Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Monday, December 29, 2014

Dale from The Factoid: America is German

Dale has a way with statistics.




Das Deutsche Telefonalphabetlied

 Wie schreibt man etwas?  Am Telefon kann man hier am besten beschreiben, genau wie man ein Wort buchstabiert.  Lied:  Dank Easy Online German



Auf Deutsch  --------auf Englisch (Int'l)   (alt)           In Asien mal
A    wie  Anton                    Alpha              Able             Australia
B    wie  Berthe                    Bravo             Baker            Bombay
C    wie  Cäsar                      ----   Charlie ----                  China
Ch  wie  Charlotte                            --                                 --                 

D    wie  Dora                      Delta               Dog              Delhi
E    wie  Emil                       Echo              Easy              England
F    wie  Friedrich                Foxtrot            Fox               Fiji
G    wie  Gustav                    Golf             George           Geneva

H   wie  Heinrich                Hotel               How              Hongkong
I    wie  Ida                          India               Item               INDIA!
J    wie  Julius                     Juliet               Jig                  Japan
K   wie  Kaufmann             Kilo                King               KualaLumpur

L   wie  Ludwig                  Lima             Love               London
M  wie  Martha                   ----     Mike   --                    Malaysia
N  wie  Nordpol                 November      Nan                Norway
O  wie  Otto                       Oscar             Oboe              Osaka           

P   wie  Paula                    Papa              Peter                Penang
Q   wie  Quelle                 Quebec          Queen              Queensland
R   wie  Richard                Romeo          Roger               Russia
S   wie  Samuel                 Sierra            Sugar               Singapore     

Sch wie  Schule                           --
T    wie  Theodore            Tango             Tare                 Taiwan

U    wie  Ulrich                Uniform          Uncle               Igamda
V    wie  Viktor      (auch)      VICTOR!                         Vietnam      

W   wie  Wilhelm              Whiskey        William           Wellington
X   wie  Xanthippe                    --   X-Ray  --                 X-RAY
Y   wie  Ypsilon                 Yankee           Yoke               Yokohama
Z   wie  Zacharias                Zulu             Zebra              Zanzibar    

Ä   wie  Ärger                                  fugetaboutit
Ö   wie  Ökonom
Ü   wie  Übermut
ß    wie  Eszett                                                                                             


Sunday, December 28, 2014

Klimaschutz: Wie heißt es mit weniger Fleisch essen?

Kasseler Wissenschaftler untersuchen Bereitschaft, sich für Klimaschutz einzusetzen in Deutschland und auch in den USA

Weniger Fleisch kommt für viele nicht infrage

26.12.2014 - 12:45
<http://www.hna.de/kassel/stadt-kassel/weniger-fleisch-kommt-viele-nicht-infrage-4571147.html#>

Befragung ergab: Nur die Hälfte aller Deutschen würde weniger Fleisch essen, um so das Klima zu schützen; sogar noch weniger US-Amerikaner. Foto dpa

Kassel. Es scheint, wer glaubt auf Klimagipfeln ist seltener bereit, selbst etwas für den Klimaschutz zu tun.

Zu diesem Ergebnis kommen der Kasseler Wirtschaftswissenschaftler Prof. Andreas Ziegler und sein Team in einer Studie.

Online hatten sie 2000 Deutsche und US-Amerikaner danach gefragt, ob sie die internationale Klimapolitik für wichtig halten und ob sie glauben, dass in Klimakonferenzen jedes Land seine Interessen gleichermaßen vertreten kann. Außerdem wollten die Forscher wissen, inwiefern die Menschen bereit sind, ihr eigenes Konsumverhalten zugunsten des Klimaschutzes zu ändern.

„Diejenigen, die die internationale Klimapolitik für wichtig erachten, möchten auch persönlich mehr für den Klimaschutz tun“, sagt Ziegler, der das Fachgebiet empirische Wirtschaftsforschung an der Uni Kassel leitet. Glaubten die Menschen dagegen, dass alle Länder gleichermaßen ihre Interessen in
Klimakonferenzen einbringen könnten, sinke die Bereitschaft, selbst etwas für den Klimaschutz zu tun. Warum das so ist, soll in weiteren Studien untersucht werden.

Was die Umstellung des eigenen Konsumverhaltens angeht, so ist die Bereitschaft, in Haus oder Wohnung Energie einzusparen, mit 87 Prozent (USA 81 Prozent) am höchsten. 84 Prozent (USA 78 Prozent) der Befragten können sich vorstellen, energiesparende Haushaltsgeräte zu kaufen, 71 Prozent (USA 67 Prozent) ein spritsparendes Auto. Auf erneuerbare Energien würden 62 Prozent
umsteigen (USA 50 Prozent).

Am geringsten ist die Bereitschaft, weniger Fleisch oder Milchprodukte zu essen: Nur die Hälfte der Deutschen und 42 Prozent der US-Amerikaner können sich vorstellen, weniger tierische Nahrungsmittel zu sich zu nehmen.

Keinen Einfluss auf die Ergebnisse hatten die Anzahl der Kinder und das Alter der Befragten. Frauen und gebildete Studienteilnehmer waren aber aufgeschlossener gegenüber einem persönlichen Klimaschutzengagement.

Ziegler sieht in den Ergebnissen einen Ansatz für politische Entscheidungen. So sei es nützlich, für die Umsetzung globaler Klimaabkommen auf nationaler Ebene, bei denen freiwilliges Engagement eine wichtige Rolle spiele, für mehr Akzeptanz von internationaler Klimapolitik zu werben. Ziegler: „Gleichzeitig sollte die Politik überlegen, wie sie es kompensieren kann, dass freiwillige Klimaschutzaktivitäten eventuell abnehmen, wenn Klimaverhandlungen gerechter gestaltet werden.“ Nach Ansicht der Wissenschaftler könnten finanzielle Anreize oder die Stärkung des Bewusstseins, etwas Gutes zu tun, helfen. (pmk)

Sunday, December 21, 2014

The Benefits of Learning a Language Through Games

Once again:  FluentU

Research was conducted in 2003 by the language acquisition experts, Asian EFL Journal. The research considered the effectiveness of game-based education methods on students when learning a new language. The students commented that they enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere the games provided, as well as the competitiveness and motivation that games brought to the learning environment.

