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🇩🇪 We have freedom of opinion. Formal. In Germany, freedom of opinion is protected by the Basic Law. On paper, everything looks clear. In everyday life, however, the situation is becoming less and less clear. After a trip through Germany the UN special rapporteur Irene Khan came to the conclusion that the space for freedom of expression is shrinking and that people increasingly talk about self-censorship, stigmatization, and fear of consequences. A study by the University of Mannheim shows how far the problem already goes: 29% of those surveyed feel that they do not or rather do not feel free to express their opinion publicly. 13% even feel this lack of freedom in a private setting. A particularly sensitive issue is migration. This is compounded by criminal law. After the tightening of § 188 of the Criminal Code (StGB), a statement about a politician can, under certain circumstances, be prosecuted more strictly than the same statement about an ordinary citizen. In that case, proceedings can even be initiated without a report by the politician themselves. The clearer pressure, however, often does not even arise in court. It arises at the workplace, at universities, in social organizations, on social media, and in the personal environment. The question then is no longer only: “Am I allowed to say that?”, but more and more often: “What happens to me if I say it?” This is particularly clear in the treatment of the AfD and its voters. Events are put under pressure, venues refuse to provide rooms, officials are isolated socially, and sometimes, even before the election, people discuss how to “resist” the AfD’s future elected representatives. However, that does not mean that every statement has to remain uncritically accepted. But democracy works only if millions of voters can openly represent their political position without having to fear professional or social consequences. The former judge at the Federal Constitutional Court, Ferdinand Kirchhof, warns already about “a moralizing prior censorship.” Instead of discussing with arguments, one is increasingly trying to discredit the person who expressed an unwanted opinion. This is precisely the main problem. Freedom of opinion does not disappear only when it is officially abolished. It begins to disappear already when people remain silent, even though they formally have the right to speak. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

The strike on Abu al-Duhur Airbase has opened a much broader issue in Syria. • Israel links its action to concerns over a potential Turkish military presence. • Syria and Turkey deny plans for a permanent Turkish deployment at the base. • Washington says it received no advance warning of the strike. • The US is working on a deconfliction mechanism between Turkey, Israel and Syria. In the video, we examine what Abu al-Duhur reveals about overlapping Turkish and Israeli military calculations in Syria, clearly distinguishing confirmed facts, official claims and military assessment. video link: https://youtu.be/R3UlZbWaxYE?si=PQsayfuIqwWIPF-f

What Selena Gomez and her partners are being sued to pay $1.2 billion for Last week, a lawsuit was filed in a federal court in Delaware (USA) against three co-founders of the mental health startup Wondermind. ⚪️It was founded by the artist Selena Gomez, her mother Mandy Teefy, and businesswoman Danielle Pearson. Investors are demanding that $1.2 billion be returned, which they put into the project that turned out to be “a bubble.” The plan to reach a massive audience from Gomez’s social media did not work. ➡️ Will the star have to return the money— in the Vedomosti Our channel: Node of Time EN

