Absurdistan | Wartist

Kuwait Bans the Use of Digital SLR Cameras in the Public

As reported by the newspaper Kuwait Times (under reference to an edict by the three Ministries of Information, Social Affairs and Labour and Finances), the emirate of Kuwait has banned the public use of digital single-lens reflex cameras (SLR). Journalists are allegedly exempt from this ban.

One feels remembered to the art performance “Fotografieren verboten!” (No Pictures!) by the German photographer Kurt Buchwald from the years 1988 to 2004: in 1988, on the occasion of the 150th birthday of photography, he erected prohibition signs at worldwide viewpoints and places of interest to limit the inflationary taking of pictures. This picture of the Atacama desert in Chile has been made in 1995.

Fotografieren verboten! Atacama Wüste, Chile, 1995 (© Kurt Buchwald)

New Stalin Memorial Unveiled

Already on 5 May 2010, a memorial for Stalin was unveiled in the south-Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia. While it is of no special artistic importance (it could have been put on this way some 60 years ago; maybe there was even an old bust to be used for a mould?), it is even more so politically.

Stalin bust gets a new home at “Blind Alley of Communism”

According to the Ukrainian website censor.net, judge Victor Poprevich, living in the mining city of Donezk (Ukraine), put up two sculptures of Lenin and Stalin in front of his home – having said that, setting them on the ground is all but respectful. The official name of the street to his house is “Olimpijskaja”, but Poprevich renamed it quite fittingly into “Blind Alley of Communism”.

NATO: Obama Cake for the 60th

Currently, NATO is holding its summit in Strasbourg, Kehl and Baden-Baden, commemorating the organisation’s 60th anniversary. While the third city is not mentioned at all in the official programme (“Strasbourg-Kehl Summit“), the local confectioner Klaus Vollmer designed a “NATO welcomes Obama cake“.

April Fools’ Day: Paradisiac

On 1 April it is an old custom to play some jokes on the esteemed readers. Regarding this subject, there is usually not much fun to find. Thus, I reduce myself to this wonderful picture I recently found in the web.

Shiptare Boys: Kosovo

10 Years ago, on 24 March 1999, Operation Allied Force had been started, commonly known as the Kosovo War. The satirical version of a Beach Boys song from the USA was used in 2002 by some Norwegian peacekeepers to make a music video, leading to diplomatic disturbance some years later. The result is still amusing – not the least because of the timeless and transferable text.

Continue reading “Shiptare Boys: Kosovo”

Bundle of Soldiers

Recently, a good friend of mine sent me a link to the following picture by Toru Hanai (Reuters) on the website of the German news magazine SPIEGEL. It has already been published on January 1st with the almost dreamlike caption “Bundle of Soldiers” (German: “Soldatenbündel”). Continue reading “Bundle of Soldiers”

Window to Gaza

Weiterhin keine Feuerpause in Sicht (tagesschau.de, 1.1.2009) — Still no cease fire in sight (tagesschau.de, 1.1.2009)

The Tagesschau acts creatively on the Gaza conflict: Continue reading “Window to Gaza”

Of Corn Grenades and Nazi Kittens

Again in this year, to be precise on December 4th 2008 at the venue TIPI am Kanzleramt (close to the Federal Chancellery), the professional interest magazine politik&kommunikation presented its Politikaward. For Wartist, too, there was something to be enjoyed: remembering the campaign of M&C Saatchi (Berlin) for the regional association of the party Bündnis 90/Die Grünen (Greens)regarding the election of the state parliament in Lower Saxony on January 27th 2008. Continue reading “Of Corn Grenades and Nazi Kittens”