Brooklyn Youth Chorus Sings the National Anthem, 9/11/2011

I think this is the best version of the Star-Spangled Banner I've ever listened to:

Update 9/13/2011: I have replaced the dailymotion video with the embed code from the Brooklyn Youth Choirs' website:

10/9/2009 - The Day "the ONION" took over

Just as a reminder why I think 10/9/2009 will go down in the history books as the day on which The Onion clearly took over the world, I'll give you my 4 favorites of yesterday's headlines - in order of Onion-ness:

Taliban condemn Obama as Nobel Prize winner

NASA's 'Moon Bombing:' Crashing in a Crater, Looking for Ice

Marge Simpson Playboy Cover a Bold Controversial Cartoon

China calls on world media to tell nothing but the truth

Apropos the Onion, Mad Minerva pointed me to the following quiz: Actual Newspaper Story or the ONION Headline? I scored 8/12. This solid 67% (6 above the average at that time) qualifies for calling myself "Media Expert" from now on, I think.

POTUS Envy, Indeed.

Bill Maher strikes again (issuing a language warning while pointing to Maher is unnecessary, right?):



Watch the whole thing, dang it! On a related note: In it's upcoming issue, The Economist asks "Where's Angela Merkel?" Well, last time I turned on the radio, she unfortunately was still in Germany, bubbling around the hot issues. And while I'm a little disconcerted seeing all the Clinton zombies raise from their graves again (and I'm not talking about Govenor Napolitano here), I can't help to state that my post-election depression has in fact turned into POTUS envy - or more precisely into First Lady envy, since we even don't have a First Lady!

Perhaps, Mr. Feasel and I are able to come up with an elaboration of our envy thesis one day. My title suggestion, for starters: "99 shades of envy - transatlantic relations for dummies". How 'bout that?

Asian-Americans On Election

Since my day job is keeping me extremely busy and since I don't like it at all to be addicted to something (or someone, for that matter), I have reduced my election campaign attention to a daily visit of "Today's Polls" over at FiveThirtyEight. But tonight, I stumbled upon a CNN video which drew its MUST SEE status from its title: Asian-Americans on election. As a pro-Asian racist and a Pro-American (have still to figure out what exactly I'm refering here to, though), watching Asian-Americans in action is always a pleasure for me. This time, the fun part started early on with learning that the CNN reporter's name was Veronica De La Cruz...



Going through the pieces Veronica De La Cruz mentioned (McCain losing his chance to win over the Asian American vote and Asian Americans Feeling the Power), I couldn't help myself but acknowleding the heavy pro-Obama spin going on here. Oh well, pro-Obama spin is so ubiquitous these days that I got used to (and over) it.

"Survey shows Asian-Americans support Obama over McCain", says... Xinhua! Here's more: "Obama, McCain camps eye Asian-Americans". For the record: Asian Americans For McCain-Palin and Asian Americans For Obama (as per usual, the latter seem to be far better organized). Finally, here's an online petition signed by (to date) 571 people: VIETNAMESE AMERICANS ENDORSE JOHN McCAIN FOR PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

The Candidates And The Mobile Society

This is so true in more than one way:

In a mobile society, people have an easy time claiming multiple home towns -- and no one does so more than candidates seeking national office in an election year.

(Must...not...compare...with...German...Politicians.)

Web 2.0, seriously

Technorati-Tags: usa,history,the library of congress,photography,web2.0,flickr

 

The Library of Congress Wednesday launched a pilot project with photo-sharing site Flickr to publish 3,115 photos.

The library has a blog, too! See the Flickr project announcement here. That's what I call "taking web 2.0 serious".

The 2008 Election - An Answer to Mad Minerva

If you ask me, there are two democracies in the world truely deserving this label: America and Switzerland. Two completely different approaches of trying to get the people's will represented - but both superior to any other political system I know.

Are Swiss and Americans happy with their political system? No, they are not. If you have ever visited a Swiss blog headquarter of political punditry, you know what I'm refering to. Or take this NYT opener, for example:

Even by the low standards of presidential campaigns, the issue of immigration has been badly served in the 2008 race.

