RadioRob

Buck: Covid HIV OmicronOmicron Is A Living Reminder Of Our Piss-Poor Response to AIDS. “Frightening mutations arise in Covid-19 patients with suppressed” immune systems from drugs to fight cancer, autoimmune disorders or from unrecognized and poorly treated HIV. 8 million People With Untreated HIV Southern Africa “a factory of variants for the whole world,“ “If I had to guess, I would say this is likely how Omicron came about.“ –Dr. Jonathan Li, Harvard infectious-diseases specialist Failure to get COVID-19 vaccines to nations with high rates of uncontrolled advanced HIV puts people living with that virus at even greater risk, and could drive the emergence of coronavirus variants. —Nokukhanya Msomi , Richard Lessells , Koleka Mlisana & Tulio de Oliveira, in Nature ——– Indications are that we’re not done with COVID yet… and the other way around. In spite of vaccine protections, it may not be the best idea to just let it rip. COVID ends when transmission and mutations are under control. The vaccines just don’t stop transmission anywhere near as well as they prevent serious illness and death. Scope is beyond our borders. Viruses don’t see them. Borders don’t contain. And those vaccines we are “donating” weekly across borders aren’t enough to make a dent, though enough to sound good in media. Also maybe we give more seeing it as self interest and not charity. Share the formulas. Dangers of Delay: Delays allow gestation of variants. Delay is waiting on transmission. Untreated HIV is not the only supportive immune compromised spot for virus to mutate. People in Glass Countries: There is plenty of poverty, untreated HiV, and other immune suppressed people for the US to support variants. Our adherence rate is very low for HIV meds. Recent studies found the US rate of 55-60% of those on meds fully adhering to the schedules 90% of the time. Plenty of room there for the 20% drug resistance, for Covid mutations, and likely in some cases, other than undetectable viral loads. Omicron may not be the big one. Today it’s, “No worse than Delta” hopefully that’s true. Delta wasn’t so great either. And the high transmissibility is concerning. Spreading everywhere makes everywhere part of the big Petri dish. Response Fatigue: Public health experts at the beginning of COVID preached minimal interventions, to watch out for conspiracies, hostilities and irrational fears.They explained interventions and the nuances of a Swiss-cheese response. But damned if we didn’t go off the rails, credibility lost, patience too. Now we have mandate rebellions, divisive rhetoric, demagoguery and disinformation. Also Anti-science, fantastical conspiracy theories and cow pills, not to mention Karens driven by entitlement and irrational fear, though they insist on calling it “science” COVID HIV Mutation Factories not on my Bingo card. The misery delivered through millions of gay people, blood product and drug users; through tens of millions of brown and black people in resource-poor countries and others resource-poor in our country. The traumas, illnesses, and deaths have never made it on the priority radar really, never prioritized. With this or another variant–maybe one is in the oven–might we see a mobilization like we haven’t seen ever in the 40 years if those in power finally feel a threat? Weird. For now we cna just add it to the list of what happened Published by DPA In this sequencing laboratory in Chennai, samples are systematically examined for coronavirus mutations like Omicron. The aim is to rapidly identify mutations that pose a particular risk in terms of transmissibility, disease severity and vaccine. Sri Loganathan/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa The Omicron variant, now present in at least 23 countries around the world, was probably incubated in the body of a person with an immune system battered by HIV or another immune-compromising condition that can cause a prolonged coronavirus infection, according to the South African scientist who detected the fast-spreading genetic mutant. Tulio De Oliveira said the emergence of Omicron in a patient unable to clear the virus quickly was “the most plausible” origin story for the world’s newest variant of concern. There’s good reason to think so. Researchers in the United States and Europe have seen coronaviruses with frightening mutations arise in Covid-19 patients whose natural defenses have been suppressed by drugs to fight cancer, manage autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis, or keep transplanted organs from being rejected. De Oliveira has been warning for months that the people mostly likely to spawn such mutations in sub-Saharan Africa are the roughly 8 million with unrecognized or poorly treated HIV. Largely young, unvaccinated and with debilitated immune systems, these people could “become a factory of variants for the whole world,” he said. In June, his team chronicled the emergence of more than 30 genetic changes in SARS-CoV-2 specimens taken from a single South African woman with advanced uncontrolled HIV. The mutations they saw — including several that could erode vaccine protection and boost disease transmission — appeared over a period of six months. Now De Oliveira worries that a similar scenario might have given rise to Omicron. Last week, he alerted the World Health Organization that his team had detected a variant with dozens of new mutations that was circulating in Gauteng, South Africa’s most densely populated province, and in neighboring Botswana. The samples the scientists studied were collected between Nov. 12 and Nov. 20. More than 30 of the mutations they saw were in the code for the crucial spike protein of the virus — the key that picks the lock to human cells and initiates an infection. Many of the changes were familiar to De Oliveira from his study of HIV patients with prolonged coronavirus infections. The Omicron variant appears to have played a key role in driving the dramatic rise in new cases among students, most of them young adults, at Tshwane University of Technology in Gauteng, said De Oliveira, director of the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation at Stellenbosch University. With Johannesburg at its heart, Gauteng province is the epicenter of South Africa’s HIV epidemic. It is home to roughly 20% of South Africa’s 7.5 million people living with HIV. Across the country, 2.2 million people are infected with HIV that is undetected, untreated or poorly controlled. These patients’ immune systems are “pretty heavily suppressed,” said Dr. Jonathan Li, a Harvard infectious-diseases specialist who was among the first to detail extensive coronavirus mutations in an immunosuppressed patient. Under attack by HIV, their T cells are not providing vital support that the immune system’s B cells need to an clear infection. “The sheer number of mutations that arose all of a sudden here is really reminiscent of what we’ve seen,” Li said. “If I had to guess, I would say this is likely how Omicron came about.” Dr. Bruce Walker, an immunologist and founding director of the Ragon Institute in Cambridge, Mass., warned against stigmatizing patients whose conditions may give rise to variants. But Omicron’s emergence from a patient with prolonged infection is a pretty good bet, he said. “We know that in the setting of severe immune compromise, the virus can stay in someone’s body for a long time, and the longer it can make copies of itself, the virus can make mistakes and can escape from what’s left of such a patient’s immune system,” Walker said. A new variant will bear no telltale signature of how or where it came into existence, he added. But “statistically speaking, there are a variety of causes of immune suppression. And in southern Africa, one of the leading causes is HIV.” In an essay published in a December edition of the journal Nature, De Oliveira and three South African colleagues warned that “Africa is being completely left behind,” as Covid-19 vaccines, medicines and testing supplies are hoarded by the world’s affluent countries. If those countries fail to help African countries control both HIV and Covid-19, the scientists wrote, it will undermine their efforts to extinguish the pandemic worldwide. While nearly 40 per cent of the global population has been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, the rate for Africa is less than 7%, the scientists wrote. In South Africa, 24 per cent of the public has been fully vaccinated, according to Our World in Data. To complicate matters, the continent’s fitful progress in securing vaccines has prompted public health officials to focus first on elderly patients. The result is that virtually all of Africa’s young adults remain unvaccinated. And since 80 per cent of those with HIV across the continent are under 50 years old, vanishingly few patients who are at risk of harboring a prolonged coronavirus infection have been vaccinated. In an interview this week, De Oliveira said there could be other explanations for the sudden emergence of a variant with so many mutations. It’s possible Omicron has been circulating for months somewhere else, steadily accumulating genetic changes. (It was present in the Netherlands by Nov. 19, nearly a week before De Oliveira’s announcement.) If the variant matured in countries where genetic sequencing is rare or absent, it might have flown under the radar until it arrived in South Africa — the continent’s genetic sequencing powerhouse — already laden with mutations, he said. Walker, who called the detection of Omicron “an absolutely world-class performance” by the South African scientists, said that wherever it came from, the world cannot afford to allow the pandemic to rage unchecked on any continent. “It’s in the nature of the virus to mutate,” he said. “It’s not like, if there were no HIV infection, we wouldn’t have to worry about this.” Commuters at Birmingham New Street train station, as mask wearing on public transport becomes mandatory to contain the spread of the Omicron Covid-19 variant. Jacob King/PA Wire/dpa Covid HIV Omicron Origin on Towleroad New York City police union files lawsuit to block vaccine mandate Patrick Lynch Published by Reuters New York City’s police union filed a lawsuit on Monday against a vaccine mandate for municipal workers ordered last week by Mayor Bill de Blasio. The … Read More U.S. CDC signs off on Moderna, J&J COVID-19 vaccine boosters, mix-and-match shots Published by Reuters By Manas Mishra and Julie Steenhuysen (Reuters) – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday recommended the COVID-19 vaccine boosters for recipients of … Read More Trump attacks Colin Powell, A Day After His Death, No Doubt For Saying Trump Should Resign After Instigating An Insurrection Preferring a dead opponent, who might not respond with reality, Trump attacks Colin Powell the day after his death of complications related to Covid-19, quite possibly the … Read More Merck COVID-19 pill sparks calls for access for lower income countries Published by ReutersBy Francesco Guarascio and Michael Erman (Reuters) – The plan to roll out Merck & Co’s promising antiviral pill to treat COVID-19 risks repeating the inequities of … Read More Chicago Mayor, Police in Stand-off Over Public Health Mandates; 50% Of Cops Won’t Disclose Vaccine Status, Face Unpaid Leave Published by AFP Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot is not backing down over a requirement for police officers to declare their Covid-19 vaccine status Chicago (AFP) – Up to half of … Read More Vaccine requirements raised COVID-19 vaccination rates by 20 percentage points -White House Published by ReutersWASHINGTON (Reuters) – Vaccination rates rose by 20 percentage points after private businesses, healthcare systems, social institutions, state and local governments adopted COVID-19 vaccine requirements, White … Read More Some U.S. hospitals forced to ration care amid staffing shortages, COVID-19 surge Published by Reuters By Julia Harte and Sharon Bernstein (Reuters) – Surges in coronavirus cases in several U.S. states this week, along with staffing and equipment shortages, are exacting a mounting … Read More Republican Govs Shell Game Pushes Regeneron Treatments, Maintains Fog Of Fear for Powerful COVID Vaccine Prevention Republican Govs to blame for high cost, less effective, limited time effective monoclonal antibodies treatments over cheap and effective and tested and approved vaccines. For months, Joelle Ruppert was … Read More Covid Booster Shots Likely Offered Soon To People With Compromised Immune Systems — Fauci ; Priority Include People With HIV Published by Reuters By Trevor Hunnicutt and Carl O’Donnell WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States is working to give additional COVID-19 booster shots to Americans with compromised immune systems as … Read More Lindsey Graham COVID Diagnosis Came As the Senator Was Technically Following Mask Advisories, Endorsed Vaccine Weeks Earlier The announcement that the fully vaccinated Senator from South Carolina Lindsey Graham’s COVID made room for description of the mild symptoms and clear endorsement of the vaccine. I … Read More Delta Variant Wasn’t Expected to Be So Bad. Biologists Now Worry. Its Mutations Make it the Most Transmissible Covid Virus Yet Delta variant Rises Upon first inspection, the mutations in the highly contagious delta covid variant don’t look that worrisome. For starters, delta has fewer genetic changes than earlier versions of … Read More Load More View the full article

