Stryker McGuire at Newsweek sees a common thread in European politics in a rush to the ideological middle ground, especially with Brown and Merkel, and misses the daring days of more radical ideas: << The lack of ideological ferment in Germany has echoes in Britain. In both countries, the think tanks that in the mid-1990s were brave new worlds of ideas are today quieter, less radical. One reason: political parties, armed with focus groups and other sophisticated tools with which to read the voters, are more reactive than proactive. "It's the tyranny of the 'average voter,' and it leads to short-term policies," said Lars Nord, a Swedish political scientist. "Parties are becoming really smart about feeling out the voters, but more scared of leading." >>

Ed Ward visits an exhibition in Saxony of watercolors by Bob Dylan for the Wall Street Journal and asks, << But . . . why Chemnitz? This rather Russian-looking city, renamed Karl-Marx-Stadt by the East Germans after the war, stuck in a corner of Saxony by the Czech border, isn't a major tourist destination, nor is it as well known for culture as nearby Leipzig or somewhat more distant Dresden. "Well," explains the show's curator, Irene Mössinger, "I was the first to reach him and ask, and my request just reached him at the right point. >>

Ranking time: US Ranked Low in Humanitarian Aid. Of the 23 developed countries tallied, Sweden tops the list, natch, with Germany (13) hovering between the UK (9) and the US (16). And while England may surpass Germany in global aid, Germany's children are more literate. So, neener neener.

Tom Cruise is awarded the Bambi prize for courage in Dusseldorf. Eva Longoria got one, too. Claus von Stauffenberg rolls in grave.