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☆ Opinion: Shaking off the Trump effect
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-21 | by ( Richard Galant | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +19 min

We’re looking back at the strongest, smartest opinion takes of the week from CNN and other outlets. CNN —“We are most deeply asleep at the switch,” wrote Annie Dillard, “when we fancy we control any switches at all. When the Senate voted to send new aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan two months ago, House Speaker Mike Johnson took no action. With the help of Democrats, the House approved aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan on Saturday. Writing for CNN Opinion, he emphasized that there are legal principles that require universities to prohibit expressions of antisemitism.

Persons: CNN —, ”, Annie Dillard, “, time’s, —, Mike Johnson, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Trump, Biden, Sleepy Joe ”, Israel, Johnson, MAGA, Julian Zelizer, Walt Handelsman, Marjorie Taylor Greene’s, Kevin McCarthy’s, Clay Jones, Fareed Zakaria, Alejandro Mayorkas, “ Biden, ” Zakaria, Bill Clinton, ” Trump, Jack Ohman, Agency Donald Trump’s, dozed, Elliot Williams, Patrick T, Brown, …, ‘, ’, Attorney Alvin Bragg, ” Will, Jeffrey Abramson, ” “, Norm Eisen, Stormy Daniels, ” Eisen, Michael Cohen, Elie Honig, Frida Ghitis, Benjamin Netanyahu, ” Lisa Benson, GoComics.com Peter Bergen, Daniel R, DePetris, Dean Obeidallah, Susanne DeWitt, ” David Schizer, ” Schizer, Danielle Campoamor, Caitlin Clark, Simone Biles, Campoamor, Latika Bourke, John Howard, Justin J, Pearson, Winston Churchill, Holly Thomas, Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak’s, It’s, ” Thomas, YouGov, ” Don’t, Drew Sheneman, Agency David M, Perry, Frankie de la, Angel Reese, Roy Schwartz, Joni Mitchell —, Raul A, Reyes, Sonia Sotomayor, Jules Boykoff, Jaime M, Valiathan, Ed Manning, Sara Stewart, Noah Berlatsky, Taylor Swift Amy Bass, Taylor Swift, Swift, Department ”, ” Bass, “ Swift, Joe, Alwyn, Diana, they’re, Clara Bow, Dylan Thomas, Patti Smith — Organizations: CNN, Republicans, MAGA Republicans, Agency, Congress, Biden, Homeland, National Guard, ‘, Manhattan, Attorney, New York Democrats, Twitter, Facebook, New York Times, Trump, Berkeley, Nazism, Columbia, Nike, Team USA, Sydney, Port, Conservative, Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force, Central Press, Hulton, National Health Service, WNBA, Ungentlemanly, Department Locations: Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, Manhattan, Iran, Russia, China, ‘, New, CNN Iran, “ Israel, Gaza, Israeli, Damascus, Iraq, America, Dearborn, Nazi Germany, Berkeley , California, Berkeley, East Bay, Sydney, Port Arthur, Tennessee, Surrey, Croydon, Quebec, Britain, Vancouver, London, Welsh

☆ Opinion: ‘The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare’ has a surprising secret
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-20 | by ( Opinion Noah Berlatksy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Watch “Apocalypse Now” (1979), “Full Metal Jacket” (1987) or “Platoon” (1986) and you should know what war really means. “Ungentlemanly Warfare” features a disreputable band of riff raff brought together for a super-secret mission. Ritchie makes no such concessions to authenticity in “Ungentlemanly Warfare.”Henry Cavill is Gus March-Phillips in Guy Ritchie’s “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare." Even when a war movie doesn’t actively mislead you, the promise of being privy to an unvarnished, authentic and extreme experience can be seductive. “It would decay in eternal peace.”Compared to that kind of cult of authentic war, “Ungentlemanly Warfare” feels fairly harmless, and not in a bad way.

