Harry, fahr schon mal den Wagen vor

Der Satz, der ihn berühmt gemacht hat, obwohl er so nie gefallen ist. Hort Tappert, weltberühmt für seine Rolle als Oberinspektor Stephan Derrick, ist tot. Er starb laut Bunte bereits am Samstag im Alter von 85 Jahren in München. Das ZDF strahlte die legandäre Serie Derrick zwischen 1984 und 1998 in Deutschland aus und exportierte sie in 107 Länder. Die 281 Episoden wurden in 12 Sprachen übersetzt. Einmalig in der deutschen Fernsehgeschichte.

Mich wird er immer an meinen Zivildienst erinnen. Donnerstag abend war Derrickzeit. Und, legandär, Tobias, solltest du das je lesen, an Jan, weil er nach der zweiten Hochrechnung für die Bundestagswahl 2002 nach Hause fuhr, um sich eine Folge Derrick anzugucken. Die Wahl war ihm zu spannend.

Tagesschau und Der Spiegel zum Tode von Horst Tappert.

The Brits and the Euro

Now this is really a nice surprise. I have found a UK citizen that is enthusiastic about the Euro. Thank you very much Will Hutton.

That the Euro is a subject Brits do care about becomes clear when you look at the comments page. 173 entries. Not all of them negative. Nice one.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/nov/16/comment-will-hutton-euro

German Wikipedia up and running again

Lutz Heilmann http://www.lutz-heilmann.info abandoned his lawsuit against Wikimedia Deutschland e.V., the charity that runs the German Wikipedia.de site. In a statement Heilman said that the articles containing false and defamatory details against him were removed and as a result he would refrain from further legal action against Wikimedia. He also said he was sorry for the inconvenience users had experienced because of his actions.

Pressure mounted on the left wing MP after a storm of protest among German Wiki users and bloggers. More than 300 member signed up to a facebook group in 2-3 days which is remarkable given that Germans rather use a different social platform. Furthermore, a protest website http://protest.blog.de was launched.

For Wikimedia the whole action turned out to be a great success story. Daily donations increased

German Politician blocks Wikipedia.de

Wikipedia.de was blocked today after a German politician, Lutz Heilmann, was granted an injunction against the domain owner Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. which is subject to German jurisdiction.

There are a few websites in English who cover the story. And a facebook group has also been launched.

According to tagesschau.de all German Wikipedia articles are available on de.wikipedia.org. So the injunction is useless and Mr Heilmann shot himself in the foot.

Wikipedia's lawyers revealed that Heilmann attacked details with regard to his career and personal life. These details are subject of the injunction so you may get in trouble when quoting them. But I'm sure it's to do with his past in the GDR...
 

Neverthelss, please send protest emails to lutz.heilmann@bundestag.de

His website was down but keep trying http://www.lutz-heilmann.info/


You can also call him if you are brave enough +49 30-227-70788

Always be polite but make your voice heard.

Obama, Obama

Just imagine a Vice President who doesn't know that Africa is a Continent. And not a country. "I can see Russia from my door..." Well, fortunately that didn't happen. Thank you, America! And good luck President-Elect Barak Obama.

New Anti Bullfighting videos launched

There is a new group on youtube that is worth checking out. Balls to bullfighting has been launched today on the video channel. Lovely Lucy Evans from Coronation Street went to Seville to look for a cruelty free holiday. Rather difficult in Spain's bullfighting capital.

Actually it's not. There is loads of stuff you can do. But watch for yourself.

One event, two completely different stories

While the BBC highlights China's concern its Deutschlandfunk presents the facts, i.e. China catches up with US as climate emitter No 1.

