Dialog International

Left-Wing vs. Right-Wing Violence

How serious is "left-wing" violence in Germany?  Recently Der Spiegel reported on a new study by the Verfassungsschutz (Federal Agency for Protection of the Constitutiom).  The data show an alarming increase in both left- and right-wing acts of violence in Germany:

Für die Polizei sind sie kaum noch zu unterscheiden: Links- und rechtsextreme Autonome bereiten den Sicherheitsbehörden wachsende Probleme. Die Gewaltbereitschaft in beiden Lagern nimmt dramatisch zu. (For the police there is virtually no difference: leftist and right-wing extremists are a growing concern for law enforcment officials.  The willingness of both camps to engage in acts of violence is growing dramatically.) 

Each week the neo-fascist paper Junge Freiheit complains that the media and politicians in Germany do not take left-wing violence seriously, while they print sensational pieces on neo-Nazis and skin-head violence.

Gegen Gewalt von rechts gingen die Berliner Regierenden ungleich härter vor. Gewalt von Linksextremisten werde hingegen verharmlost. (The officials in Berlin took extraordinarily harsh measures against those on the right.  Violence from the left is downplayed.)

A look at the official statistics shows that in 2008 there were nearly 20,000 criminal acts associated with right-wing groups in 2008, while only 3,000 were attibruted to left-wing groups.  To be sure, many of the right-wing crimes were "propaganda" related, such as displaying the swastika which is illegal in Germany.  Still, right-wing extremists committed nearly 900 acts of violent assault on people, resulting in 2 deaths.  Many of these were random attacks on "foreigners"; most of the 350 assaults committed by the left were from confrontations and brawls with neo-Nazis. 

The Sueddeutsche Zeitung examined the public's apparent greater acceptance of left-wing violence, which is usually directed against property rather than human beings: Nehmen wir linke Gewalt nicht ernst genug? / Should we be more concerned with left-wing violence?

Trotzdem scheint es bis in die Mitte der Gesellschaft eine größere Akzeptanz für linke Straftaten zu geben. Vielleicht weil der Rechtsextremismus immer eine exklusive, altbackene und hässliche Komponente besitzt und wir mit der Linken eher Anti-AKW und Friedensbewegung assoziieren. Vielleicht, weil wir bei rechten Anschlägen eher an brennende Menschen als an brennende Autos denken. ( The centrist view apparently is more accepting of left-wing criminal acts. Perhaps this is because right-wing extremism is often xenophobic and ugly while we associate the left with the anti-nuke and peace movement.  Maybe it's because with respect to right-wing attacks we are more inclined to think of burning human beings instead of burning autos.)

Right-wing violence is much greater threat in the United States, where there is virtually no violence from left-wing groups.  The threat has become much greater with the election of Barack Obama, and the toxic mixture of right-wing hate radio/TV and guns is already leading to deadly acts, such as the assassination of a prominent abortion doctor last weekend.  The blogger/journalist Sara Robinson has been warning about this on the excellent blog Orcinus:

"The right wing long ago accepted a foundational narrative that justifies violence. Now, the leaders of the movement are inciting their followers to take many (if not most) of the intermediate steps that signal a group actively gearing up for violence. From this point, it's only a short slide to further separation, disengagement, and finally confrontation. What we've seen so far has been intense and surprising -- but we should also recognize it as the first warning gusts of a rapidly gathering storm."

WaPo Op/Ed Claims Europeans Are Soulless

The Washington Post published a strange op/ed piece by conservative "thinker" Charles Murray on why "American exceptionalism" is superior to European social democracy.  Apparently, Mr. Murray went to Europe recently and, after speaking with a couple of students in Switzerland, concluded that Europeans are soulless hedonists who lack all ambition - thanks to their "socialist" governments:

"Call it the Europe Syndrome. Last April I had occasion to speak in Zurich, where I made some of these same points. Afterward, a few of the 20-something members of the audience came up and said plainly that the phrase "a life well-lived" did not have meaning for them. They were having a great time with their current sex partner and new BMW and the vacation home in Majorca, and they saw no voids in their lives that needed filling.

