Lest you get the idea that the “freedom fries” hot air blows exclusively east across the Atlantic, here are some people who are currently making the European anti-war movement look bad. First, some dumb news from my native city:

WIESBADEN – Germans should purge English words from their vocabulary in protest against the United States and Britain for the war in Iraq, a top linguist urged Monday.

In place of English words, people should use French words in a show of solidarity with France, which along with Germany has opposed the war, said Armin Burkhardt, chairman of the Wiesbaden-based working group “Language in Politics“.

Yeah, professor, that’s really going impress the neo-conservatives in Washington and stop the war.

But at least he’s not as silly as Dr. Eberhard Hoffmann, a German dermatologist who forbids entry to his practice to Americans, Britons, and everyone who supports the war. Bizzarely, he has a very clear understanding of the injustice he is perpetrating:

“We always hear about the collective guilt of Germans, and by the same token I am not prepared to treat Americans, Britons or their sympathisers.”</p> He should be struck off for this flagrant breach of medical ethics.

Update: Thanks to reader G.A. for the excellent multilingual copy-editing service.