GLOBAL HAPLIFNET

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2012-01-24T06:00:00.005+01:00

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Haplif Promotion's global DESIGNER FASHION GUIDE by Jana Mohd (Verlag Matthias Ess) with top European shopping addresses and worldwide fashion designer biographies...
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Further Updates

2012-01-06T09:26:00.005+01:00

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- INTERNATIONAL HAPLIFNET (Wordpress)

- FRANK KALDER (Facebook)

- GLOBAL HAPLIFNET (Facebook)

- HAPLIFNET (Twitter)
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Happy New Year

2012-01-01T02:08:00.000+01:00

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Happy New Year
to my globally spread relatives
and worldwide friends! ♥ :)
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Multicultural Blogs – periodic roundup

2010-04-06T07:19:00.003+02:00

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International Haplif & Haplifnet NEWS -- WordPress [introduction]

Fundamentally flawed theory? Psychological problem

Barack Obama proposed restricting the big U.S. banks

Barack Obama’s first State of the Union speech

WEF Davos 2010 -- far-reaching banking reforms?

Fundamental Japanese retail market shift

US Political Financial Reform Suggestions
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Multicultural Blogs – periodic roundup

2010-01-17T06:38:00.003+01:00

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International Haplif & Haplifnet NEWS -- WordPress [introduction]

Voluntary climate efforts are not enough, in reality

Project: US Solar Roads – driving on glass?

Banking - huge, growing chasm between the fortunes …

Why people’s money should be moved (explained by Bill Maher)

U.S. record budget gap & repaying taxpayers for the bank bailout

Barack Obama to impose a ‘responsibiliy’ tax

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INTERNATIONAL TOPICS - Multicultural Roundup ▪ Vanguard Issues ▪ Images & Shows

U.S. Plans to Protest to China Over Internet Attack on Google

2010-01-16T09:16:00.002+01:00

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By Indira A.R. Lakshmanan

The U.S. will issue a formal protest to the Chinese government demanding an explanation for the cyber attack on Google Inc. that the company says originated from China.

“We will be issuing a formal demarche in Beijing,” likely early next week, to express U.S. unease about the incident, State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley said in Washington yesterday. A demarche is a diplomatic protest… Read more at BusinessWeek / Bloomberg
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Multicultural Blogs – periodic roundup

2009-12-19T21:41:00.006+01:00

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International Haplif & Haplifnet NEWS -- WordPress [introduction]

EU Lisbon Treaty in force as of December 1, 2009

Obama’s allocation of more troops to Afghanistan [VIDEO]

Globale Vernetzung – Umgangspraxis mit ’Social Media' by Frank Kalder

HuffPost’s U.S. Health Care Reform Sifting by Arianna Huffington + comment

Evolutionärer Humanismus in Abgrenzung zu Religionen by Bernd Ehlert

Evolutionary Humanism and the Copenhagen Climate Summit (B, Ehlert essay)

Obama urged unity at Copenhagen climate summit
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Obama urged unity at Copenhagen climate summit

2009-12-18T19:41:00.004+01:00

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Barack Obama urged nations to accept a less-than-perfect climate agreement in the final hours of the summit in Copenhagen today. A new draft agreement called the "Copenhagen Accord" drops a previous deadline extension… Read more at Haplif & Haplifnet (Deutsche Welle)
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Multicultural Blogs – periodic roundup

2009-11-28T09:59:00.003+01:00

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International Haplif & Haplifnet NEWS -- WordPress [introduction]

The World's Best Universities [PHOTOS & POLL]

APEC leaders committed to concluding the DOHA ROUND

Barack Obama in China - Shanghai & Beijing

U.S. & China prospected emission-reduction goals

European Executive Education at ESMT, Berlin [USW Network]

La France magnifique et sa belle langue ▪ Dialogue with Enni Sander, Toulouse

Update, Dec 6

INTERNATIONAL TOPICS - Multicultural Roundup ▪ Vanguard Issues ▪ Images & Shows
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Can Barack Obama's turnaround save Copenhagen?

2009-11-27T10:26:00.003+01:00

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AMERICA AND THE CLIMATE SUMMIT

US President Barack Obama had been wary of attending the global climate change summit in Copenhagen next month. Many hope his decision to attend will increase the meeting's chances for success. But doubts remain about his commitment... Read more by Gregor Peter Schmitz in Washington, Spiegel
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Multicultural Blogs – periodic roundup

2009-11-04T08:32:00.008+01:00

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International Haplif & Haplifnet NEWS -- WordPress [introduction]

Learning for Leading [ESMT, Berlin] & USW Network [Gracht castle campus]

Memories of Kyrgyzstan by a German repatriate

EU Summit in Brussels: Climate is a weighty burden

Triumph of Freedom – New Partnership in Europe [Horst Koehler’s Berlin speech]

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s historic address to US Congress

Update, Nov 8

INTERNATIONAL TOPICS - Multicultural Roundup ▪ Vanguard Issues ▪ Images & Shows

NATO Defense Ministers Meeting in Bratislava, Slovakia

2009-10-24T11:20:00.002+02:00

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Strategy Review -- Substantial U.S. troop increase in Afghanistan

NATO defense ministers meeting in Bratislava, Slovakia, endorsed the strategy put forward by Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the U.S. and allied commander. The alliance rejected competing proposals to narrow the military mission to fighting the remnants of Al Qaeda.

They did not discuss specific troop levels, but U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said a number of allies indicated they were thinking about increasing their own military or civilian contributions."

The only way to ensure that Afghanistan does not become once again a safe haven for terrorism is if it is made strong enough to resist the insurgency as well”, said Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the NATO secretary-general. "In Afghanistan, you cannot separate counter-terrorism from counterinsurgency"... Los Angles Times
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Multicultural Blogs – periodic roundup

2009-10-03T09:05:00.010+02:00

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International Haplif & Haplifnet NEWS -- WordPress [introduction]

Research on ARTIFICAL BRAIN & SINGULARITY

Obama’s envisaged global climate pact hindered [UN, US Senate]

Global Navigation Agreement at G20 Summit in Pittsburgh

Arianna Huffington’s new book on the US system’s failures

EU - Wüstenstrom und Klimaschutzverbesserung ▪ Desertec-Projekt

Global Investments into Solar Energy ▪ Solar Millennium, Siemens, DESERTEC-EUMENA
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Angela Merkel’s second victory in German elections

2009-09-27T23:10:00.002+02:00

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BERLIN -- Chancellor Angela Merkel claimed victory in national elections today, with projections by public television stations putting her conservative party on a path to form a new center-right government and achieve her goal of ending the country’s “grand coalition” with the Social Democrats.

If the slim lead for her conservative Christian Democrats and the pro-business Free Democrats holds after all the ballots are tallied, Mrs. Merkel will finally have the chance to enact the kind of liberalizing economic reforms she proposed when she first ran for chancellor four years ago. But the celebration will be muted by the knowledge that rising budget deficits as a result of the economic crisis have dramatically limited the kind of tax cuts the new coalition will be able to enact... Read more by Nicholas Kulish, New York Times
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Multicultural Blogs – periodic roundup

2009-09-20T07:37:00.003+02:00

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International Haplif & Haplifnet NEWS -- WordPress [introduction]

Barack Obama has urged students to accept responsibility

Barack Obama’s Healthcare Plan & Medicare Spending

Biz Stone - New Terms of Service for Twitter

Barack Obama’s Rhetoric vs. Wall Street Reality

One EU voice on financial reform ahead of G20 summit

Russia scrapped missile deployment plans in Eastern Europe
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Shelved missile defense plan -- shattered confidence in Europe

2009-09-19T08:59:00.007+02:00

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President Obama's decision to shelve the Bush administration's missile defense plans has created a crisis of confidence in Washington's relations with Central and Eastern Europe. The defense architecture the administration proposes may make more strategic sense in addressing the immediate Iranian threat. Nevertheless, it runs the risk of shattering the morale and standing of transatlantic leaders in the region who now feel politically undermined and exposed. The roots of this crisis lie less in missile defense than in policy failures over the past decade. Understanding and rectifying those errors is key to getting back on track with our allies.

Our first mistake was being overly optimistic about what would happen when these countries joined NATO and the European Union. We basically checked the box "mission accomplished." We assumed that Russia would finally accept that Central and Eastern Europe were gone from its sphere of influence and stop trying to interfere in their regional politics. But geopolitical competition didn't stop. Moscow simply tried to pressure and interfere in new ways, using energy and other weapons. It seeks to marginalize these countries in NATO and the European Union by going above their heads. It still wants to create a zone of special Russian interest, influence and lesser security… Read more by Ronald D. Asmus, Washington Post

Supplementary (later today):

Russia scrapped missile deployment plans in Eastern Europe

Multicultural Blogs – periodic roundup

2009-09-05T06:20:00.008+02:00

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International Haplif & Haplifnet NEWS -- WordPress [introduction]

Results and Prospects of State Elections in Germany

Montessorian and Ecological Concepts ▪ Angie Cordeiro [HuffPost Blogging]

The US bailout -- and the consolidation isn’t yet over ▪ Arianna Huffington

Top Bankers' Bonuses to be curbed ▪ EU (Brussels) preparing for G20 (Pittsburgh)

US Economy facing long-term economic growth (Prof. Joseph Stiglitz)
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US Healthcare and Education Issues at HuffPost

2009-09-04T09:52:00.003+02:00

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So We Can't Have Single Payer for Health Care, But How About Single Payer for Education? By Arianna Huffington

Health care is rightly dominating the national debate, but with children all across the country heading back to school, education, currently seated in the back row of the national classroom, is raising its hand and asking to be called on.