It was further observed by the teachers that the students actually seemed to learn at an increased pace and retain the information gained through playing games compared to learning through rote methods. The research confirmed that games are a highly effective tool to language acquisition.
Thus far, we’ve already seen numerous benefits of playing language games, so here’s a brief summary:
  • Time effective
  • A welcome break from the usual method of education
  • Fun and enjoyable
  • Provides meaningful context for language use
  • Increases learning motivation
  • Promotes communicative competence
  • Reduces anxiety of making errors
  • Integrates numerous linguistic skills: reading, listening, speaking and writing
  • Encourages players to use the language
  • Creates positive attitudes towards learning
The results of education through gamification speak for themselves. Games are used extensively in the United States for education and training purposes. In 2008, nearly 170 million Americans played computer games to achieve multiple learning goals, spending almost $12 billion.
Just by playing a game, your brain becomes heavily stimulated while learning, and you simultaneously improve on other useful cognitive skills such as problem solving, memory, focus, mental agility and—of course—language.
So which language games should you play?

Which Language Games Are Best to Play?

All games are not created equally. There are definitely some games that are fantastic fun, while others will provide a more enjoyable way to learn—but won’t be as entertaining.
A good language game should push you to enhance your speaking, listening, writing, reading, vocabulary and understanding of the target language. It should have longevity so you cannot become bored with the game in a short period of time. A lot of language games are designed to fit the criteria above and achieve more as well.

You should definitely look for games created specifically for your target language, but here we’ll share some of the top games currently out there that have versions for various languages.

Duolingo (Internet & App)

the best way to learn a language playing games2 The Best Way to Learn a Language: Playing Games!
Native English speakers currently have 16 languages they can learn through Duolingo, but still not Japanese or Chinese. Native speakers of many Asian languages can still use the app to learn English, however, as the site can be used in 23 different languages. Duolingo has a fascinating game design, and you level up and unlock new categories the more you play. Its focus is on using speech, translations, spelling, visual queues and multiple choice to learn languages through an array of different games.

Duolingo also allows you to play with other friends and keep in touch with them while they learn a language of their choice as well. What most users may not realize is that Duolingo was created as a language-learning platform that simultaneously helps translate the internet!

FluentU (Internet & App)


fluentu The Best Way to Learn a Language: Playing Games!

FluentU has a unique approach to language learning. We use real-world video material and turns them into language-learning opportunities. Students can watch music videos, news items and other media to simultaneously immerse themselves in foreign languages and cultures. Throughout it all, FluentU’s focus is on learning with context and useful examples.

By using real-life videos, the content is kept fresh and current. Topics cover a lot of ground, from soccer, TV shows and movies to commercials and viral videos. This also ensures that learners are confronted with languages as they are actually spoken while also gaining insight into popular foreign culture.

To keep things fresh, FluentU keeps track of the words you’re learning and recommend further lessons and videos based on your what you have studied earlier. That way each student has a truly personalized learning experience.

The FluentU iPhone app is currently in private beta and will be launched in the next few months. In the meantime, you can start learning with videos on the FluentU website. FluentU is available for English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, and Chinese.

Babbel (App)

the best way to learn a language playing games The Best Way to Learn a Language: Playing Games!

Babbel currently teaches 14 languages, which includes Indonesian, Danish and Russian—but not Japanese or Chinese. The app focuses on learning grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation skills (Yes, it has speech recognition!). Babbel stands out because of its more direct approach, and features a variety of mediums. If you would prefer to focus on more practice and less of a “game feel,” this could be the game for you.

Bravolol (App)

the best way to learn a language playing games1 The Best Way to Learn a Language: Playing Games!

Bravolol currently has learning apps for 17 languages, including Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Arabic and Thai. Languages are taught through themes such as greetings, romance and weather. You learn through spelling, pronunciation, visual recognition and problem solving activities.
One interesting aspect about this game is that it allows you to hear your own voice when pronouncing, and then compare it to a native speaker. On top of the “Learn” language apps, Bravolol also provides dictionary apps and two Chinese-specific apps: Business Chinese and Financial Chinese.

Mindsnacks (App)

the best way to learn a language playing games3 The Best Way to Learn a Language: Playing Games!
This company has won the “best education app of the year” award for their game design. The game itself is comprised of several smaller mini-games that revolve around different ways to learn a language. Mindsnacks has seven languages available now: Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, German, Chinese and Japanese.

The mini-games involve recognizing correct definitions, correct spelling and common errors through all facets of cognition: visual, audio and kinesthetic. There are a lot of different lessons available to learn, from the basics of numbers and colors to being able to hold a conversation in your target language.

If you’d like to find more apps right away for your specific language, we’ve got you covered:
Whatever game you choose to play—and whichever device you choose to play it on—is entirely up to you. Each person enjoys a different stimulus when it comes to games, which is why the game manufacturing industry is so large.

So go ahead and enjoy yourself; experiment with a few different language games.
You won’t believe how entertaining it can be to pick up a second language. Game on!

The Ultimate Guide to Watching German TV Online




We live in a hyper-connected world.
Combining language learning with entertainment has never been so easy!
With one click, you can immediately immerse yourself in German.
Love aimlessly browsing YouTube videos? Done.
Fancy listening to German podcasts or radio? Be my guest.
How about blogs for German students? Nothing easier than that.
Hollywood movies with German dubbing?
Not. A. Problem.

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

How to Watch German TV Online

Among all forms of entertainment, TV still carries a leading role in today’s world. No matter which country you’re in, watching series and shows on television is likely a national pastime.
I’m especially looking at you, Americans.
Americans were word-leaders in TV consumption in 2011, clocking in with a daily average watching time of nearly five hours. Five hours!
That’s a lot of time spent in front of the telly.

