(May 7, 2025)
Kurz nachdem Friedrich Merz im ersten Wahlgang gescheitert ist, erhĂ€lt die ehemalige Chefin der Linkspartei Janine Wissler einen Anruf. Alexander Dobrindt ist am Apparat, bis vor kurzem CSU-Landesgruppenchef. Das sei jetzt kein „Pocket Call“, also kein Taschenanruf aus Versehen, gibt er Wissler zu verstehen, er mĂŒsse dringend mit ihr sprechen……
(Sept 13, 2023)
At the Private and Public Sector Entity Levels. (In trillions of U.S. dollars)
PRIVATE SECTOR:
Households 121.9
Nonprofits 8.6
Noncorporate businesses 17.2
Total U.S. Private Sector 147.7
PUBLIC SECTOR:
Federal government – 21.3
State and local government 11.5
Total U.S. Public Sector – 9.8
Instrument discrepancies – 1.1
TOTAL U.S. WEALTH 136.8
(Juli 16, 2026)
Private Haushalte
Geldvermögen insgesamt
9.489,9 (Milliarden Euro)
(…)
Nichtfinanzielle Kapitalgesellschaften
(unkonsolidiert)
Geldvermögen insgesamt
9.068,5 (Milliarden Euro)
(…)
(October 17, 2024)
Private Haushalte
Geldvermögen insgesamt
8.814,7 (Milliarden Euro)
(…)
Nichtfinanzielle Kapitalgesellschaften
(unkonsolidiert)
Geldvermögen insgesamt
8.779,8 (Milliarden Euro)
(…)
(October 25, 2015)
A political consultant once related how he lunched with Benjamin Netanyahu, who ordered a hamburger with fries. He was not supposed to be eating such foods â doctorâs orders. As they were finishing up, Bibiâs wife, Sarah, came in, saw the evidence and began to see red. Netanyahu, all righteous indignation, looked her straight in the eye and said he had eaten no such hamburger. The storyteller said he was convinced at that moment that Netanyahu himself believed it.
If apocryphal, it is definitely in character. Netanyahu regularly embraces bad ideas or even lies so totally that he convinces himself of their rightness. Others start to believe them too. His outlandish idea, uttered in a speech, was that Hitler would have been happy with just expelling Jews if a Palestinian, the then grand mufti of Jerusalem, had not suggested annihilation instead.
During Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi‘s visit to Washington, the United States and Iraq reaffirmed that all remaining U.S. military forces would withdraw from Iraq by 30 September 2026, marking the end of the U.S.-led military mission in the country.
Der Bundestag hat am Donnerstag, 16. Oktober 2025, den Bundeswehreinsatz im Roten Meer um ein Jahr verlĂ€ngert. Dazu lag ein Antrag der Bundesregierung fĂŒr die fortgesetzte Beteiligung der Bundeswehr an der EU-gefĂŒhrten Operation Eunavfor Aspides zur Abwehr von Angriffen der Huthi-Milizen auf die Schifffahrt im Roten Meer vor (21/1372(Dokument, öffnet ein neues Fenster)). In namentlicher Abstimmung wurde der Antrag auf Empfehlung des AuswĂ€rtigen Ausschusses mit 435 Ja-Stimmen bei 69 Gegenstimmen und 77 Enthaltungen angenommen.
(January 30, 2026)
Die Bundeswehr beteiligt sich seit 2015 am internationalen Anti-IS-Einsatz. Die Mission wird von einer breiten Koalition aus mehr als 70 LĂ€ndern getragen â darunter auch Deutschland.
Die Personalobergrenze von 500 deutschen Soldatinnen und Soldaten wird unverÀndert beibehalten.
Das aktuelle Mandat ist bis zum 31. Januar 2027 verlÀngert worden.
Participants discussed possible responses to the attacks, including the option of carrying out military retaliation or refraining from any action.
The sources added that âthe factions are facing significant political and government pressure not to escalate militarily,â amid concerns that any retaliation could trigger serious security and political repercussions inside Iraq and further widen the regional conflict.
During Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi‘s visit to Washington, the United States and Iraq reaffirmed that all remaining U.S. military forces would withdraw from Iraq by 30 September 2026, marking the end of the U.S.-led military mission in the country.
(December 8, 2016)
Am 30. Mai 1968 beschloss der Bundestag mit den Stimmen der damaligen âgroĂen Koalitionâ das âSiebzehnte Gesetz zur ErgĂ€nzung des Grundgesetzesâ. Diese VerfassungsĂ€nderungen, die u.a. die Gewaltenteilung fĂŒr das Grundrecht der BĂŒrger auf Brief-, Post- und Fernmeldegeheimnis aufhob und damit die Grundlage fĂŒr den jahrzehntelangen Totalausfall der Demokratie und WillkĂŒr im geheimdienstlichen Komplex schufen, wurden seinerzeit âNotstandsgesetzeâ genannt.
Die eigentlichen Notstandsgesetze aber entstanden erst nach 1968. Ăber die Jahrzehnte wurden eine bis heute öffentlich nicht bekannte Zahl von ausfĂŒhrenden Gesetzen, Verordnungen bzw âBestimmungenâ oder âRechtsvorschriftenâ (z.B. Dienstvorschriften in MilitĂ€r und Geheimdiensten) quasi als juristische âSchlĂ€ferâ geschaffen, um ânach MaĂgabeâ des neuen Verfassungsartikels 80a im Falle des Falles in Kraft zu treten.
Aber welchen Falles? Und durch wen?
(…)
Ein âinternationales Organâ kann also âim Rahmen eines BĂŒndnisvertrages mit Zustimmung der Bundesregierungâ âRechtsvorschriftenâ unter Bezug auf Grundgesetz Artikel 80a zur Anwendung bringen. Und das selbst unter Umgehung der Feststellung von Verteidigungsfall und Spannungsfall durch den Bundestag.
Wie Absatz 3 Satz 2 von Artikel 80a besagt, mĂŒssen diese âMaĂnahmenâ von derart in Kraft getretenen Notstandsgesetzen bzw âRechtsvorschriftenâ wieder aufgehoben werden, âwenn der Bundestag es mit der Mehrheit seiner Mitglieder verlangtâ.
Was aber, wenn der Bundestag gar nicht weiĂ, dass solche âMaĂnahmenâ ĂŒberhaupt existieren? Oder nichts vom entsprechenden Beschluss eines âinternationalen Organsâ erfahren hat? Oder zumindest die ĂŒberwĂ€ltigende Mehrheit der Abgeordneten im Dunkeln gehalten wurde, z.B. von den eingeweihten FraktionsfĂŒhrungen?
(December 29, 2022)
Auch mit Deutschland soll es zumindest GesprÀche gegeben haben, geht aus den Haaretz vorliegenden Dokumenten hervor. Neben den USA und Australien soll es zudem Kontakt mit Singapur gegeben haben, einem nicht-demokratischen Staat. Ob die LÀnder tatsÀchlich Produkte von Toka einsetzen, ist nicht bekannt.
Der Markt fĂŒr vernetzte GerĂ€te wie Videokameras, KĂŒhlschrĂ€nke und Autos wĂ€chst seit Jahren kontinuierlich an.
(December 27, 2022)
Haaretz continued:
Twenty years on, this is no longer the stuff of movies: Toka‘s tech allows clients to do just that and moreânot just diverting a live feed but also altering old feeds and erasing any evidence of a covert op.
Technical documents reviewed by an ethical hacker prove that Toka‘s tech can alter both live and recorded video feedsâall without leaving any forensics or telltale signs of a hack (in contrast to NSO‘s Pegasus spyware, or Intellexa‘s Predator, which leave a digital fingerprint on targeted devices).
(March 13, 1962)
c. Commence large scale United States military operations.
