queen.

In addition, changes should be made to ensure that nothing is said to damage the image of the bereaved royal family and the new King Charles III, who will be crowned on May 6.

Times journalist Valentine Low, author of the recent book Brokers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown, explained to the American newspaper that "yes, [the release of his book] comes at a delicate moment of transition, yes, people are nervous, yes, it could harm the monarchy.”

DESSERT OF THE MOMENT PANA COTTA

RASPBERRY

or this, allow 5 hours.
75 g of sugar
50 cl of liquid cream
2 sheets of gelatin
1 vanilla extract
15 cl of raspberry coulis
20 raspberries
8 speculoos

You put the gelatin leaves in cold water.

Then in a saucepan put the cream, the sugar, the vanilla to heat.

Add the gelatin leaves. Stir gently.

For the mixture into small cups and put in the fridge for 5 hours.

How to serve: each small spoonful of raspberry coulis 5 small raspberries, crumble a few speculoos above to make decoration.

Serve this dessert with Italian champagne that is to say with fresh Prosecco.

FANTASMES DES HOMMES

A VOUS MONSIEUR !

QU'EST-CE QU'ELLE A MA PETITE POITRINE ?

NABILLA CREE

L'EMEUTE AU SALON DU LIVRE !

Refoulés ou non vous en avez.Des jeux coquins que l'on adore. Après enquête auprès de vous et de la pratique perso.....

Tu affiches un plantureux 75A !

.Avoir une petite poitrine est-il complexant ? Non: fais-en une force et assume ! Les points positifs et négatifs :Pour les premiers, tu ne souffres pas de .......

Un rendez-vous incontournable de la littérature que le Salon du livre de Paris :

Trois mille auteurs pendant quatre jours avec d'immenses auteurs, de grands poètes ........

VICTORIA'S SECRET OU LE DEFILE LE PLUS HOT DE LA

LE CALENDRIER PIRELLI OU L'HOMMAGE AUX FEMMES

PARADIS  FISCAUX contre

ÉTATS GLOUTONS

C'est Lady Gaga qui animera avec Bruno Mars et The Weeknd le grand show de Victoria's Secret et ses anges dans la Ville lumière.

L'événement se tient demain, au Grand Palais, pour être retransmis à la télévision américaine ..........

Jamais les paradis fiscaux ne se sont aussi bien portés malgré la croisade lancée en 2009 par les dirigeants des pays développés.

Si l'on regarde l'origine géographique des investissements directs .....

TO LIVE LONGER

WITH THE OKINAVA DIET

1/ The slimming rule of hara hachi bu

The principle: stop eating a few moments before reaching satiety, when the stomach is 80% full (and you feel a slight pressure). To achieve this, nothing beats eating mindfully, moving away from screens and other distractions, savoring every bite and engaging all the senses. By controlling his gluttony in this way - and with it, his calorie intake and his weight -, there follows a feeling of lightness when leaving the table and a more quickly regained tone. It's all a matter of habit (which would set in after 20 meals)…

2/ The kuten gwa

Exit the single plate! The procedure to follow, according to the Okinawans, is to multiply the dishes, in small portions. All the dishes are placed in the middle, served at the same time, and shared between the members of the community during a convivial moment (the community spirit is higher than anywhere else, which would also contribute to their longevity record). The idea is to eat everything, in small quantities. The tradition is that there is rice (or starch), a soup (miso or vegetables) and at least three dishes. And of course, everything is homemade with ultra-fresh products.

3/ Vegetables: up to half of the plate

Plants are essential in the diet of Okinawans, so much so that they have a prominent place on the plate. Be the guarantee to fill up with good nutrients at each meal. The meat, meanwhile, is relayed to the background (fish and tofu take precedence) considered as a simple accompaniment and eaten in small portions. No question here of seeing a piece of steak take up half the plate, so...