However, even in the countries coming in last on the list, people still watched a little more than two hours of television every day. That’s 14 hours per week, about 56 hours per month and 730 hours per year. ----- Hours and hours of time that could be spent studying German!

By now you’ve probably already guessed where this is going, right? Germans watch TV too, so why not combine TV time with study time by watching German language programs?

The Problem with Watching German TV Online

Watching television shows in German is a great way of learning new vocabulary, phrases and extending your German knowledge while enjoying yourself.m The Internet will make this an easy task, generally speaking.  However, in contrast to other forms of learning, gaining access to TV shows in German isn’t as easy as you would think it is.

With the online world being what it is, you’d think that German TV shows are just a click away. After all, most TV stations now offer their content online. While that’s true for anyone within the country, outside of Germany there are several hurdles you’ll have to leap in order to get your German TV fix.

Navigating Public and Private TV channels
First of all there’s the fact that Germany’s TV landscape is divided into public stations, which are funded by German tax Euros, and private stations, which finance themselves through advertisements. While the objective of public TV programming is to provide a service to everyone, private TV stations aim to be profitable. Therefore, the latter are much more guarded with the content they make available for free on the Internet.

Tricky Licensing Obstacles
In addition to that privatization issue, a lot of the programming shown on German television comes from external sources. For example, Germans love American TV shows as much as the rest of the world does. How I Met Your Mother and Breaking Bad are German audience favorites and are broadcasted on television stations frequently, complete with German voice-overs.
The issue with these kinds of imported shows? The licenses the stations obtain for the shows are usually limited, meaning that the stations are only allowed to distribute the show within the country they serve. While they’re free to do whatever they want with the stuff they produce on their own, movies and series from other countries are bound by their contracts.

Geoblocking
As a consequence of these licences and contracts, stations have to make sure their content is only distributed within the agreed parameters. To do so, they employ so-called geoblocking. What this means is that content on their websites is blocked from usage for any IP address outside of Germany. Consequently, if you want to improve your German through watching TV without moving to its country of origin, you’ll be looking at a lot of messages that say your content can unfortunately not be delivered to you.

Is It Possible to Get Around Geoblocking?

There are ways around this pesky technology, and it’s actually not that hard to manage. A number of services and apps allow you to “pretend” that you’re inside Germany’s borders. With these, you’ll be able to watch any German TV shows and content online that you want. However, before we get started with that it’s time for a little disclaimer.

Legal Considerations
Overall, this is a grey area which varies by jurisdiction, and you’ll have to decide for yourself.
But you probably still want to know: are you really allowed to do so?
While I’m no expert on this, my research says “probably.”
Again, be aware, however, that the legal situation in your country might be different.
First of all, the usage of the services listed below is, in and of itself, completely legal. It’s no crime to mask your location with the help of software and stay anonymous.
Secondly, while downloading copyrighted material is a crime in Germany, streaming it is in a legal grey zone.

However, if you do get around geoblocking in order to watch German television that blocked for your country, this can constitute a violation of the terms of the website you’re using. Whether that’ll lead to any serious negative consequences is a whole other question.

Available Services and Apps to Circumvent Geoblocking

With that in mind, below are a few pieces of software which will allow you to act like you are trying to access the programming from a location in Germany.
And if you’re a German learner looking for a simpler solution that doesn’t involve circumventing geoblocking, you should take a look at FluentU.
FluentU lets you learn German with authentic videos like music videos, movie trailers, news, and inspiring talks. FluentU takes native German videos and turns them into language learning lessons.

Where You Can Watch German TV Online

Now that we can pretend to be in Germany, it’s time to find out where all the good TV programming is. In general, you have four choices: media services from TV channels in Germany, live streams, video on demand platforms and online video recorders.
Some services on this list are freely available in their entirety or in part for anyone, anywhere. Others will require you to use one of the aforementioned ways to get around the geoblock. It’s up to you to experiment and figure out what works for you and what doesn’t.

Media Services From German TV Channels

ARD Mediathek
how to hack through geoblocking and watch german tv online1 The Ultimate Guide to Watching German TV Online
  • Selection: Large
  • Price: Free
The ARD is Germany’s first public broadcasting station. Its website includes the programming of almost all public TV channels. Since it’s financed by tax money, there’s no advertisement which is a big plus. The ARD’s programming focuses on informative pieces and documentaries. In Germany, a lot of people watch it for the Tagesschau (daily news), the crime series Tatort (only watchable after 8 p.m. Germany time) and soccer games. Watching live TV is also possible.  They also have a fabulous selection of children's movies and fairytales.

ZDF Mediathek
how to hack through geoblocking and watch german tv online The Ultimate Guide to Watching German TV Online
  • Selection: Large
  • Price: Free
ZDF stands for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (Second German Television) and it was — you guessed it — Germany’s second TV broadcaster. Just like the ARD, it’s funded by the public and therefore provides a mix of information and entertainment free of ads. Tune in to the heute-show, which is a Daily Show kind of program.

ProSieben Video
how to hack through geoblocking and watch german tv online2 The Ultimate Guide to Watching German TV Online
  • Selection: Small
  • Price: Free, ads
ProSieben is a part of Germany’s biggest private TV network. Since the channel finances itself through advertisement, prepare for a lot of it. Fans of American TV series will strike it rich here. Grey’s Anatomy, 2 Broke Girls, How I Met Your Mother and other bestselling shows are all available — with German dubbing, mind you! However, the network seems to have abandoned the practice of showing entire episodes on their website. Fear not, below are ways to watch them anyway.

Sat 1 Mediathek
how to hack through geoblocking and watch german tv online1 The Ultimate Guide to Watching German TV Online
  • Selection: Small
  • Price: Free, ads
As a subsidiary of ProSieben, the site is quite similar. However, the programming is different. The quality of Sat 1‘s content is somewhat less than that of its bigger sibling. On the other hand, a lot of their self-produced material is freely available.