Published by Radar Online MEGA Former First Lady Melania Trump has reportedly been implicated in the alleged cover-up by the White House to hide Donald Trump’s positive Covid-19 test just before a debate with Joe Biden in 2020. According to a political analyst named Greg Sargent in The Washington Post, Donald Trump’s former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows is the one making these claims against Melania in his upcoming new book. “The Trump family has long treated rules and laws as nuisances that are only for the little people. And the news that Donald Trump tested positive for Covid-19 before the first 2020 presidential debate shows that this tendency may be even more depraved and malevolent than you thought,” Sargent wrote in an article for the political news outlet. “It turns out that this revelation, which comes in a new book by former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, also implicates members of Trump’s family, including Melania Trump and Donald Trump Jr,” he also writes, entrapping not only the former first lady but also one of the former president’s sons in the entire scandal and cover-up. MEGA With this first 2020 presidential debate resurfacing due to these bombshell allegations, people are pointing out how Donald Trump failed to uphold coronavirus standards and procedures at the time. People are also quick to point out that members of the former-president’s own family refused to wear masks while in attendance. Now, following the revelation that Trump was in fact positive with the Covid-19 virus at the time of the debate, and his family was also potentially exposed to the virus through him, people are up in arms. “That’s because multiple people around Trump, including his wife, Melania Trump, and his kids Donald Jr. and Eric, all sat mask-less at the Sept. 29 debate, according to contemporaneous reports, despite the fact that debate attendees were required to wear masks,” Sargent also explained in his article. “As numerous reporters personally witnessed at the time, Trump’s family members did this after rebuffing a direct request to mask up from a doctor with the Cleveland Clinic, which helped organize the debate. That doctor even offered them masks, and they declined.” This is not the first bombshell report to resurface regarding former first lady Melania Trump. As Radar previously reported, Melania’s former Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham alleged in her new book that the former first lady slept through the 2020 election night. Grisham also claimed that Melania staunchly refused to make a statement denouncing the violence at the Capitol during the insurrection on January 6. MEGA View the full article

View the full article

Published by Radar Online MEGA Kyle Rittenhouse is on a press tour after being found not guilty of murdering two BLM supporters and injuring another, and he has some words for LeBron James. The 18-year-old appeared on The Blaze TV’s You Are Here show where he revealed, “I liked LeBron. And then I’m like, ‘You know what, f*** you, LeBron.'” Last month, during Rittenhouse’s trial, LeBron took to Twitter to laugh at the teenager crying on the stand while being grilled about the incident “What tears????? I didn’t see one. Man knock it off! That boy ate some lemon heads before walking into court,” LeBron wrote to his 50.5 million followers on Twitter. MEGA Rittenhouse was on the stand detailing the August 25, 2020 shootings in Wisconsin. He drove from Illinois to Kenosha as the protests over the police shooting of Jacob Blake were starting. Rittenhouse decided to drive down to protect a car lot that he did not own. During the protests, Rittenhouse ended up killing Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and wounding Gaige Grosskreutz. He claimed his actions were done in self-defense and he was able to convince the jury of just that. Kyle Rittenhouse All Smiles At Tiki Bar Hours Before Telling Tucker Carlson ‘I’m Not A Racist Person’ Kyle not guilty on all counts including first-degree intentional homicide, 2 counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, first-degree reckless homicide, and first-degree attempted intentional homicide. MEGA During the podcast. Rittenhouse added, “I was a Lakers fan too before he said that. I was really pissed off that he said that.” As Radar previously reported, despite LeBron not being a fan, Rittenhouse still has former President Donald Trump and Tucker Carlson on his side. Following the acquittal, the teenager was invited for a sit-down with Tucker on Fox News. Kyle Rittenhouse GoFundMe Ban Lifted Following Not Guilty Verdict On the show, Rittenhouse claimed he wasn’t racist and actually supported peaceful protesting. “I believe there’s a lot of prosecutorial misconduct, not just in my case, but in other cases,” he said before adding it’s “amazing to see how much a prosecutor can take advantage of somebody.” MEGA View the full article

Published by Radar Online MEGA Jussie Smollett name-dropped his former boss Lee Daniels during his hate crime hoax trial and not in a good way. The 39-year-old actor took the stand for the first time on Monday, claiming he hired the Osundairo brothers to help him lose weight only after the Empire creator fat-shamed him. Jussie didn’t hesitate to throw Daniels under the bus, saying under oath that Lee called him “fat.” The ex-Empire star claims Daniels’ crude comment made him want to drop pounds for a music video, and that’s why he sought help from the two brothers. According to Jussie, he wrote Abimbola Osundairo a $3,500 check for nutrition and training advice. The brothers claim the payday was for their help in orchestrating an elaborate fake attack on the actor. Jussie was repeatedly asked on the stand if the attack was a hoax. He denied it every time. Jussie Smollett Tells Jury He Did Not Stage Alleged Hate Crime Against Himself Under Oath In Trial When it comes to Jussie’s comment about Daniels’ alleged fat-shaming, Radar reached out to the Hollywood director for the tea. So far, no word back. Their friendship didn’t quite weather the storm, despite working together for 5 seasons on Empire. MEGA The pair are no longer on speaking terms. Jussie and Daniels’ “relationship is nonexistent, and it was tense even before Jussie’s attack incident,” a source told Page Six last year. According to insiders, one major clash between the two centered around R. Kelly. Daniels’ allegedly wanted the disgraced musician to write songs for Jussie’s character, but the actor put his foot down due to Kelly’s reputation in the industry. Jussie reportedly went to Fox executives on the regular to complain about the director. “It was things like that that did not sit well with Lee,” their source added. “He [was frustrated by] Jussie because he was constantly going over his head to Fox about their creative differences.” Jussie is currently on the stand after police accused him of staging his own hate crime to get attention. The actor tells a different story, claiming he was attacked by two masked men wearing MAGA hats who put a noose around his neck and beat him up on January 29, 2019. MEGA View the full article

