Prisoners

 

Andy Murray Resurfacing

 

Pooneh Rohi "Araben"

 

Cormac McCarthy "Advokaten"

 Lockad av tanken på stora och snabba pengar köper en välbärgad advokat in sig i en narkotikaaffär där ett stort parti kokain ska smugglas in över den amerikanska gränsen från Mexiko.
I Advokatens ögon är det hela bara en engångsgrej, ett kort gästspel på andra sidan lagen som ska ge honom möjlighet att leva det liv han drömmer om och ge sin flickvän Laura den diamantring hon förtjänar. Men saker går inte som planerade. Advokaten inser att han trätt in i en värld vars spelregler han inte alls behärskar och där inga misstag kan göras ogjorda. Varje steg han tar tycks bara föra honom djupare in i mardrömmen.
I översättning av Henrik Petersen.

Liksom de författare han beundrar Melville,Dosto­jevskij, Faulkner har Cormac McCarthy skapat ett oeuvre som är större och djupare än någon enskild bok. Sådana för­fattare tävlar bara med gudarna. WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD

CORMAC McCARTHY [f. 1933] är en av vår tids viktigaste och mest hyllade ameri­kanska författare. 2007 vann han Pulitzerpriset för romanen Vägen. Blodets meridian [1985] har be­­­skri­vits av kritikern Harold Bloom som »en av 1900-talets bästa romaner och den största amerikanska romanen sedan Faulkners Medan jag låg och dog«. Förutom romaner har Cormac McCarthy även skrivit drama­tik. Advokaten [The Counselor, 2013] är det första manus han skrivit direkt för film. Boken utkom samtidigt som filmen i regi av Ridley Scott hade premiär.

Asscher på Tolstraat - Centrum för diamantslipningen

 

The Royal Asscher Diamond Company (Dutch: Koninklijke Asscher Diamant Maatschappij) was founded in 1854 by the Asscher family of gemcutters. The company is responsible for cutting some of the most famous diamonds in the world including two of the top three largest diamonds ever found. Its headquarters still stand at its original location Tolstraat 127 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The company also has regional headquarters in New York City (Royal Asscher of America) and Tokyo (Royal Asscher of Japan).

Royal Asscher is still owned by the Asscher family, today a renowned diamond dynasty. The Asscher Diamond Company, made famous at the turn of the 20th century by Joseph and Abraham Asscher, became Royal Asscher Diamond Company in 1980 when it was bestowed with the Dutch Royal Predicate from Queen Juliana of the Netherlands in recognition of the company's stature both in the Netherlands and across the world. In 2011 Queen Beatrix perpetuated the Royal Prefix for another 25 years. 

In 1854 Joseph Isaac Asscher, a known artisan in the diamond industry, established the I.J Asscher diamond company, named for his son Isaac Joseph Asscher, who followed in his father's footsteps and entered the diamond industry. He passed down his expertise to his five sons, including Joseph (a prolific and unrivalled diamond cleaver) and Abraham (a talented innovator and businessman). Together, they became the 20th century's most prodigious diamond experts. Under Joseph and Abraham, the company is known as the Asscher Diamond Company and cuts diamonds to be set in jewellery for world famous boutiques and maisons internationally. As one of the largest diamond polishing companies in the world at that time, the company was known for having Royalty, celebrities and politicians as private clients.

The Asscher Cut

In 1902 Joseph Asscher designed and patented his namesake original Asscher cut.^[1] This emblematic cut was the world's first patented diamond cut protecting it from replication by other companies. The Asscher Diamond Company held its exclusive patent until the Second World War and saw strong sales internationally, particularly during the 1920s and 30s when the cut and company were both at the height of success.

The original design had 58 Step cut facets, a small table, high crown and steep pavilion with cut corners. An accurate description would be a cut cornered square emerald cut diamond. 

