Schleswig-Holstein government unanimously recognizes Roma and Sinti

Roma immigrants protest in front of German parliament, demanding equal rights for German Roma.
(Image courtesy of Der Spiegel Online)

Yesterday, the German state of Schleswig-Holstein unanimously voted to grant Roma and Sinti ethnic minorities protection under the state constitution. German government officers are recognizing this legislative passage as a historic moment because, in previous years, the Christian Democratic Union shot down the measure. After much criticism within the government and from outside organizations, the CDU agreed to vote for the protection of these peoples when it resurfaced on the ballot. With the CDU for the bill, the vote to protect Sinti and Roma became unanimous.

Sinti and Roma have been protected by Germany's federal government since 1995. This passage, however, is completely new in the state of Schleswig-Holstein.

Many Sinti and Roma emigrated to Western Europe from the Balkans, particularly from Macedonia and Serbia. One Roma spokesperson reported that many are leaving Eastern Europe to receive better federal care. Upon applying for asylum, a person could receive as much as €360 per month during the application process. Thus, the migration of Roma and Sinti to Germany has been labelled an economic migration. Because of this title, Christian Social Union member Michael Hartmann is urging German lawmakers to initiate a reform of the country's policies regarding immigration, particularly for economic reasons.

In the United States, immigration is a constant issue of contention. Especially in Southwest border states such as California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, the immigrants from Mexico tend to be treated as a nuisance to the country. Like the German Roma and Sinti groups, Latin Americans seem to be migrating for economic opportunities.

Despite these admirable causes, the U.S. federal government and state governments are still trying to crack down on border control and deal with immigrants who have come here illegally. It is currently being debated whether to grant recent illegal immigrants resident status and to then to tighten security around the border.

How would you propose immigration be dealt with in the U.S.? Is Germany's choice to grant asylum a good model with which to work? Would this protection be granted in the U.S.? Why or why not?

A German View of America's "Democracy"

How do German's view America's Presidential election? It seems the answer to that question would be "pointless". In an article published in Der Spiegel, they said "Democracy is about choice, but Americans don't really have much of a choice ... the people are helpless in the face of their power, as is the president". This article begins with a brief overview of some problems the East Coast has been facing in the wake of Sandy, and goes on to give a bleak view of our democracy. Later, the author mentions that "From a European perspective, it doesn't matter who wins this election. Only US foreign policy is important to us". This statement sends a very clear picture, if the previous writings didn't, of how Germans feel about American politics. And of course, if the message hadn't been clear enough, the article ends on a point of hopelessness, saying, "The downfall of the American empire has begun. It could be that the country's citizens wouldn't be able to stop it no matter how hard they tried. But they aren't even trying".

Is this true? Is America dying or is it just in the midst of a rough patch? Is there anything we can do to repair our reputation among Germany and the rest of Europe or are we forever going to be viewed as a failed democracy?

Twitter Blocks Germans’ Access to Neo-Nazi Group

    With the flourishing of social media, the distance between different countries has grown smaller, and the spreading of

information has never been easier. It seems that this very democratic culture of open information from the U.S. has

quickly spread across the globe, even to places that freedom of speech has never been guaranteed; such as the middle-

eastern countries that had started their revolution via Facebook.


    However, on September 25th, 2012; one of the largest and most influential social media, Twitter made a controversial

move in Germany that triggered debate all over the world. This controversy started with the group "Besseres Hannover,"

a neo-Nazi group in Germany that had been posting far-right tweets and swastika symbols, which could be prosecuted

according to the laws in Germany. Though this incident caused little resistance due to its laws and Nazi past in Germany,

people from other countries have raised their concerns over freedom of speech. What if, the government of Russia

decided to suppress youtube videos that acted against the government? This is a serious problem since it makes the

social media companies potentially subject to manipulation by governments that are authoritarian.


    On the other hand, JIllian C. York, the director for international freedom of expression at the Electronic Frontier

Foundation said that, "It's not a great thing, but it's a way of minimizing censorship. It's better for Twitter if they can keep

countries happy without having to take the whole thing down." As China did. Youtube also has a similar company policy

about removing videos that contain hate speech. However, if content being deemed inappropriate could be removed by

company policies or the legal system of the country, then, what is freedom of speech? Or moreover, what is

appropriateness? 

Gay marriage abroad: policies in Germany and the United States

Angela Merkel, DE Chancellor, is part of the Christian Democratic Union. (Photo courtesy of CNN.com)

According to CNN writers Grep Pleitgen and Janina Bembenek, the German high court has granted same-sex couples the same tax benefits of heterosexual couples. Over the past couple years, there has been a heated debate between Christian Democratic Union (CDU), headed by Chancellor Angela Merkel, and the Liberal Democrats.

In the past, the Christian Socialist Union, a sister union to the CDU, has spoken out against equal tax benefits, saying that heterosexual couples receive those benefits because their relationship goes towards "making new life."

Much like civil unions in California and Delaware, German government officials passed domestic partnerships into law in 2001. Now, the Bundestag is permitting the same tax benefits for these couples at the urging of German liberals.

There is a similar situation in the United States. As the election closes in on U.S. citizens, the gay marriage debate is becoming even more heated. Religious groups are speaking out against same-sex marriage, citing the Bible as their moral reasoning.

In Washington state, Referendum 74 is up on the ballot. Should the bill be passed, gay marriage would become legal in Washington state.

Washington state candidates, Jay Inslee (left) and Rob McKenna (right). (Photo courtesy of KATU.com)

However, its passage depends both on the election of Republican candidate Rob McKenna or Democrat Jay Inslee. With much of Washington's gay population focused in Seattle, the King county vote will likely reflect their vote.

As a supporter of R-74 and a democratic voter, I can only hope that the United States government will turn in favor of supporting gay citizens' rights.

German disillusionment with Obama administration seated in violence and lack of environmental change

                                               Photo courtesy of REUTERS/Jim Young

In this article from Der Spiegel, author Bruce Stokes analyzes the changing German political view of the Obama administration. As election season encloses upon U.S. citizens, Germans are beginning to worry about the promises with which they believe Obama has not followed through.

Their grievances include Obama's use of military drones and perpetuated violence in the Middle East as well as disappointment regarding the President's failure to implement his promised environmental policies to combat global warming.

With such concerns about the President's potential reelection, only 49 percent of Germans aged 50 and older and 61 percent with Germans aged 19-28.

Do you think these are fair criticisms? Let's discuss in the comments!

—Ana Sofia Knauf