WELCOME to my Personal Website!
From my 21 years mission experience I want to say what I learned most:
It is to respect and love other fellow-human-beings, because everyone is a child of God. Where I worked and lived, people always looked different from me, they had different colours; they spoke and behaved totally differently from were I came from, Germany. I became colour blind and open to other cultures, religions and traditions.
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Germany was in debris and ashes and Europe was in ruins, due to Hitler’s aggression against the neighbouring countries. After the un-wanted war, my father and my mother and other Germans hungry, dead looking figures wandered about the streets in their everlasting search for food and shelter. All Germans suffered enormously after the WW II. How my parents and other people in Germany must have felt after this senseless war?
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News - Latest Articles / Events that are shaping our world today
NYT
/ Can Flood Aid Weaken the Taliban in Pakistan?The devastating floods in Pakistan have now spread to the south of the country. Nearly five million people have been displaced by the worst flooding ever recorded in that country and more than 20 million people have been affected. The international community, including the United States, has made pledges of more than $800 million to help flood victims. 24 Agust, 2010
BBC
/ Bin Laden among latest Wikileaks Afghan revelationsNew details, including reports on Osama Bin Laden dating from 2006, have emerged from 90,000 US military files leaked to the Wikileaks website.Several files track Bin Laden, although the US has said it had received no reliable information on him "in years". The details come as the Pentagon investigates who leaked the classified documents, in an act the White House says could harm national security. 27 July, 2010
Spiegel
online / World Cup 2010With Germany celebrating as its football team advances through the World Cup, the flag is flying everywhere in the country. But as one German of Lebanese descent has found out, not everyone in the country is a fan of the patriotic display. His giant German flag keeps getting torn down -- apparently by left-wing activists.
6 July, 2010
NYT
/ Coast Guard Sees Cleanup of Spill Lasting Until the FallThe Coast Guard commander in charge of the federal response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico warned on Sunday that even if the flow of crude was stopped by summer, it could take well into autumn — and maybe much longer— to deal with the slick spreading relentlessly across the gulf.
7 June, 2010
TWT
/ EDITORIAL: Terrorism rises on American soilSaturday's failed car bombing in Times Square was a reminder that the terror war is still on, if a reminder was needed. And as with the Christmas Day bomb plot, America only avoided catastrophe because of terrorist incompetence.Investigators on the case have found leads pointing to foreign terrorists.
5 May, 2010
WashinPost/Obama
secures 47-nation pact at nuclear summitPresident Obama persuaded 46 countries Tuesday to sign on to a plan to put the world's nuclear material beyond the reach of terrorists within four years, but the commitments are voluntary, and experts said reaching the goal will be difficult.
14 April, 2010
Spiege l/ Vatican:The Failed Papacy of Benedict XVIThe pope's reluctance to take a firm stance on sexual abuse by priests is expanding into a crisis for the Catholic Church and fueling outrage over his papacy. Some Catholics are now even calling on Benedict, who has committed a series of gaffes since becoming pope in 2005, to resign.
6 April, 2010
Pravda
/Achieving Development by Improving Women’s Rights
Gender equality and the empowerment of women is one of the Millennium Development Goals to be reached by the year 2015. The anti-poverty targets set by the international community in 2001 can only be achieved if real progress is made in improving women’s rights. This is the only way forward to achieving sustainable development in a number of key areas. 12 March, 2010
CNN
/ Spy cameras won't make us saferTeam members walk through the airport, check into and out of hotels, get into and out of taxis. They make no effort to hide themselves from the cameras, sometimes seeming to stare directly into them. They obviously don't care that they're being recorded, and -- in fact -- the cameras didn't prevent the assassination, nor as far as we know have they helped as yet in identifying the killers. 1 March, 2010
Timesonline
/ Tony Blair: 'no regrets' over Iraq warTony Blair was heckled from the public gallery at the Iraq inquiry tonight as he wrapped up a dramatic day of testimony by declaring that he had no re- grets about ousting Saddam Hussein. The former Prime Minister spent six hours testifying to Sir John Chilcot's panel as it painstakingly pieced to-gether the sequence of events leading up to the Iraq invasion.
31 Jan., 2010
New York Times / Globalist: Chinese Openings
The tombstones loomed in the dusk, some of them rising more than 25 feet, each telling a forgotten story of China’s troubled history. I had come to find them because, for the first time, China has sanctioned the preservation here of a site commemorating the numberless victims of the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution.That’s a hopeful sign.
18 Jan., 2010
New
York Times / Al Qaeda’s Shadowland
AMERICANS are scrambling to understand Yemen, where Al Qaeda has recently surged and the Christmas Day plot against Northwest Flight 253 was hatched. It’s not easy. Yemen has 5,000 years of history, complicated politics and daunting economic challenges. But we’ve made it more difficult to understand by allowing several myths to cloud our vision.
