James Blunt in Stuttgart. Last night. Presenting his newly released album “Who We Used To Be”. He started the show with his words: “the first half of the show is about my miserable songs, which made me successful”. Very charming. I love his voice. Smoky. Deep. Soft. Romantic.
Wow!
What a show!
And the crowd was singing along when his most famous song “you’re beautiful“ came on – a song from 2006. A song reminding me about my time abroad in Australia. A beautiful time. Hach. Time flies by.
And we got two things in common: we both got married in 2014 & we are both married to a British person. The little difference: he’s married to an aristocratic wife and they are friends with Harry & Meghan. Ah, and Ed Sheeran is his oldest son’s godfather. lol.
If you focus on the good news, it’s amazing what you find out there in the www!
Here’s to the good news this week.
Haste makes waste – Stuttgart 21 geht im Dezember 2025 nur in Teilen in Betrieb. Nun fahren die ersten mit Schienen beladenen Züge über die Filder bis kurz vor die künftige Bahnsteighalle. At last, we are rolling 🚂 Notre Dame update: „with great satisfaction, we announce the completion of the rooftop frame today – a testament to the dedication and skill of countless craftsmen and artisans who have poured their hearts into this restoration project over the past four years“ 💜🌳 Congratulations 🏂 🇩🇪 Yeah, that Stuttgart!Miley Cyrus: protect kids, not guns! Thank you!Thank you!😃Olaf in our neighborhood It’s offering itself! (would be nice, BUT => fake news!)💪🏻 getting there Thanks, Helene! We need more of you!French legislators on Monday last week voted to explicitly enshrine access to abortion in the Constitution, making their country the first in the world to do so 🇫🇷🚌 🚆 ✈️ At least, Germany is developing a great humor!
Finally… our employer has been in the news this week with big statements.
Der Chef des Autozulieferers Bosch hält Verbrennungsmotoren noch für Jahrzehnte für notwendig und schließt sich damit Toyotas Bossan an, der sich kürzlich ganz ähnlich geäußert hatte.Let’s keep preparing our future 💪🏻💜
Since 1955, World Press Photo has connected the world to the stories that matter. The non-profit organization remains committed to press freedom and the power of visual journalism by providing platforms that present accurate, diverse, and trustworthy images.
Wow! What an exhibition.
What happened in 2022?
Photojournalists working in 2022 brought stories of the war in Ukraine and life under Taliban rule in Afghanistan, of use and abuse of river water in Central Asia and the United States, flooding in Australia, oil spillage in Peru, and people with dementia in Ghana…
So much poverty, discrimination, no freedom and so many countries around the globe which are all affected by climate change. It’s tragic! It’s shocking! The good news: thanks to world press photo, we are being made aware! And it’s our choice to get hands on.
For everyone who won’t have the chance to go to the exhibition, I’m sharing a selection of the peoples stories. It’s a lot of words, but worth reading them!
2023 World Press Photo Contest is representing major news events and important moments overlooked by the mainstream media in 2022, this exhibition brings together the most exceptional photographs and photographic stories submitted to the World Press Photo Contest. Drawn from more than 60,000 entries, the works on display were selected from six global regions – Africa, Asia, Europe, North and Central America, South America, and Southeast Asia and Oceania. The winning entries call attention to some of the most pressing issues facing the world today, from the devastating documentation of the war in Ukraine to intimate scenes of daily life in Mexico. To encourage greater understanding and awareness, as well as reinforce the need for press freedom, World Press Photo shares these important stories with audiences in all corners of the globe.
„Net-Zero-Transition: People swim at Amager Strand, Denmark, on 13 July 2021, near a wind farm which is co-owned by 8,552 electricity consumers, and serves more than 40,000 Copenhagen households.“„Renewable energies, new technologies for food production, and the circular economy can be seen as key directions among European companies seeking a green transition. Human-induced climate change is the largest, most pervasive threat to the natural environment and society that the world has ever experienced, according to the OHCHR. This prompted the European Union to establish targets to cut greenhouse emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030 and to reduce them to net-zero by 2050. The photographer documents innovative technologies that offer possible routes to these goals.“
Since 2015, the influx of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers from Africa to Europe has been covered in European news media as either a series of humanitarian crises or as a set of abstract statistics. On 1 August 2016, a boat carrying 118 people was found drifting off the coast of Libya, one of hundreds that required rescue in the past years. What happened to these individuals after their arrival in Europe?
