Infected with hystery

Note: Meghan & Harry are not infected, yet.

Readers choice: unidimensional, almost

One could come to think these are screenshots from tabloids.

Cui bono?
Who does profit?

Anyway, those who have hoarded enough toilet paper are on the safe side.

The Taoiseach's New Clothes II

"But he hasn't got anything on," a little child said.

"Did you ever hear such innocent prattle?" said its father. And one person whispered to another what the child had said, "He hasn't anything on. A child says he hasn't anything on."

"But he hasn't got anything on!" the whole town cried out at last.

The Taoiseach Emperor shivered, for he suspected they were right. But he thought, "This procession has got to go on." So he walked more proudly than ever, as his noblemen held high the train that wasn't there at all.

Why would I spontaneously come to think of Hans-Christian Andersen's tale The Emperor's New Clothes (a short version to be found here), and why is Andersen rotating with laughter in his dwelling six feet under?

Well, Brian Cowen, Ireland's Taoiseach (Prime Minister) may have shivered like Andersen's Emperor; and so may his entourage when watching this on RTE.



And why not? It's not necessarily great fun to get hit by the shifts of (ribald) satire. Ask Mohammed.
So far it's been a modern adaption of Andersen's tale, varying only in so far as there was no child saying "But he hasn't got anything on!" but a clever (?*) chap gracing the (toilet-) walls of two museums with drawings of a Taoiseach who hasn't got anything on.
*- I'll come back to this point.

But then:



Pardon?!
Pain for the Taoiseach and his family?
Did the Taoiseach get tortured in Guantanamo, in a Chinese, Iranian or Syrian prison? Waterboarding, and so on?
Disrespect of his office?!?!
Mind you, it's honourable to demonstrate or even feel pity with one's boss when he's getting mocked, but: Are there 'tea-shocking' paintings of the Taoiseach's naked entourage, be they with member or without, gracing the walls of Dublin's toilets?
Didn't RTE tell all?

End of the beforegoing.

When telling him the above, my friend Tetrapilotomos, currently busy with finishing his encyclopaedia of pre-assyrian philately, did not even look up, but just murmured: "And there are medical scientists still discussing when a human being is braindead."

As mostly I did not understand. Until I stumbled via the best Egg in the blogosphere upon this:

The Taoiseach's New Clothes
with thanks to Allan Cavanagh

... and this:

126 seconds artwork
with thanks to Fustar

... and Damien Mulley

... and many many others

... and ...

... who knows what will happen when Bock the Robber has finally moved to his new server ...


... to be continued.

Just so

Voilà, in case anybody's interested in what German newspapers focused on in their feuilletons, this week.

I'll focus on my dreams.

The Peace of the Night

No joke here

Seems every blogger, regardless if woman or man is posting jokes today.

To make a difference, here's reality news.
This morning, near the graveyard I stumbled into a young man, or rather he hastened into me. Last time we met - it must have been late February, or so - he had just finished his studies for the teaching profession and got taught there's no need for him as a teacher.

The more delighted I was to see him smiling and in the best mood.

After both we had murmured our 'Sorry', he recognised me.

"Ah, Sean."

"An espresso at Vincenzo's?' I asked.

"Would be great, but I'm in a hurry."

"I see. What's her name?"

"Sorry, but ..." And off he speeded. All I could understand from what he shouted over his shoulder: "... 'll ... you ... ail."


Five minutes ago I received an email:

Sean,
sorry about this mornings' hurry. There was a very important press conferance at the chemistry. They are going to have an 'Open Door Day'. With bouncing castle for the kids and many more attractive sensations.

Imagine, Sean. End of March I'd not hardly know how to spell shornalyst, and only three months later I happen to be one. I could huck the whole world. Shornalism is the most wonderfull profashion in the world.

But now I have to stop. I am in hurry. In ten minutes I have to email the article (220 lines) to the lady owner, for authorisation.


In hurry,
Yours ...

Well, what can I say. I am so happy for the young chap. It's not easy to find a job in these times.

Every baby will be delighted

Every German citizen should have the right to vote in national elections, even those under the age of 18, says a group of parliamentarians. They've proposed a law that would allow parents to vote for their children.

In case anyone does feel the wish to continue, voilà, here you are.

