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Is Berlin too hard, are we too weak?

2023-02-10T16:09:11.346Z


Berlin, capital of charm and shame, repeats his choice. In Turkey, rescue workers are still recovering survivors. And contracts that have been kept secret so far show how things work with "Germany's Next Top Model". This is the situation on Friday evening.


1. This is the Berlin gap

A tourist holds out his ticket to the bus driver.

The bus driver: “What should I do now, bite into it?” That's right, we're in Berlin, my hometown, you have to think about the dialect.

What is considered rude elsewhere, we rightly lie to ourselves as cheekiness.

That's the way it is, the Berliner.

That impregnates against any criticism.

The rubbish remains, the S-Bahn doesn't run, there are no appointments at the office, an additional socket at the airport costs 36,000 euros, on New Year's Eve there's a bang - we are the fisherman's friend among the cities: if it's too hard, you're too weak.

Enlarge image

Queue in front of a polling station in Prenzlauer Berg (September 2021): There should not be such pictures this time

Photo: Georg Hilgemann / dpa

Berlin got away with it for a long time.

But now the capital has to repeat the last election – the glitches a year and a half ago were too blatant.

Even Berlin seems to be a little embarrassed.

On Sunday it's on.

To be on the safe side, international election observers arrive.

However, the state returning officer is confident: »It should be possible to vote without provisions.

Not like last time.« In an interview with my colleague Hannes Schrader, who incidentally has not yet received his election notification, he also practices expectation management: »There is no such thing as a smooth election«.

(Here the whole interview.)

Shame or charm – that remains the Berlin gap, even if the election is reasonably decent.

Is that annoying chaos or wonderful freedom what's happening here?

My colleague Anke Dürr has collected 50 arguments for loving the city – or hating it: she asked prominent Berliners and colleagues from the SPIEGEL editorial team.

My reason doesn't appear: Berliners can't avoid a joke, a good one, but also a bad one.

  • Here are the 50 reasons: The divided city 

2. The Century Quake

Against all odds, rescue workers have rescued a ten-year-old alive from a collapsed house in Turkey.

The boy was reportedly trapped under rubble in the city of Kahramanmaraş for more than 100 hours.

But the hope of finding more survivors is dwindling every hour.

The official number of victims now exceeds 20,000.

Enlarge image

Destruction in the Turkish city of Antakya

Photo:

Petros Giannakouris / dpa

Several of my colleagues are getting an idea of ​​the situation on site (all current developments here).

Of course, getting to the area is not easy: airports are closed, roads are destroyed.

My colleague Maximilian Popp and my colleague Sebnem Arsu traveled for hours to get to the province of Hatay.

They spoke to a woman who was digging in vain for her parents in a pile of rubble with her bare hands, and to the mayor of the metropolitan area of ​​Hatay, who is conducting his duties from a van after his town hall collapsed.

»Southern Turkey is like a war zone.

Whole places are in ruins,« says Max. »It might take years to rebuild them – if it succeeds at all.«

  • Here you can read his report: "Where is the government?" 

3. Germany's Next gag agreement

RTL wants to make fewer headlines in the future (more on that here), so let's switch to ProSieben: The 18th season of »Germany's Next Top Model« starts next week.

A show in which young women in particular are judged by their appearance.

“A third of nine-year-old girls and two-thirds of ten-year-old girls in Germany know the show,” reports a team led by my colleagues Laura Backes and Elisa von Hof.

“Primary school girls take pictures of each other in their underwear at sleepover parties, and parents organize professional photo shoots at children’s birthday parties.”

Heidi Klum with father Günther Klum at the Bambi Awards 2015

[M] THE MIRROR;

Photos: Goran Nitschke / BrauerPhotos;

Mathis Wienand/Getty Images

Where does the success come from?

Colleagues were able to view previously kept secret contracts and evaluate studies on the show.

They spoke to former candidates, some of whom accuse the show of manipulation, to ex-jurors and to Günther Klum, the father of presenter Heidi Klum, who was involved in the show for a long time (here the interview).

Elisa and Laura were most shocked by how many young fans do not know that the format is a production.

Laura says: "According to a study, more than half of regular viewers want Heidi Klum as a mother."

  • Read the full research here: Drama, Baby 

News and background to the war in Ukraine

  • »We voted on Friday night – then all law enforcement officers will go to their dachas«:

    Marina Ovsyannikova protested live on state television against Russia's Ukraine war and ultimately had to flee Moscow.

