Tuesday, May 04, 2021
American Germany
GI's in Rubbleland - by Mathias Haentjes
"Frankly, I had very little sympathy for the Germans. After all they were the ones who started the damn war, not us." These sentiments as expressed by US Press Officer Gene Mater are shared by many former GIs who came to Germany at the end of the war.
The years 1945-1949 were for many of these young soldiers the most important time of their lives. 'American Germany' tells the stories of German-American rapprochement from the perspective of former occupying troops. The Americans, who had previously only known the Germans from the battlefield or from propaganda, found that their opinion of the local population changed as a result of living in close quarters with them. At the time, they were undertaking a task that was the first of its kind, i.e. to re-educate politically the population of a conquered country, to put that country back on its feet economically and to help its population achieve a whole new attitude to life.
In this documentary, Gene Mater and other occupying soldiers discuss their experiences in Germany. They tell us of the misery of post-war Germany, of distrust between the Americans and the Germans, of the black market and of the hunt for hidden Nazis. And they tell us of great emotions. Love amid the rubble - at that time this was no cliché but a reality a thousand times.
"Frankly, I had very little sympathy for the Germans. After all they were the ones who started the damn war, not us." These sentiments as expressed by US Press Officer Gene Mater are shared by many former GIs who came to Germany at the end of the war.
The years 1945-1949 were for many of these young soldiers the most important time of their lives. 'American Germany' tells the stories of German-American rapprochement from the perspective of former occupying troops. The Americans, who had previously only known the Germans from the battlefield or from propaganda, found that their opinion of the local population changed as a result of living in close quarters with them. At the time, they were undertaking a task that was the first of its kind, i.e. to re-educate politically the population of a conquered country, to put that country back on its feet economically and to help its population achieve a whole new attitude to life.
In this documentary, Gene Mater and other occupying soldiers discuss their experiences in Germany. They tell us of the misery of post-war Germany, of distrust between the Americans and the Germans, of the black market and of the hunt for hidden Nazis. And they tell us of great emotions. Love amid the rubble - at that time this was no cliché but a reality a thousand times.
Bill and Melinda Gates Announce Divorce after 27 Years
Bill and Melinda Gates have announced they are to divorce after 27 years of marriage, saying they “no longer believe we can grow together as a couple”.
The Microsoft co-founder turned philanthropist and his wife have built up a combined $124bn (£89bn) fortune, making them among the five richest couples in the world.
“After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage,” the pair said in a joint statement posted on Twitter on Monday. » | Rupert Neate, Wealth correspondent | Tuesday, May 4, 2021
Melinda Gates could become world’s second-richest woman »
Sunday, May 02, 2021
Köln vor dem Krieg - Die Ringe (koloriert) - Cologne´s Ring-boulevard - Pre-war (Colorized)
Eine Tour über die Kölner Ringe im unzerstörten Köln der Zeit vor dem Zweiten Weltkrieg in kolorierten Filmaufnahmen der 20er und 30er Jahre. Zu sehen sind Chlodwigplatz, Ulrepforte, Rudolfplatz mit Hahnentor und Opernhaus, Hohenzollernring, Ehrenstraße, Friesenplatz, Friesenstraße, Kaiser Wilhelm-Ring mit Vater-Rhein-Brunnen, Kreuzung Christophstraße, Hansaring, Agneskirche, Eigelsteintor und Ebertplatz (Deutscher Platz), Rheinufer mit Reiterstandbild und Bastei und schließlich der Messeturm im Bau. Ausschnitt aus der Doku: Das alte Köln in Farbe. 90 Min. Originalaufnahmen aus dem unzerstörten Köln der Zeit vor dem Zweiten Weltkrieg. Eine Doku von: Hermann Rheindorf, Sprecher: Christian Brückner
Cologne before WWII (colorized). A trip on Cologne’s Ring boulevard, a half circle built around the old town in the 1890s until the 1910s. Our film shots show street scenes taken between the 1920ies and early 30ies with some of its major squares like Chlodwigplatz, Rudolfplatz, Friesenplatz and their monuments like the mediaeval gates, towers, the statues of the Imperial era and other monuments. We also get a glimpse into narrow streets like Ehrenstraße and Friesenstraße. Scenes from the documentary: Old Cologne in color, 90. min., (German narration).
