Podcasts about german parliament

Is Friedrich Merz the new German chancellor after he unexpectedly lost an initial vote in parliament? Also: Russian fears for victory parade after Ukrainian attack, and what kind of Pope do Catholics want?

Matthias Dilling, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Trinity College, explains the main challenges facing the incoming German Government.

We cross over to our friends at the BBC to take a look at some of the events making headlines internationally, including the Pope selection process underway, a crucial vote in the German Parliament, and the possibility of a ceasefire in Russia's war against Ukraine.

On 27 February 1933, the Reichstag building in Berlin, which was home to the German Parliament, was burned down. This was a key event in the establishment of the Nazi dictatorship.Berlin-born journalist, Sefton Delmer, told his story to the BBC World Service in 1967. He grew up in the city so knew people involved with the Nazi party. This meant he was able to get close to the main people on the night. Delmer walked around the burning building with Hitler and Goring. He recalls their conversations and describes the scene in this fascinating account.Produced and presented by Gill Kearsley. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more. Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic' and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy's Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they've had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America's occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.(Photo: The Reichstag fire in 1933. Credit: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Euro defense spend benefits US contractors near-term European plans to spend more on defense as a percentage of GDP were hatched in the immediate aftermath of the Ukraine invasion. More recently, the German Parliament agreed to reforms that allow for even more spending on defense. But for a number of reasons, Europe would like to keep more of this spending within the Euro Area. Ron Epstein and Ben Heelan discuss what Europe may be able to procure internally and what they'll be buying from US contractors. And if the US is spending less on defending Europe, Ron addresses where spending priorities may shift, especially as the US may be less focused on preparing for a land war. Ron also tackles the question of whether Europe may be encouraged to buy more defense gear in exchange for lower tariffs.   You may also enjoy listening to the Merrill Perspectives podcast, featuring conversations on the big stories, news and trends affecting your everyday financial life.   "Bank of America" and “BofA Securities” are the marketing names for the global banking businesses and global markets businesses (which includes BofA Global Research) of Bank of America Corporation. Lending, derivatives, and other commercial banking activities are performed globally by banking affiliates of Bank of America Corporation, including Bank of America, N.A., Member FDIC. Securities, trading, research, strategic advisory, and other investment banking and markets activities are performed globally by affiliates of Bank of America Corporation, including, in the United States, BofA Securities, Inc. a registered broker-dealer and Member of FINRA and SIPC, and, in other jurisdictions, by locally registered entities. ©2025 Bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved.  

Lawmakers in Germany's Bundestag have passed a colossal defence and infrastructure spending package tabled by Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz. It includes a special €500 billion fund to update the country's infrastructure over the next 12 years and an exemption for big defence spending from its prized "debt brake" system designed to ensure fiscal discipline. Plus, residents in western Senegal are voicing anger over a gigantic mining operation by French company Eramet. 

This week's show features stories from France 24, Radio Deutsche-Welle, Radio Havana Cuba, and NHK Japan. http://youthspeaksout.net/swr250228.mp3 (29:00) From FRANCE- A series of press reviews. Jeff Bezos has announced a major editorial change at the Washington Post. UK Prime Minister Starmer said he will cut foreign aid so he can raise military spending which many accuse of bowing to demands from Trump. In Germany a critical election was won by the CDU, a center right party, with Friedrich Merz expected to become the new Chancellor. The far right AFD party, promoted by Elon Musk, came in second, doubling its number of seats in the Bundestag, the German Parliament. From GERMANY- In a TV debate after the election results came in, the Chancellor in waiting accused the US of abandoning NATO and Europe, creating a need for a European military force. Then an analysis of the AfD party, why it is shocking in Europe, and how will this affect German policies. From CUBA- Elon Musk reaffirmed his support for the German AfD party, praising their stance on dropping the Euro currency and halting climate action. Israeli forces have continued destroying Palestinian homes in the West Bank and helping settlers destroy homes and businesses. A US based organization has formally asked the International Criminal Court to investigate Blinken, Austen, and Biden for complying with war crimes. From JAPAN - At the devastated Fukushima nuclear power plant, the press saw the first gram of a retrieved radioactive sample- 880 tons of the material are yet to be removed 11 years after the accident. An update on Nippon Steels attempt to buy US Steel. The Israeli military has deployed tanks in the West Bank for the first time in 20 years. A group of atomic bomb survivors lodged a protest for the government skipping a key international meeting on banning nuclear arms. Available in 3 forms- (new) HIGHEST QUALITY (160kb)(33MB), broadcast quality (13MB), and quickdownload or streaming form (6MB) (28:59) Links at outfarpress.com/shortwave.shtml PODCAST!!!- https://feed.podbean.com/outFarpress/feed.xml (160kb Highest Quality) Website Page- < http://www.outfarpress.com/shortwave.shtml ¡FurthuR! Dan Roberts "We have to re-invent socialism. It can't be the kind of socialism that we saw in the Soviet Union, but it will emerge as we develop new systems that are built on cooperation, not competition." -- Hugo Chavez Dan Roberts Shortwave Report- www.outfarpress.com YouthSpeaksOut!- www.youthspeaksout.net

Elections in Germany have delivered a major rise in support for the far-right nationalist party Alternative for Deutschland. It ran second to the centre-right Christian Democrats. What role did immigration play in the result?

We hit the streets of Berlin this week for an action-packed German Elections Special! Join host, Kate Laycock and political correspondent, Thomas Sparrow, as they tiptoe through the German Parliament buildings, relax in Berlin's most famous political hang-out, gatecrash a TV news studio, and look back on some defining moments of German political history.

German parliament passes a non-binding motion calling for tougher border and asylum rules, Graubünden named one of the most welcoming places on earth and we check into both the Copenhagen International Fashion Fair and the Angoulême International Comics Festival. Then: we bring you the papers from Switzerland. Plus: ‘The Global Countdown’ comes from Thailand.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Germany's parliament descended into heckles and recriminations as politicians from the right-wing Christian Democrats were accused of undermining the “firewall” against co-operation with the far-right Alternative for Germany. The CDU tabled a non-binding motion calling for toughter border and asylum rules after a spate of stabbings linked to foreign nationals in the country. The motion passed with the support of the AfD, prompting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to slam the move as an “unforgivable mistake”.As the government puts its weight behind a third runway at Heathrow, as well as expansion of other UK airports, we ask whether the ambition contradicts its climate commitments.And as the fourth instalment of Bridget Jones premieres in London, why is the character's appeal so enduring?

Harley Schlanger is historian and national spokesman, he has been covering the financial industry since the 80s, you can now follow Harley at The LaRouche Organization. Dr. Rainer Rothfuss, studied geography and geopolitics, elected to the   (German Parliament) in 2023, serves on various foreign policy committees in parliament. The conversations begins with Dr Rothfuss explaining how everything is changing in Germany and in Europe. The conversation moves into the economy and Harley brings us up to date on which direction the economy is heading. The movement has begun across the world, the people are taking back control.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's loss in a confidence vote in parliament paves the way for a snap election in February. South Korea's Constitutional Court sets a Monday deadline for President Yoon Suk-yeol to submit a written argument for his impeachment trial. Aid is slow to reach those in need on the French territory of Mayotte following Cyclone Chido, which has moved to the African continent and battered Mozambique.

My guest today is Joana Cotar, a German politician who has been a member of the Bundestag (the German parliament) since 2017. Originally part of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, Joana is now an independent representative promoting Bitcoin and empowering individuals to take control of their financial and personal freedom. In this episode, Joana shares her unique journey - from growing up in communist Romania to entering German politics, resisting Covid measures and mandates and championing freedom through Bitcoin. We discuss her experiences navigating the Bundestag, where she founded the “Bitcoin in the Bundestag” initiative to educate fellow MPs about Bitcoin's potential to empower individuals and solve real-world challenges. While she unpacks the dangers of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), Joana explains how Bitcoin can counteract these risks and why its adoption represents a beacon of hope in the face of increasing state control. ► If you got value, please like, comment, share, follow and support my work. Thank you! -- SPONSORS -- ►► Get your TREZOR wallet & accessories, with a 5% discount, using my code at checkout (get my discount code from the episode - yep, you'll have to watch it): https://affil.trezor.io/SHUn  -- SPECIAL OFFERS – ►► Enjoy the Little HODLer products, learn about sound money while having fun! use code EFRAT for 10% off on non-sale items: https://thelittlehodler.com/  ►► Get 10% off on all books, inc. “The Inverse of Clown World”, using the code EFRAT https://bitcoininfinitystore.com ►► Join me in any of these upcoming events:https://www.efrat.blog/p/upcoming-events  -- LINKS – Joana's Twitter: https://x.com/JoanaCotar  Joana's Website: https://joanacotar.de/  Joana's Nostr npub: npub1td3zad8qcgvd7x9uht6sdnfdg5amjcy96d274rla70ldlcemy9gspgm693  Efrat's Twitter: https://twitter.com/efenigson Efrat's Telegram: https://t.me/efenigson Watch/listen on all platforms: https://linktr.ee/yourethevoice Support Efrat's work: ⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/efenigson   ⁠Support Efrat with Bitcoin: https://geyser.fund/project/efenigson -- CHAPTERS -- 00:00 Coming Up… 00:54 Introduction to Joana and Her Political Journey 03:14 The Importance of Political Freedom 06:18 Left vs. Right in German Politics 09:48 The Role of Education and Parental Responsibility 12:20 Advocating for Bitcoin in the Bundestag 17:51 Dangers of CBDCs and Government Control 26:02 Why Should People Own Bitcoin? 31:45 Stablecoins vs. Bitcoin - The Future of Money 33:51 Bitcoin Awareness in Germany 36:03 The Need for Political Change and Responsibility 39:24 Pushing Back on Global Organizations and Their Agendas 41:50 The Power of the People and the Importance of Action 44:14 Final Thoughts: The Better Story of Freedom

Elias Wessel in front of his work series “Nostalgia” at International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) New York. Elias Wessel is an artist whose conceptual work moves between photography, painting and site specific installations with moving images and sound. He has had exhibitions at 1014 New York (formerly known as Goethe House); Palais Beauharnais, Paris; Art Collection of the Willy-Brandt-Haus, Berlin; NRW-Forum, Dusseldorf; Art Basel, Basel; Museum Pfalzgalerie Kaiserslautern (mpk); and Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei among many others. His works are included in public and private collections such as the Spallart Art Collection, Salzburg; AXA Art Collection, Cologne; and the German Parliament's Art Collection (Kunstsammlung des Deutschen Bundestages), Berlin. Recent publications include Textfetzen (Kulturverlag Kadmos, 2022) and Aesthetics of Conflict (Verlag Kettler, 2023). He is based in New York City since 2008 with regular stays in Germany. Picture Theory: Elias Wessel, “It's Complicated” (2019-2022), Installation View, 2024 Elias Wessel It's Complicated – No. 2, 2019 Color photograph, archival pigment print Tabloid Edition: 24 1/2 x 18 5/8 in (framed) Original: 80 1/8 x 60 5/8 in (framed) Is Possibly Art – No. 2, 2021 Audio: 1:42 min Elias Wessel It's Complicated – No. 5, 2019 Color photograph, archival pigment print Tabloid Edition: 20 5/8 x 18 5/8 in (framed) Original: 67 5/8 x 60 5/8 in (framed) Is Possibly Art – No. 5, 2021 Audio: 1:59 min

Epidemiologist & Former Member of German Parliament, Wolfgang Wodarg, MD, discusses his new book, False Pandemics: Arguments Against the Rule of Fear, which examines the fabricated pandemic alarms of swine and bird flu designed to mislead millions. Hear why he believes it is vital for our immune systems to be exposed to viruses and his surprising take on the threat gain-of-function research.

Germany denies supplying Israel with weapons of war, yet it's one of the staunchest supporters of Israel's war on Gaza. What's behind Germany's position? And what are the long-term consequences for its diplomacy in the Middle East? In this episode: Tobias Bacherle, Member of the German Parliament and a political scientist. John Kampfner, Author and Journalist. Shir Hever, Director of the Alliance for Justice between Israelis and Palestinians. Host: Laura Kyle Connect with us:@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Threads and YouTube

Today's guest is Lamar Zala Gran, an Afghan activist and founder of the nonprofit organization Empowering Afghan Women, which provides online courses for high school girls in Afghanistan. She is currently a student at Berea College in Kentucky, continuing her educational journey from the American University of Afghanistan after escaping the country in 2022. In this episode, Alon and Lamar discuss her firsthand experience of the Taliban's takeover in August 2021, the status of women and young Afghans currently under Taliban rule, and what role the international community can play in alleviating the terrible human rights situation in the country. Full bio Lamar Zala Gran is the founder and president of the nonprofit organization, Empowering Afghan Women, which she led for a year in Kabul, Afghanistan. The organization offers online courses, and formerly offered in-person classes for high school girls in Afghanistan for three years. Empowering Afghan Women has also developed internet campaigns to raise awareness of women's rights issues, and conducted workshops on various topics. Over the past four years, she has actively advocated for women's rights, sharing her voice and experiences on various global platforms, including BBC News, Los Angeles Times, Al Jazeera English, La Repubblica, and Tagesspiegel. She has been featured on global media outlets, including an interview with Secretary Hillary Clinton on BBC World News, discussing the challenges faced by Afghan women. Gran was also a columnist for the German daily Tagesspiegel, where she contributed 20 weekly diaries from Kabul over the course of six months. Her activism extends to speaking with German Parliament members and EU Parliament members. Previously, Gran participated as a delegate in the UN Least Developed Countries conference in Doha and spoke at the UN on the refugee forum in 2022, and at the 2023 UN International Youth Conference about the human rights and women's rights situation in Afghanistan. She is a youth advocate for Silatech and Education Above All foundation in Doha, and has participated in an advocacy video group with the HÁWAR.help organization in Berlin regarding the situation of Afghan women. She also spoke with Ambassador of US for Afghanistan in Doha and US special envoy for Afghanistan in Doha about the situation of Afghan women, and on an Australian embassy panel discussion about Afghan women, together with international donor and its ambassador as well. Despite facing challenges and mental health struggles, she recently moved to the US from Doha after escaping Afghanistan in 2022. She is currently a student at Berea College in Kentucky, following her educational journey from the American University of Afghanistan in Doha, a summer school program at the American University of Central Asia, and Bard College in New York. She is determined to continue her activism, using her voice to bring about positive changes in her country.

