Category Archives: Politics

“Was in der gedruckten Welt nicht erlaubt ist, sollte auch in den sozialen Medien nicht erlaubt sein”

Deutsche Welle: Jüdischer Kongress warnt vor wachsendem Juden-Hass. “Die Warnung ist deutlich: Es sei nicht fünf vor zwölf, sondern fünf nach zwölf. Auf einem Kongress in Wien haben Experten über den wachsenden Antisemitismus in Europa gesprochen. Vor allem im Netz tobt der Hass.”

“Mit drastischen Worten wurde vor zunehmendem Juden-Hass gewarnt. Es sei nicht fünf vor zwölf, sondern fünf nach zwölf, sagte EJC-Vizepräsident Ariel Muzicant. “Wir stehen an einem Scheideweg.” Die Situation für die rund 1,5 Millionen europäischen Juden werde schlimmer und schlimmer. Auch in Deutschland nähmen die Vorfälle zu.”

Kinder sind Flüchtlingen gegenüber offen

Deutsche Welle: Deutsche Kinder offen gegenüber Flüchtlingen. “Eine Befragung zeigt, dass deutsche Mädchen und Jungen es gut finden, dass ihr Land Geflüchteten ein Zuhause bietet. Bei Kindern in ostdeutschen Bundesländern ist die Zustimmung allerdings geringer.”

“Die Mehrheit der deutschen Kinder steht der Aufnahme von Flüchtlingen in Deutschland offen gegenüber. Das ergab das LBS Kinderbarometer 2018, dass die Landesbausparkassen der Sparkasse (LBS) am Donnerstag, dem Internationalen Tag für Toleranz der UNESCO, veröffentlichten. Drei Viertel der befragten Kinder zwischen 9 und 14 Jahren gaben an, sie fänden es gut, dass Deutschland Menschen aufnimmt, die aus anderen Ländern geflohen waren.”

“Here comes the flood.”

Mother Jones: House Dems Already Have Their List of Trump Scandals to Investigate. Here It Is.. “The subpoenas are coming.”

“The challenge will be deciding what to focus on—and perhaps resisting calls for an impeachment investigation. For partisans seeking to pin down Trump, the best strategy may be to eschew impeachment in favor of a series of easy-to-justify oversight investigations. The Trump White House already is dysfunctional. It is light on bodies, and lighter on experience and competence. Faced with information requests and subpoenas from multiple committees across multiple fronts, the White House and the entire Trump administration will have a tough job responding and getting anything done. A fusillade of legitimate probes will probably present more of a threat to Trump than an impeachment inquiry that, even if successful in the House, would run into a brick wall in the GOP-controlled Senate.

Since Trump entered office—and brought into the White House a boatload of scandals and controversies—congressional Democrats have been demanding the chance to investigate him and his gang. Republicans, though, constantly blocked them and protected Trump from Capitol Hill gumshoes. Now the House Democrats have a golden opportunity—and, perhaps unfortunately for the nation, an embarrassment of riches to choose from.”

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Rein in die Kartoffeln – raus aus den Kartoffeln

Deutsche Welle: Verfassungsschutz-Chef Maaßen droht Entlassung. “Der scheidende Verfassungsschutz-Chef wird möglicherweise doch nicht Sonderbeauftragter im Bundesinnenministerium. In einer Abschiedsrede soll Hans-Georg Maaßen die Koalition abermals massiv kritisiert haben.”

“Der Fall Maaßen stand als Symbol für den schlechten Zustand der großen Koalition. CDU/CSU und SPD hatten sich erst nach langem Hin und Her auf einen Kompromiss geeinigt, wie es mit dem umstrittenen Präsidenten des Bundesamtes für Verfassungsschutz (BfV) weitergehen soll. Aber nun scheint es anders zu kommen: Ein Sprecher des Bundesinnenministeriums sagte, man wolle Konsequenzen ziehen. Die Abschiedsrede des noch amtierenden Verfassungsschutz-Chefs sei dem Ministerium bekannt und würde derzeit geprüft.

Das Manuskript der Rede, das Hans-Georg Maaßen im Oktober beim Treffen der Chefs der europäischen Inlandsgeheimdienste hielt, war innerhalb des BfV veröffentlicht worden. “Nach Abschluss der Prüfung wird Innenminister Horst Seehofer die notwendigen Konsequenzen ziehen”, kündigte der Ministeriumssprecher an.”

How is this normal?

The Washington Post: Judge denies Trump’s request for stay in emoluments case.

“Trump still owns his company, although he says he has stepped back from day-to-day control. The Trump Organization has held several large events paid for by foreign governments at Trump’s D.C. hotel and reported about $150,000 in what it called “foreign profits“ last year.

The judge found that, “the President’s ownership interest in the Trump International Hotel and his apparent receipt of benefits from at least some foreign and state governments, as well as from the Federal Government itself, suggest that he has received ‘emoluments’ in violation of the Constitution.“

In an earlier ruling, Messitte had found that the definition of word emoluments, in the context of the late 1700s, was broad enough to include sales of goods or services. By the judge’s logic, that definition meant that Trump could be taking emoluments merely by renting ballrooms to foreign-government customers.”

NBC: How Trump is taking on the FBI, and possibly violating the Emoluments Clause in the process. “The president has decided that the FBI should remain at its current headquarters, which is just across the street from his hotel.” By Noah Bookbinder and Norman Eisen.

“These revelations of President Trump’s personal involvement in the relocation project are the strongest evidence yet that the president of the United States is tampering with American security to avoid disadvantaging his businesses.

This is precisely why we — and the watchdog organization we lead, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington — have helped bring multiple lawsuits challenging the president’s flagrant violation of the Emoluments Clauses of the constitution. We cannot have the most powerful person in the world making national and domestic security decisions based on how his businesses might be impacted.
[…]
The president has once again put himself in a position where we cannot tell whether he is making important national security decisions for the good of the country, or for the good of his business. He has even put his subordinates, like GSA Administrator Emily Murphy, in a position to give “incomplete…and mislead[ing]“ testimony to Congress about his involvement.

The only way for President Trump to convince the American people that he is acting on their behalf would be to completely and totally divest all control and interest in his businesses, as required by the constitution. Until then, every decision that he makes will always make us wonder whether he is doing this because he’s looking out for us, or because he’s looking out for himself.”

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