In 1905 the Cullinan diamond was discovered. At 3,106 carats (621.2 g) it was a legendary find, and achieved instant renown across the globe. The diamond was presented to King Edward VII, and he invited the Asscher brothers to London to discuss cleaving the diamond. It was decided that Joseph Asscher would cleave the Cullinan into three parts, necessitated by inclusions within the rough diamond. Nine large stones were cut from it, the largest being the Cullinan I at 530.20 carats (106.040 g).

In February 1908 a notable audience gathered to watch Joseph Asscher cleave the huge stone. In order to yield large, beautiful diamonds he needed to hit the Cullinan in exactly the right place. On his first strike his blade broke, while the stone remained intact. He dismissed all present and set to work creating larger, stronger tools.

The following week, armed with new tools, Joseph resumed his work, allowing no one but the notary public in the cutting room. Urban legend recounts that Joseph fainted after striking the Cullinan diamond with a tremendous blow. He later commented that the adrenaline surging through him the moment the stone split was so strong all he could think to do was to examine the stone and check his workmanship over and over again before rushing to the next room to share the good news. Later, the Cullinan diamonds were polished, ready to take pride of place in Great Britain's Crown Jewels. 

During the Second World War battle of the Netherlands the Nazis as part of their extermination plans, entered the Asscher Diamond Company's Amsterdam headquarters and seized its diamonds. Since the Asscher family were Jewish they were eventually deported from the Netherlands and interned in concentration camps, along with nearly all of the company's 500 master polishers. Most of the Asscher family and over 96 percent of the polishers were murdered by the Nazis.

During the war the patent on the original Asscher cut expired. With no one to renew the patent, other companies started to utilize the Asscher cut, leading to market confusion about the origin of many Asscher cut diamonds. Some companies chose to call their Asscher cut diamonds square-emerald cuts instead. Many of these diamonds were cut for yield and did not necessarily follow Joseph Asscher's original proportion calculations for the Asscher cut, which specified parameters for the diamond's crown height, table size, and facet alignment.

After the war

Only ten Asscher family members and fifteen of the five hundred polishers survived the Holocaust. Although once the world's diamond polishing capital, the diamond industry in Amsterdam was virtually wiped out during the war, including the Asscher Diamond Company. Antwerp subsequently emerged as a major diamond polishing center.

In 1946 Joop and Louis Asscher were invited to utilize their expertise to start a new company in New York, but they chose to remain in their home of Amsterdam and rebuild the Asscher Diamond Company. At this point during the 1950s and 1960s the company began exploring new markets and became a prominent diamantaire in Japan. 

The fifth and sixth generations of the Asscher family are at the helm of an international company. Edward Asscher, father works in conjunction with daughter Lita and son Mike.

In March 2020, Edward Asscher announced his retirement from the company. With his departure, his daughter Lita Asscher and son Mike Asscher will serve as co-presidents of the firm.^[2] 

Designed by renowned Architect Gerrit Van Arkel the castle like structure of the original Asscher factory is today the jewel of Amsterdam's De Pijp area, Working on the principle of needing ample light for the diamonds to be worked within, the castle-like factory had huge windows and originally featured a police station outside. At one time over 500 diamond polishers worked in the building alongside numerous administrative staff and family.

It was here in this grand building where some of the largest and most iconic diamonds in the world were cut and polished. Such was the stature of 127 Tolstraat that the area became known as the Diamantbuurt (DiamondDistrict) with street names such as Diamantstraat (Diamondstreet), Robijnstraat (Rubystreet), Saffierstraat (SapphireStreet) and Smaragdstraat (EmeraldStreet). All around the factory are beautiful workers cottages where many of the diamond polishers lived.

Now, the area is known as the “Asscher Quarter” with additional street names such as Cullinanplein. While the old factory is now a light filled luxury apartments complex, the main tower remains Royal Asscher's headquarters to this day.

 

 

 

 

 

Cecil Rhodes - En av de mest hängivna imperialisterna

 Protesters in South Africa are calling for a statue of Cecil Rhodes, one of the most committed imperialists of the 19th Century, to be taken down. Why does he still inspire such strong feelings?

Cecil Rhodes's statue on the steps of the University of Cape Town has now been boarded up. The university will soon make a final decision on the statue's fate.

