After an exciting couple of years, tapmag has decided it’s time for a break. In the past years of reporting, live-blogging, and commenting on transatlantic relations, we have become part of a network of fellow transatlantic minds, and we hope we’ve helped bridge the gap for some of you and maybe even inspired some of you to cross the pond.

We have been privileged to have meet and work with great transatlantisists and  journalists. A special thanks to all of the guests and participants at our “Reporting America” seminar at the Free University Berlin (read more about it here)!

We will be using our time off to work on various projects ranging from Bachelor’s theses to getting to know Zurich or Chicago. We will check in from time to time and let you know where tapmag is headed.

In the meantime, you can follow us on Twitter or stay in touch with the individual editors through their social media presence:

Kolja is currently studying in Zurich, Switzerland. He’s finding out university can actually teach you things, and that the Swiss are a very nice and helpful people. All the while, he’s analyzing media trends and developments in journalism on his blog, All Things Considered.

Jessica has moved to Chicago to study at the Medill School of Journalism. She is roaming the Windy City for stories and moving steadily into multimedia reporting. You can read about her experience being Curious in Chicago on her blog of the same name.

Semir is working hard on his thesis at Free University Berlin and will soon be a proud Bachelor.

Dirk and Peter are moving in the same direction as Semir. They look forward to taking that to the next level at the John-F.-Kennedy Institute’s graduate school, and will thus stay true to North American Studies.

Thanks to our great readers, fellow bloggers and students for sharing this experience with us, for your inspiration and contributions. Please keep in touch!

We are always open for new ideas. If you want to get involved with the tapmag team, please contact one of the team members in Berlin.

Keep your eyes and ears open – we’ll be back!

As always, candidates will be checked in five categories; read the criteria here.

From rags to riches: Merkel was born in Hamburg, but moved to East Germany in her early childhood, when her father, a priest, was offered a job there. He occupied a leadership position within the church, but his wife wasn’t allowed to work as teacher and stayed at home to raise Merkel and her two siblings. After studying physics and working at the German Academy of Science, Merkel joined the reformist GDR government after the Wende and later became a minister under Helmut Kohl and eventually CDU chairwoman and Chancellor. While raised by academic and well-off parents, the extra hardship of having to grow up in the Zone and then making it in the Alphamale-dominated CDU give Merkel a well-deserved one and a half Obamas.

Diversity:  Merkel can only score with her gender here, a half Obama.

Vitality:  She is in her second marriage and has no children. A witness says he saw her take a swim, but no photographic evidence has emerged. A half Obama.

Web 2.0:  Neat website, 16,816 Facebook supporters (more than twice as much as her SPD opponent) and a sophisticated social network that allows grass-roots organizing. She did regular video podcasts during her tenure as Chancellor and has no Twitter account.  Near perfection, two Obamas.

Policies: Merkel supported the stimulus package passed at the start of the year, supports the current Afghanistan mission and has been ambiguous about admitting Guantanamo detainees. She wants moderate tax breaks for most Germans and no tax increase for top earners. One Obama

Total:

With the candidates of the five major parties now tested, let’s take a look at the final score:

5th Place: Guido Westerwelle

4th Place: Oskar Lafontaine

3rd Place: Renate Künast

2nd Place: Frank Walter Steinmeier

2nd Place: Angela Merkel

When there’s a tie at the Olympics, both contestants get a gold medal. No such easy cop-outs here! Sorry, Angie and Frank, but there’s only one Obama and you’re both not even close.

It’s almost a year since President Obama was elected in the U.S. Enough time, to evaluate his Presidency. Did Obama deliver the change he promised? How has the new administration realigned U.S. policy on a domestic and an international level? How is the transatlantic partnership affected by the change in the White House?

These and other questions will be adressed in a series of panel discussions organized by the Amerika Haus Berlin during the coming months. “America Reloaded” will take place at Berlin’s Hebbel Am Ufer Theater.

The first installment on September 21st tackles the changes already in place. Invited are sociologist Jean Ziegler, UN official Beate Wagner, Press Secretary of the UN World Food Program Ralf Südhoff and Ugandan globalization activist Yash Tandon. The group will debate signs for a new role of the U.S. in foreign aid, and whether there are new opportunities Barack Obama can seize.

