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German author Guenter Grass dies

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Re: German author Guenter Grass dies

#41

Post by morsch »

a_bonobo wrote: post #31
wyzellak wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a phrase in German language, "eine harte Nuss zu knacken haben", literally "to have a hard nut to crack". Maybe that means that he'll be cracking nuts (problems) even after he's buried?

I think it's more aimed towards his tendency to go against the (left) mainstream of his day and start fights - he argued for a delayed or stopped reunification of West and East Germany, he often criticized people for not dealing with their Nazi past thoroughly enough (which bit him when he disclosed his own previously secret Nazi past just a few years ago), he always worked in politics (mostly supporting the SPD). "W…

I tried to convey this with gnashing, which is also something that literally happens when you chew nuts as well as idiomatically when you fight, when you gnash your teeth out of anger.

Re: German author Guenter Grass dies

#42

Post by nir »

littletimmy wrote: post #33
nir wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since this is a hacker crowd where data should count for something, consider that the entire Arab-Israeli conflict since 1948 so far caused less than half as many deaths as the current Syrian civil war, let alone the Iran-Iraq War or the Iraq invasion. So, claiming this nation of 7 million that is smaller in size than Lake Michigan to be "posing a threat to world peace" is pathetic, and frankly says much more about G…

How about we rephrase your sentence a little: So, claiming this group [Al-Qaeda] of several thousand that is smaller in size than a football stadium to be "posing a threat to world peace" is pathetic, and frankly says much more about the US military than al-Qaeda. Still agree with me? Size has absolutely no relation whatsoever on the ability to threaten something, particularly when said party has nuclear weapons.

Of course I agree. Al Qaeda doesn't have the capacity to really threaten world peace except by provoking a shortsighted response, which they did.

But the comparison is meaningless anyway. AQ is not a nation, it's an organization with a certain ideology. It's not comparable to a country, like Israel, which is a collection of various ideologies and worldviews.

Re: German author Guenter Grass dies

#43

Post by morsch »

wyzellak wrote: post #26
morsch wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm hardly qualified to comment on any specifics. I'll only go as far as saying that Grass wasn't well-known for his love of snack food, and I interpret the poem as referring to his being argumentative, even beyond his lifetime. Maybe someone else can chime in.

There's a phrase in German language, "eine harte Nuss zu knacken haben", literally "to have a hard nut to crack". Maybe that means that he'll be cracking nuts (problems) even after he's buried?

I didn't even think of that, that's a very different take on the poem, and possibly a more appropriate one, thanks!

Re: German author Guenter Grass dies

#44

Post by ncza »

skore wrote: post #19
morsch wrote: post #3

The Günter-Grass-Haus published this poem from his work "Fundsachen für Nichtleser" Mit einem Sack Nüsse will ich begraben sein und mit neuesten Zähnen. Wenn es dann kracht, wo ich liege, kann vermutet werden: Er ist das, immer noch er. I don't think it's available in English, and I'll add my own translation here. I hope that's not too presumptuous. I've done some translation, but translating poetry is difficult. Wit…

I'd translate the last two lines slightly different: With a bag of nuts I'd like to be buried and with the freshest of teeth. When there is gnashing where I lie, one can surmise: It's him, still him.

"er ist das" also sounds exactly like "he eats that".

Re: German author Guenter Grass dies

#46

Post by philippnagel »

ghshephard wrote: post #5

I somehow completely missed an incredible cultural Icon. The NYT flashed this as "Breaking News", and it's sitting here at 62 points in less than an hour - and I had absolutely no idea who Guenter Grass was, until I started reading the news. Spooky - it's like I slipped in from an alternate plane of reality.

That's the beautiful thing about literature. One can catch up by simply reading!

Re: German author Guenter Grass dies

#47

Post by JoeAltmaier »

philippnagel wrote: post #46
ghshephard wrote: post #5

I somehow completely missed an incredible cultural Icon. The NYT flashed this as "Breaking News", and it's sitting here at 62 points in less than an hour - and I had absolutely no idea who Guenter Grass was, until I started reading the news. Spooky - it's like I slipped in from an alternate plane of reality.

That's the beautiful thing about literature. One can catch up by simply reading!

No, I'm afraid one can never catch up. There's just too much to read. My stack of unread books gets higher every month. Sigh.

Re: German author Guenter Grass dies

#48

Post by nebolo »

nir wrote: post #42
littletimmy wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about we rephrase your sentence a little: So, claiming this group [Al-Qaeda] of several thousand that is smaller in size than a football stadium to be "posing a threat to world peace" is pathetic, and frankly says much more about the US military than al-Qaeda. Still agree with me? Size has absolutely no relation whatsoever on the ability to threaten something, particularly when said party has nuclear weapons.

Of course I agree. Al Qaeda doesn't have the capacity to really threaten world peace except by provoking a shortsighted response, which they did. But the comparison is meaningless anyway. AQ is not a nation, it's an organization with a certain ideology. It's not comparable to a country, like Israel, which is a collection of various ideologies and worldviews.

While I agree with you, I think what is claimed it that Israel and AQ are unique in their potential for destruction ("threaten world peace") not necessarily their previous actions in that regard.

If that is the case, comparing their body count is almost meaningless.

Re: German author Guenter Grass dies

#49

Post by xg15 »

ghshephard wrote: post #5

I somehow completely missed an incredible cultural Icon. The NYT flashed this as "Breaking News", and it's sitting here at 62 points in less than an hour - and I had absolutely no idea who Guenter Grass was, until I started reading the news. Spooky - it's like I slipped in from an alternate plane of reality.

1Q84?

Re: German author Guenter Grass dies

#50

Post by huxley »

yehosef wrote: post #24
littletimmy wrote: post #13

His poem "What Must Be Said" is a wonderful commentary on Israel and the threat it poses to world peace. He talks about how the West has turned a blind eye to Israel's development of nuclear weapons because of its collective guilt. He argues that this must stop. Here it is (translated): https://kugelmass.wordpress.com/2012/04/10/a-legitimate-tran...

The poem conveniently omits an important point - that Israel has never called for Iran's destruction whereas Iran has repeatedly called to "wipe Israel off the map." Anyone who equates Israel and Iran on this issue is either ignorant or biased, possibly both. http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/10/26/ahmadinejad/ http://video.foxnews.com/v/3704646723001/irans-supreme-leade...

Ahmadinejad never said that, though ironically it was an Iranian news agency that mistranslated him.

He was talking about three previous regimes that had fallen: the Shah of Iran, the Soviet Union and Saddam Hussein, saying that they had "vanished from the page of time", he expressed the hope that the regime that "occupies Jerusalem" would likewise "vanish from the page of time", at no point did he say that Iran would "wipe Israel off the map" The actual speech is relatively innocuous so the warhawks had to spin hard to make it into a direct threat.

Now, Khamenei has apparently threatened Israel directly (via Twitter back in November) but he has also issued fatwas against the use and production of nuclear weapons calling them a crime against humanity and Allah. Consistency, much? The difficulty in judging these comments is telling what are threats and what is theatre.

BTW, Vice-Premier Shimon Peres did threaten Iran just after the Ahmadinejad brouhaha:

"The president of Iran should remember that Iran can also be wiped off the map." -- The Jerusalem Post (2006-05-09).

Taking stupid comments like those as direct threats is how pointless, tragic wars get started.

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