The students calling for its removal have already attacked it. The tag #RhodesMustFall has been tweeted many times.

Rhodes was an imperialist, businessman and politician who played a dominant role in southern Africa in the late 19th Century, driving the annexation of vast swathes of land.

He founded the De Beers diamond firm which until recently controlled the global trade. Scholarships allowing overseas students to come to Oxford University still bear his name. Many institutions, including Cape Town University itself, benefited from his largesse. Both Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) were named after him.

But in 2002, when the BBC conducted a poll on the 100 greatest Britons, Rhodes failed to make the list. That was despite it being the centenary of his death. 

Those who want the statue removed object to Rhodes as the ultimate representation of colonialism.  

Rhodes' detractors see him as a racist, and one of the people who helped prepare the way for apartheid by working to alter laws on voting and land ownership. In Zimbabwe, there are still calls to have Rhodes's remains moved to the UK, where he was born.

It's clear that Rhodes thought of the English as a "master race".

"I contend that we are the first race in the world, and that the more of the world we inhabit the better it is for the human race," he once said. His famous desire was to be able to draw a "red line" from Cairo to Cape Town, building a railway across the entire continent of Africa without ever leaving British territory. 

His supporters saw him as having brought political and physical infrastructure to South Africa. But the critics now point to his time as prime minister of the Cape Colony, from 1890 to 1896, when his government effectively restricted the rights of black Africans by raising the financial qualifications for voting. At the same time he once reportedly said: "I could never accept the position that we should disqualify a human being on account of his colour."

He was controversial back in Britain even at the height of his influence. Arguably his most notorious moment was his backing of the disastrous Jameson Raid of 1895, in which a small British force tried to overthrow Paul Kruger, the Afrikaner president of the gold-rich Transvaal Republic. The raid helped prompt the Second Boer War, in which tens of thousands died.

"At best his conception of civilisation was empirical, if not vulgar," the Guardian noted in its obituary of Rhodes, "and in course of time most other ideals had for him to be subordinated to that of keeping up dividends."

Apartheid was introduced in 1948 and ended in 1991, but it has taken until now for there to be momentum behind removing statues of Rhodes. "I'm surprised that [the protesters] have come up with this at the moment," says Berny Sebe, author of Heroic Imperialists in Africa, a study of the enduring influence of Rhodes and others. "The year 2002, the 100th anniversary of his death, would have been a more obvious date."

 

 

 

De Beers blev lurade på diamantkonfekten - blev förevigade ändå

 

Nere i gruvan sliter tusentals arbetare i gångarna. Med hackor, borrar och spadar gör de stora hål i gruvgångarnas väggar i jakten på diamanter.

Men förtjänsten på de dyrbara stenarna hamnar sällan i gruvarbetarnas fickor. I stället håller vinsterna från världens största diamantfyndighet på att förvandla ett nystartat bolag till ett dominerande jätteindustri.

De Beers heter bolaget som inte skyr några medel i jakten på profit. Från år 1880 och 22 år framåt köper bolaget systematiskt upp mark från fattiga gruv­ägare, hotar sina konkurrenter, fuskar med priserna och blir gruvligt rikt på sitt världsomfattande monopol på diamanter.

Diamantäventyret började år 1866 då en bonde hittade en gnistrande sten i närheten av Orange River, 30 mil från Sydafrikas kust.

Stenen hann byta ägare åtskilliga gånger innan den hamnade hos en expert, som konstaterade att det rörde sig om en diamant på 21,25 carat.

De första lycksökarna skyndade genast till Sydafrikas inre, och när diamanten Afrikas stjärna på 82 carat dök upp tre år senare ur marken vid Orange ­River utlöste fyndet en flodvåg av folk som kom till området med spadar, hackor och drömmen om att bli rika. Inom loppet av tio år fördubblades mängden vita invånare i Sydafrika – och tullintäkterna tredubblades under samma period.

