By Sean:  Ok I will keep this shorter (sorry) as we are pretty tired, and we need to get up early 0500h.  So to recap.

We had dinner at the hotel tonight.  Leek Soup - Turkey Steak with Tomato and Mozzarella - Vanilla Pana-cotta dressed up.  It was an OK meal, but again not German, just you standard hotel fare.

After dinner Sarah and I hit the pool.  It was very nice and we both enjoyed it.  Now we are back in the room and ready for bed.  Have a good night.

Auf Wiedersehen

PS Leave you with a few photo's because it's too expensive to upload lots.

By Sean:  guten Tag!  We are now settled into the Hotel Dorint in Köln.  Very large city, larger in population and coverage than Frankfurt.  About 2 million people in it's whole area; but before we go any further, lets go over the first day of our tour (yesterday didn't count).

Well we started off bright and early at 0600h by our alarm clock and yes we got up within 5 minutes of it going off I am proud to say.  We did our morning routine (shower etc) and then packed up.  Already we need to make adjustments to our luggage to seperate the dirty clothes from the clean.  One suggestion I will make to Trafalgar is one large suitcase and one smaller suitcase to ensure you have enough room to put everything.  Mine expands so I think I got away with a bit more room.  Plus it helps that the bus isn't full.  Incase we didn't tell you it's about 38 people.  Well after that we went down for breakfast, but partway through I realized we need to bring out the luggage.  No worries all taken care of.  Breakfast was good.  One note "Breakfast Crew" and you know who that is, the eggs here are orange yoked.  I will try and get a photo for you tomorrow morning, I'll make a note.  That brings me to another point.  Bring a notebook (paper) small like a moleskin that will fit in your back pocket or purse (if you are a purse carrier), and a good pen.  You will want to make notes.  This is something we are going to pick up at our next chance.

Well we are off on the road a bit early, all on the bus and off at 0808h.  Pretty good if I say so my self.  We proceed out of Frankfurt, and it's a cloudy day, not raining, but it did.  We set off to our destination camera in hand, and GPS on... or not, Oops.  Well after I noticed (again think notebook), we were then set.  Since my camera bag will not fit in the overhead, it goes to the back of the bus.  No big deal.

Well first stop was at a giant statue.  Unfortunately I cannot remember what the statue was of, but I will find out and update you all (notebook).  Here is a photo of it.

As you can see it's quite foggy.  Typical for this area in Germany in the Morning.  Happy to say the temperature was very nice, and overall it was a good drive there, and nice extra; as we would not have seen this if we didn't leave early and didn't avoid traffic.

While on the bus we filled out our side trip's.  We are not going to the second dinner in Berlin as we have a few others things we would rather do.  As well we are not taking the Hofbrauhaus as we found out that dinner would be elsewhere, so we are just going on our own (with a few other people).  Didn't want to miss out on it, as Larry would NEVER let me forget that.  So don't worry we are going, but Sarah nor I are stealing any mugs.  We will just buy them.  Decent price for all the side trips.  If I didn't mention it before, we get to see both Saltzburg AND Eagle's Nest.  Sarah and I are quite happy with our selection.

Well we arrived at our destination of St. Goar (east side of the Rhine and it's called something else - NOTEBOOK).  We board the Boat, the Loreley Star, it's a very nice boat.  We headed to the top deck to get some seats for photo's.  After taking some photo's from different angles, we sit down at the bow and take a load off with some drinks.

More photo's then docking in Boppard, were we meet our coach and head to Bonn and Cologne.  Well part way there we all decide to cross the Rhine to the east bank and travel through some nice villages, instead of the Autobahn.  When we arrive part way we stop at a special landmark.  It is a bridge that was still standing in 1945 near the end of the war, when almost 40 bridges were damaged or destroyed.  It was taken by the American's and collapsed a few days later due to material failure.  This is funny because the German's during their retreat tried to blow up the bridge a few times, and failed.  Interesting story.

