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6/1/2008
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Regensburg is a town in Bayern (Bavaria), which in turn is a southern state of Germany, where I am living. Regensburg has a population of about 150.000. For more details about Regensburg as well as about Bayern, maybe Wikipedia has some interesting ones for you: Regensburg on Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regensburg Bayern on Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bavaria. My hometown is Passau:
 
On the following pages, I want to write about some local peculiarities and traditions we have - focused mainly on the region where I live, Bayern. Because Germany is quite a young country (in it´s current form and borders), and went through a rough time of very small independent kingdoms and rulers before finally got united, the local traditions can very differ. That starts with the spoken regional dialect and ends up with culinary deliciousness. And yes, Reg, a Weißwurst definately IS a delicacy. Ignorant, you...hehe. So I hope, you will discover maybe something new about Bayern or Deutschland in general - or at least find some amusement on this page. It´s not much content in here yet, but I just started and will try to enlarge this page by-and-by. Uhm..and if you eventually find some grammar faults or a strange syntax, please be aware - I am working hard to improve my english. So, be an optimist and re-visit again. Maybe you will even see some improvement - or maybe not. So, have fun and be curious! |
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5/10/2008
Attac – eine Bewegung mit Zukunft
Attac - die französische Abkürzung für “Vereinigung zur Besteuerung von Finanztransaktionen im Interesse der BürgerInnen” – wurde 1998 in Frankreich gegründet. Lag der ursprüngliche Fokus von Attac in dem Eintreten für eine demokratische Kontrolle der internationalen Finanzmärkte und der Einführung der Tobin-Steuer, so haben wir uns mittlerweile der gesamten Problematik neoliberaler Globalisierung angenommen. Komplexe Themen werden auf klare und vermittelbare Forderungen heruntergebrochen und gleichzeitig wird eine fundierte Analyse im Hintergrund geboten. Dabei konzentrieren wir uns in Form von Attac-Kampagnen auf die Durchsetzung unserer Kernforderungen.
Attac aktiv - Was wir machenAttac versteht sich als Bildungsbewegung mit Aktionscharakter und Expertise. Über Vorträge, Publikationen, Podiumsdikussionen und eine intensive Pressearbeit werden die komplexen Zusammenhänge der Globalisierungsthematik einer breiten Öffentlichkeit vermittelt und Alternativen zum neoliberalen Dogma aufgezeigt. Mit Aktionen soll der notwendige Druck auf Politik und Wirtschaft zur Umsetzung der Alternativen erzeugt werden. Ein wissenschaftliche Beirat wird in Zukunft die Arbeit von Attac inhaltlich begleiten. Attac setzt darauf, möglichst viele Menschen zu gewinnen und mit ihnen gemeinsam zu handeln.
Veränderung beginnt vor Ort - AttacgruppenIm Mittelpunkt stehen bei Attac die Menschen, die vor Ort und in bundesweiten Aktionsgruppen und Arbeitskreisen aktiv werden. In über 250 Orten gibt es bereits Attac-Gruppen. Sie machen beispielsweise kreative Aktionen gegen die neue Welthandelsrunde der WTO oder vor der Filiale eines in Steueroasengeschäfte verwickelten Konzerns. Sie arbeiten inhaltlich an Attac-Themen und organisieren Informationsveranstaltungen.
5/1/2008Excerpt of an Interview on Al Jazeera with Arab-American psychologist Wafan Sultan: http://switch5.castup.net/frames/20041020_MemriTV_Popup/video_480x360.asp?ai=214&ar=1050wmv&ak=null
I just want to add to above interview, that you just have to exchange the term "Islam" with "Christianity" and scroll a bit back on timescale to see the same stupid things which are done in the name of God. Even if the real cause only lies in traditional patriarchal customs and conservative interpretations. But I fully agree with her, that Islam didn´t get out from the Dark Ages yet. Maybe it´s only, because in (traditional and conservative) Islam it´s impossible to separate religion and state.
I personally, reject every non-secular religion, culture or law, which sanctions inequality and restrains individual freedom/human rights.
"Tolerance is good. But not with the intolerant!"
