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The Guardian
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Till Jeff us do part: divisive, star-studded Bezos wedding hits full swing in Venice
The Black Death. Byron on the prowl. Rising water levels. Cruise ships the size of city blocks. Venice may have endured many tumultuous events and sinister challenges over the centuries but rarely in its long history has it had to contend with an issue quite as odd and quite as divisive as the sort-of nuptials of the world's fourth-richest person. Friday morning found the lagoon city doing what it does best: looking gorgeous and slightly unreal as it played host to thousands of tourists who posed in silver-prowed gondolas, chugged mid-morning spritzes or simply wilted in the muggy heat. But across the water from St Mark's Square, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez's big day was getting under way. The precise choreography of events may not have been clear, but an elaborately planned and stealthily executed operation was unfolding on the tiny island of San Giorgio Maggiore, where the couple would later pledge eternal love and fidelity before a crowd of 200 mainly famous guests. A handful of camera crews mooched around the entrance to the Giorgio Cini foundation, where a pair of tight-lipped but polite individuals sat before monitors under a gazebo and politely fended off requests for information. And no, they really didn't know when the ceremony would begin. According to reports, the couple had already tied the knot in the US, making Friday's event as symbolic as it was expensive. The long Venetian afternoon stirred from its torpor at 5pm when Sánchez emerged from the Aman hotel, wearing a cream suit, sunglasses and a headscarf. The bride then boarded a water taxi that ferried her past the legions of photographers and over to the island. The groom, dressed in black tie, followed an hour later. Despite the heavy media presence and the epic scale of the festivities, however, not everyone on San Giorgio Maggiore was fizzing with excitement. Hosing down the deck of his boat in the island's harbour, 100 metres away from the venue, one local man had offered a laconic and not untypical take on what has become known, a little tediously, as 'the wedding of the century'. What did he make of all the fuss? 'I'm not thinking about it at all,' he said. 'I don't care.' The wedding celebrations – which began in earnest on Thursday night and are due to culminate in a reception held at the Arsenale historic shipyard complex on Saturday – have split the city into three groups. There are those, such as the yachtsman, who simply don't care; there are those furious that Venice is prostrating itself before a man with an estimated net worth of $212bn (£154bn), and then those who, like the city's mayor, see the £40m extravaganza as a welcome money-spinner and a wonderful showcase for the area's attractions. Bezos and Sánchez's famous friends do not appear to have been put off by the controversy, and there have been imaginative protests over the past few days – including rumours of a reserve armada of canal-blocking inflatable crocodiles. Thursday night's welcome party in the cloisters of the Madonna dell'Orto, a 14th-century church in the Cannaregio area, was attended by celebrities including Leonardo DiCaprio, Oprah Winfrey, Kim Kardashian, Ivanka Trump, Tom Brady and Orlando Bloom. But it was followed by yet another resourceful display of disapproval. A little before 11pm, a green laser was used to spell out the slogan, 'No Kings, No Bezos', on the belltower in St Mark's Square. Similar guerrilla actions over recent days have included the unfurling of a banner reading: 'If you can rent Venice for your wedding you can pay more tax.' Those behind the protests – a coalition of groups angered by the selling-out of the city, housing activists and anti-cruise ship campaigners – say their punning 'No Space for Bezos' alliance has already paid off. They claim their sustained pressure, not least the threat to deploy the blow-up crocodile fleet, had prompted the couple to switch the location of the reception from the Scuola Grande della Misericordia, a majestic 16th-century building in the city centre, to the more private Arsenale. Others have a different take on the superyachts and the 90 private jets that have descended on Venice this week. The city's mayor, Luigi Brugnaro, has dismissed the protesters as 'shameful' and said the Bezos-Sánchez union will fill Venetian coffers. That view is shared by Italy's tourism minister, Daniela Santanchè. 