We finally arrive in Cologne, and tour the downtown until we stop at the Döm (Cathedral).  From there we take some pictures and head off to the Chocolate Museum.  Sounds tasty!  Well on our way we stop at a brawt stand and pick up a few sausages and a drink each.

We then head to the museum.  Wow what a place.  €6,50 each and we are in (with a sample chocolate).  Inside we are surrounded by chocolate history, from the Aztec's to Present.  There is a mini Lindt factory inside making chocolates (the samples) and truffles.  They are all very yummy looking.  We tour the entire museum and see everything we can.  Then we head downstairs to the shoppe.  Mmm chocolate heaven, there is everything you can imaging here, but only "good" chocolate.  We get a few items, including a Cherry and Chilly Dark Chocolate stick.  Mmm all very good.

We then head back to the Döm and go inside, where we take pictures and take in the sights.  We then head back to the bus at 1600h and we are off to the Hotel.  It's a nice Hotel, with very clean rooms.  I get the camera cleaned up and downloaded and then start charging everything we have that takes batteries.  Off to dinner, will report back later.

Ciao

Hello again! I am sorry for the delay between Part 1 and Part 2 of this post, but I recently got a job for DU admissions to blog about life as a DU student (both abroad and when I get back) so I decided to meet the deadline I was given and put this entire trip, pictures and all, in an extremely condensed version of a blog for prospective DU students. That means that I had to leave out most of the pictures and anything about beer, so I guess it was pretty easy in the end. OK, continuing my trip...

Stop #4: Bruges

Bruges is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is considered to be the best preserved medieval city in Europe. I would not have known a thing about it, however, except I had a chance to see the movie "In Bruges," which stars Colin Farrell and Ralph Fiennes. I highly recommend the movie, but be forewarned you too will want to visit the city afterwards. After leaving Amsterdam and changing trains in Antwerp, I arrived in Bruges around 4:30PM, and had to find my way to the hostel. Here are some pictures from the walk, which may or may not have involved a long detour similar to what happened in Amsterdam.

First Impression

This is what almost every street looks like.

I did find the central square fairly quickly, which is where a lot of the movie takes place. This is the main tower.

Opposite the main tower in the square

At about 5:30PM I finally found my hostel, and then when out to see some of the sights. Unfortunately almost everything closed at 5PM, so that severely limited my options. I did get to see the Church of the Holy Blood, which contains a vial of Christ's blood that a knight brought back from the Crusades, but I didn't actually get to see the vial itself.

Church of Christ's Blood

Entrance to the Church

So, with little to do after the Church, I walked around and took pictures of some of the beautiful buildings and canals. If you like these pictures, make sure you look at my public album because I took a ton of them.

If you've seen the movie you might recognize this.

I also decided to enjoy some of the things Belgium is famous for creating: French Fries and Beer (I had a waffle the next morning, of course).

French Fries

Belgium had, without doubt, the best beers I tasted the entire trip. The first stop was to get a Garre beer, which you can only get at the De Garre pub, located in de Garre alley. So yes, I had a Garre at De Garre on de Garre. I also met a super friendly couple from Portland with whom we had a nice little rant session about the American political scene and how crazy things are right now and how insane it is to think that we could have the same failed policies in office for the next four years. But, this blog is about my travels and not my political perspective, so please excuse that. They made me promise to vote in return for the beer, so I've requested my absentee ballot.

de Garre Alley

Garre Beer

The next stop was a pub called 't Brugs Bertje, which, according to my tourist map, featured more than enough Belgian beers to satisfy me for the night. The best was either Rochefort 10 or Kapittel Abbot, and between the two I sure slept well that night. They also had a New Belgium sign inside, which was cool to see. None for sale though, which is OK because they had the real Belgian stuff that New Belgium can't come close to making.

New Belgium sign in Belgium

OK, so enough about beers (at least until I get to Munich). After a great sleep, I got up early so I could see some sights before leaving, which included climbing to the top of the tower and a Michelangelo sculpture.

Morning Sun

View from tower

Belgian Waffle for breakfast

Michaelangelo Sculpture (one of the few outside of Italy)

I took a ton of pictures in Bruges, so I encourage you to check out my public album if you want to see more.

