Germany wants the world to know it supports the Palestinian state as evidenced by the bold act of several German men who climbed the flag pole outside the Parliament in Berlin and hoisted a Palestinian flag.
Definitely an act of flying high in support for the beleaguered people of Palestineunder criminal and genocidal assault by Israel since October 2023.
A man waves a Palestinian flag as protestors cross the Brooklyn Bridge during a demonstration demanding a cease-fire on Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)
Deutsche Welle 11.8.2026
A 22-year-old man took down the German flag at the Reichstag building in Berlin and replaced it with a Palestinian flag, police said on Sunday.
Police have launched an investigation into a suspected case of denigration of the state and its symbols, damaging public property and trespassing.
The Reichstag building is the seat of the lower house of German parliament, the Bundestag. The large German flag that flies in front of the building is known as the Unity Flag, or Flagge der Einheit in German, as it commemorates the German reunification of 1990.
Thirty-six years after the end of the division, differences between East and West Germany remain. Unity Flag, or Flagge der Einheit in German, as it commemorates the German reunification of 1990.
The man climbed up the flagpole using a climbing harness at around 11:30 a.m. local time (1030 UTC) and threw the German flag to the ground, police said.
He lowered himself back down on his own, according to police, after which he was taken into custody.
He was supported by two other men aged 20 and 32, according to the report.
The Palestinian flag was removed with the assistance of the fire department.
As the mast hoisting cable had been damaged in the incident, the German flag could not be immediately raised again.
The German flag usually flies above the parliament building
When the Democrats take over Congress next January the Senator who will cause the most grief, not necessarily to Donald Trump, but undoubtedly Wall Street is Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren.
Warren will become Chairperson of the Senate Banking Committee, a political fact so upsetting to Wall Street that its press secretary, The Wall Street Journal, ran a page one story.
Elizabeth Warren’s Power in New Senate Is a Wall Street Nightmare
For nearly two decades, Sen. Elizabeth Warren has needled and probed Wall Street at every turn.
She has called the private-equity industry legal “looting” and written a bill that could make it easier to jail executives. She has called for criminal probes into banking executives for failing to catch blowups. She has sought to delay the biggest IPO of all time, SpaceX, and raised questions about Anthropic’s existential risks to humanity. She has pledged to look into bankers’ ties to Jeffrey Epstein and dealings with the Trump administration.
Now, the Massachusetts Democrat is about to take the controls of the powerful Senate Banking Committee, giving her the kind of expansive authority over the financial industry she has long sought—and Wall Street has feared.
With her characteristic gusto and new subpoena powers, Warren is expected to usher in an era of heightened oversight and investigations into the likes of JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wall Street moneymen and the new generation of trading technologies from crypto to prediction markets.
“It’s hard to imagine it’s good news for these industries,” said former Sen. Pat Toomey, previously a Republican ranking member of the banking committee. “She’s been very aggressive in attacking banks over the years.”
Warren has built a career on Wall Street reform. She was a Harvard professor and bankruptcy expert when President Barack Obama tapped her to help create a consumer financial protection agency following the 2008-09 financial crisis.
Back then, banks viewing her as a firebrand radical helped block her from running the new agency. It’s an opposition some lobbyists now regret.
President Barack Obama and Elizabeth Warren at the White House in 2010. Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images
She was instead elected to the Senate in 2012 and in hearings has regularly grilled bankers and executives over the years. As the top Democrat on the committee over the last two years, Warren and her staffers have written hundreds of letters to companies demanding answers to thousands of questions.
She jumps on headlines and views herself as a key voice in the Democratic economic leadership, lobbyists say.
Much of her agenda has the power to crimp Wall Street revenues, particularly for private equity.
The blogger believes a substantial factor in the surprise reelection victory of Lula Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is the antipathy many Brazilians share toward Donald Trump and his meddling in their politics.
The victorious Lula known for his “charismatic command” is a well traveled organizer and political brawler who has historically supported the working class and stood up to authoritarians.
In 1981, Lula was sentenced by the Military Justice to three and a half years in prison for incitement to collective disorder, but appealed and was acquitted the following year. [98] On the other hand, the strikes in the ABC made it gain national and international prominence. The New York Times wrote in 1981 that “Luiz Inácio da Silva is to Brazil what Lech Wałęsa is to Poland.” [99] Moreover, such events led him to be known for his “charismatic command.” In 2010, historian Lilia Schwarcz highlighted, along with charisma, his “seductive” rhetoric and “populist language”. [100]
Excerpted from Deutsche Welle 10.25.2026
In his victory speech, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva – Wikipediareiterated that Brazil would “not accept being anyone’s backyard,” a recurring campaign message defending the country’s sovereignty against US influence. The stance may have helped him win votes, with some voters viewing Washington’s actions as interference.
