Berlin Obama speech: did we get specifics?

The reason I went to the Berlin Obama speech was to find out if there was non-verbal feedback or specifics that would help me believe that he really does have a plan, that he is not just another pretty-speech maker.

My first impression was that there weren’t many specifics, and that the nonverbal was confident and assured. However, when reading the transcript, it became clear that there were more specific proposals than I could absorb during the speech. Here’s a summary.

The full transcript is located here.

• The partnership between America and Europe has to be strengthened
• That partnership has to fight extremism as well as terror
• Afghanistan is first priority
• Move toward a world without nuclear weapons by reducing old arsenals and securing loose nuclear materials
• Reject a Cold War mindset and work with Russia
• Improve trade to support wealth creation while keeping meaningful protections
• Europe and America must tell Iran to stop nuclear weapon development
• Support Lebanese, Israelis and Palestinians
• Reduce carbon emissions, US in particular

Some questions he asked, that I suspect give a indication of his other intent, include:

• poverty (Bangladesh named)
• refugees (Chad)
• AIDS
• dissidence (Burma)
• free speech (blogger in Iran)
• voting freedom (Zimbabwe)
• genocide (Darfur)
• improve our reputation in the world
• reject torture and stand for rule of law
• welcome immigrants and shun discrimination

This was far more specific than I thought.

What do I see here that is meaningful? Elimination of nuclear weapons, US ownership to reduce its carbon emissions, acknowledging support for all Mideast parties.

What was NOT here that is meaningful? US needing to flex its military muscle to show its greatness, “winning” in Iraq is the most important thing, increasing missiles in eastern Europe, China (except for their pollution), oil.

I’m still on the fence, but I have more data now.

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Germany becomes more like America every day

Police coverage at the Obama Berlin speech was exceedingly heavy. It may be getting heavier, if what Dear Hubby and I saw near the Adlon Hotel is any indicator.

Obama stayed at the Adlon, and security was heavy. Being right at the Brandenburger Tor, and in front of the Holocaust Jewish Memorial, there are always a lot of people hanging around. The Berlin Polizei were stationed in countless places, and the group in the photos below were located between the back entrance to the Adlon and the Holocaust Memorial.

Also between the two tourist sites is a strip of stores. One of them is a Dunkin’ Donuts. Looks like they are irresistible to the Germans as well. I wonder if they know the American police/donut stereotype? LOL.

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Pics from the Obama Berlin speech

Normally I hate crowds, but I figured this was a once in a lifetime experience, and I knew that Berlin was capable of setting up an efficient fanmile, so DH and I went to see Obama speak.

The crowd was a highly believable 200,000 people. The fan mile was actually about a mile long, and it was really filled with people, excepting for one gap that the security couldn’t fill up before the speech started.

The speech itself? Eh. I went with the intent of gathering some nonverbal cues, since Obama’s speeches are frequently as short on substance as they are long on pretty phrases. This speech didn’t help much, although I was quite pleased that he clearly stated that America had made mistakes. That is important to say.

Here are a pile of pictures.  We were over an hour just in the security line, but we got within about 30 meters of the stand, and caught occasional glimpses of the speaker. We stopped even trying to take photos, since the crowds were moving about so much and we had to constantly look for gaps around the screen near the podium.

One person near us fainted, and I joined many other people sitting on the ground just trying to deal with the heat. We were off to the right in the picture that has the banner that reads like TOP. That was a group of idiots who felt they needed to tell Obama to pay attention to the environment. People near them, like us, ridiculed them until they put down their T-shirts which they used for the banner.

First, a picture from the media. We are in the lower right corner, impossible to find. That white blotch is the group of T-shirt protesters.

A button-totin’, dirndl-wearing campaign swag hawker: 

 

Security

 

Security on stage, and the press (is that Jack Cafferty and Christiane Amanpour?)

 

The speech, in which Obama’s head is almost completely blocked 

The afterglow, the sun was rapidly setting.

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Risk Level 2!!

Gefährdungsstufe 2 – that’s the security level the Berlin police have defined for Barack Obama’s visit to their city.

I’ll be there, and the speech will be televised on 4 stations, but don’t count on seeing me there. They have already made arrangements to limit access close to the stage.

Check out this great article in the Berliner Morgenpost on the preparations. They estimate it will cost 250,000 Euro to host this event, paid for by the city.

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Mamma Mia! English language movies in Vaihingen

There are some films that are just best seen in the original language. Mamma Mia is one of them. With so many famous actors, there is a certain quality that can only be perceived when you hear their voices.

Corso Theater in Vaihingen is the place to see these films. They have English language films every day. Currently playing are films like Mamma Mia and Get Smart. The Dark Knight will be opening in August, I believe.

Corso has a family feel to the business. They are responsive to customers and work hard to serve them well. I like the personal touch I get when I go there. The theater is easily accessible either by parking in the Vaihinger Markt garage, or the Schwaben Galerie garage (Vaihinger Markt is cheaper), or by train from the Vaihingen train station.

Mamma Mia is a fabulous movie, and well worth the ticket price. If you like any of the actors, or the music of Abba at all, it’s a must. Fine, one of the big stars clearly doesn’t sing as well as the others, and one of the big stars will surprise you their singing talent, but that’s for you to decide. The location is beyond belief, and makes the movie worthwhile for those of you who’ve seen the play.

When you go, please help me figure out why I couldn’t stop crying during the Dancing Queen segment. I was dumbfounded – it’s a happy song and a happy movie situation, and there were tears streaming down my cheeks for the whole song. Tears of joy, I assume.

The closing credits were kicked off with a surprise. The final surprise for me was, at the end, the entire audience (maybe 3 people excepted) stayed in their seats for the WHOLE credits. We all sat there and read every detail. Unusual, and a unique theatrical experience.

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