News Stories

[ganbaru]

IS militants claim attacks on Iranian ambassador's residence
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/...0LQ0DX20150222

Kirk Cameron, Cameron Diaz rake in 'worst achievement' Razzies
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/...0LQ02W20150222

Norway's Muslims form protective human ring around synagogue
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/...0LP0AG20150221

[Dextro]

Originally Posted by Mentar

Read it, and could only shake my head. Essentially no hard data available, and many conclusions are truly harebrained. With this "logic" and methodical approach, you will realize that educational sciences are suffering from the most diabolic gender discrimination possible. Which is naturally nonsense.

But really scary were the comments. My my my...

I don't even scroll enough to get to the comments, it's no use

Anyway I agree with you but what I'm really interested in now is why don't immigrants apply. Is there some sort of lack of integration of second generation immigrants in Germany that might explain this? Any economic difficulties that make them incapable of pursuing an apprenticeship or other cultural issues?

I also facepalmed at the enormous stretch that the author had to do to claim that german companies were discriminating when the numbers hardly support that notion but I became interesting to know why don't more second generation immigrants take part in the system.

[Haak]

Fragile Ukraine truce rocked by Kharkiv blast:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...s-of-prisoners

[Urzu 7]

Originally Posted by Haak

Fragile Ukraine truce rocked by Kharkiv blast:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...s-of-prisoners

It's funny to see something so serious followed by this:




They are most pleased with your bad news.

[AmeNoJaku]

Originally Posted by Mentar

What am I pointing out is that both writer and the author of the study are using a methodology which has severe scientific deficits. It is pretty clear that they come from a preconceived opinion (the German apprenticeship system discriminates against immigrants) and then go on cherrypicking their statistics to suit their needs. Results that don't fit with their theory are openly discarded as "untrustworthy" (e.g. the fact that for their taste, too many companies report "no applications from immigrants").

The danger of such a "the end justifies the means" approach is clear. Because with the same logic, one could very easily extract from statistics that educational sciences massively discriminate on a sexual basis - there are way too many females in them. Which is complete and utter nonsense. It's simply that a much larger amount of females are interested in this field.

Could there be comparable factors which could explain the statistics without assuming that the reported data has NOT be subject to nefarious falsification by the participating companies? Absolutely. For example, that immigrant applicants tend to be predominantly male (several cultural circles with a patriarchial culture don't think that women should be working, but stay home). Ever received a haircut from a male turkish apprentice? I haven't. So can we deduce that hairdressers are discriminating liars? Just one of many examples.

At the same time, can we conclude that discrimination does _not_ exist? Of course not, either. Since apprenticeships are offered at the discretion of business owners, there will undoubtedly be people who do discriminate and simply don't want immigrant applicants at all. Or who will give a German the preference when multiple applicants of comparable quality exist. But this kind of discrimination is a general-cultural phenomenon which is not caused by or linked to the German apprenticeship system. Just like in the US there will be storeowners who will not hire blacks, or Japanese companies that will not hire gaijin.

In other words: Careful when trying to interpret statistics. And when you start cherrypicking the results you like and discard those you don't, your conclusions become to tend worthless quick. Which deserves criticism, especially when you report it to score political points.

I have to take your word on it again, but my own personal experience from my six years in the country were very different... but things might have improved. Also when we discuss these subject, perspective is very important, and mine is always from a foreigner, even in the countries of my own parents, and closer to Die Linke there, while you are on the native popular majority.

And to be frank, I have my own problems with Greece, particularly the parties that ruled over the troika years, and are still supported by Merkel. But, the way you (and others) are stating their opinion are very problematic for me (and others) to discuss. I really don't want this, and know very well from reading past post that the quality here can be a lot better. Nevertheless, that is the main reason, I refrain from quoting specific posts lately.

And to lighten further the thread, but still on topic...

[SaintessHeart]

Payday Lenders Escape Regulation But Now Face The Church

Natural predators FTW.

[OH&S]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Payday Lenders Escape Regulation But Now Face The Church

Natural predators FTW.

This is one of those issues where I'm on the Church's side. Payday lenders are parasites.

They definitely need regulation.

[SaintessHeart]

Boycott Israel Movement Stunts the Palestinian Economy

Wonder who is going to feed them now.