China holt USA als größten Klimasünder ein

China hat die USA als größten Produzenten von Treibhausgasen eingeholt. Das geht aus dem Weißbuch zum Klimaschutz hervor, das die Regierung in Peking heute vorlegte. Danach haben die Emissionen der Volksrepublik inzwischen das amerikanische Niveau erreicht. Dieses lag im Jahr 2005 bei knapp 1,6 Milliarden Tonnen Kohlenstoff. - Experten befürchten, dass sich der Ausstoß von Kohlendioxid in China durch das rasche Wirtschaftswachstum in dem Land bis 2030 verdoppelt.

dradio-newsletters: Deutschlandradio 20 Uhr Nachrichten, 29 Oct 2008


And the BBC:

China warns on emissions control
File photo of a man squatting near a power plant in Beijing, October 2007
Economic growth is sure to remain China's top priority

China has admitted that controlling greenhouse emissions is a "difficult task" and warned that there is little prospect of an early improvement.

In its first policy paper on climate change, Beijing acknowledges for the first time that its greenhouse gas emissions are equal those of the US.

China's reliance on coal to ensure economic growth makes pollution control difficult, the paper says.

It adds that the developed world should do more on the issue.

Deutschlandreise

Ich war ja daran gewoehnt, in Reisefuehrern zu lesen, dass man als auslaendischer Tourist, zumal noch als Schwarzer, nicht unbedingt den Osten der Republik besuchen soll. Aber Verhaltensregeln dieser Art kommen mir Spanish vor, oder wie der Englaender sagt "It all sounds Greek to me".

Gammelfleisch? Koennen wir auch

Es ist doch immer wieder schoen, wenn man voneinander lernen kann. Nachdem es nun auch in Deutschland weit reichende Datendiebstaehle gibt , macht sich postwended der Englaender auf, die Teutonen zu kopieren. In Sachen Lebensmittelhygiene.

So berichtet der Guardian am 15. Oktober:

Caterer prepared kebabs close to dead body

A catering company boss prepared kebabs feet away from a dead man lying on a sofa, a court was told. Jaswinder Singh, 45, was cooking opposite the body at the Pappu Sweet Centre in Wolverhampton as it was discovered by police, city magistrates heard. The sudden death of a worker on August 27 was not treated as suspicious, West Midlands police said. At the court hearing yesterday, Singh was fined £3,846 including costs and banned from managing a food business. The court was also told that a dead rat had been found under a cooking pot and rat droppings were discovered during a health inspection.
Press Association



Der Begriff "Gammelfleisch" hat uebrigens schon Einzug in einschlaegige Online-Enzyklopaedien gefunden.

Bleibt mir nur, allseits Guten Appetit zu wuenschen. Ich gehe gleich mal zum Doenermann um die Ecke, kommt jemand mit?

"Ministers shelve 42-day detention"

What a great day for human rights!

From the BBC website.

Ms Smith told MPs her priority was protecting the British peopl

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has said that plans to extend terror detention to 42 days will be dropped from the Counter-Terrorism Bill. 

It follows a heavy defeat for the government in the House of Lords, which threw out the plan by 309 votes to 118.

Ms Smith said instead the measure would be in a separate piece of legislation to be brought to Parliament if needed.

The Tories said she should just say she was abandoning 42 days. The Lib Dems said it was a "humiliating retreat".

The government's plan to extend the period for which police can hold terrorist suspects before charging them squeezed through the Commons in June by just nine votes.

'Biggest defeat'
Earlier on Monday it was defeated by a majority of 191 votes in the Lords, described by the Conservative former shadow home secretary David Davis as "the biggest defeat in the Lords in living memory".

In a forceful statement to MPs less than two hours after the vote, Ms Smith said: "I deeply regret that some have been prepared to ignore the terrorist threat, for fear of taking a tough but necessary decision."

The decision to prepare emergency legislation instead is merely a fig leaf which does little to disguise their defeat Nick Clegg Lib Dem leader Peers throw out 42-day plan

She said she had prepared a new bill which would allow the director of public prosecutions to apply to the courts to question a terrorist suspect for up to 42 days "should the worst happen".

She said Britain still needed to "be prepared to deal with the worst", adding: "My priority remains the protection of the British people.

