1.
Zero Covid, a lot of suffering?
Short thought experiment: Let's imagine that there were only three registered corona infections in Cologne in the past few days.
Let's imagine the government lockdown the whole city.
Inconceivably?
In Germany and Europe, yes.
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Health workers conduct corona tests in a residential complex in the 13-million city of Xi'an
Photo: WANG JING / VCG / Getty Images
In China it is lived practice: As the last major economy, the country is sticking to its zero Covid strategy, as my colleague Georg Fahrion reports. At the beginning of the week, the authorities there imposed a lockdown on the city of Yuzhou - because of three (3!) Registered cases. The metropolis of Xi'an has also suffered a lockdown since shortly before Christmas, the toughest since the outbreak of Wuhan two years ago. 13 million people, which corresponds to the population of Bavaria, are not allowed to leave their apartments, not even to go shopping, there are only exceptions for the way to the test station. "For their food, the people were dependent on overburdened delivery services or state-organized supplies, which in some parts of the city consisted only of inferior products, and in other parts they did not exist," reports Georg."In their distress, people tried to flee the sealed-off city - in days of forced marches, at night on rental bicycles, swimming through a cold river."
By international standards, the number of infections in Xi'an is still quite low. Officially, around 1700 Covid cases have been registered there since Christmas, including 16 seriously ill, five in a life-threatening condition. "It is unclear whether China should hope for a similarly mild balance in the event of an outbreak of the even more infectious Omicron variant," writes Georg - the mutant has not yet arrived in the country, apart from a few individual cases. And there are many indications that the Chinese dead vaccines have little to oppose the new variant. So allow mRNA preparations from Europe or America? That will probably not happen, says Georg: "For Beijing, which regards itself as the most successful pandemic fighters in the world, it is a matter of national pride,not to seek help from abroad in this matter. "
In Cologne, the authorities registered 581 new infections today.
Read more about the background here: China's Olympic dilemma
2.
Beautiful prospects for Steinmeier
Frank-Walter Steinmeier can count on a second term as Federal President: The Greens today - after a long hesitation - declared that they would support Steinmeier's renewed application.
The SPD stands behind its candidate anyway;
the FDP had campaigned for him weeks ago.
It is questionable whether the Union will now even set up an opposing candidate for the Federal Assembly.
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Federal President Steinmeier at the Greens' birthday gala in January 2020
Photo: Omer Messinger / EPA-EFE
But why have the Greens been pushing around for so long? "Quite a few Greens are annoying that Steinmeier is a man in a republic where older men traditionally have the say," reports my colleague Jonas Schaible from our capital city office. “Others annoy the fact that the SPD occupies all high positions. Some are bothered by Steinmeier's policy. Some think that one could now have used the chance to show the SPD and FDP that one does not agree to everything. «Many Greens would have liked to see a woman in the highest office; some made common cause with the Union for this.
"The parties have been talking about it in the past few weeks, but apparently without the Union having even proposed a specific name," reports Jonas.
It became clear that the CDU and CSU would not set up a Green like Katrin Göring-Eckardt (yes, her name was circulating).
Now the traffic light coalition is supporting the popular incumbent, who comes from the ranks of the Chancellor Party.
Jonas thinks: "Because of all the secrecy, the Greens have managed to turn a political matter of course into a Green disappointment."
Read the full analysis here: Disappointed Secretaries
3.
Who feels neither compassion nor remorse nor fear and will stop at nothing?
The so far unwritten supreme law of robot reporting is: Robots must not be reported without reference to Isaac Asimov's robot laws.
As everyone knows, whether terrestrial or spacer, they say:
A robot must not injure a human being or, by inaction, allow harm to be done to a human being.
A robot must obey commands given by a human being - unless such a command would conflict with rule one.
A robot has to protect its existence as long as that protection doesn't collide with rule one or two.
(Later supplemented by the zeroth law, but more on that elsewhere.)
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Kills from the Air: A combat drone
Photo: Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times / Getty Images
Now my colleague Muriel Kalisch has blatantly violated this law, and she also reports on fighting robots. Or more precisely: via weapon systems equipped with artificial intelligence - drones, for example, or unmanned vehicles. “There is a threat of an arms race like the one in the Cold War. Except that this time at least three parties are fighting for military supremacy: the USA, Russia and China, ”Muriel reports. "The problem: the new technology is completely unregulated in international law."
