Read a little. Learn a lot. • Tightly-written news, views and stuff • Follow us on Twitter • Be a Facebook Fan • Tumble us!

31 May 2010 10:02

tags

World: German president Horst Köhler resigns, we get to use “ö” in a story

  • A country of our size, with its focus on exports and thus reliance on foreign trade, must be aware that military deployments are necessary in an emergency to protect our interests, for example, when it comes to trade routes, for example, when it comes to preventing regional instabilities that could negatively influence our trade, jobs and incomes.
  • German president Horst Köhler • In the statement that led to the downfall of his presidency. The quote suggested that Germany was in Afghanistan for economic reasons, which might’ve been a little too true for some. Now Köhler is out, which isn’t as big a deal as it sounds. Chancellor Angela Merkel wears the pantsuit in this relationship and the German president is merely a ceremonial position. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 May 2010 23:59

tags

Politics: Max Headroom: Godwin’s Law broken again and again


  • Glenn Beck: Nazi-obsessed The fact of the matter is, there are dozens of clips that feature the Fox News talker bringing up Nazi Germany. We’re going to use this one because he cries in the clip. If this were an isolated incident that’d be one thing, but he regularly does this song and dance.

  • Lewis Black: Stop it, Glen With this bevy of ammo, “The Daily Show’s” most gleefully annoyed commentator went on the attack, noting how Beck is the guy who regularly brings up Nazis. Inspired even for a “Daily Show” rant, Black makes a totally convincing argument in his spiel.

  • Newt: Full steam ahead Just days after Black’s deafening rant, Newt Gingrich compared the Obama administration to Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia (something he says in his new book). You’d think Black’s rant would perhaps quiet the Nazi comparison racket. Nope. Not so much.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Apr 2010 11:15

tags

Offbeat: Weekend at Bernie’s 3: Dead husband on flight to Germany

  • normal Two women (a wife and step-daughter) tried to to get their 91-year-old patriarch on a flight to Germany.
  • weird They neglected to mention, however, that old boy was dead, which was plainly clear from looking at him. Oops. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Mar 2010 10:44

tags

World: 88 years old, going to jail: Ex-Nazi sentenced for crimes

He has reason to look dejected. Heinrich Boere was sentenced to life in prison for the 1944 killing of Dutch citizens out of retaliation for resistance fighter attacks. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Feb 2010 14:26

tags

Tech: Hoaxsters play on Europeans’ fears of Google Street View

  • Google’s got a LOT of PR problems right now. Some of them are legitimate (see Google Buzz), others are simply a side effect of the company’s size. But the fact of the matter is, this hoax, plotted last week while we were complaining about the snow, is pretty dang funny. The car is fake. So is the rage. But the undercurrent is definitely real. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Feb 2010 14:12

tags

Culture: In Germany, cribbing from books not plagiarism, but a “remix”

  • Obviously, it isn’t completely clean but, for me, it doesn’t change my appraisal of the text. I believe it’s part of the concept of the book.
  • Book critic Volker Weidermann • Regarding the fate of 17-year-old Helene Hegemann’s “Axolotl Roadkill,” a highly-praised German book. The problem with the book? Many passages are apparently plagiarized by another author. However, she claims it wasn’t plagiarism, but a remix of old ideas made new. Despite the controversy brought on by the blogosphere, the Leipzig Book Fair put the book up for a $20,000 prize, knowing about the plagiarism. Kaavya Viswanathan should’ve used that excuse back in 2006. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

19 Jan 2010 10:23

tags

Tech: Microsoft on Internet Explorer troubles: All software is dangerous

  • It is important to note that all software has vulnerabilities and switching browsers in an attempt to protect against these highly publicized but currently limited attacks can inadvertently create some false sense of security.
  • A statement from Microsoft • Regarding a newfound push for users to switch in the wake of a security threat created by Internet Explorer, especially IE6. Germany and France have already said not to use Internet Explorer, and the drumbeat against the software is getting louder. It’s worth pointing out, by the way, that IE has a much slower bug-fixing cycle than its competitors, so this statement (outside of the general sense) is a load of hooey. Drop the zero, get with the hero. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

16 Jan 2010 15:42

tags

Tech, World: Germany sez not to use Internet Explorer because it sucks

  • IE has been blamed for the massive hack attack on Google and others. Internet Explorer’s long history of being a sucky browser is catching up with it, and now Germany – a.k.a. a freaking massive country – is telling its citizens to stop using Internet Explorer altogether. The security hole found, by the way, affects all versions of IE, although Microsoft says more recent versions are safer. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Jan 2010 10:32

tags

Biz: China topples Germany, becomes world’s biggest exporter

  • 17.7% increase in Chinese exports in December – giving China a leg-up on the Germans
  • 13.9% decrease in overall imports and exports in 2009; so it’s not all massive growth for China source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Dec 2009 09:46

tags

World: Did vandals set it free? Infamous Auschwitz sign stolen

  • This sign is infamous. It says “arbeit macht frei,” or “work sets you free.” It’s hung up over the Auschwitz memorial. Well, it was until someone stole it in the middle of the night last night. Who did it? Holocaust deniers? Neo-Nazis? A couple of stupid kids looking to cause some trouble? People who hate being reminded of what happened in Auschwitz? Either way, this sign needs to be returned. (Photo by Flickr user Pawel Sawicki) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
<< newer 
top tags
older >>