Low standards? Dear Sir/Madam, hiding behind the "Editorial" curtain, have you ever happen to follow an election campaign in any given European country? My suggestion: Do it! And recalibrate your expectations.

Or take the undisputed Queen of Conservative Middle-Of-The-Roadism: (any objections, Brian? ;-))

it seems vaguely unjust that a tiny state like Iowa has such a huge impact on the entire presidential election process of 2008. Less than 1 million Iowans will actually "vote" in the caucuses. I also doubt that Iowa is an accurate representation of any piece of America as a whole other than Iowa.

Read this and think again, MM (emphasis mine):

What an absurd way to choose a president, sneer many non-Americans, perhaps forgetting their own arrangements (the coronation of Gordon Brown as Labour leader and prime minister, without a single vote, springs to mind).

(Nota bene: the coronation of Gordon Brown wasn't only without a single vote, but through a single vote: Tony Blair's. In Germany, it wouldn't have been different.) Read the whole thing: In praise of the primaries, The Economist)

I'm absolutely thrilled by the American 2008 election campaign. Today, I got an email by the aforementioned Mad Minerva which starts as follows (link to her related blog post added):

I'm glad you're enjoying the start of the 2008 American political marathon! You say it's "thrilling." A British commentator has said so, too. Is the American race's atmosphere so different from European elections?

Girl, I don't want to sound mean, but ... are you serious?

The short answer is: YES.

The more elaborated answer? Well,... where to start? Coming to think of it, it's hard to find even similarities between the German way to elect a Bundeskanzler (let's restrain it to Germany) and the American way to choose a new POTUS.

Let's begin with a statement of one German correspondent in America, aired on German public radio Deutschlandfunk the other day (my emphasis, again):

The election campaign is lasting for twelve months now. The first hopefuls trudged through the snow of Iowa and New Hampshire in January 2007. Each candidate had to organize and finance his campaign by himself. No other nation expects such exertions of their top politicians.

(Full German original is here: Das Signal von Iowa. Von Klaus Jürgen Haller)

This statement gives some useful hints. An American would probably say: "Yeah, self-financed and self-organized. Are ya tellin' me there are other possibilities to run a campaign???"

Well, um, yes, there are. In Germany, the campaigns are financed and organized by the political parties. And where do those get the funding from? Guess what, from their members, from donations - and from the state. And where does the state get the money from to fund the parties' campaigns? Guess what - from the taxpayers. It's quite obvious that this influences the atmosphere of an election campaign, no?

Next, the scrutiny depth. In Germany, the candidates are chosen by the parties, that is to say by the party establishment. And in most cases, it comes down to a self-nomination by the party leaders. Now, self-nomination means: no quality check, no scrutiny.

And in America? Every newspaper, every TV station (as local as it might be), every other media outlet (not to mention bloggers!) is X-raying each candidate (plus his loved ones, and ex-loved ones, and business partners, and ex-business partners and so on) over and over again. It turns out that you, the candidate, pilfered someone's lunch snack when you were a third-grader? Gosh! That's "mayday-mayday!" for your staff! Your second cousin faked his tax declaration? OMG, CNN breaking news! Wolf Blitzer live, interviewing the second cousin's ex-wife!

Admittingly, the media hype, fuelled by mean bloggers, has taken this scrutiny issue a bit too far lately, but I still prefer the American way of collecting some information (including medical record and personal financial situation) about the candidates before voting for them to the German approach, where this is left mainly to the candidates' party and some MSM gatekeepers.

What else is it that makes the atmosphere of an American election campaign? The mere number of hopefuls - especially this time! In Germany, it usually boils down to two well-known candidates. (If there would be three, it would be considered a political earthquake.) Not to forget the campaign methods, like TV debates, NEW!--->youtube debates<---NEW!, door-to-door-campaigning, fundraising dinners, speeches before huge audiences, classroom chit-chats, internet chats ... you name it. In Germany, we have market place speeches (only one candidate, no debate), some TV debates with party officials (including the smaller parties), two important TV debates (if anything) and some internet embarrassments - and that's about it.

I'm feeling like I could go on for hours on that one. Perhaps, you already got my point.

