Monthly Archives: February 2020

“Einfach einsteigen und mitfahren!”

Deutsche Welle: Luxembourg makes public transport free.

“Luxembourg has become the first country in the world to provide public transport for free. The small EU hub aims to boost tram, train and bus usage and rid itself of traffic jams blamed on commuters using private cars.”

Deutsche Welle: Ab sofort kostenfreie Fahrt mit Bus und Bahn in Luxemburg. “Als erstes Land der Welt hat Luxemburg fast alle öffentlichen Verkehrsmittel gratis gemacht: Ab sofort braucht man in dem kleinen Großherzogtum für Bus, Bahn und Straßenbahn in der Regel keine Tickets mehr.”

“Der kostenfreie Transport ist Teil eines großen Konzepts zur Verkehrswende in Luxemburg. Parallel dazu werden Bus- und Bahnlinien massiv ausgebaut. Allein auf der Schiene investiert das Land von 2018 bis 2027 gut vier Milliarden Euro. Der kostenfreie ÖPNV beschert dem Luxemburger Staat Mehrausgaben von 41 Millionen Euro im Jahr. Viele Grenzgänger aus Frankreich, Belgien und Deutschland fahren ebenso wie die Mehrheit der Einheimischen des kleinen Großherzogtums mit ihrem Wagen zur Arbeit; Staus an der Grenze sowie im Zentrum der Hauptstadt sind an der Tagesordnung.

Eigentlich hatte der Gratis-Transport am Sonntag (1. März) losgehen sollen. Wegen der Feiern am Samstag hat die Regierung vor wenigen Tagen entschieden, den Start einen Tag vorzuziehen. “Das Interesse weltweit ist riesig”, resümiert Minister Bausch.”

“The story of my grandmother confused people, especially Jewish Americans, who understandably assume that any story about escaping the war to the US is a happy one.”

The Guardian: I could never understand my grandmother’s sadness – until I learned her tragic story. “My French grandmother came to the US to escape the Nazis. What did a box of letters and photographs reveal about the sacrifice she made?” By Hadley Freeman.

“It is probably no coincidence that I finally committed in the shadow of the Brexit referendum and Donald Trump’s election. Neither of these political shifts were about keeping out the Jews, but they were about keeping out immigrants, and the story of the Glasses was one of immigration, from Poland to France, and France to America. Alongside that, antisemitism was on the rise throughout Europe in a way I never thought I’d see in my lifetime, on both the right and the left. A 2018 survey found that one in five Europeans believe Jews have “too much influence in the media and politics“ . In France, antisemitic acts rose by 74% between 2017-2018. As I was writing, furious arguments raged across British politics about antisemitism, particularly within the Labour party, where non-Jews on the left suddenly felt very comfortable telling Jews that they knew better what is and isn’t antisemitic. At the same time, reports of antisemitic acts in Britain rose every year as I worked on the book, culminating in 2019 with 1,805 incidents, the highest number in 35 years. Meanwhile, 41% of Americans now don’t even know what Auschwitz is. Reading these news stories quashed any concerns I had that writing about the past, or my family, was self-indulgent.”

Link via MetaFilter.

“Schneemangel wird den Tourismus nachhaltig verändern”

Deutsche Welle: Skiurlaub trotz Klimawandel: Geht das? “Mehr Schneekanonen, Lifte und Seilbahnen: Um den ausbleibenden Schnee zu kompensieren, rüsten viele Skigebiete mächtig auf – trotz Kritik von Umweltschützern. Andere hingegen setzen auf einen sanfteren Wintertourismus.”

“Verantwortlich für die Klimaverträglichkeit eines Skiurlaubs sind allerdings weniger die Schneekanonen und Seilbahnen, sondern vielmehr die Winterurlauber selbst. Rund 70 Prozent des CO2-Ausstoßes entstehen durch ihre An- und Abreise. Viele Skitouristen kommen immer noch mit dem Auto in die Alpen, sodass die Luft in den Alpentälern erheblich belastet ist. Umweltfreundliche Alternativen gäbe es genug, man müsse sie nur nutzen, meint Werner Bätzing: “Die Alpen liegen mitten in Europa und sind extrem gut mit dem Zug zu erreichen.” Einige Skigebiete könnten direkt mit der Bahn, viele mit einem Shuttlebus angefahren werden.”

Ich würde sagen, die Frage sollte nicht heißen “Geht das?”, sondern “Skiurlaub – muss das sein?”

Zinc can shorten a common cold.

NPR Health: Taking Zinc Can Shorten Your Cold. Thank A 91-Year-Old Scientist For The Discovery. “The common cold is a top reason for missed work and school days. Most of us have two or three colds per year, each lasting at least a week.

There’s no real cure, but studies from the last several years show that some supplement containing zinc can help shorten the duration of cold symptoms by up to 40% — depending on the amount of the mineral in each dose and what it’s combined with.”

“Most recently, a meta-analysis published in 2017 by Harri Hemilä at the University of Helsinki concludes that 80 to 92 milligrams per day of zinc, given at the onset of cold symptoms, reduced duration of the common cold by 33%.

The study finds that two different zinc compounds — zinc acetate and zinc gluconate — are both effective. And there’s no evidence, the researchers say, that increasing those doses of zinc (to 100 milligrams per day or more) leads to any greater efficacy.

Great news. Nonetheless, “it’s quite difficult to instruct patients,” says Hemilä, the author of the meta-analysis. That’s because zinc cold formulations sold at drugstores often contain multiple ingredients that can undercut the zinc’s effectiveness. For instance, the lozenges “should not contain citric acid,” Hemilä says, because it binds with the zinc in a way that keeps the mineral from being released. In addition, he says, the mechanism of action is not well understood, so scientists can’t say exactly how it works.

The lozenge used in the Michigan study is not available commercially, Fitzgerald notes. “It was especially designed for the study.””

Well, I have a cold right now (the third since November!), but as far as I can tell, there is not a single zinc supplement available here in Germany that contains the right amount of zinc in the right compound (acetate or gluconate). Many capsules also contain citric acid, which the study says binds the zinc.

I guess it’s back to lots of fluids and plenty of sleep for me. Achoo!