The NPD stole my bike.

It's possible. The place where my bike was stolen is also a place where there were many NPD posters hanging. This is the only place in the city of Dresden where I've seen NPD posters hanging. Granted, I haven't been to every little corner of the city looking, but I get around a bit. Usually you see them in the little villages near town, where almost 10% of the people voted for the NPD in the last state election a year ago. Unemployment there is really high, and people are frustrated, but come on, there must be a better solution. The NPD is the Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands, which translated means "neonazis". Word for word it's the National-democratic party of Germany, but, well, we all know what that means. Anyway, there were NPD posters hanging, but when I went out today on my photographic mission to get pictures of campaign posters, the NPD ones were notably missing. At least those guys were clever enough to hang the posters really really high up, but still, someone went out and got them! Then I saw one ripped in half lying on the street. Whoever did this, thank you. Then I came across a pile of posters that had been torn down , flipped one over, and it gave me a chill. I touched an NPD poster with my foot. I need to wash. I photographed it quickly and flipped it right back over.

So it's election time in Germany. This is no normal election, as you've probably heard, I guess Gerhard Schroeder didn't have a majority in parliament any more, so after a referendum and some stuff like that, they decided to have a special election. So maybe there'll be a new chancellor after this Sunday (but it's not directly an election for chancellor, the voters are voting for parties, they can vote for 2). Another thing that's cool about German elections, they're on Sunday, when everybody has a day off, so they have time to go vote. And the weather seems like it'll be rainy, which is also good for an election, because I read an article in which it said that fewer voters go to the polls on a sunny election day. But half of Dresden won't be voting anyway, because the NPD candidate in that election district had a stroke on the square in front of the city hall a couple weeks ago and died, so that district will vote in 2 weeks. So maybe the election will be decided in the east! That has Edmund Stoiber's panties up in a bunch!! Ed is a member of the CSU, the Bavarian partner of the CDU (Christian Democratic Union), and he's pretty darned conservative. Let's just say I really like the graffiti onBautzner Str. that says "Stoppt Stoiba!" haha. Oh man. This whole thing is complicated. On Sunday I too am tagging along to the polls. I can't vote, but I really want to go into the voting booth! I know, everybody feels powerless and everything (I've voted in the last American presidential elections, I know what powerless feels like), and is really cynical about voting, but please go and at least try to bring down the NPD's percentage!

ha! The joke just got funnier!