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Geopolitics

Why Morocco Is So Much Faster Than Europe In Vaccination Race

The North African country was quick to react when COVID-19 first showed up and is now outpacing places like Germany in a rush to immunize its citizens.

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In The News

Are Democracies More Susceptible To Pandemics?

Authoritarianism allows for swift, decisive action, and when it comes to controlling a viral outbreak, that may be an advantage. But that’s only part of the equation.

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In The News

How The Dream Of Moving Out To The Countryside Can Backfire

Many urban dwellers fantasize about a rural lifestyle, especially right now. But leaving city life behind is easier said than done.

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In The News

Pandemic Politics Is Bad For Your Mental Health

German psychologist Stephan Grünewald has some insights on how nearly a year’s worth of coronavirus restrictions are impacting people’s mental health.

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Ideas Society

Yes We Kant: A Philosopher’s Guide To New Year’s Resolutions

New Year’s resolutions are still freshly made, but how long will we stick to them? Here’s what legendary German thinker Immanuel Kant has to say about them.

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Future Society

Achtung Santa! A German Study Sets The Ideal Limit On Toys

Play is a fundamental part of childhood development. But when it comes to toys, as one nursery in Bavaria has shown, there’s something to be said for moderation.

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Geopolitics Ideas Society

The Next Pandemic May Be Closer Than You Think

After COVID-19, similar crises could arise sooner rather than later. Can we really afford — and not just from an economic standpoint — to keep taking the same approach?

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In The News

How The ‘Conservatism’ Of COVID Favors The Nuclear Family

In Germany and elsewhere, social distancing rules mean that people who don’t fit the heterosexual, two-parent-household mold, aren’t getting a fair deal.

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Geopolitics Ideas

EU v. Poland And Hungary: Why Brussels Would Never Dare

If Poland and Hungary fail to meet the high standards demanded by the European Union, it shouldn’t just cut off their pocket money, it should suspend them. But that won’t ever happen.

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Geopolitics Society

In Rural South Africa, A Murder Rekindles Racial Tensions

The killing of a white farmworker near Senekal is dividing people once again along racial lines, even if most victims of violent crime — and not just in urban areas — are black.

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Ideas Society

A Cold German Takedown Of Gender-Inclusive Language

There’s a fundamental flaw in the case being made against certain grammatically gendered nouns.

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Economy Geopolitics

What The Pandemic Exposes About Russian Dependence On Oil

Lockdowns, travel restrictions and the shift toward remote working have combined to cut global demand for oil. Moscow hopes it’s all just a passing trend. But is that really the safest bet?

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Eyes on the U.S. Ideas Trump And The World U.S. Election 2020 - Views From Abroad

Trump As Julius Caesar: The Threat To The Republic Lives On

With Joe Biden in the role of Brutus…?

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Ideas

The Pandemic Tests Germany’s Love Affair With Homeopathy

Dismissed in much of the world as ‘charlatanism,’ homeopathic medicine, developed in the 18th century by Samuel Hahnemann, has long had a healthy following in his native Germany.

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In The News

Straight Outta Kölnberg: Inside Germany’s ‘Hood Video’ Boom

Criminal turned YouTuber Max Cameo is one of several German vloggers using their knowledge of the streets to create compelling portraits of Europe’s toughest neighborhoods.

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Geopolitics

Prostitution In East Germany: New Film Pulls Back The Curtain

Prostitution was officially a crime in German Democratic Republic. But documentary filmmaker Axel Nixdorf discovers how widely it was tolerated, and even encouraged,

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Geopolitics Ideas

What New World Order? The Case For A Stronger Germany

No country has profited from the Pax Americana as much as Germany. Now, as U.S. influence wanes, it has a key role to play in filling the power vacuum.

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Eyes on the U.S. Society U.S. Election 2020 - Views From Abroad

‘Schadenfreude’ For Trump, A German Dose Of Pandemic Justice

“Zeitgeist,” “Kindergarten,” “Wanderlust” have long since made it into international speak. Since we found out that U.S. President Donald Trump was infected with coronavirus, another popular German word has been spreading.

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Ideas Migrant Lives

Merkel To Moria: Is Accepting Migrants A Moral Imperative?

In mid-September, fires destroyed Greece’s largest migrant camp, the vastly overcrowded Moria facility on the island of Lesbos. The disaster left some 13,000 already desperate people with no shelter at all, and raises new questions about Europe’s collective responsibilities toward migrants five years after German Chancellor Angela Merkel famously opened her nation’s doors to fleeing […]

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In The News

COVID-19 Sunset: A German Exodus From Spain’s Costa del Sol

Around 140,000 Germans are residents in Spain, with large enclaves established on the southern coast. But in the last few years, numbers have been dwindling. Coronavirus could spell the end of retiring to the sunshine.

