#east west

[funstealer]

East West Musical Instruments

“Parrot” Leather Jackets

[mascamaiorum]

In Praise of Shadows

Jun'ichirō Tanizaki

“...our ancestors, forced to live in dark rooms, presently came to discover beauty in shadows, ultimately to guide shadows towards beauty’s ends. [...] And yet, when we gaze into the darkness that gathers behind the crossbeam, around the flower vase, beneath the shelves, though we know perfectly well it is mere shadow, we are overcome with the feeling that in this small corner of the atmosphere there reigns complete and utter silence; that here in the darkness immutable tranquility holds sway. The “mysterious Orient” of which Westerners speak probably refers to the uncanny silence of these dark places. And even we as children would feel an inexpressible chill as we peered into the depths of an alcove to which the sunlight had never penetrated. Where lies the key to this mystery? Ultimately it is the magic of shadows. Were the shadows to be banished from its corners, the alcove would in that instant revert to mere void. This was the genius of our ancestors, that by cutting off the light from this empty space they imparted to the world of shadows that formed there a quality of mystery and depth superior to that of any wall painting or ornament. [...] Were it not for shadows, there would be no beauty. [...] Perhaps it is only a mischievous trick of light and shadow, a thing of a moment only. But even so it is enough. We can ask for nothing more.

[mysticalblizzardcolor]

[ourladyofomega]

Shake 'dat ass!

[judging-a-album-by-its-cover]

East West - Richard Pinhas (1980)

Artist : Philippe Druillet

[nezreblogz]

[bopinion]

2024 / 45

Aperçu of the week

"Latinos are Republican. They just don't know it yet."

(Ronald Reagan, actor and US-American politician of the Republican Party who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989)

Bad News of the Week

What has the self-luminous circulation guidance system not been used for: traffic lights. Because of them, we associate green with go and red with stop (and yellow with attention). Parties are also often associated with colors. So it's no wonder that the coalition of Social Democrats (red), Liberals (yellow) and Greens (guess what!) was also called "traffic lights coalition". "Was" because the traffic light has been history since last week. This is because the red Chancellor Olaf Scholz kicked the yellow Finance Minister Christian Lindner out of the cabinet. Whereupon the Liberals (naturally) left the coalition.

Since then, the term "Broken traffic light" has been used. Which sounds just as uncharming as a traffic accident. The traffic lights had been crunching for some time. This coalition was never a love match. Many political observers saw the end coming, there was talk of an "autumn of decisions". It should be noted that Olaf Scholz's last political job was finance minister (under the conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel). And both the very former and the recently former finance ministers have always agreed on one thing: that they think they are by far the smartest in the room. No wonder that the final stumbling block was a financial one, namely the budget.

"The government is finished and will no longer govern. That sounds insultingly banal, but because the last time a coalition broke up was 42 years ago and the last time the legislature was shortened was 20 years ago, it's a big deal when it happens," writes the news magazine Der Spiegel. This is why a cold, paralyzing fog has descended over the country just in time for the appropriate season - there is a standstill. The early elections are scheduled for February 23, 2025. Until then, the legislative apparatus will be largely dormant, as there seems to be no will to cooperate across party lines. And any new government must first find itself (it will be a coalition again) will first need time to define a program and put it into legislation.

Germany currently has no budget plan for 2025. In the USA, such a status would probably lead to a complete government shutdown. Fortunately, it cannot get that far in this country. Nevertheless, there will be virtually no government action. For minimum half a year. In the world's third-largest economy. At a time when we are sliding into recession. If someone had asked me the week before last to draw up a horror scenario for the near future, this is pretty much what I would have come up with. Not good.

Good News of the Week

The Berlin Wall came down 35 years ago. Euphoria is certainly not a typical trait that can be attributed to Germans. And yet it was the predominant feeling that we otherwise only know from winning a soccer championship. In Berlin, strangers hugged each other, cheered and sang together. After the first tentative rapprochement - the escape of around 4,000 GDR citizens via the West German embassy in Prague - this marked the beginning of what had seemed impossible shortly before: the end of the Cold War.