As I am determined to spend this day far from the madding crowd I shall not comment on mad crowds' proposals.

There is but one tiny word attracting my attention.

Did your eyes detect it, too?

Right. Every.

And what does every mean? ... Correct: Every.

So, what's the following? ... Rubbish?

Well, I'd not go as far.
Let's agree to that the whole article consequently lacks of sense.

How could any accident like this
ever happen? What's amiss?

Frankly, I don't know, as to my knowledge only the brightest brains would nowadays get offered the chance of trying to become a journalist and, after a 6*-education only the crème de la crème of these brightest brains would ...

Hm ...

hm ...

why would I suddenly think of the White House?

Hypocritical cant

To start with the beginning: For the past 20 years I have been fully aware that when researching 'hot topics' there would be third listeners - at least now and then. That's why I use to greet those listeners and wish them a nice day. Hm, well, sometimes I'd be a tiny bit mocking.

No need to say what I think about the fact per se.
However, I am surprised that 'everybody' - politicians and media - by their reaction would try to make people think wiretapping of / spying on politicians and journalists would not be the norm.
What hypocritical cants. Otherwise secret services* would have nothing to do, would they?

The Afghan government is clearly upset by revelations that Germany's foreign intelligence service (BND) had been spying on the country's trade and industry minister. It says it will approach Berlin in the next few days.
News broke at the weekend that the BND had read e-mail correspondence between Der Spiegel reporter Susanne Koelbl and an Afghan politician between June and November 2006, sparking outrage because of the breach of press freedom.
It only emerged on Thursday (Apr. 24) that Trade and Industry Minister Amin Farhang was the actual target of the operation. No explanation has been given for why he was under scrutiny.
Farhang, who lived in Germany for a number of years, has told the German newspaper Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung that his life was now at risk because the measure implied that he was co-operating with hostile forces.
"Because of this absurd lie that I'm some kind of double agent, my life and the lives of my family are in great danger," he said. "I could be shot on the street tomorrow," he added.
Full article here.

As said, I am not surprised about the fact itself. Just one question, though.

Given I do understand Mr. Farhang correctly, he says his life is at risk because corresponding with a German journalist implies he was co-operating with hostile forces.

So, why are there still hostile German soldiers in Afghanistan?

Would be nice if the answer would not be 'Germany is also defended at the Hindu Kush', for a change.

* not: intelligence services

Malta, media & malheurs

“As a result of new corporate policy, di-ve.com will not, for the foreseeable future, cover political activities and statements as part of its day-to-day operations.”

Nothing wrong with it, so far. They could also have announced that in order to increase their readership from now on to change from English to a rarely spoken Hindu dialect. That's freedom of enterprise.

So why would quite a few people be not amused? Well, on the same day the Maltese news web portal published this notice (February 4th), in Malta parliamentary election was scheduled to be held on March 8th.

Thus, an act of self-censorship? A ban on politics? Yes, says the European Federation of Journalist. EFJ General Secretary Aidan White calls it

"a craven act of self-censorship at a critical time when the public needs reliable political coverage to be able to make informed decisions on the elections. Cutting political news is a shocking violation of responsibility."

Are these indeed the words of the EFJ General Secretary? Or have these lines been written by someone who recently jubilated, 'In November I'd not know how to write shornalist, and only three month later I happen to be one!'?
Apart from that the adjectives craven and shocking in this context are pretty redundant, does Mr Aidan think that the public does not need reliable political coverage as long as the times are not critical?
Well, and what evidence does Mr. Aidan have to call the decision (whose?!) an act of self-censorship? Perhaps it was just a 'gentlemen's agreement'? Or why would the notice be published on the same day the election date is being announced, and presumably only a couple of hours after one could have read within this article:

A democratic Malta must realise the media scenario is changing and evolving, even with the general aspirations of the rest of the country which are increasing. Readers and our audiences are ever more demanding for more news and better quality, and they are giving every indication of a society that is maturing and expecting more. Our society is becoming ever more discerning when it comes to the media, and yet the exigencies such a role brings for the media is not being properly recognised by the parties and institutions.

There are quite a few questions one could ask.

