invasive species

The BBC presents an article about the veracity of a supposed effort on the part of the Americans to cripple East Germany agriculturally. Having heard similar rumours before, I had believed that these little red and black, Aztec-patterned bugs, called the Zimtwanze (Corizus hyoscyami) were weaponised versions of the related box-elder bugs that we had in Oklahoma but to propagate that story was false as the bugs are native to Europe and Asia and don't seem to do much harm, just appearing in hordes every once and a while and getting stepped on.

The return of the pest, the Colorado Potato Beetle, however, in the 1950s, timed with daily relief flights over East German territory by American cargo to the enclave of West Berlin, proved for some farmers and Warsaw Pact politicians too great of a coincidence. A heated assault dispatched children to the fields after school to collect as much of the menace that they could manage and blame was squarely placed of capitalist conspirators, hoping to starve East Germany into submission. While the bugs threatened to cause a famine regardless of where they came from, there are two points of view—and it's hard to say what's an apologist's argument and what's reality. I expect a lot of situations are like this, and propaganda can be persuasive—especially for the victors. The article points out that the beetles had already been accidentally introduced in the 1800s, destroying a large part of the potato harvest. These destructive ambassadors had been subdued in the meantime, but it follows that the Colorado Potato Beetle could have made a come back after the war, with pesticide production limited and many farmers unavailable to dedicate time to pest-control, all on its own and without being dropped from the bomb-bays of passing flights. On the other hand, there was talk during the war of initiating the same biological warfare on both sides, whose actual execution was supposedly halted due to fears they would be unable to effectively contain what plagues that they unleashed.

pantheon

On the coat tails of the announcement from the International Olympic Committee which will award the next Games' venue to one of a few cities bidding for contention, a public policy professor from the University of Maryland offers a modest proposal that makes infinite sense and may bring back some of the spirit of sportsmanship and of a world coming together to the event.
Although nations are eager to showcase their prowess and hospitality as hosts, the population of the select cities are realising diminishing benefits if not outright aversion. Recent Olympiads saw whatever profits and friendship that might have been gained quickly and overwhelming eclipsed by costs for security and infrastructure improvements, stadium building and accommodations, concessions—not to mention pre-award posturing, that ran into untold billions. The public were left with the burden and circuses that won't be used again. Some say it was the price of the 2004 Games in Athens that finally exposed the Greek economy's faltering state. In response to these enormous expenditures passed off from one metropolis to another like a torch no one really wants to bear, the university professor suggests that a permanent venue instead be established, under a United Nations mandate, for the Games.

The ideal location would be a Greek Island, administered like a city-state and equipped with all the modern facilities to host training and the sporting events in perpetuity, as well as lodging for athletes and spectators. Such a change would make the sponsors work for contracts and acceptance, instead of the other way around where commercialisation comes dangerously close to fixing the match. It would be a big initial investment but I think one that could pay off in the long run. I have always found it exciting to see a new part of the world featured every few years as the hosts for the Summer and Winter Games, but I suppose any place has more efficient means of promoting itself and reaching a larger (or the just the right) audience, especially when the burden and hassle become too much.

listening post or king under the mountain

There has been much discussion of late of the special relations that Germany shares with the United States but it is really difficult to envision the historic scope in abstract, encouraging words. Here is a map overlay with the addresses of US military installations in the country, starting with outposts and commands captured immediately following the surrender of Nazi Germany (the superimposition, excavation also reveals a lot about where those former facilities were) and evolving over the course of the intervening decades. All these coordinates were taken from public sources and some are already on the map—thank you very much, but I am sure that more than a few missteps and red herrings have been tossed in to determine who might be angling for this information.

View Outreach in a larger map

A favourite Cold War admission by the Soviets was owning that they knew all about maneuvers and where munitions were hidden by the Americans not through sophisticated spying but by simply monitoring subtle changes in the water—from a safe distance downstream, since soldiers in the field and remote locations were not wont to relieve themselves at the latrine. The sampling was quite telling. Though most sites have been abandoned and returned to the German government since decades, there was quite a concerted and concentrated effort that went on for years, driven by different factors, from the nightmares of battle and hubris, to reconstruction and containment, to ideological brinksmanship and polarisation and on to homesteading and inertia.

From a distance, it looks like it one could hardly turn around in West Germany without encountering an army base, but it is interesting to zoom in and see what occupies (or doesn't) that land now, an exploration of places both famous and obscure, and speculate about what activities might have been going on very near you in years past.

shofar, shogood

Rosh Hashanah garnered a bit of publicity by a friendly and surprising missive, but although the name of the holiday means “head of the year” it is not exactly like New Year's Eve on the Jewish calendar.

Instead Rosh Hashanah is the anniversary of the creation of the the first man and first woman (Adam and Lilith, the first and more liberated mate) and marks a time for solemnity and self-reflection. Three ledgers are updated this day, one for the good, one for the wicked and one for those somewhere in between. In fact there are four distinct beginnings commemorated on the Jewish calendar, the first day of the first month that marks the beginning of time (1. Tishei) to count the passage of years, the agricultural new year for planting (15. Shevat), a new year for the counting of months and reckoning when festivals fall (1. Nisan)—like the Moveable Feast of Easter, and a new year for figuring tithing obligations for livestock (1. Elud). It's not a simple matter and certainly not just your typical revelry—learning about the culture is quite interesting and nuanced in unexpected way, however certain traditions have been translated into the Christian calendar, like eating black-eyed peas for good luck and the conventional German New Year's greeting of “gute Rutsch!” a successful sliding, transition into the new year, originated from the Yiddish for a good Rosh.

cipher or three-letter-initalism

I used to pride myself on being able to recognize a good deal of the county-coded car licensing-system of Germany.
I got pretty good at telling who was a long way from home and it was an engrossing meals to learn about different communities when a unfamiliar plate passed by, but I think now I am falling behind. As of mid-July, however, the competent authorities of Frankonia and other localities have released, re-introduced the naming convention of 1973 when smaller jurisdictions were annexed into their surrounding counties. The decision has proved wildly popular as a chance for expression, personalization and local patriotism and slowly the new license plates are appearing on the road. As the trend is sure to take on, it's chaos, I think, and I have a lot more to learn. H told me that the new, nostalgic abbreviations often were used in the classifieds for properties and he never knew what MET or KÖN or GEO meant.

yaarg! or a darkly-adapted eye

Although losing an eye was certainly an occupational hazard (I can only imagine terrible incidents with splinters), the stereotypical pirate did not, it seems, wear an eye-patch only to cover up a handicap nor to look like a veteran.

The accessory is only associated with the rogues of the sea-going profession but seems to have a scientifically confirmed practical use in preserving night-vision. Constantly rushing below and above deck takes time for vision to acclimate, especially when entering into the dazzling sun and preserving one eye accustomed to the darkness and switching sides allowed the pirate captain not to be completely blinded in the transition.  What other costume items do you think might need disabusing?