Hasselhoff + Schnappi = German Pop Charts

Chalk another one up for the German pop charts, which are notoriously a kind of musical freakshow, the kind of place where former boy-band members gone solo -- or tall, mediocre American TV stars -- can come to reign. Beating international stars like Kylie Minogue and Nu Pagadi (which emerged from German TV's "Popstars" show) for the No. 1 spot on this week's German pop-singles chart, it's..."Schnappi, the little crocodile ". Recorded by then 4-year-old Joy Gruttmann 3 years ago, the song is little more than a simple chidren's ditty sung in the sweet, fragile but decidedly unremarkable voice of a child. But its success has been astounding. The Teutons, it seems, have been conqured by cuteness. The hit has transformed Joy into the youngest artist ever to land in the German top ten. In interviews, however, she comes across as an old pro. "Singing comes naturally to me," she told Germany's RTL television station. "I didn't use any special technique and I have no special training. I suppose I was just born with this talent," she explained.

"I recorded the song when I was much younger, and I've learned a lot since then. After all, I was only four and a half years old then," Joy pointed out.

The simple tune was written by Iris Gruttmann, Joy's aunt, and Rosita Blissenbach, who both have experience in writing children's songs, and was posted to the family's Web site as a joke. It was picked up by radio stations in Munich, and is now spawning techno  and reggae  remixes which will be filling German dance clubs with her pre-schooler voice for months to come (as well as mobile phone ringtones, the current public irritation of choice). Already, Schnappi is sporting a Web site , complete with its own product line.

There is something heartwarming about that little voice, we've got to admit (unlike the morose Marlene Dietrich version of "Puff the Magic Dragon " in German). And it's miles better than David Hasslehoff's "Looking for Freedom", which enjoyed the number one spot in April and May in 1989 and will forever mar the German charts' international image.

When asked what she wants to do now, Joy manages to sound much like any celebrity gracing the talkshow couch: "I'm into different things now. I want to be an architect or maybe a fashion designer," she said. "But if the song does really well in the charts, well, maybe I'll just stick with being a rich and famous rock star."

Poor Dumb, Cute Harry

In what was a truly unbelievable gaffe, Prince Harry was caught on film at a friend's birthday party wearing a Nazi costume. The British, naturally, are in an uproar over the photograph, which splashed across the front page of Thursday's London's Sun tabloid. The 20 year-old prince has already gained a reputation as Britain's royal bad boy by smoking weed, drinking as a minor, punching a photographer and allegedly cheating on his schoolwork at Eton. Now, he appears in a uniform with a swastika armband. He clutches drinking glasses in both hands. Is he drinking: a)water b)coke c)something a wee stronger? His tamer, goody-two-shoes brother, William, was also at the party, dressed (yawn!) as a lion. The theme of the party? "Colonials and Natives." Are the royal boys and their pals still hankering after the good old days of English glory? What were the other party goers wearing? And just why did Harry think his idiotic idea fit?

A spokesman for the Board of Deputies of British Jews called the costume "clearly in bad taste," especially with Holocaust Memorial Day a few weeks away on January 27. The Simon Wiesenthal Center in California, a major international Jewish human rights group, has gone further, offering up a way the prince could publicly atone: By attending a ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, being held at the former death camp. To his credit, Harry has admitted his error. In a statement, he wrote: "I am very sorry if I caused any offense or embarrassment to anyone. It was a poor choice of costume and I apologize." (12:55 p.m. CET)

A New Gig for Knobloch

During its meeting in Brussels on Wednesday, the World Jewish Congress (WJC) elected Charlotte Knobloch of the Central Council of Jews in Germany to the position of vice president. She will be going to New York, where the WJC has its headquarters. Knobloch, who is currently the vice president of the Council in Berlin, said she hopes to unite European and American Jews during her tenure. "The focus of my work will especially be the intergration of German-speaking Jewish communities in Europe and building bridges to communities in the United States. Also, the fight against growing anti-Semitism - above all in Eastern Europe - will have a high priority," she said in a statement. The World Jewish Congress was founded in 1936 as a response to the rising tide of Nazism in Europe, and is one of the world's most prominent Jewish organizations. (10:02 a.m. CET)

Putin Reloaded

So what has Russian president Vladimir Putin been up to these days? Aside from his well-publicized takeover of Russian oil companies and meddling in Ukrainian elections, that is. Perhaps not surprisingly, Putin, as it turns out, also has his finger in the election pie in the separatist region of Abkhazia -- more or less autonomous since 1993 -- on the Black Sea coast.

The region, which has not been internationally recognized and thus has largely escaped the radar of the world media and international election observers, went to the polls on Wednesday to redo an Oct. 3, 2004 election that ended in a wide margin of victory for the opposition. Why the redo? The supposedly outgoing president, Vladislav Ardzinba, refused to step down, instead redoubling his efforts to install his chosen candidate, Prime Minister Raul Khadzhimba, into office. Putin, showing his usual disdain for democracy, backed their efforts.

But just like in Ukraine in December, the opposition candidate Sergei Bagapsh, who beat his rival by the wide margin of 15 percentage points, managed to mobilize the opposition throughout the autumn -- and managed to get the support of the Abkhazian electoral commission, the Supreme Court, the parliament and even the military decided to remain neutral.

So how did Putin respond? In November, Russia stopped sending pensions to former Soviet workers and ceased all humanitarian aid. Later the same month, Putin shipped off a contingent of soldiers to the region. In early December, Russia imposed a sea and railroad blockade and increased its troop presence along the border. Putin threatened a full blockade if Bagapsh took power. Why? It's not clear. Bagapsh, after all, has repeatedly emphasized that he would take a pro-Russian course. Some observers say that Russia continued to back Khadzhimba just because it refused to admit that it had, once again, failed to back a winning candidate.