Warship Traffic

Technorati-Tags: china,japan,usa,navy,military,kitty hawk,timothy keating

China reversed a decision on Thursday to block a United States aircraft carrier from making a four-day port call in Hong Kong, but the change of heart by Beijing officials came too late to stop the ship from returning to its base in Japan and missing families who had flown to Hong Kong to celebrate Thanksgiving.

(...)

The ships, with 8,000 crew members, were due in Hong Kong on Wednesday for a four-day visit.

Some crew members were planning to join family members who had flown in from the United States, Japan and the Philippines.

(U.S. Warship Misses Thanksgiving in Hong Kong. By Donald Greenless, The New York Times)

Welcome to China! Isn't that a nightmare - to look forward to celebrating Thanksgiving with your loved ones and being treated like this? Btw, define "some" in "some crew members" here - or see the report by Associated Press:

Hundreds of sailors' families had flown to the city to spend the holiday with their loved ones, while dozens of Americans living in Hong Kong had prepared turkey dinners for those without visiting relatives.

"Hundreds" strikes me as being a little bit more than "some", no? Taking into account that a Thanksgiving feast needs some preparation, the dozens expats mentioned here aren't too happy either, I suppose.

Another AP report has more (wikipedia link added):

''It's hard to put any kind of positive spin on this,'' Adm. Timothy Keating told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Thursday while flying back to the U.S. after visiting troops in Iraq. ''I'm perplexed and concerned.''

I also can't put any kind of positive spin on this, and concern is due, since it was the second time in a week that China refused to let U.S. Navy ships into the port.

Just imagine what would happen if U.S. authorities would cancel a flight to China shortly before Mid-Autumn Festival! Wouldn't there be some outraged comments from Chinese officials accusing "the USA" of "hurting the feelings of all Chinese people"? For sure.

Oh, and in the meanwhile:

A warship sailed Wednesday for the first port visit by the Chinese Navy to Japan since the end of World War II, Chinese state media reported.

(...)

The warship, the guided-missile destroyer Shenzhen, left its home port in Guangdong Province and is to arrive Nov. 28 for a four-day visit to Japan at the invitation of the Japanese Navy, according to Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency.

(...)

(Chinese Warship Visits Japan. By David Lague, The New York Times)

They'll get a warmer welcome, I presume.

"My Reagan Stuff is doin' super"

This morning, German public radio station Deutschlandfunk had a short feature about the presidential primary debate in Orlando, Fla., last night, ending with a quote from a guy who sold GOP buttons and stuff at the meeting:

My Reagan stuff is doin' super and the Anti-Hillary here is selling
good.

This is spot on, no?

(a more detailed version, in German: this way, please)

Backbone? Values? - Nah, just listen to the pollsters.

I really like the ECONOMIST, and sometimes, I like articles of the Wall Street Journal as well. On one issue, they both get it totally wrong: illegal immigration. It starts with bashing those who oppose the illegality and those who oppose immigration as a whole alike, and goes on by mixing all kinds of arguments only to make the point that the U.S. needs immigrants.

There's one point that really worries me. Couple of weeks ago, the Economist warned:

In the long term, though, anti-immigrant hardliners are likely to suffer most. Latino voters are growing quickly in number (see article) and history suggests they will punish intolerant talk on immigration. Mark DiCamillo, a pollster, points out that California's Hispanics used to lean only slightly leftwards. In 1990, for example, they favoured Dianne Feinstein, the Democratic candidate for governor, over Pete Wilson, a Republican, by 53% to 47%. Then in 1994 came a ballot initiative, supported by Mr Wilson, which sought to make life much more difficult for illegal immigrants. Since then California's Latinos have favoured Democrats by a margin of between two-to-one and four-to-one.

Today, Kimberly A. Strassel from WSJ's editorial board follows:

[F]or every base Republican who is gratified by talk of ID cards and border patrols, there's an entire family of Hispanic immigrants who are absorbing the mean language of "sanctuary cities," "lawbreakers" and "deportation." Many of these folks are religious, entrepreneurial, and true believers in the American dream; as such, they're the biggest new voting potential the Republican Party has seen in ages. But a growing number, just like those Catholics of yore, are angered by the recent rhetoric and wondering why they should pull a lever for any party that would go out of its way to tag their community as the source of America's problems.

