Another coalition of the willing (not)?

Or does it just stay business as usual?

“The responsibility for stopping the Iranian bomb thus rests with a coalition of the willing. The attitude of Germany—Iran’s most important Western trading partner—will be critical to the success of such a coalition. But while the recent announcement by Siemens and Munich Re to exit the Iranian market have garnered headlines, hundreds of German manufacturers remain determined to continue doing business as usual with Tehran.”

Much of that business goes undetected via Dubai.

A language of ideas?

German? Whose idea was that? Keine Ahnung. A language of ideas maybe, but not of very much action.

Anyways, according to man-spricht-Deutsch-Guido Westerwelle, German “is the key to more than 350 German universities and colleges, to Europe’s largest economy. It grants access to German literature, music, philosophy, and science, to the wealth of great European cultural traditions and, not least, it is the key to realizing one’s own goals and ideas.”

That’s true, I guess. Sort of. But let’s be honest, Guido. German is also the key to more than 350 German universities and colleges that nobody wants to attend, it grants access to German literature that nobody wants to read anymore, to German music that, well OK (the old stuff was pretty good) and to German philosophy that’s not much more than high speed mysticism if you ask me (which you’re not). I don’t know what German science is so I’ll just assume that it’s really cool. And if you have to learn German just to know what your own goals and ideas are, then they’re probably not worth knowing in the first place. But maybe that’s just me.

“In Deutschland ist es üblich, dass man Deutsch spricht.”

I saw the light(s), and they were flashing

Frau am Steuer (und besoffen dazu), das wird teuer.

“The leader of Germany’s 25 million Protestants was stopped for running a red light while driving under the influence of alcohol, the Hanover state prosecutors office said on Tuesday.”

Wer mit mehr als 1,5 Promille Alkohol im Blut Auto fährt, gefährdet Gesundheit und Leben anderer Menschen.

German can`t understand anti-doping officials` thoroughness

Their thoroughness when it comes to her, I mean. Two-time gold winner German biathlete Magdalena Neuner is mad as hell and isn`t going to take it anymore.

“You really get examined and tested around here all the freakin’ time. Like four or five or six times a day already, or at least I do. And this part about having to get undressed each time like that.  I just don’t get it. None of the other ahtlete girls have to do that. The hell with this. I’m outta here.”

The 23-year-old hotshot unexpectedly pulled out of the biathlon team relay competition on Monday.

I`m 18 (not) and just don`t know what I want

“That’s right, and the sexagenarian shock rocker’s got a hammer. He calmly smashes out the Plexiglas face part of the spaceman’s helmet. Fruit juice drains out, problem solved.”

Mr. Cooper’s success as a pitchman is doubly surprising because the stringy-haired 62-year-old takes over as Saturn spokesman from a sexy female cyborg who looked like the kind of adolescent-boy fantasy who turns up so often in Mr. Cooper’s songs.

Why are they booing?

And what are they booing?

The first movie? The big-budget remake with a message because it wasn’t low-budget enough (the movie, not the message)? History?

Or was this flick, like most of the other films that get shown here every year at the Berlin Film Festival, was it like, well, too political? Nah, that can’t be. What’s more political (or politically correct) than the Berlinale?

I know, maybe it was just another really lousy movie. I mean even by Berlinale standards lousy.

“Ein antisemitischer Film, wie wir ihn uns nur wünschen können.”

Too hot in Afghanistan right now

Ich kann so nicht arbeiten! I just can’t work under these conditions!

This just keeps getting better, people. Now even Northern Afghanistan is too dangerous for the Germans. Too dangerous to train Afghan police, that is. I mean it’s not like anybody’s taking part in any of the fighting going on down south at the moment or anything.

SPD Politicians are serously proposing that the few police trainers Germany is currently utilizing to train Afghan police (wow, they’re actually going to increase that number from 120 to 150) do the training in a more peaceful working environment. Up here in Germany, that is.

Taliban attacks in Germany are acceptably low at the moment and will allow German police trainers to concentrate more fully on their work and maybe even actually start getting a few Afghans through their rigorously thorough and near-never-ending training program. Already.

Angesichts der Sicherheitslage am Hindukusch wird diskutiert, wie die Arbeit der deutschen Polizisten mit der größtmöglichen Sicherheit ablaufen kann.

Teheran has visions of its own

And it hears voices too, for that matter. But just like with YouTube, it doesn’t do cinematic visions.

Nix Berlinale for you, buddy. The Berlin Film Festival is just too political, I guess.

“We are surprised and deeply regret that a director (Jafar Panahi) who has won so many international prizes has been denied the possibility to take part in our anniversary festival and to speak about his cinematic visions,” Berlinale director Dieter Kosslick said in a statement.

On July 30, Panahi and members of his family were arrested in a Tehran cemetery at an opposition protest in memory of demonstrators killed in street violence after the election.