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bountyofbeads · 4 years

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Republicans are doing the same thing in North Carolina as well. #VoteCalCunninghamforSenate to replace Thom Tillis.

THE PARTY RAIDERS OF SOUTH CAROLINA

Before the state’s Democratic primary, on February 29th, a number of Republicans are trying to settle on the least electable candidate.

Twelve years ago, Rush Limbaugh, who had not yet received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, urged the listeners of his enormously popular and very conservative talk-radio show to vote for Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries. In the patchwork process that is employed to nominate Presidential candidates, more than a dozen states have open primaries, which allow registered voters to participate in either contest. Limbaugh wanted Clinton’s close but seemingly losing fight with Barack Obama to go on for as long as possible, on the theory that a protracted battle would weaken the eventual nominee. He called the plan Operation Chaos. Limbaugh didn’t think that Clinton was necessarily the weaker of the two candidates—in fact, he ultimately concluded that Obama was; by May, 2008, he was pushing his fans to vote for the senator from Illinois. “Barack Obama has shown he cannot get the votes Democrats need to win—blue-collar, working-class people,” Limbaugh said. “He can get effete snobs, he can get wealthy academics, he can get the young, and he can get the black vote, but Democrats do not win with that.”

Karen Martin, a freelance editor and pet-sitter who lives in Spartanburg, South Carolina, believes that her plan is more strategic than chaotic. Martin is the creator of Trump 2-29, which is encouraging Republicans to vote for Bernie Sanders in the state’s upcoming Democratic primary, on February 29th. “We’re really mad,” Martin told me recently, referring to her fellow-conservatives. “Mad at how our President has been treated for the past several years and wanting to do something now.” Voting for Trump isn’t an option: South Carolina’s Republican primary was cancelled in October, out of deference to the President. (“With no legitimate primary challenger and President Trump’s record of results, the decision was made to save South Carolina taxpayers over $1.2 million and forgo an unnecessary primary,” South Carolina’s G.O.P. chairman, Drew McKissick, announced in a statement at the time. A former Republican state representative sued to block the cancellation but lost in court.) Obama’s former Vice-President, Joe Biden, was expected to perform well in South Carolina; Martin wanted to vote for someone who could ruin it for him. As Iowa neared, she said, “We decided it’ll be Bernie.” Martin doubts that Sanders will ultimately be the Democrats’ nominee—though, if that happens, “It would be a great lesson in American Civics 101,” she said, adding, “To have those final debates be between an avowed socialist and a capitalist with the economic record that President Trump does, that would be really a contrast to see. Bernie makes it poetic.”

The South Carolina Republican Party has no official involvement in Martin’s efforts, but it hasn’t discouraged them, either. The executive director of the South Carolina G.O.P., Hope Walker, issued a statement acknowledging the existence of “activists that may decide to participate in the open Democratic Presidential Preference Primary” and explaining that the Party “has taken no official stand on this matter.” Meanwhile, Nathan Leupp, the chairman of the Greenville County Republican Party, told the Charleston Post and Courier, “I think we can easily affect the outcome. This is going to catch on like wildfire.” Leupp told me that he had talked not only to local activists but to the five other upstate-county G.O.P. chairmen about the plan; they concluded that it would be best for “the grassroots activists to make this push,” he said. (The Post and Courier story mentioned a planned press conference; after the story ran, Leupp said, the effort got so much attention that “we didn’t need a conference at that point.”)

Independently from Martin, a political and public-relations consultant from Greenville named Christopher Sullivan has launched a campaign that nods more explicitly to Limbaugh’s influence: Operation Chaos 2020. “We’ve put up a Web site, and we’re doing some digital work and communicating with our members and supporters,” he told me. Operation Chaos 2020 flyers were handed out at a Party meeting and garnered some attention on Twitter��there are plans for radio advertising, too, Sullivan said. Both the flyers and the Web site note that the effort is a project of the Conservative Defense Fund, the name of which may suggest a large organization; Sullivan is the chair of the group and, he said, its only full-time employee. (Karen Martin told me, of her own campaign, “The other day somebody asked, ‘So how much money is behind this effort?’ And I had to laugh. It’s when I can, in between dog-walking.”) But Sullivan is optimistic that even a modestly funded campaign could have real effects. He noted that, in South Carolina primaries, Republicans typically turn out at twice the numbers of Democrats—so even a small percentage of Republican crossover voters could be decisive in a reasonably close race.

