COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Sunday, October 29, 2006

Schröder Odor - Deutsches Schwein


Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder is back in the spotlight joining Pervez Musahrraf as the lastest "world leader" hoping to cash-in with a post 9/11 biography. The BBC seems to think "Schröder's memoir, "Decisions: My Life in Politics" will be a best seller and of course, the buzz is all about Schröder's typical secular progressive misunderstanding of George Bush's faith.
Here's a BBC Video

From Der Spiegel:
October 23, 2006, 11:58 AM
"Bush is an entirely likeable and open negotiating partner," Schröder told the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, when its interviewer suggested Schröder had been mild with his rivals in the memoir. "That's old age," Schröder, 62, quipped. But he repeated a charge from his book that Bush made political decisions based on his fear of God. "It's a problem that isn't unique to Bush and the United States," he said. "When (a leader) takes political action directly from prayer, in other words from a dialogue with God, it can be problematic for a democracy."
Schröder targets role of religion in America
By Judy Dempsey International Herald Tribune

Published: October 22, 2006
BERLIN Gerhard Schröder, the former German chancellor, has strongly criticized the growing influence of religious conservatives in the United States while at the same time defending his close friendship with President Vladimir Putin of Russia.

In a lengthy interview in Der Spiegel, the weekly news magazine, and with Bild am Sonntag, Schröder dismissed suggestions that he was anti-American because he opposed the U.S.-led war against Iraq.

The interviews come just days before Schröder 544-page autobiography, "My Life in Politics," is published. It traces the rise of a working class child, whose father was killed during World War II, to the top of German politics.

Schröder told Bild am Sonntag that his meetings with President George W Bush were "pleasant," even though Schröder, along with President Jacques Chirac of France, had opposed Bush's plans to invade Iraq. Schröder's critics had accused him of using strong anti- war rhetoric to win a second term, which he did in 2002.

Schröder said he was "anything but anti-American, even though he openly challenged U.S. policy in Iraq. In the Der Spiegel interview, he described how he had
tears in his eyes as he watched the events of Sept. 11, 2001, on television. "It was important to me that Germany fulfill its requirements as an ally," he said.

But when it came to the planning for the Iraq war, Schröder, referring to Bush, told Der Spiegel that "if a person adopts a policy based on what he gleans from his prayers, in other words, a personal talk with God, it can lead to difficulties in democracy."

Schröder went on to criticize the growing role of religion in U.S. politics.

"We rightly criticize that in most Islamic states, the role of religion for society and the character of the role of law are not clearly separated," he said.

"But we fail to recognize that in the U.S.A., the Christian fundamentalists and their interpretation of the Bible have similar tendencies."

When asked by Der Spiegel if he still believed Putin was an "impeccable democrat," as Schröder himself called him during one of his several meetings with the

Russian president in 2005, he replied: "I have nothing to correct."

Putin and Schröder had established an unusually close personal relationship. While most German leaders eventually forge close contacts with whoever is in power in Moscow, Schröder adopted two Russian children. Moreover, he became a member of the board of a company owned by Gazprom, the Russian state-owned gas monopoly giant and one of the most powerful companies in Russia.

When Putin visited Berlin in September 2005, less than two weeks before parliamentary elections, he and Schröder put the final touches to the construction of
a German-Russian gas pipeline that would run under the Baltic Sea and for the first time directly allow Gazprom to directly send gas from Russia to its markets in Western Europe. Immediately after the election, the defeated Schröder was appointed to a new company charged with overseeing the project.

In the interview with Der Spiegel, Schröder said the elections had nothing to do with his new job and defended the joint venture.



I would be very troubling if George Bush claimed that God had told him what to do, but the President on a Barbara Walters Special told a relieved Ms. Walters, that he does not hear from God but studies the Bible and prays for guidance.

Schröder says that he is not anti-American and that is possibly true but he shares a fundamental misunderstanding of Christianity with other secular progressives that could prove detrimental to the struggle with radical Islam:

Schröder went on to criticize the growing role of religion in U.S. politics.

"We rightly criticize that in most Islamic states, the role of religion for society and the character of the role of law are not clearly separated," he said.

"But we fail to recognize that in the U.S.A., the Christian fundamentalists and their interpretation of the Bible have similar tendencies."



George Bush is a member of the Methodist Church which is hardly a bastion of fundamentalist American Christianity . In fact, the Methodist church is considered to be one of the most liberal of the evangelical churches in America. Schröder is either truly ignorant about religion or has made a calculated appeal to the secular left. Either way, for a western leader of his stature to equate Islam and Christianity does not bode well for the future of a secular Europe or what's left of the Christian West.

17 comments:

  1. me zinks Shroder may be a rotten ratz-fink, Ja? Ze haz zi Tuetonic Plague!

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  2. Among Schröder's accomplishments was to call for the lifting of the European Union's weapons embargo against China. He did not go quite as far as GWB into soul gazing but never passed on a chance to bash America if he thought it could help him stay in power.The Germans love to hate America. He referred to the new Russian quasi-czar, Vladimir Putin,as a "flawless democrat."

    Schröder came from the same school of sixties left wing political activists which included Bill Clinton and Tony Blair.

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  3. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  4. The fact is Schröder is much like Bill Clinton. He can cry on cue and is a master manipulator of the easily manipulated, MSM. I am sure he is a charmer, he likes the ladies and I would bet he never wanted to go to his knees for a page boy. He has been married four times. I am sure he would be a fun guest at the Elephant but when the chips were down, he put his finger into the air and forgot who his friends are. He deserves three oinks and a kick in the ass.

