Category: cologne

Circus

First, Julia Klöckner, the president of the German parliament, refused to fly the rainbow flag for Berlin Pride. She had some bizarre reasons for this, culminating in a statement that the most persecuted group would be Christians, and she wouldn’t fly the Vatican flag either.

Then our chancellor, Friedrich Merz, dismissed raising the rainbow flag by saying, “The parliament is not a circus.”

Can you show your utter disdain for a minority group any more clearly?

Our current right-wing government is a disgrace. Most of its members, from CDU, CSU, and SPD, are straight out of a 50s White male superiority picture book.

They pose a grave danger to our future.

(Progress Flag, IKEA Butzweilerhof, 6/27/25)

Madleen

Last night, the Israeli government seized the Freedom Flotilla’s vessel Madleen in international waters and illegally detained the crew. The boat and its humanitarian cargo are most likely lost; we can only hope that the public visibility of Rima Hassan (MEP) and Greta Thunberg will protect all crew members and ensure their safe return.

The Minister of Defense, Israel Katz, derided and belittled the crew and labeled them as extremists. He’s following the same right-wing playbook that Donald Trump is currently following in Los Angeles. Or that Putin follows in Ukraine, or Dobrindt at our border.

Fascism is resurfacing in our time under the guise of “Law & Order”.

Instead of concentrating our efforts on mitigating the climate emergency, we need to deal with old white men clinging to their power and murdering many thousands, just because they can.

(Hope, Cologne, 5/30/25)

Riesa

Last weekend, the German neo-fascist party #noAfD had its annual convention in Riesa, Saxony.

Gone are all pretensions of being part of our country’s parliamentary system. The party fully embraced nationalist and völkische ideas, especially about asking people to leave our country that haven’t been here for generations. Much like Donald’s mass deportations, the #noAfD firmly embraces the concept of remigration.

Some other points were borderline absurd, such as tearing down wind turbines, but the direction is clear: The #noAfD wants to propel Germany back to 1930 and resurrect the Third Reich.

We were outside the convention center, with over 15,000 people, and were able to delay the proceedings significantly. While that was a strong sign, much more will be needed in the coming weeks and months to protect our democracy.

The convention in Riesa marks a turning point in the history of our republic.

(Tractor, Riesa, 1/11/25)

Interlude – Lyrics and Prayer

Before my blog returns to the world’s crises, I wanted to share an Anime series that I recently discovered, Fire Force.

Fire Force is aptly befitting the summer, which was way too hot.

But it’s a lot of fun to watch!

The show has some great lyrics that I couldn’t find good transliterations for on the web, so here they are:

Prayer:

The flame is the soul’s breath
The black smoke is the soul’s release
Ashes thou wert and art
May thy soul return to the great flame of fire

Látom

Opening Lyrics Season 1, Cour 1:

[Verse 1]
The darkness is illuminated
The days we’ve grown accustomed to walking are weeded out
My dream might be to make a stable living
but I’ll moan over the lack of stimulation

[Verse 2]
The end is illuminated
Where are the streets we’re accustomed to walking?
Time can sometimes be irksome,
but we’re enveloped in warmth

[Pre-Chorus]
Flames rise to show us the way
reminding us of a gentle melody

[Chorus]
There is no eternity, none at all, they say
I just smile, thinking that’s fine with me
If we shine, someday, our light will go out
We’ll keep on walking until the day
the fire of our lives gets doused

[Verse 3]
Playthings that make sounds
and magic that chases pain away
are all precious treasures to me

[Chorus]
There is no eternity, none at all, they say
I just smile, thinking that’s fine with me
If we shine, someday, our light will go out
We’ll keep on walking until the day
the fire of our lives gets doused

Closing Lyrics Season 1, Cour 1:

[Chorus]
You can toil your way through humorless days
and curse the unwavering present,
but words that simply hang in the air
are not enough to save you

[Verse 1]
We’ve been walking shoulder-to-shoulder
between sights we never reach
and pain that brings no warmth
to make it to a faraway place

[Verse 2]
Given the hope that you speak of
or the ideals that you dream of
I’ll find a way to show you love, however cold you may be

[Chorus]
You can toil your way through humorless days
and curse the unwavering present,
but words that simply hang in the air
are not enough to save you

[Verse 3]
You can cry out timidly
but that changes when the nights grow fevered
Even if we let go of each other’s hands,
I hope we can still walk together again

[Fin]
I’ll refrain from saying goodbye
to ensure that we can meet again somewhere

Introduction Season 1, Cour 2:

A long time ago, mankind was touched by the planet’s anger,
and the world was engulfed in flames.
It was the Day of the Cataclysm.
The flames burnt ferociously,
with an intensity threatening to incinerate the places mankind lived,
the languages they spoke, and the culture they had built up.

(Copyright always remains with the series’ creators and their licensors!)

2022-09-02

(Screenshot, Crunchyroll, 9/2/22)

Summer Break

The war is raging on, and all other crises are also going strong.

It’s time for a break – the blog will return in September.

Here’s a selection of upcoming climate rallies and protests:

See you there!

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(AMAIM Warrior at the Borderline, Crunchyroll, 8/7/22)

War in Europe, week twenty-three

The heat has lessened, but the crises remain:

  • The Tsar is trying to expand his empire and murdering everyone standing in his way; he’s showing his apparent disdain for western democracy and our open and tolerant way of life.
  • Prices are rising, especially for energy, and might soon lead to social unrest.
  • The climate is collapsing since we’re not stopping the use of fossil fuels fast enough.
  • Pandemics are on the rise, and we’re not acting fast enough for fear of upsetting a vocal minority of fear mongers.

Sometimes I miss the early 2000s when I still believed flying, driving a car, or eating meat and animal products were okay. And sometimes, I feel powerless as an individual looking at the magnitude of change that will be necessary to survive as a species.

So, what can we do? Live our life as it is necessary to overcome the crises and safeguard our planet for future generations!

IMG_20220718_115158_edited

(South Bridge, Cologne, 7/18/22)

War in Europe, weeks twenty-one and twenty-two

We’re still in a summer lull. The heat sits like a blanket atop our city and slows everything and everyone down.

But the crises do not wait.

All over the world, from the Tsar in Russia and Xi Jinping in China to Trump and Bolsonaro in the Americas, right-wing dictators are fighting against western values. At the same time, the climate justice movement is embracing global and intersectional goals.

There are two directions in society now that move in opposite directions.

I believe that we will need to work hard, and there will be sacrifices ahead if we want to continue living in a liberal and open society, which I do.

The same goes for dealing with the Climate Emergency and the current and coming pandemics.

IMG_20220723_150815_edited

(Vegan Lunch, Cologne, 7/23/22)

War in Europe, weeks nineteen and twenty

We’re in the middle of the state school holidays, and many families are on vacation. The city is almost asleep, with yet another heat wave announced next week.

Alas, the war does not sleep. The Tsar continues to murder the Ukrainian people to secure his place in the history book.

Our government still does not understand the climate emergency, but there is hope for the villages around the open-pit lignite mine nearby in Garzweiler.

Covid incidence rates are on the rise everywhere in the republic; in Cologne, they remain stable at 700.

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(Pride, Cologne, 7/3/22)