It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Saturday, June 17, 2023
China shares 1.5 TB of satellite imagery data with BRICS
Xinhua, June 17, 2023
Since the signing of an agreement on Cooperation on BRICS Remote Sensing Satellite Constellation in August 2021, China has shared 400 scenes of satellite imagery data with BRICS countries, with the total volume amounting to 1.5 TB.
Zhang Kejian, head of the China National Space Administration, made the remarks Friday in virtual format at the session "Cooperation with BRICS countries in space" of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).
"The BRICS mechanism is an important platform for cooperation between emerging market countries and developing countries. BRICS cooperation has entered a new stage of cooperation in this field," Zhang said. "China invites more emerging market countries to join the BRICS space exchange and cooperation pattern."
Russia has also actively participated in the implementation of the agreement. According to the press service of Russia's state space corporation Roscosmos, in 2022, Russia shared satellite imagery of over 85,000 square km with BRICS partners.
Russia is interested in deepening cooperation with the BRICS countries, and transitioning from individual projects to a full-scale technological alliance in space exploration, said Yuri Borisov, Roscosmos director general, at SPIEF.
Phivolcs records largest pyroclastic flow in Mayon since June 8
June 17, 2023
ANN/PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER – The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) yesterday said it recorded the largest pyroclastic density current (PDC) registered since June 8 on Thursday night.
According to Phivolcs in its latest advisory, the PDC occurred at 11.18pm on Thursday and is the largest seen since June 8.
It was also among the 13 PDCs recorded from Thursday to yesterday, which is higher than the three PDCs recorded from Wednesday to Thursday.
“In the past 24-hour period, very slow effusion of lava from the summit crater of Mayon Volcano continued to feed lava flows and collapse debris on the Mi-isi (south) and Bonga (southeastern) gullies,” said Phivolcs.
“Traces of ashfall dispersed from the PDCs were reported in Sitio Buga, Brgy Nabonton, City of Ligao and Purok 7, Brgy San Francisco, Municipality of Guinobatan,” it added.
Meanwhile, 307 rockfall events and four volcanic earthquakes were also recorded in the same period.
Both are slightly higher than the recorded numbers from Wednesday to Thursday where 306 rockfall events and two volcanic tremors occurred.
Apart from these, Phivolcs also recorded steam-laden plumes that rose 750 metres, as well as an average sulfur dioxide emission of 826 tonnes.
Ash fall events are then forecast to likely occur on the south side of the volcano, based on the prevailing wind pattern.
Currently, Alert Level 3 remains, which means “it is currently in a relatively high level of unrest as magma is at the crater and hazardous eruption within weeks or even days is possible”.
As a result, all residents within the six-kilometre radius of the permanent danger zone should be evacuated due to the effects of PDCs, lava flows, rockfalls and other volcanic hazards.
Civil aviation authorities were also advised to prohibit pilots from flying close to the volcano’s summit as ash from any sudden eruption can be hazardous to aircraft.
The Mayon volcano belches hot emissions down its slope as seen from Daraga town, Albay province, northeastern Philippines. PHOTO: AP
Sicilian farmer swaps oranges for bananas and mangoes, as Italy ‘becoming a tropical country’
The 44-year-old now grows papayas, mangos, passion fruit, coffee and cocoa plants because of climate changes
Italian farmer Rosolino Palazzolo, 44, is now growing tropical fruit like papaya (Photo: Rosolino Palazzolo)
ROME – Rosolino Palazzolo, a 44-year-old Sicilian farmer, has just finished picking the first pitanga (Surinam cherry) and acerola (Barbados cherry) on his farm in a tiny village called Terrasini, close to Palermo. He looks at the bright cherries in his hand, smiling proudly.
These fruits would normally be found growing along the equator but, in the past few years, climate change and year-round warm temperatures have led to a produce revolution in Italy’s deep south.
“Italy is turning into a tropical country. That’s why I also grow papayas, mangoes, passion fruit, baby bananas dubbed ‘bananito’, black sapote [a soft, orange-fleshed fruit], annona [custard apple] and even coffee and chocolate plants,” Mr Palazzolo tells i.
