Posted by RT on January 6, 2021 |
Comments Off on Time to change? Mixed response after German officials cheer diversity campaign to give names of migrant origin to weather events
The German migration agency has praised a campaign to showcase ethnic diversity by giving names of foreign origin to weather events. The initiative did not go down well with everyone though.
“We live in an immigration country. Nevertheless, the weather highs and lows [anticyclone and cyclone] are almost always given names like Gisela and Helmut. It’s time to change that,” a diversity group wrote on their #WeatherCorrection project’s website. The campaign to bring “new” German names into weather forecasts involves activists from Germany, Switzerland, and Austria.
“After all, Germans also have names like Ahmet, Chana, Khue und Romani,” the website said
Pretty much anyone can choose the name of a cyclone or an anti-cyclone for a fee of between €240 and €360 ($296-$444) paid to the Free University of Berlin’s Institute of Meteorology, with the proceeds going to student projects. The names are then used in official weather reports.
Fourteen such names were acquired through the initiative for 2021. So this year, Germany will see weather events with names of Arabic and Turkish origin, like Ahmet, Cemal and Jussuf, as well as Bozena, Bartosz, Irek, Dragica, Goran, and Chana, which are of Polish, south Slavic, and Hebrew origin.
The country’s migration and integration minister’s office praised the campaign in a series of tweets. “Ahmet or Alex, the main thing is the weather report! In 2021, it will be as diverse as our society, and that’s a good thing.”
The initiative, however, was met with a mixed response online.
“A very nice idea! And yes, our society is diverse – even if some don’t want to hear that or accept that,” one person tweeted.
Others called the idea “stupid” and complained about the “ideological indoctrination through the weather reports.”
“Thank you! The naming of high- and low-pressure areas is certainly one of the biggest issues in Germany. It doesn’t really matter whether the Ahmets and the Stafenies also get top education and well-paid jobs,” one person complained.
There are also those who say no one really cares about the names of weather events, while others find the campaign amusing. “Most high- and low-pressure areas have a migrant background, but little is known about the sexual orientation,” one Twitter user said.
Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!
Posted by RT on December 18, 2019 |
Comments Off on ‘Bollywood warriors’: Twitter feud erupts after Indian filmmakers accuse celebrities of supporting riots
Protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in India have triggered an online debate, in which film directors slammed Bollywood stars for “inspiring” unrest and vandalism during rallies.
Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri tweeted a series of videos, which appear to show mobs of violent protesters against the new law dismantling train tracks, starting fires and attacking police officers.
And the award for best scene in ‘most peaceful protest’ goes to...
“Peaceful students beating up police peacefully. Hello Bollywood warriors, I must thank you for supporting such peaceful protestors,” he wrote, while arguing in another tweet that the protests were “Bollywood-inspired.”
Peaceful students beating up police peacefully.
Hello Bollywood warriors, I must thank you for supporting such peaceful protestors. https://t.co/OJqqR371US
That was when producer and documentary filmmaker Ashoke Pandit replied to Agnihotri’s tweet that “many more like these friends of ours have supplied dummies.” He tagged several celebrities who have fiercely opposed CAA, including actress Richa Chandha.
Chandha did not take being called out lightly. She went on to call Pandit “a rabid hate monger that froths at the mouth on TV debates,” and accused him of “inciting abuse against ppl who disagree with you.”
Difference of opinion is welcome ? Sir wanna do a thread on you. May I ? Because of all the old charity work u do for the elderly, I assumed u still have some humanity left. Then I met the virtual version of u. You are always inciting abuse against ppl who disagree with you. https://t.co/JS0mkelhEK
In an apparent attempt to tone down his earlier comments, Pandit told Chandha that their disagreement does not mean that he disrespects her.
Some other actors have strongly attacked the law as well. Swara Bhasker slammed it as “bigoted,” while fellow actress Parineeti Chopra called police “barbaric” for confronting protesters.
Rajkummar Rao, meanwhile, condemned violence committed by police, as well as by protesters.
The Citizenship Amendment Act was approved by the Indian parliament earlier this month. The legislation simplifies getting citizenship for six religious groups, which have come from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, but not for Muslims living in India.
Critics are calling the law discriminatory towards Muslims, while the government insists that its purpose is to help persecuted people who have arrived from Muslim-majority countries.
The rallies against legislation began peacefully but quickly spiraled into violence, with rioters throwing bricks at police and burning cars on the streets.
Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!
