halcy.de v4 » Version four-point-oh and counting.Two weeks!

In the same vein as the fake twitter pages: Automatically generated pro-guttenberg facebook comments: Find ich Gutt!

(If you don’t know what this is about: Germany’s scandal-plagued defense minister must step down)

Source code, horribly inefficient.

(P.S.: The design of that page is the greatest work of art I have ever created.)

(Warning: What follows is a somewhat long political rant.)

So, since I am german, I get asked what I think about multiculturalism in germany a lot, recently, because of some ridiculous remarks made by our chanellor earlier this month.

As you might have guessed from that itroductory paragraph already, I do not believe that what Merkel said holds and water at all, and I find such claims detestable and damaging to not only germanys reputation in the world.

Merkel and her right-wing social-convervative party buddies are framing an issue that is primarily one of social inequality in education - rich parents, good education, poor parents, not so much - as a “culture” issue. This is quite obviously bullshit, as you can see by looking at your average poor neighbourhood - there’ll be just as many kids with german parents as not, all similiarily bad in school.

The reason for this is, as I (And as most students and teachers) see it, our highly selective school system where kids are seperated into three schools based on pretty much one teachers opinion at age 8 to 10. Since that age is far, far too young to be able to actually tell anyones ability at anything much, this ends up basically selectiong by social status. I’ve seen this happen live and in colour with a friend of mine getting sent to a more vocational school while I got to go to the more academic one - with us both having the same grades. On the other hand, in the school I later went to, there were people whose parents had immigrated, but had managed to make some money - some of them dumb as fuck, some really smart.

There’s also notoric underfunding of the more vocational schools and of schools in “bad” neighbourhoods, and the fact that in some states you now have to pay a lot of money to go to uni, which - as studies have shown - further discourages someone who is poor from going to uni. All in all, our educational system is set up so that the result is that for the most part, people who are poor, stay poor.

Those are all issues students have been protesting about for years. These are all issues Merkel and the CDU have been ignoring or, in some cases, been making worse.

These are very much issues that happen to affect first-gen immigrants kids - being a first-gen immigrant happens to coincide with being poor as fuck a lot, since rich people do not generally emmigrate from their home county to germany to do shit jobs for little money - they are, however, not issues of “culture” - and framing them as such only serves to isolate, which is horrible.

All these things coming up close to elections (BW state elections, in polls for which the CDU is doing very badly right now) makes me doubt Merkels honesty here - I simply cannot see this as anything else but a grab for votes from the people who are still afraid of brown people and the kind of persons that are enraged by a mosque with a minarett higher than the local churches church tower. It’s a subtle playing of the racism card in a way that makes it hard to call anyone out on it, but that really is what it is.

It’s detestable and stupid, and it makes me feel ashamed of living here that it seems to be working.

Today is German unity day, and this year, the fall of the Anti-Fascist Protection Wall Berlin wall turns 20. A good day to look back to the events that lead there, a triumph for peaceful protest.

6. November 1989: A draft of a new law concerning travelling abroad from the DDR is published and draws lots of criticism.

7. November 1989: In response to the criticism, the government of the DDR decides to bring the passing of a law about permanently leaving the DDR forward.

9. November 1989: A new draft of the law is put forward by the government. The ministry of justice complains about the draft, so a few hasty changes are made before Günter Schabowski, member of the SED polit bureau, holds a press conference on it. In the press conference, Schabowski announces: “So, we decided to allow every citizen to leave via the border crossings of the DDR”

9. November 1989, ~19:00: A journalist asks Schabowski when this new law goes into effect, Schabowski answers “To the best of my knowledge, immediately.”. Being asked if this also applies to Berlin, he answers: “The departure can occur via all crossings of the DDR to the BRD or West Berlin”

Based on this, west German radio and TV instantly start broadcasting that the wall is “open”. Acting on this, several thousand people from eastern Berlin march to the wall, demanding it’s immediate opening, despite the threat of being thrown into jail or shot. At this point, none of the officers in charge of the wall have any idea what is going on.

9. November 1989, ~21:20: To reduce the threat presented by the huge amount of people, several east germans are allowed to leave the DDR at Bornholmer Straße crossing.

9. November 1989, ~21:30: The radio station RIAS broadcasts reports of people crossing the border. More and more people flock to the border crossings.