“Tropical fruit is the future of Italy’s agriculture; it will save the country from the negative effects of rising temperatures and crazy, wild rainfalls.”
The farmer still grows traditional fruits such as pears, citrus fruits and peaches, and vegetables such as tomatoes and courgettes, but in smaller quantities due to the tropical-like climate that has taken hold in Italy, particularly in the south.
The Sicilian is increasingly eschewing traditional local produce such as oranges for exotic alternatives like bananas (Photo: Rosolino Palazzolo)
Turning to exotic products has proved successful. Oranges and lemons have always been the core business of Sicily’s agriculture. However, heat and floods are jeopardising yields of these fruits, imported centuries ago by the Arab conquerors, and Mr Palazzolo says he will be forced to ditch traditional plantations to fully embrace bananas and mangoes. Today, 40 per cent of his 11-hectare farm is used to cultivate tropical produce.
According to national data there’s been a 20 per cent drop in Italy in the production of oranges, mandarins, tangerines and lemons, most of which is concentrated in Sicily. Meanwhile, tropical fruit production has tripled in the past five years.
“It’s been raining hell since May, and while heavy rainfalls, high levels of humidity and constant rising heat are great for bananas, mangoes and other exotic produce, these harm tomatoes, strawberries, pears [and] lemons,” says Mr Palazzolo. Looking forward, he believes all farmers should diversify their orchards with more exotic fruits that grow well in the south.
Mr Palazzolo has been a pioneer in the “tropicalisation” of Sicilian fruit. “It took over 10 years of research and preparation; I flew all the way to the origin countries to fetch the best seeds to plant on my patch of land, first placing them in a greenhouse to make them sprout, then out in the open,” he said. “The coast is nearby, the sea breeze is a natural balm. I’ve invested so much love.”
His plantations are organic and non-intensive with no pesticides used, only natural herbal remedies including the use of plant juices to cure sick trees.
Mr Palazzolo says climate change is turning Italy into a tropical country (Photo: Rosolino Palazzolo)
Compared to traditional produce, exotic fruit is stronger and more resilient, says Mr Palazzolo, who has seen it with his own eyes, and in evidence published in agrarian reports.
“It’s a far better, and more convenient alternative to melons, oranges and lemons that are frequently attacked by parasites, with huge costs for us farmers,” says Mr Palazzolo.
Italian consumers are also benefitting from eating “unconventional” fruit grown in their backyard, adds Mr Palazzolo. According to local media reports, roughly 30 per cent of Italian families regularly consume domestic exotic varieties.
The cost per kilo of his papaya is three euros, while an imported one is roughly double. So far, he sells to domestic markets but is eyeing the possibility of shipping across Europe, although there are no plans yet to export to the UK.
However, tropical fruit in Italy is still a niche sector. Out of 505,000 fruit production hectares, just 1,200 are “exotic”. But numbers are growing fast: two years ago there were just 500 hectares of bananas, mangoes and the like.
Many farmers in the deep south are also going tropical. The dark flanks of Mount Etna volcano is where most Sicilian avocados are grown. Past lava flows have scorched the soil, making it extremely fertile.
Other Italian regions with tropical orchards are Calabria and Basilicata. These are the “kingdoms” of feijoa, pineapple, guava, pomegranate, star fruit, Japanese medlar [loquat], lime and even coconut.
WHEN YOU BECOME THE STATE
German Greens in doldrums over bitter compromises
By AFP Published June 17, 2023 Rows over issues such as the reopening of the Garzweiler open-cast lignite mine have created divisions inside the Greens - Copyright AFP/File Lars Hagberg
Femke COLBORNE
When Germany’s ecologist Greens hold a mini-party congress Saturday, members of the junior coalition party are expected to vent their fury over tradeoffs that have sent the party’s popularity plunging.
From concessions on coal to clashes with climate protesters, the party has repeatedly found itself on the defensive since entering Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government.
Matters have come to a head in recent weeks, with a painful compromise on European Union migration measures and a row over gas boilers.
“The situation for the party has not been as dangerous for many years as it is this summer,” the NTV broadcaster said in a recent report.
The German Greens scored their best-ever election result in 2021, becoming the third-largest party in parliament and entering the government for the first time since 2005.