Single frame colorization based on DeOldify, Topaz & Davinci Resolve. Part of the video contains quotations of: I Think of What You Used to Think of Me, 1928, performed by Abe Lymans California Orchestra provided by syncopatedtimes.com and archives.org
Anfragen/requests: archiv@koelnprogramm.de
Cologne before WWII (colorized). A trip on Cologne’s Ring boulevard, a half circle built around the old town in the 1890s until the 1910s. Our film shots show street scenes taken between the 1920ies and early 30ies with some of its major squares like Chlodwigplatz, Rudolfplatz, Friesenplatz and their monuments like the mediaeval gates, towers, the statues of the Imperial era and other monuments. We also get a glimpse into narrow streets like Ehrenstraße and Friesenstraße. Scenes from the documentary: Old Cologne in color, 90. min., (German narration).
Single frame colorization based on DeOldify, Topaz & Davinci Resolve. Part of the video contains quotations of: I Think of What You Used to Think of Me, 1928, performed by Abe Lymans California Orchestra provided by syncopatedtimes.com and archives.org
Anfragen/requests: archiv@koelnprogramm.de
Saturday, May 01, 2021
More Than 3 Million Lebanese Face Poverty
US-China Doomsday Threat Ramped Up by Hi-tech Advances, Says Kissinger
THE GUARDIAN: Former US secretary of state says strained relationship is world’s ‘biggest problem’, as he warns of Beijing’s economic and military might
Former US diplomat Henry Kissinger has said that US-China tensions threaten to engulf the entire world and could lead to an Armageddon-like clash between the two military and technology giants.
The 97-year-old former US secretary of state, who as an adviser to president Richard Nixon crafted the 1971 unfreezing of relations between Washington and Beijing, said the mix of economic, military and technological strengths of the two superpowers carried more risks than the cold war with the Soviet Union.
Strains with China are “the biggest problem for America, the biggest problem for the world,” Kissinger told the McCain Institute’s Sedona Forum on global issues.
“Because if we can’t solve that, then the risk is that all over the world a kind of cold war will develop between China and the United States.” » | Guardian staff and agencies | Saturday, May 1, 2021
Former US diplomat Henry Kissinger has said that US-China tensions threaten to engulf the entire world and could lead to an Armageddon-like clash between the two military and technology giants.
The 97-year-old former US secretary of state, who as an adviser to president Richard Nixon crafted the 1971 unfreezing of relations between Washington and Beijing, said the mix of economic, military and technological strengths of the two superpowers carried more risks than the cold war with the Soviet Union.
Strains with China are “the biggest problem for America, the biggest problem for the world,” Kissinger told the McCain Institute’s Sedona Forum on global issues.
“Because if we can’t solve that, then the risk is that all over the world a kind of cold war will develop between China and the United States.” » | Guardian staff and agencies | Saturday, May 1, 2021
Friday, April 30, 2021
Best of "Helmut Schmidt bei Sandra Maischberger" | Er ist im Jahre 2015 gestorben
Dozens Killed in Crush at Religious Festival in Israel
Dozens of people have been killed in a crowd crush at a Jewish religious gathering in northern Israel attended by tens of thousands of people.
A rescue service spokesman said 28 people died in the crush early on Friday, according to Reuters. The Magen David Adom ambulance service said 103 people had been injured, including dozens fatally. Channel 12 TV put the number of dead at 38.
Magen David Adom posted the updated toll on Twitter, adding “MDA is fighting for the lives of dozens wounded, and will not give up until the last victim is evacuated.”
The Jerusalem Post said six helicopters were called to the scene to evacuate the injured. The Israeli military said it had dispatched medics and search and rescue teams along with helicopters to assist with a “mass casualty incident” in the area.
Israeli media published an image of a row of bodies covered in plastic bags on the ground and videos posted on social media showed chaotic scenes as Ultra-Orthodox men clambered through gaps in sheets of torn corrugated iron to escape the crush, as police and paramedics tried to reach the wounded. » | Guardian staff and agencies | Friday, April 30, 2021
Thursday, April 29, 2021
India's Hospitals Swamped as Daily COVID Cases Approach 380,000 | DW News
India's hospitals turn sick away as daily COVID cases approach 380,000 | DW News
India has set another global record in coronavirus cases, reporting almost 380,000 new infections in the last day. Medical aid from abroad has started arriving in the country, but hospitals are still struggling with shortages of staff and supplies, including oxygen. India's health care system is so overwhelmed that many patients are being turned away.
