After the announcement that the United States will draw down the number of troops stationed in Germany, former U.S. ambassador to Germany Ric Grenell answered a critic of the move who stated that the action was not made as part of a &#8220;strategy or a threat assessment.&#8221;
&#8220;It may not be your assessment but it was planned and will be implemented by the Pentagon,&#8221; Grenell <a href="https://twitter.com/RichardGrenell/status/1288892050889494528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1288892050889494528%7Ctwgr%5E&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Feditorial.dailywire.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D134932action%3Dedit">replied</a>. &#8220;Times change.&#8221;
That response triggered former Missouri Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill, who now serves as an NBC News and MSNBC analyst after losing her re-election bid to Republican Josh Hawley in 2018, to write a sneering reply.
&#8220;Of all the sycophants and unqualified folks surrounding Trump, why do I find this guy particularly repugnant?&#8221; the former senator wrote Monday. &#8220;Because he was given real jobs and didn’t have a clue?&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Of all the sycophants and unqualified folks surrounding Trump, why do I find this guy particularly repugnant? Because he was given real jobs and didn’t have a clue? <a href="https://t.co/cCudy7FzIC">https://t.co/cCudy7FzIC</a>
&mdash; Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) <a href="https://twitter.com/clairecmc/status/1290401896255983616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 3, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Grenell responded by reminding the former senator of her vote for his confirmation.
&#8220;Ummm, you voted for me,&#8221; he wrote in a post highlighting her &#8220;yea&#8221; vote in favor of him. &#8220;Or was that because you had an upcoming election and wanted to hoodwink the people of Missouri into thinking you weren’t a partisan?!&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Ummm, you voted for me. 
Or was that because you had an upcoming election and wanted to hoodwink the people of Missouri into thinking you weren’t a partisan?! <a href="https://twitter.com/clairecmc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@clairecmc</a> <a href="https://t.co/wlgSH1fCcv">https://t.co/wlgSH1fCcv</a> <a href="https://t.co/G7qkUyMk0b">pic.twitter.com/G7qkUyMk0b</a>
&mdash; Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) <a href="https://twitter.com/RichardGrenell/status/1290420506756177920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 3, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Defense Secretary Mark Esper announced last Wednesday that the Pentagon would remove nearly 12,000 troops from Germany. &#8220;It is important to note that in NATO’s 71-year history, the size, composition and disposition of U.S. forces in Europe has changed many times,&#8221; said Esper. &#8220;As we’ve entered a new era of great-power competition we are now at another … inflection point in NATO’s history. I am confident the alliance will be all the better and stronger for it.&#8221;
&#8221;Our aim is to implement these moves as expeditiously as possible consistent with the principles I set forth from the beginning, particularly being fair to, and taking care of our service members and their families,&#8221; Esper <a href="https://www.defense.gov/Explore/News/Article/Article/2292311/dod-proposes-removing-more-than-11000-troops-from-germany/">stated</a>. &#8221;We could see some moves begin within weeks. Others will take longer. As anyone can see, the repositioning of our forces in Europe constitutes a major strategic and positive shift, wholly in line with the NDS and consistent with other adjustments the United States has made within NATO in previous times.&#8221;
Air Force Gen. Tod D. Wolters, commander of U.S. European Command and NATO&#8217;s supreme allied commander for Europe, added, &#8221;This will improve the speed and clarity of our decision-making and promote greater operational alignment.”
“The plan would move about 5,600 American troops now in Germany to other NATO countries, largely Belgium and Italy. It would send another roughly 6,400 troops to new permanent stations in the United States,” <a href="https://www.stripes.com/news/europe/major-us-military-units-to-leave-germany-as-part-of-large-drawdown-to-begin-within-weeks-esper-says-1.639217">Stars and Stripes</a> reported, adding, “The moves would leave about 24,000 troops in Germany.”
Air Force Gen. John E. Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff echoed, &#8221;This rebalance, consistent with the NDS, will align NATO and Eucom capabilities, better distribute forces across Europe and increase the use of rotational forces, thus bolstering our commitment to Europe. It enhances deterrence and improves operational flexibility. Repositioning our forces and making consolidations will provide General Wolters, as the commander, increased ability to dynamically employ his force. This effort will increase opportunities to partner with and strengthen our bond with allies and partners in the region. It will also require additional planning and consultation with our allies.&#8221;
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Richard Grenell

Former Democrat Senator McCaskill Calls Grenell A Trump ‘Sycophant’; He Reminds Her About Past Vote

Claire McCaskill

Germany

Although coverage of anti-lockdown protests has focused largely on groups in the United States, a demonstration against masking and other anti-coronavirus efforts drew tens of thousands to the streets of Berlin this weekend, even as German officials say a new domestic coronavirus spike may be underway.
Around 20,000 people joined the attended the Berlin protest Saturday, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53622797">according to the BBC.</a> Organizers had billed the event as a &#8220;day of freedom&#8221; from Germany&#8217;s restrictive lockdown measures, which include a mandatory masking order.
Protesters, the outlet noted, carried signs that read, &#8220;Corona, false alarm&#8221; and &#8220;We are being forced to wear a muzzle,&#8221; and chanted that &#8220;masks make us slaves.&#8221; A seemingly surprised BBC said that &#8220;some participants were from the far-right and some were conspiracy theorists who do not believe Covid-19 exists, but others were ordinary people who simply object to the government&#8217;s approach to the pandemic.&#8221;
&#8220;&#8216;We are the second wave,&#8217; shouted the crowd, a mixture of hard left and right and conspiracy theorists as they converged on the Brandenburg Gate, demanding &#8216;resistance&#8217; and dubbing the pandemic &#8216;the biggest conspiracy theory,'&#8221; <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/berlin-protest-over-virus-restrictions-draws-thousands-140750641.html">AFP added</a>.
Few of the marchers wore masks or maintained strict social distancing in accordance with Germany&#8217;s anti-coronavirus restrictions. Police broke up the protest after receiving complaints about the potential spread of the virus.
Europe is reportedly now experiencing a rise in coronavirus cases and Germany has not been left out of the uptick. On Friday, the German government reported around 900 new cases of COVID-19 and 7 new deaths. That&#8217;s substantial, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/coronavirus-cases-rise-in-europe-as-youth-hit-beach-and-bars-11596364200">according to the Wall Street Journal</a>, though not as substantial as rises in other countries, like Spain, where vacationers are driving a shocking resurgence.
&#8220;Spain’s national health ministry reported 2,255 new cases on Friday, following its report of 2,615 new cases on Thursday,&#8221; <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-cases-surge-in-spain-threatening-tourism-recovery-11595882014">the WSJ said last week</a>. &#8220;On Monday, Spain said new cases swelled to 6,361 between midday Friday and the same time Monday.&#8221;
The virus is affecting more younger individuals, as in the United States, the WSJ notes, and taking less of a deadly toll.
&#8220;Between July 20 and July 25, the incidence rate of Covid-19 among French people between the ages of 20 and 29 was 19.6 per 100,000 inhabitants. That compares with 9.7 per 100,000 inhabitants for the French population as a whole, according to health authorities,&#8221; the WSJ said Sunday. &#8220;In Italy, the median age of new infections over the past month has dropped to around 40, compared with over 60 during the lockdown in April. And data from Germany’s center for disease control, the Robert Koch Institute, shows a small increase in young people among those testing positive.&#8221;
Authorities worry the toll will rise even higher as Europeans embark on mid-summer vacations. In places like Spain, where the beaches attract a younger, party-goer crowd, lockdown measures are now back in place, many bars are closed, and beach getaways are off-limits.
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Coronavirus Germany

Germans Turn Out By The Thousands For Anti-Lockdown Protests In Berlin

Coronavirus

COVID-19

Europe

The first troop reductions in Germany under President Donald Trump’s order have taken place, and many in the national security community are aghast, even The Wall Street Journal.
The President based his decision on Germany&#8217;s failure to contribute adequately to NATO defense, flouting an agreed on 2% (of GDP) threshold for national defense contributions, but the story – like the alliance – is more complicated.
NATO requires consensus. The validity of the alliance hangs on whether states would be willing to approve a military response to a Russian action against any NATO member. Without it, the U.S. would lack the ability to use NATO airfields in Germany, Italy, Turkey, and the UK.  It would not have permission for ground forces to transit much of western Europe.
Today, Germany&#8217;s military is a shambles.  It has few operational tanks, not very many aircraft, and a navy in serious decline.  But the Germans really don’t care. Because Germany is Russia’s biggest paying customer for natural gas, Berlin believes there is no incentive for the Russians to bother it.
If there is a threat to outliers such as Poland or the Baltic States, Germany is far from committed to responding. There is a strong likelihood that Germany would veto any NATO response to a (highly unlikely) Russian aggression outside of a direct attack on Germany itself. If Germany uses its veto, France and Italy will likely align with it.  So too would Turkey, increasingly estranged from NATO.
Thus, even without any troop pullback by the United States, NATO has reached a precarious point as a collective security alliance.
Objectively, the U.S. is a nuclear power with a weakened conventional defense capability. Years of wasteful wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other hotspots have worn out conventional U.S. hardware (aircraft, ships, tanks, artillery), reduced our stockpile of munitions, especially smart weapons, and made many of our warfighters bitter about being in conflicts that sap lives and offer no compensation in victory.
From a defense planner&#8217;s perspective, any engagement of U.S. forces in Europe might break the back of our armed forces, and seriously weaken our already short-handed response to China&#8217;s growing power and assertiveness. A good analyst would argue to rebuild our forces over the next two decades before America gets into any more quagmires or engages a major power. This means that hanging onto the status quo and selective enhancements is about the best the U.S. can do in the middle future to protect our vital security interests. And, indeed, that is what the administration’s 2021 Defense Budget document calls for.
There were two rationales for NATO when it was originally set up; collective defense was not one of them. It was patently obvious the U.S. would provide the bulk of any effort to protect Europe.  The others would do what they could, which was never much.
The initial reason for NATO was to form an ironclad alliance to prevent Europeans from starting World War III. The American troop presence in Europe blocked Germany from being a hostile and dangerous aggressive power, as it was after World War I when a peace settlement failed to change its expansionist behavior, and after World War II when in the U.S. army was the bulwark against another Hitler.
The second reason for NATO was to stop Russia from being even more greedy and, to a degree, to cover up President Franklin Roosevelt&#8217;s decision to acquiesce in Russia&#8217;s domination of Eastern Europe.
What changed the equation was that the American nuclear umbrella ceased to be unilateral when Russia exploded its first atomic bomb in 1949. In the period from the 1960s through the 1980s, there developed in Europe an increasing skepticism that the U.S. would use its nuclear arsenal to defend against Russia.  In large measure, European suspicions were correct &#8212; which explains France&#8217;s Force de Frappe and the UK&#8217;s nuclear bombs and missile-firing nuclear submarines. (Even the Germans and the Italians wanted nuclear weapons but withered under U.S. pressure and backed off.  Instead, they sold their nuclear technology to Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, Iran, and others.)
Today, the danger of a general war on the continent still deters Russia, Europe, and the United States.  But a nuclear deterrent probably is meaningless in smaller land grab operations, most of which are almost impossible to prevent.  One reason Russia occupies about 20 percent of Georgia, and Ukraine is being swallowed in chunks, is that no one in Europe, or the United States, is willing – or able? – to pay a real price to stop Vladimir Putin.
In practical terms, the U.S. should worry less about NATO and instead see what it can do to bolster at least some of the most vulnerable and strategic post-communist European states. At the same time, the U.S. has to be cautious that in doing so it is not put into a costly and risky trap.
The best candidate for defense is Poland because the Poles are making serious investments in their security and because they welcome bilateral cooperation with the U.S. as a bulwark against their traditional enemy, Russia.  While NATO is unlikely to support it in a crisis, the opposite is the case with the United States, although it won’t be simple.
There is always the chance that the Europeans will reverse course, but there is little evidence the current crop of European leaders believes in NATO beyond lip service. Under current conditions, then, NATO is reaching its end as a collective security system.
Given the nearly fatal condition of NATO, President Trump&#8217;s pullout of troops has no actual impact on the balance of forces in Europe. But the decision sends a message to Western European countries that if they want to defend themselves, they had better get started.
Stephen Bryen is a former high-ranking Pentagon official. Shoshana Bryen is Senior Director of The Jewish Policy Center and editor of inFOCUS Quarterly.
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NATO HQ

