1.
Counselor republic
Before the
Corona summit,
the first information seeps through, one or the other Prime Minister positions himself, Markus Söder praises himself. A familiar setting.
Icon: enlargePhoto:
Andreas Gora / imago images
Tomorrow the Chancellor and the country leaders could then decide on stricter contact restrictions, perhaps curfews and a nationwide FFP2 mask requirement.
The least, it seems: the
shutdown
will probably be extended until mid-February.
Before making a decision, politicians will seek
advice from experts
tonight
, from eight experts, including virologist Christian Drosten and RKI boss Lothar Wieler.
"The choice of consultants is already a political decision," comments my colleague Lydia Rosenfelder from our capital city office.
She criticizes that almost all those invited would support the government's course.
"This is alarmism to order." Lydia thinks that the collateral damage, the abandoned students, the destroyed professional livelihoods are hidden.
(Here's the full comment.)
My colleague Julia Merlot and my colleague Jörg Römer from our science department present the committee and the positions - here is the overview.
2.
Go along
When
Joe Biden takes his oath of office in two days
(guarded by more than 20,000 soldiers, all checked by the FBI) and the White House is thoroughly cleaned up (for almost half a million dollars), not only will Donald Trump's presidency end,
Melania
will too
no longer have to play the role of
first lady
.
Perhaps she would add a "finally" to the sentence herself, but that's pure speculation.
"Who Melania Trump really is will probably always remain a mystery," writes my colleague Susanne Beyer.
Icon: enlarge
Does she know what she want?
Photo: Cheriss May / NurPhoto / Getty Images
In any case, Melania never found her role.
And the traditional understanding of a first lady as the
"ideal edition of the housewife" outlived
itself at the latest
when
she moved out, writes Susanne.
Jill Biden will be the first first lady to keep her normal job (teaching English at Northern Virginia Community College).
And for the first time there will also be a second gentleman in the husband of future Vice President Kamala Harris.
"That will have an impact on notions of masculinity, but also indirectly on ideas of women and power," writes Susanne.
(Read the entire essay here.)
Icon: enlarge
Designated ex "chief adviser" couple
Photo: MANDEL NGAN / AFP
The political careers of
Trump daughter Ivanka
and her husband
Jared Kushner
will also end, at least for the time being, analyzes my colleague Marc Pitzke.
It was said of Ivanka that she wanted to become a senator or congresswoman, at some point the first woman president.
But such dreams have been shattered since the storm on the Capitol - former friends turn away, the mood has turned.
"The Trump brand is broken or at least badly damaged," writes Marc.
"The family name and its› stench ‹, according to a former friend of› Vanity Fair ‹, suddenly become a burden." The question is whether a rebranding can succeed - and whether hardcore Trumpists want it at all.
Read more here: Crash of the Prince Couple
3.
Everything said, soon also by everyone
Far too little is reported about one plague of humanity:
voice messages
.
Because the sender is too lazy to write, the recipient has to endure cumbersome stammering.
I haven't checked my mailbox, so I don't start with audio spam from friends and family.
Our columnist Sascha Lobo would call me an “old school telephone person”.
Maybe that's why I was delayed in realizing that all kinds of people were
talking
about
Clubhouse
, an audio app that relies on live conversations, no texts, no videos.
I think of this as Twitter dubbing.
(More details here.)
Icon: enlarge
If you just want to hear, you have to dig
Photo: Christoph Dernbach / DPA
As an advertising trick, the makers rely on supply shortages: Whoever wants to participate needs an invitation.
I urge my colleague Jonas Leppin.
It works, we're talking about club pants at Clubhouse.
The colleague Johanna Röhr and the colleague Benjamin Denes join them.
Jonas says: "It's like an interactive live podcast."
Benjamin says: "If Clubhouse keeps sending me so many push notifications, I'll have to turn them off."
Johanna says: "The redundancy is exhausting, many people always tell the same thing."
Unsurprisingly, the developers are probably not focusing on data protection.
The conversations are recorded and users should share their address book.
Maybe I'll log out again and delete my account, and then I have to go to the gap.
Oh, the function doesn't seem to be available in the app.
The app is valued at $ 100 million.
Read more here: What's behind the clubhouse hype?
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What else is important today
So eat it, the Laschet.
For real?
The Union is now led by a man who is copying Merkel's recipe for success: trust as a program, one's own average as a brand.
Can it work?
Climate protectors oppose Schwesig:
A foundation for climate protection is supposed to bypass the Nord Stream 2 sanctions.
Environmental groups are rebelling against Manuela Schwesig's plan.
Now the chairwoman of Schwesig's Climate Council is also stepping down.
Stolen "Lebensborn children" demand recognition as victims of National Socialism:
the SS had thousands of children kidnapped in Europe until 1945 in order to "Germanize" them in special homes.
Those affected finally want to be compensated.
The AfD should also help - against their will.
The earth depot could be a bunker for the "revolutionary cells":
According to SPIEGEL information, the plastic bin buried in the forest floor in Lower Saxony from the 1980s could be a hiding place for the "revolutionary cells".
This is indicated by documents from the terrorist group found there.
What we recommend today at SPIEGEL +
The German nation exists: on
January 18, 1871, Wilhelm I was proclaimed German Emperor.
The start of a story full of catastrophes and errors.
But the national idea has survived all crises.
"Epidemics attract evil forces":
The plague wiped out around a third of the European population in the 14th century.
Volker Reinhardt explains what history teaches in Corona times and whether societies question themselves after epidemics.
How do I finally get to spend more money?
Do I pay three euros more for the mushroom pizza?
Isn't there a cheaper clothes horse?
I struggle with thoughts like that all the time.
Why stinginess isn't so cool - and how you learn to indulge yourself.
Which is not so important today
Icon: enlarge
Double-breasted
Photo:
Win McNamee / Getty Images
Togetherness of the second
: The future US Vice President
Kamala Harris
and her husband, the US lawyer
Doug Emhoff
, both 56, once met on a blind date, mediated by a friend, as they told in a TV interview with CBD News .
"It was love at first sight," she said.
"It felt like we'd known each other forever."
Typo of the day
, corrected in the meantime: "On Tuesday the heads of states will meet with Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) at the next Corona switch."
Cartoon of the day:
pity for Merz
Icon: enlarge Photo: Klaus Stuttmann
And tonight?
Icon: enlargePhoto:
Stefan Gregorowius / TVNOW
Could you watch the
jungle show
that RTL has been broadcasting since Friday as a replacement for the jungle camp.
The question is: should you?
My colleague Anja Rützel devotes herself to the series lovingly and extensively (here, here and here her latest texts).
I asked her: who should definitely watch the show?
Anja's answer: "All those who are so irredeemably deep in the swamp of trash that they also watch spellbound via Instastory when Sam Dylan clumsily disposes of the outer packaging of his new television."
And who shouldn't turn on under any circumstances?
"Everyone who loves the slow but unstoppable fermentation of petty arguments at the regular jungle camp and who likes to dream of a spectacularly dysfunctional family for two weeks."
I take option C: Don't look, but read Anja.
Granted, a Forst World problem.
A lovely evening.
Sincerely,
Oliver Trenkamp
Here you can order the "Lage am Abend" by email.