(Wilhelm Busch, German drawer and poet, 1832-1908)
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Actual topic: Banning or not banning veil/jilbab/abaja/tschador/burqa here in Europe/Germany:
Yesterday, Reuters reported following news: "AMSTERDAM: The Netherlands said on Friday that it was seeking to ban the public wearing of the burqa and other Muslim face veils, possibly making it the first European country to impose such a ruling. Last December Dutch lawmakers voted in favour of outlawing face-coverings, and asked Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk to examine the feasibility of such a ban. Verdonk warned that since face veils were worn for religious reasons, a ban could directly conflict with Dutch religious freedom laws."
The separation of state and religion in my opinion is one of the only few, but nonetheless the most important achievement of Western democratic society. Europe/Germany is still only at the beginning to set us free from the chains of our conservative Christian background, mostly influenced by the narrow minded, intolerant and misogynistic Catholic Church. Nothing else in my opinion, does Islam stand for. Anyway, I am not having anything against Christians or Muslims - as long as their doing is not oppressing and against human rights. And a veil/jilbab/abaja/tschador/burqa for muslim girls/women is both in my opinion.
Helping establishing the right of wearing veils/burqas in Germany/Europe is either "just" thoughtless, naive and blind for not seeing what a veil really is (mis)used for, or even utterly intolerant and actively refusing women their human rights. The Western World has absolutely no right to force Islamic countries to take over our attributes and achievements of enlightenment. But we can help to make our living in our own countries free from any oppressing dogma, no matter if it´s spread by conservative Christians or conservative Muslims. Cause both of these ideologies - if they aren´t adjusting to modern social and cultural improvements and respect humans rights of any individual being instead of clinging onto an antiquated world view - are a dead end for humanity, equity and for the goal of a peacefully, multicultural society. Given this, yes, I won´t look away silently, if a muslim girl isn´t allowed to join her classmates on holidays or attending sport lessons or swimming. I won´t look away if muslim girls aren´t allowed to make German friends (if female or male) and going out with them alone, without having a brother as their watchdog in their neck. Is it tolerance to let them leaving school or not studying for getting married as early as possible, only because their family fear their daughters could possibly choose a non-traditional/islamic life? That muslim women here in Germany/Europe get even killed in the name of "honour"? To look away when human rights are refused to women in the name of a God or stupid traditional reasons under the premise of tolerance?
A veil/jilbab/abaja/tschador/burqa in the Islamic and pre-islamic traditional meaning, is not only a piece of attire but an instrument, with which women are hold under control by a patriarchic structured religion and culture. The woman body represents the honour of her husband, father, brother - even of her mother and sister. She´s responsible for the status of everyone. What a burden. This is the reason, why she has to wear it and why so many even "voluntarily" want to wear it. It´s the way their whole social and cultural life is built on, it became part of their identity for generations. As long as a wife can be beaten and locked up in the name of Islam when refusing her husband sex or for laying down the veil/tschador, as long as she (or he) is not allowed to marry a non-muslim guy/woman, that she owe´s him obedience in exchange for getting financial support cause she doesn´t even have the equal chance to earn her own money for living a self-determined life, as long as a married muslim woman can get divorced by her husband any time and everywhere by saying a certain phrase and without a court and in the opposite, she only can get divorced under certain circumstances and by calling a court, losing her children, as long as women´s status is only measured by how many children and especially sons she gave birth and how much she obeys her husband and stays at home - as long I will see the pure evil in Islam. As well as I see evil in Christianity and any other religion which spreads such an intolerant and Dark Age-ideology, cause many elements I listed up above are standing also in the Bible or are and still were interpreted by the dictatorial Catholic Church. The difference is, that more and more, the Catholic Church is losing it´s influence in cultural living in Europe/Germany since secularisation, if also very, very slowly.
Is this thinking intolerant? The term tolerance in context to religion was a product of enlightenment in Europe and formed mostly by Voltaire and Lessing. The defenders of enlightenment tried to tear down the boundaries between ideologies - if they are inhibiting peacefully living together. In particular a tolerant society can´t allow intolerance, which would destroy it at the end or which are against human rights and equality.
I ask a different question: Why is tolerance against faiths or traditions, which are intolerance and oppressing, so desirable? The opposite. I am for multicultural living. And in my opinion, there is no bigger obstacle for a multicultural society here in Europe, than these two religions. Both religions claim, to offer the one ond only truth and trying to "save" others by missionaring them or at least not marrying a partner who has a different faith or alternatively has to convert. But the real problem in daily living together is the cultural difference, mostly influenced by religion.
