The Phileas Club 105 – Disbelief

 

On this episode we talk about:

  • Mixed race Joan of Arc in France (and Black Panther reactions around the world)
  • Parkland shooting in Florida… and the debate on gun laws in the US
  • Driving ban in large cities (and still no government) in Germany
  • Ritz Carlton re-opens, Jenadriyah festival, and investments in entertainment in Saudi Arabia

Remember you can support a show at http://www.patreon.com/ThePhileasClub

More info on the show:

You can also download the MP3, or subscribe via iTunes or RSS.

Comments

  1. StephSinalco says:

    Hey guys. Great episode, as always! I just wanted to add my 2 cents to the guns discussion since I feel like the debate usually revolves around a “more guns” vs “fewer guns” position. I’d obviously push for the latter, but, in my opinion, this is not the only issue to bear in mind. The way the US citizens *see* their guns is also a big part of the problem. In Switzerland, we still have conscription and basically every 18 years old Swiss man is called to do a three months military school. After 2 weeks, we’re all given an assault rifle and, by the end of those three months, we bring our weapon home. Yet, mass shootings don’t happen here (we do have a very high percentage of suicides using those guns, though, but that’s another issue) because we are strongly reminded that this is a very dangerous tool that should never ever be used.

    Anyway, what I’m trying to say here is while reducing the number of weapons is something the US government should definitely try to do, education also is a subject extremely important to work on. And as long a each and every bullet fired will be seen by some as the actual expression of a hard earned freedom, gun violence will be a problem.

  2. Matthias Keller says:

    Just a quick follow up on the topics I mentioned in this episode:

    1. On Tuesday, the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig actually rendered a judgment (without delegating it to the ECJ) and declared bans on traffic as a legal measure to reduce air pollution in cities (i.e. without needing further special legislation). While this specific case only pertains to vehicles with diesel engines, it is considered a leading decision that could be extended to other cars as well if necessary in the future. The court also addressed the argument, that such a driving ban could be seen as an expropriation of car owners and therefore made somewhat of a “concession”: The court advised the cities that the bans should only be implemented in phases and to consider certain exemptions e.g. for garbage trucks, ambulances and police cars.
    Link: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/27/german-court-rules-cities-can-ban-diesel-cars-to-tackle-pollution

    2. Just today the Social Democrates announced the results of their internal vote and paved the way for a new Grand Coalition between the SPD and the Conservative bloc: 66% of the participating members voted in favor of the new coalition treaty, 33% voted against it. 73% of the 463.722 eligible members cast their vote in the last few weeks and the deadline ran out last Friday night. The next step is for the SPD leadership to sign the already negotiated coalition treaty (which is only a formality at this point) and after that Angela Merkel can be elected as the (old) new Chancellor by the Bundestag. There is no fixed date for this to happen but I guess it won’t take long. So it took us just under 6 months to get from the election to a new government 😉
    Link: http://www.dw.com/en/germanys-spd-members-approve-coalition-with-angela-merkels-conservatives/a-42803601

    • So… Everything is working out wonderfully, right? And here you were, all worried… 🙂

      • Matthias Keller says:

        We might have a different interpretation of the word “wonderfully”… 😛

        But I actually expected this outcome of the vote. I was just hoping for a different outcome because I don’t think the SPD will come out of this new iteration of the Grand Coalition alive. But who needs votes in the next election anyway, right? ;-P

Leave a Reply to Matthias Keller Cancel reply

*