RTL Now
how to hack through geoblocking and watch german tv online2 The Ultimate Guide to Watching German TV Online
  • Selection: Medium
  • Price: Free, ads
Germany’s third largest TV channel also offers ample online material. The focus here is a lot on tabloid-like infotainment. If you want to see something extra bizarre, consider checking out Bauer sucht Frau. It’s a reality dating show about German farmers looking for love. No, I’m not kidding. Plenty of opportunity for fremdschämen.

Live Streams
Zattoo
how to hack through geoblocking and watch german tv online3 The Ultimate Guide to Watching German TV Online
  • Selection: Small, larger with Premium account
  • Price: Free, from 9,99€/month for premium account
Zattoo allows you to watch many different TV channels as live streams. Besides German national channels, it also offers regional and international programming. The free version is kind of limited. For example, with unpaid access almost all private German TV channels are blocked. The quality of the ones that do work is very good though.

Schoener Fernsehen
how to hack through geoblocking and watch german tv online3 The Ultimate Guide to Watching German TV Online
  • Selection: Large
  • Price: Free
This one’s another service that collects many different channels in one place and lets you stream their programming live. Surprisingly almost all private German TV channels can be found here including ProSieben and Sat 1. If you feel like watching your favorite US series without the actors’ lips fitting their speech, this is your best bet.

Video-on-demand services
MySpass
how to hack through geoblocking and watch german tv online4 The Ultimate Guide to Watching German TV Online
  • Selection: Medium
  • Price: Free
MySpass is a nice selection of German sitcoms and comedy shows. Highlights include Stromberg, which is Germany’s version of The Office, TV Total, a German late night show akin to Kimmel, Fallon & Co, as well a wide range of spinoffs which have come out of that show. These include (and I kid you not) celebrity platform diving and the world championship in “woksledding”.
You can find a longer list of video-on-demand services in the article on how to watch German dubbed movies. All of them carry their share of German series or series from other countries with German dubbing. However, generally speaking, the amount of available content is relatively small. Even so, it’s still worth a look.

Online Video Recorders
Online video recorders work just like your old VCR (remember those?). They allow you to record any show running on German television. However, instead of putting the recording on a video cassette, your content gets saved in the cloud ready for you to download or stream. Easy peasy. Some of them will even cut all advertisement from the content.
There’s a legal battle going on regarding whether or not these services should be allowed to exist at all. Especially private TV stations aren’t big fans of them. However, at this point in time, with many details still hanging in the air, it’s completely legal to use them.

OnlineTvRecorder.com
how to hack through geoblocking and watch german tv online5 The Ultimate Guide to Watching German TV Online
  • Selection: Large, programming from 123 TV stations
  • Price: Free, Premium accounts available
This service has the largest selection on the list. However, keep in mind that not all of the 123 TV stations are German. Drawbacks to using this service are the complex interface and payment system. However, it’s made easier by the fact that you can use it in several languages.

Bong.tv
how to hack through geoblocking and watch german tv online6 The Ultimate Guide to Watching German TV Online
  • Selection: Unknown
  • Price: Free test account, then from 4.99€/month
This service provides content only from German TV channels. You can test it for a week for free. All content is saved in the cloud and can be either downloaded or streamed directly from a large number of devices.

Shift.tv
how to hack through geoblocking and watch german tv online7 The Ultimate Guide to Watching German TV Online
  • Selection: Small, 38 channels
  • Price: Free test account, then from 4.95€/month
Shift.tv boasts that you can access anything you have them record from anywhere in the world. Good news for international German students it seems. --- Test it free for seven days.
Save.tv
how to hack through geoblocking and watch german tv online4 The Ultimate Guide to Watching German TV Online
  • Selection: Small, 47 TV stations
  • Price: From 4.99€/month
With a slightly larger channel selection than some of its competitors, Save.tv also offers a longer test period of 14 days. The service removes advertisement from all content you record, so there’s no need for the fast forward button. Streaming is also available on iOS and Android devices.

Other Services

Deutsche Welle
how to hack through geoblocking and watch german tv online5 The Ultimate Guide to Watching German TV Online
Deutsche Welle isn’t actually a TV station but Germany’s official public international broadcast. Its goal is to inform people around the world about Germany as well as help them learn the language. A large number of shows can be watched on many different topics. One of the highlights is the “slowly-spoken news” program, which helps German students practice their listening and stay up to date on current events.

Get the Most Out of Watching German TV Online

Although getting access to TV programming from Germany seems harder than it should be at first, it’s far from impossible. Artificial country barriers online can be circumvented and the large quantity of available content does more than make up for the extra effort you have to put in.

Not only does access to German TV channels mean you’ll be able to enjoy your favorite series with German voices, you can also catch a unique glimpse into what’s considered entertainment on German television. Whether that’s better or worse than what’s going on in your own country’s broadcasting landscape is something you’ll have to decide for yourself.

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Juli singt "Elektrisches Gefühl" -- Heute wird ein guter Tag

Was macht sie?
Kannst du alles beschreiben?  Putzt sie ihr die Zähne? Kämmt sie sich?  Duscht sie sich?

Was machst du jeden Tag anders?

Atemlos und ferngesteuert
Abgestumpft und sorgenschwer
ich bin völlig weggetreten
ich spür mich selbst nicht mehr
ich will aus 15 Metern,
ins kalte Wasser springen
damit ich wieder merk'
das ich am leben bin
Ich geh nach vorne, bis zum Rand
Ich spür mein Herz pulsiert
ich atme ein und lass mich fallen
ich spüre jeden Teil von mir

[CHOR]   Elektrisches Gefühl
           ich bin völlig schwerelos
           Elektrisches Gefühl
           wie beim ersten Atemzug
           Elektrisches Gefühl
           und die Stimme dir mir sagt
           heute wird ein guter Tag
           …heute wird ein guter Tag…

Auch wenn mich 1000 Sorgen quälen
und sie mich nach unten ziehn
es ist besser loszulassen
als dran kaputt zu gehn
Ich nehme was mir Angst macht
und schreib es auf Papier
ich zünd es an und lass es brennen
ich lass es hinter mir
Alles um mich herum pulsiert
ich spür den Schmerz nicht mehr
Der Boden die Wand, der Raum vibriert
ich bin wieder unbeschwert

[CHOR] 

wohoo oh
wooh wooh
wohoo oh
wooh wooh
wohoo oh
yeah yeah
wohoo oh
wohoo oh

Alles was dich runter zieht
Alles was dein Herz lahm legt
Lass es los
lass es los
lass es los
Alles was nicht wichtig ist
alles was nicht richtig ist
lass es los
Lass es los
Lass es los 

What Really Caused World War 1?