On Tuesday (Sep 8), President Obama will be giving a nationally televised speech on education to America's students, broadcast on C-SPAN and the White House website. On the same day, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is sponsoring a major conference in Los Angeles that will serve as the kick off of Get Schooled, a far-reaching initiative geared to developing solutions to the problems facing America's education system. (I'll be one of the speakers)… Read more

Addendum, Sep 7: Obama Back To School Speech: FULL TEXT
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Multicultural Blogs – periodic roundup

2009-08-30T07:52:00.006+02:00

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International Haplif & Haplifnet NEWS -- WordPress [introduction]

Arianna’s Interactive Technology Progress at Huffington Post

Becoming globally successful on Twitter requires personal efforts

Barack Obama’s Leadership Style & Healthcare Reform [HuffPost]

Potential of global Twitter usage till 2013

Ted Kennedy’s enduring image: “a man on a boat"´[Barack Obama’s eulogy]
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Jewish Settlements & Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

2009-08-28T12:21:00.005+02:00

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Iran that it could face energy sanctions if it doesn’t halt its nuclear program and pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to curb Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Merkel, speaking at a joint news conference with Netanyahu in Berlin yesterday, said the world is heading toward a September deadline for Iran to cooperate with demands to stop enriching uranium. Netanyahu called for the threat of “crippling sanctions” and Merkel said “we reject” a nuclear-armed Iran.

The U.S., France, the U.K. and Germany have been pressing Iran to drop its uranium enrichment program in return for help in developing civil nuclear power. Together with China and Russia, which both hold vetoes at the United Nations Security Council, they have voted through three rounds of sanctions in an attempt to penalize Iran for breaking its commitments under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty… Read more (Gwen Ackermann and Tony Czuczka, Bloomberg)
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Multicultural Blogs – weekly roundup

2009-08-22T08:40:00.005+02:00

International Haplif & Haplifnet NEWS -- WordPress [introduction]

International Media Compilations & Global Roundups

Elite Foundation “Schloss Neubeuern” – Unique German Boarding School (Internat)

German Elite Boarding School “Schloss Salem" (Internat)

The future of interactive technology - Microsoft sponsored series ▪ TED at USC

Russia’s New Czars – German TV Documentary by Gero von Boehm

Control of Kazakhstan Metal & Mining Empire

2009-08-20T12:05:00.006+02:00

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Shifting sentiment over commodities and demand for base metals — in particular from China and Russia — has led to a volatile share price, just like any other blue chip London-listed miner. This volatility is made worse by the small float — only 20 per cent of its stock is in the market. The three founders, metal billionaires Patokh Chodiev, Alijan Ibragimov and Alexander Machkevich, control just over 40 per cent, having built the company during a wave of privatisations in the mid-1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The trio — former metal traders — are the subject of a long-running tax investigation by Belgian authorities, though they deny any wrongdoing.

ENRC’s fellow Kazakhstan miner, Kazakhmys, owns 26 per cent while the Kazakhstan Government holds 12 per cent. The company supplies 14 per cent of the country’s electricity and its ferrochrome and iron ore mines contribute 4 per cent to GDP… Read more (timesonline)

Patokh Chodiev: With partners and longtime friends Alijan Ibragimov and Alexander Machkevich (both also billionaires) built a metals and mining empire in Kazakhstan; stock of London-listed Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation down 54% over the past year. In July the trio's investment company, International Mineral Resources, took a 49% stake of Chinese carbon and stainless steel producer Jiuquan Iron & Steel. The Uzbekistan native lived in Japan before teaming up with his pals in Kazakhstan. (forbes.com)
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Multicultural Blogs – weekly roundup

2009-08-15T08:12:00.010+02:00

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International Haplif & Haplifnet NEWS -- WordPress [introduction]

Arianna Huffington on Chirac’s “Bush Iraq” Revelation (HuffPost) ▪ Secular Humanism

Paris’s Future - Electric Car Sharing Plan (Spiegel)

US Health Care Reform and its negotiation requirements (HuffPost)

EU Sanctions - Reaction to Burma’s SUU KYI Verdict

New York City - Laura Knapp’s BIG APPLE "Gossip Street"

Protests - Heated US Health Care Reform Debate (HuffPost)

New Media - Changing the Game - Vision & Leadership

Slideshows ▪ Exceptional Nature, Botswana, Ant (PowerPoint)
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Merkel & Medvedev Met in Russia on ‘Strategic’ Economic Deals

2009-08-14T20:17:00.004+02:00

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"I believe that we need to use every chance that the global financial crisis offers to develop the Russian-German economic relations", stated German chancellor Angela Merkel today in Sochi, Russia.

Chancellor Angela Merkel met President Dmitry Medvedev today and both called for deeper economic ties amid talk of several major Russian-German industrial deals in the works.

Speaking to reporters as he greeted Merkel at his palm-lined residence on the Black Sea, Medvedev congratulated Merkel on news that Germany had emerged from recession and said Russia was working hard to do the same.

"We should think how, by strengthening our bilateral economic strategic ties, we could help our economies and people overcome consequences of this difficult global crisis and emerge stronger from it", Medvedev said.

Merkel replied that she had been "very happy" at yesterday’s German economic news and confirmed that her meeting with Medvedev -- their second in just a month, and third this year -- would centre on economic issues… Read more (by Ellen Hasenkamp, AFP)
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Multicultural Blogs – weekly roundup

2009-08-08T05:56:00.003+02:00

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International Haplif & Haplifnet NEWS -- WordPress [introduction]

Prof. Dr. Noreena Hertz – a World Expert on Globalization & Sustainability

Ethics Debate (Book) ▪ Dr. Michael Schmidt-Salomon (GBS), Philosopher & Publicist

Enisa Emily “Enni” Sander – a German Twitter success story

Bill Maher – The NEW RULE and the Emmys (HuffPost)
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Status of Fixing the US Financial System

2009-08-07T09:51:00.007+02:00

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Excerpt - Talking to George Stephanopoulos last week, Tim Geithner bragged about the success of the bailout: "We've already earned about $6 billion for the taxpayer on those investments." Sounds great -- unless you consider the fact that we've we actually "invested" $4.7 trillion in our bank bailout. Shouldn't we demand to know what happened to the remaining $4.694 trillion?

Reforming the credit-rating agencies, to avoid ratings shopping by financial institutions and the fundamental conflict of having rating agencies be paid by the companies they are rating -- no wonder so much junk got AAA ratings -- got a hearing in the Senate yesterday, but we may not see action on this until next year.

Legislation to reform executive pay passed the House last week. The need for this reform was highlighted … Read more (by Arianna Huffington, Huffington Post, Aug. 6, 2009)

FK Comment

While the reform window closes, unfortunately, another collapse appears to be inevitable. Yes, the AAA rating system is still junk. I agree, we should demand what happened to the remaining (yet roughly) $4.7 trillion which US taxpayers spent on the bailout. (HuffPost profile/comments)

Multicultural Blogs – weekly roundup

2009-08-02T09:03:00.004+02:00

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International Haplif & Haplifnet NEWS -- WordPress [introduction]

Dr. Michael Schmidt-Salomon’s new ETHICS assessment (GBS)

Francine Espinoza – new ESMT professor in marketing

The US and global recession is not yet over (HuffPost)

Validated competence – Value of human capital ▪ World International Competence

Amel Karboul’s report on the 2nd ESMT Annual Forum
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Computer vs. Captain – Automation in Jets

2009-08-01T09:16:00.002+02:00

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Will Increasing Automation Make Jets Less Safe?

Computers on board aircraft have made flying safer, but when they encounter errors they can create turmoil. Engineers are pressing ahead with the automation of aircraft, but pilots warn that efforts to computerize jets are going too far and that diminished human control could create dangerous situations.

Ben Cave was starting to get bored. The Australian had been sitting in his seat for more than three hours, and he still had two hours left before the Qantas jet was scheduled to touch down in Perth.

The Airbus A330 was flying at a cruising altitude of 11,278 meters (37,000 feet). The calm of modern jet travel, accentuated by the monotonous drone of the engines, prevailed on board the aircraft… Read more (by Gerald Traufetter, Spiegel)
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Multicultural Blogs – weekly roundup

2009-07-25T08:39:00.005+02:00

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International Haplif & Haplifnet NEWS -- WordPress [introduction]

Deutsche Wirtschaft ▪ Industrieeinschnitte ▪ Last der Jobsicherung

Economic tremors! – US financial system back on track?

Reviving US manufacturing in a global economy

Volkswagen (VW) and Porsche merger ▪ Qatar’s option package

Opportunity Cost of the US Bank Bailout ▪ Ben Bernanke’s admittance (HuffPost)
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Obama's Healthcare Reform -- top US domestic priority

2009-07-24T08:51:00.004+02:00

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President Barack Obama's healthcare reform drive suffered a setback yesterday when Senate leaders said they would not pass it before a month-long August recess, but Obama urged lawmakers to keep working toward approval by the end of the year.

The day after Obama held a prime-time news conference to sell his top domestic priority, congressional leaders struggled to ease doubts about the healthcare plan and Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid said the full chamber would not take it up until September… Read more at Reuters

Supplementary: Obama's healthcare town hall -- the full transcript at Los Angeles Times.
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Multicultural Blogs – weekly roundup

2009-07-20T05:10:00.006+02:00

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International Haplif & Haplifnet NEWS -- WordPress [introduction]

Africa's Future Is Up to Africans ▪ Obama’s Ghana speech transcript

Navigating in Turbulent Times (ESMT USW) ▪ 2nd ESMT Forum 2009

Pipelines – North Stream & Nabucco ▪ German-Russian relations

Munich Summit Results - Angela Merkel and Dmitry Medvedev

2009-07-19T08:43:00.005+02:00

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The results of the two-day Petersburg Dialogue conference were presented. Around 300 delegates from both countries -- including representatives of the media, politics and civil society -- had been debating how Germany and Russia could tackle the current economic crisis together. Ideas like the creation of a joint German-Russian commission for fighting corruption were discussed. In addition, there were also concrete successes to celebrate, such as the foundation of a German-Russian energy agency and Berlin's commitment to provide guarantees for German exports to Russia as part of a €500 million ($706 million) scheme.