Unlike Martin, Sullivan is not pushing any particular candidate. “One of the things is that the Democratic primary is in such disarray of their own making that it’s kind of hard, even at this late date, to know exactly which candidate is gonna be the best one to choose,” he said. “Six weeks ago, Joe Biden was the front-runner, and everybody was saying he was assured of the nomination. And now he’s dropping like a rock. It might be the best vote would be to prop up Joe Biden.” Sullivan set up a poll on the Operation Chaos 2020 Web site asking “which crazy Democrat candidate” participants in the operation should vote for. Late last week, Sanders was winning in a landslide, but, over the weekend, thousands of new votes came in for Elizabeth Warren. “I think her socialist policies would be a big loser in the general election, so I can see why Republicans would want her to be at the top of the ticket,” Sullivan told me. It may be that deciding which candidate is the least likely to beat Trump is no easier than deciding which is most likely to do so.

The kind of voting that Martin and Sullivan are pushing for is often called party raiding, and it has been around for a long time. Measuring its effect is difficult, but it is usually thought to be very small. (In 2008, when Limbaugh was pushing Clinton, some Obama supporters were convinced that bad-faith Republican voters had won the Indiana primary for her, but this was disputed.) That said, South Carolina in 2020 is a “perfect storm of crossover voting incentives,” according to Josh Putnam, a political scientist based in Wilmington, North Carolina, who runs the election-consulting firm FHQ Strategies. Putnam pointed to the earliness of the primary and the absence of a G.O.P. contest in the state and noted that, in South Carolina, unlike in many other states, primary participants don’t have to publicly proclaim that they belong to the party whose primary they are voting in. It may not hurt that President Trump has openly encouraged party raiding: at a rally in Manchester the night before the New Hampshire primary, Trump said, “So I hear a lot of Republicans tomorrow will vote for the weakest candidate possible of the Democrats. Does that make sense? You people wouldn’t do that!” (New Hampshire has a semi-open primary: those who are not registered as a member of a party can vote in either race.) Trump added, “My only problem is I’m trying to figure who is their weakest candidate—I think they’re all weak!” The South Carolina effort “has the potential to not only affect the race but how the field of candidates continues to winnow,” Putnam said. “The final remaining variable is promotion.”

Martin has been trying to spread the word on Facebook, where, on the official Trump 2-29 page, you can see debates about the plan unfold in real time. “Bernie is leading in the polls,” a Charleston resident named Sheri Irwin wrote. “Why on earth would we vote for him?” A man named Paul Fallavollita responded by highlighting South Carolina’s importance to Biden, adding, “A lot of corporations and banks have said they’ll pull their donations away from the Democratic Party if Bernie is the nominee. Here’s an opportunity to starve them of funds. Plus, if Bernie wins most of the primaries and the DNC cheats him, his voters will stay home in November.” Irwin wasn’t convinced. “This is how we got the usurper Obama,” she wrote. Then another South Carolina voter, Clark Mccauley, chimed in. “Democrat party don’t want Bernie that’s why we need to vote for him,” he wrote. “He is the craziest.” Lisa S. Marie wasn’t sold. “Good to know that the Tea Party is now pro abortion and for socialism,” she commented. “Good luck selling that!”

Marie is not the only South Carolina conservative who simply can’t stomach voting for someone whose views diverge so sharply from her own, regardless of the potential payoff. Hal Roach, a fifty-eight-year-old lawyer in Greenville, told me that he had friends who were originally “on board to vote for Bernie, but, after looking at some of these debates, they’re saying, ‘They’re all crazy, and there’s no way I can possibly and in good conscience ever vote for anybody up there,’ ” even to help Trump. Still, most Republicans, he believes, are less conflicted about crossing over than they are about who to choose. “Do you pick the most sane—the least crazy, as I view it—Democratic nominee?” he said. “For me, that would be Amy Klobuchar. Or do you pick the biggest whack job—that’s one of my favorite words—who I believe to be Bernie.” Roach has settled on Sanders.

Gaye Holt, a “very conservative, Christian-based Republican” who works for a family-owned screen-printing business in Greer, first heard about the Trump 2-29 effort on Facebook and has been fully convinced by the case for Sanders. “I think he’s a Communist, a Marxist,” she told me. “He wants to give everything for free and have no capitalism in America, even though he flies around on his private jets and town cars.” Holt also told me that she had seen the Democrats doing their own party raiding during a previous election. In the 2012 Republican primary, she was a poll worker, she said, and one of her jobs was to ask those who showed up which primary they had arrived to vote in. “A number of people said they wanted to vote in the Democratic primary,” she recalled. “And I would explain, ‘Well, there’s no Democratic primary today, there’s only a Republican’ ”—that year, the two contests were scheduled a week apart—“and their response, every single time, was ‘Oh, I want to vote for Rick Santorum,’ ” the former Republican senator from Pennsylvania. She added, “Not to judge anyone, but I knew these people were not Republicans.” Holt is convinced that these people had been “guided by someone” to vote for Santorum, “because he would be the easiest for Obama to beat.” If this reflected a concerted effort, it was not a successful one: in 2012, Newt Gingrich won the state’s Republican primary. Santorum finished third.