Nära Orange River hade bonden Johannes Nicolaas De Beers sin farm. Han var en kristen och förnöjsam man som med förakt betraktade de giriga diamant­grävarna. Han och hans bror Diederik ­Arnoldus hittade också diamanter på ­sina marker, men de tänkte inte låta sig svepas med i diamantfebern.

Bröderna sålde sin jord. Johannes fick 6 000 guineas, vilket var mindre än hälften av vad Afrikas stjärna kostat. Efter hand som spannvis med diamanter grävdes upp på De Beers forna egendomar, ångrade sig den olycklige säljaren och tyckte att han borde ha begärt sex miljoner guineas i stället.

År 1880 började britten Cecil Rhodes köpa upp den ena jordlotten efter den andra på De Beers gamla farm. Diamantpriset hade då störtdykt eftersom de syd­afrikanska gruvorna var så proppfulla med ädelstenar att världsmarknaden översvämmades med drygt ett halvt ton diamanter – varje år.

De förut så sällsynta stenarna värderades nu som halvädelstenar i linje med topas eller turkos. Många gruvägare gick i konkurs när priserna sjönk, men den 27-årige Rhodes såg en chans att tjäna stora pengar. Han bildade ett bolag som han uppkallade efter markens forna ägare: De Beers Mining Company Limited.

Pengarna han köpte mark för hade han tjänat på att sälja isblock till svettiga gruvarbetare, och på att pumpa vatten ur översvämmade gruvgångar. Rhodes köpte upp De Beers-gruvan bit för bit.

Rhodes befann sig i ett permanent priskrig mot ett antal konkurrenter – många av dem var betydligt större och rikare än hans eget bolag, De Beers. När politikern J.X. Merriman år 1886 kontaktade honom för att presentera ett intressant förslag, var Rhodes därför synnerligen lyhörd.

Merriman föreslog att alla Sydafrikas gruvbolag i diamantbran­schen skulle gå samman. Bara några veckor senare lät Rhodes trycka stora annonser i Sydafrikas tidningar.

Här beskrev han alla fördelar med att bilda ett enda stort sydafrikanskt diamantbolag för att kunna sätta höga priser på ädelstenarna – och han tog själv åt sig hela äran för idén.

Merriman blev både arg och besviken och kallade Rhodes för ”listig och nyckfull” och för en person som han hellre ville ha som motståndare än som vän, ”för då vet man var man har honom”.

År 1888 gick Rhodes plan i lås, och Sydafrikas fyra största diamantföretag slog sig samman i bolaget De Beers Consolidated Mines. Rhodes fick det övergripande ansvaret, och med fula metoder rodde han hem förmögenheter åt sig själv och de andra ägarna.

För att kontrollera utbudet av diamanter bildade Rhodes fingerade bolag; utifrån såg det därför ut som att den fria marknaden reglerade priserna.

Men i själva verket kontrollerade Rhodes utbudet och priserna som om han regisserade en marionetteater. Om priset på en viss typ av diamant blev för lågt, skickade han inte ut den på marknaden på ett tag. Då blev de diamanterna en sällsynt och exklusiv vara för konsumenten.

De Beers monopol kostade även ­arbetstillfällen eftersom Rhodes avskedade tusentals gruvarbetare för att minska bolagets omkostnader. De arbetslösa gruvarbetarna marscherade i protest till De Beers huvudkontor i Kimberley, där de brände en docka som liknade Rhodes.

En av arrangörerna höll ett hatiskt tal: ”Lågorna kommer nu att förtära de sista dödliga resterna av Cecil Rhodes – fusio­nernas general och diamanternas kung. Låt oss utbringa ett trefaldigt leve för girighetens villiga redskap. Må Gud förgöra honom.”

Efter den protestmarschen hade Rhodes oftast poliseskort när han reste till och från Sydafrikas gruvstäder.

År 1890 stod De Beers för 90 procent av världens diamantproduktion. Genom intäkterna blev bolaget även en politisk maktfaktor.

Året därpå, då ett nytt stort diamantfynd gjordes i Syd­afrika, hotades emellertid det höga diamantpriset på nytt. De Beers ville därför köpa upp gruvan, men arbetslösa gruvarbetare krävde förköpsrätt.