12 Jan., 2010
TWT
/ EDITORIAL: Obama's failed freshman yearMr. Obama was elected with almost no national security experience, but he counted on two principle sources of leverage on the world stage: his personal charisma and the fact that he was not George W. Bush. The year began with much swagger and self-assurance, but the result was a foreign policy with the naive enthusiasm of someone who once may have taken a graduate seminar in international relations. 7 Jan., 2010
Reuters
/ Dissident, 82, detained at Moscow rallyPolice detained dozens of anti-Kremlin activists, including an 82-year-old Soviet dissident dressed as Santa Claus' female helper, at a New Year's Eve rally on Moscow's main shopping street Thursday.Hundreds of riot police surrounded a Christmas tree in the centre of the city and arrested the opposition activists as they gathered to defend their right to peaceful protest. 2 Jan., 2010
UPI
/ Commentary: Unholy war in cyberspaceThe Internet is an electronic jungle but also a global environment where al-Qaida operatives and sympathizers can operate with impunity. The 'Net also serves as radio-cum-TV station for would-be terrorists who can watch suicide bomb attacks as videoed by insurgents, beheadings in gory color and download a two-volume Sabotage Handbook online.
30 Dec., 2009
csmonitor
/ Criticism of China for jailing top dissidentMr. Liu was sentenced on Dec. 25, apparently for his co-authorship of Charter 08, a manifesto demanding democratic reform of the one-party state.The sentencing of the literary critic got wide international news coverage over the weekend and drew unusually strong criticism from Western governments. German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed "dismay" and the United Nations said the case was "an ominous shadow" over China's commitment to human rights. 28 Dec., 2009
Number
of death sentences falls to a historic lowThe number of executions in the United States increased this year, but the number of new death sentences handed down fell to the lowest total since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976, according to a new report from the Death Penalty Information Center. The trend of decreased death sentences was especially noticeable in Virginia, which is second only to Texas in the number of inmates executed. 18 Dec., 2009
BBC
/ The arguments made by climate change sceptics
At the UN climate summit in Copenhagen, 192 governments are aiming for a new global agreement to constrain greenhouse gas emissions and curb human-induced climate change.But some commentators are unconvinced that rising greenhouse gas emissions are the cause of modern-day warming. Either they say the world is not actually getting warmer or that a new treaty would hurt economic growth and well-being. 15 Dec., 2009
NYT
/ Editorial: President Obama in Oslo
Accepting the Nobel Peace Prize on Thursday, President Obama gave the speech he needed to give, but we suspect not precisely the one the Nobel committee wanted to hear. Mr. Obama was appropriately humble. He said that “compared to some of the giants of history who have received this prize,” his accomplish- ments “are slight” and suggested that he had been chosen not so much for what he had done but for what he is expected to do. 11 December, 2009
BBC
/ Copenhagen climate change summit
The long-awaited UN summit on climate change is opening in the Danish capital Copenhagen, with delegates from 192 countries attending.Some scientists have described it as the most important conference the world has ever seen. About 100 leaders are to attend over the next two weeks.Developing countries are discussing whether to demand tougher emissions cuts than have been put forward so far. 7 December, 2009
DW
/ European politicians react to Swiss minaret ban
European reaction to the vote in Switzerland to the construction of new minarets has been mixed. Many leaders were critical, although some rightist parties said they wanted similar votes in their countries. Leaders in France and Sweden condemned the results of Sunday's referendum in Switzerland that bans the construction of new minarets, calling it a regrettable sign of intolerance and prejudice. 1 December, 2009
NYT
/ China-USA: Equals at Last, for Better or for Worse
While no breakthroughs came out of the Barack Obama-Hu Jintao summit meeting, the U.S. president’s maiden trip to China will go down in history as a pivotal event in the relations between the two most powerful countries of the 21st century. For the first time, the leaders of the United States and China talked as equals. And the rough parity between an apparently declining superpower. 19 November, 2009
csmonitor / UN
food summit: 20 best ways to feed the hungryOn the eve of a world food summit that will acknowledge 100 million additional hungry mouths in the world since last year, a new study chronicles 20 good ideas that have helped feed millions of people.The initiatives range from milk cooperatives among women farmers in India to land reform in China, and they demonstrate what it takes to boost food production. 16 November, 2009
Breitbart
/ Church bells to ring out warning on climate changeThe World Council of Churches on Thursday called on churches around the world to ring their bells 350 times during the Copenhagen climate change summit on December 13 as a call to action on global warming. The leading council of Christian and Orthodox churches also invited places of worship for other faiths to join a symbolic "chain of chimes and prayers" stretching around the world from the international date line in the South Pacific.
BBC
/ Berlin celebrates demise of Wall
World leaders are joining thousands of people marking 20 years since the Berlin Wall's fall, an event that paved the way for the end of the Cold War.German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who grew up in East Germany, is leading the celebrations. Guests including ex-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev will join her in walking across the first border crossing to open in 1989. 9. November 2009
NYT
/ Europe Still Likes Obama, but Doubts Creep In
The election of Barack Obama as president seemed to most Europeans to be unadulterated good news, marking an end to the perceived unilateralism and indifference to allied views of former President George W. Bush.But nine months into Mr. Obama’s presidency, trans-Atlantic relations are again clouded by doubts. Europe and the United States remain at least partly out of sync on Afghanistan, the Middle East, Iran and climate change. 2.11. 09
BBC
/ Maternal mortality across the worldMuslima shyly tells me she is 25. It is hard to believe.Her brown eyes stare from a freckled face partly hidden by a patterned red head scarf. She looks about 15-years-old. Whatever age Muslima is, she has triumphed over the odds. She survived one of Afghanistan's greatest dangers - childbirth.
