A Trans Man Closes in on His Military Dream

With Trump’s military ban blocked for now, Nicolas Talbott is enlisting, and he’s optimistic his dream will come true.

www.advocate.com/military/2018/1/08/trans-man-closes-his-military-dream

Drei Freunde machen ein Foto – doch alle schauen nur auf den vierten Mann

www.huffingtonpost.de/entry/drei-freunde-machen-ein-foto-am-strand-doch-alle-schauen-nur-auf-den-vierten-mann-im-bild_de_5a5338fde4b0efe47eba280a

It’s Time For Welsh Labour To Get Back On The Front Foot

The other day I came across a video on my Twitter timeline:

“I don’t think anyone who is facing a planned operation which has been cancelled would say it’s more important that they have treatment than someone who is a genuine emergency.”

These were the words of one of the most up-and-coming Welsh Labour politicians, as he stood in the lobby of the Senedd speaking to BBC Wales Politics about the recent operation cancellations in Wales. For me, this quote, from Health Secretary Vaughn Gethin, is representative of a wider issue for Welsh Labour. It was stale, it was not good enough, it was a day too late.

My fear is, if Welsh Labour can’t get back on the front foot, the whole party might start to look stale.

Since the Welsh Assembly began on the turn of the millennium, the Labour Party has been the governing party, either alone or in coalition. Over the years since, the turnout rate for elections has at times been frustratingly low, hitting its lowest point around the high 30s – that’s 30% lower than the turnout in the 2017 general election.

As good as this has been for the Welsh Labour Party, having one major party always in government isn’t healthy for a democracy. Despite opposition parties putting plenty of pressure on every Labour-led government, having such a strong, continuous presence in the assembly brings with it dangers. Dangers of complacency, dangers of inefficiency… perhaps worse.

Being the only national branch of the Labour Party that has any control of the levers of power, Welsh Labour has a unique responsibility to play their part in the democracy of the United Kingdom. They have a responsibility not just to provide a voice for Welsh Labour, but to provide a voice for Wales. As brilliant as Vaughn Gethin has been over the last year, in my opinion his comment to the BBC shows that Welsh Labour aren’t quite meeting the mark.

Suggesting that people waiting for knee operations should be understanding about having their operations cancelled is completely beyond the point. Welsh Labour’s job is not to swallow the bitter medicine of central government and regurgitate some meaningless platitude. People who already wait years for knee operations have a right to be outraged, and Welsh Labour should be giving them a voice.

It’s time Labour stopped being defensive about the standard of our NHS and tell the people the honest truth: the reason the NHS is struggling is because it doesn’t have enough money. If you want that money for your operation, go tell Theresa May at the ballot box, because she’s got it in her treasury.

Despite the OECD objectively showing that no one country is lagging behind another in the UK in terms of NHS improvement, the Conservatives still like to point at Wales’ ‘worse’ NHS to deflect the attention from their austerity agenda. The irony is that the reason our NHS is on its knees is because of that very agenda.

But if they want to compare, as they often do, let’s compare: because our NHS is nothing to be ashamed of. The Welsh government have done well with the money they have been given – they’ve protected it from the private sector, English Conservatives haven’t. They’ve protected free prescriptions, English Conservatives haven’t. They’ve invested more money in social care through local authorities, English Conservatives haven’t.

The truth is that Wales is, demographically speaking, older, unhealthier, and more at risk to health complications than our English counterparts. The Barnett formula, which determines how much money Wales gets given from government, doesn’t take this into account – and Wales suffers as a result.

In the 2016 Assembly elections, a party called ‘Abolish the Welsh Assembly’ won 4% of the vote – more than the Green Party. If Labour don’t get on the front foot soon and show the people that Welsh politics matters, that it gives them a voice, this could be just the beginning.

Voters aren’t stupid. Talk to them, tell them the truth. Tell them their central government is failing them and show them what a Labour alternative could look like.