"I don't believe as some honourable members clearly do that it's enough to simply cross our fingers and hope for the best. That is not good enough."

'Political posturing'
Shadow home secretary Dominic Grieve said the prime minister's "spin doctors" had stopped Ms Smith from "saying in straightforward terms that she is abandoning 42 days".

He told Ms Smith: "You somewhat demean yourself when you, yet again, come back to this argument that those who oppose the government's measures are weak on terrorism."

He said the Conservatives were "perfectly prepared to be firm on terrorism" and pass difficult bills.

Lords reject 42-day detention plan

"But they have to be credible, they have to be based on evidence and they must not be put forward in a way that smacks of mere political posturing and gimmicks."

He questioned the need for the new bill, asking why the government could not simply use existing civil contingency powers.

Mr Davis, who resigned his seat in protest at the Commons vote on 42 days in June, described the move as a "spectacular climbdown".

Liberal Democrat spokesman Chris Huhne said the government had "comprehensively lost the argument" and was now in "humiliating retreat".
Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg added: "The decision to prepare emergency legislation instead is merely a fig leaf which does little to disguise their defeat."
He added: "The push for 42 days' detention was more about ministers posturing and looking tough than it ever was about fighting terrorism."

Die Schere öffnet sich weiter

Aus dem Newsletter des Deutschlandfunks vom 26. August 2008

Einkommen von Geringverdienern sind deutlich gesunken

Die Schere zwischen den Einkommen in Deutschland geht nach einer Studie der Universität Duisburg-Essen immer weiter auseinander. Während die Besserverdienenden seit Mitte der Neunziger Jahre ein reales Lohnplus von 3,5 Prozent verbuchen konnten, sanken die Realeinkommen von Geringverdienern um rund 14 Prozent. Wie das Statistische Bundesamt unabhängig davon mitteilte, lagen die Einkommen von Frauen im Schnitt um 24 Prozent unter denen ihrer männlichen Kollegen.

Es ist wahrlich kein neues Phaenomen und selbst 3,5% mehr Geld seit Mitte der Neunziger sind ein Skandal. Ich bin in London sicherlich verwoehnt mit jaehrlichen Gehaltserhoehungen plus "performance related pay", aber die Situation in Deutschland ist wirklich Besorgnis erregend.

Meldungen wie die obige scheint es jedes Jahr zu geben. Sehr anschaulich auch dieser Beitrag.

17jährige glauben, Adenauer war Kanzler in der DDR

Am 25. Juli flatterte mir diese Nachricht ins (elektronische) Haus.

dradio-newsletters: Deutschlandradio 20 Uhr Nachrichten

Studie belegt: Schüler haben mangelhafte Kenntnisse über die DDR.

Viele Schüler haben laut einer Studie der Freien Universität Berlin nur mangelhafte Kenntnisse über die DDR. Die Mehrzahl der Befragten wusste etwa nicht, ob die DDR durch demokratische Wahlen legitimiert war. Jeder Vierte, im Osten mehr als jeder Dritte, vermutete, die Bundeskanzler Adenauer und Brandt hätten in der DDR gewirkt. Befragt wurden 5.200 Schüler im Alter von 16 und 17 Jahren in Bayern, Brandenburg, Nordrhein-Westfalen und Berlin. Der Ost-Beauftragte der Bundesregierung, Verkehrsminister Tiefensee, rief in der "Stuttgarter Zeitung" die Eltern auf, ihren Kindern die Wahrheit über das Leben hinter Mauer und Stacheldraht zu vermitteln.

Karadzic in custody

Now this must be the top news of the year. The 12 year hiding of one of the most notorious war criminals in recent times is over. Radovan Karadzic was caught by Serbian security forces tonight. He will be extradited to the International Criminal Court in The Hague which indicted him for war crimes and genocide over the Srebrenica massacre in 1995.