3. A „Remember the Maine“ incident could be arranged in several forms:
a. We could blow up a US ship in Guantanamo Bay and blame Cuba.
b. We could blow up a drone (unmanned) vessel anywhere in the Cuban waters. We could arrange to cause such incident in the vicinity of Havana or Santiago as a spectacular result of Cuban attack from the air or sea, or both. The presence of Cuban planes or ships merely investigating the intent of the vessel could be fairly compelling evidence that the ship was taken under attack. The nearness to Havana or Santiago would add credibility especially to those people that might have heard the blast or have seen the fire. The US could follow up with an air/sea rescue operation covered by US fighters to „evacuate“ remaining members of the non-existent crew. Casualty lists in US newspapers would cause a helpful wave of national indignation.
4. We could develop a Communist Cuban terror campaign in the Miami area, in other Florida cities and even in Washington.
The terror campaign could be pointed at refugees seeking haven in the United States. We could sink a boatload of Cubans en route to Florida (real or simulated). We could foster attempts on lives of Cuban refugees in the United States even to the extent of wounding in instances to be widely publicized. Exploding a few plastic bombs in carefully chosen spots, the arrest of Cuban agents and the release of prepared documents substantiating Cuban involvement, also would be helpful in projecting the idea of an irresponsible government.
(19. November 1997)
âWe could blow up a US warship in Guantanamo Bay and blame Cuba,â the memorandum said.
âWe could develop a Communist Cuban terror campaign in the Miami area, in other Florida cities and even in Washington,â it continued. âThe terror campaign could be pointed at Cuban refugees seeking haven in the United States. We could sink a boatload of Cubans enroute to Florida (real or simulated).â
The records show that on March 13, 1962, the Joint Chiefs of Staff endorsed these ideas as âsuitable for planning purposes.â No evidence exists that they were carried out.
(March 3, 2026)
US President Donald Trump welcomed German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to the White House on Tuesday, thanking Berlin for granting US forces access to military bases in the expanding war against Iran and drawing a sharp contrast with Britain and Spain.
(…)
Merz said Germany and the United States shared a desire to get rid of Iran‘s â current regime and said he would discuss with Trump what happened once the military operation ended.
(November 17, 2025)
Nach rund drei Monaten hebt die Bundesregierung die EinschrĂ€nkung von Waffenexporten nach Israel wieder auf. Ab dem 24. November sollen sĂ€mtliche RĂŒstungsexporte nach Israel wieder möglich sein, sagte ein Regierungssprecher am Montag in Berlin. Der wichtigste Grund fĂŒr die Entscheidung sei, dass der am 10. Oktober in Kraft getretene Waffenstillstand in Gaza weiterhin halte.
(August 6, 2023)
In Israel, there‘s concern that the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, might delay and consider pushing the U.S. agreement until after the 2024 presidential elections.
Israel has sent signals to Saudi Arabia emphasizing the advantages of forging ahead under the current Democratic regime. If a future Republican government, possibly under the leadership of former President Donald Trump, were to take over, bridging bipartisan support for the deal might become an uphill battle.
(…)
Beyond a defense pact, the Saudis also have raised requests with the US for civilian nuclear capabilities, advanced weaponry, and beyond. Israeli agreement would be crucial for these components.
(May 23, 2023)
Amid reports that the US is mediating a normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia, Channel 12 reports on apparent Saudi and US demands for the deal to go ahead.
The report says that Saudi Arabia is demanding the Biden administration unfreeze several major arms deals, a military alliance with the US and a full nuclear program.
(September 18, 2003)
UN officials said there have been rumours going back 20 years that the Saudis wanted to pay Pakistan to do the research and development on nuclear weapons.
In 1988, Saudi bought from China intermediate-range missiles capable of reaching any part of the Middle East with a nuclear warhead.
Four years ago, Saudi Arabia sent a defence team to Pakistan to tour its secret nuclear facilities and to be briefed by Abdul Qader Khan, the father of Pakistan‘s nuclear bomb.
