Allgemein

A Few Bits Too Much.

Just in case you haven’t yet heard about it, humanity’s decade-old suspicion has apparently finally been verified. It looks like Microsoft is indeed collecting more data about its customers than necessary via recent versions of its “Windows Update System”, according to a German computer website, tecchannel.de [link in German], which has deciphered the encrypted stream of bits sent to Redmond during any update of Windows.

Luckily, there’s help. In fact, heise.de[link in German] points to a Microsoft White Paper cryptically called Using Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 1 in a Managed Environment: Controlling Communication with the Internet describing how to deactivate the system.

But don’t ask me – I did not read it. It’s only 172 pages of small print…

If it weren’t so serious, it might actually be funny. Last year, Apple’s German pricing policy kept me from buying the new Imac, but now Bill seems to update his efforts to drive me to Apple’s gates…

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self-referential

Relaunch.

So I just hit the upload button and the new design is online. I hope you like it as much as I do. The table structure is a bit complex because of the blogger-ad above. So I hope everything looks as beautiful on your screen as it does on mine.

Please note that the sunglasses on the left are not small and wire-framed. While I am not trying to deny my being German at all, and I am usually wearing small, wire framed glasses, I am trying to make the point that Germans, too, can wear glasses that are not small and wire framed. At least in Cyberspace ;-).

Future improvements of this page will include a blogroll and some more links. I will also rework the literature links at some point. And I am thinking about moving the page to a proper domain to benefit from the features blogging tools like movable type offer. But I haven’t decided yet.

In the meantime, tell me what you think about the layout and if you already miss my picture ;-).

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German Politics, Iraq, US Politics

A New World Symphony

When I woke up today, SWR3 radio was broadcasting a piece about the non-event that Angela Merkel’s visit is for the US media despite the “royal treatment” – she has been given by the US government, according to the NYTimes – thanks to Amiland for pointing to the article.

There’s much truth in what is said about her visit in the article, in my opinion rather accurately summarised by the following quote from Senator Chuck Hagel, a Nebraska Republican –

“Obviously, she’s the leader of the opposition party, but I do think the real objective here is to put back together and repair the damage that’s been done between these two countries, … Don’t allow America to define Germany by what the chancellor said, or don’t allow Germany to define America by using anti-American sentiments for political purposes.”

But what the article does not even allude to is how the price for her “royal treatment” is perceived over here. SWR3 was unusually harsh in its wording. The price for meeting with all those “you’re either for or against us”-officials is to renounce to a public opinion of one’s own – “a kowtow”.

Well, let’s just say that this is one possible interpretation. And should the NY Times article be read by some more journalists over here than usual, she might well get the some more press coverage after her return, for Angie apparently said that Rumsfeld was right to describe Germany and France as ‘old Europe” –

“… the Defense Department official who described her meeting with Mr. Rumsfeld said she had told him that, whatever his motivation, he had hit an accurate chord in his comments about Germany and France as “old Europe.” The official added that she had also commented that there “was a lot of truth in what he had said and that the discussion had served some good.”

– while she felt –

“… she has a little bit of new Europe in her…”

Lovely. I can already see the vultures. Last Friday, a friend described Merkel’s current political behavior with the following remark – “… she’s just not up to the job.”

Looks like she wants to prove him right.

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German Politics, Iraq, oddly enough, US Politics

Axis And Alliance… We’re Soooooooo Willing.

Politicians are such a crazy bunch sometimes. If you read Ari Fleischer’s [White House spokesman] statements regarding Germany at the White House Press Briefing [search for Germany] last Friday you could indeed think that Germany is now part of the “Alliance of the Willing”. I guess he just wants to confuse the German media ;-) – remember, two weeks ago we were on par with Lybia and Cuba, remember the Axis of Weasel?

MR. FLEISCHER: No, I don’t think that’s the case at all. In fact, take a look — Germany is an example. Germany, we already anticipate, will vote no on any resolution at the Security Council. Yet in the end, Germany played a constructive role in NATO to make certain that our ally, Turkey, could be defended. If you recall, Germany supported the position of the military divisions within NATO, the Defense Planning Committee, to protect Turkey, which indeed is receiving the AWAX and the chemical weapon defenses and other supplies that NATO is now on the ground providing to Turkey. That’s an example of a nation that intends to vote no at the Security Council is still a member of the Alliance and is still helpful in certain regards.

I really wonder what made them change the tune… could it be that Blair’s problems within his parliamentary party are the key? I suppose it’s been a long time since British backbenchers had such a power over war and peace. Maybe W started to count the members of the “Alliance of the Willing” and realised that there aren’t too many that a larger part of the American public would be able to locate on a map should Blair indeed be forced to weasel out, in case the French veto a second resolution.

So the enrollment criteria for the Alliance seem to have become a little more inclusive… Hmm, I wonder what the Schroodle thinks about this development.