In the Bosnian War, when Karadzic was President of the Bosnian Serbs, 100.000 people lost their lives. His war time general Ratko Mladic remians at large.

Read the Srebrenica Genocide Blog.

Travelling in the UK

I have realised that I have not travelled a lot since arriving in the London in November 2005. Travelled within the UK that is. That needs to change.

I would like to see the Klimt exhibition at Tate Liverpool. So I check nationalrail.co.uk for fares to Liverpool. I have learned that is Sunday is definitely not day to travel. So I check Saturday 23rd and 30th August. The fastest connection? 5 hours 5 minutes. Leaving Euston at 7:00. If you don't want to stay overnight you probably want to take the 16:55 back to London which arrives at 23:01. That's 6 hours 6 minutes. So that would be a journey of more than 11 hours. For £62.60.

Bus then? National Express takes you there for only £24. Bargain. The journey takes 10 1/2 hours. Ridiculous.

London is about as far from Liverpool as is Frankfurt from Hannover. The journey with Deutsche Bahn takes 4 1/2 hours. Return that is. The ticket costs £50. Oh yes, did I mention that it is a direct train?

£100m to be invested to get commuters on two wheels

Good News for cyclists:

Disappearing into a broom cupboard with a sweaty red face and wearing Lycra shorts, only to reappear moments later in a suit, but still with a sweaty red face, is a daily ritual for many cycle commuters.

(The Times 20 June 2008)

German Community celebrates victory in the Zeitgeist

Deutschland 3, Portugal 2

Just a little quote from The Times of 20th June.

Germany won thanks in the main to a pair of free headers, from Miroslav Klose and Michael Ballack, and because the midfield areas previously dominated by the magician Deco were suddenly filled with strapping great Teutons, who imposed their presence on this game from the start. They can play a bit, too, as the build-up to the first goal demonstrated, and while the scoreline suggests that Portugal were within touching distance of a place in the last four, the reality is that Germany were by far the better team and were in charge from the start.

Interesting phone call

Caller: Is Richard Wilson the person who is dealing with your water coolers?

Receptionist: Richard Wilson is the president of the organisation.

Caller: Oh!

Receptionist (Not realising that he should have put the phone down up by now): We are actually moving in a couple of weeks so there is no need for new water coolers.

Caller (insisting): Oh, that’s good, what kind of water coolers do you have?

Receptionist: Hold on, I transfer you. What company are you calling from?

Caller: The Water Cooler Company.

Receptionist: And the name of this company?

Caller: The Water Cooler Company.

Receptionist (thinking): You may as well call it bollocks, mate. (Saying:) Oh, that’s the name. That’s easy to remember. Hold on…

The Brits are really a pragmatic people

Minutes after seeing the first sunlight, and be it 10 degrees, they put on their shorts and flip flops. Ban smoking in pubs, they have a fag outside in the rain. No one complains. And when you tell them not to drink in the tube? Well, they have a party the night before the ban comes into place - for starters.

Saturday night saw Liverpool Street Station overcrowded due to hundreds of people partying on the last day before the drinking ban.

Police were hopelessly understaffed and powerless against the mostly joyful party people. Well, some got arrested...



The Circle Line seemed the perfect venue for many.





The last pints were downed just minutes before midnight.





And he's the one to blame. New London Mayor Boris Johnson.






Not everybody was amused though and only saw "devastation" and "chaos". One question remains though was it a demonstration or celebration?

Comment on “Debt in the afternoon: bullfighting staggers into crisis”, The Guradian 12th May 2008

Many thanks to Graham Keeley for today’s article regarding the decline of the bullfighting industry (“Debt in the afternoon: bullfighting staggers into crisis”). It reveals that the industry, behind the all the PR spin, is facing huge financial problems and will eventually collapse.

Bullfighting is nothing more than a cruel pastime that is indeed unpopular among Spaniards – but it is also a red rag to tourists. Eighty-nine per cent of the British citizens would never visit a bullfight while on holiday (ComRes poll commissioned by the League Against Cruel Sports, April 2008).