In my opinion, quenching the negative and repressing contents of religions, which are only based on social/cultural circumstances by the time the Thora/Bible/Koran was written or interpreted, is the only reasonable and only logical way, to make humans all kinds of races and faith, able living together. Integrated - not in parallel worlds within the same country. Respecting each other as equal beings, no matter which gender or faith you have. All what we need is our sanity and brain.
France does have a rigid separation of State and Religion. In Germany they say, we also have a separation - but do we really? I don´t think so. Every tax paying citizen in Germany - no matter if Christian or not, if a member of the Church or not - has to pay for catholic and evangelic church maintenance/restaurations, catholic and evangelic religious education, education of catholic and evangelic priests, salaries and pensions of the kardinals, bishops et cetera, et cetera... That´s no separation of Church and State at all! In other countries they would call this Theocracy. Ok, maybe a bit exaggerated, but it comes close enough, though.
Significant for the highly political influence of the Catholic Church is also, that from all the world religions on this planet earth - only the Vatican has a so-called "Holy See" at the United Nation. This entitles the permanent representative of the Catholic Church to make interventions at the United Nations without the right to vote. It was established as a Permanent Observer Mission in 1964. And for what does the Vatican use this granted right? For it´s utterly inhuman, patriarchic-dictatorial and supersticious repression of mankind and especially women. If they could, they would go back into the Dark Ages.
In my opinion, mankind won´t experience real progress in humanity, before not using simply sanity and brain instead of following blindly a book which was written and "interpreted" by hate-spitting, patriarchic misogynists. All the evil on this earth was and still is mostly caused by some silly religious ideologies and made worse by even more dumber and fanatic people later, no matter if it´s called Christianity, Islam or any other religion, which claims to have the one and only truth - and only oppresses people by doing so. If on purpose or not. They do.
Poor, rich Catholic Church in Germany and it´s double moral standards:  
 ARD: PANORAMA, 17.10.02  ARD: PANORAMA, 17.10.02
Die Soziallüge der Kirche (= The Social Lie of the Church. A summary of this article is added
in the above english translation of the "ARD PANORAMA"-tv-documantary at the bottom)
Staatliche Kirchen-Subventionen: Tabelle
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The Catholic Church and Women:
Clerical Lies about Maria Magdalena
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The Catholic Church and it´s hided illegitimate children. Celibacy is abnormal:
Gottes heimliche Kinder
Doppelmoral Zölibat
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In my opinion not as long as there are dogma-spewing religious institutions and people/politicans in power, preaching oppressing, intolerance and selfish ideologies in the name of some false God and/or just for getting more money and power on cost of others.
"My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness."
"There is no need for temples, no need for complicated philosophies. My brain and my heart are my temples; my philosophy is kindness."
"We can live without religion and meditation, but we cannot survive without human affection."
"Today, more than ever before, life must be characterized by a sense of Universal responsibility, not only nation to nation and human to human, but also human to other forms of life."
by the Dalai Lama
I am not a Buddhist. And it´s far from me and in my intentions, to insult or offend believers of any religion. In fact, I don´t care to whom or to which someone is praying. But in these few quotes above there lies more truth, sense and humanity, than Islam, Christianity and Judaism alltogether are telling - or rather not telling. But I personally could live with any secular religion - if they just would stop to claim having the one and only truth/way to salvation and moreover, need also the state and/or force to achieve and keep power over people. In secular states, sooner or later, the people wouldn´t let them get repressed, misused and killed in the name of a God. They would learn to think and choose for themselves - eventually. If mankind really needs illusions and faiths, and most of us obviously do - then it´s a pre-condition for multicultural society, that religions are secular. Thus, without the need of demarcating it´s own culture (which is naturally influenced mostly by religion) to others, also the disposition of everyone´s tolerance would be conveyed, increased and tightened.
