Dialog International

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!"

Cool Cities and Un-Cool Countries

I picked up the current issue of Der Spiegel on "Europe's Cool Cities" while in New York City (un-cool, according to Spiegel) this week. London and Paris are out. Amsterdam, Barcelona, Dublin, Copenhagen, Tallinn and Hamburg are in. What makes these cities so cool?  According to Der Spiegel they are magnets for the cultural creatives - young, talented people with brainpower and spending-power who are attracted to other young talented people. Here Der Spiegel is picking up on something I wrote about over two years ago. Richard Florida, in his book The RIse of Creative Class. wrote about the 'Three T's" - Technology, Talent and Tolerance - as the necessary ingrediants for attracting and keeping cultural creatives. Somewhat new in the report by Der Spiegel (available only in print edition) is the emphasis on "Second Cities": while the mega-cities contend with fiscal crises, insufficient infrastructure, and skyrocketing real estate prices, the Second Cities have a better chance of creating the space for a sustainable creative culture:

Die Krise der Mega-Citys ist die Chance der Second Citys. Von Manila dürften die allerwenigsten behaupten, das sei eine coole Stadt. Cool sind Städte überschaubarer Grösse, die Sicherheit bieten, Aufstiegschancen gewähren und eine identifizierbare Elite haben, die innovativ genug ist, um für ökonomischen Fortschritt un für Wohlstand zu sorgen.

One thing that Florida stresses is that in a globalized "flat" world there are few barriers preventing the  creative class from moving to next cool city, if they see better opportunities or living conditions.  Here the EU definitely has advantages in terms of cultural mobility. After 9/11 the US has thrown up numerous barriers, and the global creative class has stayed away. But it may not matter anyway to the creative class: America is no longer cool.  Adam Gopnik touches on this in his article on Nicolas Sarkozy in the New Yorker:

Now, for the first time, it’s possible to imagine modernization as something independent of Americanization: when people in Paris talk about ambitious kids going to study abroad, they talk about London. (Americans have little idea of the damage done by the ordeal that a routine run through immigration at J.F.K. has become for Europeans, or by the suspicion and hostility that greet the most anodyne foreigners who come to study or teach at our scientific and educational institutions.) When people in Paris talk about manufacturing might, they talk about China; when they talk about tall buildings, they talk about Dubai; when they talk about troubling foreign takeovers, they talk about Gazprom. The Sarkozy-Gordon Brown-Merkel generation is not unsympathetic to America, but America is not so much the primary issue for them, as it was for Blair and Chirac, in the nineties, when America was powerful beyond words. To a new leadership class, it sometimes seems that America is no longer the human bomb you have to defuse but the nut you walk away from.

So in a period of just six years America has transformed itself in the eyes of the creative class from the cool older brother who cound initiate you into what is new and exciting to the crazy drunk uncle, who you have to humor in order to minimize the damage he might cause.

Angry Young Men

It has been a while since I checked in on the neo-fascist weekly Junge Freiheit, but it is always interesting to see what it happening in the völkisch scene. This week the paper does not disappoint, since it includes an interview with Professor Gunnar Heinsohn with the provocative title "Ghettoschlachten wie in USA“ (Ghetto Wars like in the USA).  Professor Heinsohn has one rather simple theorie: nations that have a "youth bulge" are doomed to increasing violence and economic decline. Germany, in particular, is doomed, according to Professor Heinsohn.  The "ethno-Germans" are not breeding enough, and this will have disasterous consequences; they will be displaced by uneducated immigrants who - due to their relative poverty - will produce more and more children:

