Watercooler Stories

German group upset by dictionary's word

BERLIN, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- A German dictionary maker drew heat from a group dedicated to preserving the language by picking an English-derived word as the "Youth Word of the Year."

The Verein Deutsche Sprache, which is dedicated to preserving the purity of the German language, criticized dictionary-maker Langenscheidt for choosing "swag," an English-derived word meaning an "enviable, casual-cool appeal" and a "charismatic positive aura," as its "Youth Word of the Year," The Local reported Monday.

The group said the dictionary's choice is contributing to the language being diluted by foreign influence.

Party official apologizes for swastika

KOGE, Denmark, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- A Danish political party leader said the appearance of a swastika in an advertisement was unintentional and she apologized.

Anne Nielsen, chairwoman of a local association of the Dansk Folkeparti, said the swastika in the party's logo in a weekend advertisement in the Lordagsavisen Koge newspaper was the result her mistakenly downloading an altered version of the logo when creating the ad, The Copenhagen Post reported Monday.

"It is a deeply regrettable mistake for which I apologize," Nielsen said. "Mistakes happen. If I could do it again differently, I would. I should have been more vigilant. I'm really sorry."

The advertisement highlighted a meeting involving Morten Messerschmidt, the party's member of the European Parliament. Messerschmidt drew criticism in 2007 when he allegedly gave a Nazi salute while in a Tivoli bar.

Bank's wurst ad rankles anti-meat crowd

BERLIN, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- A German bank has incurred the wrath of animal rights activists for an ad featuring NBA player Dirk Nowitzki eating a slice of sausage.

Activists took to Facebook to slam the ad by ING DiBa bank, which features the Dallas Mavericks player walking into a folksy German sausage shop and eating a slice of wurst, saying "it'll make you big and strong," The Local reported Monday.

"The Nowitzki advertisement represents violence against animals," one poster wrote on the bank's Facebook page. "Even worse, meat is portrayed as a savior or something that can make you stronger, where studies say something completely different."

The bank posted a message to Facebook saying the ad "has nothing to do, in any way, with advertising for meat or wurst."

"The idea behind the spot is to tell small stories that describe life," the post read.

Hotels end feral cat program

ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 17 (UPI) -- U.S. cat lovers are bemoaning a decision by the Loews hotels at Universal Orlando in Florida to end its program of of caring for feral cats.

The Loews Portofino Bay Hotel and Loews Royal Pacific Resort said they are ending the program, which involved trapping feral cats, having them spayed or neutered and then releasing them back into their colonies, due to liability reasons, the Orlando Sentinel reported Monday.

The hotels have not announced their plans for the feline colonies on their property.

"Some options have been offered that we will consider … Any action we take will make the health and safety of our guests and team members our top priority," the company said in a statement.

Christine Michaels, head of the Riverfront Cats advocacy group in South Florida, called on cat lovers to call and e-mail the hotels to protest the end of the policy and draw attention to the plight of the felines on social media sites.

"I feel sick," Shari Bambino wrote on the hotels' Facebook page. "My family and I chose your property for a recent vacation specifically because of the way you modeled good world citizenship by caring for these cats … We had planned to return for another visit this summer. I will be watching and hoping for good news."