[Domonkazu]

Originally Posted by Dextro

Not directly related but given how I personally find the German apprenticeship system a model to follow it still makes for interesting reading:

Apprenticeships in Germany wrongly excludes minorities

wow just wow, did the author has something against Germany? did he ever live here?

as asian living in Germany I found this highly inaccurate.

[Mentar]

Originally Posted by AmeNoJaku

IAnd to be frank, I have my own problems with Greece, particularly the parties that ruled over the troika years, and are still supported by Merkel. But, the way you (and others) are stating their opinion are very problematic for me (and others) to discuss. I really don't want this, and know very well from reading past post that the quality here can be a lot better. Nevertheless, that is the main reason, I refrain from quoting specific posts lately.

Fair enough. I'd like to extend an olive branch of my own. I do hope that the negotiations will be successfully concluded, and that Syriza will get 4 months to prove themselves. After all they HAVE won their election. Who knows, maybe something good will come out of it. If so, I'd like it.

About "problematic" opinions: Trust me, I do know where you're coming from. Look at it from my perspective: I was born 34 years after the end of WW2. Still, you're continuously living with the Nazi "taint" which unsurprisingly is laid on the table whenever someone else feels it to be politically beneficial. Nowadays, it's completely en vogue to blame even those problems which I consider to be 90% self-afflicted in nature on Germany or Europe. The specter of "Germany trying to rule the world" is being waved around in every corner, even though the German population couldn't care less about that. If there was a magic fairy at the corner who could make Greece, and the Ukraine, and whatever other problem pops up disappear to la la land, 95% would immediately ask for it. We don't see them as something we want to rule, we see them as nuisances and problems that should please go away and leave us alone. I can positively assure you that there is no secret illuminati cabal behind Merkel pulling her strings, and she has no interest in regional hegemony either. But having the same stereotypes repeated again and again and again has a comparable effect to "Greeks are...". I should know better, but my anger sometimes overcame the inhibition of reason. Sorry for that. I'll try harder.

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Boycott Israel Movement Stunts the Palestinian Economy

Wonder who is going to feed them now.

Reading this article made me smile ... it's a good exercise for cutting through spin. This article is a wonderful example of "paid for by the Israel lobby". Let's skip through the article's bullet points.

o First, let's link "boycott, divest and sanction (BDS) Israel" with violent anti-semitism. Here, it's also instructive to see how "anti-semitism" is measured. As a sidenote: Personally, I'm an anti-semite because I agreed with "Jews are utilizing the Holocaust for political purposes".

o Then, give a broad-sweeping statement that BDS has "no discernible impact on Israeli trade". If so, why write an article about it?

o The example given to demonstrate how BDS works is the company Soda-Stream. Here, BDS clearly _had_ a discernible impact. What happens next? Soda-Stream is closing a factory in the West Bank and moving it to Israel. In other words, the harm for Palestinians was not directly caused by BDS, but a by an indirect decision of an Israeli company. It is safe to assume that by far the most Israeli companies affected by BDS will not have the means to reflect their losses on the Palestinians, making this example fairly unsuitable.

o Time for some well-measured indignant scorn: "It’s easy to cast digital stones from the comfort of a California dorm room or a posh British mansion."

o After all, Israel is clearly Palestine's best friend: "It’s difficult to gainfully employ some 110,000 Palestinians as Israel does, or build 16 industrial parks in the West Bank and East Jerusalem hosting 1,000 facilities where Jews and Arabs work shoulder-to-shoulder." ... that is, when they don't build more illegal settlements, dislodging Palestinians from there.

o Check this language: "The American Library Association, along with the United Church of Christ and the Episcopal Church, have considered BDS in this misguided Holy War against Israel." - Holy War?

o Now the coup de grace: "The BDS movement inflames rather than enlightens global dialogue around the peace process. Israel invests heavily in Palestine; the rest of the world doesn’t bother." ... say again? Global Dialogue around the peace process? The same peace process that Israel has consistently torpedoed? The same Israel which is continuously withholding funds that belong to the Palestinian administration? The same Israel which regularly destroys buildings erected with EU help funds (multiple hundreds of million Euros every year) as part of "retaliations"? All wrong, my friends. Israel is the only supporter of Palestine where "the rest of the world doesn't bother".

o Okay, so who paid for it? Here's the price tag: "One bright spot is leadership in Congress from Peter Roskam (R-IL) and Juan Vargas (D-CA), who just introduced The Israel Trade and Commercial Enhancement Act."

