CSU E-Mail Spam

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The CSU, one of Germany’s major political parties, announced to use e-mail advertisement to gain more votes. I think that’s nothing else but spamming the people with political propaganda. Not only the idea is most stupid due to the advantages of technology to determine and detect spam, but the impersonal manner of connecting their major candidate, Edmund Stoiber, with the people is a sapping task.

According to Blog4Berlin, the CSU will not rely on the rather traditional methods of posting bills and holding enunciations. Instead, they prefer to use more modern advertisements in their canvassing for Germany’s election on next weekend. Approximately 300.000 e-mails and several thousand voice-mails will be sent throughout the country.

[via Wirres, Spreeblick]

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What’s up with 9/11?

The trauma of the United States of America occurred four years ago. Within hours, the modern world was shocked as the USA was under attack. Terrorist captured four airplanes of which they maneuvered two into the World Trade Center’s twin towers, supposedly crashed near the White House and rammed the last plane into the open fields of the country as the passengers knew of their fate and rebelled. That was the past, and it is old news. Old news for the media, because they can rip apart those who suffer today.

Actually, there’s not much in the news. In fact, there’s little being said about 9/11. Four years after this dramatic incident which did not only make the Americans but the whole world suffer, only minor reports about commemorations make it to the major news websites. Did America forget?

Yes, because the country suffers from their own internal dangers. The destructions of the Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans tore the country apart. The politicians are in the moment of destroying their own illusive world. And they are scared of this even greater danger than the loss of a few thousands.

Who will care about those who definately did not vote for Bush? Will they receive the necessary treatment? How many are going to die as next? Dear George W. Bush, this is worse than your 9/11 trauma. This is your own fault by not considering your own genocide to your own country.

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Wenn Merkel…

Zitat eines nicht näher namentlich erwähnenswerten Bekannten:

„Wenn Merkel morgen die Klingeltonwerbung abschafft, dann wähle ich sie!„

Okay, es war ein Scherz, aber ob das nun etwas an ihrer letztendlich stumpfsinnigen Politik ändert, das vermag keiner wissen. Jedoch ist sicherlich ein Großteil der Bevölkerung dafür, also wird sie gewinnen! Go Angie Go… mit Jamster und Co! Aber ne… Angie? Pfui-Bäh! ;)

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Political Scream

For the upcoming elections in Germany, this result shows a clear direction of my most recent test on Wen-Waehlen.de. In contrast to my previous results from the more simply constructed Wahl-O-Mat, the test by Alvar Freude does not ask about only 30 thesis, but 54 scaled statements which have been previously given a special accent based on my personal fields of interest.

I suppose this rather detailed test explains my personal stance towards the CDU/CSU and FDP coalition. It took me approximately 20 minutes to fill out the entire rating questionaire, and I received a much more biased result than the „Wish-Wash“ result of Wahl-O-Mat. The rather funny remark here is that the Left-Wing party was on top. Its nice to know that these semi-radicals are on top – even if I don’t favorize nor approve this popularistic party.

[via Golem]

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Barbara Bush: What the hell…?

There are many things which disturb me concerning politics of the USA, but this is nothing else but yet another sick form of modern american racism. I believe those who voted for George W. Bush and probably his father, should remember they elect those who hate half of their own country. Now the presidental mother, Barbara Bush, was widely quoted in the news. Why do they still pretend to be interested in the entire issues of humantity, of helping and supporting those who are dying or are already dead?

„So many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway. This is working very well for them.“ -former First Lady Barbara Bush, regarding flood evacuees at the Astrodome in Houston.

Now I’m fond of what we have in the European Union – a political system that would kill off those in power for simply saying such thoughtless bullshit.

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Live at the Chancelor Duel

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Germany’s TV stations distribute the live-feed of the Chancelor Schröder and Candidate Merkel on the web. This is a must-see for anybody who’s being interested in the upcoming elections on September 18th. Until now, both politicians do not offer any useful solution to the problems from which the country is suffering. If at least one side would consider that they cannot undo the problems created by the Kohl Administration in the 90s, and if they would not try to argue with the failures of the other party to reason their legitimation for becoming the government, if and then – then we wouldn’t even have to worry about the stupidity of politics.

Update
The reforms of the taxes as suggested by the CDU seems to be worthless under the considerance of the most basic ideas of economics. They cannot finance their reforms, even if they plot their political and financial course to gain support from the rather non-intelligent voters. Surprisingly, Schroeder has given arguments which simply boost Merkel’s ideas off the paper.

Update – Livechat/Blog
Lautgeben offers a live-blog by using IRC…

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International Hatred: USA vs. Germany

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A few days ago, German Minister of the Environment Jürgen Tritten explained his harsh opinion on the rather delicate matter of the Hurricane Katrina in the Frankfurter Rundschau:

Original
Der amerikanische Präsident verschließt die Augen vor den wirtschaftlichen und menschlichen Schäden, die seinem Land und der Weltwirtschaft durch Naturkatastrophen wie „Katrina“, also durch unterlassenen Klimaschutz, zugefügt werden. […] Anzeichen, dass Bush nicht nur der Gegenwind des Hurrikans „Katrina“ ins Gesicht weht, mehren sich […]

Translation (rough)
The american President closes his eyes infront of economic and human disasters. These harm his country and the world economy through natural disasters like „Katrina“ – because of refraining from climate protection. […] Signs of headwind is not only coming from hurricane „Katrina“ increase […]

Now there’s a very interesting read: Not just the politicians, but the readers of the German magazine „Der Spiegel“ have send in their own letters in response to the articles by Der Spiegel including the statement of Trittin. Both Germany and the USA have very different opinions concerning the disaster and the reactions of the politicians. Read the point of view by the US-americans and continue on the counter-view from the Germans. I’m not going to add spice to that soup of false patriotism and propagandistic hatred. The people have suffered enough in New Orleans from that Hurricane, and they clearly don’t need to hear idiotic comments out of the blue. However, if anyone wishes, sure go and write something to Der Spiegel or drop a comment… in the end, Trittin’s comment was not so bold, but the populism by Spiegel kills the frame of international relationships on both political and economical levels.

