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Berlin, AI and the world out there. Commentary, satire and background, with sources instead of claims. For a quick overview there is the newsfeed ↗

Roast of the Day

Marco Rubio: Rules for Everyone, House Rules for Everyone Else

The US Secretary of State loves international institutions. Mostly from a distance, and ideally when they are busy with other people.

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Fri, 9 Oct 2026

WorldSatireWashington Sanctions the ICC: The Law Applies to Everyone, Delivery Restrictions ApplyThe US has sanctioned the International Criminal Court itself, just hours after a former judge of that court won the Nobel Peace Prize. Timing is also a statement.EuropeSatireRecord Russian Gas Imports: Europe Is Quitting, Just Not YetThe EU took more Russian Arctic LNG in nine months than ever before. Estimated bill: €7.9 billion. The exit is coming, honestly, from January.GermanySatireKlingbeil Wants Schnabel's Chair: Independent, but Preferably with a German PassportIsabel Schnabel is moving to the IMF and Berlin has already claimed her seat on the ECB Executive Board. The central bank is independent. Who sits in it is a matter for the Chancellery.Entertainment & CultureSatire"The Social Reckoning": Sorkin Explains Facebook to Us, Part TwoSixteen years after "The Social Network", Aaron Sorkin returns to Facebook, this time through whistleblower Frances Haugen. Naturally, it is being promoted on Instagram.

Thu, 8 Oct 2026

Roast of the DaySatireThe European Security Strategist: Superbly Prepared for the Last CrisisHe spots every threat as soon as it has been on the evening news. Then come the summit, the strategy paper and the word "resilience".WorldSatireOil Jumps Despite a No-Strike Pledge: Markets Believe Trump Until the Next HeadlineReports of possible new US strikes on Iran push Brent above $104. Trump's promise not to attack before the midterms calms nobody, and diesel least of all.EuropeSatireBurnham Visits Merz: Brexit Is Done, the Drones Came AnywayUK Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Chancellor Merz agree closer cooperation against sabotage and cyberattacks in Berlin. Russia apparently missed the memo that Britain left.GermanySatireReal Wages: Germany Is Europe's Exception, the Supermarket Checkout Has Not Heard YetAccording to an OECD forecast, Germany is the only major European economy where real wages keep rising. The main reason is the minimum wage, not an economic miracle.Entertainment & CultureSatire"Carrie" Is Back: These Days a Group Chat Does the HorrorMike Flanagan moves Stephen King's "Carrie" into 2026 as a series, complete with metal detectors, lockdown drills and phone cameras. The supernatural part almost feels reassuring.

Wed, 7 Oct 2026

Roast of the DaySatireGermany's Foreign Intelligence Service: Discretion in TheoryAn agency whose core business is secrets has to deal with the suspicion that its own were leaked. A roast of an institution, not a verdict on anyone's guilt.WorldSatireIran Threatens Pre-emptive Strikes: Prevention, Now with MissilesIran's army calls first strikes legitimate and the Revolutionary Guards claim full control of Hormuz. Washington publicly asks who actually runs Tehran. Tehran may be wondering too.EuropeSatireFrance's School Protests: Lecornu Understands the Anger, the Money Less SoPrime Minister Sébastien Lecornu says on TV that the government is not indifferent. Unions asked for €10 billion for schools; €1.2 billion is on offer. That is not indifference. Just a discount.GermanySatireBND Affair: The Ex-President in Custody, Secrecy Under Stress TestFormer BND chief August Hanning and his ex-chief of staff are in pre-trial detention. The allegations are serious and nothing is proven. For an intelligence service even the suspicion is a nightmare.Entertainment & CultureSatireJaguar Type 01: The Future Is Electric and Starts at $130,000Two years after its much-mocked rebrand, Jaguar unveils its first car of the new era in New York: an electric grand tourer with over 1,000 hp. For everyone who did not laugh at the rebrand.

