Bump.
Foreign Policy: Good News, Germans! You Will Soon Be Able to Legally Insult Foreign Leaders.
The regulation, described by Justice Minister Heiko Maas as “obsolete and unnecessary,” is infrequently used, though it was invoked last year after comedian Jan Boehmermann read an “obscene poem” about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on television. The case was dropped due to “lack of evidence,” although Erdogan still has a civil suit against the comedian, which will be decided in Hamburg on Feb. 10.
Perhaps Germany, independent of anything happening in the wider world, just decided the time had come to do away with the law. Or perhaps Maas noted that the new president of the United States takes to Twitter to insult the cast of comedy program Saturday Night Live. Who knows!
It is not all light-hearted jokes at foreign leaders’ expense in Germany, though. On Thursday, Deutsche Welle reported that German media found that, in 2016, roughly half of all right-wing extremists were prone to violence, and that the number of right-wing extremists is increasing.
This, a day after DW noted that Frauke Petry, head of the far-right populist party Alternative für Deutschland (Af D), said the right to asylum should be removed from the German constitution. Af D’s party platform says “Islam does not belong in Germany.”
“The many fathers and rather fewer mothers of our constitution,” she said, “were thinking about a very small group of people, in the context of who should bear the responsibility of the atrocities of the Second World War in post-war Germany.” She does not believe Germans today have the same responsibility for today’s refugees — the implication that this law, too, is “obsolete and unnecessary.”
Frauke is hoping to lead her party to parliamentary glory in this year’s elections, and is openly critical both of CDU candidate and current chancellor Angela Merkel and of the center-left Social Democrats’ newly appointed candidate, Martin Schulz. Petry sharpened her Twitter nails to slam Schulz, tweeting “Symbol of EU bureaucracy and a deeply divided Europe as chancellor candidate?”
Insulting the opposition by Twitter: how very like one certain foreign leader, who will soon be fair game himself, at least in Germany.
That was the one that Erdogan was trying to (ab)use if memory serves.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard FeynmanYeah. Not that we weren't insulting foreign leaders before. In fact, that actually seems to be a populat pastime, as far as I'm aware.
Welcome to Estalia, gentlemen.Once this is in paper and through the bundestag I may celebrate by some choice tweets..
"You can reply to this Message!"Yeah, this was this old law which was practically forgotten since it was never used until Erdogan dug it up and used it for his own advantage.
Still think that Merkel reacted right by not ignoring the law (since this is a matter of principle, no politician is above the law), but it is a good thing that the parties reacted immediately and took steps to remove it. Will still take some time, but I am really not into the mood of even more lawsuits. I wouldn't put it above Trump to use this stupid law, too.
Enter, the Ugly American as hosts: The United States Tennis Association played the Nazi-era version of the German national anthem during a Fed Cup tie in Hawaii.
Yes, the German team was appalled.
I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiotSee, if it wasn't for the fact that we're in the age of Trump, I just might be able to rule this as a freak accident; "Deutschland uber alles" is actually what a vast majority of Americans genuinely believes to be the German national slogan.
I guess that's the side effects of watching too many war films.
Happened before...it's an easy mistake to make, since it is basically the same song, we just use a different part of it nowadays. But it is naturally extremely offensive to use the wrong one. I wanted to throttle the English commentator during the last World Cup because he kept claiming that the German fans were singing Deutschland, Deutschland über alles during the games.
No its not an easy mistake to make. It may have been in the 60s or 70s of the last century.
But in the age of Google and Wikipedia? That's not an easy mistake, its a fuckup that should not have happened and should not be relativised.
"You can reply to this Message!"If you only know the tune than it is...I never assume that other nations are particularly knowledgeable about this particular aspect of the German national hymn.
It is nevertheless worth to point out everytime it happens how offensive this is to Germans.
Thanks for that bit in particular, Vonnegut.