President Lula has defeated right-wing challenger Flavio Bolsonaro to win another term in office. Bolsonaro has refused to concede and called for the results to be annulled. DW has the latest.
A Brazilian voter gives thanks to Lula’s victory
Relations between the two countries deteriorated in 2025, when the US imposed tariffs on Brazil in retaliation for legal proceedings against former president Jair Bolsonaro, who was later convicted of coup-plotting.
Speaking in a hoarse voice, Lula thanked his campaign team and Brazilians, particularly young people who took to the streets to defend democracy. He described the result as a “loss for negativity, lies.”
The re-elected president also promised better regulation of big tech platforms, after Meta was the subject of legal complaints over alleged “interference” throughout the polarizing campaign.
It’s disconcerting to realize there are so many Americans still cheering Donald Trump.
His presidency is a statement that bullshit and lies works with the American voter.
Trump.A notorious grifter who can honestly be described as a wannabe Authoritarian has occupied the White Housefor nearly six years.
The blogger can only hope that a sufficient number of voters send a resounding message to Trump and his ilk November 3rd.
Enough!!!!
Excerpted from The Wall Street Journal 10.25.2026
The rallies are something of a security blanket for Trump, according to advisers, freeing him from the pressures of the job, critical news coverage and the lowest approval rating of any president heading into midterm elections in Wall Street Journal polling dating to the 1990s. Most analysts expect the GOP will lose control of the House and possibly the Senate.
A Trumpista gives the Nazi salute to her leader
Saturday night in Georgia, Trump bragged that oil revenues in the U.S. are surging because of the conflict in the Middle East. He said that his advisers told him not to say that because people are paying more for gasoline. “But I said, ‘I don’t give a damn, I’m gonna say it: We’re making a freaking fortune.’
Joe Mitchell lamented Trump hasn’t been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and presented him with a framed “man of the century” certificate.
Trump pauses at rallies to play a video clip of a CNN analyst explaining that among Republican voters, he is far more popular than Ronald Reagan or Abraham Lincoln.
Maniacal smile from a Trumpistaand her toddler
These German kids had no idea of the Evil before them
Janis Joplin song ‘Down on Me’ is a proper song to encapsulate Trump
Israel is engaging in criminal nutritional genocide.
Why is this being allowed to happen?
There’s more than money involved. Benjamin Netanyahu and his thuggish Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have acted with impunity and no accountability for over three years.
For three years Israel has slaughtered over 70,000 children, women and men in retribution for the Hamas October 7, 2023 attack which resulted in the deaths of 1200 people. Mostly Israelis.
Now the United Nations World Food Programme has been forced to cut its monthly food aid to the war-ravaged Gaza Strip , where some two-thirds of the population are struggling to get food, the agency said on Monday.
Excerpted from Deutsche Welle 10.19.2026
The Israeli authority responsible for the Palestinian territories, COGAT, says the supply of aid deliveries into the strip exceeds the demand for food and it claims there is no acute food insecurity in Gaza.
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has been forced to cut its monthly food aid to the war-ravaged Gaza Strip , where some two-thirds of the population are struggling to get food, the agency said on Monday.
The WFP said it was reducing the number of people receiving aid from 1.6 million to 1.1 million, leaving some 500,000 people without support.
The UN program is facing severe funding shortages. “WFP no longer has sufficient funding to sustain this level of support,” the organization said.
Beyond the cutting of aid to some half a million recipients in the region, the WFP is also:
Reducing rations by half
Cash assistance has been cut for some 75,000 families
Hot meals for those unable to cook have been reduced from 250,000 to 150,000
Some 1.4 million people in Gaza are facing crisis levels of food insecurity according to the WFP, with 200,000 living in emergency conditions.
Can Vladimir Putin’s increasingly aggressive actions against Germany force the government to bring back compulsory military service?
It’s hard to fathom the idea that Germany could conceive of bringing forced military service back to the country.
Conscripts are never happy about being dragooned into the military. Think of the United States and its involvement in the Vietnam conflict. 1961-1975.. A Civil War which successive administrations poured hundreds of the thousands of young Americans into a senseless war. Over 50,000 Americans perished.Many of whom were conscripted young men at the margins of society. Black, Hispanic and White, too.
The classic anti-war anthem, “War. What is it good for?? Absolutely nothing!!” Edwin Starr – 1970
Given Germany’s hellacious Nazi regime (1933-1945) resulting in World War II and the Holocaust today’s German youth are quite rightfully taking to the streets in protest of any proposed conscript military.
