Archiv: Verfall / Niedergang / Zusammenbrüche / decay / decline / downfall / collapse


12:51 [ NPR.org ]

Germany‘s political center fights for relevance after far-right and far-left gains

(October 2, 2026)

Berlin‘s markets brim with the rich pickings of harvest. Picking up her weekly shopping, pensioner Ute Istock quips that the choice of apple varieties is as broad as that of candidates on the ballot sheets in last month‘s city election — adding that this is not necessarily a good thing.

„Voting has become tricky,“ Istock admits. „It‘s no longer clear how a party will end up governing effectively because there are too many parties and forming viable majorities is becoming impossible.

04.10.2026 - 14:46 [ PeoplesWorld.org ]

New reports show deadly side of U.S. policies against Cuba

(September 30, 2026)

Recent comprehensive reports provide information about the origins, substance, methods, objectives, and impact of U.S. measures against Cuba, the economic blockade, in particular.

Two of them appear with support from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), and Cuba’s Foreign Ministry produced two more. Finally, the United Nations’ Human Rights Council on Sept. 8 heard Special Rapporteur Alena Douhan’s report on “Unilateral Coercive Measures.”

20.09.2026 - 13:05 [ France24.com ]

Cuba hit with another nationwide blackout amid US fuel blockade

Cuba suffered a total blackout after the collapse of its electrical grid on Friday. The blackout is the latest of at least six partial or total grid collapses since the beginning of this year, as the island grapples with an ongoing US fuel blockade.

18.09.2026 - 08:24 [ cnbctv18.com ]

Saudis and Houthis exchange strikes, Yemenis flee by boat as West Asia war spreads

Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis exchanged fresh strikes across their border on Thursday and Yemenis took to boats in the Red Sea to escape fighting, as the spreading West Asia war created new threats to global oil supplies.

07.09.2026 - 20:28 [ Daniel Neun / Radio Utopie ]

Der Republik fehlt eine Partei

(December 14, 2015)

„Die Grünen“ und „Die Linke“ werden von oben, über deren Kader, durch die transatlantische Atlantikbrücke gelenkt. Alle derzeitigen Bundestagsparteien sind in Überparteien auf E.U.-Ebene organisiert. Eine tatsächliche Opposition findet parlamentarisch nicht statt. Und außerparlamentarisch ist die Opposition schwach, verwirrt und in großen Teilen ebenfalls nicht mehr verfassungstreu und schwafelt genauso von „Europa“ wie anno dünnemal der Pfaffe auf der Kanzel zum ausgeplünderten Pöbel über dessen Heil nach dem Tod.

Allen, die sich als klassische Sozialdemokratinnen und Sozialdemokraten in der Tradition von Rosa und Karl, oder mindestens Willy Brandt sehen, alle die sich als links, sozialistisch, emanzipatorisch, Bürgerrechtler oder liberalistisch sehen, rate ich dringend jetzt die Faxen und das ganze Geschwafel zu lassen und zur Tat zu schreiten.

Ohne Partei wird in der Republik nichts besser werden. Und so oder so muss es eine Partei für die Republik sein, und nicht gegen sie.

06.09.2026 - 15:48 [ Politico.eu ]

Friedrich Merz will lose Sunday’s regional election — whatever the result

An outright win for the far right in Saxony-Anhalt will hurt Merz. But things will also be messy if his party has to form coalitions with left-wingers to box out the AfD.

06.09.2026 - 15:30 [ Atlantic Council ]

What’s at stake for the AfD and Merz in Germany’s three September elections

(September 1, 2026)

WASHINGTON—State elections this month in Germany will almost certainly weaken Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s federal coalition and raise new obstacles to his promised reforms. Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and his coalition partner, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) are facing significant losses in the three state elections. Meanwhile, the most consequential state election comes first: in Sachsen-Anhalt, the right-wing nativist Alternative for Germany (AfD) is within reach of a parliamentary majority.

04.09.2026 - 22:39 [ Radio Habana Cuba ]

Cuba reports that international shipping companies yield to U.S. pressure

“There are foreign companies that have yielded to this pressure and have withdrawn from the country. Others remain and continue working with us,” the Deputy Prime Minister stated.

According to Pérez-Oliva, the intensification of the blockade has severed Cuba’s banking and financial relations with numerous institutions and imposes a trade embargo through direct threats against international shipping companies.

The Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment explained that Cuba has containers being held in international ports because some shipping companies have suspended services to the island, while others are operating under “restrictions imposed illegally and unilaterally by the United States.”