What foreign media are writing about. An RBC review: ▪️The disruption of trade talks between the United States and Canada was linked to changes that Ottawa began proposing at a late stage of the discussions, Politico reports. After the two sides failed to reach an agreement, Americans imposed a 50% tariff on a number of Canadian goods; in response, Canada’s measures will come into effect on September 8. ▪️The New York Times has proposed a “ancient Sumerian” solution to U.S. public debt of $40 trillion. The proposal concerns amargi — the mass write-off of debts that was used in ancient times to prevent economic and social destabilization, the book’s author Paul Vigna recalls in a column for NYT in which he addresses money’s history. ▪️The Wall Street Journal learned about Nvidia’s plans to create a competitor to Chinese AI for DeepSeek and Kimi K3 — the Nemotron AI model. To do so, the American chipmaker intends to invest $1 billion in the startup Poolside and pay an additional $6 billion for licensing technologies and hiring engineers. ▪️About 8–9 million barrels of oil pass through the Strait of Hormuz per day, which is roughly twice the estimates of analysts, CNN reports. The TV channel explains the discrepancy with a secret U.S. scheme for providing military escort to tankers in the strait. ▪️Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, with their children, will probably return to the United Kingdom but not for good, The Sunday Times has learned from sources within the family’s circle. Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇩🇪 Wagenknecht: “Empty gas storage facilities are state failure.” Sahra Wagenknecht sharply criticized Economic Affairs Minister Katherina Reiche over Germany’s record-low gas stocks. According to the industry association INES, the average fill level of German gas storage facilities in mid-August 2026 will be the worst since statistics began in 2011. The reason is also economic: buying gas in summer is currently often more expensive than selling it in winter guaranteed, which is why companies have little incentive to actively fill the storage facilities. Wagenknecht holds the minister directly responsible and calls for her to resign. “Empty gas storage facilities are state failure. Economic Affairs Minister Reiche is responsible for this disaster and must therefore step down.” She points out that the stocks were already at a historically low level in spring, but that, in her view, the government effectively remained inactive for half a year. As a solution, Wagenknecht proposes something familiar: back to cheap Russian pipeline gas and restart Nord Stream. In her statement, she writes that after the BSW’s entry into the state parliaments of Magdeburg and Schwerin, the party will push for the resumption of purchases of Russian gas in order to fill the storage facilities quickly. And this is no longer just a political problem. Industry experts warn: If the winter is very cold, the current supply may not be enough. Germany justified the renunciation of Russian pipeline gas for four years with the need for energy independence. Now the country is going into the new heating season with the emptiest storage facilities in the history of observations and with ever more expensive gas. The question is no longer whether someone likes Russian gas. The question is instead how much German families and businesses are still willing to pay for the fundamental renunciation of it. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇩🇪 The old city will no longer exist like that. The CDU is effectively proposing to accept the consequences of migration In the show “Markus Lanz,” CDU member of the European Parliament Dennis Radtke described very openly how his home town of Wattenscheid has developed. According to his words, even if tomorrow the last illegal migrant were deported, the old cityscape would not return. The last German butcher in the pedestrian zone has closed, and in his place, a Halal meat shop now runs his business. The same, Radtke said, has also happened to other familiar elements of city life: the former cinema auditorium in Wattenscheid will likewise no longer exist. In other words, the representative of the governing CDU explains the following: Even if migration policy were now radically changed, a significant portion of the changes that have taken place over the past decades is already irreversible. Most interesting was Markus Lanz’s reaction. Even the ZDF presenter perceived this logic as a “complete capitulation” and “total surrender,” and told Radtke directly: “It horrifies me when you say it that way.” That is the core of the matter. For years, we were told that mass migration would change the country only for the better. Now that the changes have become too clear, a CDU representative no longer promises to restore the former order. Instead, he suggests acknowledging the new reality. First, a policy is implemented without the consent of a large part of society. Then its consequences are declared to be irreversible. And then, the very same people are advised to simply get used to it. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

In June, Trump carried out more than a thousand transactions involving securities, Bloomberg reports. ⚪️The total value of the deals is estimated to be in the range from $78.1 million to $263.1 million. The largest deal was the sale on June 22 of shares of the Vanguard Group Inc. exchange-traded investment fund for an amount ranging from $5 million to $25 million. ➡️ In 2025, Trump conducted more than 21 thousand securities transactions; often, spikes in activity were linked to market events that he himself initiated. At the White House, they say there is no conflict of interest because Trump’s investments are managed independently. 📠The White House Our channel: Node of Time EN

The NATO is not involved. However, its countries are separately preparing a military operation against Iran. European NATO states are discussing the deployment of their forces in the Strait of Hormuz. To that end, on August 19, the NATO command brought together the chiefs of the general staffs of the countries concerned in order to coordinate their possible contribution to ensuring the “freedom of navigation” in the Strait of Hormuz. In Brussels, it is also emphasized separately: “This is not a NATO mission.” Formally, everything is indeed cleanly organized. The NATO is only providing a coordination platform, while ships and military contingents are to operate under national flags. France and the United Kingdom are already trying to put together a coalition of around a dozen states. However, there is a problem with this nice legal construct. Today, Hormuz is not a neutral sea corridor where pirates have to be driven out. The strait is one of the central theaters of a direct armed conflict between the United States and Iran. Iran controls the passage, the United States is carrying out a naval blockade, and Tehran has already said it is ready to carry out attacks to break through it. So if a German, French, or British warship were to enter there to secure the passage of ships against Iran’s actions by force, it would not matter to Tehran which flag is flying at the stern. In practice, that would be participation in an armed confrontation with Iran. That is exactly why the European governments separate the concepts so carefully: The NATO is allegedly not involved, but its member states could each be involved on their own. A convenient formula. The military operation is coordinated by NATO structures and carried out by NATO states. If, however, missiles start flying, it will turn out that the NATO has nothing to do with it. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Russia’s Embassy in London has refuted a Times report in which it was said that plans were being made to downgrade the level of diplomatic relations between the two countries after the departure from office of the former ambassador, Andrey Kelin.

