tapmag

On July 21, 1944, American troops retook Guam from the Japanese. For almost 64 years after that crucial victory in World War II, absolutely nothing happened there. Until now.

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In the weeks since the outbreak of demonstrations in Tibet, much debate has evolved around the Olympic Games in China. Should there be a boycott? How can the athletes express their opinion? Now athletes have found a way to show their disapproval of China’s politics without violating the Olympic Charter.

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If you are interested in American politics – of course you are, why bother reading this blog if not? – here are two dates to mark in your calendar: [Read more]

Exactly one year ago, at 9:01 am, Cho Seung-Hui paid $14.40 for a U.S. Postal Service express parcel, two hours after he had killed two students at a dormitory of the Virginia Tech University.

The package was bound to go to NBC’s headquarters; the Zip code and street address were incorrect, so it reached the network with a little delay. The parcel contained 27 quicktime-files with videos of Cho, several pictures and a collection of his writings. Cho signed with „A Ishmael“ and returned to the Blacksburg campus to murder another 30 people before shooting himself.

NBC went on to air parts of Cho Seung-Hui’s “Multimedia Manifesto” – a decision which has been widely attacked, as well as it has been defended. What guided the editors at the Rockefeller Center to impart those disturbing communications of a multiple murderer? Why are the decisions of TV producers still relevant in the age of the Internet video? And when does Cho become too much Cho? [Read more]

Something about the current campaign is quite surprising for Germans, apart from the fact that millions are spend just to determine the final candidates. It’s the notion that many people and institutions of the public life explicitly take sides in this hard fought campaign. But isn’t that what we should expect from them? [Read more]

It’s up to Saturday Night Live to decide who will be the Democratic nominee for the election 2008.

The role SNL takes on in the nomination process is an incredible example for the way political debates are being turned into entertainment in the U.S. at the moment. At the same time however, it’s an incredible example how political issues are permeating the entertainment sector, creating a new arena for public discourse. There simply is no retreat to hide from the debate over Hillary vs. Barack. [Read more]

Yesterday, it meant do or die for Hillary Clinton. The Democrats in Vermont, Rhode Island, Ohio and Texas voted for their presidential candidate, and once more, it was super-close.

Surprisingly, she won Ohio, Rhode Island and Texas. So, Hillary is back in the race. These primary elections were crucial for her, since her political career (and rumors say her marriage, too) was said to be in free fall after Barack Obama had won eleven states in a row. Obamania (some say Obamamania, but that looks ridiculous to me) has been spreading all over the country and all over Tinseltown. [Read more]

Tapmag can now predict that Senator Barack Obama will win the state of Germany. With 100% of votes in, Obama got 66.7% of the votes, compared to Hillary Clinton’s 31.8%. Wait, something doesn’t sound right…

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The 2008 presidential election should be a slam-dunk for the Democrats. The approval ratings for the incumbent president are dismal and enthusiasm among Republicans for their primary candidates was lukewarm at best. John McCain, now the presumptive nominee, is opposed by a significant portion of party members and right-wing talk radio hosts don’t hesitate to express their disgust at the Arizona senator.

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tapmag apologizes for being a little biased towards the Democratic party lately. The G.O.P.’s candidates or what’s left of them just aren’t as exciting as the Billary-Obama battle it seems. But it’s not just us! During super tuesday, all the attention of Berlin’s local media has been with the Democrats Abroad’s voting event at “Max & Moritz.” [Read more]