The two sides also agreed to develop a common school textbook together. Work on the project is set to begin later this year. If anything concrete comes out of the efforts, it will be a remarkable success. Russians and Germans currently have a very different view of their shared history. A common school textbook could help to promote mutual understanding between the two nations… Read more at Spiegel
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Multicultural Blogs – weekly roundup

2009-07-12T10:25:00.012+02:00

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International Haplif & Haplifnet NEWS -- WordPress [introduction]

Editor-in-chief’s ‘foursome’ Crete vacation ▪ Arianna Huffington’s family

Michael Jackson’s Memorial Service ▪ Staples Center in Los Angeles

Chicken Lit – A Philadelphia Story ▪ by e-glob, Washington (DC)

Barack Obama’s and other G8 Group leaders’ Climate Emphasis

ECONOMIC HARD TIMES & Lobbying Outrages ▪ Reply to Arianna Huffington
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Multicultural Blogs – weekly summary

2009-07-11T15:51:00.009+02:00

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Transatlantic Daily NEWS "International Topics" [introduction]

Humor ▪ Hidden Smithsonian Quilt ▪ Hilariousness ▪ Exodus ▪ Wooden Horse

U.S. & Russia: 21st Century’s Road ▪ Arianna Huffington’s Vacation ▪ Yodeling

Obama & Putin ▪ Jacko Remembrance ▪ Quilt ▪ Hilariousness ▪ Crete Vacation

G8 Climate Agreement ▪ US & Russia ▪ Jim DeMent ▪ Jean Shin ▪ Vostok

Climate Emphasis ▪ Arctic Cycle ▪ Browser ▪ Twitter & Facebook ▪ Perceptions

Africa Focus ▪ Pope & Obama ▪ Health Care ▪ Pyromusikale ▪ Starnberger ▪ Winokur

Due to an unforeseen reason our talks have been interrupted.

Chronology ▪ Prof. Noreena Hertz ▪ Schmidt-Salomon Book ▪ Hanse Sail ▪ Godchild (amended, Aug 10)

G8 Summit focused on climate and African issues

2009-07-10T16:07:00.004+02:00

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Further to Barack Obama’s climate emphasis (click) the G8 Summit of l’Aquila (Italy) ended with a focus on food security which the leaders of the world’s richest countries discussed with their counterparts from Africa.

The U.S. President and other Group of Eight leaders are expected to announce a $15 billion pledge over three years to help poor countries fight hunger and develop their own agricultural sectors.

Barack Obama also held separate talks with South African officials.

The U.S. leader next meets today with Pope Benedict in Vatican City. The White House says he and Pope Benedict will have "frank" talks on issues they disagree on, such as abortion, along issues on which they agree, such as helping the poor… More to read at Voice of America
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Multicultural Blogs – weekly summary

2009-07-05T10:26:00.005+02:00

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Transatlantic Daily NEWS "International Topics" [introduction]

Iranian Dissidents ▪ Smithsonian Museum ▪ Reese Witherspoon ▪ Rossellini’s Green P

Lisbon Treaty Progress ▪ Citizen Journalism ▪ Bernard Madoff ▪ Trojan Horse

U.S./Iraq: Transition ▪ Smithsonian’s Portrait Gallery ▪ Isabella Rossellini

Sweden’s EU Presidency ▪ Lisbon Treaty ▪ Institutional Issues ▪ Priorities

Ground Breaking Artist ▪ Valuable Publishing ▪ North Korea ▪ Vaishnava

Intellectuality & Shyness ▪ Memorial ▪ Berlin Fashion Week ▪ Michael Connelly

Independence Day ▪ Obama’s Solidarity ▪ Body Isolation ▪ Huffington’s London

Supplementary on INTERNATIONAL HAPLIFNET -- WordPress [ a b o u t ]

Evolution – Humanismus – Humanität // Wie der Mensch die Menschlichkeit lernte

Arianna Huffington advocates Citizen Journalism

Lisbon Treaty -- in line with German Constitution stipulated
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About the Guardian’s Media & Technology Conference in London

2009-07-04T14:06:00.004+02:00

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London Diary: Gordon Brown's Obsessions, The Loyal Opposition's Cuddly Karl Rove, Bad Germs, and the Most Unusual Royal Honeymoon Ever by Arianna Huffington

Hello from London, where I have come to take part in a media and technology conference sponsored by the Guardian.

Any time I'm in London, I always feel a bit nostalgic, having gone to college, started my career, and fallen head over heels in love here -- but never more nostalgic than during my breakfast at the flat of Lord George Weidenfeld, the legendary British publisher. He was the person responsible for turning my career around when he commissioned me to write a biography of Maria Callas. My previous book, After Reason, a rather chewy piece of political analysis I wrote in my mid-20s, was collecting dust on bookstore shelves when George took me aside and said: "If you are going to write books that have an impact, you are going to have to learn to tell a good story. Writing a biography is a way to learn to do that."… More to read at Arianna's Huffpost blog of July 2
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Multicultural Blogs – weekly summary

2009-06-28T09:17:00.021+02:00

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Transatlantic Daily NEWS "International Topics" [introduction]

Iranian Votes’ Discrepancies ▪ Asian Markets ▪ Education ▪ Klitschko Successes

Iran’s British Embassy ▪ DC Train Crash ▪ Portrait Gallery ▪ Ranking ESMT USW

White House & Huffpost ▪ Tehran Bazaar ▪ Ed McMahon ▪ Twitter & Facebook

George Carlin ▪ Governmental ‘Love’ Affairs ▪ Nora Ephron’s Fashion Stories

Michael Jackson ▪ Farrah Fawcett ▪ Merkel & Obama: Transatlantic Relations

US+EU: Same Values & Mutual Trust ▪ Sociology: Collective Memory ▪ Spookiness

Global Climate Protection ▪ Enni’s & Haplif’s Power Girls ▪ ‘Blaze-Blor’

Supplementary on INTERNATIONAL HAPLIFNET [WordPress]

Verständliche Fachliteratur zur Kindererziehung

Ranking -- European leadership college ESMT / USW

Collective Memory -- Deaths of Michael Jackson & Farrah Fawcett ▪ Celebrity and Collective Memory ▪ By Karen Sternheimer; conveyed via Twitter by Ariel Carpenter, USC, Los Angeles
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Transatlantic Relations -- Barack Obama & Angela Merkel

2009-06-27T10:53:00.003+02:00

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The Same Fundamental Values & Mutual Trust

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been awarded the Eric M. Warburg Prize in Washington for her services to transatlantic relations. In her acceptance speech the German Chancellor said that the United States and Europe shared fundamental values such as human rights.

But shared values had to be implemented not only when it came to security issues, but also in the international economic and financial crisis. "We need multilateral institutions that take on responsibility in the globalised world," Angela Merkel said.

Forthcoming Climate Protection Agreement

The United States and Europe were as close as never before on the issue of climate change - but they could get even closer. And here, too, Angela Merkel would like the United States and Europe to take the lead so that others could follow suit… Excerpts, Bundeskanzlerin.de

In a yesterday’s White House press conference Merkel stated she’s going to fully support the US international policy. Obama, in turn, dignified her as “smart” as well as “practical”, and then added that he “trusts” her.
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Multicultural Blogs – weekly summary

2009-06-21T06:48:00.015+02:00

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Transatlantic Daily NEWS "International Topics" [introduction]

Netanyahu’s Endorsement ▪ Iran Threats ▪ Mad Ave Blues ▪ Mel B Show ▪ Bag Lady

Australia & South Africa ▪ Megan Fox’s Gown ▪ Video ▪ Hadaka Apron

Iran Protests ▪ Twilight ▪ Fieldstone Nursery ▪ Vo Vo Tau ▪ Wearableness

German Solar Consortium ▪ Iran Protests ▪ Sarah Arlen’s Los Olivos ▪ Media Presences

US Finance Regulation Aims ▪ Iran’s Opposition ▪ Red Gown ▪ Worthiness

EU Summit Backed Barroso ▪ Lisbon Treaty Bargaining ▪ British Intransigence

EU Summit Results ▪ Press Club ▪ US Economics ▪ Peshawar ▪ EU & Turkey

Tehran Protesters ▪ KimonoBox ▪ Press Club ▪ US Presidential Bankruptcy Preventions

Supplementary on INTERNATIONAL HAPLIFNET [WordPress]

Australian Movie & South Africa Report

LOS OLIVOS overlooking Californian Pacific Coast ▪ Sarah Arlen’s hometown

Umgang mit Unternehmenskennzahlen [ESMT USW]

Economic Divergences & Obama’s Overhaul Proposal
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Obama Unveiled Key Regulatory Overhaul

2009-06-18T07:31:00.002+02:00

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President Barack Obama has proposed the most "sweeping" regulatory overhaul since the 1930s, aiming to stop future meltdowns and purge the finance system of lax oversight, greed and huge debts.

"We did not choose how this crisis began. But we do have a choice in the legacy this crisis leaves behind," Obama said.

"My administration is proposing a sweeping overhaul of the financial regulatory system, a transformation on a scale not seen since the reforms that followed the Great Depression."

The reforms, which must be approved by Congress, will inject the government deeper into the finance sector in a bid to tame the recklessness which saw a mortgage meltdown tip the world into deep economic crisis.