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Geopolitics Ideas

Understanding The Limits Of German Influence Over Russia

BERLIN — Over the past two weeks, since the allegations of election rigging in Belarus, there have been calls for Germany to open a dialogue with Russia. As if the country with the world’s largest nuclear arsenal and a permanent seat in the UN Security Council is nothing more than a wayward child that Germany […]

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Future Society

Ein, Zwei, Dry: The German City Where Water Has Run Out

BERLIN — Germans are feeling the heat. For almost a week now, temperatures have been over 86 °F (30 °C) in most of the country, and every day a local council pleads with its residents not to fill up their paddling pools again. Last weekend, authorities asked residents of Lauenau in Lower Saxony to buy […]

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In The News

Germany’s Economy Simply Cannot Afford Another Lockdown

What the country needs now is more targeted measures and clearer priorities from its politicians, as well as more effective communication.

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In The News

How The Pandemic Pushed Up Prices On Some Luxury Goods

Rather than offer discounts, high-end brands like Chanel are asking even more for their products. Silvia Ihring, style editor-at-large for  German daily Die Welt, explains why.

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In The News

In Germany, University Profs Line Up Against Online Teaching

In an open letter, more than 2,000 academics made the case recently for bringing students back into real, brick-and-mortar lecture halls.

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Geopolitics Ideas

The Problem With Trimming The U.S. Military Presence In Germany

The chief foreign policy correspondent for Die Welt chimes in on Trump’s decision to reduce the number of U.S. troops in Germany from 35,000 to 25,000.

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Economy Society

How The Pandemic Is Helping Reinvent Food Production

Globalized supply chains may be good for businesses, but they’re not always ideal for consumers, especially when they’re suddenly disrupted.

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Economy Geopolitics Ideas

COVID-19 Be Damned: How Poland Is Beating Another Crisis

Compared to other EU member states, Poland was barely affected by the international financial crisis or the refugee crisis of 2015. Now, the country could emerge from the coronavirus pandemic in a stronger position than before.

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In The News

West Berlin To Hong Kong, When Freedom Is At Stake

After months of quiet amid the COVID-19 crisis, Hong Kong demonstrators attended an unauthorized rally this weekend to protest Beijing’s proposed security law that would tighten China’s control over the island territory. Police repeatedly fired tear gas,

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In The News

Coronavirus And The Problem With Cheap Sausages

Advertising has us convinced that cheap meat is something we can’t live without. But the meat industry is based on exploiting both people and animals.

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Economy Geopolitics

Germany’s Economy Is A Bigger Risk Than Ever For EU Stability

Germany has the resources to weather the storm, but not everyone in Europe is convinced that’s a good thing.

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In The News

Closed Due To Coronavirus: View From A Rural German Restaurant

Tucked away in a isolated corner of Germany, the owners of a rural restaurant have somehow managed to make ends meet for 17 years. But that was before the coronavirus outbreak.

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Geopolitics Ideas

Why The World Needs More Angela Merkel Right Now

The coronavirus pandemic has only exacerbated tensions between Beijing and Washington. It’s time that cooler heads prevail, and Germany has just the right person for the job.

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In The News

The End Of The World As We Know It? Nope

It’s tempting to imagine the pandemic as a turning point. The thing that undoes the EU, perhaps, or challenges the capitalist hegemony. But that may just be wishful thinking.

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In The News

Why COVID-19 Is Hitting Drug Addicts So Hard

People with serious drug problems are particularly at risk of coronavirus because of underlying health problems, but also because normal treatment options are being cut off.

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In The News

Staying Composed: Classical Music In The Time of COVID-19

In classical music capitals like Vienna, Salzburg and Berlin, and around the world, artists find themselves in precarious positions with COVID-19 shutdowns. But maybe there’s a sweeter tune tomorrow?

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In The News

Gold Rush As Investors Recoil From COVID-19 Shock

With traders spooked, physical gold that you can hold in your hands is being traded for a high mark-up compared to the market price for gold.

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In The News

The Silent Power Of The Moderate Majority

Public discourse seems to be dominated these days by political polarization and extreme positions, but it’s largely an illusion.

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Economy Society

Ecological War Brews Over Germany’s Reusable Beer Bottles

Environmentalists and beer companies have common cause to oppose new tax rules that may reduce the level of recycling.

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Geopolitics Society

World War II Memorabilia To Call Home? German Bunkers For Sale

Hundreds of air-raid shelters are still standing in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein, witnesses to a bygone era. The last ones are now being sold off.

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