So, to cross the border illegally does not involve breaking the law? And the American dream means leaving your family, crossing the border illegally, working illegally, hoping everyone involved keeps a blind eye and finally the government changes things for the better by launching a big "naturalisation campaign" (or similar - I still prefer the term amnesty here.)? This is what the American Dream consists of? If so, I have to recalibrate my mind set. Hands down, most of the Hispanic immigrants are religious and entrepreneurial - but you can't call yourself neither if not obeying by the law in the first place.

But what bothers me most is this idea not to ask whether something is right or wrong, but whether a large group of voters will react irresponsible. If Hispanic voters are really going to turn their back on those politicians who opposed the latest attempt of immigration reform - well, then be it. But I really doubt that. Plus, I doubt that it's a good idea to give the signal: "Hey, just threaten me a little and I'm doing what you want!".

A final point. In another piece, the Economist ranted:

[T]he immigration problem remains unsolved. The border enforcement system remains overwhelmed. Hostility to migrants remains high, even though large parts of the economy depend on migrant labour. Some 12m or more people are left toiling in the shadows, just as before, with many more to follow. The abject failure of this bill suggests any future efforts at reform will be similarly mired.

All those problems exist. But none of them would have been targeted, let alone solved, by the immigration reform that failed in June. And if the perspective of getting legalization within a decade or so isn't a bold incentive for more illegal immigration, what is?

At times, men can be very stupid

I mean, really, really stupid (my links):

"Because you know how these things go," Shipman told detectives. "I said, 'Is there gonna be some crazy lady showing up at my door, trying to kill me?' He said, 'No ... she's not like that. She's fine with it. She's happy for me.'"

What I Read Today, Plus Art Buchwald Stuff

Just to leave a trace and have something to remember 40 years from now:

Today, I skimmed over the Wikipedia article "Taboo food and drink", because it is the article of the day in the German wikipedia. Quite interesting.

Unfortunately, I then turned to the "Deaths in 2007" page, which is always a time killer. Speaking of time killers, I also read some articles about the UK Big Brother racism scandal, for example:

I'm not racist, says TV's Goody

Jade Goody, at the centre of an alleged race row on Celebrity Big Brother, has been evicted from the Channel 4 show.

Goody, 25, was up against Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty, who had been the target of the alleged abuse from Goody and others in the reality TV show.

(...)

And since I use the name Shilpa Shetty instead of "the Indian", I am apparantly no racist. I'm lucky.

To make my update concerning the BB ballyhoo perfect, I watched about three CNN vids. And being at CNN vids, I again watched the two vids about the passing of Art Buchwald, "Goodbye, Artie" by Kyra Phillips and "Buchwald: I made them laugh" (I presume, that those CNN links are not permanent; hence, a hopefully permanent youtube-link to another "dying is fun, actually" vid of Art Buchwald.)

Art Buchwald made it to German newspapers in late 2006 with his book "Too soon to say Goodbye": Der Mann, der einfach nicht sterben will, Die Welt, December 13, 2006 ("The man who simply doesn't want to die", in German.) You can find his final column, which he asked to distribute following his death here: Goodbye, My Friends, Washington Post, January 19, 2007.

Finally, I found a quote of Buchwald's over at IMDB which made me laugh:

I'm not a Republican, and I'm not a Democrat. I'm against whoever's in power. People talk about Nixon and I say, 'I worship the very quicksand he walks on.'

Humphrey Bogart died 50 years ago

How Humphrey got to be Bogie

Bogart became a legend near his death 50 years ago, when his acting was more closely aligned with his real-life personality.

By Richard Schickel

January 14, 2007

Humphrey Bogart died on Jan. 14, 1957, exactly 50 years ago. By all accounts, notably those of his friends, John Huston and Alistair Cooke, he died with great gallantry, hiding to the best of his ability the pain of the cancer that wracked and decimated him.

It worked this way: He would rest in his bedroom most of the day; then, in the late afternoon, he would be dressed in a blue blazer and ascot and transported, by wheelchair and elevator, to his living room. There, with cigarette in hand, martini at his side, he would await the arrival of friends. They brought industry gossip, in which he remained avidly interested; they went away inspired by his courage. His illness was never discussed. (read on this Los Angeles Times Op-Ed...)