I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiotYeah, that myth is near and dear to the Neo-Nazis
"You can reply to this Message!"One of my grand aunts survived Dresden. This night (and later on when the Russians came) was hell. And it was a war crime. No matter what anyone says, there was no need to bombard Dresden. The allies could have easily destroyed the streets and bridges which lead to Dresden, or at least focussed on the pertinent places....and don't tell me "It was an accident" or "they couldn't control this". They could have. The Cathedral in Cologne got hit only once during the whole war despite being placed directly beside the train station AND the harbour, both of which got bombed into the ground. The Old City of Dresden wasn't even NEAR any important targets and it went down in a storm of fire and I am frankly tired of this getting excused with "it was just another bomb attack". It wasn't. Dresden was full of refugees, full of woman and children and to this day we have no idea how many innocent civilians actually died during that night. They still found skeletons from this night in the 1990s, when the city got renovated. No matter who started the war, there is no excuse for Dresden.
Anyway, I think the main issue with this so called piece of art is less that it is supposed to remind people of Syria, but that it is butt ugly. I actually love the idea to have a reminder of current refugees in Dresden, but it should fit. After having put millions into rebuilding this damned church again, there should be a giant thing in front of it, distracting from its beauty. The Af D would have complained either way, but they actually have a point about this monstrosity.
That's the thing though, the Dresden bombings were a war crime and an act of brutality, so shouldn't the people of Dresden more than any others understand and sympathise with the suffering of the Syrians subject to similar brutal aerial bombardments of civilian areas?
Why does acknowledging the suffering of Syrian and installing art in solidarity with them somehow de-legitimise the suffering that Dresden went though?
"And the Bunny nails it!" ~ Gabrael "If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we." ~ CyranAnd why should the suffering of the Syrians be represented by a butt-ugly monstrosity instead of something tasteful which actually fits the space in question? I'll tell you: Because the artist wanted to provoke and get his name into the newspapers. The whole thing is a deliberate provocation, and I would normally applaud something like this, if it would only hit Pegida and co. I am not lying to you, when I first heard that Dresden is angry about having a reminder to the Syrian war in front of their church I was rolling my eyes - until I saw this thing! Something tasteful would have done the job way better, because the Pegida crowd would have still raised a fuss, but it wouldn't have the other habitants of the city put in the position that they either have to agree to this thing or put into one corner with Pegida. Stuff like this breeds resentment and actually helps Pegida, because that thing must feel like a slap in the face for a lot of people in Dresden. But at least the artist made the newspapers, right?
edited 14th Feb '17 1:39:09 AM by Swanpride
Man, that sculpture is tacky as hell.
And people can actually earn good money making that crap?
...I really took the wrong career path in my youth.
Disgusted, but not surprisedDresden was as much a result of bad intelligence as it was everything else. It was a move to support the Red Army's Silesia offensive to hasten the Wehrmacht's complete collapse, ostensibly targeting the city centre because they believed this was the location of the factories housed in Dresden, which were located in the suburbs.
On top of that the British had learned from the Blitz that targeting urban centres created maximum amounts of chaos owing to the huge infrastructural and administrative support these high-density regions demand.
Dresden was a war crime, but acting like it was just Allied Bomber Command being vindictive is making the same argument that German far right historical revisionists have been making pretty much since the bombings first happened.
edited 14th Feb '17 1:58:38 AM by math792d
Still not embarrassing enough to stan billionaires or tech companies.I get the concept behind it...it is supposed to contrast with the pristine church which is not just a reminder of the bombing of Dresden, but also a symbol for rebuilding, reminding the people that there is still destruction happening in the world. But the fact aside that it is still just three buses, it is also so big and on the nose that it is basically the artistic version of "why do you complain? Don't you know that there are REAL problems in the world which deserve your attention?". I really get why people are p... I am too, and I don't even live in Dresden.
In this case I consider the myth of the heroic and rightful war way more damaging than acknowledging how much the general population of Germany suffered as a result of this damned war. In fact, it can't be acknowledged enough. Too many people seem to think that Germany somehow managed to escape with a blue eye, when it fact the price which was paid for not fighting for democracy was incredible high.
edited 14th Feb '17 3:35:04 AM by Swanpride
Yeah, the myth of the glamorous Second World War is a pervasive and profoundly irritating one that the postwar FRG helped spread.