We have to ask ourselves why this spectacle is kept alive through millions of EU subsidies financed by the taxpayer.

That's the last bus gone...

Taken on Waterloo Bridge on a Sunday night in November 2007. Won third place in the Guardian weekend photo competition inpictures (17th May 2008).

Comments on "Matador meets his match in bullring" in The Daily Telegraph 7th May 2008

Looking at the spectacular photos on page 16 of today’s Telegraph (Matador meets his match in bullring) one may get the idea that bullfighting is an acrobatic performance or a fair encounter between man and bull. This is not the case. The bull has no chance of “winning” - even if as shown in the photos it gores the matador. The bull dies after a long and very painful struggle.

The main reason why the pictured matador was not severely injured is that the bull was drugged, had its horns shaved which severely damaged its sense of orientation and had its neck muscles cut which made it impossible to raise its head.

Bullfighting is nothing more than a cruel past time that is unpopular among Spaniards and tourists. Seventy-two per cent of Spaniards have no interest in bullfighting according to a 2006 Gallup poll. Consequently the national station RTVE stopped live broadcasts of bullfights last August. Eighty-nine per cent of the British citizens would never visit a bullfight while on holiday (ComRes poll commissioned by the League Against Cruel Sports, April 2008).

Bullfighting remains a cruel and unnecessary spectacle that has no place in a modern society. Sign the world wide pledge never to visit bullfighting.

A disastrous result, but...

...we will survive!

Todesstrafe - aussnahmsweise eine positive Notiz

Selten genug, dass es etwas Positives über die Todesstrafe zu berichten gibt. Da es aber nun der Fall ist:

4. TODESSTRAFE WELTWEIT AUF DEM RÜCKZUG

Im Jahr 2007 hat ai 1.252 Hinrichtungen in 24 Ländern dokumentiert.
Gegen mindestens 3.347 Menschen in 51 Ländern wurde ein Todesurteil
ausgesprochen. "Das Gros der Hinrichtungen geht auf das Konto einer
Handvoll Staaten, und China 'gewinnt' diese makabre Disziplin auch im
Jahr vor den Olympischen Spielen", sagte Oliver Hendrich von ai zur
Veröffentlichung der Todesstrafenstatistik für 2007.
http://www2.amnesty.de/internet/deall.nsf/windexde/AR2008016

87-year-old former Luftwaffe bomber says sorry

An 87-year-old German who bombed Bath in WWII came back to say sorry. He met a man whose grandparents were killed in the raid. Watch this amazing story that may move you to tears.

Be warned, this man is dangerous!

Why? Let's look at the facts.

Mr Berlusconi will be the next Italian Prime Minister. For the third time since 1994. His personal assets are estimated to be $11bn making him the richest Italian. He is the founder of Finivnest which is among Italy's top ten companies. Through Fininvest Mr Berlusconi who is also the company's main shareholder ownes two national newspapers, several magazines, three private TV channels, a film production company, a banking and insurance company and Italy's top football club AC Milan.

Furthermore his coalition partners are a separatist, Umberto Bossi, leader of the Lega Nord and a Neo-fascist, Gianfranco Fini of the Alleanza Nazionale, the former MSI-DN who supported Mussolini.

Would it be far fetched to say that the UK or indeed any other country in the world would allow a, say Gordon Brown, owner of Chealsea FC, ITV, Channel 4, The Times and The Independent, Miramax Films and Lloyds TSB who collaborates with Nick Griffin and a more aggressive version of Alex Salmond to rule its country?

Oh, and did I mention that Berlusconi had to defend himself in court six times against corruption charges?

Nice of Mr Coyle to admit that GMD is not justified. Philip Coyle is not just some former member of the US administration. From 1994 to 2001 he was was assistant secretary of defense and director, Operational Test and Evaluation in the DoD and "principal advisor to the secretary of defense on test and evaluation". He is now a senior advisor for the Centre for Defense Information.

