The Third World War

 

 

Who are better qualified than the Germans to make a documentary about a fictional Third World War? This is a fake historical documentary which imagines a worst-case scenario of how the Cold War might have ended had history taken a different course.

Employing a massive amount of archival imagery from military training films from both East and West, fake news reports, fake interviews, public statements by real historical figures (Bush, Thatcher, Kohl, etc.) and a wide variety of other original and archival material, it is a film unlike any other, both in its making and in its use of true pictures to illustrate an alternative vision of the past. Presented as if it where actually true and involving the actual political leaders of the time, World War Three makes real the ultimate horror of the Cold War, blurring the lines between fact and fiction.

Two-and-a-half years in the making, this international co-production was developed in consultation with military advisors from both NATO and the former Soviet Union. It is a realistic exploration of what might have been as it was imagined by those who were trained to fight World War Three.

 

 

This 1998 TV documentary, with the endless war in Ukraine and the threat of a nuclear confrontation between Israel and Iran hanging over the Middle East, has suddenly become very real. I give Albert Einstein the last words: "I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."

 

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Broken Bangers

 

 

Ian (aka "Baldy") has been our trusted car mechanic for well over two decades, during which time both he and his wife Wendy also became our friends. "Baldy" has not only grown bald but also old and has now decided to go into his well-deserved retirement.

Before he retired, he passed us and our two cars on to another car mechanic who works under the not too inspiring name of "Broken Bangers". We booked in for a full service on the 1st of July, and very much hope our cars will not come back to us as "Broken Bangers".

 

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Noch 'mal was von den Fahrenden Gesellen

 

 

Die 'Fahrenden Gesellen', obwohl schon so lange her, sind für mich ein wichtiger Teil meines Lebens gewesen und geblieben denn ich bin noch heute ein Altgeselle dieses Bundes für deutsches Leben und Wandern.

 

 

Wie wichtig dieser Teil meines Lebens war ist schwer zu beschreiben und somit zitiere ich gleich von einem Bundesheft aus dem Jahre 2015:

"Die Altgesellen der Fahrenden Gesellen sind heute im Durchschnitt ungefähr 75 Jahre alt, mit 30 bis 40 Mitgliedern im Prinzip über das ganze Gebiet der Bundesrepublik Deutschland verteilt, mit Schwerpunkten im Hamburger Raum und im Schwabenland.

Im Ganzen gesehen sind wir Menschen einer glücklichen Generation: Zu jung, um am Kriegsende noch ein Gewehr oder eine Panzerfaust in die Hand gedrückt zu bekommen; stets hungrig, doch unbekümmert genug, um nach dem Krieg - sofern die Familie wieder beieinander sein konnte - im allgegenwärtigen Mangel, im Mithelfen müssen bei Nahrungsbeschaf-fung und Aufbau einer beruflichen Existenz, in der Selbstbescheidung, im gegenseitigen Helfen, kurz: im Streben zum Wiederaufbau, letztlich doch so etwas wie eine schöne Jugend zu haben. Das Spielen in den Trümmer-landschaften der Städte kam immerhin auch unserer Abenteuerlust zugute.

 

 

1948 wurde der Bund der Fahrenden Gesellen in Hamburg - nunmehr losgelöst vom DHV, der ehemals großen Gewerkschaft der Kaufleute - neu gegründet, um im Geist der Bündischen Jugend nach den Werten zu leben, die man abseits von Ideologien als zeitlos gut und erhaltenswert befunden hatte. Die Beschränkung des Kreises der Bundesbrüder auf lediglich kauf-männische Zugehörige entfiel. Da waren die Ältesten der heutigen Altge-sellen der Nachwuchs, der nun wieder auf Fahrt ging wie knapp 40 Jahre zuvor die ersten FG.

 

 

Schätzungsweise ist knapp ein Fünftel jenes Nachwuches mittlerweise seit ungefähr 60 Jahren miteinander in Verbindung geblieben, hat sich beruf-lich entwickelt, Familien gegründet, Eigenheime errichtet, Freundschaften und Marotten gepflegt. Dieser Kreis hat Treffen und Fahrten organisiert, durchgeführt und sich persönlich im Lauf der Jahrzehnte jeweils mehr oder minder verändert.

Das heutige Deutschland - ja, wir sind anders geworden. Das wunderbare frühere Erleben des Bündischen ist vielfach vom offensichtlich reizvolleren Erleben des Konsums überlagert worden. Ohne Krampf können wir Alten uns dem kaum entziehen. Wir lernen, und wir gebrauchen das, was nütz-lich ist. Aber wir wissen auch um die Werte unseres Bündischen Lebens. Wir sind moderne Menschen. Und auch ein bisschen von gestern."

 

Einweihungsfeier unseres kleinen Landheimes in der Lüneburger Heide

 

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There is no Plan B

 

 

After all those Australian politicians who were involved in stitching us up for the dud AUKUS submarine deal got themselves lucrative jobs in the defence industry, we suddenly realise that the Americans won't give us any submarines anyway - not in 2030, not in 2045, not ever - and that there was never a Plan B.

Well, how is this for a Plan B? Instead of paying the Americans $368 billion for the promise of three submarines we will never receive, why not pay the Chinese $300 billion for the promise of never invading us?

That's about $300 for every man, woman and child in China, which buys them a lot of dumplings, and we save $68 billion, which we can use to build half a new footy stadium. A few submarines wouldn't have stopped them anyway, and by giving them the cash and banking the difference, we're both better off. And, best of all, we won't have to wait until 2045.

Richard Marles, no more squirming on the ABC's 7.30 Report. You're off the hook with the ABC and we're no longer in hock to the Americans!

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Another cold night in Nelligen

 

 

I could do with a bit of global warming right now! Is it just me and my old age or are the winters getting colder? It's too late to relocate, so I'd better rug up and put another log on the fire.

Long evenings like these by the fire lend themselves to introspection which tells me that I've been pretty lucky all my life. Not only do I now live in a comfortable home far away from city pressures and financial worries, but I'm also still in relatively good health to enjoy it all.

Not that I've ever been very fit, or for that matter, a fan of fitness. I've always treated my body like the engine in a car: the less wear, the less tear! By all means, give it the occasional oil change but other than that, use it as little as possible and, if you do take it for a spin, make it no more than a gentle drive in the country, and it'll last you a lifetime.

The stops and starts of hectic city traffic were definitely out. I still remember seeing all those headlights coming towards me on Parramatta Road as I was leaving Sydney on that early December morning in 1985. "You can keep it, you suckers", I thought to myself, "I'm out of here!" For most of my life I was lucky to have lived within walking distance of my place of work. Just imagine the wear and tear I was able to avoid!

My head was the only part of my body that got any decent work-out. Whatever was in there could never settle down to a gentle drive in the country, but instead preferred the rollercoaster ride from one new job to another every six or, at most, twelve months. My greatest fear was to grow stale in one job, and so I collected professional experiences and professional references the way a stamp-collector chases rare stamps.

All I'm collecting now is firewood for another cold night in Nelligen.

 

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