Die Ethnodeutschen sind überwiegend qualifiziert und konkurrieren - ob Männer oder Frauen - um attraktive Positionen. Wer Zeit für ein Baby investiert, verliert diese für lebenslanges Lernen und den Abbau von Streß. Deshalb tendiert die Geburtenzahl pro Frau auf ein Kind. Das ist einer emotionalen Sehnsucht geschuldet, die das ökonomisch gebotene Verhalten aber nur kurzfristig aushebeln kann. Die Migrationsdeutschen sind überwiegend unqualifiziert, so daß die meisten um Spitzenjobs gar nicht konkurrieren können. Für sie werden die finanziellen Gebäranreize des Staates attraktiv. Die prämieren geringes Einkommen bzw. relative Armut, die nur mit immer neuen Kindern aufrechterhalten werden kann, Deshalb liegen die Migranten bei den Neugeborenen schon doppelt so hoch. Schreibt man diese Politik fort, dann werden in 20 Jahren schon über 60 Prozent aller Kinder bei den Bildungsfernen bzw. im Hartz-IV-Archipel aufwachsen. Aufgrund unserer sozialhilfegesteuerten Vermehrung bekommt die Prognose Ihrer Frage bis 2050 also auch ohne weitere Zuwanderung Recht.

So far, there is not much original in Heinsohn's theory; charlatans like Mark Steyn have made $$millions with their populist doomsday scenarios of the demographic time bomb in Eurabia. What is original with Heinsohn is his theory of how the youth bulge results in a surplus of young men. Young men - especially well-nourished young men - become frustrated in their ambitions, since the well-paying jobs are all occupied by highly-educated ethno-Germans.  They find an outlet for their frustration in violence.

Die Konfliktursache bei „Youth Bulge“ ist sehr simpel: Anspruchsvolle Positionen können nicht so schnell vermehrt werden wie Brot, Lesebücher und Impfstoffe. Die drei oder vier Söhne einer Familie haben zu essen, gehen zur Schule und werden medizinisch versorgt. Nach der Pubertät bleibt nicht der Hunger nach Brot, sondern nach akzeptablen Positionen ungestillt. Überzähligkeit kombiniert mit relativem Wohlstand liefert mithin die Voraussetzung für die typischen sechs Wege, die eingeschlagen werden, wenn aus elterlich versorgten Knaben junge Männer werden, die eine eigenen Position erkämpfen müssen: 1. Abwanderung, 2. Kriminalität, 3. Aufstand oder Putsch, 4. Bürgerkrieg oder Revolution, 5. Ermordung oder Vertreibung von Teilen der eigenen Bevölkerung und 6. grenzüberschreitender Krieg.

Heinsohn doesn't really deal with the young women - who comprise 50% of the youth bulge. Presumably they are too busy having babies - contributing to the next youth bulge - Or perhaps it is simply a function of testosterone.  To his credit, Heinsohn dismisses the role of Islamic-extremist ideology: that may be the current pretext, but Heinsohn sees the pattern of violent young male surplus throughout history, from 17th century England to, yes, young black males in American urban ghettos. Others have pointed out that there are demographic developments around the world that would seem to refute Heinsohn's theory.  China, for example, has an enormous youth bulge, but does not exhibit the same instability. Heinsohn would no doubt point to the one-child-per-family regulation and the rapid economic growth as mitigating factors. Still, there are other examples - from Brazil, to India, to Indonesia that cast doubt on Heinsohn's sweeping generalizations.

Heinsohn sees North America as the dominant power for the next half-century, since it attracts educated immigrants who contribute to its economic dynamism.  This dominance will also exacerbate the decline of Europe, since highly ambitious Germans will emigate to the US and Canada to escape the inexorable increase of violence. What Heinsohn fails to account for here is the huge increase in illegal, low-skilled,  Hispanic immigrants - somewhere between 10 and 15 million - with the accompanying surplus of young men.  We have not seen them as a disruptive force; if anything, they are a hardworking, rather conservative group that contribute to the country's economic growth.

Boerne, Texas

In the middle of the 19th century a group of affluent, politically liberal Germans - the forty-eighters - made their way to the United States.  They embraced the principles of the American Revolution that are enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, but which they had failed to achieve in their native Germany. Not surprisingly, most of these forty-eighters rejected Confederate slavery in their adopted country, and distinguished themselves in fighting for the Union cause in the American Civil War.  One group settled in the Texas hill country, and named their new community after a champion of freedom in Germany: Ludwig Börne.