03.09.2026 - 09:23 [ Senator Jeff Merkley / Youtube ]

Six months of Trump’s illegal war of choice. It’s cost us dearly.

(August 28, 2026)

03.09.2026 - 09:14 [ kobi5.com ]

Merkley criticizes Trump’s 6-month Iran war while urging War Powers vote

(August 31, 2026)

In his address, Merkley outlined the severe consequences of the conflict, saying it has failed to control nuclear materials while at the same time has strengthened Iranian hardliners, fractured alliances, and enriched Russia. He also highlighted the human and military costs, pointing to deaths and injuries among U.S. service members and depleted domestic munitions.

Since the start of the war on February 28th, 18 service members have died and 757 have been wounded. Furthermore, Merkley warned that the war is financially pressing Americans against the wall as skyrocketing gas, diesel, and fertilizer prices hit families and farmers hard.

01.09.2026 - 21:10 [ VoiceOfEmirates.com ]

Reuters: US Blockade Chokes Iranian Oil Exports via Strait of Hormuz

A naval blockade imposed by the United States on Iran has effectively halted Iranian crude oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz for nearly seven consecutive weeks. This unprecedented development has suspended all new petroleum shipments to China, the primary remaining buyer of Iranian oil, according to data and market tracking reports cited by Reuters.

31.08.2026 - 00:46 [ Consortium News ]

Twilight’s Last Gleaming

There is a point in the decline of republics when the problem is no longer that government breaks its own laws. Governments will always behave unlawfully. The deeper problem comes when the constitutional machinery designed to prevent those acts stops functioning — when spending becomes detached from arithmetic, presidential power becomes detached from law and Congress and the courts become detached from the Constitution.

That’s where America is today.

(…)

The twilight of our constitutional republic has not arrived because the sun suddenly disappeared. It has arrived because, little by little, nearly everyone became accustomed to the darkness.

28.08.2026 - 16:17 [ Umair Malik / Twitter ]

this is the biggest blunder in American history. Mark my words

(December 9, 2023)

28.08.2026 - 15:49 [ Tagesschau.de ]

Folgen des Iran-Kriegs: Trump hat Amerikas Macht verspielt

Die Supermacht USA hat sich mit einer zweitklassigen Regionalgröße angelegt – und ist dabei unterlegen. Das hat geostrategische Folgen, die wir längst noch nicht alle begreifen. Am Persischen Golf sind die Amerikaner jetzt auf dem Rückzug, das Pentagon überlegt ernsthaft, die zerstörten Stützpunkte in der Region nicht wieder aufzubauen.

13.08.2026 - 05:40 [ Jacobin ]

Die USA wollen Kuba aushungern

Wenn GECOMEX keine derartigen Maschinen und Ausrüstung importieren kann, sind seine Tochtergesellschaften nicht in der Lage, Agrarrohstoffe wie Weizen und Bohnen effizient zu verarbeiten. Dies führt wiederum dazu, dass weniger Grundnahrungsmittel ihren Weg in die kubanischen Haushalte finden.

Die Sanktionen gegen den Hafenbetreiber GEMAR sind noch gravierender: Sie verursachen Compliance-Risiken für jedes Schifffahrtsunternehmen, das Liegegebühren in Kuba zahlt. Mehr als 7.000 Container mit Bestimmungsort Havanna sind daher aktuell in der Karibik gestrandet, nachdem Unternehmen wie Hapag-Lloyd und CMA CGM aufgrund der rechtlichen Unsicherheit ihre Aktivitäten in Kuba vorerst eingestellt haben.

13.08.2026 - 05:36 [ Jacobin ]

After Blocking Fuel, the US Turns to Cuba’s Food Supply

In July, the US State Department announced a round of broad economic sanctions against Cuba targeting industries that have historically been spared, limiting the Cuban government’s ability to purchase agricultural commodities and food processing equipment from third countries by singling out Cuba’s state importer (GECOMEX) and port operator (GEMAR).

This is happening in the context of America’s monthslong oil blockade against Cuba, which has already immiserated the general population by impeding basic sanitation and food safety and has killed scores of patients in Cuban hospitals. A US congressional delegation that visited in early July described the situation on the ground as a “silent Gaza.”

