DIARY: 2000

15 entries (# 70-84)

Entry # 70: Jan 11 - Two Thousand

So this is the year 2000 AD. So what? The date we write now contains a "2" as initial cipher, that feels important somehow. But time has no meaning here, or rather, the way we measure it. It may have a psychological impact to be sitting in another year, but technically it's just days following anteceding days.

The world is still here, there was no end of days, no end of the world. That would've been too easy. We have to clean up first. Also, Y2K proved to be less problematic than thought - although some critical errors occured, and one of our older private computers didn't switch dates properly. But the big bang we were spared from. Preparation by individuals, government and industry seems to have been worth their time and money.

Is it a new century, a new millennium? Strictly speaking, our normal calendar doesn't have a year zero, so the new millennium would start 2001. But that's a discussion worth nothing - the astronomical calendar, for instance, does have a year zero (equaling 1 BC). By the way, when was Christ born? Seven years or so BC? Christ born seven years before Christ was born? Quite a riduculous statement isn't it. Also, in our timeline there are numerous errors and corrections certainly adding up to quite some years. So why bother about a year zero? Our timeline is an utmost artificial thing. Bothering about one year more or less is just not suitable.

We are in a new century, in a new millennium - we start with a new number. We aren't in the nineties, for there is no ninety anymore contained. It is the zeroes now. Anyway, how we call the time we live in is virtually unimportant compared with the challenges at hand: to build a better world, to improve the world we have, to stick with what's proven right and to discard with what's been proven to be utterly wrong. The twentieth century is gone now, a century of the gravest injusties - but also one of the brightest triumphs of humanity. Let's stick with the latter part to start with.

January 11th, 2000

Entry # 71: Jan 11 - Twenty-Four

Yesterday was yesterday, and still today I'm one year older than I was the day before. But what does a birthday mean? We grow older each subsequent day, each hour, each minute. So I'm just a day older than yesterday - except that my age is now twenty-four years.

The world still is the same - the same tasks at hand, and if something is finished, new tasks will appear. And the way I see it, it's growing worse each year. When we complain about too little time, we will soon notice that we'll have even less time in the future, and we wonder why we haven't done the things we have to do now already in the past...

January 11th, 2000

Entry # 72: Jan 26 - Kohl and the Issue of Integrity

Lately all those still clinging to illusions of righteousness in high-level politics had to adjust such a picture of theirs rather unexpectedly. Affairs and scandals may not be that uncommon, and with Nixon's Watergate, America already had had its major political scandal, dwarfing by far the - comparatively - irrelevent story of Bill and Monica. Germany, however, even though some affairs like today's existed in the past, now has been filled with tremor as ex-Chancellor Helmut Kohl is in the focus of the media, now not anymore as the visionary figure of democracy and unification, but rather as a shadowy creature, caught in a web of lies and financial intrigues and corruption he himself had weaved.

Never would I have suspected such a thing - I would have suspected others, perhaps everybody else, but not him to do this. Now he insists on not soliciting information about his monetary sources, he does so hiding behind empty words like honor and promise, words emptied by himself. By his selfish and outright stupid behavior he is strongly contributing to the self-destruction of Germany's Christian Democrat Party, the CDU, setting a horridly distorted example of what he thinks of the judicial system. The keeper of both his party and the state has become its nemesis.

Lots of politicians who are geniuses in foreign politics fail at the affairs of the interior, but this case has an even more classical twist. Power corrupts, and Kohl has had nearly absolute power in his party through his long reign, and quite some reputation as a statesman in the country and in Europe. Yet he couldn't withstand the classical attraction of money. He did it "for the sake of the party", but he doesn't seem to have considered the virtue of grace under pressure. Every criminal action has an excuse. It is sad in the highest degree that a man like him should have fallen for such a simple scheme. His stubborn refusal to name the donators only has one message: L'état c'est moi - the state am I.

He has done a great deal for the unification of Germany, which I as a former citizen of the GDR am especially grateful for. He has done a lot to solidify German democracy and to promote European unity. All of these achievements cannot be forgotten - but they, ironically, have to set the standards for his morality: A man like Kohl has to be judged differently, namely by even higher moral standards. He who knows the rules and breaks them knowingly is much more dangerous and much more guilty than the one who breaks them unknowingly or out of stupidity. Stupid Kohl hasn't been. He has contravened against a law he himself created, this is not only outrageous but it shows the kind of respect he has for the laws of his country. He is right, because of his achievements he has to be judged differently. But that means he is to be judged more harshly - not more leniently.