Among the reasons that party raiding is unlikely to have a tremendous effect on the Democratic nomination is that, in most states, including South Carolina, the Party awards delegates proportionally, according to the percentage of the vote received. (The Republican race, on the other hand, features many winner-take-all states.) When Clinton eked out a win over Obama in Indiana, in 2008, Obama still received thirty-four of the state’s seventy-two pledged delegates.

But Martin emphasized that upending the Democrats’ nominating process is, for her, a secondary goal. Martin is an organizer for the Spartanburg Tea Party and a former member of the South Carolina Republican Platform Committee, and she has been advocating for closed primaries for more than a decade. “Anytime a Democrat comes and votes in a primary that I’m also voting in, my vote is diluted,” she told me. “So it’s a very personal thing. It impacts who represents me.” Sullivan, the consultant, is also in favor of closed primaries, as is Leupp, the Greenville G.O.P. chair. “I go to a Baptist church,” Leupp told me. “When we go to pick a new minister, my Methodist, Lutheran, Catholic, and Mormon friends shouldn’t have a say.” He went on, “This Democratic primary has brought attention to something we feel needs to be changed. If it also disrupts the Democrats, so be it.”

In this respect, at least, the campaigns led by Martin and Sullivan have already made some headway. The state senator Marlon Kimpson, a Democrat who represents Charleston, has introduced a bill to end open primaries in South Carolina, and he cited Republican efforts to vote in the 2020 Democratic primary in his argument for the legislation. Martin posted a video of Kimpson’s remarks on Facebook, writing, “LOOK! Listen! this is what our Trump 2-29 Campaign activists have accomplished in just the first few days . . . Welcome to the team Senator Marlon Kimpson!”

“This is not targeted at the dissatisfied Republicans who are in good faith voting in our primary this time,” Kimpson told me. “It’s designed to send a message to the people who want to unfairly influence our process by voting for the weaker candidate.” Kimpson agrees with Martin about who that is. “The Party is searching for a moderate candidate, and Bernie has seized on the division in the Party. But, by every indication, a democratic socialist is problematic. I think the national data bears that out.” In a recent Gallup poll, a majority of Americans said that they wouldn’t vote for a socialist—but Sanders comes out ahead of Trump in an average of head-to-head national polls and has performed better in such polls than most of his Democratic competitors. (Sanders, who is running as a Democrat for the Presidency but is still an Independent in the Senate, has also expressed support, in the past, for open primaries, in which he has often done well.) It’s possible that conservative party raiders, like Limbaugh twelve years ago, have too much confidence in their political forecasting. As for the likelihood of his bill passing, Kimpson said, “I’ve asked for an expedited hearing. I don’t know that the judiciary chairman will give it to me. We’ll be talking this week.” He doubts that it will be addressed before February 29th.

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kartiavelino · 5 years

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Watch for these TV show season finales in April

