5th anniversary of George Floyd’s death
Police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on the neck of George Floyd for nine minutes until he suffocated. Since then, Floyd has been regarded by some as a martyr and by others as a drug-addicted criminal who left his five children to their mothers. More here.
On the 100th birthday of the human rights activist Malcolm X
Malcolm X was one of the most prominent figures of the US Black rights movement. He preached separatism and resistance against whites. It was only shortly before his death in 1965 that he adopted a more conciliatory tone. What traces did Malcolm X’s ideas leave behind? More here.
80 years atomic bombs: International Uranium Film Festival
2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the first atomic bomb explosion in the US state of New Mexico and the subsequent nuclear destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The International Uranium Film Festival is dedicated to the entire spectrum of this topic. From May 17 to 31 in Rio de Janeiro.
May 11: belated remembrance of two violent deaths
A side effect of traveling by bus or train is the many hours I have at my disposal on the way from A to B. While browsing Facebook and X, I found out about two violent deaths that both occurred on May 11. More here.
San Antonio, part 2: the annual “Battle of the Flowers”
It is Fiesta time again in San Antonio. For eleven days, the locals go wild, dressing up, partying and parading. And this year, I experience this hustle and bustle up close. More here.
A critical commentary by Ernst Wolff on the role of the USA
From World War I and the rise of the National Socialists to the Marshall Plan. The content does not automatically reflect the opinion of the blog operator. More here.
Guest post by Volker Seitz on the dissolution of USAID, part 2
Bombs on Yemen and a journey into the past
A group of US politicians order bombings in Yemen via cell phone. The TV images remind me of my two trips to the architecturally and scenically fascinating country. And of a similar wiretapping scandal in Germany a year ago. More here.
Navajo activist and artist receives environmental award.
Indigenous activist Klee Benally is being honored with the Nuclear-Free Future Award for his work against uranium mining in his native Arizona. Posthumously, because Benally joined his ancestors on December 30, 2023. He was 48 years old. More here.
USA: In Louisiana, the original Mardi Gras still exists.
Every year in New Orleans, black carnivalists transform into “Mardi Gras Indians”. And in the countryside, drunken riders in feather costumes chase chickens. Als in the USA, traditions are still alive and astonishing. More here.