There are only two alternatives - either he speaks or he has to be expelled from the parliament and from the party. Through his disregarding the law, he is setting an example promoting anarchy over the law. The havoc thus created may have consequences yet unimaginable, but surely devastating.

January 26th, 2000

Entry # 73: Jan 26 - The Pinochet Case

However abhorring the thought of letting go a bloody dictator might be, it shows clearly the difference between tyranny and democracy: The democratic judicial system isn't built on revenge, neither solely on resisting on the law, but it much more contains an element of compassion and dignity. This is the greatest revenge of all: To let the tyrant experience what he himself would have denied if he had been the judge: Humanity.

There cannot be neither an excuse nor compensation for the crimes of the past. There is no sense in continued trying an old man, how much of a bastard he might have been. He is guilty, everybody knows that. And he will be judged by an even higher instance - just as he is being judged by his own conscience. He has been tried in front of a court, that's a signal towards all tyrants. He will have to be released, that's a signal that mankind is evolving beyond primitive quid-pro-quo.

January 26th, 2000

Entry # 74: Jan 26 - The Krenz Case

Similar as the Pinochet case is the Krenz case - he and his two collaborators who took part in suppressing and subjugating the Germans on the territory of the GDR have been tried and sentenced to jail. The sentence isn't for a long time, that's something barely understandable at first for the victims. It is understandable in terms of humanity, like in the above mentioned Pinochet case. The much more central persons like the tyrants Honecker and Mielke have either died or reached senility; the trial of the three now sentenced members of the Politburo serves as a signal: Tyranny cannot be tolerated.

This is not a justice of the victors, as it has often been put by Krenz and his minions. It is justice based upon human rights, you cannot not trial a state whose justice was injustice and whose laws were created to imprison the people. Injustice cannot be rewarded with immunity. That their punishment is by no means a harsh one is due to the compassion of a democratic judicial system.

January 26th, 2000

Entry # 75: Feb 3 - Haider and Austria

Today there's a lot of buzz around the Austrian elections and the forming of a government there, a government now surely including Jörg Haider's so-called Freedom Party. The buzz, however, is absolutely justified: A man who euphemistically donotes Nazi concentration and elimination camps as prison camps, a man who calls former SS officers righteous men, a man who has won the elections with a campain mainly directed against foreigners, such a man must never be granted the support of the world public. He should never have been elected.

The Austrians are no poor people, on the contrary: Through tourism, Austria has become one of the richest countries of Europe, of the world. Why does a Nazi like Haider get such a support? Is it egotism, the desire to protect one's ressources and wealth? That's an outright dumb wish: Austria's capital consists of foreigners. Immigration and tourism form the prime forces which drive Austrian economy. But who said Nazis and their minions would be bright people?

The decision of the European Union to treat Austria and Haider as outcasts under that circumstances is precisely right, it is a unequivocal signal that Austria - as a part of the European Union - has to stick to democrats and to democracy. Europe isn't a vision anymore, it is becoming a reality. Haider's influence has to be restricted right from the beginning. This is not a harmless case, on the contrary. Haider's victory, Haider having been voted for by so many Austrians, that's quite some awkward scenario. Such thinking has to be stopped and prevented, action has to be taken.

February 3rd, 2000

Entry # 76: Feb 3 - Chechnya

There are no easy choices, that's probably the curse of politics. But there are some simple truths. Violence is a bad thing, justifiable only in a defense situation, in defending oneself or others against a ruthless aggressor. During the NATO campaign against Serbian massacres and genocide in Kosovo as well as during the campaign against Saddam Hussein, there was a lot of criticism against the military strikes. NATO, however, has always been trying to avoid unneccessary loss of lives, tried to guard civilians as good as possible, although tragic mistakes have been made. The criticism against NATO now is being dwarfed and ridiculed by what happens in Chechnya under Russian command.