Published by Reuters By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Former President Donald Trump’s longtime former adviser Steve Bannon will go to trial on July 18 to face criminal charges over his defiance of a congressional inquiry into the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol, a federal judge said on Tuesday. The trial date, set by U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, represents a compromise between the government and Bannon’s lawyers, who each offered competing proposed trial dates during a hearing on Tuesday. Prosecutors had asked for a trial in April, but Bannon’s lawyers said they needed more time to prepare and had sought a date in October. “In the Jan. 6 criminal cases involving the people who were in the Capitol or committed violence in the Capitol, none of those cases have yet gone to trial for indictments that happened in January,” Nichols said. He noted the case against Bannon, by contrast, is a misdemeanor and yet, the government wants to move at “lightspeed.” At the same time, he added, a proposal for an October trial would be “too slow.” Bannon was indicted on one contempt count for refusing to appear for a deposition before the committee and a second count for refusing to produce documents. The Democratically-controlled House of Representatives voted on Oct. 21 to hold Bannon in contempt, leaving it up to the Justice Department, headed by Attorney General Merrick Garland, to decide on bringing charges. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Drake has withdrawn his Grammy Award nominations for ‘Certified Lover Boy’. The hit record was previously nominated for the Best Rap Album gong, while ‘Way 2 Sexy’ was nominated for the Best Rap Performance accolade – but Drake and his management have withdrawn the nominations, Variety reports. Drake, 35, took the decision after previously criticising the organisers for not nominating The Weeknd for any awards for his hit album ‘After Hours’. He said at the time: “I think we should stop allowing ourselves to be shocked every year by the disconnect between impactful music and these awards and just accept that what once was the highest form of recognition may no longer matter to the artists that exist now and the ones that come after.” Drake – who is one of the world’s best-selling artists – also discussed the controversy on his Instagram account. The rap star – who has already won multiple Grammy Awards during his career – wrote on the photo-sharing platform: “It’s like a relative you keep expecting to fix up but they just can’t change their ways. The other day I said @theweeknd was a lock for either album or song of the year along with countless other reasonable assumptions and it just never goes that way. (sic)” Drake also compared award shows to the world of professional sport, noting that unlike NBA players, he competes in an “opinion-based sport”. The ‘Back to Back’ hitmaker said: “I want you to know we play in an opinion-based sport, not a factual-based sport. This is not the NBA where at the end of the year, you’re holding a trophy because you made the right decisions or won the games.” View the full article