This Day in Legal History: Reichstag Fire DecreeOn February 28, 1933, a pivotal moment in German legal history unfolded with the issuance of the Presidential Decree for the Protection of People and State by President Paul von Hindenburg. This decree emerged in the immediate aftermath of the Reichstag Fire, a calamitous event where the German Parliament building was engulfed in flames. Dubbed the Reichstag Fire Decree, this legislation marked a significant departure from established legal norms by suspending several fundamental civil liberties, including freedoms related to the press, the right to habeas corpus, and the protocols surrounding the issuance of search warrants. The Nazi party, leveraging the chaos and fear generated by the fire, attributed the act of arson to Communist agitators, a move that facilitated the rapid enactment of the decree. This legislative action, pushed forward by the then Chancellor Adolf Hitler, was not merely a response to a singular event but a calculated strategy towards consolidating absolute power. The Reichstag Fire Decree, therefore, stands as a stark reminder of how quickly legal frameworks can be altered in times of perceived crisis, leading to profound and lasting impacts on the structure of a nation's governance. It underscored the fragility of civil liberties under authoritarian pressures and served as a critical step in the Nazi party's quest to dismantle the democratic fabric of Germany, setting the stage for the oppressive and murderous regime that would follow.Sam Bankman-Fried, the co-founder of FTX, has been proposed by his legal team to serve no more than 6 1/2 years in prison for his role in the cryptocurrency exchange's collapse, significantly less than the potential 20-year sentence for the most severe charges. His attorneys, in a detailed memo to US District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, emphasized Bankman-Fried's charitable contributions and argued for a sentence that would quickly reintegrate him into society, suggesting a range of 63 to 78 months as just. They also argued against ordering Bankman-Fried to pay restitution or forfeit assets, noting that identified accounts weren't for his personal benefit and that FTX's bankruptcy process would compensate customers and creditors. Convicted of charges including wire fraud and conspiracy, the case against Bankman-Fried could set a precedent for other cryptocurrency executives. His legal team criticized the US probation officials' recommendation of a 100-year sentence as excessive. The defense has included letters of support and mentioned Bankman-Fried's mental health challenges, including an undiagnosed autism and struggles with ADHD, to argue against a harsh sentence that could endanger him in prison due to his difficulty with social cues. Despite the contentious relationship with Judge Kaplan and significant setbacks, Bankman-Fried's ultimate sentence, guided by federal sentencing guidelines, remains to be determined, with Kaplan's past caution on guideline adherence potentially influencing the outcome.Sam Bankman-Fried Proposes Sentence of 6 1/2 Years or Less (2)Sam Bankman-Fried urges lenient sentence, citing FTX fund recovery | ReutersHunter Biden, the son of U.S. President Joe Biden, is set to testify in a closed-door session as part of the House Republicans' impeachment inquiry into his father. This development follows months of requests from House Republicans for his testimony, which Hunter initially resisted. The inquiry focuses on allegations surrounding the Biden family's business dealings, particularly Hunter's involvement with Chinese firm CEFC and Ukrainian energy company Burisma, during Joe Biden's vice presidency under the Obama administration. Despite accusations from House Republicans that the Biden family profited improperly from policy decisions, no concrete evidence has been presented to support these claims, with both Hunter Biden and the White House denying any wrongdoing. The inquiry proceeds despite the charging of a former FBI informant, central to the Republicans' case, with lying to the FBI and having connections with Russian intelligence. Amidst these events, Donald Trump, eyeing a presidential run against Biden, has encouraged the impeachment. The credibility of the impeachment inquiry has been questioned, especially after revelations about the informant's credibility and interactions with Russian intelligence. Hunter Biden also faces separate legal challenges, including charges related to tax fraud and illegal firearm possession, to which he has pleaded not guilty. This testimony occurs amidst broader political dynamics, including public calls by some Republicans for broader impeachment actions against Biden and other officials, and ongoing legal and political controversies surrounding the Biden family.Hunter Biden to testify to Republicans' impeachment probe | ReutersThe State Bar of California has adopted a budget for 2024 that prevents insolvency for the year but has highlighted the need for a significant increase in attorney licensing fees in 2025 to counter a growing budget shortfall. California lawyers are facing a proposed additional fee of $114 on top of the existing $404 annual fee to cover an expected $24 million deficit in the state bar's core operations. This increase is also intended to fund improvements in technology, add personnel for investigating complaints about attorneys, and enhance oversight of client trust accounts, among other needs. Despite the urgency, state lawmakers last year did not approve a requested fee increase, leaving the organization in a precarious financial situation. The State Bar's financial challenges include a need for almost $17 million to update its IT systems and additional funds for increasing staff to manage attorney complaints effectively. The organization managed to stay afloat in 2024 by using proceeds from the sale of its San Francisco building but faces insolvency by 2025 without the proposed fee hike. The situation underscores the need for a "financial reset," as emphasized by the board chair, to ensure the state bar can continue to fulfill its regulatory and oversight functions effectively.Calif. Bar eyes hefty dues increase for lawyers to stave off insolvency | ReutersIn my column this week, I explore the critical role of tourism tax in mitigating the regional effects of climate change, highlighting how such taxes, like those proposed in Hawaii, Italy, and Bali, aim to balance the economic benefits of tourism with environmental sustainability and social equity. I discuss the disproportionate impact of climate change on the global poor and argue that a well-designed tourist tax could serve as a model for protecting vulnerable populations and the environment. By expanding the scope of tax policy to include socioeconomic considerations, such as providing universal basic income or housing subsidies for residents of tourist destinations, we can address the intertwined challenges of climate change, poverty, and inequality. The implementation of these policies requires transparent and efficient allocation of tourism tax revenue, with a focus on supporting the most vulnerable communities and ensuring that tourism dollars contribute to genuine social improvement rather than exacerbating wealth disparities. I advocate for an adaptive policy framework that allows for ongoing evaluation and reallocation of resources, emphasizing the importance of cross-jurisdictional cooperation and a global approach to tourism taxation that prioritizes inclusivity and community-focused decision-making. This approach not only aims to reduce the negative impacts of tourism on the environment but also leverages tax policy as a tool for promoting social equity and resilience in the face of climate change.Tourism Tax Is Crucial to Tamp Regional Effects of Climate Change Get full access to Minimum Competence - Daily Legal News Podcast at www.minimumcomp.com/subscribe

Joana Cotar joins me to discuss the Bitcoin initiative in the German Parliament, proposed Bitcoin regulations, the dangers of the Digital Euro, and the current problems in Germany. Joana Cotar is a German politician and a member of the German Parliament.// GUEST // Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoanaCotarWebsite: https://joanacotar.de/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JoanaCotarMdBInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/joanacotar/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joana_cotar// SPONSORS // In Wolf's Clothing: https://wolfnyc.com/NetSuite: https://netsuite.com/whatismoneyHeart and Soil Supplements (use discount code BREEDLOVE): https://heartandsoil.co/Bitcoin Apparel (use discount code BREEDLOVE): https://thebitcoinclothingcompany.com/Feel Free Tonics (use discount code BREEDLOVE): https://botanictonics.com/Carnivore Bar (use discount code BREEDLOVE): https://carnivorebar.com/// OUTLINE // 00:00:00 - Coming up 00:00:27 - Intro 00:02:00 - Helping Lightning Startups with In Wolf's Clothing 00:02:46 - Introducing Joana Cotar 00:03:14 - Libertarianism, Bitcoin and Politics 00:07:09 - Bitcoin Initiative in German Parliament 00:10:45 - Impact of Energy Crisis 00:12:21 - Misconception and Opposition to Bitcoin 00:13:38 - How to Explain Bitcoin 00:15:03 - The Money Question 00:17:40 - Education About Money 00:21:36 - Entering the Bitcoin Rabbithole 00:22:44 - Run Your Business from Anywhere with NetSuite 00:23:49 - Education About Regulating Bitcoin 00:28:52 - How Regulation May Impact Bitcoin 00:31:30 - Facing Crisis and Embracing Freedom 00:32:27 - Concerns About Launching Digital Euro 00:40:15 - Javier Milei's Speech at The World Economic Forum 00:44:24 - Bringing Right People into Politics 00:46:45 - People's Mindset About Politics 00:48:09 - How to Prevent Political Corruption 00:50:58 - A Different Political Structure 00:53:05 - Political Tension in European Union 00:56:45 - The Narrative Against Nuclear Energy 01:01:20 - Problems in Germany 01:03:05 - Where to Find Joana on the Internet// PODCAST // Podcast Website: https://whatismoneypodcast.com/Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-what-is-money-show/id1541404400Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/25LPvm8EewBGyfQQ1abIsE?RSS Feed: https://feeds.simplecast.com/MLdpYXYI// SUPPORT THIS CHANNEL // Bitcoin: 3D1gfxKZKMtfWaD1bkwiR6JsDzu6e9bZQ7 Sats via Strike: https://strike.me/breedlove22Sats via Tippin.me: https://tippin.me/@Breedlove22Dollars via Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/RBreedlove// WRITTEN WORK // Medium: https://breedlove22.medium.com/Substack: https://breedlove22.substack.com/// SOCIAL // Twitter: https://twitter.com/Breedlove22WiM? Twitter: https://twitter.com/WhatisMoneyShowRumble: https://rumble.com/c/BreedloveInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/breedlove_22/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@breedlove22LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/breedlove22/All My Current Work: https://vida.page/breedlove22

This week, Grace and Jessica catch up on the shocking tiaras worn by the British royal ladies at the South Korean State Banquet and review Crown Princess Victoria's landmark speech at the German Parliament. LINKS Eurovision 2023 opening ceremony: Kalush Orchestra - Voices of a New Generation | Grand Final | Eurovision 2023 #UnitedByMusic

Florian and Esther discuss the language industry news of the week, with the release of Slator's new Pro Guide: Scaling an LSP Key Account. The duo analyzed the job requirements and responsibilities for an AI Localization Analyst at Chubb, an insurance company.Florian discusses when he, for the first time, realized he briefly fell for a third-party-created video. A speech by Joana Cotar, a member of Germany's lower house of parliament, was translated and lip-synced into English using AI. Far from being critical of her voice being cloned and her speech being machine translated without any edits, Cotar gushed about how  “wonderful” it is that her speeches are now accessible in “English, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Indonesian, and even Chinese”.Florian touches on a study by Microsoft Azure researchers evaluating the performance of GPT-4 in post-editing machine translation.Esther provides updates on recent M&A and funding activities in the language industry. difuze, a Canadian media localization company, acquired WANTED!, a post-production studio, while The Translation People secured GBP 10.5 million in debt financing. Additionally, she gives a mixed financial update on ZOO Digital, Ai-Media, and AMN Healthcare.Florian concludes the episode by discussing OpenAI's release of GPT capabilities for customization. He shares his experience building a chatbot using the new feature and emphasizes the potential for creating customized language models for niche applications.