 TRUTH or FICTION:  ANONE WANT TO READ MORE?

The above link is from today's piece with Scott Simon on NPR, who conducts another interview-installment with well-read London cabbie, Will Grozier.  The book Grozier most highly recommends is Hidden History, meticulously documented Dockerty/McGregor book, which seems to throw the old account of WWI to the dogs. 

I now know what I want to read next summer!   To prepare for this read, I checked out and now republish here this entry below, which is already Revisionist History.  But does it mesh at all with the new Dockerty/McGregor book? Time will tell.  Please weigh in!  What is it that you are taught in school these days? 

Here's what my search revealed after googling "revisionist history of WWI". --rsb
 
History books record that World War I started when the nations went to war to avenge the assassination of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand, the heir to the Habsburg throne, on June 28, 1914.

This is the typical explanation. But the "revisionist historian" knows just what caused and what the purpose was of the conflagration of World War I.

Up until America's entry into this war, the American people had followed the wise advice of President George Washington given in his farewell address, delivered to the nation on September 17, 1796.  President Washington said: "It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliance with any portion of the foreign world.... Why, by interweaving our destiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European ambition, rivalship, interest, humour or caprice?'

President Washington attempted to warn the American people about getting embroiled in the affairs of Europe. But in 1914, it was not to be.  There were those who were secretly planning America's involvement in World War I whether the American people wanted it or not.


The Plan to Involve America in World War 1

The pressure to involve the American government started in 1909, long before the actual assassination of the Archduke.

Norman Dodd, former director of the Committee to Investigate Tax Exempt Foundations of the U.S. House of Representatives, testified that the Committee was invited to study the minutes of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace as part of the Committee's investigation. The Committee stated: "The trustees of the Foundation brought up a single question.  If it is desirable to alter the life of an entire people, is there any means more efficient than war.... They discussed this question... for a year and came up with an answer: There are no known means more efficient than war, assuming the objective is altering the life of an entire people.  That leads them to a question: How do we involve the United States in a war.  This is in 1909."
So the decision was made to involve the United States in a war so that the "life of the entire people could be altered." This was the conclusion of a foundation supposedly committed to "peace."

The method by which the United States was drawn into the war started on October 25, 1911, when Winston Churchill was appointed the First Lord of the Admiralty in England.

Winston Churchill is an interesting individual, as he later came to the conclusion that there was indeed a master conspiracy at work in the major events of the world, when he wrote the following in 1920: "From the days of Spartacus—Weishaupt to those of Karl Marx, to those of Trotsky (Russia)... this world-wide conspiracy for the overthrow of civilization... has been steadily growing."

The second key appointment made during the pre-war period was the appointment of Franklin Delano Roosevelt as Assistant Secretary of the Navy by President Woodrow Wilson.
Roosevelt is also on record as concluding that there was a conspiracy, at least in the United States. He once wrote to Colonel Edward Mandell House: "The real truth of the matter is, as you and I know, that a financial element in the larger centers has owned the government ever since the days of Andrew Jackson, and I am not wholly excepting the administration of W.W. (Woodrow Wilson.) The country is going through a repetition of Jackson's fight with the Bank of the United States—only on a far bigger and broader basis."

The Sinking of the Lusitania

The next step in the maneuvering of the United States into the war came when the Cunard Lines, owner of the ocean liner, the Lusitania, turned the ship over to the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill. It now became a ship of the English Navy and was under the control of the English government.

The ship was sent to New York City where it was loaded with six million rounds of ammunition, owned by J.P. Morgan & Co., to be sold to England and France to aid in their war against Germany.
It was known that the very wealthy were interested in involving the American government in that war, and Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan was one who made note of this. "As Secretary [Bryan] had anticipated, the large banking interests were deeply interested in the World War because of wide opportunities for large profits. On August 3, 1914, even before the actual clash of arms, the French firm of Rothschild Freres cabled to Morgan and Company in New York suggesting the flotation of a loan of $100,000,000, a substantial part of which was to be left in the United States, to pay for French purchases of American goods."

England broke the German war code on December 14, 1914, so that "By the end of January, 1915, [British Intelligence was] able to advise the Admiralty of the departure of each U-boat as it left for patrol...."

This meant that the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, knew where every U-boat was in the vicinity of the English Channel that separated England and France.

The ocean liner was set to sail to England already at war with Germany.  The German government had placed advertisements in the New York newspapers warning the American people considering whether or not to sail with the ship to England that they would be sailing into a war zone, and that the liner could be sunk.

Secretary Bryan promised that "he would endeavor to persuade the President (Woodrow Wilson) publicly to warn the Americans not to travel [aboard the Lusitania]. No such warning was issued by the President, but there can be no doubt that President Wilson was told of the character of the cargo destined for the Lusitania. He did nothing... ."

Even though Wilson proclaimed America's neutrality in the European War, in accordance with the prior admonitions of George Washington, his government was secretly plotting to involve the American people by having the Lusitania sunk. This was made public in the book The Intimate Papers of Colonel House, written by a supporter of the Colonel, who recorded a conversation between Colonel House and Sir Edward Grey of England, the Foreign Secretary of England:
Grey:  What will America do if the Germans sink an ocean liner with American passengers on board?
House:  I believe that a flame of indignation would sweep the United States and that by itself would be sufficient to carry us into the war.
On May 7, 1915, the Lusitania was sunk off the coast of County Cork, Ireland by a U-boat after it had slowed to await the arrival of the English escort vessel, the Juno, which was intended to escort it into the English port.  The First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, issued orders that the Juno was to return to port, and the Lusitania sat alone in the channel.  Because Churchill knew of the presence of three U-boats in the vicinity, it is reasonable to presume that he had planned for the Lusitania to be sunk, and it was. 1201 people lost their lives in the sinking.