A COVID-19 ward in a hospital in Delhi. The hospital, like so many, is full to overflowing. Medical staff are stretched to the limit, some falling ill with the disease themselves. Just one reality in India's coronavirus emergency.
A woman receives oxygen outside a Sikh temple. She's not alone. There's no room for these people in Delhi's emergency wards. Relatives are left to cope with severely ill patients by themselves. A long line outside a Delhi gas supplier. People doing what they can to save their loved ones. Some get the oxygen they need. But there isn't enough to go round.
The state of Delhi is reporting one death from COVID-19 every four minutes. And as the hospitals can't cope with the growing numbers of patients so the cremation grounds are struggling to cope with the rising numbers of deaths. The funeral pyres are burning day and night.
Delhi is one hotspot of India's COVID-19 emergency. Maharashtra state and the city of Mumbai is another. Here vaccination centers ran out of supplies on Wednesday. India is one of the biggest producers of vaccines. But it doesn't have enough to vaccinate the next 600 million people who will become eligible for the jab.
Amid the frustration and suffering this: A 105-year-old man and his 95-year-old wife have survived a COVID-19 infection. The family says they want that story to give hope to others. For many fighting the disease, hope and prayers are all they have to help them.
India has set another global record in coronavirus cases, reporting almost 380,000 new infections in the last day. Medical aid from abroad has started arriving in the country, but hospitals are still struggling with shortages of staff and supplies, including oxygen. India's health care system is so overwhelmed that many patients are being turned away.
A COVID-19 ward in a hospital in Delhi. The hospital, like so many, is full to overflowing. Medical staff are stretched to the limit, some falling ill with the disease themselves. Just one reality in India's coronavirus emergency.
A woman receives oxygen outside a Sikh temple. She's not alone. There's no room for these people in Delhi's emergency wards. Relatives are left to cope with severely ill patients by themselves. A long line outside a Delhi gas supplier. People doing what they can to save their loved ones. Some get the oxygen they need. But there isn't enough to go round.
The state of Delhi is reporting one death from COVID-19 every four minutes. And as the hospitals can't cope with the growing numbers of patients so the cremation grounds are struggling to cope with the rising numbers of deaths. The funeral pyres are burning day and night.
Delhi is one hotspot of India's COVID-19 emergency. Maharashtra state and the city of Mumbai is another. Here vaccination centers ran out of supplies on Wednesday. India is one of the biggest producers of vaccines. But it doesn't have enough to vaccinate the next 600 million people who will become eligible for the jab.
Amid the frustration and suffering this: A 105-year-old man and his 95-year-old wife have survived a COVID-19 infection. The family says they want that story to give hope to others. For many fighting the disease, hope and prayers are all they have to help them.
Wednesday, April 28, 2021
Federal Investigators Search Rudy Giuliani's Apartment as Part of Ukraine Probe | MSNBC
Federal Investigators Search Rudy Giuliani’s Apartment and Office »
Federal Agents Execute Search Warrant on Rudy Giuliani's Apartment
Tuesday, April 27, 2021
Anger as Ex-Generals Warn of 'Deadly Civil War' in France
BBC: Controversy is growing in France over an open letter signed by former and serving members of the military, warning of the threat of civil war.
About 1,000 servicemen and women, including some 20 retired generals, put their names to the letter.
They blame "a certain anti-racism" for creating divisions between communities, and say Islamists are taking over whole parts of the nation's territory.
Ministers have condemned the message published by a right-wing magazine.
The letter was first published on 21 April - the 60th anniversary of a failed coup d'état.
"The hour is grave, France is in peril," the signatories said. » | Tuesday, April 27, 2021
About 1,000 servicemen and women, including some 20 retired generals, put their names to the letter.
They blame "a certain anti-racism" for creating divisions between communities, and say Islamists are taking over whole parts of the nation's territory.
Ministers have condemned the message published by a right-wing magazine.
The letter was first published on 21 April - the 60th anniversary of a failed coup d'état.
"The hour is grave, France is in peril," the signatories said. » | Tuesday, April 27, 2021
Ursula von der Leyen Says EU Could Punish UK over Brexit Breaches
Ursula von der Leyen has warned that the EU will not hesitate to use the “real teeth” in the Brexit deal to punish the British government for breaching its obligations as MEPs prepared to consent to the historic agreement, marking the end of four years of high political drama.
Speaking ahead of an evening vote by MEPs, where a positive result is not in question, the European commission president said the trade and cooperation agreement would give the EU more leverage over the UK.