Deutsche Welle 10.17.2026
Experts believe that, so far, Germany has been ill-prepared — both militarily and mentally — for Russian provocations. They also warn against the idea that ending support for Ukraine would make Germany safer.
The perceived security threat has led the German military, the Bundeswehr, to fast-track significant modernization through substantial investment. But it is struggling to find enough recruits for its planned expansion. Many young Germans have taken to the streets to protest against plans to reintroduce conscription. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius faced criticism from inside his own party, the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), for saying that Germany must become “capable of waging war.” Many found the statement to be too militaristic.
Is Germany prepared for a military threat? “Not at all. Germany is not well prepared militarily or in the civilian sector, and the population isn’t mentally prepared for it either,” said Meister. “Just look at the demonstrations against conscription and the military that continue to take place, even though Germany needs a draft. For decades, we’ve grown up in this culture of pacifism, in a comfort zone. I believe there is very limited societal resilience, but above all, we are not at all mentally prepared for war.”
The Rich want War..The Youth a Future… Young Germans take to the streets
Chancellor Friedrich Merz and his conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) are under increasing political pressure — especially from the far right — to scale back support for Ukraine. But Merz never tires of emphasizing that Ukraine will continue to receive support under his chancellorship, calling it a matter of Germany’s security. He recently visited Kyiv once again and, together with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, surveyed the destruction caused by Russia.
But this also means that the threat from Russia will continue and even intensify, says Stefan Meister: “I believe we will see a massive increase in attacks such as the one in Leipzig, of provocations involving drones. We will see attacks on infrastructures and possibly also on specific individuals within the military-industrial complex. I believe this is the real, concrete danger facing Germany in the coming months.”
The blogger has read many spy novels. Particularly those written by John Le Carre. Therefore it comes as a shock only in the sense that Life can be stranger than fiction.
Excerpted from Deutsche Welle 10.6.2026
Michaela Kufner, Chief Political Editor of Deutsche Welle was unsparing in her critical comments.
Spy vs Spy – “There’s never a good time to discover that your former chief of intelligence might have sold the country (Germany) out.”
“A movie will be made out of this.”
“There’s never a good time to discover that your former chief of intelligence might have sold the country (Germany) out.”
“This is not only a loss of face. It’s a loss of credibility for the German foreign intelligence BND both externally, but also internally.”
“Huge damage done in real time.”
A sampling of the John Le Carre novels in the blogger’s collection
The former head of Germany’s foreign intelligence service, the BND, has been accused of spying for a foreign country. Never before has a German official of August Hanning’s stature been accused of treason.
If the allegations are confirmed, it would be an espionage case of historic proportions for Germany: August Hanning, former head of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), has been arrested, with the federal prosecutor accusing him of espionage, treason and attempted treason.
A coffee mug of the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin. Gift from the German foreign office http://www.diplo.de
August Hanning, now 80, headed the BND from 1998 to 2005. But even before then, he had enjoyed a meteoric rise within the security apparatus. After leaving the BND, he served as state secretary in the Federal Interior Ministry, then moved into the private sector and worked as a security consultant.
According to the federal prosecutor’s office, his informant was his former chief-of-staff, named in the statement only as Manfred D.*, who went on to hold this position under Hanning’s successors from March 2012 to March 2026. D. thus had access to a great deal of classified information.
A pregnant Ukrainian woman being carried away after a Russian drone assault
Just when you think Donald Trump is the most powerful narcissist, think again. His buddy Vladimir Putin is worse because, unlike America, he has total unchallenged authority.
Something Trump can only wish for. That is why he cozies up to authoritarians like Xi Jinping and Vladimir Purin.
Excerpted from Foreign Affairs 9.24.2026
For now, the Kremlin believes that it has both the time and the means to continue fighting for as long as it takes (in Ukraine).
Vladimir Putin is incapable of doubting that he is right.
Vladimir Putin as KGB agent in Dresden, Germany – circa 1980’s
Along with the stage-managed Duma elections, the purging of any trace of antiwar rhetoric from the public sphere is intended to grant Putin a stronger mandate for whatever actions he sees fit to take. An unknown question is how far into the future Russians are prepared to grant this legitimacy.
So far, it has been up to citizens themselves to cope with the burning oil refineries, destroyed warehouses, empty gas stations, nonfunctioning Internet, and life-threatening risks from drone attacks. In addition to chronic inflation, the budget deficit has become a problem, and Russia’s GDP and industrial production are hovering just above zero. This is despite the fact that, until recently, arms production had formally kept these indicators at a moderately high level; now, even that is no longer helping.
