Who knew he had so much good sense. From Bloomberg:
Republican Senator George Voinovich of Ohio said he won't support John Bolton's nomination to be U.S. ambassador the United Nations when the Senate Foreign Relations Committee votes today. Voinovich's opposition would bar the panel's approval.[...]Bolton is "the poster child for what someone in the diplomatic corps should not be,'' Voinovich said.
Still not a guarantee that the Senate won't approve Bolton, but it's encouraging.
[update: maybe not.]
Apparently the recent troubles of the Berliner Symphoniker haven't been resolved by an appeal to private financial backers; the orchestra gave its last concert this weekend. (This is the smallest of Berlin's orchestras, not to be confused with the Philharmoniker.)
The story at the Berliner Zeitung. Not much else out in English yet.
Over at Grammar.police, a smart consideration of why a smoking ban in Austin bars is a necessary and good thing. And why it totally and completely sucks. From waaay over in DC, Kriston does a perfect job of capturing the conflicted-smoker viewpoint on this issue, and I totally agree with him on all points. Plus he's got the science.
There's one thing that sets the Austin situation apart from similar efforts to ban smoking, even in a place like DC: the weather. Lots of bars here have outdoor seating which is accessible most of the year, and which slightly (slightly!) mitigates the loss of atmosphere or comfort or coolness that results from prohibiting smoking inside. So far, Billy's on Burnet is the only place we go regularly that doesn't allow smoking inside, but this is because it has a full menu and is thus technically a restaurant. I have to admit that I like having my Shiner and fries with no smoke. Unfortunately, the outside seating at Billy's is sort of in the middle of the parking lot...not so pleasant for the smoking crowd. Much like at the Draft House, but even that is a little nicer.
It occurs to me now that what would take place in a smoking ban would be a reversal of my own bargoing habits since college (for most of that time), that is, as a very occasional pseudo "social smoker" I'd just automatically stay outside whenever possible to avoid the smoke and stink of the inside. The Showdown is my current case in point, because dude, you don't want to be in that air for more than the time it takes to get your beer.
p.s.: While I'm on the subject, I so can't stand that "don't like smoke? get a different job" argument that gets hauled out by smoking ban opponents and used on bar employees who'd rather not inhale second-hand smoke all night.
It's time to play dirty:
Anti-abortion ideologues beware: I'm promoting objective, factual information on:You can too. Join me in Bombing for Choice.
Weirdness over at Heimatlos. The lovely t-shirt shop is gone due to, um, religious differences. The shop was being used as a tool for a sneaky kind of evangelism, and I think I would have gotten out, too. The slogans are still available, though, so make your own!
Johnny has posted a fabulous review of Tropical Islands, the, um, repurposed Cargolifter hangar. What a trip. I guess I'm glad they found a use for it, but really I'd rather spend my 20 Euros in Templin (yes, I'd go there of my own volition). For the same price (at least on the weekend) Templin's NaturTherme offers some excellent and very varied sauna time. Even TURM in O'burg would be money better spent for me, but as Johnny says, it's all about the kiddies, and neither of these two Erlebnisbäder has sand anywhere. Though both have waterslides...
Christoph Hein has backed out of the directorship of the Deutsches Theater. From the story at FAZ:
„Das DT ist nicht das erste Theater, das mir angeboten wurde” sagt Hein. Kurz nach der Wende habe er zwei Angebote großer Häuser abgelehnt, weil er das Gefühl gehabt habe, das geistige Klima lasse es nicht zu, daß er als Ostdeutscher Chef eines großen Theaters werde. „Ich habe gedacht, man könnte es 15 Jahre nach der Wende doch mal versuchen.”[Berliner PDS-Kultursenator Thomas] Flierl meint, er sei entsetzt gewesen über die Heftigkeit, mit der die Entscheidung für Hein „primär vor der Folie ostdeutscher Herkunft gespiegelt und als drohender Rückfall in einen anti- liberalen Kunstdirigismus interpretiert und diffamiert wurde”.
This is a really bad sign, I think. In part it seems to have to do with Hein's personality (a more stubborn person might have withstood this crap), but overall it signals a really firmly-ensconced Ostalgie backlash. I wonder if the media hadn't made such a big hoo-ha out of the last wave of Ostalgie whether Hein's appointment might have been recognized as the progressive step that it was.
"The DT isn't the first theatre that was offered to me," Hein said. Shortly after the Wende he turned down offers from two large houses because he had the feeling that the intellectual climate would not yet permit an East German to head a large theatre. "I thought one could try again fifteen years after the Wende."
[Berliner's Senator for Culture (PDS) Thomas] Flierl expressed his shock over the ferocity with which the decision to appoint Hein was "primarily seen against a backdrop of East German heritage and was interpreted, even villified as a threatening regression into anti-liberal art direction."
Lemme just beat a dead horse. At Salon, Laura Miller has written a nice explanation of why the Da Vinci Code sucks (watch the ad and get a day pass to read the whole thing if you don't have a subscription). Having been interested in Christian history in a previous life I caught a lot of this stuff, though not all of it. I guess the one thing that I appreciated about the book (certainly not the plot or the writing; even Angels and Demons was better) was that it made people think about Church history. Unfortunately, the information that was making them think was patently wrong. Too bad, because there is a lot of right information about the historical Jesus etc. that could also give a thinking person pause.
Oh, and did I mention that nobody in the business refers to Leonardo as "da Vinci?" Did I? Man, you'd think he could've at least figured that part out.
While reading Brown's book I was reminded of another pulpy write-up of the Real Story of Jesus, Clysta Kinstler's The Moon Under Her Feet, which I enjoyed WAY more than Brown's clunker. Kinstler sets up Mary Magdalene as a priestess of the Goddess (you see where this is going) and makes Jesus into the random man chosen for a sacred marriage. It's an interesting angle because she tries to put non-Jewish, non-Roman religion back into the story...with varying degrees of success. A fun if cheesy read with a nice bibliography at the end.
