Word: berliner
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...East German lawyer with a marked ability for negotiation, Wolfgang Vogel became known during the Cold War as the point person for anyone who wanted to cross the Berlin Wall--in either direction. Over three decades he helped more than 200,000 people leave East Germany, including American pilot Gary Powers, whose release he infamously arranged in exchange for Soviet spy Rudolph Ivanovich Abel. Though Vogel considered himself a humanitarian, his reputation was tarnished after the Cold War ended and he was convicted of blackmail. Upon appeal, he was cleared--and his benevolent reputation restored...
...pensions for their elderly after they stop working. Today, there are three working-age Europeans for every one over 65. By 2060, that number will have fallen to one in two. "This is a big problem and countermeasures must be taken," Steffen Kroehnert, a demographic expert at the Berlin Institute for Population and Development says. His institute published similar projections earlier this month...
...study. These losses are the result of "a combination of economic differences and relative freedom of movement," as well as reduced fertility, says Kroehnert. He noted that women in eastern Europe under communism were accustomed to working and continued to do so after the fall of the Berlin Wall. But with weakened social support networks for raising children, many began putting off child bearing until later years or gave it up altogether. The sharpest population decline in a single country in all Europe is Bulgaria, where a combination of falling employment levels and relative ease of migration to western Europe...
Perhaps, looking back on Beijing 2008, we will judge the Games as the moment that China assumed the role of future superpower. Tokyo '68 was like that, heralding the emergence of what was to become the world's second-largest economy. Or, maybe, like Berlin '36, the Olympics will shine a light on a repressive, closed political system. The enduring legacy of Beijing 2008 won't be known for some time. For now, we can celebrate the accomplishments of swift Jamaicans and amphibious Americans and, most of all, a battalion of Chinese athletes who resoundingly displaced the U.S. atop...
...experts think humans can get faster still. Half a century or ago or so, we didn't believe a human could run a 4-min. mile - until Roger Bannister proved us wrong in 1954 when he ran it in 3 mins. 59.4 secs. At the 1936 Games in Berlin, sprinter Jesse Owens won the 100m gold with a blistering time of 10.3 secs - today, that's par for junior level speed athletes. We now have better equipment, better training and improved nutrition, along with faster tracks and, crucially, a lot more endorsement money to be made by running as fast...