1. Father's Frustration
Was Vladimir Putin aware of the proportions when choosing the stage design?
Three days before the first anniversary of the start of the war against Ukraine, the Russian leader delivered his 18th state of the nation address to parliament and the Federation Council.
A pompous pillar with a Russian coat of arms behind him, oversized Russian flags next to him, the stage as big as half a soccer field.
Apparently, by designing the Gostiny Dvor conference center in Moscow, Putin wanted to anticipate what he is aiming for with his country: demonstrate greatness, occupy territory.
In front of the congress building, Putin supporters cheered with placards reading “Russia's borders end nowhere”.
The problem is that in this setting Putin looked like a dwarf, like the smallest of all Matryoshka dolls.
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Vladimir Putin (the little man behind the white desk): Not just slipped proportions
Photo: SERGEY SAVASTYANOV/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN POOL/EPA
The insight gained from his speech was also tiny.
He served up the usual propaganda soup: the West started the war, the West is a prime example of lying, the West wants "to make the people suffer so as to destabilize our society," the West wants to "finish Russia once and for all." , the West supports neo-Nazi forces in Ukraine in order to establish an anti-Russian state there.
It was the same story as it had been for months, no new chapter, no surprise twist, a fairy tale that children usually fall asleep to because they already know it by heart.
At least the Russian president did not again directly threaten to use nuclear weapons.
However, he announced that he would suspend Russian participation in the last remaining New Start nuclear weapons control treaty with the United States.
He called on the Russian authorities to "stand by for nuclear weapons tests" if Washington were to conduct such tests first.
Putin made no mention of negotiations such as those initiated by Alice Schwarzer and Sahra Wagenknecht.
However, the German military expert Carlo Masala considers it inevitable.
The war will ultimately end at the negotiating table.
"The conditions for negotiations are created on the battlefield," said the scientist from the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Munich in an interview with the dpa.
"The conflict cannot be solved militarily in the sense that the Ukrainian army drives the last Russian soldier out of Ukrainian territory," said Masala.
"That won't work." Until the Russian leadership is ready to negotiate without any preconditions, military aid from the West must continue to be guaranteed.
Ukraine must try
to separate the southern from the eastern front, i.e. to drive in a wedge.
Should Crimea fall as well, »that could completely change the Russian cost-benefit calculation.
It could even cost Putin his head,” Masala said.
Read more here: "New Start" agreement - Putin suspends Russia's participation in the nuclear disarmament treaty with the USA
Here you can see parts of Putin's speech in the video: Putin's speech on the state of the nation - justify, accuse, conceal
And here is more news and background information on the war in Ukraine:
Why the delivery of main battle tanks is slow:
Germany is having trouble getting its tank battalion together for Ukraine - which looks embarrassing after Berlin's long hesitation.
But this time the problem is not with the Germans.
Why are Russia's planes still flying, Mr. Aboulafia?
Russian airlines want to service their machines less often because there are fewer spare parts.
Nevertheless, Aeroflot and Co. hold out for a surprisingly long time.
US expert Richard Aboulafia has a suspicion as to why.
This is how SPIEGEL journalists look at the sad anniversary:
Christina Hebe and Christian Esch report for SPIEGEL from Russia and Ukraine.
Together with Martin Knobbe, head of SPIEGEL's capital city office, they will answer your questions today.
Find all the latest developments on the war in Ukraine here: The News Update
2. Warm words instead of warm rooms
The trip was symbolic.
Two German ministers set out today to express their condolences to the victims of the severe earthquake in Turkey.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock traveled to the disaster area together.
"It breaks our hearts to see the incredible devastation and suffering this earthquake has caused in Turkey and Syria," said Faeser.
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Annalena Baerbock and Nancy Faeser after landing at Gaziantep Airport: Difficult simplified visa procedure
Photo: Fabian Sommer / dpa
Both have promised those affected by the devastating earthquake in the Turkish-Syrian border area the best possible acute aid and ongoing support for reconstruction.