„Passengers: Left to right, top to bottom: Abdul is from Senegal and at the time of publication resided in Spain. Haruna is from Guinea and at the time of publication resided in Kiel, Germany. Neboth is from Nigeria and at the time of publication resided in Matera, Italy. Modou is from Senegal and at the time of publication resided in La Fuliola, Spain. Mallow is from Guinea and at the time of publication resided in Seraing, Belgium. Kaba is from Guinea and at the time of publication resided in Montauban, France.“„Passengers: Alpha Oumar is from Guinea, where he studied writing and literature. Due to lack of economic opportunity, he decided to migrate to Europe. In August 2016, he was placed in a shelter in Brindisi, Italy, after a long journey that took him through Mali, Algeria, and Libya. Eventually, he was granted a residence permit by Italian authorities and found a job picking fruit in Palagiano, Italy. He dreams of reuniting with his wife in Italy and pursuing further studies in literature.“„Home for the Golden Gays: Al Enriquez (86) looks through a curtain in the the Golden Gays’ home in Manila, the Philippines, on 18 July 2022. The Golden Gays are a community of older LGBTQl+ people from the Philippines who have lived together for decades and support each other. In a country where they face discrimination, prejudice, and challenges amplified by their age and socioeconomic class, the group came together and made a home, sharing care responsibilities and staging shows and pageants to make ends meet.“„The Voice of New York Is Drill: B-Lovee (21) is a South Bronx native who has turned local renown into global success by going viral on video sharing platforms like TikTok. South Bronx, New York, United States, 11 July 2022. Drill, a musical genre that originated in Chicago, United States, may be the most recent wave of rap music to achieve massive global success, but its story is not new to hip-hop. Even as their hit songs top charts, New York drill artists are targeted by New York City Police Department (NYPD) investigators who comb their lyrics and music videos for evidence of gang-related crimes. Concerts are shut down and artists face indictments, all while success brings rivalry and jealousy among peers out on the streets. This series offers an intimate look at several members of this new generation of young men and women drill artists striving to realize their dreams.“„Beautiful Poison: Carmelita (16) lies on her bed on 21 November 2021. Photosensitivity caused by encephalomalacia (softening of the brain tissue) gives Carmelita such pain that she cannot go out into the light. The EU, China, the US, and other countries that have banned certain agrichemicals due to health and environmental risks still sometimes legally sell these substances to countries where labor is cheap and then import the products grown abroad.“„The Price of Peace in Afghanistan: Unable to afford food for the family, the parents of Khalil Ahmad (15) decided to sell his kidney for US$3,500. The lack of jobs and the threat of starvation has led to a dramatic increase in the illegal organ trade.“
Seven million Venezuelans have left their country to live abroad, driven by economic collapse, political unrest, high unemployment, and extreme social inequality. Around the turn of the millennium, oil-rich Venezuela was prosperous, but its fortunes declined following plummeting oil prices, later economic mismanagement, and political instability.
