day one hundred eighty-four (13. 771)

Iran announces a restricted zone surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, still settling in for a long war despite sustaining heavy attacks from the Americans, saying the era of proportional response is over. Tehran lifts its ban on social media use by government officials to allow them to address the people directly and refute the narrative of the Trump administration. EU sanctions North Korean reeducation camps where Russia sends kidnapped Ukrainian children. Though Kyiv calls for new trilateral talks after Kushner and Witkoff‘s audience with Putin, former ambassadors do not see any purchase for a breakthrough. Trump contemplates renaming the state of New Mexico to New America. IDF bombards southern Lebanon as Palestinian farmers fight settler saboteurs to save crops in Hebron. AfD wins in Saxon-Anhalt fall short of majority and cannot form a government without coalition support.

day one hundred eighty-three (13. 769)

With economic indicators like the better than expected jobs numbers and crippling inflation pointing to a need to increase interest rates, Trump (sporting a new coif apparently) threatens his newly minted chair of the Federal Reserve that if he does not comply and reduce rates, the American president will embargo countries that have a trade surplus with the US and suspend all economic activity—as an alternative to the reciprocal tariffs declared unlawful. The US fires upon at least six tankers headed towards Iranian ports—confirming by the numbers its new tit-for-tat policy of striking an Iranian affiliated ship for every commercial vessel or US asset targeted by Tehran, the Revolutionary Guard attacking a US naval warship enforcing the blockade. Netanyahu orders the IDF to bomb Qatar, labeling it a hostile state. Special envoys Kushner and Witkoff, despite their terrible track records, hold a late night meeting with Putin to discuss ending the war with Ukraine—in time for the midterms. AfD is poised to take over state government of Saxon-Anhalt as more suspected acts of sabotage against Germany‘s power grid are narrowly thwarted by authorities—Russian agents are thought to be behind the attacks. The US justice department pauses cooperation with the government of Canada.

lüneberger heide (13. 699)

Departing Leipziger Neuseenland and the city, we continued on the second leg of our trip towards destination with an overnight stop at the Lüneberg heath. We were in part motivated to pick Denmark for this vacation out of a sense of guilt for having bypassed the country on more than one occasion and wanted see what it had to offer, but it’s always a matter of making decisions and compromises especially when one is on a schedule and has an agenda and driving with a caravan in tow which is not so conducive to impromptu detours We passed through some very beautiful landscape for a windshield tour of Niedersachsen, Celle and environs with its picturesque Altstadt, Baroque palace and block upon block of Fachwerk houses, went through the former checkpoint between West and East Germany at Helmstadt-Marienborn, the largest and most transited Grenzübergangstelle on the Bundesautobahn linking Saxony-Anhalt with the reconstituted state (Land) of Lower Saxony with its high DDR guard tower, aware only of our own nearby one, once divided and drove past the memorial site of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp and the village of Klein Amerika on the edge of the Wietzendorf moor, the location of a potato starch extraction factory, with the Stadtschilder among the biggest draw and interestingly where the streets have no names, only house numbers—requiring some orientation for visitors and deliveries. 

We’ll be back one day to see more of the heath, the nature reserve that comprises the hinterlands of Hamburg, Hannover and Bremen, created by clearing woodland and overgrazing on sandy soil—most areas reforested, urbanised or given over to other forms of agriculture, the landscape surrounding Lüneberg keep in this state by a specialised breed of moorland sheep called the Heidschnucke. We mostly explored from our short-term camping pitch, afforded the amenities of the connected resort that had the clashing aesthetic of campground kitchen, which is perfectly acceptable for any length of stay, and the self-promotional sort peppered with AI generated art work and instructional material, posters of the region in the style of WPA-era works clearly generated and dumb and unnecessary guidance, like zero-effort machine made menus and daily specials, that made me hate it a little bit in spite of the nice location.  The grounds were quite nice, with plots of heather, a natural bathing pool and some pigs with a little wooden sty that made me wonder if they were Odysseus’ crew transformed by Circe. 

*    *    *    *    *

synchronoptica

one year ago: Markkleeburger See (with synchronoptica)

two years ago: more on teletext pages plus US vice presidents’ day

three years ago: a classic from The Small Faces 

four years ago: a promotional short from Bell Labs plus an homage to the history of film

five years ago: assorted links worth the revisit plus the 1975 Song of the Summer

six years ago: disabling automatic formatting, a coffee table book on tarot, more links to enjoy plus the martyrdom of Edith Stein

störmthaler see iii (13.223)

Returning to Leipziger Neuseeland for the long Easter weekend and staying at a familiar campsite on the shore of an artificial lake created from the former open-cast lignite mine of Epsenhain. 

 Revisiting a seafood restaurant in the Kahnsdorfer lagoon, we got to see the serving-robot in action (see above)—though mainly a extra tray and probably a more ubiquitous feature in most gastronomical venues, in was pretty good at avoiding obstacles like the diners and other waitstaff—as well as the largest windpark in Germany straddling farmland on the Autobahn from Saxon-Anhalt to Saxony and adjacent the largest photovoltaic array in the shadows of the former cooling towers of Kernkraftwerk Lippendorf. 