'There will be photos everywhere, social media will go wild over the bride's dress, over the ceremony,' she told Associated Press. 'All of this translates into a massive free publicity campaign. In fact, because they will spend a lot of money, they will enrich Venice – our shopkeepers, artisans, restaurateurs, hotels. So it's a great opportunity both for spending and for promoting Italy in the world.' One man, however, had his very own reasons for wishing the Amazon founder all the best. Cagdas Halicilar, a 47-year-old German who runs a delivery truck company, has a sideline as a pretty convincing Bezos lookalike. He had travelled to Venice to greet and confound the crowds and was also hoping for a quick encounter with Bezos so that he could give him the €3,000 (£2,600) bottle of whiskey he had bought him as a wedding present. 'I realised the resemblance three years ago,' he said. 'My life has changed a lot since then. Wherever I go, people are like, 'Jeff! Jeff!'' He had come tantalisingly close to his doppelganger on Thursday night when a beautiful burgundy boat cruised past him. 'He saw me and I waved and he gave me a thumbs-up,' said Halicilar. 'I was so happy. I cried.' If the German delivery boss does finally get to meet Bezos, he has a simple message. 'I will just tell him that I'm proud to look like him. That's all. He's not arrogant and he has a big heart. He makes people smile and I'm a huge fan.' (He also hopes that if Bezos is reading this piece, his people can arrange a meeting to hand over the whiskey.) As the day wore on, the secret preparations continued and the vicious June sun beat down on tourists, guests and journalists, one visitor making her way around San Giorgio Maggiore shook her head. This was all proof, if further proof were needed, of the awesome power of the 21st-century super-rich. 'It's grotesque,' said the woman, who was from northern Spain. 'Two hundred and fifty guests and a bill of €50m? This is why I don't buy anything on Amazon.'
The Guardian
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Gondolas and guerillas: divisive Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez wedding in full swing
The Black Death. Byron on the prowl. Rising water levels. Cruise ships the size of city blocks. Venice may have endured many tumultuous events and sinister challenges over the centuries but rarely in its long history has it had to contend with an issue quite as odd and quite as divisive as the sort-of nuptials of the world's fourth-richest person. Friday found the lagoon city doing what it does best: looking gorgeous and slightly unreal as it played host to thousands of tourists who posed in silver-prowed gondolas, chugged mid-morning spritzes or simply wilted in the muggy heat. But across the water from St Mark's Square, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez's big day was getting under way. The precise choreography of events may not be entirely clear, but things were definitely happening on the tiny island of San Giorgio Maggiore, where the couple are due to pledge eternal love and fidelity before a crowd of 200 mainly famous guests. A handful of camera crews mooched around the entrance to the Giorgio Cini foundation, where a pair of tight-lipped but polite individuals sat before monitors under a gazebo and politely fended off requests for information. And no, they really didn't know when the ceremony would begin. According to reports, the couple have already tied the knot in the US and Friday's event is merely symbolic. A hundred metres away, hosing down the deck of his boat in the island's harbour, one local man offered a laconic and not untypical take on what has become known, a little tediously, as 'the wedding of the century'. What did he make of all the fuss? 'I'm not thinking about it at all,' he said. 