Today Boerne, Texas is a rather sleepy town of 6000 residents.  Recently, Scott Horton of Harper's Magazine visited the town, and could not find one citizen who had a clue about the how the town got its name. For Horton, this amnesia has a double meaning. On the one hand, it is an example of the pervasive historical ignorance of Americans concerning their own history. On the other, there is the symbolic meaning of the decline of journalism in America. Börne was the Michael Moore of his time, a fearless investigative reporter who spoke truth to power, even though that was more than dangerous in Germany during that time.

"Börne was a practitioner of the highest form of the journalistic art, and today one reads his Letters from Paris not as newspaper contributions, but rather as works of high literature. They continue to inspire. His command of language; his ability to mobilize facts and thoughts to a certain end is amazing. Börne’s vibrant style was unlike anything that had been seen before. He shows us that a journalist can be both a careful observer and a person passionately engaged in the world around him. He was, to be clear, an opinion-journalist. He worked to inform and persuade. And to expose—especially to expose injustice."

Today that impulse has all but vanished in American journalism.  The "smart crowd" of Beltway pundits and journalists are stenographers of the powerful in Washington.  They parrot what the powerful tell them, and are terrified that they might offend the powerful and then be denied "access".  The Michael Moores and Seymour Hershes are banished, while the Robert Novacks and Bob Woodwards are celebrated for their "access" to the corridors of power.

Unfortunately, Ludwig Börne's legacy has also been lost in Germany.  Last month the neoconservative journalist Henryk Broder - a vocal supporter of the war in Iraq and a reliable advocate for the persecution of Muslims in Germany - was awarded a prestigious prize for journalism: the Ludwig-Börne Prize.

"Panic Rooms" Made in Germany

The fear-mongering of German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble is proving to be very profitable for the Hannover-based ABC Guard Saftey Systems GmbH, the manufacturer of the Schutz-Bunker, your very own personal back-yard bunker:

Amid growing angst about climate change and terrorism, backyard pre-fabricated "panic rooms" are all the rage in Germany this summer. The shelters can withstand attacks, as well as the increasingly violent weather.

Call it a storm or fall-out shelter, or just an old-fashioned German air-raid bunker. But the government-approved Gartenschutzraum or backyard shelter is just the thing for suburbanites who are tired of Japanese fishponds and garden gnomes.

Sales of these contraptions have skyrocketed this summer after the Federal Disaster Relief Office announced it had approved the shelters following four years of rigorous testing.

The manufacturer, ABC Guard Safety Systems of Hanover, said the underground shelters could withstand nuclear, biological or chemical arms attacks in addition to providing protection against the increasingly violent weather in Central Europe.

It's funny that the company's Web site  mentions Herr Schaueble's "certainty" that a dirty bomb will be detonated in Germany, but also the military defense budget of the United States as a reason for installing the bunker.

Laut stockholmer Friedensforschungsinstitut SIPRI sind die weltweiten Rüstungsausgaben im Jahr 2006 auf Rekordhöhe gestiegen. Rund 900 Milliarden Euro wurden für militärische Zwecke ausgegeben worden. Den größten Rüstungsetat haben die Vereinigten Staaten, auf die allein 42 Prozent aller Militärausgaben fallen. Deutschland liegt auf Platz sechs der Rangliste noch vor Russland. In Asien verwendete erstmals China das meiste Geld für Rüstung. Den Angaben zufolge sind die Mittel in diesem Bereich weltweit in den vergangenen zehn Jahren um ein Drittel gestiegen

But even if you don't believe the US will launch a nuclear war, there are plenty of other reasons to own a Schutz-Bunker: global warming, Muslim mobs, neo-Nazi youths.  The Deluxe Model protects you from every threat:

atomare Kampfmittel

biologische Kampfmittel

chemische Kampfmittel

Kastor-Transportunfällen

Reaktorunglücke

Chemieunfälle etc.

