Monthly Archives: May 2017

“I don’t feel safe. I am always frightened. Nobody feels safe in Kabul”

Deutsche Welle: Huge explosion in Kabul, extensive damage to German embassy. “A massive truck bomb has hit Kabul’s highly secure diplomatic area, killing at least 80 people and wounding hundreds. The German embassy was heavily damaged, although it’s unclear whether it was the target of the attack.”

Deutsche Welle: Viele Tote nach Anschlag in Kabul. “Bei der Explosion einer Autobombe im Diplomatenviertel von Kabul sind mindestens 80 Menschen getötet worden. Auch ein Mitarbeiter der schwer beschädigten deutschen Botschaft starb, mehrere wurden verletzt.”

“[Trump] ist eine Herausforderung für die Erwachsenen im Raum”

Deutsche Welle: Merkel: Europe can no longer rely on US and Britain. “The German chancellor’s comments came after contentious meetings with US President Donald Trump at NATO and G7 summit meetings. Trump clashed with America’s allies over global warming, mutual defense and trade.”

“US President Donald Trump, who campaigned as a global-warming denier – calling it a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese – refused to go along with his six counterparts in reaffirming their support for the 2015 Paris Agreement, which aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions in order to limit the rise in global temperatures.

“For that reason,” Merkel continued, “I can only say: We Europeans really have to take our fates in our own hands.”

Of course, that must be done in a spirit of friendship with the United States and Britain, she said, “But we have to wage our own fight for our future, as Europeans, for our fate.””

Deutsche Welle: Merkel nach G7-Gipfel: USA kein verlässlicher Partner mehr. “Der G7-Gipfel auf Sizilien hat offenbar Spuren hinterlassen: Kanzlerin Merkel zeigte sich bei einer Rede in München enttäuscht. Sie setzt auf den Zusammenhalt der Europäer und hofft dabei vor allem auf Frankreich.”

“Beim Gipfel der sieben großen Industrienationen in Italien hatten die Staats- und Regierungschef am Freitag und Samstag kaum Fortschritte erzielt. Der US-Präsident hatte die G7 mit seinem Konfrontationskurs in eine tiefe Krise gestürzt. Der Versuch, Trump ein Bekenntnis zum Pariser Klimaschutzvertrag abzuringen, war kläglich gescheitert. Eine endgültige Entscheidung dazu will er nächste Woche treffen. Kaum gesichtswahrende Formulierungen fanden die G7 in letzter Minute zum Thema Handel.”

Kommentar von Barbara Wesel: Warten auf bessere Zeiten. “Dieses G7-Treffen hätte das Ende des Bündnisses bringen können. Doch es gelang sechs Gipfelteilnehmern, den siebten zu bändigen: Donald Trump. Dennoch war die Veranstaltung äußerst peinlich, meint Barbara Wesel.”

“For almost all of them, marriage means rape on their wedding night and thereafter.”

The New York Times: 11 Years Old, a Mom, and Pushed to Marry Her Rapist in Florida.

“Johnson, the former 11-year-old unwitting bride who is now fighting for Florida to set a minimum marriage age (there is none now), says […] she was raped by both a minister and a parishioner and gave birth to a daughter when she was just 10 (the birth certificate confirms that). A judge approved the marriage to end the rape investigation, she says, telling her, “What we want is for you to get married.“
[…]
“It was a terrible life,“ Johnson recalls, recounting her years as a child raising children. She missed school and remembers spending her days changing diapers, arguing with her husband and struggling to pay expenses. She ended up with pregnancy after pregnancy — nine children in all — while her husband periodically abandoned her.

“They took the handcuffs from handcuffing him,“ she says, referring to the risk he faced of arrest for rape, “to handcuffing me, by marrying me without me knowing what I was doing.“ “

Link via MetaFilter.

“Facebook sells you out, because that’s exactly how they make money.”

Salim Virani: Get your loved ones off Facebook.

“Facebook is demanding to track what you buy, and your financial information like bank account and credit card numbers. You’ve already agreed to it in the new Terms Of Service. It’s already started sharing data with Mastercard. They’ll use the fact that you stayed on Facebook as “permission“ to make deals with all kinds of banks and financial institutions to get your data from them. They’ll call it anonymous, but like they trick your friends to reveal your data to the third-parties with apps, they’ll create loopholes here too.

Facebook is also insisting to track your location via your phone’s GPS, everywhere and all the time. It’ll know exactly who you spend your time with. They’ll know your habits, they’ll know when you call in sick at work, but are really out bowling. “Sal likes 2pm Bowling at Secret Lanes.“ They’ll know if you join an addict support group, or go to a psychiatrist, or a psychic, or a mistress. They’ll know how many times you’ve been to the doctor or hospital, and be able to share that with prospective insurers or employers. They’ll know when you’re secretly job hunting, and will sell your endorsement for job sites to your friends and colleagues – you’ll be revealed.

They’ll know everything that can be revealed by your location, and they’ll use it however they want to make a buck.

And – it’ll all be done retrospectively. If you stay on Facebook past January 30th, there’s nothing stopping all of your past location and financial data to get used.”

Link via Garret, who asks: “So, where shall we go, peeps?” – I think most people I’m connected with on FB know about my weblog, or we write emails, or we use Telegram or even Threema to keep in touch. I ripped off the band-aid with WhatsApp last year and haven’t missed it at all. Maybe it’s time for the next step?