Kulturkampf in Berlin um dänische ‘entartete Kunst’

Die Wochenzeitung Junge World druckt ein Gespräch mit Ivo Bozic von der dänischen Künstlergruppe Surrend ab, deren Plakat “Dummer Stein” in Berlin zu Drohungen islamistischer Muslime geführt hatte.

“Es ist eine Tragödie, dass eine Kunstausstellung nur unter Polizeischutz stattfinden kann. Die Situation erinnert mich an die dreißiger Jahre in Deutschland. Damals war es auch sehr schwierig, politische Kunst zu machen, und es gab auch diese Stimmung gegen die Freiheit Kunst, gegen ‘entartetete Kunst’. Da gibt es eine Parallele. Das ist sehr gefährlich.”

Vollständiges Gespräch lesen.

Russia-Norway collaboration on energy

A report from the French think tank IFRI examines collaboration on energy between Russia and Norway and the potential ramifications for the European Union of strengthened ties between Moscow and Oslo.

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Release of The Global Competitiveness Report 2007

The United States of America ranked first in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index, a closely watched metric that combines economic statistics and surveys of business leaders and ranks 131 countries, after ranking sixth in 2006. The survey praised the U.S. economy for its efficiency and ability to innovate, but the ranking came alongside a drumbeat of negative economic news.

The Financial Times notes U.S. consumer confidence reached a two-year low in late October and says housing markets in many major U.S. cities suffered their worst drop in sixteen years. Meanwhile, surging oil prices are dampening investor confidence and a broadening credit squeeze is taking a toll on large U.S. financial firms.

Other countries in the top five of the Competitiveness index were Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, and Germany. China and India finished 34 and 48, respectively-representing a surge for China.

Check out also this article in The Wall Street Journal.

Terror plots foiled in Germany and Denmark

Officials in Germany announced they had arrested three people on charges of plotting terror attacks on Frankfurt’s airport and a U.S. military base in Ramstein, Germany.

News reports said two of the men were German citizens who had converted to Islam, and the third was identified as a Muslim but reports were mixed on his nationality. Germany’s defense minister said the plots were well-advanced and represented “an imminent threat” that could have been more deadly than the London and Madrid bombings.

Meanwhile, Danish officials detained eight Muslim radicals on charges of plotting bomb attacks and of having links with al-Qaeda. Investigators said the men represented the first al-Qaeda-linked terror operations discovered in Denmark.

The happy variety of capitalism

A new Deutsche Bank study argues Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian economies produce more happy people than those in continental Europe or Northeast Asia.

Read the study.