Yes, it’s quite possible that Banksy anticipated this reaction, since it’s really anything but surprising—after all, it wouldn’t be his first "self-destructing work of art."

Of course, it would be a true masterpiece if those responsible for the destruction of this "public property" were personally held accountable, but unfortunately that’s quite unlikely; nevertheless, the art lies in drawing attention to the state of free speech today and also to the fact that those responsible, unfortunately, always get away with it without any consequences.

In any case: Once again, very skillfully done.

Ich würde sagen, dass dies definitiv auch ein Problem der Alpenrepubliken ist, schon, da Deutschland für sie ein wichtiger Handelspartner ist.

Da Merz Politik die Zukunfsfähigkeit Deutschlands gefährdet, ist das auch schlecht für seine Handelspartner.

Ein Beispiel: Merz Entscheidung, das geplante Verbot des Vertriebs von Fahrzeugen mit Verbrennermotoren aufzuweichen oder gar insgesamt abzuschaffen, muss zugleich auch bedeuten, dass die Infrastruktur, die für die Elektromobilität benötigt wird, nicht ausgebaut werden soll, was mit Blick auf die Zukunftfähigkeit Deutschlands und damit unmittelbar auch Europas eine fatale Fehlentscheidung ist.

Der Grund: Schon heute sind Verbrenner mit Blick auf die Betriebskosten teurer als Elektrofahrzeuge - ein Umstand der Verbrenner jetzt schon kaum mehr wettbewerbsfähig macht, wobei abzusehen ist, dass sie mit der schnell voranschreitenden Weiterentwicklung von Elektro-Fahrzeugen immer mehr Marktanteil verlieren werden. Heute liegt der maßgebliche Grund, noch einen Verbrenner zu kaufen, bereits annähernd exklusiv im Umstand, dass die Ladeinfrastruktur in Deutschland im internationalen Vergleich schlecht ist.

Daher kann die Entscheidung, auch weiterhin auf den Vertrieb von Verbrennern zu setzten, nur bedeuten, dass die Ladeinfrastruktur eben nicht ausgebaut werden soll, denn andernfalls könnten die Hersteller ihre nicht mehr konkurrenzfähige Technologie auch auf dem wichtigen deutschen Markt schon bald nicht mehr absetzen, da sie eben selbst auf dem flachen Land, wo die Ladeinfrastruktur besonders schlecht ist, nicht mehr ansatzweise attraktiv wäre.

Damit verliert Deutschland im internationalen Wettbewerb den Anschluss, was wiederum ebenfalls schlecht für die benachbarten Alpenregionen wäre.

In diesem Beispiel wäre es dann so, als ob sich Deutschland seinerzeit geweigert hätte, Eisenbahnen zu bauen oder vom Pferd aufs Automobil umzusteigen - dies ist freilich auch für die Nachbarländer von Belang.

Diese Analogie mag übertrieben klingen, jedoch sind CDU und CSU etwa auch maßgeblich daran beteiligt gewesen, dass Deutschland heute kaum mehr eine Rolle in der überaus wichtigen Photovoltaik-Industrie spielt. Bis ca. 2003 war Deutschland Weltmarktführer in diesem Bereich - heute nicht mehr, nicht einmal ansatzweise, was auch sehr wesentlich mit den damaligen politischen Entscheidungen der CDU/CSU zusammenhängt.

Hätte man seinerzeit weitsichtige Entscheidungen getroffen, anstatt sich von Lobbyisten kaufen zu lassen, hätten auch die Nachbarländer davon profitiert, dass Deutschland technologisch im internationalen Wettbewerb vorn mitgespielt hätte - da dies jedoch nicht geschehen ist, sogar aktiv verhindert wurde, stehen wir heute eben, wo wir stehen, was schlecht für ganz Europa ist.

Es ist nun einmal wie es ist: Die Welt dreht sich weiter und hängt alle ab, die die Zeichen der Zeit verkennen bzw. wider besseres Wissen Stagnation begünstigen und Fortschritt bekämpfen, um sich auf Kosten der Bevölkerung selbst zu bereichern.

Banksy is an internationally renowned artist whose works are worth far more than that amount.

