Human Rights

Nuremberg is also known for its role in shaping the declaration of human rights, and it is a fitting place too. The scene of the Nuremberg trials, the first International Trial for war crimes. The court room for the trial, Room 600, is still used, and is accessible via a guided tour during the weekend. The tour includes a detailed presentation on the proceedings of the trial and the various issues involved.



In the old town, a street is dedicated as the Way of Human Rights, where the articles of the declaration of human rights are engraved in different languages, representing the various oppressed nations (an oak tree represents all the other cultures not explicitly listed). But looking at human civilisation, has there ever been a culture that has not been oppressed at one time in their history by another culture?

Going back to the Nuremberg Trial, What I found interesting were the arguments used by the chief prosecutor (who was from the US) on why the trial was important for the future of mankind. He presented arguments on why the world needs prevent future genocides, and on the treatment of prisoners, against slavery etc. The idea of a humane war is downright stupid in my opinion, but what is clear in many respects is that the world has not really learnt from WW 2, or what the Nuremberg Trial was supposed to teach the world. Not only have we allowed genocide to happen again, and carry on happening and wars haven't stopped. In fact, it can be argued that, in modern wars, more civilians die than actual soldiers.

Time and time again, human rights are raised as something to be cherished. But deep down, do we really care?

The Nazi Rally Grounds

Nazi Germany is famous for its parades and rallies, unrivalled in the modern world, even by North Korea, and possibly unrivalled even if we go back to the past. While rallies took place all over Germany, but it was at Nuremberg that the biggest rallies took place. And, at Nuremberg, the Nazi government built purposeful rally grounds, that were truly impressive in scale and grandeur. It was after all the official city for Nazi rallies from 1933.

I will give details of individual areas of the grounds in the remainder of the post, but first an observation. In my Lonely Planet guidebook, in the information booths around the ground and in the documentation centre - a museum exploring the history of the grounds - the rally grounds are given as proof of the Nazi's Megalomania. Maybe. But great buildings from our past such as the Egyptian pyramids; also built with slave labour (large parts of the Nazi economy was driven by concentration camp prisoners); or the Roman Colosseum - the scene of bloody battles all for entertainment; or the pyramids of the Mayans which were often the scene of human sacrifices; are hardly treated in the same manner. This does not mean that I am condoning Nazism, but will it mean that in 2000 years time we will be voting the Zeppelin fields as one of the wonders of the 2nd Millennium?


Designed to reassemble to Colosseum, and to hold 50 000 people, the Congress Hall was never completed. It was still usable though.


Inside the Congress Hall.


The Rally grounds were built on former recreation grounds, and after the war, the area was largely turned back into a recreation area.


Many memorials or museums related to the Nazi years have a high degree of symbolism. The Documentation centre for example, built in a part of the Congress Hall has a glass corridor running diagonally through it, until the centre of the hall: symbolising a stake through the building. The museum has one of the best accounts of the rise and fall of Nazism I have seen in Germany.


The Great Road, used to 2 Km long, 60 m wide, running through the middle of the rally grounds. Now, largely a parking lot.


This lake, was once the building site of the German Stadium; never completed (actually, never really got started, as the war started close to the start of construction). It was designed to hold 400 000 people!!!


The lake is toxic ... ironic I think.



The Luitpold Arena, first a park dedicated to the fallen soldiers of WW 1, then the parade grounds for the SS and then back to a park. The original memorial is being refurbished, but some remnants of the parade grounds still exist.




The Zeppelin Field - the only fully completed part of rally grounds, and possibly the most impressive. On the one side, a massive grandstand for the dignitaries and the podium for Hitler to deliver his speech. On the other part, an area of about 12 football (soccer) fields and the surrounding stands to hold the common people attending the rally. What was impressive is what didn't survive - the stadium of light. The entire area was surrounded by spotlights that created a light pillar around the stadium, and together with massive fire bowls, it must have been a spectacular sight.


View from the podium

Traffic Chaos

The Erlangen Arcaden, opened on Tuesday. It is a newly refurbished shopping mall, at the corners of possibly the busiest streets (ok, that does not necessarily mean much) of Erlangen. While last week had minor inconviniences, Monday and Tuesday this week, it was a nightmare on the roads. Traffic in all directions, and not much movement. I think it took cars about 10 minutes to cross the streets! And it seemed that everyone in Erlangen was at the Arcaden

Nuremberg Altdstadt

At the end of WW 2, Nuremberg was more or less flattened. When it was rebuilt, unlike some cities which chose to built anew, the core centre of old Nuremberg was rebuilt like it used to be, mostly from the original stone. And Nuremberg is an old city - about a 1000 years old, and used to be the capital of the Holy Roman Empire.





The old town centre, is the centre of Nuremberg, surrounded by a wall and a moat (although the moat has no water and serves as gardens/walking paths. Inside the Altstadt, one very much gets the idea of what what old European cities must have been like, although, every now and then there is a new building (almost inevitably built of glass). With a river, largely pedestrian traffic (many roads are closed to cars), numerous cafes and shops, it sometimes even feels a bit detached from the real world.




