1. “Scotland Yard” is chasing Mister X and Mister Y
From a civic perspective, all is well with the world these days.
While capital has gained so much that the state is now gambling on the capital markets with Pension Package II to support statutory retirement benefits (more on that here), we should all watch “Germany is looking for the super terrorists”.
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Burkhard Garweg, Daniela Klette
Photo: [M] DER SPIEGEL;
AFP;
Private
After the arrest of the retired terrorist Daniela Klette, it's a bit like the old board game "Scotland Yard" - Mister X has shown himself, he was just there, he must be very close.
Neither Klette nor her alleged former RAF accomplices Ernst-Volker Staub and Burkhard Garweg had lived particularly comfortably recently, as SPIEGEL research has shown: without an account, without a credit card, without health insurance.
The trio apparently managed sparingly with their last million-dollar loot from a robbery in 2015, as my colleague Hubert Gude writes: "It was probably a rather rough life in illegality, without the comforts of a middle-class environment" - and without a statutory RAF pension in form of stocks.
From a bourgeois perspective, one can only hope that the two men will also be caught soon.
So that this nightmare can finally end.
Read more here: The uncomfortable underground life of ex-RAF terrorists
2. The situation with the strike
The other day my sister was angry at Germany.
She only recently returned after two decades in southern Europe. She had to take the bus to work that day - and couldn't because the bus service in our city was on strike: "Why," she asked, "do bystanders have to suffer?" Collective bargaining parties can’t come to an agreement?”
I patiently explained to her that the industrial dispute is a social achievement that, if not supported with benevolence, should at least be accepted grudgingly.
If there is no bus, you take the bike.
If there is no flight, you take the train.
It's all a matter of attitude in the sense that you can ultimately adjust to it.
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Demonstration against right-wing extremism in Lübbecke
Photo:
Noah Wedel / IMAGO
That's what I was rambling about before GDL boss Claus Weselsky announced a series of "wave strikes" after the 35-hour strike that began today - an unannounced, surprising and therefore rather treacherous form of work stoppage: "That's it." which we should all switch to for ecological reasons, “no longer a reliable means of transport,” as Weselsky thankfully explained (read our editorial).
Anyone who has to cover large distances cannot simply switch to a plane.
The additional strike by aviation security inspectors at many airports turns the wave strike into a monster wave of strikes.
You can stand on it however you want.
In any case, I'm glad that activists are no longer stuck on the streets.
Otherwise I wouldn't have been able to drive my sister to work.
We have largely avoided the topic of “industrial disputes”.
Read more about the culture of demonstration here: Germany has been a protest nation for a long time - we just don't remember it
3. A cowboy in space
Let's imagine for a moment that there are no buses, no trains, no planes taking off - the visionary Elon Musk had his Cybertruck developed for this dystopian and unlikely case.
Tesla does not plan test drives for experts.
That's why my colleague Thomas Geiger gained private access for an exclusive SPIEGEL test and writes: "Other drivers voluntarily give way.
Some curiously pull over to the side to stare in amazement at this car, which looks as if it came straight from space.«
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Tesla Cybertruck, car tester Geiger
Photo: Thomas Geiger
In terms of performance, the monster could compete with a Lamborghini, but in practical terms it could not compete with a gasoline-powered competitor such as the corresponding pick-up monster from Ford.
The ride on the big ship is “anything but comfortable,” and if you drive over speed bumps too quickly, you “almost feel like you’re shaking your teeth out of your jaw.”
The thing is robust and designed for the cowboy, who can use it to check on his cattle down by the creek during the zombie or Weselsky apocalypse.
Apparently nothing can stop the Cybertruck.
No machine gun fire, no nuclear strike, not even the death of the driver – autonomous driving makes it possible!
It is susceptible to bird droppings and rust.
And for running out of power – or for “eco-terrorists” to turn off the factory’s power.
Read more here: This is how Tesla's apocalyptic car drives
What else is important today?
EPP elects von der Leyen as top candidate:
Ursula von der Leyen is hoping for a second term as EU Commission President.
