Day 361

Attack in German School

9 students were injured in an attack by a classmate at Carolinum High School in Ansbach Germany.  The 18 year old entered the school with an axe and Molotov cocktails.  He was shot by police and taken into custody. This is the second violent incident at German school this year.

Day 340

Persistence of Memory

On a visit to Berlin, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received the blueprints of the Auschwitz concentration camp from German officials.  This gesture was called a "gift of truth" by Netanyahu.  I think the Holocaust will always be a stain on the collective German psyche, but I'm glad to see an attempt at making amends with the past.  Please excuse me if my tone comes off as nonchalant, but I guess it's something for which the country will always be apologizing.  Such is life.  I think it is also important to remember and honor the other side of that dark period in history as well.  For that, I offer this link: The White Rose- an organization that gave their lives in resistance to the Nazi Regime..... 

Day 187

For a fabulous artist (and now, friend), Diana Arce, who was kind enough to let us stay in her Berlin apartment and show us what the city had to offer.  

Day 186

A friend of one of my traveling companions has been kind enough to let us squat in her apartment during our stay in Berlin.  She lives on Skalitzerstrasse in the amazing neighborhood of Kreuzberg.  The best Donner Kebabs are just down the street.  

Day 185

For the great city of Berlin.

Day 184

A handkerchief to commemorate my first visit to Germany.

More Berlin Pics

Russian War Memorial- Spectacular in all its fascistness.

Holocaust Memorial- One of the most moving and corporeal monuments I have ever, ever experienced.  At first, it just looks like a sweeping hill full of "burial plinths", but as you walk deeper into the center, the ground starts dipping up and down until the plinths are 16 feet tall. It is very eerie at night when there is very minimal light.

Pictures from Berlin

TV tower

Janet Cardiff sound installation @ Hamburger Banhoff Museum

Berlin construction cranes performing a really amazingly graceful dance

I Heart Berlin

Been in Berlin for the last two days and have been too distracted to post.  Rest assured, documentation will follow soon.  Today I am off to see the Russian War Memorial (a guaranteed mega fascist homage, I am told) and have a donner kebab.  Very excited.

Bailout for French Auto Makers

The French are next in line to weigh the possibility of giving aid to auto manufacturers.  The loans are raising concerns from other European Union countries.  The European Commission is requesting clarification of the bailout plan to avoid any legal worries.  Slovakia has come out to voice concerns of protectionism and Germany in regard to distortion of competition law.