Mistakes of 2010 - DIE ZEIT

I wanted to write about aging: the biggest problem that I see in it is the sad fact that more and more of the people you liked, you learned from, you admired are leaving this world, some earlier some later. But this would be a sad note to say goodbye to a year not at all bad for me personally.
Thus, on a funnier tone, I will publish an unauthorized translation of a few of the mistakes made in 2010 cited in this week's magazine (dated Dec. 30, 2010) of German weekly DIE ZEIT, my favorite newspaper.

Things that went wrong this year:

Harald Ehlert, chairman of a Berlin charity dedicated to the aid of the homeless, is caught in a "radar trap" speeding in his official car, a Maserati with a price tag of 114,000 euros.

While Yonni Barrios is trapped in the mine in San José, Chile, a few hundred metres higher his wife gets to know his lover.

The former French justice minister Rachida Dati says in late September that currently there is "hardly any fellation" (she meant inflation), then Brice Hortefeux, the interior minister, talks about "genital finger prints" (instead of genetic).

Stephanie zu Guttenberg flies to Afghanistan. (She is the glamorous wife of the current German minister of defense, who many believe will be German chancellor after Merkel.)

The oil platform "Deep Water Horizon" explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, one of the greatest environmental disasters ever.

The referee does not see a regular goal by the English team during the World Cup in a match against Germany.

Silvio Berlusconi justifies extramarital affairs and sex parties: "Better than being gay."

Miss Philippines is asked during the Miss World contest for the biggest mistake of her life and says that she did not commit any.

Byron Scott, basketball coach wears for a photo shooting a tie with a swastika motif.

Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck makes the movie "The Tourist".
Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck talks in interviews about his new movie "The Tourist".

The A/C in Germany's high-speed trains ICE do not work due to the high summer temperatures - and the windows cannot be opened.

Three German newspapers print a fake interview of Michael Douglas.

The grey sky over Germany in a far too cold August.

Millions of Toyota cars in the US have to be called back to the dealers as there is a problem with the gas pedal.

Pop singer Rihanna has herself made a tatoo with faulty grammar ("rebelle fleur" instead of the correct "fleur rebelle").

After it has become public that he paid a 17 year old occasional prostitute for sex, Franck Ribéry declares that he only gave her "pocket money".

iPhone 4 users complain about difficulties - especially left-handed ones have a bad call reception.

Take care and have a good 2011!

Mourning Richard C. Holbrooke (1941-2010)

I experienced him two times in person. The first time was in 1995 in Washington, D.C. where I did a student internship with NBC's "Meet the Press" and he was a guest on the Sunday morning show - it must have been around the time of the Dayton Peace Accords. I remember an agreeable diplomat. The second time was in May 2000 in Bologna, Italy, where he was the keynote speaker on Alumni Weekend of Johns Hopkins U's Bologna Center. At that time I still dreamed of becoming a diplomat or an EU official myself.
If you need some background information on the person, view today's article of the New York Times here.