'I don't care.' The wedding celebrations – which began in earnest on Thursday night and are due to culminate in a reception held at the Arsenale historic shipyard complex on Saturday – have split the city into three groups. There are those, like the yachtsman, who simply don't care; there are those furious that Venice is prostrating itself before a man with an estimated net worth of , and there are those who, like the city's mayor, see the £40m extravaganza as a welcome money-spinner and a wonderful showcase for the area's attractions. Bezos and Sánchez's famous friends do not appear to have been put off by the controversy, which has seen imaginative protests over the past few days – including rumours of a reserve armada of canal-blocking inflatable crocodiles. Thursday night's welcome party in the cloisters of the Madonna dell'Orto, a 14th-century church in the Cannaregio area, was attended by celebrities including Leonardo DiCaprio, Oprah Winfrey, Kim Kardashian, Ivanka Trump, Tom Brady and Orlando Bloom. But it was followed by yet another resourceful display of disapproval. A little before 11pm, a green laser was used to spell out the slogan, 'No Kings, No Bezos', on the belltower in St Mark's Square. Similar guerrilla actions over recent days have included the unfurling of a banner reading: 'If you can rent Venice for your wedding you can pay more tax.' Those behind the protests – a coalition of groups angered by the selling-out of the city, housing activists and anti-cruise ship campaigners – say their punning 'No Space for Bezos' alliance has already paid off. They claim their sustained pressure, not least the threat to unleash the blow-up crocodile fleet, prompted the couple to switch the location of the reception from the Scuola Grande della Misericordia, a majestic 16th-century building in the city centre, to the more private Arsenale. Others have a different take on the superyachts and the 90 private jets that have descended on Venice this week. The city's mayor, Luigi Brugnaro, has dismissed the protesters as 'shameful' and said the Bezos-Sánchez union will fill Venetian coffers. That view is shared by Italy's tourism minister, Daniela Santanchè. 'There will be photos everywhere, social media will go wild over the bride's dress, over the ceremony,' she told the Associated Press. 'All of this translates into a massive free publicity campaign. In fact, because they will spend a lot of money, they will enrich Venice – our shopkeepers, artisans, restaurateurs, hotels. So it's a great opportunity both for spending and for promoting Italy in the world.' One man, however, has his very own reasons for wishing the Amazon founder all the best. Cagdas Halicilar, a 47-year-old German who runs a delivery truck company, has a sideline as a pretty convincing Bezos lookalike. He had travelled to Venice to greet and confound the crowds and was also hoping for a quick encounter with Bezos so that he could give him the €3,000 (£2,600) bottle of whiskey he'd bought him as a wedding present. 'I realised the resemblance three years ago,' he said. 'My life has changed a lot since then. Wherever I go, people are like, 'Jeff! Jeff!'.' He had come tantalisingly close to his doppelgänger on Thursday night when a beautiful burgundy boat cruised past him. 'He saw me and I waved and he gave me a thumbs-up,' said Halicilar. 'I was so happy. I cried.' If the German delivery boss does finally get to meet Bezos, he has a simple message. 'I will just tell him that I'm proud to look like him. That's all. He's not arrogant and he has a big heart. He makes people smile and I'm a huge fan.' (He also hopes that if Bezos is reading this piece, his people can arrange a meeting to hand over the whiskey.) As the day wore on, the secret preparations continued and the vicious June sun beat down on tourists, guests and journalists, one visitor making her way around San Giorgio Maggiore shook her head. This was all proof, if further proof were needed, of the awesome power of the 21st-century super-rich. 'It's grotesque,' said the woman from northern Spain. 'Two hundred-and-fifty guests and a bill of €50m? This is why I don't buy anything on Amazon.'
