We need to applaud this reffort egardless of its origin in nationality, political affiliations, or any other qualifiers. We certainly need to appreciate it without attaching any hidden agenda on part of the sponsors. After all, Germans of today and yesteryears will be as different as we ourselves are from our older generations.

It is my hope that Petitioners’ direction for areas of massive investment is heeded to as these petitioners must already be good at picking investments.

Finally, I also hope that Angela Merkel will put her executive heft behind this well-intentioned effort. This will provide encouragement to rest of rich Germans and bring relief to those that are not. It also showcases to rest of the world that Goodness is alive !!

So we have someone like Robert D who has been misled by the right wingers and doesn’t even realize it. Its sad, but what are you gonna do.

People should wake up to the fact the the U.S. has to make some rather large changes to reflect the new realities in the world.

The last 30 years of MISGOVERNMENT has left us in a precarious state.

End of the world scenario if you ask me.

Alfred Nobel became very interested in nitroglycerine and how it could be put to practical use in construction work. He also realized that the safety problems had to be solved and a method had to be developed for the controlled detonation of nitroglycerine. This led to the invention of dynamite. But the penetrating mind of the scientist and inventor with the forward-looking dynamism of the industrialist. He focused on the development of explosives technology as well as other chemical inventions, including such materials as synthetic rubber and leather, artificial silk, etc. By the time of his death in 1896 he had 355 patents.

Many of the companies founded by Nobel developed into industrial enterprises that still play a prominent role in the world economy, for example Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), Great Britain; Société Centrale de Dynamite, France; and Dyno Industries in Norway. It is only towards the end of his life, he acquired the company AB Bofors.

His companies were exporting nitroglycerine explosives to other countries in Europe, America and Australia. Over the years he founded factories and laboratories in some 90 different places in more than 20 countries. Although he lived in Paris much of his life he was constantly traveling. Victor Hugo at one time described him as “Europe’s richest vagabond”.

At the age of 43 he was feeling like an old man. At this time he advertised in a newspaper “Wealthy, highly-educated elderly gentleman seeks lady of mature age, versed in languages, as secretary and supervisor of household.” The most qualified applicant turned out to be an Austrian woman, Countess Bertha Kinsky. After working a very short time for Nobel she decided to return to Austria to marry Count Arthur von Suttner. In spite of this Alfred Nobel and Bertha von Suttner remained friends and kept writing letters to each other for decades. Over the years Bertha von Suttner became increasingly critical of the arms race. She wrote a famous book, Lay Down Your Arms and became a prominent figure in the peace movement. No doubt this influenced Alfred Nobel when he wrote his final will which was to include a Prize for persons or organizations who promoted peace. Several years after the death of Alfred Nobel, the Norwegian Storting (Parliament) decided to award the 1905 Nobel Peace Prize to Bertha von Suttner.