„I Can’t Hear the Birds: Oil pollutes Lake Maracaibo, in Zulia, Venezuela, on 9 January 2018. Up to 1,000 barrels leak into the lake daily due to aging, unmaintained infrastructure, according to the environmental organization Azul Ambientalistas.“„World Champions A scene of jubilation as Argentinians revel in their country’s return to football world dominance. Buenos Aires, 18 December 2022.“„Alpaqueros Alina Surquislla Gomez, a third-generation alpaquera, cradles a baby alpaca on the way to her family’s summer pastures, in Oropesa, Peru. Vital to the livelihoods of many people in the Peruvian Andes, alpacas face new challenges due to the climate crisis. With natural pastures shrinking and glaciers retreating, these animals increasingly struggle to graze and hydrate. Alpaquero (alpaca-farmer) communities in turn may be forced to move to higher altitudes or to abandon their lifestyles. To combat these difficulties, scientists hope to address the problem by creating breeds more resistant to extremes in temperature. The jury appreciated the way the story illuminates how culture and identity are deeply intertwined with the environment.“„An alpaca fetus is analyzed at the Quimsachata Research and Production Center, on 22 November 2022. The center aims to create breeds more resilient to the climate crisis.“„The Dying River Alfredo, Ubaldo, and José tend beehives near Wenden in the Arizona desert, United States, on 11 March 2022. A substantial decrease in flow of the Colorado River, caused by lack of rain and increasing demand for water upstream, now requires these workers to provide water for the bees in troughs. Heat and drought weakens bees, making them more susceptible to pathogens and parasites, and impacts the plants from which they feed. Between 2019 and 2020, colonies of bees – vital for pollinating crops – declined by 43.7 percent across the US. The jury felt this understated portrait invites reflection on an environmental issue that resonates at a global level.“
Massive protests in Iran began after the arrest and death of Mahsa “Jina” Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman who was taken into custody by the Islamic Republic’s morality police for allegedly violating the country’s mandatory hijab law. Despite the violent attacks on protestors, the protests spread rapidly to regions across the country, encompassing all age groups and social classes. To demonstrate their opposition to the government, women in Iran have been going out in public without wearing a hijab, turning everyday life into an act of civil disobedience.
„Woman, Life, Freedom This photo-based video project narrates one chaotic night in the life of an Iranian nurse as she saves the life of a young protester named Reza. The footage offers a rare glimpse into the dangers faced by protestors on the streets of Iran today, situated in the context of an inciting incident: on 16 September 2022, Mahsa “Jina” Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, died after she was arrested by the Islamic Republic’s morality police for allegedly violating the country’s strict rules restricting the dress and conduct of women. The ensuing protests quickly intensified, spreading across the country. The Islamic Republic responded by disrupting internet access and violently repressing uprisings. Because hospitals are controlled by the regime, anyone injured in the protests risks arrest and further abuse upon seeking medical attention.“„Untitled An Iranian woman sits on a chair in front of a busy square in Tehran, defying the mandatory hijab law, on 27 December 2022. “A few days after Mahsa’s death, I was walking past Keshavarzi Boulevard when I saw a massive crowd of men and women, young and old, chanting a slogan that I’ve never heard before: ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’. It enlightened me, it was moving,” she said.“„New Capital In 2015, the Egyptian government began constructing the NAC in the desert east of Cairo, Egypt, to accommodate ministries, top companies, and relieve chronic congestion and pollution in the city. Modeled on Dubai, this new urban environment will house 6.5 million people. Critics of the project argue that the NAC caters to the privileged minority and serves President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi’s efforts to consolidate power and establish a legacy.““Some workers earn as little as US$200 a month building a city where a two-bedroom apartment will cost around US$50,000.”“Battered Waters Silt in the Amu Darya in Uzbekistan gives the water a dark red color, as water levels in the river continue to decrease. 28 October 2019. Four landlocked Central Asian countries are struggling with the climate crisis and lack of coordination over the water supplies they share. Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, upstream on the Syr Darya and Amu Darya rivers, need extra energy in winter. Downstream, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan need water in summer for agriculture. Historically, the countries seasonally traded fossil-fuel energy for water released from upstream dams, but since the fall of the USSR and the rise of privatized industries, this system has become imbalanced. Unsustainable use of water and recent intense droughts compound the challenges.”“Oases depend on a delicate balance of three elements – abundant water supply, good quality soil, and date palms – to function as islands of biodiversity and barriers against desertification. In Morocco, destructive human activity and global heating are currently disrupting this ecosystem. Roughly two-thirds of Morocco’s oasis habitat has disappeared in the past century due to such factors as steadily rising temperatures, fires, and water scarcity. Oasis degradation in turn impacts inhabitants, causing decreased agricultural production, poverty, and displacement.”“The Big Forget Sugri Zenabu, a mangazia (female community leader) of the Gambaga “witch camp”, sits encircled by residents in Gambaga, Ghana, on 27 October 2022. Zenabu shows some signs of confusion and memory loss associated with dementia. As life expectancy rises, dementia is increasingly becoming a public health and socio-cultural issue in Ghana and across Africa. Lack of public awareness of behavior associated with the condition means that women displaying symptoms are sometimes perceived as witches. In Ghana, they may be sent away to live in so-called “witch camps”.”