Stop #5: Luxembourg

After leaving Bruges at noon my next stop was to see my cousin Brian and his wife Jeza in Luxembourg City. I hadn't seen Brian for 8 years or so, but I immediately recognized him at the train stop. It's always exciting to see family, especially when it has been a long time. Soon after I met Jeza, his wife, who is a wonderful French woman with a super bubbly personality. It was great catching up with them, and they even bought me a huge French dinner and gave me a couch to sleep on. I can't even describe how grateful I was, so all I can say, for the hundredth time, is thanks Brian and Jeza! You two know how to show a good time. Here is a picture of the two in front of the building where Jeza works.

They also gave me a great tour of the city, and of course I took tons of pictures.

The valley that surrounds the city

Statue in front of the Duke's house

Notre Dame Luxembourg

Inside the Church

Tapestry in the Church

Brian and I

Tower and Trees

The next day Brian had to get up early to take a train to school back in France, but Jeza was kind enough to let me pay for breakfast before she went to work. I had a few hours to kill that morning before departing, so I took a long walk in the valley that surrounds the city. Luxembourg really surprised me because I had no idea what it would be like, and it turned out to be one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.

Old building in the valley

Looking up the wall

Bridge and Flag (I loved the bridges and the trees, if you can't tell)

Church and Duke's residence

For more pictures of Luxembourg, Click Here

I was so mesmerized by Luxembourg (and ended up taking a detour retracing my steps to Brian and Jeza's apartment) that I ended up missing my train to Koblenz. So, with a little bit of schedule changing, I was able to connect the dots to Mannheim, where I would catch a train to Munich. As I was getting off in Mannheim, however, the intercom came on and said I would have a better chance of getting to Munich if I stayed on the train to Stuttgart. So I lost my seat but got back on and made it to Stuttgart, and it was there with a massive crowd I waited for a train to

Stop #6: Munich

The train from Stuttgart was probably at double its capacity with people lined up in the aisles. I was lucky enough to find a seat in the stairwell, only to have my large bag on top of me for most of the 3 hour ride. I arrived in Munich at about 7pm, and found a tourist info place that got me information on a nearby campground. One tram ride later and I had already met some Americans fresh from Oktoberfest headed to the same place. I took it easy that night after 7 hours of trains and transfers, and ended up meeting a super nice old guy from New Zealand who had a beard so thick it barely moved when he talked. The next day I was up early to make it into a tent. I soon found myself in a crowd of young people, which was eerily similar to World Youth Day in Cologne 4 years ago, but instead of following the crowd to the Pope, I was following a crowd to Beer Heaven.

The Crowd

The Entrance

The only tent I planned to visit that day was the famous Häufbrau tent. I'm not exactly sure why I chose that tent, but that seemed to be the place to be.

Häufbrau Tent

After an hour of waiting outside I finally arrived inside, where hops hung from the ceiling, the men wore suspenders, and the beer came in liter mugs.

Inside

The Bavarian Band

Halfway through my first

Of the 6 million liters of beer they move through Munich at the end of September every year, they also move through 1.5 million of the best chicken I've ever had.

Chicken and beer

This poor Bavarian girls had to watch me eat it, but it was worth it.

After the chicken, I decided to take a break by walking laps around the tent because I was by myself (besides the random people I met), and I knew I was going to meet up with some DU students studying in Switzerland that afternoon, so I had to save some of myself for them. And so, after walking for a bit to take a little of the buzz off, I stopped to send a text to my friend Curt, who was trying to get in. As I pulled out my phone, my friend Rachel from DU, who I hadn't seen since she lived across the hall from me freshman year, magically appeared and brought me to a table full of students from her program, including several other DU students. Soon after Curt arrived, and good times were had by all.

At the table

After about 10 hours in the tent I decided to call it a night so I headed back to the campground.

The next day, I decided to go sightseeing in Munich. Sights included the Dom Tower, the Glockenspiel, and the Häufbrauhaus.