13.08.2026 - 05:27 [ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) / Büro des Hohen Kommissars für Menschenrechte ]

U.S. sanctions against Cuba are endangering lives and must be lifted

(June 8, 2026)

The U.S. declaration of a national emergency in January disrupted fuel shipments to Cuba, severely reducing the country‘s fuel reserves by mid-May. This depletion has led to daily blackouts that now frequently exceed 20 hours. Additional sanctions were imposed in May, including some with extraterritorial effect on private entities, such as traders, insurers, tourism or shipping companies, financial institutions, and others involved in fuel supply or engaged with the country‘s energy, defence, mining, finance, and security sectors.

These measures, combined, are significantly affecting the population’s human rights, notably their access to essential supplies and services, including water, food and healthcare.

13.08.2026 - 03:46 [ Time Magazine ]

How the Iran-Contra Scandal Impacts American Politics Today

(May 14, 2025)

The revelation of the intertwined scandals captivated Americans. Between the fall of 1986 and the fall of 1987, more than seven out of 10 Americans watched some of the televised congressional hearings about Iran-Contra. But once it became clear that Democrats would not impeach Reagan, public interest waned. Unlike Watergate, when a smoking gun tape implicated President Richard Nixon, to many, the 1980s scandal seemed a blur of byzantine Cold War diplomacy, opaque Swiss bank accounts, and a large cast of forgettable middlemen. The country boxed up the ugly affair and stored it in the attic of its memory.

It did so even as the scandal persisted and investigators indicted dozens of administration officials. In 1988, Reagan’s vice president, George H.W. Bush, won the presidency, and throughout his entire administration, those responsible for Iran-Contra dodged the political and legal consequences of their actions.

12.08.2026 - 19:09 [ Dallas Express ]

The Shadow Of The Nomenklatura: Corruption, Elite Privilege, And Eroding Trust In Democratic Strongholds

(June 14, 2026

The final decade of the Soviet Union showed how systemic corruption and elite self-enrichment destroy public faith in a governing system. The nomenklatura—the Communist Party’s privileged bosses—enjoyed dachas, special stores, and luxury while ordinary citizens faced shortages and endless propaganda about equality. Scandals like the Uzbek cotton embezzlement exposed billions diverted through falsified records and bribes. This hypocrisy sped up the CPSU’s moral and practical collapse in 1991.

19.07.2026 - 17:30 [ Al Jazeera ]

Iran in ‘real danger of overplaying its hand’

“Tehran has repeatedly overplayed its hand throughout history, and these repeated attacks across the Gulf Cooperation Council could end up making the Strait of Hormuz redundant,” Kamrava told Al Jazeera.

He noted some Gulf countries have already invested in alternative routes to export oil and gas.

“Tehran is running a real danger of overplaying its hand,” Kamrava reiterated.

17.07.2026 - 17:03 [ Middle East Eye ]

Iran to continue attacks until „calm returns to Strait of Hormuz“

The commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force, Seyed Majid Mousavi, announced that Iran will continue attacks „until calm returns to the southern coastline and the Strait of Hormuz”, according to Al Jazeera‘s reports of Iranian state media.

The statement comes as the IRGC has claimed responsibility for attacks on US military targets in Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Jordan, and Syria, Al Jazeera reports.

07.07.2026 - 22:14 [ Club der Klaren Worte ]

Die neue Arbeiterklasse

(May 23, 2026)

Der Mensch trat später noch einmal auf, fast wie ein letzter Zeuge der alten Ordnung. In einem Zehn-Stunden-Wettkampf gegen Figure 03 sortierte der Praktikant Aimé Gérard 12.924 Pakete; der Roboter kam auf 12.732. Der Mensch gewann, aber nur um 192 Pakete. Seine durchschnittliche Zeit lag bei 2,79 Sekunden pro Paket, die Maschine bei 2,83 Sekunden. Das ist kein Triumph mehr. Das ist ein Vorsprung von vier Hundertstelsekunden.

Brett Adcock schrieb danach sinngemäß: „Glückwunsch an Aimé. Er sagte, sein linker Unterarm sei im Grunde gebrochen.“ Und dann der Satz, der wie ein Geschäftsplan klingt und wie ein Epitaph für eine Arbeitswelt: „Das ist das letzte Mal, dass ein Mensch jemals gewinnen wird.“

07.07.2026 - 03:36 [ Nachdenkseiten ]

Meinungsfreiheit: Die Normalisierung des Autoritären

Fast wäre man versucht zu sagen: Was waren das für Zeiten, als Meinungsabweichler nur als „Verschwörungstheoretiker“ öffentlich diffamiert wurden! Im Vergleich zu dem, was heute passiert, waren diese Zeiten geradezu harmlos – könnte man meinen. Doch harmlos waren schon die Übergriffe nur mit Worten nie. Das Feuer war bereits zu sehen.