Published by AFP Attorney General Merrick Garland (R) and Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta (L) announce the filing of a complaint against Texas over its plans to redraw electoral maps Washington (AFP) – The US Justice Department sued Texas on Monday, accusing the Republican-led state of discriminating against Black and Latino voters with its redrawn electoral maps. Merrick Garland, Democratic President Joe Biden’s attorney general, said Texas’s redistricting plans for congressional and state legislative districts violate the Voting Rights Act. Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta, speaking at a press conference with Garland, said several of the electoral districts were “drawn with discriminatory intent.” “The redistricting plans approved by the Texas state legislature and signed into law by the governor will deny Black and Latino voters an equal opportunity to participate in the voting process and to elect representatives of their choice,” Gupta said. In its complaint filed in a US District Court in Texas, the Justice Department said it was “not the first time Texas has acted to minimize the voting rights of its minority citizens.” “Decade after decade, Texas has enacted redistricting plans that violate the Voting Rights Act,” it said. Gupta said the population of Texas grew by four million people between 2010 and 2020 and 95 percent of that growth came from minority populations. “Texas will gain two new congressional seats because of its population growth, almost all of which is due to growth in the state’s minority population,” she said. “However, Texas has designed both of those new seats to have white voting majorities.” Electoral maps in the 50 US states are redrawn after a national census and the party in power has been known to conduct redistricting to its political advantage. The Justice Department is seeking to prevent Texas from using the redrawn maps in upcoming elections and force it to come up with new ones. The United States is to hold mid-term elections for Congress in 2022 and a presidential vote in 2024. The Justice Department filed suit against Texas last month over a new law which the administration said would disenfranchise voters with disabilities or with language difficulties. In June, the Justice Department sued the southern state of Georgia, accusing it of seeking to restrict the voting access of African-Americans. A number of Republican-led states have carried out electoral reforms which they claim are needed to combat voter fraud. Democrats say the real objective is to make it more difficult for minorities — who tend to lean Democratic — to vote. View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mateus Campos Felipe/Unsplash The group of Belgium nuns driving a convoy of luxury cars towards their newly purchased villa in the south of France had broken at least two of the deadly sins, according to the Bishop of Bruges, whose lawyers were in hot pursuit. Their apparent transgressions included greed and envy for the riches their simple life of poverty, austerity and seclusion forbade. Wrath may have also been a factor, as the nuns were angered by the bishop’s decision to starve their convent of new recruits, effectively dooming it to eventual closure. Subsequently, the eight sisters plotted a legal coup and sold the historic 600-year-old building from under the Vatican’s nose. The Bruges nuns, under the leadership of their Mother Superior, Sister Anna Backx, a spritely 61 at the time, pocketed $1.4m for the building, located in the center of Belgium`s picture-postcard medieval city. With the windfall they purchased a fleet of cars including a $110,000 Mercedes limo, racehorses and a chateau and farm in the foothills of the French Pyrenees near Lourdes. They handed the keys to the convent over to the new buyers and set off for warmer climes in the convoy that also included an ambulance to carry Sister Agnes, 93, who could not see, hear, or walk. It was 1990, but now, for the first time, using documents and court reports, we can tell the full untold story of the millionaire Belgium nuns and the angry Bishops who tried to stop them. The events play out like a Hollywood movie with subplots that include a forbidden lesbian affair, a tense court drama and a child abuse scandal that rumbles on today. The nuns were from a Catholic order officially called the Order of Saint Clare but generally referred to as the Poor Clares. The order was founded by St Clare of Assisi in 1212. She was the first woman to write a set of monastic guidelines and her house rules were particularly strict, requiring extreme poverty, no property ownership, and total reliance on handouts from the local communities in which her convents were situated. The Poor ClaresMEGA Despite the severe lifestyle required to become a Poor Clare, communities spread quickly throughout Europe. By 1300 there were 47 convents in Spain alone. The Reformation halted the spread of the Order for a time in Northwest Europe but by the 19th Century Poor Clares were in the ascendent again, particularly in Belgium where the nuns based in Bruges and Ghent established another 26 new convents in the country along with a dozen in England, the Netherlands, Germany and France. But by 1990 the Belgium nun explosion had slowed to a trickle and the once burgeoning Poor Clares of Bruges convent appeared to be in terminal decline. Only eight sisters remained, ranging in age from 61 to 93. According to reports, the catalyst for their actions was the realization that the bishop’s office had placed their home on a list of convents closed to new recruits. With no fresh blood and ageing residents, the designation was effectively a ‘do not resuscitate’ order. When the last nun died, the convent died with her and the property and everything in it returned to the diocese. Church authorities later argued that there were simply not enough young women joining the sisterhood to maintain the convent and that although the inhabitants of the convent were old, they could have lived there for ‘many more years’. The nuns saw it differently. In later testimony, Sister Josephine, described by lawyers as ‘very clear of mind, not senile’ explained the rationale behind what happened next. “Why should we just let it bleed to death and let the diocese get all the goods back?” A Poor Clares Convent in BelgiumMEGA The wily nuns spotted a solution in the arcane statutes that controlled the running of the convent. Under the existing by-laws, the diocese of Bruges stood to receive the property and any goods within it after the death of the sisters. But as the convent was classed as a non-profit organization, the nuns were able to change the by-laws without permission from the Diocese and became its legal owners. They were then free to sell it. They found buyers, a partnership of textile firms, and enlisted the help of a financial advisor named Ronny Crab. In the subsequent spending spree, with Crab’s help, they bought a chateau in the south of France and a farm, 11 racehorses and six luxury cars including three Mercedes-Benz models equipped with telephones and televisions. As none of them could drive they travelled to their new home in a $110,000 Mercedes limousine. The remaining money was put in accounts. When news of the scandal reached the Bishop of Bruges, Rev. Roger Vangheluwe, who started legal proceedings to recover the property and any artifacts within it. Reports state that several paintings had also disappeared from the convent, along with the nuns. Incredibly it wasn’t the only convent controversy the bishop was dealing with at the time. In the coastal town of Nieuwport, 40kms away, another superfluity of Poor Clares, led by their cigar chomping Mercedes-driving Mother Superior, had purchased a disused wing of their convent and turned it into a $100-a-night luxury hotel complete with Persian rugs, antiques, marble bathrooms, a conference center, restaurant and leisure center. Vangheluwe claimed the sale of the Bruge convent was null and void because the Vatican did not approve it, but legal opinion was divided. At the behest of the church, police launched an investigation, and a complaint was made against Crab, who was accused of assaulting a novice nun, forgery, fraud and breach of confidence. He was arrested on February 27, 1990, while investigators were dispatched to France to question the nuns. In Bruges cops seized historic artifacts from the convent that the nuns had left behind. Rev. Roger VangheluweCarolus via Wikipedia Despite testimony from the nuns that they were aware of what they were doing, Crab was thrown to the wolves and stood trial in March 1990 accused of swindling the nuns through abuse of trust to gain control of their financial affairs. He was found guilty and jailed for 39 days before an appeals court released him. Outside the jail in Ghent, his lawyer, Clive Van Aerden, explained to reporters that it was a ‘trumped up case all along’ and that the church had leant on the police to launch a criminal case to justify a civil claim to recover the goods. A spokesman for the bishop denied the accusation. “The church has never wanted the goods of that convent,” he said. “The bishop was only interested in the welfare of the sisters.” Van Aerden explained to reporters that the nuns wanted the proceeds from the convent to go to their families rather than the church after they all died, so they changed the statutes of the convent. He told reporters that he’d read a deposition given in the south of France by Sister Josephine in which she told the police that she knew her convent ‘was on a list where the bishop didn’t allow any new nuns to come in’ and didn’t want it to go back to the diocese after the sisters had died. The lawyer added that as the convent’s old bylaws prohibited all luxuries, Crab was happy to teach the nuns how to live a new luxury lifestyle. When asked why they’d bought six flashy cars when none of them could drive he shrugged and replied: “They wanted them, so they bought them. It’s as simple as that. That’s why this whole inquiry is so silly.” But that wasn’t the end of the story for both Crab and his religious clients. Legal claims continued. The nun’s bank accounts were frozen by court order and without funds they were forced to sell their French villa less than a year after moving there. They returned to Belgium in November 1990, where they purchased a villa in Kappellen, near Antwerp. Meanwhile the criminal courts continued to pursue Crab. In May 1993 he was summoned on charges of breach of trust for a sum of 46.000 francs (around $1350) and assault and battery. A month later the charges were increased to forgery and use of forgery, fraud for 10M francs (around $294,000), assault and battery and breach of trust. His trial started in February 1995 when the prosecution claimed that Crab had got rich at the expense of the nuns and assaulted a sister. The court heard that in the intervening years Crab had written a book about his life in the convent and sold the rights to shoot a movie. In April, Bruges Criminal Court, chaired by Ms. Sabine Ongenae, acquitted Crab on the charge of breach of trust and accepted that the extravagant purchases were made with the full consent of the nuns. The court ruled that Crab had no power of attorney and threw out the accusations of forgery and use of forgery. Crab’s vindication was only partial however, as the assault and battery charge was upheld and he was sentenced to a suspended six months jail sentence and fined 12,000 francs. Determined to clear his name Crab fought on, protesting his innocence. He claimed that he’d been made a scapegoat for the nuns and that he was being victimised by the church. He appealed against the conviction and over a year later, in June 1996, Ghent Court of Appeal acquitted him of all charges. In what must have seemed like divine justice to the man who had, by then, spent six years being pursued by the courts and who had apparently been hung out to dry by the sisters he helped, the nuns were ordered to pay his legal costs of 700,000 francs (approx. $20,500). Crab was jubilant and announced that he would be seeking compensation from the state for false imprisonment and from the Bruge nuns for money he claimed they owed him. “I don’t want revenge, that’s a bad word,” he said. “But that won’t stop me from claiming damages from the state for my 40 days of unjust preventive detention.” MEGA In an emotional interview he attacked the church and the Bishop of Bruges in particular. “From the outset, the case against me was based on a string of lies,” he explained. “Everywhere else in Belgium, the Church wanted to bleed the community, in order to grab its goods, a tactic that did not work with the nuns. It was then that the clergy attacked me. “It was the sisters who wanted a flotilla of luxury cars, it was they who wanted a farmhouse and it was again they who decided to sell the convent of Bruges and buy a castle in Pessan, in the Pyrenees. All of this was in line with their ambition as liberated women from the grip of the Bishop of Bruges. When the business turned sour for the sisters, and the Bruges prosecutor’s office, influenced by the bishop, decided to block the nuns’ money, they simply wanted to crucify me.” He then made sensational claims about a lesbian love triangle within the convent. Crab told stunned reporters that the fraud allegations had been cooked up by a nun, Sister Clara, who had been jilted by the Mother Superior, Sister Anna Backx. According to Crab, jealous Clara had gone to the Bishop, and accused her former lover of mismanagement of the convent. He said: “Anna left Clara for another friend. Seeing her dreams fade away, Sister Clara insinuated that Abbess Anna Backx had mismanaged the convent and that there was even a question of fraud.” Crab’s dramatic absolution after years of legal wrangling, was equal to the divine justice that appears to have been meted out to his adversaries; Rev. Roger Vangheluwe and the Poor Clares of Bruges. In their new home, and with their living expenses under control of the church again, the nuns were effectively prisoners, according to Crab. Worse still, they had to accept a representative of the bishop on the board of trustees of their new home, who Crab implied was a spy for the authorities placed there to keep them in line. “It is their Trojan horse,” he explained. The nuns appear to have lived out their lives peacefully but the same could not be said for their nemesis, the Bishop of Bruges. In 2010, then aged 73, Roger Vangheluwe became the first European bishop to resign due to child abuse allegations. In a scandal that rocked the Catholic church in Europe, it transpired that Belgium’s longest-serving prelate had abused his own nephew over a period of 13 years. He was forced to resign when a friend of the victim threatened to make the abuse public. Vangheluwe acknowledged molesting “a boy in my close entourage.” As the case unfolded it became evident that church officials had been warned about Vangheluwe’s abuse 25 years previously but had taken no action and attempted to cover up the scandal. One retired priest, Rev. Rik Devillé, said he had tried to warn Belgium’s cardinal, Godfried Danneels, about the abuse in 1996, the year Crab was cleared, but was berated for doing so. Godfried DanneelsCarolus via Wikipedia The Archbishop of Brussels made a public statement that Vangheluwe’s resignation marked an end to cover-ups. Within two months more than 500 people, mostly men, claimed they had been abused. Shortly after Danneels retired in 2010 a secretly taped conversation was leaked in which he was heard urging Vangheluwe’s victim to say nothing about the abuse until after his uncle could retire. Danneels told the victim: “The bishop will resign next year, so actually it would be better for you to wait. I don’t think you’d do yourself or him a favor by shouting this from the rooftops.” The cardinal was then heard warning the man against trying to blackmail the church and suggested that he accept a private apology from the bishop and not drag ‘his name through the mud’. The victim responded, “He has dragged my whole life through the mud, from five until 18 years old. Why do you feel sorry for him and not for me?” Cops raided the church’s Belgian headquarters and drilled into a cardinal’s crypt and confiscated computers and documents, searching for proof that the church had concealed evidence. Pope Benedict XVI called the police action ‘deplorable’. Vangheluwe, meanwhile, retreated to a Trappist monastery. Under Belgian law at the time, a sexual abuse victim could only lodge a criminal complaint up to 10 years after turning 18. The victim in the Vangheluwe case was 40. Vangheluwe escaped prosecution because the case was too old. In a sickening TV interview in 2011, Vangheluwe denied being a paedophile and called his crime “a little bit of intimacy’. He then admitted to molesting a second nephew. “As in all families when they came to visit, my nephews would stay over. It began as a kind of game with this boy. It was never a question of rape, or physical violence. He never saw me naked and there was no penetration. I don’t in the slightest have any sense I am a pedophile. I don’t get the impression my nephew was opposed, quite the contrary. I knew it wasn’t good. I confessed it several times,” he explained. Meanwhile, 24 Belgian, French and Dutch nationals who alleged to have been sexually abused by Catholic priests when they were children filed a class action demanded €10,000 in compensation from the Holy See and several leaders of the Belgian Catholic Church and various Catholic associations. In October 2013 the Ghent Court of First Instance ruled that the Church could not be sued as it had the same immunity as any recognized state. In February 2016 the Ghent Court of Appeal upheld the judgment. Following the ruling the victims lodged an application with the European Court of Human Rights in February 2017. They argued that by applying the immunity principle, they had been prevented from pursuing their civil claims, in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights. In October this year the European Court of Human Rights upheld the Belgium court’s decision. The catholic church, it appears, is legally untouchable. MEGA View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega Embattled actor Jussie Smollett took the stand today and testified to the court that he did not pay anyone to stage an alleged hate crime and assault against him. Although the actor has made these claims since the alleged assault took place, this is the first time he has testified under oath. According to Jussie’s testimony on Monday, he paid his friendAbimbola Osundario $3,500 to provide him with a diet and exercise plan, not to enact a fake hate crime and assault against the Black and openly homosexual actor. Mega Jussie’s testimony contradicts Abimbola’s testimony, who told the court under oath last week that the actor texted him in late January 2019 looking for help “on the low.” According to Abimbola, Jussie then provided a $3,500 check with explicit instructions for Abimbola and his brother to stage an attack against the actor while shouting racist and homophobic slurs and comments. So far, the prosecutors in the case have argued that Jussie was motivated to stage an attack against himself due to security concerns the actor believed the Empire studio wasn’t taking seriously. Mega View the full article

