Tag Archives: germany

Less Reality For the News Reports

Back in action here in soggy and cool Amsterdam. As I catch up with my news feeds, I notice, especially in respectable sources like Germany’s Spiegel online, a dominance of world cup related stories. Where once they addressed issues regarding people’s lives around the world, since the world cup began it is endless “match reports” and photo shows of who lost against who. And while I realize my blog has had a little of that lately, I expect better from respected news sources that people depend on to know what is happening and why, in the world around them.

berlin0606211It actually reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend in Berlin who works for a very respected news radio network there. Normally my friend researches and records segments regarding the lives of immigrants in Germany and the issues that are of major concern in those communities. – An important line of reporting, needless to say, to give voice to the often voiceless.

Yet as I sat having lunch with my friend, I was told about how since the Cup began, her bosses have turned many of her pieces away. Making “room” for world cup related content, they told her. Nevermind which children’s school is in a state of chaos or dissaray, we need to hear more from fans who have painted their chests in black, yellow, and red.

I tried to console my friend by mentioning a little sign I saw in many extra-alternative cafes near the Kastanien Allee, which read: “world cup free zone”. These places looked empty, but admist all the obsession and ignoring of real things happening to suffering and struggling people everywhere, a world cup free zone might do us all some good.

bmtv11 Berlin Intellectual Football Viewing

While in Berlin, Tim invited me to see Germany play…. from a former bath house in a very cool area. It was a very unique and truely Berlin experience.

Watch the Video

Angola, Iran… and Poof Its Over.

I’ve been slow to post because life in Berlin was like a vacuum of time. No matter what time it was, I was supposed to be going somewhere to see something or someone.

Not that I’m complaining; it so happens that I have some of the finest friends a guy could have waiting for me in Berlin whenever I’m up for a visit. They’re so influencial, I now have a new city I might one day like to live in. (I can hear my mom gasping already)

But summaries and additional stories will come soon, as well as getting back to real issues instead of the world cup distraction from reality. First I want to talk briefly of my visit to Leipzig to see Angola take on Iran.

My intention is not to talk about the game itself. You can read sports blogs for that crap. But I do want to talk about the people… fans.. as some call them. It was already exciting to be seeing a world cup match, in Germany, in a city was part of old East Germany. But to be seated amongst so many Iranian supporters, and a few sections over from a huge crowd of Angolans… it was quite the experience.

In both cases, it is unlikely any of these fans had actually flown in from the home countries. Most were probably immigrants living in Germany, perhaps even second or third generation. They didn’t sing the songs I think you’d hear at a stadium back in Luanda or Tehran, because they probably haven’t been in a stadium in either city in a long time. Instead they dawned the colors, joined with friends, and filled the stadium. They also cursed their players when they messed up, and shouted their favorite player names, over and over.

As I sat there thinking to myself…this is not a matter of nationalism for one’s country. This is about culture… roots.. and remembering. To cheer for a miracle or at least, a good day, for the idea of a noble and admirable nation that at that moment.. in that stadium… becomes a reality.

On the way out of the stadium, I was happy to hear Portuguese. Angolan Portuguese of course, the sweetest of all the accents, as far as I’m concerned. I listened and watched, as families and neighbors joked with each other about the failures of their team. Flag trading and handshakes were also a common sight between the two groups of fans.

At this point, lots of sports writers these days would praise this is the key to world peace and a sign of how great the world is. But I disagree. As nice as it was, both these groups have sufferred greatly to arrive where they are today. Entire lives were uprooted because of overwhelming and complicated circumstances.

A world cup match may provide some nice stories and some unforgettably sweet moments, but it should not mask the truth about the kind of world we live in and helped create.

Radioactive Policies

Rain has cooled things in Berlin, hopefully that includes excessively jubilant Spain fans. And while the cool air blows through the apartment, I’m digging around into certain issues from the past week. One of which involves Canada, where the province of Ontario has decided to build new nuclear powerplants, the first North American plants in three decades, following years of financial, political, and safety crises.