4/ The 3 food cooking methods

Their "healthy" diet also involves a trio of optimized cooking methods. 1/ Raw (or uncooked) which ensures more chewing, a lower glycemic index and an intact vitamin and mineral content, 2/ Semi-cooked: barely pan-fried or al dente foods, it is the guarantee of having the same benefits as with raw and 3/ Boiled, which allows you to cook without fat. This is also part of their slimming tricks: meat is often boiled to eliminate fat.

5/ Dessert ? Nonexistent !

It goes against the rule of hara hachi bu which is to stop eating when the stomach is at 80%, since the dessert is usually eaten after reaching the satiety threshold. To achieve this, it is recommended to slow down and eat slowly. If the craving is too strong, opt for a fruit, a coffee or a tea without sugar.

Yes ! You can ! hi ! hi !! hi !!!

MIDTERMS REPUBLICANS LEAD

In the day after the midterm elections, the Republicans lead in the House. In the Senate, a new vote will take place in December in the State of Georgia. The hypothesis of a “red wave” which would ensure that the Republicans have a majority in both chambers does not seem to have been fully acquired. In Georgia, neither of the two candidates obtained 50% of the votes and a new vote will be organised, as required by state legislation, in December.

After a fierce campaign focused on inflation, Republicans were confident in their chances of stripping anemic President Joe Biden of his congressional majorities on Tuesday. Organized two years after the presidential election, the mid-term elections almost systematically act as a vote-sanction for the power in place. A sign of the optimism that reigned in the Republican camp, the "Grand Old Party" even aimed for seats in constituencies that were supposed to be firmly won by the Democrats.

However, the Republican “wave” did not obtain the expected results, while the final composition of the Senate remains unknown.

The House of Representatives leans Republican

“It is clear that we are going to take over the House of Representatives,” enthused the Republican tenor Kevin McCarthy on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, when the results continued to flow. According to the latest results, the Democrats won 183 seats, while the Republicans currently dominate with 206 representatives.

The Republicans, however, won a series of important victories: by campaigning hard on inflation, JD Vance, one of the colts of Donald Trump, landed the coveted job of senator in Ohio, one of the industrial and agricultural strongholds of America. The very Trumpian Marjorie Taylor Greene, who rose to prominence during her first term for her racist and anti-Semitic remarks, was re-elected in Georgia. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Texas Governor Greg Abbott, two future Republican contenders for the presidency, easily defeated their Democratic rival.

The Republicans should therefore regain the majority in the House of Representatives, which would allow them to block certain projects of the Biden administration for the next two years, before the next presidential election.

The Republican Party, which was credited with a breakthrough of 25 or even 30 seats, has certainly been forced to revise its ambitions downwards. "It's certainly not a Republican wave, that's for sure," admitted influential Senator Lindsey Graham, a close friend of Donald Trump, on NBC. Donald Trump also spoke this evening on the results of the midterm elections "While in some respects yesterday's election was somewhat disappointing, from a personal point of view it is a very big win,” former President Donald Trump said on his Truth Social tonight. But the former president, still beating, intends to launch his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election, with an announcement scheduled for November 15.

Democratic successes and defeats.

If the Democrats are relatively disappointed not to have created the surprise in Ohio, with the victory of the colt Trumpist JD Vance, they can console themselves by looking at the side of Pennsylvania where the colossus in hoodie John Fetterman beat Mehmet Oz, star doctor television dubbed by Donald Trump, for a seat in the Senate previously held by a Republican. The Biden camp won a symbolic victory there. The Democrats also snatched two governorships from the Republicans: in Maryland and in Massachusetts. They also saved themselves a big scare by retaining control of New York State, where Republicans thought they could unseat Governor Kathy Hochul. In Georgia, however, Democrat Stacey Abrams failed to become governor against Brian Kemp.

Georgia is again decisive state for the Senate

Neither Democrat Raphael Warnock nor his Republican opponent Herschel Walker managed to win and collect more than 50% of the votes required to win in this state. At the end of the day, the Democratic candidate is slightly ahead with 49.4% of the vote against 48.5% for his opponent. The candidate of the libertarian party Chase Olivier collects him, 2.1% of the votes.