We also explored the towns of Borsdorf and Panitzch on the Partheau, historically serving as toll stations along the main route from Leipzig to Dresden and presently part of the city’s Green Ring, a corridor to encourage biking from the suburbs and wetland reclamation project to mitigate flooding.

abschaffung von preußen

Though effectively absorbed into the unitary government of Nazi party with the Preußenschlag of Chancellor Franz von Papen that took over the free state under an emergency decree in April 1932, the corridor that linked Germany to Russia along the Baltic, the Prussian State, was formally abolished on this day in 1947 under Law № 46 of the Allied Control Council.
Assessing the region and former Hohenzollern kingdom—ultimately the conquests of the Orden der Brüder vom Deutschen Haus der Heiligen Maria in Jerusalem, that is, the Teutonic Knights, an organized para-military wing of German crusaders—as representative of expansionism and militarism and with the aim of promoting democratic self-determination and peace for a devolved Germany, the Prussian administration and agencies were dissolved and territories not already forfeit were apportioned to respective Länder, Brandenburg, Sachsen-Anhalt, the Kaliningrad Oblast, Klaipėda and the Polish Western Territories. Signatories of the Four Powers were General Marie-Pierre François Kœnig, Marshal Vasily Sokolovsky, General Lucius D. Clay and General Brian Hubert Robertson.

nebra skydisc

On this day in 1999, near the eponymous village in the state of Sachsen-Anhalt two tomb-raiders discovered the Skydisc (Himmelsscheibe) of Nebra (previously), a four-thousand year old bronze artefact with inlaid gold symbols interpreted as the sun and lunar crescent and a cluster of stars that correspond to the Pleiades (the Seven Sisters) with an arch at the edge thought to represent the Chariot of the Sun, the band of the Milky Way or a rainbow.
Unlike anything else so far discovered dated to the era, it was originally thought to be a forgery but is now accepted as authentic. Unlicensed and prospecting with a metal detector, the amateur treasure hunters that found the prehistoric cache, which included swords, a hatchet and some jewellery besides, knew that their find would be considered looting and the hoard was traded on the black market through several collectors until the going rate exceeded a million Deustche Mark and the public became aware. The Nebra Skydisc is now on display in the Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte (the State Museum of Prehistory) in Halle.

troglodyte

Though probably better known in most circles as a subcamp of the concentration camp Buchenwald and for the recent outcry by some when it was proposed that refugees be housed in the former officers’ barracks on that profane ground, Tröglitz (DE) in Saxon Anhalt is now garnering attention once more, because its mayor stepped down, having retreated to factions in village that violently oppose the mayor’s decision to offer shelter to sixty Syrian refugees—or his lack of leadership in blocking the move.
Whilst defending his community, saying that most are inviting and caring individuals, a few hooligans massed on the mayor’s private residence in such a terrorising and unrelenting manner, which local authorities had not the purview or power to stop, the mayor maintains Tröglitz is not a bastion for xenophobia, but fearing for the safety of his family, relinquished the office. Though on the macro-scale, the PEGIDA marches have largely been subdued in the bigger cities by counter-rallies that far out-number those standing with the movement, sparse policy dialogue has come out of the contentious issue. Now it seems that activists can focus in on the smallest subdivisions and the very local sense, these messages still are resounding ones. Public officials of course don’t sacrifice their right to privacy or the security of their families once they take office—and nor can freedom of expression or assembly be curtailed depending on the target, but it does represent something chilling, I think, for homegrown democracy that might so readily cow to the bullying of a few, creating enclaves where no refugees are welcome. What do you think?

lake district or mood indigo

The expanse of plain surrounding the metropolis of Leipzig—extending to the corner of Saxony-Anhalt, is known as the Neuseenland for the numerous artificial bodies of water created by the flooding of derelict mining operations. The process of reclamation takes decades as a lot of industrial pollutants have to be filtered away first so that people and Nature can enjoy these resources. The character is different, of course, from the marshy areas that once covered these plains before cities and farmland but the effect is stunning and attracting a new range of wildlife.
A surrendered mine-shaft, a former brown-coal (Braunkohl, lignite—the low-grade coal that comes from ancient peat-bogs found throughout Europe) extraction site, forms one very picturesque lake by the name of Runstedersee in the community of Braunsbedra that made a very nice venue for a party weekend. Deemed unsafe for bathing, however, it stands in the wake of the nearby Leuna Works and as a reminder that the area, though certain phases have passed and more care is taken concerning environmental impact, the area in general is not a post-industrial one. Originally built during the height of World War I by Robert Bosch for the synthesis of ammonia for the production of explosives, this huge chemical campus slowly diversified and the ammonia was used for the manufacture of fertilizer during the interbellum period. Moreover, with the loss of colonial-holdings, research into other means for obtaining rubber and fuel oil became vital for the reestablishment of civil and military prowess in Germany under the directorship of IG Farben (Interessen-Gemeinschaft… meaning syndicate of the dye-makers after their first commercial successes in creating artificial colouring agents).
Synthetic materials and the process for converting brown-coal into oil (Hydrierwerke) were pioneered at these factories. During World War II, the refineries suffered heavy damage from bombardment and the disruption to the supply-chain became a pivotal moment in the war. The complex was rebuilt during East Germany times and continues to operate as a fuel refinery and produces a wide range of chemicals and plastics. Hopefully, with better stewardship of a dirty business, Nature can reclaim this lake fully as well.

