Category Archives: Around the World

“Surely you’re not calling just to hear the dulcet tone of my voice, but if you are – get a life!”

NPR: NPR Newscaster Carl Kasell Dies At 84, After A Lifelong Career On-Air.

“Every weekday for more than three decades, his baritone steadied our mornings. Even in moments of chaos and crisis, Carl Kasell brought unflappable authority to the news. But behind that hid a lively sense of humor, revealed to listeners late in his career, when he became the beloved judge and official scorekeeper for Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! NPR’s news quiz show.”

Peter Sagal on Twitter: I am extremely sad to tell you all that my dear friend and colleague for 16 years, Carl Kasell has passed away at the age of 84, from complications of Alzheimer’s. He was, and remains, the heart and soul of our show.

Peter Sagal also wrote a remembrance: Peter Sagal: Carl Kasell ‘Was Kind Down To His Bones’.

“The day I met Carl Kasell, in 1998, he just reached out and shook my hand and said my name. And then he said it again. I think he knew how exciting it is for all of us public radio nerds to hear your name, spoken by that voice, and he wanted to give me a gift.”

Listen to Messages by Carl Kasell and Carl’s Special FX.

Most links via MetaFilter: Imagine a man of my stature being given away as a prize.

“Deutsche Absurdität”

Die Zeit: Der Schleier in der Schultasche. “Was in Österreich und Nordrhein-Westfalen diskutiert wird, gilt in Frankreich schon seit 15 Jahren: ein Kopftuchverbot an Schulen. Was hat es bewirkt?”

“Die Äußerungen von Bundesinnenminister Horst Seehofer (CSU), der Islam gehöre nicht zu Deutschland, findet [der französische Islam-Experte Olivier] Roy allerdings alarmierend: “Zu sagen, man sei ein christliches Land, weil es christliche Feiertage gebe, ist absurd. Die meisten Menschen denken bei Pfingsten an ein langes Wochenende im Frühling, nicht aber an die Entsendung des Heiligen Geistes”, sagt Roy. Wenn der Innenminister wirklich ein christliches Land wollte, dann müsste er sagen: Weil wir Christen sind, öffnen wir unsere Grenzen für Flüchtlinge, wie es der Papst eingefordert hat. “Aber da hört das Christentum dann schnell auf.” Über diese deutsche “Absurdität” kann Roy schmunzeln, wird aber ernst, wenn es um die Kopftuchdebatte geht. “Es kann nicht um ein Verbot für eine bestimmte Religion gehen. Alle religiösen Symbole müssten gleichermaßen in Schulen verboten sein.””

“The legislation is four to five times more complicated than existing law”

The Economist: The joys of data hygieneEurope’s tough new data-protection law. “Complying will be hard for businesses, but it will bring benefits too.”

“The new law was mostly written by privacy-conscious Germans. Consent to collect and process personal data now has to be “unambiguous“ and for “specific“ purposes, meaning that catch-all clauses hidden in seldom-read terms and conditions, such as “your data will be used to improve our services“ , will no longer be sufficient. “Data subjects“ can demand a copy of the data held on them (“data portability“ ), ask for information to be corrected (“right to rectification“ ), and also request it to be deleted (“right to be forgotten“ ).
The GDPR is prescriptive about what organisations have to do to comply. They have to appoint a “data-protection officer“ (DPO), an ombudsman who reports directly to top management and cannot be penalised for doing his job. They also have to draw up detailed “data-protection impact assessments“ , describing how personal data are processed. And they have to put well-defined processes in place to govern the protection of personal data and to notify authorities within 72 hours if there is a breach. Companies that persistently ignore these rules face stiff fines of up to €20m ($25m) or 4% of global annual sales, whichever is greater.
As a result the GDPR ensures that all organisations which collect and keep data will take their use (and abuse) much more seriously”

The GDPR will have effects on my weblog as well. See WordPress.org:

GDPR Compliance Tools in WordPress.

