Word: isn
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Germany has a lot of fine qualities, but being hip isn't usually thought to be one of them. Up-and-coming artists, especially ones from abroad, used to flock to London, Amsterdam or New York City rather than Hamburg, Munich or Cologne. As for Berlin, it hasn't been on the international cool list since Christopher Isherwood lived in the city in the early 1930s and chronicled the demise of its rambunctious culture under the Nazis. If foreigners came to visit, they were hippies, spies, U.S. Presidents or peeping tourists curious to catch a glimpse of communism from...
...depressed prices throughout the city. Studio space is to be had for next to nothing. Even in Mitte, the center of Berlin's new Szene, newly renovated apartments rent for less than one quarter of what you'd pay in London. That's a big draw. But Berlin isn't just cheap. Some flock there because it is not yet set in brick, stone and concrete, but in the process of redefining itself. Guido Axmann came to Berlin from Oldenburg, near Bremen, and switched from being a doctor to running a consultancy on environmental issues. "[The city] has physical space...
...sister on plans for a brand he's calling "Fashion for World Peace," though so far, it's just a logo and a promotional video. Watching him develop ideas is a professional business coach sent by the city to help Sun get his new brand off the ground. Berlin isn't rich - in fact it has a massive budget deficit - but it still spends lavishly on culture, including financing three separate opera houses. The city government is trying to encourage local start-ups, especially in the fashion industry. The authorities are thrilled by Berlin's new allure. "Our image here...
Luckily for the U.S., China's pre-eminence in Southeast Asia isn't yet a foregone conclusion. Countries like Vietnam, which was colonized by its northern neighbor for a millennium, are wary of China's growing footprint. And in nations like Indonesia, Burma and Cambodia, it wasn't so long ago that the economic dominance of local Chinese communities catalyzed bloody pogroms and discriminatory laws against the ethnic Chinese. Despite the occasional bursts of anti-Chinese violence, businesses in Thailand and Indonesia are still disproportionately controlled by overseas Chinese today. As a consequence, even as Beijing pleads that...
...Indochina four decades ago - not to mention its earlier occupation of the Philippines, where it maintained military bases for decades - the U.S. has garnered suspicion for its muscular interventions in the region. Having China take up the role of regional heavy might feel like a relief. But increasing irrelevance isn't an enviable position, either. In his 90 minutes, Obama will have a lot of explaining to do - no matter how pleased ASEAN's leaders will be to meet...