Persons: Noah Berlatsky, Ryan, ”, Noah Berlatsky Noah Berlatsky Guy Ritchie’s “, it’s, Fernando Po, raff, Winston Churchill, Rory Kinnear, Gus March, Phillips, Henry Cavill, Anders Lassen, Alan Ritchson, Marjorie Stewart, Eiza, Ritchie, ” Henry Cavill, Gus, Guy Ritchie’s “, Daniel Smith, electroshock, Quentin Tarantino’s, Inglourious, Hitler, He’s, “, Tarantino, Brad Pitt, B.J, Novak, Quentin Tarantino's, they’ve Organizations: CNN, Ungentlemanly, British, Lionsgate Locations: Chicago, “ Dunkirk, ”, Spanish, Fernando, Vietnam

☆ Rishi Sunak: Everything seems to be going wrong for British PM
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-20 | by ( Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Life must seem bleak for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak these days. Sunak has said that he will hold a general election this year, but has yet to confirm its date. It was only voted through by MPs because it has the support of the opposition Labour Party. Anderson is a working-class former miner who is from a part of the country that traditionally votes for the opposition Labour Party. However, Anderson was suspended from the Conservative Party after making comments about the Muslim mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, that Sunak clearly believed were beyond the pale.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Sunak, –, Boris Johnson, Winston Churchill, It’s, ” Rishi Sunak, Dan Kitwood, Liz Truss, Lee Anderson, Anderson, Elon Musk, Tesla, Kirsty Wigglesworth, doesn’t, Sadiq Khan, Suella Braverman, Braverman, Johnson, Rishi, ” Sunak Organizations: CNN, British, Conservative Party, Labour Party, ”, Conservatives, Allies, Labour, Sunak's, SpaceX, Reuters, Conservative, “, Adidas Samba Locations: Quebec, London, Rwanda

☆ Graham Sutherland’s study for the portrait Winston Churchill hated goes up for auction
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Caitlin Chatterton | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Churchill is talking about his own portrait, commissioned to celebrate his 80th birthday, as it is unveiled in London’s Westminster Hall in November 1954. This painted study of Churchill by Sutherland, made in preparation of the portrait, is up for auction for the first time. Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for Sotheby'sWhile “The Crown” is not a documentary, it is true that the 80th birthday portrait —described by Churchill as “filthy and malignant” in a letter to his personal doctor — was burned. “(Sutherland) caught him in a much more relaxed, intimate way,” Zlattinger said of the study, a small canvas painted in oils. Graham Sutherland, seen with his-then unfinished but eventually much-maligned portrait of Churchill.

Persons: it’s, ” Winston Churchill, John Lithgow, Graham Sutherland, Stephen Dillane, ”, Churchill, ” Sutherland, “, Judas, Churchill’s, Clementine, Harriet Walter, Sutherland, Tristan Fewings, —, ” Andre Zlattinger, “ He’d, He’d, Churchill —, Alfred Hecht, ” Zlattinger, Hatshepsut of, Baron, Queen Elizabeth I, Robert Blyth ,, Elizabeth “, Queen Victoria, Elizabeth, Ira B, Nadel, ” Blyth, Elizabeth I, Blyth, ” Dr Caroline Rae, Stalin, ” Bryn Sayles, Jacob Epstein, Alexis Schwarzenbach, Queen Elizabeth, King George VI, Queen Elizabeth II, Cecil Beaton, Sayles, Gary Oldman’s Organizations: CNN, Hall, Modern, Irish, Sotheby’s New, Royal Museums Greenwich, Art, University College London, Conservative Party Locations: Sotheby’s, Sotheby’s New York, London, Sutherland, Queen, Downing, Suez, Blenheim, Oxford, New York, British, Swiss

☆ Opinion: Can the party of Winston Churchill really bring about the world’s toughest smoking ban?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Opinion Holly Thomas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

London CNN —Last week, former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson treated a Canadian crowd to a helping of his signature bombast. Second World War-era Conservative British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, is also one of history's most famous cigar smokers. Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesDespite what Johnson may have led his audience to believe, a potential smoking ban enjoys broad popular support in the UK. New Zealand’s conservative National Party introduced a similar phased smoking ban last year, but reversed it before it went into effect to help pay for tax cuts. Smoking costs the NHS an estimated £2.5 billion ($3.1 billion) every year, equivalent to 2% of the health service’s budget.