Bavarian Architecture

Dom from below

Looking down at the Glockenspiel

Looking at the adjacent tower

The Glockenspiel

Statue and Glockenspiel

After watching the daily noon joust at the Glockenspiel, I stopped to get some postcards at a street vendor, where a man in his 40's came and asked me "Sprechen zie English?" I looked at him, and looked at the postcards, and thought "Wow, was that a dead giveaway?" Anyhow, he and two friends were looking for the Häufbrauhaus, which was where I was on my way to, so we went together. The man was named Steve and worked for Thompson Elite in LA and his friends worked for Cisco Systems in Minnesota. They were super nice guys and even bought my beers at the Häufbrauhaus. (A hint for the young traveler- as I learned here and at de Garre in Bruges, always be super nice to anyone who is older than you because they will usually buy the beer, as well as be super nice to you back. Plus, you never know who you might meet and make connections with). If you guys find this post thanks again for the brews!

Inside the Häufbrauhaus

After the Häufbrauhaus I departed ways with my fellow Americans and went back to the festival grounds. It was impossible to get into a tent on a Saturday afternoon, so I walked around a bit and the returned to the train station for 28 hours of traveling by train back to Karlstad.

For a public album of pictures from Bruges, CLICK HERE

For a public album of pictures from Luxembourg, CLICK HERE

For a public album of pictures from Munich, CLICK HERE

Congratulations if you made it this far! I can tell you it took much longer to write than to read. Now I'm back in Karlstad for what is my first really busy week of school, mostly because I am playing catch up and have all three classes this week, including the weekly, the bi-weekly, and the monthly one. I've also been catching up on my friends' blogs, which I recommend doing as well. The temperature is also dropping quickly in Karlstad, which makes me excited for some snow. I'm hoping to go to the Snow Tunnel for some cross country ski action this weekend, and I hope to make it to Norway at least once this month. So, check back in a week or so to see how I'm doing, and keep on keepin' on.

Warning

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This video may contain images depicting the reality and horror of war/violence and should only be viewed by a mature audience.

linktv

Mosaic needs your help! Donate here: http://linktv.org/contribute

[vodpod id=Groupvideo.1640343&w=425&h=350&fv=%26rel%3D0%26border%3D0%26]

Bauernhof in Berndorf/ Lucka

Most of my ancestors originated from somewhere in Germany (or what is now Germany).  Unfortunately, I haven't been able to pinpoint exact locations.  My great-grandmother, Mary Angelina (Annie) Werts, was descended from Wilhelm Wurtz born in the early 1700's in Tauberbischofsheim, Germany.  It is located in the Baden-Württemberg area.  Wilhelm traveled via the ship Neptune to Philadelphia.  (Footnote 1)

My great-grandmother, Martha Jane Stern, is descended from Hans Peter Raudenbusch and Maria Bremm.  They were both born in the early to mid 1600s in Reihen, Heidelberg, Germany.  It has been reported that the flour mill that Hans Peter operated through the Thirty Years War is still in operation. It was their grandson, Hans Henrich, who emigrated to Pennsylvania upon the Dragon in 1732. He was a founding member of the Abbottsville, Pennsylvania Upper Conowago Church of the Brethren (Mummert's Church). After Hans Heinrich's sons were married, the name went through a variety of changes. My direct ancestor's name was Roudebush. She was the granddaughter of Hans Heinrich and my 4th great-grandmother. Other name variants include Ruebush, Roudebush.  (Footnote 2 & 3)

My 2nd great-grandmother, Malissa Goul, is the granddaughter of Adam Goul.  As a child, he traveled with his parents and sister, aboard the Rawley, from Frankfurt, Germany to Philadelphia.  It has been reported that he was the only one of his family to live to see America.  The rest perished on board ship.  Frankfurt am Main is the largest city in the German state of Hesse.