It was fascinating to hear it said to my face, but not surprising. It conformed to both journalistic and scholarly accounts of a spreading European mentality that goes something like this: Human beings are a collection of chemicals that activate and, after a period of time, deactivate. The purpose of life is to while away the intervening time as pleasantly as possible.

Empty churches and a low birth rate point to the fact that Europeans have sold their souls to the socialist devil.  Life is too comfortable, the people seem happy but it is all an illusion.  Basically, they are miserable, since their lives lack the purpose that Americans have.  You see, Americans have to struggle for everything; they are not coddled by the socialist state (yet). Health care, decent education, housing, employment are all a struggle in America.  But that struggle spurs true greatness.

Actually, a far better model for Murray than Americans would be the Taliban:  they attend religious services regularly, belive fervently in their God, have big families, lack any social safety net, and are willing to die for their ideals.

But what really upsets Charles Murray is that the European social democratic model goes against the laws of nature. Human beings, according to Murray, are genetically determined.  Some have superior genes, some have inferior.  The leveling policies of European societies eliminate this genetic diversity. While American society is more reflective of the natural order.

"Over the next few decades, advances in evolutionary psychology are going to be conjoined with advances in genetic understanding, and I predict that they will lead to a scientific consensus that goes something like this: There are genetic reasons why boys who grow up in neighborhoods without married fathers tend to reach adolescence unsocialized to norms of behavior that they will need to stay out of prison and hold jobs. We will still be able to acknowledge that many single women do a wonderful job of raising their children. But social democrats will have to acknowledge that the traditional family plays a special, indispensable role in human flourishing and that social policy must be based on that truth."

Charles Murray was the author of the 1994 book The Bell Curve, which "proved" that blacks had inferior intelligence.  The book was later debunked by Stephen Jay Gould and others as junk science.  Why the Washington Post would provide a forum for a racial determinist like Murray is a question worth asking.  No doubt Europeans will find the piece highly amusing, mistaking it for satire. 

Crisis at Germany's Private Universities

The World Economic Forum recently published its Global Competitiveness Index (pdf) and it makes for interesting reading. Once again, the United States ranks first among all countries in terms of global competitiveness, notwithstanding its current economic crisis.  One of the reasons cited by the researchers is America's excellent university system which collaborates strongly with business on R&D.  Germany slipped to 7th place overall for competitiveness despite having the top-ranked transportation and telephony infrastructure.  One of the issues cited is Germany's mediocre institutions of higher education. Germany's elite students often find better study opportunities at top-rated colleges and universities in the US. 

Private universities in Germany were established as an alternative to Germany's overcrowded and moribund public institutions.  In recent years, a number of private colleges and university were created, sometimes in partnership with American schools.  Students at these private universities pay tuition, often as much as 10,000 Euros per semester, and in return get much more individualized instruction, more interaction with faculty, smaller class size, etc. - all of the advantages of private liberal arts education in the US. The students receive their degrees at much younger age: typically at 23 rather than the average of 27 at the state universities. The private universities are funded by a combination of tuition, donations by wealthy benefactors and state subsidies.

Now the economic crisis has put the state subsidies for private colleges and universities in jeopardy. Germany's oldest private uiversity - Universität Witten/Herdecke - is facing a financial crisis and may be forced to shut its doors for good:

NRW-Wissenschaftsminister Andreas Pinkwart (FDP) hatte am Mittwoch mitgeteilt, dass er Deutschlands ältester und größter Privatuniversität für das Jahr 2008 zugesagte Landesmittel in Höhe von 4,5 Millionen Euro nicht auszahlen werde. Als Begründung gab er an, sie habe keine ordnungsgemäße Geschäftsführung nachweisen und weder für 2009 noch für die darauffolgenden beiden Jahre einen verlässlichen Wirtschaftsplan vorlegen können. Außerdem fordert das Land für das Jahr 2007 bereits ausgezahlte Gelder in Höhe von 3 Millionen Euro zurück. (The science minister for North-Rhine Westphailia, Andreas Pinwart, announced on Wednesday that he would not pay out the approved 2008 state subsidy in the amount of 4.5 million Euros to Germany's oldest and largest private university. The reason cited was that the instutition did not present a suitable management structure and could not produce a credible business plan for 2009 and subsequent years.  Furthermore he demanded that the university return the 3 million Euros that were already paid out in 2007.)

Not too many observers in Germany are shedding tears for the collapse of the University Witten/Herdecke.  It was seen as a school for the wealthy and the elite - let them go to Harvard or to Stanford.  An exception is Thomas Schmid in Die Welt, who sees the demise of the university as a "crying shame" (Jammerschade):

Ein Grund zur Freude ist das nicht. In anderen Ländern ist zu besichtigen, dass private Universitäten ein gutes Gegengewicht zu staatlichen Universitäten sein können. Und gerade der Welt der Ausbildung täte es gut, wenn tausend Blumen blühten und auch ein paar nicht staatliche darunter wären. Der hohe Mut, der die Gründung von Witten/Herdecke getragen hat, gehört zum besten Erbe der alten Bundesrepublik in ihren späten Jahren, in denen sie ein bisschen experimentierfreudig zu werden schien. Es wäre jammerschade, wenn sie unterginge. (There is no cause for celebration here. We see in other countries that private universities can provide a good balance to state institutions.  And especially in education it would be good if a thousand flowers could blossom and a few non-state schools were around.  The audacity and courage that led to the creation of Witten/Herdecke are part of the legacy of the old Federal Republic in its later years when it dared to experiment with new ideas.  It would be a crying shame if it were to collapse.)

Mathias Siems has a good list of requirements for successful private universities on his blog.  It not clear to me how many of these criteria are missing at the Universität Witten-Herdecke:

(1) attractive building; (2) attractive location; (3) commitment to high quality research (pure teaching institutions less respected); (4) commitment to high quality teaching (e.g. small classes, teaching evaluation); (5) flexible but competitive student admissions (vs. bureaucratic procedures at public universities); (6) appealing website (not just “ok” – there are millions of other websites); (7) international profile; (8) innovative curriculum (challenges traditional universities); (9) reasonable tuition fees (demand taken into account); (10) stable ownership of university.

The Death of Jörg Haider

"Do not speak ill of the dead" is the old saying.  But in the case of Jörg Haider I'm willing to make an exception.  Haider personified the worst tendencies of Austrian society: the hatred of foreigners, the glorification of the Nazis and the SS, the unwillingness to confront the past.  This was the man who called the Nazi death camps "punishment camps", who praised the "sensible employment policies" of the Third Reich, and whose last act as a politician was to create a "Sonderlager" for old and sick asylum seekers, where they could be concentrated prior to deportation.  Yet in Austria his death is being treated as a great national tragedy, as if Haider had been a great statesman on the world stage.

Conspiracy theories concerning his automobile accident abound in Austria.  The most common theory is that the accident was engineered by the Israeli secret force Mossad.  In fact, Haider, the father of three, had been carousing in a gay bar shortly before he drove his car into a concrete barrier at a speed of more than 90 MPH.  Haider's blood alcohol level was several times over the legal limit.   "Die Sonne ist vom Himmel gefallen" (The sun has fallen from the sky) said one of his party comrades.  "It's the end of the world (Weltuntergang) was the assessment of his successor - a 27-year old Haider groupie.

