Jockstrip: The world as we know it

, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- THINGS WE DON'T UNDERSTAND

There is more than a little worry and controversy in Germany over the television debut of a comedy about Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels. A recent survey suggested that most Germans thought it was inappropriate.

The British Broadcasting Corp. says people don't want to have Germany seen as trivializing the country's horrific past. "Goebbels und Geduldig" was made two years ago but only shown at a film festival. Now it is on prime-time television during the week.

The story is about a Jewish prisoner called Harry Geduldig, who is the double of Hitler's spin doctor Goebbels. The BBC says in the film that Harry pretends he is Goebbels and the Nazi propaganda minister languishes in a prison camp.

Film director Kai Wessel told the BBC, "We wanted to bring a breath of fresh air to the whole debate on the past and whether you can poke fun at the Nazis. We wanted to experiment with a certain kind of laughter which is more risque."

An American TV series, "Hogan's Heroes," which starred Bob Crane, took place in a German prisoner-of-war camp. The comedy series, which ran for many years, was popular with U.S. viewers. The programs have come under renewed attention with the recent release of the Paul Schrader film, "Autofocus," in which Greg Kinnear plays Crane, who had a dark personal life that ultimately brought him down.

NEWS OF OTHER LIFE FORMS

The Paris City Council has some ruffled feathers over the city administration's decision to buy an unusual living sculpture.

It is to be displayed in a modern art museum, the British Broadcasting Corp. reports, and is called "Don't Say I Didn't Tell You," by Belgian artist Marcel Broodthers. The BBC says it dates from 1974 and features a live parrot in a cage with two tiny palm trees and a cassette recording of the artist reading a poem.

Right-wing council members argue it costs too much since the art has a limited lifespan -- parrots only live to be 90 years old. The Greens, meanwhile, object not to the money but on animal rights grounds. The mayor's office says attempts to block the purchase amount to fascism.

TODAY'S SIGN THE WORLD IS ENDING

Bah humbug already! Ivy the reindeer has been snatched from atop the sign at the entrance to Tysons Corner Center mall in Fairfax County, Va.

The Washington Times reports it wasn't any ordinary theft -- Ivy the balloon weighs a couple hundred pounds, wears Santa's red-and-white hat and coat -- and stands 19 feet long and 12 feet high when fully inflated.

Police and mall officials say someone must have seen it being taken -- along with the huge fan that keeps it inflated -- and they're hoping for help from the public in solving this early Christmas caper.

The paper notes someone also tried -- unsuccessfully -- to steal Irving, Ivy's twin, who reclines atop the marquee at another of the mall's entrances. Irving and Ivy are valued at $15,000 each.

AND FINALLY, TODAY'S UPLIFTING STORY

We're back in the air. Americans are finally returning to the skies this Thanksgiving weekend and travel overall also is expected to be up, the American Automobile Association says.

"Despite an economy that still shows only sporadic signs of recovery, holiday travelers are returning to the skies in numbers almost as heavy as during the Thanksgiving periods prior to 2001," said AAA Travel Vice President Sandra Hughes.

AAA expects air travel to climb 6 percent as 5.1 million Americans plan to fly this holiday, compared with 4.8 million last Thanksgiving, when the nation was trying to rebound from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Overall, AAA predicts 35.9 million Americans will take a trip 50 miles or more from home next week, 1.7 percent higher than the 35.3 million who traveled last year.