That said, I'm reflexively annoyed every time someone brings up Dresden because nobody ever considers context or strategy or Allied fuckups before jumping straight into the same waters as fascist sympathisers.
It's the same thing as people fawning over Triumph of the Will for being revolutionary. The only innovative thing about that propaganda piece is the budget.
Still not embarrassing enough to stan billionaires or tech companies.I for one am perfectly good assuming this is not about the art of the sculpture but racism.
Its Dresden, the city that gave us months of PEGIDA marches.
Sorry, but Dresden lost 'Maybe its not racism?' privileges for the time being. Maybe for a long time.
"You can reply to this Message!"The problem here is that between the definitely racist complains, you put those who actually simply dislike the sculpture in a tight spot. If they complain, they are called Pegida sympathizers, if they keep quiet, it might build resentment in them. The moment you can't have a proper discourse about a piece of art without being called a racist is the moment you demonstrate that the Pegida crowd is right when they talk about the tyranny of the left.
Well, I will say it: This sculpture is ugly, the meaning of the sculpture is ugly (since it does downplay a terrible event), and they should have created something tasteful which fit into the square instead of this offensive eye-sore. The sculpture should have said "there is hope for the future of the current refugees, too" instead of "how dare you to remember your suffering without thinking of people who are currently in need". As much I would like to scream that into the faces of the Pegida supporter, the people in Dresden in general deserve better.
Except for the fact that nobody is physically silencing you or anyone else.
There's no tyranny involved when the only thing keeping you from speaking up is fear of being associated with racists, because that's someone else's problem.
Christ on a stick. There isn't a Redshirt marching down the street telling you that you're not allowed to dislike the sculpture on aesthetic grounds because you wouldn't want to be associated with fascists, would you? The tyranny is purely imagined persecution with no government or social basis.
edited 14th Feb '17 4:27:57 AM by math792d
Still not embarrassing enough to stan billionaires or tech companies.The first time I saw a reportage about the sculpture they were asking people on the street about it....a lot weren't ready to comment on it, and it was portrayed immediately in a "well, it looks like nobody wants to admit openly that they are racist" way. I am usually a staunch defender of the Media, but the way they reported about the sculpture really angered me. They only show either people who are definitely Pegida, or people who declare that you have to be Pegida if you complain about this sculpture. They didn't show one person who discussed the artistic merit of the sculpture or at least someone who said "yeah, I don't mind that they remind of Syria, but couldn't they have done it with a different sculpture". And there have to be some who feel about this the way I did. If one very valid perspective is not part of the public discourse, than I call BS on this.
So your argument is basically 'I don't like the art, and there must be a sizeable group who agree's with me, even if is not shown. So the media is not representing correctly!'
If I was mean spirited I'd draw a comparison to a certain head of state on the other side of the big puddle.
edited 14th Feb '17 4:36:05 AM by 3of4
"You can reply to this Message!"
Deutsche Welle: Fox frozen in block of ice put on show in Germany
German regional newspaper "Schwäbische Zeitung" first posted the eerie picture on its website of the fox, which is frozen in a solid block of ice.
Hunter Franz Stehle made the grizzly find on the Danube River in the village of Fridingen, in southwestern Germany, at the start of the year.
"We sawed the ice block with the fox inside out of the river on January 2 and then placed it on display in the courtyard of the hunting lodge as a warning," Stehle told the German dpa news agency.
The "Schwäbische Zeitung" reported that fox had crossed the thin ice in early December when it fell in and drowned.
The fox will remain on display outside the family's hotel until the ice thaws.
Stehle told the paper that the animal's fur can no longer be used because it's spent so much time in ice.
He said it was not unusual for animals to break through the frozen surface of the river in winter.
"Once I discovered a frozen deer, and I have found wild boar three or four times in the last 40 years already," he said.
Stehle stressed that the frozen fox was natural, not a prank.