They are the latest attempt by the Obama administration to heal the US economy and ensure it never again pitches into such turmoil… More to read: Stephen Collinson, AFP - Washington, June 17
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Multicultural Blogs – weekly summary

2009-06-14T09:54:00.002+02:00

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transatlantic daily NEWS "International Stuff" [introduction]

Obama’s Pressure ▪ EU Parliament Elections ▪ Gender Equality ▪ Arabian Horses

Dr. Silvana Koch-Mehrin / EU FDP ▪ Fiat & Chrysler ▪ Donna Leon ▪ Donaldism ▪ Rummy

Fiat, Chrysler, GM, Magna, Opel, GAZ ▪ Stimuli ▪ Adriana Schatton’s Evomanism

Barroso’s Bid: EU Commission Presidency ▪ Facebook ▪ Google Groups Policy

Iran Election ▪ US Negotiations ▪ Boris & Lilly Becker ▪ Blog Continuations

Craigslist ‘All For Good’ ▪ US Misery Index ▪ Michelle Obama’s London Fashion

Volunteerism ▪ Google’s Antispam Endeavors ▪ ‘Car’fashion ▪ Odessa Movie
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Supplementary on INTERNATIONAL HAPLIFNET [WordPress]

2009-06-14T09:30:00.006+02:00

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Tweeting on Twitter - Irrationality?

Haplif & Haplifnet modifizierte Weiterführung (German blogs)

Haplif & Haplifnet modified continuation (global blogs)
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Barroso's bid to retain EU Commission presidency

2009-06-12T09:42:00.003+02:00

'
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said yesterday they supported the re-election of European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso for a second five-year term.

"Important personnel and policy decisions must be taken immediately. That is why Germany and France support Jose Manuel Barroso," Merkel said at a joint press conference with Sarkozy in Paris.

There is a "strong desire" in the newly-elected EU Parliament that the choice of a new EC head should not take the entire summer.

"We will support the candidacy of Mr. Barroso, without ambiguity," Sarkozy said at a joint news conference at the Elysee presidential palace. But the support for the incumbent was not unconditional, he added. "Madame Merkel and I support Barroso... But we call on him before a second term to clarify, and in a way make formal, his position."

The Portuguese EC president has been criticized for waffling on a number of important issues. Barroso must commit himself to a Europe that protects its citizens... Deutsche Welle
_

Multicultural Blogs – weekly summary

2009-06-07T11:20:00.002+02:00

‘
transatlantic daily NEWS "International Stuff" [introduction]

Obama’s GM Bankruptcy ▪ Genesis 2.0 Video ▪ Swedish Band Tapeheads

Politically Risky GM Rescue ▪ Bavarian Königssee ▪ Blitz & Plane ▪ Lyrics

Seeking Outreach ▪ Cheney’s Lies ▪ TEDxUSC ▪ Twitter Statistics ▪ Uncertainty

Obama’s ME & EU Trip ▪ Transparency Int’l Fighting Corruption ▪ Cape Town

Obama’s Dresden Visit ▪ Cairo Speech ▪ BB Video ▪ Michael Connelly ▪ Disciplines

Obama Visit: Dresden, Weimar & Buchenwald, Ramstein & Landstuhl ▪ Home

Webby Awards ▪ Green Vault ▪ Merkel’s Style ▪ Former Couture ▪ Blagojevich

D-Day Remembrance & Obama’s France Stay ▪ Contrast Voice ▪ China & North Korea
_

Supplementary on INTERNATIONAL HAPLIFNET [WordPress]

2009-06-07T08:39:00.008+02:00

'
TEDxUSC – Ideas Empowered – Fresh Thinking – Ariel Carpenter

Fighting Corruption – Worldwide

Barack Obama’s Germany Visit – Summary

Barack Obama reached out to the Muslim world

2009-06-04T13:44:00.006+02:00

'
US President Barack Obama has said the "cycle of suspicion and discord" between the United States and the Muslim world must end.

In a keynote speech in Cairo, Obama called for a "new beginning" in ties. He admitted there had been "years of distrust" and said both sides needed to make a "sustained effort... to respect one another and seek common ground".

He made a number of references to the Koran and called on all faiths to live together in peace and, thus, received a standing ovation at the end of his speech at Cairo University. [read more at BBC News]

Here’s, in addition, the full text of the unique and historic speech on Spiegel International as well as a speech video on Huffington Post.
_

Multicultural Blogs - weekly summary

2009-05-31T11:38:00.004+02:00

‘
transatlantic daily NEWS "International Stuff" [introduction]

America’s Next Top Model ▪ Amanda Swafford ▪ Karl Lagerfeld & ANTM Australia

Obama’s Defense Support ▪ Michael Haneke ▪ US & European Social Systems

Wall Street Reform ▪ Newspapers & Google ▪ Russian Facebook ▪ Books ▪ Mars

Peace Talks ▪ GM & Opel ▪ Enron Line ▪ Sonia Sotomayor ▪ Marriage ▪ US Fed

AFL-CIO Conference ▪ Sonia Sotomayor’s Confirmation Debate ▪ Space Fun

North Korea’s Accountability ▪ Quelling Sotomayor Dust-up ▪ Juristic Issues

Magna’s & GM’s "Opel Europe" ▪ Shares ▪ Court Practices ▪ Winkelen Animations
_

Barack Obama sought to quell Sotomayor dust-up

2009-05-30T08:19:00.002+02:00

'
President Obama sought yesterday to douse the political firestorm over Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's much-dissected 2001 remark that a "wise Latina woman" could often reach "better" judgments than a white judge. […] "She was simply saying that her life experiences will give her information about the struggles and hardships that people are going through [and] that will make her a good judge," the president said in an interview with NBC News.

"Part of the job of a justice on the Supreme Court, or any judge, is to be able to stand in somebody else's shoes, to be able to, you know, understand the nature of the case, and how it has an impact on people's ordinary day-to-day lives," he added.

The remark at issue was made during a speech at the University of California at Berkeley in which Sotomayor said "our gender and national origins may and will make a difference in our judging." "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life," she said… The Boston Globe
_

Multicultural Blogs - update

2009-05-24T10:31:00.002+02:00

‘
transatlantic daily NEWS "International Stuff" [introduction]

Moscow’s Song Contest (Eurovision) ▪ Criticizing Pilgrimage ▪ Factory Girl ▪ Fine Art

Jessye Norman ▪ Familienpatenprojekt ▪ Schwarzenegger ▪ Octoshape ▪ Movies

Fuel Goals ▪ GM & Opel ▪ USA & Israel ▪ Cannes: Jolie-Pitt-Aniston ▪ Jim Cramer

Fundamental Values ▪ Jolie & Pitt ▪ Father’s Day ▪ Travel ▪ Comedian Clips

Birds & Ducks ▪ Germany’s Next Top Model: Sara ▪ MiFi Technology ▪ O2 Sticks

Germany’s Basic Law ▪ Terrorism & Detention ▪ Ducklings’ Rescue ▪ Job & Pregnancy

Detention’s Justification ▪ Facebook Pope & Warning ▪ Paulina Porizkova (US-Czech)
_

Barack Obama and Dick Cheney clashed on fight against terror

2009-05-22T09:43:00.002+02:00

'
In back-to-back speeches, President Obama and former vice president Dick Cheney faced off yesterday, both forcefully presenting their sharply different views on how to keep America safe from terrorism, the effectiveness of harsh interrogations, and whether the 240 Guantanamo Bay detainees pose an imminent danger if brought to American soil.

Obama said he is trying to clean up the "mess" he inherited from the Bush-Cheney administration and stressed the need to uphold American values, repeatedly noting the setting for his speech - the august National Archives, which houses the original Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. … More at The Boston Globe
_

Multicultural Blogs & Twitter Tweets - update

2009-05-17T11:26:00.003+02:00

‘
transatlantic daily NEWS "International Stuff" [introduction]

South Asian Comedy ▪ Comedian-in-Chief ▪ Pope in Middle East ▪ Antitrust Fining

Financial Euphoria ▪ Israel Pilgrimage ▪ Fiat & Chrysler ▪ Frontier Land

No Premature Exaltation (Huffpost) ▪ Paige Hamilton (Twitter) ▪ Auto Fluff ▪ Trinkets

Vatican & Palestinians ▪ Torture Photos ▪ Cheney & Holder ▪ Russian Regime

Pope & Netanyahu ▪ US Drug War ▪ Tribunals & Methods ▪ Pelosi Cheney

Pope’s Israel Trip Success ▪ Drug Issue ▪ Exhortation ▪ Living & Eating

Eurovision Moscow ▪ Obama’s Posture ▪ US Economy Impacts ▪ Philosophy
_

How to end the disastrous US "Drug War"? [Huffington Post]

2009-05-15T10:13:00.004+02:00

'
When it comes to addressing America's disastrous war on drugs, the Obama administration appears to be moving in the right direction -- albeit very, very cautiously.

On the rhetorical front, all the president's men are saying the right things.

In his first interview since being confirmed, Obama's new drug czar, Gil Kerlikowske, said that we need to stop looking at our drug problem as a war. "Regardless of how you try to explain to people it's a 'war on drugs' or a 'war on product'," he told the Wall Street Journal, "people see war as a war on them. We're not at war with people in this country." … More >> Arianna Huffington, Huffpost
_

Multicultural Blogs & Twitter Tweets - update

2009-05-10T09:43:00.003+02:00

‘
transatlantic daily NEWS "International Stuff" [introduction]

Japanese Art ▪ Donation ▪ Monkeys ▪ Juno ▪ South Africa ▪ Smokey Mountains

National Interest ▪ Mary Katharine Ham ▪ C. Matthews ▪ Caricaturing ▪ S. Berlusconi

Eastern Partnership (EU) ▪ Merger Porsche & VW ▪ Circumstances ▪ Freedom

USA & Afghanistan\Pakistan ▪ Prague’s Eastern Plan ▪ Madonna’s Luridness

Prague: Embarrassing EU Absences List ▪ Amman: Pope’s Middle East Pilgrimage

Nation’s Stand-Up-in-Chief ▪ Volunteering ▪ Georgian Protests ▪ Notorious
_

EU launched Eastern Partnership plan in Prague

2009-05-08T09:42:00.001+02:00

'
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the only Western European leader, attended the talks

The European Union has just launched a new Eastern Partnership plan with six former Soviet states. However, Russia has already voiced its concern over the plan, which it sees as the EU encroaching on its territory.