Published by Radar Online mega Kevin Spacey is pleading with a judge to block his sexual assault accuser from grilling him about unidentified accusers and his past romantic relationships. According to court documents obtained by Radar, the legal team representing the disgraced actor have rushed to court days before Spacey’s December 10 deposition. The case was filed by Anthony Rapp, who is suing Spacey over an alleged sexual assault that went down in 1986. He claims the House of Cards actor grabbed his butt when he was 14 and laid on top of him without consent. Spacey denies the allegations and claims Rapp came up with the story to be a part of the #MeToo movement. In his motion, Spacey says he believes Rapp intends to ask questions which seek private information with no relevance to the case. They believe he will ask question that are meant to harass and annoy Spacey. mega Spacey is asking for certain topics to be off limits during the upcoming depositions. He doesn’t want Rapp to be allowed to ask questions about his prior sexual or romantic relationships with consenting adults. “To the extent Plaintiff questions Mr. Fowler about his prior sexual or romantic relationships with other consenting adults, he should not be permitted to request that Mr. Fowler reveal the identities of his partners,” his lawyers argue. Spacey also wants any allegations of inappropriate behavior by other accusers to be barred. He says Rapp’s lawyer have “referenced various tabloid stories of third parties’ unsubstantiated (and in some cases, anonymous) allegations that Mr. Fowler has behaved inappropriately.” Spacey wants any questions regarding an unnamed accuser thrown out. The actor says the questions should be limited to accusers who went public and claim to have been under the age of 18 at the time of the alleged incident. The motion also notes Spacey will not answer questions about the pending investigation against him in the U.K. A judge has yet to rule on the motion. As we previously reported, Rapp is suing the actor for making a sexual advance on him when he was only 14 years old. The alleged incident went down in 1986 when Rapp was starring in the Broadway play Precious Sons mega He says Spacey invited him back to his Manhattan home. In the suit, he claims Spacey, without consent, grabbed hit butt. He says Spacey proceeded to get on top of his body and lay there. Rapp says he immediately rushed to the bathroom and locked the door. Spacey reportedly tried to convince the teen to stay. The suit is seeking unspecified damages for the alleged emotional distress Rapp suffers. Spacey has moved to dismiss the lawsuit. He even hired a psychologist to examine Rapp who determined the accuser “generated and perpetuated a false memory.” His expert also claimed Rapp “displays narcissistic personality traits, in that he has an excessive need for admiration, has a grandiose sense of self-importance, and believes that he is special.” The expert argued Rapp had concocted the story after being moved by the #MeToo movement that he “wanted very much to be a part of.” Spacey released a statement denying Rapp’s version of events, “I have a lot of respect and admiration for Anthony Rapp as an actor. I’m beyond horrified to hear this story. I honestly do not remember the encounter, it would have been over 30 years ago. But if I did behave then as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior,” he said. Spacey is not having the greatest couple of weeks. He was recently ordered to cough up $31 million in a battle with House of Cards producers. mega View the full article

Published by Reuters By Steve Holland, Humeyra Pamuk, Michael Martina and David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) – U.S. government officials will boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing because of China’s human rights “atrocities”, the White House said on Monday, just weeks after talks aimed at easing tense relations between the two superpowers. The diplomatic boycott, which leaves athletes free to travel to Beijing to compete, has been encouraged by some members of Congress and rights advocacy groups for months. Beijing threatened unspecified “resolute countermeasures” against any such move before Monday’s announcement, which is certain to further strain relations already at their lowest point in decades. President Joe Biden’s administration highlighted what Washington says is genocide against minority Muslims in China’s western region of Xinjiang. “U.S. diplomatic or official representation would treat these games as business as usual in the face of the PRC’s egregious human rights abuses and atrocities in Xinjiang, and we simply can’t do that,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told a daily press briefing, referring to the People’s Republic of China. “The athletes on Team USA have our full support,” Psaki added. “We will be behind them 100% as we cheer them on from home.” The move comes despite an effort to stabilize ties with a video meeting last month between Biden and China’s leader Xi Jinping. China’s embassy in Washington called the boycott “political manipulation” as no invitations had been extended to U.S. politicians. “In fact, no one would care about whether these people come or not, and it has no impact whatsoever on the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics to be successfully held,” embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu said. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said the United States consulted allies on a “shared approach” to the Beijing Games. It was unclear if they would follow the U.S. lead. “Canada remains deeply disturbed by the troubling reports of human rights violations in China,” Canada’s foreign ministry said in a statement. “We were notified of the U.S. decision and we will continue to discuss this matter with our partners and allies.” The Australian and Japanese governments said they were also still considering their positions for the Games, which begin on Feb. 4. “We will consider matters such as the meaning of the Olympic Games and our diplomatic relations, and would like to make our own decision based on what is best for our national interest,” Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters. New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson said his country would not be sending government officials but that decision was based largely on COVID-19 concerns and preceded the U.S. boycott. “We’ve made clear to China on numerous occasions our concerns about human rights issues – as recently as the Prime Minister talking to President Xi,” Robertson told reporters, according to state broadcaster TVNZ. “They’re well aware of our view on human rights but we’d already made that decision not to attend.” Stefano Sannino, chief of the European Union’s diplomatic service, said on Friday that boycotts were a matter for individual member states, not common EU foreign policy. Russian President Vladimir Putin is the only leader of a major country who has accepted China’s invitation. U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters the government would not dictate private sector practices, but said firms should be “fully cognizant” of what is transpiring in Xinjiang. The diplomatic boycott puts corporate Olympic sponsors in “an awkward spot” but was less concerning than a full boycott including athletes, said Neal Pilson, a former president of CBS Sports who has overseen Olympics broadcast rights deals. A spokesperson from Comcast-owned NBCUniversal said it would broadcast the Games as planned. POTENTIAL RETALIATION The International Olympic Committee (IOC), which has faced criticism for turning a blind eye to China’s right record, said the Games should be “beyond politics”. Sarah Hirshland, chief executive of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, said Team USA was “excited and ready to make the nation proud.” Many U.S. athletes argued it would have been unfair to ban them from the Games, and some U.S. lawmakers who supported not sending officials had said it was in U.S. interests for its national anthem to be playing in Beijing as Americans received medals. Human rights groups welcomed the move, but said Washington could do more to hold China accountable. For China, which denies all rights abuses, Biden’s move is less a threat to the Games and more of an optics problem that Beijing fueled by threatening retaliation, experts said. “It would have been a non-story if let alone,” said Lisa Delpy Neirotti, an associate professor of sport management at the George Washington University School of Business. “We typically do not send a large government delegation anyway, especially in COVID times.” Beijing says it opposes the politicization of sports, but it has punished American sports leagues in the past, including the National Basketball Association, for crossing political red lines. Scott Kennedy, a China expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said Beijing’s options to retaliate included limiting bilateral dialogue, stalling visas, or hamstringing athletic delegations and journalists at the Games. The United States is next due to host an Olympics in 2028 in Los Angeles, raising questions of how China might respond. (Additional reporting by Brad Heath，Trevor Hunnicutt, David Brunnstrom, Frank Pingue, Gabriel Crossley, Sheila Dang, Karolos Grohman, Amy Tennery, David Ljunggren, Helen Coster, Nick Mulvenney and Sakura Murakami; Writing by Michael Martina; Editing by Mary Milliken, Alexander Smith, Alistair Bell, Sam Holmes, Lincoln Feast and Jane Wardell.) View the full article

