Florists in Celle Germany

Review: Flowers In The Gutter by KR Gaddy - The Nerd Daily

Gestapo, and the horrors of bombed-out Cologne with mountainside merry-making, passion and loyalty, and the steadfast determination of the pirates to carry the torch for justice. Such excellent storytelling elevates Flowers in the Gutter from a narrative recount of the pirates’ history to a tale of their redemption—these young people remained branded as criminals decades after the war redemption—and a beacon of inspiration to today’s youth. Flowers in the Gutter is not just a history lesson, but perhaps more aptly it is a mirror collapsed into paper—a powerful tool through which we see once again the import of resisting oppression, of holding tightly to our ideals, and of always, always, fighting for what is right. Flowers in the Gutter is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers. Will you be picking up Flowers in the Gutter? Tell us in the comments below! Synopsis Goodreads Photo-illustrated nonfiction, the story of the Edelweiss Pirates, a group of working-class teens who not only survived but resisted the Nazis by whatever means they could, even when they knew it could cost them their lives. Flowers in the Gutter is told from the points of view Gertrude, Fritz, and Jean, three young people from working-class neighborhoods in Cologne, beginning with their pre-school years at the dawn of the Third Reich in the 1930s. Gaddy shows how political activism was always a part of their lives and how they witnessed first-hand the toll it took on their parents–and how they still carried the torch for justice when it was their turn. Once the war began, Gertrude, Fritz, and Jean and their friends survived and even resisted in one of the most heavily bombed cities in Germany. Gaddy includes tense accounts of fights with Hitler Youth and the Gestapo, of disseminating anti-Nazi pamphlets, of helping POWs and forced laborers, and even of sabotaging Nazi factories. Ultimately, the war ended tragically for several young pirates, and Gaddy shows how post-war politics and prejudices led to these young men and women being branded criminals for decades after the war. Like this:Like Loading... ...https://www.thenerddaily.com/flowers-in-the-gutter-kr-gaddy/

'Flower Power': Photovoltaic cells replicate rose petals: Scientists increase the efficiency of solar cells by replicating the structure of petals - Science Daily

At very shallow incidence angles, the efficiency gain was even higher. The scientists attribute this gain primarily to the excellent omnidirectional antireflection properties of the replicated epidermis that is able to reduce surface reflection to a value below five percent, even for a light incidence angle of nearly 80 degrees. In addition, as examinations using a confocal laser microscope showed, every single replicated epidermal cell works as a microlense. The microlense effect extends the optical path within the solar cell, enhances the light-matter-interaction, and increases the probability that the photons will be absorbed. "Our method is applicable to both other plant species and other PV technologies," Guillaume Gomard explains. "Since the surfaces of plants have multifunctional properties, it might be possible in the future to apply multiple of these properties in a single step." The results of this research lead to another basic question: What is the role of disorganization in complex photonic structures? Further studies are now examining this issue with the perspective that the next generation of solar cells might benefit from their results. Story Source: Materials provided by (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. Note: Content may be edited for style and length. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/06/160624110028.htm

Students felicitated - The Tribune India

A prize distribution ceremony was organised by Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Canal Road, to felicitate the students who secured good marks in Class X, XI and XII examinations. Those who excelled in co-curricular activities were also honoured. Former Minister and former MLA, Jammu West, Sat Sharma was the chief guest on the occasion. He advised the winners to sustain the position. The function culminated with the national anthem.Principal selected for training Principal, JK Public School (JKPS), Kunjwani, SK Singh has been selected for the first CBSE Master Trainer Programme-Career Counselling which will be held at CBSE headquarters in New Delhi. A total of 59 principals from the top 2,100 CBSE schools from across the country have been selected. SK Singh is the only principal from the state to undergo the training.Nature walk Toddler’s World, a unit of JK Public School, on Friday conducted a nature walk. Children headed out on a nature trip with the activity teacher on the school campus. She inspired the students to observe and discover nature around them. The children were shown seasonal flowers, roots and trees on the campus. Session on higher educationThe University of...https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/jammu-kashmir/students-felicitated/808560.html

German solider captured after the Battle of the Bulge remembered for living the American dream - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The renaissance man excelled at everything. He couldn't even go on his honeymoon in Acapulco without doing something amazing. Mary Jurczyk pointed to a large sailfish above the fireplace mantel. It took him an hour to reel in the fish, and he wasn't even an expert fisherman, she said. When their home was built in Brookfield, it had to be extended one yard to fit the sailfish over the fireplace. He played tennis at the Western Racquet Club for almost four decades and successfully coached his three girls to become future state tennis champions. He was a good soccer player and avid skier. Jurczyk enjoyed life's simple pleasures such as listening to classical music at full volume. His music collection was organized and categorized. "It was insane, the number of hours he spent labeling CDs or tape cassettes," Kohler said. Other hob...https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/west/news/brookfield/2019/08/15/man-remembered-german-roots-medical-practice-and-family/2015794001/

Green party politician remains most popular head of federal state in Germany: poll - Xinhua | English.news.cn - Xinhua