A friend sent me an email SOS, something I always view skeptically, about the impending destruction of the sacred site Tara for the sake of a highway. Turns out this is a real, serious threat that archaeological entreaties (which you'd think would at least carry more weight than the cries of the pagan community) might not even be able to stop. Here's some of what the Guardian had to say on the matter:
Historical experts are aghast at the proposals. One group of 21 British archaeologists wrote to the Irish Times, reminding the Irish authorities that "driving a four-lane motorway through the valley will destroy the integrity of this ancient landscape for ever." The president of the Archaeological Institute of America sent an unusually direct appeal: "We are shocked that planning permission has been granted. We appeal to the Irish authorities as a matter of urgency to move this section of the M3 away from the Tara/Skreen valley and to save this precious legacy from our shared past for posterity." Tara's leading archaeological expert, Conor Newman, warned the government's planning appeals board: "How [Tara] is managed by us will become the yardstick against which our reputation as guardians of cultural heritage will be judged." It's a test the Irish authorities seem determined to fail.
It makes me ill. Have a look at Protect Tara and see if there's anything you can do to help them out.
I've been reading Maidan (this link is to an uplifting post) and FOE to try to get a handle on what's going on in Ukraine. This is the first time I've ever watched something unfold this way online and, in particular, on blogs. I tend not to read political blogs much, but this is really compelling coverage.
This is an excellent write-up of the Leitkultur debate.
Kunst und Gemüse, A. Hipler opened Wednesday. Here's a bunch of reviews...no one seems to know quite what to do with it.
FR
taz
die Süddeutsche
Die Welt
Perlentaucher notes that the FR didn't review the production. Chickens.
Tonight's special event looks like more fun:
GOODBYE, ADOLF HITLER! DIE ULTIMATIVE SHOW... Südafrika hat Diamanten, Kuwait ist auf Öl gebaut und Deutschland? Deutschland hat seine Vergangenheit. Die stinkt zwar, aber dessen ungeachtet lässt sie sich auch prima vermarkten. Hitler sells! Braune Geschichte verkauft sich. Ob Spiegel oder Stern, BILD oder FAZ, in immer kürzeren Intervallen und immer schöneren Farben glotzt uns der Führer an.
I'm seriously sorry to miss this one.
Hallowe'en might be the big deal tonight, but today we were all about Wurst. Some of us more than others. But it was worth it to me for the Blaskapelle, the clogging, and most of all, the Mandeln, which actually survived the whole trip home and are now safely on my desk. Amazing! Normally I would have inhaled them all in about 5 seconds. But I don't think I'll be seeing any more anytime soon, so they have to last.
[ps: this dull photo layout took half an hour to do, for some reason; stupid ie wanted to put them all over the page and even safari had them all clumped up when I tried to be cute, so we're stuck with utility instead.]
...though I don't know if it's in anger or with relief.
The angry voters had the Republicans on the defensive.
"Why'd you do it?'' one challenged voter shouted out at Calhoun. "Who the hell are you?'' the man asked.
"What the hell do you care?'' replied Calhoun, an attorney.
[update: ok, that one case, in Akron, ended positively, with the challenges being dismissed. But this Times article recounts so much despicable behavior that that one victory seems awfully hollow.]
Willkommen zum WURSTFEST!
Prosit, und hab' Spasz!
Oy. The Plain Dealer today announced that it was endorsing neither presidential candidate. Salon describes the icky details. The paper, for its part, says "We believe our readers are perfectly capable of...deciding whether Bush's flaws bother them more than Kerry's ambiguities."
I'm not so good with these things, having more a casual enthusiasm for music than a thoroughgoing understanding of the subtleties of certain Important Bands. But others should enjoy this. How would you change musical history? Check out CT's Friday Fun Thread.
The TAZ has a little article on US citizens living in Berlin and their current state of unrest, pre-election.
Ugh. A few weeks ago we all read about Cleveland's massive poverty. Today, via Supatyp, I see that my beloved Wilhelmshaven is in second place in der Spiegel's list of bankrupt German cities.
My heart is breaking here, people.
Stay tuned to see if I try to do something about this embarassing and ugly situation in my home state.
Yesterday we went to the ACL festival. And I am proud to say that I can still stand upright. The schedule yesterday included Bob Schneider (so excellent) and Broken Social Scene (also excellent); I think the thing we missed that we shouldn't have was the John Butler Trio, which we could only hear on the outskirts of the crowd which was packed around their obviously-too-small-stage. They sounded righteous.
Today we look forward to another 95 degree day, but we'll be starting out slightly later. Not going down until 4, to see the Gourds and then Modest Mouse; Los Amigos Invisibles and then the Pixies. So.Many.Bands. The festival website has a nice feature that lets you mark the bands you want to see and then builds a schedule for you, so you don't have to think in the heat.
70.000 people yesterday. Andrew and I both had the impression that in spite of the temperature (it was cloud-free almost all day), people were always moving. Not in organized streams from one stage to the next, like you might think, but in small groups or couples in seemingly random paths. Chaotic. They were also always drinking $4 beers, which I could not believe. The last thing I could have withstood was beer. Although by the end of the night, once the sun had set and the air off Lake Austin had started to cool things down, beer seemed more appealing. But not $4 for a $1.50 can of Lone Star. Seriously.
Today we will also try to buy floppy cowboy hats. This is something I've been meaning to do for a looong time, but only yesterday did it really become clear that a crappy baseball hat does NOT do enough to keep the sun off. Those cowboys were on to something.