But critics in the party say it has sacrificed its founding principles to govern in an awkward coalition with Scholz’s centre-left SPD and the pro-business FDP.
Ahead of the congress, opinion polls put the Greens in fourth place behind the resurgent far-right AfD.
Anger boiled over when EU nations last week reached agreement on a long-stalled revision of their rules on migration. They included plans to introduce fast-track asylum procedures on the bloc’s external borders.
The deal was a crushing blow for the Greens, who had been pushing for more lenient rules for families with children, among other things. – ‘Low point for Greens’ –
Green Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock defended voting for the changes. “If Germany had rejected the reform or abstained, it would have meant more suffering, not less,” she argued.
But many party members remain furious.
“It was the wrong decision and we should admit that at the weekend,” Greta Garlichs, leader of the Greens in Lower Saxony, told Stern magazine on Friday.
The mood among the party’s grassroots supporters is “pretty dire”, she said.
The Greens have also run into trouble over a controversial heating law championed by vice-chancellor Robert Habeck, of the Greens.
The law, finally introduced in parliament this week after months of infighting within the coalition government, effectively bans new oil and gas boilers from 2028 in favour of more climate-friendly but expensive solutions.
But the text was only agreed after hefty concessions from the Greens, including pushing back the start date by four years.
Habeck defended the policy in parliament on Thursday, insisting “the core of the law remains intact”.
But Die Welt daily described it as a “low point for the once so radiant Greens” and a “resounding defeat” for the party.
As recently as May 2022, Habeck was one of Germany’s most popular politicians.
But the ZDF broadcaster noted in a recent report that he had undergone a “transformation from communications talent to crisis manager and now bogeyman”. – Accusations of nepotism –
The three-way coalition had never looked like a match made in heaven for the Greens.
But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing energy crisis have made that partnership even more difficult than they might have imagined.
To help compensate for a shortfall in Russian gas deliveries, the government voted last year to restart mothballed coal-fired power plants — much to the ire of climate activists.
The expansion of the Garzweiler open-cast coal mine proved a particular flashpoint, with protesters occupying the village of Luetzerath as clearance work began in January.
Being in government has been a “very sobering experience” for the Greens, Ursula Muench, a political scientist at the Bundeswehr University Munich, told AFP.
“They are hardly succeeding in translating their own convictions on climate, the environment and the protection of species into concrete policies at a time when the climate crisis is worsening,” she said.
The Greens have also been rocked by accusations of nepotism.
An official in Habeck’s economy ministry, Patrick Graichen, was forced to leave his post in May over claims he had handed a plush job to an environmentalist who was the best man at his wedding.
“What happened there reinforces the impression that there is a kind of ‘closed shop’ between politics, the green energy industry and science,” political scientist Hubert Kleinert said in an interview with ZDF.
Chinese naval hospital ship offers medical aid worldwide
BEIJING, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese naval hospital ship "Peace Ark" has provided medical services for roughly 250,000 people from 43 countries and regions around the globe since its commission in 2008.
The Peace Ark has set sail on 10 overseas missions during its 15-year-old voyage, said Zhang Xiaogang, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of National Defense, at a press conference Friday.
The Chinese military has actively participated in peacekeeping operations, vessel protection operations, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, said Zhang.
China will always build world peace, contribute to global development, and safeguard the international order, the spokesperson added.
NOT A WEEK GOES BY
UK’s Johnson in new trouble over Daily Mail column
By AFP Published June 16, 2023 Boris Johnson has been running into new trouble this week
- Copyright AFP STR
Former UK prime minister Boris Johnson was unveiled Friday as the Daily Mail’s star new columnist — but attracted an immediate rebuke from a government watchdog to cap a tumultuous 48 hours.
A day after Johnson was given a blistering verdict by a committee of MPs investigating his “Partygate” denials, the right-leaning newspaper announced he would be writing a weekly column on Saturdays.
In a video posted by the Mail, former journalist Johnson said he was “thrilled” to contribute to “those illustrious pages”, vowing to deliver “completely unexpurgated stuff”.
The anti-immigrant, anti-woke, Brexit-supporting Mail has long been one of Johnson and the Conservative party’s most vocal and uncritical backers.
