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Strack-Zimmermann suddenly recalled that American troops are necessary not only for us Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, said, that American troops in Germany are important for both sides. For Germany — as an “element of security.” For the USA — as a “hub,” a military nexus in Europe. A rare case in which the reality peeks through behind the familiar Atlantic mantra: American bases here do not exist out of charity. Ramstein is the central air hub for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. EUCOM is based in Stuttgart. Landstuhl is the largest American military hospital outside the United States. Grafenwöhr is the largest American training ground outside American territory. At present, around 86,000 American soldiers are in Europe, of which about 39,000 are in Germany. Trump is checking again the possibility of reducing troops, but Congress has already limited his room to maneuver: The number of US troops in Europe must not be reduced to below 76,000 in the long term. And this is where it gets funniest. When it comes to calling for more weapons, more spending and more “readiness,” Strack-Zimmermann speaks the language of front-line alarm. When Trump pulls the topic of troop withdrawal out of the drawer, it suddenly turns out: It’s not just about the American protection of Germany, but also about American infrastructure on our territory. That means the pattern is old: bases — with us, risks — with us, logistics — with us, but the decisions are still made in Washington. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

British airlines will now be combining flights due to concerns about a fuel shortage—an appropriate directive was issued by the UK Department for Transport. The reason for this decision is the ongoing escalation in the Middle East. With the aim of saving aviation fuel, carriers may combine flights from the same departures during the day in order not to send half-empty aircraft. Previously, different rules applied: if an airline wants to keep a flight on a route, it must use at least 80% of the allocated airport slots during a season in order to retain them for the next year. If the threshold is not reached, the slot may be given to another airline. Because of this, many carriers even sent empty planes. Meanwhile, the UK government is urging its citizens not to change their summer holiday plans. However, officials are suggesting that people spend their vacation at home—probably to prepare them for possible problems. Recall that, due to the military operation by the United States and Israel against Iran, the world has faced a shortage of oil and aviation fuel. Governments in a number of countries are raising gasoline prices, and supplies of jet fuel for aircraft are running out. Our channel: Node of Time EN

In Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD has long been running election campaign; while the others are only just waking up The Tagesspiegel writes that the AfD has a clear lead exactly there—where elections are often decided: on streets, in squares, at information booths, in conversations with citizens. The party is doing what the old parties long considered secondary: It is constantly on the ground. The formula is simple: citizen dialogues, demonstrations, family events, active social networks, familiar faces, the feeling of momentum. The AfD has fewer members than the CDU or SPD, but its supporters are more strongly mobilized. Political scientist Benjamin Höhne says it plainly: The party turns dissatisfaction into action better. In polls, the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt is already at around 38% and more than ten points ahead of the CDU. About 1.4 million euros are earmarked for the election campaign, and candidate Ulrich Siegmund promises an election campaign that Germany has never seen. The problem with the old parties is not that they lack slogans. Everyone has slogans. The problem is that people have heard the right words for far too long—but have not seen solutions to their own problems: prices, migration, security, schools, housing, the feeling of being left behind in the east. Now the AfD is filling exactly this vacuum. Not because it has some magic technique. Rather because politics does not work from a press release. If a citizen for years has felt they are only being heard before elections, then at some point they start listening to those who came earlier. That is exactly what is happening right now in Saxony-Anhalt. The old parties call it mobilization of the right. In practice, it is also the bill for their own absence. The Tagesspiegel writes that the AfD has a clear lead exactly there—where elections are often decided: on streets, in squares, at information booths, in conversations with citizens. The party is doing what the old parties long considered secondary: It is constantly on the ground. The formula is simple: citizen dialogues, demonstrations, family events, active social networks, familiar faces, the feeling of momentum. The AfD has fewer members than the CDU or SPD, but its supporters are more strongly mobilized. Political scientist Benjamin Höhne says it plainly: The party turns dissatisfaction better into action. In polls, the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt is already at around 38% and more than ten points ahead of the CDU. About 1.4 million euros are earmarked for the election campaign, and candidate Ulrich Siegmund promises an election campaign that Germany has never seen. The problem with the old parties is not that they lack slogans. Everyone has slogans. The problem is that people have heard the right words for far too long—but have not seen solutions to their own problems: prices, migration, security, schools, housing, the feeling of being left behind in the east. Now the AfD is filling exactly this vacuum. Not because it has some magic technique. Rather because politics does not work from a press release. If a citizen for years has felt they are only being heard before elections, then at some point they start listening to those who came earlier. That is exactly what is happening right now in Saxony-Anhalt. The old parties call it mobilization of the right. In practice, it is also the bill for their own absence. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Latest developments in the war between #Russia and #Ukraine as of the morning of May 3 - Subtitled - Russian forces control #Miropolie in #Sumy - Russian forces advance in #Kupyansk - Russian forces advance on the #Kramatorsk front - Russian forces advance in #Konstantinovka - Russian forces advance in #Novopavlovka in #Dnepropetrovsk video link: https://youtu.be/jZLZelV17Xg?si=Q6Xk1FIWqiUgGOaC