Footnote 1: Virts Vertz Virts Virtz Werts Wertz Wirts Genealogy; Gary E. Virts

Footnote 2: Wikipedia; 2008

Footnote 3: Hans Heinrich Raudenbusch, THE RAUDENBUSCH FAMILY; John Robert Frank; 2003

Our little bit of the "Indian Summer".

sri lankan rebels, afghan refugees, thailand riots, markets, iran and the imaginary fighter jet, zee germanz, uk, diy judo, kosovo legitimized?, evolution

As we mentioned in our last news letter Debbie and I have taken on a part time role of visiting other Cadence Staff and being whatever help we can be to them while our soldiers are deployed.

At the beginning of the month we led a staff get together where all of our house directors gathered for a day of sharing, praying and encouraging one another. We are finding the health of the missionary on the field is enhanced by times to withdraw from the regular schedule and talk and pray with others who are doing the same kinds of things. For Debbie and I, our staff experience was elongated by hosting overnight the day before and day after some staff who live 4 - 6 hours away from the event. 

In the spring of 2008, Cadence International opened a new ministry to the Air Force at Spangdahlem Air Base. This new ministry is about an hour from where we live and Debbie and I were able to join Roger and Sheila for a mid week study. Their house was full and we had a great time interacting with the airmen and their families.  

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="319" caption="Our co-workers Roger & Sheila in Spangdahlem"][/caption]

God also allowed us to spend a weekend in Vicenza, Italy (where we also enjoyed sunshine and warm weather, as well as participating in the thriving ministry of Rob and Karen Hampton). Rob and Karen are doing a great job ministering to an Army community in Northern Italy.  

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="320" caption="Our co-workers Rob & Karen in Vicenza Italy"][/caption]

 In Baumholder

Here in Baumholder we had Super Sunday on September 21. Thankfully had no rain, so the children could enjoy one more day outside on our playground, but the temperatures were cool enough that the adults opted for staying inside. We had over thirty folks from the community join us for this wonderful afternoon. It was a treat to have a couple drop by who used to come to the House when they were stationed in Baumholder as well as our new American neighbors from across the street.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="319" caption="Two great kids we love"][/caption]

 Baumholder: A Community with Deployed Soldiers

We miss our soldiers and we regularly send them notes and birthday cards. From time to time they find time to write to us as well. It is always encouraging for us when we hear from them. We are really looking forward to their return. There have been several memorial services in September for men who were killed in action. We thank you for your prayers for our soldiers who are in harms way, and also all the victims of this war.  

Thank you so much for faithfully giving to and praying for us, so that we can be here as your representative.

Sincerely,

Brad Ellgen
Festaburg

In memory of Mario Keller, a German police officer killed last year, a girls' school is under construction in Northern Afghanistan.

Along with two colleagues, Mr Keller lost his life in a bomb attack in Kabul on 15 August 2007. Shortly before his tragic death, during a visit to Badakhshan Province, he had been deeply impressed by the landscapes and the people he had met there.

For that reason, Mario Keller's relatives have launched a school project: Together with "Lachen Helfen e.V.", a private initiative by German soldiers to help children in war and crisis areas, they are promoting the construction of the girls' school in the village of Shoduj to honour his memory. The Federal Foreign Office will add a further 95,000 euro to the 57,000 euro already donated. The project will be implemented by the Aga Khan Foundation.

Complete at the source: Federal Foreign Office Germany.

Als besonders gefährlich stufen die Experten die TV-Klingelton-Werbung von sogenannten Premium-SMS-Diensten ein. Wichtige Vertragsbestandteile werden dabei nur kurz eingeblendet und sind kaum lesbar, so dass die jungen Kunden meist überhaupt nicht wissen, worauf sie sich einlassen. Auch bei der Klingeltonbestellung im Internet ist Vorsicht geboten: Wer die Allgemeinen Geschäftsbedingungen (AGB) nicht genau liest oder aus Eile und mangelnder Vorsicht ein Häkchen falsch setzt, schließt nicht selten einen Abonnementvertrag ab. Grundsätzlich ist es wichtig, sich die AGB gut durchzulesen und sich immer zu notieren, bei welchem Anbieter und bei welcher Web-Seite der Klingelton bestellt wurde.

