Pick up the New York Times on any random day, and chances are there’s something about the “unprecedented foreign intervention in American democracy,” the “Russian information attack” on the 2016 election. (More…)
Author: Matt RubensteinMatt Rubenstein is a classical pianist living in Berlin. He has recorded the works of modern German composers for Berlin Classics and the cpo label, and has a forthcoming CD coming out soon on Toccata Classics with works by the Berlin composer Heinz Tiessen, who happens to have been a socialist. Since childhood he’s been interested in politics and philosophy, and he wishes he could learn music more quickly, or sleep less, so he could devote more time to both.
Matt Rubenstein is a classical pianist living in Berlin. He has recorded the works of modern German composers for Berlin Classics and the cpo label, and has a forthcoming CD coming out soon on Toccata Classics with works by the Berlin composer Heinz Tiessen, who happens to have been a socialist. Since childhood he’s been interested in politics and philosophy, and he wishes he could learn music more quickly, or sleep less, so he could devote more time to both.
It can be lonely to be a critic of Israel in Germany. Across the political spectrum most German media and all major political parties adhere to a strict consensus in defense of Israel. Even on the left, where Israel’s worst transgressions may inspire an occasional scolding, any position that questions Israel’s “right to exist“ on any grounds whatsoever is anathema. (More…)
The Russian government may or may not have been the source of the Wikileaks revelations that hurt Clinton electorally to an unknown degree. Some sources in the CIA think so, or want us to think so. The Obama Administration, Clinton’s supporters, and large parts of the press concur. Other sources disagree in varying ways. (More…)
The headlines of German papers today say everything you need to know. The Frankfurter Allgemeine is, as usual, full of useful tips for how to handle the exasperating upstarts in Athens. It’s also happy to report that German tourism in Greece set a new record this year. For its part, the Süddeutsche Zeitung gets to the heart of the matter, with a lead article on Germany’s “image problem”; and what a problem that is. (More…)
Faster than you can say “manufacturing consent”, “Je suis Charlie” has become another “Yes we can!”, a slogan for the self-herding masses, an opiate for the iPhone generation. If that wasn’t clear when it became the Facebook meme of the decade, it sure as hell should be obvious now (More…)