Published by DPA Pope Francis delivers a speech during his visit to the Reception and Identification Centre (RIC) in Mytilene on the island of Lesbos in Greece. Pope Francis is returning to the island of Lesbos, the migration hotspot he first visited in 2016, to plead for better treatment of refugees, as attitudes toward immigrants harden across Europe. Vatican Media/ANSA via ZUMA Press/dpa Pope Francis said on Monday the resignation of Paris Archbishop Michel Aupetit, following reports of an alleged romantic relationship with a woman, was “unfair.” The archbishop did not feel forced to resign because of his relationship with a woman, but due to the public’s rush to judgement, Francis said during his return flight from Greece. The pontiff accepted a resignation request from the archbishop last week after reports of the alleged love affair. “When gossip grows, grows, grows, it takes away a person’s reputation,” the pope said. The archbishop could then no longer remain in a position of responsibility. “This is unfair. I accepted Aupetit’s resignation not on the altar of truth, but on the altar of hypocrisy.” A local newspaper reported that the archbishop had a romantic relationship with a woman in 2012. Aupetit confirmed a relationship with the woman during his time as vicar general, but said it had not been romantic or sexual. A romantic relationship would be a violation of celibacy, a vow made by all Catholic clergymen. “I ask myself: What has Aupetit done that is so bad that he has to resign? What did he do?” Francis asked journalists on the plane. He said Aupetit violated the sixth commandment (“You shall not commit adultery”), but “not totally. He lightly caressed and massaged his secretary.” That was a sin, “but not one of the most serious,” the pontiff said. The “sins of the flesh” are less serious than others, such as hatred, he said. Criminally, the case is irrelevant. Aupetit had been archbishop of Paris since 2017 and was thus a high-ranking representative of the Catholic Church in France. View the full article