Euronews
3 days ago
- Politics
- Euronews
WTF! Donald Trump and the politics of the F-bomb
Content warning: This article contains language that some may find offensive. 'Language!' We've all heard that exclamation shouted by an exasperated parent when a child is being foul-mouthed. But when it comes to expletives uttered by politicians, who are supposed to mind their usage of profanity and set a good example, what hope do parents or any other role models have? Especially when that locution is the controversial, flexible and ubiquitous four-letter word 'fuck'. The range-covering swear word was uttered by Donald Trump on Tuesday as he lashed out at both Israel and Iran, accusing both countries of violating a ceasefire he tried to broker. Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump said he was very unhappy with Israel after they "dropped a load of bombs" on Iran after the truce to end almost two weeks of fighting was announced. "We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don't know what the fuck they're doing,' he railed. By dropping what is commonly refered to as the 'F-bomb' - a term playing on the nickname for the hydrogen bomb and utilised when 'fuck' is used in an unexpected setting like public media – Trump shocked the press. Especially because he has always been mindful when it comes to expletives. Only last week, Trump wouldn't say the word 'erection' while construction crews were installing new flag poles on the White House lawn. 'Let's have a good... They call it a lifting,' said Trump in front of the crew. 'They also use another word, but I'm not going to use that word... The word starts with an 'e' - You know what the word is? If I ever used it, I'd be run out of town by you people' - referring to the members of the press he was talking to. Indeed, it's not every day that an English-speaking head of state exclaims the third-most-severe profanity, according to Andrea Millwood Hargrave's 2000 study of the attitudes of the British public. (In case you were wondering, number 2 in the most severe ranking is 'motherfucker' and number 1 is the dreaded 'cunt'.) Despite trigger words that cross the line differing from language to language, Trump's "fuck" would be the equivalent of French President Macron exclaiming 'Putain!' or Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez angrily declairing 'puta de mierda'. But is Trump the first to use the word 'fuck' in front of the press? Before we answer that question, let's dive into the history of the swear word. The origins of 'fuck' The word's roots remain somewhat mysterious. For the longest time, rumour had it that 'fuck' was a backronym – an acronym formed from an already existing word by expansion of its letters into the words of a phrase - of 'For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge' or 'Fornication Under Consent of the King'. The first refers to a royal permission allegedly granted during the Middle Ages, as the scarcity of resources caused by the Black Death meant that population growth was an issue. Therefore, permission to engage in intercourse was required. The second concerns the royal permit, issued by a magistrate or lord, for a couple to consume their union. Once approved, the couple were granted a sign that read 'F.U.C.K.' to hang on their house, a symbol of their compliance and the King's favour. Both of these have been proven to be false etymologies, as 'fuck' is thought to have come from the German word 'fricken', which means 'to hit', and the Swedish dialectal word 'ficka', which means 'to strike' or 'to copulate'. Historians generally agree that 'fuck' became a familiar word for sexual intercourse around the 15th or 16th century. However, in 2022, a British historian stumbled upon what he believed to be the earliest known use of the word 'fuck' in a sexual context. Paul Booth, a research fellow at the UK's Keele University, found the name 'Roger Fuckebythenavele' ('one who fucks via the naval') in a 1310 court document in the UK National Archives. Otherwise, the earliest occurrence of 'fuck' as a swear word comes from a British poem written anonymously around 1475 in both English and Latin. Titled 'Fleas, flies and friars', the poem criticised the Carmelites friars of the town of Ely. One line of the poem reads: 'Non sunt in coeli, quia gxddbov xxkxzt pg ifmk fvccant vvivys of heli' which, post-decoding, means: 'They (the friars) are not in heaven, since they fuck the wives of Ely.' So, elusive though its origins may be, 'fuck' has travelled through time to become commonplace – especially in Martin Scorsese films, as it was dropped a grand total of 569 times in 2013's The Wolf of Wall Street according to Guiness World Records. Fucking standards Back to Trump, who is hardly the first US politician to utter the word 'fuck' in a public sphere. However, every time it was used, controversy was never far. One of the earliest uses of the word by a US president was in 1965, when Democrat President Lyndon B. Johnson said the following to Greek ambassador Alexandros Matsas, who took issue with American plans in Cyprus: "Fuck your parliament and your constitution. America is an elephant. Cyprus is a flea. Greece is a flea. If these two fellows continue itching the elephant they may just get whacked by the elephant's trunk, whacked good". Ouch. In June 2004, US Vice President Dick Cheney told Democratic senator Patrick Leahy: 'Go fuck yourself", while John McCain told US Sentor John Cornyn: 'Fuck you! I know more about this than anyone else in the room' when Cornyn objected to McCain's perceived intrusion upon a Senate meeting on immigration. Another 'fuck' that got people upset happened on 23 March 2010, when then-Vice President Joe Biden thought he couldn't be heard and 'whispered' into President Barack Obama's ear: "This is a big fucking deal" - referring to the US health care reform bill. All instances led to outcry, criticism and in some cases, formal apologies. The fact that profanity isn't new in politics is hardly surprising, as a 2009 study revealed the cathartic effect that swearing can have. And considering everything that is going on in the world of late, it's borderline astonishing that politicians – regardless of their political alliances - don't 'fuck' this and 'fuck' that on a daily basis. Plus, swearing is normalised for what is referred to as 'blue collar' work sectors – a key demographic when it comes to votes. So, dropping a few f-shaped transgressives into speeches could be considered as judicious. However, the source of the pearl-clutching is crucial to consider. For instance, a MAGA supporter would consider Trump's use of language as 'telling it like it is". Conversely, a staunch Democrat would condemn the 'fuck' as not diplomatic and unbecoming of a head of state. The same divide happened in August 2022, when the mayor of Peterborough, Ontario, Dianne Therrien let out a colourful phrase when having to deal with QAnon conspiracy theorists in her city. She tweeted: 'Fuck off, you fuckwads.' MAGA supporters were furious; Democrats defended Therrien, saying that she was reacting out of frustration, and backed her when she framed her swearing as a deliberate mirroring of the disrespect the QAnon crowd showed their critics. Then there's context. Since Trump entered the White House for his second term, some Democrats have not shied away from expressing their genuine frustration. This year, Rep. Jasmine Crockett reacted to Trump's joint address to Congress with: 'Somebody slap me and wake me the fuck up because I'm ready to get on with it', while Rep. Maxine Dexter had this to say: 'I don't swear in public very well, but we have to fuck Trump.' She hastily added: 'Please don't tell my children that I just did that.' Whether it's authentic outrage at the destruction of policies and public attitudes or a more shoot-from-the-hip moment of 'real talk', a 'fuck' in what can be considered as the wrong contextual condition can seem like a social gaffe. Worse, an inappropriate utterance that shows the politician – whether or not you agree with him / her / they – is overcome by frustration or emotion, and therefore doesn't have the cool head to lead. When considering the context of war with casualties, the 'fuck' in Trump's 'they don't know what the fuck they're doing' can be percieved as undiplomatic or even outright insulting. But is it that clear cut, especially when even Trump critics admit that the president's F-bomb flourished phrase was a pretty fair analysis of the situation? What's sure is that when it comes to language for public officials, a bar has been truly fucking lowered.
Scottish Sun
4 days ago
- General
- Scottish Sun
Abandoned UK villages wiped out 700 years ago are uncovered in major roadworks with hoard of spears, flutes & buckles
It is believed the villages were abandoned after the Black Death FROZEN IN TIME Abandoned UK villages wiped out 700 years ago are uncovered in major roadworks with hoard of spears, flutes & buckles Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) ABANDONED medieval villages have been uncovered during roadworks on the A47. The settlements are believed to have been abandoned after the Black Death - with residents fleeing to bigger urban areas. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 A metal spearheads used for hunting and battles was one of the finds at the site Credit: Headland Archaeology 2 Another of the artefact's uncovered by archeologists was this bone flute Credit: Headland Archaeology The Black Death, also known as the bubonic plague, swept the UK between 1848 and 1350, killing an estimated 35-40 per cent of the population - though estimates are much higher in some areas. The discoveries were made by archaeologists during work to convert 5.5 miles of road between Easton and North Tuddenham into a dual-carriageway. The dig is helping to reveal the mysteries of the inhabitants of these medieval villages, with metal spearheads, buckles and a bone flute among the artefacts uncovered. Headland Archaeology, which carried out the work for National Highways, also found 31kg of pottery. The site was cleared using everything from 13-tonne mechanical excavators and dump trucks