On the following pages are some thoughts of mine about specific religions/beliefs and it´s institutions:
4/1/2008
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Osterfeuer (Easter Fires) are illuminating either the holy saturday or easter sunday night and are shining down from hills all over the country to release it finally from it´s winter rigidity. In this origin pre-christian custom, Germanic tribes honoured their spring goddess "Ostara", whose name means "east" and thus "dawn" or "morning light". The fire symbolizes the warm sun, which is brought back down to earth again by this ritual. And with the sun, also growth and fertility. The people welcome springtime and celebrate the start of a new life circle. In some regions, they fix a straw doll (Hexe/witch) on top of a wooden stake inmidst the firewood. It symbolizes the winter, which finally get´s burned that night. Winter is gone, springtime shall come. During christianisation of the Germanic tribes, this pagan tradition was temporarily even forbidden. One source mentions the first church congregation at Regensburg in the year 742 A.D. Anyway, the church failed in it´s effort of wiping out this old pagan tradition from people´s mind. So, the church took this custom over in the end. From that on, the Osterfeuer symbolizes the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In some regions, the easter candle is set alight at that fire and is carried in a procession into the darkened church. It typifies the light, which was brought to the world by Jesus. But still, for most people, it´s more a celebration in it´s origin idea: To expel winter and welcome spring.
There´s another ritual, the Osterräder (Easter Wheels). Also this custom was prevalent all over Germany in it´s ancient and pre-christian days. Now, it´s only still practised in some rare North German regions. People carry big wooden wheels (Räder, plural of Rad) up the hills and wind straw and tar drenched hemp around them. When the dark night came up, they light the straw and let the burning Osterräder roll down the hills. It´s a very spectacular scenery. Most famous place for this ritual is the town Lügde. Why only at a few locations in Northern Germany? Well....once upon a time, there was a Germanic prince called Arminius. He was the ruler´s son of a northern Germanic tribe, the Cherusker (Cheruscan), and was born in the year 16 or 17 B.C. He and his brother were brought as a "dead pledge" to Rome as children. This method was quite common back these days. If the subdued tribe ruler would have started another revolt against Rome, his most beloved things, his own children, got killed. So, also Arminius was brought to Rome. Because of his noble ancestry, they teached and raised him and his brother well - and which was not very common - even got the roman citizenship later as an adult. He joined the roman army and became a high ranked officer in their cavalry, a roman knight and praefect. Such a military career for someone who was born outside the Roman Empire, was outstanding that time. To cut a long story short, when his friend and former proconsul of Africa, Publius Quinctilius Varus, got the order to fight against Germanic insurrectionaries, he "betrayed" the romans and lead them into several ambushes in the Teutoburger Wald (Teutoburger Forest). Till Varus found out of Arminius true intention, it was too late. After 3 days, the XVII (17.), the XVIII (18.) and the XIX (19.) Legion (one legion = approx. 6000 feet soldiers) as well as 6 Cohorts (one cohort = approx. 500 feet soldiers) plus 3 Alae (one Ala = approx. 1000 horsemen) got killed in this so called "Varusschlacht" (Varus Battle) in the year 9 A.D. Varus committed suicide by throwing himself on his sword. This was one of the worst defeats for the Romans ever in history and happened in the height of their Empire. When Caesar Augustus found out what had happened, he cried: "Quinctilius Varus, give me back my legions!" After this lost battle the Romans decided, that never again would any other legion named after these 3 lost ones. Since that, the Romans switched their conquering ambitions for that area into securing their current northern borders along the Rhine. A wall was built, the Limes. Any further attempt to conquer areas northern that border, failed. That´s why the German tribes northern of the Rhine weren´t christianized that early as other Germanic regions and the pagan tradition of the Osterräder survived and are still practised. In the year 21 A.D, Arminius got killed by his father-in-law at the age of 37. Arminius abducted his daughter earlier, which wasn´t really a good start for a loving family bond he might have thought. As a precaution, I apologise to my history teacher, if I something mixed up. |
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5/6/2007Thanks to Annette for a wonderful weekend in Munich.
And for the bottle of red ;)
 
4/23/2007
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A quick spring stroll through some green and quiet corners of (south-)central Regensburg. These locations are right between the railway station and the market places/Cathedral. A range of about approximately 600 meters. Enough space for people, who just need a few minutes for themselves or meeting some friends for a nice coffee/beer after work as well as for runners.
A bavarian Restaurant/Café placed in an old royal stable with an own tiny brewery. Behind the round gates (and those 4 aren´t all) there is the tavern. At the opposite side of the building is a quite large terrace, facing the park. A quarter of the inner courtyard they canopied with a glass roof.
How many people are up on that tree? |
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Copyright 2009 Gunda Wagner. All rights reserved.
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