Why Press Freedom Matters!
Freedom of the press cannot be taken for granted. The organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) defines press freedom “as the ability of journalists as individuals and collectives to select, produce, and disseminate news in the public interest independent of political, economic, legal, and social interference and in the absence of threats to their physical and mental safety.” RSF estimates that nearly half of the world’s population has no access to freely reported news and information. By their count, more than 1,600 journalists have been killed in the past 20 years, at an average of 80 per year.
Some men say: we, women, are always „too much“. Too beautiful. Too loud. Too big. Too fast. Too diverse. Too sassy. Too shy. Too small. Too emotional. Too much of everything.
We are perfect the way we are! Be too much of everything and be proud of it! 💃💃Here’s to all the strong women out there!
Keep it up!
And yes, we love you guys, too! We need you men too! But today, it’s all about women! Cheers to all the beautiful girls and ladies in the world! 🍸
40 Ikonen. 40 Geschichten. Von Oprah Winfrey über Serena Williams hinzu Jane Fonda. Genial was Edward Enninful zu seinem Abschied als Chefredakteur der britischen Vogue gemacht hat.The last time the Summer Olympics were in Paris in 1924, women made up 5% of the athletes. 100 years later women will make up 50% of athletes for the first time ever! The 2024 Paris Olympic Games will be the first Games to reach full gender parity. Out of the 10,500 athletes participating in the Games, 5,250 will be men and 5,250 women.Be a „swiftie“ or not. She rocks! 🎸 After 60 years of holding the record for the most weeks in Billboard 200’s top 10, The Beatles have finally been dethroned by none other than Taylor Swift. With 384 weeks in the top 10, Swift just edges out the Fab Four who previously held the record at 382.Mercedes-Benz’s history is proudly tied to one woman: Bertha Benz, the world’s first driver and roadside mechanic. In 1888, she took her husband’s invention, the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, and drove it over 100 kilometers. Along the way, she encountered technical difficulties and proved to be very resourceful, including using a hat pin to fix a clogged fuel line and a garter to repair a broken ignition. Beyond her contributions to the advancement of cars, she also paved the way to #InspireInclusion for women in the industry.Charlotte Tilbury becomes the first female founded brand to sponsor F1! Tijen Onaran: „Wenn ich also jetzt auf 7 Jahre Unternehmertum schaue, schaue ich auf eine Zeit, in der ich – als Frau – mit migrationsgeschichte (um alle Boxen zu bedien) anderen Frau gerne Inspiration sein will. Und genau das in diesen Zeiten, in denen Menschen mit meiner Geschichte mehr denn je angegangen werden. An alle Parteien: Frauen sind Expertinnen, Angestellte, Macherinnen, Unternehmerinnen – sie wuppen Familie und Beruf – haben Doppelbelastung, sind das Rückgrat unserer Wirtschaft UND Gesellschaft. Wer diese Zielgruppe nicht anspricht, außen vor lässt oder gar unterschätzt, wird keine Wahlen gewinnen. Und damit: auf in die Weltfrauentagswoche! Und: auf 7 Jahre Unternehmertum – what a ride 🔥“
It’s not only spring time, but the beer garden season is open! 🍻Finally & way to go! Good luck for Super Tuesday tomorrow 💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻
Did you know… in Sweden, it’s actually unusual for fathers to forego parental leave?
