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cskwriter.bsky.social
An American/German in Berlin. Berkeley alum (Go Bears!). Erstwhile Texan. Credo: “There are other forces at work than those of evil. And that is an encouraging thought.”
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Why are we here in a world where American oligarchs are buying our politicians and getting to run amock in the government? One of the worst decisions in Supreme Court history: Citizen’s United.

Literally extortion

So sad to see this. The English Teahouse, a 1950s gift from the UK government to the people of Berlin, burnt out in a lightning storm last year. The point of the teahouse was not just the ambiance: it signaled the commitment of the British government to aid with the reforestation of the city parks.

Here we go. Probably the last reliable polling before tomorrow's election here in Germany, which notes that over a quarter of those surveyed say they still haven't decided.

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Firing all of the JAGs (Judge Advocates General)—the top lawyers in each service branch—is just as bad as, if not worse than, firing (most of) the Joint Chiefs.

This x10000000000 “In other words: We, the opposition, are the majority. Take heart.” www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/they-are-a...

So they removed the black chairman of the Joint Chiefs in the middle of his 4-year tour, without cause, and they're seeking to replace him with a white **retired** Air Force three-star general who lacks the requisite experience as a service chief or combatant commander? Huh, how about that

Powerful. Tomorrow’s front page of the most influential weekly publication in Germany. “BETRAYED. First Zelensky, Soon Us? The radical departure of the US from its allies.”

This is climate arson, yes, but also the entire value proposition of Tesla, the reason for its insane stock price, is that it would end up the Amazon of electric cars: the only real game in town. Killing off non-Tesla electric car infrastructure is a gift to Musk.

This, dammit. THIS!

Side note. There are eight members of the joint chiefs. the chair is black. the CNO (navy) is a woman. the other six are white guys. chair and the cno got fired tonight.

"Germany could be the canary in the coal mine for Western societies: transforming carbon-based economies, responding to new geopolitical challenges, and achieving social cohesion. If Germany, that most temperate zone of politics, is not able to do it, who is?" www.nytimes.com/2024/12/17/o...

"...the show comes in the wake of the 250th anniversary of Friedrich’s birth, celebrated last year with major exhibitions in Dresden and Berlin and no fewer than 163 events in the artist’s birthplace, in Greifswald, by the Baltic Sea." www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

Was taking a tram in Frankfurt/Oder when two guys who were dressed as though they just walked off the set of Fury Road sat across from me. "Aha," I thought, "the disaffected far-right eastern youth." We passed a blue poster, and one of them said, "That is the problem with this town. This shit AfD."

You can't go to Slubice, Poland (just across the bridge from Frankfurt/Oder) and not check out the Wikipedia Monument, the only one in the world, in fact. Nice touch how the monument shows the work of uniting the world through knowledge is not yet complete.

Wintry Berlin. Thought I'd get a few more snaps in before the warming trend melts it all, possibly as soon as by the end of the weekend/Election Day in Germany.

The German/Polish border at Frankfurt (O)/Slubice. There is now a temporary border patrol checkpoint that wasn't there the last time I was here. They didn't check pedestrians, though, only cars, but at the station they did check people exiting trains from Poland before they could leave the platform.

For my zloty, the most iconic sight in the Polish border town of Slubice (before 1945 simply the right bank half of the town of Frankfurt/Oder is the KINO PIAST, or, more appropriately, now just NO PAST. Places got named "Piast" after 1945 to reflect Poland's claim to the lands of the Piast dynasty.

A month into Trump's supposed mandate, a Democratic State Senate candidate flipped a Republican-held seat IN IOWA that had just gone for Trump in November by a 21-point margin. He defeated the incumbent by 4 points. Hang on to your butts for the 2026 midterms, y'all. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/21/o...

The US government, ladies and gents. Nothing to do with patriotism. Nothing to do with everyday working class people. Nothing to do with American values of decency, faith, family, and defending allies. Just pure greed, corruption, and criminality.

"Moderate" Republicans vote for Trump Nominee A after A assures them they won't do X. After confirmation, they immediately do X. "Moderate" Republicans say Nominee B assured them they won't do X. After confirmation, they immediately do X. Repeat with Nominees C, D, E, F, G, etc.

Berlin is slowly coming out of the icebox. The deep overnight freezes are behind us and daytime highs will soon get to more amenable levels. And almost 20C/68F in some parts of the country by the weekend.

Fun fact: Berlin's more famous Wall followed the route of the much less known Customs Wall very closely in some places, as it divided Mitte from Tiergarten, which originally lay outside the town boundaries. www.the-berliner.com/berlin/custo...

I'm not suggesting anything here, it is just interesting information. www.politico.eu/article/pope...

“the United States is not a startup. The federal government exists to do all of the things that are definitionally not profitable, that serve the public good rather than protect investor profits. (The vast majority of startups also fail, something the United States cannot afford to do.)”

Trump criticizing Zelensky for being a TV show actor pretending to be a politician. Huh.

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Etymologically, "Manchester" could also be rendered as "Boobfort" or "Titcastle".

Breaking: The Federalist Society quickly reboots as the Royalist Society.

The root that tears apart your foundation begins as a seed of distrust, hate, and blame. The seed that grew into a dictatorship in Europe didn’t arrive overnight. It started with everyday Germans mad about inflation and looking for someone to blame.

Die Linke is polling just over the 5% hurdle now. There would be a certain poetic justice if The Left party in Germany stays afloat in parliament after being sabotaged from within their own ranks while the BSW defectors and their leader get shut out completely, assuming insufficient direct mandates.

It's been pointed out that this was a factor in releasing the J6 terrorists. Now he has his own personal goon squad out on the streets to make these threats of violence even more credible to keep GOP politicians silent.

The next time a MAGA idiot parrots their Leader's line that, "There's a whole ocean between us and them!" explain to them what the I in ICBM stands for. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Almost as if the point of DOGE is...something else?

OMG I am watching US cable news for the very first time since election night in November. Just wanting to see what the domestic reaction is to all the foreign policy insanity over the last few days.