Category Archives: Politics

“Osama’s son Hamza may well cloud the family’s attempts to shake off their past”

The Guardian: My son, Osama: the al-Qaida leader’s mother speaks for the first time. “Nearly 17 years since 9/11, Osama bin Laden’s family remains an influential part of Saudi society – as well as a reminder of the darkest moment in the kingdom’s history. Can they escape his legacy?”

“Alia Ghanem is Osama bin Laden’s mother, and she commands the attention of everyone in the room. On chairs nearby sit two of her surviving sons, Ahmad and Hassan, and her second husband, Mohammed al-Attas, the man who raised all three brothers. Everyone in the family has their own story to tell about the man linked to the rise of global terrorism; but it is Ghanem who holds court today, describing a man who is, to her, still a beloved son who somehow lost his way. “My life was very difficult because he was so far away from me,“ she says, speaking confidently. “He was a very good kid and he loved me so much.“ Now in her mid-70s and in variable health, Ghanem points at al-Attas – a lean, fit man dressed, like his two sons, in an immaculately pressed white thobe, a gown worn by men across the Arabian peninsula. “He raised Osama from the age of three. He was a good man, and he was good to Osama.“ “

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“Verbale Aggressivität” und “hohe Affinität zu Waffen”

Deutsche Welle: Immer mehr “Reichsbürger” unter Beobachtung. “Der Verfassungsschutzbericht ist wegen des Asylstreits liegen geblieben. Jetzt werden die neuen Zahlen offiziell vorgestellt – zusammen mit alarmierenden Bewertungen.”

“Viele “Reichsbürger” behaupten, das Deutsche Reich existiere in den Grenzen von 1937 fort. Beide Gruppen erkennen die Bundesrepublik Deutschland nicht als Staat an, lehnen deren Rechtssystem ab und weigern sich oftmals, Steuern oder Bußgelder zu zahlen. Die Mitglieder der Szene werden daher vom Verfassungsschutz aktuell als “staatsfeindlich und extremistisch” eingestuft.”

“A frontal attack on the EU and European values”

Deutsche Welle: German politicians allied against Steve Bannon. “Steve Bannon plans to build a right-wing populist think tank in Europe. German lawmakers called the plans by the former adviser to the US president to influence the 2019 European elections “a frontal attack on the EU.””

Michael Roth, a center-left Social Democratic (SPD) lawmaker and minister of state for Europe: Europe should not “be afraid of nationalist campaigns with which Mr. Bannon would like to force Europe to its knees…our values are stronger than his hate and his lies.”

See also: Steve Bannon plans Brussels-based foundation ‘The Movement’ for EU far-right. “Donald Trump’s ex-strategist, Steve Bannon, told the Daily Beast he hopes the foundation will fuel the spread of right-wing populism across Europe. He wants to offer a right-wing alternative to George Soros’s foundation.”

Live from the International Space Station ISS

ESA: Good evening, Kraftwerk / Guten Abend Kraftwerk, guten Abend Stuttgart! (YouTube, 11:48min)

“On 20 July 2018 around 21:50 local time, ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst welcomed the legendary electronic band Kraftwerk and 7500 visitors to the Jazz Open Festival on Stuttgart’s Schlossplatz – live from the International Space Station, where he will live and work until mid-December 2018. During the call with space, Kraftwerk founding member Ralf Hütter and Alexander played a special duet version of the track Spacelab, for which Alexander had a tablet computer configured with virtual synthesizers on board.”

Alexander Gerst’s Horizon Blog: Good evening, Kraftwerk!

““Here in the European Columbus laboratory, the successor to the Spacelab, the European Space Agency ESA is researching things that will improve daily life on Earth. More than 100 different nations work together peacefully here and achieve things that a single nation could never achieve. We are developing technologies on board the ISS to grow beyond our current horizons and prepare to take further steps into space, to the Moon and Mars,“ Alexander said.

However, as Kraftwerk founding member Ralf Hütter emphasised, Alexander’s appearance was not only about greeting Kraftwerk and the audience in Stuttgart but also about “music as the universal language of the world“ . After addressing the crowd, he and Alexander played a special duet version of the track Spacelab, for which Alexander had a tablet computer configured with virtual synthesizers on board.”

Alexander Gersts Horizon Blog: Guten Abend Kraftwerk!

“Nachdem Alexander Gerst sich mit einem „Good Night Earth“ vom Publikum verabschiedet hatte, fuhren Kraftwerk mit ihrem fulminanten Set fort, während die Zuschauerinnen und Zuschauer sich wohl noch ein paar Mal verblüfft fragten, ob das, was sie da gerade gesehen und gehört hatten, auch wirklich live und real war. Wir können sagen: Das war es.”

Bannon “claims European integration is coming to an end

Deutsche Welle: Steve Bannon plans Brussels-based foundation ‘The Movement’ for EU far-right. “Donald Trump’s ex-strategist Steve Bannon told the Daily Beast he hopes the foundation will fuel the spread of right-wing populism across Europe. He wants to offer a rightwing alternative to George Soros’s foundation.”

Deutsche Welle: US-Rechtspopulist Steve Bannon plant rechte Bewegung in Europa. “Der Ex-Berater von Donald Trump und Vorreiter der radikalen Rechten in den USA will eine rechtspopulistische Bewegung in Europa gründen – als Gegengewicht zum Investor George Soros, der liberale Gruppen unterstützt.”