Trump, Weinstein and ‘pestering’ predators: Your time’s up

By Michael Stevenson

I read today that a Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll found that 91 percent of women (in the U.S.) called workplace sexual harassment a problem, along with 81 percent of men.

This must change, and I am not going to write that I am a husband and father to a young woman, because if I were father to a male hedgehog, I would still demand that women should be able to work and live their lives without being sexually harassed.

It is disgusting that in Donald Trump, America elected a president who boasted of assaulting women.

Actress Emma Thompson recently spoke out about predators Harvey Weinstein and Trump: “I didn’t know about these things, but they don’t surprise me at all, and they’re endemic to the system,” Thompson, said during an interview with BBC Newsnight.

“What I find sort of extraordinary is that this man is at the top of a very particular iceberg, you know he’s — I don’t think you can describe him as a ‘sex addict,’ he’s a predator. But what he’s, as it were, at the top of the ladder of is a system of harassment, and belittling, and bullying, and interference, and what my mother would have referred to in the old days as ‘pestering.’”

“‘Is he pestering you?’ That’s the word we used to use in the olden days, if you recall. This has been part of our world, women’s world, since time immemorial. So what we need to start talking about is the crisis in masculinity, the crisis of extreme masculinity, which is this sort of behavior, and the fact that it is not only OK, but it also is represented by the most powerful man in the world at the moment,” Thompson added, seemingly referencing Donald Trump.
Bravo to that, Emma!

Not only Hollywood actresses, but thousands of women around the globe are now speaking out about sexual harassment and they are holding accountable the reputation of employers and entire industries.

What a great lesson it would be to hold accountable the most powerful predator in the United States – Donald Trump? He has been ‘pestering’ for too long. His time is up.

On the Town in the “Real” Neighborhoods of Paris 

I live in the 10th arrondissement (district), a trendy but not touristy area near République and the Canal St. Martin. The other night, I was rushing out to meet a friend for dinner. I was a bit behind schedule, and was worried that I’d be late, when I remembered a shortcut that’d get me there faster: I’d take the passages.

Paris has dozens of covered passages that date from the 19th century. These early walkways, which cut straight through the heart of a city block, were like early shopping malls, filled with boutiques, art galleries, and other intriguing little shops. Some, like the ultra-glamorous Galerie Vivienne, are well-known to the world. Others fly under the radar of almost everyone except locals. They’re not necessarily covered nor necessarily elegant. In fact, they can be a little gritty. But, for me, they exemplify “real” Paris [ . . . ] More: On the Town in the “Real” Neighborhoods of Paris – International Living

Consumers warned as French food waste hits 10m tonnes

France throws away 10 million tonnes of food every year, with each French person throwing out the equivalent of one entire meal per week, a new report has warned.Each French person wastes on average over €100-worth of food – and 29 kg – per year, according to data published in French newspaper Le Monde.This week celebrates the French National Day Against Food Waste (Journée nationale de lutte contre le gaspillage alimentaire), which aims to raise awareness of the scale of the problem.Le Monde’s report showed that if the entire food chain – from production to consumption – is taken into account, each consumer actually wastes as much as €240 and 155 kg-worth of food per year.In response, the French minister for agriculture has warned the public to make sure they do not needlessly throw food away, and to mind the difference between “use by” (known in French as the DLC (date limite de consommation)) and “best before” (DDM, date de durabilité minimale) dates [ . . . ]

Full Story: Consumers warned as French food waste hits 10m tonnes