The plan was launched in the Czech capital Prague on May 7 after being signed by representatives of the EU, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The main goal of the partnership was to "accelerate political association and further economic integration" between the EU and the former Soviet nations, the participants said in an agreed summit statement... Deutsche Welle
_

Multicultural Blogs & Twitter Tweets - update

2009-05-03T12:19:00.004+02:00

‘
transatlantic daily NEWS "International Stuff" [introduction]

GM Pontiac ▪ Cybercrime ▪ Internet Gangs ▪ Pirate Look ▪ Fiber Floozies

Transparency ▪ Good & Bad ~ HuffPost ▪ Rod Blagojevich ▪ Sanjaya ▪ Ideas

R&D Stem Cells ~ Curing Blindness ▪ Exchange Floor ~ Prison Yard

Ali∙Bell ~ Fashion Design ▪ Car Market ▪ Flu Hysteria ▪ Birds ▪ Hawaii

Bankers ~ Beltway Royalty ▪ Twitter Retention ~ Teri Beau ▪ Explosive Combination

HuffPost’s Beltway Royalty ▪ Cuisine ~ Marie-Claude Lortie ▪ Bhutan & Rajastan

Esteem ▪ Bhutan ▪ Horticulture & Sackler ▪ Japanese Art ▪ Cosimo Cavallaro

Supplementary on the INTERNATIONAL HAPLIFNET [WordPress]

Why Are Bankers Still Being Treated As Beltway Royalty?
_

La cuisine de rue (street food) - une anomalie?

2009-05-01T16:13:00.005+02:00

'
Manger dans la rue, c'est justement regarder ce qui s'y passe dans cette rue, c'est l'habiter avec les autres. Souvent, attendre en file pour un falafel ou des marrons chauds est en soi une expérience.

Et c'est vrai que l'on soit à New York devant un marchand de hot-dogs ou un bar à gruau, à Paris où les marchands de crêpes au Nutella embaument la rue ou à Salvador au Brésil, où des dames tout habillées de blanc apportent carrément leur réchaud et leur marmite sur le trottoir pour faire frire leurs acaraje, ces boulettes de pâte de haricot frites que l'on sert garnies de crevettes séchées, condiments aux noix d'acajou et autres garnitures au choix.

Otak-otak singapourien (poisson cuit dans une feuille de bananier), tamales péruviens, fish and chips britanniques... Jadis, même les pâtes, les maccheroni, étaient mangées dans la rue à Naples.

La cuisine de rue, la «street food», ce n'est pas une anomalie, un danger pour la santé publique, c'est tout un pan de la gastronomie du monde entier... sauf à Montréal. Extrait, Marie-Claude Lortie, À vos casseroles, citoyens
_

Multicultural Blogs & Twitter Tweets - update

2009-04-27T10:07:00.003+02:00

‘
transatlantic daily NEWS "International Stuff" [introduction]

Obama’s Softness ▪ American Summit ▪ Orthodoxy: Kirill, Medvedev, Putin

Financial Outrages ▪ TARP Crimes ▪ Mystic Mistiness ▪ Chinese Pottery

Torture Moment ▪ South Africa ▪ Financial Markets ▪ Suit & Pottery

Christine Bellantoni ▪ Twitter ▪ Cape Town ▪ Bloommingdales ▪ Art-to-Wear

First 100 Days ▪ Partisan Split ▪ DC Stores ▪ Twitter ▪ Design Highlight

Supplementary on the INTERNATIONAL HAPLIFNET [WordPress]

Staying Outraged on Financial Debacle

Global Slideshows ▪ Lindau (Bodensee) ▪ Equestrian Photography

Public Indignation - “The Torture Moment” [~HuffPost]

2009-04-24T10:09:00.004+02:00

'
Comment on Arianna Huffington’s blog

Yes, that's important: delineating the kind of country we - i.e., the U.S. - are.

As far as torture is concerned there's no legitimate "other side". And, of course, Barack Obama and his team "failed to see the massive wall of public indignation directly in front of them". It cannot be swept under the presidential rug. The nation's fundamental ethics (rather than morality) are at stake, and there's a pressure born of North America's values. Abuse of presidential power, e.g., allowing torture, doesn't have to become a U.S. precedent.

Passionate intensity needs the leap from words ("yes, we can") to action! (FK – HuffPost)
_

Multicultural Blogs - update

2009-04-20T10:03:00.003+02:00

‘
transatlantic daily NEWS "International Stuff" [introduction]

US Cooperation ▪ Smithsonian History ▪ Italian Investigation ▪ Ukrainian Roots

GM Bankruptcy Filing ▪ First Family ▪ Crisis Handling ▪ Couture New York

New Banking Concepts ▪ Indian & Greek Desk Services ▪ Tour Slideshow

Easing Recession ▪ Woolworth Germany ▪ China’s Car Market ▪ Duck Dress

Tax Protests ▪ Pope & Kennedy ▪ Woolworth’s Closure ▪ Car Designs ▪ Wackiness

Obama & Calderon ▪ Political Oblivion ▪ Tea Party ▪ Hoofcare ▪ Muffaletta

Tax Protests ▪ Siblings ▪ Blogs & Slideshows ▪ Wunderland ▪ Lyrics

Barefoot Hoofcare ▪ Orthodox Easter ▪ Appearance ▪ Facebook ▪ Orion
_

Prospects of new US banking concepts [~HuffPost]

2009-04-14T11:30:00.003+02:00

'
Probable $4 trillion debts, according to preliminary IMF reports, are tremendous. Already 23 bank takeovers this year by the FDIC! But all the US banks are not culpable, though. Edward Yingling says: "Wall Street and Main Street banking are very different." The banquet of greed and corruption which had created the toxic economic swamp have been (only!) the high-flying gluttons of Wall Street who have come to dominate the global credit market.

I particularly appreciate the mention of the Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus who had invented the microfinance concept and opened the Grameen Bank, a branch in New York, for "banking of the unbanked" which he'll spread, already licensed, over the whole United States.

Green banks of the Triple Bottom Line concept investing in clean air, healthy food and livable communities, appreciably, are also gaining growing influence.

Thus, "glimmers of hope" may provide easier sleep after a long and stony way of toxicity removing, ahead. FrankKalder comment to Arianna Huffington blog
_

Multicultural Blogs - update

2009-04-11T11:04:00.003+02:00

‘
transatlantic daily NEWS "International Stuff" [introduction]

Obama’s Prague Speech ▪ Sarkozy’s Warning ▪ China & North Korea ▪ Earthquake

Obama’s Turkey Speech ▪ Antarctic ▪ Flawed Cosmology ▪ Twitter ▪ Goop

Iraq Trip ▪ Turkism ▪ FDIC Guarantee ▪ Gwyneth Paltrow ▪ Fire & Clay

Horses & Boiselle Photography ▪ Country Gastronomy Eulenmühle ▪ Car Warranties

Boiselle & Eulenmuehle ▪ Changed Consumer Habits ▪ Global Slideshow

Peter Schiff’s Crisis Counseling ▪ Debating Online News ▪ Cultural Presentations
_

News and Blogs: Arianna Huffington’s Online Media Debate

2009-04-10T14:41:00.003+02:00

'
The discussion about the aggregation and distribution of content on the web heated up this week when the Associated Press announced plans to "launch an industry initiative" designed "to protect news content" online.

The announcement -- characterized by the New York Times' Saul Hansell as a "war on search engines and aggregators" -- drew considerable fire, including blasts from Google, BusinessWeek, the Online Journalism Review, TechCrunch, and this classic broadside from Danny Sullivan at Search Engine Land.

The conversation continued last night when Charlie Rose invited me to discuss the issue with Tom Curley, AP's president and CEO… More at Huffington Post with embeded (17 min.) video

HuffPost blog’s FrankKalder comment

Multicultural Blogs - update

2009-04-05T11:39:00.003+02:00

‘
transatlantic daily NEWS "International Stuff" [introduction]

Investigative Fund ▪ GM Scrutiny ▪ Planned Obama’s NATO & G20 Attendance

Emulation ▪ Replacement Currency ▪ Retro ▪ Kenema Benefit ▪ Religulous

Queen & Obamas ▪ G20 Reception ▪ US & Russian Presidents Renewing

Tougher Financial Regulations ▪ Curbing Abuses ▪ Stopping Chaos ▪ Parlance

Global Solutions ▪ European NATO Summit ▪ Ships & Music ▪ Chenin ▪ Cuteness

NATO Summit - Baden-Baden & Strasbourg ▪ Youth Pitch ▪ Rising Stocks

NATO’s 60th Anniversary ▪ Obama’s Success ▪ Merchandising ▪ Vanguard Art
_

NATO Summit Backed Obama’s Afghanistan Plan

2009-04-05T10:17:00.004+02:00

‘
Baden-Baden (Germany) & Strasbourg (France)

The promises, at a two-day summit marking NATO's 60th anniversary, constituted a sweeping demonstration of support for the new administration's leadership in what has become the alliance's main mission of the moment. But they dramatized once again that European leaders are unwilling to follow Obama's lead in making major new commitments of troops to fight and perhaps die in a faraway war that is widely unpopular among their voters.

At a closing news conference, Obama portrayed the outcome as a success for his maiden encounter with NATO summitry, suggesting that trainers and civilians can be just as valuable as fighters. The 28-nation alliance, he added, had come together in unanimous agreement that Afghanistan must be a strategic priority, even though it is thousands of miles from the European nations that the North Atlantic Alliance was conceived to protect. In addition, more European troop deployments could come in the months ahead, he suggested.

