Herta Daeubler-Gmelin
...and Helen Thomas...separated at birth?
Posted on 09/19/2002 12:57:19 PM PDT by HAL9000
THE White House has slammed an "outrageous and inexplicable" comment by the German Justice Minister likening US President George W. Bush's political methods to those used by Adolf Hitler.Herta Daeubler-Gmelin has since repudiated her remarks.
Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer said: "This statement by the justice minister is outrageous and is inexplicable."
Another senior US official said: "The president was very angered by these comments and (national security adviser Condoleezza) Rice took this very personally as well.
"We have made our views known to the German government both here and in Berlin."
The official, who asked not to be named, called the comments an "ad hominem attack on the president of the United States, a close ally and friend of Germany".
The German minister hit out at Bush in comments to metalworkers during a campaign stop for her Social Democrats ahead of Sunday's general election.
"Bush wants to divert attention from domestic political problems. It's a method that is sometimes favoured. Hitler also did that," she said, according to a report by the Schwaebisches Tagblatt newspaper.
The paper reported that Daeubler-Gmelin, who is a lawyer by profession, later said: "I never put Bush and Hitler on the same level."
She released a statement in an effort to control any damage caused by the daily's report.
"I am surprised by this article because it is erroneous and inflammatory to imply that I compared a man who was democratically elected, the American President George W Bush, and the Nazi era," it said.
"I have always said to what point such a comparison would be unacceptable and false. That was, by the way, implicit in this confused article that some are now using for political ends."
The conservative opposition, which is neck-and-neck with the Social Democrats in the polls, has called for her resignation.
U.S. Slams German Minister for Bush-Hitler Comment
SCHROEDER MINISTER COMPARES BUSH TO HITLER
Germany - Federal Secretary of Justice Gmelin says Bush is a criminal who uses methods of Hitler
Amen
That was not the difference between Hitler and Bush. Hitler was also democratically elected.
Had he said Clinton instead of Hitler, it still would
have been a lie. The lie is the atrocity, not the
comparison, IMO.
Either 1) she was misquoted, in which case she should say so. 2) she regrets her comment, in which case she should retract it and apologize. 3) she stands by her comment, in which case she should defend it.
Instead she blames the media for misinterpreting her.
Her statement was ""Bush wants to divert attention from his domestic problems. It's a classic tactic. It's one that Hitler used."
This was a clear and obvious comparison of Bush to Hitler. If this is what she said, the press clearly did not misinterpret what she said.
But wasn't that after he killed all the opposition in what has been called: the Night of the Long Knives?
I am part German. These people literally set out to enslave the world twice and damn well destroyed it both times. They were liberated by us as surely as Iraq will be. They have no right questioning our motives or comparing us to the worst regime in history -- Theirs! This proves that leftists are scumbags the world over.
I say to them: "Sig Heil and F U!"
You are correct, of course.
She thus didn't repudiate her odious comparison, only seeking to distinguish them by a faux process difference.
Herta Daeubler-Gmelin
...and Helen Thomas...separated at birth?
Of course not. I mean, at least Hitler was a German!
True democracy is 2 wolves and 1 sheep voting on what's for dinner...
Fortunately our Founding Fathers were smart enough to design the Electoral College.
No, I was referring to the Nazis' position as by far the largest party in both Reichstag elections of 1932. Under those circumstances, it was democratically quite proper for Hindenburg to appoint Hitler chancellor in January 1933. The Nazis then ended up just short of a majority in the elections held shortly after that appointment. That election was semidemocratic and held under heavy police pressure. So say it represents true support for the Nazis of something like 40%.
The Night of the Long Knives was in mid-1934.
And elected by Germans, to boot.
---Reuters---
The European Union Commissioners have announced that agreement has been reached to adopt English as the preferred language for EU communications, rather than German which was the other possibility.
As part of the negotiations, Her Majesty's Government in London conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a five year phased plan for what will be known as EuroEnglish, (Euro for short).
In the first year, "s" will be used instead of the soft "c". Sertainly, sivil servants will resieve this news with joy. Also, the hard "c" will be replaced with "k". Not only will this klear up konfusion, but typewriters kan have one less letter.
There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year, when the troublesome "ph: will be replaced by "f". This will make words like "fotograf" 20 per cent shorter.
In the third year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible. Governments will enkorage the removal of double letters, which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the horible mes of silent "e"s in the languag is disgrasful, and they would go.
By the fourth year, peopl wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" by "z" and "w" with "v".
During ze fifz year, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou", and similar changes vud of kors be aplid to ozer kombinashuns of leters.
After ze fifz yer, ve vil hav a reli sensibl riten styl. Zer vil be no mor trubls or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech ozer.
Ze gret drem vil finali kum tru.
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