Today we're talking about the SPD's poll high, the end of the West as we knew it, the rail strike, a boxer who wants to become a politician and the revolution of 1848.
Smile, laugh, be amazed
Olaf Scholz may have a crystal ball with which he can look into the future.
In the fall of 2021, he told me that the bad poll numbers wouldn't worry him.
The turning point will come in August 2022 at the latest.
I'm afraid I smiled mockingly.
The values were no better in March.
Olaf Scholz said he was not worried.
The turning point will come in August at the latest.
I'm afraid I laughed briefly.
In a first poll over the weekend, the Union and the SPD are on par.
I write in August without a smile or a laugh.
I am just amazed.
Or should that be scary to me?
Scholz should play the lottery with this visionary power.
Or give me the numbers.
Today Scholz continues his election campaign in Heilbronn.
Election polls: Why the fight for the Chancellery is far from over
Abu Ghuraib, Guantanamo, Kabul
The terrible pictures from Kabul will be with us today too.
The "normative project" of the West (Heinrich August Winkler) has reached a dead point with this catastrophe.
First of all, normative means: adhering to your own values, human rights, freedom, democracy.
Second, strive to enforce these values around the world.
First: Since the US torture prisons Abu Ghuraib and Guantanamo, everyone has seen that the US, the leading power in the West, is ready to grossly violate its own values.
Second: In Afghanistan, the West is blatantly showing that it does not have the strength to establish its values in the long term.
He is even ready to abandon the people who believed in these values and hand them over to the Taliban.
Abu Ghuraib, Guantanamo, Kabul - in this triangle the West has finally lost its credibility.
China can rejoice, morality is no longer a strong argument for the USA and its allies in the competition between systems.
The SPIEGEL cover story: The whole story of a failure that has been announced
The rail strike resilience
I sincerely feel sorry for anyone who has to travel by train today.
Because the rail strike will continue.
If you are not afraid of black humor, you could say to yourself: After all, Corona has a purpose, a single one - to prepare for train strikes, for immobility, being tied to a place.
We already know that, we are resilient, we exercise patience, we are equipped for a stagnant world in our home office.
Cancellations, delays, reimbursements: this is what train travelers need to know now
The boxer
Manny Pacquiao may have already had the easier part of his life.
He was a boxer, won many world championship belts, but also had to take a lot.
At the weekend he played what might be his last fight.
He lost but did respectably for a 42-year-old.
Pacquiao is known to be toying with becoming President of the Philippines.
When asked if he was actually going to run the polls, he said, "I don't know, it's a much more complicated job than boxing."
I'm not sure if I see it that way too.
If I had to decide now whether I would have to go into the ring with my boxing heavyweight friend Takis or have a TV duel with Armin Laschet, I would probably just choose Laschet.
Filipino boxing star: Pacquiao loses first fight in two years significantly
Winner of the day ...
… Is State Secretary for Culture Monika Grütters.
It has set up a committee to turn the Paulskirche in Frankfurt into a national place of remembrance, reports the »FAZ«.
The chairman will be the former Union parliamentary group leader Volker Kauder.
After the revolution of 1848, a national assembly met in St.
Although this project failed due to disagreement and indecision, it was at least a first major German attempt at democracy.
This brighter part of history should not completely disappear behind the absolutely necessary reminder of the evils of National Socialism.
It is therefore a good thing that Grütters wants to upgrade the Paulskirche.
The latest news from the night
Drug Commissioner advocates a six-gram limit for cannabis:
The possession of cannabis quantities of up to six grams should no longer be a national offense in the future - the Federal Drugs Commissioner advocates this.
This would also relieve the police and the judiciary.
Afghanistan chaos causes Joe Biden's polls to crash:
The dramatic images from Kabul are having an effect: According to a survey, most Americans consider the withdrawal from Afghanistan to be poorly organized.
Joe Biden's approval ratings also sagged.
Storm in France:
The match between OGC Nice and Olympique Marseille escalated when Marseille's Dimitri Payet threw back bottles thrown from the fan block.
The scenes were chaotic and Marseille refused to continue
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I wish you a good start to the day.
Yours Dirk Kurbjuweit