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The situation in the morning: nuclear messaging – the most dangerous language in the world

2022-08-02T03:47:42.676Z


What secret messages are hidden behind nuclear threats? The freighter "Razoni" left with a load of hope. And: Nancy Pelosi's delicate travel plans. This is the situation on Tuesday.


The Federal Chancellor as a layman

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is traveling to Canada today.

Yesterday she gave a speech at the UN Review Conference on the Non-Proliferation Treaty in New York.

She said

Russia had "repeatedly displayed ruthless nuclear rhetoric.

"

This touches on the most sensitive, most dangerous special form of human communication, "nuclear messaging".

Since the Cold War, there has been a code of its own, a language of words and gestures that is aimed at the respective enemy and is only understood in detail by the initiated.

And it is precisely this detail that is important: How many people are on call at a nuclear weapons storage facility?

Which words are escalating or de-escalating?

In these micromessages, the experts are looking for signs of aggression, signs of weakness, signs of preparation for a nuclear strike.

Accurate knowledge of the symbolism is important to avoid disastrous misunderstandings.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz recently proved to be a layman in nuclear messaging

, from the point of view of experts in his own government.

They were horrified when they read Scholz' statement in a SPIEGEL interview that there should be no nuclear war.

Actually a matter of course, but in terms of nuclear messaging it is a signal to Putin that he does not have to fear NATO in his war against Ukraine.

  • Talks on nuclear disarmament: Biden wants to renegotiate with Russia, Guterres warns of "nuclear annihilation"

You can find more news and background information on the war in Ukraine here:

  • "If Putin can only travel to North Korea and Syria, the goal has been reached":

    Ukraine wants to create its own tribunal before which the Russian president is to be indicted.

    Andriy Smirnov is involved in the planning as Zelenskyy's deputy chief of staff and says what his country wants to achieve with it.

  • When the war came home to me:

    Ukrainian photographer Julia Kochetova documents the suffering in her country for SPIEGEL.

    So far she has lived with the certainty that at least her parents are safe.

    Then rockets fell on their hometown. 

  • The first ship with grain has left the port of Odessa:

    Russia and Ukraine have sealed an end to the grain blockade with an agreement.

    Now the first cargo ship has left Odessa.

    More are to follow.

A ship will arrive, hopefully

Ships have always been beacons of hope

, in the truest sense of the word.

With the Portuguese caravels sailed the hope of new sea routes.

With the Dutch merchant ships the hope of wealth for the new corporations, with the "Titanic" the hope of a technological leap.

And often it was the hope for a loved one, as in the song »A Ship Will Come«.

The ship of hope these days is the Razoni, a freighter loaded with around 26,000 tons of corn.

He left Odessa yesterday and is scheduled to reach Istanbul tonight, where he will be searched for weapons.

If all goes well, he can then bring his valuable cargo to Lebanon.

The "Razoni" is the first ship to benefit from the agreement between Ukraine and Russia that opens the sea routes in the Black Sea for food.

For the southern part of the world in particular, this brings with it the hope that a catastrophic famine can be avoided.

And a minimal hope for peace also travels with the »Razoni«.

  • First grain transport from the Ukraine: This freighter has to go through the minefield 

Festering wounds

When Nancy Pelosi

, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, travels through Asia, the question of

whether she is visiting Taiwan or not

is of particular interest

.

This draws attention to the festering wounds of world politics, i.e. conflicts that have not been resolved for years or decades and that harbor the potential for a major war.

Examples: the Kashmir conflict between India, Pakistan and China;

the South China Sea islands, which are disputed between China and other countries and touch on US interests;

the Palestine question;

the north of Kosovo, in which mainly Serbs live, which is why Russia is also involved;

divided Korea.

And Taiwan, of course.

Routines have been established for most of these conflicts: symbolic actions, shootings that remain limited, and above all rhetoric, threats and counter-threats without leading to a major war.

There is still more than enough suffering.

For the festering wounds of world politics, as long as no solution emerges,

silence is best, the preservation of routine, sad as it often is

.

Should Nancy Pelosi travel to Taiwan, there would be an uproar, a barrage of threats from China.

It probably wouldn't trigger a major war, but there would be nothing to be gained from such a trip.

  • Nancy Pelosi's Taiwan plans: "There is no reason for Beijing to turn a possible visit into a crisis"

Appointment

Today is the holiday season at its peak.

All federal states are on vacation, and the dpa daily calendar, often decisive for this morning briefing, shows exactly one political date in Germany for August 2nd.

It is therefore reported here:

The trial against the former carpenter's apprentice Marvin E.

, who is twenty years old,

begins today at the Hessian Higher Regional Court in Frankfurt am Main .

The Attorney General accuses him of trying to found a terrorist organization.

In addition, Marvin E. prepared a serious criminal offense that endangered the state and violated the Weapons and Explosives Act.

E. is a supporter of a primarily US organization with the pompous title »Nuclear Weapons Division«, which is considered racist, anti-Semitic and right-wing extremist.

Apparently he wanted a "total race war."

Here's the current quiz of the day

The starting question today: for which party did Cajus Julius Caesar sit in the Bundestag?

Winner of the day...

…is

Isabel Allende

, who turns eighty today.

She didn't really reach me with her novels, not even with the worldwide success »The Spirit House«.

But I have a lot of respect for her achievements as a writer and feminist.

The latest news from the night

  • USA announce killing of al-Qaeda chief:

    Aiman ​​al-Zawahiri, one of the world's most wanted terrorists, has been killed in an American drone strike in Kabul.

    US President Joe Biden said, "Justice has been served."

  • Capitol rioters sentenced to more than seven years:

    A 49-year-old Texas man has received the longest sentence to date in connection with the Capitol storm.

    He also needs psychiatric treatment.

  • Accident at the Bayreuth Festival:

    The "Wotan" singer Tomasz Konieczny was so badly injured on stage that he had to be replaced.

    The accident happened at the premiere of the Wagner classic »Valkyrie«.

The SPIEGEL + recommendations for today

  • Economic war against China?

    Not a good idea:

    lots of enemies, lots of honor: in the midst of the conflict with the Kremlin, Western politicians also want to limit business with the People's Republic.

    If they haven't miscalculated. 

  • "My parents said: What kind of boy are you?"

    His mother didn't like the fact that he didn't take part in fights: Because Magomed Aschabow is gay, he had to go to a spirit exorcist.

    Russian society is often brutal - and LGBT laws are getting tougher. 

  • "Invaluable service rendered to the SA":

    In Berlin, stumbling blocks commemorate those from the Foreign Office who were persecuted by the Nazis.

    But among the deportees there are also suspected Nazi sympathizers.

    Why can't the Ministry get a handle on its story? 

  • You should pay attention to these Bundesliga players:

    The next top talent is about to break through at BVB, Freiburg is more attractive than Mönchengladbach, and Union doesn't want a vegan bratwurst: seven players and their Bundesliga stories at the start of the season. 

  • How to start a new career successfully:

    Many people are dissatisfied with their jobs – and yet they don’t change anything.

    When should you stay, when do you just lie to yourself?

    These tips will help you get clarity. 

I wish you a good start into the day.

Yours, Dirk Kurbjuweit

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2022-08-02

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