Whereas we’re all anticipating the return of “Recreation of Thrones” on April 14, many sequence on the printed networks shall be ending their season runs, beginning Monday night time with the finale of “Magnum P.I.” on CBS. The remainder of week shall be full of excessive drama and foolish comedy. When you don’t wish to miss any of it, observe our helpful information. This Week ‘This Is Us’ (NBC) Tuesday, 9 p.m. Randall (Sterling Okay. Brown) and Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson) in all probability break up. The final 5 minutes of the episode will make you lose your grip. ‘You’re the Worst’ (FXX) Wednesday, 10 p.m. Collection finale. On the day of their wedding ceremony, Jimmy (Chris Geere) and Gretchen (Aya Money) grapple with the which means of marriage. ‘Will & Grace’ (NBC) Thursday, 9 p.m. Jack (Sean Hayes) and Estefan’s (Brian Jordan Alvarez) Spain wedding ceremony hits a snag, forcing them to get married on the airport by their buddy Miss Coco (Clinton Leupp). McCoy’s (Matt Bomer) London job supply has Will (Eric McCormack) frightened about partaking in a long-distance relationship. April 9 ‘Splitting Up Collectively’ (ABC), 9:30 p.m. Lena (Jenna Fischer) and the children urge Martin (Oliver Hudson) to reconnect along with his long-estranged father, Brock (Ron Perlman), to rebuild their relationship. In the meantime, Lisa (Monica Barbaro) continues to wrestle financially and considers transferring again residence together with her dad and mom. April 10 ‘Schitt’s Creek’ (Pop), 10 p.m. Stevie (Emily Hampshire) goes lacking simply hours earlier than her appearing debut in “Cabaret.” Ted (Dustin Milligan) and Alexis (Annie Murphy) put together for his wildlife analysis job in the Galapagos Islands, however she nonetheless thinks they’ll be sipping piña coladas on a seaside there. April 11 ‘Fam’ (CBS), 9:30 p.m. Clem (Nina Dobrev) and Nick (Tone Bell) run into hassle getting their marriage license the day earlier than their wedding ceremony. April 12 ABC ‘Recent Off the Boat’ (ABC), Eight p.m. Simply because the Huangs are settling into life with out Eddie (Hudson Yang), a world incident catapults him not solely to Taiwanese fame but additionally proper again to America. So as to repair Eddie’s mess, the household will get a brand new “daughter,” however when issues go awry, Jessica (Constance Wu) should add a brand new phrase to her vocabulary. ‘Speechless’ (ABC), 8:30 p.m. Maya (Minnie Driver) braces for JJ’s (Micah Fowler) highschool commencement and departure for faculty, however robust information from NYU modifications all the pieces. Dylan (Kyla Kenedy) teaches Jimmy (John Ross Bowie) a “Dad lesson” as he will get prepared for a giant job interview. Kenneth (Cedric Yarbrough) pressures JJ to organize for a grand finale to their time collectively April 16 ‘The Rookie’ (ABC), 10 p.m. Because the rookies put together for a giant examination to see who strikes on to the following stage of coaching, Officer Nolan (Nathan Fillion) and Officer Bishop (Afton Williamson) are known as to the scene of a homicide and study that the sufferer could also be tied to a possible terrorist assault on town of Los Angeles. April 21 ‘Madam Secretary’ (CBS), 10 p.m. Elizabeth (Tea Leoni) prepares to announce her Presidential marketing campaign, however all the pieces modifications after a large assault on the UN delegation. April 22 CBS ‘Welcome to the Neighborhood’ (CBS), Eight p.m. Dave (Max Greenfield) is thrilled when Calvin (Cedric the Entertainer) invitations him to go {golfing}, assured that it represents progress in their relationship, however Calvin might have one other motive. In the meantime, Gemma (Beth Behrs) and Tina (Tichina Arnold) group as much as pull off an unforgettable shock for Malcolm (Sheaun McKinney), Marty (Marcel Spears) and Grover (Hank Greenspan). Share this: https://nypost.com/2019/04/01/watch-for-these-tv-show-season-finales-in-april/ The post Watch for these TV show season finales in April appeared first on My style by Kartia. https://kartiavelino.com/2019/04/watch-for-these-tv-show-season-finales-in-april.html

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demitgibbs · 5 years

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Q&A: Coco Peru Talks Hit Show ‘Have You Heard?’

Miss Coco Peru, who is no stranger to South Florida audiences, returns with her hit show “Have You Heard?” for one night only at the Sunshine Cathedral (1480 SW 9th Ave, Fort Lauderdale) on Saturday, March 23 at 8 p.m.

Coco Peru aka Clinton Leupp has appeared in many films and TV shows but is perhaps best known for her role in 1999s “Trick” which also starred “Beverly Hills 90210” alum Tori Spelling. Her very popular “Conversations with Coco,” is a successful internet series that has put Miss Coco in front of legends like Liza Minnelli, Jane Fonda, and Bea Arthur.

It was a pleasure to chat with Miss Coco Peru for this Hotspots exclusive interview.

Were you always an entertainer, even as a child, or when did you get the bug?

Yes, I was always an entertainer. I was obsessed with the musical “Fiddler on the Roof” and apparently had memorized the entire soundtrack by the age of two. I would act it out for my family and anyone who would watch and so my parents finally took me to see it on Broadway and when it was over I was pouting. My mother asked, “What’s wrong? Didn’t you enjoy the show?” and I answered, “I’ve been doing it all wrong!” I’ve been a perfectionist ever since.

youtube

When and how was Coco Peru born?

In late 80’s I was very inspired by the AIDS activism in NYC. I decided I wanted to combine my love of performing with activism and having been shamed for being effeminate my whole life I figured one of the most powerful, radical things I could do at that time was to be an openly gay performer. I then decided to take it a step further and embrace what I had been taught to try and suppress and instead glorify it. I know nowadays it may seem that being an openly gay performer and a drag queen is not that big of a deal, but back then there were not the opportunities or even the visibility so it really was a leap of faith. However, I knew in my heart that it was the right thing to do, not just for myself but for future LGBT people.

Did you do “other drag” before you created Miss Coco Peru?