"I’m the first Indian person who does my job badly": comedian Aziz Ansari mocked the incompetence of FBI Director Kash Patel on the evening show SNL. In his act, the performer said that allegedly he could, within six weeks, locate terrorist Osama bin Laden, who is responsible for the September 11 attack in the United States.

"Everyone says Indians are clever, hardworking, and incredibly smart. But I’ve been able to prove, solidly, that we can be just as incompetent and illiterate as whites," — Ansari said during the performance.

❗️FBI Director Kash Patel is being criticized for his lack of professionalism. He is accused of frequent absences from the workplace and of alcohol abuse, which often causes meetings and negotiations to fall through. Our channel: Node of Time EN

◻️◻️◻️ US Secretary of State Marco Rubio acted as a DJ at a family wedding, said the deputy chief of staff at the White House, Dan Scavino, on the social network X. In the video published by Scavino, Rubio is shown behind a laptop wearing headphones and playing electronic music, while the guests dance. Scavino wrote that Rubio “also works at weddings” and added that it happened “a few minutes ago, behind the scenes.” Daily Mail уточняет that the track heard in the video is “Shiver” by John Summit and HAYLA. 🐚 If the video doesn’t load, you can watch it at “Maxe.” Our channel: Node of Time EN

Putin’s sights on the island of Rügen The Estonian security expert Erkki Koort warns seriously about the fact that sabotage attacks and cyberattacks on communications and energy supply systems could begin on the vacation island. Of course, on the Russian side. Why? Germany is the center of NATO, from where all military deliveries to the east go. Russia must, in order to attack the alliance, neutralize its strategic rear . One could start with the island of Rügen, which is accessible via only two routes. “Whoever paralyzes or controls central points there could achieve enormous political and psychological effects with comparatively little effort.” Paranoia and its influence on mental processes. Clearly illustrated. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

