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Erdoğan’s leader state: Diary of a Turkish exile

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Kurdish civilians are pushed out of the helicopter. Journalists who report on it are criminals. And the medical board? Full of “traitors”.

On October 18 in Sirnak: AKP leader Erdogan is greeted Foto: Murat Kula/Anadolou agency/picture alliance

20. September

I looked at wedding photos. Attorney General Yüksel Kocaman got married at the Sheraton in Ankara. The Chairman of the Court of Cassation, the Minister of Justice, the Minister of the Interior, the Chief of Staff, the Chairman of the Election Commission and many, many other important men were guests. The honeymoon before the wedding was already present in the media: by helicopter to the tourist coastal town of Bodrum, where you stayed in a hotel that costs 1,000 euros per night.

After the wedding, we went to the presidential palace. Tayyip Erdoğan in the middle of the bride and groom. The photo session with the president is wedding present enough. But how can a chief prosecutor, who in the past behaved like the tyrant’s devoted lackey anyway, top it off with thanks? More arrests, more state terrorism? Why do I now remember a sentence from Interior Minister Soylu, who was also the best man at the wedding? “You cannot compare us to Hitler. We didn’t kill anyone in gas chambers. “

The Mesopotamian News Agency, whose website is blocked in Turkey, reports an incident that happened nine days ago. In a village in Van Province, the villagers were rounded up by soldiers and had to kneel down. Two men, 55-year-old Servet Turgut and 50-year-old Osman Şiban, were taken away in a military helicopter. It was only days later that relatives were able to find them in a hospital several hundred kilometers from the village.

Disfigured their bodies, they are in the hospital. “My father has 11 broken bones, hemorrhages and cracks in his lungs,” says Turgut’s son. The men were pushed down by the helicopter. The sentence is inhuman, but true: “No cock crows at any poor Kurdish farmers.”

25. September

The exclusive honeymoon, the pompous wedding and the photo shoot with the president are bearing fruit. In the early hours of the morning, police counter-terrorism units struck. 82 top officials of the HDP (Democratic Party of the Peoples) were arrested. Among them the mayor of the city of Kars, Ayhan Bilgen, and the former MP Sırrı Süreyya Önder, who once worked with the government on a peace plan for the Kurdish question.

According to prosecutors, the arrests are linked to the October 2014 events in which 46 people died. The Kurdish border town of Kobani in Syria was about to be captured by the jihadists of the “Islamic State”. Tayyip Erdoğan celebrated the impending fall of the city with relish. The Kurds in Turkey were in an uproar and the HDP called for mass protest.

Those arrested are likely to spend years in custody, like the former leader of the party, Selahattin Demirtaş. The most brilliant politician Turkey has ever seen has been in prison for four years. “Membership in an armed terrorist organization” is the charge. The HDP received almost 12 percent of the vote in the last parliamentary elections. Perhaps the Fiihrer will have it banned. Thousands of party officials are behind bars anyway.

29. September

An opposition MP has published an internal official document on corona cases in Turkey. It is a detailed inventory of September 10th – number of approved tests, test results, etc. According to this, 29,377 people tested positive for Corona on this day. That is twenty times what was officially announced. The daily announcement by the Ministry of Health speaks of 1,512 people who tested positive for this day.

I spoke to my mother on the phone. “These villains lie,” she keeps saying. “You lie about everything. Why shouldn’t they lie about the corona cases? ”In the past few months, mayors, doctors and hospital staff who were confronted with the consequences of the virus on site had repeatedly questioned the official statements.

October 1

The daily newspaper spokesman has documented the strange transformation of a German textbook for 9th grade students. In the old edition of the year there is a map of Germany with “typically German” symbols. For example the Brandenburg Gate, the Frauenkirche in Dresden, the Cologne Cathedral, a car, a woman in a dirndl. A wine glass, a beer mug and the Oktoberfest are also represented. “Researched! What information can you find about Germany? Discuss your results in class! ”Says the textbook. The beer mug, wine glass and Oktoberfest have now been eliminated in the new edition. There are now white spots there thanks to Photoshop experts at the Department of Education.