Erdbeben

Wirbelstürme

Lawinengefahren

Handfeuerwaffen und moderne militärische Sturmgewehre
(Panzerung Klasse B7)*

Handgranaten und Sprengwaffen (Panzerung Klasse B7)*

Are the Terrorists Winning?

The fact that the "shoot to kill" policy of the London authorities resulted in the death of an innocent Brazilian student has cast a pall over everything else this weekend.  Der Spindoktor reflects on the damage that has already been inflicted on our freedoms by the terrorists.

Die islamistischen Terroristen sind mit ihrer Strategie der Zermürbung der westlichen Demokratien momentan überaus erfolgreich. Allüberall werden neue Maßnahmen zur Simulation größerer Sicherheit vorgeschlagen, konkret vorbereitet sowie verabschiedet, statt eine aufrichtige Debatte darüber zu führen, ob wir den absoluten Überwachungsstaat wollen.

Examples of "collateral damage" abound.  Why do the police in Bavaria and North Rhein Westfalis maintain  a database on presumed gays and lesbians in those states?  What does an individual's sexual orientation have to do with state security?  The situation is reminiscent of the Pink List (Rosa Lista)used by the Nazis to persecute homosexuals. (Note: so far no commentary on the Web site of the LSU (Lesben u.Schwule in der Union) - the sister organization to the self-loathing Log Cabin Republicans. )

More on the London shoot-to-kill tragedy by in inestimable Juan Cole on his blog this morning:

The tragedy of the death of Menezes is a deliberate outcome of al-Qaeda tactics. The organization is attempting to spread fear and hatred, and knows that the Western security agencies and military will often over-react, helping discredit them with Muslims and perhaps others. (The racial profiling aspect of Menezes' death is clear, and has cast a chill on the UK Muslim community).

Finally, commentary by Christian Rath in taz: ("Shoot-to-Kill Policy Cannot be Justified"):

Denn die Opfer solcher Todesschüsse werden in aller Regel nicht blond sein, sondern nordafrikanisch oder pakistanisch aussehen. Nur durch Zufall haben die Kugeln diesmal einen Brasilianer und keinen Muslim getroffen - sonst wäre es vermutlich schon jetzt zu Rebellionen in muslimisch geprägten Stadtteilen gekommen.

US Right-Wingers vs. Adorno

The right-wing weekly Human Events has published its list of the Most Harmful Books of the 19th and 20th Centuries.  Marx's Communist Manifesto beats out Hitler's Mein Kampf by a wide margin as the MOST HARMFUL BOOK.  Marx is also honored with TWO books in the TOP TEN, with Nietzsche coming in ninth place.  The list was compiled by polling a group of "conservative scholars".  I was not surprised to see feminist and environmental books on the list,  but I was surprised that Adorno's  Authoritarian Personality  placed  13th overall. 

Adorno collaborated on this study in 1944 to come up with an assessment of personality traits that might predict an attraction to fascism.  The underlying theory was that fascist threat to democracy was not limited to Germany , and there existed a class of individuals in the US who were susceptible to fascist propaganda.  The following traits indicate the Authoritarian Personality:

Conventionalism	Rigid adherence to conventional, middle-class values
Authoritarian submission	Submissive, uncritical attitude toward idealized moral authorities of the in-group
Authoritarian aggression	Tendency to be on the lookout for, and to condemn, reject, and punish people who violate conventional values
Anti-intraception	Opposition to the subjective, the imaginative, the tender-minded
Superstition and stereotypy	the belief in mystical determinants of the individual's fate; the disposition to think in rigid categories
Power and 'toughness'	Preoccupation with the dominance-submission, strong-weak, leader-follower dimension; identification with power figures; overemphasis upon the conventionalized attributes of the ego; exaggerated assertion of strength and toughness
Destructiveness and cynicism	Generalized hostility, vilification of the human
Projectivity	The disposition to believe that wild and dangerous things go on in the world; the projection of unconscious emotional impulses
Sex	Exaggerated concern with sexual 'goings-on'

I do not know if these personality traits are good predictors of fascist tendencies, but they certainly describe the subscriber base of Human Events.