Russian politics, Soviet or czarist, has always been one of violence and aggression. Sadly, Yeltsin and Putin have decided to continune that line of thought. The Soviet and the Russian state have been built through annexation and conquest, now some former colonies are trying to get loose. This is not Russian territory being protected by the Russian military, it is a sovereign country which had been granted sovereignty by Russia before trying to get loose. Although there can be little good in Russia breaking apart into dozens of separate states, trying to hold them together by an iron fist is even worse, much worse.

The Russian government doesn't seem to care about civilians or morality here. It even seems that it doesn't care about Chechnya either, only about the thus created popularity boost for Putin. There are no easy choices. The West may criticize Russian behavior here, but they mustn't intervene in order to keep the conflict from escalating into something altogether different and much more dangerous. That's a sad choice, and a tricky situation, to say the least. At the end, nothing will be gained by the Russian forces. Now they have a real enemy at hand, they've created a rebel movement like they did in Afghanistan. They had to back off then, such as they will have to let Chechnya go in the future. What they may be gaining now, they will lose. The cost of lives caused by these insane political decisions is horrendous; let's just hope Russia will grow up some day.

February 3rd, 2000

Entry # 77: Mar 25 - The Pope's Mea Culpa

When the Holy Father issued his Mea Culpa on March 12th, the apology for all crimes and misdemeanors done by Catholic Christians in the name of their belief, this opened the way for dialog.

Some, however, seem to see it as a confirmation of crimes of the Church. That's not necessarily the case. The Inquisition and its methods are usually highly distorted in literature and the media, while in reality the Inquisition of the Church was rather harmless in contrast to the state institutions which often took over. Very specific cases, like the case of the pseudo-hero Galilei, have been overblown to such an extent that the truth behind it is only hardly visible. Contrary to common belief, Galileo wasn't condemned for putting the sun in the center. This thesis had long been accepted. He was asked to clear out some mistakes in his theory (which actually existed and had to be modified by science later), but he claimed to be the sole possessor of truth, scientific and theologic. His "punishment" was not even executed. Conventional belief, however, is always stronger than the truth. That isn't to say that there have been no grave injustices. But the bipolar scheme of good and evil is a very dangerous and misleading path to go, especially in this case, and also in case of the crusades.

The general mistake of the Church in the past was to not only collaborate with the state but to supplement it and to take over state functions. The pope in the Middle ages was seen as a counterforce to the emperor, religious and political power combined. Bishops being named by the regional king, who often put his closest friends to the throne, people who not necessarily were religious. The mere idea of leading a war in the name of the peace-promoting Christ is a total perversion of the Christian ideal, whatever historical necessity may have existed for the crusades. But the flaw was systematic, resulting from Roman times, and leading to Luther's critique (which at his time was more or less justified) and the subsequent schisma and reformation. In more recent times, however, the Church started to recover from its system defect and became more like the institution it was supposed to be. The apology of the Pope was the best signal that progress has been made: but also, that even the Church consists of human beings with the ability to err.

Even more moving was Pope John Paul II's voyage to Israel and his being at Yad Vashem and his addressing the Holocaust and anti-Semitism. But what some wanted to hear was an apology for the Church's alleged missing criticism of the Nazi regime at that time. Such an apology, however, cannot be given because the Church did condemn Nazism and the Holocaust. That it did so not immediately and not as strong as it may have been hoped for results from the Church itself having been persecuted by the Nazis. Not only Jews were the victims of the Nazi death machinery, also Christians, homosexuals, political opponents. Thus an even stronger opposition by the Church would have resulted in even more danger for Christians in Europe. If such facts are omitted, the position of the Church at that time may indeed seem dubious. Seen in the context, however, the picture looks quite different.

After the Mea Culpa and the Papal visit to Israel, there is the chance for overcoming differences and disputes if all the others will follow in getting ready for dialog. The Catholic Church has done its homework, the right signal for the new Millennium.

March 25th, 2000

Entry # 78: Jul 25 - Time

It has been four months since my last entry into this diary. Four months. This fact has led to a change in the structure of these diary files - now there will be just two files per year, not four as originally planned; thus not only disguising the fact that the April-June period would be empty, but also making up for the loss of time on my side.

Loss of time. Well, not in the X-Filean understanding of course. But very well in a more general one. And it happens when your studies or your work take up more time than originally planned; leading to a cutting down of certain projects, mostly those who can be considered belonging rather to leisure than to work, to otium rather than negotium.

