Would that debates like this occur during the amurkan presidential Wahlkampf. "Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin
I'm sometimes surprised that the US contains quite a number of her most prominent critics, e.g. Noam Chomsky. It seems just that most media managers are full of fear to risk to invite people, who are far off the main stream. Some of the stronger critics make kind of comedy - like a king's jester, who dares to say, what others aren't allowed to say. Der Amerikaner ist die Orchidee unter den MenschenVolker Pispers
Well, yes, on the issues, it's more that his party moved right on the economy (starting already under Kohl). However, in his Cold Warrior years, he did include leftist intellectuals and even SPD figures in his attacks (presaging the Red Socks campaign) -- while presently, he not only dared to be on the same platform with them, but AFAIK he is an advocate of a pragmatic approach to the Left Party.
RAF (I think it is Bader-Meinhof gang in English
Yes, but I often emphasize that that's a misnomer. The phrase was coined by the Bild tabloid (the German equivalent of the Sun), but Meinhof was only the speaker for the first generation (Baader's girlfriend Ensslin was the real co-leader), and the activity of the Second and Third Generations was much more serious and bloody. However, it was pointed out to me that the real name RAF was probably not used because that acronym is already in use: for the Royal Air Force of the UK. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
Also: by calling Baader & co a gang, Bild also tried to underplay their importance -- but RAF became a 'professional' terrorist organisation with international contacts and a bloody trail, and with this term, English-speakers may not fully contemplate how serious Germany's experience of terrorism was. (At least, the warmongers accusing Europe of cluelessness and cowardice over terrorism displayed such ignorance.) *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
