Xenophobia doesn't work, in Hesse

Spiegel Online:

Hesse Governor Roland Koch had pinned his re-election hopes on running what some observers have called a xenophobic campaign. And Germany is indeed talking about him -- but his poll numbers are falling.

Can anyone?

Spiegel Online:

CAN MERKEL STOP BUSH?

Iran Crisis To Top Agenda of US Trip

The sounds of saber rattling against the mullah regime in Iran are getting louder in Washington. When Chancellor Angela Merkel travels to the United States this week, German politicians at both ends of the political spectrum will expect her to voice clear opposition to further military escapades. But Merkel prefers quiet diplomacy.

Shameful

Spiegel Online:

In the wake of 9/11, European countries have been busy enacting controversial mandatory data retention laws. Now draft legislation by the German government would make it easier to monitor virtually all communications by journalists -- effectively ending source confidentiality and press freedom.

It may soon no longer be a good idea to tell a journalist something confidential over the phone in Germany. It would also perhaps be prudent to avoid sending e-mails, faxes or text messages. In the future, sources might be better off furtively intercepting reporters on their way home, writing letters, or sending smoke signals.

As of Jan. 1, 2008, this kind of cautious behavior may be advisable -- that is if the German parliament, the Bundestag, approves a bill next week that would effectively remove all protection of journalists' sources when it comes to telecom and Internet communications.

If this happens, all newspapers and magazines will perhaps also be well advised to print warnings like the labels found on pharmaceutical and cigarette packaging: "Caution -- an effective protection of sources can no longer be guaranteed."

Munich

The Steinerner Saal of Schloss Nymphenburg, the Seventeenth Century Elector's Palace. The palace is mostly Baroque, with Rococo flourishes, such as these decorations by François de Cuvilliés and Johann Baptist Zimmermann.

Another Bush Foreign Policy Success

Spiegel Online:

The arrest warrants German authorities have issued against 10 CIA agents have strained German-American relations. Now, prosecutors in Munich want the agents extradited to Germany so they can stand trial for their alleged roles in the illegal kidnapping of terror suspects.

Someone Forgot To Tell Putin The Cold War's Over

Spiegel Online:

Russian intelligence agents have recently been trying to steal German military technology with an intensity unknown since the end of the Cold War. But the spies who have been arrested so far have got off scot-free -- thanks to their diplomatic immunity.

Or is it?

Berlin

The Ishtar Gate, from Babylon; now at the Pergamonmuseum.

Neuschwanstein

Americans in Germany On Alert

Spiegel:

The US Embassy in Berlin on Friday announced that it was increasing its "security posture" in light of a perceived threat. The Americans didn't say why, but the German press writes that an Iraqi terror group may have been casing US targets in Germany.

A German police officer stands outside the US Embassy in Berlin in this 2001 file photo. The embassy announced Friday it was stepping up security.
The US Embassy in Berlin on Friday announced that it was increasing its "security posture" due to what an announcement on its Web site refers to as a "heightened threat situation." The announcement urged US citizens living in Germany to "increase their vigilance and take appropriate steps to bolster their own personal security."

The message, which did not appear on embassy Web sites in other European countries, did not mention any specific threats nor did it indicate why the message was posted on Friday. The embassy likewise refused to comment on why the message had been posted, nor did it comment on what the nature of the threat might be.

Before Bush's immoral, illegal, and unnecessary war in Iraq, Americans had nothing to fear from Iraqis. Iraq never attacked either the United States or Americans. Just another in an endless string of examples of how Bush is making the world less safe for Americans.

Germany Narrowly Avoided Terror Attack

Spiegel Online:

Germany narrowly escaped what could have been its worst-ever terrorist attack last July when two bombs placed on trains failed to detonate. The case comes to trial in a Lebanese court this week with German police suspecting that the attack was an initiation test for potential al-Qaida recruits.

German authorities believe that the two Lebanese studentswho tried but failed to detonate self-made bombs in two German trains last July may have done so to qualify themselves for al-Qaida missions in Iraq.

The trial of the two alleged would-be bombers, Youssef el Hajdib, 21, Jihad Hamad, 20 and four other men starts on Wednesday in the Lebanese capital Beirut. Youssef al-Hajdib, who is in custody in a Berlin jail, is being tried in absentia.

Youssef and Jihad had made crude bombs from gas canisters filled with petrol and diesel and deposited them on two German regional trains hidden in large suitcases on July 31. They both boarded trains at Cologne's main train station and got off after depositing the bombs.

Porta Nigra, Trier

Second Century Roman gate.

Heidelberg

Schloss Hohenzollern

Koln

I will try to post a photo each evening or morning.