“Collective depression can affect an entire country”

Good morning dear readers

Here’s the annotated overview of the day’s topics:

WAS THE WAR?

There is a hustle and bustle in politics. Appointments are made, canceled, rescheduled, advanced. Everything suddenly has to happen very fast. “Now every day counts,” I wrote at this point yesterday morning. “Every day counts,” Chancellor Merkel announced a few hours later. Tomorrow he will reconvene the prime ministers and want to wrest even tougher decisions against the epidemic from them. By now everyone must have understood what the clock has struck, heard from the government district, the mosaic of confusing regulations must finally end. This is prohibited in Hamburg, which in Munich, Cologne does so, Erfurt completely different: no one can see through it anymore.

The crown situation is not only worsening in Germany, In this country too, it seems only a matter of time before the first clinics sound the alarm. “We are noticing that the pandemic is recovering again, and our intensive care beds are already half full of Covid patients,” a senior doctor told me yesterday. The map of Germany of the affected districts turns increasingly red. Yesterday, the Robert Koch Institute reported twice as many new infections as on Monday of the previous week. The growth is exponential and the Chancellor’s fears seem to be confirmed. That explains their discomfort. And your rush. After leaving the stage to the country’s chiefs in the summer, Merkel is now taking the reins into her own hands again. In German federalism, your options are limited; she cannot decide much for herself. But it can appeal, warn, moderate and pressure. Another call, another text message, even less sleep. “Corona has us under a spell. Corona determines our life. Of course, it restricts our democracy because the executive makes decisions and the legislature for the most part can only watch.” writes our columnist Gerhard Spörl in his summary of the political situation. Germany has repeatedly been in a state of emergency. During the terror crisis in the fall of 1977. During the refugee crisis in the summer and fall of 2015. But no crisis hit as many citizens as the Corona year: first in spring, then in summer, now in autumn, plus the prospect of a difficult winter.

(Source: Robert Koch Institute. GeoBasis-DE / BKG Maps 2017)

It’s a drama and more and more people react with violent emotions. Fear. Go to. Doubt. Darkness. Restless employees no longer dare to enter the office. Rabid esotericists abuse those who wear masks. Opponents of vaccination and defenders of vaccination, the warn and deny, the sensitive and the ruthless, beat each other up on the internet. And some simply report what happened to them. “Corona’s test came back positive a month ago. Today a bike ride across the Rhine Bridge still feels like a sprint, my sense of taste is at a maximum of 50 percent. Here’s my ‘easy ride’ like a young and fit person. in “, writes journalist Victoria Reith. Many older people hardly go outside and feel alone at home. Open the newspaper and read Corona. Turn on the television and watch Corona. Call the grandchildren and listen to Corona. This crisis is shaking not only our healthcare system and our economy, but also our spirits. It is unthinkable that this will continue for weeks and the situation will get worse. Collective depression can affect an entire country, deepen social divisions, and cause social conflict.

No one can want that. I think this pandemic is bad, there is no doubt about that. But we must not allow it to divide us, to rob us of our joie de vivre, to poison our society. Those who read negative news all the time have a gloomy view of the world. So this morning I have selected a small selection of positive news for you:

The development of vaccines against corona is advancing rapidly, and two German companies are leaders: Die Firmen Curevac of Tübingen Y Mainz Biontech We hope for an antidote to the disease in the near future. In the coming weeks, they want to take decisive steps.

Thanks to Corona, fewer tourists travel to exotic places – Flora and fauna benefit from this. In the Galapagos Islands, for example, the penguin population is recovering, it is now larger than it has been in 40 years.

The Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia is in danger from the climate crisis, much of it has already died. But now researchers have discovered a huge coral reef there.

Chileans they have freed themselves from the legacy of Pinochet’s military dictatorship and voted for a new constitution. Aims to alleviate social inequality Millions of people celebrate the dawn of a better future.

We see the flashy USA especially these days. But there is also a completely different America: a country in which young people are committed to social justice, climate protection and world peace.

The water hyacinth it is a treacherous plant. In Asia and Africa it grows faster than any other plant, robs people and fields of water, ruins fish populations and exacerbates hunger crises. Bavarian environmentalists have found a method to use the plant sensibly: A pest turns into biochar.

Many innkeepers They have to close due to Corona, in many places pub culture is at risk. In a small town in Lower Saxony, citizens show what can be done about it: They founded a cooperative and saved the village inn. A good role model.

It is reconfortable sometimes to read good news (there are more of them here). The mind remains alert, the mood bright. The next days and weeks will be exhausting. It is even more important that we do not get angry.

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WHAT HAPPENS?

A population of penguins in Antarctica. (Source: imago images)

Today begins the international conference on the protection of living beings in Antarctica. Practically, of course. Most importantly, participating states could declare other parts of the Arctic Ocean protected areas. The German government is working to establish the world’s largest marine protected area in the Weddell Sea, but faces strong resistance from China and Russia.

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The AfD parliamentary group in Brandenburg elect your new president. After right-wing extremist Andreas Kalbitz withdrew, the top of the parliamentary group is vacant. The candidates are Christoph Berndt, Birgit Bessin and Dennis Hohloch. Pianist Igor Levit and other musicians want to play against the AfD before the state parliament in Potsdam.

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The Taxpayers Association presents its Black Book 2020/21 and it shows us where tax money has been wasted on unnecessary or overpriced projects. One can be outraged by the results of each year, for one thing. On the other hand, one may find it good that the state has to be responsible for what it does with our money. That would be unthinkable in Russia, China or Turkey.

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The Enquete Commission to examine the opportunities and risks of artificial intelligence presents its final report. I highly recommend this insightful interview from my colleague Marc von Lüpke.

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The video of the day is hidden in a tweet:

The best thing to do is to quickly click on it and take a look yourself: here. Election Day in the US is only a week from now, but you can already see queues as large in front of polling stations as here in many American cities. This recording is from Silver Spring, Maryland, where early voting began a few hours ago. In other states, citizens have been able to cast their vote for a long time. More than 60 million Americans have already done so, in person or by letter. One big reason is, of course, Corona, but it could also indicate higher participation overall. My colleague Johannes Bebermeier explains why many Americans still do not vote.

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READ WHAT

How many wreath cases do we have for Christmas? When are hospitals in Germany full? The investigator Thorsten Lehr has developed a simulator that can answer these questions. He explained it to my colleague Nicole Sagener.

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Thomas oppermann He was athletic, energetic, and looked younger than him. This is one of the reasons why the sudden death of the 66-year-old SPD politician is so shocking, writes Gerhard Spörl in his obituary: “The power did not fill him.”

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Anne Hathaway loves to cheat for her life. (Source: Warner Bros. Pictures)

Almost 40 years after the publication of Roald Dahl’s classic children’s book “Hexen hexen” the story still inspires millions of people. Now Hollywood has re-filmed the plot. Oscar winner Anne Hathaway I told my colleague Janna Halbroth why it means so much to her to play the villain.

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What amuses me?

Now there are winners and losers in the CDU.

(Source: Mario Lars)

I wish you a day when you are one of the winners.

Sincerely,

you

Florian Damage
Editor-in-chief of t-online
Email: [email protected]

With dpa material.

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