“Das Spiel mit dem Leben anderer Menschen”

Deutsche Welle: Kommentar: Die USA dürfen Trumps sinnlose Grausamkeit nicht vergessen. “Ein richtiger “Deal” war das nicht. Trump beendet zwar die bisher längste Haushaltssperre in der Geschichte der USA, aber diese richtet weiterhin so viel Schaden an, dass es keine Gewinner gibt, meint Michael Knigge.”

“Und hoffentlich – wenn es denn überhaupt so etwas wie eine positive Langzeitwirkung des “Shutdowns” gibt – werden die Amerikaner, insbesondere die, die nun direkt betroffen waren, nicht vergessen, wer gesagt hat, er wäre stolz die Regierung lahm zu legen.

Hoffentlich werden alle Amerikaner sich an diesen gefühllosen, grausamen Präsidenten erinnern, der kein Problem damit hat, andere Menschen und ihren Lebensunterhalt aufs Spiel zu setzen für eine sinnlose Grenzmauer, die er am Ende noch nicht mal bekommen hat. Gibt es bessere Beweise für Charakterlosigkeit?”

“Mr. Trump and his campaign repeatedly denied having such contacts with Russians during the 2016 election.”

The New York Times: Trump and His Associates Had More Than 100 Contacts With Russians Before the Inauguration.

“During the 2016 presidential campaign and transition, Donald J. Trump and at least 17 campaign officials and advisers had contacts with Russian nationals and WikiLeaks, or their intermediaries, a New York Times analysis has found. At least 10 other associates were told about interactions but did not have any themselves.

Knowledge of these interactions is based on New York Times reporting, documents submitted to Congress, and court records and accusations related to the special counsel investigating foreign interference in the election.”

Link via MMetaFilter.

Vaccinate!

BBC News: Parents’ vaccine side effects fear ‘fuelled by social media’.

“Fear of a vaccine’s side effects is the top reason for people refusing them, a report from the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) suggests.
Among parents, this was fuelled by social media, with up to half exposed to negative messages about vaccines.
The Society’s report called for social media platforms and the press to do more to combat “fake news”.
Millions of lives have been saved through vaccination, and side effects are rare, it said.
“The spread of misinformation – if it impacts uptake of vaccines – could severely damage the public’s health,” said Shirley Cramer, chief executive of the RSPH.
England’s chief medical officer Prof Dame Sally Davies recently said parents should ignore myths spread by anti-vaccine campaigners and get their children vaccinated.”

Sehe gerade, dass der Kinderdok mir zustimmt: Impfgegner sind eine Bedrohung für die Globale Gesundheit.

Apprehensions on US-Mexico border: Trump’s first year in office saw lowest number since 1971

BBC: Trump wall – all you need to know about US border in seven charts.

“Mr Trump argues $5.7bn (£4.5bn) is needed to address a “humanitarian and security crisis” at the southern border and has warned the shutdown will continue until he gets the cash.

Democrats say the wall is a waste of taxpayers’ money and accuse the Trump administration of a “manufactured crisis”.

Here are seven charts and maps that try to explain where we are with the wall and what the situation is like at the US-Mexico border.”

Link via MetaFilter.

“Just because it’s bonkers doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea.“

Have you ever heard of The Biggest Little Railway in the World? It was

“a temporary 71 mile (114 km) 1.25 inches (32 mm) O-gauge model railway from Fort William to the City of Inverness, the two largest settlements in the Scottish Highlands. It has been described as a crackpot project to run a model train the length of the Great Glen Way by an army of madcap enthusiasts, geeks, and engineers in the best spirit of eccentric Britishness.”

56 volunteers built it over the course of 12 days and also drove the engine called Silver Lady along it. The track included a temporary bridge across the Caledonian Canal, a huge trestle bridge and a spiral loop near the end that enabled the train to climb five metres over a very short distance.

The model train achieved what the real railway didn’t: It ran from Fort Williams to Inverness.

There is a five-part Channel 4 TV series about this incredible project that you can watch in its entirety here:

Futility Closet: Thinking Big. (5 x 45min)

I watched it over the past few days and enjoyed it thoroughly even though I’m neither a train nor model train enthusiast.