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Devils and the Ukraine: Berlin Bulletin 204, September 21, 2022
Am I mistaken in hearing echoes of grating radio voices from my childhood, in 1938, frightening even without translation, and omens of the giant tragedy which descended upon the world just one year later? Today’s tones are smoother, the words more circumspect, but I see election results in Spain, Italy, France, even Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands, the wrecking of the Labour Party in England and news from many regions of the USA—and I grow fearful.
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My seventy years and the departed GDR
It’s a momentous day! Not for the world–for which it’s nothing special. But for me!
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The war *Germany* the left: Berlin Bulletin No. 203, July 11, 2022
In 1307 in Switzerland, so goes the legend, the Habsburg rulers’ local bailiff, Gessler, stuck his hat on a pole and commanded every passerby to salute it. Wilhelm Tell refused. As fearsome punishment he had to shoot an apple from his own little boy’s head with his crossbow. His aim was sure, the boy was safe. But “Gessler’s hat” still means forced obeisance to some symbol. Or else!
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Berlin Munich Kyiv: Berlin Bulletin No. 202, June 13, 2022
The tide of public opinion in Germany is as overpowering–and changeable – as elsewhere: “Stop the Russian invasion!“ – “Defend Ukraine!”–“Send money”–“More, bigger, further-reaching weapons!”- “Defeat Russia!” Sustaining this tide is an all-encompassing media campaign.
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War and peace: Berlin Bulletin No. 201, May 2, 2022
I’ve been toiling on this Berlin Bulletin for weeks, altering it, agonizing, starting anew. Events are simply too complicated and bitter–in the world and in Germany, too. Most dreadfully in Ukraine.
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Nonsense and panic: Berlin Bulletin no. 198, January 30, 2022
Why do foolhardy spoilers insist on causing embarrassment? Why must out-of-step fools upset well-steered apple-carts? Why did German vice-admiral Kay-Achim Schönbach open his big mouth on Saturday in far-off Mumbai—and spill so many beans? Many or most U.S. media overlooked it—that is, buried it. Or emasculated it. In Germany they couldn’t fully ignore it—though unpleasant […]
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Shuffled cards: Berlin Bulletin No. 197, December 30, 2021
After the German elections on September 26th it took, as usual, weeks and weeks for the three coalition parties to agree on one program, full of compromises, pledges and promises (some of which may even been be kept) and to resolve quarrels over who gets which cabinet seat.
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A hard loss and a triumph: Berlin Bulletin No. 196, September 30, 2021
The most important election result is hardly discussed in the media—and when it is, then with satisfaction or joy. It is, in fact, a truly sad result. The Left (DIE LINKE) missed the red line level of 5%—but was miraculously saved by a special rule; if three or more delegates of a party win out in their own districts—with those first crosses—then their parties and their proportionate lists are saved, just as if they had reached 5%.
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Who with whom elections: Berlin Bulletin, no. 194, September 20, 2021
In German elections—like the coming ones, as always on a Sunday—all you have to do is present the registration paper mailed to every citizen, then make crosses on a paper ballot. No trouble with the boss, no missing work, long lines or quarrels about fraud or discrimination. It sounds easy.
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Berlin Wall and Kaiser Palace: Berlin Bulletin No. 194 August 10, 2021
Until 1989 that terrible Berlin Wall angered many an East German. The small part of Germany it helped preserve for 28 years was always the butt of anger, sarcasm, vituperation and resistance in one form or another.
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A happy warrior + Esther Bejarano + Presente: Berlin Bulletin No. 193 July 20, 2021
Esther Bejarano’s death hits hard, leaving a painful gap in Germany’s anti-fascist scene. Most media and many politicians voiced their praise and mourning—after almost totally ignoring her in life and attacking and trying to squelch organizations she was active in, as an avowed Communist.
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Jack and Jill tumble: Berlin Bulletin No. 192, July 3, 2021
After legally receiving a Christmas gift of 24,000 euros from her party, Annalena Baerbock somehow neglected to report it in her tax returns. No big deal, some might think, but after the scandals about Christian Democrats nobly enriching themselves when purchasing face-masks, and two far bigger scandals hanging over the head of the Social Democrats’ chancellor candidate Scholz (currently still Finance Minister), the squeaky clean reputation of the Greens had been a major asset. No longer!
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Donald Rumsfeld—RIP: Berlin Bulletin No. 191, July 3, 2021
Don’t speak ill of the dead, they say, but if I were to choose candidates for a Hall of Evil Fame, I’d have to ignore such advice; the late Donald Rumsfeld would be close to the top of my list.
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Small State but big questions
A week ago Saxony-Anhalt voted! The media prediction – a neck-and-neck race – was cock-eyed! But outside Sachsen-Anhalt (in German), did anyone really give a damn? Yes, some did!
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Anger and dismay
“The Israeli warplanes bombed many different places in my area with more than 40 consecutive missiles, without issuing the prior warnings they used to issue in the past three wars. The sound of the bombing and shelling was so terrifying that I cannot describe it.”
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Greens, vaccines, maneuvers
The Green party was at first an iconoclastic bunch, leftish, even radical. Its deputies, often women, showed up in the Bundestag knitting or even wearing woolen sweaters, shocking the conservatives. But its radicals grew older; many got rewarding professional jobs; its fundamentalist wing (“fundis“) lost out to the pragmatic “realos“ (realists). The Green retreat has continued ever since.
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Scandals, elections and emergencies
Germany, once viewed as an exaggerated model of exactitude and discipline, is currently in a muddle.
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Surprise on the left
Surprise, surprise! Things worked out quite differently than expected at the congress of the LINKE, the left-wing party.
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Echoes and elections
The U.S.-American night-mare, tight-lipped and pouting, was finally forced to gallop off to its luxurious stable in Florida. Almost every European joined in “Hurrah!” cheers as it watched him go!
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An icy rally with burning demands
The survival of polar bears, we know, is sadly threatened. The survival of a more colorful bear species seems assured. HARIBO (an acronym of HAns RIegel BOnn), which makes those little “gold bears” sweets, was founded in a laundry room in 1920.