Sydafrikas premiärminister tillsatte en kommission för att utreda vilken köpare landet hade mest glädje av. Kommissionen rekommenderade De Beers.

Det var inte något särskilt överraskande val; Sydafrikas premiärminister hette Cecil Rhodes.

 

 

 

 

Lång och farlig strapats för världsberömd diamant

 När maharajan Ranjit Singh låg för döden i Punjab 1839, bestämde han att den största av hans diamanter, den berömda Koh i Noor, skulle tillfalla ett tempel. Så blev det emellertid aldrig.

Engelsmännen höll på att ta över landet, och när Punjab 1849 formellt inlemmades i det brittiska imperiet, beslutades det att drottning Victoria skulle få diamanten.

 Det gick dock inte att förära henne Koh i Noor som gåva, för gåvor ges mellan likställda. Därför arrangerades det så att den endast 13-årige maharajan Duleep Singh skulle resa till London och överräcka den till henne som ett tecken på hans erkännande av den brittiska överhögheten.

Fartyget red ut flera kraftiga stormar under den långa sjöresan, och det utbröt kolera i besättningen, men man nådde fram och drottningen fick sin diamant.

Duleep Singh levde fram till sin död 1893 i engelsk exil och återsåg Indien endast under två korta besök under stort säkerhetsuppbåd. Och Koh i Noor befinner sig fortfarande i England.

Den sitter i den krona som drottning Elisabeth – The Queen Mother – bar vid speciella tillfällen fram till sin död 2002.

Tess Gerritsen ”Lärlingen”

 

Jesus bad Judas förråda honom

Var Judas Iskariot den ende av lärjungarna som förstod vem Jesus egentligen var?

År 1978 gjordes ett sensationellt fynd i Egypten. I en gammal grav upptäcktes en handskrift med en gnostisk text från 100-talet som tidigare bara varit känd till namnet: Judasevangeliet.

Manuskriptet kom snabbt på avvägar på antikvitetsbranschens svarta börs och blev först nyligen tillgängligt för forskningen. Inte förrän 2006 kunde den första internationella översättningen publiceras.

Denna fascinerande text presenteras här i en kommenterad svensk översättning tillsammans med en beskrivning av dess tillkomsttid och en analys av innehållet. Judasevangeliet, visar det sig, utgör en elegant och underfundig drift med den kyrka som senare skulle komma att betraktas som den officiella.

Författaren fördjupar sig också i frågan om vem den historiske Judas Iskariot var och hans roll i förhållande till Jesus. Kan det ha varit så att Jesus aktivt sökte kontakt med de religiösa myndigheterna i Jerusalem, och att Judas var den som skulle förmedla en sådan kontakt? Vilket var i så fall deras ärende, och varför gick initiativet snett?

Judasevangeliet är ett gnostisktevangelium. Det är bevarat i ett koptisktpapyrusmanuskript från 200-talet eller 300-talet som påträffades 1978 i en grotta vid Nilennära Minya i Egypten. Evangeliets existens var dock redan känd 180 e.Kr. då det fördömdes av biskop Irenaeus som kätterskt.

Judasevangeliet utger sig inte för att representera den tidiga kristna kyrkans tro. Tvärtom vill Judasevangeliet framhålla att lärjungarna inte förstått Jesus, vilket däremot Judas Iskariot gjort. Enligt Judasevangeliet är det Judas som fått höra det verkliga budskapet, vilket följande utdrag exemplifierar: ”Men eftersom Jesus visste att Judas också tänkte på andra upphöjda saker sade han till honom: ’Avskilj dig från dem! Jag ska tala med dig om | kungarikets mysterier, inte för att du ska gå till dem [eller: dit] utan för att du ska sörja mycket. För någon annan kommer att ta din | plats så att de tolv [lärjungarna] åter ska fullkomnas i sin gud.’" 

Enligt Judasevangeliet är Jesus i själva verket en gnostisk förkunnare.

