Seeing With the Heart

The Fox once told his secret to the Little Prince: "On ne voit bien qu'avec le coer. L'essentiel n'est pas visible pour les yeux." Following this simple but incredibly true statement, my blog contains issues I care about such as politics, feminism, human and LGBT rights. All opinions expressed on this blog are my own. Please feel free to share your thoughts by leaving a comment or asking a

[humansofnewyork]

"My son got killed when he was eighteen." “What happened?” “He got shot, of course. That’s all they do.”

[theweekmagazine]

One senator recalled having to explain to a colleague that the legislation would not require insurance companies to pay for sex-change operations. Another spoke of phone calls from constituents who were convinced that their children could be taught in school by men wearing dresses.

— Keith Wagstaff names 5 reasons Republicans oppose the new anti-gay discrimination law

Source: theweekmagazine

[humansofnewyork]

Like many people, I was first introduced to Colonel Chris Hadfield when I saw a photo of NYC come into my newsfeed, taken from the International Space Station. I’ve been following him ever since, as he inspired millions with the wonders of space by combining social media and, well, OUTER SPACE. “Watching a shuttle launch is great,” explains Hadfield, “But it’s more entertainment than inspiration. For the first time, social media allowed people to come along with us, and experience space like an astronaut.”  I had the honor of meeting Mr. Hadfield while he was in New York, doing interviews surrounding his new book, available here:http://amzn.to/1ahDcNE ———————— (Internal dialogue: “Do I call him Chris? Colonel? Mr. Hadfield? I’m gonna blow it! I’m blowing it!”) "What’s the most frightened you ever felt in space?" "Honestly, very little happened that I wasn’t prepared for. Astronauts prepare for everything. You’d be amazed at all the things we train for. Specialization is for insects. Humans have to be generalists— and astronauts especially. Before the mission, I actually studied with a dentist in case I needed to surgically extract a tooth. So I never felt very afraid because I’d prepared for everything. But if I was to give an answer— one time we were coming across the Indian Ocean, and I was looking down at Australia. And a shooting star passed below us. A big one. A shooting star came between us and the world. And I thought: ‘Oh man, we really are floating around in an aluminum bubble up here.’" "What did you miss the most while you were in space?" "If you don’t mind me using a euphemism… physical contact. Have you met my wife?"

[artpixie]

[part-time-aussie]

Anti-war slogan in the 60's.

Source: Tumblr

[part-time-aussie]

Poetry from the Brave New Voices Grand Slam Finals at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago.

"Let it be her choice!"

Source: Youtube

[part-time-aussie]

Germany adopts third gender law

Country becomes first in Europe to allow babies to be registered as neither male nor female, but critics call for more.

On Friday, Germany has become the first European country to allow babies with characteristics of both sexes to be registered as intersex. The parents can now leave the gender sections on birth certificates blank.

This gives the child an option to make an informed consent later on in his life, thus being prevented from surgeries as a newborn which might not correspond with how the child feels about his or her gender.

Source: Aljazeera

[erikmeyer]

NSA files decoded: Edward Snowden’s surveillance revelations explained.

[part-time-aussie]

An interactive website decoding the N.S.A files including several opinions on what happened and what to do now, various graphs as well as detailed information. Click on the picture to have a look!

[part-time-aussie]

Weltverbesserer gibt es genug, aber einen Nagel einschlagen können die wenigsten.

-- Henrik Ibsen

Quelle: Zitate und Sprichwörter

[part-time-aussie]

Since the inception of the Emmy Awards in 1949, no woman of color has ever won an award for Best Actress in a Drama Series. In the last two decades, a vast majority of Emmy winners have been white, and in the categories for Best Director and Outstanding Writing, the winners have predominantly been male.

Highlighting these facts and more, this infographic by Lee & Low Books serves as a reminder of the staggering diversity gap that still exists in the entertainment industry.

Source: The Huffington Post

[part-time-aussie]

Meinung: In den Koalitionsverhandlungen sitzen viel zu viele Politiker

Der Koalitionsvertrag wird die Handlungsmöglichkeiten der Regierung und die Souveränität des Parlamentes abschnüren. Hoffentlich geschehen daher unvorhergesehene Krisen.