Austria is in mourning, and 50,000 are expected to turn out for Haider's funeral procession today.  And not just Austrians: skinheads and fascists from all over Europe are expected:

Behind the scenes, functionaries and volunteers have been working around the clock sending invitations. Austria's political elite are expected to attend tomorrow. But the 50,000 mourners are also expected to include Belgian nationalist Filip Dewinter, French extremist Jean-Marie le Pen, Alessandra Mussolini, the granddaughter of the Italian wartime fascist leader, Umberto Bossi from Italy's Northern League, Swiss industrialist Christoph Blocher, and a handful of Waffen-SS veterans, whom Haider once described as "men of character". Younger far-right figures have also hinted they will turn up, though Austrian intelligence is on alert to turn away groups of skinheads or neo-fascists, to stop the event turning into a rally.

The national outpouring of grief makes it possible to understand the writing of Thomas Bernhard, who had a strong antipathy towards his fellow Austrians. Shortly before his death, Bernhard had modified his will to prohibit all publications, performances, and public readings of his work in Austria. And Haider is also a key to understanding Nobel Prize-winner Elfriede Jelinek, who for years nourished an almost pathological hatred of the politician.

In her essay last spring on Josef Fritzl - the Austrian who kept his daughter locked in a cellar and fathered seven children with her - Jelinek wrote: Österreich ist eine kleine Welt, in der die große ihre Probe hält. (Austria is a little world where the big world holds its rehearsals.) The spectacle of Haider's funeral - coming at a time of global economic crisis - makes one wonder. Could Haider become a martyr for a new pan-European right-wing populist movement? Could Austria once again become the cradle of a destructive force that would sweep across the continent?

Germany Backslides on Smoking Ban

While Europe has mostly followed the lead of the United States on prohibiting smoking in public places, Germany seems to be bucking the trend:

The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe announced that it had found regional smoking bans in the German states of Berlin and Baden-Württemberg to be unconstitutional. The court ruled Wednesday that by allowing large establishments to maintain separate smoking areas, the bans discriminated against small one-room locales like the Eckkneipen, as corner bars are known here.

As a result, patrons in bars smaller than 75 square meters, or about 800 square feet, in the two states could immediately light up for a celebratory smoke.

Overturning the smoking ban has been a cause célèbre for some German bloggers, who consider prohibiting smoking in public areas as a form of totalitarian fascism.  One blogger connects smoking with the short but hopeful history of middle-class culture and democracy (untrennbar verknüpft ist mit der kurzen und so hoffnungsvollen Geschichte der bürgerlichen Kultur und Demokratie).  Those who would impose such a ban are "Gesundheitsfaschisten" - Health Fascists.  Forgive me if I do not share their righteous indignation.  Having lost family members to cancer induced by smoking, I support the ban on smoking in all public areas.  If someone wants to destroy their health in private, thats okay; but don't put the well-being of others at risk.  Lifting this ban - even if it's just for a short period of time - will result in more cases of disease and more deaths in Germany.  Workplaces are much better, dining out is much more pleasant with the smoking bans in place. And fewer people are smoking because of the increasing inconvenience:

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the adult smoking rate in Massachusetts reached a record low 16.4 percent in 2007, the fourth-lowest figure nationwide. There was a 7.9 percent drop in the number of adult smokers in the state from 2006 to 2007, also a record.

Health officials yesterday trumpeted the figures, lauding Gov. Deval Patrick and the legislature for several developments on the front, among them a recent smoke-free workplace ban and a tobacco tax jump

Still, the legacy of the tobacco culture will plague us for many years to come:

Roughly 9,000 people die every year in Massachusetts from smoking-related illnesses, and costs associated with care for those suffering run around $4 billion annually, Auerbach said.

Take the Train

As Americans head out this weekend for the Memorial Day holiday they are more likely than not driving their cars - and moaning about gas prices that now average US$4 per gallon. In this era of skyrocketing fuel costs Germany (and Europe) have a definite competitive advantage.  The truth is, you can live quite nicely in or near any city in Germany and not own an automobile. Not that Germans don't love their cars; they do. Passionately! But they don't drive them as often as Americans, and, more importantly, they don't need to drive them as often.