[This post contains video, click to play] Published by BANG Showbiz English The 2021 Kennedy Center Honors celebrated Joni Mitchell, Bette Midler, Berry Gordy and Lorne Michaels with Lifetime Achievement awards on Sunday night (05.12.21). The prestigious bash returned as an in-person event for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic and was attended by the President of the United States for the first time since 2016, with President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden in attendance at the star-studded gala. In tribute to music legend Joni, 78, musicians Ellie Goulding, Norah Jones, Brandi Carlile, and Brittany Howard gave surprise performances of her most-loved songs. As for Bette, 76, her Hollywood peers Goldie Hawn and Barbara Hershey paid tribute to the ‘Hocus Pocus’ star, while ‘Pose’ and Broadway star Billy Porter took to the stage for a show-stopping rendition of the icon’s hit single ‘The Wind Beneath My Wings’ from the soundtrack to the 1988 film ‘Beaches’. Motown legend Berry, 92, was honoured by the likes of Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson in recognition of the way he helped launch their careers. Operatic superstar Justino Diaz, 81, was also celebrated with a performance from the opera ‘Carmen’. Away from music, ‘Saturday Night Live’ legend Lorne -who created and produces the iconic late-night comedy sketch show – was saluted by comics Jimmy Fallon, Amy Poehler, and cast members Colin Jost, Michael Che and Pete Davidson. The president had hosted a reception for the honourees at the White House prior to the gala, which is set to air on CBS on December 22. Speaking from the East Room, he told the select guests: “We welcome everyone back. “Our nation is stronger, more dynamic and more vibrant because of you.” He said of the honourees: “I don’t think you fully appreciate what you do for so many people.” Biden joked about Lorne, whose show regularly pokes fun at presidents: “Finally, it’s my turn to say something about him.” The world leader admitted: “You make me laugh at myself a lot.” While he told Bette: “People will never forget how you make them feel. That’s your gift, it’s incredible.” Speaking to Joni, he said: “Your words and melodies touch the deepest parts of our soul.” Stevie Wonder headlined the four-hour event. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Michael Sheen has become a “not-for-profit” actor. The ‘Prodigal Son’ actor explained how the 2019 Homeless World Cup in Cardiff was a turning point for him as it was in danger of being cancelled as funding had run out so he put his own money into the initiative and after it was successfully staged, he realised he could use his wealth and profile to help with similar ventures. Speaking to The Big Issue for their Letter To My Younger Self, he said: “I had committed to helping to organise that and then suddenly, with not long to go, there was no money. “I had to make a decision – I could walk away from it, and it wouldn’t happen. I thought, I’m not going to let that happen. So, I put all my money into keeping it going. “I had a house in America and a house here and I put those up and just did whatever it took. It was scary and incredibly stressful. “I’ll be paying for it for a long time. But when I came out the other side I realised I could do this kind of thing and, if I can keep earning money it’s not going to ruin me. “There was something quite liberating about going, alright, I’ll put large amounts of money into this or that, because I’ll be able to earn it back again. “I’ve essentially turned myself into a social enterprise, a not-for-profit actor.” The 52-year-old star decided to return to his native Wales after immersing himself in local life when working on ‘The Passion’, a 72-hour play through the streets of Port Talbot in 2011 because it made him aware of initiatives and charities that were in need of high-profile help and support. He said: “I got to know people and organisations within my hometown that I didn’t know existed. “Little groups who were trying to help young carers, who had just enough funding to make a tiny difference to a kid’s life by putting on one night a week where they could get out and go bowling or watch a film and just be a kid. “I would come back to visit three or four months later, and find out that funding had gone and that organisation didn’t exist anymore. “I realised the difference between that child’s life being a little bit better or not was ultimately a small amount of funding. “And I wanted to help those people. I didn’t just want to be a patron or a supportive voice, I wanted to actually do more than that. “That’s when I thought, I need to go back and live in Wales again.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Joshua Malina has called for Hollywood to “cancel Mel Gibson”. The former ‘West Wing’ star has blasted the movie industry for continuing to hire the 65-year-old actor despite his alleged previous anti-Semitic comments and argued that although he appreciates the ‘Lethal Weapon’ star’s previous work, there is no need for him to be given opportunities for his career to continue to flourish. In a passionate op-ed for The Atlantic titled ‘Cancel Mel Gibson’, he wrote: “Gibson is a well-known Jew-hater (anti-Semite is too mild). His prejudices are well documented. So my question is, what does a guy have to do these days to get put on Hollywood’s no-fly list? I’m a character actor. I tend to take the jobs that come my way. “But—and this hurts to write—you couldn’t pay me enough to work with Mel Gibson. “Now, I love the ‘Lethal Weapon’ movies (at least the first few). And Danny Glover’s a gem. But Gibson? Yes, he’s a talented man. Many horrible people produce wonderful art. “Put me down as an ardent fan of Roald Dahl, Pablo Picasso, and Edith Wharton; can’t get enough of what they’re selling. But these three had the good taste to die. That makes it a lot easier to enjoy their output. Gibson lives. And Tinseltown need not employ him further.” After Mel recently announced he will direct and star in ‘Lethal Weapon 5’, Joshua questioned the whole existence of “cancel culture”. He continued: “If Gibson is welcomed back to direct the latest installment of this beloved franchise, it may be time to stop publishing think pieces about the power of ‘cancel culture.’ Because if he can continue to find big bucks and approbation in Hollywood, cancel culture simply does not exist.” And the 55-year-old star insisted Hollywood is “overlooking” many other alleged prejudices the ‘Braveheart’ star holds. He continued: “It is inarguably true that the main targets of Gibson’s prejudice are the Jews, but what boggles my mind is that Hollywood is also overlooking his profound misogyny and forays into anti-Black racism. “I wish anti-Jewish hatred alone were enough to get him cast into the wilderness, but, hey, if it has to be because of his other prejudices, I’m okay with that. Let him take the hundreds of millions he’s already earned in Hollywood and retire somewhere nice to contemplate his life choices. I hear the Judean Hills are lovely this time of year.” But the ‘Scandal’ star didn’t expect his essay to have an impact on anything other than his own career. He concluded: “I write this knowing that it’s more likely to lead to a boycott by Warner Bros. of Joshua Malina than of Mel Gibson. “But if that’s the result, so be it. I’ve had a nice career, baruch Hashem. “It would be great if higher-profile executives, producers, and actors would also take a stand. Then I could believe in this cancel culture I keep reading so much about. And I could also believe that Jews do, in fact, count.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Tom Holland will play Fred Astaire in an upcoming biopic. The 25-year-old actor confirmed that he will play the legendary dancer, actor and singer in an new film for Sony. Producer Amy Pascal recently suggested that she wanted Tom to play Astaire in the project – in addition to another trilogy of ‘Spider-Man’ films. At an event to promote ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’, Tom told reporters: “The script came in a week ago. I haven’t read it yet; they haven’t given it to me.” Tom also revealed that he had been in contact with Amy about playing the part. He joked: “She FaceTimed me earlier. I was in the bath. And we had a lovely FaceTime, but I will be playing Fred Astaire.” Holland has a background as a performer as he began his acting career in London’s West End, where he played the title role in ‘Billy Elliot the Musical’ between 2008 and 2010. Astaire is considered to be the greatest dancer in film history as he starred in more than 30 movie musicals and is remembered for his partnership with Ginger Rogers. Tom’s movie is not the only Fred Astaire project currently in the works as Jamie Bell – who played the role of Billy Elliot in the 2000 film – will play the dancer opposite Margaret Qualley as Ginger Rogers in a new flick for Amazon Studios. Pascal recently confirmed that Sony is “getting ready to make the next Spider-Man movie with Tom Holland and Marvel”. She said: “This is not the last movie that we are going to make with Marvel – [this is not] the last Spider-Man movie. “We are getting ready to make the next Spider-Man movie with Tom Holland and Marvel, it just isn’t part of … we’re thinking of this as three films, and now we’re going to go onto the next three. This is not the last of our Marvel Cinematic Universe movies.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Chang-Ran Kim and Elaine Lies TOKYO (Reuters) – The United States Embassy in Tokyo on Monday warned in a tweet of incidents of suspected racial profiling of non-Japanese by Japanese police. Japan is a mostly ethnically homogeneous country where some people equate more immigrants with a rise in crime, although foreign labour is increasingly needed to make up for a declining and ageing population. “The U.S. Embassy has received reports of foreigners stopped and searched by Japanese police in suspected racial profiling incidents. Several were detained, questioned, and searched,” the tweet said. “U.S. citizens should carry proof of immigration and request consular notification if detained.” The tweet is an unusual move from the United States, a key Japanese ally. A U.S. Embassy spokesperson said the embassy had nothing further to add to the tweet, and the National Police Agency could not immediately comment. Asked about the U.S. embassy warning, top government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno said only that police question suspicious individuals based on various factors but that those decisions are not based on a person’s ethnicity or nationality. A week ago, Japan closed its borders to all non-resident foreigners in one of the strongest global measures taken to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. Naomi Kawahara, founder of advocacy group Japan for Black Lives, said racial profiling by Japanese police was nothing new, particularly for foreigners or mixed-race Japanese people of colour. “I had a friend who was questioned by police more than 30 times in the six years that he lived here,” she told Reuters of her African-American friend, who left Japan a few years ago. “Sometimes it was in front of his house, as he was about to walk his dog.” (Reporting by Chang-ran Kim, Sakura Murakami and Elaine Lies; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Freida Pinto thinks it would have been “easier” for her to be successful if she was starting her career now. The 37-year-old actress – who got her big break in Danny Boyle’s 2008 movie ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ – thinks there are more opportunities now for people of colour, but she isn’t upset her “journey” has been different. She reflected: “Maybe I could’ve done it differently. If I entered the industry now, with all the movies and TV shows that have opened the doors for people of colour it would be a lot easier for me. But I think not. No. The journey that I was on was exactly the journey I needed to be on.” Freida praised ‘Bridgerton’ for helping change perceptions and doesn’t think her new movie, 19th century rom-com ‘Mr. Malcolm’s List’ would have been greenlit without the Netflix drama being so successful. She told The Times’ Saturday Review: “That took a long time to get off the ground because it seemed like a novel concept, casting everyone against type. But then Bridgerton happened and suddenly everyone thought, ‘Oh yeah! You can cast a non-white in the lead role of a period project!’ And that helped ours to get green-lit.” And the actress admitted some of her early movies, such as playing a Palestinian in ‘Miral’ and an Iranian in ‘Desert Dancer’, would be deemed problematic now. She said: “That shouldn’t have been allowed then, and it wouldn’t be allowed today. But back then there wasn’t a bigger name Palestinian actress to get ‘Miral’ off the ground, and it was only my second movie, I wasn’t going to be able to change the system by saying no, and it was my bread and butter.” View the full article

Published by Reuters WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) -China will take “countermeasures” in protest against a planned U.S. diplomatic boycott of the Olympics if necessary, Beijing’s foreign ministry said on Monday. The Biden administration is expected to announce on Monday that U.S. government officials will not attend the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, a source familiar with the situation said Monday, confirming earlier reports by CNN and NBC. The diplomatic boycott, which has been encouraged https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-senators-propose-adding-boycott-chinas-winter-olympics-defense-bill-2021-10-28 by some members of the U.S. Congress for weeks, would not affect American athletes. U.S. President Joe Biden said last month that he was considering such a diplomatic boycott to protest China’s human rights record, including what Washington says is genocide against minority Muslims. The White House and State Department declined to comment. Those calling for a boycott are “grandstanding” and should stop “so as not to affect the dialogue and cooperation between China and the United States in important areas”, said Zhao Lijian, China’s foreign ministry spokesman. “If the U.S. insists in wilfully clinging to its course, China will take resolute countermeasures,” he said at a news conference. (Reporting by Steve Holland, Brad Heath，Trevor Hunnicutt, Hemeyra Pamuk and Gabriel Crossley; editing by Angus MacSwan, Chizu Nomiyama, Heather Timmons and Nick Macfie) View the full article