The so-called fall of the Berlin Wall was the starting signal for German reunification, the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Or to put it another way: the West finally triumphed over the East. Which was, of course, presumptuous and arrogant at the time and proved to be a fatal historical blunder. After all, there would be no Vladimir Putin today, tearing apart a former brother nation, or a Viktor Orbán, who created the guide "How to create an autocracy in a democracy", if "the West" had not only opened the door to the Eastern Europeans, but also extended a hand.

Nevertheless, the day the Wall fell is and was a day of joy. The Wall did not actually fall on that day. Rather, thousands of East Berliners spontaneously set off to visit the West when Günter Schabowski, Secretary for Information, more or less coincidentally announced in a televised press conference that lighter travel restrictions would apply "immediately, without delay". And the officers on guard duty in the completely uninformed border troops had the sense not to shoot at the masses of people coming towards them, but simply to hold back. In the weeks-long party that followed, the Wall actually fell piece by piece - by diggers as well as souvenir hunters with hammers and chisels.

And even if the achievements of this liberation at the beginning of the 1990s are questioned by one or two politicians and not recognized or even forgotten by one or two voters, this does not change the basic principle: it was a liberation. You can give it up again of your own free will. But at least you held it in your hand once. After all, a real democracy can only abolish itself.

Personal happy moment of the week

Breaking News: I broke a rib. I won't tell you how, just this much: it wasn't anything heroic like "You should see the other guy!". Fortunately, the broken rib stayed in place and didn't damage my lungs or any other organ. Now I'll only be in pain for a good four weeks (I can't stop breathing obviously) and I won't sleep well because I'm bound to move the wrong way unconsciously. But still: that qualifies for a lucky moment. Not a happy one, okay...

I couldn't care less...

...that many criticize the credibility of an environmental summit in a fossil fuel exporting country. The main thing is that COP29 takes place. Because the EU climate change service Copernicus has just issued a forecast: 2024 is likely to be the first year since records began in which the average temperature will be more than 1.5 degrees warmer than the pre-industrial average. This is the defined maximum level of global warming in order to still have a chance of avoiding radical tipping points in the global climate. If there are (or should be, let's be realistic) tangible successes, someone who actually contributes too little to this can proudly announce them in the Azerbaijani capital Baku: autocrat Ilham Heydar oglu Aliyev.

It's fine with me...

...that the Self-Determination Act is now officially in force in Germany. This means that fellow human beings who were born in the wrong body finally have exactly that: the right to self-determination. Without shameful questioning, expensive expert opinions and lengthy bureaucracy. In this case, thanks to Justice Minister Marco Buschmann, who is no longer in office as a Liberal minister (see "Broken traffic light").

Post Scriptum

Okay, I held out ignoring the elephant in the room until the last column. But now it has to come out: a majority of the US electorate has decided to give Donald Trump a second term. Despite, or perhaps because of, the fact that he didn't mince his words. Because they knew exactly which personality with which values would get the keys to the White House. You don't even have to read the Heritage Foundation's "Project 2025" to find out, just listen to Trump himself. As tech billionnaire Peter Thiel famously put it eight years ago: You have to take Trump seriously but not literally.

This was almost a landslide victory: Trump not only took the majority of electoral votes by a large margin, but also won the popular vote. The Republicans have already won the majority in the Senate and a majority in the House of Representatives is practically guaranteed. With the Supreme Court already in their pocket, this is an unprecedented concentration of power. The dust has not yet settled. And I still don't know exactly how to categorize some aspects of it. So here is a loose collection of my thoughts and those of others.

"Of course I had suspected it, not only feared it, but deep down even knew that it would happen again. But you can still hope, against all odds. What else can you do? We had no choice. We are just spectators." Stefan Kuzmany in Der Spiegel.

The first personnel decisions about Trump's possible cabinet are making the rounds, with only Mike Pompeo and Nikki Haley being ruled out so far. Conspiracy theorist and avowed anti-vaccinationist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is to take charge of health. And Elon Musk is to become head of a still not existing economic commission. And announces that he could easily cut the entire state budget by 2 trillion - that's almost a third. As head of a Department of Government Efficiency he promises no less than "fixing the government". Perhaps most glaring, however, is the choice of Fox News host Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense - who has no administrative, political or national security experience. But seemes to be a sexist asshole.

