War in Europe, week 55

Nothing new in the East: The Tsar is throwing waves and waves of mercenaries, convicts, and conscripts against the brave defenders of Bakhmut, killing most of his people. The death toll is already much higher than in World War II so he can have a place in the history books.

Although it is clear that he is killing people for fun and personal gains, he still has friends on the far Right and the far Left. Some wanted to rally in Cologne this weekend, but we were there to counter them; in the end, they didn’t show up.

I love my city!

(Köln gegen Rechts, Heumarkt, 3/11/23)

War in Europe, weeks 53 and 54

One year in, the Tsar is still indiscriminately terrorizing and murdering people in Ukraine.

I have deep contempt for our Left (and Right, of course), who condone the Tsar’s actions and belittle the horrors he’s inflicting on innocent civilians. He’s a fascist dictator and a terrorist.

Russian scholars do not believe that there will be peace while the current Tsar is ruling Russia; they say that his goal is a state of perpetual war against the West rather than winning. Some scholars suggest that he might stop once East Germany is back under Russian influence and control.

In any case, we have no other chance than to push back and defend our freedom.

To enjoy our freedom, we will need a livable planet, and there we face another enemy: Corporate greed and ignorant politicians.

Last weekend we had a powerful global strike with one of the largest unions in Germany – we will need to stop using fossil fuels now, including for personal transportation. Or, as we fondly say: Car is over.

(Early buildup for the bicycle rally, Global Climate Strike, Cologne, 3/3/23)

War in Europe, week 52

Next week it will be one year since the Tsar went and invaded neighboring Ukraine. The murder continues unabated, combined with a relentless assault on civilian infrastructure.

According to vice-president Kamala Harris, the US has formally concluded that the Tsar is committing crimes against humanity and that those involved will be held accountable.

Not so our far-left, who, out of an old allegiance to the former Soviet Union, are attempting to frame the Tsar’s murders as a peace effort. Same for the far-right, who will support any dictator to undermine our democracy.

You cannot call for negotiations if one side does not want to negotiate.

In Germany, after losing all state elections in a row, the market liberal party in the government is trying to block all measures to protect our climate that could displease their last remaining voters. Die-hard car lovers are rejoicing, but we will all suffer greatly.

On March 3, there will be the next global climate strike!

 

(Location scouting, Cologne, 2/4/23)

War in Europe, week 51

The war and the murders continue, and the Tsar prepares for a spring assault.

In Germany, the far Left (Sarah Wagenknecht), the far Right (unmentionable), and the TERFs (Alice Schwarzer) get together to spread the Tsar’s propaganda and condemn the people of Ukraine to a life of darkness and servitude.

In the US, the governor of Florida (Ron DeSantis) increasingly sounds like Putin in their war on western culture and a tolerant and open society. Banning books has never helped society to mend and grow.

Turkiye and Syria have been devastated by an earthquake – the only organization that I am aware of that can support the people in the north of Syria is the White Helmets.

Coming up: The next global climate strike is on March 3rd!

(Albertus-Magnus Platz, Cologne, 2/11/23)

 

War in Europe, week 50

Almost a year into the war, the Tsar is not relenting in his murderous assaults on Ukraine.

We have finally agreed to transfer Leopard-2 battle tanks and, more recently, Leopard-1. Now all that’s missing is the actual shipment. As usual, the US is first and has sent their Bradleys on their way.

In an exciting turn of events, China sent spy balloons to the Americas and was not happy when the US shot one of them down.

Elon has done it again and announced that access to the Twitter API would only be available for paying customers. It’s his property, and he’s free to do what he wants, but did he have to ruin Twitter for his vision of an ‘everything’ app?

GitHub has given Mastodon its seal of approval, and it’s now available in the GitHub profile section.

(Mastodon profile with GitHub verification, 2/2/23)

War in Europe, week 49

While the Tsar is still murdering people in Ukraine, there is some good news: The West will finally deliver battle tanks!

Given the general scholziness of our government, it will take some time for Leopard-2 tanks to arrive from Germany, but other more nimble countries are now free to send them faster. We have finally started training soldiers on using the light Marten tanks.