All the panels seem to be held in German. Here is the full schedule:

• 21/ 09/ 2009 – Auf Augenhöhe? US-Entwicklungspolitik unter Barack Obama
• 11/ 10/ 2009 – Politik im Web 2.0: Die Methode Obama
• 16/ 11/ 2009 – Walls between People – Mauern zwischen Menschen
• 01/ 2010 – Zum ersten Mal ein Afro-Amerikaner als US-Präsident
• 02/ 2010 – A Green New Deal? Vision für eine Neuausrichtung der Wirtschaft
• 03/ 2010 – Kampf dem Klimawandel! Die USA zurück im Konzert der Verantwortlichen?

From rags to riches: Steinmeier’s father was a carpenter from Brakelsiek, his mother a factory worker and refugee from Breslau. He was the first member of his family to attend a Gymnasium and get the Abitur and later studied law in Gießen. In 1991, he began to work for Gerhard Schröder and eventually followed him to the chancellery. One and a half Obamas.

Diversity: Nada. Zero Obamas

Vitality: Steinmeier played in the local soccer club for ten years (nickname: “Prickel”), is married and has one daughter. One Obama.

Web 2.0: Clean website, 4,690 Facebook supporters, no Twitter and a real social network, that actually allows user interaction. Easily the best performance thus far, one and a half Obamas.

Policies: Steinmeier supported the German stimulus package, supports the Afghanistan misson and was one of the first to call for German admittance of Guantanamo inmates. One and a half Obamas.

Total:

With five and a half Obamas, Steinmeier takes the lead in our competition. Will he able to hold onto it with only Chancellor Angela Merkel yet to be tested? Find out very soon, here at tapmag!

You can find all the posts of this series here.

Pleitgen reviewed articles submitted by seminar participants to iReport. He also took the time to talk about his experience as a CNN reporter on assignment in Germany, Burma, Iraq and elsewhere.

We gladly took the chance to ask him some questions about the future of 24h news channels in the digital age. Here’s the interview.

Watch CBS Videos Online

[Co-Host] Kilmeade and two colleagues were discussing a study that, based on research done in Finland and Sweden, showed people who stay married are less likely to suffer from Alzheimer’s.

And this is what Kilmeade (the brown-haired guy) managed to say about that study:

I am getting a strange Déjà-vu to 1933, when another dark-haired guy was talking about the need to have a “pure society”.

Also, I don’t even understand how he can get from A to B on this one. According to Salon, the study refers to people who stay married, not implying any racial or ethnic conclusions at all.

But luckily, Kilmeade is so stupid pure he can’t even coherently insult people – what the hell does “marrying other species” mean? Does he have an ape girlfriend at home? Maybe they can do a sequel on that for tomorrow morning.

Now, this is sad news! Since George Bush has been gone, and Dick Cheney along with him, there has been a lack of politicians to make fun of.

Yes, Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina dutifully filled that gap with the announcement that he’d cheated on his wife with an Argentinian woman. That kept pundits and Jon Stewart going for a good few days – but for the long term, that’s not enough! And now, with the loss of Sarah Palin, who will be left to joke about? I am considering re-joining the Facebook group “I have more foreign policy experience than Sarah Palin,” just for old times’ sake.

But friends, don’t fret: There are rumors Palin might seek the Republican nomination for President in 2012. Hurray and a happy Fourth of July, everyone!

From rags to riches: Künast was born in Recklinghausen to a auto  mechanic and a nurse. She first studied social work and was employed in a penitentiary before she began studying for her law degree. One Obama

Diversity: Nothing to report here, but since women are still underrepresented in German politics she gets a half Obama.

Vitality: Künast likes inline skating and running and eats healthy, but admits her work keeps her away from regular exercise. She has no children. One Obama.

Web 2.0: A neat website, Facebook account with 1,848 friends, no Twitter and a social network that looks good, but is more of a glorified mailing list. One Obama.

Policies: Künast wants Germany to accept Guantanamo inmates, she supports ISAF (unlike the Green Green Party’s  base) while opposing OEF and wants a strong stimulus with more green elements and without tax cuts.  One Obama.

Total:

With four and a half Obamas, Renate Künast is the top-points-getter in our series so far but still miles away from total Obamaness. Will Vice-Chancellor Steinmeier of the SPD get there? Check back soon.