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Iraq, oddly enough

Stupidity, Inc., press release

So “Miss Deutschland” (who apparently is not “Miss Germany”, but don’t ask me about these subtle differences…) has begun her new job as weapon inspector in Iraq, Spiegel online tells us. And they have pictures, too. The following quote is, in my opinion, the most telling part of the article –

“Dutzende Schulmädchen lagern auf dem Parkplatz und malen Bilder gegen den Krieg. Auch Alexsandra nimmt Platz und lässt sich einen Bleistift reichen. ‘Don’t make war’ schreibt sie auf ein Blatt Papier. Die Schulmädchen schauen verlegen, weil sie kein Englisch verstehen. Die meisten von ihnen haben irakische Panzer gemalt, die feindliche Flugzeuge vom Himmel holen.”

Translation (my own) –

“Dozens of girls are sitting on a parking lot and are painting pictures against the war. Aleksandra [Miss Deutschland] sits down, too, and is given a pen. ‘Don’t make war’, she writes on a sheet of paper. The little girls look puzzled, for they don’t understand English. Most of them had painted Iraqi tanks shooting enemy planes from the sky.”

She also received a bouquet from Saddam’s son Uday. Not bad. Not bad at all. Well, at least my mum thinks she’s brave…

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German Politics, Iraq

No War Today…

The Gerhard Schroodlewell, maybe later.

The Economist’s cover is just too tempting to comment. Also, I am working on a longer piece that is summarizing my personal stance in the Iraq question. I’ll hopefully be done at some point later this weekend. For now, my gentle readers, I would like to recommend Gentry Lane’s thoughts on canine evolution for a pleasant Saturday afternoon reading –

“Let us not eschew our Prometheus-Nietzschean tendencies, but go with the canine eugenics flow and make the most useful dog in the world.”

I particulaly like the poodle-like “Gerhard Schroodle” breed (see image), although Gentry correctly points out this breed’s unfortunate weakness –
“A cunning political dog with much media presence, but not a lot of economic sense.”

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Allgemein

Now Wash Your Hands!

I suppose it’s quite unusual for a German to agree with a headline of the British tabloid “The Sun“. But here I do (I did not bother to read the rest of the article – so if I say headline, I mean headline…). I think President Chirac has clearly sent the wrong message to the world about his motives for military restraint in the ongoing quarrel with Iraq when inviting Robert Mugabe, the Zimbawean dictator, to the Franco-African summit held in Paris this week.

And it’s not just “The Sun”. More important for Mr Chirac, “Le Monde” is also pretty clear in its judgment of the invitation – albeit not mentioning the probable Iraq-related repercussions of such a move –

“La présence de Robert Mugabe à Paris pour le 22e sommet franco-africain est une insulte pour les victimes de son règne arbitraire au Zimbabwe.”

Translation (my own) –

“The presence of Robert Mugabe in Paris for the 22nd Franco-African Summit is an insult for the victims of his arbirtrary reign in Zimbabwe.”

It’s hard to argue with that.

In recent weeks, Chirac has repeatedly proven his political and diplomatic talent, managing to become the key player regarding a second UN resolution explicitly allowing war on Iraq. But starting with the over-the-top and entirely unnecessary threats against Eastern Europe earlier this week, he has shown his uglier face. Drunk on power? I certainly hope he’s not. That would indeed make poor Gerhard a lonely man.

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Iraq

Stupidity, Inc.

It seems some people feel the eternal need to prove clichés right.

Maybe, the management of Alexandra Vodjanikova, a former Ukrainian Yves St. Laurent model and current “Miss Deutschland”, should have spent more time in the “Derek Zoolander Centre For Kids Who Can’t Read Good And Wanna Learn How To Do Other Stuff Good, Too”, given that this poster (for dentists…) is not the worst idea they ever had. Her management’s worst idea clearly was to send her on a peace mission to Iraq – as Spiegel online [scroll down to her name] reported last week – to meet Saddam and convince him of the inherent danger of WMDs.

So far, Saddam has not yet decided whether to participate in such a blatant PR scam or not (dpa). I suppose, even dictators of his ilk do have some standards…

While thinking about the final fronteer of stupidity, why not check out “USA über Alles” for a chuckle.

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German Politics, Iraq, US Politics

The Rationale Behind Open Opposition

Joshua Micah Marshall offers one more reason behind the unusual open and vocal Old European resistance to the Bush administration’s policy on Iraq.

“… The fact that Brent Scowcroft, the president’s father’s foreign policy guru, keeps on having to resort to the opinion pages to warn the president away from some new foreign policy disaster? (These public missives, of course, are widely and I think correctly seen as veiled messages from former President Bush.)”

Now if even Bush senior is going through the media to talk to his son, I think the conclusion becomes unavoidable that talking to W does not really help to influence his policy decisions. So which option remains for those sceptical of his course? They have to take their opinion out to the street… and there we are.

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