Behold Mercedes-Benz's vision of what a modern - or rather scratch that, a futuristic Golf Cart should look like. This conceptual model was crafted at the Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design Center in Carlsbad, California, with designers using input from golfers from all over the world. The all-electric model, which to be honest, looks like something that Smart would have come up with, has two seats and removable lightweight doors. It ditches the conventional steering wheel for a joystick mounted on the center console that can be operated by either passenger, while it also includes all vital features for regular road use such as indicators, headlamps and taillights – just in case someone wants to drive it home. "It has the latest in modern technology," says Margarete Wies, Head of the Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design Center. "Using touch screen monitors, virtually all aspects of the cart can be controlled without extra buttons. Simplicity is the key. Intuition and pure form can maybe best describe the cart." Speaking of tech features, some of the other highlights include the head-up display integrated into the windscreen that can also be used to show the course layout, the current status of the game or weather information when the vehicle is stationary, an AIRSCARF neck-level heating system for the seats (borrowed from Merc's roadsters) and the so-called "fore button" to quickly warn other players of a misplaced shot. In addition, aside from manual charging, the Golf Car's batteries can be kept continuously charged by a solar module integrated into the roof. While a concept, Mercedes did not completely strike out the idea of a production model: "Although the Mercedes-Benz Vision Golf Cart is only a design study so far, there are no doubt many players who would like to see the cart become reality, bringing its fresh ideas and thus more fun, more innovation and more comfort to moving around on the golf course," said the carmaker in a statement. Source: Carscoops
Mercedes-Benz Brings the Golf Cart Into the 21st Century with New Concept
£150m Nike deal: can McIlroy be bigger even than Tiger?
Nike sponsorship catapults Rory McIlroy, still 23, into world league of sports personalities
NORTHERN IRELAND golfer Rory McIlroy has joined the world's "sporting elite" after signing a mammoth sponsorship deal with sportswear manufacturer Nike. The exact details of the contract have not been made public but according to The Guardian "it has been widely reported to be a 10-year contract worth as much as £150m if McIlroy, previously with Titleist, goes on winning majors". Others suggest that the agreement will only last five years. Either way it catapults McIlroy into the world league of sports personalities. The deal was unveiled at an event in Abu Dhabi where it felt as if the 23-year-old was being inducted into the untouchable Nike "family", suggested James Corrigan in the Daily Telegraph. "With the money on offer, not to mention his new gang members, he had every right to feel a made man," he noted. The event was "more Hollywood than Middle East" said The Times. "In fact, it would be fair to say that the whole caboodle was a little cheesy." It even featured messages from some of Nike's other stars, including Roger Federer, Wayne Rooney and golfing rival Tiger Woods, which were shown on giant screens. "Hey, Rory. Welcome to the family," said Woods, described by the Times as the "man McIlroy will ultimately replace. "It did not seem
to be through gritted teeth," said the paper. "Even though it looks as if McIlroy is about to become top dog as far as Nike are concerned." However, McIlroy and Woods could form a formidable marketing partnership, and already an advert (below) featuring them indulging in some banter on the driving range is doing the rounds. It had attracted more than 1 million hits on YouTube within hours of being released. And they will work together, at least for the next few years. "McIlroy... has not been signed as a like-for-like replacement," claims the BBC. "Instead, expect to see the two marketed together - Woods chasing the four more major wins he needs to match Jack Nicklaus's record, McIlroy battling him as the new generation. "Woods and McIlroy... look as if they get on well; two great players with mutual respect," says the Times. And it could pay dividends for golf fans, says the Telegraph. "If McIlroy leaving Titleist to join Nike was golf's worst-kept secret then its second worst-kept secret must be that McIlroy and Woods will partner each other in the first two rounds [of the Abu Dhabi Championship]. What a way to start the year. The world No 1 and two will have the same Swoosh, roughly the same contract and exactly the same ambition - to show the other who is the real No 1." And perhaps McIlroy could pick up some more advice from his new partner and sponsors. "If McIlroy can avoid the scandals that have affected other Nike athletes such as Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong and keep his form, that gargantuan billion-dollar figure is clearly within range," said the Daily Mail. As for Nike, they are still recovering from the damage inflicted to the brand by scandals involving Woods, Armstrong and NFL player Michael Vick, jailed over dog-fighting. The company's golf division also saw revenues drop in 2010 and 2011. "McIlroy, like no other sportsman, can help turn both issues around," said the BBC. Source: The Week UK