It is a beautiful area, and in many respects almost unlike a city. People still live here, and most businesses are service businesses; but one almost gets the feeling that it is an area intended for relaxation.


Once the imperial stables, at the north end of the city, now serves as a youth hostel. Still, the guests can claim they lived in a castle ...


View from one of the castle gardens. The castle was off course built on the highest ground (in Old Nuremberg at least).


The castle (from the entrance side)


Old restored houses (near the castle)



The Schöner Brunnen, quite literally the beautiful fountain, on the market square. The market square holds the famous Christmas market, which should start the week before I leave. The golden ring apparently grants wishes if you turn it three times.


The Tugendbrunnen (Fountain of virtues). Apparently was not as controversial as ...



Ehekarussell Brunnen (Marriage Roundabout), which features 6 interpretations of marriage (first love, quarrel, death do us part etc). Quite impressive really.


Until sometime in the 19th centruy, this house over the river served as the executioner's home. There is a small museum and some interesting details on crime and punishment. The building, under refurbishment, is an old depot, now a student dorm. In fact students at the Nuremberg campus of the Erlangen-Nuremberg university have some really funky dorms.


It is quite impressive how the old and the new has been integrated. Nuremberg has a relatively small underground rail network, and there is only station actually inside the Altdtstadt. This station is one of the two on the edge, and is integrated as part of the "moat".

The DB Museum

Deutsche Bahn, the German national rail operator, have their museum, one of the oldest in Germany, in Nuremberg. For the most part it is a collection of impressive engines tracking the history of rail travel (mostly in Germany).


The old royal carriages ... difficult to get the photos right (although to be honest, I didn't try very hard)


The train that started off the fast rail travel in Europe



The Nazis were in the forefront of both the advances in railway technology and the abuse of rail travel. The museum has a small, but significant display about it; although to be honest, it does not compare to the Technology Museum in Berlin.


Some interesting aspects of railways are on display.



A model of a machine designed to lay/service tracks. It is quite an impressive machine really.


There is also a small museum on communication. The BMW for the postmen ...





The highlight of the museum - a really impressive model railway system. Apparently covers 500m worth of tracks, and has numerous trains. And a really impressive control station too.

Full FIA Transcrips

The full transcripts (minus the actual deliberations) are available for download. Most interestingly, the FIA released them with the confidential data just "blackened" out. So, all you have to do is copy and paste them on to a text file to see what they are. These are now off the FIA site, but once on the web, always on the web ;)

http://www.rtl.nl//sport/rtl_gp/components/formule1/nieuws/2007/09_september/images/wmsc-transcript-26-07-2007.pdf
http://www.rtl.nl/sport/rtl_gp/components/formule1/nieuws/2007/09_september/images/wmsc-transcript-13-09-2007.pdf

Lots of fun reading!

Erlangen

Erlangen is a small town. The lonely planet guide spends about 1 page on it, while other guides don't even mention it.

Siemens is the big thing in this town. It is the dominant company and there are many offices littered around the town. So having a street named after the founder of the company is not that strange.


The other big thing about Erlangen is the University. The former town palace, now serves as the administration building. There is a nice park at the back of the palace (the picture is taken from the park), and it is quite a nice place to come and relax.




There are also a number of chruches in Erlangen. Most churches are closed down, or in the verge of closing down. There are not many parishoners it seems. The first is a Lutheran church (Martin Luther Church IIRC ... well it is at the Martin Luther Platz :P). The second is the massive church at Hugenotten Platz, which now serves as a major bus station. The last is a church close to where I work, on the outskirts of Erlangen. It was interesting simply because it has a memorial to the soldiers who died in WW 1, presumably from the town.



An interesting change from Berlin is the amalgamation of the old and the new. I not only mean the McDonalds in a really old building, but even life in general seems to be a mixture of the old and the new. For example, there is still a large open air market that seems to do a brisk trade even though there is large mass retailers, two literraly stones throws from this market (well large is relative, and this does not really compare to Hamburg Fischmarkt).

The New FIA Verdict

Some recent developments in the Formula 1 Spy scandal. Since the last post, the FIA managed to get more evidence, and dragged McLaren back infront of the World Motor Sports Council yesterday. The evidence is, in short, startling.

Comprising of mostly communication logs and some details of the communication, it is hard to hold any respect for McLaren as a sporting team, or take Ron Dennis' word that it was only a rogue employee who was involved in holding data from Ferrari illegally. The evidence, as described in the FIA's press release (pdf, autosport.com) is damning.

Some of the really damning evidence is in the email logs between Pedro de la Rosa, Mike Coughlan and current F1 World Champion Fernando Alonso.

3.5 On 21 March 2007 at 09.57 Mr. de la Rosa wrote to Coughlan in the following terms:

"Hi Mike, do you know the Red Car's Weight Distribution? It would be important for us to know so that we could try it in the simulator. Thanks in advance, Pedro.

p.s. I will be in the simulator tomorrow."