Instead of the 8,5 million they planned on, the Nationalgalerie is looking at a final price tag of 13 million Euro for the MoMA show. Yipes. Extra staff and a new air conditioning system drove up costs.
And did I mention that for the past week or so, the show has been open around the clock? The FR says people still had to stand in line for two hours--in the middle of the night. Mercy.
Wow. All this time I was thinking that Living in Germany had gone dormant, when the problem was on my side: I was subscribed to an old RSS feed! Duh! So now I see that posting has continued as normal over there and I am the lame one.
(Which is not to say I didn't already feel lame for not posting anything in so long. I plead dissertation brain-drain.)
Update: Versöhnung. Essen has changed its mind about this.
The MOZ reports:
Fußball-Zweitligist Rot-Weiß Essen will beim Heimspiel gegen den FC Energie Cottbus am 19. September jenen Fans den Zutritt zum Stadion verweigern, die T-Shirts oder Schals mit DDR-Symbolen tragen.
Why, you ask? Because the Cottbus fans are "increasingly using GDR symbols to provoke western fans." Holy moley. What's more,
Zudem spiele die "teilweise provokant von den ostdeutschen Fans vorgetragene DDR-Nostalgie" eine nicht unerhebliche Rolle beim "gegenwärtigen Ost-/Westkonflikt, was die Verteilung staatlicher Ressourcen angehe."
Soccer is to blame for the discrepancy in German standards of living! Aha! Glad we've cleared that up.
Obviously they're just worried about playing Cottbus. Wimps.
[This isn't entirely funny; there's an increasingly obvious division of cultures in Germany...]
Alright already. I was a little (very) slow on the uptake the other day when I wondered whether this story at the taz was real or not. Seems I didn't recognize Satire. D'oh. And it was right there, ready to bite me on the nose.
Anyway, today I see a less funny but maybe more useful contribution to the Der Untergang hoo-ha from Stefan Reinecke at the taz , one which is, as far as I can tell, NOT satirical. But I might not be able to tell.*
*fuer alle faelle: ;) - no hard feelings!
Die Großfeuilletons reden unverdrossen von dem "Untergang" als dem "wichtigsten Geschichtsprojekt seit Jahren"... So wird "Der Untergang" zum Akt der Emanzipation oder gleich zum Lackmustest für die Nation hochgejazzt. Dass wir nun Hitler in Auge blicken und diesen Schreckensblick endlich, ja endlich aushalten - dies ist Teil einer Werbestrategie, die auf Vergesslichkeit und homöopathisch verabreichte Gruseleffekte setzt....
Wo früher wirklich Verdrängung und versteckte Schuld waren, regiert heute Marktschreierei. Weil das Hitler-Bilderverbot nicht mehr existiert, wird es umso heftiger beschworen und inszeniert - und mannhaft gebrochen... Die Welt hat Bernd Eichinger zum Historiker geadelt. Bedeutungsgewinne, wohin man schaut. Die Superlativrhetorik, die Koketterie mit Tabubrüchen, die Selbststilisierung zu heldenhaften Kämpfern gegen den politisch korrekten Kanon - dieses Wichtigkeitsgerede übersteht man am besten mit einem Gegenprogramm: Vergesst Hitler! Das wäre angesichts des seit 70 Jahren unstillbaren Interesses vieler Deutscher an Hitler privat wirklich eine Emanzipation.
[keep reading for English]
The arts sections of the major newspapers refer assiduously to “Der Untergang” as the “Most important history project in years…” Thus “Der Untergang” becomes an act of emancipation or is trumpeted as a litmus test for the nation. That we can look Hitler in the eye and finally, yes finally, are able to withstand this fearful gaze—this is part of a marketing strategy based on forgetfulness and homeopathically administered horror effects.
…
Where there once was real repression and hidden guilt, now there is nothing but [marketing b.s.]. Because the Bilderverbot against images of Hitler no longer exists, it must be even more fiercely staged—and manfully defied…Die Welt (hmm; the paper or the actual world?) has knighted Bernd Eichinger, made him into a historian. Everywhere you look, a profit of significance. The rhetoric of superlatives, flirting with taboos, self-styled heroic warriors against the politically correct canon—all this yapping about importance can be best countered with an oppositional program: Forget Hitler! Considering many Germans’ 70-year-long unquenchable interest in Hitler’s private life, that would be true emancipation.
I'm not sure where the anti-Hartz sentiments end and something more gruesome begins:
Bei einem Rundgang durch [Pirna] mit dem sächsischen SPD-Spitzenkandidaten Thomas Jurk habe ein junger Mann mit Baseballkappe den SPD-Chef [Franz Müntefering] am Dienstagabend immer wieder aggressiv angebrüllt, berichtet die „Bild am Sonntag“. Der Mann sei auf Müntefering losgegangen und habe versucht, eine Schlägerei zu provozieren. Nach Angaben der Begleiter des SPD-Chefs verhinderte nur dessen stoische Ruhe eine Eskalation.Wie die Zeitung weiter berichtet, erhielt der Mann auch Unterstützung von Passanten. Aus der Menge hinter Müntefering und vom Straßenrand riefen Unbekannte „Arbeiterverräter", „Vaterlandsverräter", „Lügner“ und schlimmere Beschimpfungen.
Andrew tells me that for some reason parts of my comments forms aren't showing up in Windows versions of IE. We'll try to fix that soon. Sorry!
