a.e.i.o.u.

Otto von Hapsburg, the eldest son of the last Emperor of Austria-Hungary, has passed away, at the advanced age of 98, and with him one of the last links to this time in the world, not so long ago, when monarchy and lineage dominated and republics were the exception.
I wonder that people can really put their minds around such a difference in governance and birth-right. Hapsburg of course renounced his claim to crown-lands back in 1961 and has since worked ardently for European peace and unity, but his passing raises questions about a resurgence in entertaining a return to royal rule. Hapsburg was not only a private citizen, serving decades in the European parliament but did live quietly under a self-imposed exile in Bavaria and outside of his native Austria. The subdued word of his death—though respectful—seems like a cautious calculation, to avoid exalting him too highly and invite royalists and courtiers of all persuasions that have used disenfranchised nobility for all sorts of causes, positive and negative. A.E.I.O.U. incidentally was a symbolic (signature) device used by the Austrian emperor, which no one really knows stood for--probably "Alles Erdreich ist Österreich untertan" or "All the world is subject to Austria" but no one is for certain, maybe also in Latin Austria Europae Imago, Onus, Unio or "Austria is Europe's spitting image, burden and unification." Further, I wonder about that singular moment in 1919, after witnessing the nightmare of World War I, when the royals abdicated en masse. How that played out does not seem clear to me: did revolution and revolt compel the nobles or did they choose to give up their power on their own accord, did they all agree without dissent or expect the situation to be temporary or as the Empire and Kingdom went, dukes and barons found their free-hold to be without meaning or enforcement? Such events, something never to happen again since their no ceremony and strife of succession, ought to be marked solemnly, but not kept out of sight or we really will be losing that historical era and that historical change.

national lampoon

A few weeks ago the Onion reported that a think tank in Washington concluded that all of America’s economic problems can be attributed to the fact it was built on top of an ancient Indian burial ground. A few weeks before that, some clever person through the looking-glass started collecting the musings and the outrage of people who do not realize that the Onion is a news parody, whose commentary probably is more telling that most journalism. That jokes and pranks can draw out the same sort of internet hissy-fits is pretty telling as well. What is truly funny does not go stale.

Vor wenigen Wochen gab die Onion ein Bericht, der kommt zu dem Schluss, dass die Depression der amerikanischen Wirtschaft erwächst vollständig aus der Tatsache, dass das Land liegt auf einem riesig, vorzeitlichem indischem Begräbnisfeld (wie im Film ,,Poltergeist’’ – hier findet man solche Kultkino Kreationen). Und aggregiert davor ein geschickt Gruppe den Empörung an Menschen ohne Kenntnisse dass die Onion haben die Nachrichten parodiert. Manchmal sagt Parodie mehr, als jede wahr Nachricht, genau wie Leichtgläubigkeit. Obwohl nichts Neues, versauern nicht was lustig ist.

the glazier's fallacy or ce qu'on voit et ce qu'on ne voit pas

The New York Times has a circumspect article on the end of mandatory military conscription in Germany, which official ended today, marking the transition into an all voluntary force. Formerly, when young men and women reached the age of majority, they were required to serve a tour of eighteen months in military or comparable civilian service, with waivers granted for certain career tracks. Often I think about the incidents and accidents and quirks of history and how things would have turned out completely different had events and practices taken another course: H was able to avoid conscription in the East German Peoples' Army because of the timing of Reunification, and without East Germany to begin with, an American military presence in Germany certainly would not have been so enduring. I wonder if one knows when human events took the wrong course. What does that feel like? I cannot speak to whether the experience is formative for young people or whether the democratized military benefited more from mandatory rather than a voluntary composition, but I do imagine that all sorts of business and industries as well as the apprentices gained a lot from the free-help and career-sampling and development opportunities. As the New York Times story points out, a disproportionate number of military personnel are represented by residents of the former East, where sometimes gainful employment can be harder to secure. Perhaps military service, on a voluntary-basis too, can help distribute opportunities to talented individuals and not become the distasteful, minioned last resort it is elsewhere. It is a big experiment to shift the direction of one's armies like this, and while I am not sure about any analogues or the shape of things to come of this, it did not take place without discussion and debate, and perhaps introduces a measure of reason to the stuff of defense and aggression.