Persons: Holly Thomas, Katie Couric, London CNN —, Boris Johnson, Winston Churchill, “, It’s, Rishi Sunak, Johnson, YouGov, Conservative backbenchers, Liz Truss, they’d, it’ll, ’ Organizations: Katie Couric Media, CNN, London CNN, Conservative Party Conference, Conservative British, Central Press, Hulton, National Health Service, Conservative, New, National Party, Cancer Research, Tory Locations: London, Quebec, Britain, America, England, Wales, Scotland

☆ Man pleads guilty to theft of solid gold toilet worth $6 million from Blenheim Palace
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Lianne Kolirin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A man has pleaded guilty to stealing a toilet made entirely from 18-carat gold and worth more than $6 million from the English stately home where wartime leader Winston Churchill was born. It had been plumbed into the building so the theft also caused significant damage and flooding, police reported at the time. "Daddy, Daddy", a large scale recreation of the drowning Disney character Pinocchio, created by artist Maurizio Cattelan, is seen in a pool at Blenheim Palace on September 12, 2019. The golden toilet, titled "America," was part of the same exhibition at the stately home. Leon Neal/Getty ImagesAt Blenheim Palace, the toilet was installed in a room next to the one in which Churchill was born.

Persons: Winston Churchill, James Sheen, Maurizio Cattelan, ”, Sheen, America ”, Donald Trump’s, Vincent Van Gogh’s, Leon Neal, Churchill, Cattelan, Michael Jones, Frederick Sines, Frederick Doe, Bora Guccuck Organizations: CNN, Oxford Crown, UK’s, Media, Prosecution Service, National Horse Racing Museum, America, Guggenheim, Blenheim, New Yorker Locations: Blenheim, Italian, Five Wells, Newmarket, New York City, United States, Oxford, Ascot , Berkshire, London

☆ Opinion | Surviving the Ugliness of It All
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( David Brooks | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

People are just tired out from the endless national crises, their dread of the 2024 presidential campaign, the ugliness of it all. Many people I talk with seem passive, discouraged, and are trying, mostly in vain, to shut out the political noise. It’s almost as if people have been so beaten down by the last decade, they’ve lost the self-confidence to wish for more. In these circumstances I turn to two leaders who knew something about projecting hope in exhausting times: Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Churchill’s strongest sense was his romantic attachment to Britain’s past.

Persons: I’ve, they’ve, Winston Churchill, Franklin D, Roosevelt, Duke of Marlborough, Churchill, Edward Gibbon, Samuel Johnson

☆ Dubai’s bar scene is being redefined by artisanal champagnes
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Rebecca Cairns | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

While the city has over 13,000 restaurants, its bar scene has largely been confined to Michelin fine dining, nightclubs, and boozy brunches. Look through the gallery and see the region's other top restaurants, as selected by 50 Best list group. The 50 Best has unveiled its 2024 list of the best restaurants in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Al Muntaha, which was recognized by Star Wine List as having the best sparkling wine list in the UAE earlier this year, has 166 labels on its champagne list, including around 60 recently added grower champagnes, says Lacroix. Tina HillierAnd the culture around drinking is largely focused on dining or special occasions, with little in between, says Krister Bengtsson, founder of Star Wine List.