According to state election rules, a new election must be held between the two candidates with the most votes if neither has reached the required 50 percent. The State of Georgia must first certify the results of yesterday's vote and verify that a new election is indeed necessary.

An election to which all eyes of America will turn, because it may well define the majority in the Senate, and therefore the political agenda in the United States for the next two years.

ELON MUSK WANTS TO REVOLUTIONIZE TWITTER

IN THE NAME OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

On Friday October 28, Elon Musk formalized the news: he took the reins of the social network Twitter, bought for the sum of 44 billion US dollars.

Although Twitter has far fewer users than its competitors such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram or even TikTok, Twitter is considered a real tool of influence, in particular because of its use by many figures in the political, artistic and media world. . In addition, it is common for the so-called "traditional" media to take up and comment on their own medium what was initially published on the blue bird platform, which increases the perception and reality of its importance for public discourse.

Upon the official takeover, the boss of Tesla and SpaceX indicated that he was acquiring the social network with the aim of revolutionizing Twitter.

" Freedom of speech "

First of all Elon Musk, this “absolutist of freedom of expression”, indicated that freedom of expression becomes the keystone of Twitter. According to him, it exists if “people you don't like are allowed to express ideas you don't like”. On his favorite digital medium, he claims that "the policies of a social media platform are good if the most extreme 10% on the left and right are equally unhappy."

Hence his relatively clear position: he spoke out against permanent suspensions of accounts, saying he preferred those of a temporary nature. In this, it would indeed deviate from the old practice of Twitter, which applies one or the other of these sanctions depending on the seriousness of the facts. One of his very first decisions, therefore, could be to reinstate the account of former US President Donald Trump, suspended for "incitement to violence" after the assault launched on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Alone at the helm, the boss of Tesla is already beginning his major overhaul Whoever is working to improve the situation, whether at the banking level (Paypal - when he was its director), at the energy level (Solar City), at the level of the transition to post-oil (Tesla), at the level of access to space (SpaceX), or at the level of Internet access for all (Starlink), explained Sunday wanting to make Twitter “the most trusted source of information on the world ”…

Its hunt for fake accounts and its desire to certify (blue check) users are a step in the right direction.

“More power to the people”

On the social network Twitter, the blue notch of certification can thus be obtained by everyone on the condition of paying a subscription of 8 dollars per month. “Extended Verification for All will democratize journalism and empower the people,” he tweeted on Sunday. “Twitter Blue” at $8 a month.

Until now, only eligible accounts (governments, media, political and cultural personalities, etc.) could indeed obtain the addition of a blue tick to their profile, as a guarantee of authenticity. However, as soon as he acquired Twitter ten days ago, the boss of Tesla launched an overhaul of this system, so that everyone could obtain the famous badge, and other practical tools, by subscribing to "Twitter Blue" to $8 per month.

On the iPhone, the social network's mobile application already mentions the arrival of the new formula, but its launch has been postponed to Wednesday, November 9, the day after the US parliamentary elections, according to the New York Times.

“Power to the people: Your account will receive a blue checkmark, just like the celebrities, businesses and politicians you already follow,” Twitter now promises.

"For the 'people', against the ruling 'elites'..."

According to Barthélémy Michalon, Professor at the Tec de Monterrey (Mexico), the communication of the boss of Twitter around his takeover follows the contours of what characterizes a populist discourse. And he analyzes as follows in the online media TheConversation.

