Intercultural Times

The fallen Islamic Republic

mastercelebi — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:46:34 +0000

“Neda, stay with me! “, the man cries. But it was of no use: On the very
same day, the video of the dying Neda Agha-Soltan was shown on Youtube.

Up to now, at least 80 people had fallen prey to the brutality of the
regime’s militia. Some members of the opposition were already threatened with
capital punishment. Neda’s death isn’t a singular case, but rather a
general rule. Some people were already executed. The Islamic Republic was a
failing model from the very first, because of its being a monarchic
archetype.

1979, after the fall of the Shah, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned from
exile to Teheran and showed his draft for an Islamic Republic of Iran
to the first Assembly of Experts, the leaders of the revolution: In fact,
the chief of state, the “Supreme Leader”, controls the “Guardian Council”,
the mightiest authority in the state (except the leader himself), so he’s
not realistically deposible. An oppositional control is not given. It’s
sure, that Khomeini was the first Supreme Leader. A state like this cannot
work, as the demonstrations show, and only with oppressive means the state
can enforce itself.

But is Mir Hossein Mussawi, the opposition’s favoured candidate much better?
He is not the reformer most people in Europe would wish. For example Mehdi
Karroubi, promised gender equity.

Now the Iranians have chosen, and if Mussawi should become president of the
Iran, we will have to be pleased because we have to support the Iranians cum
their choices. If the Iranian regime should accept the election, the
“Islamic Republic” may become a bit more of a “Republic” at all.

International Standards for Fashion?

Ali — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 18:09:58 +0000

The New York Fashion Week is the most important fashion show all over the
world. All famous designers and well-known fashion-reviewers are there and
in the spotlights.
Stylists like Rufus Wainwright, Alice Temperly, Marc Jacobs, Donna Karan,
Oscar de la Renta, Zac Posen and Betsey Johnson go there.
This event is only for invited guests, so you have to have connections to
the fashion industry to be allowed to be at the Fashion Week.

Some celebrities were at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Berlin, but it’s
not that big as it is in New York.

Worldwide the fashion industries know that the models are too thin and not
able to meet the stress, because their idols are impossible to reach.
In December 2007 Alice Schwarzer, Ulla Schmidt, Ursula von der Leyen and
Annette Schavan gave the starting signal for the campaign “Life needs
Weight”. This campaign is against anorexia nervosa and other eating
disorders. The “Lucia AG” does the same especially for models.
In a letter US-designer Diane von Fürstenberg appeals to her collegues to do
the same as they did in Spain and Italy: Models have to have a certain
weight to be allowed to walk on the catwalk!
She wishes that these guidelines apply to the USA in the future.
Because many of those people, who are sick (of anorexia nervosa or other
eating disorders), die, or they have to live with terrible permanent damage!

Differences in education of minority children between Germany and the USA

Ali — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 20:04:17 +0000

America, Land of Opportunity?

When thinking about differences in education of minority children, we have
to identify the minorities first. Some minorities assimilate easier than
others. There are many different types of minorities in the USA, such as
West-Indians, Puerto Ricans, African Americans, Chinese and many more. In
Germany there are less “varieties” of immigrants: nearly all are Turkish,
Arab, Kurdish or East-European people.

America - the land of opportunity? This may or may not be true. Firstly, let
us examine the structure of the two education systems. In Germany education
is generally free for all, also including universities. In the States money
plays a much more important role. This decides who will and will not receive
a good education. Who has a better chance? Which type of immigrants? Second
generation immigrants have a better chance in both countries for a good
education because of the support of the first generation. Factors such as
income and family support are not major issues for them anymore. The
difficulties arise where minority groups have not assimilated very well into
society.

Access to higher education for minority groups in Germany is relatively
uncomplicated. A determining factor is the ability to speak the native
language. In most cases this is not a big issue. As the state provides free
education, money is also not a big issue. In contrast to America where it is
sometimes difficult to get loan approval. Another important point is that
in America minorities tend to assimilate easier into society because most
students will have a family history of immigration. This is not the case in
Germany and this can cause difficulties for minorities. Parents of
minorities can sometimes have difficulties when taking an active interest in
their child’s education because of work commitments.

