Let's keep our paws off Knut's balls

In the article Let's keep our paws off Knut's balls, Peta an animal rights activist group wants to castrate Berlin's male polar bear. Peta believes that this should happen because the mate placed into Knut's bear den shared the same grandfather. Peta is under the impression that this would lead to detrimental inbreeding if the two were to have cubs. But, in this article the writer does not share the same feelings as Peta. They want Peta so to speak to lay of off Knut's nuts. They believe this is just another stunt for Peta to gain fame. If cubs were to be produced by Knut and his mate, then the Berlin zoo would attract more people, and this would help the economy.
I thought this article title was very amusing. The content of the article was definitely interesting. I agree that Peta can be power hungry at times, even though some of the work they do is good. It just goes to show that no matter where in they are in the world Peta will target any area. Just like in Germany with the polar bear conflict, a rather unimportant conflict arose in the United States recently. Peta was trying to argue that the use of the ground hog was unethical for ground hog day, and that it should be released out into the wild. Peta believed that the one day of camera flashing was too stressful for the animal. But, why not go with their solution? Set the ground hog lose in the wild and let it get eaten by a hawk or something. I don't know about you, but I'd rather have one day of camera flashes and have protection, than live the remainder of my life in fear of being eaten.
This article can be found at: http://www.thelocal.de/opinion/20100303-25641.html

Anger burns a year after Cologne archive collapse

In the article Anger burns a year after Cologne archive collapse, the people of Germany show their anger with their government officials. A memorial address was made by Mayor Jurgen Roters. This speech sparked criticism about building the new U-Bahn metro tunnel under the archieve building, which eventually collapsed. Two men lost their lives during the collapse and numerous historical documents were destroyed. Implications of shoddy workmanship have lead many to ask the government what really happened. The lack of political accountability has lead citizens to become angered and believe the men who died are being mocked.
I found this article to be very interesting. Its shocking to think that such a major project such as a metro tunnel could fall subject to shoddy work. I find it interesting that the government has not done a better job in disproving the accusations. This German conflict just goes to show that all government's are constantly accountable. When reading this article, I began to think about September 11. I know that the German collapse only involved two deaths while the twin towers involved hundreds of deaths. However, during the memorial speech at both places citizens displayed dismay with what happened.
This article can be found at http://www.thelocal.de/national/20100303-25653.html

Carnival revelers spites economic crisis

In the article titled "Carnival revelers spites economic crisis" the tradition of the fifth season is discussed. The article shows that tradition prevails even through economic hardships. A carnival is held in Germany's largest state of North Rhine-Westphalia to celebrate the "fifth season." This season begins November 11 and reaches it biggest point during the pre-lent period between Shrove Thursday and Fat Tuesday. This celebration was not affected by the economic crisis. The "Rosentmontag" which occurs the Monday before lent draws a crowd of a million. During this parade 150 tons of sweets are thrown out to the crowd. Many crowd members feared that this amount would suffer due to the expensiveness of it, but was not to be let down. These fun festivities come to an end on Ash Wednesday. Many hotels and shops benefit from this social time of the year.
I thought this article was very interesting. The German tradition is very similar to that carried out in the United States. Like in Germany one central state holds these festivities that many travel to take part in. Mardi Gras and the Fuentfte Jahreszeit both include lent, fat Tuesday, and ash Wednesday. I was amazed with the amount of sweets passed out during the "Rosenmontag." I found the picture in this article to be neat and very similar to those taken during Mardi Gras. Tying economic crisis into this article was a good way to make consumers aware of the crisis. It is amazing how no matter how hard of a time a nation is having they can come together for silly things like a carnival.
This article by Sabina Casagrande and Sarah Steffen can be found at: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5232457,00.html

Holocaust remembered in stories of rescuers

The heading of this article starts with, "Wednesday is Holocaust Remembrance Day when people around the world commemorate the millions who were victims during the Nazi period." The Holocaust was a time of great turmoil. In this article, heroes of this time period are celebrated for the risks they took upon themselves to protect others. This year marks the sixty-fifth anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Yad Vashem is a living memorial of those non-Jewish rescuers that come from over 45 countries, there are more than 22,000 people recognized. A Swiss police commander by the name of Paul Gruninger helped more than 3,000 Austrian Jews escape via the St Gallen frontier patrol. He was convicted of fraud and received a prison sentence along with a hefty fine. With his loss of position in society he and his family lived the remainder of their days in poverty. His daughter who is 88 years old said that her father never felt sadness, "He knew he had a clear conscious and a good heart." Another celebrated person was a man by the name of Eduard Benedek Brunschweiler who was a businessman. He saved thousands of people and at least 30 Jewish children, by taking charge of the Benedictine Abbey in central Hungary and placing it under Red Cross protection. Finally, the last hero recognized in this article was Carl Lutz the Swiss Vic-Consul. He established "safe houses" in Budapest by declaring them annexes of the Swiss Legislation. The most famous building that was annexed was called the Glass House. This building housed more than 3,000 Jews. In 2005 this building was opened and used in the honouring of Mr. Lutz by being turned into a museum.
I chose this article because the Holocaust has always fascinated me. The thought of such cruelty is mind blowing and seemingly inconceivable. But, most amazing to me in the honour and bravery that arose out of such a devistating situation. In comparison to American society this article speaks of things that have yet to occur. As for this type of disrtruction occuring in American society, I hope this never will. Nor do I want this to happen in any country or society ever again.
This article (written by Andrew Littlejohn) can be found at: http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/news/feature/Holocaust_remembered_in_stories_of_rescuers_html?cid=8175146

Match-Fixing Scandal 'Struck at the Heart of Soccer'

The heading of this article is, "The European match-fixing scandal is tragic for soccer fans whose faith in fair play risks being shattered, write German commentators. But corruption can affect any business, and the undercover police operation that exposed it is a positive sign, they add." This article discuses the corruption that was found to be lurking in the world of soccer. On Thursday fifty raids were made in Germany, Switzerland, Britain, and Austria. "Authorities arrested 15 people in Germany and two in Switzerland seized over (1.5) million in cash and property." A similar conviction was made five years ago when a German referee decided to receive bribes. These scandals have only been found in the lower levels; luckily the first division has stayed away from such controversy.
I chose this article because the heading caught my attention when I was searching for sports articles. I have played pretty much every sport except soccer, so i don't know much about the sport and its rules. I was surprised to find that an extensive undercover operation was carried out to capture the perpatrators. The fact that this scandal spread across four countries was mind blowing. I have heard of steroid use and many other negative stories about basketball, football, golf, swimming, and baseball; never have I heard anything negative stories about soccer.
I found it interesting that, "The case centers on a Berlin-based betting shop, Cafe King, which featured in a similiar scandal five years ago that led to the conviction of German referee Robert Hoyzer." I have always envisioned this kind of thing happening in the movies but never in real life. I must be naive, but I assumed such scandal would not be so obvious to find. The referee found to have thrown the game was known to have previously done so in years earlier. I would think that the soccer association would be smart enough not to allow the referee to participate in games again.
This article by (David Crossland) can be read at: http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,662828,00.html

Topics that interest me.

This project requires me to become aware of the things going on in the world around me. I hope to broaden my horizon with this project, also to learn how to improve my daily life and outlook on things. Topics that interest me are sports, music, and dancing. I am interested in the sport aspect because I have played sports year around since I was six years old. Music interests me because I play the viola, and a lot of music I have learned to play originated from German composers.