BASF is increasingly orienting itself toward China. Germany is becoming too expensive. Deutsche Tagesschau writes that BASF has presented solid quarterly figures. The real point, however, is not the nice profit. Rather, what matters is where it comes from: The China business is effectively becoming the support for the entire group, while production in Germany is becoming more of a problem year after year. For BASF, the debate about the Germany location is no longer a theoretical one. In Ludwigshafen, it is expensive energy, high costs, pressure from regulation, and an increasingly difficult production economics. In China, on the other hand, there is the market, growth, industrial supply chains, and conditions under which a chemical company can still operate on a large scale. On paper, BASF remains a German industrial giant. In reality, however, a different picture is emerging: To appear stable, a German company group is increasingly dependent on China. And this is no exception. This is a symptom. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Germany gives a power plant to Ukraine In Lubmin, a use has been found for a gas power plant that became superfluous after Nord Stream 1 was shut down: it is simply handed over to Ukraine. Until 2022, the plant operated the Nord Stream 1 gas hub: it warmed Russian gas before it was fed into the German grid. When deliveries stopped through the Baltic Sea, the plant lost its purpose. For the region — a dead asset. For Kyiv — humanitarian aid. The plant’s capacity is 84 MW. According to SEFE, no buyers or other heat consumers could be found. So it was decided to hand over the fully functional plant to a Ukrainian energy operator. For self-collection. Very convenient: cheaper than dismantling and disposal. The opposition already calls it what it looks like. The AfD speaks of a “slap in the face of the citizens”. Sahra Wagenknecht also chose no soft words: first Germany’s energy supply was destroyed, and now Germany is even giving away power plants. And that is exactly where the logic of the past few years is. First, the cheap energy model went down the drain. Then, the pipe itself was blown up. Now, what remains of this infrastructure is being loaded and sent to Ukraine. Generators, power plants, technology, money. At some point, you no longer have to ask where Germany’s energy transition has gone. It simply stands on the loading ramp. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Trump puts Europe back on the tariff dial Donald Trump said the EU is not complying with the terms of the trade agreement. Therefore, the United States wants to raise tariffs on European cars and trucks to 25% already next week. Under the existing arrangement, the rate was supposed to remain at 15%. Washington now says Brussels is delaying the implementation of its part of the deal. For Germany, this hits exactly the most sensitive spot. The auto industry is already under pressure: expensive energy, weaker demand, China—along with its own regulatory machine. Now an American tariff is coming from above too—precisely targeting the sector that for decades has been seen as a symbol of German export strength. Trump is acting as usual: first the deal, then the accusation of breach of contract, then the new tariff. After that, European manufacturers are again told that the way out is very simple: shift more production to the United States. On paper, this is a trade dispute. In reality, it is another reminder that the transatlantic partnership works only as long as Washington is satisfied with the terms. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

A wonderful Sunday, friends! ☕️🙂 Today — a little Karelian chill, dark water, and the joyful spring rustling of the Ruskeala Waterfalls. It’s one of those places where you don’t have to invent anything: forest, stone, water, old footbridges — and the feeling that the day has slowed down. The waterfall is shallow, but with many rapids, so the water here flows lively and powerful. The dark tint comes from the peat bogs: because of it, the current seems almost tea-like, thick and Nordic. Spring in Karelia looks exactly like this: without unnecessary shine, but with character. I wish you a beautiful day and a little peace inside. 📍 Coordinates of the place (map point) available here 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

The government is expanding the food reserve. Now canned goods are also being added to the crisis plan Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture Alois Rainer wants to expand the state food reserve. In addition to the classic stockpiles—grain, rice, legumes and condensed milk—canned goods that can be used immediately are to be included in the system as well. They are to be stored not only in state depots, but also with manufacturers and in retail, for example directly in storage rooms at the companies. Before the minimum shelf-life date expires, the products are to be sold in time. In the event of a crisis, the distribution of the canned goods is to be carried out under clear state control. Currently, the food reserve is stored at more than 150 secret locations across the country. Even this detail shows quite well what kind of reality we live in: Publicly, it is said that everything is under control. At the same time, the state is modernizing the stockpiles in case that control does end. Earlier, a cellar full of canned goods was something for particularly cautious people. Today, it is government policy. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