'' Elon Musk has indeed made use of the tool he was about to acquire to directly address the community of users of the platform and collect their opinion on various subjects. While some questions were of a secondary nature (such as the famous "edit button" of a tweet already published), others touched on the very functioning of the platform and its impact on democracy. are reminiscent of the tendency, relatively marked among populist political formations, to call referendums or to promise the organization of them in their electoral programs. These online polls, real challenges launched in the public square to the status quo, also aimed to exert significant pressure on those who were then at the head of Twitter,

Musk went much further in this direction, affirming that the sidelining of the management team in place was an essential condition for the implementation of the major transformations promised on the platform. So he dismissed the main leaders of the platform, including CEO Parag Agrawal According to him, it was this intention that guided his decision to "transform Twitter into a private company" (it was then a "public" company in the Anglo-Saxon sense, because it is listed on the stock exchange), and therefore to take direct control of it. In his purchase offer, he promised bluntly: “I will unlock the potential of Twitter”.

… and in the name of a supposed “general will”

In order to satisfy this “general will”, Musk put on the table a series of proposals to evolve the platform, in particular during a public conversation, held on April 14 in the context of the annual conference of TED. Musk thus proposes to delete automated accounts (bots), (...). It also promises to eliminate fraudulent messages (scams), which aim to deceive their recipients, for economic purposes and/or piracy.''

Avoid misinformation or calls for violence

Freedom of expression as the keystone of Twitter is therefore one of the fundamental pillars of democracy. However Elon Trust also knows not only that Twitter will remain subject to national laws but that it will have to introduce another limiting factor by admitting that speech should be free there "as much as reasonably possible"... A strong desire to avoid the danger of misinformation or calls for violence that can circulate with such speed and ease.

“It is also the fears of companies to advertise on the platform, the possible increase in hate speech or misinformation in the name of the freedom of expression wanted by the new boss. Several groups, including Volkswagen​, General Mills​, Pfizer, have thus paused in their advertising purchases – still looking for an appropriate environment (“Brand Safety”) to promote their brands. General Motors has temporarily suspended its paid ads on Twitter.

Musk's revenge on advertisers

The billionaire, however, seems to have his revenge on the advertisers who have stopped their advertising on the social network. On Tuesday, November 9, 2022, the marketing teams received a document containing a question-and-answer session with employees. To be used in the sales pitch for advertising slots, it is indicated that Twitter welcomes 15 million additional monetizable daily users. In total, the internal memo indicates that the number of accounts that can generate revenue to “exceed a quarter of a billion”. Since the takeover of Elon Musk, the growth of daily active users has grown by more than 20%.

The latest official results from Twitter, in the second quarter, advanced a number of monetizable daily users of 237.8 million and 16.6% growth over the year.

This increase is true everywhere, but “even more in the United States”, specifies the document. An important detail since the American territory concentrates the majority of Twitter users, and therefore of its potential income. And no increase in hate speech would be observed. Despite a spike in hate and racist speech (due to targeted campaigns, assures Twitter), the internal document specifies that messages of this type remain within the historical standards of the platform. These tweets thus represent 0.25% to 0.45% of the hundreds of millions of publications per day.

The Elon Musk effect therefore seems to be verified.

“Twitter must become by far the most trusted source of news in the world. This is our mission. “, assures Elon Musk in his revolutionary project and his will to break in the name of freedom of expression.

“And to do that, I will let anyone give me money to appear as a legitimate source of information, instead of ensuring that all legitimate sources of information are properly authenticated,” one user responded. .

"You illustrate the problem", retorted Elon Musk. "Journalists who think they are the only legitimate source of information, that's the big lie". Or against good thinking...

DOES AGNES PANNIER-RUNCHER HAVE TO DO

WITH TAX HAVENS ?

The children of the Minister for Energy Transition Agnès Pannier-Runacher are partners in a French company set up by her father, a former manager of the oil company Perenco, based on funds partly domiciled in tax havens and not mentioned on the declaration of interests of the minister, reports the investigative media Disclose on Tuesday.

Questioned by Disclose, the Minister refers to her father concerning the origin of the funds, of which she says she does not know the investment strategy, and she notes that she does not "have to declare this structure", since the law does not require not to declare the interests of his children. This Tuesday, she notably has "false and slanderous allegations".