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  5. The Germans love to hate America. He referred to the new Russian quasi-czar, Vladimir Putin,as a "flawless democrat.

    Fine by me, if they hate us and love Putin, lets close our bases, rotate the troops through a tour in Iraq, and let the Germans welcome their new Russian overlords.

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  6. If we had to throw Schroder and Putin out of the EB we'd need a highly trained specialist in waste disposal to help point out the clean end of those turds.

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  7. Germany is Lutheran in the north and catholic in Bavarian south. That is mostly a memory as the churches are empty. The Germans used to be a cultural, scientific, philosophical and musical world power. After the second twentieth century defeat in WWII and the world condemnation for the atrocities against the Jews, they hid behind the American shield and helped defend against communism and the Soviets. They focused on rebuilding their economy. They got rich but they never found their reason to being. Schröeder was part of the 1968 generation of student radicals that seized on the American Civil rights movement.

    They applied it to the German experience, which had been not opening and welcoming to immigrants. They needed to show that they were better than the Americans and developed the architecture of multi-culturism.

    The idea of Germany turning against the US is troubling to many Americans that know the degree of support given to Germany during the Cold War. The US owes nothing to Germany and based on recent experience should expect nothing in return.

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  8. I would count on the French before I counted on the Germans. The French are ruthless in pursuit of their interests. The best recent example was the first Gulf War where they provided substantial support to the liberation of Kuwait. They did that because it was in their interest. The Germans do not know who they are, what they are, or where they are going. The future of the United States in Europe is the East. Holland, Denmark, UK and Italy, can be called on depending on the government. France will be there if they see it is in their interest. Germany may follow France.

    They are in Afghanistan, but not for support to the US but because they read it as being in the interest of their commitment to Nato.

    The big player in the future is Poland and most of the other ex-communist countries. We would do well to develop an energy policy that would isolate the Eastern Europeans from the Soviet energy trap.

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  9. THIS DAY IN HISTORY

    1929 : Stock market crashes

    1956 : Israel invades Egypt; Suez Crisis begins

    2006 : Scientists discover turds
    dirty on both ends

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  10. The Polish government is particularly suspicious about Germany's new "Ostpolitik," or eastern policy, which attempts to reach out to Russia through a network of economic, social, cultural and trade ties in order to bring the country closer to Europe.

    Eugeniusz Smolar, director of the Center for International Relations in Warsaw, says the strategy is flawed because it fails to focus on "values," including human rights and press freedom.


    Ostpolitik

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  11. Rufus,

    Shit, I don't know. So they don't have to pay any rights to Poland? Really, I don't know.

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  12. Yes, yes..but where does Poland fit into the Melian dialogue?


    Is it right before the Zen leaf raking or after we discover that picking the turd up in the middle makes no difference?

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  13. Perhaps Schroeder is sincere.

    It recalls the clogged toilet who-dun-its at the office.

    Amidst emails, signs, post-its and memos all staff are encouraged to pursue non-threatening bowel habits.

    But patterns begin to emerge. Every two to three days, by late afternoon, water is seeping under the door from another infernal obstruction

    Without being caught in the act, the culprit can continue. Its been said he can hide crime with toilet paper craft, a veil to make his movement more modest. An unsuspecting user flushes as a common coutesy, only to see the toilet burble over its humble rim.

    We've got ourselves a Schroeder. Causing all manner of mischief, but until we catch them, or give the impression of inevitable discovery through due diligence, our lil Schroeder will continue apace.

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  14. sharp,

    re: Cal Thomas, Pamela, Dr. Rice

    While I’m sure Cal Thomas and Pamela were grossly unfair to Dr. Rice, she did say,

    “SECRETARY RICE: Well, you can look at any opinion poll in the Palestinian territories and 70 percent of the people will say they're perfectly ready to live side by side with Israel because they just want to live in peace.”

    Dr. Rice provided no citation of the poll(s) she relied upon for her claim. I am not surprised. No such poll(s) exist. Therefore, Madame Rice was being disingenuous, duplicitous, and/or delusional.

    If anyone can cite a poll corroborating Madame Rice, please do.

    I will now add Pamela and Cal Thomas to the fast growing list of former Republican icons. At the present rate of burn, soon only the President and his inner circle will be left.

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  15. There is no better word that "pathetic" to define German Political Leadership. This is hard to believe. What an absolute disgrace:

    Germany Reconsiders Sending Troops on Foreign Missions

    ..."Defense Minister Jung said Germany should limit its foreign missions

    Senior politicians on Sunday said Germany should rethink its role in foreign peacekeeping missions as the scandal over soldiers playing with skulls in Afghanistan battered the army's image.

    Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung warned that Germany may have stretched the military to its limits by sending troops on 11 foreign missions, ranging from Africa to the Middle East to Afghanistan.

    "Even if we have the support of parliament, many deputies feel that we have reached the limit. We should practice restraint," Jung told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper. "Until now we have failed to accompany the growing number of foreign military missions with a proper debate about their meaning and purpose," he added."... DW

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  16. Deuce,

    For all the faults of the German elite, the German people may yet form a line of defense against Islam. They may eventually push the elite onto the offense. If done in the usual manner we may not like the resulting Reich. Muslims may like it even less.

    Will the Germans begin the crusade by first attacking Jews, as has been their habit?

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