Anyone who makes beer glasses disappear from school books in the national interest can certainly also manipulate corona case numbers. “In the fight against the pandemic, our state must protect not only the health of the population, but also national interests,” tweeted Health Minister Fahrettin Koca. Before that, he gossiped at a press conference. At some point it was decided to no longer disclose the number of cases of infected people, but only those of the sick who show symptoms. Even the Scientific Council he set up to combat the pandemic did not know that.

Neither did the World Health Organization, which included the Turkish numbers as daily infection cases in their statistics. There was also no indication of the change in the basis of the survey on the website of the Ministry of Health: There was talk of “infections”, not “sick people with symptoms”.

What’s the point of the medical association protesting? In any case, her explanation does not appear in the media that are in line. The Medical Association has appealed to the government dozens of times to handle data transparently. In cooperation with scientists, she wrote detailed reports on the development of the pandemic. On a day of action in September, doctors and nurses protested against the government’s failure with a black cord.

The synchronized media, however, spread the statement by Devlet Bahçeli, chairman of the Nationalist Action Party, the most important partner and supporter of President Tayyip Erdoğan: “Because of an alleged increase in corona cases, the band of traitors called the Medical Association wants to wear black cords. This is a poisonous and humiliating plot. The Turkish Medical Association is as dangerous as the coronavirus. “

I looked up the meaning of “delirium” in the Duden dictionary: “Clouding of consciousness that manifests itself in confusion and delusions.” I wonder whether only individuals can fall into delirium. Or even entire societies?

A court in Van has issued a ban. In view of the ongoing investigations, it is not allowed to report on the Kurdish farmers thrown from the military helicopter. One of the men, Servet Turgut, is now dead.

October 6th

The four journalists who investigated the drop from the helicopter for eyewitness and medical reports were arrested. A question of time, when they will be tried for “supporting a terrorist organization”.

October 13

The daily newspaper calendar headline: “Our words to the constitutional court member Engin, whose face resembles an assassin’s whiner: You will dangle on the gallows of this flagpole”. The Constitutional Court had conceded the judgment of a criminal chamber against Enis Berberoğlu, an opposition MP. For once in history, the criminal chamber refused to obey the judgment of the Constitutional Court. Engin Yıldırım, one of the chief judges, tweeted a night photo of the Constitutional Court with the text “Our lights are on” after the judgment received.

Yıldırım, a conservative who was appointed constitutional judge in the Erdoğan era, was then referred to as a “coupist”. “Our lights are always on,” says the Interior Ministry’s official Twitter account. The poor man. That he deleted the tweet and apologized will be of little use to him. Someone tweeted: “We are prisoners of violent pornography.”

The daily newspaper calendar belongs to the Turkuaz media group, led by the brother of Tayyip Erdoğan’s son-in-law, Berat Albayrak, who is in turn finance minister. The media group Turkuaz (in the pool are the Turkish editions of Esquire, Cosmopolitan, Bazaar, House Beautiful and many more) belongs to the Kalyon construction company. The group that always wins public tenders.

I think I remember that the company made it world famous. Google, World Bank website: Private participation in infrastructure 1990–2019. Kalyon is one of the top ten companies in the world that have implemented public infrastructure contracts. Four are from Turkey, all of them linked to Tayyip Erdoğan.

October 14th

Erdoğan rages against the medical association. “How can we entrust our sick to them. How can we expect recovery? Can we expect that from terrorists? ”I think of Şebnem Korur Fincancı. She is the chairwoman of the Medical Association. An extraordinary woman. Professor of Forensic Medicine. She has contributed to the constitution of the United Nations standard work on the investigation and documentation of torture. In 1996 she was involved in the exhumation of mass graves and autopsies for the International Criminal Court in Bosnia.

She was able to prove murder and torture in the Philippines and Bahrain. She was once the head of the forensic medicine department. She was able to convict the head of the organized crime department of torture. It documented the murder of the trade unionist Süleyman Yeter. Many international awards, in Germany the Hessian Peace Prize. A few years ago we were waiting in front of an Istanbul prison for her to be released from custody. It only seems a matter of time before the medical board will be smashed.

