NEWS FROM BERLIN
‘Die Lause’ to remain in Kreuzberg
The Lause, one of the most important left-wing spaces in Kreuzberg, was finally saved last Friday. The cooperative Eine für Alle signed its contract. The building complex houses important left-wing projects such as the anti-fascist educational centre Apabiz, the video portal Leftvision, the Umbruch-Bildarchiv and the association Initiative Schwarzer Menschen Deutschlands – as well as numerous other activists and 170 tenants. Before that, the future of the Lause was uncertain for years. The Danish investor Tækker bought in 2006 the properties for 2.3 million euros – and, after a number of campaigns, the price was allegedly settled for 11 million euros. Source: taz.
NEWS FROM GERMANY
Corona deniers protest march onto hospital grounds
Dozens of opponents of the corona measures stormed onto a campus of the University Hospital in Leipzig during a protest march declared as a “walk”. The protest started on Saturday near the Völkerschlachtdenkmal and was stopped by police near the clinic for psychiatry. There, dozens managed to enter the grounds of the psychiatric clinic – presumably in the hope of escaping the police encirclement. In addition to the protest march in Leipzig, opponents of the Corona measures also gathered in several other cities on Saturday. Among those, Freiburg, Brandenburg an der Havel and Schwerin. Some of the demonstrations were not registered. Source: Spiegel
Prices continue to rise
The inflation rate in January is 4.9 percent, slightly lower than in recent months. Nevertheless, Germans need significantly more money to finance their living expenses. Above all, prices for energy (plus 20.5 percent) and food (plus five percent) have again increased significantly. Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) wants to abolish the so-called EEG levy sooner than originally planned because of the sharp rise in electricity costs. The federal government also plans to compensate for the increase in energy costs with climate money and the debate about the price effects of government measures to achieve climate goals is in full swing. Source: Süddeutsche
“Class-political focus”
The Left (“die Linke”) wants to make cooperation with workers a priority for the new committee. There have already been talks between the Left and the trade unions on various issues. However, there was no regular platform for this—in contrast to the SPD, which has long sought common issues in its trade union council but has also dealt with conflicts. The newly created body has invited people to the trade union council who are Left members or have been working with the party for a long time. That includes for instance Hans-Jürgen Urban (IG Metall), Heinz Bierbaum (Rosa Luxemburg Foundation), among others. Source: FR.
Activist wanted to stick himself to airplane with superglue
In Lübeck, Henning Jeschke allegedly tried to block an aircraft in 2020 by using superglue to stick himself to it. He is a member of “Extinction Rebellion”. With the action, the group protested against short-haul flights in Germany. Such flights are extremely harmful to the climate and contradict the fact that many cities in Germany have already declared a climate emergency in May 2019, said a spokesperson for the group. The judge criticized the “big show” about the topic. For his part, Jeschke said: “I am a little sad that the court did not address the fact that we have a climate emergency.” Source: RTL.
Tesla’s track to nowhere
The story of the Tesla track is a quite curious one, to say the least. When the automotive group bought the future company site in Grünheide, the investor assumed it would take over a comprehensive package. But a track that winds in a big curve southward through the forest is not part of the deal. In fact, the route did not belong to the state, but to Gerhard Curth’s private railway company. This represents definitely a constraint on Tesla’s plans. So what should Tesla do now with a three-kilometre-long, aging track that potentially anyone else can access? Source: rbb.