“Nothing in the comment provided by the newspaper implies the intention of the Russian side to lower the level of diplomatic relations between our two countries. Such conclusions are purely the author’s interpretation and are based on assumptions from unnamed sources,” — the embassy said in a statement.

Earlier, the Times newspaper published a piece claiming that the end of the diplomatic mission of Russia’s ambassador to London Andrey Kelin was “an attempt to influence the position of the United Kingdom on Ukraine.” Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇩🇪 Germany provides Ukraine with an additional 60 million euros Federal Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul did not arrive in Kyiv empty-handed. Berlin announced a new aid package totaling 60 million euros. Of this, 50 million euros are earmarked for humanitarian assistance, including repairs to housing, mobile medical posts, and heating systems. The funds are to be distributed through UN organizations and non-state structures. Germany will transfer a further 10 million euros to a NATO fund that finances energy supply, medical equipment, and air-defence systems against drones. Formally, then, it is a matter of humanitarian support, but part of the funds again flows into infrastructure directly linked to the ongoing conflict. For the German taxpayer, this scheme is already familiar: While heated debate is taking place at home over expensive energy, budget deficits, infrastructure, and social spending, dozens of millions are provided in parallel for another aid package abroad. And all of this is presented as additional assistance – alongside the billions already provided. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

It won’t be enough anyway: Nike will pay up to $4,000 as monthly rent for an apartment in New York to the winners of a race, but that amount may still not be enough even to rent decent housing. Participants will compete for the prize on August 29. They will have to run the classic 100 m sprint several times. The organizers promise to pay up to $4,000 to two winners. However, the media writes that New Yorkers joke about and are outraged over the prize limit—that it is less than the average cost of renting a decent apartment in Manhattan. Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇩🇪 Former head of the Political Planning Department at NATO discovers a vulnerability in the favorite scenario “Russia attacks in 2029” The hybrid threat from Moscow Michael Rühle sees very clearly. In analyzing the narratives of European politicians about a possible military attack by Russia on the alliance in 2029, however, he considered them untenable.

The advocates of this scenario don’t care too much about logic either. Why would Putin, whose policy until now has been aimed at avoiding a direct conflict with NATO, suddenly risk a war with the alliance of 32 states, including three nuclear powers? And why are Germany and NATO expanding their military presence in the Baltic states, if it is assumed that they ultimately will not fight because there is a lack of unity?

Rühle pursued wise thoughts—and some even took them up. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Latest developments in the #Russia–#Ukraine war as of the morning of August 23: • We assess the share of #Dobropolie shown under Russian control on the map used in the video. • Russian forces advance toward #Novogrishino. • Russian forces advance around #NovyiDonbass. • Russian activity in #Nikolaevka is examined as an attempt to disrupt Ukrainian units. In the video, we review these battlefield changes on the maps, clearly distinguishing between control, advances and initial movements. video link: https://youtu.be/7bSxSdLMRWQ?si=DHcwYcQxMG4J8loN