Johnson joked that he would cover politics only when “I absolutely have to” — but he now has a high-profile platform to pursue his vendetta against Prime Minister Rishi Sunak if he chooses.
However, the ever-controversial Johnson was upbraided for failing to respect the rules governing outside appointments for former ministers.
The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) is meant to vet all such appointments in the two years after a politician leaves high office.
But Johnson only informed ACOBA half an hour before the Daily Mail posted its announcement on social media, a spokeswoman for the committee said.
That amounted to a “clear breach” of the rules, she said.
“We have written to Mr Johnson for an explanation and will publish correspondence in due course, in line with our policy of transparency.”
However, ACOBA cannot force a politician to go back on an appointment, and Johnson’s habitual disregard for the rules was laid bare in Thursday’s report by the House of Commons privileges committee.
He had already resigned as an MP after being sent a preview of the report, which found that he deliberately misled parliament when denying any knowledge of lockdown-breaking parties in 10 Downing Street.
The House of Commons can no longer vote on the committee’s recommendation to suspend Johnson, given his pre-emptive resignation.
But it is due to vote on Monday — Johnson’s 59th birthday — to decide whether his parliamentary pass should be withdrawn.
Boris Johnson breaks ministerial code with new Daily Mail job
It’s been a week since the MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, one Boris Johnson, stepped down ahead of a scathing report showing he lied to parliament over lockdown parties at Downing Street.
Today it was announced he has a new job, writing a column for the Daily Mail, but that too has breached ministerial code.
Why Japan is rethinking its rape laws and raising the age of consent from 13 Japanese women hold a protest against sexual violence, in a movement dubbed the Flower Demo, on March 8, 2021, in Tokyo.
Kyodo News/Getty Images
By Jessie Yeung and Eru Ishikawa, CNN Published Fri June 16, 2023
Tokyo, Japan CNN —
When Kaneko Miyuki reported her sexual assault as a seven-year-old in Japan, she remembers the police laughing at her. “I was already confused and scared,” she said. “They wouldn’t take me seriously as a child.”
The following investigation made things worse. After being questioned, she was taken back to the scene of her assault without a guardian present, against all modern guidelines.
The police never did bring her attacker to justice. The whole experience was so traumatizing for Kaneko that she repressed her memory of it until she began having flashbacks in her twenties, and didn’t come to terms with the fact she had been sexually assaulted until her 40s.
Kaneko is among countless Japanese women who say their experiences of sexual assault and abuse were ignored because they “didn’t fit the criteria” of a victim. About 95% of survivors never report their assault to police, and nearly 60% never tell anyone at all, according to a 2020 government survey.
But that could be about to change. On Friday, the Japanese parliament passed a raft of bills overhauling the country’s sex crime laws, long criticized as outdated and restrictive, reflecting conservative social attitudes that often stigmatize and cast doubt on victims.
The new laws expand the definition of rape to place greater emphasis on the concept of consent; introduce national legislation against taking explicit photos with hidden cameras; and raise the age of consent to 16. The previous age of consent, at 13, had been among the lowest in the developed world.
It marks a major victory for sexual assault survivors and activists, some of whom have spent decades lobbying for these changes.
Kaneko Miyuki (second from the right) and a group of activists from Spring, an advocacy organization for survivors of sexual abuse.Courtesy General Incorporated Association Spring
“We … would like to express our deepest gratitude to all the victims of sexual violence who have raised their voices together with us,” Spring, a survivor advocacy group, said on Friday.
While cautioning there was still more work to be done, such as extending the statute of limitations and in recognizing power imbalances in cases involving authority figures, it said the bills were nonetheless a sign of progress.
“Our earnest wish is that those who have been victims of sexual violence will find hope in their lives, and that sexual violence will disappear from Japanese society,” it said. A question of consent
One of the biggest reforms passed on Friday is to change the language used to define rape to include a greater emphasis on the concept of consent.
Rape had previously been defined as “forcible sexual intercourse” committed “through assault or intimidation,” including by taking advantage of a victim’s “unconscious state or inability to resist.” The law had also previously required evidence of “intent to resist.”