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/welsh-labour_uk_5a4fa121e4b0cd114bdb3288

Paartherapeut: Mit einem Trick kann jedes Paar eine Sexflaute verhindern

www.huffingtonpost.de/entry/paartherapeut-erklart-mit-diesem-einen-trick-kann-jedes-paar-eine-sexflaute-im-bett-verhindern_de_5a4f3063e4b003133ec6c5df

Why The Government Must Support Our Effort To Preserve Britain’s Iconic Music Venues
The Music Venues Trust and UK Music estimate that over a third of music venues have closed over the past decade – which is why this Wednesday in the House of Commons I am bringing forward the Planning (Agent of Change) Bill.

This Bill is designed to protect existing music venues from facing closure or crippling cost arising from development of new residential properties in their vicinity.

What the Bill will do in practice is that when buildings near a music venue are converted to residential use or a new development is put up, the onus will be on the developer – not the venue – to ensure the new dwellings are protected from factors (particularly noise) which could be significantly disrupting to residents. The present situation, where this is not the case, is having a crippling effect on music venues.

Many Parliamentary colleagues have examples of much loved venues in their area that have been closed or are under threat.  That is why there has been such widespread and cross-party support for this Bill.

The Bill is not anti-development either, in fact it seeks to stop the loss of character and iconic places in neighbourhoods – a significant part of what made areas in question attractive to developers in the first place.

The impact of closures on musicians is why this Bill is being supported by the Musicians Union.  Less venues means less work, less opportunity to develop talent or even find out that you are not going to make it in the industry, but also to move up from amateur to part-time, to full-time, to national or even international stardom. If the present situation does not change, we are in danger of taking away the ladder that has served individual musicians and the Music Industry so well for so long.

As Brexit is happening and we face an uncertain future, it’s vitally important that Britain is made more efficient and effective across the board and that we maximise every possible advantage that Britain has.

The British music industry is one hell of an advantage.

Not only are domestic music sales rising, but we are second to the United States in international reach and sales.  It’s a huge boost to Britain’s standing around the world and our soft power, let alone it being a crucial part of our tourism offer.

However, there are real concerns that the industry is now depending on a great past, rather than refreshing the pipeline with new talent.  Mining rather than farming our musical heritage.  It is also narrowing a route of opportunity for youngsters, many from our deprived inner cities and left behind industrial towns.   As a West Midlands MP proud to represent part of an urban area which gave birth to Heavy Metal, I tend to focus on the cities and conurbations. However, the problem can be as acute in smaller towns and rural areas, where the loss of venues can cause difficulty in retaining young people and quickens their drift to bigger cities.

The advantages of the British Music and entertainment industry are not limited to London, but are also in our other great centres round the country. Many of which are, like Liverpool, Birmingham, and Manchester, attracting increasing foreign investment and work.  Companies clearly initially locate for a range of hard headed, financial and economic reasons.  But the quality of life is also significant. 

In particular, it’s about the answer to the basic question (not just aimed at companies but also the staff they hope to attract), would I want to live there?

This is particularly relevant to the highly mobile, technically skilled and talented international and multinational workforce who are being enticed to move abroad after Brexit.  Would you and your family, children or your employees prefer to live in London, Birmingham or Manchester or in Frankfurt?

I hope the Government supports this Bill and acts to preserve our iconic music venues, supports one of Britain’s most successful industries and supports one of the key reasons people want to live in and work in the UK.

John Spellar is the Labour MP for Warley

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/music-venues_uk_5a532ef7e4b01e1a4b16df9d

Read Oprah’s Unforgettable Golden Globes Speech

Accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award, Oprah Winfrey user her speech to honor and inspire.

www.advocate.com/media/2018/1/07/read-oprahs-unforgettable-golden-globes-speech

Schüsse auf der Autobahn: Anschlag auf Ex-St-Pauli-Star Deniz Naki

www.huffingtonpost.de/entry/deniz-naki-anschlag-autobahn_de_5a531231e4b0efe47eba08ed

Laura Dern Calls Out A Culture Of Silencing Victims In Golden Globes Speech
Laura Dern won a Golden Globe on Sunday (7 January) for her role as Renata Klein in ‘Big Little Lies’, and used her moment in front of the microphone to ask those watching to help combat a “culture of silencing” victims.

“Many of us were taught not to tattle,” she said. “It was a culture of silencing and that was normalized. I urge all of us to not only support survivors and bystanders ― who are brave enough to tell their truth ― but to promote restorative justice. May we also please protect and employ them.”