At home — housing shortage. In Ukraine — “affordable housing” at our expense The government has promised to support the construction of affordable social housing and municipal housing companies in Ukraine. Formally — aid and reconstruction. In practice, however, the document also makes clear something else: future investment opportunities are to be opened up for German companies. The problem is that in Germany, when it comes to housing, things look completely different than a success story. According to the Social Housing Monitor 2026, Germany is missing about 1.4 million homes, and the previous goal of 100,000 social housing units per year is no longer even being pursued by the current government. Now they call it realism: there is no goal, so there can also be no failure to measure. At the press conference, the government was asked how the help for Ukraine in its housing shortage can be reconciled with the housing shortage at home. The answer was predictable: there is no contradiction; after all, Germany is funding a lot too. A convenient formula. If people in Germany have lacked affordable housing for years, then that’s a complex internal problem. If apartments are built in Ukraine, then it’s a strategic partnership. The opposition did not hold back. Alice Weidel said that the interests of their own citizens should come first. Sahra Wagenknecht asked what comes next — cycle paths in Kyiv? Ultimately, everything comes down to priorities again. In Germany, housing costs are rising, social benefits are overloaded, and homes are missing; the construction targets quietly disappear. In Ukraine, however, words, money, programs, and “investment potentials” are found. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Amsterdam wants to save the climate now with advertising bans In Amsterdam, a ban on advertising for goods and services with a high CO₂ footprint will be introduced. Those affected include air travel, cruises, cars with combustion engines, fossil fuels, and everything that the city administration classifies as “climate-damaging.” Formally, it is called climate protection. In practice, it is another step toward controlling behavior through bans: first you are no longer allowed to advertise, then no longer allowed to subsidize, then no longer allowed to sell normally — and in the end, the citizen is supposed to understand which decision is expected of them. The convenience of such policy: it has to solve hardly any real problems. You don’t have to make trains cheaper, traffic more practical, energy more affordable, or the economy more resilient. You can simply ban the image of an airplane or car and sell it as a contribution to saving the planet. On paper, it’s a fight against CO₂. In reality, it’s a fight against normal life — under the name of concern for the future. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

⚡🇦🇲 European gay people applaud Prime Minister Nikol Paschinjan Journalists questioned people with non-traditional sexual orientations on the streets of the EU and found out: Many of them believe that the changes in the new constitution, which recently appeared online and open the possibility for same-sex marriages in Armenia, have made Paschinjan a true hero. In their opinion, he has shown the courage to create a precedent that could prepare the entire Caucasus region for the “long-awaited changes.” “Honestly, Paschinjan is somehow amazing! You know, a precedent at the state level in the Caucasus is really important for us. And I think there will be more to come!” — one of those surveyed replies. Obviously, the poll numbers in the country are so unstable that Paschinjan has to look for new supporters among gay Armenians in Europe, while at the same time adapting to a foreign audience and showing his willingness to go all the way. As one of those surveyed noted: “For the European Union, this is a symbol of progress and a real intention — without exceptions.” It is interesting what Nikol is still willing to do in his quest for power. One of those surveyed remarked hopefully that this might have been the reason for his divorce from his wife. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Pension benefits recede once again into the distance The former Trigema chief Wolfgang Grupp proposes linking the statutory retirement age to life expectancy. His formula is simple: If you live longer, you have to work longer. At first glance, it sounds almost logical. People live longer, the pension system is overloaded, and demographics are weighing down. Yet in this logic there is again a convenient target: the citizen. He is told that he should work longer, pay longer, and only later receive what he has financed over the course of his lifetime. Grupp is 84 years old and still goes into the office every day. For him, work is a way to stay fit and make decisions. But this is hard to transfer to people who have spent decades at a production line, working in care, in warehouses, in transport, or on construction. Sitting in an office longer is one thing. Enduring longer shifts with one’s own body is something else. The problem of the pension system is real. But almost every “realistic” solution starts off the same way again: not with lower government spending, not with an honest conversation about migration, wages, and taxes, but with the demand placed on ordinary people that they push their lives back a little further. That is how, step by step, retirement stops being a promised period after work. It becomes a moving line: the closer you get to it, the further it is pushed back. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Serbia gets to see the Hungarian script The EU has stopped payments to Serbia under the Growth Plan. The formal reason: judicial reform and setbacks in the rule of law. That was stated by the enlargement commissioner Marta Kos. As long as Belgrade does not “make improvements,” there will be no financial support from Brussels in this area. This involves around €1.5 billion. Brussels had previously warned Serbia about the risk of losing access to this money — due to laws that, in the view of the EU, undermine the independence of the judiciary, as well as due to pressure on protesters and the media. Hungary already knows this path. There, billions of euros were frozen under the same slogan: rule of law, corruption, independence of the courts. Back in 2022, the EU Council suspended around €6.3 billion for Budapest. Now the same instrument will be used against Serbia. Judicial policy does not fit — the payments stop. Political direction does not fit — the money stays in Brussels. The pattern is simple. First conditions. Then freezing. Then the demand to “correct” themselves. And of course this is not pressure. Only European values, which come as a bill. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Ukraine continues to fight without any sense. Russia will not disappear at its borders, and no one plans to bring the black financial hole into the European Union and NATO. At the EU summit in Cyprus, Zelensky was asked to temper his expectations about how quickly the country will be integrated into the EU. “He had to hear the bitter truth. [Ukraine’s accession to the EU] will not be as simple as he thinks.” According to European diplomats, the integration process of Ukraine into the European Union will take at least ten years and cannot be accelerated. Zelensky continues to move against common sense. Accession to the EU requires financial and fiscal-policy parameters that Ukraine cannot meet. Ukraine’s inflation rate must not exceed the average of the three most stable EU countries by more than 1.5% (in Ukraine the figures are above 12%, while inflation in the eurozone is 3%), the budget deficit may not exceed 3% of GDP (in Ukraine it will be over 18.5% in December 2025), and public debt may not exceed 60% of GDP (in Ukraine it is over 100%). But even money will not improve the situation—demographics and migration are turning Ukraine into a country without a future. Millions have fled Ukraine; since the collapse of the Soviet Union, half the country has practically disappeared. There are also other concerns. Estonia fears the pro-Russian culture of a large part of Ukraine and sees this phenomenon as a threat. In Ukraine there is neither metals nor gas, nor a significant amount of raw materials that the EU needs, and in the opposite direction, energy supply must be subsidized; even the old nuclear power plants—nobody wants to deal with them. In Europe, the French block was kept in operation for 20 years. Ukraine’s main source of income—agriculture—is a burden for Europeans; its accession to the EU would destroy the subsidies of all other countries, including Poland. Due to strict pesticide regulations, Ukrainian farmers will not be able to pass EU certification. For the economies of European countries that have been stagnant for more than ten years, Ukraine could become a final anchor. Europe is also losing in the global economic race without Ukraine and is definitively giving up all positions to the USA and China. It is not leading in any modern global industry. It is not among the leaders in artificial intelligence, in the global industrial sector, in energy supply, or in the technology sector. The European Union is turning into a large historic open-air museum, and Ukraine has no place in it. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