    Here she talks about her hiding, the poison of propaganda - and the hatred against her.

  • "It's all re-traumatizing for me":

    During his visit to Kiev, Omid Nouripour meets people who are afraid and tense.

    They fear a new Russian offensive.

    For the head of the Green Party it is also a journey into his own past.

  • Ukraine reports Russian missiles flying over Romania and Moldova:

    According to Kiev, two Russian missiles have crossed Romania and Moldova.

    After that they hit Ukraine.

    Apparently Moldova confirmed the overflight of a single rocket, Romania denied.

  • Moldova's Prime Minister Gavrilița resigns:

    Moldova's pro-Western Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilița is surprisingly resigning from her post.

    Only recently did the Ukrainian President Selenskyj warn of Russian influence in the neighboring country.

  • Find all the latest developments on the war in Ukraine here: The News Update

What else is important today

  • Pistorius wants ten billion more per year for the Bundeswehr:

    The special fund is unlikely to be sufficient to modernize the Bundeswehr.

    According to SPIEGEL information, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is now demanding more money – he wants to significantly increase the defense budget.

  • Baerbock Ministry opposes Buschmann's travel plans:

    According to SPIEGEL information, Minister of Justice Buschmann is still planning a trip to Israel in February, despite concerns from the Foreign Office.

    His Israeli counterpart is working on a controversial judicial reform.

  • Car drives into a crowd in Jerusalem – two dead, including a child:

    The security situation in Israel is tense.

    A car drove into a crowd near a residential area in east Jerusalem.

    A six-year-old was killed and another child critically injured.

What we recommend at SPIEGEL+ today

  • “It was a horrible time”:

    Hard decisions were made during the pandemic – and mistakes were made, say Health Minister Lauterbach and virologist Drosten, who did not always agree.

    Now they fear that some want to reinterpret the meaning of the corona measures.

  • Curtain up!

    This is where reality comes in:

    He was supposed to lead the theater out of the crisis, but it didn't work.

    Now even former allies are turning against artistic director René Pollesch: left-wing activists are announcing that they will occupy the Volksbühne – again.

  • “We have to become more popular”:

    Hans-Joachim Watzke leads Borussia Dortmund and has also risen to become the most powerful man in German football.

    Here he talks about the messed up World Cup, sports director Rudi Völler and the hope for the future.

  • Why the ban on killing chicks is not a success for animal welfare:

    Male chicks are no longer allowed to be killed in Germany.

    Is this a win for animal welfare?

    A balance sheet after a year with a law that should eliminate suffering and instead creates new problems.

Which is less important today

Enlarge image

Rihanna: "Whether it's a flop or a success - I stand for it with my name"

Photo: Brendan McDermid / REUTERS

Halftime break:

Rihanna, 34, has avoided explaining why she once declined to perform at the Super Bowl but will now do just that.

Years ago, she accused the American football league of structural racism in Vogue: "I had no intention of serving them in any way." Now she wants to play a 13-minute medley on Sunday.

At a press conference she simply said: »Many of my values ​​have never left me.

I have never forgotten many of the lessons I learned in my earliest years.«

Mini concave mirror

Here you can find the whole concave mirror.

cartoon of the day

And tonight?

Could you hear Depeche Mode, Dave Gahan and Martin Gore have released a new song after a six-year break: "Ghosts Again" is the first single from the album "Memento Mori", which is due out on March 24th.

It's the first since Andy Fletcher's death in 2022;

now Depeche Mode are only two.

"It's interesting that the lyrics are by Dave Gahan, but the music with the defining guitar theme is by Martin Gore - so far most of the songs were by Gore alone, some by Gahan, but almost never together," says my colleague Felix Bayer our cultural department.

What makes many fans happy: In terms of sound and song structure, "Ghosts Again" is a throwback to popular times.

“Analog synth sounds, driving beats despite all the melancholy and hopeful melody,” says Felix.

"Dave Gahan sings very clearly, without any flourishes or mannerisms." Possibly another hit that has an effect beyond the fan circles - although as an catchy tune it falls far short of "Enjoy The Silence".

I wish you a relaxing weekend.

Heartfelt

Yours sincerely, Oliver Trenkamp, ​​Editor-in-Chief

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2023-02-10

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