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Gathered mainly from international media sources December 2020 - March 2021 |
For recent entries click "Invalid Item"  These are news/opinion items which caught my eye. Click on the link below: 31 Mar 2021 "Invalid Entry" 24 Mar 2021 "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" 22 Mar 2021 "Invalid Entry" 21 Mar 2021 "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" 19 Mar 2021 "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" 17 Mar 2021 "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" 26 Feb 2021 "Invalid Entry" 25 Feb 2021 "Invalid Entry" 24 Feb 2021 "Invalid Entry" 22 Feb 2021 "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" 21 Feb 2021 "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" 19 Feb 2021 "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" 18 Feb 2021 "Invalid Entry" 16 Feb 2021 "Invalid Entry" 15 Feb 2021 "Invalid Entry" 14 Feb 2021 "Invalid Entry" 9 Feb 2021 "Invalid Entry" 8 Feb 2021 "Invalid Entry" 4 Feb 2021 "Invalid Entry" 30 Jan 2021 "Invalid Entry" 29 Jan 2021 "Invalid Entry" 28 Jan 2021 "Invalid Entry" 27 Jan 2021 "Invalid Entry" 26 Jan 2021 "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" 24 Jan 2021 "Invalid Entry" 23 Jan 2021 "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" 21 Jan 2021 "Invalid Entry" 20 Jan 2021 "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" 19 Jan 2021 "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" 18 Jan 2021 "Invalid Entry" 14 Jan 2021 "Invalid Entry" 12 Jan 2021 "Invalid Entry" 11 Jan 2021 "Invalid Entry" 10 Jan 2021 "Invalid Entry" 4 Jan 2021 "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" 2 Jan 2021 "Invalid Entry" 29 Dec 2020 "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" 27 Dec 2020 "Invalid Entry" 24 Dec 2020 "Invalid Entry" 23 Dec 2020 "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" 22 Dec 2020 "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" 20 Dec 2020 "Invalid Entry" 19 Dec 2020 "Invalid Entry" 18 Dec 2020 "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" 17 Dec 2020 "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" 16 Dec 2020 "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" 15/12/20 "Invalid Entry" 13 Dec 2020 "Invalid Entry" 12 Dec 2020 "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" 11 Dec 2020 "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" For earlier entries drill down the list 10 Dec 2020 - Covid: Genes hold clues to why some people get severely ill 10 Dec 2020 - Referendum for the state of Texas to secede from the U.S. ? 10 Dec 2020 - Covid-19: More single day dead than in 9/11 terror attack or on D-Day landing 10 Dec 2020 - Covid-19: France moves to night-time curfew from 15 December 10 Dec 2020 - Elon Musk has launched the latest prototype of his Starship vehicle from Texas. 9 Dec 2020 - Covid-19 - $600 direct payment to most Americans? 9 Dec 2020 - Hunter Biden under federal investigation 9 Dec 2020 - Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine data gets positive FDA review 9 Dec 2020 - Is BIG TECH censoring different ideas about COVID-19? 9 Dec 2020 - Clashes in Portland 9 Dec 2020 - UK is investigating two possible allergic reactions to Pfizer coronavirus shot 9 Dec 2020 - Open letter by the Prime Minister of Hungary to the European Union 9 Dec 2020 - VACCINE OPTIMISM AND PESSIMISM 9 Dec 2020 - UK EXIT FROM THE EU (Last supper?) 8 Dec 2020 - ROALD DAHL AND A WOKE APOLOGY |
During his six-decade career, which included 25 years hosting his own nightly programme on CNN, King interviewed many of the most famous political leaders, celebrities and sports people of the day. At its peak, his Larry King Live Show on CNN was bringing in 1.5 million viewers a night. When the final episode aired in 2010, it was the longest-running show hosted by the same person. In a recorded message on his final show, then-US President Barack Obama said King had "opened our eyes to the world beyond our living rooms". CNN said he had been described as the "Muhammad Ali of the broadcast interview". Larry King was born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger in Brooklyn, New York, in 1933. He grew up in a religious and observant Jewish household, although in later life he became an agnostic. After the death of his father Edward at just 44, King worked to support his mother for several years after graduating high school. However, having realised he wanted to work in broadcasting, King moved to Florida in his early 20s to work on a radio station. It is said that minutes before going on air for the first time, he was told by the station boss to change his last name to something "less ethnic", and chose King after glancing at a newspaper advert for King's Wholesale Liquor. During the 1950s and 1960s, he rose through the ranks of local broadcasting and by 1978 gained nationwide prominence as host of an all-night call-in radio programme called The Larry King Show, before moving to CNN. According to CNN, King carried out more than 50,000 interviews during his 50-year career. They included exclusive sit-down interviews with every US president since Gerald Ford. His other high-profile guests are too numerous to mention but have included Dr Martin Luther King, the Dalai Lama, Bill Gates, Lady Gaga, LeBron James, Paris Hilton and Margaret Thatcher. He won countless awards, including the Peabody Award for Excellence in broadcasting for both his radio and television shows. Some criticised King for going too easy on his interviewees, with his non-confrontational approach and open-ended questions. He rejected this, telling the BBC's Evan Davis in 2015 he had learned that "the more I drew back, asked good questions, listened to the answers, cared about the guests... you make the camera disappear". He also addressed the spat he had with the British journalist and broadcaster Piers Morgan, who replaced him at CNN. King had criticised his successor as being "oversold" to US television audiences and said his programme was "too much about him". Morgan, whose show was cancelled after three years, hit back at the time saying his programme had been "all about gun control & saving lives. You made yours about blowing smoke up celebrity backsides". King continued broadcasting, in the past few years hosting his own shows on Ora TV, an on-demand digital network he helped to