The center-left is holding off on naming its candidate for chancellor in next year’s election. Source: Merkel wrongfoots Left opponents (again) – POLITICO Filed under: Europe Tagged: Germany, Merkel
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PostArctica: Marguerite Duras – The War, A Memoir
A friend recently told me that he likes to save texts, not quotes but texts, larger pieces, that he finds interesting. I am reading this book and thought this was a powerful passage. It is the end of the Second World War and she is wondering if her husband is
Continue readingThings Are Good: Portugal Joins Other Countries by Running Only on Renewable Energy
Portugal reached a very significant milestone on its path to being fully powered by renewables by consuming energy only from sustainable resources for four days. Other countries are on similar paths. In 2012 Germany got 50% of it’s power from renewable sources, Scotland powered itself exclusively on renewables for a
Continue readingParchment in the Fire: Tipping point for the German far right – POLITICO
Alternative for Germany vying for first place in regional election. Source: Tipping point for the German far right – POLITICOFiled under: Europe Tagged: far-right, German Elections, Germany
Continue readingAlberta Politics: News Satire: U.S. will not tolerate foreigners acting like Americans, officials say
ILLUSTRATIONS: A map showing some of the countries in which the United States has interfered in the political process (grabbed from Geology.com). Below: U.S. CIA Director John O. Brennan, Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican candid…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: As assumptions give way to knowledge, we have an opportunity to learn from the shooting in Munich
PHOTOS: Into the evening Friday, the mood in the Bavarian city of Munich was surreal (Polizeipräsidium München image). Below: The scene of Friday’s shooting in Munich. The person I know best in Munich described the mood in the Bavarian city Friday …
Continue readingAlberta Politics: A timely reminder on this historic day: The hammer of D-Day crushed Hitler on the anvil of Russia
PHOTOS: Canadians soldiers storm ashore at Juno Beach on June 6, 1944, 72 years ago today. Below: The late University of Victoria Professor Reginald H. Roy, author of 1944: The Canadians in Normandy. It’s now been two years since I wrote this piece o…
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Legalized Prostitution – Welcome to Paradise…
This excerpt from the article in The Telegraph – Welcome to Paradise. “You can’t give orders to your employees. It’s not allowed,” he says. Actually, says Knop, managing prostitutes is completely legal. The problem is making sure you don’t cross the line between “managing” them and “exploiting” them. Helmut Sporer, Detective Chief Superintendent […]
Continue readingParchment in the Fire: Germany’s extreme right continues to gain ground
It is the rising party of the radical right in Germany. Like the Front National (FN) in France and UKIP (United Kingdom Independence Party) in the United Kingdom, Alternative für Deutschland (Alternative for Germany, AfD) is gaining ground at the polls with its anti-system, xenophobic and ultra-conservative positions. The regional elections held in March in… More Germany’s extreme right continues to gain ground
Continue readingParchment in the Fire: Rightward shift in Regional German Elections
Filed under: Europe, Fascism Tagged: far-right, German Elections, Germany
Continue readingThings Are Good: Using Art to Critique Government Spying of Citizens
Thanks to the efforts of Edward Snowden we know that illegal, immoral, and downright creepy spying by governments has been going on for years. It turns out that democratic governments around the world regular do mass surveillance of their people, something that authoritarian states are known for. Citizens have fought the spying in courts and […]
The post Using Art to Critique Government Spying of Citizens appeared first on Things Are Good.
Continue readingThings Are Good: Germany Opens Its First Bike Highway
Germany knows that their autobahns, which are famous for not having a speed limit, can only handle so much traffic. To alleviate pressure put on their highways they have built a highway just for bikes! The 100km long bike path runs through 10 cities. The bike path is fully lit, cleared of debris, and even […]
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Continue readingParchment in the Fire: Germany: Refugees today, the exploited workers of tomorrow? – Equal Times
Wajdi arrived in Germany a few months ago. He had studied law in Syria. But he was not able to bring his diplomas with him. The only things he still has with him from his home country after his long journey across Europe are his passport and his smartphone. Over a million migrants and asylum… More Germany: Refugees today, the exploited workers of tomorrow? – Equal Times
Continue readingAlberta Politics: In Flanders Fields? It’s time to encourage another generation of school kids to read some better poems from the Great War
PHOTOS: In Flanders Fields? The reality of the Great war’s battlefields: squalor, incompetence, mechanized industrial death. Below: John McCrae, and a Great War poet still worth reading, Wilfred Owen. A civilization that forgets its poetry is barely worthy of the name. Like fiction and unlike non-fiction, poetry is how a
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Could Syria Become the 21st Century Sarajevo?
There were plenty of proxy wars during the Cold War only back then the principals had enough sense to avoid direct clashes. That was then, this is Syria where today we find the rival superpowers circling each other inside the same phone booth. You could search the world over and
Continue readingEclectic Lip: Dieseldammerüng
image taken from despair.com’s latest t-shirt Before we get to this message’s main event, I’ll throw another brief shoutout to Pope Francis. Sure, he leads one of the world’s socially most regressive organizations, but he seems to be pulling in the right direction, and ultimately, he’s not in fact that powerful — his
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Aphabeatic: Germany’s broadband plan shames Canada (again)
Germany will have affordable internet connections of at least 50 Mbps by 2018. The Harper government promised 5 Mbps by 2019. Enough said… Which party do you think will do a better job at ensuring Canadians get faster, cheaper Internet? Let us know in the comments below! Article by Peter
Continue readingAlberta Politics: The refugee crisis: Harper Conservatives just can’t spin it both ways
PHOTOS: Refugees from the Syrian civil war clog a road near the Syria-Iraq border. (UNHCR photo.) Below: Saskatchewan Conservative MP Kelly Block’s constituency leaflet; Ms. Block herself; Immigration Minister Chris Alexander. For several years, the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper has played to the worst instincts of a significant
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Jason Kenney sails close to the wind on Anti-Terrorism Act at picnic visit
PHOTOS: Liberal candidate Adam Vaughan’s photo of the Kurdish Peace and Cultural Festival in Toronto Saturday, with an image of PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan visible in the background. (Grabbed from Twitter.) Below: Defence Minister Jason Kenney, who bragged about being at the event, and Mr. Vaughan. Jason Kenney, who notwithstanding
Continue readingParchment in the Fire: Germany, not Greece, should say goodbye to the euro | Comment | ekathimerini.com
Germany, not Greece, should say goodbye to the euro | Comment | ekathimerini.com. Filed under: Eurozone crisis Tagged: Euro, European Union, Eurozone Crisis, Germany
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