Election winner Trump is the first US president to enter the White House as a convicted felon. The sentence was due to be announced at the end of November. What will become of it - and of the other criminal proceedings against him? Nothing, of course. He can simply order the termination of some proceedings by having the Department of Justice fire the responsible special investigator. And others will simply be suspended until the President is no longer sitting. Doesn't that sound more like a Banana Republic?

"The racist, agitator and misogynist Donald Trump returns to the White House. A disaster - to which we in Germany are not immune. (...) You are probably just as stunned as I am: Donald Trump becomes US president again. A fascist. A liar and demagogue. And one who announces in no uncertain terms what he intends to do: rebuild and destroy the oldest democracy much more extensively and systematically than in his unprepared first term." Christoph Bautz, Chairman of the democratic activist association Campact.

"It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them. While the Democratic leadership defends the status quo, the American people are angry and want change. And they're right." Bernie Sanders (who is officially an independent senator) on Twitter (I still refuse to call it X).

[la7ma-mafrooma]

"B-but Palestinians can get their freedom with peace not violence 🥺🥺" no. Screw your feelings. The armed resistance against colonizers and murderers is what will give Palestinians their freedom and what will eventually achieve real peace.

An enemy that bombs and uses white phosphorus against civilians doesn't know nor practice what your broken moral compass describes as "peace". Freedom was proven throughout history not to be achieved through kneeling and asking the oppressor to kindly stop. Freedom needs to be taken by force. Your little Utopian way of thinking doesn't work in the real world. Your feelings don't matter because you're not the one living under occupation. Your feelings don't matter because you're not one of the thousands of children who lost their limbs. You're not one of the children who became orphans due to this genocide. You're not the mother who lost her child to the carpet bombing. You're not the father carrying the remains of your child in plastic bags. You're not the newlywed woman who lost her husband. You're not the one at risk of either getting killed any second or losing your loved ones in the blink of an eye!

"Peace" is not really a thing you see during a live ethnic cleansing!

[troythecatfish]

Using "Legalize" as a term to cover up the theft of people's homes and livelihoods is expected at this point from the NYT. The "free" press is complicit in the manufacturing of consent to not only destroy Gaza, but to also annex the West Bank. Free Palestine.

X: Assalrad

[milesmorales69]

Istanbul, Türkiye🇹🇷

Istanbul was historically known as Byzantium and later Constantinople. It is a city where Europe connects Asia, or West connects East, blending diverse cultural and architectural influences from its days as the heart of three great empires: Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman.

Istanbul was historically known as Byzantium and later Constantinople. It is a city where Europe connects Asia, or West connects East, blending diverse cultural and architectural influences from its days as the heart of three great empires: Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman.

Founded around 660 BCE, it became a cultural and political capital in 330 CE under Emperor Constantine the great, who established it as the new Rome. The city flourished under Byzantine rule, with masterpieces like the Hagia Sophia, which became an architectural marvel of the Christian world.

When Fatih Sultan Mehmed II conquered Constantinople in 1453, it marked the end of  the 1,123-year-old Byzantine Empire and the beginning of Istanbul’s Ottoman era. The Ottomans transformed the city, adding iconic structures like the Topkapi Palace, the grand Blue Mosque and Suleymaniye Mosque, a work of the famed architect Mimar Sinan. Sinan, regarded as one of the greatest architects in Ottoman history, shaped the skyline with his unique blend of Islamic and Byzantine influences.

Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar and Spice Bazaar reflect its role as a major trade center, where East met West. Even today, Istanbul is celebrated for its vibrant bazaars, cultural festivals and historical landmarks, a living museum of civilizations that shaped its legacy.

[kaapstadgirly]

"We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians."

~ Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela.

[funstealer]

Jelado 'East West Racer' Jacket in Burgundy via flares3939

[mournfulroses]

Margaret Atwood, from Paper Boat: Selected Poems; "He Shifts from East to West,"

[mysticalblizzardcolor]

Listen/purchase: Sita Ram by Jai Uttal

Sita Ram 🙏🕉️📿🌞~by Jai Uttal

https://jaiuttal.bandcamp.com/track/sita-ram-3 

[hotsauceintheebag]

'The tragedy is not how one dies,' he thought. 'It is how one has lived.'

Chekov and Zulu - East, West by Salman Rushdie

[nezreblogz]