Show notes and Transcript At long last it has happened. Andrew Bridgen MP (Reclaim Party) secured a debate on excess deaths in the UK Parliament.  Nearly twenty requests were turned down but Andrew simply would not give up.  His courage and determination to find out the truth won in the end.  Andrew gave a 25 minute presentation of all the data and facts which show a shocking rise in excess deaths since the covid jab rollout.  The fact that many people have died after receiving an injection appears to be the very reason every government wants total silence on this issue.  As you watch Andrew speak, be inspired to speak truth in the circles you find yourself in.  Use the information in the speech to arm yourself with the facts.  We now await a much longer 3 hour debate on excess deaths which Andrew is requesting. *This episode contains a background of the debate, the full speech by Andrew Bridgen MP, his message afterwards to the supporters gathered outside in Parliament Square and Peter catches a few words with the man himself. Andrew Bridgen  Member of Parliament for North West Leicestershire since 2010https://www.reclaimparty.co.uk/andrew-bridgen  Some Key Points Made During the Speech... - Ambulance calls for life-threatening emergencies ranged from a steady 2,000 calls per day until the vaccine rollout, from then it rose to 2,500 daily and calls have stayed at this level since.   - The surveillance systems designed to spot a safety problem have all flashed red, but no one's looking. - Payments for Personal Independent Payments (PIP) for people who have developed a disability and cannot work, have rocketed with the vaccine rollout and have continued to rise ever since. - The trial data showed that one in eight hundred injected people had a serious adverse event, meaning the risk of this was twice as high than the chance of preventing a Covid hospitalisation. - There were just over 14,000 excess deaths in the under 65-year-olds, before vaccination, from April 2020 to the end of March 2021. However, since that time there have been over 21,000 excess deaths in this age group alone. - There were nearly two extra deaths a day in the second half of 2021 among 15 – 19-year-old males,  but potentially even more if those referred to the coroner were fully included. Recorded 20.10.23 *Special thanks to Bosch Fawstin for recording our intro/outro on this podcast. Check out his art https://theboschfawstinstore.blogspot.com/ and follow him on GETTR https://gettr.com/user/BoschFawstin and Twitter https://twitter.com/TheBoschFawstin?s=20  To sign up for our weekly email, find our social media, podcasts, video, livestreaming platforms and more... https://heartsofoak.org/connect/ Support Hearts of Oak by purchasing one of our fancy T-Shirts.... https://heartsofoak.org/shop/ Please subscribe, like and share!   Subscribe now Transcript (Hearts of Oak) Hello, Hearts of Oak. Today we are here with Andrew Bridgen at a debate in Parliament, the first debate in this Parliament, on excess deaths. There's been very little debates, very little discussions on vaccine harms here. Of course, this is the issue that Andrew Bridgen MP was thrown out of the Conservative Party, the Tories, for beginning to raise the issue of vaccine harms and now raising the issue of excess deaths was simply is not discussed in this place. I've seen discussion in other parts of the world, especially Germany, with the AFD. But Andrew Bridgen has made this the hill that he will fight and die on. And he has been thrown out of the Conservative Party. He's lost that position he had for many years. Andrew Bridgen, of course, is one of the original Brexiteers, well known to any of us involved in the Brexit movement, in the UKIP movement. And Andrew has been fearless. He's one of those strange beasts in Westminster. He is led by conviction. He is led by courage and led by a desire to do what is right. And he had no desire to climb up the greasy pole. He's traditionally been a backbencher. So has stood his ground, kept his position as a lowly MP and not wanted to rise to the ministerial level, because that gives him the freedom to discuss what he wants. He's not held, he's not restricted by government restrictions, but he can say what he thinks and do what is right for his constituents, for those who vote for him, and realise that he is the servant of the people and he is not the servant of the government. So today there will be a debate led by Andrew Bridgen, I assume he will be one of maybe very few, one of one, who will actually speak on this. I'm really curious to see. I've seen a couple of Conservative, MPs who have touched on this, who have spoken a little bit about this, sometimes on GB News, but they have not gone as far as Andrew Bridgen. And Andrew Bridgen has gone this far. He has lost his job over it, and he doesn't care, because this is the right thing to do when a jab when an experimental vaccine, so-called vaccine, was rolled out and everyone was coerced and more or less forced to take it. Andrew was in that, he also took it, now regrets that and wants to keep raising the alarm on the ongoing effects of this and of course to challenge this government overreach that wants to force this upon everyone. This of course is a conservative government supposedly that stands up for freedom of speech, personal responsibility, rights, and yet all those traditional understandings of a conservative party have been completely upended and is no longer a party of freedom and liberty but is now a party of coercion and control. A number of MPs I assume will come in and speak after Andrew will present his position on excess deaths and ask the question, why is this? It seems to correlate to the rollout of the jab. You and I know that. We've seen the data. Andrew will be careful in how he puts it forward. He will use parliamentary language. He's skilled enough in this chamber to know what to say, what not to say, what connects with those in the chamber, and to win them over. Because ultimately, politics is about the art of persuasion. It is about winning the public over. And today, it is not necessarily the public is winning over, although you will watch the debate in a few moments, but actually is winning over MPs. And that also is crucial. Whatever you think, we still have 650 individuals and many of us mistrust absolutely, many of us detest. Many of us have had a traditional understanding of politics where there was a level of trust with our institutions and that included those in the building behind me. That is gone. I think for all of us, that is completely gone. And to have an individual who is a champion on the issue of curtailing that government overreach, asking questions, following the money, saying, was this just a push by big pharma for profits? Was this something darker? There are a whole load of areas we can go into, but Andrew has, wisely stayed within the areas he can understand. He has read papers, he has, understood them and he has presented those and I think he has been extremely wise on how far he has gone on this because it is a case of winning people over. That's what we have faced, all of us, over the last three years of winning friends, family, colleagues, connections over to persuade them that this is a dangerous experiment on not only the UK population but on the world population. We have a police car. I hope they don't want to arrest Andrew before his debate. I don't think even our government would do that, would they? Anyway, I will let you watch the debate, watch Andrew speaking, and then after I will try and catch up with a number of the people who have been here to support Andrew. I saw, Mike Yeadon earlier heading into the debate and I saw Matt Le Tissier earlier, I saw Fiona Hines earlier, I saw a big group of people who are here to support Andrew as he speaks truth and to let him know that he is not alone because it must feel very alone in that chamber. No one to back you, no one to support you and you feel as though you are a lonely voice crying out in the wilderness and yet. Many people have come to show Andrew that there are many people behind him who are indebted to him for actually speaking truth in this place and are standing with him shoulder-to-shoulder. So we'll hopefully talk to a few of those people after the debate. (Andrew Bridgen MP) Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. We've experienced more excess deaths since July 2021, than the whole of 2020. Unlike the pandemic, however, these deaths are not disproportionately of the old. In other words, the excessive deaths are striking down people in the prime of life. But no one seems to care. I fear history will not judge this House kindly. Worse still, in a country supposedly committed to free and frank exchange of views, it appears that no one cares that no one cares. Well, I care, Mr Deputy Speaker, and I credit those members here in attendance today who also care. And I'd also like to thank the Honourable Member for Lincoln for his support, and I'm, sorry that he couldn't attend today's debate. It's taken a lot of effort and more than 20 rejections to be allowed to raise this topic, But at last we're here to discuss the number of people dying. Nothing could be more serious. Numerous countries are currently gripped in a period of unexpected mortality, and no one wants to talk about it. It's quite normal for death numbers to fluctuate up and down by chance alone, but what we're seeing here is a pattern, repeated across countries, and the rise has not let up. I'll give way to my Honourable Gentleman.  (Phillip Davies MP) I'm very grateful and can I commend him for the tenacious way he's battled on this particular, issue. I certainly admire him for that. I just wonder where he found the media was in all of this, because of course during the Covid pandemic, every day, the media, particularly the BBC, couldn't wait to tell us how many people had died in that particular day without any context of those figures whatsoever. But they seem to have gone strangely quiet over these excess deaths now. (Andrew Bridgen MP) I thank the gentleman for his intervention. He's absolutely right. The media have let the British public down badly. There will be a full press pack going out to all media outlets following my speech with all the evidence to back up all the claims I'll make in that speech. But I don't doubt there'll be no mention of it in the mainstream media. You might think that a debate about excess deaths is going to be full of numbers. This speech does not have that many numbers because most of the important numbers have been kept hidden. Other data has been oddly presented in a distorted way, and concerned people seeking to highlight important findings and ask questions have found themselves inexplicably under attack. Before debating excess deaths, it's important to understand how excess death is determined. To understand if there is an excess, by definition you need to estimate how many deaths it would have been expected. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development used 2015-2019 as a baseline, and the Government's Office of Health Disparities and Improvement used its 2015-2019 baseline modelled to allow for ageing, and I've used that data here. Unforgivably, the Office of National Statistics have included deaths in 2021 as part of their baseline calculation for expected deaths, as if there was anything normal about the deaths in 2021. Exaggerating the number of deaths expected, the number of excess can be minimized. Why would the ONS want to do that? There's just too much that we don't know and it's not good enough Mr. Deputy Speaker. The ONS published promptly each week the number of deaths that were registered and while this is commendable it's not the data point that really matters. There's a total failure to collect, never mind publish, data on deaths that are referred for investigation to the coroner. Why does this matter? A referral means that it can be many months and, given the backlog, many years before a death is formally registered. Needing to investigate the cause of a death is fair enough. Failing to record when the death happened is not. Because of this problem, we actually have no idea how many people actually died in 2021. Even now, the problem is greatest for the younger age groups, where there's, a higher proportion of deaths are investigated. This date of failure is unacceptable. It must change. There's nothing in a coroner's report that can bring anyone back from the dead and those deaths should be reported. The youngest age groups are important not only because they should have their whole lives ahead of them. If there is a new cause of excess mortality across the board, it would not be noticed so much in the older cohorts because the extra deaths would be drowned out amongst the expected deaths. However, in the youngest cohorts, that is not the case. There were nearly two extra deaths a day in the second half of 2021 among 15 to 19 year old males, but potentially even more if those referred to the coroner were fully included. In a judicial review of the decision to vaccinate yet younger children, the ONS refused in court to give anonymised details about these deaths. They, admitted that the data they were withholding was statistically significant and I quote they said, the ONS recognises that more work could be undertaken to examine the mortality rates of young people in 2021 and intends to do so once more reliable data are available. How many more extra deaths in 15 to 19 year olds would it take to trigger such work? Surely the ONS should be desperately keen to investigate deaths in young men. Why else have an independent body charged with examining mortality data? Surely the ONS has a responsibility to collect data from the coroners to produce timely information? Let's move on to old people, because most deaths in the old are registered promptly and we do have a better feel for how many older people are dying. Deaths from dementia and Alzheimer's show what we ought to expect. There was a period of high mortality coinciding with COVID and lockdowns, but ever since there have been fewer deaths than expected. After a period of high mortality, we expect, and historically have seen, a period of low mortality because those who have sadly died cannot die again. Those whose deaths were slightly premature because of COVID and lockdowns, died earlier than they otherwise would have. This principle should hold true for every cause of death and every age group, but that's not what we're seeing. Even for the over 85-year-olds, according to the Office of Health Improvement and Disparities, there were 8,000 excess deaths, 4% above the expected levels, for the 12 months starting in July 2020. That includes all of the autumn 2020 wave of COVID, when we had tiering, the second lockdown, and it includes all of the first COVID winter. However, for the year starting July 2022, there have been over 18,000 excess deaths in this age group, 9% above expected levels, more than twice as many in a period when there should have been a deficit. And when deaths from diseases previously associated with old age were actually fewer than expected. Mr Deputy Speaker, I have raised my concerns around NG163 and the use of midazolam and morphine, which may have caused and may still be causing premature deaths in the vulnerable, but that is sadly a debate for another day. There were just over 14,000 excess deaths in the under 65-year-olds before vaccination from April 2020 to the end of March 2021. However, since that time there have been over 21,000 excess deaths, ignoring the registration delay problem, the majority, 58% of these deaths, were not attributed to Covid. We turned society upside down before vaccination for fear of excess deaths from Covid. Today we have substantially more excess deaths, and in younger people, and there's complete and eerie silence, Mr Deputy, Speaker. The evidence is unequivocal. There was a clear stepwise increase in mortality following the vaccine rollout. There was a reprieve in the winter of 2021-22 because there were fewer than expected respiratory deaths, but otherwise the excess has been incessantly at this high level. Ambulance data for England provides another clue. Ambulance calls for life-threatening emergencies were running at a steady 2,000 calls per day until the vaccine rollout. From then it rose to 2,500 daily and calls have stayed at this level since. The surveillance systems designed to spot a safety problem have all flashed red but no one's looking. Claims for personal independence payments for people who've developed a disability and cannot work rocketed with the vaccine rollout and it's, continued to rise ever since. The same was seen in the USA, also started with the vaccine rollout, not with Covid. A study to determine the vaccination status of a sample of such claimants, would be relatively quick and inexpensive to perform, yet nobody seems interested in ascertaining this vital information. Officials have chosen to turn a blind eye to this disturbing, irrefutable and frightening data, much like Nelson did, but for far less honourable reasons. He would be ashamed of us, Mr Deputy Speaker. Furthermore, data that has been used to sing the praises of the vaccines is deeply flawed. Only one COVID-related death was prevented in each of the initial major trials that led to authorisation of the vaccines and that is taking their data entirely at face value, whereas a growing number of inconsistencies and anomalies suggest we ought not to do this. Extrapolating from that means that between 15,000 and 20,000 people had to be injected to prevent a single death from COVID. To prevent a single COVID hospitalisation, over 1,500 people needed to be injected. The trial data showed that 1 in 800 injected people had a serious adverse event, meaning they were hospitalised or had a life-changing or life-threatening condition. The risk of this was twice as high as the chance of preventing a COVID hospitalisation. We're harming 1 in 800 people to supposedly save 1 in 20,000. This is madness. The strongest claims have too often been based on modelling carried out on the basis of flawed assumptions. Where observational studies have been carried out, researchers will correct, for age and comorbidities to make the vaccines look better. However, they never correct for socio-economic or ethnic differences that would make the vaccines look worse. This matters. For example, claims of high mortality in less vaccinated regions in the United States, took no account of the fact that this was the case before the vaccines were rolled out. That is why studies that claim to show the vaccines prevented Covid deaths also showed a marked effect of them preventing non-Covid deaths. The prevention of non-Covid deaths is always a statistical illusion and claims of preventing Covid deaths should not be assumed when that illusion has not been corrected for. And when it is corrected for, the claims of efficacy for the vaccines vanish with it. COVID disproportionately killed people from ethnic minorities and lower socioeconomic groups. During the 2020, during the pandemic, the deaths among the most deprived were up by 23%, compared to 17% for the least deprived. However, since 2022, the pattern has reversed, with 5% excess mortality amongst the most deprived, compared to 7% among the least deprived. These deaths are being caused by something different. In 2020, the excess was highest in the oldest cohorts and there were fewer than expected deaths amongst the younger age groups. But since 2022, the 50 to 64 year old cohort has had the highest excess mortality. Even the youngest age groups are now seeing substantial excess, with a 9% excess in the under 50s since 2022 compared to 5% now in the over 75 group. Despite London being a younger region, the excess in London is only 3%, whereas it is higher in every more heavily vaccinated region of the UK. It should be noted that London is famously the least vaccinated region in the UK by some margin. Studies comparing regions on a larger scale show the same thing. There are studies from the Netherlands, Germany and the whole world each showing that the highest mortality after vaccination was seen in the most heavily vaccinated regions. So we need to ask, what are people dying of? Since 2022, there has been 11% excess in ischemic heart disease deaths and a 16% excess in heart failure deaths. In meantime, cancer deaths, only 1% above expected levels, which is further evidence that it is not simply, some other factor that affects deaths across the board, such as a failing to account for an aging population or a failing NHS. In fact, the excess itself has a seasonality with a peak in the winter months. The fact it returns to baseline levels in summer is a further indication that this is not due to some statistical error or an ageing population alone. Dr Clare Craig from the Heart Group first highlighted a stepwise increase in cardiac arrest calls after the vaccine rollout in May 2021 and Heart have repeatedly raised concerns about the increase in cardiac deaths and they have every reason to be concerned. Four participants in the vaccine group of the Pfizer trial died from cardiac arrest compared to only one in the placebo group. Overall there were 21 deaths in the vaccine group up to March 2021 compared to 17 in the placebo group. And there are serious anomalies about the reporting of the deaths within this trial, with the deaths in the vaccine group taking much longer to report than those in the placebo group. And that's highly suggestive, Mr Deputy Speaker, of a significant bias in what was supposed to be a blinded trial. An Israeli study clearly showed an increase in cardiac hospital attendances, among 18 to 39 year olds that correlated with vaccination, not with COVID. There have now been several postmortem studies demonstrating a causal link between vaccination and coronary artery disease leading to death up to four months after the last dose. And we need to remember that the safety trial was cut short to only two months. So there's no evidence of any vaccine safety beyond that point. The decision to unblind the trials after two months and vaccinate the placebo group is nothing less than a public health scandal. Everyone involved failed in their duty to the truth. But no one cares, Mr Deputy Speaker. The one place that can help us understand exactly what caused this is Australia. Australia had almost no Covid when vaccines were first introduced, making them the perfect control group. The state of South Australia had only a thousand cases of Covid across its whole population by December 2021, before Omicron arrived. What was the impact of vaccination there? For 15 to 44 year olds there was historically 1,300 emergency cardiac presentations a month. With vaccine rollout in the under 50s this rocketed to 2,172 cases in November 2021 in this age group alone, a 67% more than usual. Overall there were 17,900 South Australians who had a cardiac emergency in 2021, compared to only 13,250 in 2018, a 35% increase. It is clearly the vaccine that must be the number one suspect in this and it cannot be dismissed as just a coincidence. Australian mortality overall has increased from early 2021 and the increase is due to cardiac deaths. These excess deaths are not due to an ageing population because there are fewer deaths in the diseases of old age. These deaths are not an effect of COVID because they've happened in places where COVID have not reached and they're not due to low statin prescriptions or under-treated hypertension, as Chris Whitty would suggest, because prescriptions did not change and in any effect would have taken many years and been very small. The prime suspect must be something that was introduced to the population as a whole, something novel. The prime hypothesis must be the experimental COVID-19 vaccines. The ONS published a data set of deaths by vaccinated and unvaccinated. At first glance, it appears to show that the vaccines are safe and effective. However, there were several huge problems with how they presented that data. One was that for the first three-week period after injection, the ONS claimed, there were only a tiny number of deaths. The number the ONS would normally predict to occur in a single week. Where were the deaths from the usual causes? When this was raised, the ONS claimed that the sickest people did not get vaccinated, and therefore people who were taking the vaccination were self-selecting for those least likely to die. Not only is this not the case in the real world, with even hospices heavily vaccinating their residents, but the ONS's own data showed that the proportion of sickest people was equal in the vaccinated and unvaccinated groups. This inevitably raises serious questions about the ONS's data presentation. There were so many problems with the methodology used by the ONS that the Statistics Regulator agreed that the ONS data could not be used to assess vaccine efficacy or safety. That tells you something about the ONS. Consequently, Hart asked the UK Health Security Agency to provide the data they had on people who had died and therefore needed to be removed from their vaccination dataset. This request has been repeatedly refused, with excuses given, including the false claim that anonymising this data will be equivalent to creating it even though there is case law that, anonymization is not considered creation of new data. Mr Deputy Speaker I believe if this data was released it would be damning. That so many lives have been saved by mass vaccination that any amount of harm, suffering and death caused by the vaccines is a price worth paying. They're delusional, Mr Deputy Speaker. The claim of 20 million lives saved is based on now discredited models which assume that Covid waves do not peak without intervention. There have been numerous waves globally that now demonstrate that is not the case, and it was also based on there having been more than half a million lives saved in the UK. That's more than the worst-case scenario predicted at the beginning of the pandemic. For the claim to have been true, the rate at which Covid killed people would have to have taken off dramatically at the beginning of 2021 in the absence of vaccination. This is ludicrous and it bears no relationship to the truth. In the real world, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea had a mortality rate of 400 deaths per million up to the summer of 2022, after they were first hit with Omicron. So how does that compare with the Wuhan strain? France and Europe as a whole had a mortality rate of under 400 deaths per million up to the summer of 2020. Australia, New Zealand and South Korea were all heavily vaccinated before infection. So tell me, where was the benefit? The UK had just over 800 deaths per million up to the summer of 2020. So twice as much. But we know that Omicron is half as deadly as the Wuhan variant. The death rates per million are the same before and after vaccination. So where was the benefits of vaccination? The regulators have failed in their duty to protect the public. They've allowed these novel products to skip crucial safety testing by letting them be described as vaccines. They've failed to insist on safety testing being done in the years since the first temporary emergency authorisation. Even now, no one can tell you how much spike protein is produced on vaccination and for how long. Yet another example of where there is no data for me to share with the House. And when it comes to properly recording deaths due to vaccination, the system's broken. Not a single doctor registered a death from a rare brain clot before doctors in Scandinavia forced the issue and the MHRA acknowledged the problem. Only then did these deaths start to be certified by doctors in the UK. It turns out that doctors were waiting for permission from the regulator and the regulators were waiting to be alerted by the doctors. This is a lethal circularity. Furthermore, coroners have written Regulation 28 reports highlighting deaths from vaccination to prevent further deaths, yet the MHRA said in a response to an FOI that they had not received any of them. The system we have in place is clearly not functioning to protect the public. The regulators also missed the fact that the Pfizer trial, in the Pfizer trial, the vaccine was made for the trial participants in a highly controlled environment, in stark contrast to the manufacturing process used for the public rollout, which was based on a completely different technology. And just over 200 participants were given the same product that was given to the public. But not only was the data from these people never compared to those in the trial for efficacy and safety, But the MHRA have admitted that they dropped the requirement to provide the data. That means there was never a trial on the Pfizer product that was actually rolled out to the public. And that product has never been compared to the product that was actually trialled. The vaccine mass production processes use vats of Escherichia coli and present a risk of contamination with DNA from the bacteria as well as bacterial cell walls which can, cause dangerous reactions. This is not theoretical, Mr Deputy Speaker, this is now sound evidence that has been replicated by several labs across the world, and the mRNA vaccines were contaminated by DNA which far exceeded the usual permissible levels. Given that this DNA is enclosed in the lipid nanoparticle delivery system, it is arguable that even the permissible levels have been far too high. These lipid nanoparticles are known to enter every organ of the body, as well as this potentially causing some of the acute adverse reactions seen, there is a serious risk that this foreign bacterial DNA is inserting itself into human DNA. Will anybody investigate? No, they won't. I'll give way on that point.  (Danny Kruger MP) I am conscious that time is tight. I recognise that the hon. Gentleman is making a very powerful case. Does he agree that the Government should be looking at this properly and should commission of review into the excess deaths, partly so that we can reassure our constituents that the case he's making is not in fact valid and that the vaccines have no cause behind these excess deaths. (Andrew Bridgen MP) I thank the Honourable Gentleman for his support on this topic and of course that is what exactly any responsible government should do. I wrote to the Prime Minister on the 7th August 2023 with all the evidence of this but sadly Mr Deputy Speaker I still await a response. What will it take to stop these products? Their complete failure to stop infection was not enough and we all know plenty of vaccinated people who have caught and spread Covid. The, mutation of the virus to a weaker variant, Omicron, that wasn't enough. The increasing evidence of the serious harms to those of us that were vaccinated. That's not enough. And now the cardiac deaths and the deaths of young people is apparently not enough either. It's high time these experimental vaccines were suspended and a full investigation into the harms they've caused initiated. History will be a harsh judge if we don't start using evidence-based medicine. We need to return to basic science, basic ethics immediately, which means listening to all voices and investigating all concerns. In conclusion, Mr Deputy Speaker, the experimental Covid-19 vaccines are not safe and they're not effective. Despite there only being limited interest in the chamber from colleagues, and I'm very grateful for those who have attended, we can see from the public gallery there is considerable public interest. I would implore all members of the House, present and those not. Support calls for a three-hour debate on this important issue. And Mr Deputy Speaker, this might be the first debate on excess deaths in our Parliament. Indeed, it might be the first debate on excess deaths in the world, but very sadly I promise you won't be the last. (Parliament Square Speech Andrew Bridgen MP) But without further ado let's welcome to the stage Mr Andrew Bridgen. Thank you ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming down here to support the debate today, and thank you for supporting me and the cause. More? I just spoke for 25 minutes. Blood. It's been quite a week. Start of the week, get attacked from behind by a blunt instrument. But what an ending to this week. We have made history today. Nine months, more than 20 refused attempts to get a debate on excess deaths, the first debate on excess deaths in the UK, Parliament, the first proper debate on excess deaths in the world and I promise you, I absolutely promise you, it won't be the last. We will get a three hour debate in the next few weeks now on excess deaths. We've got two democracies under challenge all over the world. We're hanging over and using what we've got to make sure we get our message out there. On Tuesday next week I'm, I'm bringing in a bill, a ten minute rule motion, a bill called the Sovereignty and Referendums Bill. I'm going to put it to the House. That would stop, if we could bring that in, that would stop the WHO power grab of the people of the UK. I've been invited to speak as well next week on Zoom to some African political leaders, to try and persuade them to resist the WHO power grab, because it doesn't matter where we break this, we can break it in the UK, we can break it anywhere else in the world. This is a worldwide problem, an absolute assault on humanity, and we've all got to stick together. I've been an MP for nearly 14 years. I've given a lot of speeches in that chamber. That I was a bit nervous today because I knew there was never going to be a more important, speech I've ever given. I've never been in a more important speech than the one I was giving today. Can't you hear at the back? Turn up the PA. So, here we go. There was never going to be a more important speech than the one I was giving today, and, even after 14 years as an MP I was a little bit nervous standing up. But what really got me was, OK, there wasn't as many MPs in the chamber as I'd liked, but, the public gallery was full and the support from there was absolutely incredible. And they always say the politicians, that place over there, is in the Westminster bubble. We are going to burst the bubble in Westminster. Absolutely. Ultimately, my message to send you away with is that your determination, your cheerfulness, your resilience will deliver us victory. Thank you very much for coming today. (Hearts of Oak) Andrew, we've just been in on the debate on vaccine harms. Tell us about the process, because it's been a long, hard battle, which you talk about in the chamber. (Andrew Bridgen MP) Yeah, I've been putting in since January every week for a backbench business debate. That was refused. I've put in for a Westminster Hall debate on a weekly basis and I've put in for an adjournment debate. Eventually, after nine months and more than 20 rejections, we had the first debate on excess deaths in the UK Parliament. I think it's the first one in the world, but I promise you it won't be the last. I think the dozen or so MPs who attended today's debate, I'm hoping I'll be able to get a get them to sign up that we can have a three-hour debate well before Christmas and then it's going to grow from there because ultimately the data that I imparted in the chamber today, it's all backed up with the science. Every MP is going to be getting a copy of my Hansard speech and the full data pack of all the evidence that backs up everything I've said. There's no excuses now. So this goes to law because it's a no-brainer really to have these conversations because we've all seen excess deaths across Europe. Ask yourself in a democracy why don't they want to have a conversation about anything? I mean, I'm aware that in the Australian Senate four or five senators asked for a debate on excess deaths they ended up having a debate on whether you should have a debate on excess deaths and the consensus of the Australian Senate was they didn't want to have a debate on excess deaths. Well, I mean that's a red flag straight away, isn't it? (Hearts of Oak) Last question, I assume you believe that there are some MPs that can be won over, that public figures have kept quiet a further reputation, which you don't care about and you've walked away from the party. Tell us about those who you think you can possibly win over and then support you publicly on this. (Andrew Bridgen MP) Well certainly some of the ones that were there today, I know of some who weren't there today who will support calling for a much bigger debate on excess deaths. And ultimately it's the pressure of the electorate, the people, and you could see that although the House wasn't very full of members, the public gallery was full and that shows you that public opinion is they want this issue debated, they want to know what's gone on, and it's their right to have it happen. And that will become an irresistible force for politicians. That's how democracy works. (Hearts of Oak) Well, we've just had the debate in Parliament, a debate that I actually, to be honest, didn't think would happen. I thought that it would be stopped and held off. Only one member of 650 MPs in that place was willing to stand up and have this conversation, on vaccine arms as on excess deaths. He spoke for 24 minutes, presented everything in a measured calm manner, no emotion. One of the many things Andrew is great at, that he just lays it out gently, softly, step by step, that he doesn't raise the hyperball that maybe some others will rise to. And he laid it out in 24 minutes. And of course, the government's response is, Well, excess deaths are other factors, lifestyle factors, like smoking, like cholesterol, even fatty foods. So the government are blaming all the excess deaths over a period of a sudden spike in, smoking and a spike in eating fish and chips. That's what the government. Wow. Like ostriches with their heads in the sand. So Andrew presented his figures. The great thing is that we expect now there to be a much longer debate in Parliament. That was a short motion, a short debate, a 30 minute session. Andrew is hopeful that this can now go to a three hour fuller debate and that will be really interesting to see whether that gets tabled and whether it actually does go ahead and I would like to see other MPs backing Andrew and I think the more he speaks the more courage they will get. Andrew is someone with courage, with conviction, with a backbone, with a determination to speak truth and often, that is a rarity across there, it really is, really people want to, keep their heads down, they want to climb up the greasy pole and attain those higher levels of political achievement. So we obviously will watch this, follow Andrew. He is a hero. There's no one else in that Parliament across the way that's a hero like Andrew. And what else? I mean, it's the hill that he's chosen to die on. It's the hill that he has chosen to fight on. It's the hill that he has lost his career in the Conservative Party. And why? Because people are dying and no one is talking about it. What more important issue is there apart from life and death? And if something has been introduced and it's killing people, you need to look at it, you need to address, you need to understand it, to analyse it and then see what you do with that. So we have won here amongst 650. We will follow this and watch this closely as we see this move towards a fuller debate in Parliament and certainly my hope and prayer is that many other MPs stand up and speak, and that this happens across the world. We've seen a debate happening, I know, in the German Parliament with the AfD. I know we've seen debates happening in the Australian Parliament and the One Nation Party with Pauline and Malcolm are doing a fantastic job there. And here is one individual. Obviously, the Reclaim Party is behind Andrew Bridgen. He's a member of that of Lawrence Fox's party. And Andrew will continue to speak. And as he speaks, I believe that we will see ripple effects across the world because the world watches what happens here. This is called the mother of parliament and I believe that as Andrew continues to speak and continues to speak within this chamber that we will see other parliaments around the world address this issue. But this doesn't affect future debt, I mean, the damage is done, the deaths are happening. But at least you have to hold people to account. And for me, this is about justice. It's about honesty. It's about clarity. It is about truth, which is something that's been in short supply over the last couple of years during the COVID tyranny. So keep an eye on this space for Andrew to continue to push this. And when that longer three hour debate does happen, we will be here reporting on us and reporting on those who have come out to support Andrew today. Matt Le Tissier was here, Le God was in the chamber watching Andrew, Mike Yeadon was here speaking, Fiona Hine has done a great job in pulling people together. There is massive support and I think the parliamentarians in the government want individuals like Andrew Bridgton to feel they are alone, but they are not alone. They are backed by masses of the population and today was a small subset, of that, but Andrew knows he is not alone. Make sure and post this video, let others see what has happened here in the UK Parliament and have hope, because I think often that's also in short supply and I think what has happened today is a day of hope, is a day of reckoning and is a day of moving forward to actually presenting the truth and holding people to account.