BRYEN & BRYEN: American Troops Pulled From Germany As NATO Falters

NATO

Russia

German psychology professor Helmut Kentler reportedly conducted an &#8220;experiment&#8221; starting in the 1970s that intentionally placed homeless children in homes with pedophile men because he thought that the men would make loving parents.
&#8220;A study conducted by the University of Hildesheim has found that authorities in Berlin condoned this practice for almost 30 years. The pedophile foster fathers even received a regular care allowance,&#8221; German government-funded public broadcaster DW News <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/berlin-authorities-placed-children-with-pedophiles-for-30-years/a-53814208">reported</a>. &#8220;Helmut Kentler (1928-2008) was in a leading position at Berlin&#8217;s center for educational research. He was convinced that sexual contact between adults and children was harmless.&#8221;
DW, which is short for &#8216;Deutsche Welle,&#8217; noted that Berlin&#8217;s child welfare services and lawmakers turned a blind eye to the illegal program.
Researchers at Hildesheim University began investigating the program and found a &#8220;network across educational institutions&#8221; where pedophilia was &#8220;accepted, supported, defended.&#8221;
&#8220;A first report on the &#8216;Kentler experiment&#8217; was published in 2016 by the University of Göttingen,&#8221; DW News added. The researchers then stated that the Berlin Senate seemed to lack interest in finding out the truth. Now Berlin authorities have vowed to shed light on the matter.&#8221;
In a separate <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/germany-allowed-pedophiles-to-foster-children/a-53839291">report</a>, DW News highlighted men who have come forward to tell their stories about how they were sexually abused by the pedophiles that they were placed with as children.
DW News reported that in the 1960s, there were segments of the German population who did not view sex with children as wrong. Instead, Kentler was one of the driving forces behind the idea that society should adapt to and embrace pedophilia, particularly in Germany.
DW News reported:
<blockquote>Today, it is clear that he was nothing less than a matchmaker for pedophiles. But for a long time, he was widely viewed as a visionary and one of Germany&#8217;s most prominent sexologists, or sex experts.
His books on education sold well, and he was a popular expert and commentator on radio and TV. His theory of &#8220;emancipating sexual education&#8221; was based on the premise that children are also sexual beings who have are right to express their sexuality.
Liberating children&#8217;s sexuality from repressive moral strictures would help to unleash energies that would in turn lead to political protest and the true democratization of German society that Kentler believed was still necessary.
During the late 1960s, a new young generation of Germans began to ask what exactly their parents and grandparents had got up to during the Nazi Third Reich.
All traditional and authoritarian moral values were subjected to critical scrutiny. The utopia of a free and unshackled society was shared by many. In this potent mood of social liberation, the previously unthinkable became thinkable: It was suddenly acceptable, it seemed, for pedophiles to indulge their sexuality with young children.</blockquote>
Researchers say that the German authorities are not sure how many children were intentionally placed with pedophiles.
“We don’t know how many children or young people were ¬actually affected,” Teresa Nentwig, a research fellow at Gottingen University’s Institute for Democracy Research, <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/berlin-inquiry-doesn-t-know-how-many-boys-were-given-to-abusers-l26872xqz">said</a>. “Nor do we know how old they were, whether the ‘foster fathers’ were judged to be pedophiles or ephebophiles (those with a sexual taste for older adolescents), or when the fostering project formally ended. I don’t believe that all of these things can still be determined.”
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TOPSHOT-GERMANY-HEALTH-VIRUS-STREETART

Berlin Authorities Intentionally Placed Children With Pedophiles For 30 Years As Part Of ‘Experiment’, German Media Says

Pedophilia

Sexual Abuse

British and German police say they&#8217;ve had a massive breakthrough in the Madeleine McCann kidnapping case – a case that made headlines more than 13 years ago after the 3-year-old McCann went missing from her family&#8217;s hotel room while they were on vacation in Portugal.
Until early 2020, the kidnapping was considered a &#8220;cold case,&#8221; and McCann&#8217;s family believed they were unlikely to ever learn the fate of their daughter whom, they claimed, was snatched from a vacation villa in Praia da Luz while her they were having dinner at a nearby restaurant. McCann&#8217;s parents say they checked on their three children, Madeleine, and her twin two-year-old siblings, at 9 pm that night. When they returned from their meal just an hour later, though, Madeleine was gone.
Now, thanks to a German &#8220;real crime&#8221; television program that asked for leads on McCann&#8217;s disappearance, police say they have a suspect: a 43-year-old German man serving prison time in Germany for sex crimes named &#8220;Christian B.&#8221; whom authorities say was a drifter living in Praia da Luz and doing odd jobs at the time of the kidnapping.
&#8220;The man, who is in a German prison serving a sentence for an unrelated sexual crime and for drug offenses, has a criminal record for sexual abuse of children,&#8221; <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/04/world/europe/german-suspect-madeleine-mccann.html">The New York Times reported</a> Wednesday. &#8220;There are 17 crimes listed on his criminal record, according to Der Spiegel, and a local newspaper Braunschweiger Zeitung said he had been deported to Germany in 2017 on a European warrant for his arrest on a different crime.&#8221;
&#8220;He is known to have burgled hotels and vacation homes and dealt drugs, German police said in their statement, and held a number of odd jobs in the [Praia da Luz] area, including in catering,&#8221; per the NYT.
He is also connected to two vehicles, a camper van and an ancient Jaguar sedan believed to be seen in the area around the time McCann disappeared, German law enforcement says. The suspect made cell phone calls to friends from Praia da Luz the night McCann went missing, with one call made just an hour before authorities believe McCann was kidnapped.
There have been suspects named before, including McCann&#8217;s parents (they were cleared a short time after the incident), but no arrests. The family&#8217;s <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-52916137">representative told the BBC</a> that, while police have done additional investigations in the years since Madeleine went missing, he could not &#8220;recall an instance when the police had been so specific about an individual.&#8221;
&#8220;Of all the thousands of leads and potential suspects that have been mentioned in the past, there has never been something as clear cut as that from not just one, but three police forces,&#8221; he added.
Unfortunately for McCann&#8217;s family, German police do not believe Madeleine is still alive, and while her disappearance is considered a &#8220;missing persons&#8221; case, German prosecutors &#8220;assume the girl is dead.”
“In connection with the disappearance of the then 3-year-old British girl Madeleine Beth McCann on May 3, 2007, from an apartment complex in Praia da Luz in Portugal, Braunschweig prosecutors are investigating a 43-year-old German citizen on suspicion of murder,” the German official in charge of handling the told reporters Thursday, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/german-prosecutors-believe-madeline-mccann-dead">according to Fox News</a>. “You can infer from that we assume the girl is dead.”
&#8220;With the suspect,&#8221; he continued, &#8220;we are talking about a sexual predator who has already been convicted of crimes against little girls and he&#8217;s already serving a long sentence.&#8221;
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.  
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<div class="m"><picture><source srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2019/03/1470/828/MM-1.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x" media="(max-width: 767px)" /><source srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2019/03/1862/1048/MM-1.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x" media="(min-width: 767px)" /></picture></div>
</div>

madeleine McCann

Police In U.K. Have Massive Breakthrough In Madeleine McCann Kidnapping Cold Case, Name Suspect

