Spiegel: "There are lots of us too"

Der Spiegel ^ | March 9, 2004 | Frank Patalog

[Otto Krueger]

Below is my translation (rough, don't swear by it) of Der Spiegel's latest on-line article about the Freeping of their "poll" about President Bush.

I note, Vote, capitalized, refers to an online-vote conducted by a media site. There's a difference between it and the verb "to vote" or the noun, "vote."

I apologize for the length of the body of the comment. If I knew a way to hide the bulk of it, I would do so.

An earlier thread deteriorated into a shouting match including lots of ethnic slurs on both sides, IMO. Blah.

I think these folks are objectionable enough as sanctimonious, left-wing, anti-American creeps without bringing race into it.

Otto.

[Bismarck]

Well, you have to be already insane to be a Leftist, regardless if you are German or American. The language and the nationality do not matter, a filhty socialist is a filthy socialist.

[Charles Henrickson]

Votes are a fine thing, the butter on message bread.

[familyop]

I really avoid putting any crude speech on the Web in any language and dislike to see it at all, but in this case, it's not gratuitous. The point needs to be made.

If any you enters the phrase, "scheiss amis" (using English characters) in google.com, you'll see that the phrase is still around, along with much other vulgar language. During WWII, it was the common phrase used (or "Amis" in more polite circles) to describe Americans. To rephrase it and save myself the humility of also using any vulgarity directly in English it means [excrement] friends.

To take it further, "Freunde" means "friends" in German. "Amis" is the French word for the same--not German. And you can imagine how French words contributed to emphasis in Germany during WWII and more recently.

Revisionism and censorship are in the nature of much of northeastern Europe whether under socialism or not. Russia is one example.

Here's a URL for the East and West German Propaganda Archive

Nazi and East German Propaganda Guide Page
http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/index.htm

...and an example of contemporary Nazi propaganda.

**Warning**: The following is contemporary Nazi propaganda, and it is a vulgar slander against Churchill.

*******
Churchill and US Entry Into World War II
http://www.vho.org/GB/Journals/JHR/9/3/Irving261-286.html

And here's a comment excerpted from the "About" page of the same site.

http://vho.org/About.html
"It is also Castle Hill Publishers' goal to defend human rights and to combat discrimination, especially when it is directed against the German people."
*******

Getting around revisionisms can easily be a lifelong study.

[Charles Henrickson]

That did not harm the "Freep Movement." "Freep" is stronger than ever before.

[familyop]

"Well, you have to be already insane to be a Leftist, regardless if you are German or American. The language and the nationality do not matter, a filhty socialist is a filthy socialist."

This is very true.

[Charles Henrickson]

"There are a lot of us, too"

You need tons click "co-ordinating."

[Charles Henrickson]

So that the beautiful pressure does not diminish.

[Charles Henrickson]

This "story" has been, if nothing else, a great source of tag-lines!

"Free Republic": Disturb,
manipulate, demonstrate
for the right thing

[stands2reason]

Thanks for the etymology. And welcome to FR!

[Polybius]

The "attack" of the Freepers on the Spiegel-Online vote has, with exagerrating it, news value. If it were just this one case of one Vote, that news value would be limited. But in the case of the Freepers, it's about an organized group that engages in a massive undertaking, whereever they can, to manipulate "expressions of public opinion" like Votes.

"Attacks"? "Manipulate expression of public opinion"?

These are Internet polls accessible to anybody on the Internet from Munich to Bombay. They have as much scientific validity as the daily horoscope.

If Spiegel-Online wants a closed vote, let them have log-in passwords like FreeRepublic does. If Spiegel-Online has votes open to anyone on the Internet, then we are entitled to our votes just like any others individuals on the Internet.

[John Robinson]

Re: "insulted liver sausage."

Germans love their sausage, their culture is peppered with a number of sausage-themed phrases. I bet "SPIEGEL ONLINE: Beleidigte Leberwurst?" is a play on the saying "Spiel nicht die beleidigte Leberwurst" which means "lighten-up" (literally "Don't play the part of the offended sausage".)

[Charles Henrickson]

Kerry is like that or so a crack sausage.

[TonyM]

Hey Der Spiegel. Do a poll on which country has the highest unemployment. By the way, I spent 4 years and one month in your country. You people suck, but you do brew and darn good beer though.

[StarCMC]

I have to say I just think this is the most hysterical "scandal" I have ever witnessed! Like what idiot doesn't know these online polls are useless?? Most have the disclaimer that they are "for entertainment purposes only." I think it is so outrageous that they are outraged -- as if this is the first time something like this has ever happened! And it cracks me up that WE are the winners for once! EE-gads! **chuckling to self uncontrollably**

[TonyM]

Hey Der Spiegel, maybe you herms should start up you own site and call it “The Not So Free Republic.”

[doug from upland]

The magazine from the land that brought Hitler to the world can stick it.

[rogueleader]

Web polls are unscientific. Der Spiegel admits that.

The web poll was open to anyone on the Internet. Der Spiegel created that.

So why is Der Spiegel crying about voter manipulation?

I wasn't aware that I had to live in Germany to vote. It didn't say that anywhere on the web page. I half-read German pretty well, and I saw no such thing.

There was no voter manipulation. We voted as world citizens.

Tell the Der Spiegel folks to file a complaint with the UN. I'll be sure to not care.

[dj_animal_2000]

[img]http://www.germanystinks.com/SPiegel.jpg[/img]

------The Bush Warriors-------
America's War against the evil

[dj_animal_2000]

http://www.germanystinks.com/SPiegel.jpg

------The Bush Warriors-------
America's War against the evil

geeeeeeeeeeezzzzzz....let's do that again...!!!

[weegee]

Or The National Socialist Democracy...