But activists had argued this is too hard to prove in many cases, such as when a victim experiences the common “freeze” response, or is too afraid to resist physically. Members of Spring, with Kaneko Miyuki in the center, during a news conference.
Tadokoro Yuu, a representative of Spring, said the law had discouraged victims from coming forward due to “a fear of acquittal” if courts found insufficient evidence of resistance.
The new law replaces “forcible sexual intercourse” with “non-consensual sexual intercourse,” and expands the definition of assault to include victims under the influence of alcohol or drugs, those with mental or physical disorders, and those intimidated through their attacker’s economic or social status. It also includes those unable to voice resistance due to shock or other “psychological reactions.”
Age of consent and voyeurism
Other major changes include raising the age of consent to 16 years old except for when both parties are underage – on par with many US states and European nations including the United Kingdom, Finland and Norway.
The amendments also expand protections for minors, establishing grooming as a crime for the first time. They further criminalize activity like asking those under 16 for sexual images, or asking to visit a minor for sexual purposes.
It also makes it easier to prosecute people accused of taking or distributing photos of a sexual nature without the subject’s knowledge or consent – a hot button issue in Japan where upskirting and hidden cameras taking explicit photos of women has long been a problem.
A survey last year found that nearly 9% of more than 38,000 respondents across Japan had experienced this kind of “voyeurism,” according to public broadcaster NHK. Victims described having photos taken up their skirt and shared on social media; others had photos secretly taken in changing rooms and bathrooms.
They also described the long-term impact on their mental health, with many feeling unsafe in public spaces including trains and schools. Reporting the issue rarely helped: often, peers and even police officers would place the blame on their clothing, arguing that they had placed themselves at risk by wearing skirts, NHK reported.
Until now, laws against voyeurism have been enforced only by local governments, and can vary across prefectures, complicating matters.
In one notorious incident in 2012, a plane passenger took an upskirt photo of a flight attendant, was caught with several images on his phone, and admitted guilt – but was ultimately never charged, according to NHK. The problem? The crime had taken place midair on a moving plane – so it was impossible to know which prefecture they had been traveling over at the time, thus which location’s law should be applied.
Acquittals prompt outrage
These amendments build on the work of an entire generation of activists who have tried with little success to push forth change, said Nakayama Junko, a lawyer and member of the non-profit Human Rights Now.
“It’s been a long time … It’s not just a movement that has been going on for 50 years, it’s a voice that has been heard for decades,” she said.
These previous attempts were blocked by governmental inertia and sometimes outright opposition from parliament members who believed the changes unnecessary, she said. Many people, including Japanese media, had a limited understanding of consent and believed “the crime of rape was being properly punished,” meaning little attention was paid to the issue.
Things began to change in 2019 when the country was gripped by several high-profile rape acquittals, handed down within the span of a few weeks.
In the most controversial case, a father was acquitted of raping his 19-year-old daughter in the central Japanese city of Nagoya. The court recognized that the sex was non-consensual, that the father had used force, and that he had physically and sexually abused his daughter – but judges argued she could have resisted, according to Reuters, which reviewed the verdict.
Around 150 protesters demonstrate against several rape acquittals in Tokyo, Japan, on June 11, 2019.
Alessandro Di Ciommo/NurPhoto/Getty Images
The father’s acquittal prompted nationwide protests, with women from Tokyo to Fukuoka taking to the streets for months and calling for legal change. Demonstrators held flowers as a sign of protest, and signs with slogans against sexual violence, including #MeToo.
In the Nagoya case, the father’s acquittal was eventually overturned by Japan’s high court. But the spark had been lit, finally setting into motion the proposed reforms that have for years failed to take hold.
The protests “conveyed (that) the reality of the damage was very significant,” Nakayama said, calling it a “main driving force that led to this amendment.”
A long road ahead
Both nonprofit organizations CNN interviewed praised the bills as an important step forward – but cautioned that much work remains to be done.
Japan still lags far behind other developed nations in its ideas toward sex and consent, Nakayama said. Other countries have already begun amending their laws to reflect a “Yes means yes” mentality – meaning sexual partners should seek clear affirmative consent, rather than assuming consent unless told otherwise. Meanwhile, “in Japan, it seems that (the concept of) ‘No means no’ has just been communicated,” she said.