Wird der Klingelton über eine 0900-Telefonnummer angefordert, werden für den Anruf im Schnitt rund 1,86 Euro pro Minute fällig. Einige Anbieter zögern den Bestellvorgang mit unerheblichen Fragen so lange wie möglich hinaus, um möglichst viele Gebühren abzukassieren. Manchmal werden die Anrufer sogar absichtlich aus der Leitung geworfen, damit sie noch einmal telefonieren müssen und die Kosten für das Gespräch weiter steigen. Service-Angebote mit verdächtigen Rufnummern sind deshalb nach Möglichkeit zu meiden. Die Computer-Experten fordern die Lehrer dazu auf, ihre Schüler verstärkt über die Abzocke im Internet, per SMS, am Telefon und über das Fernsehen aufzuklären. Den Heranwachsenden sei zudem zu raten, die Finger von sogenannten Gratistönen, Sparpaketen oder Monatspaketen zu lassen.

Quelle: Global Press/Yahoo

Scientology has made its way to Germany of all places. GERMANY!!! I have met so many Germans in my time, they're not a stupid people! Berlin itself is apparently filled with a strong Anarchist movement, that blow up cars, as well as an anti-facist movement that kill Nazis. They're not STUPID enough to believe in freaken aliens conquering earth, or whatever that Southpark Episode taught me about Scientologists. I remember taking one of those Scientology tests where they attach metal things to me, where they're asking me about whether I am stressed.

Scientology freak: "Are you happy"
Me: "I suppose so"
Scientology freak: "Okay, but are you stressed?"
Me: "No"
Scientology freak:"Okay, ummm, what would make you happier in your life?"
Me: "If I were white, I would probably be so much happier. That would probably get rid of most of my problems..." (I did seriously say that, he didn't much to me after, packed the equiptment away and moved on to pestering someone else!!!

Anywho, the day I arrived, there was this protest in Friedriechstrasse against the Scientology church coming to Germany. It was so funny, the slogans they had. My friend was translating them, some of them saying things like, "Scientology Causes Cancer"

I really loved Germany. I love the people there. So liberal and freaky, they rock. Well, I feel safe in Berlin, apparently other places I would be killed. But otherwise, the Germans rock.

I LOVE this picture!!! Germans ROCK!!!! MWUAH HA HA HA HA!!!

<a href="http://www.itworld.com/legal/55611/two-europeans-charged-us-over-ddos-attacks">Read More...</a>

We had art for the first two classes today and as per usual it was boring as anything. We don't even get crayons and the teacher is so uninvolved with the class that it just makes me sleep!

After the boring events of class today (Nothing else really happened) we had the dance class and in the words of Rebecca, "Ich finde die Tanykurz hammerlustig!". Translates as it were real funny! Lots of bad dancing and laughing at the teacher but I think I'm getting better so it should be worth it!

Well nothing much else really happened today except that I did some german notes in study. YAY!

Sometime I will tell the funny stories of my first few days but not now!

Enjoy and be prepared to shriek like a little girl....over stuff like this:

Disclaimer: I do not own this image. Photo courtesy of His Golden Eyes. Click on the photo above to check out the rest of the movie stills.

***UPDATE: Remember when I wrote about the supposed Twilight script that was floating around on the Internet? Um...well let me just say that something is given away in the newly released photos that make me believe that script is pretty accurate...leaked information strikes again! And no, it's not obvious and I'm not going to point it out to you...unless you bribe me of course.

Nobel prize for viral discoveries

HIV infects the immune system's T- lymphocytes

The scientists who discovered HIV will share the Nobel prize for medicine with the expert who linked human papilloma virus (HPV) to cervical cancer.

French team Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier were recognised for their groundbreaking work in uncovering the virus responsible for Aids.

Harald zur Hausen, from Germany, received the prize for making the link between HPV and cervical cancer.

More than 25 million people have died of HIV/Aids since 1981.