The deal between our Greens and RWE Power is even worse than we thought: According to German TV, it’s all about paying RWE to invest in new power plants and covering for potential losses.

Maybe the climate emergency does not exist for the Greens? Whatever their real reasons were, the Greens are no longer a partner to protect our planet with.

(Lützerath support rally, 1/20/23, Cologne)

War in Europe, week 48

The Tsar is continuing his spree of premeditated murder across Ukraine.

Our government’s inaction and unwillingness to supply Ukraine with the necessary weaponry, such as Leopard-2 tanks, is beginning to get us into the realm of accessory to murder.

Not that the Greens are any better than the Social Democrats. They do support Ukraine, but at the same time, they have conveniently forgotten about the impending climate emergency. They are sending riot police to help RWE in literally burning our future.

Last Saturday’s rally in Lützerath saw a lot of violence from some riot police units against climate activists, which will need a follow-up in the state’s courts. As Peter Kalmus wrote: “Your kids and grandkids will want to know if you got arrested for the climate.”

The gap between the Greens and the climate activists is widening by the day, leaving us with no political party supporting the climate justice movement at the government level, which does not bode well for our planet’s future.

(Lützerath support rally, 1/20/23, Cologne)

War in Europe, week 47

No change to report; the Tsar is still targeting and murdering civilians in Ukraine.

Also, the latest news mentions that the Tsar plans to enlist 500.000 more soldiers this year. All these young Russians will be sent to their deaths so that he can continue his dream of being a powerful ruler.

What cruelty and waste of precious human lives!

The latest Covid-19 variant (XBB.1.5) seems to be a lot more transmissible than earlier variants and can easily bypass the immune reactions from the current set of vaccines. Why exactly are we reducing the recommendations to wear a mask?

On the climate emergency, the fight for Lützerath was the most significant issue this week.

Last year, the state of NRW and the company RWE Power struck a deal that gave RWE rights to burn more coal and make more profit; the state got nothing in return. Nevertheless, the state is using all its might in the form of riot police to drive climate activists from the lignite mine.

As if that was not bad enough, the ruling Greens, after having been duped by a powerful corporation, still defend their decisions and blame the climate activists instead. It would have been such a welcome change in the behavior of politicians had they admitted their mistakes.

(Sound truck, Lützerath, 1/14/23)

War in Europe, week 45 and 46

Orthodox Christmas: The Tsar announced a unilateral cease-fire and didn’t keep it. Not that anyone believed that he would – he simply keeps murdering people.

Covid-19 is exploding in China, causing many deaths that could have been prevented; travel advisories are being implemented.

January is way too warm in Europe, and ski tourism is suffering. Maybe that’s something that will get people to understand the climate emergency.

People who are still utterly tone-deaf regarding our climate and global heating are our Greens. They struck a pretty ugly deal with RWE to bolster RWE’s profits at the expense of our future. I’m not entirely sure what they got in return – lucrative positions in the future, maybe?

All I can say is, “Lützerath bleibt!” – the Greens will need to call in many riot police units from all over the republic to fight with climate activists and hand over their gift to RWE.

(RWE Destroyer, Lützerath, 12/31/22)

War in Europe, week 44

Christmas 2022: Ten months ago, the Tsar invaded Ukraine and, to this day, continues to slaughter the Ukrainian people and destroy their civil infrastructure.

What has begun as a “special military operation” has officially become a full-fledged war and will leave both countries utterly devastated for decades. All because of one deluded male who wants to secure his place in history.

The Tsar has few remaining allies; one is Iran supplying weapons to Russia to kill more Ukrainians while simultaneously killing their people for protesting.

And my government is still not sending tanks.

This week I learned that “Carol of the Bells” is a beautiful Ukrainian song Щедрик, sung on New Year’s evening.

Covid is ravaging China, and our hospitals are fully occupied.

Also, the Greens are still poised to help RWE burn more coal.

(1.5-degree border, Lützerath, 12/17/22)