However, I've always had a problem with the word otium. There's nothing like that. You cannot actually be doing nothing nor something unimportant to you. Everything gets down to you, to your psyche - to your soul. There is no escaping the fact that human beings need recreation somehow. Thus even lying in the sun, an activity I cannot barely remember having done for quite some time, can be productive. It is only from a comparative perspective that we can weigh certain projects in regard to their relevance. That means, cut your losses. That means, neglect your web site and do something else, like, studying. Sadly. I guess, time belongs to those things most precious to us - and most rare.

July 25th, 2000

Entry # 79: Sept 30 - Yugoslavian Elections

Last night, when I visited the web site of the Yugoslavian Ministry of "Information", several things came into my mind, but what I felt mostly was a sense of horror and déjà-vu. What you can see there is the classic communo-fascist machinery of governmental disinformation, more or less elaborate lies disguised as truths, facts manipulated, facts deliberately put into a wrong and distorting context, the ugly truth behind hidden in an elaborate and tempting wrapping, hidden behind shiny façades and a diabolical grin.

This is the same kind of machinery which has betrayed the world for too long a time, a machinery which pacted with the Nazis and produced horrors close to the holocaust, yet hidden behind a falsely benevolent web of lies, a machinery of false promises and hate, a machinery of fostering stupidity and fear of the complex realities of today, a machinery which has created the false specter of "world capitalism", a machinery crying out peace but creating nothing but war, a machinery crying out social justice and creating suppression of ideas and faculties, a machinery falsely setting itself against fascism, but in its wrong Marxist/Communist/Anti-Western agenda creating a new form of fascism instead, a machinery plotted to secure the power of the few over the suppressed majority. And now, this machinery has set out to organize elections. Is this the end - or is it just the beginning?

The Soviet system has never been without "elections". Yet you were not allowed to actually make a choice, everything was constructed to be a farce. The same farce has been tried to be pulled off again, votes have been manipulated, opposition forces criminalized and detained and probably even worse measures taken, the resulting vote ignored and a false one presented as true.

Yet times have changed. There is no Soviet big brother any more. With the internet, not only the machinery of lies but also the oppositional forces can get heard. The UN, especially with the assistance of NATO forces, are stronger than during Cold War times, and Milosevic has proven time and again to be a notorious liar betraying his people.

The above cited web site is in English by default, not in Serbian. It is not intended for Serbians but for foreign visitors - showing both the audacity but even more the desperateness of the Yugoslav regime. Western opinion is seen as something important even for this machinery of lies - Yugoslavia is still a European country. It cannot afford to be isolated forever, so time is running out.

Gorbachev didn't set out to terminate the Communist system, he wanted to strengthen it by redefining its basis. This move was utterly necessary as the Soviet economy had been destroyed by the government over decades, the people being the victim of that. But allowing freedom of thought and movement as well as a more liberal economy into the system was the critical impulse to let the entire web of lies and violence not only crack but break down. The result was the end of the Soviet state, and Gorbachev deserves the credit for accepting this to happen, and for letting it happen peacefully. If he hadn't incited the changes leading to the end, it would have self-destroyed eventually. The ensuing fall of other central-European dictatorships embedded into the Soviet system had been due for a long time, as the economy was ruined everywhere and everything only glued together by governmental cosmetic surgery. The collapse of the Evil Empire meant that the protector of suppression was gone, and without it, the individual states couldn't possibly sustain the pressure from inside and outside.

Yugoslavia somehow managed to evade this, but it had to fight three bloody wars for it. The costs for its economy and for its people have been enormous, and a forth war, this time against Montenegro, would be fatal, and Milosevic would lose again. If there is some intelligence in his governmental and military staff, they'll know that. The opposition has won the electoral vote. The Orthodox Church has sided with the opposition. European sanctions will be lifted when the opposition takes government. Montenegro has sabotaged the elections and sided with the opposition too. The only option left for Milosevic - besides stepping - is to use violence again to reaffirm his rule. But this time, the odds against him are infinite. His rule will end soon - the question is just, how many will have to die for it. He doesn't seem to be a man who cares about something like that, so he has to be stopped from the inside.