Two camps have emerged in the debate: one side calls for strict restrictions, including bans on autonomous systems, and the other side does not want to be banned as to which weapons it creates.
"While most of the world's states are behind the regulatory alliance of Austria, Germany, France and Belgium, the second group comprises barely a dozen states," writes Muriel.
"But Russia, the USA and India are strongly opposed to an international ban."
Asimov doesn't appear in Muriel, but the Terminator does.
All the background information here: Flying robotic weapons are already killing - and nobody is controlling them
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What else is important today
A refugee mother from Afghanistan dies in a snowstorm:
To protect her children's hands from the cold, the mother put her own socks on them: An Afghan woman froze to death on the Iranian border.
She tried to flee to Turkey.
Boris Johnson is said to have avoided self-isolation despite corona contact:
New allegations against Boris Johnson: According to a media report, the British Prime Minister did not go into self-isolation at the end of 2020 after a TV appearance, although a cameraman tested positive for Corona.
Buschmann makes support for compulsory vaccination dependent on duration of action:
The Bundestag is soon to vote on a general compulsory vaccination.
If the vaccination only works for a few months, according to Federal Justice Minister Buschmann, there are some arguments against such a measure.
My favorite story today: Which SPIEGEL was at the kiosk when you were born?
My colleagues and I myself have already mentioned it here and there: The first SPIEGEL appeared 75 years ago today (you can find an annotated version of the first issue here).
The most beautiful idea from our anniversary program so far is a gimmick that my colleagues Dawood Ohdah, Bernhard Riedmann, Achim Tack and Alexander Trempler have built: you enter your date of birth, we will show you which magazine was on the kiosk at the time.
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Photo: Monika Zucht / DER SPIEGEL
I can assure you that the tool was thoroughly tested by the editorial team and the publishing house after it was published: Many colleagues tweeted and posted the SPIEGEL cover pictures from the week they were born (for me it was "hit and run - the puzzling offense").
It is almost a miracle that other texts, videos and podcasts have appeared today.
But that also worked.
Congratulations to ourselves.
Almost 4,000 SPIEGEL issues and covers - here you can look at them all and find out what the cover story was when you were born
What we recommend today at SPIEGEL +
Apple depends on Bitcoin, Dollar and Great Britain: Apple is the
first company in the world to be worth more than three trillion dollars - but what does that actually mean?
A comparison in five graphics.
How to recognize anxiety disorders - and when you need help:
Whether worrying brooding or a panic attack: Anxiety is one of the most common mental illnesses.
This is how you can find out when you can no longer get it under control yourself - and whether it is time for therapy.
How to get involved in the stock market with ETFs - with low risk:
Where can I buy exchange-traded funds and what should I look out for?
Which building blocks should newcomers have in their portfolio?
And should I bet on returns or on security now?
What experts advise.
Which is less important today
Going to bathe:
Spencer Elden
, 30, world-famous as the naked baby, then four months old, from the cover of the Nirvana album »Nevermind«, failed with his child pornography lawsuit.
According to "Variety," he had demanded at least $ 150,000 in damages from each defendant, including former band members Dave Grohl, 52, and Krist Novoselic, 56, as well as Kurt Cobain's widow Courtney Love, 57, as well as the photographer and some representatives of the record company .
The lawyers of the disbanded band announced that Elden's arguments were "not to be taken seriously."
Typo of the day
, now corrected: "It gave your company credibility, but didn't ask any critical questions."
Cartoon of the day:
headline with a link to the photo gallery
And tonight?
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Photo for online sales (symbolic image): You don't just get to serious prospects online
Photo: Ketty BEYONDAS / picture alliance / PHOTOPQR / JOURNAL SAONE ET LOIRE /
You could try to get rid of clutter and junk on Ebay classifieds.
Perhaps there is also a Christmas present that did not quite meet your wishes.
My colleague Markus Böhm from our network world department explains how you do not go crazy on the platform, even though some interested parties have bad manners or even become intrusive.
He spoke to a consumer advocate for this, with a particularly active user and with a student whose online forum includes screenshots of strange experiences on Ebay classifieds - for example questionable discount promises for "demonstrably unvaccinated" people.
(All tips can be found here.)
I don't have more to offer today.
Have a nice evening, Sincerely
yours Oliver Trenkamp
Here you can order the "Lage am Abend" by email.