Persons: Lana —, Nicolas Caupain, ”, boozy, Caupain, Raz Rahav, Tala Bashmi, Em Sherif, Yasmina Hayek, Fawzi Al Mulki, 3Fils, Khufu's, Solemann Haddad, Moonrise, Gregoire Berger, Berger, Himanshu Saini, Pol Roger, Queen Elizabeth II, Winston Churchill, champagnes, Larmandier Bernier, Ulysse Collin, Samuel Lacroix, Al Muntaha, Lacroix, “, Josette, Veuve Clicquot, Dom Pérignon, Millau, Lana, Tina Hillier, Krister Bengtsson, it’s, Bengtsson, ” Bengtsson, Jean Imbert, — Organizations: CNN, High Society, United Arab, Michelin, Middle, Gulf, Jordanian, Trèsind, Burj, Star Wine, Arabian, BOCA, Michelin Star, Wine, UAE Locations: Dorchester, Dubai, Emirate, Islam, United Arab Emirates, UAE, East, North Africa, Tel Aviv, Tala, Manama's, Bahrain, Beirut, Giza, Cairo, Ossiano, Atlantis, BOBY, Africa, Emirates, Swedish, Dubai’s, Paris, London , New York, French

☆ Spend the night at St. Paul’s Cathedral for just $9
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Lianne Kolirin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Buildings in London don’t come much more historic than St. Paul’s Cathedral. Now history lovers with a passion for reading can apply to spend the night in the iconic site. They will then be met by the Dean of St. Paul’s who will take them on a tour. There are no showers and it’s a short walk down a corridor from the hidden library to the nearest toilet. Jordan Pettitt/Press Association/APSandra Lynes Timbrell, director of visitor engagement at St. Paul’s, said in the release: “The recently restored library at St Paul’s has long been a secret gem of the cathedral – cleverly concealed by the ingenious architecture of Christopher Wren.

Persons: London don’t, Christopher Wren, Winston Churchill, Diana, Jordan Pettitt, Paul’s, Sandra Lynes Timbrell, St, DreamHouse Organizations: CNN, Hidden, Press Association, Airbnb, St Locations: London, St, Paul’s, Airbnb, Moulin Rouge

☆ Sex, Lies and Tailor’s Tape
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Gioia Diliberto | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the twenty-six years she lived after World War II, Coco Chanel never publicly apologized for her treacherous behavior during the Nazi Occupation of Paris. While living at the Ritz Hotel with a handsome German spy, she had tried to use the Nazi race laws to wrest control of her perfume company from her Jewish partners. She also had embarked on a Nazi-authorized scheme to broker a separate peace with Winston Churchill, and she was overheard making ugly, antisemitic remarks. But in converting Chanel’s experiences into a TV production “inspired by true events,” the show’s creators have mangled or lost much of the actual truth, which is more complicated than what’s portrayed onscreen. (Warning: Spoilers ahead.)

Persons: Coco Chanel, Winston Churchill, “, couturiers Chanel, Christian Dior, what’s Organizations: Ritz, Nazi, Apple Locations: Nazi, Paris

☆ The real story behind Coco Chanel's collaboration with the Nazis, as featured in 'The New Look'
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-03 | by ( Eve Crosbie | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Apple TV+ "The New Look" shines a light on Coco Chanel's murky history as a Nazi informant and spy. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Juliette Binoche and Emily Mortimer as Coco Chanel and Elsa Lombardi in "The New Look." Roger Do Minh/Apple TVHow deep the fashion icon's Nazi collaboration ran was made public for the first time in "Sleeping with the Enemy: Coco Chanel's Secret War," by Hal Vaughan, published in 2011. AdvertisementChanel, who died in 1971 at 87, continued her relationship with Von Dincklage after the war for several years.

Persons: —, France's, Coco Chanel that's, Chanel, Todd A, Christian Dior, Juliette Binoche, Emily Mortimer, Coco Chanel, Elsa Lombardi, Roger Do Minh, Hal Vaughan, Vaughan, Dreyfus, Alfred Dreyfus, Hulton, Baron Hans Günther Von Dincklage, Von Dincklage, Spatz, André Palasse, Pierre, Paul Wertheimer, Chanel didn't, Parfums Chanel, Modelhut Coco Chanel, Winston Churchill, Bettmann, Duke of Westminster, Walter Schellenberg, Schellenberg, Vera Bate Lombardi, Lombardi —, Chanel's, Churchill, Baron Louis de Vaufreland, Per Vaughan, Wertheimer, James Andanson, Dincklage, Baron von Dincklage Organizations: Apple, Nazi, Service, Deutsch, Hotel Ritz, Abwehr, AFP, Getty, British, Paris, Chanel Locations: Nazi, Paris, German, British, Germany, French, Britain, Madrid, Churchill, Switzerland