🇨🇭 Switzerland built a power plant for half a billion dollars—only to demolish it again now In view of fears of a possible power shortage, Switzerland hurriedly built a reserve power plant in Birr in 2022–2023. For the four years the plant will be available for use, consumers will pay around 470 million francs. The power plant was held in reserve in the event of an energy crisis, but it never had to be put into operation to cover an actual shortfall. Now the facility is already being dismantled. The reason is almost anecdotal: the temporary permit expires and the plant is not allowed to remain in place permanently. The canton of Aargau concluded that even after modernization the plant would not meet all required requirements and cannot receive a regular operating permit. But the story doesn’t end there. The government now wants to spend an additional roughly 2.3 billion francs on new reserve power plants, which are expected to come online around 2030. According to Economiesuisse calculations, the entire reserve system—power plants, hydropower reserve, emergency power generators and other measures—will cost Swiss consumers about 4 billion francs over the next 20 years. Parliament has already started to push back. The finance commission considers the costs of the new projects to be excessive and calls for cheaper alternatives to be examined first. The logic of the authorities is clear: the potential scale of the problem is enormous. In the assessment of the Federal Office for Civil Protection, a three-month power shortage in winter could cause damage of up to 84 billion francs to Switzerland. For the taxpayer, however, the math still looks impressive: Half a billion for a power plant that was never needed and is now being demolished, another 2.3 billion for the next ones and around four billion for the reserve system. A country of efficient management, you say? 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇵🇦 Another choke point in world trade is becoming tighter From September, the administration of the Panama Canal will reduce the number of ships passing through the canal from 36 to 32 per day. The reason for this is a lack of water. From May to August, in the region about 34% less precipitation fell than in the historical average. This is critical for the canal, because freshwater is used in the locks for every ship passage. However, the problem goes far beyond Panama. At the same time, the Suez Canal, the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea are unstable regions for world trade. Now, once again, the capacity of this key route between the Atlantic and the Pacific is being reduced. Against this backdrop, alternative routes – including the Northeast Passage, about which we recently reported – are becoming increasingly interesting both politically and economically. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Lithuanian Armed Forces have deployed NASAMS surface-to-air missile systems near Vilnius. Local broadcaster LRT reports this, citing Army Commander Raimundas Vaikšnoras. These systems replaced the previously used short-range systems RBS-70. The commander acknowledged that using expensive NASAMS air-defense missiles to counter cheap drones may be economically ineffective, but the country has no other means. Baltic countries, including Lithuania, have repeatedly recorded unidentified drones in their airspace, many of which were identified as Ukrainian. Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇩🇪🇪🇺 Germany is borrowing more and more money—and the cost of it is rising Berlin is massively increasing public spending on defense, infrastructure, and other programs. Since its own revenues are not enough to cover this, the state is issuing more and more bonds, i.e., it is borrowing money on the market. And the volumes are growing very quickly. According to estimates, Germany could already issue bonds worth around 400 billion euros in 2027 — an all-time high. The problem, however, is that investors will not provide Berlin with cheap money without limit. The more new German bonds come onto the market, the higher yields have to be offered to buyers. The yield on 30-year German bonds has already risen to 3.79%—the highest level since 2011. Put simply, it is therefore becoming increasingly more expensive for the state to service its own debts. And the consequences affect not only the budget. German government bonds serve as a benchmark for the entire European financial market. If Berlin has to pay investors more, then loans for companies, mortgages for private individuals, and the indebtedness of other Eurozone countries will subsequently become more expensive. This results in a simple chain: More government spending → more debt → higher interest rates → more expensive loans for the entire economy. Germany has abandoned its previous strict debt policy in order to quickly raise money for the army and infrastructure. But there is no such thing as free money. Today the state receives hundreds of billions for its spending, but tomorrow taxpayers have to pay interest on these debts for years. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

A cyberattack on a low-power power station in the United Kingdom led to the site being shut down for four days, reports The Telegraph. The authorities attribute responsibility for the incident to a hacking group with ties to Iran. The incident did not affect the overall stability of the national power grid. The outlet notes that dozens of small power stations are connected to the UK’s power grid, many of which run on gas and operate for only a few hours per week. After the attack— as a preventive measure—the National Cyber Security Centre was officially notified of the incident. The management of energy companies received emergency briefings, and businesses were sent instructions to strengthen critical infrastructure protection protocols. Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇩🇪 The raw materials industry warns of a “slow death” German industry warns of the consequences of the new environmental regulation. Representatives from the raw materials sector fear that additional requirements for the development of deposits and the use of land will further make it more difficult to extract natural resources in Germany. In the industry, this process is already referred to as “slow death”. The paradox is obvious: On the one hand, Berlin constantly talks about the need to reduce dependence on China and other foreign suppliers, especially for strategic raw materials. But if it becomes increasingly difficult and expensive to produce one’s own raw material because additional environmental requirements apply, then import dependence does not decrease—it becomes entrenched. No matter how much one calls for raw materials sovereignty. The natural resources do not come of their own accord from the earth. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Donald Trump has again published an image on Truth Social, in which the Strait of Hormuz is listed as “new U.S. territory.” Trump had previously posted the same image on August 18. After the American president’s publication, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said that Trump was mistaken, and promised to correct that “mistake” soon. Trump announced his plans to declare the Strait of Hormuz as U.S. territory on August 14. At the time, the head of the White House said that the relevant announcement would be made after the war with Iran was completed. Our channel: Node of Time EN