electric avenue

Plans to construct an electric corridor within the next decade, some four-hundred fifty kilometers north to south through Saxony-Anhalt through Hof and the Oberpfalz along the Czech border to just north of the Augsburg-München, to deliver wind-generated power from the North and Baltic Seas to insatiable metropolises in the southern part of the country is not be greeted with optimism by all.

Just one conduit of four proposed, those in the path of the energy-Autobahn (Stromtrasse) are fearful what the giant masts and towers will do to the natural landscape, the wires necessary robust and bundled to prevent too much dissipation of power over the long journey—though the circuit only takes a nanosecond for the electricity to transverse, and the debated and unknown affects that living in proximity to strong magnetic fields poses. While being able to siphon off surplus renewable energy to climes less capable of producing it for themselves is certainly laudable, I do also respect the rights of the residents to question the long-term consequences and second their concerns, as a project of this scale has inertia and cannot be easily stopped or re-directed, much like the pledges to take all the German nuclear reactors off-line, and the electric Autobahn project is being managed by concerns with vested-interests and a subsidised agenda that would blanch at the idea of detours and diversions—even of the resourceful and innovative variety. It seems like an awfully big amount of money to devote to rehabilitating infrastructure that might be better served with something more ambitious, like a massive lightening-rod or a space-elevator, a cable tethered to a satellite in orbit to harness cosmic-rays. What do you think? Are more power-lines the answer or should we be more willing to explore novel ways of moving supply to demand?

reportage or end-user agreement

On the state level, two separate regions of Germany are calling for very different reforms whose intentions and actions wear both the sticks-and-stones persona of cyber-affairs and speak to the growing entanglement, irretrievability and dependence on connections and the synapses between people. Officials in the state of Sachsen-Anhalt want to give law-enforcement the ability to shut down telecommunication service providers unilaterally in cases of imminent threat to life and limb, and as a staunch corollary, courts in Schleswig-Holstein want a certain social-networking service to change its policy about joining under a nom de plume and is poised to impose hefty fines should the requirement or real names continue.
Currently, law enforcement can only shut down a cellular tower outside the express physical presence and permission via warrant if and only if there is bomb inside the cell tower. Opponents to the measures fear, as has been done in the US and elsewhere, that the police and government will use these martial-powers to silence dissent and hinder coordination for protests. The proposal further imposes that all infrastructure (along every point) have an easily accessible kill-switch, which can only be brought back online by competent authorities. The social network is refusing to waive the requirement on identity (I never knew that one had to use such credentials but apparently so) and is not entertaining arguments, despite the fact the rule is in violation of German and European Union privacy protections—not that people are guaranteed anonymity or pseudo-anonymity but that people are guaranteed certain protections on their personal data which no business or aggregator government can pretend to honour. Anyone who exercises freedom of speech and expression does so contractually, knowing that there is no intent to harm or befoul, but that contract is not drawn up in a vacuum, by companies or by government agencies. The right to be forgot entails that one’s footprints are not tracked without good reason and that an shadow that cannot be shed be linked to one’s name evermore. It is strange that the trade and tools of civil rights has been summarily reduced to this sort of smugness.

flik und flak or endless summer

Trying to triangulate times among Germany, the States and Russia has become a bit more complicated. In Germany and most of western Europe, day-light savings time ended early Sunday morning--a change that occurs a week prior to when America falls back. Russia, however, opted out of observing the time-change altogether this year, stating primarily seasonal-affective disorder and, I think, inviting debate on a custom of dwindling utility. The apparent motion of the Sun around the Earth throughout the year does a good job of shortening and lengthening the days without legislative intervention, and the fact that Daylight Savings Time (and Standard Time) was first proposed and championed in the Southern Hemisphere where the seasons are opposite ought not to be taken as strong testimony. So the time's off in the United States and Russia, from a German perspective, although that may not matter much, since its likely a public holiday--a chaotic collusion either today or tomorrow: the predominately Protestant Länder (Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxon, Saxon-Anhalt, and Thuringia) celebrate Reformation Day (Reformationstag) when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Schlosskirche in Wittenberg on Halloween, and the Catholic Länder (Baden Württemberg, Bavaria, North Rhine Westphalia, Rhineland-Pfalz and Saarland) observe the following day All Saints (Allerheiligen). Hours and days certainly count and the few seconds devoted to ensure synchronization are certainly well-spent as well, not so much for the early, bleary sunrise but in the custom and reflecting on what others do.