I am Bavaria (And so can you!)

Despite his obvious flaws, I was sad to see Bavarian PM Edmund Stoiber leave. He was not a soundbite politician (though his often unfortunate encounters with the German language probably made him one of the most quoted public figures) and was dedicated to policy details and to his kingdom, Bavaria. So, a hearty SERVUS! to Stoiber.

The Bundeswehr honored him with a Serenade. I’m not one for cheap Nazi comparisons, but the visual is a little unsettling. At the end of the video they play “Let it be.”

He is now on his way to Brussels.

Casa Blanca, hold the accent

I just got back from lunch at one of the few tolerable Mexican restaurants in DC, Casa Blanca. I’ve been there many times and have often been served by the same young waitress with a thick South-of-the-Border accent. Today she slipped up and let out an all-American “You guys done with that,” before awkwardly transitioning back into Spanglish.

(I know nobody cares, but if I say I had the Chicken Enchilada Platter I can put up a picture of it:)

Anyway, I write this because:
1. I haven’t posted anything in a while.
2. I’ll take any opportunity to whine about the lack of decent Mexican food in DC.
3. I have faked/tweaked/made up accents in the past myself. When I want to play stupid in the U.S., nothing gets rid of the relentless panhandler or telemarketer better than a Teutonic snarl. In Germany, I sometimes affect a generic Eastern European accent when I know that the request I have makes no sense coming from someone speaking fluent German. I don’t use an American accent because that would just be embarrassing.

I’ll share my missiles with you

The Spiegel is reporting that Sarkozy offered Merkel and Steinmeier (the German foreign minister) a role in the French nuclear weapons program, aka force de frappe. Sarko’s argument appears to be that the French arsenal protects Germany as well. The report says that the two immediately rejected the offer, pointing to Germany’s signature in the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

Germany already has access to U.S. nukes in a time of crisis, which the German government has been delicately trying to get out of the country. Popular opinion is heavily against their stationing in Germany. It appears that after the recent removal of nukes from Ramstein, only about 20 remain.

I wonder if Sarko sees his suggestion as a way of creating a pan-European deterrent that is independent of the United States. That would be a terrible idea. Germany should get out of the nuclear weapon business and must encourage France to do the same. Even at the most theoretical levels, the French are intent on clinging to their arsenal until everyone else disarms all WMD. It doesn’t look like Sarko will be a maverick on that front.