In 2021, President Biden offered a safe haven to Hong Kong residents in the U.S., which allowed them to prolong their stay for up to 18 months. This year, Biden extended that offer for an additional two years, calling Hong Kong’s policies a “significant erosion of human rights and fundamental freedoms.” To understand these policies better, here’s a brief look into Hong Kong’s recent history.
Tag Archives: United States
Winter Sports — At What Cost?
Photo credit: “Ski jumping in Oberstdorf, Germany” by Arne Müseler
“Having the World Cup back on U.S. soil is very important in developing the sport of Ski Jumping in this country and across the world,” enthuses one ski jumping trainer about the return of the Men’s Ski Jumping World Cup to historical site Lake Placid, NY, after over three decades. As heart-warming as this news may be for North American winter sports aficionados, it’s hard to feel as optimistic about ‘developing’ the future of snow sports when climate change is already heavily impacting events even today.
Having Fun with Language on German American Day 2022
In countries, such as Poland and the Netherlands, learning German is on the rise. Yet, in the U.S., it’s been declining for the past hundred years. Numbers of students learning German have decreased from roughly two million in 1910 to a little over one million today. Therefore, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that German programs have been closing all over the U.S. The very liberal arts college I attended as a bachelor student in Indianola, Iowa – Simpson College – eliminated its German program a few years ago. So in preparation for this German American Day (Oct. 6), I decided to attempt to do some PR for German.
Recently, while I was surfing the web, I came across something that almost knocked me for a loop. It’s nothing bad, just a 58-letter word. So let’s hear that drum roll….
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ViZqQkddCc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ViZqQkddCc
That word is: Kurzfristen-energie-versorgungs-sicherungs-maßnahmen-verordnung.
Like Meat?
It’s cool to be vegan, but are all those meat substitutes really so healthy for the environment and for us? Turkey or tofurkey, vegan schnitzel or beefsteak? Standing in front of a supermarket freezer, it’s up to you whether to choose between conventional or plant-based meat.
Getting Germany Back on Track
The Marshall Plan has become synonymous for massive help, for bringing about a herculaneum task and having a country rise again from the ashes. Originally designed to help Europe get back on track after the devastations of World War II, it has a much broader meaning today. In discussions about how to rebuild Ukraine at some point in the future, there’s again talk of the need for a Marshall Plan. However, it’s worthwhile to take a step back and look at what the original Marshall Plan was all about.
Teaching Native North America: A Continuing Challenge
Intellectual legacies of colonization play a powerful role in shaping how mainstream U.S. and global society has come to see Native Americans. Artwork from the 19th and 20th centuries – such as James Earle Fraser’s sculpture, “The End of the Trail” – have helped to create the image of Native Americans on horseback as representations most associated with Indigenous populations of North America. Type “Native American” into a search engine, and you’ll likely get many historical images of Great Plains Indians. In parts of Europe as well, the perception of Native Americans has been shaped in unique ways by authors like Karl May and the later movies based on his books. Without a doubt, our students’ perceptions about Native Americans are influenced by these fantasies and representations.