15th October

Özer Sencar, professor and head of the Metropoll polling institute, is a trustworthy source. In an interview, he said that President Erdoğan’s party always had a voter approval between 30 and 35 percent. The party that has ruled Turkey for 18 years never sagged below 30 percent. The approval for Tayyip Erdoğan is significantly above this percentage. How can that be in view of the catastrophic development, the decline of the lira, impoverishment and mismanagement in the corona crisis?

Are nationalism, religious slogans, an expansionist and aggressive foreign policy enough to cover it all up? The professor, a man of empiricism, statistics and numbers, gives an answer that is actually inappropriate: “It is the belief in Tayyip Erdoğan.” The belief. It’s like gambling: once you’ve bet on a horse, there’s no going back. Even in the face of disaster, one does not want to admit mistakes. After all, Turkey is on the way to becoming a great power.

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Why should I get a flu vaccination this year? – Health

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This year, in times of Corona, doctors advise everyone to have the flu vaccination if possible – this protects yourself and the general public.

Why is the flu shot important now?

For the first time, the flu season hits us in the middle of a pandemic. Similar to Covid-19, however, only some of those infected with influenza develop symptoms, around half do not notice anything. Nevertheless, these people can be contagious – and thus infect people who are at risk of a severe course of Covid-19. The flu vaccination thus not only protects individuals, but also the general public and helps ensure that sufficient resources continue to be available to care for corona patients.

Who should be vaccinated?

The flu vaccination is recommended for everyone who wants to protect themselves, especially people from the risk group: This includes people with cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, asthma and the elderly from the age of 60. The same applies to health professions or kindergarten and teaching staff. Vaccination is also recommended for pregnant women. This not only protects the mother-to-be, but also the newborn, who cannot be vaccinated in the first six months. Since children – unlike Corona – play a major role in the transmission of influenza, they should also be vaccinated, which is possible for the first time free of charge this year.

When is the best time?

In November. The vaccination protection lasts for about six months and should therefore be sufficient for the entire flu season. In total there will be 1.86 million vaccination doses in Austria, twice as many as in the previous year. If you have not yet received a vaccine, you should inquire about it regularly.

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Men’s brains are bigger, women use them better: “Women’s brains are more active” – wel.nl – Welingelichte Kringen

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  1. Men’s brains are bigger, women use them better: “Women’s brains are more active” – wel.nlInformed Circles
  2. The female brain really works differently: ‘Don’t treat the same, but recognize the difference’RTL News
  3. A smaller brain and yet just as smart: the ‘biologically unique’ for womenThe morning
  4. ‘Women’s brain is smaller than men’s, but works harder’NRC
  5. Women’s brains are smaller, but no less smartThe standard
  6. View full story via Google News

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This is how fraudsters earn money with “Fortnite” – digitally

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With “Fortnite” you can not only earn money as an e-athlete. Fraudsters have long since found ways to steal large sums of money through the game.

The tempting words “free to play” probably attracted many players to “Fortnite”. Although the popular Battle Royale part of the game can be played completely for free, there are so-called “microtransactions” in the game. However, these sales are not entirely “micro”, because packages are offered for up to 75 francs.

The 13,500 vBucks it contains – that’s the name of the game currency – can be gone quickly because you pay around 2000 of these vBucks for some outfits.

If you see these prices, you are probably wondering whether there is another way to get the skins. It actually exists: by buying used or hacked accounts and playing with them.

Illegal websites

Also, some dubious websites promise to generate the coveted vBucks for free. However, this process is neither legal nor does it work. In fact, attempts are made to get the user’s cell phone number or credit card details in order to give them an expensive subscription or SMS payments.

That way, a group of scammers made more than $ 90,000 in one month alone, according to Similar Web. Sometimes you will also be asked to enter your account name and password. After typing in, the password of the Fortnite account is changed within seconds – you lose access to the account, which is then most likely sold.

Links to such sites often appear under YouTube videos that promise free “Fortnite” outfits. You can also find dozens of results on Google under terms such as “Fortnite vBucks Generator”.

Also danger from app

Since Epic Games has decided not to offer their game in the Google Playstore, you can find tons of “Fortnite” imitations there. These camouflage themselves with the font and layout of the multiplayer shooter and can also request credit card information or “Fortnite” account data. Sometimes malware can also be loaded onto the device. So be careful: Download “Fortnite” only from the official Epic Games website!