No. Coco was the first creation and she immediately resonated with people, because I was telling autobiographical stories and that wasn’t something drag queens were doing at that time. I was talking about the hypocrisy of the Catholic Church, I was talking about AIDS, I was talking about my family and growing up gay in the Bronx. I was giving a voice to what a lot of people were feeling and my shows sort of became a big group therapy for the audience and me. In fact, I used to say, “Let’s pretend that this is a group therapy session, and it my turn to talk.”

How did you come up with the name and were there any other choices?

My first boyfriend was Peruvian and we went together to visit his country and I met a very cute boy named Coco who later came out onstage as this glamourous drag queen! I could not believe the transformation and I learned that he was very famous in Peru. It got me asking, “How could a gay man in drag get famous and be loved and celebrated in such a Catholic, homophobic country (at that time you had to knock on doors to get into the gay clubs), and I decided that there was a power in having the courage to embrace 100 percent of who you are and that human beings are wired to respect that courage.

What would be the ultimate place for you to perform in?

Radio City Music Hall with the Rockettes.

Tell us something about the man behind Coco?

As you grow older there are so many things along the way that can corrupt your love for what you do, so I always try to remember that boy who entertained his family by singing the entire soundtrack to Fiddler on the Roof. I remember those Aids activists and those that came before me that made my life easier, and I try to get back to why I originally created Coco, so that when the business makes me crazy I will ask myself, “Why did you get into this business?” After 27 years the answer has always been the same, “I want to entertain, to feel a connection with my audience, and I want to leave the world just a little bit better than I how I found it.” It may sound corny, but it’s important for me to keep things in focus.

Describe Coco and Clinton in three words each?

Coco – Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered

Clinton – Bed, Bath and Beyond

#td_uid_1_5c8a6b10dfbf3 .td-doubleSlider-2 .td-item1 { background: url(https://hotspotsmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/CoCo-Peru-160x120.jpg) 0 0 no-repeat; }

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Coco Peru and Matt Bomer (Photos: Peter Palladino)

What’s new since we spoke last year?

Well, I’m a year closer to retirement! And I was also on Will and Grace since we last spoke. It was so much fun and they even have me coming back again for the Season Finale which will be on in April. We already filmed it in December and Matt Bomer is in the episode and at the table read he walked over to me and said, “I have to introduce myself, I’m a HUGE fan!” Needless to say, I was thrilled! Being on the show was a great experience, and to have been asked back for a second time this season was a real honor. The entire cast and crew are the best.

What can the Fort Lauderdale audience expect from your show?

This a Best-Of show and it’s all material that I love performing. For those who remember me from my early days in NYC, they’ll even recognize a monologue that I became very well known for back in the early 90’s. It’s set to opera aria and it’s a bitch to do, but it’s been fun revisiting it, and since my retirement is on the horizon, this might be the last time I get to perform some of this material. Yes, that’s a threat. BE THERE!

And did I mention that Matt Bomer is a huge fan?

For more information on CoCo, you can visit her website at: Misscocoperu.com or check her out on social media at:.Twitter.com/themisscocoperu; Facebook.com/misscocoperufans or Instagram.com/misscocoperu.

View this post on Instagram

Find us on Willam’s YouTube channel. Xo Coco

A post shared by Miss Coco Peru (@misscocoperu) on Mar 13, 2019 at 7:51pm PDT

To purchase tickets to Coco Peru’s “Have You Heard?,” which start at only $30, go to Outlandishfl.com.

from Hotspots! Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2019/03/14/qa-coco-peru-talks-hit-show-have-you-heard/ from Hot Spots Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.tumblr.com/post/183450224735

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melbynews-blog · 6 years

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Was werden Deutschland und Russland tun?

Neuer Beitrag veröffentlicht bei https://melby.de/was-werden-deutschland-und-russland-tun/

Was werden Deutschland und Russland tun?

Es liegt an Deutschland, das Atomabkommen mit dem Iran zu retten und zu versuchen, einen verheerenden neuen Nahostkrieg zu verhindern, argumentiert Daniel Lazare.

Von Daniel Lazare / Antikrieg

Nach Donald Trumps durchaus wenig überraschender Entscheidung, das iranische Atomabkommen zu versenken, sind Deutschland und Russland die beiden Länder, die vielleicht am ehesten auf dem heißen Stuhl sitzen. Die große Frage ist nun, ob ihr gegenseitiges Unbehagen sie dazu bringt, eine gemeinsame Ursache zu finden.

Angela Merkels Notlage ist besonders schmerzhaft. Nicht nur die umfangreichen Geschäftsbeziehungen Deutschlands mit dem Iran sind durch die Entscheidung von Trump, wieder Sanktionen zu verhängen, gefährdet, sondern auch das politische Schicksal der deutschen Bundeskanzlerin ist durch jahrelange amerikanische Inkompetenz im Mittleren Osten erschüttert worden.