It is not always easy for minority kids to come to terms with a foreign
society. They are forced to make changes in order to overcome the culture
shock. There will always be problems of integration. America wouldn’t be
America without immigrants, who have made an enormous contribution to the
American society. Immigrants have in general adjusted very well to American
society.

What´s your opinion? Do you think education of minority kids in the USA is
better than in Germany?

NPR

A whirlpool in which we try to survive?

Ali — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 21:03:34 +0000

We all know conglomerates. Starbucks. McDonald’s, H&M, Milka. And so on, and
so on. And we all like them. Because, whenever we see their sign, we think
of the quality we associate with them. And that’s the reason we mostly buy
products from conglomerates: because everyone knows what the products are
like and they are the same in every country. But is that really good.? Most
of the people don’t go to a small coffee shop whenever there’s a starbucks
around. Because of this, the smaller concerns don’t earn enough money and
disappear. And as soon as the owners are out of money, they aren’t able to
pay for anything any more, so their children have to work hard for education
and the chance of a good life. In addition to this problem, the
conglomerates import their stuff from other countries and try to keep the
costs as low as they can, which means the people producing their products
don’t earn enough money to live, too. All these people live in poverty
because we only buy the products we know instead of buying products of
smaller concerns. So how could this happen?

What remains of Copenhagen?

Ali — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 21:02:02 +0000

Copenhagen was just a landmark in a new phase of brutalization

In December the environmental negotiators gathered together in the Danish
capital: What was it generally about?

The roadmap of Bali 2007 had stipulated that the parties should engage in
Copenhagen on a new mandatory regulation for climate protection after 2012.
But the result is only a non-binding accord to limit global warming to 2°C.
The very high speed, and the fatal consequences of climate change are taken
seriously by almost all scientists, but not by the politicians. Because
each country represents only its own interests, there was no agreement.
Especially China and the U.S. refused to sign a binding document. The
developing countries demanded that the industrialized nations should take
more responsibility and would not still protect only their own economies. All
are afraid of a move in another direction and do not see the positive effects
of a more sustainable society and the new opportunities.
The only thing that remains is the costs of the conference, which are
estimated at just under 150 million euros. The CO2 output during and
through the conference with 16,500 participants corresponded to about 40,000
tons of CO2 equivalent to what the British metropolis Middlesbrough
dismissed in the atmosphere during the conference.

The salary of managers

Ali — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 20:57:58 +0000

Of course, managers have a huge charge in view of how many people they keep.
But the payment for this accomplishment mostly amounts to a few 100.000
dollars in a year. The concerns, which pay so much money for only one
person, are firing many workers in the same time. Also the payment of
managers is often connected with a lot of bonuses, that boost the already
huge payment to another level. But the biggest problem I see with managers
is, who are on the nation’s payroll. These people are paid by the state and
these are the duties of the citizens. With the money, which is going to a
small number of persons, it’s also possible to build or modernize national
institutions like schools.

Touchy-feely . Short dresses . Flowing material in decent blue and grey - Fashion week

Ali — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 20:56:44 +0000

New York.: The metropolis at America’s east coast. An example for all the
world: fashion, clubs, movies, life, freedom. New York is known everywhere.
Especially the New York Fashion-Week is an example for all other
fashion-weeks such as in Paris and Milano. In New York there are the
greatest designers, the most beautiful models and the biggest boutiques.
>From all the world models come to get a job in New York and to get known.
What’s with it?
New York hosts two major “Super Bowls of Fashion” with the big names of
fashion unveiling their fall designs in February, and their spring
collections in September.
According to unofficial reports, you can watch upcoming collections to be
shown from September 10 - 17 in 2010 (Spring/Summer collections).

