This pic on the cover of German left-wing daily taz - copied from the walls of the former U.S. embassy in Tehran - leaves no doubt about the true nature of America:
Headline: Will Bush free Iran as well?
(to enlarge click on pic)
The accompanying commentary lashes out against the U.S. and Israel.
The German-Iranian artistic cooperation in this case doesn't surprise me at all. Iran's Islamists and the German left have so much in common: anti-Americanism, anti-Israel propaganda, anti-capitalism. And not to be forgotten: Iran is a close business buddy of Germany. Also, this Iranian masterwork echoes an old German tradition of depicting the Fatherland's enemies, as this extremely funny cartoon of 1939 shows.
Next week in taz: checking Pyongyang wall papers for humorous motifs...
Hat tip John Rosenthal.
Yup. Business buddies from a way back...
http://hermann.blog.com/1496640/
Posted by: clarsonimus | February 22, 2007 at 02:36 PM
Despicable as it can get.
Related news: upcoming installment of "die story" (ARD, 23:45-00:30, 2007-02-22).
Today's topic - Der Physiker der Mullahs - Irans Atomprogramm und die deutschen Helfer. I'll have to see, whether they focus on German involvement or on the CIA withholding knowledge from the IAEA after a nuclear physicist defected to the US in 1992. Both is mentioned in the preview.
Posted by: blue | February 22, 2007 at 02:37 PM
Intersting. I would have thought the picture is from the early 40s of the last century...
Posted by: german observer | February 22, 2007 at 02:45 PM
I find the accompanying text in the white box - I would say hillarious - if it wasn't so sad in fact:
"The deadline until which Iran was to terminate her nuclear program expired yesterday. Now the UN Security Council is evaluating further sanctions against the country. Fears that now the US Administration might initiate unilateral military actions against Iran are growing. Pages 2,3"
Yep. Not that Iran is ignoring UN-set deadlines concerning the nuclear program is troubling us, but that someone might actually hold them accountable for that. Someone USA. Those nasty, nasty cowboys. Why not just continue to set deadline after deadline after deadline, ad nauseum.
Ask yourself a question: Can ANY man be really that stupid like the TAZ journalists? No. It's much more simple instead: TAZ = Enemy. And now move on.
Posted by: Alex N. | February 22, 2007 at 03:46 PM
Remember a recent poll of Germans placed the US as a greater threat to world peace than Iran. This coverage only seems natural and builds on this public opinion.
It is apparent a large percentage of Germans feel Iran is a much more valuable ally than the US.
Of course the Germans claim to be allies of the US and we pretend they are.
No real news here.
Posted by: joe | February 22, 2007 at 04:33 PM
@blue - If Hans Wurst^H^H^H^H^HBlix had been tipped off, he would have intervened in and organised pressure against Iran. Such as he did in totalitarian Iraq at that time. Hahaha.
Hallo TAZ, can you please print a picture from outside the German embassy (deutschsprachiger Link)?
Andreas Zumach, ya lurkin´?
Posted by: FranzisM | February 22, 2007 at 04:37 PM
A populist newspaper uses an insulting photo. This could never happen in the US.
http://www.49thparallel.bham.ac.uk/back/issue12/fisher35.jpg
Only German war propaganda was tasteless.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:AntiJapanesePropagandaTakeDayOff.gif
http://www.firstworldwar.com/posters/images/pp_us_171.jpg
http://www.library.georgetown.edu/dept/speccoll/n3.jpg
Its funny that nobody mentions the Mykonos trial itself, which was a PR disaster for the Mullahs and one of the finer moments of German post war jurisprudence, but their ridiculous reaction to it.
Posted by: Tropby | February 22, 2007 at 04:51 PM
Trophy
The links you provided were excellent.
I do believe the US was at war with Japan and Germany at the time of the examples you found. I realize your history might have omitted that fact given the noble self image the children of the Fatherland have of themselves. It is understandable.
But following your logic, it would seem Germany is at war with the US. You probably are correct.
It is unfortunate you and your fellow travelers have learned nothing from your own history.
Posted by: joe | February 22, 2007 at 05:04 PM
I suppose my Teutonic cruelty to the noble English language somehow obscures my position:
This blogs gets angry about a tasteless cover (Statue of Liberty) by a German newspaper. I link to a tasteless cover by a US newspaper (Axis of Weasels).
Then it posts terrible German wartime propaganda, and I show some evil US wartime propaganda. Both sides used even uglier stuff.
I try to show that the differences between said nations are rather limited, at least in this aspect. Love, peace and understanding etc. .
You see a another war ...