Und heute? Wer die falsche Meinung vertritt, wird von Medien nach wie vor als „umstritten“ oder als „rechts“ bezeichnet mit dem Ziel: mundtot machen. Zum Schweigen bringen.

Doch längst passiert mehr.

Was wir erleben, hat mit dem Geist der Demokratie nichts mehr zu tun. Vielmehr weht der Wind des Autoritären und zunehmend des Totalitären durch die Republik.

07.07.2026 - 03:24 [ TKP.at ]

Hans-Eckardt Wenzel: Der schleichende Staatsstreich im Westen

(July 4, 2026)

Ein weiteres zentrales Element ist die systematische Spaltung der Gesellschaft. Während der Pandemie wurde die Bevölkerung in „gehorsam“ und „ungehorsam“ geteilt – eine Spaltung, die bis heute nachwirkt. Dieselbe Technik wird nun auf die Frage nach Krieg und Frieden angewendet. Wer Verhandlungen fordert oder die offizielle Darstellung hinterfragt, riskiert, als „Feindbegünstiger“ oder unzuverlässig eingestuft zu werden.

Das Ergebnis ist ein permanenter Staatsstreich, der sich vor aller Augen abspielt, doch für eine Bevölkerung, die darauf trainiert ist, ihn nicht zu sehen, unsichtbar bleibt. Es gibt eine weit verbreitete Selbstzensur. Viele Menschen schweigen, obwohl sie intern andere Positionen vertreten. Wenzel beschreibt eine Gesellschaft, die gelernt hat, Schweigen mit Stabilität zu verwechseln und Widerstand als größere Gefahr zu betrachten als die bestehenden Zustände.

02.07.2026 - 07:59 [ Forward.com ]

In Israel’s astonishing new reality, voters expect Netanyahu to try to sabotage elections

(June 30, 2026)

The fear that Israel is actually quite close to such a postponement cuts across much of Israeli society. I’ve heard it expressed by secular liberals, military veterans, former intelligence officials, legal scholars, journalists, centrist politicians, and even some conservatives who once supported Netanyahu enthusiastically. What unites them is the growing belief that Netanyahu now considers remaining in power to be an existential necessity — and that his radical base will back him no matter what outrage he attempts.

16.06.2026 - 08:03 [ TKP.at ]

Deutschlands diplomatischer Niedergang

Nicht nur die Wirtschaft Deutschlands ist selbstverschuldet durch die Politik der staatstragenden Parteien im Rückwärtsgang begriffen, sondern, noch schlimmer, der Ruf, das Image, das diplomatische Ansehen befindet sich praktisch im freien Fall. Nur weil die meisten Länder diplomatische Zurückhaltung üben, andere noch finanzielle Vorteile genießen, und weil die Medien es nicht zum Thema machen, bleibt es in Deutschland unbemerkt.

15.06.2026 - 16:59 [ Al Jazeera ]

EU fails to agree on sanctions on Israel’s far-right minister Ben-Gvir

EU foreign ministers have failed to agree on sanctions against Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas says.

“Many member states have also proposed to sanction Minister Ben-Gvir, but no consensus on that was reached,” Kallas said.

08.06.2026 - 17:25 [ Umair Malik / Twitter ]

this is the biggest blunder in American history. Mark my words

(December 9, 2023)

30.05.2026 - 20:11 [ New York Times ]

America Is Officially an Empire in Decline

(May 3, 2026)

The American-Israeli attack on Iran was more than a bad idea; it has turned into a watershed in the decline of the American empire. Some might prefer the word “hegemony” to describe the world order the United States leads, since its flag does not generally fly over the lands it protects or exploits. But the rules are the same: Imperial systems, whatever you call them, last only as long as their means are adequate to their ends. And with the Iran war, President Trump has overextended the empire dangerously.

19.05.2026 - 00:29 [ New York Times ]

Trump’s Approval Sinks Amid Unpopular War, Darkening G.O.P. Prospects

Just 26 percent of voters said they were satisfied with the Democratic Party.

The discontent includes a significant number of Democrats who expressed reservations about their own party. Forty-four percent of Democrats described themselves as unsatisfied, while just 23 percent of Republicans said the same about their party.

“They’re just not fighting back hard enough in my eyes,” said Matthew Berryhill, 35, a recruiter from Marietta, Ga., a pivotal battleground area in the state’s key Senate race this year, who described himself as a progressive Democrat. “They come out with strong statements and strong words, and no action to back it up.”