Saddam's dead

So this morning the agencies are reporting that Saddam has been hanged - and I'm not quite sure what to think about that.
On the one hand I can't accept that a person is killed by an other person. On the other hand I personally don't know what is going on in Iraq, and what is needed there as striking action in order to make peace. This is all quite disturbing and it'll take a while thinking about it.

Das Prekariat - oder warum die Boheme heutzutage putzen geht

Ärzte-Streik, Metaller-Streik, besetzte Unis von Bochum bis Paris - was geht in dieser Gesellschaft vor? Man könnte denken, es geht mal wieder "ein Gespenst um" - doch, obwohl bereits 1910 geboren, ist dieses Gespenst kein bißchen alt geworden - es ist fit und vital, hat nur seinen Namen geändert: es nennt sich jetzt Prekarisierung.

Ja, Wikipedia hilft da wirklich weiter - denn nach der Veranstaltung, die ich gestern Abend hier in einem Hinterhof am Eigelstein in Köln besucht habe, war mir nicht genau klar, worüber diese Menschen eigentlich gesprochen haben - schade eigentlich, ist doch das Thema wirklich ein aktuelles und hochinteressant: Das "Prekariat" (in Anlehnung an das Proletariat) bezeichnet die Menge an meist jungen Menschen, die von Praktikum zu Praktikum, bzw. als Freelancer von Projekt zu Projekt hecheln, knapp an der finanziell ertragbaren Schwelle entlang, und weder eine Sozialversicherung noch eine großartige Aussicht auf Rente oder sonstige Transferleistungen haben.
Dieses Phänomen ist jedoch kein rein deutsches, sondern betrifft alle Gesellschaften der OECD. Meist tritt es auf in Verbindung mit Arbeitsmarkt-Liberlalisierung und flexibler Gestaltung von Arbeitsverhältnissen.

Diese Entwicklungen sind sicherlich bedenklich: die Diskussion über einen Mindestlohn, sowohl von Arbeitnehmer- aber auch von Arbeitgeberseite her zeigen, dass die Arbeits- und Perspektivlosigkeit kein Thema der "unteren Schichten" mehr ist: gut ausgebildete Akademiker gehen Putzen oder Zapfen Bier - das aber möglichst in kulturellen Einrichtungen im subkulturellen Millieu ;)
Wird die "Elite" eines Landes also verheizt? Ist es gerechtfertigt, dass französische Jugendliche bis 25 ohne Grund gefeuert werden können?

Man nicht leugnen, dass es sich hierbei aber auch um ein "Luxusproblem" handelt (nicht ohne Grund tritt dieses Phänomen in Schwellenländern der 2. und 3. Welt so gut wie gar nicht auf): Gerade auf der gestrigen Veranstaltung spürte man den Charme einer "Boheme" die mit Becks Fläschchen in der Hand und dreistreifigen Schühchen an den Füßen der Performance mit süffisantem Lächeln auf den Lippen folgte. Dass es überhaupt heutzutage möglich ist, sich von Praktikum zu Praktikum oder als Freelancer zu betätigen, ist meiner Ansicht nach ein gehöriger Verdienst der vorangegangenen Generationen, auf deren monetären Vorschusslorbeeren sich ausgeruht wird: nur wenn Papa die monatliche Unterstützung streicht wird es knapp, und der so verhasste Job im Call-Center wird zur bitteren Sicherung der täglichen Latte Macchiato im Pappbecher mit Plastikdeckel.

Das Prekariat organisiert sich also, und wird am traditionell roten 1. Mai europaweit gemeinsam marschieren - von Amsterdam bis Wien findet man auf der äusserst stylischen Site der "Euromayday" alle Termine und Treffpunkte.

Ich halte das Thema für wichtig - nur bei aller gebotenen Rücksicht auf mein geringes Wissen von genaueren Hintergründen und Zusammenhängen würde ich mir eine klarere und weniger "versnobbte" Begegnung damit wünschen: Wikipedia benutze ich gerne, aber die Auseinandersetzung "auf der Straße" bedarf klarerer, "BILDlicherer" Sprache und Worte, um von denen verstanden zu werden, die es wirklich betrifft: Nämlich jeden aus unserer Gesellschaft der auch nur ein kleines bißchen Verantwortung für sich und eine Seele für das Gemeinwesen in sich trägt.

Vacation is Over... an open letter from Michael Moore to George W. Bush

I got nothing to add:

Friday, September 2nd, 2005
Dear Mr. Bush:
Any idea where all our helicopters are? It's Day 5 of Hurricane Katrina and thousands remain stranded in New Orleans and need to be airlifted. Where on earth could you have misplaced all our military choppers? Do you need help finding them? I once lost my car in a Sears parking lot. Man, was that a drag.
Also, any idea where all our national guard soldiers are? We could really use them right now for the type of thing they signed up to do like helping with national disasters. How come they weren't there to begin with?
Last Thursday I was in south Florida and sat outside while the eye of Hurricane Katrina passed over my head. It was only a Category 1 then but it was pretty nasty. Eleven people died and, as of today, there were still homes without power. That night the weatherman said this storm was on its way to New Orleans. That was Thursday! Did anybody tell you? I know you didn't want to interrupt your vacation and I know how you don't like to get bad news. Plus, you had fundraisers to go to and mothers of dead soldiers to ignore and smear. You sure showed her!
I especially like how, the day after the hurricane, instead of flying to Louisiana, you flew to San Diego to party with your business peeps. Don't let people criticize you for this -- after all, the hurricane was over and what the heck could you do, put your finger in the dike?
And don't listen to those who, in the coming days, will reveal how you specifically reduced the Army Corps of Engineers' budget for New Orleans this summer for the third year in a row. You just tell them that even if you hadn't cut the money to fix those levees, there weren't going to be any Army engineers to fix them anyway because you had a much more important construction job for them -- BUILDING DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ!
On Day 3, when you finally left your vacation home, I have to say I was moved by how you had your Air Force One pilot descend from the clouds as you flew over New Orleans so you could catch a quick look of the disaster. Hey, I know you couldn't stop and grab a bullhorn and stand on some rubble and act like a commander in chief. Been there done that.
There will be those who will try to politicize this tragedy and try to use it against you. Just have your people keep pointing that out. Respond to nothing. Even those pesky scientists who predicted this would happen because the water in the Gulf of Mexico is getting hotter and hotter making a storm like this inevitable. Ignore them and all their global warming Chicken Littles. There is nothing unusual about a hurricane that was so wide it would be like having one F-4 tornado that stretched from New York to Cleveland.
No, Mr. Bush, you just stay the course. It's not your fault that 30 percent of New Orleans lives in poverty or that tens of thousands had no transportation to get out of town. C'mon, they're black! I mean, it's not like this happened to Kennebunkport. Can you imagine leaving white people on their roofs for five days? Don't make me laugh! Race has nothing -- NOTHING -- to do with this!
You hang in there, Mr. Bush. Just try to find a few of our Army helicopters and send them there. Pretend the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are near Tikrit.
Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
www.MichaelMoore.com
P.S. That annoying mother, Cindy Sheehan, is no longer at your ranch. She and dozens of other relatives of the Iraqi War dead are now driving across the country, stopping in many cities along the way. Maybe you can catch up with them before they get to DC on September 21st.

Kampf mit allen Mitteln!

Alternativ:
1) Die Russen kommen
2) Die Chinesen kommen

Kasparow to be deviled by Putin?

Chess Master Garri Kasparow seems to be deviled by russian government - as the Frankfurter Rundschau reports, Garri went into politics since march 2005 - he stands for a more democratic and Putin-critic way. He is being prevented from free speech and free traveling (get´s no flights, hotels don´t want him to stay). What is going in on in russia? How could things happen as the condemnation of Mr. Chodorkowski - is this the way russia wants to go? It all reminds me of russia during the cold war, when information was censored (remember the official news agency ITA-Tass). I´m following this development with a kind of fear - what will russia´s role be in the future - between china, usa and europe (and maybe india). Does russian government think outer strength is being reached with inner suppression?

Dirty Oskar

There is a german politician called "Oskar Lafontaine", and he has just founded a new party called WASG. WASG is situated "left" of the SPD which is the Social democratic Party of germany. His intention is to support the normal men, especially the working class, and that is why experts expect up to 10% of the votes for the WASG with the upcoming new elections. Oskar has been writing a column for the german BILD magazine, and got 5000 € for it per month. Since he founded the new party he isn´t writing for BILD anymore but still get´s the money - this is a scandal in my opinion. What arsehole do you have to be to write on your flag "I will support poor people" and get money for nothing?! Sorry, I can´t understand and can´t support such dirty behavior. Shame on you, Oskar!

The EU - constitution

What can we do? In some weeks there will be the french public voting about a "oui" or a "non" to the European constitution. If french public votes "non" this could be a catastrophy. Years of work would be destroyed, France would be isolated within the EU. But when you follow the polls at the moment about 52% of the French would give a clear "non". So, what could we do? Can we help? Is there a possibillity to help our french friends with their decision? Maybe the 52% "non" are a clear statement against chirac, but they have to get the bigger view: "oui" is important for our all future! Please link it...

Kids should learn these

yes, I totally agree with Adriaan´s list. Kids today need to know more than chemistry formulas etc. Any additional suggestions?

1. ten-finger typing without staring at the keyboard, that's indeed one to know
2. speaking in front of a group and deal with questions appropriately
3. expressing thoughts on paper in a concise and clear way so that your kid sibling understands it
4. using a computer and the internet, with as bonus basic programming
5. understanding and speaking English, Spanish and at least basic Chinese or Japanese
6. understanding why reading matters and doing it
7. chess, checkers, or go
8. a nice curling shot, a cross-over dribble, or a decent fastball (soccer, basketball, or baseball, for the ignorant)
9. painting, writing, acting, performing, playing music, or doing photography
10. the “or” in (8) and (9) is an inclusive or, so, yes, formal logic is also a must-know
11. the concept of “sharing”
12. understanding that there are other cultures, other religions, other people and to respect them
13. (11) and (12) actually apply to adults more than to kids, so I'll add: preserve the innocence of youth
14. basic etiquette
15. cooking AND washing up
16. sewing
17. cycling and fixing bikes
18. honesty
19. being able to play 5 different computer games (preferably 3D) to shape problem solving and spacial navigation
20. reading a map
21. milking a cow
22. growing a plant
23. keeping a pet
24. building a bookcase or desk
25. safe sex
26. how to administer first aid, including mouth-on-mouth and CPR

The Meatrix

A must see, and ....ehm: bon appetit....;-)

When you wear your Manchester Dress, would you bet on Arsenal?

Of course there had to be some conspiracy theories after the election, and have to say, that I´m quite fascinated of this

one: these are the statistics of the voting machines in florida. As you see, there have been more registrated democrats than republicans, and many of them voted bush? Ehm, excuse me: where these machines manipulated? (these are the figures the graphs are based on). (from David Weinberger)