Whatever, have a nice day!
Posted by: Tropby | February 22, 2007 at 05:34 PM
Gerhard Schroeder and Chriac, weasels?
No way. Upstanding, forthright, salt-of-the-Earth. Both of them.
Posted by: Carl Spackler | February 22, 2007 at 05:58 PM
"This blogs gets angry about a tasteless cover (Statue of Liberty) by a German newspaper. I link to a tasteless cover by a US newspaper (Axis of Weasels)."
I love this lame old gambit. It's so absurd it's funny. I get visions of Hermann Goering at his trial flushed with virtuous indignation, as he points out the hypocrisy of the Americans objecting to Auschwitz when, after all, they still have the death penalty, too.
It wasn't too hard, either, was it Tropby? Just Google the US media for the last five years, and you're bound to find something. Of course, weasels aren't quite as threatening as, say, a boot about to crush hundreds of workers, or a blood-sucking parasite, but so what? There may be some slight discrepancy between the prevalence of such caricatures in the German media compared to the US media, but so what? It may be that the "Post" weasels weren't made to represent an entire people by draping them in German and French flags, but so what? Medienkritik has never objected to criticism of the US media, and has, in fact, often joined in the criticism, but so what? It's a bit of a stretch to claim that, because the editors of the NYP decide to run a cover with weasels, therefore the entire German media is absolved of all guilt, but so what? All you have to do is find a few stereotypes in the US media, and suddenly all criticism of the German media is forbidden, right? Suddenly all the stereotypes on the panel to your right, not to mention the many others DMK has drawn attention to, just disappear, because, after all the Americans do it, too. One stereotype equals a thousand. Weasels are completely equivalent to blood sucking insects.
What will you tell us next, Tropby? That the Americans are simplistic?
Posted by: Helian | February 22, 2007 at 06:01 PM
"This blogs gets angry about a tasteless cover (Statue of Liberty)[...]"
Wait, I hear something. Yep, laughter, and it's Dr. Freud, from inside his grave. That's not the Statue of Liberty, Tropby. And if it was, the cover wouldn't be tasteless.
Posted by: Alex N. | February 22, 2007 at 06:10 PM
Here is something you'll never see in Germany:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwAtNILh6uY
A similar film needs to be made in German but no broadcaster there would ever air it.
Posted by: Hector07 | February 22, 2007 at 07:04 PM
Trophy, the taz is not a "populist" newspaper - it is an intellectual left-wing newspaper, read by a fairly elite audience. You can't compare it to the New York Post, which is indeed populist and one step above being a tabloid.
Posted by: kid charlemagne | February 22, 2007 at 07:55 PM
[T]he taz is not a "populist" newspaper - it is an intellectual left-wing newspaper, read by a fairly elite audience.
Now THAT is sarcasm.
Posted by: Solitudinarian | February 22, 2007 at 08:45 PM
What are you talking about, Solitudinarian? Have you ever read the taz? What I said is accurate, as anyone who is familiar with the taz knows. The fact that it is written and read by people who are smarter than the average newspaper reader doesn't mean I like it, btw. It's very "studentisch" and the left-wing views it espouses often remind me of intelligent adolescents wanting to distance themselves from their parents. My point was, you can't draw an equivalency between an obnoxious NY Post headline and a taz headline, as tropby was trying to do, because those are two very different kinds of papers. If the NY Times had printed an "Axis of Weasels" headline, then he would have a point. But, of course, that would never happen.
Posted by: kid charlemagne | February 22, 2007 at 10:07 PM
@kid
If the NY Times had printed an "Axis of Weasels" headline, then he would have a point. But, of course, that would never happen.
Yes it would.
If the NYT was referring to Bush/Cheney.
:)
Posted by: Pamela | February 22, 2007 at 10:25 PM
@kid
Just because a bunch of "left-wing" students like to read it, it doesn't make it intellectual - it still remains a populist tabloid. Without the unfortunate war in Iraq, they would have had no ammunition for that cover story. Since people on both sides don't seem to care about the vast differences between the Iraq and the Iran conflict, the anti-American headline makes sense to the indifferent "left" as well as to the taz (it probably is selling well).
Posted by: Hans Maulwurf | February 23, 2007 at 12:46 AM
See taz is not realy ant-American because there are no swastikas and Stars of Davids instead of the observation windows. Also what happened to the missiles where the the suns reflected rays are now. Too many stereotypes missing to be taken seriously.
Posted by: Pat Patterson | February 23, 2007 at 04:32 AM
Please, Mr. President. Can we remove our troops from Europe? I mean for good. No more nickle and dime stuff. Let's just get out.