to more precision hand tools. A selection of finds from the site are due to be displayed at the National Highways' stall at this week's Royal Norfolk Show, on Wednesday, June 25 and Thursday, June 26. Kate Bain, project manager at Headland Archaeology, told the Eastern Daily Press that such villages would once have been widespread. She said: "These villages, which would have been recognisable all the way through the landscape like little hamlets, disappeared as people fled to urban settlements, leaving them behind." Chris Griffin, A47 project lead for National Highways, said that while the roadworks were primarily about improving road safety, they also offered a chance for historians to find out more about 'the wonderfully rich cultural heritage' of Norfolk. He added: "When we started the work, we wanted to make sure we brought in the expertise to add one more piece to the historical puzzle of the landscape. Ancient Tomb Discovery Reveals Stunning Tang Dynasty Murals "These finds will help us understand the past and learn about what we are today." The 'dualing' work on the A47 commenced last year, while work has also begun on improvements to the A47/A11 Thickthorn junction, on the edge of Norwich. Norfolk has been a rich area of study for archeologists over the years. In 2019 the oldest human footprints ever found outside of Africa were spotted on a British beach in the county. The line of footprints were thought to have been trampled onto the coast of Happisburgh 950,000 years ago and are likely to have been left by one of the earliest known varieties of human called Homo antecessor. Archaeological enthusiast and photographer Paul Macro discovered the marks on the beach while working for a company that was scanning the area. He found them in a spot where a similar ancient footprint and tool discovery occurred back in 2013. The foorprints were discovered in May 2013 in a newly uncovered sediment layer of the Cromer Forest Bed and photographed in 3D before being destroyed by the tide shortly afterwards.
The Sun
4 days ago
- The Sun
Abandoned UK villages wiped out 700 years ago are uncovered in major roadworks with hoard of spears, flutes & buckles
ABANDONED medieval villages have been uncovered during roadworks on the A47. The settlements are believed to have been abandoned after the Black Death - with residents fleeing to bigger urban areas. 2 The Black Death, also known as the bubonic plague, swept the UK between 1848 and 1350, killing an estimated 35-40 per cent of the population - though estimates are much higher in some areas. The discoveries were made by archaeologists during work to convert 5.5 miles of road between Easton and North Tuddenham into a dual-carriageway. The dig is helping to reveal the mysteries of the inhabitants of these medieval villages, with metal spearheads, buckles and a bone flute among the artefacts uncovered. Headland Archaeology, which carried out the work for National Highways, also found 31kg of pottery. The site was cleared using everything from 13-tonne mechanical excavators and dump trucks to more precision hand tools. A selection of finds from the site are due to be displayed at the National Highways' stall at this week's Royal Norfolk Show, on Wednesday, June 25 and Thursday, June 26. Kate Bain, project manager at Headland Archaeology, told the Eastern Daily Press that such villages would once have been widespread. She said: "These villages, which would have been recognisable all the way through the landscape like little hamlets, disappeared as people fled to urban settlements, leaving them behind." Chris Griffin, A47 project lead for National Highways, said that while the roadworks were primarily about improving road safety, they also offered a chance for historians to find out more about 'the wonderfully rich cultural heritage' of Norfolk. He added: "When we started the work, we wanted to make sure we brought in the expertise to add one more piece to the historical puzzle of the landscape. Ancient Tomb Discovery Reveals Stunning Tang Dynasty Murals "These finds will help us understand the past and learn about what we are today." The 'dualing' work on the A47 commenced last year, while work has also begun on improvements to the A47/A11 Thickthorn junction, on the edge of Norwich. Norfolk has been a rich area of study for archeologists over the years. In 2019 the oldest human footprints ever found outside of Africa were spotted on a British beach in the county. The line of footprints were thought to have been trampled onto the coast of Happisburgh 950,000 years ago and are likely to have been left by one of the earliest known varieties of human called Homo antecessor. Archaeological enthusiast and photographer Paul Macro discovered the marks on the beach while working for a company that was scanning the area. He found them in a spot where a similar ancient footprint and tool discovery occurred back in 2013. The foorprints were discovered in May 2013 in a newly uncovered sediment layer of the Cromer Forest Bed and photographed in 3D before being destroyed by the tide shortly afterwards.