"These commitments of troops, trainers and civilians represent a strong down payment on the future of our mission in Afghanistan and the future of NATO," he declared, adding: "This was not a pledging conference."

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who co-hosted the summit with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said the alliance was quick to endorse Obama's new strategy because it responded "point by point" to a long-standing European desire to put less emphasis on military attacks against the Taliban and more on building Afghanistan's army and civilian institutions. … The Washington Post

Another article with embedded (1:45) video.

G20 Agreed Economy Boosting Package in London

2009-04-03T08:28:00.006+02:00

'
Global problems require global solutions

At their summit in London, G20 leaders have agreed on a plan to save the world’s finances.

They will pump an additional one trillion dollars into the troubled global economy through extra funding for groups like the International Monetary Fund.

Summit host Britain’s Gordon Brown revealed action to “clean up” the banks – with new rules on pay and bonuses. He also announced a crackdown on international tax cheats: “We have agreed that there will be an end to tax havens that do not transfer information on request... The banking secrecy of the past must come to end.”

Brown talked about a new world order and managing the process of globalisation... Euronews with embedded video (1 min.)

Supplementary: Reform der internationalen Finanzmärkte
_

Multicultural Blogs - update

2009-03-30T10:05:00.003+02:00

‘
transatlantic daily NEWS "International Stuff" [introduction]

Huckabee’s TV Program ▪ Coconut Throwing ▪ Joyful Ray Nagin Encounter

Recovery Czar ▪ Stigma ▪ Glamour ▪ French Quarter Parade ▪ Oyster Po Boy

New Orleans Seafood ▪ Accessories ▪ Larry Summers ▪ Obama’s Economic Team

USA & Mexico ▪ Urging Economic Consensus ▪ Innovator’s Dilemma ▪ Tableau

Money Pumping ▪ Representing Criminals ▪ Brainstorming Blitz ▪ AIDA ▪ Transatlanticism

Communication ▪ Afghanistan Strategy ▪ US Cities Drain ▪ Camouflaged Journal

London Protests (G20) ▪ Health Care Industry ▪ Tax Havens ▪ Chattiness
_

US Banks to Replace Bailout Money Avoiding Attached Strings

2009-03-29T22:21:00.002+02:00

'
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said, March 29, the government will have about $135 billion left after banks give back some bailout money and declined to say whether he will ask Congress for more. Treasury expects the banks this year to return about $25 billion of money that they received from the government, because they were able to replace it with private capital or decided that they do not want money with strings attached. The Washington Post / Reuters
_

Multicultural Blogs - update

2009-03-22T13:45:00.003+01:00

‘
transatlantic daily NEWS "International Stuff" [introduction]

American History Museum ▪ Abraham Lincoln ▪ Helen Thomas ▪ Meditation

Youth Violence ▪ G20 Meeting ▪ GM & Opel ▪ Joan Rivers ▪ Leipzig Book Fair

Demographics ▪ Austrian Trial ▪ Val Kilmer ▪ King Cake ▪ Commander’s Palace

GM & Opel ▪ TV-News Watching ▪ Celibacy & Wedlock ▪ Jasmin Lord (ARD)

New Media (HuffPost) ▪ Meghan McCain ▪ Obama’s Policies ▪ Albuquerque Festival

USA & Iran: New Beginning ▪ AIG Debacle ▪ The View ▪ Louisiana’s Stormy

Desire ▪ Zulu Krew & Satchmo ▪ Gladiator: New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin
_

USA & Iran – New Beginning’s Promise Offered by Barack Obama

2009-03-20T11:36:00.002+01:00

'
President Barack Obama reached out to Iran today -- the start of the Iranian New Year -- in a video message offering "the promise of a new beginning" that is "grounded in mutual respect."

The message is a dramatic shift in tone from that of the Bush administration, which included Iran, along with North Korea and Iraq, in an "axis of evil." It also echoes Obama's inaugural speech, in which he said to the Muslim world, "we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect."

In today’s video, Obama said: "The United States wants the Islamic Republic of Iran to take its rightful place in the community of nations. You have that right, but it comes with real responsibilities. And that place cannot be reached through terror or arms, but rather through peaceful actions that demonstrate the true greatness of the Iranian people and civilization."

There was no immediate response from Tehran to Obama's message, but Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said last month that his country would welcome talks with the United States "in a fair atmosphere with mutual respect." ... CNN, Washington
_

Multicultural Blogs - update

2009-03-15T09:11:00.002+01:00

‘
transatlantic daily NEWS "International Stuff" [introduction]

Hillary Clinton’s Visit ▪ Unprecedented ▪ New Orleans ▪ Russian Fashion

Health Care ▪ Ukrainian Dominance ▪ Jackson ▪ Clinton ▪ Mardi Gras

Recession ▪ Stem-Cells ▪ Rush Limbaugh ▪ Greek E-Day ▪ New Orleans

Getting Disappeared Money Back ▪ Russian Women ▪ Mardi Gras, New Orleans

Eurovision ▪ Counter View ▪ Evolution & Culture ▪ Beads ▪ Stage Flops

Arianna Huffington’s Rome Diary ▪ Artful Impressions ▪ World Science’s Chimps

Nature & Culture ▪ GBS Postulations ▪ Café Degas ▪ News Orleans Sites & Foods
_

Shrinking Global Economy \ Stem-cell Field’s US Leadership

2009-03-10T07:48:00.001+01:00

'
The global economy is likely to shrink for the first time since World War II and trade will decline by the most in 80 years, the World Bank said on March 8. Its assessment is more pessimistic than an International Monetary Fund report in January predicting 0.5 percent global growth this year.

Stem-cell companies surged after President Barack Obama lifted restrictions on federal funding for embryonic research and called on Congress to provide more money to make the U.S. a leader in the field. Excerpts, Bloomberg, New York
_

Multicultural Blogs - update

2009-03-06T12:53:00.003+01:00

‘
transatlantic daily NEWS "International Stuff" [introduction]

G20 Planning ▪ GM & Saab ▪ NY Fashion Week ▪ Echo Awards ▪ Snowfalls

Credit Card Dept ▪ Evolution Day Petition ▪ Oscar Fashion ▪ Carnival

Financial Follies ▪ Darwin Celebration ▪ Memphis ▪ GM: Saab & Opel

Credit Cards ▪ Saab ▪ Fashion Blog ▪ Gisele’s Marriage ▪ Graceland

GOP & Obama ▪ Netspeak ▪ Soul, Blues, Rock ‘n’ Roll ▪ Memphis, Tennessee

art-signo ▪ BB King’s Honky Tonk ▪ Peter Schiff ▪ Whitney Houston & Rihanna

Neatness ▪ Memphis Report ▪ Economics & Bailouts ▪ Corinne Bailey Rae

Angela Merkel & Arnold Schwarzenegger ▪ Danny Thompson ▪ Dialog ▪ Gas Transit

Duh Terminator ▪ Giordano Bruno Stiftung (GBS) ▪ Winning Darwin ▪ Galileo

GBS Foundation ▪ Jackson (MS) ▪ Middendorf’s ▪ Sazerac ▪ Water & Andes
_

Meditation on Evolution – Water & Mountains

2009-03-06T11:17:00.001+01:00

'
Two fascinating click shows on WATER (global) and South American ANDES.
_

Californian Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger visited CeBIT 2009

2009-03-04T17:28:00.002+01:00

'
International technology trade fair in Hanover, Germany

During his two-day CeBIT Exhibition promotional tour, the Governor met with various business and elected officials including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Lower Saxony Minister President Christian Wulff and Hannover Lord Mayor Stephan Weil.

In his meeting with Chancellor Merkel, discussions focused on economic stimulus and California’s desire to collaborate with other nations like Germany on climate change.

Schwarzenegger also spoke to 2,000 people, toured the exhibition fairgrounds and received an award from a German trade association for enhancing the relationship between the the U.S. and Germany. By Michael Rothfeld, Los Angeles Times

“Nicht einmal im Traum hätte ich jemals gedacht, dass ich einmal als kalifornischer Gouverneur nach Deutschland zurückkommen werde.“ Seinen Auftritt beendete der ehemalige Action-Schauspieler mit Blick auf Bundeskanzlerin Merkel mit dem kühnen Gruß: "Hasta la vista, Baby!" Focus-Online
_

Multicultural Blogs - update

2009-02-23T00:51:00.011+01:00

‘
transatlantic daily NEWS "International Stuff" [introduction]

Sunday Topic ▪ Golden Bear Peruvian Winner ▪ Famous Stars ▪ Body Show

US Housing Crisis (HuffPost) ▪ Michael Moore Movies ▪ Japan’s Minister (G7)

Oscar Prospects (HuffPost) ▪ ESMT/USW ▪ Susi Neunmalklug * ▪ Darwin Ceremony

HuffPost: Political Oscars (Winners & Losers) ▪ Hillary Clinton’s China Visit

__
* Video (03:50) in context with a children’s evolution book by Dr. Michael Schmidt-Salomon, German philosopher, KorsO/GBS
_

Hillary Clinton visited China - "Rights" (?)

2009-02-22T06:05:00.002+01:00

.
Amnesty International and a pro-Tibet group voiced shock Friday (Feb 20) after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton vowed not to let human rights concerns hinder cooperation with China.

Paying her first visit to Asia as the top US diplomat, Clinton said the United States would continue to press China on long-standing US concerns over human rights such as its rule over Tibet.

