Look what the Germans did . . . this amazing factory sits right in downtown Dresden. I especially like the connection with the City streetcar system. This is a city that was leveled by Allied bombs in WWII, and rebuilt by the United States under the Marshall Plan. Wonder if that financed their wonderful public transit system?
LOOKING FOR LIFE BEYOND CABLE NEWS AND FINDING THAT RESISTANCE IS FUTILE
You can have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, or democracy. But you cannot have both.
- Louis BrandeisTension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.
- Chinese ProverbRecent Comments
You know, I am surprised that people do not mind Volkswagens, considering that it was solely the brainchild of Adolf Hitler – with help from Ferdinand Porsche. He conceived it, sketched it, and had it mass produced.
That may seem silly that I would feel that way, but people never wear his style of mustache for a reason, and considering how Germans of today feel about Hitler and the Nazis, I find it surprising that they just love their Volkswagens…they even still call it what Hitler named it, the “people’s car”.
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The UnRepublican,
I can’t remember who wore that mustache first, Adolf Hitler or Charlie Chaplan . You might think that because Chaplan was a great silent movie clown that Hitler would have been too embarrassed to also have it . Chaplan did make a really funny movie where he played a Hitler type Dictator named Hinkle . It had characters representing with other names all of the other fascist leaders of the day . Everyone went around shouting heil Hinkle . Almost as funny as the original Mel Brooks movie The Producers .
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Wow, I did not know that. I tried watching Chaplan comedy once a while back and thought it was painfully boring.
About the only really old comedy I enjoy is Groucho and Harpo, the 3 Stooges, Red Skelton is a hoot, and Laurel and Hardy.
About the only reason I ever got turned onto them in the first place is my father collects old comedy episodes on DVD.
I love Mel Brooks movies, BTW. Spaceballs and The Princess Bride are among my favs.
We may not see eye to eye politically, but you have good taste in comedy, I must admit!
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The Unrepublican,
I agree that Chaplin’s silent comedies do not play well in our era . This I believe was Chaplin’s first talky . He had retired and did not participate in talking pictures. Then in 1940 while some in America still admired Hitler and America was isolationist, Chaplin made the Great Dictator . If you are like me, a WW2 and Nazi history buff and know all of the side characters like Mussolini, Goering, and Himler, you get Chaplin’s jokes .
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032553/
Mel Brooks made two versions of The Producers, which deals with two con men making a broadway musical about Hitler. They intentionally produce a flop to scam their investors, but the play accidentally becomes a comedy hit . Only Mel Brooks could make that work . Both versions are good , but I prefer the earlier movie with Zero Mostel.
If you want to enjoy satire and sarcasm done by masters, rent those movies .
One of these posts I will try to get back to the topic of Volkswagen.
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Yes, I have seen it. Springtime for Hitler. I liked the one with Gene Wilder – the original.
Although I think I like Nathan Lane better than the fat dude in the original – can’t think of his name.
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Speaking of Dresden, here’s a nazi rally from yesterday..
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/166113.html
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Reminds me of the tea party – 600 neo-nazis show up and ten fracking thousand show up in opposition to them.
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The numbers are telling. And important. As people insulate with one-sided blogs and cable, and friends – seeing reality in the streets is a wakeup-call.
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I see I was unclear. The tea party, like the 600, make a lot of noise but htey’re a serious minority.
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Germany still has a lot of Nazis. East Germany, in particular.
I think Islamophobia has caused a resurgence of right wing fanaticism throughout West Europe. From the Nationalist parties of Europe to the German NDP, I think we have a storm brewing.
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For all the noise neo Nazis make in Germany- there are no people on earth as repelled by it as the Germans. But I think you may have hit on something about Islamophobia feeding fanaticism Sam.
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I’m wondering – as we see middle-eastern regimes unable/struggling to surpress social-media empowered masses.. Maybe the nazi surpression of Germany(!) in the 1930s would be impossible today?
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What a thought – hmmmm.
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Don’t know aobut the supression but you can be sure the world would have know what was being done to the Jews IN REAL TIME – in which case our world would be different.
Don’t know how it’s going to go in No AFrica nd the mid east, but it’s astonishing to watch.
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Indeed – and the old truisms about arab revolts always bringing about extremism and new tyrants – maybe it’s not true anymore. Maybe societies and revolutions are just something new and different now.
And I’m reading a book from 2005 – “The case for Goliath” – and it feels like ancient times.. Before Mideast revolts, before Crash of ’08, before non-intervention abroad, before Kochs and their troops in politics.
It now feels like both 1980 and 2010 will be two major turning points in American (and World) History.. and this decade has just begun.
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mac, I just became aware of the rash of revolutions throughout Europe in 1848 – before social media!
Here’s a link, but countries included France, Hungary, Germany, Italy (*today’s names). Maybe this is like 1848.
http://www.cusd.chico.k12.ca.us/~bsilva/projects/revs/1848time.html
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Thanks! That was a blind spot for me. And Wapo had something similar on 1848 today http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/21/AR2011022103310.html
Lots of them failed.. but gosh – the air of Revolution is so contagious and intoxicating!
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Ms. Holland,
” Reminds me of the tea party – 600 neo-nazis show up and ten fracking thousand show up in opposition to them. ”
Boy that new tone from Democrats after the Arizona shootings sure did not last long . Not to worry, my expectations were not high .
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What new tone?
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Ms. Holland,
Calling people nazis and other uncivil chatter causes violence, right ? Democrats promised to tone it down, remember ? It was all that hate speech from Republicans that caused the gun violence in Arizona, doncha remember ? Guess you did not get the memo .
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Alan – I didn’t call anyone a nazi fer elvis sake! We were talking about actual nazis and counter protests and I made a NUMBERICAL comparison. Not an ideological one by any stretch of the imagination.
Democrats promised to tone what down? And it has aboslutely nothing to do with this conversation – do you just feel the need for some dem bashing?
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