Berlin: Long time ago the fahion-weeks of Berlin were sneered at. That a
city like Berlin wants to be a fashion example, a lightning metropolis like
new York was big fun for many people. But suddenly, when the old “Bread and
Butter Show” from Barcelona came back to Berlin everybody pointed to this
little city. And now, many years later, there isn’t just this show, there
are the “Mercedes-Benz-Fashion Week” and the “JAM”, too. But despite these
efforts Berlin can’t keep up with New York.
What’s with it?

Tomato red. Crystal blue Expensive designers - Fashion week:
JAM:
20/21-1-2010/ 10 am to 20 pm
22-1-2010/ 10 am to 19 pm; Mercedes-Benz-Fashion Week:
20-23-1-2010

Modekultur

Is Merkel like Obama ? - A view on two important politicians

Ali — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 20:52:15 +0000

Angela Dorothea Merkel, who was born on the 17th of july 1954 in Hamburg, is
Federal Chancellor of Germany since 2005.
After 4 years of being Federal Chancellor, she was reelected last year.
Merkel is the first woman among the Federal Chancellors in Germany.
So she started a new era. She was minister of the environment and of
adolescence and women. That shows her engagement for nature and humanity.
Barack Hussein Obama, who was born on the 4th of August 1961 in Honolulu, is
being
the 44th president of the USA since 20th January 2009. He is the first
black president there.
He was one of the US senators of the federal state of Illinois (2005-2008).
2009 he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his engagement for international
diplomacy.
Both are precursors of tolerance in things like egalitarianism and
inclusion of all
sections of population.
Merkel and Obama are also interested in saving the environment and
humanitarianism. Contrary to Merkel, Obama likes to show his family in the
public.
They both have changed a lot in this world with their positions and are very
influential
persons. They have different forms of government, but both have reached a
lot.
Barack and Angela praise each other and work together.
We think we should have more politicians like them both.

Is Merkel like Obama?

Ali — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 20:05:28 +0000

In fact, Merkel has common features with Obama. She is the first woman in a leading position in Germany, and he is the first black leader in America. I think this is the most important common feature. But apart from this, their politics is similar, at least in some points.
Aspiring after a good climate policy they both are inclined to promote the well-being of the people in their countries. Obama admires Merkel for her climate policy.
But not only the political behavior counts. The different domestic status also matters. For example, Obama is more dependent on the opinion of the Congress. Merkel is freer, she can carry on her point without her German parliament easier than Obama with his. This has a historical reason. The government in Germany developed in another way than the administration in America. America is “the child of Britain” and many things are taken up from there, e.g. the judiciary system. But the political system is different from the British one. First, America had many little states and these states united into one big organization (the United States of America).

Of course, they have their differences, for example, Obama was not allowed to make a speech in front of the German Bundestag. This is an aftermath of a domestic conflict in Germany. And the FDP thoughtt that Obama was offended, but the CDU disagreed. All the same, Merkel was allowed to make a successful speech before the Congress, because “Germany has a warm place in Obama’s heart”.

WHAT DOES OSAMA STAND FOR?!

Ali — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 14:06:19 +0000

Religious terrorism is terrorism performed by groups or individuals, the motivation of whom is typically rooted in the basic tenets of a faith. Terrorist acts throughout the centuries have been performed on religious grounds with the hope to either spread or enforce a system of beliefs, viewpoints or opinions. Religious terrorism does not in itself necessarily define a specific religious standpoint or view, but instead usually defines an individual or a group view or interpretation of that belief system’s teachings.

Bin Laden, who is on the US Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) list among the ‘Ten Most Wanted’, is also considered to have financed the 1997 killing of 58 tourists in Luxor, Egypt, by the Egyptian fundamentalist Islamic group, and the attempts in 1999 and 2000 of fundamentalist groups from Afghanistan to infiltrate Chechnya and Dagestan in Russia, Uzbekistan and Kurdistan all in Central Asia. In retaliation, the USA and United Nations (UN) imposed economic sanctions on Afghanistan’s fundamentalist Taliban militia. In May 2001 a New York State federal jury found four followers of bin Laden guilty of all charges arising from the 1998 US embassy bombings. The Talibans declared the conviction unfair, and reiterated their refusal to hand bin Laden over to the USA.