Crime

True Crime

From the country that makes the famous spaetzle noodles comes another soon-to-be-famous use of noodles, but this time the noodles were on people&#8217;s heads. A cafe in Schwerin, Germany called the Cafe and Konditorei Rothe joked by having customers wear swimming pool noodles on their heads as a method to ensure proper social distancing. &#8220;Customers sitting outside Cafe and Konditorei Rothe in Schwerin, Germany all had to wear straw hats with two swimming pool noodles taped to the top,&#8221; <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8319841/German-cafe-makes-customers-wear-swimming-noodle-hats-enforce-social-distancing.html">The Daily Mail</a> reported.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Oh my god, this is amazing. A German cafe is making people wear swimming pool noodles as hats to enforce social distancing. 
Pic via Cafe &amp; Konditorei Rothe on Facebook <a href="https://t.co/fMgqgbTdt6">https://t.co/fMgqgbTdt6</a> <a href="https://t.co/ds0whysqqi">pic.twitter.com/ds0whysqqi</a>
&mdash; Katy Lee (@kjalee) <a href="https://twitter.com/kjalee/status/1260918708458991616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 14, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
A <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Cafe-Konditorei-Rothe-302537903117077/?__tn__=%2CdkC-R&amp;eid=ARD57jlugcM4pithP_RAIJHFtzclHZMF60D6XKa4OgtJC3parpvlqlxFt36tUoy8QNMTe7wWmWzYGnM5&amp;hc_ref=ARQQLCwxgPnnn7jUdigcpgMIEFR_N6f9UcptLZtTSNlZMCt3xZvy1HyFj5honqn41SI">picture on Facebook</a> of the experiment elicited various responses; one woman commented, &#8220;My husband had suggested a week ago that we in Spain should wear wide sombreros. Ahead of his time!&#8221; Another commenter wrote, &#8220;How awesome is this please? Irony and sarcasm  &#8230; very welcome at this time, from my point of view. Because that&#8217;s what it&#8217;s called so beautiful? HUMOR IS WHEN YOU LAUGH! That&#8217;s why thanks to the people who can be seen in the picture.&#8221;
The cafe itself acknowledged the joke the day after the picture was posted, writing on Facebook, &#8220;Life is better when you&#8217;re laughing.&#8221; The German magazine <a href="https://www.stern.de/genuss/essen/mecklenburg-vorpommern--restaurants-oeffnen-unter-grossem-ansturm-9257686.html?fbclid=IwAR396Ks03QaqiGWm4CxCwUarsveHY-tsh6qp8gjD3EV8nr-k7CFQREkAJPE">Stern</a> reported, &#8220;In a first version of this article there was an example of the Cafe Rothe from Schwerin with swimming noodles as a spacer. It was a one time action.&#8221;
The Daily Mail noted, &#8220;Cafes and restaurants have started reopening across Germany as the country begins to ease itself out of lockdown. Local governments have been following their own timetables in letting restaurants and cafes reopen since May 11 as part of the careful easing of restrictions.&#8221;
At the end of April, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief of staff, Helge Braun <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-germany-braun/german-social-distancing-will-be-extended-to-may-10-merkel-aide-idUSKBN22C1C1">said</a> Merkel and state government leaders would discuss plans to reopen schools and nurseries and resume sports events but wait until May 6 for data to see how the first efforts to ease the lockdown had worked, Braun said, “The contact restrictions will certainly now be extended until May 10 for the time being.&#8221;
Germany does want to be on the cutting edge in reacting to the virus lockdown, as The Daily Mail <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8284305/German-nightclub-holds-drive-RAVE-social-distancing-rules.html">reported</a> last week:
<blockquote>
Club Index, in the German town of Schüttorf close to the border with the Netherlands, found an innovative way around the social distancing rules by hosting a drive-in rave. The club opened its car park to 250 cars, with each allowed two people inside, giving 500 ravers the opportunity to experience live club music for the first time in months. Dutch <a class="class" href="http://facebook.com/devinwildnl/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener">DJ Devin Wild</a> was the headliner for the night, and took to social media to upload footage from the drive in rave to show the rest of the world that is possible to have a good party under crisis circumstances.
</blockquote>
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Pool Noodles

German Cafe Has Customers Try Something Outrageous To Ensure Social Distancing

German police arrested more than 130 people who attended an anti-lockdown rally that turned violent Saturday, marking weeks of protests that have often teetered on the edge of riots.
Germany instituted some of the least draconian measures to control the spread of the novel coronavirus, locking down only those at risk of contracting the virus, but demanding strict social distancing measures and banning gatherings of more than two people who are not family members who also live in close proximity, <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-what-are-the-lockdown-measures-across-europe/a-52905137">according to German news outlet, DW</a>.
Italy, France, and Spain all had much stricter controls in place. In France, for example, people were forbidden from leaving their homes except for essential tasks and were &#8220;required to fill out a form stating their reason for leaving the house.&#8221;
Despite that, Germany has been able to keep its coronavirus infection numbers low, &#8220;in part due to widespread, early testing, lockdown measures and its well-funded and operated health care system,&#8221; <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/germany-coronavirus-rising-lockdown-protests">per Fox News</a>. Results are so good, German Chancellor Angela Merkel &#8220;announced Wednesday the country would begin easing its lockdown restrictions, allowing shops to reopen and school children to gradually return to classrooms. Germany’s football league system, Bundesliga, was cleared to restart as early as May 16.&#8221;
That&#8217;s not soon enough for some Germans who say they&#8217;re suffering tremendously from the economic lockdown and want all measures lifted &#8212; not just eased.
As many as 3,000 Germans gathered in Berlin on Saturday in the latest in a string of protests designed to flout Merkel&#8217;s measures, some of which have turned so violent authorities have called in riot police.
&#8220;At least 131 people were arrested after two separate protests in Berlin were broken up by police after some demonstrators began throwing bottles at officers,&#8221; according to Fox News and based on reports from European news networks. &#8220;Police said another 23-year-old man was arrested in the western city of Dortmund after allegedly attacking a TV crew. Protesters in Cologne allegedly were encouraging those entering newly reopened shops to remove their face mask, according to authorities.&#8221;
Although much of the interest from news organizations has centered around American anti-lockdown protests, also designed to challenge lockdown policies that many feel are now going far beyond what was necessary to &#8220;flatten the curve&#8221; and free up healthcare resources, anti-lockdown protests have been happening across the globe.
As in the United States, though, German anti-lockdown efforts have their own critics. Officials who say anti-coronavirus methods were lifted too early point to a sudden rise in German infections, just days after Merkel loosened restrictions. As in the United States, though, its not known whether that rise is directly connected to the lockdown lift, as the virus typically incubates for 5-10 days before victims begin to show symptoms.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

German police

Riot Police Clash With Anti-Lockdown Protesters In Berlin, Germany

lockdown

The German government has <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/german-government-bans-hezbollah-interior-ministry/a-53287126">pulled the plug</a> on Hezbollah, labeling it a terrorist organization – its political “wing” as well as its military “wing” – and banning its activity on German soil; associated organizations will also be outlawed. What took so long? Surely there was no benefit to Germany in the relationship, except perhaps, to irritate Israel.
Or was there?
Some German politicians claimed relations with Hezbollah were necessary to maintain relations with Lebanon, where the party leads the government. A Foreign Ministry official had called it a “<a href="https://www.dw.com/en/germany-will-not-list-iran-allied-hezbollah-as-terrorist-minister/a-47832535">relevant factor</a> in Lebanese society and part of the complex political landscape in the country.” But with the Beirut government <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-30/defaulted-lebanon-approves-rescue-plan-to-lay-ground-for-bailout?utm_source=google&amp;utm_medium=bd&amp;cmpId=google">in default </a>on its debts and facing revolution in the streets, allowing terrorist cells to operate in Germany seems unduly sympathetic.
But Hezbollah is a subsidiary of Iran, and through a different prism, Germany’s decision may be the reordering of its relationship with Tehran under the stresses of U.S.-led sanctions, plus the Russia-Saudi oil price war, the Wuhan virus, and the not-often-mentioned rebellion that has been going on in the Islamic Republic since late 2017. In other words, through the prism of money and a distinct unconcern for the people who suffer under tyrannical rule.
The 2015 “Iran deal” made Germany Iran’s primary European trading partner and primary political defender. In 2016, according to the German government, Germany sold Iran <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/germany-economy-iran/german-exports-to-iran-soared-by-26-percent-in-2016-dihk-says-idUSL5N1H44PC">2.9 billion euros</a> worth of machinery and equipment, cars, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and medical products. Iran sold Germany 300 million euros worth of dried fruits, pistachios, rugs, and industrial raw materials. “Machinery and equipment” for fruit. Sounds safe.
In 2017, trade amounted to <a href="https://financialtribune.com/articles/domestic-economy/79434/german-exports-to-iran-growing">3.6 billion euros</a>. But in December of that year, according to the Iranian Chamber of Commerce, <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/01/3700-arrested-protests-iran-mp-180109100528230.html">33 percent of Iranians</a> lived below the poverty line, and the gap between the rich and poor was deepening. That month a widespread rebellion began.
Early protests were registered in <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2018/01/06/iranians-demand-and-deserve-a-less-oppressive-regime">70 towns and cities</a>, with at least <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/01/3700-arrested-protests-iran-mp-180109100528230.html">22 people killed and 3,700 arrested</a> in the first three weeks. Strikes continued around the country, with demonstrators in Ahvaz chanting, “<a href="https://www.radiofarda.com/a/iran_ahwaz_workers_steel_factory/29636678.html">Palestine and Syria are not our problem</a>” and “Not for Gaza, not for Syria, my life only for Iran.” The women of “White Wednesday” continued their protest even after Shaparak Shajarizadeh, the iconic woman who stood on a utility box and waved her headscarf, was sentenced to <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-woman-hijab-protest-arrest-jailed-prison-shapark-shajarizadeh-headscarf-white-wednesdays-a8439816.html">20 years in prison</a>, and Nasrin Sotoudeh, a lawyer who defended women in court, was sentenced to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/she-defended-iranian-women-who-removed-their-hijabs-now-shes-been-given-38-years-in-prison/2019/03/17/b1720fea-45b1-11e9-aaf8-4512a6fe3439_story.html?utm_term=.f0f8f3f313b0">38 years and 148 lashes</a>.
By the end of 2018, Amnesty International – notoriously uninterested in the Middle East except for Israel – said Iran had arrested <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/01/irans-year-of-shame-more-than-7000-arrested-in-chilling-crackdown-on-dissent-during-2018/">more than 7,000 people</a>.
The Trump administration <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/how-trumps-sanctions-are-crippling-irans-economy/a-49335908">re-imposed sanctions in late 2018</a>, striking the oil, shipping, and financial sectors. A report from the German Chambers of Industry and Commerce in mid-2019, German exports to Iran <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/german-iranian-trade-dwindles-to-a-trickle/a-49373454">declined by 50 percent</a> in the first quarter compared to the same the same period in 2018, although the products were nearly the same: machinery, mechanical devices, pharmaceuticals and electrical products, the volume amounted to 339 million euros for the first three months, while importing 60 million euros worth of Iranian pistachios, carpets, and what the report called “a limited amount” of steel and fuels. (Germany imports <a href="https://www.cleanenergywire.org/factsheets/germanys-dependence-imported-fossil-fuels">more than 50 percent of its energy needs</a>, but from Russia, the UK, and The Netherlands, not Iran.) At that time, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-iran-germany-trade/germany-iran-trade-collapses-under-us-sanctions-report-idUSKCN1TT040">more than 60 German companies</a> were still operating in Iran.
In the Spring of 2019, Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif was concerned enough about his country’s status <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/full-interview-javad-zarif-on-face-the-nation/">to appear on American television</a> to “show the Iranian people that the U.S. is not worthy of being a negotiating partner,” and the Trump administration as “squeezing the Iranian people, not the government.” He added, “When the Iranian people are pressured, they do not respond with submission, they respond with resistance. They want us to represent them.”
However, there was another burst of <a href="https://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/2019/11/18/has-the-iranian-empire-overreached/">widespread upheaval</a> in Iran in November 2019, along with demonstrations in Lebanon and Iraq against the Islamic Republic.
The Russia-Saudi oil price war and the Wuhan Virus showed up in 2020. The former has added to Iran’s cash-crunch and the latter has exposed its inability to care for its people or tell the truth in public. Iran’s response has been largely to <a href="https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Iran-News/Iranian-army-acquires-combat-capable-drones-with-930-mile-range-625030">threaten Israel</a> and <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/04/22/840955446/trump-instructs-u-s-navy-to-fire-on-iranian-boats-if-harassed">harass the U.S. Navy</a> in the Persian Gulf.
Five years after it assumed the role of Iran’s partner, it may be that without the lure of profits and after many more than five years of watching the Iranian – and Lebanese – people suffer at the hands of terrorist leadership, Germany has decided to change course, first by dumping Hezbollah.
If so, it’s about damned time. And what’s next?

