Category Archives: Politics

Ka-boom!

NPR Here and Now: 75 Years Ago, Scientists Conducted An Unprecedented Nuclear Experiment.

“Seventy-five years ago this week, scientists from the University of Chicago created the first controlled, self-sustained nuclear chain reaction, a feat that was essential in the development of an atomic bomb during World War II.

Enrico Fermi and his team of physicists secretly conducted the Chicago Pile 1 experiment on a squash court under the stands of a football stadium on Dec. 2, 1942. The anniversary of this unprecedented achievement comes as tensions escalate between the U.S. and North Korea, which launched a new ballistic missile on Tuesday.”

Als Hitler das rosa Kaninchen stahl

Judith Kerr had to flee Nazi Germany as a child because her family was Jewish and her father, a famous writer, criticized the Nazis. In Germany, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (Als Hitler das rosa Kaninchen stahl) is probably her most famous book and often required reading in schools. Even though it’s been 30 years since I read it, I remember many details of her story vividly.

New Statesman: My father and other animals. “Judith Kerr’s dad, Alfred, was an outspoken German critic who railed against Hitler – but he had a soft spot for baby seals.”

BBC: Judith Kerr and the story behind The Tiger Who Came To Tea. “Author Judith Kerr is famous for her children’s books, but behind the sweetness of works such as The Tiger Who Came To Tea lies a past set against the horror of Nazi Germany.”

iNews: Judith Kerr: ‘Will I ever bring back Mog? No, I killed her’.

“Beginning an interview by thrusting your phone in your subject’s face and insisting they scroll through pictures of your cats is not generally considered best practice.

There are exceptions, however. Within moments of stepping into Judith Kerr’s home I’ve whipped out my iPhone and, like an excited child, am demanding the picture book author “look at my cats!“
[…]
“Oh, yes please,“ she says solemnly, taking my phone. “This is absolutely essential.“ “

The Guardian: Judith Kerr: ‘I’m still surprised at the success of The Tiger Who Came to Tea’. “The creator of Mog on learning how to draw a tiger at the zoo, heeding the advice of her cat and still working at 94.”

Radio Times: When Mark Gatiss came to tea with Judith Kerr. “Mark Gatiss visits childhood hero and author of The Tiger Who Came to Tea, to chat children’s books, family and sci-fi.”

Links via MetaFilter.

“It turns out those pink kitty-cat hats weren’t just for show after all.”

The Atlantic: Women Exit the Party of Trump. “After laboring for years to close the gender gap, GOP strategists are suddenly facing a gender chasm.” By Michelle Cottle.

“As if the situation weren’t ticklish enough, the spotlight on sexual harassment is boosting many women’s sense that something needs to change. As [Jean] Card put it, “We’re having a little bit of a sisterhood moment here.“

“Imagine if we had a female leader, how this could be handled,“ said Card (who supported Carly Fiorina for president last cycle). “Instead, we do have the polar opposite. We do have a man who said he could grab women by the pussy. We can’t have presidential leadership on the sexual harassment issue because of that.“

(No question, Trump is a problematic ambassador for the cause. Greenberg recently conducted a national poll asking voters, “Do you believe that Donald Trump sexually harassed women, or not?“ Sixty-eight percent said yes.)”

Wenn nicht Jamaika, was dann?

Na, das wird ja spannend…

Deutsche Welle: Nach dem Scheitern der Jamaika-Sondierungen – Die Erklärung des Bundespräsidenten im Wortlaut. “Manche hatten die Ankündigung von Neuwahlen erwartet. Doch Bundespräsident Frank-Walter Steinmeier schlägt einen anderen Weg ein. Hier seine Erklärung, die er nach einem Treffen mit der Kanzlerin abgab, im Wortlaut.”

Frank-Walter Steinmeier: “Für mich steht fest: Innerhalb, aber auch außerhalb unseres Landes und insbesondere in unserer europäischen Nachbarschaft wären Unverständnis und Sorge groß, wenn ausgerechnet im größten und wirtschaftlich stärksten Land Europas die politischen Kräfte ihrer Verantwortung nicht nachkämen.”

Die Zeit: “Eine Minderheitsregierung kann auch eine Chance sein”. “Wir könnten zum ersten Mal eine Minderheitsregierung auf Bundesebene bekommen. Warum wir uns davor nicht fürchten müssen, erklärt Staatsrechtler Joachim Wieland.”

“[Eine Minderheitenregierung] kann aber auch durchaus eine Chance sein. Die Mehrheit wird nicht zur Selbstverständlichkeit, und auch den Bürgern wird deutlich, dass für jedes Projekt eine neue Zustimmung gefunden werden muss. Alle Beteiligten müssen darlegen, warum sie bereit sind, an so einer Mehrheitsbildung teilzunehmen, oder warum sie sie ablehnen. “

Zeit Presseschau: “Merkel kann Krise”. “FDP-Chef Lindner habe die Sondierungen kalkuliert scheitern lassen, lautet die Analyse vieler deutscher Medien. Manche sehen dadurch Angela Merkel wieder erstarken.”