Jewish World Review August 27, 2003 / 29 Menachem-Av, 5763

Ian Shoales

Ian Shoales
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That Wacky Deutschland


http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com | In what may be a covert effort to outdo California in political weirdness, Germany has been sliding surreptitiously into the news recently. First, according to a recent poll in the German weekly, Die Zeit, a third of all Germans under 30 think the United States government was behind the 9/11 attacks.

Second, in the pages of the German daily, Bild, a gentleman named Wilhelm Wuschko informed the masses, according to Reuters, that the German parliament's glass dome in Berlin, is bad feng shui. Mr. Wuschko claimed that energy is being sucked out of politicians' heads by the dome, and it should be covered with foil.

Personally, if I were looking for advice on feng shui, the last place I would look is Germany. I know the LA Times has, or used to have, a column in the real estate section about feng shui.

Believe me, LA's the place to go for your feng shui needs. Feng shui is fine for designers, decorators, and home owners with a much money, a vague spiritual bent, and an urge to watch illegal immigrants move furniture around for submininum wages.

But when it comes to politics, well, I don't think we should start foiling domes, just because some Aryan hippie thinks our brains are leaking. I don't doubt that the brains of politicians are highly sievelike, but we just have to live with it.

But what about all those young Germans who think President Bush and his posse cooked up 9/11? Maybe they should start wearing foil hats themselves. I always thought Germany was a land of practical yet robust people, fond of strong beer, tramping through forests, and folk dancing. What, are they suddenly all taking LSD over there?

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JWR contributor Ian Shoales is the author of, among others, Not Wet Yet: An Anthology of Commentary. Comment by clicking here.

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© 2003, Ian Shoales