The task of the opposition will be to stay united and to accept Western help. The West is no evil organization, neither is it built upon what is called the capitalist system. The West is built upon democracy and freedom, it is not flawless, but it is the best system available. Isolation and internal dissension would be the worst things to happen, they would only lead to strengthening the old reactionary Communist and anarchist forces. For the EU, this means active involvement and assistance, not just talking. The EU has a responsibility for the Yugoslav people. It is not "us" or "them" - it is just "us". Especially Germany should take a more active role in promoting democracy and freedom - even more with the decennial of unification coming up. The plight of the Serbian people is a plight of all humanity.

September 30th, 2000

Entry # 80: Oct 05 - Yugoslavian Elections, Pt. 2

When we hear Milosevic wanting another election, don't we be fooled. When we hear the Yugoslavian Supreme Court making utterances, don't we be fooled. When we hear that there are still people clinging to Milosevic's rule, don't we be fooled. When we hear about solving the crisis in a democratic way, don't we be fooled.

Milosevic is a dictator, no democrat. Yugoslavia is a dictatorship, no democracy, no liberal society. The rules of a democracy don't apply. The result of the election is that there is an opposition which - for the first time - has a large enough basis to oust the dictator. The time is now to cause a change and end the regime of terror. Peaceful protest is the best way to do it. The strikers are no criminals. Strikes are a normal routine in a democratic society. Milosevic's ordering strikers and protestants to be arrested shows clearly the nature of his rule. If there be a second election with him running, he will either win by manipulation or again refuse to step down. He cannot be trusted, neither can his propaganda be taken seriously.

It does not matter that even as he is defeated his rule would only end next spring. He is a dictator without democratic legislation. He has to be put down. The opposition needs a long breath to do so, and they better convince security forces that the oppositional cause is the just cause. Would anyone have wanted to oust Hitler by waiting for another election? Or Mussolini? Caligula? Commodus? Perhaps we are too democratic already to recognize what kind of ruler Milosevic is, perhaps we are too accustomed to democratic fair play.

Usually I would be amongst the last persons to call for revolution. Neither do I condone violence. But Milosevic is a mass murderer. He is wanted by the UN. He has caused three bloody wars to happen, he has ordered the deaths of thousands of people, has performed ethnic cleansing, terrorized oppositional forces and betrayed the hopes and trust of his people. He is a criminal, he has to be put in front of a human rights court and face trial and be convicted for the crimes he committed. Negotiations with him would only attest legitimacy for a man whose rule is anything but legal nor just. Therefore, he has to be put down.

If Russia is willing to help, that can be a good thing. But I wouldn't be so sure of the Russian position in this crisis. Putin has made some very strange and unclear utterances regarding the topic. But so has the West. Where is outright Western support for Kostunica? Don't discuss the legitimacy of an election. This is just what Milosevic wants: More naïve talking so that he can fortify his positions and strike back. Don't we underestimate him. He is a terrorist. Since when do civilized nations negotiate with terrorists?

October 5th, 2000

Entry # 81: Nov 16 - Limbo I: Political

Elections! What a nice concept. You choose your leader. You elect your president. Wrong. You elect your electoral college, an institution founded such a long time ago that its continuing existence today is a relic, an annoying anachronism in the time of mass traffic and mass media.

Anyway. At least you elect him. Wrong again. The small margin of victory George Walker Bush now has over Albert Gore only exists because of this insane concept of the electoral college. If it weren't for this institution, the vote in Florida wouldn't matter - the popular vote would decide. No matter what candidate is preferred, isn't it odd to have a clear popular vote standing in stark contrast to a (still undecided, but different) electoral vote? We, the people? Who is "we"? An artificially assigned number of delegates?

Anyway. At least you have votes. Wrong again. You have an equally insane and childish quarreling about counting and re-counting and re-re-counting. One side wants to count as long and as often as possible so it may win at the end. The other side is panicking over retaining a painfully small margin of difference. Over here in Europe, this looks even more insane. The mother of modern democracy, the home of the free and land of the brave - that's a hell of a message indeed for countries like Russia, Belarus, North Korea, Venezuela and Cuba. Do an election. It's gonna be fun. And at the end, any winner will be marked as an obnoxious and probably illegitimate persona non grata.