"Our sympathy is not limited to words and it will not diminish even if the catastrophe and its consequences are crowded out by other headlines in the news," promised Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
After the Bundeswehr had brought more than 340 tons of relief material to Turkey in more than 20 flights, the Air Force again transported 13 tons of relief supplies to Turkey.
Among them are 100 tents, 400 camp beds and more than 1000 sleeping bags, said Faeser.
The relief supplies from the Technical Relief Agency (THW) are handed over to the Turkish civil protection.
Aid deliveries are handled from Gaziantep Airport both for Turkey and for north-western Syria.
As important as these aid supplies are, the ministers fail elsewhere.
Ten days ago, Faeser announced that he wanted to open the way to Germany for many people and simplify visa procedures.
At least for a few months.
But so far nothing has happened.
According to the Federal Foreign Office, Germany issued entry permits to a "double-digit number" of people from Turkey a good week after the introduction of the simplified visa procedure.
Binary!
24.4 million people are affected by the consequences of the earthquake on the Turkish-Syrian border!
Migrant associations and refugee aid organizations complain that visa procedures are still complicated.
Ten documents would have to be submitted for approval.
How are you supposed to get them when they're all under a mountain of rubble?
If you want to come, you need a valid passport and proof of your previous place of residence.
In addition, those affected must prove that they are really victims of the natural disaster.
Relatives in Germany would also have to submit a declaration of commitment that they would pay for all costs during the maximum three-month stay.
If Faeser and Baerbock had actually wanted to send a signal, they would have driven to the city of Gaziantep, which has a population of 2.2 million, and announced that temporary entry into Germany was also possible with an identity card.
They didn't - here the sympathy is apparently exhausted only in warm words.
Read more here: »It tears our hearts apart« – Baerbock and Faeser visit earthquake area in Turkey
3. Will biology beat technology?
Only recently, the text software ChatGPT, powered by artificial intelligence, caused a stir, and the usual discussions broke out again as to when digitization would make human work superfluous.
If you have read my colleague Florian Diekmann's text, not too soon.
Florian evaluated a study by the Institute of German Economics (IW), according to which at least Germany does not have the people to promote digitization accordingly.
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Photo: Hinterhaus Productions/Getty Images
By 2026, the gap in skilled workers in digitization occupations will grow to a record high.
In the next three years, there would already be a shortage of almost 106,000 workers who are qualified in the professions required to develop, produce or disseminate key digital technologies.
That would be more than in the previous record year of 2018, when the shortage of skilled workers was almost 100,000.
Although the number of people employed in the digitization sector will rise to 2.93 million by 2026, the researchers at the IW conclude that this will probably not be able to cover the even faster growing needs of the economy.
In the east of Germany, the lack of qualified personnel in digitization professions will be even more noticeable in 2026 than in the west - in the past it was the other way around.
The researchers attribute the fact that the situation in the east from 2026 is likely to be even more tense than in the west to demographic change.
More and more employees are retiring not only in the technical training professions, but also in the academic IT professions - and not enough trained junior staff are entering the labor market.
If things really happen as the scientists at the IW predict, it would be a paradoxical development: biology beats technology.
Read the whole story here: Study on jobs in the digital sector – the German economy lacks these skilled workers
What else is important today
Baerbock announces "clear reaction" to the death sentence against Sharmahd:
The mullah regime has sentenced the German-Iranian Jamshid Sharmahd to death.
Foreign Minister Baerbock calls this "absolutely unacceptable" - and announces consequences.
Käßmann no longer wants to take part in Wagenknecht's "Peace Rally":
Concerns about a joint march with right-wing extremists also makes supporters of Sahra Wagenknecht's "Peace Rally" doubt.
Now theologian Margot Käßmann has canceled her participation.
Raid on Berlin police on suspicion of bribery scandal:
Berlin police officers are said to have warned business people of upcoming controls.
350 officers have now investigated the suspicion of their colleagues in dozens of places.
The account of a police chief is also being targeted.
Zalando cuts hundreds of jobs:
inflation and reluctance to buy are affecting the fashion retailer Zalando.
The founders are now announcing that many of the 17,000 jobs will be cut.
My favorite story today:
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Actress Nadja Tiller: Too few good roles to fully exploit their potential.