Writing from Berlin, the economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman is positively ebullient in his praise of Germany's public transportation infrastructure:

"I have seen the future, and it works."

"We’re living in a world in which oil prices keep setting records, in which the idea that global oil production will soon peak is rapidly moving from fringe belief to mainstream assumption. And Europeans who have achieved a high standard of living in spite of very high energy prices — gas in Germany costs more than $8 a gallon — have a lot to teach us about how to deal with that world."

Among American cities, only New York City, and possibly San Francisco, have a public transportation system that can compare with any European city.  And even then, the options for traveling from the suburbs into New York City are woefully inadequate (I should know. I commuted to NY for seven years).  Last week I was in Atlanta and had to rent a car to reach my destination (within the Atlanta city limits).  Krugman writes:

"Greater Atlanta has roughly the same population as Greater Berlin — but Berlin is a city of trains, buses and bikes, while Atlanta is a city of cars, cars and cars."

When I bring this issue up with Americans I always get the same arguments: "Americans like their freedom." "America is too big for a railway system."  "Europeans are different."  But a sensible public transportation policy is a matter of political will and political leadership.  It doesn't happen by itself.  Three German academics followed up on Krugman's piece with a Letter to the Editor:

Germany worked hard to become the positive example Paul Krugman describes. Our study, to be published by the Brookings Institution, finds that Germany achieved its standing through deliberate policy choices.

After World War II, Germany rebuilt its cities and accommodated the automobile by abandoning trolley lines, widening urban roads and building automobile parking garages in downtowns.

Since the late 1960s, policy makers have reversed this trend. Today German transport and land use policies are geared toward multimodal transportation by providing infrastructure, services and safety for walking, cycling and transit, and by making car use more expensive and less convenient.

In Germany, it is precisely the combination of transportation options for alternative modes and restrictions on automobiles that have made more sustainable travel behavior politically feasible and publicly acceptable.

The United States can learn from Germany how to successfully promote alternative modes of transport in a country that loves its automobiles.

I definitely want to read the Brookings Institute report on this when it comes out.

After California, Gay Marriage in Germany?

In a momentous ruling, the California supreme court upheld the right of same sex couples to marry, ending their second-class standing under law.  The decision was a victory for equality and justice, and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said he would "accept the court's ruling" and not support a constitutional amendment to overturn it.  The court cited previous decisions concerning interracial marriage as a foundation for its decision.

“An individual’s sexual orientation — like a person’s race or gender — does not constitute a legitimate basis upon which to deny or withhold rights,” wrote Chief Justice Ronald George, first appointed to the bench by Gov. Ronald Reagan.

The news from California rippled through the international media. In Germany, it made some reflect on the second-class status of gay couples in the Federal Republic. The TV network ZDF had a program on "Rainbow Families"  - same-sex couples with with children - "Immer noch Familien zweiter Klasse" ( Still Second Class Families) and found that full equality is still a dream in Germany:

Homosexuelle Partnerschaften müssen endlich die gleichen Rechte erhalten wie heterosexuelle Paare. Selbst das erzkatholische Spanien ist in dieser Hinsicht weit fortschrittlicher als Deutschland. (Homosexual partner relationships should receive the same legal rights as heterosexual couples.  Even arch-Catholic Spain is far more progressive in this respect than Germany.)

In Berlin the Green Party seized on the California ruling to launch an effort to push through the legalization of gay marriage this year.

