“We Are Building Gateways to the Internet”

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with Sony boss Nobuyuki Idei on delivery problems with the video game machine PlayStation, the boom of the illegal music-swapping sites and his strategy for the Internet Age:

“Unfortunately we are having some problems with the supply of components, in particular there is a bottleneck with the complex high-performance chips. And in addition the European launch coincides with the Christmas season which has increased demand even further. … Napster’s deal with Bertelsmann is only a compromise. The problem is that there are no clear copyright rules on the Internet. We badly need a consensus in the industry about how we can protect these rights effectively. … But a period of solid growth is beginning now. What we want to achieve is to build products that are gateways to the Internet. In particular, this includes our computers, mobile phones, also televisions with digital set-top boxes and of course the Playstation, and all these products are to be networked. Then you’ll be able to use them to receive content such as games, music or films.”

“Viruses Are Recidivists”

SPIEGEL Interview with the head of the Berlin Robert Koch Institute, Reinhardt Kurth, on BSE-infected sheep, the race for influenza vaccines and the threat of a re-emergence of smallpox:

“At the moment, my main concern is the sheep: every year some 600 cases of the ovine disease scrapie are reported in Great Britain, but projections by the Ministry of Agriculture suggest that in fact some 10,000 animals are affected. It makes you wonder: are the sheep really all suffering from scrapie, or do many of them in fact have BSE? … A new flu pandemic could occur at any time, hopefully its course will be less devastating than it was back then. After all we do have better intensive care medicine than they did in 1918/19. Back then they didn’t even have antibiotics. However we mustn’t forget that in a real pandemic, even our highly developed public health system would be completely overstretched. … I’m worried about so-called monkeypox, for instance. … The older ones among us, who were still vaccinated, are probably at least partially immune. But none of the younger people under the age of 30 have been vaccinated. That means that a large part of the world’s population is absolutely susceptible.”

German debate about the records of the State Security Service of the former GDR: Minister of the Interior Otto Schily is arguing with the Gauck office in charge of the records to prevent potentially explosive records dealing with West German politicians from being published.

“We Are Schizophrenic”

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with American security adviser Brent Scowcroft on the foreign policy of the future Washington administration, the construction of a missile defence umbrella and the transatlantic argument over the European Rapid Reaction Force:

“We are only seeking protection against criminals who want to get hold of weapons of mass destruction. A missile umbrella like this is not supposed to make one country safe and all other ones unsafe … We have to think very carefully about the role of nuclear arms after the end of the Cold War. They happen to be there, and they aren’t just going to disappear. That’s why we need both offensive and defensive weapons. … To me, the launching of the European army while the Kosovo war was actually still underway, was like a slap in the face for the USA – the penalty for our high-handed manner. … One thing that’s certain is that in a world in which everyone hates us we are going to remain politically unsuccessful. There’s one thing that does speak for us though: … We simply want to work towards a world in which we can all live together peacefully.”

“Cruel as the Khmer Rouge”

Narcotics: International Mafiosi and African dealers are increasingly pushing the ghetto drug crack, the most dangerous of all narcotics. Experts warn that cocaine is to crack “as a moped is to a tank”. The police force, judiciary and aliens departments are reacting with helplessness, filled with horror at the thought of the consequences of a further spread of crack. Some of the possible effects can be studied in the United States, where there was a downright crack epidemic in the mid 1980s.

Separation of the Beckers: DER SPIEGEL talks to Boris Becker about his marriage crisis.

“Pharmaceuticals Come First”

Chemical industry: Three different groups, three different concepts. The German chemical industry is engaged in an exciting race vying for stock market investors. As they approach the end of their management careers, Dormann (60), Schneider (61) and Strube (62) are leading their German chemical conglomerates, which were still fairly similar in the 1980s, in quite different directions. One of them (BASF) favours the proven approach, the other (Aventis) is daring to embark on a big adventure, while the third (Bayer) is trying for the middle road. At the moment, shareholders’ favourite Dormann of Aventis is in the lead – with an extremely risky small-time strategy.

“The Eternal Hostages”

Philippines: The prisoners of Jolo are struggling with the after-effects of the drama. Since 9 September, 20 of the 21 hostages of Sipadan have been free again. Only one local is still in the hands of the Abu Sayyaf – dead as some people on Jolo believe, gone over to the other side according to others. Whether there is a wirepuller in Manila or whether the Arab terrorist Osama bin Laden is in fact behind the whole affair, as some hostages believe, remains unclear. The Philippine army took military action against the kidnappers but has so far been unable to capture the commanders Mujib Susukan and Galib Andang, alias Robot. DER SPIEGEL has been doing research on Sipadan where everything began, and visited 14 of the hostages in Helsinki, Luxembourg, Johannesburg, Malaysia and Göttingen. “Jolo will never stop” says Renate Wallert.

“Axel, This Is the End”

Soccer: Every year, some 900 athletes die of cardiac shock – without any prior warning. The accidents are often accepted as unavoidable natural disasters. Now, in the case of the soccer pro Axel Jüptner, the question of guilt is to be established. The legal appraisal of the Jüptner case will have lasting effects on the soccer business in Germany. The question of guilt has been raised for the first time. Meanwhile the legal battle over compensation payments for the widow and her two children is highlighting the shadier sides of an industry that boasts about turning over more than a billion marks a year.

“Caterwauling Sad Sacks”

Singing: the Germans are forgetting how to sing. Musicologists are jarred at finding the nation croaking and increasingly silent – because singing is believed to promote intelligence and health, and the ability to cope with stress, though technically incorrect singing is thought to be harmful. What is particularly tormenting about these findings is that the declining ability to sing seems to be a specifically German phenomenon. As international symposia repeatedly show, scientists in other countries do not complain about any lack of singing powers.

“Gently Grabbing the Wheel”