Anyway. At least there are two persons fit for the job. One of them, El Bore, for eight years a pale shadow lurking in the background of such an illustrous figure as William Jefferson Clinton, not at all a brilliant orator like his former boss, not at all pragmatic in his ideas but driven by activism, fixated on changing things better not changed, blind to the things which should be changed. A candidate probably best suited to be Vice President, but no one I would want to see as the man in the big chair. The other, Walker Texas Ranger, illiterate in foreign policy, having a terrible ecological and social record in his beloved state of Texas, being pro-life concerning abortion and pro-death concerning the rights of criminals who still happen to have human rights, acting as if government would be nothing but a big joke. The third, Nader, if he can be considered a third, babbling Marxist anti-commerce propaganda and repeating the trash of pseudo-intellectual leftist bar talk. Where is a Clinton when you need one?

This limbo created by the odd outcome of last week's election will only be a pretaste of things to come. A President should be able to lead - can you truly imagine any one of the two quarreling children to be that person for the next four years? Fuck it, let's go bowling...

November 16th, 2000

Entry # 82: Nov 16 - Limbo II: Personal

Writer's block is a terrible thing. Being tired of the semester right from the start probably isn't a good sign either. Not even wanting to watch television shows or movies you've been excited about once is definitely not good. Being tired yet unable to fall asleep easily - what could be worse? Not even being able to make your depression work in depressive poems?

Love is a strange thing. Complicated, twisted, all-encompassing. When it seems to fall upon fruitful ground, it's heaven. But when it doesn't, boy, what could be worse? I'll tell you: Ambiguity. What if what you get told and what you perceive otherwise don't match? Hope can be an utmost destructive force, I know that now. But still, this uncertainty - but if you haven't tried, you haven't lived - indeed.

And what to write when you have said it all already? Klimax has been my largest poem so far - and it seems to remain that way. How could I possibly achieve the same thing again - more than 10'000 words in verse, that's insane. It almost killed me, and now I'm dead within. Quenched, dehydrated, emptied. Everything has changed. I could die now, my poetic duty is done, is it?

And if all of this wouldn't already be enough, what about losing your confidence in easy answers concerning religion? Now imagine all of this to be happening at once. Having writer's block after such an immense outburst of writing as Klimax has been. Tired of studying after a rather productive phase. A love thought gained, lost instead. Answers believed to be solid, disappearing.

Uncertainty can be cleansing, quietness can be refreshing, doing nothing in particular can be like salvation. Nirvana? It doesn't seem that way. At least I know one thing: It is necessary to move on. Losing so many things at once can be disastrous - but it can also mean catharsis. Perhaps I should enjoy this state of limbo and accept it both as a setback - which it certainly is - and as a chance. It's all about experiences. But somehow I'd want this to be easier...

November 16th, 2000

Entry # 83: Nov 26 - Electoral Mumbo-Jumbo

Just minutes away from the deadline set by the Florida Supreme Court to end manual recounting and to publish the respective results, the new US President may be elected some time soon (of course, the electoral college will decide upon that matter later). But what happened in between has been quite outrageous.

I am rather not affiliated with the Republican Party, and I do not share special sympathy for Bush. But what Al Gore has done during this charade has been really disgusting: Making democratic counties recount manually had only one aim: To increase his vote gains. If Gore should succeed with that, contrary to official computer counted results, he will be guilty of deception and manipulation. Under the mask of righteousness and democracy, he has been manipulating results and screwed up the statistics.

A total recount would include ALL counties, both those mainly Democratic and those Republican - what the Gore campaign has done is seriously damaging the fair play of democracy. So I hope he won't become the next President - for he would be a President of lies and manipulation, and an utter disgrace for the Democratic Party.

November 26th, 2000

Entry # 84: Dec 11 - Taking Places

If people go, others will most probably stand ready to take their places - just like it happens on a train: As people get off, others will take their seat, and the memory of the previous inhabitant of that place will vanish over time, probably rather sooner than later.

Maybe efforts in writing, arts and sciences will be able to delay this process, maybe mortality can be fooled with, maybe. At least I hope so - otherwise, would there be a reason to continue?

To change the world? Come on. Perhaps you can affect the perception of some people, but you couldn't possibly overcome the whole inertia, the resistance against any change, and be it for the better. At the end, all philosophy comes down to the individual - while time seems to come down to the grander scheme of things, counting not the years but eons. How could we possibly make a difference? Fight the forgetting, enabling memory to persist? How?

December 11th, 2000