What You Need to Know is that distrust yet verify, as I often say, applies not only to the things that our government says, but also to the footage we see of war. Whether it's Hamas media accounts, posts on X, or mainstream media, it's important to double check as old footage is regularly being posted to mislead people. John Zadrozny of America First Legal joins Ed to talk about Israel's situation dealing with Hamas and Palestine, and he draws a parallel between that dynamic and ours with President Biden's open border policy. There is no doubt, according to Zadrozny, that there are hostile foreign actors that have come across our border at the behest of hostile foreign governments, and our government has no mechanism to find who they are or where they are in the United States. Petr Bystron, legislator and member of the AfD in the German Parliament, joins Ed to discuss the surge in German state elections. Bystrom discusses the recent victories of the AfD in Germany, as well as how the globalist policies of the German government paved the way for the populist AfD to be the clear winner. Bystron also talks to Ed about the AfD's call for the German government to stop funding Hamas. Wrap Up: Look at all of the things that Trump did, and that Biden actively reversed. Are these just policy differences, or is this Biden's ego? Biden has walked back Trump's energy independence and torn up Trump's work on the Abraham Accords. Today, Trump bragged about some of the many great things that he has done during his presidency, all of which stand in stark contrast to Biden. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What You Need to Know is that the way the Biden administration has opened our border is traitorous. Todd Bensman's journalism has demonstrated that most of those flooding across our Southern border are military-aged men. In light of the attack on Israel, this raises concerns about the ability of those who mean harm to the United States to enter into our country legally. This is not just a national security threat, it is a clear and present danger to our country. John Droz is a physicist, political author, and self-described citizen advocate. John joins Ed to discuss his involvement in testifying during the trial of Professor John Eastman. He discusses his experience testifying in the trial, as well as his substack articles that cover the issues. Droz also talks about his involvement in creating a team to make election integrity reports, which can be found on election-integrity.info. Petr Bystron, legislator and member of the AfD in the German Parliament, joins Ed to discuss the surge in German state elections. Bystrom discusses the recent victories of the AfD in Germany, as well as how the globalist policies of the German government paved the way for the populist AfD to be the clear winner. Bystron also talks to Ed about the AfD's call for the German government to stop funding Hamas. Wrap Up: Look at all of the things that Trump did, and that Biden actively reversed. Are these just policy differences, or is this Biden's ego? Biden has walked back Trump's energy independence and torn up Trump's work on the Abraham Accords. Today, Trump bragged about some of the many great things that he has done during his presidency, all of which stand in stark contrast to Biden. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wide ranging conversation with Carolin Geier, co-founder at Mintbase and one of the five NEAR Community Treasury Trustees. This podcast is a short one but packed with goodies where we come, among other things:* The beginning: from German Parliament researching 'Distributed Ledger Technology' to meeting Nate working on Blockchain and NFTs.* Changing landscape from lots of talks and unfulfilled promises in 2018 to today * Role of Mintbase in NEAR - infra enabling many other projects to build on top.* Challenges of Decentralisation: from Createbase to Community Treasury* and more...! ResourcesMintbase Website - https://www.mintbase.xyzMintbase Demo Day (Youtube) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6Eoy9YP86AMintbase Demo Day (Medium) - https://medium.com/mintbase/wrapping-up-mintbases-demo-day-f13fd192c8fcFollow on SocialsCarolin - https://twitter.com/carolinwendMintbase - https://twitter.com/mintbaseAVB - https://twitter.com/avbnear

On this day in legal history, we have a dark one. On August 3, 1934, the German Parliament combined the offices of President and Chancellor, raising Adolf Hitler as the supreme leader of Germany.  President Paul von Hindenburg, a key figure in German politics, died at the age of 87 on August 2, 1934, marking a dark turning point in German history. Hindenburg had been a decorated military officer and served as the President of the Weimar Republic, providing a stabilizing force during a turbulent period. Shortly after his death, Adolf Hitler, who was already serving as Chancellor, announced a significant change in the German government's structure. Hitler declared that the offices of the chancellor and the president were to be combined into one position, creating the role of the Führer and chancellor. This move effectively consolidated his power and eliminated the need for a separate presidential office, with Hitler announcing that he would occupy this new role.The death of Hindenburg and the ascendency of Hitler marked the end of the Weimar Republic and the beginning of the Nazi era in Germany. Hitler's consolidation of power allowed him to implement his radical ideologies and policies without significant opposition, leading to increased persecution of minority groups, aggressive military expansion, and ultimately, the outbreak of World War II. The transformation of the German government following Hindenburg's death played a crucial role in shaping the course of 20th-century history. Historians often view Hindenburg's death as the final barrier removed that allowed Hitler to fully implement his totalitarian regime, symbolizing the erosion of democratic principles in Germany.Thus, on this day in 1934, the German people were coming to terms with the death of President Hindenburg and the announcement of Adolf Hitler's new role as Führer and chancellor – and the world, had it known, would be bracing for what was to come. The merging of the chancellor and president's roles marked a pivotal moment in German history, setting the stage for the rise of the Nazi regime and the subsequent events that would shape the world in the years to come. The legacy of these events continues to resonate, providing a stark reminder of the fragility of democratic governance and the potential consequences of unchecked power.In 2023, U.S. states have actively targeted AI with various regulatory measures, reflecting both the potential and concerns of the technology. North Dakota banned legal personhood for AI and approved legislation to examine its impact on areas like education and elections. More than a dozen AI-related measures have passed across the U.S., with states like California attempting to confront digital bias and privacy, though some proposals have stalled due to opposition and cost concerns. Six states and Puerto Rico have approved measures to study AI, while others are embracing it for specific purposes like road maintenance. Concerns about potential threats have led to proposals to limit AI's use in various fields, with lawmakers emphasizing the need for good policies to control the technology. AI experts are urging a balanced view, recognizing AI as a useful but potentially dangerous tool, and calling for thoughtful understanding of both its risks and promises. The rapid advancement of AI presents challenges in regulation, but with proper human guidance, it could be a valuable asset, though the industry's desire to accelerate development may make it difficult for regulations to keep pace.US States Target AI With a Medley of Regulatory MeasuresBrewing battles over redistricting in states from New York to Utah may lead to new congressional maps for at least half a dozen states before the 2024 U.S. election, potentially affecting control of the closely divided House of Representatives. The 2022 election, in which Republicans captured a slim majority in the House, took place under maps based on the 2020 Census, but legal challenges and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling have cast doubt on many of those district lines. In states like Alabama, legal challenges have focused on the representation of Black voters, with further legal proceedings scheduled. Republicans have gained ground at state Supreme Courts in North Carolina and Ohio, leading to reversals of previous rulings against gerrymandering, while Democrats have made gains at state Supreme Courts in New York and Wisconsin.Other battles include arguments in Utah over the state's Republican-drawn congressional map, and a challenge in New Mexico against a Democratic-drawn map. These cases further illustrate the nationwide struggle over redistricting and its potential impact on future elections. Redistricting battles could determine control of US House in 2024 | ReutersThree Tesla owners in California have filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against the automaker, accusing the company of falsely advertising the estimated driving ranges of its electric vehicles (EVs). The lawsuit cites a recent Reuters article that reported Tesla had created a "Diversion Team" in Nevada to cancel range-related appointments after being overwhelmed with owner complaints. According to a source, about a decade ago, Tesla decided to write algorithms for its in-dash range meter that would show drivers optimistic projections for the distance the car could travel on a full battery, a directive that reportedly came from CEO Elon Musk. The lawsuit alleges that Tesla breached vehicle warranties and engaged in fraud and unfair competition, stating that the company has a duty to deliver a product that performs as advertised. The three plaintiffs in the lawsuit have cited instances when their Teslas did not achieve close to their advertised ranges, and they claim to have complained to the company without success. One of the plaintiffs, a Model Y owner, stated in the lawsuit that he lost approximately 182 miles of range despite only driving 92 miles, illustrating the discrepancy between actual and advertised range. The complaint seeks class-action status to represent all persons in California who purchased specific Tesla models and is seeking unspecified damages. This lawsuit adds to Tesla's legal challenges, as the company also faces lawsuits and regulatory scrutiny over its Autopilot and "Full Self-Driving" technology, as well as a proposed consumer class action related to privacy violations. Neither Tesla nor Musk responded to detailed questions from Reuters regarding the range claims, and they did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the lawsuit.Tesla faces California class action on its EV range claims | ReutersSociete Generale, France's third-largest listed bank, has reached a settlement with U.S. securities regulators including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) amid an investigation over the bank's handling of digital communications. The probe began in 2021 by the SEC, examining how Wall Street banks tracked employees' digital communications, including email and apps such as WhatsApp, with the CFTC later joining the examination. Details of the settlement have not been disclosed, and as of the report date, both settlements were awaiting formal regulatory approval. The announcement follows a statement by BNP Paribas last week that it was also set to resolve the same U.S. probe.Probes into financial institutions' compliance with regulatory requirements, including the handling and tracking of digital communications, are not uncommon. Regulatory bodies like the SEC and CFTC frequently examine banks and other financial entities to ensure they are adhering to laws and regulations concerning transparency, record-keeping, and anti-fraud measures. The growth of digital communication platforms, such as email and messaging apps, has led to increased scrutiny in this area. Ensuring that financial institutions have appropriate oversight and control over these communications is essential for preventing misconduct and maintaining the integrity of the financial markets. Therefore, regulators may periodically launch investigations to assess compliance with these rules, making such probes a relatively standard aspect of regulatory oversight in the financial sector.SocGen reaches settlement with U.S. regulators over messaging probe | Reuters Get full access to Minimum Competence - Daily Legal News Podcast at www.minimumcomp.com/subscribe

GUEST OVERVIEW: Dr Wolfgang Wodarg is a German physician and health expert, long active in anti-corruption work, with special focus on "Corruption in Health Care" and "Institutional Corruption". He is an honorary member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (where he was head of the Health Committee and vice-chairman of the Socialist Group), former health politician (1994-2009 Member of the German Parliament), initiator and spokesman of the Enquete Commission "Ethics and Law of Modern Medicine", author and university lecturer.