Tadokoro, the Spring representative, echoed this point, saying it was important to recognize that consent isn’t inherently or permanently granted between couples, and can be withdrawn; that “it’s wrong to assume it’s a ‘yes’ even if they come over, or do not say no clearly.”
There are other legal reforms they want to tackle in future amendments: better laws protecting people with disability from sexual abuse, and outlining the ways they can give consent, and extending the statute of limitations since many survivors go decades before coming to terms with what happened to them – as in Kaneko’s case.
Others spend most of their life dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health consequences, before reaching a point where they have healed enough to consider pursuing justice.
But perhaps the biggest obstacle is the Japanese public itself, and the harmful views on sexual abuse and victimhood that are still widespread.
“When I talk to other people about (my assault), I get avoided, and am not accepted,” said Kaneko, recalling people who told her she would “forget with time” or that that’s just life.
Sometimes their responses are far crueler. “I get ruthless reactions like, ‘You got done?’” she said.
There are some positive signs of change, she said, pointing to public awareness campaigns by the government and increasing sexual education in schools. But there is still a gaping lack of systemic support for survivors like counseling, therapy, and public services to help them re-enter society.
“Survivors of sexual assault like myself cannot even work, or go about your life – you become mentally ill, and you can’t take care of yourself,” she said.
Authorities also need to introduce trauma-informed training for law enforcement and other workers dealing with survivors, said Tadokoro, adding that “some police investigators understand (how to approach the situation), while others do not understand at all.”
For Kaneko, who went on to become the general secretary of Spring, the damage done at the police station when she was seven years old compounded the trauma from her assault – leaving scars that took decades to untangle.
“I was implanted with a distrust of people when I experienced that kind of thing in an institution that is supposed to protect citizens, such as the adults and the police,” she said.
“For many years, despite a lot of pain, I had no idea what (the source) was for many years … Having PTSD is not easy to heal on your own.”
CNN’s Junko Ogura and Junko Fukutome contributed reporting.
How "toxic" are men in Germany? How can Andrew Tate, a TikTok star and self-proclaimed misogynist, be a role model? The results of a new survey on masculinity in Germany are disturbing.
A survey revealing that many young people in Germany find domestic violence is "acceptable," women belong in the kitchen, and public displays of homosexuality are to be rejected has come as a shock.
One-in-three men surveyed by the non-governmental organization Plan International said they were okay with occasional violence toward women; 34% said they get rough with women at times "to make them show respect." In March, 1,000 men and 1,000 women between the ages of 18-and-35 took part in a standardized written online survey for Plan International's latest survey on tensions surrounding the idea of male identity.
Other statements also present an unsettling image of masculinity. According to the survey, 48% of the respondents feel bothered when men are openly gay. The role models they name include US entrepreneur Elon Musk and Andrew Tate — an influencer who presented himself as a self-proclaimed misogynist on TikTok and made a name for himself with statements like "females are the ultimate status symbol" and "masculine life is war."
The survey initially caused a great stir in the media, followed by fierce criticism. Users on social networks questioned whether the study was really representative, especially since the survey was conducted virtually and so clearly targeted an online-savvy group.
Others criticized the fact that concrete questions were missing. However, the main focus was whether or not young men in Germany really think and act that way.
'Totally unacceptable'
Experts agree the organization's survey has pitfalls. "I would have liked to have seen more detail on how the study was designed," says Dag Schölper from the Bundesforum Männer, an advocacy group for boys and men. He told DW that unfortunately it is not exactly clear how the answers were given either.
"All the same, even if one-third of 1,000 random men give an affirmative answer — they may not be entirely serious when saying whether they could imagine beating their partner — they still said yes rather than automatically saying, that is totally inacceptable," says Schölper. He adds that statistics on violence show that such an attitude exists and is acted upon in parts of society. The numbers prove him right. About 143,000 people experienced violence at the hands of their partner or ex-partner in 2021, according to an analysis of criminal statistics by Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA).
