Ban the gnome. There’s a new Nazi crime trial heading for Nuremburg and the gnome is to blame. The city’s public prosecutor’s office is conducting an investigation into the legality of German artist Ottmar Hörl displaying a garden gnome in the window of his home. An anonymous letter complained about the golden little fellow giving a Hitleresque salute. Der Spiegel quotes spokesperson Wolfgang Träg as explaining to the German press agency DPA that the display of the symbols of organisations which are banned under Germany’s constitution — such as the Nazi party — is only lawful if the organisation is being overtly criticised. “We are currently deciding whether the case of the garden gnomes is as clear cut as placards with crossed-out swastikas.”

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Liberal anti-semitic step too far

 Tasmanian independent Jackie Lamby might be right. Perhaps the Peter Dutton led Liberals can't win coz they've gone nasty. Nasty they certainly were this afternoon as Michael Sukkar, newly elevated to the post of manager of opposition business, tried to show what a tough guy he could be. Sukkar chose to try and stop Attorney General Mark Dreyfus part way through explaining his personal family links to the Holocaust. Attempts to smear Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for being soft on anti semites is one thing. Trying to paint the Jewish Dreyfus of trying to politicise debate on the subject is another.
Read more

Lured onto Tik Tok by Peter Dutton

Image
There's a first time for everything even for an 82 year old. Today it was Tik Tok. Finally ventured to this much publicised site after a friendly referral to a story titled Spud Stands on his Record . It told how " Peter Spud Dutton, the joyless eeew tuber and social media phobe, has taken to TikTok." I could not resist and went searching. I was disappointed at not finding one of those glamorous all-singing all-dancing clips that have crossed my path on other sites after being down-loaded from Tik Tok. Instead there was this : An Opposition Leader explaining “… I really joined TikTok for one reason. It’s to tell you that we do not have to live in a country where you spend your whole life renting,” (Spud. Sept 2024). A very serious politician indeed. But one to lure younger voters to the Liberal Party? Perhaps if they are moved by a photo of the would-be leader as an outdoor man. Footnote The Australian Inependent Media Network has what it calls "a  far from comprehe...
Read more

Labor silent about baby penguin crisis

Image
 The baby Penguins of Bicheno are dying of starvation and federal Environment Minister Tania Plibersek remains silent about the crisis. Plibersek has failed to mobilize veterinay nurses to provide emergency feeding. Photo from Reddit The helpless chicks urgently need mashed fish to survive. Normally parents of the  world’s tiniest penguins wade ashore on eastern Tasmania’s mid-summer nights to feed their young, hidden within the dunes. But a month ago, the London Times reported, adults of the Little Penguin species, which count Australia’s southern island state as their stronghold, suddenly ended their nightly visits, leaving their infants to starve. "The cause of the abandonment of their young is unclear but scientists believe a rapid warming of waters surrounding eastern Tasmania in recent years has robbed adult penguins of the small fish that they feed on." That this story of shame has become international only increases the reputational damage being done to the Anthony Al...
Read more