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Katja Wildermuth becomes director of Bayerischer Rundfunk

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Katja Wildermuth

The new director of Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) after her election.

(Photo: dpa)

Munich Katja Wildermuth has a close relationship with Munich. She grew up in Anzing, near the metropolis, where she studied and did her doctorate in history. Then in 1994, when she was 29, she moved to Dresden as an investigative TV writer for Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR), where she rose steadily.

Now the former television journalist is coming back to the Bavarian capital – with a strong career leap. Wildermuth, most recently MDR program director in Halle, will become director of Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) on February 1, 2021. There are considerable hopes associated with it – both internally in Munich and in the broader circle of the nine ARD stations. The smallest is still having a strong personal presence in the broadcaster and in the public service organization.

In the ARD, the BR, under the leadership of the former government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm, had isolated itself more and more and acquired the reputation of a “system sprinkler”. The relationship between Bavaria and MDR has also suffered badly over the years. The peak of the dispute was the unsuccessful resistance from Munich against a new digital ARD cultural platform in Erfurt – Katja Wildermuth of all people was responsible for it.

Such contaminated sites were of no interest to the BR, however, neither the broadcasting ratchet, Prelate Lorenz Wolf, nor the chairwoman of the board of directors, Ilse Aigner, who is the president of the Bavarian state parliament. It quickly became clear that after 72 years with men at the top, the time was finally ripe for a woman. Aigner’s party friends did not want to stand back from the CSU, which controls everything in the Free State.

And so, in the first ballot of the Broadcasting Council, Heimkehrerin Wildermuth was elected with 38 of 48 votes. Before that, she had already confidently prevailed internally in a group of female aspirants created by a Green MP.

With Wildermuth’s election, the power statics in the ARD changes

Katja Wildermuth is described as charming but very assertive. A person who understands a lot about the program, but also makes a bella figura in the many committees of ARD. And who knows the art of networking. She gets on well with MDR director Karola Wille, her current employer. Patricia Schlesinger, head of Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB), is also part of the familiar discussion group. Wildermuth succeeded her from 2016 to 2018 as head of culture at Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) in Hamburg.

With your election, the power statics in the ARD changes. The women’s trio from BR, MDR and RBB – reinforced by Yvette Gerner, director of Radio Bremen – can refresh the culture of discussion and strategy work in the former men’s club. Times are tough enough, as the debate about increasing the radio license fee from 17.50 to 18.36 euros shows.

In addition, the network of broadcasters is under permanent pressure to save. This threatens even well-established programs. Against the lack of interest of younger target groups in ARD and ZDF, those responsible are relying on “tri-media”, i.e. the editorial interaction between TV, radio and the Internet.

Katja Wildermuth set milestones here early on. As head of the MDR History and Society editorial team, she was responsible for large-scale cross-media projects such as “History of Germany”, “Breaking News Völkerschlacht” and the multimedia app MDR Zeitreise. The documentary “Night Will Fall – Hitchcock’s Educational Film for Germans”, which was also produced under her leadership, won the Emmy television award in 2016.

In addition, it was attentively registered that in their area much noticed documentaries were created, for example about the painter Neo Rauch or the Russian President (“Putin’s Games”). In her current job in Halle, she also deals with the MDR offers for young people, such as MDR Jump, but also with MDR Klassik.

“Not won because she is a woman”

In the world of hierarchs, Wildermuth does not come up with forays into legal or financial mathematics, but scores with its closeness to journalism as well as to cultural and educational topics, which are part of the basic mission of public law. She is also on the board of the Academy for Journalism in Hamburg.

At BR in Munich with its 3,500 employees, the doctor of history has to push ahead with the tri-media renovation, reduce costs and manage the upcoming move of the transmitter headquarters out of the city center to the television site in the Freimann district. The institutional system now brings with it a number of troubles, but those responsible have a lot of confidence in the 55-year-old woman at the top.

She “did not win because she is a woman, but because she won through her qualifications,” says board member Aigner. The “Female Future Force” network welcomed the “historic decision” – and called for real advancement of women as well as “a change in corporate culture towards more transparency and participation”.