Sweden became the first country in the world to introduce 180 days of state-funded, gender-neutral parental leave. Its benefits, for parents, children, and gender equality, are many, and initiatives are in place to encourage both parents to take equal amounts of leave.
Die Welle des Widerstands gegen den Rechtsextremismus erfasst auch die Wirtschaft in der Region Stuttgart. Bei einem Treffen in der Landeshauptstadt haben Firmenchefs und Gewerkschaftler aus ganz Deutschland ein Zeichen für Demokratie gesetzt. Mercedes-Vorstandschef Ola Kallenius sagte etwa, ohne ausländische Mitarbeiter „würde kaum eine S-Klasse entwickelt, gebaut und verkauft werden”.
All in favor of the perma-three-day-weekend? More than half of the firms in the UK that implemented the revised 32-hour workweek have made it permanent and are recruiting better talent, seeing improved productivity, less turnover, and reporting better employee wellbeing. Some have even seen increased revenue. The six-month trial of a four-day workweek involved 61 companies and around 2,900 workers.
Johannes Floors erhält den „Sonderpreis” beim Fair Play Preis des Deutschen Sports 2023, gestiftet vom DOSB und Verband Deutscher Sportjournalisten (VDS). Der Weltrekordler zeigte beim 400-Meter-Finale der Para Leichtathletik-Weltmeisterschaft 2023 bemerkenswerte Empathie für ein Konkurrent Hunter Woodhall, dessen Prothese unmittelbar vor dem Startschuss im Stadion gebrochen war – und holte anschließend Gold. Herzlichen Glückwunsch, Johannes – eine verdiente Anerkennung für diese tolle Geste!Someone collected these tree branches and called them “nature’s dance” 💃 🕺🏻 Last month, Flo was the oldest of 200 athletes who competed at the 2024 USATF New England and East Region Indoor Masters Championship in Rhode Island. She took up track at age 60 and has since won over 1,040 medals in track and field. Wow!
People pay in advance for a coffee that will be served to whoever can’t afford a hot drink. This tradition started in Naples. Amazingly, it has spread throughout the world’s cities and towns. It’s also possible to order not only “hanging coffees” but also a sandwich or a full low cost meal.
Wouldn’t it be great if we could all start doing this in the cities and towns where we live? Small kindnesses like this can impact so many lives, in ways we could never imagine. Maybe we should all try it.
Greece legalized same sex marriage as first orthodoxe country!
Change in Germany’s drug policy: consumption of Cannabis will be legal in Germany soon.
„Booktok“ from TikTok – young people from GenZ (born between 1996 – 2009) are reading more compared to the previous generation.
good to know! 🍷
„Take a coat if you are cold! Leave a coat if you don’t use it anymore“
Germany works less days in 2024 compared to previous year despite the 29th of February. (Sorry for all the other countries 😉 ).
EU agreed to „right for repairing“. Let’s avoid electric waste: Hoover, washing machines and mobile phones will get repaired rather than scrapped.
We got more panda bears in the wild compared to the 80s.
Germans are more willing to give organs. I just signed my own willingness last week.
Malaria could be possibly gone within the next 30 years! How? We got a vaccine for it.
South Korea stooped eating dogs!
Dr. Ruth Gottesman, a former professor, has donated $1 billion to a Bronx medical school, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, with instructions that the gift be used to cover tuition for all students going forward. It is one of the largest charitable donations to an educational institution in the U.S. and most likely the largest to a medical school.
First double digit temperatures (up to 16C degrees), blue sky, beautiful sunshine, birds are back in the garden, first flowers are visible, first outdoor breakfast! It feels like spring!
♥️ I love tulips 🌷 BBQ season 2024 is open: spare ribs
One week later, temperatures dropped a little. More flowers are visible. I decided: it’s spring! ☀️
Planted today 🌿Spring food Our window view 🌸Fingers crossed for no more snow 🤞🏻
Next week is March! We are getting closer to summer!
