Thursday, September 27, 2007

Merkel Lobbied for UN Security Council Seat [New York]

Excerpt - German Chancellor Angela Merkel used a speech before the United Nations General Assembly to bring up concerns about Iran and to push forward Germany's bid for a permanent seat on the Security Council.

Countries have talked about reforming the UN's most important body for more than 24 years. Currently, only the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China have had permanent seats on the UN Security Council and the power to veto all resolutions.


Germany's most recent effort to get a permanent seat along with Brazil, India and Japan collapsed two years ago. Merkel said the time had come for action. … More at Deutsche Welle

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Multicultural Blogs - update

Referring to the introduction, here’s a further update.

NEWS

Interest Rates ▪ Saga ▪ Hockey ▪ Maine Lobsters ▪ Tri Corner Hats

Fashion Capital London ▪ Globalization ▪ Hollywood & "Wiesn" News

Hollywood Diet ▪ Mighty Heart ▪ Munich's Wiesn ▪ Fast Lane Life

NoHo (NYC) ▪ East Village ▪ Germans ▪ Manhattan's Yorkville

China’s Protest against Merkel’s Dalai Lama Meeting

The first German chancellor to receive Tibet's exiled spiritual leader

Excerpt (mod.) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel was set to hold a historic meeting with the Dalai Lama today in Berlin despite strong protest from China, which has cancelled talks with German officials.

The German justice ministry said Chinese officials have called off a meeting with German counterparts on patent right protection that was scheduled to take place in Munich for "technical reasons". More at AFP News

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Nuclear Bombs in Germany? No, Thanks!

French President Nicolas Sarkozy made a ‘surpise offer’ to Angela Merkel and Frank-Walter Steinmeier during last week's informal meeting in Meseberg palace...

“Both the chancellor and her foreign minister were speechless. The idea of possessing nuclear weapons is taboo in Germany.” …
SPIEGEL INTERNATIONAL

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Multicultural Blogs - update

Referring to the introduction, here’s a further update.

NEWS

Omnibus ▪ Media Debate ▪ I'm Not There (Movie) ▪ Terror Scene

Climate Breakthrough ▪ General Petraeus ▪ Transatlantic Community

Iraq's Security Improvement ▪ Alaska Trip ▪ MTV Awards (Las Vegas)

Troop Reduction (Iraq) ▪ New York's 9/11 ▪ Cello Throwing

Carmel (California) ▪ Bernanke in Germany ▪ Czar-like Power Cult

German Climate Initiatives - Car Makers Selling Emotions

While German Chancellor Angela Merkel makes the climate protection a cornerstone of her policies, Dieter Zetsche (54), CEO of Daimler, applauds her:

“She also seeks dialogue with the industry. In essence, it is in everyone's interest, just as it is everyone's responsibility, to reduce emissions of CO2 and other gases, because there is clear evidence that there is a relationship between carbon dioxide emissions and climate change. But the important thing is to achieve the greatest possible effect with as little effort as possible. Transportation must make a contribution here. But I would emphasize that it is one of many contributions…”
Spiegel Interview

Reinforcing a Czar-like Power Cult by Putin

Editorial Excerpt - Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, has a propensity for springing surprises. His latest was the brusque removal yesterday of Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov and his replacement by the hitherto obscure financial regulator Viktor Zubkov. Russians properly assume that the move is part of Putin's plan for selecting his own successor, someone who can be rubber-stamped in presidential elections next March and counted on to preserve the current political system.

But Putin's shuffling of premiers also reinforces a czar-like cult of power…
The Boston Globe

Friday, September 7, 2007

Crowd Mourned Luciano Pavarotti (†71) in Modena, Italy

Excerpts - Admirers massed by the hundreds in Modena's main piazza Thursday night to pay their final respects to Luciano Pavarotti, the tenor cherished by many as "the last, great voice" of Italian opera… In his heyday, Pavarotti was known as "the King of the High C's" for his ease at hitting the top notes… While opera lovers treasure recordings with soprano Joan Sutherland, Pavarotti slipped into the CD collections of the hipper set mixing notes with Elton John, the Spice Girls, Cheryl Crow and Liza Minnelli, among others…He was the best-selling classical artist, with more than 100 million records sold since the 1960s, and he had the first classical album to reach No. 1 on the pop charts… AP reports from Modena & Milan

Monday, September 3, 2007

Climate Protection Initiative - Kyoto & Bali

- Globalisierungsoptimierung -

It’s meanwhile proposed (by Germany’s Merkel and followed up by Japan’s Abe) that the CO2 measurements should be scaled on a ‘per capita’ basis. Each human individual on earth may be granted the same amount of such emission... more at the German FOCUS Forum

Saturday, September 1, 2007

Heartfelt Tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales

Prince Harry said: “To lose a parent so suddenly at such a young age - as others have experienced - is indescribably shocking and sad. It was an event which changed our lives forever, as it must have done for everyone who lost someone that night. But what is far more important to us now, and into the future, is that we remember our mother as she would have wished to be remembered - as she was: fun-loving, generous, down-to-earth, entirely genuine…”

Excerpt - The Queen, the Prince of Wales and the late Princess’s family, the Spencers, joined 500 guests invited by William and Harry at the Guard’s Chapel in West London to mourn and celebrate the life of their mother, who died in a car crash in Paris early in the morning of August 31, 1997... Times UK (with guest list)