☆ Cast of ‘The New Look’ Reflects on Chanel and Dior’s War-Torn Past
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Alex Vadukul | Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On Monday evening along Madison Avenue in Manhattan, while fashionistas on the Upper East Side finished their shopping rounds at Dior and Chanel, a crowd headed to the French Institute Alliance Française to attend the premiere of an Apple TV+ series that recounts the origin story of those two fashion houses through the tale of Coco Chanel and Christian Dior’s lives in war-torn Paris during the 1940s. “The New Look,” which starts streaming today, is a period drama that portrays the rivalry between Chanel, who is played by Juliette Binoche, and Dior, who is played by Ben Mendelsohn. The show chronicles how these two figures were shaped by the moral challenges of life in Nazi-occupied Paris and how they managed survival and self-preservation. The war’s effect on Cristóbal Balenciaga, Pierre Balmain and Pierre Cardin is also explored. Her younger and striving rival, Dior, resentfully makes evening gowns for the wives of Nazis, while his sister, Catherine, is sent to a concentration camp after her arrest as a resistance fighter.

Persons: Chanel, French Institute Alliance Française, Coco Chanel, Christian Dior’s, “, Juliette Binoche, Dior, Ben Mendelsohn, Balenciaga, Pierre Balmain, Pierre Cardin, Chanel’s, Winston Churchill, resentfully, Catherine Organizations: Madison, East Side, Dior, French Institute Alliance, Apple, Nazi Locations: Manhattan, fashionistas, Paris, Nazi

☆ Before He Was George Orwell, He Was Eric Blair, Police Officer
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( William Boyd | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

BURMA SAHIB, by Paul TherouxGeorge Orwell died of tuberculosis in 1950, at the age of 46. The word “Orwellian” is as omnipresent as “Kafkaesque.” His two dystopian novel-allegories — “Animal Farm” and “1984” — have sold in the millions around the world. Almost everything that Orwell wrote seems to be in print. But there is one area of his life that is relatively unexplored and full of baffling gaps, not to say mystery. He was still several years removed from becoming “George Orwell” by adopting the nom de plume that would carry his legacy.

Persons: Paul Theroux George Orwell, Shakespeare, Winston Churchill, ”, Albert Camus, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Tolstoy, Orwell, Eric Blair, “ George Orwell ”, Paul Theroux Organizations: Eton College Locations: BURMA, Britain, British, Burma, Myanmar

☆ Ron DeSantis ended his campaign on an optimistic Churchill quote that's actually fake
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ron DeSantis ended his GOP presidential campaign with a Winston Churchill quote. Once considered a 2024 favorite, DeSantis' campaign sputtered out. Ron DeSantis ended his campaign for the Republican 2024 nomination with a quote he claimed was by the late UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Related storiesBut according to the International Churchill Society and Churchill scholars, there is no evidence that Churchill said those words. Sir Winston Churchill addressing a Women Conservatives meeting in 1954.

Persons: Ron DeSantis, Winston Churchill, DeSantis, —, Churchill, Winston Churchill pic.twitter.com, ECoR8YeiMm, Sen, Max Cleland, they're, Gerald Krieghofer, Krieghofer, Sir Winston Churchill Organizations: GOP, Service, Republican, International Churchill Society, Churchill, Poynter Institute, Deutsche Welle, Women Conservatives, Keystone, Getty, GOP New Hampshire Locations: Florida

☆ DeSantis uses fake Winston Churchill quote as he ends disastrous presidential campaign
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-21 | by ( Taylor Berman | Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis dropped out of the GOP presidential race on Sunday. The one-time rival to Trump used a purported Winston Churchill quote in his announcement video. According to the International Churchill Society, the quote is fake. Ron DeSantis ended his 2024 presidential campaign on Sunday and endorsed former President Donald Trump. Much like his disappointing campaign itself, arguably one of the worst in history, DeSantis' video announcing the suspension missed the mark by including an apparently fake Winston Churchill quote.