«Es ist an der Zeit: Die Ehe muss in Deutschland für gleichgeschlechtliche Paare geöffnet werden», erklärte Grünen-Fraktionsgeschäftsführer Volker Beck am Freitag in Berlin. «Es ist Zeit für gleiche Rechte ohne Wenn und Aber.» Er kündigte eine entsprechende Initiative im Bundestag an. Anlass für seine Forderung war die Entscheidung des Obersten Gerichts in Kalifornien, das Verbot gleichgeschlechtlicher Ehen in dem US-Staat zu kippen. Beck meinte, das Urteil zeige einen Wandel des Begriffs der Ehe. «Der Geschlechterverschiedenheit der Ehe kommt keine prägende Wirkung mehr zu», erklärte der Grünen-Politiker. «Die Begründung des kalifornischen Urteils ist ein Meilenstein in der Rechtsgeschichte.Die Ehe sei bereits in den Niederlanden, Belgien, Spanien, Kanada, Südafrika und dem US-Staat Massachusetts für gleichgeschlechtliche Paare geöffnet. Umfragen zufolge befürworte auch eine Mehrheit der Deutschen Eheschließungen zwischen Homosexuellen, erklärte Beck weiter. ("It is time. Marriage in Germany must be opened to same-sex couples," said Volker Beck, the leader of the Green Party faction Friday in Berlin. "It is time for equal rights - no ifs, ands, or buts."  He announced a new initiative to push this through in the Bundestag. Beck's demand was precipitated by the ruling of the California supreme court overturning the ban on same-sex marriage in that state. Beck believes the decision marks a change in the concept of marriage. "Gender differences no longer carry the same weight," said the Green politician. "The decision in California is a milestone in legal history. Marriage is already open to same-sex couples in the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, South Africa and in the state of Massachusetts.  Every poll shows that a majority of Germans approve of marriage for homosexuals.")

I'm sure that Beck can count on support  from the Liberals (FDP) in this initiative.  Not sure about the where the Social Democrats stand; the Queer faction of the LEFT party (Die LINKE) has not updated its Web site in months.

"Nobody Could Have Known"

Just reading the sensational reports from Amstetten in Austria about the father who kept his own daughter hidden as a sex slave in his cellar, as she gave birth to seven of his children.  I'm always amazed about these stories about children being abused in the proximity of so many "good citizens".  We have the usual reports from neighbors, who interacted with the family on a daily basis:

Wien - Als "freundlich und ganz nett", als "sympathisch und unauffällig" beschreiben die Anwohner in der Ybbsstraße von Amstetten ihren Nachbarn Josef F. (Residents of the Ybbstrasse in Amstetten described their neighbor Josef F. as "friendly and really nice" "there was nothing unusual at all")

And more:
Wie in solchen Fällen üblich sagen die Nachbarn, dass sie sich „das nicht vorstellen konnten“. Die Familie F. war „sehr nett “, Josef F., der bis zu seiner Pensionierung Elektriker war, „hat immer gerne geholfen, wenn es wo Probleme gab“, und er ist „sehr lieb mit Kindern umgegangen“. Dass er zu so einem Verbrechen fähig ist, nein, das will in Amstetten niemand glauben. (As is customary in such cases the neighbors claim "they could never imagine such a thing".  The family was "very nice",  Josef F., a retired electrician, "was always there to help out when there were problems" and was "always very sweet to the children.")

The same things were said about the kidnapper of Natascha Kampusch, who was held captive in a Vienna basement for eight years before she managed to escape.

Is there something pathological about Austrian society that prevents people from intervening in child abuse? Yes, undoubtedly.  But the events unfolding in West Texas show that it can happen here as well, but on a much larger scale (this is Texas, after all):

San ANGELO, Texas (AP) --"More than half the teenage girls taken from a polygamist compound in west Texas have children or are pregnant, state officials said Monday.

A total of 53 girls between the ages of 14 and 17 are in state custody after a raid 3 1/2 weeks ago at the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado. Of those girls, 31 either have children or are pregnant, said Child Protective Services spokesman Darrell Azar. He didn't specify how many are pregnant."

Nobody could have known.

