Tag Archives: Guttenberg

German 80 Percent Rule Kicks In Again

February 25, 2011 By in Habeas Corpus, Habitudes, Hard Facts Tags: , , , , , , , 2 Comments

OK, OK. This time it’s only 75 percent, but they’re at a real low right now. Give them another week or two.

When Germans decide to go with a fixed idea (obsession? delusion?) they do so with typical German thoroughness (typical German thoroughness is another fixed idea, obsession or delusion). In this case, they have decided to keep liking their defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, plagiarism or not. Some 75 percent of Germans asked think he should stay in office after the University of Bayreuth took back his doctorate.

The German Left (meaning political opposition) is enraged, of course, but who cares? They’re always enraged about something. And some of the irony here is that this particular article comes from the Bild Zeitung itself, another thing that outrages the outraged German Left (always has, always will). They claim that Guttenberg was “created” by the Bild, like Dr. Frankenstein created his monster, I guess. And being that the German man or woman on the street is too dumb to know what is best for him or her, or so their thinking, they are all the more enraged that he/she has decided to stick to Guttenberg anyway, despite their quite loud and vocal enragement. Like how enraging is that?

Nur 22 Prozent sind der Meinung, zu Guttenberg soll aufgrund dieser Vorwürfe als Verteidigungsminister zurücktreten, drei Viertel (75 Prozent) verneinen dies. Drei Prozent sind unentschlossen.

What do you expect from a country obsessed with academic titles?

February 21, 2011 By in Habeas Corpus, Higher Education Tags: , , , , , , 2 Comments

Or do you know any French, English or American academics who place much value on being addressed “properly?” I didn’t think so.

The strange thing about this whole Guttenberg thing (he’s being accused of plagiarizing several sections of his doctoral dissertation), I find, is that he had already had his way cool title to begin with. He’s a freakin’ blue-blooded baron, for crying out loud. Why worry about some additional academic title?

But like they say, you can never be too thin or have enough money. Or, if you’re German, you can never have enough titles, I guess.

At least they’ll be some good jokes to come out of this: Minister Copy and Paste or Googleberg or he graduated “schummel cum laude” (schummeln means to cheat), you know, stuff like that.

The German public takes such charges seriously.

Germans Outraged at Glamorous Baroness

December 14, 2010 By in Hate, Hotness, Hypocrisy, Hysteria Tags: , , , , , , , 3 Comments

German opposition politicians everywhere are seething at what they see as the latest successful Selbstinszenierung (self-staging) by Germany’s popular blue-blooded defense minister, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg and his way too good-looking, photogenic and charasmatic well-born wife Stephanie during a visit to German troops in Afghanistan the other day, which, come to think of it, it was.

“Afghanistan is the last country on earth that lends itself to show business and entertainment,” one fuming politician said. “Our troops there have proven that long ago.”

“A shameless act of self-promotion,” another opposing opposition politician said, asking to remain anonymous. “Damn I wish I could pull that off that well too.”

“Some people might find the visit by the baroness, a von Bismarck by birth, to the military camp in her trendy boots and anorak a tad extroverted. But the sympathies conveyed by the minister’s wife, on behalf of millions of German citizens, has a value that transcends any criticism of the show business element of this coup.”