Persons: Ron DeSantis, Trump, Winston Churchill, —, Donald Trump, DeSantis, Churchill, Winston Churchill pic.twitter.com, ECoR8YeiMm Organizations: GOP, International Churchill Society, Service, Trump, Republican Locations: Florida, Iowa

☆ Winston Churchill’s wartime false teeth are up for sale
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —A set of Winston Churchill’s false teeth is expected to fetch up to £8,000 ($10,000) when it goes on sale in England next month. Winston Churchill had multiple sets of his upper denture. This set was probably made at the start of World War II, the auction house said, and “must be among the most unusual items we have ever sold,” director Liz Poole added in a statement. Designed by Churchill’s dentist, Wilfred Fish, and made by technician Derek Cudlipp, this set was first put up for sale by Cudlipp’s son, Nigel, in 2010, when it fetched £15,200 (then $23,700). Other pieces of World War II memorabilia will also be on sale at the auction.

Persons: Winston, Churchill, Winston Churchill, Liz Poole, Wilfred Fish, Derek Cudlipp, Cudlipp’s, Nigel, Nigel Cudlipp, ” Andrew Bullock, Keys, “ Organizations: London CNN, Cotswold Auction Company, CNN, Museum, Royal College of Surgeons, Royal Air Force Locations: England, Cheltenham, Aylsham, London

☆ These Penguins Are Better at Napping Than You
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Nidhi Subbaraman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Winston Churchill famously napped, and companies like Zappos encourage employees to doze on the job to improve their effectiveness. But nobody beats the chinstrap penguin for its power-napping prowess.

Persons: Winston Churchill

☆ Banksy appears to reveal his real name in resurfaced BBC interview
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Anonymity lies at the center of the mythology surrounding the elusive street artist Banksy, but he may have revealed his name in a resurfaced interview. However, all might not be as it seems, as is so often the case with Banksy – an artist known for his satirical humor, subversive methods and anti-authority themes. “A name comes out,” Peak told CNN Tuesday. “If you are a guy making art that sells for ridiculous sums of money and you have this… administration around you, I have often wondered how pure you can be in your intention and art,” Peak added. Asked whether his exhibition was about anarchism, Banksy told Wrench: “I’m interested in injustice.

Persons: Banksy, ”, Nigel Wrench, Robert Banks, “ It’s Robbie, ” Wrench, James, “, Banksy –, Robbie Banks, Alexander Scheuber, Edward Colston, Wrench, Winston Churchill, he’s, didn’t, “ I’m Organizations: CNN, BBC, Independent, US National Public Radio, Metropolitan Locations: Ukraine, England, Paris

☆ Vatican confirms ban on Catholics becoming Freemasons
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Pope Francis gestures as he leaves after the weekly general audience, in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican, November 15, 2023. REUTERS/Remo Casilli Acquire Licensing RightsVATICAN CITY, Nov 15 (Reuters) - The Vatican has confirmed a ban on Catholics becoming Freemasons, a centuries-old secretive society that the Catholic Church has long viewed with hostility and has an estimated global membership of up to six million. "Active membership in Freemasonry by a member of the faithful is prohibited, because of the irreconcilability between Catholic doctrine and Freemasonry," the Vatican's doctrinal office said in a letter published by Vatican media on Wednesday. The letter on Freemasons cited a 1983 declaration, signed by the late Pope Benedict XVI, at the time the Vatican's doctrine chief, stating that Catholics "in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion". The group says it has 180,000 male members, with two parallel female lodges in England having another 5,000 members, and estimates global Freemasonry membership at around six million.

