E-bikes taking Europe by storm

The cool ride

They have two wheels and can get you from one place to another with no effort.
They are electric-powered bicycles, which are being built with the help of the multinational firm Daimler Benz. 
The bikes, which cost as much as $5,000, only help cyclists pedal if they want them to, but their motors can effortlessly push up to 45km per hour.

Berlin Pirata Party

Their irreverent campaign captured the imagination of young voters as the party expanded its platform from an original focus on filesharing,censorship and data protection, to include social issues and citizens' rights. The party, which was founded in 2006, was "in tune with the Berlin vibe with their relaxed campaign", Holger Liljeberg of the Info polling institute, told Reuters. "They focus a lot on liberalism, freedom and self-determination."

Berlin Pirata Party

By winning 8.9 percent of the vote in Sunday’s election in this city-state, these political pirates surpassed — blew away, really — every expectation for what was supposed to be a fringe, one-issue party promoting Internet freedom. The Pirates so outstripped expectations that all 15 candidates on their list won seats — seats are doled out based in part on votes for a party rather than for an individual. Normally parties list far more candidates than could ever make it, because if they win more than they nominate, the seat must remain unfilled.

These men in their 20s and 30s, who turned up at the imposing former Prussian state parliament building, some wearing hooded sweatshirts, and one a T-shirt of the comic book hero Captain America, were no longer merely madcap campaigners and gadflies. They had become the people’s elected representatives.