The phantom called “Terrorism”

Paragraph 129a of the German criminal legislation enables the prosecution of terrorist activities or membership in a terrorist organisation, but even the highest judges of Germany are not quite sure what terrorism actually is. The Federal Minister for Justice doesn’t think that 9/11 was terrorism, but everyone’s scared of it. German criminal legislation, the UN and also the EU have no clear definition of the term “terrorism”. We’re now asking: What exactly is terrorism? Who is a terrorist? And what’s a terrorist act?

Short definition of terrorism

The word “terrorism” is politically and emotionally charged,[1] and this greatly compounds the difficulty of providing a precise definition. A 2003 study by Jeffrey Record for the US Army quoted a source (Schmid and Jongman 1988) that counted 109 definitions of terrorism that covered a total of 22 different definitional elements.[2] Record continues “Terrorism expert Walter Laqueur also has counted over 100 definitions and concludes that the ‘only general characteristic generally agreed upon is that terrorism involves violence and the threat of violence.’ Yet terrorism is hardly the only enterprise involving violence and the threat of violence. So does war, coercive diplomacy, and bar room brawls.”[3] Angus Martyn in a briefing paper for the Australian parliament states that “The international community has never succeeded in developing an accepted comprehensive definition of terrorism. During the 1970s and 1980s, the United Nations attempted to define the term, but foundered mainly due to differences of opinion between various members about the use of violence in the context of conflicts over national liberation and self-determination.” Because of this and for political reasons, many news sources (such as Reuters) avoid using this term, opting instead for less accusatory words like “bombers,” “militants,” etc. A government could be terrorist as well.

Nobody cares about everything

Ali — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 18:09:47 +0000

Really a habitual situation: Sunday evening, the news on RTL: A habitual scheme of the European press, everybody is hacking on issues like Israel.
“No wonder, if you make yourself some target like they do”, critics say.
But has Israel really made itself a target of the press? Aren’t there other states in this world bargaining wrongly, of which we know nothing?
For example, let’s take a look at Africa: There are happening genocides which have a magnitude, that can’t be compared with the aftermaths of the Near East conflict,
which are funnily enough not in our news and not criticized very often!

Israel has a much bigger problem: Now left-wing leaned groups are boycotting Israeli products! But who would boycott Somalian or Iranian products?

Recently the Iranian government took a Nobel prize for peace from an Iranian woman, who was against the regime there.

Or in Somalia where the genital mutilation of girls in puberty doesn’t end and soldiers are killing people in the name of the “state”,
Why does nobody care about the real infringements of human rights?
Of course it’s easier and more comfortable to criticize a state like Israel than like Iran,
reacting more fiercely, but this just shows the cowardice of the critic.

Editorial Remarks II

nierlich — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:27:54 +0000

Intercultural Times No. 20

The fantastic outlook of the American Presidential election has changed into somewhat sober reality of its outcome, which was further influenced by the financial crash of the Wall Street disaster. The latter also shifted the economic balance in the world mostly to the advantage of China, which might take over the economic lead from the USA some day.

The print media further lose their leadership and influence on public opinion, and a social gap is widening in western societies. And a further social problem will come up with a cultural clash between societies of the young and societies of the old, between the educated and the uneducated.

November 2009

What to tell a Turk in a suit

admin — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 16:37:22 +0000

When Berlin’s minister for the interior presented the 2002 police statistics, he introduced a new feature: from then, the statistics differentiated between German and non-German offenders and as in youth criminality there was always a difference between these two groups, this decision appeared to be very sensible. In 2005, one in eight male German adolescents in Berlin committed a felony which meant a decline; in the non-German group it was one in three and here the number was rising. These numbers represent a reality, in which this small proportion of all immigrants creates racist prejudices against the whole community.