The UK government has been accused of breaching its commitments in Northern Ireland and on an agreement on fisheries, which was brought into force provisionally along with the rest of the trade deal in January, ahead of scrutiny by MEPs and their formal consent. » | Daniel Boffey, Brussels | Tuesday, April 27, 2021
Caspar Hirschi | Krisen über Krisen – das Ende der Welt, wie wir sie kennen?
Weltfinanz-, Euro- und Schuldenkrise, Corona-Pandemie, beschleunigter Klimawandel und Zerfall der liberalen Weltordnung: Die Krisen der Gegenwart scheinen sich zu häufen. Ist das tatsächlich so oder nur eine Frage erhöhter medialer Selbstwahrnehmung? Geschichte verlief immer schon krisenhaft, und oft waren es Krisen, die dem Fortschritt unter Schmerzen zum Durchbruch verhalfen. Wie krisenfest sind wir heute? Wer steht in der Verantwortung? Sind wir wirklich fähig, aus Krisen zu lernen?
Über die Turbulenzen unserer Epoche sowie die Möglichkeiten ihrer Bewältigung und Strategien dazu unterhält sich der NZZ-Chefredaktor Eric Gujer mit dem Historiker Caspar Hirschi.
Sendung vom 21.03.2021
Über die Turbulenzen unserer Epoche sowie die Möglichkeiten ihrer Bewältigung und Strategien dazu unterhält sich der NZZ-Chefredaktor Eric Gujer mit dem Historiker Caspar Hirschi.
Sendung vom 21.03.2021
Monday, April 26, 2021
Face au terrorisme, le poison de la démagogie
LE MONDE: Le 23 avril, à peine l’attaque contre une fonctionnaire de police de Rambouillet commise, Marine Le Pen, suivie par plusieurs responsables de la droite, a fait un lien entre cet acte terroriste et la politique migratoire française. Instrumentaliser cette question à des fins électorales est un jeu dangereux.
Editorial du « Monde ». Le meurtre d’une fonctionnaire de police, âgée de 49 ans, mère de deux enfants, vendredi 23 avril, dans le sas d’entrée du commissariat de Rambouillet (Yvelines), a soulevé une légitime indignation dans le pays. L’acte, de nature terroriste, est le fait d’un ressortissant tunisien âgé de 36 ans, inconnu des services de police, dont les premiers éléments de l’enquête commencent à reconstituer une dérive récente vers une radicalisation islamiste.
Il souligne la vulnérabilité de la France face aux attaques commises par des individus isolés mais radicalisés qui, brusquement, sèment la terreur dans une démocratie soumise à rude épreuve depuis 2015. Après l’attentat contre Charlie Hebdo et les tueries du Stade France et du Bataclan, qui ont endeuillé le quinquennat de François Hollande, la décapitation de Samuel Paty, un enseignant qui défendait auprès de ses élèves la liberté de pensée, a marqué celui d’Emmanuel Macron. Au cours des quatre dernières années, 14 attentats, perpétrés au nom de l’islamisme radical, ont provoqué la mort de 25 personnes sur le sol français, et 36 autres ont été déjoués, selon le décompte du gouvernement. » | Éditorial, Le Monde | lundi 26 avril 2021
Editorial du « Monde ». Le meurtre d’une fonctionnaire de police, âgée de 49 ans, mère de deux enfants, vendredi 23 avril, dans le sas d’entrée du commissariat de Rambouillet (Yvelines), a soulevé une légitime indignation dans le pays. L’acte, de nature terroriste, est le fait d’un ressortissant tunisien âgé de 36 ans, inconnu des services de police, dont les premiers éléments de l’enquête commencent à reconstituer une dérive récente vers une radicalisation islamiste.