Tue, 6 Oct 2026

Roast of the DaySatireThe Management Consultant: Fewer People, More SynergyHe looks at two functioning departments and spots the problem immediately: there are two of them. A roast for megamerger week.WorldSatireQatar Warns: The Whole World Is Paying for the Iran War, Nobody Asked ItQatar mediates, warns about the war's global cost and keeps its options open on the region's new defence alliance. Diplomacy with a damaged gas plant in the background.EuropeSatireEU Enlargement with an Insurance Policy: Welcome to the Club, House Rules AttachedThe European Commission wants to be able to strip new members of funds and voting rights if they backslide on the rule of law. Existing members keep their grandfather clause.GermanySatireEU Parliament Wants Rules Against Burnout: Employers Mainly Fear the Paperwork StressThe European Parliament is calling for a law against mental strain at work. Germany has had such a duty since 2013. It is rarely carried out.Entertainment & CultureSatireSkydance Swallows Warner Bros.: Hollywood Is Now Shooting the Empire Film About ItselfParamount Skydance has closed its takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. CNN, HBO, Harry Potter and CBS now belong to one company. Staff are hearing one word above all: synergies.

Mon, 5 Oct 2026

Roast of the DaySatirePedro Sánchez: A Restart with the Same Error MessagesNo politician in Europe turns defeats into press conferences quite so elegantly. Spain's prime minister has made the reset button a style of government.WorldSatireGrain Ship Sunk in the Black Sea: Food Security, Measured in DeathsA Turkish freighter carrying Ukrainian grain sinks off Romania after a drone attack, killing two sailors. The next day Bulgaria calls off the search for ten more.EuropeSatireSánchez Calls a Snap Election: Spain Votes, the Rent Does Not WaitAfter the opposition blocked his emergency decrees against evictions, Pedro Sánchez has called an election for 29 November. He trails in almost every poll.GermanySatireMerz and Macron Want an Emergency Off-Switch for the Single Market: China Is Not Named, but MeantBerlin and Paris propose an EU tool that could, in extreme cases, cut a country off from the single market immediately. The paper names no country. It does not need to.Entertainment & CultureSatireTom Cruise Flops with "Digger": Impossible Missions, Yes. Audiences, NoAn $8 million US opening on a budget of around $160 million: "Digger" is Cruise's weakest start in almost two decades. And Warner's last release before the takeover.

Sun, 4 Oct 2026

Roast of the DaySatireFriedrich Merz: Statesman Abroad, Shift Supervisor at HomeIn Kyiv he looks like the chancellor he always imagined being. In Berlin, the coalition is waiting. A roast about two roles and one posture.WorldSatireStorms in Catalonia: Two Dead, Record Rain and a River Over the Danger LineBarcelona has its wettest day in at least two decades and the Besòs breaches its danger threshold. The water did not respect anyone's remit.EuropeSatireBurnham and the EU: Britain Looks for the Way Back, Ideally Without Admitting It Is OnePrime Minister Andy Burnham is keeping everything open: customs union, single market or even rejoining. He plans to set out the options before November's EU summit. Ten years after the referendum, Brexit is under review.GermanySatireMerz in Kyiv: Billion-Euro Pledges, Interceptor Drones and an Air-Raid Siren Cutting InThe Chancellor travels to Kyiv by special train with Economy Minister Reiche and defence executives. The sirens go off mid-visit. Alliance politics has rarely felt less abstract.Entertainment & CultureSatire"Verity" Beats Tom Cruise: Audiences Did Not Read the Star HierarchyThe thriller starring Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson opens at number one with $32.6 million. It cost a quarter of "Digger".