Judasevangeliet har sitt ursprung i en gnostisksekt i Egypten, men redan den tidiga kristnakyrkan ansåg att gnosticismen var heretisk. Det utgörs av 13 papyrusark, troligen en översättning av en äldre grekisk text. Enligt National Geographic Society i Washington, D.C., som publicerade en komplett översättning till engelska samt bilder på de flagnande arken 6 april 2006, återger texten samtal mellan Judas och Jesus och redogör för Jesu sista dagar. Enligt denna översättning kan dokumentet tolkas som att Jesus bad Judas Iskariot att förråda honom. ^{Istället för den bibliska versionen beskriver denna text hur Judas försvinner i ett skinande moln där han kunde höra en gudomlig röst.n}

Monroe grattade presidenten med sång

  

This Sunday marks the anniversary of the Aug. 5, 1962, death of Marilyn Monroe, after a barbiturate overdose in her home in the exclusive Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Her sudden death at just 36 years old shocked the nation — in part because just three months prior she had given one of her most famous performances. Decked out in a skin-tight, nude-colored dress, she sang “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy, who was turning 45 later that month, at a rally at Madison Square Garden on May 19, 1962.

The performance remains a cultural touchstone decades later, and is also noteworthy because that event produced what is considered the only known photograph of Monroe and Kennedy together.

 “[I]t was Marilyn who was the hit of the evening,” according to TIME’s recap of the concert in 1962. “Kennedy plainly meant it when he said, ‘I can now retire from politics after having had Happy Birthday sung to me in such a sweet, wholesome way.'”

The performance added to rumors that both Kennedy brothers were having affairs with the actor. Among the JFK files released to the public last year was the FBI’s warning to Bobby Kennedy about an upcoming book that was going to say the two had an affair. “It was pretty clear that Marilyn had had sexual relations with both Bobby and Jack,” James Spada, one of her biographers, told People on the 50th anniversary of her death. (Any claims that the brothers had a role in her death, he clarified, were unsubstantiated.)

According to another biographer, Donald Spoto, Monroe and JFK met four times between October 1961 and August 1962. Their only “sexual encounter” is believed to have taken place two months before the concert in a bedroom at Bing Crosby’s house on Mar. 24, 1962, her masseur Ralph Roberts has said.

Även med Miller nådde Monroe inte ända fram

 

Marilyn Monroe's longest marriage was with third husband Arthur Miller. The two were complete opposites: a movie star sex symbol in love with a cerebral, award-winning playwright. But in the end, Miller, just like second spouse Joe DiMaggio, wasn't enough for the fragile actress. In addition to marital stressors like failed pregnancies, misunderstandings and clashes over work, Monroe's demons, evinced in her drinking and drug use, proved impossible to escape.

Monroe first encountered Miller in 1950. At the time she was still trying to find fame, while he was already acclaimed as one of the country's leading playwrights, thanks to his Pulitzer Prize-winning Death of a Salesman. Monroe was also sleeping with Miller's friend, director Elia Kazan, who was in Los Angeles to pitch a screenplay with Miller.

Monroe saw Miller off at the airport in January 1951 when he returned to New York. He'd told her how unhappy his current marriage was, so she expected he'd soon return. In the meantime, she placed his photo on a bookshelf above her pillow. But though the two exchanged letters — Monroe bought a biography of Abraham Lincoln that Miller recommended in one note — he stayed in New York.

 Monroe and Miller didn't meet again in person until 1955 after she'd moved to New York City to study at the Actors' Studio. With her most recent marriage to DiMaggio lasting less than a year, she was single and still very much interested in Miller. Monroe even forged a relationship with his friends Norman and Hedda Rosten to get closer to the playwright.

Soon Miller and Monroe embarked upon an affair, despite the fact that he remained a married man. However, in the years since they'd first met, she'd become a star. This meant the press paid close attention to every move Monroe made, and their affair couldn't remain a secret.

Monroe wanted to be with Miller, who seemed to offer her both love and the sense of security she'd always yearned for. She also liked the idea of being seen as a serious actress who was partnered with a renowned playwright. Miller was reluctant to leave his wife, but he was very much in love with Monroe; in one letter, he told her, "I believe that I should really die if I ever lost you." In the spring of 1956, he went to Nevada to establish residency so he could divorce his wife.