Never before have science and medicine been so quick to discover, identify the origin and provide treatment for a new disease entity The Nobel Assembly about the discovery of HIV

Globally, more than 33 million people are living with HIV.

Following medical reports of a new immunodeficiency syndrome in 1981, Professor Barre-Sinoussi, of the Institut Pasteur, and Dr Montagnier, director of the World Foundation for AIDS Research and Prevention, were the first to identify HIV as the culprit.

In its citation, the Nobel Assembly said their discovery was vital in enabling scientists to begin to understand the biology of a virus which continued to pose a huge public health threat throughout the globe.

Major advances

Their work led to the development of methods to diagnose infected patients and to screen blood products, which has limited the spread of the pandemic.

It has also led to new treatments.

The availability of a vaccine against HPV is now a reality thanks to the original discovery of the virus by Harald zur Hausen Dr Adriano Boasso Imperial College

There is still no cure for HIV. However, for many the disease is no longer an imminent death sentence thanks to the major advances in research and drug development over recent years.

With treatment, people with HIV can live for decades with the condition.

However, HIV medicines are not widely available in many poor countries around the world.

The citation said: "Never before have science and medicine been so quick to discover, identify the origin and provide treatment for a new disease entity.

"Successful anti-retroviral therapy results in life expectancies for persons with HIV infection now reaching levels similar to those of uninfected people."

Nick Partridge of the HIV charity Terrence Higgins Trust said: "Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier are very deserving winners of the Noble Prize for Medicine.

"Their work was hugely significant, leading to enormous progress in the understanding and treatment of HIV."

Both Dr Montagnier and a US researcher Dr Robert Gallo are co-credited with discovering that HIV causes Aids, although for several years they staked rival claims that led to a legal and even diplomatic dispute between France and America.

The Nobel jury made no mention of Dr Gallo in its citation.

Professor Barré-Sinoussi said the award was "a great honour that I wasn't expecting."

Vaccines developed

Professor zur Hausen, of the University of Duesseldorf, was praised by the Nobel committee for going "against current dogma" to discover that HPV infection caused cervical cancer.

HPV can be detected in 99.7% of all women with cervical cancer, and persistent infection with the virus is estimated to be responsible for more than 5% of all cancers worldwide.

Professor zur Hausen's work helped others to develop vaccines against HPV, which are now routinely given to millions of teenage girls in many countries to prevent cervical cancer.

Dr Adriano Boasso, research fellow at Imperial College and Wellcome Trust Research Career Development Fellow, said: "Isolating the causing agent of an infectious disease is the single most important step toward developing a vaccine.

"The availability of a vaccine against HPV is now a reality thanks to the original discovery of the virus by Harald zur Hausen.

"HIV vaccine research has instead recently suffered the failure of promising clinical trials, but there is no doubt that the discovery of HIV by Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier will be the pillar on which an efficient vaccine will eventually be built."

Professor zur Hausen, 72, received half of the prize with Professor Barré-Sinoussi, 61, and Dr Montagnier, 76, splitting the other half.

Zugleich bringt der mit hohen Verlusten kämpfende US-Konzern die Fabriken in eine neue Produktionsfirma ein, an der Abu Dhabi die Mehrheit halten wird. In den USA soll zudem ein neues High-Tech-Werk gebaut werden. AMD verschafft sich mit den Milliarden des arabischen Investors Luft für den Konkurrenzkampf mit dem weitaus größeren Branchenführer Intel. Zugleich entledigt sich der Prozessoren-Spezialist weitgehend der Kosten und Risiken, die mit einer Chipproduktion verbunden sind.

Dresden werde nun zum Eckpfeiler eines neuen, weltweit aufgestellten Halbleiterunternehmens, betonte der Geschäftsführer des Standortes, Hans Deppe am Dienstag. Nach seinen Angaben werden in einem ersten Schritt «erhebliche Mittel» in den zuletzt stockenden Ausbau des Dresdner Werks Fab 38 investiert. Nach Unternehmensangaben soll im ersten Halbjahr 2009 die Volumenproduktion hochgefahren werden. In die beiden Werke Fab 36 und 38 waren bis Ende 2007 rund sechs Milliarden Dollar investiert worden. Am Dresdner AMD-Standort arbeiten rund 2800 Menschen.