9. November 1989, ~23:30 The chief of the east german border protection troops, fearing for the security of his men, opens the border crossing Bornholmer Straße completely and suspends the control of papers usually associated with leaving the DDR.

9. November 1989, ~24:00: All border crossings in Berlin are now open.

10. November 1989, morning: People wake up, realize the border is open. More and more people cross the border, being given a warm welcome by west germans. Many bars in the vicinity spontaneously decide to hand out free beer. Hugging, family reunions, physical tearing down of parts of the wall.

24. Dezember 1989: Citizens of west Berlin are officially allowed to visit the DDR whenever they like, without a visa.

1. Juli 1990: All border crossings are completely opened, all controls are suspended. The Berlin wall has officially fallen.

20 years since the wall fell means 20 years of a free, united Germany, dedicated to the welfare of it’s people, to the european idea and to human rights.

I find being proud of ones country silly, as country is not something one chooses, and thus not a personal achievement to be proud of. I am, however, happy to be able to live here in Germany, and I want to do whatever I can to ensure that, in the future, Germany is a place where I can live, with a society I want to live in.

Go Germany.

So, the german national elections are over, and the results are in: (Graph via NekoMimiModo, thanks for that)

(Black: CDU/CSU [Conservative], Yellow: FDP [Libertarian/Conservative], Red: SPD [Social democratic], Green: Green party, Pink: Left party [Left of the SPD])

The government will be a coalition between the CDU/CSU and the FDP, a very conservative combination. So, here’s what I expect of those parties not part of the government for the next four years.

SPD

The SPD have gotten their worst election resut since 1949, and lost more voters in one election cycle than any party in germany ever before. As one of the members of the JuSos (SPD-affine youth organization) put it, people do not trust the SPD anymore.

This has its reasons. Over the last eight years, the SPD has been sliding more and more to the right. By now, they have become much like a second CDU, with only slight variations in method. This has to stop. The SPD has to return to their social-democrat roots. That includes more democracy from the base up, with members being included in party decicions much more, a formulation of very clear goals and policies and sticking to them, and a general shift back to the left.

Furthermore, the SPD has to hold the CDU to their promise to keep the FDP in check on workers rights, which the FDP wants to dramatically curb in the name of a “free” market.

Green party

The green party has been in the opposition for a while, and needs to continue their work there as before, especially on nuclear phaseout and alternative energies. But, much like the SPD, the green party needs to finally clearly formulate what their policy on such issues as personal liberties and surveillance is, instead of saying one thing and doing another.

Left party

The left party needs to get in a position where it would actually be reasonable for the SPD to enter into a coalition with them. That means, mostly, personal changes. Gysi and other ex-SED folk are just not an option.

Pirate party

The pirate party will have to continue their work outside of the parliament, educating people on the topics they care about. The weeks before the election were great, this work needs to be kept up.

Politically, they need to keep reminding the FDP that they promised to keep the CDU in check on personal liberties and surveillance - sadly, the FDP tends to be a little weak on the liberty part unless the rights of big companies are concerned.

Other than that, the pirate party has to start having an opinion on more topics than it currently has, if it wants to have a chance in further elections. And there certainly are a lot of topics that the established parties tend to overlook that are in dire need of some pirate attention. This, and strong local work, can help bring the pirate party closer to their goals.

(English translation: Scroll down.)

Nur noch mal zur Erinnerung: Heute ist Wahl.

Also auf gehts, schnell noch mal die Programme diverser Parteien durchgehen, damit die Entscheidung morgen nach Argumenten gefällt werden kann und nicht nach “Ach, der name hört sich cool an”. Bei mir werden es dieses Jahr wohl die Piraten werden, die ich euch hier auch noch einmal wärmstens ans Herz legen will. Manche würden mir ja nun vorwerfen, meine Stimme für eine “Ein-Themen-Partei” wegzuwerfen, aber in unseren Mehrparteiensystem, in dem ohne Koalition sowieso nichts geht, halte ich eine Stimmabgabe für die Piraten, die in den Themen auf die es mir im Moment am meisten ankommt am nächsten an meiner Meinung sind, durchaus für vertretbar.

Und bevor jetzt wieder Leute anfangen mit “Nein ich wähle nicht weil ich hasse das SYSTEM!”: Nichtwählen ist feige, besonders nun, da wir wirklich viele auch kleinere Parteien zur Wahl haben. Wenn schon nichts anderes, dann geht wenigstens und macht eurem Protest Ausdruck, indem ihr ungültig wählt. Wer sich weigert abzustimmen, der hat auch sein Recht nachher zu meckern verwirkt. ;)

Fail-Wahl verhindern - am 27ten September Wählen gehen!