Salon reports on the importance of Ohio in the election. It seems things have gotten pretty bad there in the ten + years I've been gone:
Despite 270,000 lost jobs in the last three years, the Republican-controlled state has focused on culture-war, wedge issues, such as a year-long debate to allow "intelligent design" to be taught in Ohio's public schools as an alternative to evolution; enacting one of the most far-reaching gay marriage bans in the country (which also prevents unmarried heterosexual state employees from extending benefits to their domestic partners); making it legal to carry a concealed weapon; and introducing a resolution to declare the Ten Commandments the moral foundation of Ohio's government. As one Cleveland city councilman told Cleveland Scene, an alternative weekly paper, "The Dukes of Hazzard have taken over Columbus. Next thing you know, we'll be installing outhouses."
[Ok, that last bit is funny but derogatory; besides, it's not like it's all the Southern Ohioans who are the conservative ones, affected by their proximity to West Virginia and Kentucky. There are incredibly conservative communities in the greater Cleveland area, which is strongly Catholic. So the right turn isn't all from some encroachment by "southern" or rural attitudes.]
I could get indignant about this, but everyone else already has. Most notably Fafnir.
Ostblog notes two more reviews of Rellin's book, Klar, bin ich eine Ostfrau!. Almut Schröter at Neues Deutschland is ambivalent; Barbara Bollwahn at the taz more critical:
Because you don't interrupt the women [you interview], their narratives often become excessive, tiresome, or simply flat. For example, when Jutta, who lost a lot of weight after the Wende, says, "It was great that my body showed me the border [in myself?*]." Or Greta: "What Lenin said was true: neo-liberalism will fail." You're not doing these women any favors by seeing everything about them in a positive light, giving us a 1 to 1 representation of them. And: please tell me what exactly is so surpising about the fact that east German women show their children the same Russian fairytale cartoons that they watched as children? Or that it was easier in the East to be happy because there was 'less' all around?
*not so sure about this one, Grenze meaning the wall or Grenze meaning boundary in general?
Remember the Berlin bank scandal? Here's the BBC's 2001 coverage, in case you don't. Basically the Bankgesellschaft Berlin, in which the city has a 57% share, went bust on loans it had given to finance rebuilding Berlin. The city projected an additional $2.6 billion would have to be spent to fix this problem, adding to an already monumental debt and basically securing Berlin's bankruptcy. That's how I understood it, anyway.
Last weekend was the premier of Bankenstück, Lutz Hübner's drama about the bank affair, directed by Volker Hesse. I haven't seen the show but love the fact that Berlin's theatre scene tolerates a rendition of recent/current politics (see the Neuköllner Oper's production of Angela, about CDU head Angela Merkel, in 2002).
The reviews of Hesse's production are divided, as one might expect, between those who just enjoy the parody of Berlin politics and those who were looking for a more in-depth, perhaps journalistic angle on the story. Hübner's story is a futuristic fantasy, a nod to Brecht, with perhaps a heavier hand: the people of Berlin get to take The Banks to task for their crimes against the citizenry (I think I've got this right; anyone seen it?). A short-lived revolution follows:
"We learn nothing about the so-called bank scandal, the collapse of the Bankgesellschaft Berlin and the (to this day) barely foreseeable consequences of that billion-dollar bankruptcy...Oh, what drama. You can't help but become a reactionary [watching it]. It sways in populist tones back and forth between the fall of 1989 ('We are the People'), the Argentine and Haitian uprisings against poverty, and the Attac demonstrations against globalization. As if the conditions [in Berlin] were comparable in the slightest . Marauding amazons throw tires around the necks of bankers, pour gasoline over them, thrust cigarette lighters into the air with a lusty, threatening gesture. The director doesn't spare the action scenes and the stilted theatrical violence. Ah, harmless revelry." [Rüdiger Schaper at the Tagesspiegel]
See also Ulrich Seidler's review at the Berliner Zeitung, and this interview with Hübner at Spiegel Online.
Mel's film has started in German cinemas. In preparation, the German Bishop's Conference, the Jewish Council, and the Protestant Church have issued a warning about the film's potential for use as antisemitic propaganda. I'll translate the main points of the statement presently. Meantime, here's a link to the Bischofskonferenz with the text of the declaration.
Here's an excerpt:
As the preceding discussion has shown, a further problem lies in the film's depiction of the Jews who participated...Independent of whether or not the [filmaker's] intent was antisemitic, there is a danger that the film might be used for the purpose of antisemitic propaganda. While the film does contain suggestions of differentiated depictions of jewish figures, it conjures an overall impression of a negative image, for example, that of the High Council and larger segments of the Jewish people. The film's depictions run the risk of reinvigorating antisemitic prejudices. This is especially explosive given the current situation in Europe, in which there is a recognizable growth of antisemitic tendencies.
We warn collectively and expressly against any use of this film or of the sufferings of Jesus in the service of antisemitic propaganda. The Christian churches have expressly declared that anti-Judaicism is a part of Christian historic guilt. [The churches] reject the thesis of the collective guilt of the Jewish people and every form of antisemitism and racism. The relationship between Christians and Jews today is characterized by a common respect and recognition. We call for all responsible parties to ensure that these good relationships are not damaged by any instrumentalization of the sufferings of Jesus that might be traced to this film.
Here's the homepage of the "Initiative Arbeit und soziale Gerechtigkeit," the other group calling for a split from the SPD.
Die letzten Jahre, insbesondere aber die Politik der sozialdemokratisch geführten Bundesregierung in den letzten Monaten haben gezeigt: Die SPD hat sich von ihren Grundsätzen verabschiedet. Entgegen ihrer Wahlversprechen von 1998 und 2002, die sie als eine Alternative zur neoliberalen Politik der Vorgängerregierungen erscheinen ließen, hat sie sich zur Hauptakteurin des Sozialabbaus und der Umverteilung von unten nach oben entwickelt. Niemand von uns hatte erwartet, dass eine Partei mit so großer sozialer Tradition in so kurzer Zeit zum Kanzlerwahlverein mutiert, dessen aktuelle Politikziele nahezu alles negieren, wofür diese Partei in über hundert Jahren stand.[keep reading for English]
In the recent politics of the social-democrat-led federal government, especially in the last few months, we have seen that the SPD has removed itself from its basic principles.