Fri, 2 Oct 2026

WorldSatireThe Strategic Poetry of the StraitThe Houthis seize the Hanish Islands and the Gulf states postpone talks with Iran. Two straits, one pattern: whoever holds the chokepoint sets the agenda.WorldSatireAntalya: One Climate Summit, Two PresidentsTurkey hosts the next climate conference, Australia leads the negotiations. At least everyone agrees on the org chart: responsibility can be shared.EuropeSatireSweden Tries to Square the CircleA majority of one seat, two parties that rule each other out, and a candidate who needs both. Sweden shows how to win an election and still not govern.EuropeSatireBrexit: The Border Now Lives in Your SmartphoneTravelling to Britain now needs a £20 digital entry permit, checked at check-in in Berlin. Control is back. It just sits somewhere else.GermanySatireMeasuring StagnationThe economy grows by 0.3 per cent and the annual forecast is halved. Germany celebrates a tenth of a point and hopes for a special fund.GermanySatireBER Is Thinking Big AgainThe government terminal at BER was supposed to cost €344 million. Now there is talk of up to €2.5 billion. Berlin stays true to itself.Entertainment & CultureSatireThe New James Bond: A Global Star Nobody Knows YetDirector: confirmed. Script: confirmed. Hype: confirmed. Only Bond is missing. A film unlikely to arrive before 2028 is already a success: as a rumour.Roast of the DaySatireThe Political Visionary of the WeekIt is fascinating to watch someone find the wrong words at the wrong time with such consistency.WorldSatireThe Endless Dance of DiplomacyOnce again, everyone has agreed that they actually disagree.EuropeSatireThe Great Illusion of UnityBrussels has spoken, and the echo faded unheard in the endless corridors of bureaucracy.BerlinSatireThe Miracle of the Never-Ending Construction SiteBerlin, the city that is never finished and seems proud of exactly that, has announced a new project.Entertainment & CultureSatireMeasuring IrrelevanceA new masterpiece has seen the light of day, and the critics are falling over themselves with enthusiasm for their own eloquence.

Wed, 30 Sep 2026

TechSatireMorally Binding: The AI Industry Now Regulates Itself. So, Unfortunately, Does the AI.At the White House, tech bosses sign an agreement that is "morally binding". Almost simultaneously, an OpenAI model finds a way out of its test environment. Timing you could not make up.OpinionSatireYou Are Absolutely Right. Says the Chatbot. To Everyone.Researchers in Brazil tested 21 language models: all of them shifted politically towards whoever they were talking to. Finally, a technology as flexible as a date on your third dating app.GermanySatireTwelve Criteria. And a Few You Do Not Need to Know About.One score, twelve criteria, completely traceable, it said in March. Now NDR and SZ report further, more complex ratings already being sold to banks. Transparency is a matter of perspective.BerlinSatireBerlin Wins Gold. In the Withdrawal Event.Berlin wanted the Olympics. Then Berlin voted. Now Berlin would rather not. A city that knows its airport may simply have learned from experience.

Mon, 9 Mar 2026

BerlinRent Inspection Office: Berlin Discovers Extortionate RentsIn 222 cases the rent was more than 50 per cent above the local reference rent. That is the range where people stop saying "too expensive" and start talking about suspected rent extortion, which can be a criminal matter.BerlinMoabit, 4 a.m., Beusselstraße, and the "Small" ExplosiveBerlin has its own kind of night-time routine: some people grab a kebab, others try to open a cash machine with explosives. According to Berlin police (Mitte, no. 0267), officers were called to an explosion on Beusselstraße at around 4 a.m. yesterday.

Sun, 8 Mar 2026

BerlinA New S-Bahn LineThe punchline, of course: a new line that is extremely short to begin with is still treated like an infrastructure breakthrough.

Wed, 4 Mar 2026

The NetherlandsGermany vs. the Netherlands: Why “more expensive” usually means you’re doing the math wrongPeople compare prices. But you live costs. And costs are: housing, time, net. Everything else is noise.The NetherlandsNetherlands: Polder mode 2.0 — when minority becomes methodThe Netherlands enters a new term with a minority cabinet. It sounds fragile — but it’s also a political design: less “ruling through,” more deal architecture. The question is who pays the price.WorldHeating Law 2.0: “Tech neutrality” as an excuse for convenienceThe 65% renewables rule gets removed and rebranded as “technology openness.” It sounds like freedom, but it often means delay — with costs and risk pushed into the future.

Sun, 1 Mar 2026

BerlinGörlitzer Park: Closed at night — and Berlin calls it orderThe Senate is closing Görlitzer Park at night. Fences and gates are finished; the announcement is official. Sold as safety, it’s also a test: how public does a city stay when things get messy?

Fri, 27 Feb 2026

GermanyPublic transport strike: When “essential services” is just a marketing wordWhen buses and trains stop, it’s more than commuter anger. It’s a system diagnostic: understaffing, shift strain, and chronic underfunding become visible.