Dieter Janecek, Member of the German Parliament for the Green Party and Coordinator of Maritime Economy, joins The Ocean Embassy to discuss Germany's national strategies in this field. We discuss what this job as coordinator entails, the importance of the maritime economy within the European Union as well as Dieter's goals in this position. One of the key points on the agenda is the impact of the climate crisis on the maritime economy, and vice versa. We specifically discuss the need for alternative fuels for shipping, port infrastructures and decarbonization of this industry. Additionally, we discuss how Germany plans to manifest its cutting edge research role in the marine community by turning innovations into profitable climate solutions. Remember to follow The Ocean Embassy on Steady and support us there, if you can. You also find us on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. Cover art: Simon + Anna Madlener. Based on the Spilhaus world projection. Music and Sound Effects: Lukas Bindel Mixing: Anna Madlener #BBNJ #UnitedNations #BBNJtreaty #HighSeasTreaty #biodiversity #environmentalDNA #ocean #climateaction #climatecrisis #unoceandecade #bluecarbon #technology #sciencecommunication #marineconservation #podcast #science #climatescience #technology

Naïs Graswald is the Head of Executive and Digital Communications at the Volkswagen Group, she is a systemic coach and simply a loving human. Today we reflect on her family past, as we discover the roots of her value system where she embraces opposing views and continuously questions the status quo. We discuss how she transitioned from her communication work at the German Parliament and the Federal Ministry for Transport and Digital Infrastructure to embracing change in the German industry. We speak about finding life's meaning and how communication can become a brave space for unleashing creativity, change and a new era of human-centric businesses.If you enjoyed today's episode make sure to rate it on Spotify, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or share it with a friend.Read more about the Women Authors of Achievement (WAA) Podcast via https://waa.berlin/infoFollow us on Instagram & find us on LinkedInSubscribe to our newsletter via https://waa.berlin/#newsletter ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Germany is the first international destination for King Charles since he taking the throne. His Majesty spent three days in Berlin, Brandenburg and Hamburg in a visit full of symbolism: King Charles is the first foreign head of state to be welcomed with military honours at the emblematic Brandenburg Gate, in central Berlin. He also became the first monarch to deliver a speech before the German Parliament, delivery part of it in fluent German, Thomas say the visit helped Germans to momentarily forget some of the major problems the country is facing, including Germany's biggest strike in decades.

King Charles makes history addressing the German Parliament. And tell us why young British men are no longer welcome in Amsterdam?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Britain's Charles III will address the German parliament on Thursday, becoming the first monarch to do so, on the occasion of his inaugural state visit as king. Germany marks the first trip abroad for Charles since ascending the throne and is being interpreted as a “strong gesture” to build post-Brexit ties with the continent. Arriving for his three-day trip on Wednesday, he and Queen Consort Camilla were greeted with military honours at the Brandenburg Gate, the first time the iconic site had lent the backdrop for such a ceremony. The two countries' joint support for Ukraine in its battle against Russia's unprovoked aggression epitomised their commitment to “protecting and advancing shared democratic values.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/4090160/advertisement

King Charles has become the first British Monarch to address parliament in Germany - even speaking German in his address On the second day of his first overseas trip since becoming king, the monarch praised the "vital leadership" shown by Germany and the UK in helping Ukraine. Berlin correspondent Thomas Sparrow spoke to Charlotte Cook.  

Since his death in December 2022, there have been countless tributes paid to Pope Benedict XVI, extolling his legacy as one of the greatest minds and shepherds of the contemporary Church.In this episode, we aim to offer our own tribute, by focusing on the late Holy Father's contributions to Catholicism's understanding of the relationship between the Church and the State.In particular, we turn attention to speeches which Benedict delivered within the walls of some of the most iconic halls of power in Europe - namely, Westminster Hall in London, England in 2010 and the German Parliament in 2011.These speeches addressed essential questions around how we organize our life in common; what constitutes the foundation of Western civilization; what the role of truth and justice is in public life; how natural law can anchor public discourse; and what a true ecology of man looks like. Our guest is Fr. Raymond de Souza, one of North America's leading Catholic commentators, whose columns appear regularly in the National Post and National Catholic Register.  Fr. de Souza serves as a parish priest in the Archdiocese of Kingston, Ontario.ReferencesFr. Raymond de Souza official websiteFr. Raymond de Souza, “Sea to Sea”, Convivium  [reflections on Pope Benedict's September Speeches]Fr. Raymond de Souza, “Benedict XVI's lifelong friendship with God”, National Post (January 5, 2023)George Weigel, “Parting Reflections” (January 6, 2023) [fourth installment of “Letters from Rome” series on the death of Pope Benedict XVI]Support the showwww.crownandcrozier.comtwitter.com/crownandcrozierfacebook.com/crownandcrozierhttps://www.instagram.com/crownandcrozier/Please note that this podcast has been edited for length and clarity.

In this new episode, Lorenzo Coppi (Compass Lexecon) is interviewing Andreas Mundt (Bundeskartellamt) on where we are and what is to come for global antitrust. Video available on Concurrences Youtube channel  Follow us on Twitter @CompetitionLaws and join the Concurrences page on Linkedin to receive updates on our next podcast episodes. If you want to read more about this topic, check the Concurrences website where you can find all relevant articles: 1. German Competition Authority, The German Competition Authority extends its ongoing proceedings against an e-commerce giant to include the application of new powers which will allow the Authority to review the degree to which the firm may set market rules (Amazon), 14 November 2022 2. Christoph Arhold, Mark D. Powell, Genevra Forwood, Irina Trichkovska, The EU Commission adopts a second amendment to the Temporary Crisis Framework to support businesses affected by Russia's actions in Ukraine and the unfolding energy crisis, 28 October 2022 3. German Competition Authority, The German Competition Authority clears unconditionally but "with unease" the acquisition of a CRM platform by a social media company (Meta / Kustomer), 11 February 2022 4. Falk Schöning, Johanna Brock-Wenzek, Florian von Schreitter, The German Parliament passes amendments of antitrust law affecting the merger control regime, 19 January 2021 5. Miranda Cole, Peter D. Camesasca, The German Competition Authority publishes a draft on a new merger control notification threshold based on transaction value, 30 October 2017

German police have  searched one hundred and thirty sites across the country and arrested twenty-five people on suspicions of plotting to overthrow the government. A number of those arrested or still under suspicion include former politicians, as well as former and active members of the German military. The group allegedly planned to forcibly storm the German Parliament building and sieze control, echoing a similar attempt in August of 2020. German correspondent Thomas Sparrow spoke to Corin Dann.  

CEA Talks host Zoltán Kész is talking to Michael Landl who is the director of the World Vapers' Alliance about their upcoming EU campaign tour which will also land in 2 Central European countries. They will be in Warsaw, Krakow, Brno and Prague. Michael talks about the organization's ‘Back Vaping, Beat Smoking' initiative, and also about their goal to reach policy makers, combat misinformation and the wish to make their voices heard all around the world. Michael Landl is the director of the World Vapers' Alliance He is an experienced policy professional and passionate vaper. Michael studied International Affairs at the University of St. Gallen, and worked for several public policy outlets and also in the German Parliament. 

A basketball star pleads guilty to possessing cannabis.. in Russia.. BoJo resigns.. what's next for Britain… Germany goes for Assange and the medal of freedom

Germany's parliament gave final clearance Friday, May 20, to a plan that will allow people to use local transport across the country for just 9 euros ($9.50) per month this summer, a plan that has drawn praise but also plenty of criticism. The government also plans a three-month cut in fuel taxes. Parliament's upper house, which represents the country's 16 state governments, signed off on the 9-euro ticket plan — part of a bigger package of measures drawn up to cushion the blow of high energy prices for consumers following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The cut-price tickets, valid on regional trains and buses across Germany, will be available in June, July and August. Federal and state governments bickered over the funding, and it wasn't clear until Friday whether states would wave through a 2.5 billion-euro subsidy from Berlin that some of them said was inadequate. Government officials hope that, in addition to reducing costs for frequent travelers, the tickets will lure more people onto climate-friendlier public transport. But a railway workers' union and others have voiced concern that it will lead to overcrowded trains, causing delays and frustration. “A lot of people who so far had less interest in public transport want to give public transport a chance in the next three months,” Transport Minister Volker Wissing told the upper house. He acknowledged that the plan is likely to lead to full trains and buses in some areas on some days, and that will require “patience and in places strong nerves.” The cut in fuel taxes will apply for the same three-month period, chopping nearly 30 euro cents off taxes on a liter of gasoline and over 14 cents on a liter of diesel. Economists have warned that the fuel subsidy could reduce the likelihood of people switching to cleaner forms of transport. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Ukrainian leader evokes Berlin Wall in address to German Parliament. Also: Ukrainians post videos of captured Russian troops and a baby is born on the frontline.

The Ukrainian president spoke to the Bundestag, requesting further sanctions on Russia.

Ukraine's president suggests Germany is focused on economic interests ahead of ending war. Jakob Schlandt is an energy and climate journalist for the German daily Tagesspiegel and discusses President Zelensky's concerns. Also in the programme, we hear from the chief economist of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Laurence Boone, about the likely global economic impact of Russia's war in Ukraine. The historic shipping firm P&O Ferries, which operates services from the UK to a number of destinations has fired 800 seafaring staff and intends to replace them with agency workers. We get the background from the BBC's Dharshini David. Plus, a BBC investigation has found that dozens of social media influencers have been promoting illegal self-tanning products described as "dangerous" by leading dermatologists. We find out more from reporter Ellie Layhe. Today's edition is presented by Mike Johnson, and produced by Clare Williamson, Philippa Goodrich and Matthew Davies. (Picture: President Zelensky addresses the Bundestag. Picture credit: Getty Images.)

In this episode of CODEPINK Radio, we rebroadcast a discussion-- "The Russia-Ukraine War & the Imperative of Organizing for Peace"--hosted by RootsAction and co-sponsored by CODEPINK. Guests include: Norman Solomon, National Director of RootsAction Sevim Dağdelen: Member of the German Parliament, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Bill Fletcher Jr.: Senior Scholar with the Institute for Policy Studies, Katrina Vanden Heuvel: Editorial director of The Nation magazine, Ann Wright: CODEPINK Peace activist and retired U.S. Army Colonel, Marcy Winograd, Coordinator, CODEPINK Congress and Alan Minsky, Chair, Progressive Democrats of America. Guests call for de-escalation--not more weapons, not a no-fly Zone but negotiations without preconditions.

Welcome to Frontier3 by PatSnap! This series is dedicated to unpacking the innovation ecosystem of Web3. Featuring our Co-founder, Ray Chohan, and various industry experts, Frontier3 explores how Web3 will fundamentally change how we live, work, and play. Today Ray Chohan sits down with Jens Siebert. Jens is a blockchain & digital banking enthusiast with a focus on digital assets, web 3.0, and privacy. Regular speaker, panelist, and expert to the German Parliament on digital securities. Industry expertise in financial services with a deep understanding of marketplace financing. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jens-siebert/ Episode Highlights - Web2 has one fundamental flaw, which is the at-base business model underlying most of the services and platforms that we all use. - Any industry that invests a lot in brand-building activities, should consider NFTs as a relevant technology in your organization. - Baking in an NFT capability for big brands plays into most D2C strategies. - Web3 will form completely new business models and corporate structures. - This will be the first time we will be able to bring peer-to-peer business models into a good competitive situation. - Sovereign level funds now have the ability to make up to a 20% allocation within the bucket of alternative assets, within that bucket, digital assets. - A trend in 2022 is the tokenization of securities, bonds, and shares and at the beginning small to medium-size enterprises will see the biggest benefits. Get our #1 Amazon bestselling eBook, The Definitive Guide to Connected Innovation Intelligence (CII). In this white paper, we explore what CII is, who it's for, and how the world's disruptors are using it to win in hyper-competitive markets. Download your FREE copy.

On February 27 1933, as Hitler's campaign moved into its final, frantic days, the Reichstag, the German Parliament building, was set on fire and burnt down. An atmosphere of panic and terror followed the event. This continued when a young Dutch communist, Van der Lubbe was arrested for the crime. Though the event had been wildly exaggerated, the Nazi Party used the atmosphere of panic to their advantage, using it to sway political sentiment towards their movement. This hysteria helped to turn the public against the communists, one of the Nazis main opponents, and 4000 people were imprisoned. On the 28 February 1933, President Hindenburg signed the Emergency Decree for the Protection of the German People. This decree suspended the democratic aspects of the Weimar Republic and declared a state of emergency. This decree gave the Nazis a legal basis for the persecution and oppression of any opponents, who were be framed as traitors to the republic. People could be imprisoned for any or no reason. The decree also removed basic personal freedoms, such as the freedom of speech, the right to own property, and the right to trial before imprisonment. Today, we see the same thing happening from the left as it relates to the “insurrection” of January 6th. Join Rick Green as we discuss the frightening similarities between the 1930's and 2022. Turtle Twins | Find the show notes here INCLUDING Giveaway Instructions! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/heidistjohn/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/heidistjohn/support

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is stepping down after 16 years. Author and former NPR correspondent Kati Marton has written a new biography of Merkel titled, appropriately, The Chancellor. Marton told NPR's Sarah McCammon that Merkel's upbringing in East Germany before the wall fell prepared her for a future as a politician. But it also created some blind spots in her governing; allowing the far right movement, centered in former East Germany, to gain a foothold in the German Parliament.