The SPD's promises during the 1998 and 2002 elections made it seem like an alternative to the neo-liberal politics of its immediate predecessors; but it contradicted those promises, becoming a leading actor in the dismantling of the social system and the reappropriation of wealth from those on the bottom to those at the top.
None of us could have anticipated that a party with such a great social tradition could have mutated into an [incumbent's club] whose current political goals negate nearly everything that this party has stood for over the past hundred years.
An update on my last entry: The FR reports that the SPD has in fact begun the process to strip the membership of the 6 people responsible for planning to form a splinter party. These are, apparently, 5 union members from Bavaria and a Hamburg professor. The plan is to deprive them of their party voting rights for three months, but they might not actually be kicked out, if, for example, they were to retract their signatures. How will this progress and, really, does it matter?
Update: further reading at the FR:
Hinter dem Projekt stehen bundesweit vor allem zwei Bewegungen. In Bayern haben linke Gruppierungen unter tatkräftiger Anleitung von IG-Metall-Funktionären eine "Initiative Arbeit und soziale Gerechtigkeit" ins Leben gerufen. Die Gruppe tritt für ein "sozial gerecht finanziertes Gemeinwesen ein", sagt der Schweinfurter IG-Metall-Chef Klaus Ernst. Daneben wirkt die "Wahlalternative", bei der Mitabeiter der Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft Verdi ebenso mit von der Partie sind wie enttäuschte SPD- und PDS-Mitglieder oder auch Vertreter von Attac und Sozialverbänden.[translation]
And: at the site of the Wahlpolitische Alternative, the group in question, a few words on the whys and wherefores, including a position paper (which I haven't read yet): "Die Wahlergebnisse und Mitgliederentwicklung der Sozialdemokratie zeigen, dass viele BürgerInnen sich von der Politik der Agenda 2010 getäuscht fühlen." [The election results and membership development of social democracy reveal that many citizens are disappointed with the politics of Agenda 2010.] The group was formed in order to give voice to those disaffected voices, who will meet at the beginning of June to clarify their position.
** I wonder if this is comparable in any way to the feelings that mobilized people behind Howard Dean (initially at least). Now, I don't harbor much hope that Kerry signals a remaking of the Democratic party, but certainly at one point there was a widespread belief that the party does need to be reformed.
Two nationwide movements are the primary forces behind the project. In Bavaria, leftist groups, under the firm leadership of IG Metall functionaries called for an "Initiative for work and social justice." The group seeks "a community that is funded in a socially just manner", says Schweinfurt's IG-Metall head Klaus Ernst. Working alongside them are the "Election alternative", made up of colleagues from the service industry union Verdi as well as disaffected SPD and PDS members, and representatives from Attach and social organizations.
For a week or so I've been reading rumors of disgruntled SPD members threatening to
found their own party. Here's a recent write-up from the Süddeutsche:
Nach Medienberichten verfolgen zwei Initiativen die Gründung einer neuen Partei links von der SPD. Dazu sollen Gewerkschaftsmitglieder und Sozialdemokraten gehören...Allerdings bemüht sich die SPD auch, den Konflikt herunterzuspielen und ihren parteiinternen Kritikern entgegenzukommen. Die Partei müsse klarstellen, „dass wir immer wieder Brücken bauen, auch in das Lager von Kritikern hinein“, so Schartau.
Nicht jeder Kritiker der SPD wolle jedoch „gleich eine Partei gründen“, fügte Schartau hinzu. Vielmehr gebe es insbesondere in Bayern „einige wenige“, die zur Gründung einer neuen Partei aufrufen.
So: how likely is this? And what are the possible consequences for the SPD, for the German political landscape in general were it to happen? I remember reading that the PDS wanted to change its image after its awful defeats in the last election...is there room for another left-wing party? How would its goals be different from those of the PDS, the SPD, the Greens? Or any other smaller, left-oriented parties?
I suppose this is all totally speculative, since no one has yet (that I've read) come out and stated their intentions formally. The SPD has declared that anyone who does so will be kicked out of the party. Well, duh.
According to press reports, two groups within the party are pursuing the creation of a new party to the left of the SPD. The groups are said to consiste of union members and social democrats...
The SPD is making an effort to downplay the conflict and to respond to the party's internal critics. The party needs to be clear "that we will always build bridges, even into the camps of our critics," says Schartau [head of the SPD in NRW].
And not every critic of the SPD wants "to go out and found a new party," continued Schartau; rather there are, especially in Bavaria, "a few" people calling for the foundation fo a new party.
I like to read Hanno Rauterberg's essays on art at Die Zeit. I especially enjoy his summation of the Berlin Biennale, though it's not particularly positive. I wish I were there to see the show, or at least part of it, to see whether he's on the mark...
Die Biennale ist ein Dokument des Verunsicherung. Die Ausstellungsmacher und Künstler trauen dem Eigensinn der Kunst nicht. Und sie trauen dem Besucher nicht, diesem ach so Ahnungslosen, und wollen ihn dringend höherer Erkenntnis zuführen. Sie leiden unter der Ohnmacht der anderen—und vor allem an sich selbst.Bis 18. April; der Kurzführer kostet 12 Euro, der weitgehend unbrauchbare Katalog 30 Euro.
(I especially like that last bit. Keep reading for a translation.)
The Biennale is a document of uncertainty. The exhibition organizers and the artists don't trust the waywardness of art. And they don't trust the visitor, who's oh-so-clueless, wanting instead to lead him to a desperately needed higher awareness. They suffer under the insensibility of others—and, above all, they suffer from themselves.