Laura Dern’s sensational #GoldenGlobes speech bears repeating: “I urge all of us to not only support survivors and bystanders who are brave enough to tell their truth, but to promote restorative justice.” pic.twitter.com/LL2kKkBMHw

January 8, 2018
One of Hollywood’s most politically outspoken actresses, Laura has been intimately involved in the creation of Time’s Up, a recently launched campaign by women in Hollywood to combat workplace sexual harassment. I

n an interview about the initiative with InStyle published last week, Laura admitted she has “normalized plenty of behaviour” growing up in the entertainment industry, but said she hopes her daughter’s generation doesn’t do the same:

I’ve normalized plenty of behavior. I was raised on movie sets, I was raised by actors, I had even been comfortable around people who talk crassly and are irreverent in the workplace. I just presumed that’s what it was—but it isn’t anymore. It isn’t my daughter’s generational experience as a 13-year-old. She is being raised in an environment where same-sex families aren’t being made fun of, where a child of divorce or a child who comes from a diverse family, as my children do, there are no comments to be made. It’s just the norm. And I pray that the same will be in the area of power—if something felt uncomfortable to her generation, that they would immediately shut it down.
Laura has used the Golden Globes to make political statements before. In 2009, shortly after the election of Barack Obama, she accepted an award for her work on “Recount” by saying, “I will cherish this as a reminder of the extraordinary, incredible outpouring of people who demanded their voice be heard in this last election”.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/golden-glboes-laura-dern-speech_uk_5a5307eae4b01e1a4b16ca3b

Golden Globes 2018 – HuffPost Verdict

K E Y   P O I N T S

• ‘Big Little Lies’ and ‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri’ were the big winners, with four accolades each 
• Sterling K. Brown and Aziz Ansari became the first black and Indian-American actors to triumph in their categories, respectively
• ‘Get Out’ and ‘Call Me By Your Name’ did not win any awards
• Host Seth Meyers set the tone for the evening with jokes about Harvey Weinstein and Donald Trump peppered throughout his opening monologue
• Many of the night’s winners – including Nicole Kidman and Elisabeth Moss – took the chance to highlight women’s issues
• The women in attendance were wearing black to highlight the #TimesUp project
• Oprah Winfrey was given a standing ovation for the speech she made after being given the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement prize  
• Natalie Portman’s dig at the “all-male” Best Director shortlist did not go unnoticed
• James Franco’s win proved to be the most divisive as fans bemoaned the fact Daniel Kaluuya had been defeated. 

S N A P   V E R D I C T

In January 2017, the world was eager to see how Hollywood would use the Golden Globes to tackle a tumultuous year in politics. Fast forward 12 months, and fans and critics alike were waiting to find out how the entertainment industry would tackle its own failings. 

With most female attendees wearing black to highlight the Time’s Up project, the mood was set and host Seth Meyers followed through on his promise to mention sexual harassment scandals, referring to Weinstein as “the elephant not in the room” and (just about) winning laughs with Kevin Spacey remarks. 

As the awards themselves got underway, women’s issues were at the forefront of most speeches, with winners including Nicole Kidman, Laura Dern, Elisabeth Moss and Frances McDormand making sure they were never far from people’s minds. 

But with so many prizes to get through, the Globes often failed to allow its winners long enough to speak, leaving the stars rushing through thank you lists in a race to avoid being “played out”. Apart from, that is, Oprah Winfrey. 

Collecting the Lifetime Achievement Award – and becoming the first black woman to do so – the star was even more inspirational than ever, dedicating the win to “all the women who’ve endured years of abuse and assault because they, like my mother, had children to feed, bills to pay and dreams to pursue”.

All eyes will now be on the SAG Awards, which take place later this month and often indicate who is set for Oscars glory. 

B E S T   L I N E S

Seth Meyers on Harvey Weinstein: 

He’ll be back in 20 years when he becomes the first person booed in the In Memoriam.”

Natalie Portman introducing the Best Director shortlist:

And here are the all-male nominees.”

Oprah Winfrey:

For too long, women have not been heard or believed if they dare speak the truth to the power of those men. But their time is up.”

B E S T   M O M E N T

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/golden-globes-2018-huffpost-verdict-winners_uk_5a522a32e4b01e1a4b15d6da