All of it. Every day. I love you. Happy Valentine’s Day! 💕
Japan is celebrating twice: today, all men are getting chocolates and in 4 weeks all ladies are getting chocolates. Those chocolates are for hubby.This is how the French patisserie is preparing for Valentine’s Day…. O la la 💜
A kind of last minute business trip. That’s one reason why I like my job: flexible for traveling? Yes! Japan? Hell, yes! (I would have moved the world to go 🙂 ). Last minute and still enough time to organize Amazon orders being delivered on time to bring to German colleagues living in Japan. And plenty of chocolate in the suitcase for the new colleagues.
14 hours flight time… time to watch the 3hour Oppenheimer. Wow! What a film!Arrived! It feels so great to be back in Japan 🇯🇵
The last time it snowed in Tokyo was 2 years ago, and again on the day of my arrival! Highways were blocked. Busses didn’t run. Trains were significantly delayed… and I packed the wrong clothes… forecast was sunny 15C degrees. Everyone was surprised about the sudden weather change, myself included.
Train delay due to snow! Nice to see that this also happens in Japan.It’s snowing 🌨️ Luckily it‘s not too bad in Yokohama.Yokohama covered in snow ⛄️ Those are proper winter shoes!Good morning, Japan! Yokohama skyline 🌆 Moving like the locals: via subwayConfused? Me too! 🤣Earthquakes could possibly happen anytime – helmets under each desk in our office. I felt little tremors on the day of my arrival. I thought it’s my jet lag… but colleagues confirmed, they felt it too. Arghhhh.Monchichis dressed traditionally in Kimono dresses. Love the food: ramen & tempura. Shrine Gate.Izakaya – a typical Japanese restaurant.Sooooo good!It’s the year of the dragon 🐉 Yokohama port at night.On the way to the customer. Beautiful scenery. View out of my hotel room on the 14th floor.Being spoilt by daily sunrises 🌅 Miso schnitzel for lunch 😀
I’m once more impressed about Japan: besides, everyone being so very polite here… they are so mindful & resourceful: the meeting room light switches automatically off when everyone is outside the room and you change the sign from “occupied” to “available” – how smart is that? Drinking water is available for free, everywhere. Little toddler seats are available in each toilet cabin. How our customer is organized (from registration process to meeting room – very impressive). The little robots serving food in restaurants. People standing without holding on rails in subway w/o falling over when train brakes (they must have special shoes…). That camera system when leaving paid parking areas. For table reservations you put your mobile phone on table top (like Germans reserving sun loungers with towels…). Nobody worries anyone could steal the phone… everybody trusts everybody. You eat in one of those nice little restaurants inside a mall, you naturally clean up your table after you are done with a wet wipe provided there! Generally, it’s amazing how clean it is everywhere. You can only own a private car if you have parking (no blocked streets by cars). It’s nice to see how things run in Japan and how nicely people interact with each other! And me? I offered elderly people to go first inside the subway and my seat 🙂 we may not be able to talk to each other but a smile is the same language in any country.
High-tech country: leaving paid parking area.The famous Japanese toilets. I had a little incident on the first evening (won’t share details here…) 😅Sashimi deliciousness. It’s strawberry 🍓 season.
Long days. Tiring days. Exciting days. Great food. Great colleagues. Great country. And most importantly, I successfully was hiding my tattoo. Yeah!
Oh and happy Chinese new year! It’s the year of the Dragon!
Chinatown in Yokohama.
Next challenge accepted: finding the way back to the airport. A huge thank you to the Japanese man speaking English and helping me to get the right train ticket! I’d be still there standing around the ticket machine without you! Nobody said it would be easy 😃
Arigato 🙏
Found the airport. Next stop: home 🫶+2hours flight time due to war in Ukraine…Wasabi & Sake KitKat – only in Japan (and now in my purse).
Huge thank you to all the colleagues making this a memorable successful trip! Hope to see you again soon! Arigato!
Stuttgart547 