World Cup 2014: Germany Wins It All!

Die Mannschaft beat Argentina 1-0 and the Germans are now the Weltmeister.  I was also amused by the various sartorial antics of the fans, not to mention this comment on the president of the hilariously corrupt FIFA and his companions:

Angela Merkel at the World Cup with a venal, authoritarian leader. And Vladimir Putin is there too. pic.twitter.com/otQ2nskfG5
— Shashank Joshi (@shashj) July 13, 2014

Since this IS 2014 and no event is complete without a selfie or two, here you go. The selfie game is strong with this one.

AHA! pic.twitter.com/iK5hbfm7Hr
— Lukas-Podolski.com (@Podolski10) July 13, 2014

Selfie 2…:-) pic.twitter.com/RJh7RnXXUw
— Lukas-Podolski.com (@Podolski10) July 13, 2014

Congratulations to the Germans!

UPDATE: The Onion comments hilariously.

"Europe's Biggest Problem Child"

Yet another public slapfest from the harmonious utopia known as Euroland.  By the way, the insult sounds way better in the original German: "Frankreich – Europas größtes Sorgenkind."

World Leader Democrats vs. Dictators March Madness

I had been so preoccupied with actual March Madness (congrats to Kentucky and Baylor!) that I forgot to post this link to Foreign Policy's world leader democrats vs. dictators brackets.  The final was Putin versus Merkel, and it was not pretty.

Wait, What Just Happened Across the Pond?

I've been frantically busy with exams for the last few days, and now that I have a couple minutes to read the papers over a Sunday morning coffee, I'm seeing an absolute flood of words about the EU, fiscal union plans, an attempt to amend the EU treaty, Britain's veto, and a heap of heated commentary all around.  I better catch up!  I think I'll start with Daniel Hannan.  

Oh, my ... Questions of legality are rife and everybody's lawyering up.  For an interesting perspective, see how British newspaper headlines are shrieking.  I think we can officially declare this a train wreck.  

UPDATE: Niall Ferguson weighs in.

Has Multiculturalism Failed in Germany?

Hmmmm.  Integration issues?

Quirky Euro Files: Berlin's New Underwear Model

Nope, it's not Heidi Klum. It's German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Sort of. The image is basically a Photoshop, but it's an amusing advertisement done by an underwear company. Check it out.