[bagster]

Imagine this, you are Hillary and you remained in a marriage to Bill for more than forty years to further your own election aspirations and YOU LOST!!!!!!

That's when you grab a bottle of peppermint schnapps, get in the shower to make the world go away and say, "Huma, come loofah my stretch marks."

I feel her pain.

Bagster

[Steven W.]

This is a shame: (lol)

The ugly scandal that cancelled the Nobel prize

Sweden’s literary elite has been thrown into disarray by allegations of sexual harassment and corruption.

In the eyes of its members, there is no more important cultural institution in the world than the Swedish Academy. The members, who call themselves The Eighteen (always in capitals), are elected for life by their peers, and meet for a ritual dinner every Thursday evening at a restaurant they own in the heart of the old town in Stockholm. And once a year, at a ceremony brilliant with jewels and formality, the permanent secretary of the academy hands out the Nobel prize in literature and all the world applauds.

But this year there will be no prize and no ceremony. In November 2017, it was revealed in the Swedish press that the husband of one of the academy members had been accused of serial sexual abuse, in assaults alleged to have taken place over more than 20 years. Jean-Claude Arnault, a French photographer and cultural entrepreneur, is married to the poet and academician Katarina Frostenson. In addition to assault accusations against him, the pair are accused of misusing academy funding. Arnault has denied all accusations, and Frostenson has refused to comment.

The academy is paralysed by the scandal, which was followed by a slew of resignations and expulsions. Six of The Eighteen have withdrawn from any part in its deliberations; another two were compelled to do so. The statutes say that 12 members must be present to elect any new ones, so with only 10, no important decisions can be taken and no new members elected. The vacuum has been filled with invective.