Thanks.
Posted by: LouMinatti | February 23, 2007 at 05:07 AM
Via Instapundit:
IRAQIS ON THE TROOPS:
Now, "If you talk to these sheiks, they’ll tell you that they’re in no hurry to see the Americans leave al-Anbar," he said.
"One thing Sheikh Sattar keeps saying is he wants al-Anbar to be like Germany and Japan and South Korea were after their respective wars, with a long-term American presence helping ... put them back together," MacFarland said. "The negative example he cites is Vietnam. He says, yeah, so, Vietnam beat the Americans, and what did it get them? You know, 30 years later, they’re still living in poverty."
Heh. Indeed.
Posted by: grlzjustwant2havefun | February 23, 2007 at 05:36 AM
Oh, please, Tropby. You guys never loved us, you prefer the islamic definition of peace and you certainly never understood us.
But we understand you, why do you think our ancestors left?
Posted by: grlzjustwant2havefun | February 23, 2007 at 05:38 AM
Another pic that resembles the one above can be found here: n-tv.de. The article refers to US soldier who, supported by his pals, brutally raped a 14-year old girl in Iraq, after which the whole Iraqi family was killed. He goes to jail for 100 years now.
Posted by: german observer | February 23, 2007 at 10:01 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwAtNILh6uY
Thanks, this was really funny.
At first I mistook it for satire, but then I realized that it was primitive jingoistic masturbation by people (an organization called BritainAndAmerica.com) lacking the mental facilities to do a Turtledove.
Visit http://www.alternatehistory.net for intelligent stories by people with at least basic skills in history and logic.
Posted by: Tropby | February 23, 2007 at 10:15 AM
Posted by: blue | February 23, 2007 at 02:50 PM
Thanks, blue. I would have thought the pic was staged, but then...
Posted by: german observer | February 23, 2007 at 02:53 PM
Hmm.
I seem to recall a picture of a German soldier in Afghanistan, and a skull. It's funny how that was not used to brand all Germans, or even all German soldiers as Nazis reincarnated in the American press or by the American public.
I guess fair and equitable treatment is too much to ask for.
Posted by: MarkD | February 23, 2007 at 03:40 PM
@ MarkD
In fact, the picture WAS used by the German media to undermine our efforts in Afghanistan.
PS: This Tropby drops his disguise? Good.
Posted by: Mir | February 23, 2007 at 04:23 PM
Tropby, as to your estimation of the success of the Mykonos trial to prevent further terrorist attacks on German soil, do you believe Helmut Hofer would agree with you?
Note that the hostage was released against ransom only after convicted Mykonos gunman Youssef Amin had been released from prison.
Posted by: FranzisM | February 23, 2007 at 05:26 PM
The Mykonos trial showed the face of the Mullah-regime to the public.
Until then, one had to rely mostly on newspaper articles and intelligence reports. Now You have a judgement by the Kammergericht. Whether one likes Germany or not, its judiciary is very independent (offen to the displeasure of the German government) and respected among international jurists.
This propaganda victory was unfortunately partially offset by the usual Western inaction against Iran.
Amin was released after serving 7 years of an 11 year sentence, this looks like the usual release after serving 2/3 of the time, but who knows. Hofer may have been a pawn in the inner-Iranian conflict between reformers and traditionalist (this seem to have been the ruling opinion at the time) or he may have been used to force the release of Amin several month prior to the normal date. I do not have access to the file, so I cannot comment on the legal details.
Posted by: Tropby | February 23, 2007 at 07:08 PM
What was the Mykonos trial?
I google but apparently my search terms suck, becuse I come up with squat.
Help.
Posted by: Pamela | February 24, 2007 at 02:46 AM
What was the Mykonos trial?
Look here. It was pretty big in Germany at the time.
Posted by: WhatDoIKnow | February 24, 2007 at 05:22 AM
Tropby, as to the Kammergericht, for me the list of editors in my copy of the Satanic Verses is good enough. But if the trial has contributed to wake up people to the fact that Persia sends armed thugs into Europe, it is better than not. The Mykonos attack surely caused some ramifications, up to the fact that one of the survivors became the father-in-law of Steinmeiers predecessor in the foreign ministry.
Point being, has the Mykonos trial caused Persia to stop sending armed thugs into Europe?
Certainly not just think of Hisb´Allah meddling in Bosnia.
Has the Mykonos trial caused Persia to stop sending armed thugs into Germany?
There have been no further dead so far, but puzzling material damage still.
Posted by: FranzisM | February 24, 2007 at 05:55 PM