to be through gritted teeth," said the paper. "Even though it looks as if McIlroy is about to become top dog as far as Nike are concerned." However, McIlroy and Woods could form a formidable marketing partnership, and already an advert (below) featuring them indulging in some banter on the driving range is doing the rounds. It had attracted more than 1 million hits on YouTube within hours of being released. And they will work together, at least for the next few years. "McIlroy... has not been signed as a like-for-like replacement," claims the BBC. "Instead, expect to see the two marketed together - Woods chasing the four more major wins he needs to match Jack Nicklaus's record, McIlroy battling him as the new generation. "Woods and McIlroy... look as if they get on well; two great players with mutual respect," says the Times. And it could pay dividends for golf fans, says the Telegraph. "If McIlroy leaving Titleist to join Nike was golf's worst-kept secret then its second worst-kept secret must be that McIlroy and Woods will partner each other in the first two rounds [of the Abu Dhabi Championship]. What a way to start the year. The world No 1 and two will have the same Swoosh, roughly the same contract and exactly the same ambition - to show the other who is the real No 1." And perhaps McIlroy could pick up some more advice from his new partner and sponsors. "If McIlroy can avoid the scandals that have affected other Nike athletes such as Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong and keep his form, that gargantuan billion-dollar figure is clearly within range," said the Daily Mail. As for Nike, they are still recovering from the damage inflicted to the brand by scandals involving Woods, Armstrong and NFL player Michael Vick, jailed over dog-fighting. The company's golf division also saw revenues drop in 2010 and 2011. "McIlroy, like no other sportsman, can help turn both issues around," said the BBC. Source: The Week UK
Hitler is back?
Recently the name of Adolf Hitler, the former leader of National Socialism, who drew the German people and the whole humankind into the bloodiest war of the XX century, which burned the lives of 60 million people, has more and more often appeared in mass media.
By: N. Pavlova, Hitler's name has been surfacing here and there in different context. In Austria the tomb stone on Hitler's parent's grave was destroyed, since it had turned into a place of worship of neo-Nazi and extremists. Turkey banned the video with Germany's Reichkanzler advertising men's shampoo. In India the owner of a men's clothing store called his store with the Fuhrer's name in order to draw customers, causing the Jewish community of Ahmedabad in the state of Gujarat to appeal to have him change the store sign. Last summer, the Italian prosecutors received a signal that some wine trader sold wine in bottles with the labels depicting the portraits of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. The prosecutors started investigation based on the complaint filed by an American couple, whose relatives died in Oswenzim. In Great Britain the bed linen that had belonged to the creator of the Third Reich was sold at an auction for 2000 pounds. Even in Germany itself the interest in the dictator does not disappear. Two years ago in Berlin in the German History Museum an exhibition took place entitled «Hitler and the Germans. United people and crimes». Every new generation is bothered by the questions: how could it happen that Hitler got to power, what kind of person he was, what were the reasons for his cruelty, what effect his personality had on the people around him? German filmmaker Nico Hofmann is once again ready to investigate those reasons in his new saga about Hitler. The TV series will show the Fuhrer's life beginning with 1914 and ending with his inglorious death after the fall of Berlin in 1945. The German publication Spiegel online, which by the way has a monthly „wake fort he devil“, reports about this risky project. There is always an newsworthy event: political debates around the Fuhrer’s family estate in Austria (whether to demolish it, let people live there or turn it into a monument) or an art exhibition in one of the galleries in Great Britain, where one can play golf with Hitler. Where does this never-ending interest towards Hitler's personality and his surroundings come from? Did Adolf Schicklgruber really have a certain dark charisma, which to this day attracts both scientists and ordinary people? This is the subject of our conversation with Professor Doctor Hans-Henning Schröder, a German historian and political scientist from the German Institute of International Politics and Security. «On the one hand, the film about Rommel is still a film about resistance. You know, Hitler forced him to commit suicide. We are talking about a soldier, who went all the way from a supporter to an opponent of Hitler. Rommel is the central character of the film; he is still very popular in Germany, perhaps because his son was the mayor of Stuttgart. The era of the Third Reich is still being investigated, hence, the figure of Rommel, who took a very complicated path. On the other hand, there is still potential for the far-right radicals in Germany. According to the latest research, about 9% of the Germans support the far-right radical ideas, while in the Eastern regions this figure in even higher – 16%. Such people support the ideas of