But the EFD, the Journalists’ Committee and the Institute of Maltese Journalists needed obviously all resources to write a 'joint letter' to the company's chairman:

“We hope you realise your company’s decision is a disservice to your own customers, to the Maltese public in general and to political parties that need journalists to disseminate and analyse their programmes before our country is called to vote.”

Oh dear. Does the public need journalists 'to disseminate and analyse the programmes of political parties' who'd write such sentences on their own behalf? Do political parties need them? Journalist's who seem not even able to investigate on their own behalf?
Apropos, 'our country'. Our? Whose? The journalists' country?

Nitpicking aside. What happens to the political editors who are not political editors anymore? Filling the space by writing articles about the open days at car dealers etc. without which those would not take out an ad?

What, by the way, if di-ve.com's advertising partners took political responsibility? They could f.e. publicly declare:

“As a result of new corporate policy, we will cancel our ads for the foreseeable future, in which di-ve.com does not cover political activities and statements as part of its day-to-day operations.”

Said Adlai Stevenson:
'Newspaper editors are men who separate the wheat from chaff, and then print the chaff. '

'And the best of these would become General Secretaries', he did not say. Perhaps a craven act of self-censorship?

Embedded perversion

Today, leafing through one of my Moleskines, following entry - although almost four years old - again let my blood boil:

Self-promoting ad on ABC, March19th, 2003:

AS IT HAPPENS

New
technology
will bring war
to your living
room

"The attack began shortly after 6:00 a.m. on March 20th, 2003"

A kingdom for a headline!

In today’s Turkish Daily News (TDN) one could find an article about Hamam owners claiming that the baths and saunas in 5-star hotels do not reflect Turkish culture are going to start a campaign to promote the traditional Turkish Hamam.

That’s it.

Today’s most important story . . . for hamam owners.

And for most readers: A banal story.

So how to attract reader’s interest?

A kingdom for a headline!

- Campaign promotes traditional Hamam

Hm, that’s it, actually. But …

- Traditional Hamams: We are the Stars

A little more entertaining, but . . .

Ah!!! Heureka!!! . . . No. That’s Greek. . . . er ... I got it!!!!!!

Hamam owners declare war on five-star hotels


Epilogue:
Do not blame the writer, rather his teacher(s)!

Turkish medias' strange silence

Quite a few well-known media in Turkey meanwhile could know that Turkish bloggers are banned from access to wordpress.com, as their chief columnists received emails, in which they have been told the brief fact, in which they got offered some links for basic research, in which they have been asked to start / initiate investigation and as soon as possible publish the story (behind), as it's a matter of "freedom of speech" respectively censorship!

There has, yet, not been any reply.

It's as simple as that

Another nice little gem has been flowing into the feather of the champion first ever winning the Flann O'Brien Price.
It's somehow a pars pro toto for the daily secrets being published.

Ah, and - perhaps - it is about the time you are to be introduced to one of my closest friend's "ceterum censeos":

Banquo knew before

And oftentimes, to win us to our harm,
The instruments of darkness tell us truths,
Win us with honest trifles, to betray’s
In deepest consequence.

In German it sounds even more impressive (and not only because "Death is a master from Germany")

Oft, uns in Elend zu verlocken
Erzählen Wahrheit uns des Dunkels Schergen,
Gewinnen uns durch ehrlich Spiel im Kleinen,
Um uns in größten Dingen zu verraten.

Shakespeare, McBeth 1.,3

How amazing: Global Unease with Major World Powers

There are some interesting thoughts to be read in Sylvia Tiryaki's TDN-article about survey datas recently published by Washington based Pew Research Center.

But what is the news?

Rather seems to prove - like so often - as correct what can be found in Henry David Thoreau's "Walden" .

[...] If you are acquainted with the principle, what do you care for a myriad instances and applications? [...] A news which I seriously think a ready wit might write a twelve months or twelve years beforehand with sufficient accuracy."

Lichtenberg knew before

Tonight, June 29th, 2007 second channel of German television, ZDF, presented following story:
"Der wahre Kolumbus" (The true Columbus).

Congratulations!

The so-called news is not as new, though.

It could, f.e., have already been read as a news August 7th, 2006.

News? Really?

Already Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742-1799) knew:

"The first American who discovered Columbus, made a terrible discovery."