Last Thursday after the election, the praised woman thanked her with heartfelt diplomacy. She is “very grateful for this impressive vote of confidence”, looking forward to the strong BR, the highly qualified staff and many encounters. And then Wildermuth spoke of a challenging time, of “financial debates and debates on acceptance”. She will have to need her networks quickly.

More: The end of the renowned ARD Institute for Broadcasting Technology is a fiasco.

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“Barbarians” on Netflix: What a beautiful Latin media

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When Arminius rode into the Cheruscan territory, he wore a mask. It is not just any mask, but the one whose somewhat suffering expression is immediately apparent when you hear the word “Varus Battle”: It is silver, the slits for the eyes are a bit slanted. In 1990 just such a Roman equestrian mask was found in the soil of the Osnabrücker Land – where archaeologists suspect the scene of that huge slaughter at the end of which three Roman legions were destroyed, more than 15,000 men dead and one of the most experienced generals in Rome himself fell into his sword. Varus did not want to suffer the shame of defeat as well as that of imprisonment. Something unthinkable had happened here, in the cold mud of Germania: the barbarians had defeated great Rome.

It was only a matter of time before this Arminius got his own Netflix series. His – historically documented – history is simply too good: Arminius was the son of a Cheruscan tribal leader and was brought from Germania to Rome in his childhood as a so-called hostage, as a pledge for peace, where he was raised and trained. Later he commanded Cheruscan auxiliary troops as a Roman knight. Then, and this is where the series begins, he returns to Germania alongside the governor Varus. Arminius is supposed to help his Roman foster father to finally subjugate the tribes, which are sometimes still rebellious and do not want to pay their taxes. But it turns out differently. The jungle speaks to him, Arminius feels his roots under the old oaks – and turns against Rome.

The showrunners Jan-Martin Scharf and Arne Nolting, who also wrote the script together with Andreas Heckmann, have confidently turned this famous material into a historical series that ticks everything that is expected of this format in 2020. There is a love triangle with Thusnelda (Jeanne Goursaud) a “strong woman” who does not just marry the man her father chooses for her. And the aesthetics are expected to be gloomy: the light in the German village is bad, the people are a little dingy. Of course blood is always splashing, someone is stabbed from behind or crucified in public by the Romans.

Sure, it’s about barbarians and war, after all. But shamelessly looking for any brutality, even against children, is when series like Game of Thrones and Vikings Have already done it a hundred times, no longer courageously and shockingly, but rather uninspired. It helps that Barbarians leaves an impression of conventional overzealousness despite its qualities.

That’s a shame, because so much is true here: The actors, for example, are terrific. The Austrian Laurence Rupp as Arminius believably quarrels with his two identities. A barely recognizable Sophie Rois is wonderfully funny as a serene forest witch. The dialogues escape pleasantly to the front because the Germanic tribes often speak like young people from the present, only without the Anglicisms, instead of somehow imagined grunting. And by showing the Teutons as a quarreling, vicious, mead-blessed bunch, the series cleverly escapes the danger of reviving a nationalist myth with too much heroic pathos. But the most beautiful thing is the Latin that the Romans used in Barbarians speak. It is so believable because you can recognize a word from the Stowasser dictionary here and there, but the Italian actors breathe unheard of life into this written language with their tongue.

At the end, when the Varus Battle has been fought, there is a possibility of a continuation. With a little less blood and more courage to break away from the conventions of the historical series, that wouldn’t be a bad idea at all.

Barbarians, six episodes, on Netflix.

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The Masked Singer breaks record again with 2.7 million viewers | NOW

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The Masked Singer on RTL 4 has once again broken a viewing figure. Last Friday, more than 2.7 million people watched the program. This makes the program the most viewed program of the Friday evening, according to figures from Stichting KijkOnderzoek.

The fifth episode of the singing program was broadcast on Friday evening. So far, every new episode of The Masked Singer more viewers than the week before. The fourth episode broke records with 2.6 million viewers, as did the third episode, when 2.3 million people watched the program.

The Masked Singer is originally a Korean television format that is also a great success in England and the United States. In the program, famous people sing a song while dressed up unrecognizable.