The result can be seen everywhere, anti-immigrant ideas and jokes like “What do you tell a Turk in a suit? – The accused shall stand up” become more popular. But Turks are a community that enriches Berlin in countless aspects e.g. music, sports, food etc. So it is crucial that both prejudices against immigrants and immigrant criminality are fought against. This is a hard job. On one hand politicians must do a lot of work to create more tolerance and on the other hand police need to drop unnecessarily exaggerated anti-racism to achieve the latter. Having crime statistics for both Germans and non-Germans is a good start.

The International Monetary Fund

admin — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 16:36:22 +0000

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was founded in 1947 with the target to stabilize currencies and avoid economic crises. The way this is done is to give credits to states which are getting into financial problems, so that the economy is strengthened. Since the East-Asia crisis in 1998, which were at least partly caused by the narrow-minded liberalization politics of the IMF, millions of people are demonstrating all over Europe against the IMF and the globalization. In South Korea, Indonesia and Thailand, the countries which were hit most brutally by the crisis, the time is split into “before the IMF” and “after the IMF”, which means the time before and after the economic crisis.
South Korea for example was in the 1990s a fastly developing country and has built up a well running market community. The international investments sputtered, the inflation was constant around 2% and the unemployment rate was low.
Ignoring those figures, the IMF forced South Korea to open the government-regulated markets for Western banks and products; otherwise the IMF would cut the money. Although it was economically totally wrong, South Korea had no choice. The international banks raised the interests to such an extent that domestic firms had to pay all their credits back, which led to, that most of the South Korean companies got into financial problems. At this stage the international community feared that South Korea would not be able to pay their credits back and arrogated their money from South Korea. The government tried to keep the currency constant by selling their reserve assets, but those were quite quickly spent and the inflation rose. The whole economic market broke down. The crisis in East Asia led to that the international community wanted their money back from other developing countries like Brazil, just because of distrust. This let the crisis become global.
The problem is that the ideology of the IMF has by now become a strict liberalization and privatization program. But before a market is liberalized, it needs certain premises: well-working courts, economic laws and supervisory boards. This is something the IMF does not see, it propagates a liberalization of the markets without caring for the circumstances in a country.
The way the IMF tried to solve the crisis in Eastern Asia was also not working out. The countries were told to raise the interests and to cut the government purchases. This has only strengthened the crisis: In times of financial crisis it is important to reconstruct the economy. This is not possible with a cut of purchases and a raise of interests, because firms NEED to get money to be rebuilt.

Links:
Joseph Stiglitz, “Globalizations and its discontents”
www.wirtschaftslexikon24.net/d/asienkrise/asienkrise.htm
www.ph-linz.at/ZIP/service/box/arbeit/asien_ur/asien_ur.doc

Bible Belt – How tight is it?

admin — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 16:35:14 +0000

Do our prejudices of the “Bible Belt” in America differ from the present reality in the United States?

When I decided to spend my exchange year in Oklahoma I was not aware of entering a region which is informally called “The Bible Belt”. So shortly before my departure I collected some information about the people I was going to stay with and their customs. I found out about the region’s term “Bible Belt” which is a term for an area of the United States in which socially conservative evangelical Protestantism is a dominant part of the culture and Christian church attendance across the denominations is extremely high.
But if that was just a prejudice or actually a fact I would figure out later during my exchange year by living in the region of the “Bible Belt” myself.
And fact was that my town with about 1500 inhabitants had 7 churches. My host father told me right in the beginning of my stay that he wanted me to go to church with them at least every Sunday. Since I had already decided to adapt my “atheist” lifestyle to a more religious one during this year in order to get to know the people better I was staying with I agreed with him. But I don’t want to know what he would have done if I had said no.
Even in school where religion is supposed not to influence other classes I was astonished when my Biology teacher skipped the chapter in our book which was dealing with the theory of evolution.
The strong influence of Christianity in the region of the Bible Belt is definitely not a prejudice and everybody going there has to be prepared that people try to convert him and convince him that their believe is the true one and all other kinds of religions are “wrong”.