In Libyen widmete die damalige Außenministerin Hillary Clinton während des arabischen Frühlings 2011 zwei Wochen, um Katar davon zu überzeugen, der Anti-Gaddafi-Koalition beizutreten, nur um zuzusehen, wie das ölreiche Emirat die Gelegenheit nutzte, etwa 400 Millionen Dollar an mörderische salafistische Rebellen zu verteilen, die von einem Ende des Landes zum anderen Anarchie verbreiteten. Das Ergebnis war ein gescheiterter Staat, der bald zu einem Ausgangspunkt für Hunderttausende von verzweifelten Flüchtlingen wurde, die ihren Weg nach Deutschland und in andere Teile der Europäischen Union fanden.

Bemerkenswerterweise tat Clinton das Gleiche einige Monate später in Syrien, indem sie sich mit Saudi-Arabien, Katar und anderen arabischen Golfstaaten zusammenschloss, um das zu finanzieren, was bald eine vollständige islamistische Invasion werden würde. Das Ergebnis: mehr Mord und Chaos, mehr Flüchtlinge und mehr Terrorismus, als ISIS – finanziert von den Saudis und Kataris laut keiner geringeren Autorität als Clinton selbst – beschloss, seinen Dschihad ab November 2015 auf Paris, Brüssel, Nizza, Manchester, Barcelona und Berlin auszudehnen. Als ob das noch nicht genug wäre, irritierte Washington seine deutschen Partner, indem es sich gegen North Stream II wandte, ein russisch-deutsches Projekt unter der Leitung von Ex-Kanzler Gerhard Schröder, und dann, unter Trump, durch den Rückzug aus dem Pariser Klimaabkommen im vergangenen Juni.

Ungebildeter Botschafter

Eine angeschlagene Merkel hat damit ihren Stimmenanteil bei der Bundestagswahl im vergangenen September um mehr als zwanzig Prozent verringert, während die Anti-Immigranten-Alternative für Deutschland ihren Anteil mehr als verdoppelt hat. Nun, Trumps Entscheidung, den Gemeinsamen Umfassenden Aktionsplan, wie das Nuklearabkommen mit dem Iran offiziell genannt wird, zu verwerfen, macht die Sache viel, viel schlimmer. Erstens nutzte Israel den Schritt, um seinen größten Angriff auf Syrien seit dem Jom-Kippur-Krieg 1973 zu starten, was die Aussichten auf ein weiteres Chaos im Nahen Osten erhöht. Dann zeigte US-Botschafter Richard Grenell, was Amerika wirklich von seinen deutschen Partnern hält, indem er twitterte: „Wie @realDonaldTrump sagte, werden US-Sanktionen auf kritische Sektoren der iranischen Wirtschaft abzielen. Deutsche Unternehmen, die im Iran tätig sind, sollten ihre Geschäfte sofort einstellen.“

Grenell, ein ehemaliger Fox News-Kommentator, klang wie ein allzu typischer amerikanischer Boss, der einem unbezahlten Praktikanten einen Befehl gibt. Der luxemburgische Außenminister Jean Asselborn bezeichnete den Tweet als „Impertinenz“, während Andrea Nahles, Vorsitzende der Mitte-Links-Sozialdemokraten, sagte: „Es ist nicht meine Aufgabe, die Leute über die hohe Kunst der Diplomatie aufzuklären, besonders nicht den US-Botschafter. Aber er scheint Nachhilfe zu brauchen.“

Ganz richtig. Aber nicht nur Deutschland, sondern auch Russland fühlt den Schmerz. Es ist mit dem Iran verbündet, um Syriens umkämpften Präsidenten Bashar al-Assad zu unterstützen, hat es aber irgendwie geschafft, gute Beziehungen zu Israel aufrechtzuerhalten. Deshalb lud Putin Benjamin Netanjahu als seinen persönlichen Gast zu den Feierlichkeiten zum 9. Mai in Moskau ein, wo der israelische Premierminister zusammen mit dem serbischen Präsidenten Aleksandar Vucic einen Kranz auf das sowjetische Grab des unbekannten Soldaten legte. Als Putin die sowjetischen Truppen, „die Europa und die Welt vor der Sklaverei, vor den Schrecken des Holocaust gerettet haben“ für den Sieg über Nazi-Deutschland ehrte, gab es keinen Zweifel, an wen er sich richtete.