When I was younger, I loved to watch film noirs with Bogart, Edward G. Robinson and Peter Lorre etc. But nowadays... I don't know... maybe it's simply too late in the evening when I happen to watch those old movies again. Anyway, here's a short sequence of the famous To Have and Have Not, giving evidence of the equally famous "onsreen chemistry" between Bogart and Lauren Bacall:

Radio Play About Bix Beiderbecke

Lots of cats tried to play like Bix; ain't none of them play like him yet.

Louis Armstrong

Yesterday, there was an radio play aired on German radio station Deutschlandfunk, called
Leben und Tod des Kornettisten Bix Beiderbecke aus Nordamerika (Life and Death of the cornett player Bix Beiderbecke from North America; link is in German), by Ror Wolf (link in German) from 1986, which was awarded with the Hörspielpreis der Kriegsblinden (radio play prize of the "Federation of the German War-Blinded"; link in German) the following year; which is the most important and prestigious prize for radio plays in Germany.

This radio play about Bix Beiderbecke brought one thing back into my mind as clear as possible, namely the importance of the internet for my little life. Because it was the third time that I listened to the play - first time was in 1986, second was in 2003 (I guess, because that was the 1ooth anniversary of Bix' birth) - and both times, I was left to my own devices concerning further information about Bix. Even in 2003, I didn't have the possibilities I have now, and in 1986, there was literally nothing I could do but wait until I happen to enter a record shop for the next time. But today, I just type in the name at wikipedia and youtube - and here we go:

Here you can find some Audio tapes of interviews conducted with people who knew Bix Beiderbecke. You can find "Bix Beiderbecke & His Rhythm Jugglers - Davenport Blues (January 26, 1925)" as mp3, too.

And finally, three videos from youtube. It's so fantastic to have all these sources, right? (Plus, I have a copy of the radio play in ogg format now!)

A tribute:



Wake Up Bix:



The Jean Goldkette Orchestra in 1926:

The U.S. and Europe - Globalization meets cheese standards

Thomas P.M. Barnett, reviewing Roger Cohen's review of Überpower, has this to say:

Europe keeps expecting America to 'come home' and it just ain't gonna happen. We're living in the vast rule-set reset that is globalization's advance around the planet. Europe and Japan, the classic West other than America, wants largely to sit this process out, instead arguing over cheese standards and ag subsidies and UN Security Council resolutions.

(a 2006 draft leftover)

Is China going to dominate the 21st century?

From "Learning to Keep Learning" By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN, The New York Times, December 13, 2006:

(...)

Sorry, but I am not ready to cede the 21st century to China yet.

No question, China has been able to command an impressive effort to end illiteracy, greatly increasing its number of high school grads and new universities. But I still believe it is very hard to produce a culture of innovation in a country that censors Google — which for me is a proxy for curtailing people’s ability to imagine and try anything they want. You can command K-12 education. But you can’t command innovation. Rigor and competence, without freedom, will take China only so far. China will have to find a way to loosen up, without losing control, if it wants to be a truly innovative nation.

(...)

Why should any employer anywhere in the world pay Americans to do highly skilled work — if other people, just as well educated, are available in less developed countries for half our wages?

If we can’t answer this question, in an age when more and more routine work can be digitized, automated or offshored, including white-collar work, “it is hard to see how, over time, we are going to be able to maintain our standard of living,” says Marc Tucker, who heads the National Center on Education and the Economy.

(...)

Tomorrow, Mr. Tucker’s organization is coming out with a report titled “Tough Choices or Tough Times,” which proposes a radical overhaul of the U.S. education system, with one goal in mind: producing more workers — from the U.P.S. driver to the software engineer — who can think creatively.

(...)

"...and will come again if ever needed" - Remembering JFK in Berlin

Last week, I joined a group of about 50 people for a four-days-tour to Berlin. The trip was organized by the Press and Information Office of the Federal Government (Federal Press Office) to show us citizens and taxpayers how the politicians are using our money. It was an interesting journey which most informative parts were about German history. The first site we paid a visit to was Checkpoint Charlie, and among other places, we also visited the Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial, the Marienfelde Refugee Center Museum - and the Rathaus Schöneberg, the location where then US President John F. Kennedy held his famous speech in 1963, proclaiming "Ich bin ein Berliner".