AMD bekommt aus Abu Dhabi viele Milliarden Dollar in mehreren Schritten. Die staatliche Technologie-Investor des Emirats, ATIC, zahlt zunächst 2,1 Milliarden Dollar für 55,6 Prozent an der neuen Produktionsgesellschaft, die vorläufig den Namen Foundry Co. trägt. Weitere 3,6 bis 6,0 Milliarden Dollar soll die ATIC (Advanced Technology Investment Company) über die nächsten fünf Jahre in den Ausbau investieren. AMD behält an der Produktionsgesellschaft, in die die Werke einfließen, eine Beteiligung von 44,4 Prozent. Die beiden Eigner bekommen jeweils 50 Prozent der Stimmrechte.

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Directions:

Try to find the Luitpoldplatz in the centre of Bayreuth not far away from the trainstation.
If you walk from the Luitpoldplatz towards LaSpezia Platz you will cross one of three small bridges reserved only for pedestrians. Under the the right of this three bridges you will find a marvellous bridgecard weighted down with a big stone;)

By Eric A. Sliva

Those interested in communism's past and future would do well these days to pay attention to the country of its birth. Andrea Ypsilanti of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), striving for the position of Minister President (equivalent to an American Governor) of the central German state of Hessen, was embarrassed this week when her phone conversation with a radio host- who called her impersonating the national SPD chairman- was leaked on YouTube.

The development deals a further blow to Ypsilanti and the socialist SPD as they continue to struggle to deal with the rising success of the former East German communist party the Linke, or "Left".

Ypsilanti became head of the Hessen SPD in 2006, and was charged with the task of ending Roland Koch of the conservative Christian Democratic Union's (CDU) nine years as Minister President. Their election battle drew national headlines when Koch chose as his central election theme a crackdown on the supposed rise in crime committed by foreign adolescents, an approach that was widely condemned in Germany as xenophobic populism. In the election this January the SPD under Ypsilanti did indeed increase its share of the vote by over 7%, but Koch and the CDU remained the strongest party with an agonizingly close margin of .1%.

Since the election Ypsilanti has preceded to commit a series of blunders, beginning with declaring her intention to become Minister President despite having not achieved a parliamentary majority. All talks with other parties on building a coalition have thus far been fruitless, with the result that Koch has remained in power as acting Minister President. What has most bedeviled Ypsilanti in her coalition plans, however, is a problem with which the entire SPD has been grappling for years: how to respond to the surprising success of the Left.

In principle the Left and SPD should be natural coalition partners against Koch, representing as they do the far and center-left of the political spectrum, respectively. For years, however, the SPD refused to enter into coalitions or even recognize the Left as a legitimate party due to fact that the Left is, multiple name changes and a couple decades distance notwithstanding, the successor party to the authoritarian East German communist party. Having developed after German reunification into an enduring East German regional party by capitalizing on Easterners' sense of cultural identity, the Left in recent years has made enormous strides into West German states. This has come largely at the expense of the SPD, which has been hurt by the Left's criticism of the "Hartz-IV" welfare reforms introduced under the last SPD chancellor, Gerhard Schröder. With many of its rank-and-file members leaving the party and one of its most popular former politicians now serving as chairman of the Left, the SPD is waffling between "legitimizing" the party by agreeing to form a coalition together, or rejecting them and facing the prospects of further CDU rule.

All of which makes the leaked tape more damaging. The simple fact that Ypsilanti did not see through the ruse throughout a several minute-long conversation is embarrassing, while perhaps understandable. The impersonator's questioning of what she was doing to solve "the Left problem" also only draws attention to her flip-flops on the question – first she was against even "tolerating" them in a government, and now she has expressed interest in a contract-bound coalition. If the SPD and Ypsilanti want to regain their stride and stop the hemorrhaging, they must put an end to the Left question once and for all and focus the debate on more favorable issues.