Aber die Feierlichkeiten beinhalteten auch eine traditionelle Militärparade auf dem Roten Platz mit unbemannten Robotern und Sukhoi Su-57 Tarnkappenjägern, aber auch mobilen Batterien von Flugabwehrraketen. Weniger als zwölf Stunden danach bedankte sich Netanyahu mit der Zerstörung von mindestens fünf russischen Flakbatterien im Rahmen des Angriffs auf Syrien. Nach Angaben des israelischen Militärs informierte Israel Russland über den bevorstehenden Angriff mittels des seit September 2015 geltenden „Dekonfliktions“-Verfahrens – was bedeutet, dass Russland mehr oder weniger der Zerstörung seiner eigenen Verteidigungssysteme zugestimmt hat.

Es liegt an Deutschland

Das kann nicht so weitergehen, besonders da Israel immer stärker auf der Seite der Pro-Al-Qaida-Rebellen interveniert, die Russland, der Iran und Syrien abzuwehren versuchen. Je intensiver der Kampf wird, desto unmöglicher wird Putins Position.

Der Mann braucht Unterstützung, aber woher? Die Antwort liegt bei den anderen Unterzeichnern des JCPOA – China, Großbritannien, Frankreich und Deutschland. Doch das erste ist mit den Ereignissen im Fernen Osten beschäftigt, das zweite ist in politischer Verwirrung, während das dritte ein Witz ist, dank des anmaßenden, arroganten Emmanuel Macron. Da bleibt nur noch Deutschland. Wenn es Russland auch nur ein Minimum an Unterstützung geben würde, könnte das Ergebnis eine große Veränderung in der Art und Weise darstellen, wie das tödliche Spiel der Mittelostpolitik gespielt wird. Deutschland hat eine echte Bedeutung für den jüdischen Staat. Es ist Israels größter Handelspartner in Europa und nach den USA der zweitgrößte Handelspartner insgesamt. Es ist ein wichtiger kultureller und wissenschaftlicher Partner, und Berlin ist in einer der schönsten Ironien der Geschichte heute die Heimat einer der größten Expatriate-Gemeinschaften Israels, etwa 15.000 Juden und Araber, die das Leben in der deutschen Hauptstadt freier und lebendiger finden als zu Hause und in der Folge mit hebräischsprachigen Kindergärten, einer hebräischen Bibliothek, einer hebräischen Literaturzeitschrift, einem Chanukka-Markt und iranisch-israelischen Techno-Parties aufgepeppt haben.

Dasselbe gilt für Deutschland und den Iran. Wie Gary Leupp kürzlich in Counterpunch betonte, umfasst Deutschland sechzig Prozent der EU-Investitionen im islamischen Staat, wo es Maschinen, Metalle, Chemikalien und landwirtschaftliche Produkte verkauft. Nachdem Daimler kürzlich mit dem iranischen Autohersteller Khodro einen Vertrag über die Produktion von Mercedes-Benz Kraftfahrzeugen unterzeichnet hat, steigen die Investitionen derzeit um rund 25 Prozent pro Jahr.

Inmitten von Inflation, einer Währungskrise und einer wachsenden Streikwelle ist der Iran dankbar für solche Geschäfte und strebt verzweifelt nach mehr. Wenn also Deutschland spricht, hört er zu. Syrien, das nach einem halben Dutzend Jahren imperialistischer Übergriffe an Berlin nach dem Krieg erinnert, würde auch zuhören, wenn Deutschland ihm eine halbe Chance geben würde. Tatsächlich wäre es so dankbar für den kleinsten Olivenzweig, dass die Damaszener zweifellos auf die Straße gehen würden, um zu feiern.

Wandern auf Eierschalen

Eine gemeinsame russisch-deutsche diplomatische Offensive könnte also die Grundlage für eine echte Neuausrichtung bilden. Unnötig zu sagen, dass es tausend und einen Grund gibt, warum das nicht passieren wird. Deutschland geht auf Eierschalen, wenn es um Israel geht, aus offensichtlichen historischen Gründen und zögert daher, irgendetwas zu tun, was den jüdischen Staat verärgern könnte. Es überlässt das routinemäßig den USA, die 1949 die Bundesrepublik Deutschland zur Welt brachten und ihr in den folgenden Jahrzehnten ein Furnier der politischen Legitimität verschafften. Öffentliche Intellektuelle wie Jürgen Habermas haben Karriere gemacht, indem sie argumentierten, dass die Zukunft Deutschlands in einer immer tieferen Integration mit dem liberalen Westen liegt, während die NATO und die EU eine immer stärkere westliche Orientierung sicherstellen.

Wenn sich Deutschland in die andere Richtung wenden würde, wären die Proteste nicht nur in Washington, Paris und London, sondern auch in Berlin ohrenbetäubend. Noch mehr in Polen, in der Ukraine und im Baltikum, wo lokale Nationalisten, viele von ihnen in eine zunehmend faschistische Richtung tendierend, auf ungebrochene westliche Unterstützung angewiesen sind.