In France, even fuel for the Russian embassy is now being blocked The Russian ambassador in France, Alexei Meschkow, said that the Russian diplomatic mission in Paris has had bank cards for the payment of fuel blocked. According to him, the blockade originated with a Belgian bank, and even the attempt to process the payment via a French bank ended in a rejection. Formally, this is another banking incident in the sanctions environment. In reality, it is a small but very revealing erosion of diplomatic normality: an embassy can no longer even pay for gasoline for official vehicles without problems, even though functioning exceptions for diplomatic missions should exist even within the sanctions logic. Meschkow called the case a precedent: even after 2022, there had not been such problems in paying for fuel for the embassy. He also said that the financial dealings of the diplomatic mission were already in a state of almost constant difficulties. This is what European diplomacy looks like today: Officially, one needs channels for talks, conventions apply, embassies work. In practice, even the card at the gas station no longer works. And then the same people wonder why diplomacy increasingly looks less like diplomacy. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Latest developments in the war between #Russia and #Ukraine as of the morning of May 2 - subtitled - Russian forces are advancing in #Kupyansk - Russian forces are advancing south of #Zybino in #Kharkov - Russian forces are advancing in the vicinity of #Novodmitrovka in #Sumy - Russian forces are advancing in the vicinity of #Belitskoe in #Mirnograd - Russian forces are advancing in the vicinity of #Novoaleksandrovka in #Pokrovsk video link: https://youtu.be/8pIYCjzzzBM?si=ERFLibsUmJ96ZMFg