“Climate scientists forecast that we will see more pandemics, more sickness in people. We have about 8 million people from air pollution every year around the world. So if we want to save their lives so that they do not become ill, we have to stop air pollution. Climate protection is the best contribution to healthcare for humankind.”Hans-Josef Fell was a member of German Parliament from 1998 to 2013 where he drafted the 2000 Renewable Energy Sources Act. This law has since been replicated over 100 times and can be seen as the legal prototype for the rollout of renewables. 
In 2006, with a group of other parliamentarians and scientists, Fell created the Energy Watch Group, wherein as president, he utilizes his vast expertise in energy and climate politics to foster political dialogue and public discourse.
Fell has received many accolades for his work including the Lui Che Woo Prize for his lifetime achievement in environmental and climate policy, the order of merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, and the Nuclear-Free Future Award.
· www.energywatchgroup.org
· hans-josef-fell.de/en/
· www.creativeprocess.info· www.oneplanetpodcast.org

Hans-Josef Fell was a member of German Parliament from 1998 to 2013 where he drafted the 2000 Renewable Energy Sources Act. This law has since been replicated over 100 times and can be seen as the legal prototype for the rollout of renewables. 
In 2006, with a group of other parliamentarians and scientists, Fell created the Energy Watch Group, wherein as president, he utilizes his vast expertise in energy and climate politics to foster political dialogue and public discourse.
Fell has received many accolades for his work including the Lui Che Woo Prize for his lifetime achievement in environmental and climate policy, the order of merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, and the Nuclear-Free Future Award.
· www.energywatchgroup.org
· hans-josef-fell.de/en/
· www.creativeprocess.info
· www.oneplanetpodcast.org

On today's episode, Know Your Role(s) welcomes filmmaker, writer, performer, & podcast host Desmond Thorne to the pod! On tap in today's Bar Talk are Paul Thomas Anderson's upcoming ninth film “Licorice Pizza,” George and Dave's predictions for “The Challenge,” and the posthumous release of David Bowie's 2001 record “Toy.” Desmond takes listeners behind the mic of his brilliant podcast “Adventures in Black Cinema,” shares his personal influences from David Lynch to “Atlanta,” and offers his take on the film industry's evolution towards a more inclusive and equitable environment. This episode's game deserves a full orchestral accompaniment, as Desmond and the fellas compare film scores to desserts, from Cliff Martinez's “Drive” ice cream sandwich to Danny Elfman's “Beetlejuice” dutch apple pie! In today's Last Call, Dave gets excited for the WNBA playoffs, while George preps for a stand-up gig at NY Comedy Club on October 10th. Producer Mary Bess touches on failings at the US border and celebrates a win for trans representation in the German Parliament!   Resources: See “Licorice Pizza” in theaters November 26, 2021. Watch “The Challenge” at 8:00 pm ET/PT Wednesdays on MTV. David Bowie's “Toy” will be released on January 7th, 2022. US Capitol switchboard (202) 224-3121. Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI) @instabaji / @bajitweet / baji.org. Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES) @raicestexas / raicestexas.org.   Guest: Desmond Thorne / IG: @desmondthorne / TW: @DesmondThorne.   Hosted By: George Gordon & David Kleinman.  Produced By: Mary Bess Pritchett. Music: Alnitak Kid, Nate 88, & Cazeaux OSLO. Artwork: Amanda Xeller. IG & TW: @kyrpod.  

Hans-Josef Fell was a member of German Parliament from 1998 to 2013 where he drafted the 2000 Renewable Energy Sources Act. This law has since been replicated over 100 times and can be seen as the legal prototype for the rollout of renewables. 
In 2006, with a group of other parliamentarians and scientists, Fell created the Energy Watch Group, wherein as president, he utilizes his vast expertise in energy and climate politics to foster political dialogue and public discourse.
Fell has received many accolades for his work including the Lui Che Woo Prize for his lifetime achievement in environmental and climate policy, the order of merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, and the Nuclear-Free Future Award.
· www.energywatchgroup.org
· hans-josef-fell.de/en/
· www.creativeprocess.info
· www.oneplanetpodcast.org

“Climate scientists forecast that we will see more pandemics, more sickness in people. We have about 8 million people from air pollution every year around the world. So if we want to save their lives so that they do not become ill, we have to stop air pollution. Climate protection is the best contribution to healthcare for humankind.”Hans-Josef Fell was a member of German Parliament from 1998 to 2013 where he drafted the 2000 Renewable Energy Sources Act. This law has since been replicated over 100 times and can be seen as the legal prototype for the rollout of renewables. 
In 2006, with a group of other parliamentarians and scientists, Fell created the Energy Watch Group, wherein as president, he utilizes his vast expertise in energy and climate politics to foster political dialogue and public discourse.
Fell has received many accolades for his work including the Lui Che Woo Prize for his lifetime achievement in environmental and climate policy, the order of merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, and the Nuclear-Free Future Award.
· www.energywatchgroup.org
· hans-josef-fell.de/en/
· www.creativeprocess.info· www.oneplanetpodcast.org

There is “no doubt that blockchain technology is here to stay,” says IBM's Tatjana Meier.  Tatjana, Blockchain Practice Leader at IBM Services Switzerland, admits that it's still early days for the technology. But she is confident it will prove beneficial for businesses and consumers alike and “can do a lot of good.”  She is particularly excited about the value blockchain brings to supply chain management. Traditionally, she explains, “you only have information one tier back, but you don't have the visibility along the supply chain.”  This is not the case when companies use blockchains. Blockchains helps participants record price, quality, and other relevant information to help manage a supply chain. This improves the traceability and sustainability of products by making it easier for companies to detect unethical suppliers or counterfeit products.  During a panel discussion at CoinGeek Zurich, Tatjana argued that this will ease regulatory and consumer pressure. On this week's episode of CoinGeek Conversations, she explained further, citing a new law on human rights in supply chains that has recently been adopted by the German Parliament.  The law will require large companies to regularly identify and address human rights and environmental concerns in their supply chains. Businesses will be expected to publish reports outlining what they are doing to tackle any risks and are liable to fines if they do not show that they have addressed abuses.  The immutability of blockchain will make it much easier for companies to do their due diligence, says Tatjana. Indeed, the transparency of the technology has even earned it the nickname of the ‘trust machine' from the Economist. This transparency will allow big companies to win points with increasingly ethically aware customers, as well as regulators. 

Hans-Josef Fell was a member of German Parliament from 1998 to 2013 where he drafted the 2000 Renewable Energy Sources Act. This law has since been replicated over 100 times and can be seen as the legal prototype for the rollout of renewables. 
In 2006, with a group of other parliamentarians and scientists, Fell created the Energy Watch Group, wherein as president, he utilizes his vast expertise in energy and climate politics to foster political dialogue and public discourse.
Fell has received many accolades for his work including the Lui Che Woo Prize for his lifetime achievement in environmental and climate policy, the order of merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, and the Nuclear-Free Future Award.
· www.energywatchgroup.org
· hans-josef-fell.de/en/
· www.creativeprocess.info
· www.oneplanetpodcast.org

“Climate scientists forecast that we will see more pandemics, more sickness in people. We have about 8 million people from air pollution every year around the world. So if we want to save their lives so that they do not become ill, we have to stop air pollution. Climate protection is the best contribution to healthcare for humankind.”Hans-Josef Fell was a member of German Parliament from 1998 to 2013 where he drafted the 2000 Renewable Energy Sources Act. This law has since been replicated over 100 times and can be seen as the legal prototype for the rollout of renewables. 
In 2006, with a group of other parliamentarians and scientists, Fell created the Energy Watch Group, wherein as president, he utilizes his vast expertise in energy and climate politics to foster political dialogue and public discourse.
Fell has received many accolades for his work including the Lui Che Woo Prize for his lifetime achievement in environmental and climate policy, the order of merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, and the Nuclear-Free Future Award.
· www.energywatchgroup.org
· hans-josef-fell.de/en/
· www.creativeprocess.info· www.oneplanetpodcast.org

Hans-Josef Fell was a member of German Parliament from 1998 to 2013 where he drafted the 2000 Renewable Energy Sources Act. This law has since been replicated over 100 times and can be seen as the legal prototype for the rollout of renewables. 
In 2006, with a group of other parliamentarians and scientists, Fell created the Energy Watch Group, wherein as president, he utilizes his vast expertise in energy and climate politics to foster political dialogue and public discourse.
Fell has received many accolades for his work including the Lui Che Woo Prize for his lifetime achievement in environmental and climate policy, the order of merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, and the Nuclear-Free Future Award.
· www.energywatchgroup.org
· hans-josef-fell.de/en/
· www.creativeprocess.info
· www.oneplanetpodcast.org

“Climate scientists forecast that we will see more pandemics, more sickness in people. We have about 8 million people from air pollution every year around the world. So if we want to save their lives so that they do not become ill, we have to stop air pollution. Climate protection is the best contribution to healthcare for humankind.”Hans-Josef Fell was a member of German Parliament from 1998 to 2013 where he drafted the 2000 Renewable Energy Sources Act. This law has since been replicated over 100 times and can be seen as the legal prototype for the rollout of renewables. 
In 2006, with a group of other parliamentarians and scientists, Fell created the Energy Watch Group, wherein as president, he utilizes his vast expertise in energy and climate politics to foster political dialogue and public discourse.
Fell has received many accolades for his work including the Lui Che Woo Prize for his lifetime achievement in environmental and climate policy, the order of merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, and the Nuclear-Free Future Award.
· www.energywatchgroup.org
· hans-josef-fell.de/en/
· www.creativeprocess.info· www.oneplanetpodcast.org

Hans-Josef Fell was a member of German Parliament from 1998 to 2013 where he drafted the 2000 Renewable Energy Sources Act. This law has since been replicated over 100 times and can be seen as the legal prototype for the rollout of renewables. 
In 2006, with a group of other parliamentarians and scientists, Fell created the Energy Watch Group, wherein as president, he utilizes his vast expertise in energy and climate politics to foster political dialogue and public discourse.
Fell has received many accolades for his work including the Lui Che Woo Prize for his lifetime achievement in environmental and climate policy, the order of merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, and the Nuclear-Free Future Award.
· www.energywatchgroup.org
· hans-josef-fell.de/en/
· www.creativeprocess.info
· www.oneplanetpodcast.org

“Climate scientists forecast that we will see more pandemics, more sickness in people. We have about 8 million people from air pollution every year around the world. So if we want to save their lives so that they do not become ill, we have to stop air pollution. Climate protection is the best contribution to healthcare for humankind.”Hans-Josef Fell was a member of German Parliament from 1998 to 2013 where he drafted the 2000 Renewable Energy Sources Act. This law has since been replicated over 100 times and can be seen as the legal prototype for the rollout of renewables. 
In 2006, with a group of other parliamentarians and scientists, Fell created the Energy Watch Group, wherein as president, he utilizes his vast expertise in energy and climate politics to foster political dialogue and public discourse.
Fell has received many accolades for his work including the Lui Che Woo Prize for his lifetime achievement in environmental and climate policy, the order of merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, and the Nuclear-Free Future Award.
· www.energywatchgroup.org
· hans-josef-fell.de/en/
· www.creativeprocess.info· www.oneplanetpodcast.org

The spy was happy to be back home, but his mission wasn't complete. The final act was still to take place in Uruguay. So in the Mossad apartment in the heart of Paris, the kill team started to plan the assassination. They were going ahead with the plan. The debate in the German Parliament was coming up in a few months. They all hoped a successful mission would influence it.  “Good Assassins: Hunting the Butcher" came out of Stephan Talty's work on a related book, The Good Assassin. Explore other parts of this story in the book: Buy The Good Assassin There was a lot of work to do. The Mossad boss Yosef Yariv had collected all the documents the spy had sent from the field, including maps of Montevideo and São Paolo, information on hotels and renting cars. He'd written down what they'd to get through passport control and what problems the other team members might face. But they still didn't have a place where the assassination could be carried out. They didn't even know how it was going to be carried out.  Mossad wanted everyone to suspect that Israel had carried out the killing but it didn't want any of its agents to get caught. What they were doing wasn't legal. Cukurs wasn't going to get a trial or have a lawyer, like Adolf Eichmann had got after Mossad kidnapped him. They didn't want Mossad to be the story. They wanted Cukurs to be the story.  So the team members had to carry out the killing, gather their belongings, and head to the airport. They had to get on the plane and get safely back to Europe before Cukurs' body was discovered. That influenced how the assassination would be carried out. It couldn't be public. It couldn't be loud. And the body had to be left out of sight, so that someone didn't stumble on it and raise the alarm before the agents had left the country. The team members were almost done with their training in Krav Maga, the Israeli fighting system. Imi Lichtenfeld was working them hard. They were losing precious time. The clock was ticking and Germany's vote on the amnesty statute was approaching fast. If the mission didn't move forward soon, all would be lost. This episode contains interviews with: • Eyal Yanilov, co-founder and Chief Instructor of Krav Maga Global • Fernando Butazzoni, award-winning journalist and author of the 2020 book on Mossad's Cukurs mission, Los Que Nunca Olvidarán (Those Who Will Never Forget) • Avner Avraham, former Mossad agent and renowned expert on Mossad operations • Gad Shimron, former Mossad agent, journalist, author of several books on intelligence and history • Chris Costa, veteran of the Department of Defense. US Army counterintelligence, human intelligence, and Special Operations Forces, currently Executive Director of the International Spy Museum GOOD ASSASSINS: HUNTING THE BUTCHER • Written and Hosted by STEPHAN TALTY • Produced and Directed by SCOTT WAXMAN and JACOB BRONSTEIN • Executive Producers: SCOTT WAXMAN and MARK FRANCIS • Story Editor: JACOB BRONSTEIN • Editorial direction: SCOTT WAXMAN and MANGESH HATTIKUDUR • Editing, mixing, and sound design: MARK FRANCIS • With the voices of: NICK AFKA THOMAS, OMRI ANGHEL, ANDREW POLK, MINDY ESCOBAR-LEANSE, STEVE ROUTMAN, STEFAN RUDNICKI • Theme Music by TYLER CASH • Archival Researcher: ADAM SHAPIRO • Thanks to OREN ROSENBAUM Learn more about “Good Assassins: Hunting the Butcher” at DiversionPodcasts.com Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

In this episode of the Weekly Defence Podcast, we comment on Lockheed Martin's Q1 financial results, we delve into IFV procurement in Slovakia, and we talk to Blighter Surveillance Systems about C-UAS market trends. Newsround [01:00]  Just two months after Moscow agreed to extend the New START nuclear arms treaty with the US, Russia is now updating its intercontinental ballistic missile inventory with plans to field a new-generation system to replace the RS-24 Yars.The Budget Committee of the German Parliament has approved investment totalling €600 million in multiple procurement programmes. Israel Aerospace Industries revealed on 19 April that the Barak ER extended-range interceptor missile, tested in March, is now in serial production with the Israeli defence forces most likely to be the launch customer. On 16 April, the French Navy received its first FREMM air defence frigate, Alsace,  from shipbuilder Naval Group. BAE Systems has finished construction of the bow of HMS Glasgow, which is the first City-class Type 26 frigate for the UK Royal Navy.In FocusAir Editor Tim  Martin discusses Lockheed Martin's  Q1 financial results, in which the company said it can reduce operating costs of the F-35 to $25,000 per flight hour.In news from the land desk, Senior Land Reporter Tim  Fish discussed how the Slovak MoD is procuring new infantry fighting vehicles to replace its old Soviet-era platforms.Interview- Blighter Surveillance Systems [18:15] Land Reporter Flavia Camargos Pereira speaks to Angus Hone, CEO of UK-based company Blighter, about the latest developments in C-UAS platforms and drone detection radars, as well as market trends for these systems. This episode was produced by Noemi Distefano with music and sound mixing by Fred Prest 

Cornelia interns at the German Parliament and tells us about it using "das Perfekt". Follow Cornelia as she moves from a small town in Thuringia to Berlin and learns a few lessons along the way – not only about politics! Don't just listen, read along! You can find the transcript for this episode here: babbel.com/podcasts or bit.ly/3dwCQOV

Listen to Cornelia's story about interning at the Bundestag, all in German. We recommend that you listen to everything a few times in order to train your ear and get the most out of the story! Don't just listen, read along! You can find the transcript for this episode here: https://babbel.com/podcasts or https://bit.ly/32vZMao We'd love to get your feedback, suggestions or learn about your own language learning journey. Email podcasting@babbel.com

News from Facebook's mass timber project called Willow Village including a new campus was announced.  Red Construction announced as the builders for the temp Brent Cross redevelopment site. The German Parliament office building shall be constructed using mass timber modules including 400 units scheduled by the end of 2021.  In Austin, Tx, the news that the new mass timber hotel has recently opened.  We launch "the grapevine" - a segment in which you can share industry gossip, news or events. Send your grapevine news to the masstimberpodcast@gmail.com Production by Deeelicious Beats Music "Game Play" by Quality QuestPodcast is a Mass Timber Construction Journal Production www.masstimberconstruction.com  Sponsor Wanted Here Looking for global sponsorship opportunities in the mass timber sector? Why not consider sponsoring?Rotho Blaas "Build the [Im]possible" Solutions designed for building in wood that are easily accessible adapting to the needs of all.