Through 18. April; the short guide costs 12 Euro, the largely unusable catalog 30 Euros.
An update from the Luney Bin:
I still haven't heard back from info@ or webmaster@ from Kerry. But my suspicions at this point are leaning more toward someone trying to frame the candidates as spammers, instead of someone on the inside spamming with their permission. It just strikes me as suspicious that five completely different campaigns, running the gamut from low-budget no-chancers like Mosely Braun to frontrunners like Kerry would be using the exact same spam strategy and the exact same software... I'd caution people not to be too quick to jump to the "Kerry is a crack-addled spammer" conclusion yet.
If true, this is an elaborate way to frame the dems. But it could work for a certain audience, I guess.
Courtesy of H. Wade Minter, an explanation of why I have received 27 hits from John Kerry's campaign Blog. There's a name for people who use referral spam,
see if you can find it in his synopsis.
[I'm so grateful to finally understand what the hell's going on here. Like Mr. Minter, I would also not vote for Kerry aka The Bozo, if I thought I had a choice...]
Another tactical fiasco in the process of shaping public memory in Germany as the Zentralrat der Juden withdraws from Saxony's memorials commission. The problem: the "Anologisierung" of the NS dictatorship and the GDR. Jörg Lau evaluates the situation for Die Zeit.
I find his conclusion worth noting:
Die Trägheit des Herzens gegenüber dem Leid hinter der Mauer kann man anprangern, ohne in beleidigtem Ton zu beklagen, dass „im Mittelpunkt einer nationalen Erinnerungskultur lediglich die Zeit des Nationalsozialismus“ steht.
Ostblog notes that the law protecting renters with an old, GDR lease has been eliminated.. What's gone is the "Verwertungskündigung" clause:
Die letzte ostdeutsche Sonderregelung im Mietrecht hat ausgedient. Demnach sind Besitzer von DDR- Altmietverträgen nicht mehr besonders geschützt, wenn der Vermieter das Haus wirtschaftlich verwerten will, beispielsweise durch Verkauf, Abriss oder Umbau.
One more indication that the Post-Wende era is over, I guess. In someone's mind, anyway. I wonder how this will change rents, the urban landscape of the East, etc...I'm thinking specifically of a few especially ugly buildings on Kastanienallee that are just begging for someone to give them an expensive re-do after kicking out the current tenants. I'm sure I'm being alarmist, but it feels like this will turn into a real-estate speculation free-for-all.
The SZ reports on a school in Lüneburg where some student/s left the equivalent of pot brownies outside the teachers' lounge. 10 teachers were enlightened by the experience:
Der Schulleiter Peter Homburg erzählte, es sei eine "relativ dramatische" Stimmung aufgekommen. Ein Lehrer "hatte das Gefühl, neben sich zu stehen". Ein anderer rief vom Bahnhof an und sagte, er finde sich nicht mehr zurecht und brauche Hilfe.
Is it a sign of my age that I think this was only a good prank in theory? In practice, it seems pretty mean. I know so many teachers and I'm trying to imagine even the fairly rad ones at my old Gesamtschule having this happen. Think it would freak anyone out.
Dude, I am *so* not cool.
Someone at Stollwerck/Sprengel has finally decided to "modernize" the Sarotti Moor. Here's the FAZ's take.
Statt der blau-roten Fahne, die er seit jeher vor sich hertrug, soll der Mohr mit fünf goldenen Sternen jonglieren, in einem goldenen Halbmond stehen und - hellhäutig sein. Das Nichtnegerlein, der Entmohrte, kurz: die Figur, läßt uns Richard Crux, Chef von Stollwerck, wissen, wirke dadurch "magischer und - wir ergänzen: zugleich - moderner".
The current trademark looks very fin-de-siecle, and I admit that it appeals to some warped love I have for old-style commercial design. Apparently a lot of people love him, because the "Little Moor" way outlasted his time, given that he embodies an incredibly racist stereotype. But I have always been astonished at the frequency of such images in Germany, in Europe more generally, I guess. They've been slower to change there than here.
So now the company is making him light-skinned; couldn't find an example on their webpage, and I suppose it'll take a while for it to filter out into the market, unless they do a big push. But it's a very interesting case study of image modification.
Following up on this earlier post, I found this report at the Guardian, their Jonathan Jones reports on the scandal around Gunilla Sköld Feiler and Dror Feiler's work Snow White and the Madness of Truth.
It's in very poor taste, if you like, but is there a tasteful way to talk about terrorism? About people disintegrating into bits of flesh? Which is what, to me, that chunky pool suggests. ... Death threats have been made against the artists. Only one of them, Dror Feiler, is prepared to speak in public, but you get the feeling he can take care of himself. Before leaving Israel, he was a paratrooper for three years in his country's army. "My family lives in Israel - why should I like suicide bombers? The fact that we try to explain terrorism doesn't mean that we forgive. It feels ridiculous to have to say it, but we condemn suicidal bombings."
The museum, and with it the Swedish government, has supported the artists, on the grounds that Sweden's constitution protects freedom of speech. The Israeli government has condemned the work and Sweden more broadly. Israel's ambassador to Sweden Mazel (who defaced the artwork) says that the work is evidence of the increasing anti-Semitism in the country.
And now, Salon reports, the Wiesenthal Center has organized an email campaign against the installation and the museum, which has received about 14,000 emails. But these people (at least it seems safe to assume the majority of them) haven't experienced the work in situ. The Guardian's story is important because Jones examines the work and thinks about its consituent parts. One problem with installations is that you have to be there to get it; another problem is that, if you are there, you have to pay attention to all those parts. Jones points out that the music playing in the piece, Beethoven's Cantata 199, is vital to the piece's overall meaning:
The words...ought to have alerted Mazel to the ambiguity, to say the least, of this work of art towards the woman he thinks it praises. The cantata begins:"My heart swims in blood/ because the brood of my sins/ in God's holy eyes/ makes me into a monster."