national patriotism and have anti-democratic views. Such a situation is typical not only of Germany, but also of other countries. Naturally, in Germany the government's efforts are aimed against this phenomenon». The British daily newspaper Daily Mail in its questions and answers section announced that over 39 187 books were written about Hitler, while 85 640 books were written about Napoleon. But Napoleon died 191 years ago, while Hitler 67 years ago. If the interest for Hitler does not decrease, he can easily breach the gap. And given all this, I would like to ask about Hitler's book „Mein Kampf“. Mass media report that it can be published again. Is that so? «German law, including Bavaria, which owns the rights to this publication and uses its rights to prohibit its further publishing anywhere in the world, forbids publishing this book. However, the international law limits copyright to a term of 80 years. At the end of 2015 this term will be over, after which anybody will be able to publish the book. And now the German government is looking for a way to prevent this process in the future». Source: Voice of Russia
By: N. Pavlova, Hitler's name has been surfacing here and there in different context. In Austria the tomb stone on Hitler's parent's grave was destroyed, since it had turned into a place of worship of neo-Nazi and extremists. Turkey banned the video with Germany's Reichkanzler advertising men's shampoo. In India the owner of a men's clothing store called his store with the Fuhrer's name in order to draw customers, causing the Jewish community of Ahmedabad in the state of Gujarat to appeal to have him change the store sign. Last summer, the Italian prosecutors received a signal that some wine trader sold wine in bottles with the labels depicting the portraits of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. The prosecutors started investigation based on the complaint filed by an American couple, whose relatives died in Oswenzim. In Great Britain the bed linen that had belonged to the creator of the Third Reich was sold at an auction for 2000 pounds. Even in Germany itself the interest in the dictator does not disappear. Two years ago in Berlin in the German History Museum an exhibition took place entitled «Hitler and the Germans. United people and crimes». Every new generation is bothered by the questions: how could it happen that Hitler got to power, what kind of person he was, what were the reasons for his cruelty, what effect his personality had on the people around him? German filmmaker Nico Hofmann is once again ready to investigate those reasons in his new saga about Hitler. The TV series will show the Fuhrer's life beginning with 1914 and ending with his inglorious death after the fall of Berlin in 1945. The German publication Spiegel online, which by the way has a monthly „wake fort he devil“, reports about this risky project. There is always an newsworthy event: political debates around the Fuhrer’s family estate in Austria (whether to demolish it, let people live there or turn it into a monument) or an art exhibition in one of the galleries in Great Britain, where one can play golf with Hitler. Where does this never-ending interest towards Hitler's personality and his surroundings come from? Did Adolf Schicklgruber really have a certain dark charisma, which to this day attracts both scientists and ordinary people? This is the subject of our conversation with Professor Doctor Hans-Henning Schröder, a German historian and political scientist from the German Institute of International Politics and Security. «On the one hand, the film about Rommel is still a film about resistance. You know, Hitler forced him to commit suicide. We are talking about a soldier, who went all the way from a supporter to an opponent of Hitler. Rommel is the central character of the film; he is still very popular in Germany, perhaps because his son was the mayor of Stuttgart. The era of the Third Reich is still being investigated, hence, the figure of Rommel, who took a very complicated path. On the other hand, there is still potential for the far-right radicals in Germany. According to the latest research, about 9% of the Germans support the far-right radical ideas, while in the Eastern regions this figure in even higher – 16%. Such people support the ideas of national patriotism and have anti-democratic views. Such a situation is typical not only of Germany, but also of other countries. Naturally, in Germany the government's efforts are aimed against this phenomenon». The British daily newspaper Daily Mail in its questions and answers section announced that over 39 187 books were written about Hitler, while 85 640 books were written about Napoleon. But Napoleon died 191 years ago, while Hitler 67 years ago. If the interest for Hitler does not decrease, he can easily breach the gap. And given all this, I would like to ask about Hitler's book „Mein Kampf“. Mass media report that it can be published again. Is that so? «German law, including Bavaria, which owns the rights to this publication and uses its rights to prohibit its further publishing anywhere in the world, forbids publishing this book. However, the international law limits copyright to a term of 80 years. At the end of 2015 this term will be over, after which anybody will be able to publish the book. And now the German government is looking for a way to prevent this process in the future». Source: Voice of Russia
