There were two notable deaths this week that probably went unnoticed.
![]() |
Paul making a Prediction |

There were two notable deaths this week that probably went unnoticed.
![]() |
Paul making a Prediction |
There were two notable deaths this week that probably went unnoticed.
![]() |
Paul making a Prediction |
Movies
Lost in Austen:
An engaging movie for Jane Austen fans. It’s funny and full of surprises. For the longest time, I avoided watching the movie. Then on an impulse, I decided to give it a try. I’m glad I did. If you’re not familiar with “Pride and Prejudice,” then this movie is not for you.Let the Right One In:
Great flick from Sweden. It’s the perfect choice for Halloween! It’s definitely not for children or the faint at heart.
Italian for Beginners:
A charming movie from Denmark. It’s realistic yet full of life. A feel good movie!
Books
Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story, by Leonie Swann, translated from the German by Anthea Bell
A murder mystery solved by sheep. It’s completely original. I read it in German this past summer. A must read. I’m in the process of reading the English translation.
Television
Sherlock (Masterpiece Mystery on PBS)
It’s not just another Sherlock Holmes. The new three-part series is a contemporary take on the father of forensic crime-solving. This Sherlock Holmes is remarkably true to the spirit of the original, an arrogant, antisocial man fixated on tiny details and deductive reasoning. I saw the first episode last night. I was expecting to be disappointed but happily surprised.
Movies
Lost in Austen:
An engaging movie for Jane Austen fans. It’s funny and full of surprises. For the longest time, I avoided watching the movie. Then on an impulse, I decided to give it a try. I’m glad I did. If you’re not familiar with “Pride and Prejudice,” then this movie is not for you.Let the Right One In:
Great flick from Sweden. It’s the perfect choice for Halloween! It’s definitely not for children or the faint at heart.
Italian for Beginners:
A charming movie from Denmark. It’s realistic yet full of life. A feel good movie!
Books
Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story, by Leonie Swann, translated from the German by Anthea Bell
A murder mystery solved by sheep. It’s completely original. I read it in German this past summer. A must read. I’m in the process of reading the English translation.
Television
Sherlock (Masterpiece Mystery on PBS)
It’s not just another Sherlock Holmes. The new three-part series is a contemporary take on the father of forensic crime-solving. This Sherlock Holmes is remarkably true to the spirit of the original, an arrogant, antisocial man fixated on tiny details and deductive reasoning. I saw the first episode last night. I was expecting to be disappointed but happily surprised.
Readers shared their thoughts on this article.
Her comments were hardly surprising. She stated the obvious. Everybody in Germany has known for years, if not decades, that its immigrants have failed to assimilate and that two separate cultures exist. Nevertheless, her statements fanned Germany’s already raging debate on immigration. A chorus of politicians has argued that many people from the immigrant community, which includes some four million Muslims and makes up some 18 percent of the population, have failed to integrate into German society.
Thilo Sarrazin touched off the debate in August with the launch of his polemic book blaming immigration for what he saw as the demise of German society.Having lived in Germany, I agree that there are two distinct societies: one German and the other Islamic. These two cultures do not mix. If you visit the neighborhoods of Kreuzberg or Neukölln in Berlin, it’s like being in an Islamic country. The women are veiled and the language is Turkish. There are even state funded public schools that teach Islamic language, culture and religion.
A number of years ago, a German friend commented that my German was better than most third or fourth generation Turkish Berliners, after only a few months of studying German. I thought it was a kind thing to say, but certainly not true. Unfortunately, the longer I live in Germany, the more I learn how accurate the statement was.
In recent years, Germany has devised a number of programs to assimilate the Turkish population. It provides free language, cultural, and civic instruction to its Turkish residents, and has poured millions of euros into early education. The result: there is little interest in the Turkish community to learn German or German culture, few Turkish children obtain a high school degree and even fewer go on to higher education. The percentage of Turkish people on public assistance is far greater that its population would dictate while the crime rate higher. Germany has discovered, too late, that it has a distinct and separate subculture, a sub-class increasingly independent of German society.
For years these facts were known but never spoken publicly. No one wanted to be labeled a racist. That has all changed. The recent rash of honor killings, the daily accounts of Turkish women being treated as virtual slaves by their husbands, and the waive of gangland style murders in the Turkish community have made people willing to critically examine what was heretofore a taboo subject: the failure of Germany to integrate its Turkish residents.
The USA can learn a lot from the German experience. Our recent waive of illegal immigration from Mexico, Central and South America should cause us to examine how we integrate our new arrivals. Our we doing enough to make these people, and their children, successful Americans citizens, or are we marginalizing them. There is a lot of talk about sending “them” back, but in reality, they are here to stay. Do we want to create a permanent sub-class of people like in Germany.