This plan gets the support of the conservative Prime Minister, of course. And it certainly rings true with the rhetoric of his neighbor to the south. But the way pro-nuclear lobbyists and the big companies behind them refer to this as a nuclear “renaissance” is disturbing. Be it in Canada, Berlin, Japan, or Brazil… the world still has not figured out how to store radioactive waste in a safe way. Better yet, we don’t even know IF that can be done at all. In Nevada they want to put it under a mountain. In Europe they seem to pass it back and forth by rail between Germany and France. In Japan… what do the Japanese do with their waste?

So instead of taking the focus off nuclear, since it is simply not viable if you value human lives and health, they’ve decided to just keep going.

I was considering all this in the context of an article I was reading in the Courrier International about the WIPP radioactive waste storage project in New Mexico. Here’s the aspect of the project that I find ponderous: They’re trying to devise a system of warning that will be understandable for future civilizations. Think about it — the radioactive material is still dangerous in 250,000 years. So by that point, language as we know it will not exist… at least not in its present form. So how do you alert people not to dig there? That this is deadly waste we left behind because we needed energy and it was good business for a few important individuals.

Got Any Flags

I have indeed arrived safe and sound though constantly hungry… here in Berlin. (watch this video for proof) The famous Tim is sitting to my right and most of the blog house has gone to sleep. I’ve no clue where I’m sleeping, so I’ll wait for everyone else to go to bed. Cept that some people are drinking like it’s 1999 and some teenagers just showed up at the door… so who knows when that will be.

Nevermind the shallow details, this blog is still about issues, regardless of how good the US plays or how awesome Ghana is.

I just pointed to an article in the Spiegel, about there being a run on German flags at all the shops. There have been quite a few podcasts recently covering the issue of the world cup and german nationalism. Interesting listening, for example, at Radio Open Source. Tim says this sort of thing was unheard of before this year. Normally someone running around with a German flag attached to their car would be socially cut-off… or scowled at.. or some sort of ostracizing.

A few berliner guests at the party tonight talked about this subject. They said it is pretty strange. Lots of mixed feelings about this new trend of being proud. I’ve heard Americans say its fine and good. But Americans are the last nationality I want to listen to about how much national pride is acceptable.

Naked Fussball

I digress. I’m in berlin for the first time in my life. Some of my favorite vloggers made the trip with me from Amsterdam and that makes it extra nice. Meanwhile, outside.. people drive around with flags attached to their cars. Beep beep beep.

I Speak a Different Kind of Football

I may or may not have mentioned that I’m involved in the We All Speak Football initiative that brings together a boatload of bloggers/vloggers/podcasters to produce content about the tournament and spend a few days partying in Berlin at some hipster penthouse apartment. Myself I leave for Berlin this weekend.

But contrary to the neverending amount of writing about the games and the players and the stadiums, I will be doing no such thing. While I like watching the matches; I suffer watching Portugal, I root for the Australians, I love the Côte D’Ivoireans, there are many aspects surrounding the games that I do not like.

First and foremost is the nationalism. The rabid, “we” beat “you”, rally around the flag, life will improve if we win, type spirit that surrounds so many games is not only alarming to me, it is sad. Sad because the world is a shadow of what it could be if governments and citizens had as much interest and invested as much money in infrastructure, education, science, etc, as they do in sporting events and of course – the other nationalistic passtime: making war.

I digress. Over the next few weeks, especially in my podcast and vlogs, I will be focusing on the theme of the social circumstances outside the games. Themes that address immigration and immigrant populations and their focus on the game. Economics, especially in the context of Berlin and Germany, and who benefits and who is left out in the cold during and after the tournament. And of course, the media, as the business of news reduces their attention on the real injustices and issues the effect people everywhere, and focus instead on people wearing funny makeup at the stadium in Leipzig.

All this and hopefully more, coming this month, so stay tuned, and better yet — subscribe to the feed. The first podcast of this series will be ready tonight later this week… unless I burst into flames during this Northern European heatwave.