This sinking has been described by Colin Simpson, the author of a book entitled The Lusitania, as "the foulest act of wilful murder ever committed on the seas."

But the event was not enough to enable President Wilson to declare war against the German government, and the conspirators changed tactics. They would use other means to get the American people involved in the war, as the "flame of indignation" did not sweep the United States as had been planned.

Robert Lansing, the Assistant Secretary of State, is on record as stating: "We must educate the public gradually — draw it along to the point where it will be willing to go into the war."
After the sinking of the Lusitania, two inquiries were held, one by the English government, in June, 1915, and one by the American government in 1918.  Mr. Simpson has written that "Both sets of archives... contain meager information. There are substantial differences of fact in the two sets of papers and in many cases it is difficult to accept that the files relate to the same vessel."
But in both inquiries, the conclusions were the same: torpedoes and not exploding ammunition sank the Lusitania, because there was no ammunition aboard.  

The cover-up was now official.

But there have been critics of these inquiries. One was, of course, the book written by Colin Simpson, who did the research necessary to write his book in the original minutes of the two inquiries.

The Los Angeles Times reviewed Mr. Simpson's book and concluded: "The Lusitania proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the British government connived at the sinking of the passenger ship in order to lure America into World War I. The Germans, whose torpedo struck the liner, were the unwitting accomplices or victims of a plot probably concocted by Winston Churchill."

President Wilson was seeking re-election in 1916. He campaigned on his record of "keeping us out of the War" during his first term of office from 1912 to 1916.


But behind the scenes, Wilson was secretly plotting America's entry into the War, mainly through the machinations of Wilson's major advisor, Colonel Edward Mandell House. House had already committed America to a participation in the war: "The House-Grey memorandum... pledged American intervention on the side of the Allies if Germany would not come promptly to the peace table. This agreement was approved by Wilson eight months before the 1916 election."

But the real reason the War was being fought was slowly emerging. One of the first revelations occurred on May 27, 1916, when President Wilson urged the creation of the League of Nations in a speech entitled League to Enforce Peace. Wilson argued that what the world needed to prevent the recurrence of a similar war was a world government.

Some were not happy with the slowness of America's entry into the war. One of these was Franklin Roosevelt, who:
In the early months of 1917 [before the official declaration of war by the United States government] he had been in constant conflict with his chief, Secretary of the Navy, Joseph Daniels, over the same issues.
For Daniels, who resisted every move that might carry the United States into the war, those four months (January through April) of 1917 were the "agony of Gethsemane."
He opposed convoying [the intentional sending of American ships into the war zone in the hope that one would be sunk by the German Navy]. He opposed the arming of merchant ships [intentionally provoking the German Navy into believing that the ship was a ship of war].
Roosevelt favored both.
And when a filibuster prevented congressional authorization of the arming of merchantmen, Roosevelt was impatient with Wilson for not immediately using his executive power to arm [the ships]. He dined at the Metropolitan Club with a group of Republican "warhawks" [Roosevelt was a Democrat]. It included Theodore Roosevelt, General Wood, J.P. Morgan, and Elihu Root [one of the founders of the CFR].
The primary topic of discussion was, according to Roosevelt's diary, "how to make Administration steer a dear course to uphold rights."
This was an euphemism for an aggressive policy on the high seas that would result in indents and involve the United States in the war.
Roosevelt's badgering apparently paid off, for on April 2, 1917, President Wilson asked Congress for a Declaration of War, and it was granted on April 6. The United States was now in the war "to end all wars," and "to make the world safe for democracy."
The war wound its horrible course through the destruction of human lives and ended on November 11, 1918.
Historian Walter Millis wrote the following about the purpose of the war and about House's basic intent: "The Colonel's sole justification for preparing such a batch of blood for his countrymen was his hope of establishing a new world order [a world government] of peace and security...."

The Outrageous Treaty of Versailles

 

The official treaty that ended the war was the Treaty of Versailles, where representatives of all sides sat down at a conference table and wrote the treaty.

Several interesting personalities attended these meetings. In the British delegation was the British economist John Maynard Keynes, and representing the American banking interests was Paul Warburg, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve. His brother. Max, the head of the German banking firm of M.M. Warburg and Company, of Hamburg, Germany, and who "was not only in charge of Germany's finances but was a leader of the German espionage system" was there as a representative of the German government.

The Treaty was written to end the war, but another delegate to the conference. Lord Curzon of England, the British Foreign Secretary, saw through what the actual intent was and declared: "This is no peace; this is only a truce for twenty years." Lord Curzon felt that the terms of the Treaty were setting the stage for a second world war, and he correctly predicted the year it would start: 1939.

Lord Curzon was indeed a prophet: he picked the actual year that World War II would start!
One of the planks of the Treaty called for large amounts of war reparations to be paid to the victorious nations by the German government.  This plank of the Treaty alone caused more grief in the German nation than any other and precipitated three events:
  1. The "hyperinflation" of the German mark between 1920 and 1923;
  2. The destruction of the middle class in Germany; and
  3. The bringing to power of someone who could end the inflation: a dictator like Adolf Hitler.
This plank was written by John Foster Dulles, one of the founders of the Council on Foreign Relations, and later the Secretary of State to President Dwight Eisenhower.

Even John Maynard Keynes became concerned about the Treaty. He wrote: "The peace is outrageous and impossible and can bring nothing but misfortune behind it".

In addition to writing the Treaty of Versailles, the nations who were victorious in the war also wrote the Charter of the League of Nations, which was ratified on January 10, 1920, and signed by President Wilson for the American government. Wilson brought the treaty back to the United States and asked the Senate to ratify it The Senate, remembering George Washington's advice to avoid foreign entanglements and reflecting the views of the American people who did not wish to enter the League, refused to ratify the treaty. President Wilson was not pleased, possibly because he saw himself, as Senator Henry Cabot Lodge was quick to point out, as: "... a future President of the world."