...
[The piece] may fail to make you think as much as the artists would like, but they have the last laugh on critics who sneer at the work's "banality" without looking up the self-lacerating language of Cantata 199, so crucial to the experience in the cold garden.
One of the artists is, apparently, an activist for Palestinian rights; he suspects that the ambassador's attack was planned, not spontaneous, as a reaction against his anti-Israeli politics. But even if we consider where the artists' larger sympathies lie, I cannot read this work as a glorification of suicide bombing. It seems to me (again, without being there) more about the wasting of yet another life in the endless cycle of killing that shapes both Palestinian and Israeli daily experience.
From the Guardian, a report on the SPD's attempts to reform Germany's universities: "We want to change the structure of the German university in order to establish first-class universities and research centres" that can "compete with international top-league schools like Harvard and Stanford," said the SPD's draft. The idea delivered by education minister Bulmahn is to identify 4-6 elite universities (I still haven't located the determining factors for this), which will then receive an additional 250 Million Euros above normal federal funding over five years; the competition would be repeated at the end of that period.
The major problem with this plan, and the reason it's getting flak from the Greens (and in fact from SPD members too) is that it doesn't solve the problem of lack of funds in the great majority of Germany's universities. Last Friday, Humboldt students staged a nude protest to keep the public's attention on their strike for funding. I like the image at the SZ of the woman with "Bildung im Arsch" painted on her back, a big arrow pointing to...well, duh.
Update: About the 250 million: "Millionen" in a specific numerical sense means billion, right? "Milliarden" means million. Anyway, I don't know that they have the money, whether it be millions or billions.
Also: news from the Economist about the UK's similar uni funding woes, a comparison of things on both sides of the channel, and a mention of this program in Bremen, started by Uni-Bremen and Rice U., which is essentially a small private college. Something similar in Berlin, the European College of Liberal Arts. Both of these programs charge tuition (€15,000 and €5,000 a year, respectively--the latter seems to include room and board) and can be selective about their students, something implied, if not stated, by the SPD Elite proposal. The cost, also, means smaller classes, which is a foreign concept in Germany's overfilled university system. There's just this small problem of charging for higher education...
Found at Salon:
Beer spill shorts out Iron Maiden concert.
I stumbled across this post from Deutsche Welle from April of last year and found it too excellent: A German linguist recommended that Germans stop using English words as a means of "peaceful protest" against the Bush administration's war against Iraq. German has incorporated lots of English terms: t-shirt, ticket, etc.; the alternatives suggested were mostly French words equally ingrained in German speech. I wonder if anyone followed this recommendation...could we group it under the same category as the mercifully brief "let's purge US English of French phrases" fad?
[I've filed this under "blunders," but I don't know that I really consider it a mistake--just hard to pitch to a broad audience as an important contribution to international politics. ]
Der Spiegel reports that Schill has been voted out of his own party. Yahoo! Not to downplay the dangerous intentions of this man and his cohorts, but he's really made a public ass of himself. Repeatedly. I hope this helps to bring down the rest of the "Partei Rechtsstaatlicher Offensive," which is currently trying to save face.
Well, I'm only a wee bit late with this news: Harald Schmidt has abruptly decided to take some time off, which means no more Schmidt-does-Dave in prime time. I always enjoyed watching Schmidt, less in this incarnation than when he was working with Feuerstein—that show had an edge. But Schmidt must still have some pull in the tv world, because he's immediately being wooed by the heads of all other networks, it seems...
kulturnation.de wonders what happens to the staff, who, presumably, in Germany's current employment situation, can't just roll into another job the way the star of the show can. Do they have any contractual rights? [I have to say I've never thought about that when some show gets cancelled on tv here.]
Via OSTBLOG , a test from Stern to determine how well you remember "Red Germany."
I scored a 67%. Kind of embarassing, actually, considering how much time I spend on this stuff in my daily life, but I think that puts me in the "normal" range.
Artnotes brings the covergence of the real world and the world of advertising to our attention with this screenshot. There must be other instances of this kind of accidental expansion of meaning all over the place on the web. How awful that these two happened to combine:
Der Spiegel's response to Michael Moore's latest book is That's stupid, white man! The author is tired of lazy German leftists using Moore as an easy medium for US-bashing. and wonders why Chomsky and Sontag haven't found the same broad resonance among a German audience. The answer, he says, is
Weil sie nachhaltige Kopfarbeit leisten. Moore bedient den bequemen Bauch und weiter oben allenfalls noch das Zwerchfell. Das ist manchmal tragisch und oft bedenklich, weil er viele richtige Ansätze hat, um sich dann eitel zu verfaseln und zu verrennen. Er entlässt seine Gegner und die Attackierten damit aus der Pflicht, sich mit Argumenten zu beschäftigen: That's stupid, white man.
I agree. But when Mehrzweckbeutel brought this up in a recent post, I had the distinct impression that the poster didn't understand why we (here in the US) have need of pedantic formulations like Moore's. If he can continue to focus attention on the things that are wrong and fixable in the US, if he can "convert" a few listeners with the obvious formulations and shoddy argumentations he sometimes employs, well FINE. We need the support, and honestly it's not as if simplistic argumentation isn't being used by the Bad Guys.
The US left is not like the German left, though; and I understand the disappointment when people start accepting everything Moore says without a critique.
Anyone?