Berlin Raid

BRYEN: Germany Ends Its Relationship With Hezbollah Proving Money Matters

Hezbollah

Israel

Terrorism

It may be months away, but Germany&#8217;s government has announced that Oktoberfest, one of the globe&#8217;s largest (and most profitable) celebrations, will be canceled this year amid concerns that it could spark the spread of the coronavirus.
&#8220;Markus Söder, Bavaria&#8217;s minister president, and Dieter Reiter, Munich&#8217;s lord mayor,&#8221; announced the decision Tuesday morning, <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2020/04/21/germany-oktoberfest-2020-canceled-face-coronavirus-pandemic/2995274001/">according to USA Today</a>.
&#8220;It hurts, it&#8217;s such a pity,&#8221; Söder said in a press conference. &#8220;We have agreed that the risk is simply too high.&#8221;
The annual festival, though, packs 6 million people into Munich&#8217;s city center, into a series of beer tents, where partygoers often sit shoulder to shoulder &#8212; a distinct problem given the current need for &#8220;social distancing&#8221; to slow and prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
Authorities are also concerned that open food and drink could become a breeding ground for the virus, leaving millions of tourists exposed and, then, more likely to bring the disease back to their home countries after enjoying the festivities in Germany, sparking a second global wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
“This is not a normal year and it is unfortunately a year without the Oktoberfest,” Soder added. “It hurts. It is a huge shame.”
The loss of Oktoberfest will be a huge financial blow to Germany. The festival brings in an average of one billion Euros per year &#8212; close to $1.1 billion &#8212; but Germany says it&#8217;s desperate to avoid a COVID-19 relapse.
Germany has fared better than most European states amid the coronavirus pandemic, losing under 5,000 people to the deadly disease. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/04/world/europe/germany-coronavirus-death-rate.html">According to The New York Times</a>, because of early social distancing orders, extensive home-based medical care, and aggressive testing and tracking measures, Germany has kept its death rate from the virus under 3% &#8212; a miracle given that neighboring Italy&#8217;s death rate is hovering at around 10%.
It also helps, NYT reports, that the average person who contracts the virus in Germany is younger than the average coronavirus patient elsewhere in Europe, and, because the virus spread initially among skiers at some of Germany&#8217;s prestigious, exclusive resorts, many of the country&#8217;s early cases were in healthy, athletic individuals.
They&#8217;ve also policed public transportation aggressively, forcing riders to wear masks and gloves &#8212; measures that might have slowed the spread in other metropolises, like New York City, where the subway is now widely believed to be a hot zone for virus transmission.
Germany says that canceling Oktoberfest is just another measure to keep virus transmission low &#8212; but they aren&#8217;t happy about making the call.
&#8220;A decision that saddens us all: It affects me, deeply and personally. A festival for millions, which stands for Munich, for the joy of life, for Bavaria, cannot take place,&#8221; the festival&#8217;s head told media.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a subscriber.

Oktoberfest 2019

Germany Cancels Oktoberfest Over Fears Of Spreading Coronavirus

On Saturday, Julian Reichelt, the editor-in-chief of the German tabloid newspaper Bild, released a fiery video responding to Communist Chinese president <a href="https://www.google.com/search?safe=off&amp;client=safari&amp;rls=en&amp;q=Xi+Jinping&amp;stick=H4sIAAAAAAAAAONgVuLUz9U3MEtLMzN4xOjMLfDyxz1hKatJa05eYzTh4grOyC93zSvJLKkUUuNig7JkuHilELo0GKS4uRBcnkWsXBGZCl6ZeQWZeekAStZXg2AAAAA">Xi Jinping</a> after the Chinese government criticized Bild for suggesting China pay roughly 149 billion euros to Germany for losses Germany has suffered from the coronavirus.
<a href="https://www.theweek.in/news/world/2020/04/20/china-owes-germany-149-billion-euro-in-coronavirus-damages.html">The Week</a> reported:
<blockquote>The list of losses prepared by Bild under the title What China Owes Us include, “27 billion euros for lost tourism revenue, up to 7.2 billion euros for the German film industry, a million euros an hour for German airline Lufthansa and 50 billion euros for German small businesses.” Bild calculated that this amounts to 1,784 euros (1,550 pounds) per person if Germany&#8217;s GDP falls by 4.2 per cent. Criticizing Beijing in harsh language, Bild accused the Xi Jinping administration of holding up coronavirus information in the early stages. China dismissed all allegations and responded by saying the Bild invoice &#8220;stirs up xenophobia and nationalism.”</blockquote>
Reichelt fired back, asserting, “You rule by surveillance; you wouldn’t be president without surveillance … you have made your country the world champion in intellectual property theft. China enriches itself with the inventions of others instead of inventing on its own … China’s greatest export hit that nobody wanted to have but which has nevertheless gone around the world is corona … Why are your toxic laboratories not as secure as your prisons for political prisoners?”
He added, “Before corona, China was known as a surveillance state; now China is known as a surveillance state that infected the world with a deadly disease. That is your political legacy.”
Reichelt concluded, “Your embassy tells me that I am not living up to the ‘traditional friendship’ of our people. I suppose you consider it a great friendship when you now generously send masks around the world. This isn’t friendship; I would call it imperialism hidden behind a smile, a Trojan horse. You plan to strengthen China through the plague that you exported. You will not succeed. Corona will be your political end, sooner or later.&#8221;
Reichelt’s full statement below:
Dear Xi Jinping:
<blockquote>Your embassy in Berlin has addressed me in an open letter because we asked in our newspaper, Bild, whether China should pay for the massive economic damage the coronavirus is inflicting worldwide. Please let me respond.
First: You rule by surveillance; you wouldn’t be president without surveillance. You monitor everything; every citizen, but you refuse to monitor the diseased wet markets in your country. You shut down every newspaper and website that is critical of your rule, but not the stores where bat soup is sold. You’re not only monitoring your people; you’re endangering them, and with them, the rest of the world.
Second: Surveillance is a denial of freedom. A nation that is not free is not creative. A nation that is not innovative does not invent anything. This is why you have made your country the world champion in intellectual property theft. China enriches itself with the inventions of others instead of inventing on its own.
The reason China does not innovate and invent is that you don’t let the young people in your country think freely. China’s greatest export hit that nobody wanted to have but which has nevertheless gone around the world is corona.
Third: You, your government and your scientists had to know long ago that corona is highly infectious, but you left the world in the dark about it. Your top experts didn’t respond when  Western researchers asked to know what was going on in Wuhan. You were too proud and too nationalistic to tell the truth, which you felt was a national disgrace and which now became a global disaster.
Fourth: The Washington Post reports that your laboratories in Wuhan have been researching coronaviruses in bats but without maintaining the highest safety standards. Why are your toxic laboratories not as secure as your prisons for political prisoners? Would you like to explain this to the grieving widows, daughters, sons, husbands, parents of corona victims all over the world?
Fifth: In your country, your people are whispering about you; your power is crumbling. You have created an inscrutable, non-transparent China. Before corona, China was known as a surveillance state; now China is known as a surveillance state that infected the world with a deadly disease. That is your political legacy.
Your embassy tells me that I am not living up to “traditional friendship” of our people. I suppose you consider it a great friendship when you now generously send masks around the world. This isn’t friendship; I would call it imperialism hidden behind a smile, a Trojan horse. You plan to strengthen China through the plague that you exported. You will not succeed. Corona will be your political end, sooner or later.
Yours sincerely, Julian Reichelt.</blockquote>
Video below:
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Picture100-Party

WATCH: Editor-in-Chief Of German Tabloid Blisters China After China Criticizes Tabloid For Suggesting Reparations For Coronavirus

