A Friend in Need.
Markus of Dormouse Dreaming points to a comment by Richard Cohen, published today in the Washington Post. Mr Cohen is apparently travelling in Germany these days and his observations made him write a manual for future American administrations about “how to loose a friend.” While his observations are certainly accurate – “… the indulgence that [...]
read onDeserting a professional army?
Apparently, the number of deserters in the US army has been increasing for some years now.. Not surprising, one might be tempted to say, given the rising number of foreign deployments. But then again – maybe I am not getting this – but why would anyone desert in a professional army? Isn’t serving in a [...]
read onHappy Birthday!
I wonder what cultural anthropologists would add, but Papascott links to an interesting and funny essay by Eamonn Fitzgerald’s Rainy Day regarding the relative importance of celebrating birthdays in Germany and Anglo-Irish countries.
read on
Beacon of Liberty.
Der Spiegel’s cover this week, headline: “Powerless Superpower. Appearance and Reality of the USA.” The story is not available for free, unfortunately. For an American perspective of the same subject, check this Atlantic special “The Real State Of The Union”.
read onPulling Plugs.
I’ve Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway – I saw the Empire State laid low. And life went on beyond the Palisades, They all bought bright Cadillacs- And left there long ago. We held a concert out in Brooklyn- To watch the Island bridges blow. They turned our power down, And drove us underground- [...]
read onTrading Bush-Shares.
Ever wanted to short sell a few Condis and find out what the price for three-month Colin-Caps is? Spiegel Online reports that Paris-based American expat Andrew Geiger has initiated the American Action Market, a trading platform that will (intentionally) provide insights into the actions and decisions of the US government. The idea is modeled after [...]
read onSex, Lies, And Dossiers.
Why lying about the reasons for war is not obscene – in America.
read onWe Guard The Canadian Border
We Guard The Canadian Border, we guard the American dream… that’s at least what we were taught in “Wag The Dog“. Now Salon comes up with a plethora of reasons why this is not just true – but why preemptive military action against America’s northern neighbour could indeed be inevitable for the United States.
read onIs Google God?
Thomas Friedman must have had too much sun lately. In today’s NY Times column he wonders if Google is like God citing citing Alan Cohen, a V.P. of Airespace, a new Wi-Fi provider, who clearly had too much sun lately – “If I can operate Google, I can find anything. And with wireless, it means [...]
read onSaddam’s new small change.
Apparently, lack of small change is strangeling the Iraqi economy to an extent that the US administration has decided to begin reprinting old Iraqi 250 Dinar notes (about $ 1,50) featuring the face of – he who must no longer be named on the streets of Baghdad (via Sueddeutsche Zeitung)
read onIt’s Been A Hard Day’s
and I’m having trouble with my computer. So I won’t be exactly long winded for a change ;-). There are many reasons for people to pursue a particular lifestyle or live in a particular culture. Some do it by choice [disregarding for practical reasons that any discussion about "choice" will sooner or later approach the [...]
read onAmerican Girls Are Easy. German Guys Are boo-ZAH.
For the better or worse, in my experience it’s the same with American girls as with girls from anywhere – some are easy, most aren’t. However, two self-proclaimed easy ones, Erin and Meghan, who are “young enough to pay an added fee on rental cars, but old enough to feel uncomfortable in college bars“, have [...]
read on
Living History. Deleting Posts.
After Blogger decided to shred two of my planned entries today I have settled for one involving only very little typing. I was in Washington, DC, back in 1998 when the Starr-Rreport was released, and I have never in my life seen so many journalists per square-centimeter. I only had a tiny disposable camera with [...]
read onMake War. Then Love.
Well, not quite love, but it’s closest capitalist pseudo-substitute. According to this Reuters report, a Nevada brothel has come up with a truly unusual marketing ploy. It is offering 50 “free rides” to US military personnel with Iraq exposure – “‘We want to feel patriotic and feel we are doing something for our servicemen,’ [a [...]
read onMake War. Then Love.
Well, not quite love, but it’s closest capitalist pseudo-substitute. According to this Reuters report, a Nevada brothel has come up with a truly unusual marketing ploy. It is offering 50 “free rides” to US military personnel with Iraq exposure – “‘We want to feel patriotic and feel we are doing something for our servicemen,’ [a [...]
read onA Theory Of Self-Evidence.
Last week Condoleeza Rice rethorically asked how “France [among others] could think that American power is more dangerous than Iraq”. Well, being the brilliant international relations scholar that she was/is, she clearly knew the answer… Now Thomas Friedman attempts to answer her question for the wider public – the readership of the NY Times, more [...]
read onStupid, stupid, stupid idiots!
Lillimarleen links to “pro-gun” tirade by Rachel Lucas called just like this entry. Rachel furiously tries to point out why previous cases of civil strife, ethnic persecution, or class warfare are valid arguments in favour of uninhibited gun ownership in general, and specifically in the USA – “If you make self-defense illegal, or even problematic, [...]
read onConspiracy theories in the FT?
Quite to the contrary argues Paul Krugman in today’s NY Times oped piece – the FT is just waking up to the cold and scary truth of how America is being turned into a “Banana Republic” by a semi-feudalist governmental gang – “The Financial Times suggests this is deliberate (and I agree): ‘For them,’ it [...]
read onBowling For Criticism
A Canadian article criticising Michael Moore’s film “Bowling For Columbine” has made to the top ranks of the MIT’s blogdex today. It’s easy to see why given the linking-power of anti-Moorians on the web. But they, like most of those getting at Moore miss a rather important point: “Bowling For Columbine” isn’t a documentary. The [...]
read on
Another Perspective.
Just stumbled on the US Census website and found this genealogical break-up of the US population. Not that their ancestors’ cultural origins would matter in current affairs – US immigrants of German descent always assimilated quickly and – given the German history in the 20th century understandably – were never too keen to showcase their [...]
read onFame Is Money Indeed.
Remember the song? “Fame, I’m gonna live forever, Baby remember my name…” When I just went through the advertisement Salon.com requires my to read their articles, I was shocked looking at the top right corner of the sponsor’s website, a new Fox tv reality show, for I suddenly remembered a face, and a name. The [...]
read on
Gutenberg-Marathon Me.
In a few hours, I’ll be on the run. If I’m still alive afterwards, I’ll let you know ;-) By the way, reader AL had an interesting comment regarding the unintended consequences of the Wal*Mart-Taleban story below: “Part of this has to do with when Wal-Mart got big enough to move into a rural area [...]
read onThe Most Disgusting Porn Spam Ever
I just received the most disgusting spam mail I ever saw. It read “Iraqi Whores. People attacked in their homes and savagely raped at gunpoint. Footage smuggled out of Iraq by the troops who did it. Sexually deviant soldiers run wild. CNN would not play that footage.” In all likelihood, this never happened. CNN would [...]
read onOf course, No One Will Have To Burn Books…
when suppoedly indecent material cannot even be sold at first place. Today, the NYTimes reports that Wal-Mart is banning 3 men’s magazines (Maxim, FHM, and Stuff, of which I have never heard) because of the allegedly offensive nature of their cover designs. According to the NYTimes “[t]he decision to stop selling the so-called lads’ magazines [...]
read on