The European People's Party has now chosen her as the top candidate for the European elections in June.
René Benko has filed for personal bankruptcy:
According to SPIEGEL information, the Austrian real estate investor René Benko has filed for personal bankruptcy.
In doing so, he apparently forestalled an insolvency notice.
“Rust” weapons master found guilty:
A fatal shot was fired while filming a western in 2021.
Now the weapons master has been found guilty.
She faces up to 18 months in prison.
My favorite story today
... was my favorite story yesterday evening, namely the “top conversation” with my colleague Markus Feldenkirchen as moderator.
It's about the war that Israel is waging against Hamas in Gaza.
The journalist Khola Maryam Hübsch is debating with Philipp Peymann Engel, the editor-in-chief of the “Jüdische Allgemeine”.
The conversation provides a convenient opportunity to get to know the opposing positions on this issue.
And it's really a conversation, not a scolding.
Anyone who has a preconceived opinion on this important topic can sharpen it here like a whetstone - but also listen to decisive contradictions without having to get their pulse racing.
Which means a lot has been gained these days.
See more here: “How can it be that we allow this?”
What we recommend today at SPIEGEL+
Can a hamburger cost more during peak times?
Fast food chain Wendy's plans for dynamic pricing are angering customers in the US.
The company backed down, but the concept is likely to catch on in many places.
An enemy, a good friend:
Karl Lauterbach wants to use TikTok, US President Joe Biden is already there.
On the one hand, politicians are embracing the platform, but on the other hand, the White House is now demanding that Chinese operators sell their app.
How humans became runners:
No animal can walk as persistently as humans.
To this day, researchers wonder how exactly he learned to walk upright.
Is the answer in your ear?
Which is less important today
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Photo:
Victor Boyko/Getty Images
Yu Ji-min
, 23, better known under the stage name
Karina
and as the front woman of the band
Aespa
, had to use the ancient Chinese cultural technique of kowtow - and apologized to her fans, who call themselves MYs: "I know how disappointed MYs who supported me must have been and how upset they are."
The reason for the disappointment and dismay: Karina has a boyfriend.
In their genre, K-pop (the most prominent representatives of which are the groups BTS and Black Pink), this is a bad thing.
Stars from South Korea or Japan are often contractually forbidden by strict management to maintain amorous relationships.
They are intended to serve as projection surfaces for their audience.
Karina, in turn, accused Karina of “betrayal” and publicly asked the question: “Is the love your fans give you not enough?”
Of course, this cannot be surpassed in terms of invasive intrusiveness.
But hey, what does “natural” mean in this high-pressure version of pop that has been conquering the world for years, soon, very soon, next year at the latest, at the very latest with BTS’s new album?
Or as my department head recently said: »K-Pop?
That was such a nonsense too.”
Mini concave mirror
From the “Rhein-Zeitung”:
“With Johannes Behner, the city association of Christian Democrats is now also sending a candidate into the race who is still under 30 years old.
34 to be exact.”
You can find the entire concave mirror here.
Cartoon of the day
And tonight?
Demoscopy is, roughly speaking, something like the clinical thermometer in society's innermost parts.
What was read from the viscera in ancient Rome is what today's augurs interpret into their columns of numbers - and in doing so, they get some debates going.
How popular is Friedrich Merz?
Weapons for Ukraine?
What are Germans most afraid of?
The survey is a poke at the hypothetical, even if it is “representative”.
And we have seen often enough, especially before and after elections, that even the most conscientious forecasts cannot be relied upon.
There's something wrong there.
I hope to find out what exactly this evening in “System Questions,” a program on Deutschlandfunk (8:10 p.m.).
Anyway, radio.
So not “the greatest hits of the seventies, eighties and nineties”, but real radio.
This medium is said to be on the rise again, especially “among younger people” because it is perceived as the grandmother of the podcast, so to speak.
However, the corresponding report was the result of a survey, so the cat bites its tail again.
We wish you a pleasant evening
Yours, Arno Frank, author