It is now apparent that Wilson intended to head up the world government the war was fought to give the world, and he became depressed when the Treaty was not ratified. Imagine the disappointment of one who had come so close to becoming the very first President of the World, only to have it taken away by the actions of the Senate of the United States. Imagine the sense of incredible power that Wilson must have felt, thinking he would become the very first individual in the history of mankind to rule the world.  Others had tried and failed, but Wilson was confident that he would succeed.

But the American people, expressing their displeasure through the Senate, would not let him.

The Rich Get Richer

 

Others were not so disappointed, however. "The war, in brief, provided an unparalleled opportunity for the richest families to grab [exorbitant profits] at the expense of the public and, without exception, they made the most of this opportunity. The rich families, to be sure, wanted the war to be won, but they took care that the victory was expensive to the common taxpayers. They uttered no cries for government economy... so long as the public treasury was at their disposal."
One of the families who reaped the exorbitant profits were "the Rockefellers, who were very eager for the United States to enter World War I, [and who] made far more than $200,000,000 from that conflict."

But support for the League of Nations continued. The Grand Orient Lodge of Freemasonry of France was one which advised all of its members: "It is the duty of universal Freemasonry to give its full support to the League of Nations...."

As could have been anticipated, the League of Nations became a major issue during the Presidential election of 1920.

The Republican candidate Warren G. Harding was on record as opposing the League and further attempts to ratify the charter: "It will avail nothing to discuss in detail the League covenant, which was conceived for world super-government In the existing League of Nations, world governing with its super-powers, this Republic will have no part."

He was opposed in the Republican primaries by General Leonard Wood, one of the Republican "warhawks," who was ".. .backed by a powerful group of rich men who wish(ed) a military man in the White House."

The American people, once again manifesting their disapproval of the League, voted for Harding as an evidence of that distrust and concern.  Harding outpolled his opposition by a greater margin than did President Wilson who had "kept us out of the war" during the election of 1916. Wilson got only fifty-two percent of the vote, and Harding got sixty-four percent

Harding was a supporter of William Howard Taft, the President who opposed the bankers and their Federal Reserve Bill. After his election, he named Harry M. Daugherty, Taft's campaign manager, as his Attorney General.

His other Cabinet appointments were not as wise, however, as he unexplainably surrounded himself with men representing the oil industry.
For instance:
  • his Secretary of State was Charles Evans Hughes, an attorney of Standard Oil;
  • his Secretary of the Treasury was Andrew Mellon, owner of Gulf Oil;
  • his Postmaster General was Will Hays, an attorney for Sinclair Oil; and
  • his Secretary of the Interior was Albert Fall, a protégé of the oil men.
It was Mr. Fall who was to be President Harding's downfall, as he later accepted a bribe from Harry Sinclair in exchange for a lease of the Navy's oil reserves in Teapot Dome, Wyoming.
There are many who believe that the scandal was intended to discredit the Harding administration in an attempt to remove him from office for two very important reasons:
  1. Harding was consistently vocal against the League of Nations, and there was still a chance that its supporters could get the United States to join as the League had survived the Senate's prior refusal to ratify the treaty, and
  2. Attorney General Daugherty had been prosecuting the oil trusts under the Sherman anti-trust laws.
These activities did not please the oil interests who had created the Teapot Dome scandal. But Harding unfortunately did not live to see the full repercussions of the artificial scandal, as he died on August 2, 1923, before the story completely surfaced. (There are those who believe that there were some who couldn't wait for the Teapot Dome Scandal to remove President Harding, and that he was poisoned.)

But the oil interests allowed it to completely play its course as a warning to future Presidents of the United States not to oppose the oil interests.

The warning has been generally heeded. Not many have chosen to contend with the true rulers of the United States.



Do Deutsch - Short German Embassy Film




Lead With Languages (ACTFL Film 2015)




75% of the world's people don't undrstand any English.
Connect with 95% of World's customers
Empower our diplomatic, our military; our intelligence communities.
(Remember, German is today's language of espionage -- and Vienna its capital, per the US Dept. of Defense.)
Wake up!
Let's make languages a national priority, to prepare America for a connected world.

2 game split between USM U-18 Team (in Spain)

My question is where these kids are from, and whether any might be from the Revolution Academy. --rsb

HERE:  FOOTAGE FROM THE GAME WE WIN 2-1 ON DEC 17  (later found the embed code:)



Just 2 days later, it was 2-0 for Germany at the half; we lose 3-2.

U.S. U-18 MNT Falls to Germany 3-2 in Marbella, Spain


Sebastian Elney and Mauricio Pineda Each Tally Goal as USA and Germany Split Two-Game Set
MARBELLA, Spain (Dec. 19, 2014) – The U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team fell 3-2 to Germany’s U-18s at Marbella Stadium. The USA split its two-game set, having previously earned a 2-1 victory against Germany on Dec. 17.

On Friday, the USA's Sebastian Elney and Maurico Pineda each scored a goal. For Pineda, it was his second goal in back-to-back games.

Germany built a 2-0 lead heading into halftime with goals from Erik Wekesser and Tim Galleski in the 19th and 35th minutes, respectively. Elney quickly cut into that lead after the break with a 48th-minute goal.

However, Galleski recorded his second goal in the 69th minute, which proved to be the game-winner.
Pineda's 90th-minute goal tightened up the match, but Germany held for the victory.
The U-18 MNT finishes off its 2014 campaign with a 5-7-1 international record.