In the context of a recent H-German discussion on German memory, the editors bring in the Hohmann crisis in a comment:
The hundreds of posts in the Forum section of the CDU home page that express approval of Hohmann's remarks and weariness of Germans' being seen as a "Taetervolk" offer one disturbing glimpse of public opinion. Clearly, there is a substantial group of Germans who feel vaguely disadvantaged by what they imagine is the opinion of people outside of Germany about Germans. Here, at least, history's attempt to discipline memory seems not to work.
Interestingly, when I looked at the CDU forum today, there seemed to be an overwhelming support for the decision to throw Hohmann out, and remorse or embarassment over Merkel's hesitation to come down hard on the issue.
Which is not to say that there ISN'T widespread support within the party for ideas like Hohmann's, because there's also a lot of discussion of "Meinungsfreiheit," freedom of opinion.
Don't get me started on that one.
Although I've already been thinking about it, reading Michelle Goldberg's article at Salon about the Right's slow erosion of abortion rights left me pretty shaken:
Even as Bush placates moderates by saying that the country isn't yet ready for a total abortion ban, he's doing his best to prepare for that eventuality. And except for committed pro-choice activists, American women aren't mounting much of a defense. Roe vs. Wade might stand a while longer, but it's being hollowed out, termite style. Another Bush term augurs its eventual collapse.
What are we going to do about this? (Who else has been relaxing in the post college-activism slump? How do I get myself out of it?)
From the Frankfurter Rundschau, this report about the development of the Tacheles area in Mitte. Normally "New Urbanism" seems like a good thing, but this just sucks the soul out of the whole neighborhood and makes it yet another bland (yet pricey) place.
Here's the English page at the City of Berlin's city planning pages. If you can spare the bandwidth, I recommend watching the video they've provided. (Interestingly, it seems that the model is made of paper and cardboard, rather than with CAD, unless that's just the aesthetic.)
Also, here's an award the architects, Duany Plater-Zyberk, won for their design. [It's about halfway down the page, and by clicking on the picture you can have a closer look; click the link next to it and you'll get the project description.]
Here's the
Guardian's
report on the story (from the AP):
BERLIN (AP) - Germany's main conservative party ended two weeks of wavering and yielded to mounting outrage over an anti-Semitism scandal Monday, saying it would seek the expulsion of a lawmaker who compared Jews with Nazis.
...
The announcement was a reversal for the Christian Democrats, who had said earlier they would not move against Hohmann and defended his right to speak out. It came after the scandal brought down one of Germany's top generals and set off worries about the country's reputation abroad. Jewish leaders and politicians from all the mainstream parties had increasingly called for Hohmann's removal.
continue reading...
Apparently the Christian Democrats have finally come to the conclusion that it's a good idea to kick Hohmann out of the party. How about that.
Here's what the Sueddeutsche Zeitung says:
Berlin – Nach heftigen Diskussionen und angesichts des wachsenden öffentlichen und internen Drucks hat sich die CDU-Spitze am Montag doch zum Ausschluss des Bundestagsabgeordneten Martin Hohmann entschlossen. Der Vorstand der Unions-Fraktion beantragte am Montag den Ausschluss des osthessischen Parlamentariers, der sich antisemitisch geäußert hatte. Der hessische Ministerpräsident und CDU-Landeschef Roland Koch machte sein Versprechen an die Bundesvorsitzende Angela Merkel wahr und kündigte an, ein Parteiausschlussverfahren gegen Hohmann in Gang zu bringen.
more here...
Here are a few contributions to the Hohmann controversy:
Frankfurter Rundschau 1
Frankfurter Rundschau 2
Süddeutsche Zeitung
TAZ
via Perlentaucher
Really scary news from Salon.com:
On Oct. 21, the House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill that could require university international studies departments to show more support for American foreign policy or risk their federal funding. Its approval followed hearings this summer in which members of Congress listened to testimony about the pernicious influence of the late Edward Said in Middle Eastern studies departments, described as enclaves of debased anti-Americanism.
All our troubles can be traced to Shrub's hat.
(I just really liked that graphic.)
Kicking Ass , a blog sponsored by the DNC, reports that the White House has edited its website to keep search engines from archiving pages on Iraq.
A convenient way to keep people from comparing old versions of pages to newer ones. Is this revising recent history?
via Random Items.
I just had a look at my alma mater's web page, which has finally been redesigned, something it desperately needed. But I noticed that the title now reads, "A Great Place to be Smart." Huh. Did I feel smart there?
Today we bought a 12 pack of... .::Drum Roll::. ..
First taste tests suggest that it's not bad, and that we'll make it through twelve bottles with no problem. It is not, however, a great beer, which Shiner Bock definitely is.
At 120 calories (vs. Bock's 143) it's just not really worth it to me to sacrifice on the taste. In terms of numbers, after something like the sixth beer it would start to make sense. Or not make any sense, more likely, because I wouldn't be able to see straight, light beer or no.
Anyway, we thank the Beer Goddess that She put Shiner, TX so close by.
Well, we went to the Alamo Village and saw Kill Bill. I don't know what to say, except that everything people are saying is basically true. It is terrifically violent, and really gruesome in its detail. I had to look away a number of times.
There are some seriously wicked fight scenes, even with a bit of fantasy choreography, which I loved. Unfortunately, I don't know all the film references he was playing to, so I can't talk about that.
Given the rather thin story and the graphic (in several senses of the word) way it was delivered, I don't know—there was something kind of cartoony about it all. I found I couldn't be upset about it afterward. It had none of the gutwrenching chill that some of Tarantino's other violent visions have.
Watching it was sort of like a whallop over the head with no bump or bruise afterwards.
Mel Gibson's Jesus had a bit of a run-in with the forces of nature, apparently. He wasn't hurt seriously, so I feel I can extract some smug satisfaction from this incident. Is that cruel of me?
via pullquote through artnotes.