In English:

Just in case you forgot: The german national elections are today.

Time to re-read the parties programmes, so that the decision tomorrow can be based on arguments and not “Eh, that name sounds cool”. For me, it’ll be the Pirate Party this time around, which I want to heartily recommend to you. Some would argue that I am throwing my vote away by voting for a “One-Topic-Party”, but I think in our multi-party system where governing outside of a coalition is pretty much impossible anyways, a vote for the Pirates, who are very close to my opinion in a lot of topics I care about a lot, is entirely justifiable.

And, for the Members of the “I don’t vote because I hate the SYSTEM!” crowd: Not voting is cowardly, especially with the huge number of smaller parties on the ballot this time around. If nothing else, then at least go and make your vote invalid to give your protest a voice. If you refuse to vote, then you’ve lost any right to complain afterwards. ;)

(This joke really only works in german because it relies on the german word for “Election”, which is “Wahl”, and the german word for “Whale”, which is “Wal”, sounding like each other, so avoiding a “Fail-Wahl” makes sense. But go vote tomorrow, anyways.)

Today is a birthday as well, altough of a whole different sort. The “Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland”, the german constitution, turns 60 years old.

Human dignity shall be inviolable. To respect and protect it shall be the duty of all state authority. (GG §1.1)

60 years in which there has been no war in germany. 60 years of freedom and equality. 60 years of a free democratic society. 60 years in which this nation has stood for the principles laid down in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as a free - later unified - nation amongst others in Europe and the World.

Every person shall have the right to free development of his personality insofar as he does not violate the rights of others or offend against the constitutional order or the moral law. (GG §2.1)

It really is reason to celebrate - which is why there have been flashmobs of people reading the Grundgesetz out loud all over germany today, and which is why I spent half of the day today walking around Karlsruhe handing out copies of the Grundgesetz to people.

Amendments to this Basic Law affecting the division of the Federation into Länder, their participation on principle in the legislative process, or the principles laid down in Articles 1 and 20 shall be inadmissible. (GG §79.3)

But not all is well. As is always the case with laws guaranteeing freedom, the Grundgesetz, too, is always under attack - despite the ”eternity clause”, GG §79.3.

Every person shall have the right freely to express and disseminate his opinions in speech, writing and pictures, and to inform himself without hindrance from generally accessible sources. Freedom of the press and freedom of reporting by means of broadcasts and films shall be guaranteed. There shall be no censorship. (GG §5.3)

Some politicians, hopefully in genuinely good faith (And not for the sole reason of wanting to boost their popularity with people before the elections soon taking place), want to exchange basic freedoms for percieved security.

• For one, there is the ”Vorratsdatenspeicherung”, mass data retention in the name of fighting terrorism, an initiative mostly backed by the german ministry if the interior.
• More recently, family minister Ursula von der Leyen is trying to introduce a law for censoring the internet, for preventing the spread of child pornography.

The privacy of correspondence, posts and telecommunications shall be inviolable. (GG §10.1)

We are lucky to be a nation where, for the express purpose of preventing the slow erosion of rights, a system of checks and balances is in place to prevent just that. The german constitutional court, located here in Karlsruhe, is a court where every german can file a complaint about a law to have it checked for constitutionality. And it has done so with great diligency and care, and is generally seen as a defender of democracy and freedom in germany.

The Federal Constitutional Court shall rule on constitutional complaints, which may be filed by any person alleging that one of his basic rights or one of his rights under paragraph (4) of Article 20 or under Article 33, 38, 101, 103 or 104 has been infringed by public authority. (GG §93.1.4a)

This system is deemed undemocratic by some, interestingly often the same persons who see the Grundgesetz as a hindrance of some kind. There is a grain of truth in this - after all, justices are not democratically elected - but in all those years, the constitutional court has proven time after time that it feels just as bound by the will of the people as the politicians in Bonn and Berlin, if not moreso - recently, when it declared the use of black box, paper-trail-less voting machines to be in violation of the constitution.

