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Showing posts from 2023

(8k) Kristallnacht. The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Situation today.

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Kristallnacht , in English known as Night of the Broken Glass On 9 November 2023, the world, or at least the West, remembered that 85 years ago Kristallnacht happened. It was on the night of 9 to 10 November 1938 that Hitler ordered thugs that included SA and SS officers, and some Hitler youth and German citizens to attack synagogues and other Jewish property, while police and fire officers were ordered not to intervene unless non-Jew property was under threat to burn down. About 90 Jews died, 30,000 were imprisoned in concentration camps where more Jews died, and over 7,000 Jewish businesses were destroyed.  Why did this happen? Hitler used a specific incident to allow the terrible night to happen. The pretext for this event happened in Paris, France. Here a young in Germany born Polish Jewish man Herschel Grynszpan murdered the German diplomat Ernst vom Rath because he was angry about Germany's anti-Jewish laws and the resulting bad treatment of Jews (although some people think...

(8j) Three weeks of war in Israel. Not something that was not expectable

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The war by Israel against the people in Gaza after the terrible attack by Hamas against Israelis who were partying next the Gaza Strip whereby 1400 Israelis were killed and hundreds were taken hostages.  Of course, Israel had to respond, but not overrespond. As nearly 10.000 people in Gaza died, including about 4000 Palestinian children, it is likely many will become more hateful towards Israel. One extreme right Israeli minister proposed to use nuclear weapons against Palestinians, such is his hate against people who lost their properties when Jewish people moved to Israel after WWII.  They should have tried to live together in peace as many tried (such as Daniel Barenboim) because they are closer related than they accept. Indeed, even their religion of not showing images of God and worship of humans is different from Christians who show the builder of monuments for their religion, and even God and Jesus. However, a section of Israelis don't want peace but instead continue to...

How much of an idiot can you be? And reality.

21/09/2023 - Difference of opinion about the limits of democracy A gay guy in the article says: " I’m a gay man, but I could accept it if a country voted to ban gays. I would never vote for that myself, ... But I think people should be able to make their own rules about how they want to live in their society. People should be given the keys to their own destiny ." How stupid such a reasoning that a majority should be able to oppress a large section of their society. Of course, this also means that other societies may decide not to deal with such societies.  Instead, people need to be educated about human rights, so they understand the difference between diversity among people versus people who oppose differences. Then people will understand the difference between people who love each other by their own free will versus people who oppose that people love the people they love. Worst are those who preach against being yourself, and then abuse, such as in the Roman Catholic Chur...

Spain's latest election show there is hope for the future

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Published on FB 21/07/2023, days before the Spanish elections Maria Guardiola said she only had her word, but later she said " on reflection, "my word isn't as important as the future of the people of Extremadura ”." Her original words were delivered in a speech in which she tore into the far-right Vox party for its denial of gender-based violence, its demonisation of migrants and its attacks on the LGBTQ+ community. Remember the Bible where the devil tells Jesus on top of a hill "bow for me, and I give you power over all that you see".  But people are not surprise as her party's leader cannot keep his own words such as when he said that the largest party should lead the government, and that was another party. And thus he forced her to change her words. And she agreed, instead of holding on to what she believed, so now she can lead the government.  And thus slowly Europe may move in the direction of extreme right that is anti-woke as they want the rig...

Extreme left joins extreme right over Ukraine. Hard to understand

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Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov analyses 2023's Russia Russia's Nobel-winning journalist Dmitry Muratov, whose newspaper was closed by the authorities, speaks about Russia's war in Ukraine . Does president Putin have a support base he asks? He answers himself: an enormous one of mainly elderly people who see Putin as their own grandson as they are pleased he wishes them each year "Happy New Year". Many of those elderly wouldn't mind sending their real grandchildren to die for Putin. In contrast, many younger people oppose the war against Ukraine, and many of them are now even imprisoned. So, he hopes the future of Russia will be different.  But yes, while Russian propaganda tries to convince Russians that even nuclear war may be something positive, there are also people in the West who create their own propaganda to justify their support for Russia, and condemn Ukraine because it wants to remain a free democracy, and therefore opposes Russia's invasion. ...

(7k - EN) A serious conflict between the Delhaize and the staff

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The conflict between the staff and the management of Delhaize continues. This article shows why the staff, together with the unions, may be right. After all, the profit margins of the stores are less today than they used to be. The retail landscape is changing dramatically. People now regularly buy smaller quantities instead of once a week. For example, it appears that shops managed by Delhaize have limited opening hours, such as not being open on Sundays, when many people go shopping these days. The reason? The staff must be paid extra on Sundays. Evening work must also be paid extra. People now also buy via websites while products are delivered to their homes. This is even promoted by Delhaize, as a result of which people go less to stores, and therefore stores have less income. Since the profit margins are less, it will also be more difficult for the self-employed to make the business profitable, especially since Delhaize is not cheap. An example is Snickers which can be up to 55% m...

(8i) World Cup football

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Introduction The World Cup is over, and I am sure that throughout the world many people enjoyed watching the games. There were surprises such as Morocco that became the first African and Arab country to reach the semi-finals that they lost. Other countries lost unexpectedly early in the tournament. Still, at the start of the tournament there were controversies about last minute changes such as the fact that the OneLove armband was forbidden. What can be wrong with love and not hate? Mr Thawadi, an influential figure in the organisation of the World Cup is wrong when he said that the protests at Quatar's World Cup are against Islamic values. Instead, they are about the right for people to be who they were born to be, without being forced to live a lie, or fear to be imprisoned or even killed when they are themselves. It started with Fifa boss Mr Infantino who first listed people with who we should be inclusive, to continue with saying that because of Europe's terrible past thr...