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Patrick Schmidt

Stories from Patrick Schmidt

04 Barack Obama and Yang Jiechi
Obama’s Mind
Born across boundaries, the U.S. president is a master of intercultural sensitivity, yet some wonder what he believes in
Patrick Schmidt
01/05/2010

Barack Obama has often been described as the ultimate compromiser, continuously seeking to work with friends and foes alike. When addressing controversial issues, he usually begins with a respectful nod toward the view he’s about to reject – a line or two that suggests he understands and even sympathizes with the concerns of his opponents.

Commentary

Acquiring Culture
The Proportions Allocated to Administration and Program Expenses are Easily Massaged with Some Creative Accounting
Patrick Schmidt
18/02/2009

In 1940, 17-year-old Heinz Grunwald arrived in New York City as a Jewish refugee from Vienna. He quickly changed his name to ''Henry,'' mastered English, and ended up as a copy boy's job at Time magazine.

For the next four decades, his life evolved around American journalism becoming editor-in-chief of Time, running the vast magazine empire for almost 30 years.

In his autobiography One Man's America, he described how he enthusiastically adopted his new country, but pointed out how he was continually influenced by his early experiences in Austria. What he was referring to was the socializing process we all go through in our early life.

Intercultural Blunders
No Matter How Experienced, Even the Best and Brightest Commit Faux Pas
Patrick Schmidt
18/02/2009

 

 

In the summer of 1997, Time magazine covered the G7 summit near Denver and reported the following:

As soon as it happened, the incident became legend. Germans called it 'the boots fiasco.' French commentators snickered over it. On June 21, as Bill Clinton was playing host to world leaders in Denver, the guests were asked to [dress] themselves for the banquet in jeans, cowboy hats and boots.

Though fancy dress was just meant to break the ice, the idea went wrong ... Chancellor Helmut Kohl of Germany, who weighs in in Panzer proportions, balked at the whole rig, but especially the boots.

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