All Germans shall have the right to resist any person seeking to abolish this constitutional order, if no other remedy is available. (GG §20.4)

Our relatively young constitution has had to adapt over time - who could have predicted the german reunification, or a europe this close together, with a common currency - but overally, it has stood the test of time well and is still “In bester Verfassung”, as we’d say in germany. Happy 60th Birthday, Grundgesetz. I hope and I will help to make sure that you’ll stay with us for a long, long time to come.

More info:

• History of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (Wikipedia)
• Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany - official english translation
• Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Deutsch)
• Web site of the german constitutional court.
• Website of the “AK Vorrat”, an organization opossed to mass data retention
• Website of “Victims of abuse against internet censorship”, advocating real measures against child poronography instead of the introduction of broad, ineffective censorship.
• Previously here (tags): law - privacy - germany

Today, a package with THE LAW times 50 arrived - finally, my package from the BPB, with 50 issues of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, the german constitution. To be given away to people who have none, or at a political event eventually.

So, who wants one? ;)

A little explanatory sidenote to the pretty overlay currently decorating my site.

As you might remember, the german parliament, in 2007, passed the “Gesetz zur Neuregelung der Telekommunikationsüberwachung” (de / en), legalizing government mass data retention. ((Previously here, Previously: privacy-related). Now, January 1st 2009, things really get rolling: Broad retention of e-mail, phone, and internet connection data becomes mandatory (Only de), all to keep you safe, obviously.

Relatedly, the new BKA-Law was signed by the Bundespräsident. Now, we can have the government legally secretly ruffling through the data on anyones PC! lol, Bundestrojaner, indeed.

Thanks, dear CDU/CSU/SPD, but we could have lived without those christmas presents.

Update: Protest image, translated into english, because someone asked.

November 9th:

• 1923: Hitler-Ludendorff putsch.
• 1938: Reichskristallnacht.
• 2007: Vorratsdatenspeicherung. (de)

The pattern here is clear.

Jep, today the Bundestag decided to go against the will of the people, against the Grundgesetz (The german constitution), and agaist the likeley decision of the European Court and the highest german court, and passed a law permitting the government to use all the peoples connection data, be it from internet or phones, for pretty much whatever. It also mandates ISPs to keep said data. This is, of course, to protect us from the terrorists!

Nevermind that the econonic impact of having to store all this data will pretty much kill small ISPs, worsening the situation on an already pretty monopolistic market.

Nevermind that studies showed that 99.9% of all that data will never be even requested by police, and that, obviously, the biggest part of all that data is about completley innocent people, a crass violation of people rights.

Nevermind that this creates a climate of fear, in which people are afraid to say what they think.

Nevermind that this data will be misused, by people inside the system, and computer criminals outside the system.

Nevermind that it’s trivial for actual criminals to work around this with the likes of TOR and with stong cryptography.

Nevermind that this is a slippery slope to worse laws, and that laws like this usually only exist in facist states, like the DDR.

Nevermind all this, we have to have this law, as there is no other way to protect us from the immense terrorist threat.

What follows now is the biggest number of lawsuits about a single issue ever brought before germans highest court (Over 7000 people, and all opposition parties will file suit). As this is so clearly against the fundamental right of informational self-determination, this law must go. Or the terrorists, wanting to destroy our freedoms, win.

• More info at Vorratsdatenspeicherung.de.

lol, bundestrojaner

For those who do not know, the so-called “Bundestrojaner” is a trojan horse app developed by the German law enforcement agencies to peek at suspects hard drives without them knowing. This is a highly illegal and unconstitutional practice, and the law must be clarified in that way and not be fumbled around with to excuse this human rights breakage.

Take action: de/en, Chaos Computer Club.

According to spiegel.de (german), Google is threatening to close down the german version of it’s popular gmail service if the german Bundestag passes it’s new internet surveillance law. According to googles german privacy representative, Peter Fleischer, the new law would be a severe blow against privacy and would go against Googles practice of also offering anonymous e-mail accounts.

If the Bundesregierung has it’s way, then starting 2008, any connection data concerning the internet, phone calls (With position data when cell phones are used), SMS etc. of any german citizen will be saved for 6 months, anonymizing services like Tor will be made illegal.

Personally, I applaud google for joining the protest against this absurd piece of fear-inspired legislation. A big corporation standing up against this might get some politicians to actually have a look at and think about the issue instead of just passing it through, “Cause it’s to defeat the terrorists!”.

Take action now: http://www.vorratsdatenspeicherung.de/ (german) | http://www.dataretentionisnosolution.com/ (english)