Luxembourg

http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/2012/3/2/juncker_confirms_hell_quit_eurogroup_seat.htm
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=137233

well, it seems that both Luxembourg and Lichtenstein are, these days at least, rather uneventful places. However, there is something newsworthy happening in Luxembourg ; the Prime minister of the country is resigning from the board of finance ministers that monitors the Euro zone. this is a big deal because even though he is the leader of a little country, he holds disproportionate clout on the board. Over the last two years Europe has been teetering on the brink of a financial disaster, one that could take out the entirety of the world markets. He says that the position has brought him, to paraphrase, irritation and disappointment. he also says that these feelings are not what are making him resign. It seems he's more concerned about neglecting duties back in his home country, his attention channeled, like Atlas, holding up the sky.

I think his response is a political statement. any human would be worn down by the stress of trying to keep the modern world intact in the face of it falling apart. I can however respect his move to withdraw to help his country for the first time in years instead of the whole of Europe- it's bound to be seen as nationalistic next time he's up for election .

artikel

http://www.austriantimes.at/news/General_News/2012-02-23/39721/Khol_calls_for_cooling_off

Austria is a country. Countries have problems, including corrupt government officials. Therefore, Austria has corrupt government officials. looks like the transitive property works in more than just math. Well, the article talks about a purposed measure to stop corruption in government officials. the measure is supported by different parties and seems like a pretty good idea. The whole thing seems pretty simple- keep an official on the payroll long enough to make sure they don't do any insider trading with big business. the example given is a politician on an energy panel can't resign and immediately join the board at an energy company. Things like this are making the people of Austria disillusioned in the government just like how they are in America.
I think this is a good idea, but i'm a pretty liberal kind of individual. I feel that people in positions of public power shouldn't leverage those positions for the highest degree of personal profit. A few days ago there was someone on to talk about something like this that's happening in the US government. It turns out that insider trading is only illegal if you aren't a federal official- sorry Martha Stewart fugg you. this has lead to legal insider trading all across the board; companies have sprung up to legally collect and distribute this information to american companies. America must be a country too.


http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/wed-february-15-2012-louise-slaughter

Carnival

a float[ing boat]. have I no shame?
http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/fotostrecke-65424-8.html

here is a picture of a single woman, celebrations seem similar world wide, except undergarments.

religion, revelry, and a person in a banana suit. i feel this pretty well sums up carnival. it's a religious but quite not all at the same time.
http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/fotostrecke-65424-9.html


As to the cultural aspect of all of this hullabaloo- this mess started as a way to Christianize  various Pagan holidays- roman Saturnalia and Lupercalia, German solstice festivities. my favorite part of Lupercalia is that the young men of the town would run around in a wolf pelt whipping the local ladies with goatskin. the harder you were hit, the more luck of having a boy the following year. Essentially the deal is eat drink and snu-snu as much as possible before it isn't allowed. Every strict society needs something as a release.
These activities seem pretty comparable to the celebrations that happen in New Orleans for Marti Gras. but other than that one local event, there don't seem to be any really big celebrations like in German cities. i have never heard of a Cincinnati Carnival parade, or one in Columbus, or Louisville, etc.
i feel the cultural importance of Carnival is another lovely reason to dance and shed reserve. Germans do seem to love a good occasion to dance. but i do have to say, some of these floats changed my perceptions a bit. some of them are very... wie sagt man...umm... "oh dear god" to my rather risque to my relatively conservative American upbringing.
What might the floats look like later this month? my best guess is a lot of brutal bashing of Greece and Italy. i don't really know what else there would be- maybe something about the articles we read earlier, like the right wing violence.

Swiss cheese.

It seems America is not the only country in the world with dietary concerns. As it so happens, Switzerlamd has food issues too, except, from what i can tell from this article, there the issue isn't amount, it's salt. Swiss cheese, and bread has too much salt. the average Swiss eats almost twice the recomended amount of salt a day. I shall refrain from commenting on their chocolate. University studies have shown that the levels of salinity can be reduced, at least in some brands. however, there is a legal definition for Gruyare (aka swiss cheese) that has a limitation on the lower and upper bounds of it's salt content. also this salt is needed for the preservation of the cheese during the up to one year long aging process. Reseachers also believe that consumers should have the option of buying low sodium options, and for the free market to assert its self.

http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss_news/Scientists_challenge_Swiss_food_traditions.html?cid=31978112

artikel 1

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,806719,00.html

this article is on the rising Neo-Nazi threat to those on the left of the asile in Germany. Also random individuals from groups that are disliked the Neo-Nazis. articles subtitle even states that there hasn't even been a week without violence lately. The activity done by these right wing thugs seems to focus mainly property damage for intimidation; most marked by shattered glass and spray paint. Windows and walls seem to be in the highest danger. That being said, there are people in real danger too; cut brake lines and other car related sabotage seem to be rather common as well.

To make things worse, these groups are trying to buy out entire areas of places; they want to rule over domains. something tells me, if this happens Germany will not be a better place for it.

you asked for it

1. Describe what you think german culture is.
I think it is culture that is from Germany. Cue laugh-track. really, from my interactions with germans, it doesn't sem to be all that different from ours. You ask for my steriotypes- lets go with sausage, leiderhosen, liking movies, schnapps, anger, beer, round faced tall individuals. as to reading, virtually every time germany is mentioned in any books i read it has the word Nazi used as a prefix. Music that i listen to that was made by germans (that I know of) is the internationally maligned NHD, including such bands as Oomph!, and Rammestein. Other things I think of are pastery. my family still has two main german pasteries we know how to make, dorbistorten, and kiffles; I have no idea how to spell either of those things.
2. Compare what you know/think about German culture to American culture.
like I said, it doesn't seem all that different. taht being said, if I had to pick a few adjectives, I know exactly what they'd be. To start, more reserved; German students I've met have often been more stoic than my american compatriots, they also seem to pick up american tendencies the longer they stay here. second, more practical. they always seem to want the thing that makes the most sense, even if it goes against high fasion, or the personal whims of teir friends. I once had a conversation on how absurd the american system of measurement was, he didn't understand why we didn't use metric, and asked what the unit conversions were within our system- 5280 feet in a mile, 1760 yards, 12 inches in a foot. i think it's just because we learn them early. and third, less straightlaced- these german kids started out never binge drinking, and not understanding the american taboo of bf/gf sleeping in the same house, but infact troubled at the distress.
3. Hypothesize about the validity of your thoughts.
well, I haven't had interactions with a large number of Germans, maybe a dozen, possibly two. and the majority of the sample that I've had the opportunity to come into contact with is special, they were good enough students that they were allowed to be exchange students. the music from Germany I listen to, I know most of the exchange students and their friends didn't like. overll, I believe I have an American view on the subject, too limited because i'm on the wrong continent.