If history is any indication, we needn’t worry. For over two hundred years, the USA has successfully integrated millions of people from around the world. Moreover, most of our recent immigrants are grounded in our same western traditional values, making assimilation easier. Unlike Germany’s Turkish community, which is grounded in Islam, most of our immigrants are Christian with similar values regarding gender equality and freedom of expression.
Yet today, the USA stresses multiculturalism. I often hear people say multiculturalism is wonderful. But why? Why is multiculturalism good. Why shouldn’t people who come to the USA adopt or at least accept our values of gender equality, religious diversity, freedom of privacy, and freedom of speech.
Why is it alright to criticize Christian values but not okay to criticize Islam? Why is it okay for women to be covered from head to foot (a symbol of modesty or gender subservience), but not okay to draw a cartoon of an Islamic prophet?
I’ve always believed that “when in Rome do as the Romans.” Multiculturalism can be good but only to a point. When multiculturalism conflicts with basic human rights and human dignity, then it has no place in the USA.
Her comments were hardly surprising. She stated the obvious. Everybody in Germany has known for years, if not decades, that its immigrants have failed to assimilate and that two separate cultures exist. Nevertheless, her statements fanned Germany’s already raging debate on immigration. A chorus of politicians has argued that many people from the immigrant community, which includes some four million Muslims and makes up some 18 percent of the population, have failed to integrate into German society.
Thilo Sarrazin touched off the debate in August with the launch of his polemic book blaming immigration for what he saw as the demise of German society.Having lived in Germany, I agree that there are two distinct societies: one German and the other Islamic. These two cultures do not mix. If you visit the neighborhoods of Kreuzberg or Neukölln in Berlin, it’s like being in an Islamic country. The women are veiled and the language is Turkish. There are even state funded public schools that teach Islamic language, culture and religion.
A number of years ago, a German friend commented that my German was better than most third or fourth generation Turkish Berliners, after only a few months of studying German. I thought it was a kind thing to say, but certainly not true. Unfortunately, the longer I live in Germany, the more I learn how accurate the statement was.
In recent years, Germany has devised a number of programs to assimilate the Turkish population. It provides free language, cultural, and civic instruction to its Turkish residents, and has poured millions of euros into early education. The result: there is little interest in the Turkish community to learn German or German culture, few Turkish children obtain a high school degree and even fewer go on to higher education. The percentage of Turkish people on public assistance is far greater that its population would dictate while the crime rate higher. Germany has discovered, too late, that it has a distinct and separate subculture, a sub-class increasingly independent of German society.
For years these facts were known but never spoken publicly. No one wanted to be labeled a racist. That has all changed. The recent rash of honor killings, the daily accounts of Turkish women being treated as virtual slaves by their husbands, and the waive of gangland style murders in the Turkish community have made people willing to critically examine what was heretofore a taboo subject: the failure of Germany to integrate its Turkish residents.
The USA can learn a lot from the German experience. Our recent waive of illegal immigration from Mexico, Central and South America should cause us to examine how we integrate our new arrivals. Our we doing enough to make these people, and their children, successful Americans citizens, or are we marginalizing them. There is a lot of talk about sending “them” back, but in reality, they are here to stay. Do we want to create a permanent sub-class of people like in Germany.
If history is any indication, we needn’t worry. For over two hundred years, the USA has successfully integrated millions of people from around the world. Moreover, most of our recent immigrants are grounded in our same western traditional values, making assimilation easier. Unlike Germany’s Turkish community, which is grounded in Islam, most of our immigrants are Christian with similar values regarding gender equality and freedom of expression.
Yet today, the USA stresses multiculturalism. I often hear people say multiculturalism is wonderful. But why? Why is multiculturalism good. Why shouldn’t people who come to the USA adopt or at least accept our values of gender equality, religious diversity, freedom of privacy, and freedom of speech.
Why is it alright to criticize Christian values but not okay to criticize Islam? Why is it okay for women to be covered from head to foot (a symbol of modesty or gender subservience), but not okay to draw a cartoon of an Islamic prophet?
I’ve always believed that “when in Rome do as the Romans.” Multiculturalism can be good but only to a point. When multiculturalism conflicts with basic human rights and human dignity, then it has no place in the USA.
One of the more interesting stories about the trapped Chilean miners was the dispute between the wife and mistress of one of the miners. Chilean miner Yonni Barrios was greeted by his mistress when he was rescued yesterday. His wife boycotted the event because “the other woman” was going to be at the site. Apparently, Mr. Barrios had requested that both his wife and mistress welcome him when he emerged.
This story caught on in the media. After all, sensationalist human interest stories are more exciting to the press than what is actually unfolding. Sure we talk about the last guy out of the hole and the technology that was used in the rescue, but wouldn’t you rather hear about the miner with a mistress and how his wife won’t greet him but the girlfriend will. I thought these things only happened in France.