Update:
As Hokey explained below, a major entry by Lautgeben creates an uproar in the germanspeaking blogosphere. I guess the lack of confidence from which Spiegel suffers each day is just expressed there at best – of course in German.

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Wahl-O-Mat

The upcoming elections in Germany appear to be quite a festival of political stubbornness and illogical reasoning by each party. But this time the politicians don’t play a major factor. The Wahl-O-Mat (in German) offers all citizens the opportunity to check their conformity with the major parties BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN, CDU/CSU, DIE LINKE.PDS, FDP and SPD.

Of course I had to give it a try – twice! After deciding about my point of view on 30 topics from the entire political spectrum, I was surprised to see the result: Yesterday, my choice was meeting the SPD’s positions, and today I was in for the FDP? I probably changed my opinion on one or two thesis which I answered previously with „neutral“ and today with a more yes or more no answer. By now I really don’t know what to vote for, because all major parties don’t really offer me a solution to the things I’d like to see being solved in Germany. They are anti-students and somehow anti-me.

Screenshot Wahl-O-Mat

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Angela Merkel in Flensburg

Today, the candidate for becoming Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, will hold a speech for her election campaign at the Südermarkt in Flensburg. I will be armed with my camera to make some shots… and perhaps a small video tape. The whole fun will start at 5 p.m., and both Torben and myself will head off soon to get some good seats.

Screenshot Angela Merkel Website

I can already guarantee that her picture on her official website is way too old, unless she’s been having a surgery to cover up all her wrinkles. One thing that disturbed me was her answer on the website’s featured debate about „do politics exist without lies„: Yes. Well, I think not.

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Wahlidiotie Deutschland

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Liebe Politiker und Politblogger,

mit zunehmender Begeisterung schreiben nahezu alle großen Parteien mittlerweile um die Wette. Die deutsche Blogosphäre unterhält ihre Politblogger wie bei Wahlblog.de und Wahlblog05.de, auch finden sich zahllose individuelle Blogserver: Silvana Koch-Mehrin (FDP), Petra Pau (Linkspartei/PDS), Martina Krogmann (CDU), Katrin Göring-Eckardt, Hermann Otto Solms (FDP), Brigitte Zypries (SPD), Jörg Tauss (SPD), Andrea Nahles (SPD), Katherina Reiche (CDU), Rainer Stinner (FDP).

Was ich aber dort lese ist größtenteils nur müdes Geblubber, was die Autoren von sich geben. Es sieht fast immer wie ein kläglicher Versuch aus, ein wenig die Profile des einzelnen Autoren/Kandidaten an die Öffentlichkeit zu bringen. Anstatt von den Möglichkeiten der Blogosphäre zu nutzen, passiert nichts. Wieso nicht einmal gezielt eine Schlammschlacht machen sich die Frage stellen, wieso eigentlich die Wahlprogramme und Wahlmanifeste der eigenen Partei keinesfalls für Deutschland eine Verbesserung bringen. Auch ein schöner Vergleich: Vergleich zwischen deutschen Politblogs und dem US-Vorbild.

Hier mein Vorschlag des Tages an euch Politiker: Denkt doch einfach auch mal an die simple VWL. Was ihr mit den geplanten Veränderungen erreichen möchtet, resultiert doch nur in kurzfristigen Effekten, deren Wirkung nach dem Einsetzen (und nach der Wahl!) verpuffen. Aber der Großteil aller Politiker hat davon ja nie gehört. Nebenbei sind gravierende Veränderungen an der Mehrwertsteuer ein Tod für das Leben von Studenten, die gerne das Studium in der Regelstudienzeit beenden und ganz gewiss kein BaFÖG beziehen (dürfen). Wenn wenige Prozentpunkte mehr oben drauf geschlagen werden, muss ich schon 20 Euro mehr im Monat für den gleichen Nutzen bezahlen. Was dann aber passiert ist der freiwillige Verzicht auf Konsum. Dies spiegelt sich im Feierabendbier wieder, aber auch in jedweder Hinsicht der Lebenshaltungskosten. Und bestimmt zieht die Masse im Kleinen auch mit, wenn es um Konsumverzicht geht.

Schon nach der Idiotie der Einführung von Studiengebühren für uns Studenten (und junge Leute), die noch nicht einmal BaFÖG erhalten und sich so verschulden sollen, habt ihr mein Vertrauen verloren. Sollen die Menschen, die die Zukunft des Landes tragen, einfach abwandern? Die Begründung für solches Verhalten habt ihr, liebe Politiker, doch schon selbst geliefert. Und wählt jemand die Partei, welche für einen selbst nur Verschlechterungen plant und das Leben einschneidet? Nein.

Seid doch ehrlich und gebt zu, was in euren Blogs steht ist nur Propaganda im Miniaturformat. Ohne Halt und Fuß wird mit dem Spielchen weiter gemacht. Sobald die Wahl vorbei ist, gebe ich euch noch eine Woche um über das Erfolgs- oder Miserfolgsgefühl zu schreiben, und dann sind eure Zeiten als Blogautoren vorbei!

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