With an approval rate of 66 percent, Daniel Guenther, Minister President of Schleswig-Holstein, was the second most popular head of a federal state in Germany, followed by Stephan Weil of Lower Saxony who was ranked third with 60 percent. At the bottom of the ranking was Berlin's governing mayor, Michael Mueller (SPD), whose work was only rated positively by 27 percent of people living in the German capital's federal state. Following a big win in the European Parliament elections in May, where the Green party in Germany won 20.5 percent of votes and became second strongest political force, support for the Green party in Germany is at a historic high. According to last week's Trendbarometer, the Greens would gain the same number of votes as the governing conservative union CDU/CSU if elections were to be held. With regards to a first Green German chancellor, Winfried Kretschmann recently told the Funke Media Group that a German government led by the Greens would not involve a radical change of policy. "Nobody needs to be afraid of a Green Chancellor. We are not trumps or Erdogans or Orbans who throw everything overboard," Kretschmann told the German newspapers. The head of Baden-Wuerttemberg noted that he did not see "big differences" in alliances with the CDU/CSU and the SPD. "In socio-political issues, we make progress with the social democrats, in economic policy with the CDU/CSU". http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-07/16/c_138229413.htm

Berlin moves to greatly reduce ‘solidarity tax’ for eastern Germany - Euronews

The bill, proposed by the finance minister from Angela Merkel’s CDU party, has been encouraged with support from the CDU’s coalition partner the SPD.The Prime Minister of Lower Saxony, Stephan Weil, said: "It is absolutely time to noticeably reduce the burden on small and medium incomes by abolishing the solidarity surcharge."Weil also thinks it's good that 10% of Germans should continue to pay the solidarity surcharge. "Nobody would understand, however, if the highest incomes in Germany were now to be rewarded with tax gifts totalling around eleven billion euros. We'd better invest this money in education and climate protection."Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel, parliamentary party and state leader of the SPD in Hesse, also supports Scholz.What is the Soli tax?The solidarity surcharge was introduced in 1991, to help reconstruction of the east following the reunification of Germany in the wake of the fall of the Berlin Wall.The tax was originally supposed to be in place only for a limited time but became permanent in 1995.Initially, the solidarity rate was 7.5%, but since 1995 it has been 5.5%. In addition, the surcharge has been unlimited since 1995.Contrary to some assumptions, taxpayers in the west and east have to pay the tax.According to the Ministry of Finance, in 2018 the German state received €18.9 billion as a result.Criticism of the billAccording to the Ministry of Finance, single people with an annual gross income of up to €73,874 would not have to pay anything. From €109,451 gross annual wages, the full supplement would have to be paid.Accordingly, a family with two children and an annual income of €221,375 or more...https://www.euronews.com/2019/08/13/berlin-moves-to-greatly-reduce-solidarity-tax-for-eastern-germany

The German European: how Ursula von der Leyen rose to become EU president - New Statesman

Chancellor Angela Merkel, for one, is a fan. Merkel brought von der Leyen into her first cabinet in 2005, just two years after the latter became a minister in the state of Lower Saxony. In fact, for a while Merkel appeared to be grooming von der Leyen as her successor. (Merkel’s actual chosen successor and CDU party leader, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, will take over at the defence ministry.) But von der Leyen never truly had enough allies in her own party to succeed Merkel in the Chancellery, perhaps because she was always something of an outsider, personally and ideologically. She joined the CDU at the relatively late age of 32 and spent years working as a doctor and taking care of her family before her rapid rise as a member of Merkel’s team. That’s not to say von der Leyen is especially popular with Germany’s other major parties. All of the Social Democratic MEPs broke with their European colleagues to reject von der Leyen in the confirmation vote. The German SPD even distributed a letter in Brussels stating that she was an “inadequate and inappropriate candidate”. The Greens in Europe — the party is surging in Germany and could take over the Chancellery at the next election — also whipped to vote against von der Leyen, though their opposition is not all personal, but rather due to the fact that she is not a Spitzenkandidat (the lead candidate put forward by each parliamentary bloc in the European elections). The German public are not fans either. According to the most recent SPON poll, 68 per cent are unsatisfied with her work as defence minister. Defence minister is a tough job, but that’s a strikingly poor number. Nevertheless, many Germans are pleased that one of their countrymen — or rather women — will head the European Commission for the first time in 50 years. Putting a German face on the EU could improve the Commission’s messaging towards Europe’s biggest member state. span id="docs-internal-guid-36c63774-7fff-ea93-5b1d-71...https://www.newstatesman.com/world/europe/2019/07/german-european-how-ursula-von-der-leyen-rose-become-eu-president

Germany’s Landesbanken still seeking clean bill of health - Financial Times

One public sector bank yet to be given a clean bill of health is Hanover-based NordLB, a lender with €160bn in assets majority-owned by the German states of Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt with regional Sparkassen holding a minority stake of 35 per cent.The bank, weighed down by a vast portfolio of non-performing shipping loans, expects that it will be singled out as the weakest link in Germany’s banking system in the European Banking Authority’s stress test on Friday. “That would not be a surprise,” NordLB told the Financial Times. The lender has started to woo new investors in an attempt to raise fresh capital of about €3.5bn, with the state of Lower-Saxony standing ready to pitch in taxpayers’ money alongside external investors. Six potential bidders are conducting due diligence and have until November 28 to decide if they will table a binding offer. Among the suitors is Landesbank peer Helaba, as well as listed rival Commerzbank, private equity funds Cerberus and three other PE investors, said a person familiar with the process. “I am glad that we have different options and am open for several different scenarios,” Lower Saxony’s finance minister Reinhold Hilbers told the FT, adding that a deal with a different Landesbank as well as one with private investors was on the ca...https://www.ft.com/content/d7d380cc-dcdb-11e8-9f04-38d397e6661c