The Union of Concerned Scientists' Global Security Program was quick to assist Coyle. Lisbeth Gronlund, UCSUSA's co-director told the same Congressional hearing "the US was no closer to being able to effectively defend against long-range ballistic missiles than it was 25 years ago".

Nato to back US missile defence

Although it never was a real obstacle in the superpower's pursuit of invulnerability the official announcement still shocks me. But since even Putin signalled understanding and thinks a compromise in possible, I have given up all hope that this monster can be put on mothballs.

But don't say I didn't warn you: A ground based missile defence or similar systems are neither justified nor technically feasible.

Slough

Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough!
It isn't fit for humans now,
There isn't grass to graze a cow.
Swarm over, Death!

Come, bombs and blow to smithereens
Those air -conditioned, bright canteens,
Tinned fruit, tinned meat, tinned milk, tinned beans,
Tinned minds, tinned breath.

Mess up the mess they call a town-
A house for ninety-seven down
And once a week a half a crown
For twenty years.

And get that man with double chin
Who'll always cheat and always win,
Who washes his repulsive skin
In women's tears:

And smash his desk of polished oak
And smash his hands so used to stroke
And stop his boring dirty joke
And make him yell.

But spare the bald young clerks who add
The profits of the stinking cad;
It's not their fault that they are mad,
They've tasted Hell.

It's not their fault they do not know
The birdsong from the radio,
It's not their fault they often go
To Maidenhead

And talk of sport and makes of cars
In various bogus-Tudor bars
And daren't look up and see the stars
But belch instead.

In labour-saving homes, with care
Their wives frizz out peroxide hair
And dry it in synthetic air
And paint their nails.

Come, friendly bombs and fall on Slough
To get it ready for the plough.
The cabbages are coming now;
The earth exhales.

John Betjeman, 1937

A beautiful day

On my way to the station I thought that it might have been a bad idea to go for a walk on the coast. It started raining. Determined to see the cliffs and the seaside this Easter Monday I got on the Brighton train.

When I eventually arrived in Seaford and took the bus the Seven Sisters Country Park the sky was grey and it was cold. At first I was skeptical but had a gut feeling that I would have a beautiful day.

And I did! Never mind the weather! I had rain, a bit of snow and hail and about half an hour of sunshine. But the fantastic view, the sound of the waves and the sheer fact to be at the seaside was the best reward I could think of. Well, almost. It was amazing to see how many people were out there. Even a family with some sort of outdoor pram climbed the muddy hills.

Major construction works over Easter!

It is pure coincidence that the 100th post since I have started this blog is about the country I have chosen as my home. But maybe it is not that surprising that it covers one of the many peculiarities that I have encountered since my arrival in November 2005.

Earlier this week I had the idea of going on a day trip to York. I felt encouraged when I found out that the train only took two hours one way. That was London-York though. The return trip was almost twice as long. I can understand that the trains in the evening are not as frequent as during the day. But why would they take four hours instead of two? There can't be that many detours...

Today I read on the BBC website that train travellers will face major disruptions over the Easter weekend due to major construction works on "most of the key routes". Again, understandable that the system needs upgrading and repairing. But why on earth would you do this over one of the busiest travel periodes of the year. This is insane!

Stierkampf gibts doch hier gar nicht!

In diesem Monat erschien mein Artikel in der Zeitschrift Das Recht der Tiere. Er stellt die Stierkampfkampagne den deutschen Lesern vor und erläutert, warum das grausige Spektakel eben doch ein Thema für Deutsche ist.
Ein Auszug:
"Wieso seid ihr gegen Stierkampf? Den gibts bei uns doch gar nicht. Warum soll ich mich dagegen engagieren?" Das waren Fragen, die uns Leute gestellt haben, als wir vor rund zwei Jahren unsere Stierkampfkampagne in Großbritannien gestartet haben.

