If Germans adore public figures, it is for three things: They are part of a minority, they look cute, and they are not German. Then they will go all out and prove their love with their biggest weapon in stock: Schlagersänger Howard Carpendale.
The most German of Germans—nevermind he is from South Africa—climbed up the chart ladder with his passionate and inspiring song he creatively dubbed “Yes We Can!” Now, let us all praise the new leader of mankind together.
In the good tradition of lists at the end of the year, we bring you the most memorable moments of the already historic 2008 US Presidential election. One media phenomenon was especially salient—Sarah Palin, who will be remembered for putting both hockey moms and Wasilla, Alaska on the political map.
She also sparked a movement of Sarah Palin lookalikes and video spoofs, that succeeded to push the frenzy of Obama music videos from the youtube agenda. The magnitude of her online appeal is so great that after the election, American video websites like Hulu.com have seen their traffic drop due to a post-Sarah-Palin slump.
So, without further ado, our ten favorite videos with or inspired by the moose hunter of the year. Tell us about your favorites and suggest more videos in the comments. Merry Christmas everyone!
While the lead- up to the war in Iraq has been harshly criticized by many, new evidence suggests the carrying out of those plans was shockingly unprofessional and haphazard. The New York Times, along with ProPublica, have obtained a draft version of a report on the implementation of rebuilding plans that exposes practices such as
faking numbers of Iraqi security forces
hiring inexperienced personnel, or personnel with experience and qualifications completely unrelated to the job they were hired to do (National Security and Tennis, anyone?)
decision making that was often carried out on the go, or by only few individuals without consultation of further expert opinions (Big Decisions, Little Debate)
The whole report can be accessed and searched via the New York Times website, where you can read all the outrageous information for yourself.
The report concludes with a part on “Lessons Learned”, and one can only hope that those lessons will be absorbed by the people in charge of the USA’s other war, as the article points out:
“The United States could soon have reason to consult this cautionary tale of deception, waste and poor planning, as both troop levels and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan are likely to be stepped up under the new administration.”
German Finanzminister Peer Steinbrück is interviewed in the recent Newsweek issue, and he doesn’t sound too happy:
Doesn’t an unprecedented crisis call for unprecedented measures? “It’s the yearning for the Great Rescue Plan. It doesn’t exist. It doesn’t exist! Dealing with an unprecedented crisis is a puzzle, a trial-and-error.”
William R. Timken is leaving with style. In a classy interview with “Welt am Sonntag”, the outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Germany shares his opinion on the incoming administration.[Read more]
Desperate times call for desperate measures, apparently. That is what the Liberal Party, the New Democratic Party and the Bloc Québécois seem to believe. Out of nowhere, Canada is on its way to a coalition government – a constellation not seen since WWI. And there’s drama, too!
As we’ve been wondering what to do with our political interest now that THE election is over, here is a suggestion: Why not take part in politics ourselves?
Namely, Lutz Heilmann, a member of the German parliament, Bundestag, since 2005. Through a legal measure put forward by Heilmann against Wikipedia e.V., the German part of the non-profit organisation running the Wikipedia website, the German-language version is unavailable right now. But since it’s the internet, this is not enough to silence unwanted information.
On Tuesday, October 21, French Academy Award winning-filmmaker Michel Gondry honored the Hammer Museum in Westwood, Los Angeles with his presence. Gondry is known for his experimental music videos with Björk, The White Stripes or Daft Punk, as well as for his films Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep or his latest work, Be Kind Rewind. Hammer invited the artist to talk about his recently published book You’ll Like This Film Because You’re In It: The Be Kind Rewind Protocol and to discuss his own conceptual and technical approach.
With his election for President of the United States, Barack Obama has again given proof to the notion that if you are willing to work hard and dream big, you may be able to fulfil those dreams one day. Now, the number 3 through 300 spots are up for grabs. And to qualiy for those, dreaming big is not enough.
Subscribe via RSS
Subscribe via Email