27 October, 2009
Pravda
/ International Terrorism Suffers from World Crisis TooAccording to the information provided by Cohen, in the first six months of 2009, al Qaeda leaders appealed to their potential sponsors for assistance four times. This provided sufficient grounds to believe that the terrorist organization is in the weakest financial state since the day of its foundation. This, in turn, says that the organization is losing its power.
14 October, 2009
BBC
/ A Russian policy shift on Iran?
Hillary Clinton came to Moscow for a day of intensive talks with Iran at the top of her agenda, hoping to build on a recent warming of relations with Russia under the Obama administration. Officials travelling with her said she wanted to assess Russia's position on adopting a tougher stance on Iran and its controversial nuclear programme.
14 October, 2009
Obama: Financial Regulations Must Be Strengthened Globally
President Barack Obama said tougher financial regulations are needed worldwide to protect consumers, provide economic stability and prevent future crises. With the leaders from the Group of 20 nations set to meet next week in Pittsburgh, Obama said in his weekly address on the radio and Internet that international cooperation has “stopped our economic freefall.” 20 September, 2009
CNN
/ Three men found guilty of liquid bomb airline plot
Three men were found guilty Monday of plotting to blow up planes on flights between Britain and North America, Woolwich Crown Court in London said.Abdullah Ahmed Ali, Assad Sarwar and Tanwir Hussain were all found guilty of "conspiracy to murder by the detonation of improvised explosive devices on trans-Atlantic aircraft" in a majority verdict of 11 to 1. Five other men were found not guilty of that charge. 8 September, 2009
CSmonitor
/ Report: Lockerbie bomber set free for Libyan oil
Amid the lingering furor over the Scottish government’s recent decision to release convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, it’s the question that just won’t go away: Did the British government agree to make Mr. Megrahi eligible for return to Libya in exchange for that country giving up its nuclear ambitions – and oil deals worth billions of dollars?
31 August, 2009
VOA
/ 25 More Iranian Detainees Go on Trial
Iranian media say 25 more detainees have gone on trial to face charges related to the unrest after Iran's disputed presidential election.The official IRNA news agency says the indictment read in court Sunday accuses the 25 of plotting the post-election violence for years.News reports say video footage of the street rioting was shown in court.
16 August, 2009
BBC
/ People 'get happier as they age'
Most people get happier as they grow older, studies on people aged up to their mid-90s suggest.Despite worries about ill health, income, changes in social status and bereavements, later life tends to be a golden age, according to psychologists. They found older adults generally make the best of the time they have left and have learned to avoid situations that make them feel sad or stressed. 9 August, 2009
Spiegel
/ Young Radicals Carry On Basque TerrorLast week's two bomb blasts in Spain have raised the possibility that the Basque terror group ETA could have already recovered from a series of recent setbacks and arrests. On Wednesday, a bomb blast at a police barracks in the northern city of Burgos left more than 60 people injured. Just 34 hours later, a device exploded under a police car at the Palmanova resort on the island of Mallorca killing two officers. 3 August, 2009
Deutsche
Welle / Shirin Ebadi wants more pressure on Iran
"I am against economic sanctions and military interventions," declared Ebadi, explaining that both are introduced at the cost of the Iranian people. She added that this, in turn, creates new battle fronts and encourages people to establish solidarity with their government. Instead, she affirmed, political sanctions must be imposed. "Diplomatic ties must not be severed, instead the embassies could be downgraded to consulates. 15 July, 2009
Moon landing anniversary: one small step 40 years onIf only Nasa’s schedules had allowed the Apollo 11 astronauts to embark on their lunar odyssey a couple of weeks earlier, Neil Armstrong could have taken that “small step” on the day America holds dearest. For, though Armstrong’s first words on the surface (botched for eternity by the omission of a single syllable) suggest he was there “for mankind”, he was primarily there for the US as it claimed victory in the race. 12 July, 2009
Breitbart.com
/ Chinese troops flood streets after riotsThousands of Chinese troops flooded into this city Wednesday to separate feuding ethnic groups after three days of communal violence left 156 people dead, and a senior Communist Party official vowed to execute those guilty of murder in the rioting in western China. Long convoys of armored cars and green troop trucks with riot police rumbled through Urumqi, a city of 2.3 million people. 9 July, 2009
BBC
/ Calm urged after N Korea missiles
Russia, China and the US have all called for calm after North Korea test-fired a series of missiles.Seven Scud-type ballistic missiles with a range of about 500km (312 miles) were fired in an apparent act of defiance against the US, on 4 July.
Russia and China called on Pyongyang to return to talks, while a US official urged it not to aggravate tensions. 4 July, 2009
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