No dividend

The minister's father, Jean-Michel Runacher, created this civil society in France, named Arjunem, in 2016 as part of a transfer of assets, bringing it to it for around 1.2 million euros in shares, according to the investigation of Disclose. Four of her grandchildren are partners, including the children of Agnès Pannier-Runacher who were minors at the time, and for whom the minister signed as legal representative.

She explained in a detailed response that they were bare owners and therefore received no dividend today, Jean-Michel Runacher remaining the usufructuary, and that Arjunem was indeed “subject to French taxation”. According to Disclose, this heritage comes from hedge funds, based in Delaware, Ireland and Guernsey, and in which Perenco also held investments. The financial products are deposited in a bank in Luxembourg, confirmed Agnès Pannier-Runacher.

"It's not about my heritage"

Of the Arjunem company, the minister does not mention in her declarations to the High Authority for the transparency of public life (HATVP). The law obliges him to declare his direct participations and those of his spouse, but not those of his children. “It is not about my heritage, but that of my children who, themselves, have no power to manage the company to date”, replied Agnès Pannier-Runacher to Disclose.

"The HATVP guide leaves no ambiguity that I did not have to declare this structure," she said. On the origin of the funds, Jean-Michel Runacher “contributed fund units that have no connection with Perenco. These are investments acquired in the past through his personal investments,” she said, referring to her father “for more details.”

"Whatever the legal form of these funds, the unitholder pays the taxation of his country of residence", also said the minister, who also sees no conflict of interest between his ministerial duties and the activities of his father, a former manager of Perenco.

"I did not have to deal with files related to Perenco", which "exercises most of its activities outside France," she assures.

Certainly, but for the exemplary nature of the politicians in their commitment...

MIDTERMS BIDEN AND TRUMP PLAY THEIR FUTURE

“We need everyone on deck to elect Democrats,” Joe Biden tweeted at midday, calling on his camp to mobilize in the most contested states.

Handicapped by record inflation, the 79-year-old president risks losing control of Congress during these midterm elections traditionally unfavorable to the ruling party, and seeing his action paralyzed for the next two years.

Until the end, Joe Biden sought to defend his economic record, presenting himself as "the president of the middle class" who canceled student debt and invested in infrastructure. But his efforts do not seem to have borne fruit.

His predecessor Donald Trump, who vigorously supported a large number of Republican candidates, is banking on their success to launch himself under the best possible auspices in the presidential race.

At his last rally, he promised to make "a very big announcement" on November 15. "It's going to be a very exciting day for a lot of people," he promised Tuesday as he exited a polling station in Florida.

In the meantime, "I think we're going to have a really good night," the 76-year-old billionaire added confidently.

Shortly after, however, he replayed the score that has been his since his defeat in 2020, stoking doubts about the regularity of voting operations. Noting that voting machines malfunctioned in a crowded Arizona precinct, he posted on his Truth Social platform: “Here we go again? People are not going to accept it”.

“Proxy voting in Detroit is not going well at all. People show up to vote and hear themselves answer: “sorry, you have already voted”, he still affirmed on his network.

Local authorities have acknowledged the problem, but assured that voters have other options to vote in this ballot which covers the entire House of Representatives, a third of the Senate, many local elected positions and many referendums .

Each camp dramatized the stakes of the ballot: the Democrats posed as defenders of democracy and the right to abortion against Republicans deemed “extremist”; the conservatives acted as guarantors of order in the face of a so-called “lax and radical” left in matters of security and immigration.

According to opinion polls, the Republican opposition should take at least 10 to 25 seats in the lower house – more than enough to be in the majority there. Pollsters are more mixed about the fate of the Senate, with nevertheless an advantage for the Republicans.

Deprived of his majority, the president would above all have veto power, and the Republicans have made it known that they will not spare it. In particular, they plan to launch investigations in the House into the affairs of his son Hunter and some of his ministers.

Breathtaking duels

Concretely, the midterm elections are being played out in a handful of key states – the same ones that were already at the heart of the 2020 presidential election.