Il souligne la vulnérabilité de la France face aux attaques commises par des individus isolés mais radicalisés qui, brusquement, sèment la terreur dans une démocratie soumise à rude épreuve depuis 2015. Après l’attentat contre Charlie Hebdo et les tueries du Stade France et du Bataclan, qui ont endeuillé le quinquennat de François Hollande, la décapitation de Samuel Paty, un enseignant qui défendait auprès de ses élèves la liberté de pensée, a marqué celui d’Emmanuel Macron. Au cours des quatre dernières années, 14 attentats, perpétrés au nom de l’islamisme radical, ont provoqué la mort de 25 personnes sur le sol français, et 36 autres ont été déjoués, selon le décompte du gouvernement. » | Éditorial, Le Monde | lundi 26 avril 2021
Helmut Schmidt | Erfahrungen und Einsichten (NZZ Standpunkte 2009)
Saïda Keller-Messahli | Der radikale Islam – Angriff auf den Westen
Seit einer gefühlten Ewigkeit steht der Westen im Kampf gegen den radikalen Islam. Bis jetzt ist es weder gänzlich gelungen, Terrorakte zu verhindern, noch konnte Propaganda und Unterwanderung ein Riegel geschoben werden. Wer sind die Akteure, wo liegen die Brennpunkte? Wie kann sich Europa der mit Brutalität und Schläue verfolgten Idee eines weltweiten neuen Kalifats erwehren, ohne seine freiheitlichen Grundsätze preiszugeben? Kann es einen säkularen liberalen Euro-Islam geben?
Mit der Schweizer Islam-Kennerin und Extremismus-Expertin Saïda Keller-Messahli spricht der NZZ-Chefredaktor Eric Gujer über Möglichkeiten und Strategien, der islamistischen Gefahr wirksam zu begegnen.
Sendung vom: 25.04.2021
Mit der Schweizer Islam-Kennerin und Extremismus-Expertin Saïda Keller-Messahli spricht der NZZ-Chefredaktor Eric Gujer über Möglichkeiten und Strategien, der islamistischen Gefahr wirksam zu begegnen.
Sendung vom: 25.04.2021
Sunday, April 25, 2021
The Observer View on Boris Johnson’s Fitness for Office
Integrity is one of the seven principles of public life, alongside selflessness, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership. Enunciated by Lord Nolan in 1995, they set out the ethical standards to which all those who work in the public sector should adhere. It would be fair to expect the prime minister, the most senior public office holder in the land, to set an example for other public servants. But with every week he is in No 10, it becomes clearer that Boris Johnson – a “vacuum of integrity”, according to former attorney general Dominic Grieve – is a man who comprehensively fails the Nolan test and who brings the office of prime minister into utter disrepute. » | Observer editorial | Sunday, April 25, 2021
Turkey Summons US Ambassador over Armenian Genocide Recognition | DW News
Turkey has reacted angrily after US President Joe Biden formally recognized the Armenian genocide, which took place during the Ottoman era. Ankara has summoned the US ambassador over the remarks.
In his statement, Biden said he and all Americans honor the memory of all those Armenians who perished in a genocide that began exactly 106 years ago. Thousands of people in Armenia's capital Yerevan have been commemorating the mass killings, deportations and forced marches.
Armenian officials led the nation in commemorating the horrors of the past. The procession at this hilltop memorial in the capital Yerevan, included Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Members of the public too streamed in, to honor the dead.
And they welcome the announcement from Washington, calling those past events a genocide. In 1915, a million Armenians were brutally murdered by Ottoman Turks. Many more were deported and sent on death marches into the Syrian desert.
Armenians have long campaigned for the crimes against their people to be recognized internationally as genocide. Turkey argues that there was no systematic attempt to wipe out Armenians, and no such order from the Ottoman authorities.
But nearly thirty countries have recognized the atrocities as genocide.
Many Armenians would consider the diplomatic spats over terminology a distraction from the memory of atrocities of more than a century ago that haunt their nation to this day.
In his statement, Biden said he and all Americans honor the memory of all those Armenians who perished in a genocide that began exactly 106 years ago. Thousands of people in Armenia's capital Yerevan have been commemorating the mass killings, deportations and forced marches.
Armenian officials led the nation in commemorating the horrors of the past. The procession at this hilltop memorial in the capital Yerevan, included Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Members of the public too streamed in, to honor the dead.
And they welcome the announcement from Washington, calling those past events a genocide. In 1915, a million Armenians were brutally murdered by Ottoman Turks. Many more were deported and sent on death marches into the Syrian desert.
Armenians have long campaigned for the crimes against their people to be recognized internationally as genocide. Turkey argues that there was no systematic attempt to wipe out Armenians, and no such order from the Ottoman authorities.
But nearly thirty countries have recognized the atrocities as genocide.
Many Armenians would consider the diplomatic spats over terminology a distraction from the memory of atrocities of more than a century ago that haunt their nation to this day.
Russia Today: Worlds Apart: One & Only No More? Ft. Dmitry Suslov, Deputy Director at the CCEIS* at the HSE (University)
• Centre for Comprehensive European and International Studies
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