Hier geht es zu einem Artikel von Focus über der Ende der Wehrpflicht--der Schnittstelle der Übergangs von obligatorisch zu freiwilligen Dienst. Vormals, werden alle jungen Männer und Frauen müsse, sich mit 18 Jahren entweder für die Bundeswehr oder Zivildienst zu dienen. Often habe ich mich selbst über die möglichen vom Vorfällen und Begebenheiten Geschichtes nachzudenken. Wie könnte es anderes sein? H vermied Einberufung bei der DDR-Volksarmee aus Gründen des Timings der Wiedervereinigung. Ohne der DDR, haben nicht weder der amerikanischen Militärpräsenz in Deutschland für mich erdulden mussten. Ich frage mich, ob das vom Kurs abkommen. Ich weiß nicht, ob das Erleben was prägend für Jugendlichen oder nichts, oder ob das mit gut für die Armee war. Aber ich glaube, dass begünstigte Arbeits- und Sozialausschusses davon Helfer und Nachwuchsförderung. Das Militärpersonal kommen Bürger aus die neuen östlichen Bundesländern. Manchmal gibt dort nur wenig Möglichkeiten, Qualifikationen zu erwerben. Vielleicht wird weiterhin Freiwilligendiensten als effektiver Zugangsmöglichkeit und Bildungschance statt letzten Ausweg unterstützen. Auf diese Weise würde der Armee einen bisher unbekannten Wagemut an den Tag legen. Vielleicht wenn wir setzen die Debatte fortzu, dann können wir eine gewisse Menschenverstand und Vernunft in die Verteidigung und Aggression einführen.

greece is the word or meanwhile back at the academy

I think maybe the coverage--what there is of the protests and plight compared to the media attention for protests in the Middle East and North Africa but it is different kind of challenge to voice dissent and risk portraying the banking Pantheon in a negative light, especially when the media has already confirmed its allegiance to state and business--emerging on the Greeks is too biased and made too complex to allow it to be judged by mortals. Abstracted commitments are not realities and neither are they commitments to pensioners, the poor and the aspiring. Shirking ones negotiated rules of conduct leads to chaos and Greece, as an organization and national, sovereign body, should not be excused or rewarded for failing to manage their money, but the populace should not be made to pay for untold avarice, less than transparent salesmanship and unrelenting coercion to play by the rules on the part of politicians and lobbyists. Like with other enterprises adjudged too big to fail, maybe the way of the Greeks is also a game of kicking the can--down the road and only a calculated, delaying tactic—-poised to price Greek real assets, dignity and even cultural heritage at bargain rates. Spooked, by Greece’s fall into receivership, the markets and mechanism will be aligned for another cycle of bailouts.

Es sieht so aus, als weicht Griechenland in Medienunternehmen den Ermessen vom Normalsterblichen aus. Zuallererst, gibt nur sehr wenig Informationen über die Misere und Protestaktion im Vergleich zu Ägypten oder Tunesien aus Angst vor den schrecklichen Konsequenzen erzürnend den Bankinggötter. Finanziellen Aufwanden sind anders als realen Notwendigkeiten; sie sind weder nicht gleich Verpflichtungen gegenüber ihr Rentner, die Armen und der aufstrebenden Personen. Verantwortungslosigkeit darf nicht belohnt werden, aber dann müssen der Bevölkerung also alle für die politischen Fehler büßen. Gier, falsche Darstellung und Gruppenzwang machen den Preis zu wissen unmöglich. Was ist zu bedeutsam, um zu scheitern--wie Greichenland--vielleich ist ein Ballspiel, nur Verzögerungstaktik--ein Schachzug, um der Erlösrückgang bei Liegenschaften, Würde und sogar Kulturschätzen Greichenlands zu bringen. Diese Zwangsverwaltung sorgte für Panik unter den Schuldverschreibungen, und das Ergebnis dieser Kalkül ist nur mehr Runden von Beihilfsaktions.