Comments on: Unusual papier-mache figure of German chancellor

By: HazelStone

HazelStone — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 00:27:00 +0000

I think you mean “sexist and xenophobic.” Germany is actually screwing over Greece with forced austerity, not nurturing it. Also, depicting her as a sow?!? UGH.

By: Mondo Rondo

Mondo Rondo — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 17:27:00 +0000

This happens everywhere. I am Spaniard, Catalan, and here, in the north, you can see the same kind of feeling related to the south of the country (they are lazy, get the money doing nothing….). The medecine to fight this perception is knowledge, culture and empathy. By knowing others it is easier to understand them. Meanwhile we have to accept that somebody make fun with papier-mache about something that it is in the head of a lot of German people. I hope that this helps our politicians to make good use of the funds received.

By: Stephan

Stephan — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 16:54:00 +0000

So what?
The Greeks have been agitated into calling every German politician a Nazi.
And now many Greeks are calling the Germans Nazis because they dont come there for holiday anymore.

If you really want to generalize do it on both sides please.

By: Petzl

Petzl — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 12:26:00 +0000

I think in this context the Merkel float becomes less offensive.

I wish we had these floats in the US, rather than the Rose Bowl or Mardi Gras floats. On second thought, maybe not: I don’t want to imagine what the Tea Party would come up with.

By: mrtut

mrtut — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 09:07:00 +0000

It’s a travesty!

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 23:36:00 +0000

That’s my problem with it. Germany was the first country to start fudging numbers that eventually led to the current economic crisis. The EU let them get away with it because, well, [David Mitchell] they’re Germany [/David Mitchell]. Once they had done it, there wasn’t much they could do about everyone else doing it.

By: Ipo

Ipo — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 23:31:00 +0000

In this giant political cartoon they are portraying countries as a sow, with sucklings sucking of its teats. The big pig, it has a Merkelesque face, symbolizes Germania. The sucklings symbolize EU members with insane fiscal, economic, tax and other policies that will cost the German taxpayer incredibly much money. Danke Merkel.
The float is an exaggeration of the perception common in Germany those countries were actually receiving the gazillions, while in reality those piglets would more accurately be painted with bank branding.

By: Guest

Guest — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 22:43:00 +0000

edit: boingboing – take all my comments or leave it. comment deleted

By: Florian Bösch

Florian Bösch — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 22:34:00 +0000

In Basel nobody would bat an eyelid at something like this :)

By: Guest

Guest — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 22:31:00 +0000

edit: boingboing – take all my comments or leave it. comment deleted

By: Aaron Gilliland

Aaron Gilliland — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 21:42:00 +0000

“Voluntary Visigoth vandalism verboten,” vents vain vagabond veteran viewing volksführer’s venerable voluminous vanilla varicosities. Vibrant virtuous Venus vassal versus vapid vexatious vestigial Victorian vanguard ventriloquist vowing vitality via value vivisection.

By: ChesterBushey

ChesterBushey — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 21:25:00 +0000

This float is moronic on multiple levels, but I’m surprised that no one has noted how improperly attired the little pigs are.

They should not be wearing national flag diapers, but rather diapers with the logos of German banks. This is not a ‘bail out’ of Greece and others, it’s a bail out of their creditors–mostly German banks–who did pretty much what the predatory lenders in the U.S. did to Americans.

By: paulcarcosa

paulcarcosa — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 20:51:00 +0000

I have (“Pleitegriechen”) and the Focus campaign as well.

But judging the Germans by their tabloids is – bad judgement.
There simply is no anti-Greek frenzy. Indifference maybe at worst.

By: Ipo

Ipo — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 20:50:00 +0000

Lol, nationalist.

By: Guest

Guest — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 20:05:00 +0000

edit: boingboing – take all my comments or leave it. comment deleted

By: Preston Sturges

Preston Sturges — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 19:44:00 +0000

…..or maybe it was the Visigoths

By: Preston Sturges

Preston Sturges — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 19:42:00 +0000

Your boss sounds deeply disturbed.

By: Alessandro Righi

Alessandro Righi — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 19:41:00 +0000

The PIIGS import from Germany.

By: mrtut

mrtut — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 19:24:00 +0000

The jester’s mirror says: ”Nun sind unser zwei” (Now there are two of us)

http://pixabay.com/static/uploads/photo/2012/07/03/17/40/fool-51297_640.jpg

By: Aaron Gilliland

Aaron Gilliland — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 19:24:00 +0000

Handle vandal scandal?

By: Preston Sturges

Preston Sturges — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 19:20:00 +0000

The pig-human hybrid theme is strikingly similar to the sculpture “The Young Family”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patricia_Piccinini

By: paulcarcosa

paulcarcosa — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 19:12:00 +0000

The float is a trolling device, not qwrtyp. Most Germans know quite well that the Greeks are in deep trouble.

It’s more tongue in cheek.

By: paulcarcosa

paulcarcosa — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 19:04:00 +0000

I call bullshit.

By: Aaron Gilliland

Aaron Gilliland — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 19:02:00 +0000

Let’s quietly reflect on that last sentence.

By: cheshire_hat

cheshire_hat — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 18:58:00 +0000

fakefighter explains it very well.

I suspect qwrtyp is not trolling or dense, just unaware that whole countries and their populations are actually being called P.I.G.S (Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain) Perhaps s/he thinks the pigs imagery is some crazy idea just for the carnival. Whereas the PIGS acronym has been used in the media and in public discourse by officials, journalists and other people who should know better.

As a Greek, I find it both offensive and inaccurate (in that only a small sliver of the help Greece has received has actually reached Greece. Most of it went to european banks and creditors).

By: Preston Sturges

Preston Sturges — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 18:54:00 +0000

The Vandals stole the handle.

By: paulcarcosa

paulcarcosa — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 18:52:00 +0000

Hey, at least that NPD event was blocked.

All the Greeks around here seem to be quite happy they are not in Greece for the time being.
I predict your friend will have a great time at the RWTH.

By: Preston Sturges

Preston Sturges — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 18:49:00 +0000

Everything else aside, those are some shapely breasts!

By: paulcarcosa

paulcarcosa — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 18:42:00 +0000

The sign on the well reads: Wunschbrunnen (= wishing well) – out of order

By: mrtut

mrtut — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 18:42:00 +0000

Bird-like butt bare bunga bunga Berlusconi breeds belching bull’s beckoning bovine behind: Buongiorno, i’m bbback!
http://bc03.rp-online.de/polopoly_fs/karnevalswagen-thema-berlusconi-wahlen-11022013-rosenmontagszug-1.3186071.1360592963!/httpImage/1151852636.jpg_gen/derivatives/rpo_zoom1024/1151852636.jpg