 

German Uni Wins Solar Decathalon

Congratulations to the Technische Universität Darmstadt for winning First Prize in the Department of Energy's Solar Decathalon, beating out major US universities. The DOE Web site announced the award as follows:

"This team from Germany came to the Solar Decathlon hoping to have an impact on people, and it's safe to say that this happened. Darmstadt won the Architecture, Lighting, and Engineering contests. The Architecture Jury said the house pushed the envelope on all levels and is the type of house they came to the Decathlon hoping to see. The Lighting Jury loved the way this house glows at night. The Engineering Jury gave this team an innovation score that was as high as you could go, and said nobody did the integration of the PV system any better. Darmstadt was one of seven teams to score a perfect 100 points in the Energy Balance contest. All week, long lines of people waited to get into this house."

Some great photographs of the house - interior and exterior - can be seen here.  I especially like the night photo. The Digital Journal notes Germany's leadership in solar power innovation:

Germany may be one of Europe's least sunny countries.

But when it comes to solar power, the country has been out in front - giving financial incentives to residents who generate their own power, producing some of the world's most sought-after solar cells, and now, designing the best solar house in an international university competition sponsored by the US government.

The team from the Technical University of Darmstadt Friday took the top award of the Solar Decathlon, which this year drew projects from 20 universities in the US, Spain, Germany, Puerto Rico and Canada.

The goal was to build a house that would produce more energy than it could use, and the results were displayed on the National Mall, overlooked by the US Capitol dome and flanked by some of the world's most famous museums.

The Blonde She-Warriors of the Extreme Right

Earlier I wrote about Eva Braun Herman's nostalgic idealization of women in Nazi Germany. For opening her mouth she lost her job on German network TV, but that hasn't stopped her from appearing on talk shows.  In fact, she is now seen as a martyr for the extreme right in Germany.  Eva has been embraced by the neo-Nazi woman's organization - Ring Nationaler Frauen. "Bravo, Eva!" is the headline on the Web site of the fascist NPD. "Eva is paving the way for "national" women in Germany" says the head of the woman's organization - where "national" is a code word for aryan,

"Der Mut, den Frau Herman aufgebracht hat, um auf die positive Einstellung zu Kindern, Mutterschaft, Familie und Werten wie Zusammenhalt in früheren Zeiten hinzuweisen, und dabei bestimmte Jahre aus Ehrlichkeit nicht auszuklammern, ist bewundernswert!", so Stella Palau weiter.

We know exactly which "bestimmte Jahre" (certain years) Frau Palau is referring to.

Eva Herman wants women to withdraw from the workforce in order to stay home and produce babies. Her (childless) blonde American sister on the right - Ann Coulter - goes one step further and would deny women the right to vote.

"If we took away women's right to vote, we'd never have to worry about another Democrat president. It's kind of a pipe dream, it's a personal fantasy of mine, but I don't think it's going to happen. And it is a good way of making the point that women are voting so stupidly, at least single women."

While Coulter's views on the women's right to vote can be seen as fitting in an albeit extreme verson of Das Eva-Prinzip, Coulter's comments on Jews leaves Eva Herman far behind and put her squarely in the Brown Camp with the Ring Nationaler Frauen, except that rather than eliminating Jews, Coulter would merely eliminate Judaism.  Jews, she says, must become perfected - that is, Christianized:

NEW YORK Appearing on Donny Deutsch's CNBC show, "The Big Idea," on Monday night, columnist/author Ann Coulter suggested that the U.S. would be a better place if there weren't any Jewish people and that they needed to "perfect" themselves into -- Christians.

It led Deutsch to suggest that surely she couldn't mean that, and when she insisted she did, he said this sounded "anti-Semitic."

Asked by Deutsch whether she wanted to be like "the head of Iran" and "wipe Israel off the Earth," Coulter stated: "No, we just want Jews to be perfected, as they say. ... That's what Christianity is. We believe the Old Testament."

I don't believe there is much that Ann Coulter says concerning women and Jews that Stella Palau wouldn't agree with. If I get a chance I'll translate her comments into German and send them to the editors of the NPD Web site. So soon we will be seeing the headline posted: "Bravo, Ann!"