Robert Leicht in der Morgenkolumne der Zeit über aus 75 Experten bestehenden Arbeitsgruppen in den Koalitionsverhandlungen und deren Folgen:

"Da sitzen unter den 75 Experten eine Menge Leute, die gar kein Bundestagsmandat haben, und nur diese sind doch neulich von uns gewählt worden. Da finden sich Abgeordnete aus Landtagen und Landesminister (einer von denen muss demnächst 150.000 Euro an Doppelbezügen zurückzahlen), da spielt sich gar der Präsident des Europäischen Parlaments auf, der überhaupt kein Mandat in der Bundesrepublik hat. Am Ende wird der sicherlich wieder über 150 Seiten umfassende Koalitionsvertrag die Souveränität des Parlaments und die Handlungsmöglichkeit der Regierung abschnüren, ohne dass im Parlament auch nur eines der politischen Themen im Für und Wider öffentlich und deshalb für die Bürger nachvollziehbar diskutiert worden ist. Auf diese Weise macht man die Abgeordneten der Regierungsparteien zum Stimmvieh des extra-konstitutionellen Koalitionsvertrags. Und die bei einer großen Koalition sowieso sehr wenigen Oppositionsabgeordneten dürfen mehr oder weniger elegant den Mond anbellen. So bleibt angesichts dieser Verfassungsaushöhlung nur noch die Hoffnung, dass irgendwelche unvorhersehbaren Krisen all diese Absprachen zu Makulatur werden lassen. Und dass es dann endlich wieder wirklich heißt: Auf den Kanzler (und das Parlament) kommt es an!"

Quelle: Die Zeit

[thepoliticalnoteboo1deac]

Congressman Grayson, as a teacher, my job is to educate. But how do I teach something like this? How do I explain what I myself do not understand? How can I in good faith reassure the children that the drone will not come back and kill them, too, if I do not understand why it killed my mother and injured my children?

Rafiq ur Rehman, a Pakistani schoolteacher whose mother was killed in a drone strike. He testified along with his young son and daughter before Congress today about the civilian death toll from US drone strikes and targeted killing, speaking through a translator. At this point in the testimony, the translator had to break to cry. 

Source: thepoliticalnotebook

[thehappyhippielife-blog]

[part-time-aussie]

Merkel hat es Obama zu einfach gemacht

Nicht Washington allein trifft die Schuld in der gegenwärtigen Abhöraffäre. Die gesamte Bundesregierung hat fahrlässig gehandelt, indem ihre Minister sorglos ihre Privathandys nutzten.

Jan-Eric Peters über den NSA-Abhörskandal:

"Wer trotz Warnungen der eigenen Sicherheitsdienste und entsprechender Vorschriften derart unbekümmert und permanent mit einem ungeschützten Handy telefoniert, handelt fahrlässig und darf sich nicht wundern, wenn ausländische Geheimdienste – und keineswegs nur die befreundeten – von ihren Möglichkeiten Gebrauch machen.

Auch das gehört zur Wahrheit. Das Abhören war in diesem Fall ein Kinderspiel, wie unsere Reporter recherchiert haben. Einfacher kann man es auch russischen und chinesischen Agenten nicht machen. Wie sagte doch Vizekanzler Philipp Rösler im Mai während einer Reise ins Silicon Valley: "Jeder weiß, dass wir unsere privaten Telefone benutzen, obwohl es verboten ist." Da dürfte es im Berliner Regierungsviertel noch einige geben, die ausspioniert worden sind.

Dass man im Kanzleramt jetzt den Eindruck vermitteln will, wirklich Wichtiges werde eh nicht am Telefon besprochen, macht die Sache übrigens nur noch schlimmer. Oder will man sich eine Bundeskanzlerin vorstellen, die mit dem Handy regiert, aber nichts Relevantes zu sagen hat?"

Quelle: Die Welt

[reuters]

Spain summoned the U.S. ambassador to discuss alleged spying on Spanish citizens on Monday: Spanish newspaper El Mundo said the National Security Agency (NSA) tracked over 60 million calls in Spain, citing a document obtained from Edward Snowden. http://reut.rs/18tDWPc  Photo: U.S. ambassador in Spain, James Costos leaves the foreign ministry in Madrid on October 28, 2013. REUTERS/Juan Medina 

[part-time-aussie]

After Brazil, France and Germany, Spain is the next ally to openly express anger on U.S. spying.

[part-time-aussie]

Wir leben in einer Demokratie, in der jeder zuständig ist, aber keiner verantwortlich.

-- Theo Sommer über die deutsche Flüchtlingspolitik.

Quelle: Die Zeit

[rationworld-deactivated20210214]

Global polarization based upon UN voting data. This map shows countries relative to the US. The bluer the shading the more similar their voting record is to the US’s.

Source: The Washington Post

[part-time-aussie]

Very interesting article by Erik Voeten. In comparison to 1995, fewer countries have similiar ideologies to the U.S. Might continue to change after the latest N.S.A. surveillance affair.

[part-time-aussie]

If a woman drives a car, not out of pure necessity, that could have negative physiological impacts as functional and physiological medical studies show that it automatically affects the ovaries and pushes the pelvis upwards.

-- Saudi Arabian Sheikh Saleh al-Lohaidan on a campaign for women in Saudi Arabia to be allowed to drive. According to Lohaidan, driving results in infertility and is the cause for fewer children in Europe since European women drive regularly.

Source: BBC