More from @BettinaSRoss1

TheBossRoss 🇪🇺 🧶 ❄ 📷

@BettinaSRoss1

12 Oct

THREAD
People feel the Olympics 2012 were a good time, because it was a time of joy, hope & community. A time to be proud of what everyone achieved, together. A time people actually *felt* the whole world respected them.
Now imagine someone had picked up that positive energy, ...

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enthusiasm & push to reform the country & better the nation, someone who drove & was driven by a spirit of purpose, empathy, equality. Can you see it?

Instead, what did we get? Anger, fury & hate, driving a wedge between people because of their income, skin colour, heritage.

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Negative energy & destruction. The dismantling of public services, the health system, education.

In all this time, the same party was in power. It went from patriotism to nationalism, from welcoming the world to capsizing refugee dinghies. From organising a celebration...

Read 5 tweets

TheBossRoss 🇪🇺 🧶 ❄ 📷

@BettinaSRoss1

23 Aug

A media THREAD

In the UK, it is perfectly acceptable (even expected) that newspapers endorse a party or candidate.
In Germany, this would be unacceptable & tarnish the publication's reputation. A newspaper's task (& everyone's expectation) is correct & unbiased reporting.
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Unbiased media is in a much stronger position to hold those in power accountable. Its reporting of domestic & international affairs carries weight & does not have to be breaking, investigative or controversial to merit publication. Opinion is confined to the comments section.
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In the UK, current rules allow owners & editors to weaponise print media for their own purpose. Lies & deceptions remain largely unchallenged & unsanctioned.
Yet, I don't believe regulating ownership is the answer. Domestic ownership, for example, doesn't guarantee neutrality.
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Read 4 tweets

TheBossRoss 🇪🇺 🧶 ❄ 📷

@BettinaSRoss1

31 Jul

As a German, I feel I can't preach about democracy. It is not my intention to patronise. I'd just like to provide an outside view, aware of our own historical, moral responsibility & full of gratitude & love for a country that saved us from ourselves & is still my 2nd home.

THREAD
There is a democratic deficit in the UK. The mother of democracies has failed to safeguard its institutions. The First-past-the-post system was designed to ensure stability. Currently, it is used to stifle scrutiny, accountability & opposition.

Compliance from actors intended to keep checks and balances have not helped. Much of the media has been taken over by far-right campaigners, and the set up of the House of Lords (a weak, because randomly selected corrective) is inadequate.

Read 9 tweets

TheBossRoss 🇪🇺 🧶 ❄ 📷

@BettinaSRoss1

25 Apr

At the beginning of the lockdown, I printed a note for all neighbours, offering help w/ grocery shopping, or collecting meds/prescriptions.

This is what happened since:

Of all the neighbours, 3 rang to thank me for my offer. In the weeks that followed...

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Person no. 1
asked to buy bottled water (only organic & in glass bottles!). 30min later she welcomed her cleaner & walked off into town.
Went shopping for her a few days later. It took her a week to reimburse me. I quote, "I'm sure you didn't need the money, did you?"

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Person no. 2
celebrated the lockdown by having her son, heavily pregnant daughter-in-law & 3 grandchildren round for Easter.

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Read 5 tweets

TheBossRoss 🇪🇺 🧶 ❄ 📷

@BettinaSRoss1

26 Mar

#Germany approves €1.2 trillion aid package, e.g.

-€3bn for hospitals
-basic support w/o income test (for 6m) for all in need
-no evictions (private/commercial properties; electricity water internet guaranteed)
-cash payments* for SMEs: €9.000 (<5staff), €15,000 (<10staff)

(*do not have to be paid back)
-larger companies access interest-free loans (KfW)
-(part-)nationalisation of companies threatened by bankruptcy permitted (temporary)

#coronavirus #economy #lockdown
#recession