Bild

China

Sucharit Bhakdi, Professor Emeritus of Medical Microbiology at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and a prolific and much-cited expert in his field, has published an open letter to German Chancellor Angela Merkel along with a video addressing some of its contents.
In the letter, dated March 26, Bhakdi poses five questions about the COVID-19 pandemic and the government&#8217;s response to it which, he says, &#8220;have not been answered sufficiently so far, but which are indispensable for a balanced analysis.&#8221;
&#8220;As emeritus of the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, and for many years head of the institute for medical microbiology and hygiene there, I feel obliged to critically question the far-reaching restrictions on public life that we are currently undertaking to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus,&#8221; he begins the <a href="https://c.gmx.net/@824224682608695698/cI1TagSeQmi0WlXK-m8vWA">letter</a> (which is written in German and unofficially translated below). &#8220;It is expressly not my concern to downplay the dangers of the viral disease or to spread a political message. However, I feel it is my duty to make a scientific contribution to correctly classifying the current data situation, putting the facts that we know so far in perspective — and also asking questions that are in danger of being lost in the heated discussion.&#8221;
Unofficial translation of the <a href="https://c.gmx.net/@824224682608695698/cI1TagSeQmi0WlXK-m8vWA">letter</a> below, followed by Bhakdi&#8217;s accompanying English-subtitled <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsExPrHCHbw&amp;t=67s">video</a>, in which he elaborates on his five questions:
Open Letter
Dear Chancellor,
As emeritus of the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz and for many years head of the institute for medical microbiology and hygiene there, I feel obliged to critically question the far-reaching restrictions on public life that we are currently undertaking to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
It is expressly not my concern to downplay the dangers of the viral disease or to spread a political message. However, I feel it is my duty to make a scientific contribution to correctly classifying the current data situation, putting the facts that we know so far in perspective — and also asking questions that are in danger of being lost in the heated discussion.
The main reason for my concern is the truly unforeseeable socio-economic consequences of the drastic containment measures that are currently being used in large parts of Europe, and are already being practiced to a great extent in Germany.
It is my wish to critically — and with the necessary foresight — discuss the advantages and disadvantages of restricting public life and the resulting long-term effects.
There are five questions that have so far been answered inadequately, but are essential for a balanced analysis.
I would like to ask you for a swift opinion and, as it were, appeal to the Federal Government to develop strategies that effectively protect high-risk groups without cutting back on public life across the board and sowing the seeds for an even more intense polarization of society than is already happening.
Yours faithfully,
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Prof. em. Dr. med. Sucharit Bhakdi
1. Statistics
In the field of infectious diseases — founded by Robert Koch himself — a distinction is traditionally made between infection and illness. A disease requires clinical manifestation. [1] Therefore, only patients with symptoms such as fever or cough should be included in the statistics as new cases.
In other words, a new infection — as measured by the COVID-19 test – does not necessarily mean that we are dealing with a newly ill patient who needs a hospital bed. However, it is currently assumed that five percent of all infected people become seriously ill and require ventilation. Based on this, projections indicate that the health system could be overburdened.
My question: Did the projections distinguish between symptom-free infected and actual, sick patients — people who develop symptoms?
2. Dangerousness
A number of coronaviruses have been in circulation for a long time – largely unnoticed in the media. [2] Should it turn out that the COVID-19 virus should not be assigned a significantly higher hazard potential than the already circulating coronaviruses, all countermeasures would obviously be superfluous.
In the internationally recognized journal &#8220;International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents,&#8221; a work will appear shortly that addresses exactly this question. Preliminary results of the study can already be seen today and lead to the conclusion that the new virus does NOT differ in its dangerousness from traditional coronaviruses. The authors express this in the title of their work, “SARS-CoV-2: Fear versus Data.” [3]
My question: What is the current occupancy rate in intensive care units with patients with diagnosed COVID-19 compared to other coronavirus infections, and to what extent is this data taken into account in the further decision-making by the federal government? In addition: Has the above study been noted in the previous plans? Of course, the following must also apply here: Diagnosed means that the virus also plays a significant role in the patient&#8217;s disease state, and that previous illnesses do not play a major role.
3. Dissemination
According to a report in the Süddeutsche Zeitung, not even the much-cited Robert Koch Institute knows exactly how much is tested for COVID-19. It is a fact, however, that a rapid increase in the number of cases has recently been observed in Germany as the volume of tests increases. [4] It is therefore suspected that the virus has already spread unnoticed in the healthy population. This would have two consequences: first, it would mean that the official death rate — on March 26, 2020 there were 206 deaths from around 37,300 infections, or 0.55 percent [5] — was set too high; and secondly, that it&#8217;s hardly possible anymore to prevent spreading in the healthy population.
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My question: Has there already been a random sample of the healthy general population to validate the real spread of the virus, or is this planned in a timely manner?
4. Mortality
The fear of an increase in the death rate in Germany (currently 0.55 percent) is currently being discussed particularly intensively in the media. Many people worry that they can shoot up, like in Italy (10 percent) and Spain (7 percent), if there is no action in time.
At the same time, the mistake is made worldwide of reporting virus-related deaths as soon as it is determined that the virus was present at death – regardless of other factors. This violates a basic requirement of infectiology: the diagnosis can only be made if it is ensured that an agent has a significant share in the disease or death. The working group of the scientific medical societies expressly writes in its guidelines: &#8220;In addition to the cause of death, a causal chain must be specified, with the corresponding basic illness in third place on the death certificate. Occasionally, four-part causal chains must also be given.&#8221; [6]
There is currently no official information as to whether, at least in retrospect, more critical medical file analyses have been undertaken to determine how many deaths are really due to the virus.
My question: Has Germany simply followed the trend towards general suspicions of COVID-19? And: does it intend to continue this categorization uncritically, as in other countries? How should one differentiate between real corona-related deaths and accidental virus presence at the time of death?
5. Comparability
The terrifying situation in Italy is repeatedly used as a reference scenario. However, the true role of the virus in this country is completely unclear for many reasons — not only because points 3 and 4 apply here, but also because there are exceptional external factors that make these regions particularly vulnerable.
This includes the increased air pollution in northern Italy. According to WHO estimates, this situation resulted in more than 8,000 additional deaths per year in the 13 largest cities in Italy alone, even without a virus. [7] The situation has not changed significantly since then. Finally, it has also been shown that air pollution in very young and older people increases the risk of viral lung diseases very strongly. [9]
In addition, 27.4 percent of the most vulnerable population in this country live with young people, in Spain even 33.5 percent. In Germany it is only seven percent for comparison [10]. In addition, according to Prof. Dr. Reinhard Busse, Head of the Department of Healthcare Management at the TU Berlin, Germany is significantly better equipped than Italy in terms of intensive care units — by a factor of around 2.5 [11].
My question: What efforts are being made to inform the population about these elementary differences and to make people understand that scenarios such as those in Italy or Spain are not realistic here?
References:
[1] Fachwörterbuch Infektionsschutz und Infektionsepidemiologie. <a href="https://www.rki.de/DE/Content/Service/Publikationen/Fachwoerterbuch_Infektionsschutz.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Fachwörter – Definitionen – Interpretationen</a>. Robert Koch-Institut, Berlin 2015. (abgerufen am 26.3.2020)
[2] Killerby et al., Human Coronavirus Circulation in the United States 2014–2017. J Clin Virol. 2018, 101, 52-56
[3] Roussel et al. SARS-CoV-2: Fear Versus Data. Int. J. Antimicrob. Agents 2020, 105947
[4] Charisius, H. <a href="https://www.sueddeutsche.de/gesundheit/covid-19-coronavirus-testverfahren-1.4855487" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Covid-19: Wie gut testet Deutschland?</a> Süddeutsche Zeitung. (abgerufen am 27.3.2020)
[5] Johns Hopkins University, <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Coronavirus Resource Center</a>. 2020. (abgerufen am 26.3.2020)
[6] S1-Leitlinie 054-001, <a href="https://www.awmf.org/uploads/tx_szleitlinien/054-002l_S1_Regeln-zur-Durchfuehrung-der-aerztlichen-Leichenschau_2018-02_01.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Regeln zur Durchführung der ärztlichen Leichenschau</a>. AWMF Online (abgerufen am 26.3.2020)
[7] Martuzzi et al. Health Impact of PM10 and Ozone in 13 Italian Cities. World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe. WHOLIS number E88700 2006
[8] European Environment Agency, <a href="https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/country-fact-sheets/2019-country-fact-sheets" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Air Pollution Country Fact Sheets 2019</a>, (abgerufen am 26.3.2020)
[9] Croft et al. The Association between Respiratory Infection and Air Pollution in the Setting of Air Quality Policy and Economic Change. Ann. Am. Thorac. Soc. 2019, 16, 321–330.
[10] United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Living Arrange­ments of Older Persons: A Report on an Expanded International Dataset (ST/ESA/SER.A/407). 2017
[11] Deutsches Ärzteblatt, <a href="https://www.aerzteblatt.de/nachrichten/111029/Ueberlastung-deutscher-Krankenhaeuser-durch-COVID-19-laut-Experten-unwahrscheinlich" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Überlastung deutscher Krankenhäuser durch COVID-19 laut Experten unwahrscheinlich</a>, (abgerufen am 26.3.2020)
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<iframe title="Corona-Krise: Offener Brief an die Bundeskanzlerin von Prof. Sucharit Bhakdi" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LsExPrHCHbw?start=67&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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Coronavirus economy

Medical Microbiologist: 5 Crucial Questions About Our Response To COVID-19

Angela Merkel

According to Reuters, President Trump is attempting to lure a German company working to develop a vaccine for coronavirus to move to the United States but has been met with resistance by German politicians. But the Trump administration says the news agency has some of its key facts wrong.
&#8220;Berlin is trying to stop Washington from persuading a German company seeking a coronavirus vaccine to move its research to the United States, prompting German politicians to insist no country should have a monopoly on any future vaccine,&#8221; <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-germany-usa/germany-tries-to-stop-us-from-luring-away-firm-seeking-coronavirus-vaccine-idUSKBN2120IV">Reuters</a> reported Sunday.
&#8220;German government sources told Reuters on Sunday that the U.S. administration was looking into how it could gain access to a potential vaccine being developed by a German firm, CureVac,&#8221; the news agency explains. &#8220;Earlier, the Welt am Sonntag German newspaper reported that U.S. President Donald Trump had offered funds to lure CureVac to the United States, and the German government was making counter-offers to tempt it to stay.&#8221;
Reuters cites a report by German newspaper Welt am Sonntag, which provided a quote from an unidentified German government source stating that Trump was attempting to obtain the firm&#8217;s research &#8220;only for the United States.&#8221;
&#8220;The German government is very interested in ensuring that vaccines and active substances against the new coronavirus are also developed in Germany and Europe,&#8221; a German Health Ministry spokeswoman told the paper. &#8220;In this regard, the government is in intensive exchange with the company CureVac.&#8221;
The Trump administration, however, has pushed back against the initial reports on the president&#8217;s actions involving CureVac.
&#8220;Not true,&#8221; U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell tweeted Sunday in response to Reuters&#8217; report. &#8220;The Welt story was wrong. But Business Insider, Reuters and others went with it anyway despite not having their own sources. Now everyone is back peddling.&#8221;
&#8220;This story is wildly overplayed,&#8221; an unnamed U.S. official told Reuters. &#8220;We will continue to talk to any company that claims to be able to help. And any solution found would be shared with the world.&#8221;
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Not true. The Welt story was wrong. But Business Insider, Reuters and others went with it anyway despite not having their own sources. Now everyone is back peddling. <a href="https://t.co/88UohluwTj">https://t.co/88UohluwTj</a>
&mdash; Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) <a href="https://twitter.com/RichardGrenell/status/1239248345329274881?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Reuters appears to be standing by its story, though it makes a point of putting the onus of the key claim about Trump trying to get &#8220;exclusive&#8221; access to the research on Welt am Sonntag.
In a press conference Sunday, German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said Germany&#8217;s coronavirus crisis committee would be addressing CureVac in a meeting Monday, Reuters reports.
CureVac has responded to the reports, issuing a statement Sunday rejecting the &#8220;current rumors of an acquisition.&#8221; The commitment of the company, said Deitmar Hopp, CureVac&#8217;s primary investor, is to help people all over the world, &#8220;not just regionally.&#8221;
To contain the spread of the virus in the states, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fauci-favors-national-shutdown-you-dont-want-to-be-complacent">explained</a> Sunday, that the Trump administration is recommending &#8220;stringent mitigation and containment,&#8221; but not a &#8220;complete lockdown.&#8221;
&#8220;We feel that with rather stringent mitigation and containment, without necessarily complete lockdown, we would be able to prevent ourselves from getting to where, unfortunately, Italy is now&#8230;,&#8221; said Fauci. &#8220;With regard to domestic travel bans, we always talk about it, consider everything. But I can tell you that has not been seriously considered, doing travel bans in the country. … I don’t see that right now or in the immediate future.&#8221;
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Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cdc-issues-new-advisory-on-gatherings-events">CDC Issues New Advisory Further Limiting Gatherings, Events</a>