A few years ago, I worked near the Rathaus Schöneberg for almost a year, and visiting the building used to be an everyday business to me. I knew about the Kennedy speech including the famous quote, but I didn't really pay attention to back then. Therefore, it was quite a strange experience to enter the building as part of a guided tour. We even entered the balcony, from which we had a similiar view as JFK on June 26, 1963, when he delivered his speech from a platform some feet below. The guide told us about the historical context of the speech and how important it was that JFK was accompanied by General Lucius D. Clay, the "father" of the Berlin Airlift. After I've watched the video of the speech, I think that the opening remark

And I am proud (...) to come here in the company of my fellow American, General Clay, who has been in this city during its great moments of crisis and will come again if ever needed.

was the most important part of the whole speech, at least for the audience at that time, giving them exactly the boost of confidence and reassurance to be under U.S. protection they needed.

JFK's interpreter, Robert H. Lochner, remembers:

Clay, whose interpreter I had been, had recommended me to Kennedy, and I interpreted for the president during the whole trip to Germany. The reception Kennedy received in Cologne, Bonn and Frankfurt had already been enthusiastic but paled against the reception by the West Berliners.

As we walked up the stairs to the city hall in West Berlin for Kennedy's major speech, he called me over and asked me to write on a piece of paper in German, "I am a Berliner." I did, and when we got to West Berlin Mayor Willy Brandt's office, while the hundreds of thousands of Berliners were cheering outside, Kennedy practiced it with me a few times before going out on the balcony for his historic speech.

The most powerful part of the speech, of course, is the following, ending with the second German phrase used by JFK, which even made it to youtube, as you can see below:

There are many people in the world who really don't understand, or say they don't, what is the great issue between the free world and the Communist world. Let them come to Berlin. There are some who say that communism is the wave of the future. Let them come to Berlin. And there are some who say in Europe and elsewhere we can work with the Communists. Let them come to Berlin.

Robert H. Lochner, again:

To Kennedy's political adviser, McGeorge Bundy, if nobody else, it was immediately apparent that making the famous "I am a Berliner" pledge in German gave it considerable additional force. Some historians argue it wouldn't have gone around the world and into history the way it did if he had said it in English. When, after the speech, we again briefly assembled in Brandt's office, I stayed close to the president in case he should talk to any Germans. I could not help overhearing Bundy saying to Kennedy, "I think that went a little too far."

I hear some, if not many Americans complaining that Germany seems to have forgotten about German-American post-war history, especially about the airlift and the contribution of John F. Kennedy and his successors as presidents of the United States. It might well be that we don't remember this history as it would be appropriate - but it is not forgotten. To illustrate my point, I want to close with a quote from a Deutsche Welle article back from 2003, dealing with the 40th anniversary of the "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech:

Today, 40 years later, Kennedy's legacy lives on in Germany's collective memory - for example in school books, documentaries about the cold war and in an exhibition at the German National Museum of Contemporary History in Bonn. There, the most famous excerpt of Kennedy's speech is displayed on a television monitor, and there is a copy of the piece of paper John F. Kennedy held in his hand when delivering his speech, complete with the lines "Ich bin ein Berliner" and "Let them come to Berlin" scrawled on it in his own hand-writing.

Herman Schäfer, a custodian at the museum, says the document still elicits a deep response today.

"The reaction of our visitors is very enthusiastic, still enthusiastic, even though this 40 years ago. Everybody - be it young or old people - have in mind that this is a quotation from John F. Kennedy. So they hear this quotation and then the look into the glass case and see with even more surprise that there is this little document with the phonetic transcription of John F. Kennedy. So there is still this enthusiasm about this quotation that (puts) so much emphasis on the German-American friendship during the 1960s."

Submitted to Carnival of German-American Relations

Update August 16, 2009: Since the originally embedded youtube video was removed, I replaced it with a similar, albeit longer, video.

__________