(March 10, 2026)
Ten days ago, when the joint Israeli-American attack on Iran began, CENTCOM released a special statement: âFor the first time in history, TFSS has deployed one-way attack drones. These low-cost systems were developed based on the Iranian Shahed and are manufactured in the United States.â
(…)
Sharp-eyed observers have noticed the strong resemblance between the Iranian Shahed drone and the Israeli Harpy attack drone developed more than 30 years ago by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).
(March 1, 2026)
The timing of the assassination was determined by information the CIA gleaned about a meeting of top Iranian officials at a leadership compound in the heart of Tehran scheduled for Saturday morning. Most critically, the CIA was able to tell Israeli counterparts that Khamenei would be at the site and the timing of the meeting, according to the New York Times.
Israeli spies had also been tracking Khamenei for many years, building a minutely detailed file on his daily routine and those of his family members, associates, allies and those charged with keeping him safe.
(March 4, 2015)
The prime minister has been warning for over 20 years that Tehran is close to achieving its pursuit of nuclear weapons.
(September / October 2014)
A few Iranian sources have previously pointed to a fatwa by the Islamic Republicâs first supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, prohibiting chemical weapons as the explanation for why Iran did not deploy these weapons during the war with Iraq. But no details have ever been made public on when and how Khomeini issued such a fatwa, so it has been ignored for decades.
Now, however, the wartime chief of the Iranian ministry responsible for military procurement has provided an eyewitness account of Khomeiniâs ban not only on chemical weapons, but on nuclear weapons as well. In an interview with me in Tehran in late September, Mohsen Rafighdoost, who served as minister of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) throughout the eight-year war, revealed that he had proposed to Khomeini that Iran begin working on both nuclear and chemical weapons â but was told in two separate meetings that weapons of mass destruction are forbidden by Islam.
(February 26, 2026)
President Masoud Pezeshkian has reiterated Iranâs opposition to nuclear weapons, saying the policy is rooted in âtheological“ beliefs and a religious decree issued by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei banning nuclear arms.
„When the religious leader explicitly states that we will not pursue nuclear weapons, this is a position rooted in theological and jurisprudential beliefs, not a political tactic that can be changed,â Pezeshkian said while speaking during a visit to the northern province of Mazandaran on Thursday, highlighting the fatwa (religious decree) that had been issued by Ayatollah Khamenei forbidding nuclear arms.
(January 12, 2026)
The conversations, reported here for the first time, have occurred intermittently for months as SEIU-UHWâs ballot initiative targeting billionaires migrated from the backrooms of California politics to the center of a raging debate about Silicon Valley and income inequality, sparking tech titansâ wrath and vows to move out of state.
âWeâve been at this for four months,â Newsom said in an interview with POLITICO, describing an âall-handsâ effort that has included him meeting one-on-one with SEIU-UHWâs leader, Dave Regan.
A compromise does not appear imminent. A union official cast doubt on the possibility of a deal, saying the two sides do not currently have another meeting scheduled and framing a ballot fight as an inevitability.
(January 16, 2025)
The very richest Americans are among the biggest winners from President Joe Bidenâs time in office, despite his farewell address warning of an âoligarchyâ and a âtech industrial complexâ that threaten US democracy.
The 100 wealthiest Americans got more than $1.5 trillion richer over the last four years, with tech tycoons including Elon Musk, Larry Ellison and Mark Zuckerberg leading the way, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The top 0.1% gained more than $6 trillion, Federal Reserve estimates through September show.
(Sept 13, 2023)
At the Private and Public Sector Entity Levels. (In trillions of U.S. dollars)
PRIVATE SECTOR:
Households 121.9
Nonprofits 8.6
Noncorporate businesses 17.2
Total U.S. Private Sector 147.7
PUBLIC SECTOR:
Federal government – 21.3
State and local government 11.5
Total U.S. Public Sector – 9.8
Instrument discrepancies – 1.1
TOTAL U.S. WEALTH 136.8