tapmag

With the platform Twinity, one can take virtual walks around the city centre and even meet Mayor Klaus Wowereit.

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tapmag has been reporting frequently on different religious views and their intertwinement with politics, especially apparent during election times. But religion does not only come into play when it is time to chose a new leader, and to figure out if the candidates match one’s own ethical views, or faith. In many areas of conflict, religious feelings or tradition play an important role, and set a border for political ambitions (in Germany, a prime example is the 24/7 opening of stores, which is still prohibited for the reason of a “sacred” Sunday). But the two main denominations in Germany, lutheran and catholic, also struggle with declining membership and financial problems.

In this article, I explore a different kind of church. Please excuse that for now it is only in German.

Go to article here.

Before Barack Obama’s hugely successful tour through Europe and the Middle East, his critics assumed this was all about photo-ops, that Obama wasn’t coming for a dialogue, but for the pictures of him talking to important foreign leaders and delivering speeches in front of aroused masses of Europeans. That’s why Merkel and others denied his campaign to set up stage in front of Brandenburger Tor – it’s not a place for election talks.

And guess what, the critics were right about abusing European crowds for campaign purposes. However, it’s not Obama who is using the pictures of 200,000 Berliners on Straße des 17. Juni. Here’s the Republican National Committee’s attempt at trying to frame Obama as the King of the Eurotrash Dance Nation which apparently has its headquarters in Berlin.

Bring together 200,000 people and you will surely find a pill popping anarchist, a Paris Hilton clone, and some death metal goth heads who will gratefully deliver all the cliché-laden sound bites to use in an attack ad. Why bother and interview the 199,983 normal people from the audience?

The other way is to simply imply that giving a speech to a huge audience overseas is related to force Americans to buy foreign oil. What, you didn’t know that Germany is new on the board of OPEC? Didn’t you see the big oil pump Obama was standing in front of, that thing was huge!

To be fair, I have no idea how Americans are perceiving these ads. It’s just hard to believe that you can slap a negative message on such positive pictures. Then again, an American politician in front of clapping and cheering Europeans might still be an alienating sight to many American voters. All in all, McCain would probably be best of by finding a way to create these pictures himself.

By Kolja Langnese

While the public in the US debates an alleged ‘love affair‘ of the mainstream media with the Democratic presidential hopeful, there is absolutely not the slightest doubt about the big crush the German press and public alike have on Obama. The Germans are pretty much a fourteen-year old teenager right now, minus the pimples, but with all the obsessions a young and unexperienced heart can develop when it is captivated by a charming heartthrob for the first time.

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In a little more than 13 hours, U.S. presidential hopeful Barack Obama will stand in the golden hue of Victoria, at the foot of Prussian greatness, walking in the footsteps of American greats before him.

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With Barack Obama speaking at the Siegessäule this Thursday, the American presidential campaign has now definitely arrived in Germany. We spoke with Jan Burdinski, program director for Republicans Abroad Germany, and Jerry Gerber, press secretary for Democrats Abroad Berlin, about the impact of the election in Germany and the possible role of Americans living here.

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Weather: solid 83° Fahrenheit. Crowd: Tempelhof-groupies and EasyJet-set. Food: German, served with Stars & Stripes. Welcome to Amerikafest 2008.

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If you’re free on Friday night and you are in Berlin, head down to the Skizum Studios, for the free screening of the Vietnam documentary “Sir! No Sir!” The movie tells the – relatively unknown – story of the underground GI resistance movement during the Vietnam War.

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Two newly constructed palaces of liberty. One is the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, the other one its counterpart in Berlin. Can you guess which is which? The answer after the jump.

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Film club b-ware! are again organizing their “Awarded Summer” (Ausgezeichneter Sommer) in Berlin, which means independent movies screened at amazing outdoor locations Bar25 and Badeschiff (at Badeschiff you can even enjoy the movie from the pool!).

See the trailer here and learn more about the movie and the screening at Bar25 after the jump.

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