Today the final degree certificate came in the mail: I now officially hold a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science – Business Information Systems.
A big thank you goes out to my university, FOM Hochschule für Oekonomie & Management in Cologne, and Yvonne Romes for supervising my thesis with a lot of skill and patience!
(Petilil Raid, Pokémon Go, 11/15/21)
The fourth wave is here; Germany has a record number of new infections, and the incidence in Cologne is at 220 right now. With a dysfunctional acting government and a not-yet-functioning incoming government, we are stumbling headfirst into disaster. Hopefully, a full lockdown is coming soon.
The absolute low point this week was when the chairperson of the fringe liberal party, Christian Lindner, was schwurbling on TV that it was scientifically proven that contact reductions would not reduce infections with the Corona-Virus. They might end up in our next government – we’re so doomed.
COP26 was similarly a disaster – our acting government avoided any form of commitment and didn’t even sign the declaration ending internal combustion engines or firmly commit to stopping burning coal.
Reaching a compromise in politics is challenging work – but why are most people in power (mainly men) so unbelievably ignorant towards scientific facts?
On a positive note, our labor minister is preparing a new home office mandate – yay!
(Festival of Lights, Pokémon Go, 11/14/21)
One week into the second year, the incidence figures are going through the roof; Cologne is at 186 right now.
Similar lousy news from the COP – to speak with Greta, it’s time to stop the blah blah blah and get down to concrete action and reduce greenhouse gas emissions right now.
On the same subject, I am trying to change what we eat to plant-based only; unfortunately, I’m gaining weight again – back to calorie-counting. Sigh.
(Vegan Santa, Cologne, 11/7/21)
One year later and the incidence figures are rising again, as predicted; Cologne is at 151 right now.
The people with the highest risk are our most important and, at the same time, most vulnerable group: Our children – our future.
Why do we not do more to protect them?
We are not only failing them with Covid-19, but we’re also failing them in dealing with global heating. COP26 does not seem to be the breakthrough our planet needs. Our leaders are talking about reaching a compromise – as if they could discuss with Physics. It’s so simple: To stop the global warming of our planet, we need to stop burning fossil fuels. Now.
One place where we try to defend our planet is Lützerath – come and join activists from all over the world!
(1.5 degree limit, Lützerath, 10/31/21)
Not surprisingly, the incidence in Cologne has gone up again; it’s at 93 right now and rising. Are we officially in the fourth wave yet?
Last Friday, we had another global climate strike in Berlin. We wanted to increase the pressure on the coalition talks underway between the Social Democrats, the Greens, and the Liberals, to make sure they keep the climate emergency at the forefront of their negotiations. Also, COP26 is around the corner, and we need to focus on actions this time, not on another round of pledges.
The protest in Berlin was quite a success, with 20,000 people attending from all over the country.
The police, however, did not behave that well and used force against some protesters.
Also, the Social Democrats were quite upset at a social media post referencing one of their grave historical mistakes during the formation of the First Republic. Oh well.
(Global Climate Strike, Berlin, 10/22/21)
The incidence in Cologne has declined further; it’s at 57 right now.
Are we still in a shutdown? At least the indoor mask mandates are still in effect.
But we do have a shutdown this week: The WandelWerk is finally closing to the public.
When the two car dealerships, Yvel and Levy, joined forces again a couple of years ago and moved to a new location in Cologne, the city offered the former Yvel dealership on Liebigstrasse to KLuG e.V. for interim use, as an open space for social and cultural encounters.
It was a great time, and the idea will live on, in the Quartiersbüro, Liebigstrasse 257.
(WandelWerk, Cologne, 10/17/21)
The incidence in Cologne has declined; it’s again at 59 right now.
Beginning today, the state will no longer fund Corona-Tests for people who could get vaccinated instead. I do not understand why some people risk a rather unpleasant death over getting vaccinated – is it superstition? Or the lure of conspiracy theories?
The (still governing) Christian Democrats continue on their course to disintegration; their Austrian counterpart has already reached the finishing line.
Our Social Democrats, the Greens, and the Liberals are in talks to determine whether they should form a coalition government – I sincerely hope they will succeed for the sake of the environment and all the villages in the ZAD Rheinland!
One of my favorite pre-pandemic pastimes was to go to the movies – the Cinemas have re-opened and have suitable hygiene protocols in place, so it’s time to return and make sure they don’t shutter for good.
(The Peppercorns and the Secret of the Deep Sea, Filmpalast, 10/9/21)
The incidence in Cologne has slightly gone up; it’s at 61 right now.
Last week we had our general election; the Social Democrats won but won’t be able to form a government without the Greens and the Liberals. Negotiations are underway, and we are watching. At the same time, the former governing party, the Christian Democrats, is slowly disintegrating.
COP26 is around the corner, and the world governments are not doing enough to address the climate emergency, so we need to go back to the streets for another global climate strike on October 22.
To quote Greta, it’s time to stop the Bla Bla Bla and get down to serious action!
Local action is happening at ZAD Rheinland, where activists are defending the village of Lützerath against the commercial interests of RWE.
(Election Night, Climate Justice Camp Cologne, 9/26/21)
The incidence in Cologne has declined again; it’s at 59 right now.
Friday was the day of the global climate strike – a huge success!
We had 25,000 people attending in Cologne alone and 620,000 in Germany overall, and many millions worldwide.
More and more people are beginning to realize that you cannot argue with physics – if we do not change our way of living, we’ll make our planet uninhabitable for future generations; alas, there is yet no Planet B.
Today we have our general election – the government we’ll elect this time will be the last one to prevent the worst outcomes and secure somewhat of a future for our kids.
Wish us luck! I will cover the result in a separate post later this week.
(Climate Justice Camp, Cologne, 9/25/21)
The incidence in Cologne has declined further; it’s at 78 right now.
On a further positive note, our government expects a vaccine for the under-12-year-olds by early next year. Yay!
This Friday, September 24, is the next global climate strike. We’re proud to host the scientist Jason von Juterczenka in Cologne with an exciting talk on the 6th IPCC Assessment Report – we hope to see you there!
I am also eternally grateful to all the artists who moved their craft to a streaming platform and enabled us to attend events without physically attending. I have visited so many different venues over the last two years, and I hope that I will be able to continue to do so after the pandemic ends.
(Techno Lieben und Leben, Oberzissen, 9/18/21)