- U.S. U-18 Men’s National Team Match Report -
 

Match: U.S. U-18 MNT vs. Germany U-18 MNT
Date: Dec. 19, 2014
Competition: International Friendly
Venue: Marbella Stadium; Marbella, Spain
Kickoff: 2:30 p.m. (8:30 a.m. ET)
Attendance: 35   (very little interest; stadium empty!)
Weather: 65 degrees
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA                          0 2 2
GER                          2 1 3
GER – Erik Wekesser           19th minute
GER – Tim Galleski             35
USA – Sebastian Elney        48
GER – Tim Galleski             69
USA – Mauricio Pineda        90


Lineups:
USA: 1-JT Marcinkowski; 20-Kyle Duncan, 3-Mauricio Pineda, 6-Antonee Robinson (21-Malcolm Jones, 52), 2-Pablo Pelaez; 10-Jackson Yueill (15-Amir Bashti, 88), 8-Ben Swanson (capt.), 24-Cameron Lindley (14-Collin Fernandez, 67); 23-Victor Mansaray (7-Sebastian Saucedo, 52), 9-Sebastian Elney (17-Eryk Williamson, 67), 11-Brooks Lennon

Subs not used: 12-Jonathan Klinsmann, 13-Michael Boakye, 16-James Murphy
Not Dressed: 4-Tommy Redding
Head Coach: Javier Perez

GER: 12-Florian Kastenmaier; 2-Matthias Bader, 4-David Putz, 21-Jordan Torunarigha (5-Nicolas Clasen, 17), 15-Till Schumacher; 13-Erik Wekesser (22-Nathaniel Amamoo, 86), 18-Suat Serdar (16-Johannes Buhler, 46) (6-Gino Fechner, 86), 8-Fridolin Wagner; 7-Michael Strein (17-Tim Galleski, 17), 10-Marvin Mehlem (19-Cagatay Kader, 76); 9-Osei P. Owsusu (capt.) (20-Heinz Morschel, 67)

Subs not used: 1-Dominik Reimann, 3-Maximillian Mittelstadt, 11-Enis Bytyqi, 14-Ole Pfaffigen
Head Coach: Guido Streichsbier


Stats Summary: USA / GER
Shots: 6 / 13
Shots on Goal: 2 / 7
Saves: 4 / 0
Corner Kicks: 5 / 5
Fouls: 10 / 13
Offside: 3 / 1

Misconduct Summary:
USA – Pablo Pelaez (caution)        78th minute
GER – Heinz Morschel (caution)   90+2

Officials:
Head Referee – Dominguez Cervantes

20 Dezember: G-I Preis: Azubis! Watch Film about Germany's Job Training Program

Answer the quiz before the end of the day, to win BIG! 

HIER / HERE IS THE LINK TO THE VIDEO AND QUIZ

Here are the questions to be aware of while you watch the quiz:

1.   What is the German name for "apprentice"?

2.  Which 2 components comprise the German vo-tech system?

3.   So the answer to #2 is (a) hands-on work in a manufacturing plant, and  (b) "vocational school" classes.  Where exactly do apprentices go for this vocational training?

4.  What is the next step after the dual vo-tech program is successfully completed?

5. 

6.  The USA firm MTU AMERICA offers what to HS students?

7.  Which aspect of the dual vo-tech training is particularly attractive to young adults?

8.  What is the vo-tech training system's main goal?

9.  Why do companies offer such programs?

10.  Why might someone have said that parents  are the chief obstacles here in the USA to filling these programs with top candidates?

Friday, December 19, 2014

GERMAN IS 4 U !

This video has some really bright spots!



Let us know why you have started learning German!


Weniger Müll dieses Jahr (2014) in Deutschland produziert

Hunderte Kilo pro Kopf

So viel Müll produziert jeder von uns

Müll
+
Jeder Deutsche produziert im Schnitt 453 Kilogramm Müll.
Wiesbaden - Die Deutschen haben 2014 weniger Müll produziert als im Vorjahr: Dennoch kommen auf jeden Einwohner Hunderte Kilo Abfall jedes Jahr.
3 Kilogramm weniger pro Person (each German resident threw away 3 KG less waste this year than last)
2013 warf jeder Einwohner drei Kilo weniger Haushaltsabfälle weg als im Jahr davor. 36,6 Millionen Tonnen Müll wurden in den deutschen Haushalten eingesammelt. Das waren 453 Kilogramm pro Einwohner, wie das Statistische Bundesamt am Donnerstag in Wiesbaden berichtete.
26,9 Millionen Tonnen Haushaltsabfälle wurden 2013 verwertet, nur 9,7 Millionen Tonnen entsorgt. Die Wiederverwertungsquote steigt seit Jahren, wie aus der Zeitreihe der Statistiker hervorgeht.
36 Prozent des Abfalls im Jahr 2013 war Restmüll: 13,1 Millionen Tonnen, zwei Kilogramm pro Einwohner weniger als im Vorjahr. „Somit konnte sich der rückläufige Trend beim Restmüll auch im Jahr 2013 weiter fortsetzen“, berichtete Destatis-Fachfrau Diana Eyer.
Beim Sperrmüll gab es kaum Veränderungen: 2,3 Millionen Tonnen wurden gesammelt, 29 Kilogramm pro Einwohner.
Mehr als die Hälfte aller Abfälle wurde getrennt gesammelt. Insgesamt waren das 21,2 Millionen Tonnen. 12,0 Millionen Tonnen Müll gelten als „Wertstoffe“ wie Papier, Glas und Verpackungsmüll. 2013 sammelte jeder Einwohner 148 Kilogramm davon, genauso viel wie im Jahr davor.
Den höchsten Anteil an den Wertstoffen hatte das Altpapier. Deutschlandweit waren es 5,8 Millionen Tonnen - 72 Kilogramm pro Einwohner. Mit einigem Abstand folgten Verpackungen mit 2,6 Millionen Tonnen - 32 Kilogramm pro Einwohner. Am wenigsten fiel Altglas an: 1,9 Millionen Tonnen oder 24 Kilogramm pro Einwohner.
Der Rest ist hauptsächlich Biomüll. 9,1 Millionen Tonnen organische Abfälle sammelten die Deutschen im vergangenen Jahr - 112 Kilogramm pro Person, ein Kilo weniger als 2012. Ab 2015 muss Biomüll bundesweit getrennt gesammelt werden. Das soll dazu beigetragen, dass diese Stoffe verstärkt für Biogasanlagen oder für die Düngerproduktion genutzt werden.
dpa