News Archive

Catastrophic Conditions in German Zoos [2]

Animal rights activists aim to include basic rights for great apes in the German constitution

2014/05/08

60 percent of German zoos keeping apes do not meet the minimum requirements set out in the new mammal expert opinion issued by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture. This was explained by Colin Goldner, head of the "Great Ape Project Germany" (GAP), at a press conference in Berlin on Thursday morning. Many chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orang-utans show, as Goldner documents in his recently published book "Lebenslänglich hinter Gittern" ("Life behind bars"), symptoms of massive psychological disturbances and can only survive the equally dull as stressful everyday life at the zoo with the help of psychopharmaceuticals.

Press Conference "Basic Rights for Great Apes – Life Behind Bars" [3]

Presentation of the basic rights initiative and the GAP study on great apes in German zoos on May 8 in the House of the Federal Press Conference

2014/04/28

The right of the great apes to personal freedom, life and non-torture is to be enshrined in the German Basic Law. This is the aim of a basic rights initiative which will start on Thursday, May 8, with a press conference in the House of the Federal Press Conference. A current study on the living conditions of great apes in German zoos, which will also be presented at the press conference, shows how urgent the need for action is.

A Jewel of Enlightenment [4]

Eulogy for Karlheinz Deschner

2014/04/10

Karlheinz Deschner is dead. The "greatest church critic of all times" (Dieter Birnbacher) died last Tuesday at the age of 89 in his hometown of Hassfurt. An eulogy by Michael Schmidt-Salomon.

"Assistance to Self-Determined Dying Must Remain Unpunished" [5]

Guidelines on suicide assistance introduced in Haus der Bundespressekonferenz

2014/03/12

Over two-thirds of the population, should they have a severe illness, would like to be able to shorten their suffering with the help of a doctor. In reality, however, there is hardly any physician today who is prepared to even talk about this. This situation, extremely problematic for many people, is to be further exacerbated in the future. German Federal Health Minister Hermann Gröhe (Christian Democratic Party, CDU) demanded a ban on any form of "organised" suicide assistance. A draft law announced in February by CDU/CSU (Christian Social Union in Bavaria) intends to even make suicide assistance by singular doctors punishable.

World Premiere of the "Passion Giordano Bruno" [6]

Composer Gerhard Wimberger celebrated in Salzburg with standing ovations

2013/09/03

It was a memorable musical event: Last Saturday (8/31/2013) the "Passion Giordano Bruno" by Gerhard Wimberger was premiered at the end of the Salzburg Festival. Composed in 2007 for bass baritone, speaker, choir and orchestra, the work shows the devastating consequences of fundamentalist belief systems in the life and death of Giordano Bruno and left a strong impression on the audience in the Great Hall of the Mozarteum. When gbs adviser Wimberger, who celebrated his 90th birthday the day before, entered the stage, the audience and participants rose to long ovations.

A Gentle Revolutionary [7]

Eulogy for Johannes Neumann

2013/05/08

He fought for justice without any hint of self-righteousness, gave important impulses without taking himself seriously: On the evening of May 5, 2013, Johannes Neumann, former dean of the faculty of theology in Tübingen and later a critic of religion, died in the circle of his family after a long and serious illness. Michael Schmidt-Salomon commemorates a great enlightener and humanist.

"Without music, life would be a mistake" [8]

gbs plans to increasingly set artistic accents in the future

2013/02/08

Young concert pianist Adel Ferenc Mohsin is a new advisory board member of the Giordano Bruno Stiftung. This was announced today by the directorate of the Giordano Bruno Stiftung in Oberwesel. Mohsin's appointment to the foundation's advisory board is a signal that the gbs wants to increasingly set artistic accents in the future, explained foundation spokesman Michael Schmidt-Salomon, at the same time pointing out one of the artistic highlights of the current year: the world premiere of the "Passion Giordano Bruno" by Gerhard Wimberger (gbs adviser) at the Salzburg Festival.

"The Rehabilitation of the Victims of §175 is Overdue!" [9]

Presentation of the petition in parliament on Wednesday

2013/01/28

Approximately 50,000 homosexual men were convicted in Germany after the war simply because they followed their sexual preference - a violation of human rights, as the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled. Nevertheless, the victims of the "Schwulenparagraf" 175 StGB (German Criminal Code) were never rehabilitated or even compensated. In order to change this, the signatures of the petition for the rehabilitation of the victims of §175 will be handed over in the Bundestag next Wednesday, January 30, 2013. The gbs supports the initiative.

"My Body Is Mine!" [10]

Children's rights campaign against compulsory circumcision launched

2012/08/22

"Compulsory circumcision is wrong – that includes boys!" With this decisive statement, the Giordano Bruno Stiftung's children's rights campaign started today, one day before the public meeting of the German Ethics Council. "The purpose of the campaign is to prevent the planned legalization of medically unnecessary foreskin circumcisions," explains foundation spokesman Michael Schmidt-Salomon. "Compulsory circumcision is not a trivial matter, as claimed frequently, but an unjustifiable violation of the right to self-determination and the physical integrity of the child."

Campaign Against Religious Discrimination in the Workplace [11]

Anti-discrimination regulations must also apply in church institutions!

2012/02/29

The European anti-discrimination regulations must also apply in church institutions! This is the objective of the campaign "Gegen religiöse Diskriminierung am Arbeitsplatz" (GerDiA - Against Religious Discrimination in the Workplace), which was launched today. The campaign's spokeswoman is former SPD top-ranking politician Ingrid Matthäus-Maier. She regards the "offensive marginalisation policy of church enterprises" as a "scandal that must not be tolerated any further".

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