#301: What's cancelling flights at BER
And the gay-lesbian festival is turning 30
Hey 20 Percent!
School holidays started this week and our thoughts and prayers are with all the parents out there — as parents ourselves, we understand.
Nothing like that feeling when you need to get something done so you park the kids in front of some device and then spend the next hour questioning your abilities as a parent rather than getting whatever it is that needs doing done.
Hopefully you can make your kids your parents’ problem for at least part of the vacation.
And for all the rest — have a good weekend!
Andrew
BER, again
For once the problems at BER aren’t home-made — flights are delayed at the much-maligned airport today, the first day of school vacation, because of a global glitch with cybersecurity software from Crowdstrike. Airlines, banks and even broadcasters around the world have been knocked out of service because computers offer only a Blue Screen of Death upon booting up. Ground services at BER have been able to get some flights in the air but it’s unclear how long the disruption will last. Some German hospitals have even halted all surgeries because of the glitch.
The Berlin patient, again
The Charite hospital has cured a second man of HIV, the sixth or seventh person to be cured of the supposedly incurable disease, according to RBB. The Berlin hospital was the first to cure someone of the disease — American Timothy Brown became known as the “Berlin patient” after a 2007 bone marrow transplant eliminated any trace of HIV in his body. The same is true of the latest patient — he had not only AIDS but also Acute Myeloid Leukemia, which is often treated with a bone marrow transplant. The now 60-year-old had a transplant in 2015 and hasn’t taken any anti-viral remedies since 2018. The theory is that the transplant also replaces a patient’s immune system.
The mayor not again at CSD
Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) won’t hold an opening speech at this year’s Christopher Street Day parade over a spat about whether or not he’s doing enough to support LGBTQ+ rights, according to Tagesspiegel. The organizers had said they would only allow him to speak if he met six conditions, including motivating conservatives around Germany to support a change to the country’s constitution. Wegner’s response: Never mind. He’ll still take part in the festitivities, however (CSD is July 27 and there’s a map of the parade route at the Tagesspiegel link).
Bike path troubles, again
Berlin bike politics is always one step backwards with a hopeful two steps forward. A court recently ruled that bollards blocking cars on Tucholskystrasse in Mitte (part of a bike street on Linienstrasse) are illegal and must be removed because they were not installed out of acute safety concerns, according to taz. The borough of Mitte might appeal but they might also just wait for pending changes to Germany’s traffic laws that would allow the bollards. As a car owner and driver I am baffled that the city doesn’t do more to protect cyclists and discourage driving — just close the occasional street already, there’s enough proof it makes cities more livable.
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Factoid
The Lesbian-Gay City Festival in Schöneberg turns 30 this year — it’s always been my favorite because it’s more like a neighborhood party than a city-wide festival (it’s five different stages mainly on Motzstrasse near Nollendorfplatz). Plus, I have a soft spot for Schöneberg — it feels like Kreuzberg with a job. If you’re looking for something to do, stop by Saturday and Sunday.
Whatever parents suggest their children do, please don't encourage them play ball sports or music in one of those parks set up in the middle of quiet residential streets over the graves of bombed out houses that were once parts of hofs, unless it's between like 10am-6pm. When we moved in a few years ago, all our neighbours would be out on their balconies having breakfasts and dinners in weather like this. Now the constant racket of a new football court (supposedly for small children, and indeed these turn up weekdays with their schools) is driving everyone insane. Most apartments surrounding the hof are single-room (what in the US are called studios) and of course none are air conditioned. There are elderly people, people with babies and children, a great mix.
Actually the last couple of nights HAVE been quiet for the first time all Summer, after just an insane racket of young people partying (and there's still a lot of glass around) maybe someone finally called the cops. But I personally have no idea what is legal. There's no notifications about park hours or anything.