Published by Radar Online MEGA Jake Tapperis the odds on favorite to be promoted at CNN in the wake of Chris Cuomo’s firing, Radar can exclusively reveal. While Michael Smerconish, a radio host, and a registered Independent will take over the 9 pm primetime hour on CNN this week, the move is only temporary and the decision to anoint him for the week was made prior to Saturday’s decision by Jeff Zucker to ax Cuomo. “It’s Jake — by a long stretch,” a network insider told Radar. “Jake star has been on the rise for a long time. He is the logical choice, but if he takes over, it will have a cascading effect because Jake’s unlikely to be able to continue State of the Union and remain lead DC anchor and Chief Washington Correspondent. In short, this really has screwed with CNN’s programming line-up. Chris Cuomo Accused Of Sexual Misconduct By Anonymous Woman, Caused CNN To Terminate His Contract MEGA “The only saving grace is that it is the end of the year and network bosses can position 2022 as a revamped line-up.” One person who is privately angling for the position is Brian Stelter, the anchor of Reliable Sources which examines the week’s top media stories and the Chief Media Correspondent. Said the source: “The only one who thinks Brian could do 9pm is Brian himself.” Also said to be in the mix is Brian Williams, who quit NBC after 28 years despite remaking his career as an MSNBC host after losing his job as NBC’s Nightly News anchor for making false claims about a wartime story. Chris Cuomo Walks Away From Brother Andrew: A Family Ripped Apart MEGA The network source said Zucker could also pull off an unlikely succession move by promoting a female; CNN is the only network that does not have a female in its prime-time lineup. One name swirling around the corridors of the cable giant is S.E. Cupp, who hosts S.E. Cupp: Unfiltered, a political panel show, on CNN’s Saturday evening line-up. “Consider Zucker’s position, though. Can S.E. Cupp draw an audience big enough to beat Rachel Maddow at MSNBC or FOX News’ Sean Hannity. It’s unlikely. This could be the biggest decision of Zucker’s career.” Cuomo was fired after it emerged the extent of the role he played trying to mitigate the sexual harassment accusations that took down his brother, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. At the same, an allegation of sexual misconduct was levelled against the former CNN anchor by a former ABC colleague, it has been reported. MEGA View the full article

Published by Reuters By Trevor Hunnicutt and Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Biden administration on Monday vowed to crack down on “criminals, kleptocrats and others” paying cash for houses to launder money as part of a broader anti-corruption drive linked to this week’s U.S. Summit for Democracy. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo, speaking at the Brookings Institution think tank, pledged an “aggressive” push against suspicious all-cash home transactions, moves to beef up enforcement and intensified collaboration with allies. President Joe Biden ordered officials in June to step up the fight against corruption. Their initial proposals are outlined in a 38-page https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/United-States-Strategy-on-Countering-Corruption.pdf U.S. national security strategy on countering corruption released Monday. “Our real estate markets are at risk of becoming a safe haven for criminals, kleptocrats and others seeking to park corrupt profits,” Adeyemo said, noting that current law allows people to form companies anonymously to conduct all cash real estate deals that hide the source of funds. All-cash real estate deals, which currently account for about one-third of all U.S. home sales, according to the National Association of Realtors. Despite a 2016 push https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-corruption-realestate/u-s-targets-money-laundering-in-all-cash-home-sales-in-miami-manhattan-idUSKCN0UR2LM20160113 to force title insurance companies to report the identities of all-cash homebuyers, non-profit Global Financial Integrity estimates $2.3 billion has been laundered through the U.S. real estate market over the past five years. Half of the transactions it reviewed involved “politically exposed” people at higher risk for bribery and corruption. The latest U.S. moves come after a series of leaked documents, including October’s release of the Pandora Papers https://www.reuters.com/world/pandora-papers-document-dump-allegedly-links-world-leaders-secret-wealth-2021-10-03, raised questions about ways that government officials and others discreetly move money abroad, potentially to dodge taxes or accountability for wrongdoing. The U.S. Treasury Department is crafting a new rule to close existing loopholes and require disclosures from certain types of U.S. and foreign companies to identify who is behind all-cash real estate transactions and see if those purchases are being used to shelter illegal profits. Adeyemo said Treasury would ensure the cost of compliance did not harm small businesses, and should total no more than $50 per company. The agency may also require that more investment funds, such as hedge funds and private equity vehicles, to engage in anti-money laundering efforts. And they expect to announce as soon as this week new efforts toward creating a database identifying the owners behind shell companies used to move money anonymously. Adeyemo said Treasury had sanctioned 216 targets using anti-corruption authorities, including Monday’s designation of a Democratic Republic of Congo national accused of providing funds to blacklisted Israeli investor Dan Gertler. Biden is hosting a virtual democracy summit on Thursday and Friday with 110 participants as part of an effort to confront what his administration sees as authoritarian forces led by China and Russia. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Heather Timmons and Alistair Bell) View the full article

Published by DPA Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parkerm M), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon, l) and Charlotte (Kristin Davis) are back in the “Sex and the City” sequel “And Just Like That…”. Sky/dpa It’s the era of reunions. After we just watched the cast of “Friends” meeting again 17 years since the end of the series, another group of TV icons is also back and here to stay – though their reunion hasn’t gone quite as well. Much has stayed the same in the lives of Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte York (Kristin Davis). They still meet in elegant New York bars wearing the world’s most expensive shoes to catch up on each other’s lives. But much has also changed for the protagonists of one of TV’s most successful series ever – “Sex and the City”. The most notable change is likely to be the sequel’s biggest flaw: Kim Cattrall, who played blunt, confident and obsessed-with-sex Samantha Jones, isn’t part of the cast anymore. Between 1998 and 2004, the lives of the four girlfriends Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha, revolving around their friendships, jobs, dates, clothes and shoes, were followed by millions worldwide. The show, which won countless Golden Globes and Emmy awards, arguably revolutionized TV by helping to change and spread the image of the self-confident career woman whose happy ending doesn’t need to involve kids and a husband – at least in the case of Samantha. Two features films followed – “Sex and the City: The Movie”, released in 2008, and “Sex and the City 2″(2010) – and further cemented the enterprise’s immense success. Fans of Carrie and her friends have long been hoping that this has not been the end – and on December 9, the wait will finally be over when the first two episodes of the sequel series “And Just Like That” will be released on several platforms. Every following Thursday, another 30-minute episode will be released, 10 in total, which can be accessed via HBO Max in the US, Sky Comedy in Britain and via Sky Ticket in Germany, for example. Director, writer and executive producer of “Sex and the City” Michael Patrick King recently told The Hollywood Reporter that “there’s interest” in further episodes – at least theoretically. Expectations among fans are huge: The sequel’s filming in New York has been followed with great interest in recent months, Airbnb recreated Carrie’s apartment for marketing purposes and teaser footage was released to rekindle interest. Besides Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte, their husbands Mr. Big (Chris Noth), Steve (David Eigenberg) and Harry (Evan Handler) are also back. Actor Willie Garson who played Carrie’s best friend Stanford in “Sex and the City” passed away in September but still features in the new series as some of the scenes were filmed before his death. Besides many other familiar faces, there are also some new kids on the block. “Even though people think this is a franchise that they’re familiar with, there’s something new in this version,” said co-producer Michael Patrick King. “This isn’t what was; it’s what’s next.” The biggest gap is certainly the absence of Kim Catrall – which has caused speculation and gossip for months. Catrall herself has so far not elaborated on her decision, but in the past the actress had repeatedly rejected participating in a “Sex and the City” sequel or a third movie citing salary disagreements. “I went past the finish line playing Samantha Jones because I loved Sex and the City,” Catrall told The Guardian in 2019. “It was a blessing in so many ways but after the second movie I’d had enough. I couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t just replace me with another actress instead of wasting time bullying. No means no.” Her former colleague Sarah Jessica Parker stressed on Instagram that personal differences weren’t the reason for the failed reunion of the four protagonists. “Samantha isn’t part of this story. But she will always be part of us, no matter where we are or what we do.” Writer Candace Bushnell, who wrote the novel the original series was based on, meanwhile continues her own “Sex and the City” journey, having long since published a sequel which she has now turned into a one-woman show called “Is There Still Sex in the City?” – starring herself. Sarah Jessica Parker (l) and Cynthia Nixon, sit on a staircase during the filming of “And Just Like That…”, the sequel to the cult series “Sex and the City” in the Upper West Side of New York City. Debra L. Rothenberg/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa View the full article