The situation is very clear: His works were removed because those in charge did not like their subject matter, as they criticize the officials’ actions.

On the one hand, this demonstrates the authorities’ inability to tolerate criticism; on the other hand, it reveals their irresponsibility: They are willing to spend such a large sum to silence criticism of their actions—if that were not the case, the works could just as easily have been removed from the affected buildings in a way that preserved them, so that they could even have been sold at a profit, provided there had been a willingness to reach an agreement with Banksy. This would have resulted in no financial loss. Or they could simply have been left where they were, which would certainly have been possible, especially since these are not just random graffiti but works of art—a fact about which there can be no doubt.

However, this was apparently not the desired outcome, as those in charge are clearly offended by the message of the works and wish to avoid having to justify their actions.

In short: The financial loss consists of the costs incurred by those responsible in order to censor a political artist. Therefore, it would only be fair that the public not foot the bill, but rather those who initiated this action.

I wish you all the best :)

My parents had a Siamese cat that they’d taken in from an elderly lady next door when she moved into a nursing home.

My parents called the cat Felix, but her real name was Terry von Winzburg, and she even had a long pedigree.

Felix, aka Terry, lived to be 24 years old.

Yes

Yes, this is the result of neo-capitalist policies; Deutsche Bahn has been partially privatized, which—as is always the case with this logic—means that profits flow into the pockets of billionaires while losses are borne by the general public. That is why, for example, Germany’s internet infrastructure is at the level of a Third World country, even though Telekom generates enormous revenue.

It’s the result of U.S.-style exploitative capitalism, from which we cannot break free because—just as in the U.S.—it has corrupted all the levers of power—but hey, that’s why Germany has so many billionaires compared to other countries.

Edit: That, by the way, is also why the AfD is so strong in Germany. It’s a carbon copy of MAGA and owes its popularity to the same billionaires. This party is anything but an “alternative,” as its name might lead misinformed people to believe: It embodies everything Trump stands for—corruption and unscrupulousness—and that’s putting it quite mildly.

Educate yourselves, read their party platform, and let people know what it stands for. If you don’t want an oligarchy, that’s your civic duty!

I don't think Russia plays much of a role here, but yes, absolutely: Trump and his henchmen are, in my opinion, merely accelerating the decline of the U.S.

This former superpower is clearly on its last legs, as too many resources have been embezzled—as is typical in oligarchies. Therefore, aggression is all that remains for it, since its bloated military apparatus is the only thing left, alongside the IT sector, which is currently dismantling itself for the very same reasons that led to this situation.

China is also a misanthropic autocracy, but the policies of its leaders are nonetheless far-sighted, forward-looking, and skillful, which is why China is already the superpower that the U.S. once was (albeit it's glory was bought on credit after WWII).

Europe’s future, in my view, depends on whether it will be possible to shake off the influence of the U.S. and its disastrous turbo-capitalism. Unfortunately, it does not look that way, because in the strongest European countries, neo-capitalist forces are still at work, whose maxim is now turning into fascism precisely because their approach is no longer competitive in today’s world.

Either way, dark times are ahead for science—and, consequently, for humanity as well.

Yes, that’s right. I recently spoke with five friends of mine who are chief physicians and senior physicians in Spain, Switzerland, and Germany: They all agreed—the U.S. is no longer conducting scientific research; the CDC, which used to be a globally important institution because many countries followed its guidelines, no longer exists, since all competent staff who refused to go along with this absurdity were fired.

They are appalled at how quickly this decline was orchestrated by the Trump regime, especially since it took decades to reach an international consensus. All of them have lost all trust in U.S. institutions and believe that these inhumane policies will cost hundreds of thousands of lives worldwide.

It’s amazing that this militaristic national pride is still a thing. If there were even the slightest truth to it, U.S. soldiers would simply refuse to serve this despicable regime.

But they don’t; instead, they’re waging a war that violates international law in alliance with the butchers from Israel to provide support for genocide—and in the process, they’re bombing schools and civilian infrastructure.

Yes, that's right. But the responsibility for this lies with none other than the American people.

This is by no means a law of nature, but the failure of what is called democracy in the U.S.

Things would be very different if there were no billionaires. But they do exist, and that's why we live in a world where children have no future.