Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Cases Rise in German Soliders in Afghanistan

"The Germany armed forces' deployment in Afghanistan appears to be having an impact on soldiers' psyche. Several newspaper reports claim the number of cases of post-traumatic stress disorder is on the rise. And the Bundeswehr lacks psychiatrists to provide the necessary treatment."
According to the newspapers more and more soildiers are getting the symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder. Last year, a total of 245 cases of the psychiatric disorder were reported in the military, with 226 of them occurring in Afghanistan. In 2006, only 55 soldiers were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. During the past six months, attacks on German forces in Aghanistan have risen whic will increase the cases of PTSD in the future. According to Mario Horst Lanczik, who is a german military psychiatrist, a psychiatric care for the German soldiers is not provided or if it is, it's not adequate either before, during or after combat. As well as there arent enough psychiatrist to take care of the German soldiers. There is only one psychiatrist available to the 4,500 German troops in Afghanistan.
For more information: http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,651015,00.html

A German Internet Provider blamed in suicide

The German Internet provider Deutsche Telekom is blamed for the suicide of the 18 year old boy Thorsten S. Thorsten was diagnosed with depression when his mom left him. He has been in mental hospital for couple of months and after an improvement in his condition he was released, as he wanted to continue with his education. Later he started to experience the symptoms again. He started to cut himself with a raiser, couldn't go out of the house...He decided to put an end to his life and wrote in the Deutsche Telekom forum that he has taken over 100 pills of Diazepam, Palladon, Paroxetin and Doxepin. It was a deadly cocktail. He kept writing in the forum for couple of hours explaining why he is doing this.
In the morning Nadine Friedrichs, the administrator of the forum, spotted the posting and immediately called the authorities. The administrator gave the police the on-line address of the sender of the message. With that information, the Internet service provider (in this case Deutsche Telekom) could track down Thorsten's physical address. An emergency doctor could have been dispatched to Thorsten within 20 minutes. Unfortunately Deustche Telekom did not want to give out the address of the 18 year old boy at first hand. Then the police had to contact higher authorities so that they could make the internet provider to give out the address. At the end the police managed to get the address from a different internet provider but it was already too late. When the police and the fire department personnel got into the room of the boy he was already dead. This is not the first time Deutsche Telekom refuses to give out important information about their customers in situations like this.
This article can be found at: http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,681349,00.html

Germany in mourning over suicide of top goalkeeper

Germany is stunned by the suicide of top goalkeeper Robert Enke. The national player suffered from depression.
In 2003 the goalie visited a psychologist because of his mental state. He was suffering from fear of failure on the pitch. Later on his fear turned into a depression, which may have been caused by the loss of his daughter in 2006. His wife commented that her husband was experiencing phases of depression but everything seemed to be fine. Only his psychologist knew that he was having suicidal thoughts earlier in the years. Another reason for his suicidal decision could be that he was considered to be one of the front-runners for the keeper position on the 2010 World Cup squad. Unfortunately he was forced to miss the last four games for Germany and several matches for Hanover due to an intestinal infection and he had not been selected for Germany's friendly matches against Chile and the Ivory Coast.
German soccer mourns and is canceling couple of games because of the death of their teamplayer.
"He leaves behind a large hole in our lives, not only in Hanover, but for soccer in Germany," said the team's sports director Joerg Schmadtke.
More info regarding this article at: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4880155,00.html

Nightlife in Berlin

There's no where in the world that can compete with Berlin when it comes to the sheer diversity of it's nightlife. Berlin is arguably the hippest city in the world, which means you can find everything from pubs housed in derelict ruins to funky beach bars (albeit by the Spree side and not the seaside). It is also knocking on Amsterdam's door for the title of most liberal city in Europe and so as well as the standard rock, alternative and techno clubs you'll also find all kinds of naughty fetish and sex clubs to indulge those pent-up fantasies! If you see any of the Berlin Life team at any such establishments we assure you that we're only there for research purposes.
Well the Mitte District has been the place to be for some time now. The former Eastern bloc slum has undergone a wonderful renaissance, meaning that whilst it has retained a few characteristic rough edges it also boasts top venues such as King Kong Club, Kaffee Burger and Weekend to name but a few. Kreuzberg is another area worth investigating. More edgy than Mitte, and with a large number of artists and immigrants, it's slowly forging it's own reputation as a happening district. Equally, as Mitte has become more gentrified and touristy, residents of Prenzlauer Berg and Friedrichshain are seeing some of the most hip and interesting spots spring up on their doorsteps. Try Club Maria or Spindler and Klatt for two completely different but equally cool venues. Fans of David Bowie meanwhile should make a line for Schoneburg, as this is where androgynous popstar and cult hero used to live and hangout. Today the area is extremely popular with Berlin's gay community with some fantastic cafes, clubs and saunas to check out. Club-wise the Berlin nightlife really does spoil for choice, especially in the techno department where the city is recognised as a leading light around the world. Watergate and Tresor are two big names that revellers won't want to pass by, although if you're only in town for one night it has to be the already legendary Berghain and Panorama Bar - weaklings need not apply!
http://www.berlin-life.com/drink/pubs_cafes_details/85-Spindler_&_Klatt

Berlins Best Club

Who would suppose that the best club in the world is in Berlin, not Tokyo, not New York, or London, but Berlin. The club name is Berghain and it is elected as the best techno club in the world by the renowned British magazine DJ Mag. The night life in Berghain never ceases to reinvent itself. There is never a boring moment at Berghain dance floor. It has never ending arrays of new party ideas and innovations.

http://www.berghain.de/

The Love Parade

The Love Parade (German: Loveparade) is a popular festival and parade that originated in 1989 in Berlin, Germany. It was held in Germany annually between 1989 and 2003, and then from 2006 to 2008. The 2004 and 2005 editions in Berlin and the 2009 edition in Bochum were cancelled. The Love Parade has its roots in the spirit of a changing Europe. In 1989, it was first celebrated four months before the demolition of the Berlin Wall. It was started by the Berlin Underground under the initiative of Matthias Roeingh aka "Dr Motte" and his then girlfriend Danielle de Picciotto. It was held as a political demonstration for peace and international understanding through love and Music. The music played at the events is predominantly electronic dance music: in this case mainly Trance, House, Techno, and Schranz music. Attempts to introduce other music styles, such as hip hop, have failed. Hardcore and Gabber music were part of the parade in early years, but were later removed. They are now celebrated separately on a counter-demonstration called "Fuckparade". The next parades are planned to take place in Bochum, Gelsenkirchen and Duisburg.
I am really interested in this event because I am into electronic music for ages and until now I havent got the chance to be at such an mindblasting event. I have been to some others as Qlimax, DMF (Detroit Music Festival) and some other in Miami, Florida. But i dont think there is something that can compare to the Love Parade in Germany, millions of people dancing on the streets for days and nevet getting bored or tired :)
You can find more info at http://www.festivalpig.com/Love-Parade-2010.html

German electronic music

In this blog I hope I will learn something more about German electronic music, events, DJs prosperity, new singles, sets, etc.