“GDPR compliance is an important consideration for all WordPress websites. The GDPR Compliance team is looking for help to test the privacy tools that are currently being developed in core.
What is GDPR?
GDPR stands for General Data Protection Regulation and is intended to strengthen and unify data protection for all individuals within the European Union. Its primary aim is to give control back to the EU residents over their personal data.
Why the urgency? Although the GDPR was introduced two years ago, it becomes enforceable starting May 25, 2018.”

Bekleidung und Umweltschutz

Umwelt im Unterricht: Die Textilbranche, “Fast Fashion” und Wege zu nachhaltiger Bekleidung. (2016)

“Die Textilbranche ist stark von der Globalisierung geprägt. Die Produktionsschritte verteilen sich weltweit auf diejenigen Standorte, an denen die geringsten Kosten anfallen. Das ermöglicht niedrige Preise für die Verbraucherinnen und Verbraucher. Doch Umwelt- und Sozialstandards werden auf diese Weise häufig vernachlässigt, zum Teil mit katastrophalen Folgen. Das zeigt zum Beispiel der Einsturz des Fabrikgebäudes Rana Plaza in Bangladesch im Jahr 2013. Welche Folgen haben die Produktionsbedingungen für Mensch und Umwelt? Welche Ansätze zur Verbesserung gibt es?”

Umwelt im Unterricht: Wie PFC in die Umwelt gelangen.

“Immer wieder berichten Medien über Funde von sogenannten per- und polyfluorierten Chemikalien, kurz PFC, in der Umwelt: Im Wasser, im Boden, in der Luft – diese Chemikalien sind inzwischen auf der ganzen Welt nachweisbar. Sie sind biologisch nicht abbaubar, und für einige dieser Verbindungen wird eine toxische und krebserzeugende Wirkung vermutet. Doch wie gefährlich sind PFC tatsächlich für Menschen, Tiere und die Umwelt? Woher kommen sie überhaupt? Und wo sind sie überall verbreitet?”

Buchempfehlung dazu: Heike Holdinghausen: “Dreimal anziehen, weg damit?” Kostet bei der Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung nur einen Euro.

“Few people know more about the change of pace in travel than Bette”

The Washington Post: Meet the woman who’s spent 60 years making the skies a little friendlier. (Nov 25, 2017)

“It’s early on a Thursday morning and flight attendant Bette Nash has just strolled up to Gate 19 at Reagan National Airport, where American Airlines Flight 2160 bound for Boston is parked and preparing for boarding.
As she pauses at the counter to adjust her scarf, a 20-something guy looks up. He lets out a gasp.
“Oh, my God,“ he says excitedly. “Are you Bette Nash? Can I have your picture?“
This is what life is like when you are Nash, 81, who has been flying since Dwight D. Eisenhower was in the White House and a ticket for a flight cost $12.”

Southern Living: Virginia Woman Celebrates 60 Years of Service in the Skies—World’s Most Senior Flight Attendant. (Nov 10, 2017)

“For years now – decades, really- Nash has been a staple on the shuttle that zips back and forth between Washington, D.C. and Boston. […]
She flies the route several times a day and then drives home at the end of her shift. While the route doesn’t have the glamour of, say, a trip to Paris or London, the regular hours were important for Nash, because it meant that she could be home for her son. Nash a single mother and her child has special needs. “I have my handicap son. I wanted to be home every night. It wasn’t a choice for me,“ she told ABC.
Now, at 82 years of age, Nash may be the most senior flight attendant in the world. That hasn’t slowed her down much, though. She can still be seen working on the shuttle as it flies between Boston and D.C. She’s been on the route so long that she knows many of the passengers.”

CNN Business Traveler: Lessons from 60 years as a flight attendant. (YouTube, 4min, published on Dec 2, 2016)

Corresponding article: Meet Bette Nash: She might just be the world’s oldest serving flight attendant.