President Trump

‘Not True’: Trump Admin Responds To Reports On Trump And German Coronavirus Vaccine Firm

Trump Administration

The Trump administration announced on Thursday that it was deporting a Nazi concentration camp guard, who was living in Tennessee, back to Germany.
U.S. Immigration Judge Rebecca L. Holt issued the removal order against Friedrich Karl Berger, a German national, because of his “willing service as an armed guard of prisoners at a concentration camp where persecution took place.”
The Department of Justice <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/tennessee-man-ordered-removed-germany-based-service-concentration-camp-guard-during-wwii">said</a> in a statement that Berger served at the the Neuengamme Concentration Camp system in 1945 near Meppen, Germany.
&#8220;Judge Holt found that Meppen prisoners were held during the winter of 1945 in &#8216;atrocious&#8217; conditions and were exploited for outdoor forced labor, working, as at other Nazi camps, &#8216;to the point of exhaustion and death,'&#8221; the DOJ said. &#8220;The court further found, and Berger admitted, that he guarded prisoners to prevent them from escaping during their dawn-to-dusk workday, and on their way to the worksites and also on their way back to the subcamp in the evening.&#8221;
&#8220;At the end of March 1945, with the advance of British and Canadian forces, the Nazis abandoned Meppe,&#8221; the DOJ continued. &#8220;The court found that Berger helped guard the prisoners during their forcible evacuation to the Neuengamme main camp – a nearly two-week trip under inhumane conditions, which claimed the lives of some 70 prisoners.&#8221;
Perhaps the most shocking part in the DOJ&#8217;s statement was the revelation that Berger &#8220;continues to receive a pension from Germany based on his employment in Germany, &#8216;including his wartime service.'&#8221;
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division said, “Berger was part of the SS machinery of oppression that kept concentration camp prisoners in atrocious conditions of confinement. This ruling shows the Department&#8217;s continued commitment to obtaining a measure of justice, however late, for the victims of wartime Nazi persecution.”
Assistant Director David C. Shaw of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), National Security Investigations Division, who oversees the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center, said, “This case is but one example of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s commitment to ensuring that the United States will not serve as a safe haven for human rights violators and war criminals. We will continue to pursue these types of cases so that justice may be served.”
Acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell responded to the news by writing on Twitter: &#8220;This is excellent news and another win for the Trump Administration’s work to send back Nazi collaborators.&#8221;
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This is excellent news and another win for the Trump Administration’s work to send back Nazi collaborators. <a href="https://twitter.com/TheJusticeDept?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheJusticeDept</a> <a href="https://t.co/im3BS2LNWJ">https://t.co/im3BS2LNWJ</a>
&mdash; Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) <a href="https://twitter.com/RichardGrenell/status/1235614688651759618?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 5, 2020</a></blockquote>
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In August 2018, the Trump administration <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trumps-ice-deports-nazi-war-criminal-who-stayed-ryan-saavedra">announced</a> that it was deporting 95-year-old Jakiw Palij – who at the time was the last known Nazi collaborator living in the United States – back to Germany.
“President Trump commends his Administration’s comprehensive actions, especially ICE’s actions, in removing this war criminal from United States soil,” the Office of the Press Secretary said in a statement. “Despite a court ordering his deportation in 2004, past administrations were unsuccessful in removing Palij.”
“To protect the promise of freedom for Holocaust survivors and their families, President Trump prioritized the removal of Pali,” the statement continued. “Through extensive negotiations, President Trump and his team secured Palij’s deportation to Germany and advanced the United States’ collaborative efforts with a key European ally.”
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In meetings with senior officials this week, Ambassador <a href="https://twitter.com/RichardGrenell?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RichardGrenell</a> continued the 12-year U.S. government push for Germany to accept Nazi collaborator Jakiw Palij.
&mdash; US-Botschaft Berlin (@usbotschaft) <a href="https://twitter.com/usbotschaft/status/997539880421986304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2018</a></blockquote>
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In a font larger than the rest of the press release, the White House emphasized: “Palij had lied about being a Nazi and remained in the United States for decades. Palij’s removal sends a strong message: The United States will not tolerate those who facilitated Nazi crimes and other human rights violations, and they will not find a safe haven on American soil.”

ICE Agents Detain Suspected Undocumented Immigrants In Raids

Trump Administration Deporting Nazi Concentration Camp Guard Back To Germany

Donald Trump

Nazis

Law enforcement officials in Germany say that 52 people, including 18 children, were hit on Monday when a man rammed a car into a carnival crowd in the western part of the country.
&#8220;A 29-year-old German citizen was arrested on suspicion of attempted homicide in the town of Volkmarsen,&#8221; the BBC <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51626844">reported</a>. &#8220;Police have also arrested a second person for allegedly filming the incident.&#8221;
The victims ranged from two-years-old to 85-years-old, and 35 people remained in the hospital. It was not clear whether there were any fatalities from the apparent attack.
The incident happened during celebrations for Rose Monday, which is celebrated throughout parts of Europe.
&#8220;A silver Mercedes drove through plastic barricades set up for the parade and into a group of people at about 14:45 local time,&#8221; the BBC reports.
Eyewitnesses told German media that the driver had accelerated toward the crowd and appeared to target children. Police said they believed it was an attack but that there was no indication of a political motive.&#8221;
Authorities said that the driver was being treated for injuries sustained during the incident before being questioned by prosecutors. Those same authorities rejected rumors that the driver was drunk during the incident.
The Telegraph <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/02/24/car-driven-crowds-carnival-parade-germany/">reports</a>:
<blockquote>The driver is a 29-year-old German citizen who has not been named under the country’s privacy laws. He is understood to be from the local area, and has no history of political extremism. &#8230;
The police presence is already heightened across Germany in the wake of a series of attacks.
The latest incident comes just days after a far-Right gunman killed nine people before turning his gun on his mother and himself in the town of Hanau, which also lies in Hesse.</blockquote>
&#8220;We’re assuming it was an intentional crime,&#8221; a police spokesman told reporters.
Regional government officials reportedly said the possibility that it could have been a terrorist attack &#8220;could not be ruled out.&#8221;
Reinhard Kubat, a local councillor, told Bild, “It was a beautiful procession and just as it ended I suddenly saw flashing lights and heard sirens. Crying people came towards me. There were mainly injured children on the street, but also older people.”
Elmar Schulten, a reporter for Waldeckische Landeszeitung, said, “When I arrived there were 15 people on the floor, many of them small children. People were howling everywhere, including grown men. Fathers who saw their children lying on the floor.”
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said, “Our thoughts are with the injured. We hope they will all make a swift and full recovery. I wish them, their families and everyone who was in the Rose Monday parade strength. And I thank the emergency services from the bottom of my heart.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Unsere Gedanken sind bei den Verletzten von <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Volkmarsen?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Volkmarsen</a>. Wir hoffen, dass alle gut und zügig wieder genesen. Ihnen, ihren Angehörigen und allen, die bei dem <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rosenmontagszug?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Rosenmontagszug</a> waren, ganz viel Kraft. Und von Herzen danke den Einsatzkräften vor Ort.
&mdash; Heiko Maas 🇪🇺 (@HeikoMaas) <a href="https://twitter.com/HeikoMaas/status/1231992989163098114?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Regional Prime Minister of Hesse Volker Bouffier said in a statement, “I am shocked by this bad deed, which has injured so many innocent people, some of them seriously. My thoughts are with the victims and their relatives and friends, and I wish everyone a speedy and complete recovery.”
USA Today <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2020/02/24/man-drives-car-into-germany-carnival-crowd-volkmarsen-30-injured/4860079002/">added</a>, &#8220;Chancellor Angela Merkel sent her condolences to those injured in the crash, wishing them a speedy and full recovery. She also thanked the police and all medical personnel involved.&#8221;

GERMANY-CARNIVAL-POLICE

Man Rams Car Into Crowd In Germany In Apparent ‘Attack’; Hits 52 People

In the past few years, the cavalier use of the term ‘Nazi’ by those on the Left and the comparison of modern times with how things were during the World War II era has sadly watered down the gravity and horror of the Nazis’ crimes against humanity. Nothing in modern Western society comes even remotely close to the horrors of the evil Nazi regime. Yet when people compare words and policies they do not like to Nazi crimes, they do both Third Reich survivors and the millions of victims of anti-Semitism a devastating disservice.
But there are certain times when the comparison is relevant and, indeed, accurate. The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-the-just-and-proper-strike-of-mastermind-iranian-jihadist-qassem-soleimani">death of Qassem Soleimani</a> presents one such opportunity. It is important to understand the gravity of his role — and what Iran had planned next. The late Soleimani and Iran&#8217;s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) formed — and still form — a modern-day version of Heinrich Himmler and Nazi Germany&#8217;s genocidal SS special police force. The IRGC’s elite Quds Force is a modern-day Iranian version of the Waffen-SS of the pre-World War II era.
These parallels put into perspective the dangers the IRGC poses — and the great deed carried out by the United States in striking Soleimani. When liberals such as Reza Aslan say that Soleimani was a “<a href="https://twitter.com/rezaaslan/status/1213223561063624704">uniformed general of a sovereign nation</a>” and <a href="https://twitter.com/brhodes/status/1213494775296516097">Ben Rhodes argues</a> the IRGC was not out to kill Americans and Jews, a historical comparison is in order. And yes Mr. Aslan, Himmler wore a uniform too.
The SS was the paramilitary force of the Nazi Party that operated independently from the German military until the start of World War II. The SS was directly loyal to Hitler and the Nazi Party — and not to Germany itself in the interwar years. Its goal was to carry out the Nazi ideology of Aryan purity, which of course ultimately led to the Holocaust. The SS supported like-minded dictators and groups abroad, and also set up Volksdeutsche groups — Germanic-origin terror groups to carry out atrocities against Jews.
When you look at the IRGC today, the parallels are uncanny. The IRGC is an independent military force directly loyal to the ayatollah and to the Islamic Revolution itself — and not, per se, to all levers of the Iranian government. The IRGC is the “guardian of the Revolution” set up to protect the country’s “Islamic system.” Iran also has its own military, but the IRGC operates with impunity at home and abroad with its separate sources of funding. The IRGC supports foreign terror organizations, such as Hezbollah and Hamas, who all share a similar goal: The destruction of Israel, the murder of Jews, and jihad against all of the West.
From the multitude of lessons taken from the Holocaust and 2,000 years of anti-Semitism, the most prevalent lesson today is when someone says they plan to kill the Jews, believe them. The Nazis promised it, and the IRGC does, too. The consequences of not stopping evil are always the same. It is always best to stop evil dead in its tracks — which President Trump did last Thursday evening.
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Ori Raphael is a civil rights attorney and the executive director of the Jewish Justice Foundation.