Though Miller was cited for contempt (his subsequent conviction would eventually be overturned on appeal), he did get his passport. Miller and Monroe got married on June 29, 1956, in a judge's office in White Plains, New York; a Jewish ceremony followed on July 1. Together, they next headed to England so Monroe could work on The Prince and the Showgirl with Laurence Olivier.

Monroe was delighted by her marriage, saying at one point, "This is the first time I’ve been really in love." But the movie shoot didn't go smoothly and she clashed with Olivier. Then she happened upon notes Miller had been making about her. The exact words she read are unknown, but they related that Miller was disappointed by their marriage and sometimes found Monroe embarrassing.

Monroe's discovery in England wasn't enough to end her marriage. She and Miller would have happy moments, such as when he dedicated an edition of his collected plays to her. Monroe also tried to embrace a quieter life of cooking and homemaking. But these moments of happiness were interrupted by other problems.

Monroe was particularly devastated by her inability to give birth to Miller's child. She experienced a miscarriage in September 1956, lost an ectopic pregnancy in August 1957, and had a second miscarriage in December 1958, shortly after she'd finished shooting Some Like It Hot. A regular user — and abuser — of pills and alcohol, Monroe blamed herself for the last miscarriage.

Miller was finding the peace and emotional quiet he required to write lacking, while Monroe had come to resent her husband. She didn't like that he'd ignored his principles and did a lackluster rewrite of scenes for her film Let's Make Love. And when she had an affair with co-star Yves Montand, she noted that Miller didn't fight for her, or even object to the liaison.

Monroe and Miller's relationship reached its end point while they worked together on what would be her final film, The Misfits. The movie script, based on a short story by Miller, had initially been intended to help her be seen as a serious actress. Yet by the time the film was shooting in the summer of 1960, she disliked the script, declaring at one point, "Arthur said it’s his movie. I don’t think he even wants me in it. It’s all over. We have to stay with each other because it would be bad for the film if we split up now."

 Reflecting on her relationship with Miller, Monroe admitted, "I wasn’t sweet all through. He should love the monster, too. But maybe I’m too demanding. Maybe there’s no man who could put up with all of me. I put Arthur through a lot, I know. But he also put me through a lot." Her relationship with Miller, and everyone else, came to an end after she died from a drug overdose on August 5, 1962. Miller opted not to attend her funeral, noting, "She won’t be there."

Bråket mellan "snobben" Olivier och "bimbon" Monroe

 The Prince and the Showgirl is a 1957 romantic comedy film, starring Marilyn Monroe, Laurence Olivier, who also served as director and producer, and Sybil Thorndike. The movie was widely notorious for its backstage talk surrounding the rift between Olivier and Monroe, with the legendary symbol acting unprofessionally on set, and the renowned actor, being so fed up with her difficult behaviour that he once told her to “try and be sexy” and referred to her as “bitch.” The film did not perform well at the box office, faring poorly in comparison to Monroe’s earlier releases, though she, Olivier and Thorndike all received praise for their performances.

Joe Biden svärs in - Galen era över?

 

UPDATED: JANUARY 20, 2021 2:31 PM EST | ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: JANUARY 20, 2021 7:00 AM EST

Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States on Wednesday on a cold, bright afternoon in the nation’s capital. In his first speech, Biden pledged to defend the nation and fight the multiple crises facing Americans. “Together, we shall write an American story of hope not fear, of unity not division, of light, not darkness,” he said.

Inauguration Day is always a momentous occasion in the United States, but this year the tension in the country and the challenges facing the new administration have put an unprecedented spotlight on the day. The transition of power has not been peaceful: Donald Trump incited a riot of his supporters on Jan. 6 that disrupted the counting of Electoral College votes in the Capitol and left five people dead. The heart of the nation’s capital has taken on the appearance of a conflict zone, with thousands of National Guard troops stationed around the city and a series of barricades and fences encircling the Capitol Building where Biden will be sworn in.