After a Russian drone attack in Ukraine – June 2026
In the face of these challenges, people are bearing with the system for now. It is also worth noting that the same surveys that show Russians are less satisfied with the special military operation than they were before also show that greater numbers of them prefer intensifying strikes over making concessions to achieve peace.
More than half the respondents in an August Levada Center poll think it is likely that the special military operation will last another year, and the number of those who say they are certain of this has grown. Precisely because of their utter exhaustion with war, many see increased military activity as a way to bring peace closer.
The blogger and longtime San Francisco Green Party member continues to be baffled.
One person in response to my bafflement wrote, “There’s definitely a generational (Green Party) divide within the “Progressive” camp with older ones that are still car-centric.”
I am definitely “older” and on the far side of that “generational (Green Party Divide).
I ask myself why do some so called “Progressive” organizations, advocacy groups and individuals oppose car free spaces in San Francisco?
The stale worn out excuse I hear is that people need their cars. It may be true elsewhere but not in San Francisco.
In the upcoming November 3rd election Proposition G, put on the ballot by a small group of entitled motorists would destroy Sunset Dunes Park. This is the third time in four years San Francisco voters are voting on this measure. In 2022 and 2024 voters said they want the oceanside park.
So, it comes as a surprise that the San Francisco Green Party and the “Progressive” Pissed Off Voter Guide are not taking a position on the measure.
I suppose it’s an improvement for the Green Party. In 2024 the Greens urged a NO vote on Proposition K which passed with nearly 55 percent and made the now named Sunset Dunes Park permanent.
Richmond Review ‘Official Party Endorsements’ – October 2026
San Francisco November 2024 Voter Guide with its NO ON K recommendation. This measure approved by nearly 55 percent resulted in the creation of Sunset Dunes Park
Pissed Off Vote Guide has ‘No Position on Prop G. A NO vote will save Sunset Dunes Park which was approved by the Voters in November 2024 with a 54.73 percent majority
Israeli military rejects allegations portrayed in ‘NAZA’
What else do you expect from the murderous Israeli military after it murdered over 70,000 Palestinians since October 7, 2023?
The truth hurts, eh.
Excerpted from Deutsche Welle 10.2.2026
When it premiered at the Venice International Film Festival in mid-September, “NAZA” received a 25-minute-long standing ovation and the Special Jury Prize. But in Israel, the documentary has fueled heated debate.
Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar described the work of filmmakers Rachel Szor and Yuval Abraham “treason against the state” and urged that their citizenship be revoked. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also sharply criticized the documentary.
Israel’s culture minister wants to strip the makers of a documentary on Israel’s Gaza offensive of their citizenship. He accused the two of seeking “applause from antisemites around the world.”
Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar described the work of filmmakers Rachel Szor and Yuval Abraham “treason against the state”No Other Land (Arabic: لا أرض أخرى, romanized: Lā arḍ ukhrá) is a 2024 documentary film directed by Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, and Rachel Szor, in their directorial debut. A Palestinian-Israeli collective of activists, the four conceived and produced the film in what they describe as an act of resistance on the path to justice in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The film was recorded between 2019 and 2023 and shows the destruction of Masafer Yatta, a Palestinian community in the occupied West Bank, which had been resisting forced displacement after an Israeli “firing zone” was declared on their land.[4][5]
Now the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has also rejected the film’s allegations about its conduct during the war in Gaza. In a multi-page document, the military accuses the filmmakers of presenting a “distorted, misleading and disingenuous picture.” The film, it says, is based on “substantial factual errors” resulting from “manipulative misrepresentations of reality.”
The 80-minute documentary examines the Israel Defense Forces’ operations during the war in Gaza. It is based on interviews conducted with 24 anonymous military and intelligence personnel, who describe internal procedures and decision-making processes involved in selecting targets in the Gaza Strip. According to the interviewees, high civilian casualty estimates were, in some cases, deliberately factored into these decisions.
The military accuses the filmmakers of omitting important facts. According to the IDF, the film fails to show the role of military legal advisors and commanders in reviewing and authorizing attacks or the measures it says it takes to protect civilians.
It also argues that the film does not adequately address the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, in which over 1,200 people were killed and 250 people were taken hostage.
The aftermath of 2000 lb. dropped on Gaza by Israel. Supplied by the American taxpayers
The Israel Defense Forces are totally intertwined with Donald Trump’s money making son-in-law Jared Kushner. A relationship which has had disastrous consequences for the people of Gaza
Top photo: Palestine graveyard – Only the Dead Have Seen the End of War – Plato