Dass Stierkampf ein Thema für Briten - genau wie für Deutsche ist - wird indes schnell klar, wenn man sich die Zahlen ansieht. Briten und Deutsche liefern sich beim Spanienurlaub ein Kopf-an-Kopf-Rennen: Fast 14 Millionen britische und rund 10 Millionen deutsche Touristen verbrachten 2007 ihren Urlaub im Stierkampfland Nummer eins."

Bullfighting UK

If there was anyone who believed that bullfighting was an actual fair fight between man and bull, Paul Lewis’s article “Olé! Salford's matador back in action at 65”, 17th March, delivers a perfect rebuttal. There is no danger of death or serious injury for a 65 year old with a quadruple heart bypass and artificial knee because the “fight” is seriously rigged.

The bull’s horns are regularly shaved making it loose its sense of orientation. Once in the arena lances are driven into the bull’s back and neck muscles, which weaken it further and prevents it being able to raise its head. Men on foot then stab harpoons into its back. This all happens before the matador takes action. To put it bluntly, bullfighting is as dangerous to the matador as is crown green bowls to the player.

Ich fühl mich so leer, ich fühl mich Brandenburg

Wer sagt, die Deutschen hätten keinen Humour, der kennt Rainald Grebe nicht. Das Problem dabei ist, dass die, die das behaupten, der deutschen Sprache meist nicht mächtig sind. Folglich können sie Rainald Grebes Witze nicht verstehen. Schade. Sie verpassen sehr viel.

Allen anderen sei gesagt, dass er es wunderbar versteht, mit Vorurteilen vieler Art zu spielen und sie lächerlich zu machen. Die Vorzüge Brandenburgs, die Landeshymne Thürigens oder das Loblied auf die Beziehungen 30jähriger Paare in Berlin Mitte versteht er auf eine sehr erfrischende Art... ach, guckst euch halt einfach an!

Death Penalty

The Nebraska Supreme Court has not outlawed the death penalty. But it has outlawed the electric chair as a means to kill a human being. Nebraska was the only state in the US that still carried out this method of execution.

Justice William Connolly:

"The evidence shows that electrocution inflicts intense pain and agonizing suffering.”

I have only sarcasm for the judge's remarkable enlightment in the 21st century. Moreover, the killing by lethal injection continues in 34 states. 53 people were killed in 2006. In the US alone.

However, I sincerly hope that this verdict is a victory on the long way to abolish the death penalty in the US and worldwide.

Meanwhile help those on death row by joining Amnesty's campaign. Take Action!

Bemerkenswertes aus der Heimat

Deutsche Bank trotz Finanzkrise mit Rekordgewinn

Die Deutsche Bank hat ungeachtet der Krise an den Finanzmärkten im vergangenen Jahr nach eigenen Angaben einen Rekordgewinn erzielt. Wie die Bank in Frankfurt am Main mitteilte, lag der Überschuss mit 6,5 Milliarden Euro um sieben Prozent höher als 2006.

Vorstandschef Ackermann sagte, die Deutsche Bank habe in einer schwierigen Zeit Stärke und Widerstandsfähigkeit bewiesen. Als Ziel für 2008 nannte er ein Vorsteuer-Ergebnis von 8,4 Milliarden Euro. Ackermann äußerte erneut Interesse an einer Übernahme der Postbank. Wenn man angesprochen werde, sei man gesprächsbereit, betonte Ackermann.

---------------
NPD-Bundesschatzmeiser Kemna wegen Verdachts der Veruntreuung festgenommen

Der Bundesschatzmeister der NPD, Kemna, ist festgenommen worden. Nach Angaben der Staatsanwaltschaft liegt ein Haftbefehl des Amtsgerichts Münster vor. Kemna stehe im Verdacht, mehr als 600.000 Euro veruntreut zu haben.

dradio-newsletters: Deutschlandradio 20 Uhr Nachrichten vom 7. Februar 2008