Thank you, Ursula Schmidt's for your uplifting message. As always, we are grateful for your advice and support. See you again next year.

We'd like to take this time to thank Michaela Noll for taking the responsibility to brighten our performing community. Even with tough times like this, we appreciate your time and consideration

Thank you, Member of the German Parliament Gisela Manderla, for the inspirational message, "nothing is more important than knowing and understanding each other in today's global world and mastering our languages and cultures."

Thank you, Member of the German Parliament,Thomas Hitschler, for your warm greetings and wishes. We can't wait to meet you in the future. Just like Mr. Hitschler said, IFLC is live with you today with all its young performers taking one more step in removing the barriers and walls using music.

In this episode Annika and I talk about a helicopter shoot over multiple international cities, her love of diving with sharks and swimming outside all year round. We also talk about how she went from working in the German Parliament to becoming a journalist/tv host in Germany to finally starting her own company as a producer and working with some of the world’s biggest brands, including Coke, Pepsi, Google, NFL, Hilton Hotels, McDonald’s and so many more!

A warm welcome to episode 142 of "My Morning Minutes“! How we treat children.   Today I talk about: The German Parliament installed a commission to research how children were treated during Corona times. The result is devastating. What is it in so many countries that we don’t treat children as what they are. The most valuable we have!   Yours, Christian Sist   To get in contact, please email me: talk@mymorningminutes.com   You can find the podcast on: LinkedIn Instagram Facebook Soundcloud Spotify

The Beirut blast and the international support - A chat with Marian Wendt, member of the German Parliament

Sitting In Limbo is a new BBC drama telling the story of one man’s entanglement with the Windrush scandal where legal migrants, some of whom had lived here for decades, were denied legal rights, threatened with deportation and some were wrongly deported. The drama tells the story of Anthony Bryan who came to the UK from Jamaica with his mother at the age of 8. Gaylene Gould reviews. Joanna Briscoe made her name with Mothers and Other Lovers and Sleep With Me which was adapted by Andrew Davies for ITV. Her new novel is Seduction and is the story of an artist who is hounded by her estranged mother, has a difficult relationship with her own teenage daughter and goes into therapy – falling madly in love with her female therapist. The death of the artist Christo Vladimirov Javacheff, known as Christo has been announced. Working with his wife Jeanne-Claude, the pair were known for their monumental public works which involved wrapping architectural creation such as the Reichstag - the German Parliament in Berlin, the Pont Neuf bridge in Paris, and New York’s Central Park. Critic Louisa Buck discusses his work. The Uncertain Kingdom project is an anthology of twenty new short films by twenty directors reflecting contemporary Britain. Kirsty talks to producer Georgia Goggin and director David Proud, whose film Verisimilitude is about a disabled actress who advises an obnoxious star on how to perform with a disability for his latest role. Main image: Patrick Robinson in Sitting in Limbo Image credit: BBC/Left Bank Pictures Presenter: Kirsty Lang Producer: Hannah Robins

Ambassador Jeremy Issacharoff recovered from coronavirus and shares his own personal experiences. He contracted the virus after meeting with a member of the German Parliament who was infected.

In this episode of S&C's Critical Insights podcast series, Carsten Berrar, co-head of S&C's Capital Markets Group and managing partner of the Frankfurt office, discusses a new law that allows German companies to hold online-only shareholders' meetings. The new law is part of a larger effort by German Parliament to mitigate the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Carsten considers the significant aspects of the law and whether management boards should hold virtual shareholders' meetings or reschedule their physical shareholders' meeting for a later date in 2020. For more information, visit us at Sullcrom.com

Markus Reuter is an editor at netzpolitik.org and is concerned with fundamental and civil rights as well as social movements. Among other topics, he writes about hate speech and censorship, fake news and social bots; in the framework of this topic area he has been invited twice as an expert to the German Parliament. Other focus areas include the transformation of culture and media, right-wing radical strategies in the internet, and the use of social media by governmental institutions, such as the police.

It is inconceivable that this Middle East superpower should be so humiliated by terrorists, that our kindergartens have to be held in shelters. Hear: Walter's assessment of how it should have been handled. Who: Is the enemy within? And: The Hypocrisy of the Court Of Justice Of the European Union and how they surrendered to BDS pressure. Do You Remember: The first night alone with your newly wedded wife? Or - A must read kosher book for newlyweds. All About: The anniversaries of Kristallnacht, Armistice Day, the Rabin and Kahane murders and the fall of the Berlin wall that all happened during this week years ago. Also: German parliamentarian dismissed for Anti-Semitism. Far right AFD (Alternative for Germany) party is third largest in the lower house of the German Parliament. The Walter Bingham File 19NOV2019 - PODCAST

Squawk Box anchors discuss how trade tensions have helped wipe $2 trillion from global stocks during May, as Beijing blames Washington for the collapse in negotiations, saying the White House’s hardline stance will not resolve the dispute. President Trump kicks off his 3-day state visit to Britain with an opening salvo on Brexit, backing a no-deal departure and endorsing Boris Johnson as Prime Minister. He also talks of a potential U.K. – U.S. trade deal. And in Germany, Angela Merkel's grand coalition suffers a blow with the resignation of SPD leader Andrea Nahles, following her party’s European election drubbing last week.

As the threat landscape evolves, digitalisation is an ongoing challenge for governments and politicians, making it increasingly difficult to secure networks, personal information and critical infrastructure. Governments must keep abreast of developments in cyber security and ensure that best practices are communicated to businesses, and awareness is raised amongst the public. In the first of two episodes Steve Durbin, Managing Director, ISF talks with Dr Reinhard Brandl, a member of the German Parliament, about the broad challenges digitalisation raises for governments. Together they also discuss the effectiveness of the EU GDPR, and the future of legislation in cybersecurity and the role large organisations can play in this.

As the threat landscape evolves, digitalisation is an ongoing challenge for governments and politicians, making it increasingly difficult to secure networks, personal information and critical infrastructure. Governments must keep abreast of developments in cyber security and ensure that best practices are communicated to businesses, and awareness is raised amongst the public. In the first of two episodes Steve Durbin, Managing Director, ISF talks with Dr Reinhard Brandl, a member of the German Parliament, about the broad challenges digitalisation raises for governments. Together they also discuss the effectiveness of the EU GDPR, and the future of legislation in cybersecurity and the role large organisations can play in this.

33: Solidarity with the caravan; Leandros Fischer on Die Linke’s strategy This week, we talk to Leandros Fischer of Germany’s Die Linke (The Left Party). In the wake of a wave of refugee migration in 2015, the far right in Germany has made terrifying advances. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) has gained seats in the German Parliament and openly fascist forces have rallied in the streets of Chemnitz. But in the last month we also saw a spectacular demonstration of anti-fascist forces a quarter of a million strong in Berlin. Leandros explains how Germany’s position as the leader of the European Union, the weakening of labor protections, and the creation of a two-tier, contract-based workforce have all set the stage for a deepening polarization in German politics. He discusses the history of Die Linke, one of the earliest broad-left party projects in Europe, and its current situation and debates. He helps us untangle the debates on the left about the controversial positions taken by Sahra Wagenknecht. He discusses the rise of the right and lays out a strategic vision for how the left can grow in this moment. In our opener, we are joined by Hector Rivera and Rory Fanning to discuss Trump’s racist hysteria about the migrant caravan and the politics of the border. Hector is a socialist and immigrant rights activist based in Los Angeles and is involved in cross-border solidarity efforts. Rory is a military veteran who recently wrote an essay calling on troops to refuse to obey Trump’s orders to deploy to the border. Links for our interview with Leandros Fischer: *Leandros has written frequently for Jacobin about the political debates inside the German left. Here he talks about the rise of the right and how to understand it (http://bit.ly/LeandrosRight). In this article, he discusses the questions surrounding Sahra Wagenknecht (http://bit.ly/LeandrosWagenknecht). *Socialist Worker recently carried two articles about the advance of the far-right in Germany and the anti-fascist response. In this article, Kathleen Brown describes the street marches of open Nazis in Chemnitz (http://socialistworker.org/2018/09/10/how-can-nazis-be-on-the-march-in-germany). And here, Axel Fair-Schulz discusses how the left should confront the rise of the far right (http://bit.ly/AxelFightRight). Links for our opener: *In Socialist Worker, Danny Katch and Khury Petersen-Smith discuss the politics surrounding the migrant caravan and how we can build solidarity (http://bit.ly/SWCaravan) *In an article for In These Times, Khury Petersen-Smith recounts the history of Germany’s welcoming movement during the refugee crisis of 2015 and talks about how we can apply those lessons to building solidarity with the migrant caravan today. *Rory Fanning and Spenser Rapone are military veterans who have called on soldiers to defy orders if they are called to the US-Mexico border (http://bit.ly/RorySW) Music for this episode: The Boy & Sister Alma, “Lizard Eyes” (Dead Sea Captains Remix) Lucius, "Two Of Us On The Run” Spoon, “Tear It Down” Egotronic, “Raven gegen Deutschland” Atari Teenage Riot, “Start The Riot” Die Ärzte, “Schrei Nach Liebe” Gastone, “Weihnachtsgans”

It’s summit week: crammed with migration and Trump and eurozone and Brexit and will-Merkel-stay-or-go drama. One man who could benefit greatly from Merkel going is Wolfgang Schäuble, her long-time rival and finance minister, now president of the Bundestag, the German Parliament. He’s our first interview guest, followed by Danny McCoy, the head of the Irish business lobby Ibec, who talks Brexit and why Ireland has upped its lobbying game in Brussels The podcast panel tries to unpack why so much of what EU leaders are saying about migration is either unrealistic or not addressing some of the key problems.

Germany grants Adolph Hitler dictatorial powers.
 How did Adolph Hitler rise to power? For various and strange reasons, Hitler was sworn in as chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933, and his cabinet’s few Nazis were assigned key positions, including control of the police. Weeks later, the Nazis burned down the German Parliament building (the Reichstag) and blamed it on the communists. Hitler used the event as an excuse to con President Hindenburg and the cabinet into passing emergency laws that quashed freedom of speech, a free press, the right to assemble and most other basic rights. The stage was set, and the Nazis proceeded to use brutish and murderous tactics and spend millions of marks to win the next election. When they managed to win only 44 per cent of the popular vote on March 5th, Hitler decided to employ another strategy to grasp full control. He drafted changes to the constitution that would essentially create a dictatorship. He called his proposal the Enabling Act, or “the law for removing the distress of the people and the Reich.” Two-thirds of the Reichstag had to support the act to turn it into law, and Hitler found himself 31 votes short. By the time he’d applied various methods of persuasion and pressure, the Catholic Centre Party delivered him the votes he required on March 23, 1933. Only the 84 Social Democrats voted against giving Hitler his new dictatorial powers. In the end, the elected representatives of Germany gave Hitler all the power he needed. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

My guest today, on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots free podcast interview is a business development consultant and public speaker. She has over a decade of international experience in educating youth about global business competences and management. Fluent in 5 languages: English, German, Russian, Italian and Serbian, she has been awarded for distinguished achievements by age 24 from three governments: The Ministry of Youth and Sport of The Republic of Serbia; The German Agency for Academic Exchange (DAAD) and German Parliament; The Cambridge University International Trust and PEXIM Foundation. But what does this mean I hear you cry? Well our guest today helps companies and Millennials, by writing and consulting about disruptive innovation, Virtual and Augmented Reality, SAAS sales, city branding, tech startups, peak performance coaching, and content marketing. Still in the dark, with big words and the like? Well, in a nutshell she is a teacher, inspiration, and through over 1,000 hours of training and presentations is firing a flame into the ambitions of the world. Allowing them to see a technological future that can help them change the world and their own. So with all this going on, what does she enjoy most about her days? And with the ever changing technological world seeming to speed up more and more, how does she keep up with the trends enough to be ahead of the trends? Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Milena Milicevic Show Highlights During the show we discussed such weighty topics with Milena Milicevic such as: Why Milena shifted the priorities of her work into two fields only, and how this has made such a big difference. Why finding a stakeholder who can make decisions is such an important part of getting momentum into a company. How happiness is always within us, even at our lowest points. Its up to us to pull it out and support ourselves with that gift. and lastly…. Why Milena has gained huge business lessons from tango classes, and how she has brought this into our lives. 

Darrell Castle explains how the free market can control the NFL players' refusal to stand for the national anthem. Transcript / Notes   Hello this is Darrell Castle with today's Castle Report.  Today is Friday, September 29, 2017, and on today's Report I will be talking about the NFL and the National Anthem protests.  This has been a very busy week in news with many things happening that are worthy of note such as the re-election of Angela Merkel  in  Germany, with the German Conservative Party gaining enough support at about 13% to have seats in the German Parliament. In Alabama, Roy Moore finally won the Republican Primary for the U.S. Senate seat previously vacated by Jeff Sessions. Moore has been in the struggle many years but if he wins the special election to be held December 12, and it looks certain that he will,  a populist candidate opposed to both the mainstream of his own Party as well as the Democrat agenda will sit in the U.S. Senate. In a small church outside of Nashville, Tennessee, a black racist who came to the United States from the Sudan at five years of age shot seven people, killing one so far.  The shooter had apparently been radicalized by anti-white rhetoric he had read or seen on social media and decided to do something about it, so he went to a little country church and shot a bunch of older white people. My discussion today, however, is on a far more mundane subject than any of those.  Today I have to talk about football because the National Football League and its players have made it virtually impossible not to talk about it.  I doubt if there is anyone left in America who doesn't know that NFL players have started refusing to stand for the National Anthem.  Most kneel but a few teams have stayed in the locker rooms while the Anthem is playing.  Last Sunday, at the annual game in London, the teams stood for God Save the Queen but not for the Star Spangled Banner. The fact that I am even talking about this points to how sports, especially football, have become an obsession to Americans.  Every game that is played is now nationally televised, whether it's the traditional Sunday games, Sunday night, Monday night, and now Thursday night.  Families plan their weeks and evenings around NFL Football.  It is, to put it mildly, very important to people, and more of an obsession than just entertainment. I've been a sports fan my entire life as my family is painfully aware, and if I watch television at all, it is sports.  Even when there is no time to catch a full game, I will catch bits and pieces of games and follow the scores on my phone.  There are tens of millions of people out there in America who are far more obsessed than I am.  People physically attend each home game their team plays, and most have tailgating traditions with friends and family.  It would not be unusual today for a family of four to spend 500 dollars at an NFL game with tickets, concessions, and team souvenirs. These people have had their world's disturbed by the protests.  They watch football to escape from the cultural divide, not to have it forced into their living rooms.  Many argue that the players have a right to do what they are doing and many others say no, they are employees and therefore their behavior is controlled, or should be, by their employers. Here's a very simple solution to all the protests that are now spreading to college and even high school games.  Stop going, stop watching, stop buying merchandise, stop patronizing the League's sponsors.  Whether you think they have a right to not stand for the anthem or not there is one thing of which I am certain—you have an absolute right to refuse to pay to watch them do it.  That's where the free market comes in and controls sports, and anywhere else it's allowed to. If two teams showed up to play in an empty 70,000 seat, billion dollar arena, I'm certain it would get their attention. Ideally, when teams kneel for the anthem, 70,

At this event Jonathan Hill discussed the results of the European Commission consultation on the EU regulatory framework for financial services. His presentation was followed by a panel discussion with Gerhard Schick, Member of the German Parliament, and Kay Swinburne, Member of the European Parliament. To find out more about this event, visit http://bruegel.org/events/what-is-the...

The German Parliament voted to officially condemn the 1915 massacre and deportation of over 1 million Armenians.

ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks with Franziska Brantner, Member of the German Parliament and ECFR council member, and with Josef Janning, Senior Policy Fellow and Head of ECFR Berlin Office, about the results of the three state elections in Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt, and what this means for the future of Germany and its role in the EU.

A panel discussion with Matthias Rainer Zimmer, German Parliament; Edward Leamer, UCLA Anderson; Aaron Tornell, UCLA Economics.

ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks to Franziska Brantner, Member of the German Parliament, ECFR’s senior policy fellow Sebastian Dullien and Josef Janning, and Ulrike Franke, Research Assistant at ECFR, about Germany’s leadership role and recent criticism on their decisions. Picture: Flickr/tosid - https://www.flickr.com/photos/34247875@N07/3592357164/in/photolist-6trLCu-62FuXo-ezYXMB-ccWJXd-qQX3Ki-r8vLWP-9PrF79-aUjYCt-r8vLCT-9PrF6U-9S419Q-r8mRmV-qQX5nh-9PrF7m-v8m4JG-r8qEif-9PrF7f-tuP1xV-eXsijw-qQVBSd-r6dviw-eaXbDb-drrS91-e8a8hK-92mVwg-ay3T3Z-c4rUBo-mEFjp2-mEFqBx-mEGUNG-mEGSV3-u3B56i-todcck-62CPjb-bmGS9N-fbcD8M-ujEc7d-u3tqM5-uk49Vr-mEH2cy-mEFgHR-mEGSm7-mEGPYw-mEFudF-mEGYMd-mEGUjL-mEFit4-mEFkGc-mEGLwb-mEGXyw

Neil MacGregor began his journey through 600 years of German history at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, and ends it at the Reichstag, seat of the German Parliament. These two extraordinary buildings, only a few hundred yards apart, carry in their very stones the political history of the country. Neil talks to architect Norman Foster, who in 1992 won the commission to restore the Reichstag, when Germany's Parliament returned to Berlin in the wake of re-unification. Producer Paul Kobrak.

Andreas Uebele studied architecture and urban planning at the University of Stuttgart and art at the Stuttgart State Academy. In 1996 he founded his agency ‘büro uebele visuelle kommunikation’. Since 1998 he has been a professor of communication design at Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences. Andreas speaks about his first design job, a poster design for the movie Dr. Mabuse. He explains how this was his first experience with typography. We ask him whether there are similarities between architecture and typography and what it was that attracted him to graphic design instead of architecture. We also talk about the process and redesign of the German Eagle, that his studio did for the Deutsche Bundestag, the German Parliament. We end the interview with a ‘mean’ question. Recorded at the 20plusX 2011 Symposium in München, Germany. büro uebele :: Andreas Uebele - AGI :: Andreas Uebele - Signaletiket :: Bundestag identity :: Silver Design Award for the Bundestag identity :: File Download (20:23 min / 28 MB)

Today's host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O'Connor Today's topics: Pope Benedict's visit to Germany Summary of today's show: Scot and Fr. Chris read two very different addresses from Pope Benedict XVI in his visit to Germany last week, to the Parliament and to young people. To Parliament he called them to remember that the root of law is a respect for human rights and dignity born out of the natural law. To young people, he called them to live as saints, joy-filled and reflecting the light of Christ; not dour, boring, and naïve caricatures of unhappy and unsmiling and far apart from us. 1st segment: Scot and Fr. Chris talked about the ailing Red Sox and whether more prayers in New England are going up to God for them. They also discussed how the seminarians at St. John Seminary get involved in sports. Fr. Chris said they have formed four intramural teams and will compete for the Rector's Bowl. He said it's important because exercise clears our heads and helps us to think and pray better. It's also good competitive spirit and fosters community. In October, they also have a softball tournament versus the seminarians at Blessed John XXIII Seminary, who the St. John's seminarians affectionately call the Relics. There was also recently the Family Day at St. John's. Fr. Chris celebrated the Mass and saw how prayer works. Seven or eight years ago there were just 28 men and today there are more than 80. At this family day, the refectory was filled with family of all kinds. Scot said most priests describe their family experience as their first seminary, which makes it so difficult for the men whose parents aren't supportive of their vocation. Scot said Pope Benedict went home to his native Germany over the past half-week. He's been writing for years about the crises of Europe losing its Christian roots. Scot thinks it's a highlight for the Pope to be able to go to his homeland and address these issues. Fr. Chris said Pope Benedict carried important messages back with him. Scot noted that Pope John Paul's first return to Poland after his election was described as nine days that changed the world. Perhaps this is Pope Benedict's five days that changed Europe. 2nd segment: Scot said the Pope's most significant address in Germany was reflections on law to the German Parliament. Scot said he was pushing back against any kind of secularism that tries to minimize the importance or place of faith in society. At this moment I turn to you, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, not least as your fellow-countryman who for all his life has been conscious of close links to his origins, and has followed the affairs of his native Germany with keen interest. But the invitation to give this address was extended to me as Pope, as the Bishop of Rome, who bears the highest responsibility for Catholic Christianity. Fr. Chris said the Pope made clear that he is coming as the Vicar of Christ, St. Peter's successor, and he had something to share with the leaders of this powerful nation. Scot said Americans can imagine the Pope standing in the well of the House in Congress addressing the same audience as the State of the Union. He began with a reflection from the Book of Kings: In the First Book of the Kings, it is recounted that God invited the young King Solomon, on his accession to the throne, to make a request. What will the young ruler ask for at this important moment? Success – wealth – long life – destruction of his enemies? He chooses none of these things. Instead, he asks for a listening heart so that he may govern God's people, and discern between good and evil (cf. 1 Kg 3:9). Through this story, the Bible wants to tell us what should ultimately matter for a politician. His fundamental criterion and the motivation for his work as a politician must not be success, and certainly not material gain. Politics must be a striving for justice, and hence it has to establish the fundamental preconditions for peace. Naturally a politician will seek success, without which he would have no opportunity for effective political action at all. Yet success is subordinated to the criterion of justice, to the will to do what is right, and to the understanding of what is right. Success can also be seductive and thus can open up the path towards the falsification of what is right, towards the destruction of justice. “Without justice – what else is the State but a great band of robbers?”, as Saint Augustine once said. We Germans know from our own experience that these words are no empty spectre. We have seen how power became divorced from right, how power opposed right and crushed it, so that the State became an instrument for destroying right – a highly organized band of robbers, capable of threatening the whole world and driving it to the edge of the abyss. To serve right and to fight against the dominion of wrong is and remains the fundamental task of the politician. At a moment in history when man has acquired previously inconceivable power, this task takes on a particular urgency. Man can destroy the world. He can manipulate himself. He can, so to speak, make human beings and he can deny them their humanity. How do we recognize what is right? How can we discern between good and evil, between what is truly right and what may appear right? Even now, Solomon's request remains the decisive issue facing politicians and politics today. How do we determine what is right from what appears right? What is the foundation of law? Fr. Chris said you can see where Pope Benedict is going already. There are three major arguments in philosophy: Truth vs. opinion, nature vs. convention, appearance vs. reality. Those are the arguments Pope Benedict is setting up here. Scot also noted that the Holy Father references the evil of the Nazis that Germans remain very aware of. He also said so clearly: Man can destroy the world and manipulate humanity. Fr. Chris said Pope Benedict is making clear to politicians that their role is not to do what is expedient or popular but to do the common good by upholding the dignity of every human person. For most of the matters that need to be regulated by law, the support of the majority can serve as a sufficient criterion. Yet it is evident that for the fundamental issues of law, in which the dignity of man and of humanity is at stake, the majority principle is not enough: everyone in a position of responsibility must personally seek out the criteria to be followed when framing laws. For most laws, the sense of the majority is a fine basis for what makes a good law. But on the fundamental issues of life and the dignity of the human person, majority rule is not sufficient. Fr. Chris said the truth must prevail, even if everyone is doing something other than the truth. Pope John Paul II in his encyclical Fides et Ratio makes it clear that truth is not built on consensus. Every person has a conscience and if it's properly formed and working, then it can lead us to the truth. Scot said our Declaration of Independence affirms that we have inalienable rights that come from God, not the state. How do we recognize what is right? In history, systems of law have almost always been based on religion: decisions regarding what was to be lawful among men were taken with reference to the divinity. Unlike other great religions, Christianity has never proposed a revealed law to the State and to society, that is to say a juridical order derived from revelation. Scot said the Pope is comparing it to Sharia law in Muslim societies, where civil law is religious law. Christianity has never proposed that. Fr. Chris said Christianity proclaims the truth and leaves the creation of laws to politicians. Instead, it has pointed to nature and reason as the true sources of law (common sense) – and to the harmony of objective and subjective reason, which naturally presupposes that both spheres are rooted in the creative reason of God. Christian theologians thereby aligned themselves with a philosophical and juridical movement that began to take shape in the second century B.C. In the first half of that century, the social natural law developed by the Stoic philosophers came into contact with leading teachers of Roman Law.[2] Through this encounter, the juridical culture of the West was born, which was and is of key significance for the juridical culture of mankind. This pre-Christian marriage between law and philosophy opened up the path that led via the Christian Middle Ages and the juridical developments of the Age of Enlightenment all the way to the Declaration of Human Rights and to our German Basic Law of 1949, with which our nation committed itself to “inviolable and inalienable human rights as the foundation of every human community, and of peace and justice in the world”. Fr. Chris said he is making clear that law has to involve reason and has to be explained to people in ways they can understand. If it's not explainable to people or violating the common good, it creates chaos and tension within the community. Scot said advocacy of human rights doesn't just have its basis in Christian theology, but in natural law which predates the Church. 3rd segment: Scot said Pope Benedict is so forceful on this issue, not just because he thinks it undermines Christianity, but that it will also destroy society as a whole. The idea of natural law is today viewed as a specifically Catholic doctrine, not worth bringing into the discussion in a non-Catholic environment, so that one feels almost ashamed even to mention the term. Scot said for almost two millennia, when the Church taught something that came through common sense and the natural law, it was never seen as specifically Catholic. Now secularists claim that any reference to natural law is code for Christianity. Pope Benedict is drawing a clear distinction. Fr. Chris said so many people tell us to leave our faith at the door to the public square, but Pope Benedict says natural law is beyond religion. Scot said natural is based on “nature”. Scot gave the example that saying traditional nuclear families are ideal for raising children is natural law, not Christian theology. Let me outline briefly how this situation arose. Fundamentally it is because of the idea that an unbridgeable gulf exists between “is” and “ought”. An “ought” can never follow from an “is”, because the two are situated on completely different planes. Scot said “is” is how things are and “ought” is how things should be. Fr. Chris said what is (truth) versus how man takes it (convention). Scot said the “ought” is what are our values and where do we want to go as a society. When there is no objective values to build on, how can any decision stand? There are always belief systems in place in the public square and today it's often atheism that's antagonistic toward any theistic belief system. Fr. Chris said Cardinal Seán recently said in the early Church we fought over big theological ideas. Today we find ourselves battling against ideas over what it means to be human and what it means to be free. The Holy Father talks about positivism, a philosophy that says we don't need God, but that man will always be better and do good. [T]he positivist understanding of nature has come to be almost universally accepted. If nature – in the words of Hans Kelsen – is viewed as “an aggregate of objective data linked together in terms of cause and effect”, then indeed no ethical indication of any kind can be derived from it. Fr. Chris said this way of thinking claims that people do bad things because they are hardwired for it and we just need to find the right chemical to fix it. A positivist conception of nature as purely functional, as the natural sciences consider it to be, is incapable of producing any bridge to ethics and law, but once again yields only functional answers. The same also applies to reason, according to the positivist understanding that is widely held to be the only genuinely scientific one. Anything that is not verifiable or falsifiable, according to this understanding, does not belong to the realm of reason strictly understood. Hence ethics and religion must be assigned to the subjective field, and they remain extraneous to the realm of reason in the strict sense of the word. Where positivist reason dominates the field to the exclusion of all else – and that is broadly the case in our public mindset – then the classical sources of knowledge for ethics and law are excluded. This is a dramatic situation which affects everyone, and on which a public debate is necessary. Indeed, an essential goal of this address is to issue an urgent invitation to launch one. Scot said the Holy Father seeing the roots of how thinking develops over time, the foundations of what makes us what we are will undergo fundamental deterioration if we don't discuss how reason goes into making good law in these democracies. Fr. Chris noted that it was Nietzche's philosophy of the Super Man that influenced Hitler to launch the Third Reich. Marxism and Nietzchism are positivist philosophies that see Christianity and all religion as the enemy. Positivists say to live now in this life because their is no afterlife. At this point Europe's cultural heritage ought to come to our assistance. The conviction that there is a Creator God is what gave rise to the idea of human rights, the idea of the equality of all people before the law, the recognition of the inviolability of human dignity in every single person and the awareness of people's responsibility for their actions. Our cultural memory is shaped by these rational insights. To ignore it or dismiss it as a thing of the past would be to dismember our culture totally and to rob it of its completeness. The culture of Europe arose from the encounter between Jerusalem, Athens and Rome – from the encounter between Israel's monotheism, the philosophical reason of the Greeks and Roman law. This three-way encounter has shaped the inner identity of Europe. In the awareness of man's responsibility before God and in the acknowledgment of the inviolable dignity of every single human person, it has established criteria of law: it is these criteria that we are called to defend at this moment in our history. He has called Europe to defend those criteria. The idea that God created us gave rise to the concept of human rights and inviolable dignity before the law. Fr. Chris said we live in positivism where we go along and forget where we came from, the principles that formed our nation-states. He's saying Don't forget your roots, who made you, and where you come from. Pope John Paul in Fides et Ratio said, Reason and faith are the two lungs of one body and both are essential to every human person, because both have come from God. Scot said the Church doesn't tell us just to blindly accept teaching, but to internalize it and think it through, asking God's help so we can embrace the teaching because it's true, not just because someone in authority says so. Fr. Chris said our faith can withstand any approach of reason. It's a natural part of reason to come to understanding. 4th segment: Scot said Pope Benedict's address to the youth has garnered the most attention in the Catholic world. Dear friends, again and again the very notion of saints has been caricatured and distorted, as if to be holy meant to be remote from the world, naive and joyless. Often it is thought that a saint has to be someone with great ascetic and moral achievements, who might well be revered, but could never be imitated in our own lives. How false and discouraging this opinion is! There is no saint, apart from the Blessed Virgin Mary, who has not also known sin, who has never fallen. Dear friends, Christ is not so much interested in how often in our lives we stumble and fall, as in how often with his help we pick ourselves up again. He does not demand glittering achievements, but he wants his light to shine in you. He does not call you because you are good and perfect, but because he is good and he wants to make you his friends. Yes, you are the light of the world because Jesus is your light. You are Christians – not because you do special and extraordinary things, but because he, Christ, is your life, our life. You are holy, we are holy, if we allow his grace to work in us. Scot said this address is extremely down to earth in comparison. It's a wonderful, warm address that we're all called to be saints and tells us how to live holiness by letting Christ shine through and joy-filled, in the world and connected, not boring and naïve. Fr. Chris said he captures sanctity. We're called to be saints, which means to enjoy the beatific vision in heaven with God our Father. Every saint has a past and every sinner a future. Pope Benedict reminds us of the great mercy of Christ. Scot said many modern saints, including those might be canonized at some point, in their biographies you see them desire to tell the whole story, warts and all, to show how often they turned back to the mercy of God. The saint knows they don't fall less than others; they just recognize that God picks them up each time. Fr. Chris recalls in the biography of St. Therese of Lisieux how there was a sister in the convent who drove her crazy, but she showed so much love to the nun that she believed that Therese loved her best. Saints are called to take the hand of the Lord, cling to it and walk as He does. Dear friends, this evening as we gather in prayer around the one Lord, we sense the truth of Christ's saying that the city built on a hilltop cannot remain hidden. This gathering shines in more ways than one – in the glow of innumerable lights, in the radiance of so many young people who believe in Christ. A candle can only give light if it lets itself be consumed by the flame. It would remain useless if its wax failed to nourish the fire. Allow Christ to burn in you, even at the cost of sacrifice and renunciation. Do not be afraid that you might lose something and, so to speak, emerge empty-handed at the end. Have the courage to apply your talents and gifts for God's kingdom and to give yourselves – like candlewax – so that the Lord can light up the darkness through you. Dare to be glowing saints, in whose eyes and hearts the love of Christ beams and who thus bring light to the world. I am confident that you and many other young people here in Germany are lamps of hope that do not remain hidden. “You are the light of the world”. Where God is, there is a future! Amen. Scot said Pope Benedict would say the same to all of us: Dare to be saints. Fr. Chris said don't be afraid to make sacrifices and renunciations. We can never outdo God in his generosity, love and goodness. All He asks is that we live in him and follow him. Scot said the crisis of faith in the Church is because we don't have enough saints, average everyday person who turns to God each day asks to be his vessel. With just a few saints in Boston we would change the perception of the Church in society. Scot noted how so many people at the Celebration of the Priesthood last week said that priests' holiness have inspired them to live a deeper faith.