In about 80% of cases, the victims were women and the vast majority of perpetrators were male. Compared to the previous year, it marks a slight decrease but a look at the past five years shows an increase. Prejudice against women
The figures concerning the perception of masculinity and possible prejudices are somewhat lower, but still disconcerting. A 2017 survey by the German government's anti-discrimination agency, for instance, says about 40% of respondents said they were bothered by publicly displayed homosexuality.
About 90% of respondents in a United Nations survey for the 2023 Gender Social Norms Index (GSNI) said they harbored prejudices against women. Two-thirds of respondents did not trust women with political leadership roles. One-in-four said it is okay for a man to hit a woman. Despite numerous campaigns, the GSNI shows "no improvement in prejudice against women in a decade," the organization said earlier this week.
Gender equality: the pendulum swings back
But why is so-called toxic masculinity still so predominant? "There are always pendulum swings, and they are also reflected in the survey," says Schölper. "Homosexuality and queer life are increasingly visible in public, they don't just take place in secret. People who find that problematic feel challenged, perhaps threatened."
Crises like the coronavirus pandemic also revive traditional gender roles, when people return to the traditional to create a sense of security. During the pandemic, women once again took over more care work, and domestic violence increased according to sociologists. And according to Schölper, there is a worldwide backlash movement that has bolstered rigid, narrow ideas of gender.
The figures are clear mandate, says the expert. "We need to work with boys and men," he says, arguing that municipalities must understand that a counseling structure for men is a public service to make sure that when they have problems, they don't turn to the internet "and people like Andrew Tate to seek advice."
This article was originally written in German.
ECOCIDE
Whimpers of Protest in Russia Against Kremlin’s ‘Destructive’ War Against Ukraine Dissenting Russian local government officials condemn catastrophic consequences of the war.
This general view shows partially submerged buildings in Kherson on June 8, 2023.
Oleksii FILIPPOV / AFP
The ISW Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment of June 16, 2023 carried the following report:
Select current and former Russian municipal officials signed an open letter calling on the Russian forces to return to the “universally” recognized Russian borders due to the crisis caused by the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant (KHPP) dam.
Municipal officials from Moscow and St. Petersburg as well as Moscow and Leningrad oblasts signed the document, which argued that the destruction of the KHPP dam will affect the ecosystem of the planet, health issues, and the economy for many decades.
The letter stated that Putin’s actions since Feb. 24, 2022 have caused unspecified catastrophic events but did not cite continued Russian military operations in Ukraine as a reason for the withdrawal of Russian forces.
Non-Kremlin aligned Russian officials may be using public concern about the environmental and humanitarian situation associated with the destruction of the KHPP dam to voice opposition to the war in Ukraine without directly criticizing the war effort itself.
The Kremlin has widely set the conditions for crackdowns against anti-war dissent. Russians who hold anti-war sentiments may use the destruction of the KHPP to voice their opposition to the war in a very limited fashion.
See the original here, and a more detailed report from RFE/RL in Russian here.
German archeologists find Bronze Age sword so well preserved it ‘almost shines’ AP 17 Jun, 2023
The sword was found during excavations last week in Noerdlingen, between Nuremberg and Stuttgart in southern Germany. Photo / Bayerisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege
A bronze sword made more than 3000 years ago that is so well-preserved it “almost still shines” has been unearthed in Germany, officials say.
Bavaria’s state office for the preservation of historical monuments says the sword, which is believed to date back to the end of the 14th century BC — the middle of the Bronze Age — was found during excavations last week in Noerdlingen, between Nuremberg and Stuttgart in southern Germany.
Bavaria’s state office for the preservation of historical monuments says the sword, which is believed to date back to the end of the 14th century BC.
Photo / Bayerisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege
It has a bronze octagonal hilt and comes from a grave in which three people — a man, a woman and a boy — were buried in quick succession with bronze objects, the Bavarian office said in a statement this week. It is not yet clear whether the three were related to each other and, if so, how.
“The sword and the burial still need to be examined so that our archeologists can categorise this find more precisely,” said the head of the office, Mathias Pfeil. “But we can already say that the state of preservation is extraordinary. A find like this is very rare.”
It’s unusual to find swords from the period, but they have emerged from burial mounds that were opened in the 19th century or as individual finds, the office said.
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