Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Pastimes : Kosovo -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: MNI who wrote (12754)	6/24/1999 6:13:00 AM
From: GUSTAVE JAEGER	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 17770

Re: Maybe he extrapolates his Belgian experience in the wrong way? MIGRATION: 'One In Three' Europeans Admit To Being Racist By Niccolo Sarno BRUSSELS, Feb 25 (IPS) - Nearly one out of every three European Union citizens describe themselves as 'quite racist' or 'very racist', according to an opinion poll conducted at the end of last year's European Year Against Racism. One in five also agrees with the view that all non-EU immigrants should be sent back to their country of origin. Padraig Flynn, the European Union's commissioner for social affairs, says he is extremely concerned by these ''shocking statistics''. During the European Year Against Racism, the 15-member EU spent 3.5 million dollars on 177 anti-racism projects. [...] Direct link: oneworld.org BTW, How much do they pay you for such a silly watchdog-job of yours? (You can put the amount in USD).

To: MNI who wrote (12754)	6/24/1999 6:23:00 AM
From: GUSTAVE JAEGER	Respond to of 17770

Hey MNI, do you think that persecuted Serbs could qualify as genuine asylum-seekers in Germany? Here's a tip...... RIGHTS: German Rules Against Foreigners 'Institutionalise Racism' By Yojana Sharma BERLIN, Feb 19 (IPS) - An increasing number of laws and restrictions against foreigners, particularly asylum-seekers from Eastern Europe, the Balkans and the developing world, is fuelling racism within Germany, warn human rights groups and voluntary organisations here. And, they add, at a deeper level Germany is becoming increasingly hostile to the outside world. The Frankfurt-based refugee organisation Pro-Asyl said that the German authorities are using many methods to deprive people of their rights, including restrictive legislation. On Feb. 9 the Bundesrat, the upper house of parliament, approved a bill that deprives asylum-seekers of state assistance if they cannot prove 'well-founded fear of persecution' and cannot show they are not able to return to their country of origin. It amounts to ''institutionalised racism from the highest authorities,'' says Heiko Kauffman spokesperson for asylum seekers' campaign group Pro-Asyl. [...] Direct link: oneworld.org

To: MNI who wrote (12754)	6/24/1999 6:32:00 AM
From: GUSTAVE JAEGER	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 17770

Wednesday, February 10, 1999 GERMANY Poll fuels fear of racism revival By GEOFF KITNEY, Herald Correspondent in Berlin Germany is facing questions about racism following a shock election result in which anti-foreigner sentiment is being blamed for the loss of the Schroeder Government's control of the national Parliament. Just four months after taking office, the new "red-green" coalition Government of Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has lost its majority in the Upper House of Parliament. The Opposition conservative parties now have the power to block Government legislation. The setback has been caused by the loss of government by a "red-green" coalition in the State of Hesse. The result followed a campaign dominated by an emotional national debate about moves by the Schroeder Government to allow millions of foreigners living in Germany to gain German citizenship. The Upper House in the national Parliament is made up of delegates from the States, and the Hesse result will give the conservative parties a majority. There were warnings yesterday in the wake of the Hesse result that the campaign to stop the citizenship changes has unleashed xenophobic and racist sentiments which Germany has spent the past 50 years fighting. Community leaders appealed for an end to the campaign and a bipartisan policy by the major parties to bring these forces back under control. As the Opposition Christian Democrat Party (CDU) celebrated the Hesse victory, there were even warnings from within conservative ranks that they had won the State election with a strategy which could seriously damage national cohesion and Germany's standing with the rest of the world. Key figures in Mr Schroeder's Government conceded there would have to be a rethink of the citizenship policy to find ways of defusing what they said had become a dangerous national debate. Under the proposed changes an 86-year-old law which limits German citizenship to people with German blood was to be replaced with new provisions which allow non-Germans who have been long-term residents of Germany to become German citizens. The change would allow up to half the 7 million people of foreign background --most of them Turks who came to Germany after the war as guest workers-- to become citizens. They would also be allowed to retain their Turkish passports. Many of these people are the children of Turkish workers who have spent all their lives in Germany, speak German rather than Turkish, and have virtually no connection with Turkey. The CDU has launched a national petition against the proposed changes which has been signed by more than a million people in a few weeks. In Hesse the loss of support for the Greens has also been blamed on a Government push to shut down the German nuclear power industry. Some of the first reactors to be closed would be in the Frankfurt area, costing jobs and affecting industry. Mr Schroeder recently stepped in to delay the phase-out plans because of growing opposition and warnings about compensation. Direct link: smh.com.au

To: MNI who wrote (12754)	6/24/1999 6:52:00 AM
From: GUSTAVE JAEGER	Respond to of 17770

Besides, there's also a lot to sweat about for the Germans travelling eastward.... germanlife.com Still ready to listen to your cheek-by-jowl-cloud-cukoo-Euroland...

To: MNI who wrote (12754)	6/24/1999 10:33:00 AM
From: Neocon	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 17770

My understanding is that about half of the population of the former West Germany is at least moderately fluent in English, and that the presence of NATO troops throughout the country went a long way toward making Germans more comfortable with foreigners. Also, seaport towns like Hamburg have always been pretty cosmopolitan, haven't they? It is ironic that the GDR had such a poor record in advancing beyond its Nazi history, given its professions of progressivism. My understanding is that they never confronted Nazism in the same way that West Germany did, but shrugged it off as a bourgeois phenomenon, and hence irrelevant to the new regime. Of course, as in many of the Eastern bloc countries, many people resented the Communist regime, especially as it was perceived as a Soviet puppet, and therefore ignored its propaganda anyway. I think that your observations about the media are very acute. You are quite right that finding exotic looks useful for self- marketing means that the hold of stereotypes is weakening. Normalization occurs through the entertainment and fashion industries quite frequently. For example, the sort of comedy that was developed in the Yiddish theater and at resorts in the Catskills suddenly flooded vaudeville, movies, and radio, and many (not all) of the major comedy stars were Jewish. Even Bob Hope, who was not, mostly relied on Jewish gag writers. Similarly, the impact of rhythm and blues on the social changes of the late '50s and '60s is hard to calculate, but someone like Berry Gordy, who founded Motown Records, was extremely important in making "soul music" seem as American as apple pie<VBG>. And, of course, even before that, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and others went a long way to drawing together integrated audiences....