Just Aside

One would have to look up the definition by the criminal code, but Merriam-Webster (Ger., Eng.) defines in its online edition “treason” as “the offense of attempting by overt acts to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance ( … )”.
It seems that not one single member of the USAmurigan ruling class can be arsed to look into a Dictionnaire. This country is truly ruled by weaklings, who have never heard of the words responsibility & duty, or grasped the concept of “allegiance to the State”.
As I read, the traitor plans to throw out thousands of state officials when he will have returned to the trough, they will (at least in part) be replaced by “fighters against the “Deep State” – so that there will be no more “State” left, just an openly corrupt kleptocracy.
At least everything will carry a nice & clear price tag again.

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What Time Is It ?

Usually I know, or at lest have a vague idea, where the book I find here, comes from. Did I buy it, when, was something connected with it, like a certain idea I was following back then or something else ? But the book I read right now does not ring a bell, it may have been a gift, but I would not know from whom ?
The book in question is by Frederic VESTER (1925-2003 ) (Ger., Eng.), titled Neuland des Denkens. Vom technokratischen zum kybernetischen Zeitalter. A paperback, first edition published in January 1984. The third edition from July 1985 was “durchgesehen und ergänzt”, revised & supplemented. What lies before me is the 12th edition of July 2002, but it is on the stand of 1984. I checked his footnotes and found no literature cited newer than 1982, and this in only marginal doses. I emphasise this, that the status of information is early 1980s, because I found some things that surprised me.
He mentions in the chapter about “Traffic” that the development of hybrid propulsion (“Hybridantriebe”) or electric fuel cell cars (“Elektroautos mit Brennstoffzellen”) was not pushed, or better hindered, because decisions that lead to the domination of the fuel burning engine – and what all hangs on this – were made earlier, and seem to be irreversible.
He mentions “wie überdimensionale Litfaßsäulen aussehende Pariser “Staubsaugertürme” (… ), welche die Straßenluft unten ansaugen und oben wieder gefiltert abgeben”. This would be vacuum cleaners in the form of advertising pillars in Paris – that escaped me ! I never have heard about such installations in Paris, or elsewhere.
So I asked Mr Gargle & friends, and all I could find was a project by a Dutch artist who wanted to install such towers in smog plagued cities like Mumbay in circa 2017 (?). Some years ago a French environmental company published their project of air cleaners in the form of advertising pillars that would use algæ, but I have no idea what came out of this.
I have no idea when the first hybrid cars were offered in Europe or elsewhere (around 2010 ?), or if VESTERs cleaning towers were ever built, but obviously things he mentions as given, are mentioned & sold forty years later as brand new, happened just five or six years ago.
He mentions and cites writers & thinkers, among them Nobel laureates, a tradition dating back to the 19th century, I simply do not know about. I need to look up a few persons.
And when I put this book down, and looked into another one (about Stalin’s foreign forces) just out of curiosity, I saw the following photograph :

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There you have it : He is either immortal or a time traveller, or both.

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Time(s) is strange.

Beer, Virus, Glasses

I am in a chatty mood today. I bought some beer from foreign places. Some weeks ago a friend invited me to dinner, and we went to a place that offers Chinese food. I never have been to China, or Asia in general, so I have no idea whether the food offered here in Europe as “Chinese”, “Asian”, Thai” etc. is really something people in those countries or regions actually do eat. What is sold here may well be adapted to a common “European” taste. On their menue I found Korean beer, and ordered a bottle. The stuff was actually manufactured in Germany, a normal, nondescript “Pils”, drinkable, not bad, just a beer.
But today I bought beer from China – it seems that the big steamers now do arrive in Europe again : Brewed & bottled in Qingdao (Ger., Eng.) in a brewery established in 1903, when the city was a German colony. It contained only a very small amount of rice (3 %). I wonder if in other former German colonies also breweries can be found. It was a very pale, and “light” brew, nicely drinkable, less than 5 % alcohol. Just serve well cooled.
Out of pure curiosity I also bought a Belgian brew, something I usually avoid at all costs, simply because these people throw anything into their beer that can not run away : Rice, sugar, colour, more yeast, even chocolate. In my experience Belgian beer is synonym with headaches of the very bad sort. They produce these concoctions of course with a little more uumph than usual. So the “exceptionally rich and complex flavour palette” comes with more than 10 % alcohol. It is called “Gulden Draak” (Eng.) and comes in very small bottles. Two are enough, seriously.

In circa two weeks the new school year will start, it seems that for me nothing changes – same route, same children. We will have to start twenty minutes earlier than last year, so it nearly equals what we had before the pandemic. The virus’ “numbers” are all going upwards around here, it will be interesting to see if, and when yes, what, will be changed. Presumably nothing.
I have not read about the last “findings” of the virus’ origins, and frankly, I am inclined to doubt anything in this respect that comes from a stately source, be it USAmerican, or Chinese, or else.
I can not forget this article on Reuters from last year, nevertheless I do not know what to make out of it. I vaguely remember that the French also reported a virus related death from late 2019. Whatever it means, I hope someone will piece it together one day.
All I am interested in is that no one of the people I love gets infected, and that I meself do not infect nobody. If that means, I am the odd one with the mask, so be it. Surely I will not use something that is made for de-worming cattle as a medication.

I spent too much time on news sites these days, of course I could not escape the last effort of Mr West, who seemingly found something he calls “Jesus”. What I heard on youtube, and other occasions, was bombastically boring ; someone should tell him that the only person, who gets away with supersized glasses on this planet, is Ms Apfel, happy hundredth by the way.
Enough of this. Sorry for having bored you for another five minutes or so. Let’s finish with The Pylon of the Month, August 2021, here.

Interlude, British

I have to beg for Your pardon, dearest MsScarlet, because this is another “political” post, and I do know that You do not like to read about such matters here. But what I saw this evening simply excited me, and I think I should mention it here.
I wanted to write about the Huzulei, what sent me down a rabbit hole, thinking about history in general, in particular, and how I became a “historian” etc., this is for later.
Watching the news – that is, scrolling through websites – I stumbled over Mr CUMMINGS, and the first thing that (really) “popped up” in my head was the German word “Schuft”, and how to translate it. My online dictionaire gave me words I can not really assess, like “wretch”, “cad”, or “scoundrel” – the latter I already have heared a long time ago, I have not read one of the other suggestions lately. Maybe the word irself is out-dated. It generally describes a man without honour, einen ehrlosen Menschen.
Usually I avoid “videos” at all cost, but here I could not resist.
I do not know about Mr CUMMINGS honour, but what I saw today, and read, is, well, a well performed murder on open scene. And he is (as what I saw in clips) absolutely within himself in this performance – kudos ! I think we see the groundwork for his return to power – and believe me, nothing else is more important to him than power, he is hooked ! – in a Gove-Shunak production that will go over the ramp soon. I may be wrong about this, may be still under the spell of this evening’s performance, but what I saw was great : This guy has potential, he is carved out for a leading role, and – despite the fact that I dislike basically everything of this man – I truly think he could be one of the few, who can handle power.
Again, I have no idea whether this is something really remarkable in the large connexion, or just a bump in the road I watch from a mole’s hill, and hence over estimate. But I am impressed. I simply can not imagine such a Schurkerei in German politics – it would be suicide. But in this special case here, it is not – au contraire, it is survival : CUMMINGS will not go away.
Sorry again, the Huzulei will follow soon. Politics is never boring on these islands off Europe.