"But our pressing on those issues can't interfere on the global economic crisis, the global climate change crisis and the security crisis," Clinton told reporters in Seoul just before leaving for Beijing… Read more at AFP, Washington
_

Multicultural Blogs - update

2009-02-16T09:12:00.003+01:00

‘
transatlantic daily NEWS "International Stuff" [introduction]

Separate US Bill ▪ Security Conference & Joe Biden ▪ Sumo Wrestlers

T. F. Geithner ▪ US Senate’s Approval ▪ K.-T. zu Guttenberg ▪ Munich Case

Court Case ▪ Corcoran Gallery ▪ Asia ▪ Lviv’s Puzzle ▪ Irish Song

Threatened US Economy ▪ General Blog ▪ Case Gleanings ▪ Palpability

Prof. H.-A. Weirich’s Aphoristik.eu ▪ Bank Policies ▪ Case Gleanings ▪ Tokyo Night

Pondering Ice ▪ Rhyme ▪ Friends ▪ Philosophic Farce ▪ Rehabilitation
_

Restructuring US Banks & Slaying Zombie Institutions

2009-02-15T08:49:00.004+01:00

'
Why is Obama Reluctant to Kill the Zombie Banks Threatening Our Economy?

The battle lines over how to deal with the banking crisis have been drawn. On the one side are those who know what needs to be done. On the other are those who know what needs to be done -- but won't admit it. Because it is against their self-interest.

Unlike the conflict over the stimulus package, this is not an ideological fight. This is a battle between the status quo and the future, between the interests of the financial/lobbying establishment and the public interest.

What needs to be done is hard but straightforward. As Martin Wolf of the Financial Times sums it up: "Admit reality, restructure banks and, above all, slay zombie institutions at once." … Arianna – Huffington Post, New York, + FrankKalder’s Huffpost comment
_

Multicultural Blogs - update

2009-02-08T09:40:00.004+01:00

‘
transatlantic daily NEWS "International Stuff" [introduction]

Package-Chasm-Abyss ▪ WEF Video ▪ Patriarch Kirill ▪ Stanford Teaching

Pushing Stimulus ▪ Currency Redefinition ▪ Coverage ▪ Arianna’s WEF

Mark Haines & Morning Joe ▪ Tax Failures ▪ Orthodoxy ▪ Vatican ▪ Pac-10

Perq & Bonus System ▪ US Lending ▪ Yunus Microcredits ▪ Dean & Romney

Washington Lawyer’s Banking Thoughts (e-glob) ▪ Joint Huffpost Comment

Stimulus Package & Poorest Families ▪ Feeling Wrong ▪ Berlinale 2009
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Summary of Arianna Huffington’s WEF Davos Blogs

2009-02-04T12:11:00.006+01:00

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The most recent Huffpost blogs by Arianna Huffington, who had participated in the WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM in Davos (Switzerland) [~video, 7 min.], were thoroughly evaluated and commented on.

A comprehensive summary of the pertinent FK comments [~FK Profile] at THE HUFFINGTON POST as well as in the GLOBAL HAPLIFNET was furnished at the blog Haplif Governance.
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Multicultural Blogs - update

2009-02-02T09:51:00.003+01:00

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transatlantic daily NEWS "International Stuff" [introduction]

Rigged Trial ▪ Cool Scientists ▪ John Brockman’s Book ▪ Sense Making

Davos Anxiety ▪ Responsibility ▪ Blagojevich ▪ Restaurants ▪ John Updike

Davos ‘09 ▪ Contrite Bankers ▪ Yale President’s Belief ▪ William Gibson

Contrition & Paralysis ▪ World Economic Forum ▪ Davos Resort Area

WEF Davos: Crisis Roadmap ▪ Stimulus Package ▪ Family & Friends ▪ PETA
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Davos ’09: Crises Roadmap from the World Economic Forum

2009-02-01T15:13:00.005+01:00

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Brown: World Bank, IMF 'out of date'

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called on world leaders to set about reforming international financial institutions to prevent a repeat of the circumstances that led to the current financial crisis.

Gordon Brown said governments were dealing with the "first financial crisis of the global age."

Speaking to CNN's Christiane Amanpour during a session Saturday, Jan. 31, at the World Economic Forum, Brown said leaders would have failed unless they used the crisis to build a "greener, more digital and more highly skilled economy."

Brown also said the world needed a new Bretton Woods agreement, referring to the 1944 conference that laid the foundations of the post-World War II economic order by creating the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

"We've got to be far bolder and far more imaginative," Brown said. "We want to create a global society. But we need to have global institutions that work and the problem is the institutions we built 60 years ago are out of date."

With world financial ministers due to gather in London in April for the G20 summit, Brown said governments were dealing with the "first financial crisis of the global age." CNN Interview + Video (8 min.)

Global Economic Charter

Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany called Friday, Jan. 30, for the creation of an international economic body, similar to the United Nations Security Council, to help avert the kind of wrenching financial crisis currently engulfing the world. International Herald Tribune

No Answer To Global Meltdown?

Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh and the father of microcredit, saw a silver lining in the financial crisis.

"It's not just disappointment and frustrations," he told AP. "This is the greatest moment we have because things need to be changed, it's as simple as that. We don't want to go back to the same normalcy that we're coming from. We will create a new normalcy which will stay and keep on moving and change the world." Washington Post\AP
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Multicultural Blogs - update

2009-01-26T11:55:00.004+01:00

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transatlantic daily NEWS "International Stuff" [introduction]

Inauguration Countdown ▪ Heather de Lisle ▪ New Gas Agreement ▪ Gaza Ceasefire

Inauguration Parties ▪ Science \ Religion ▪ Rick Rockwell ▪ CIA ▪ Nigo

Historic Inauguration Day ▪ Sober Sermon ▪ Arianna Huffington ▪ Balls

Taking Charge ▪ Guantanamo ▪ First Lady’s Fashion ▪ Inauguration Gleanings

Helmut Schmidt ▪ Kennedy’s Withdrawal ▪ Tom Cruise’s Valkyrie ▪ Tax Code

Susan Blackmore ▪ DiKoM ▪ Christine Jacobi-Becker ▪ DIE ZEIT ▪ US Ladies

Future Take Over ▪ Friendships ▪ Dress Senses ▪ Promotion ▪ Law & Emotion
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Global Crises Will Define Barack Obama's Presidency

2009-01-20T20:49:00.010+01:00

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The historic Inauguration Day - slideshow - was overwhelming and momentous!

Now, finally, America believes that it has found the right man for the job. The expectations on election day were high -- and they have now risen even higher. On the domestic front, Obama is expected to overcome the financial crisis, stem the rising tide of unemployment, reduce social inequality and achieve nothing less than raising the country to new heights of greatness...

On the foreign policy front, the wish list of the international community has grown even longer over the past eight years with every single disappointment with George W. Bush. Obama is expected to achieve peace in the Middle East, prevent Iran from building the bomb without resorting to bombing the country, integrate the Chinese into the world community, tame the Russians, unite the Europeans and -- in his spare time -- also achieve reconciliation with communist Cuba… Cordula Meyer, Gregor Peter Schmitz and Gabor Steingart, Spiegel International

Welcoming the new president to office Nicolas Sarkozy said: "We are eager for him to get to work so that with him we can change the world.” Telegraph UK

Full inauguration speech + video

Obama Dances Into History at 10 Balls

Multicultural Blogs - update

2009-01-19T06:43:00.002+01:00

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transatlantic daily NEWS "International Stuff" [introduction]

US Stimulus Skepticism ▪ Kate Winslet & Leonardo DiCaprio ▪ Russian Gas Supplies

Golden Globe 2009 ▪ Russia’s Gas Pumping Resumption ▪ Synoptic Review

Globes Fashion ▪ Karen Heinrichs ▪ Gas Feuding ▪ Koop Island ▪ Hearing

Russian-Ukrainian Bargaining ▪ Humanism Postulations ▪ Alsatian Scenery

Hudson Miracle ▪ US President’s Farewell ▪ Russian-Ukrainian Conflict Pleading

Vladimir Putin Honored ▪ Slavic Style ▪ Commemoration ▪ Inauguration Prospect
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Order of Saxon Gratitude for Vladimir Putin

2009-01-18T08:27:00.001+01:00

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Putin, who served as head of state from 1999 until becoming prime minister last year, was due to receive the "Order of Saxon Gratitude" for promoting cultural relations between Germany and Russia.

The honor was to be presented by the Semper Opera Ball Association in Dresden, where Putin served as Soviet KGB officer until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

The Russian prime minister was due to receive the award after holding talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, where he was also paying a visit to the Green Week agricultural exhibition… Deutsche Welle
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Multicultural Blogs - update

2009-01-11T08:58:00.003+01:00

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transatlantic daily NEWS "International Stuff" [introduction]

Sarkozy & Olmert ▪ US Spending ▪ Germany’s U-Turn ▪ Madoff Case ▪ Olya Fryz

Gas Supplies ▪ Gaza Incursion ▪ Merckle ▪ Douglas Hofstadter ▪ Hochthurn

Obama’s Power Luncheon ▪ Budget Outline ▪ EU Gas Dilemma (Russia\Ukraine)

US Stimuli ▪ Nancy Killefer ▪ Gas Dispute ▪ Costa Rica ▪ Darwin (Australia)

Gas Dispute Resolved ▪ Windows 7 ▪ Geysers ▪ Lindau (Bodensee) ▪ Darwin ▪ Tigre

US Employment Package ▪ Transit Gas Accord ▪ Movies ▪ Schwarzkopf Experts
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Obama’s Ultimate Power Luncheon with US Presidents

2009-01-08T11:12:00.003+01:00

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President-Elect Barack Obama and all the living US presidents met for lunch at the White House.

George W. Bush gave him the warmest welcome. “One message that I have and I think we all share is that we want you to succeed,” he said. “We wish you all the very best, and so does the country.”

Standing between Bush father and son for a photo in the Oval Office, the President-elect thanked his predecessors for joining him and said he valued the opportunity to "get advice, good counsel and fellowship from these individuals" and learn "from their successes" before taking office on Jan 20.

Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter completed the historical line-up of one of the world's most exclusive clubs, in which Barack Obama stood out for his youth and his race, his presence reminding Americans of the history they made electing the first black leader since the foundation of the nation… By Alex Spillius, UK Telegraph
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Multicultural Blogs - update

2009-01-05T10:57:00.002+01:00

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transatlantic daily NEWS "International Stuff" [introduction]

Middle-East Gaza Violence ▪ EU’s Baton Change (Paris - Prague) ▪ Grooviness

Arianna’s 2008 Review ▪ GMAC Bailout ▪ H. Clinton & C. Kennedy ▪ Valkyrie

2008 Goodies ▪ Bucolic Ville’s Kid ▪ Sexiness Borderline ▪ Hillbillies

Crisis Change Globally ▪ EU-Russian-Ukrainian Energy Policy ▪ RNC Draft

EU ▪ Russia & Ukraine (Gazprom) ▪ New Year’s Eve Retrospection ▪ Nivea Story

Circus Fuentes ▪ Iron Man ▪ Beatles & Universe ▪ Alexander ▪ Reputation

Israeli Gaza War ▪ Alexander ▪ Pompeian Art ▪ Felicitation ▪ Withdrawal
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Angela Merkel: Crisis Change for Tough Financial Rules

2009-01-01T13:17:00.000+01:00

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Call for social responsibility

Turning to the global economy, Merkel said it had been plunged into crisis by financial excess carried out without social responsibility and with a loss of proportion by many bankers and managers.

"The world has lived above its means," she said, adding that "only once we recognize these causes can we extricate the world from this crisis. To do this we need a clear set of principles."

These had to entail greater social responsibility in business and financial dealings and recognize that the state is "the guardian of economic and social order." DEUTSCHE WELLE
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Multicultural Blogs - update

2008-12-28T11:28:00.007+01:00

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transatlantic daily NEWS "International Stuff" [introduction]

Queensberry ▪ Pro Sieben - Rupert Murdoch ▪ Dasha Astafieva ▪ Goa

Browser System’s Deficiencies ▪ Amsterdam Scene - Hip Spots Changing

Vice P. Issues ▪ Breaking News ▪ Bailout Money ▪ Bachelorette ▪ Lingerie

Show Entourage ▪ Alexis’ TV ▪ Obama’s Hawaiian Style ▪ Arab Gifts

Koehler Speech ▪ Michael Musto ▪ Village Voice ▪ Arianna’s Huffpost Presents

Heidi Movie ▪ Madeira ▪ NYC Club Shots ▪ Huffpost Gifts ▪ Xmas Cartoon

Pakistani Troops ▪ Foreign Films ▪ Ziviti ▪ Harold Pinter ▪ Eartha Kitt

Gaza Bombings ▪ Aperitifs ▪ Photographing ▪ Jackie Vernon ▪ Pompeian Exhibit
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German President Horst Koehler Backs Finance Reforms

2008-12-25T10:12:00.006+01:00

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Berlin has been pushing for reforms which would require regulators in every nation to crack down on risky investment schemes.

Koehler, who is a former managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said the worldwide financial and economic crisis could be overcome, but "we'll have to work hard at it."

Xmas speech excerpts

"An incredible amount of money has been lost. Many people are worried about their savings. Many worry whether their jobs are safe.”

"Our country, our citizens and our government responded wisely and with level heads."

"It's an opportunity for greater cooperation among nations, an opportunity for a better economic and financial order, where capital serves everybody and nobody has to feel oppressed by it.” Dec 24, 2008 - Deutsche Welle
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Multicultural Blogs - update

2008-12-21T08:52:00.002+01:00

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transatlantic daily NEWS "International Stuff" [introduction]

EU & US: Packaged Ideas ▪ Huffpost’s FrankKalder Profile ▪ Vice Puppy ▪ Illinois

German Long-Term Stimulus ▪ Farewell - Iraq & Afghanistan ▪ Inspiration

Madoff Debacle ▪ Peter Schiff’s Predictions ▪ Greenland ▪ Replacements

Schiff & Huffpost ▪ Falling Dollar ▪ Internet Activities ▪ Craig Ferguson

Charles Darwin Year ▪ Shuttering Car Factories ▪ Avocation & Professionalism

Industrial Wasteland ▪ Poetry ▪ Metrolyrics ▪ Queensberry ▪ Victoria’s Secret

Split Car Industry ▪ Washington’s Business Preparation ▪ Global Economy

GBS Humanists (KorsO) ▪ Reality Shows ▪ Internet Population ▪ Overweight Soldiers
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Sarkozy warned of industrial wasteland in Europe

2008-12-18T10:32:00.002+01:00

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French President Nicolas Sarkozy warned (Dec 16) that the European Union could turn into an industrial wasteland without government help for manufacturers hit hard by the global financial crisis.

"We cannot be the only continent in the world that does not support its builders and manufacturers. We have to help our industrial infrastructure," Sarkozy told the European Parliament assembly. "Otherwise we are going to see an industrial wasteland."

European car makers deserve help, he said, especially if the United States gives subsidies to its struggling auto sector. France should consider a loan programme helping consumers buy environment-friendly new vehicles, he said. ... By Huw Jones, Reuters UK
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Multicultural Blogs - update

2008-12-15T00:53:00.003+01:00

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transatlantic daily NEWS "International Stuff" [introduction]

Poor Fare ▪ Obama’s Supreme Court Hearing ▪ Christiane Amanpour

Daily Show ▪ Arianna's HuffPost ▪ Victoria Secret ▪ Journalistic Reliability

Climate Plan ▪ Global Crisis Meeting ▪ Upcoming EU Summit ▪ Secret Diary

Citizenship Case ▪ Big Three’s Car Czar ▪ French Story ▪ Stanislaw Lem

Huffington & Olbermann ▪ Obama’s Citizenship ▪ Car Czar ▪ Shaking Head

Huffington Blogging ▪ Citizenship ▪ GM & Opel ▪ Bailouts ▪ Friendship

EU Summit: Climate & Stimulus ▪ Rod Blagojevich ▪ Linguistic Heritage

EU Summit Results ▪ Restructuring Detroit ▪ Bill Moyers ▪ Huffpost

EU+US Climate Chance & Economic Stimulus ▪ Commodities ▪ Law ▪ Ukraine
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Climate Change Curb & Economic Stimulus Plan

2008-12-14T16:58:00.000+01:00

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European leaders adopted what they described as a historic pact to combat global warming, Dec 12, and challenged President-elect Barack Obama to join in their commitment to drastically reduce greenhouse gases despite the global economic crisis.

The 27 European Union nations also endorsed a €200 ($260) billion economic stimulus plan, equivalent to 1.5 percent of the bloc's gross domestic product, and urged the incoming Obama administration to prepare similarly ambitious measures and financial reforms for coordinated action at a summit of the world's 20 major economic powers scheduled for April 2 in London.

The appeals, at a two-day E.U. summit in Brussels, reflected widespread expectations among European leaders that Obama and his team will be easier to work with than the Bush administration and that, to a large extent, the president-elect shares their assessment of the need for bold steps to slow global warming and to revive economies that have been sapped by financial turmoil… By Edward Cody, Washington Post
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Multicultural Blogs - update

2008-12-06T08:08:00.007+01:00

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transatlantic daily NEWS "International Stuff" [introduction]

Clinton’s Juggling Act ▪ Fed’s Rate Panel ▪ Irish Song ▪ Mars Photos

Climate Control ▪ Supertaster ▪ Substrat vs. Superstrat ▪ Powell’s Endorsement

American Leadership ▪ Diplomacy ▪ National Security Team ▪ Iconology ▪ Music

U.S. Car Industry ▪ Ukrainian Wonders ▪ Lindau (Bodensee) ▪ European History

Pakistan & India ▪ Cluster-Bomb Ban ▪ Prof. Guido Knopp ▪ Blogging Guide ▪ Robotics

U.S. Automakers & Skepticism ▪ The Huffington Post ▪ Robotics ▪ Rodeo Circus

Carmakers' bailout pleas hit Senate scepticism

2008-12-05T06:30:00.000+01:00

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Desperate U.S. automakers ran into fresh obstacles from sceptical lawmakers, December 4, as they appealed with rising urgency - and a new dose of humility - for a $34 billion bailout. Without help, said one senator, "we're looking at a death sentence."

With lawmakers in both parties pressing the automakers to consider a pre-negotiated bankruptcy - something they have consistently shunned - the Big Three were contemplating a government-run restructuring that could yield results similar to bankruptcy, including massive downsizing, in return for the bailout billions. But there was no assurance they could get even that.

And that wasn't all the unwelcome news. Congressional officials said one leading proposal - to tap an already approved fund set aside for making cars environmentally efficient - wouldn't give the carmakers nearly as much money as they say they need.

The auto executives pleaded with lawmakers at a contentious Capitol Hill hearing - their second round in less than a month - for emergency aid before year's end. But with time running out on the current Congress, skepticism about the bailout appeared to be as strong as ever… By Julie Hirschfeld Davis, Associated Press
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Barrack Obama’s New National Security Team

2008-12-02T06:45:00.000+01:00

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Appearing at a Chicago press conference with secretary of State nominee Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and five others whom he plans to put on his team, Obama announced yesterday his administration would restore U.S. standing in the world through alliance-building and international institutions, as well as by maintaining American military might. […]

Obama said he would nominate Susan E. Rice, a former State Department official, to the U.N. post. The national security team will also include Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who will continue in his position; retired Marine Gen. James L. Jones Jr., the new national security advisor; Gov. Janet Napolitano of Arizona, the nominee for secretary of Homeland Security; and former deputy attorney general Eric H. Holder Jr., the nominee for attorney general... Los Angeles Times
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