DW looks at why people are taking to the streets in Germany to demand an “Agrarwende” – or agricultural transformation. Issues include health concerns, protection of animals, and pollution impacts on water and climate.
Monthly Archives: January 2016
In Maine, Local Control Is a Luxury Fewer Towns Can Afford – The New York Times
{Self-delusion is very attractive when the present is so unattractive. In a nearby – to me – Kentucky town that devolved, is has meant the self-destruction of many streets within the community as the county ends up not having the money either to maintain streets and small cars end up getting beat up and garbage and emergency services end because the roads are too bad. And drugs in the community – whew – no law enforcement to prevent a new market!}
But some in Cary say deorganizing is a way to give the community a new lease on life, not to abandon it.“I think it’s going to bring more people in,” said Kai Libby, 55, a retired Border Patrol agent who became the town’s first assessor last year to help shepherd the deorganization effort through the multistep process (and thus eliminate his own position).Mr. Libby and his wife, Tina, who led the withdrawal of Cary from its school district, live in the only house on their road, with four dogs and stacks of documents related to deorganization near their kitchen table.“There’s privacy, and it’s so quiet,” said Ms. Libby, 51. “We want to stay here. And to do that, it needs to be affordable for us to stay here.”
Source: In Maine, Local Control Is a Luxury Fewer Towns Can Afford – The New York Times
Hawaii Baby With Brain Damage Is First U.S. Case Tied to Zika Virus
Beautiful Vintage Portraits of European Girls from the Miss Europe 1930
Miss Europe 1930 was the second annual Miss Europe competition. Miss Greece won and 19 girls from Europe competed in the pageant. Belgium, Czechoslovakia and Miss Turkey participated for the first time and one candidacy, that of Switzerland, was withdrawn.
Delegates:
- Austria – Ingeborg von Grinberger
- Belgium – Jenny Vanparays
- Bulgaria – Konika Tchobanova
- Czechoslovakia – Milada Dostálová
- Denmark – Esther Petersen
- England – Marjorie Ross
- France – Yvette Labrousse
- Germany – Dorit Nitykowski
- Greece – Aliki Diplarakou
- Holland – Rie Van der Rest
- Hungary – Maria Papst
- Ireland – Vera Curran
- Italy – Mafalda Morittino
- Poland – Zofia Batycka
- Romania – Zoica Dona
- Russia – Irene Wentzel
- Spain – Elena Plá Mompó
- Turkey – Mubedjel Namik
- Yugoslavia – Stephanie “Caca” Drobujak
Pinned to Viva on Pinterest
London during the Blitz, 1940
Criminals during the First World War – 35 Vintage Mugshots of North Shields in the 1910s
Here is a vintage mugshot collection of 35 prisoner photographs in North Shields, England during the First World War.
| Charles S. Jones, arrested for stealing from clothes lines, 15 September 1914 |
| Christina Austin, arrested for stealing dresses, 11 July 1916 |
| Christina Haggerty, arrested for stealing money, 9 February 1916 |
| Frederick Ellwood, fireman, arrested for breaking and entering, 4 August 1914 |
| George Bamlett, grocer, arrested for assault, 19 October 1914 |
ASIA/INDONESIA – After the massacres, Christians and Muslims together in the street against terrorism
Jakarta – “We express deep condolences to the victims and condemn all forms of violence and terrorism. We pray and we work for the unity of Indonesia”: says to Fides Fr. Alexius Andang Binawan, SJ, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Jakarta, in the aftermath of the suicide bombings which caused the death of 7 people and wounded 26, claimed by groups who say they are linked to ISIS . The Vicar, who spoke to Fides, expressing the sentiments of the local Catholic community, reports that on Sunday, 17 January, the Catholic community will be alongside the Muslims of the largest Muslim organizations in Indonesia, “Muhammadiyah” and “Nahdlatul Ulama”, in the impressive demonstration that will cross the streets of the capital “to say no to any form of extremism, violence and terrorism”.
Fr. Binawan tells Fides: “We are shocked but life in the capital continues normally. As the government and public officials say, we have also told the faithful not to be overcome by the fear of terrorism. Terrorists want visibility and demonstrate the supposed weakness of the government. Indonesian people will respond in a united manner, with firmness and dignity, without fear”.
“Many religious leaders – continues the Vicar – have condemned terrorism, stressing that it has nothing to do with religion and expresses strong hopes for unity”, which will be demonstrated concretely in the public demonstration on 17 January. “We will be in the street with Muslims and Christians and believers of all faiths to reaffirm the national motto ‘unity in diversity’, and to express our unity in opposing to all forms of violence that goes against man. As Christians we are next to all other citizens and will continue to pray for the victims and for a prosperous and peaceful future of our nation”.
Israeli right-wing party leader: B’Tselem, Breaking the Silence are traitors
PNN/Jerusalem
Yisrael Beiteinu (right-wing Israeli political party) leader Avigdor Liberman on Friday called Israeli human rights organizations B’Tselem and Breaking the Silence traitors, stating that the “left-leaning groups” were funded by the same people who finance Hamas.
The right-wing party leader said in an Israeli Channel interview on Friday January 15, that:
“As far as I’m concerned these entities are not [exercising] freedom of expression, it’s greed. They aren’t any different from Ehud Adiv or Mordechai Vanunu — they’re complete traitors.”
Ehud Adiv was found guilty of treason in the 1970s for traveling to Damascus, in Syria, to meet with members of the PLO, while Mordechai Vanunu was found guilty of the same charge for disclosing nuclear secrets to the British press.
According to the Israeli media, Liberman’s remarks came amid a growing debate over a bil lproposed by Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked of the far-right Jewish Home party requiring certain Israeli non-governmental organizations to publicly declare their foreign government funding.
The so-called NGO Law or Transparency Law would require all Israeli groups that receive half or more of their budget from foreign governments — which is true for many left-wing but few right-wing groups — to disclose their foreign benefactors.
“With all our desire to stay politically correct and be polite, there are things that need to be told as it is. There’s [cash] flow from the institutions most hostile to Israel. Not just the European Union, not just states. Also those same foundations that fund Hamas, they also fund B’Tselem and Breaking the Silence,” Liberman added.
Also, member of the Knesset earlier this week released a bill that seeks to turn the Breaking the Silence organization illegal. They described Breaking the Silence as “a subversive organization acting to change Israeli policy by non-democratic methods and by exerting international pressure that causes Israel damage.”
The group added that its mission is essential to stopping violence in the region by helping to end the military occupation of the Palestinian territories. Members of the organization are trying to draw public attention to issues that are not covered by Israeli media and are not made public.
Last week, a fire broke out at B’Tselem’s office in Jerusalem. None of their staff were in the building, but people working on other floors had to be evacuated by the fire brigade.
The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, B’Tselem, endeavors to document and educate the Israeli public and policymakers about human rights violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, combat the phenomenon of denial prevalent among the Israeli public, and help create a human rights culture in Israel.
According to its website, B’Tselem acts primarily to change Israeli policy in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and ensure that its government, which rules the Occupied Territories, protects the human rights of residents there and complies with its obligations under international law.


You must be logged in to post a comment.