3.6 In his evidence given to the WMSC, Mr. de la Rosa confirmed that Coughlan replied by text message with precise details of Ferrari's weight distribution.

3.9 Mr. de la Rosa replied on 25 March 2007 13.02 stating the following:

"All the information from Ferrari is very reliable. It comes from Nigel Stepney, their former chief mechanic - I don't know what post he holds now. He's the same person who told us in Australia that Kimi was stopping in lap 18. He's very friendly with Mike Coughlan, our Chief Designer, and he told him that."

tyre gas

3.13 Mr de la Rosa's e-mail to Mr. Alonso on 25 March 2007 at 01.43 identified a gas that Ferrari uses to inflate its tyres to reduce the internal temperature and blistering. The e-mail concludes with a statement (in relation to the gas) that "we'll have to try it, it's easy!".

3.14 Mr Alonso replied at 12.31 that it is "very important" that McLaren test the gas that Ferrari uses in its tyres as "they have something different from the rest", and "not only this year. there is something else and this may be the key; let's hope we can test it during this test, and that we can make it a priority!".

3.15 Mr. de la Rosa replied on 25 March 2007 13.02 stating the following: I agree 100% that we must test the [tyre gas] thing very soon.

After this level of evidence, how can it be possible that no one else in McLaren knew about what Coughlan was up to? Drivers are supported by huge technical staff, and even simulators are hardly about popping into the local arcade.

The FIA's verdict however is still puzzling. The full verdict:

9.2 The WMSC therefore, in accordance with the provisions of the International Sporting Code, imposes the following sanctions relation to the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship:

- a penalty consisting of exclusion from and withdrawal of all points awarded to McLaren in all rounds of the 2007 Constructors' Championship. For the avoidance of doubt, McLaren will be permitted to race in the remaining rounds of the 2007 Championship but will not be permitted to score points in the Constructors Championship or attend the podium in the event of a top three finish in any of the remaining races in the 2007 season. Points scored by other competitors in the Championship to date will not be affected further to the withdrawal of McLaren's points;

- a fine of USD100 million (less any sum that would have been payable by Formula One Management Limited on account of McLaren's results in the 2007 Constructors Championship had it not been excluded). This fine shall be payable within three months from the date of this Decision.

The drivers were given immunity in exchange for full co-operation, and can still carry on their (current winning) position of fighting for the World Driver's Championship. In the interest of the show, there are still 5 drivers with a mathematical possibility of winning the WDC, and 3 with a real chance of winning it. So, in terms of the entertainment value, nothing is lost. And as discussed in this Guardian commentary there is a precedent for this.

What puzzles me is why McLaren's fine is pegged to their on track performance? After all, wasn't the spy saga all about using rival team's information to advance their own performance on track?

As for the WDC, it is tainted this year. There will always be an asterisk next to whoever wins this year. The case is off course far from over - there are still criminal charges pending for Nigel Stepney and civil action against Mike Coughlan. But what is most absurd is that Mike Coughlan still has his job ...

A Few Days Without Rain

Yay. It has finally stopped raining in Erlangen. Wednesday was the first day, since I have been here, when there was no rain; and has yet to rain since. While day time temeperatures are certainly T-Shirt range, it is still cold (6-8 degrees C) in the morning. Unfortunately, weather forecasts seem to indicate that it will start raining during the weekend :(

This Carlesque post was inspired by Enya's Album. :p

Foo Bar

I have always wondered the history of using fooand bar in computer programs. RFC 3092 sheds some light.

RFCs or Request for Comments are one of the key foundations to standards on the Internet, and increasingly standards generally for computer systems. But I came across RFC 1121 by chance, and stumbled onto a set of RFCs that are funny or just plain weird ... inside jokes etc. Quite a big list of them here.

Lots of reading for the bored :P

TV Blues

Somehow, TVs and I have not got on well this past year. There was the story of my TV card at the beginning of the year. And two more incidences from the last week to add to the list.

Firstly, I bought a really old TV from a student for €15. It worked for a while, but doesn't any more. It is to be expected really ... don't think I was intentionally sold a bad TV ... it is old, and to be expected.

Then, acting on Hans' recommendation (and doing what I should have done initially), I got myself a DVB-T stick. It is actually a very cool device: very small and compact, and works quite well. Except for two things:

1. Erlangen does not seem to have any digital TV coverage of the two channels with mostly English content (CNN and MTV).
2. The reception in my apartment for Eurosport (for the Rugby WC) and RTL (for Formula 1), the two German channels I want most, is almost non existent. It does work elsewhere ... I have tried it in a park for example, and was watching F1 on Sunday while surfing the net at a Cafe!

And to mess it all up, the TV cable in my room seems to be analogue only (probably a Cable TV source). The channel that works best however carries football, some Bundesliga matches and some Euro qualifiers. So it is not all that bad I suppose ...