Photo: DB / dpa
From "Miss Austria" to one of the most erotic women in European cinema: Actress Nadja Tiller became a cinema star of the 50s and 60s - and together with her husband Walter Giller a dream couple.
She died in Hamburg at the age of 93.
My colleague Lars-Olaf Baier dedicated a nice obituary to her.
In her most famous film »The Girl Rosemarie« from 1958, a mixture of self-confidence, charm, intelligence and eroticism could be felt that is rarely found on the screen, writes Lars-Olaf.
»Unfortunately, the cinema of that time had too few roles to offer the actress in which she could fully exploit her potential.«
Read the whole story here: About the death of Nadja Tiller – Femme fatale of the heart
What we recommend at SPIEGEL+ today
The dream of a four-day week - and why it could come true:
In Great Britain, around 2,900 employees worked one day less per week for six months - with full salaries.
Researchers have now presented the results of their study, which should make many companies ponder.
How three Germans fuel the hydrogen boom in Oman:
The Gulf State of Oman could become a green energy supplier.
German industry would benefit – also thanks to a Munich start-up.
If Iran has the bomb:
Another conflict is brewing in the shadow of the Ukraine war: the mullahs' nuclear weapons program is about to break through.
German foreign policy must react.
Soft drinks are so harmful for children and adults:
Manufacturers are to reduce the sugar content of their drinks by 2025.
A study shows that not much has happened yet.
Here Oliver Huizinga from the German Obesity Society describes the consequences.
Young, diverse and far too dry behind the ears:
Poseidon is grieving: ZDF has completed the decade-long project "Der Schwarm" based on Frank Schätzing.
It is the most expensive German series so far - but would have needed more water and more anger.
Which is less important today
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Moderator Markus Lanz and his ex-wife Angela: shadows over the figure of light
Photo: Henning Kaiser / dpa
Joke of the day:
His introduction would probably go like this: He used to be the face of the boulevard, his origins in the Neustift monastery in the province of Bolzano always grounded him, which is why he also overcame defeats like the botched »Wetten, dass..?« , he caught himself, then took over a talk show on ZDF, which is now one of the most renowned in the country, he is a documentary filmmaker, he takes photographs, he plays the keyboard - in short: he is a shining light on German television.
Say hello to the great
Markus Lanz
, who will NOT be speaking today about the failure of his marriage.
His lawyer Christian Schertz asked for it - also in the interest of their children, privacy, you know...
Mini concave mirror
Here you can find the whole concave mirror.
cartoon of the day
And tonight?
The outstanding singer Nina Simone would celebrate her 90th birthday today.
Most will probably associate her with her catchy hit "My Baby Just Cares for Me," which has been muddled in countless commercials.
But Simone was an artist full of contradictions, an irascible and unruly creative on the one hand, and a sensitive and vulnerable woman on the other.
She was involved in the American civil rights movement, was friends with Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, despaired of the evil of the world, fought her own demons.
'I'll tell you what freedom means to me - not to be afraid.
I really mean not to be afraid.”
I can still well remember her performance at the Jazz Summit in Stuttgart in 1989, at the end of the concert she gave the inevitable "My Baby Just Cares for Me" as an encore, after which a man with a huge bouquet of flowers opened up in front of his face You to.
He only revealed himself right in front of her – it was the legendary jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie.
Touched, she took his hand and left the stage with him holding hands.
It was a touching scene.
You could either watch her biopic What Happened, Miss Simone on Netflix tonight or watch one of her best performances that I think she's ever had.
In 1976, after eight years of abstinence, she made a guest appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival.
There she said that she had actually decided never to appear at a jazz festival again, the whole business seemed repugnant to her, she believed that she had arrived in other spheres.
And the concert was just as remarkable;
not a regular gig like you tear up when moving from place to place.
It was an intense 90 minutes, she accompanied herself on the piano, slowly and deliberately, sang sometimes softly, sometimes furiously, talked about her life and played music as if it were her last concert.
I wish you a nice evening.
Heartfelt
Yours, Janko Tietz, Head of Department Germany/Panorama