Iran Propaganda

RAPHAEL: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Is A Modern-Day Nazi SS

Anti-Semitism

Foreign Policy

Holocaust

Iran

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

Middle East

Nazi Germany

World War II

German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke out against free speech this week, suggesting the government can and should regulate what people say to keep society free.
Merkel, speaking at an event for the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Berlin, stumbled up the stairs before taking the podium and suggesting the government ban speech she considers “extreme” and decrying freedom of expression.
“We have freedom of expression in our country,” Merkel said. “For all those who claim that they can no longer express their opinion, I say this to them: If you express a pronounced opinion, you must live with the fact that you will be contradicted. Expressing an opinion does not come at zero cost.”
“But freedom of expression has its limits,” she continued. “Those limits begin where hatred is spread. They begin where the dignity of other people is violated. The house will and must oppose extreme speech. Otherwise our society will no longer be the free society that it was.”
Of course, determining what speech violates the dignity of other people is not something politicians or anyone else should be deciding, especially in today’s culture where liberals claim speech they disagree with is literally “violence” against them.
As Townhall <a href="https://townhall.com/tipsheet/bronsonstocking/2019/11/29/merkel-gives-speech-attacking-free-speech-n2557247">noted</a>, Germany passed a ban in 2018 that fined websites up to 50 million euros ($55 million) for not removing “hate speech” from their platforms quickly enough. The outlet also suggested Merkel’s attempts to suppress free speech were an effort to silence “<a href="https://townhall.com/columnists/nicholaswaddy/2018/10/01/the-decline-and-fall-of-angela-merkel-is-a-warning-sign-for-immigration-apologists-everywhere-n2524379">critics</a> of Merkel’s open-door immigration <a href="https://townhall.com/tipsheet/leahbarkoukis/2016/01/23/germany-doesnt-know-where-600000-migrants-are-n2108746">policies</a>.&#8221;
Indeed, if one is to talk about violating another person’s “dignity,” then Merkel’s policies toward immigration would be a prime example. Recall that on New Year’s Eve in 2015, upwards of 1,000 men <a href="https://nypost.com/2016/01/10/europe-is-enabling-a-rape-culture/">sexually assaulted women</a> on the streets in Germany. In the aftermath of the mass assaults, one German mayor blamed the women for being sexually assaulted, and the German government pledged to crackdown on those who criticize Muslim immigrants – who were accused of perpetrating the attacks.
The definition of “hate speech” and limitation thereof is not as clear cut as people may believe. This is why America’s First Amendment doesn’t have a “hate speech” exception. What is considered hate speech today may not have been considered so one hundred years ago, and what is acceptable today may not be acceptable in even 10 years, if current social justice trends are any indication.
Yet Europe continues to enact hate-speech laws that rest on the subjective analysis of those in positions of authority (and the most easily offended among us). For example, <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/county-in-uk-makes-it-a-hate-crime-to-upset-women">one county</a> in the United Kingdom made catcalls and pickup lines illegal by labeling them hate crimes. The definition of hate crime in that county was defined as, “<a href="http://www.newsweek.com/half-misogyny-twitter-comes-women-463691">Incidents against women</a> that are motivated by an attitude of a man towards a woman and includes behavior targeted towards a woman by men simply because they are a woman.&#8221;
These kinds of definitions plague anti-hate speech laws, as they open them up for abuse from those seeking attention and victimhood status.

Angela Merkel Says ‘Freedom Of Expression Has Its Limits,’ Must Be Regulated To Keep Society Free

Free Speech

Early Monday morning, burglars in Dresden, Germany pulled off what officials say is one of the biggest heists in history, stealing &#8220;priceless&#8221; jewelry from an 18th century collection housed in the historic Green Vault (Grüne Gewölbe) at Dresden&#8217;s Royal Palace.
&#8220;Thieves in the German city of Dresden have broken into one of Europe’s largest collections of art treasures, making off with three sets of 18th-century jewellery of &#8216;immeasurable worth&#8217; in what German media has described as the biggest such theft since the second world war,&#8221; <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/25/thieves-steal-priceless-treasures-dresden-green-vault-museum">The Guardian</a> reports.
The successful heist appears to have been an elaborate plot that included setting a fire at a nearby electrical distribution point in order to shut down the museum&#8217;s alarm and killing the power for the area, creating a blackout.
Authorities say that even with the thieves successfully knocking out power to the grid, however, a surveillance camera captured footage of two of the thieves breaking into the vault.
&#8220;Volker Lange, the head of Dresden police, said the thieves smashed a window and cut through a fence before approaching and breaking open a display cabinet in the Grüne Gewölbe’s Jewel Room in &#8216;a targeted manner&#8217;,&#8221; Guardian reports.
Police officers arrived on the scene just before 5 a.m. only to find the suspects — and the three sets of historic jewels — gone. The estimated value according to some news outlet is in the hundreds of millions of euros, that is if the amount can truly be calculated.
Among the stolen jewels are three sets of diamonds that include brilliant-cut diamonds from an 18th-century collection. &#8220;The historic sets consist of 37 parts each, and there are fears the thieves may try to break them up,&#8221; <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50545003">BBC</a> reports.
&#8220;Three out of 10 diamond sets have gone,&#8221; Marion Ackermann, the city&#8217;s director of state art collections, told the press. &#8220;We cannot give a value because it is impossible to sell,&#8221; she said. &#8220;The material value doesn’t reflect the historic meaning.&#8221;
&#8220;The items cannot be sold on the art market legally — they&#8217;re too well known,&#8221; said Ackermann, who pleaded with the thieves not to break the priceless jewels into pieces.
Saxony Minister President Michael Kretschmer likewise lamented the impact of the theft of the cultural treasures, describing it as not just a museum robbery, but a robbery of the citizens in the region.
&#8220;Not only the gallery has been robbed, but also the Saxonians,” said Kretschmer, as reported by Guardian. “You cannot understand the history of our country, or the free state of Saxony without the Grüne Gewölbe and the state art collections of Saxony.”
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BBC reports that police are examining surveillance footage, which shows two of the suspects, though authorities believe more wore involved in the plot.
Police say they found a car on fire in the city early Monday which they suspect was used as the initial getaway vehicle.
BBC provides some more details on where the jewels were kept: &#8220;The collection is housed in eight ornate rooms in the Residenzschloss — a former royal palace. Three rooms were destroyed by Allied bombing in World War Two, but after the war, the museum was restored to its previous glory. It is called the Green Vault because some rooms were decorated with malachite-green paint.&#8221;
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Dresden Jewelry

One Of Biggest Heists In History: ‘Priceless’ Jewels Stolen, Thieves On The Run

On Sunday, NBC News reporter <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/video-shows-woman-rescued-burning-car-virginia-n1084166">Ben Kesslen</a> posted a screenshot of an Instagram post from Chasten Buttigieg, the husband of 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, that quickly drew backlash online.
As noted by Kesslen, the post includes a photo of Mayor Pete at a Holocaust memorial in Berlin. The caption, posted by Chasten, is a flirty &#8220;This guy.&#8221;
&#8220;Is this&#8230;.at the holocaust memorial in berlin&#8230;.,&#8221; a stunned Kesslen posted Sunday night.
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is this&#8230;.at the holocaust memorial in berlin&#8230;. <a href="https://t.co/8bvmz9Zs7z">pic.twitter.com/8bvmz9Zs7z</a>
&mdash; ben kesslen (@benkesslen) <a href="https://twitter.com/benkesslen/status/1196233122037280769?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2019</a></blockquote>
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The photo remains up on Chasten&#8217;s Instagram:
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</a> 
 <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BSW9plJBkZQ/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">This guy.</a>
<p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/chasten.buttigieg/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> Chasten Buttigieg</a> (@chasten.buttigieg) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2017-04-01T22:03:20+00:00">Apr 1, 2017 at 3:03pm PDT</time>
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The replies to the reporter&#8217;s post were filled with people calling Pete &#8220;tone deaf&#8221; and remarking that the photo and &#8220;innuendo&#8221; caption was &#8220;inappropriate,&#8221; considering the location.
Here&#8217;s a sampling of some of that reaction via <a href="https://twitter.com/benkesslen/status/1196233122037280769">Twitter</a>:
<blockquote>Stupid and tasteless. Pete and his husband need to grow up before even suggesting that Pete is or ever will be prepared for high office. He hasn’t even managed his mayoral office well.
Maybe it’s just me, but I’d imagine the Holocaust Memorial isn’t the right instagram backdrop for fawning innuendo about ur husband 
My partner and I went to Auschwitz-Birkenau. We took many photos of what we saw there. We took no photos of ourselves. I don&#8217;t think we even took photos where the other person happened to be in the shot. There are some things that you just don&#8217;t do if you have self-awareness.
Just another example of the tone-deafness that seems to emanate from the entire campaign.
I hate the idea of a former concentration camp being used as a GQ-esque photo op.
If Ilhan Omar did that, she’d be accused of anti-semitism. Is media golden boy <a href="https://twitter.com/PeteButtigieg">@PeteButtigieg</a> going to have to answer questions for this wildly inappropriate pic?</blockquote>
And via Instagram:
<blockquote>When you pose for the couple pic at the Holocaust memorial in Berlin&#8230;
This is so horrible and disappointing
Ew, really? Pretty disrespectful, bro
Yikes
F***ing delete this
This is a Holocaust memorial not a place to take Instagram photos&#8230; 
This is really poor taste
Read the f***ing room my guy. Show some respect at a literal holocaust memorial maybe???
This&#8230;is the memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe&#8230;</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
And here’s a taste of the reaction: <a href="https://t.co/yfHzWoSCfG">pic.twitter.com/yfHzWoSCfG</a>
&mdash; Amanda Prestigiacomo (@AmandaPresto) <a href="https://twitter.com/AmandaPresto/status/1196379990704689152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The photo was posted by chasten in 2017.
As reported by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-scandal-involving-black-community-hits-buttigieg-campaign">The Daily Wire</a> on Sunday, Pete recently ran into controversy over an apparently false claim of endorsement:
<blockquote>Far-left Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg is facing a new scandal involving the black community after reports surfaced over the weekend that indicated Buttigieg falsely claimed to have endorsements for his plan to reach out to the black community, used a stock photo from Africa to depict African-Americans, and falsely claimed that the plan had support from hundreds of black voters who were actually white.</blockquote>
&#8220;In July, he released his campaign’s chief piece of policy outreach to black voters, called &#8216;The Douglass Plan: A Comprehensive Investment in the Empowerment of Black America.&#8217; The plan covers everything from criminal justice reform to public health care, education, and beyond,&#8221; The Intercept <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-scandal-involving-black-community-hits-buttigieg-campaign">reported</a>. &#8220;It proposes using federal contracting rules to increase the amount of contracts going to minority- and women-owned firms to 25 percent, and offers student loan deferment and forgiveness to Pell Grant recipients who go on to start businesses that employ at least three people.&#8221;
The Democrat&#8217;s campaign had promoted a list of 400 supposedly black South Carolina supporters of his plan, though nearly half the people on the list were white.