Persons: Pope Francis, Remo Casilli, Pope Benedict XVI, Queen Elizabeth's, Prince Philip, Winston Churchill, Peter Sellers, Alf Ramsey, Rudyard Kipling, Arthur Conan Doyle, Alvise Armellini, Nick Macfie Organizations: Vatican, REUTERS, CITY, Freemasons, Catholic Church, United, Lodge of, Thomson Locations: Saint Peter's, Philippines, Lodge of England, England

☆ Vatican Confirms Ban on Catholics Becoming Freemasons
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican has confirmed a ban on Catholics becoming Freemasons, a centuries-old secretive society that the Catholic Church has long viewed with hostility and has an estimated global membership of up to six million. "Active membership in Freemasonry by a member of the faithful is prohibited, because of the irreconcilability between Catholic doctrine and Freemasonry," the Vatican's doctrinal office said in a letter published by Vatican media on Wednesday. The same office said last week that transgender people can be baptized, serve as godparents and act as witnesses at Catholic weddings. The letter on Freemasons cited a 1983 declaration, signed by the late Pope Benedict XVI, at the time the Vatican's doctrine chief, stating that Catholics "in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion". The group says it has 180,000 male members, with two parallel female lodges in England having another 5,000 members, and estimates global Freemasonry membership at around six million.

Persons: Pope Francis, Pope Benedict XVI, Queen Elizabeth's, Prince Philip, Winston Churchill, Peter Sellers, Alf Ramsey, Rudyard Kipling, Arthur Conan Doyle, Alvise Armellini, Nick Macfie Organizations: VATICAN CITY, Vatican, Freemasons, Catholic Church, United, Lodge of Locations: Philippines, Lodge of England, England

[1/3] Former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein and Goldman Sachs chairman and CEO David Solomon speak together during Goldman Sachs analyst impact fund competition at Goldman Sachs Headquarters in New York City, U.S., November 14, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Goldman Sachs Group Inc FollowNEW YORK, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs (GS.N) Chief Executive Officer David Solomon and his predecessor gave career advice to about 4,000 analysts as junior bankers pitched for grants to be given to charity on Tuesday. Solomon interviewed former CEO Lloyd Blankfein, who handed over the reins in 2018, for an audience of junior employees and senior partners that drew laughter and smiles in the auditorium at its New York headquarters. Goldman partners awarded the $250,000 first-place prize to TalkingPoints, an education nonprofit, after a successful pitch from four analysts from its London office. Solomon and Blankfein addressed the junior employees a day after they attended a dinner for retired partners in New York.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Lloyd Blankfein, David Solomon, Brendan McDermid, Solomon, Winston, Blankfein, underused, Dan Dees, Goldman, Saeed Azhar, Lananh Nguyen, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Goldman, REUTERS, Goldman Sachs, CNBC, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, New York, London

☆ Take a look inside the new Raffles hotel in London
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | Marylou Costa | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Fiona Harris Communications director, Raffles London"It's the magic combination: the building, the location and the name, Raffles," Fiona Harris, Raffles London's communications director, told CNBC Travel. All in, the hotel houses 120 suites and rooms, including five heritage suites in the former offices of political and military leaders, and eight corner suites named after notable women and female spies. Raffles London is home to 120 rooms and suites, including eight corner suites named after notable women and female spies. Saison, run by Argentine Michelin star chef Mauro Colagreco, is one of nine restaurants and three bars at Raffles London. London's new luxury waveA stay at Raffles London is not without a significant price tag.

Persons: Winston Churchill's, Fiona Harris, Sir Stamford, Henry VIII, Ian Fleming's James Bond, Churchill, David Lloyd George, Lord Kitchener, Harris, Winston Churchill, Thierry Despont, Raffles, Argentina's Mauro Colagreco, sipping, Mauro Colagreco, James Bond, Ian Fleming, It's, Christine Granville, Gopichand Hinduja —, —, Hinduja Organizations: Raffles, Downing, Fiona Harris Communications, CNBC Travel, Sir Stamford Raffles, Hinduja, Ministry of Defense, British Army, Architects, British Secret Service, CNBC, Suite, Liberty, Michelin, Raffles London, Guards, London Sling, Argentine Michelin, Ministry, Hyde Park, Royal British Legion, British Armed Forces Locations: Whitehall, London, Raffles London, British, Singapore, India, Argentine, U.S, China, Granville, Hyde, Rosewood, Claridge's, The Emory