Two teams, consisting of Carlo Boszhard and Loretta Schrijver, and Gerard Joling and Buddy Vedder, must guess who is hiding behind the disguise. In the episode of Friday evening, singer Ernst Daniël Smid appeared to be dressed as a yeti and radio host Mattie Valk as an astronaut.

It is at number two in the ranking of the most watched programs of the Friday evening NOS News from 8 p.m. with 1,964,000 viewers. The third place was for talk show Jinek, to which more than 1.3 million viewers tuned in.

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104-year-old grandma pleads for help in a video – health

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Mary Fowler from Scotland pleads in a video to finally see her children and grandchildren. The pensioner is 104 years old.

The corona pandemic still has a firm grip on us. Especially the retirees in old people’s and nursing homes suffer greatly from the ban on contact. Mary Fowler from Scotland is 104 years old and asks the Scottish government for help in a heartbreaking way to finally see her children and grandchildren again. A video of the old lady was uploaded to a group at the Scottish Nursing Home: Heartbreaking!

“I’m running out of time.”

“I will be well taken care of here,” emphasizes Mary Fowler initially in a calm voice in the video. Then she begins, with tears in her eyes, to plead “her right” to finally see her family again. “I’m running out of time, I’m tearing up,” she sobs bitterly.

The Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon was approached on the video that she did not know yet. “It is difficult, heartbreakingly difficult, to make the right decisions about visiting nursing homes,” said Sturgeon, but many people in the country feel that way and feel sorry for them.

Mary Fowler is at the end of her tether, say the nursing staff. She just wonders if she will get another chance to see her great-grandchildren. Finally, the question arises: “Is this really the humane and only way to deal with our seniors?

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Broadcaster MAX comes with a live performance of Dickens story A Christmas Carol | NOW

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Omroep MAX will broadcast on December 20 Scrooge Live out, a live narration of the famous Christmas story A Christmas Carol. A series of well-known actors and artists will be seen in the show recorded in Dordrecht, the broadcaster reports Friday.

“Scrooge Live will look like a musical feature film, adapted in its own way by a well-known cabaret duo “, according to Omroep MAX. Which duo it concerns and which artists can be seen in the performance will be announced at a later date.

For the show, new arrangements are made of Christmas songs and international hits. The program will also draw attention to child poverty in the Netherlands.

Various edits have already been made of A Christmas Carol, Dickens’s novella that appeared in 1843. For example, a Disney version, a Muppet film and feature film with Jim Carrey in the lead role appeared.

The story centers on the bitter curmudgeon Ebezener Scrooge, who has a series of dreams the night before Christmas in which he is visited by three ghosts, representing the past, present and future. These dreams bring Scrooge to repentance.


Illustration from the book from 1843. (image: BrunoPress)

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Donald Trump vs. Joe Biden – that’s how the 2nd TV duel went

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Washington So you still had something to say to each other. In fact, there was an exchange of arguments on Friday night during the TV debate of the presidential candidates – in phases. It couldn’t be done entirely without coercive measures: While one candidate was commenting on a new topic, the other’s microphone was briefly muted.

Because the first TV duel between Donald Trump and Joe Biden three weeks ago was sunk in chaos. Now the opponents met again in the studio in Nashville, Tennessee. For the last time in this polarized, heated election campaign, they stood next to each other in the studio for 90 minutes. Five moments stood out in particular, they revealed a lot about the election campaign.

1. The mask

“A mask like this can save 100,000 lives,” said Joe Biden, holding up a black face mask. “I call on everyone to wear a mask.” With this gesture, he clearly distinguished himself in a visual medium from Donald Trump, who almost never appears with a mask.

The US Democrat was always strong when he could send simple but effective messages. “220,000 US citizens are dead. Everyone who is responsible for this should no longer be President of the USA,” he castigated Trump’s reaction to Covid-19. “He’s the guy who told you at Easter and in the summer that the pandemic was over.” More than 8.2 million people have been infected in the US so far, with around 50,000 being added every day.

The president was on the defensive on the most pressing issue of the time because the facts speak against him. “I had it myself, I’m better, I’m immune,” said Trump of his infection in early October. “The vaccination is coming,” Trump promised. “We are reversing the trend”, in contrast to Europe, where the cases just went up again.