Pete And Chasten Buttigieg

Chasten Buttigieg’s ‘Innuendo’ Instagram Post Of Husband At Holocaust Memorial Sparks Backlash

2020 Election

Democratic Party

Pete Buttigieg

“A republic, if you can keep it,” is a quote famously attributed to Benjamin Franklin as he emerged from the Constitutional Convention, upon being asked what sort of government the convention’s delegates had created. What interests me most is the second half of Franklin’s quote: Franklin, a student of various forms of government, emphasizing the fragility of government. Our republic has proven to be resilient — surviving a schism in the 1860s, and other calamities before and since — but its continuation is neither a foregone conclusion nor a certainty.
This year and next mark the 75th anniversary of the end of World War Two, perhaps the most massive undertaking in human history: The triumph of good over evil, with countless acts of heroism, and chilling, institutionalized viciousness. It also marks the victory of the rule of law over totalitarian government and all that follows from it. The lessons of the era, while we casually consider what would be revolutionary changes to our form of government, are many.
One lesson, in particular, is how evil incarnate can rise to power. Take one eminently despicable SS Nazi general, Hans Kammler, as an example. Kammler was an early adherent of the Nazi Party, joining the Party even before Hitler fully rose to power. He was an architect and engineer by training, distinguishing himself in the early years of the war as an efficient manager of civil engineering projects. When the Holocaust was to be implemented, it was Kammler who chose Auschwitz as a key camp site, creating the blueprints to double and then redouble the size of the camp. It was Kammler who designed the standard concentration camp barracks. It was Kammler who then installed the gas chambers and crematoria — at Auschwitz and at other camps throughout the Third Reich. He worked not from the safe distance of a bureaucrat, but with weekly and even daily visits to the camps, barking orders, demanding changes, and even firing his pistol into the air to demand greater activity by his underlings. Kammler became an expert at mechanizing death.
His next innovation was Germany’s slave labor trade. In charge of the concentration camps, Kammler and the SS decided to make slaves of the most able-bodied prisoners, renting them out to the German government and German industry and creating a revenue stream for the SS. Kammler became the overseer and predominant user of slave labor in the Nazi regime, using them both to fuel his SS construction projects and to turn a profit for the SS.
In the final year of the war, Kammler became the sole officer promoted to Obergruppenfuhrer, the highest commissioned rank in the SS — second only to Heinrich Himmler himself. From that perch, he ruled all of Germany’s secret weapons, including the revolutionary Vengeance Weapons, the V-1 and V-2 rockets. These were the ultra-secret ‘wonder weapons,’ hinted at in Hitler’s speeches, that were to reverse the course of the war in Germany’s favor. But, as detailed in my new book, “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Nazi-Untold-Story-Americas/dp/162157735X/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=1568307115&amp;sr=8-1">The Hidden Nazi</a>,” Kammler knew that even with the V-2, the war was lost. In December 1944, he cut a deal with the Americans — trade Germany’s rocket team with the Americans to escape justice. A month after the deal was struck, Kammler moved the rocket team to prevent them falling into the hands of the advancing Russians. A month later, Kammler learned the rocket team’s new location would be within the Russian post-war zone of occupation — so he moved the rocket team yet again, to Bavaria, into the path of the American Army.
Kammler, having delivered the rocket team, never faced justice for his horrendous war crimes. Conventional history reports that he committed suicide in the final hours of the war, and so no one pursued him. However, “The Hidden Nazi” presents documents revealing the stranger-than-fiction truth about Kammler. He did not die at the end of the war, but rather lived on. The “Hidden Nazi” tells the rest of the story in detail, with broad lessons about the fragility of the rule of law, and how a highly cultured society can so quickly and thoroughly run off the rails.
Winston Churchill was fond of citing the old saw that “democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” Now is not the time to retry other failed forms of government.
&nbsp;
Dean Reuter is the principal author of “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Nazi-Untold-Story-Americas/dp/162157735X/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=1568307115&amp;sr=8-1">The Hidden Nazi: The Untold Story of America’s Deal with the Devil</a>” (Regnery History), and co-editor and author of “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01A4XVTC0/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1">Liberty’s Nemesis, and Confronting Terror</a>.”

&#8220;Hidden Nazi&#8221; cover

REUTER: The Fragility Of The Rule Of Law

Authorities say that two people are dead after what early reports suggest are multiple suspects — at least one wearing tactical gear — opened fire at multiple locations near a synagogue in the German town of Halle on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
&#8220;According to initial findings, two people were killed in Halle. There were several shots,&#8221; local police said in a tweet reported by <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/germany-synagogue-attack-halle-grenade-reportedly-thrown-jewish-cemetery-today-2019-10-09/">CBS News</a> early Wednesday.
In follow-up tweets, authorities said that they had detained one suspect they believed to be connected to the attack but urged citizens to stay vigilant. Statements by officials indicate that multiple suspects were involved.
&#8220;According to initial information, two people have been killed in Halle,&#8221; a law enforcement spokesperson said in a statement reported by the <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/germany-shooting-synagogue-attack-latest-halle-today-shooter-death-toll-grenade-a9148791.html">Independent</a>. &#8220;Several shots were fired. The alleged perpetrators are fleeing in a vehicle. We are asking the public to stay in their homes.&#8221;
Witnesses told German media they saw at least one of the attackers, dressed in tactical gear, open fire and then flee to a car, CBS reports. Video posted on social media appears to confirm the witness accounts, showing a suspect in &#8220;tactical gear including body armor and a helmet firing several rounds&#8221; with an unidentified weapon, the network notes.
Video has emerged showing a man dressed in tactical gear getting out of a silver car and firing what appears to be a shotgun down the street multiple times (via the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7554173/Gunman-shoots-dead-woman-outside-German-synagogue-goes-run.html">Daily Mail</a>):
<iframe id="molvideoplayer" title="MailOnline Embed Player" src="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/embed/video/2023086.html" width="698" height="573" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> 
Authorities say there were at least two locations targeted around the Anschlag vor Synagogue in Halle, resulting in two fatalities. According to <a href="https://www.mz-web.de/halle-saale/schiesserei-im-paulusviertel-polizei---hallenser-sollen-in-ihren-wohnungen-bleiben-33289538">local media</a>, after reportedly attempting to break into the synagogue, which holds around 80 worshippers, one suspect reportedly shot and killed a passerby outside.
&#8220;The <a class="body-link" href="https://www.bild.de/regional/sachsen-anhalt/sachsen-anhalt-news/schiesserei-in-halle-mindestens-ein-toter-65233386.bild.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-vars-item-name="BL-9148791-https://www.bild.de/regional/sachsen-anhalt/sachsen-anhalt-news/schiesserei-in-halle-mindestens-ein-toter-65233386.bild.html" data-vars-event-id="c6">Bild </a>newspaper reported that the attacker used a submachine gun in the assault, and threw a hand grenade into the cemetery,&#8221; the Independent reports.
Another victim was found at a nearby kebab shop.
&#8220;Konrad Rösler, a 28-year-old railway worker interviewed on German TV, said that he had been in a kebab shop when he saw a man with a helmet and military jacket launch the attack,&#8221; the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7554173/Gunman-shoots-dead-woman-outside-German-synagogue-goes-run.html">Daily Mail</a> reports. &#8220;Rösler said the attacker threw a grenade at the shop, which bounced off the door frame, before he fired shots into the shop. He said he locked himself in the toilet and heard several more loud bangs before police arrived.&#8221;
In the town of Landsberg, about 20 minutes away from Halle, another shooting was reported when a taxi driver was injured after an attempted hijacking, <a class="body-link" href="https://www.bild.de/regional/sachsen-anhalt/sachsen-anhalt-news/schiesserei-in-halle-mindestens-ein-toter-65233386.bild.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-vars-item-name="BL-9148791-https://www.bild.de/regional/sachsen-anhalt/sachsen-anhalt-news/schiesserei-in-halle-mindestens-ein-toter-65233386.bild.html" data-vars-event-id="c6">Bild</a> reports. The Independent notes that police have not confirmed a connection between the incidents.
A police spokesman told the press that they do not yet have &#8220;any indication about the motive of this act.&#8221;
As reported by CBS, the attack comes amid an <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rise-of-extreme-nationalist-groups-in-germany-return-of-anti-semitic-acts/">increase in anti-Semitic acts</a> in Germany, authorities citing over 400 reports of anti-Semitic attacks in the first half of 2018, which constitutes a 10% increase over the previous year. CBS links the attacks to &#8220;a marked rise of extreme nationalist groups in Germany.&#8221;
The Independent reports that the attack comes two days after a 32-year-old Syrian man allegedly hijacked a truck and deliberately drove it into victims, resulting in multiple minor injuries and an investigation into possible Islamist motivations.
This is a developing story; updates to come as more information comes to light.

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Germany

Former Democrat Senator McCaskill Calls Grenell A Trump ‘Sycophant’; He Reminds Her About Past Vote

Germans Turn Out By The Thousands For Anti-Lockdown Protests In Berlin

BRYEN & BRYEN: American Troops Pulled From Germany As NATO Falters

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