No, what I consider encouraging is that these kinds of paid propaganda have become necessary. Either BDS is irrelevant - then why bother fighting it - or it is not. Then supporting activity against it is making sense, but it's rendering the article in itself very weird.

[Haak]

I like how it mentions NUCLEAR Iran at the end. XP

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Haak

I like how it mentions NUCLEAR Iran at the end. XP

Nuclear Iran is a serious issue though. It is a steep slope downhill in Middle East where most of the countries care more about women driving and empowering sharia police than protecting their armouries.

If Iran has nukes, the Saudis will want their own too.

[Haak]

It certainly is a serious issue.

How exactly it's related to BDR and the Palestinians though...I'm sure at this point you've already realised how much that opinion piece is basically a ridiculous exercise in "How many Pro-Israel talking points can I fit in an article?"

[ganbaru]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

If Iran has nukes, the Saudis will want their own too.

The single best reason to try to stop Iran to get their own nuke, once you stop believing than they want to nuke Israel at the cost of a more destructive counter-attack.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Haak

It certainly is a serious issue.

How exactly it's related to BDR and the Palestinians though...I'm sure at this point you've already realised how much that opinion piece is basically a ridiculous exercise in "How many Pro-Israel talking points can I fit in an article?"

I think that is a natural counterbalance to the "Be nice to Muslims" and "Damn Zionist occupation in the Gaza strip" we have last year from a media-wars perspective, even if it is a dirty one-sided OP-ED.

Personally, I am not against Muslims, Jews or Christians. However I think the NWO (Illuminati, Freemasons, or whatever) has made Israel-Palestine an awesome hotspot of violence; wannabe jihadis, Christian saviour-complexes and Zionist supremacists can go there, or assist in the massive dukeout from the sidelines without having their own little religious riot-causing bias scattered around the world and endangering moderates and people of other faiths.

It is a place for those idiots to actually kill each other without putting social stabilities worldwide at stake; at the same time, it makes international arms trafficking much more easier to track by reducing the number of places it goes to around the world. Also, it creates jobs in the defence sector, draws large funding and help progress science for humanity, since war advances technology like no other.

From a moral perspective it is totally wrong. However, from a practical standpoint, I would rather have this than another Richard/Saladin crusade as a lesser evil.

[Solace]

Originally Posted by OH&S

They definitely need regulation.

They need to be banned. Payday lenders are by far the worst "product" the finance industry has ever created.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Solace

They need to be banned. Payday lenders are by far the worst "product" the finance industry has ever created.

There is an issue though.

Banks do not want to lend small amounts (i.e preferential lending) and microloans are not micro enough; without payday lenders those people in need of credit yet do not qualify for credit cards will have to scrounge elsewhere or default.

The PROBLEM is that payday lenders use this as a gimmick to charge whatever they want, they are no different from loansharks in the end.

There is a need to draft some sort of regulation, and then there is the problem with lobbyists and pro-liquidity economists (as many avenues of money flow in the domestic market as possible to strengthen the dollar, and thus the economy!).

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by Solace

They need to be banned. Payday lenders are by far the worst "product" the finance industry has ever created.

they do serve a niche that the tradition banks and credit unions don't serve.

[maplehurry]

Originally Posted by Mentar

Look at it from my perspective: I was born 34 years after the end of WW2. Still, you're continuously living with the Nazi "taint" which unsurprisingly is laid on the table whenever someone else feels it to be politically beneficial. Nowadays, it's completely en vogue to blame even those problems which I consider to be 90% self-afflicted in nature on Germany or Europe. The specter of "Germany trying to rule the world" is being waved around in every corner,

Seriously... ? Who does that?

I am really out of touch with European politics...

[Ithekro]

Eh, Germany tried to rule the "world" (actually they tried to rule Europe). Britain did rule the world in the practical sense and yet we don't bash them for it (much).