News

The U.S. government has seen its reputation plummet with the Iraq war, according to an international poll, but the United Nations has also suffered a massive loss of trust

It is possible that the distance from the Iraq war and the fact that negotiations on the "road map", which are to lead to a Palestinian state, are changing the attitude of the Arab people. While the U.S. government pays no attention to the genocide in the Congo and does not want to participate in peacemaking military measures, it is sharpening its tone toward Iran. It is possible that the hawks in the U.S. government are pushing for a renewed military campaign, especially since it is repeatedly emphasized that the war against international (Muslim) terrorism is far from over. In any case, according to a survey by the Pew Global Attitudes Project, people in the Arab world are afraid of a military attack by the superpower.

How governments behave when they want to secure their power and do not want to take unnecessary risks is a matter of realpolitik. At present most of the Arab states are bowing to the prere of the USA. This is not necessarily because the burghers want it to happen. Finally, there are no democratic states in the region. The governments themselves are usually afraid of the Muslim extremists and, in order to maintain their power and avoid a democratic rebellion, agree to the demands of the United States, at least on the surface.

Sintel

YouTube and Co. – our weekly telepolis video review

Maybe this is good news: Dolly Parton has been vaccinated and shows it on TikTok. By the way, she didn’t go for it promimabely, but with her 75 years it was just her turn. In our country, on the other hand, it had to wait a good month, because here we are not so quick, everything has to be in order – even if it is a nasty game with death. We now have a task force to take care of the tests. And it is headed by the gross failures of the federal government, Jens "Vaccination disaster" Spahn and Andi "Toll hero" Scheuer. And this is not an April Fool’s joke, but was actually decided last Wednesday so. Beside a loosening strategy, which is a little complicated, but there is the Internet for that. One click on it is enough, and everything is clear. Thank you, Imre Grimm!

YouTube and Co. – our weekly Telepolis video review

Pac-man paranoia

Life is one big kicking mule. Also for dogs! Unless they can dance as wonderfully as this fellow, who currently dominates almost all video charts on the net. Cats are also very telegenic, as this cute cautious animal demonstrates. In the meantime there is the cat not only solo, but … ah, have a look for yourself!

Syrian air defense claims to have shot down some of the Israeli missiles. Image: Sana

20 rockets had been fired from Syria in the direction of the Golan Heights, for Israel the Quds Brigades are responsible, Iran denies this

In response to the bombing of the military base south of Damascus at al-Kiswah on 8. May, Israeli positions on the Golan Heights were attacked with 20 rockets from Syria during the night from Wednesday to Thursday.

Scientists drilling corals on Rowley Shoals, a group of three atoll-like coral reefs jutting out of the water off Australia’s northwest coast. Photo credit: Eric Watson, AIMS (Australia)

The Energy and Climate Newsreel: From the dialogue between coal opponents and supporters, the chances of the climate agreement coming into force before the end of 2016, and imponderables in the climate system

This year’s climate camp in Lutzerath, Rhineland, came to an end on Monday. On Saturday, activists also protested on the grounds of the Garzweiler open pit mine and chained themselves to demand bands. 23 people – including a journalist – were temporarily arrested, they are now being investigated for trespassing.

Historical picture to the Marzrevolution 1848 (painted around 1848-1850)?): Cheering revolutionaries after barricade fights in the Breite Strabe in Berlin – with different black-red-gold flags, depending on the monarchist-constitutional or republican orientation. Image: public domain

With a bloody massacre, the Prussian state responded in May 1849 to the "Iserlohn Revolution" – An example to the memory of history

Over a hundred people were killed on 17. May 1849 murdered in Iserlohn by the soldiery of the Prussian state. The victims of the revolution of 1848/49 and the pioneers of the democratic idea do not play a major role in the historical memory until today. The example of Iserlohn is a good illustration of how the murderous state power was even able to instill a collective sense of guilt in its victims.

According to an analysis of death certificates in the USA, the risk of death is highest during the Christmas holidays and New Year’s Day – causes unknown

At least in the USA, the Christmas holidays and 1. January the deadliest days of the year. Studies had found that from Christmas to New Year, the number of suicides, murders and accidents increases. This led sociologists at the University of California to take a look at the normal death traps. Since external causes of death, such as those mentioned above, are small compared to natural causes. 93 percent of deaths occur "natural" Causes back.

It is interesting to ask whether during this period, when there is a lot of eating and drinking and when medical care is not optimal because of the holidays, the number of deaths usually increases. Isolated studies had indicated that an increase in fatal heart diseases was observed at Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Artificial muscles to replace engines

Nature has come up with a clever solution for the muscle: it is both a power plant and an engine. US researchers now show a way to recreate this system.

If you think about the areas in which humans are still superior to machines today, you will probably come up with a typical pub sport last of all: arm printing. Here, just three weeks ago, 18-year-old student Panna Felsen handed the assembled robotics world a resounding defeat in a competition organized by NASA. It seems that the engineers had learned nothing: a year ago, Felsen had already printed the three robotic challengers into the ground, at that time still as a schoolgirl.

Harassment of a female prisoner triggers a week-long hunger strike in 39 prisons, highlighting a problem that has been largely suppressed in the public eye

Since 4. In August, 537 prisoners from a total of 39 German prisons are on a one-week hunger strike. In solidarity with them, a few prison inmates from Belgium, Switzerland and Belgium also refuse to eat for a week.

It is the roughest action by prisoners in a long time. In the past, hunger strikes in prisons have always been closely associated with prisoners who had political motives. In the 1970s and 1980s, for example, there were several hunger strikes by members of the Red Army Faction, who demanded that they be grouped together in larger groups and that sick prisoners be released. They were joined by prisoners who had not been convicted of political crimes. At that time, the always controversial distinction between political and social prisoners came up.

Hacktivism against censorship

As Wired reports, over the weekend Bronc Buster and Zyklon from Legions of the Underworld penetrated five Chinese firewalls and manipulated the filters that are supposed to prevent Chinese Internet users from accessing unwanted sites abroad.

The hacktivists protest against the Chinese authorities’ treatment of Lin Hai, who was imprisoned for allegedly providing 30,000 email addresses of Chinese Internet users to a dissident Internet magazine in the U.S., which sends articles to people in China via email, bypassing censorship. The trial, which was supposed to take place at the end of November, was postponed.