All the spotlights are thus on Pennsylvania, a former bastion of the steel industry, where the Republican multimillionaire surgeon Mehmet Oz, dubbed by Donald Trump, faces the Democratic colossus John Fetterman for the most disputed post in the Senate.

Georgia is another object of desire. Democrat Raphael Warnock, the first black senator ever elected in this southern state with a heavy segregationist past, is trying to be re-elected against Herschel Walker, a former African-American sportsman, also supported by the former president.

Arizona, Ohio, Nevada, Wisconsin and North Carolina are also the scene of intense struggles, where Democrats everywhere are opposed to candidates supported by Donald Trump, who swear absolute loyalty to the former president.

These breathless duels were all fueled by hundreds of millions of dollars, making this election the most expensive midterm elections in US history.

The first results are expected from 7 p.m., but the outcome of the tightest duels could take several days.

CONTROL INFLATION A WORRYING UPDATE

At the other end of the spectrum, France and Malta are doing the best. In particular, Malta has still not raised state-regulated energy prices, thus artificially keeping inflation at zero in this area... "Everyone should have around 9% inflation normally, but France is an exception”, observes Éric Heyer, economist and director of the analysis and forecasting department of the OFCE. With an annual inflation rate of 6.7% in August, can we say that France is doing well compared to its German, Spanish, Italian or British neighbors ?

If inflation is lower in France, "it's partly thanks to our energy mix", explains Éric Heyer. Continuing to bet on nuclear allows us in particular to be more independent than our German neighbor who imports a lot more fossil fuels. According to figures from the International Energy Agency, Russian oil accounted for only 17% of black gold imports from France in 2019, compared to 34% for Germany.

The second reason and “the most important”, according to Éric Heyer, are “measures to support households, either with checks or by freezing prices”. Germany, Great Britain and Spain have preferred, by political choice, financial assistance to citizens by distributing vouchers and discounts on fuel, without freezing prices. France preferred to bet big on the tariff shield by freezing gas prices until the end of 2022.. 

“If there was no such protection, the electricity bill would increase in January 2023 by 120 euros per month and the gas bill of 180 euros per month”. In line with remarks made by the Minister of Public Accounts Gabriel Attal, Bruno Le Maire confirmed that all French people would continue to benefit in 2023 from an attenuated form of "tariff shield" on gas and electricity prices. The surge in energy prices should therefore be contained and limited at least until the beginning of 2023 for the French. At the start of 2023, "there will be an increase for everyone in the price of gas and electricity, which will be as contained as possible, to the extent that our public finances allow us", guaranteed the Minister of Economy. 

Since the fall of 2021, the "tariff shield" and government rebates on the price of fuel have cost 24 billion euros, according to a recent figure from Bercy. The surge in energy prices should therefore be contained and limited at least until the beginning of 2023 for the French. At the start of 2023, "there will be an increase for everyone in the price of gas and electricity, which will be as contained as possible, to the extent that our public finances allow us", guaranteed the Minister of Economy. 

Since the fall of 2021, the "tariff shield" and government rebates on the price of fuel have cost 24 billion euros, according to a recent figure from Bercy. The surge in energy prices should therefore be contained and limited at least until the beginning of 2023 for the French. At the start of 2023, "there will be an increase for everyone in the price of gas and electricity, which will be as contained as possible, to the extent that our public finances allow us", guaranteed the Minister of Economy. Since the fall of 2021, the "tariff shield" and government rebates on the price of fuel have cost 24 billion euros, according to a recent figure from Bercy.

The tariff shield as a bandage ?

But for Jean-Marc Daniel, the tariff shield "is an artificial modification of prices, which, in the end, will just be a transfer for future generations". They make it possible to limit inflation “in a limited time” but “the creation of a budget deficit cannot last forever”. And it is obvious for all the specialists, “inflation will rise again when we lift these tariff shields”.

MIDTERMS 2022 IN PENNSYLVANIA DONALD TRUMP CALLS FOR A RED WAVE