Es wäre ein gefährlicher Sprung ins Unbekannte für ein Land, das nicht risikoscheuer sein könnte. Aber Deutschland hat vielleicht keine Wahl. Trump ist verrückt, die amerikanische Macht geht schneller zurück, als man es vor zwei oder drei Jahren für möglich gehalten hätte, während der westliche Liberalismus ebenfalls bröckelt. Hardliner haben die Kontrolle in Washington, wo Republikaner und Demokraten konkurrieren, um zu sehen, wer unterwürfiger gegenüber Israel und feindseliger gegenüber allen russischen Dingen sein kann. Dasselbe gilt für Tel Aviv und Teheran, wo dank Trump gleichermassen die Hardliner im Sattel sitzen.

Wenn es zwei Länder gibt, die wissen, was passieren kann, wenn die Verrückten die Kontrolle haben, dann sind es Russland und Deutschland. Aber jetzt, da die Geschichte beide in das gleiche Boot gesteckt hat, das sich gerade den Stromschnellen nähert, rudert Putin für seinen Teil wie wahnsinnig. Wird Merkel beim Rudern helfen?

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cynthiajayusa · 6 years

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Miss Coco Peru Talks ‘Outlandish’ Comedy Series

Miss Coco Peru, who is no stranger to South Florida audiences, returns with her hit show “The Taming of the Tension” for one night only at the Sunshine Cathedral (1480 SW 9th Ave, Fort Lauderdale) on Saturday, February 17 at 8 p.m.

It was a pleasure to chat with Miss Coco Peru for this Hotspots exclusive interview.

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Were you always an entertainer, even as a child, or when did you get the bug?

Yes, I was always an entertainer. I was obsessed with the musical Fiddler on the Roof and apparently had memorized the entire soundtrack by the age of 2. I would act it out for my family and anyone who would watch and so my parents finally took me to see it on Broadway and when it was over I was pouting. My mother asked, “What’s wrong? Didn’t you enjoy the show?” and I answered, “I’ve been doing it all wrong!” I’ve been a perfectionist ever since.

When and how was Coco Peru born?

Did you do “other drag” before you created Miss Coco Peru?

How did you come up with the name and were there any other choices?

You are an interview pro at this point after spending more than 10 years doing “Conversations with Coco”. What are some of the standouts?

Of course, being able to interview my idol, Bea Arthur, was amazing. However, they were all wonderful. Sitting with my friend, Allison Janney, is great because she is naughty in the best way and wants to have fun. Liza Minnelli was amazing because I was able to show the audience how thoughtful Liza is when she actually has time to think about her answers rather than 10 second soundbites on camera. Lily Tomlin is another idol and she just has the best stories and she loves to laugh and it helps that she is a fan of my work. I am very proud to say that Jane Fonda said cock ring during our interview, so I feel like only in an interview with Coco are you going to get someone like Jane Fonda to feel comfortable enough to say cock ring! It was pretty amazing!

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Are there any new conversations in the works?

Not right now because I am trying to sell the TV pilot I did with Lily Tomlin.

You have toured all over, do you have favorite cities and/or theaters to perform in?

Actually, last year when I performed in Fort Lauderdale in the Sunshine Cathedral I was a little bit freaked out that it was a church! I mean, drag plus church somehow doesn’t add up to me. The fact that my mom was in the audience made it even more stressful! However, as soon as I walked out and heard the roar of the audience it felt like church, and it made sense and I was so comfortable. People even said afterwards that, in a way, what I delivered was a sermon. I’m excited to present this new show The Taming of the Tension in this space because I really feel that what I am saying in this new show has been speaking to audiences. Also, I’m celebrating my 27th year working as Coco, I’m not getting any younger, I address my inevitable retirement in this new show so I encourage people to embrace the moment and see this show while I am there. Plus, it would make my 91 year old mom really happy to see my show sold out!

What would be the ultimate place for you to perform in?

Radio City Music Hall with the Rockettes.

Tell us something about the man behind Coco?

What can the Fort Lauderdale audience expect from your show: The Taming Of The Tension?

I feel like the world is a little tense and I am coming there to ease some of that tension! I can say that audiences that have seen it feel that what I have to say is very current, funny, moving, they love my song choices and that this new show is like one big group therapy session. Or gay church! But, always remember the one important truth when seeing my show; it’s my turn to talk!

For more information on CoCo, you can visit her website at: Misscocoperu.com.

source https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2018/02/07/miss-coco-peru-talks-outlandish-comedy-series/ from Hot Spots Magazine http://hotspotsmagazin.blogspot.com/2018/02/miss-coco-peru-talks-outlandish-comedy.html

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