LONDON (AP) — Four men were charged Monday over the theft of an 18-carat gold toilet from Blenheim Palace, the sprawling English country mansion where British wartime leader Winston Churchill was born. The toilet, valued at 4.8 million pounds ($5.95 million), was an artwork titled “America” and intended as a pointed satire about excessive wealth by Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan. It was part of an art installation at Blenheim Palace, near the city of Oxford, a few days before it vanished overnight in September 2019. The Crown Prosecution Service said Monday it has authorized criminal charges against four men, ages 35-39, over the theft. The golden toilet was fully functioning, and prior to the theft, visitors to the exhibition could book a three-minute appointment to use it.

Persons: Winston Churchill, Maurizio Cattelan, ”, Will, Matthew Barber Organizations: Crown Prosecution Service, Police, UNESCO, Guggenheim Museum, Thames Valley Police, BBC, Oxford, ’ Locations: Blenheim, Oxford, New York

☆ Four Men Charged in the Case of the Missing Golden Toilet
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Four years ago, a fully functioning 18-karat gold toilet was stolen from an art exhibition at Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Winston Churchill. On Monday, Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service announced that it had authorized charges against four men in connection with the theft of the golden loo — an artwork by the Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan, titled “America,” which had been on display as part of an exhibition at the palace, which is in Oxfordshire, England. The Crown Prosecution Service said in a news release that it had charged James Sheen, 39, with burglary, conspiracy to transfer criminal property and transferring criminal property; Michael Jones, 38, with burglary; and Fred Doe, 35, and Bora Guccuk, 39, with conspiracy to transfer criminal property. The four men will appear at a court in Oxford, England, on Nov. 28 for the first stage in potentially lengthy criminal proceedings. Britain’s courts system has a severe backlog in cases.

Persons: Winston Churchill, Maurizio Cattelan, James Sheen, Michael Jones, Fred Doe, Bora Guccuk Organizations: Prosecution Service, Crown Prosecution Service Locations: Blenheim, Italian, Oxfordshire, England, Oxford

☆ Opinion: Oxi Day: The true story of how Greece helped defeat the Nazis
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Opinion Christopher Cosmos | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

To fully understand the quote, though, it’s necessary to start further back, in the hours before the invasion and fighting began. Adolf Hitler himself, as Chancellor of Germany and leader of the Axis Powers, had no intention of invading Greece. The German invasionEven though Greece had defied the odds and beaten the Italians when no one thought they could, they wouldn’t be able to defeat the combined Italian and German forces. Join us on Twitter and FacebookOxi Day celebrates the path of bravery, unity, and freedom over the path of fascism, tyranny, and lies. Most of all, Oxi Day is a day that celebrates sacrifice of the highest order by the Greek people during WWII, and all those who fought in Greece alongside them.

Persons: Christopher Cosmos, Winston Churchill, Christopher Cosmos Christopher Cosmos, Ioannis Metaxas, Emanuele Grazzi, Grazzi, Metaxas, “, c’est, oxi, Benito Mussolini’s, Adolf Hitler, he’d, Mussolini, Count Galeazzo Ciano, “ Hitler, Zeus, Alexandros Papagos, Mark Mazower, Hitler, Napoleon, Basileus Leonidas, –, it’s, Wilhelm Keitel, ”, hasn’t, Franklin Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin, that’s what’s Organizations: Facebook, CNN, British, Italian, German, Allies, America, Nuremberg, Russia, Twitter Locations: Grand Rapids , Michigan, Greece, Italian, French, Albania, North Africa, Britain, London, United Kingdom, Italy, America, Athens, Germany, Russia, Thermopylae, Crete, Soviet Union, It’s

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