found, as well as Hulu and RT, Russia's state-controlled international broadcaster. Away from the microphone, King was married eight times to seven women and had five children, nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Tragically, two of his children died within weeks of each other in 2020; daughter Chaia died from lung cancer at 51 in July and son Andy of a heart attack at 65 in August. "Losing them feels so out of order," he wrote on social media at the time. "No parent should have to bury a child." Larry King himself suffered a range of health problems over the years, including diabetes and angina. In 2017, he underwent surgery to treat lung cancer and in 2019 suffered a stroke that left him in a coma for weeks. He was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles in early January where he was treated for Covid-19, US media said. In 1988 he founded the Larry King Cardiac Foundation, a charity which helps to fund heart treatment for those with limited financial means or no medical insurance. On his legacy, he had said he hoped it would be that he "added to the public's knowledge, entertainment and amusement". |
The numbers don’t lie; compared to Israel, or a few Gulf monarchies, the USA or even the UK, the European Union’s vaccination against the coronavirus is way behind. The European Commission however, is quite optimistic believing that by the summer 70% of the adult population will be vaccinated– but so far, everyone seems to be struggling with a severe shortage. Who’s responsible for this delay, with consequences measured in the number of lives lost? More and more Member States are pointing out the EU’s failure to procure vaccinations while seeking out alternative sources. The European Commission has washed its hands; it’s unwilling to admit the EU’s severe lag in vaccine procurement compared to other parts of the world. “The bottleneck is global production capacity, not the number of vaccines ordered” contended Stella Kiriakidis, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety. However, she didn’t offer an answer as to why large amounts of already-produced vaccines are being sent elsewhere. They aren’t giving any glimpses into the deals either, the contracts have tied their hands. “Member States must not engage legally with manufacturers in bilateral negotiations, as I have reminded them” warned Margaritis Skinas, Greek vice-president of the institution. Meanwhile however, Germany has apparently bought thirty million vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech through a separate agreement. Though the negotiations took place during the German presidency of the EU, it’s Germany that has criticized the EU procurement most vehemently. For instance, Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder– who has a good chance of becoming Chancellor– voiced his concerns in the Bild am Sonntag. The politician said that the European Commission had failed its mission, unable to acquire enough vaccines. According him, this was entirely the EU’s fault: the procurement process was inadequate, the committee was too bureaucratic, too few vaccines were ordered from reliable manufacturers, and price negotiations took too long. “It’s hard to explain why a perfectly good vaccine developed in Germany is being used first in other countries” –he said, pointing out the irony of the BioNTech German company’s vaccine. The separate German negotiations– which have thus far gone on without consequences– have drawn fire from Poland too. Michał Dworczyk, head of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, accused the Germans of thumbing their nose at EU values by engaging in separate negotiations. He sees this as a complete lack of solidarity, especially given the fact that the Germans headed the procurement. He politely stated: the European Commission’s agreement is “far from perfect” and warned that the process is spurring growing misunderstandings between Member States, including Poland. Warsaw is sticking to EU directives for now, but this may change– especially if they see that others aren’t following them, if not even violating them. Sebastian Kurz didn’t mask his negative opinion either. The Austrian Chancellor criticized the EU’s joint procurement of vaccines in an interview with PULS 24. He urged the European Medicines Agency to authorize a vaccine co-developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford as soon as possible, like in the UK. He warned that if the vaccines aren’t accepted sooner than currently planned, he may lose his patience at some point. Sebastian Kurz also revealed that after the pandemic he may question the EU’s decision-makers given that travel and vaccine issues should’ve been resolved much quicker. Andrej Babiš also finds the European Commission responsible. In an interview with newspaper Právo, the Czech Prime Minister blamed the EU’s slow authorization process for the Czech Republic’s vaccination lag in comparison with the United Kingdom or Israel. The Prime Minister put it bluntly: the EU joint procurement efforts have only proved to be a disadvantage. Just as his Austrian colleague, he urged the European Union, among other things, to accept new vaccines. On TV, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša also listed Slovenia among those dissatisfied with the European Commission. He made it clear that he finds it perfectly normal for countries to seek out direct contact with vaccine manufacturers. Cyprus meanwhile, took direct steps, though in a roundabout way: in an interview with Politis, President Nicosia Anastasiadis said he had contacted Israel– where, in relation to population, vaccination has been most efficient– to obtain vaccines from them. Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades already received the second dose in January Photo: MTI/EPA/Katia Hrisztodulu The island nation would thus utilize a loophole that, according to the politician, doesn’t break nay EU rules because they are only dealing with vaccines that the EU has already authorized. The President explained his decision: vaccine manufacturing is slow, the European Union takes too long to approve vaccines, and moreover, in the beginning they focused too much on the unsuccessful ones. He pointed out that the number of doses obtained is simply not enough for a sufficient rate of vaccination |
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