“The difference to Europe is that they start there at a low rate and we have always stayed on top,” countered Biden, the scientist quoted as saying. The Democrat only stumbled when it came to the sensitive issue of a nationwide lockdown. Biden could not and did not want to promise that one would be imposed – also because of concerns about a recession.

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The Covid dialogue made it clear: Trump clings to old arguments, but has no successes. And regardless of who sits in the White House, the US will long struggle with the virus and an historic economic crisis.

2. The index finger

“I think I have to answer that. May I? Thank you, I appreciate that. ”Trump, who interrupted Biden 71 times during the TV duel at the end of September, actually said that. He even spoke up with his forefinger. A relatively civilized debate was thereby possible.

Apparently, Trump wanted to prevent the audience from turning off annoyed in a row. Because on the election stage, Trump’s angry citizen style may arrive, in a TV studio it quickly looks over the top. Biden’s survey upswing accelerated after the chaos duel at the end of September.

Scenes of the TV duel

Donald Trump and Joe Biden on stage.

(Photo: AFP)

Trump addressed the concern of many people in the pandemic: “We will no longer have any land if we leave the country completely closed,” he said. “New York is a ghost town. The restaurants, the shops, they are dying. Should people eat in a plexiglass cube in the future? The remedy cannot be worse than the disease. ”

He kept calling his challenger “Joe” and looked over at Biden, but Biden stared straight ahead or shook his head. Four days ago, Trump had shouted to his cheering supporters at an event that the Biden family belonged “locked away in jail”.

3. Another index finger

“What are you hiding?” Biden said at one point, pointing a finger at the President. The Democrat has been publishing his tax return for more than two decades, but Trump’s finances remain hidden. As the “New York Times” described, the president as an entrepreneur is said to have paid only a few hundred dollars in taxes per year and amassed debts with donors from all over the world.

Biden could easily score points with the topic, because Trump was once again unable to plausibly explain why he is not making his business relationships more transparent. The excellent presenter Kristen Welker asked: “When do you publish your taxes?”

Trump evaded and replied: “I am treated worse than any other president.” This phase was the low point of the TV duel, because almost ten minutes were required for alleged flows of money to Ukraine, Russia or China, various strands of allegations became knotted into each other.

That was ten minutes in which one could have talked about hospitals, wages, food prices or mountains of rubbish. One should not underestimate the power of conspiracy theories, however, in the current election campaign their influence is greater than ever.

4. Kim Jong Un and Hitler

It is important that the USA have good relations with international leaders, Trump stressed. He left no doubt that this also includes his handshake meetings with North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong Un. “We also had a good relationship with Hitler before he attacked the rest of Europe,” replied Biden – underscoring his promise that, as president, he would differentiate between dictators and democrats in foreign policy.

Presenter Kristen Welker

The presenter Kristen Welker did an excellent job at the last presidential candidate debate.

(Photo: AFP)

When it comes to foreign policy, the differences between the two politicians became particularly clear. Biden’s reputation as a multilateralist with extensive experience in diplomacy is something that many politicians abroad are hoping for. Trump had also followed his “America first” approach to foreign policy during his term in office – and would exacerbate the tendency in the event of re-election.

A side note: Trump mentioned Germany at another point in time. When it came to climate protection, he repeated his claim that wind turbines “like those in China and Germany” are expensive, kill birds and “release more gases than fracking”.

5. Children in cages

In the final sprint to the election, Trump relied on a tried and tested recipe from 2016: “I ran because of you, because of Obama. Because you did such a bad job, “said Trump in the studio. As crude as the accusation may be, it partly explains why Trump is still popular with around 40 percent of US citizens today. Because Biden carries political legacy with him, he is vulnerable to failures of the Obama administration. A comprehensive immigration reform, for example, was unsuccessful for Obama and his then Vice-President Biden.

The Democrat now promised quick action in the event of an election victory and attacked Trump for his radical anti-refugee policy. 545 children who were picked up at the border have not yet found their parents. “That is criminal.” The sad exchange of blows reminded us that in the USA, actually a nation of visionaries, the great challenges lie fallow.

More: America after four years of Donald Trump – the descent of a superpower

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