A Senate impeachment trial over Trump’s incitement of the riot will now loom over the early days of Biden’s presidency. Trump left town early before Biden’s swearing in, breaking with more than 100 years of precedent of outgoing presidents attending the event.

Trump departs White House

Two Marines in dress uniform walked out of the White House portico and stood guard as President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump walked out to board the Marine One helicopter on the last day of his tumultuous presidency.

A few minutes before Trump walked out, aides had loaded four file boxes, a desk protector pad and a leather Louis Vuitton duffle bag into the waiting helicopter. Trump stopped in front of a bank of reporters and television cameras and said that serving as President was “the honor of a lifetime.”

Trump’s early departure marks a significant break with precedent and Washington norms: there are only three past presidents known to have skipped their successors’ inaugurations, the most recent instance of which was more than 150 years ago. All other living former presidents besides 96-year-old Jimmy Carter will be in attendance at Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday.

Joe DiMaggio och Marilyn Monroe

 

Married in a quiet ceremony at City Hall on January 14, 1954, in DiMaggio’s native San Francisco, the couple posed for photographs on the steps of Saints Peter and Paul Church. A church wedding was not an option at the time due to both celebrants having previously divorced: DiMaggio from his first wife, Dorothy Arnold, in 1944, and Monroe from childhood neighbor James Dougherty in 1946.

According to Monroe, DiMaggio came up with the last-minute marriage scenario that fit both their schedules. “‘You’re having all this trouble with the studio and not working so why don’t we get married now? I’ve got to go to Japan anyway on some baseball business, and we could make a honeymoon out of the trip,’” Monroe recalls DiMaggio saying. “And so we were married and took off for Japan on our honeymoon.”

From the very start, their marriage was challenged. During the honeymoon, Monroe was asked to travel to Korea to perform for the American troops stationed there. DiMaggio was left behind in Japan. Back on home soil the couple sought a normal life, but the volatility of her career and his reported jealousy and involvement in her professional contract negotiations and role choices began to chafe.

Monroe and DiMaggio divorced after nine months of marriage

DiMaggio reportedly wanted a stay at home wife. Monroe wanted to expand her cultural horizons with a husband who was interested in her work. The new groom also struggled with his wife’s image. While filming The Seven Year Itch in New York, DiMaggio was disgusted with the now-famous subway grate scene. According to Monroe he said, “… exposing my legs and thighs, even my crotch — that was the last straw.”

A visibly tearful and upset Monroe publicly announced their divorce nine months after they wed, citing mental cruelty. In a letter written to his wife at the time of the announcement DiMaggio said, “I love you and want to be with you. … There is nothing I would like better than to restore your confidence in me. … My heart split even wider seeing you cry in front of all those people.”

They eventually reunited and DiMaggio stood by her side until her sudden death

It would be years before they reconciled and in between Monroe married playwright Arthur Miller in 1956. The union would last five years and at its end, an emotionally fragile Monroe was admitted to a psychiatric clinic in New York. It was DiMaggio who secured his ex-wife’s release, taking her to the Yankee’s Florida training camp where he was a batting coach, to rest.

Though a marital reunion was not on the cards the couple remained good friends, even as Monroe struggled with addiction, depression and anxiety. She died the following year on August 4, 1962, from an overdose of barbiturates at her home in Los Angeles.

A devastated DiMaggio claimed her body and arranged for her funeral, reportedly barring Hollywood’s elite as well as members of the Kennedy family including then-U.S. President John F. Kennedy, with whom Monroe was rumored to have had an affair. DiMaggio never forgave friend Frank Sinatra for introducing her to the Kennedys.

A still devoted DiMaggio never remarried and rarely spoke about Monroe during his life. He organized to have roses delivered three times a week to her crypt for 20 years. “I’ll go to my grave regretting and blaming myself for what happened to her,” DiMaggio is quoted as saying in Dinner With DiMaggio. “Sinatra told me later that ‘Marilyn loved me anyway, to the end.’”