Today I emailed a letter to Congressman Ryan and I thought I'd share it with you. Writing your representatives is a great idea. You can find your representatives by searching at the US House website, or the US Senate website.

Congressman Ryan:

While I am at odds with you on some issues, I see a genuineness in you that seems to be rare in the federal government and I have the utmost faith that you truly care about people. I lived in your district for a few years and I have seen you in action. That is why I write to appeal to you, to address the issue of the 9/11 investigation.

Several of your colleagues, including Congressmen Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich, have publicly stated that they would support a new, independent investigation into the attacks of September 11, 2001. Much information has come to light in the last seven years to suggest that things did not occur the way it was portrayed to the American people.

There is a large and growing grassroots movement for 9/11 truth, started by the victim's family members and first responders, which is being portrayed in the media as an "anarchist group" by Geraldo Rivera. Morning Joe's Willie Geist said of a 9/11 truth protester, "the man [was] led away in handcuffs and hopefully taken to one of those secret prisons in Eastern Europe, never to be heard from again... I hope we have a special prison for 9/11 conspiracy theorists."

Michael Reagan said of Mark Dice's organization, which sends 9/11 truth information to the troops in theater, "we ought to find the people who are doing this, take them out, and shoot them... You take them out, they are traitors to this country, and you shoot them... But anybody who would do that doesn't deserve to live... I'll pay for the bullet... How about you take Mark Dice out and put him in the middle of the firing range, tie him to a post, don't blindfold him, let it rip and have some fun with Mark Dice."

All of this for simply petitioning our government for a redress of grievances. The US Government has done a total of ten investigations into the attack on Pearl Harbor, but the mere idea of asking for a second investigation into this attack on our country makes us traitors who deserve to be shot. I thought this was America. I thought it was patriotic for the people, who supposedly are the government, to ask questions and exercise oversight over our elected representatives. Is this not still a republic?

The notion that the official story, asserted by the 9/11 Commission, is not the full truth is certainly not a patent absurdity, nor is the theory that perhaps members of our own government had prior knowledge or involvement in the attacks of 9/11. US Government involvement in false flag attacks is, of course, nothing new. We have a history of staging attacks to start wars. A declassified NSA report confirms that the Gulf of Tonkin incident was a staged attack and that Vietnamese boats weren't even present on the 4th of August. In March of 1963, a plan was submitted by the Joint Chiefs of Staff to Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, which describes plans to stage false flag terror attacks as a pretext to illegally invade Cuba. These plans included staging the assassinations of Cubans living in the United States, developing a fake "Communist Cuban terror campaign in the Miami area, in other Florida cities and even in Washington,"including "sink[ing] a boatload of Cuban refugees (real or simulated)," faking a Cuban airforce attack on a civilian jetliner, and concocting a "Remember the Maine" incident by blowing up a U.S. ship in Cuban waters and then blaming the incident on Cuban sabotage. The United States was condemned by the World Court for international terrorism in Nicaragua. Even recently, Seymour Hersh exposed an idea by Vice President Cheney which he described in the following words: "Why don't we build, we, in our shipyard, build four or five Iranian boats, that look like Iranian PT boats, put Navy Seals on them, with a lot of arms, and the next time one of our boats goes through the Strait of Hormuz, start a shoot-up." This is all eerily reminiscent of Hitler's Reichstag fire.

So there is plenty of precedent for this alternate theory, but is there any evidence? It turns out that there is a plethora of evidence to disprove the official 9/11 Commission conclusion.

Dr. Steven E. Jones, retired professor of Physics at BYU, examined metal samples from the World Trade Center towers and found evidence of sulfur (which would indicate that thermate, a military grade steel cutting material, was present) and performed a study of the collapse of the towers and WTC Building 7, which was not hit by a plane, and was completely omitted from the 9/11 Commission report. Jones helped establish an organization dedicated to independent, expert research of the 9/11 attacks using the scientific method. The organization now has over 500 members with backgrounds ranging from engineering to physics to aviation and has a wealth of information available to the public.

Simple common sense would indicate many problems with the official story. The 9/11 Commission claims that the jet fuel burnt long and hot enough to melt enough core columns in both towers to cause the floors to "pancake" down. This is obviously not true, as we would have seen a stack of pancaked concrete floor slabs after the collapse. The Law of Conservation of Momentum tells us that the collapse would slow as it progressed, as each successive floor would absorb more and more momentum, but in all videos, all three WTC buildings collapse at near free-fall speed. This would indicate that support, i.e. resistance, had been removed from under the collapsing floors. In a pancaking collapse, there would not have been enough energy to pulverize the concrete into the enormous clouds of dust we all witnessed. A pancaking collapse could not explain the embedding of a large chunk of one of the towers into WTC7, over 300 feet away. There is evidence of first responders, time and again, reporting secondary and tertiary explosions, explosions in the ground floor lobby, explosions in the elevator, explosions in the basement. NIST's recent report on the collapse of WTC7 admits that these three buildings, all on one day, became the only tall, steel-frame buildings in history to collapse as a result of fire. In October 2005, New Civil Engineer called into question NIST's computer models for the collapse of the Twin Towers.

A tape was released of firefighters just seven minutes before the collapse on the 78th floor, saying there were only two pockets of fire, and Chief Orio Palmer said, "we should be able to knock it down with two [hose] lines". Firefighter Brian Becker, Engine 28, stated, "So I think that the building was really kind of starting to melt. We were - like, the melt down was beginning. The collapse hadn't begun, but it was not a fire any more up there. It was like - it was like that - like smoke explosion on a tremendous scale going on up there." Firefighter Ed Cachia, Engine 53: "It actually gave at a lower floor, not the floor where the plane hit, because we originally had thought there was like an internal detonation explosives because it went in succession, boom, boom, boom, boom, and then the tower came down."

An FBI document, 199-Eye W.F. 213 589, stifled the FBI's investigation of two of bin Laden's relatives and their ties to terrorist organizations. In fact, the FBI's own website, on Usama bin Laden's Most Wanted Terrorist page, does not even claim he is responsible for the 9/11 attacks. BBC reported in September 2001, "Niaz Naik, a former Pakistani Foreign Secretary, was told by senior American officials in mid-July that military action against Afghanistan would go ahead by the middle of October."

Congressman, I could continue on with more and more evidence, and if you are interested in other leads and other facts, I will be happy to collate and provide them. However, I assume you have greater resources than I to gather such information. I will conclude this by simply requesting that you investigate this issue and imploring you to help fight so the victims of 9/11 can learn the truth and justice can be served.

I also hope the Congress will very soon embrace the idea of impeachment, not necessarily to pursue removal from office, but at least as a duty to history to get the lies and crimes of this administration in the Congressional record with an official inquiry. President Clinton was impeached for far less than what this President has done.

As a final thought, I have a question about your party's nominee for President in the 2008 election. Barack Obama's Foreign Policy Advisor is Zbigniew Brzezinski. Brzezinski was National Security Advisor to President Carter. During Brzezinski's term, we saw the transition of Iran to an anti-Western Islamic state and the arming of the mujaheddin in Afghanistan. He admitted that it was a lie when he claimed we started helping the mujaheddin after the Soviet invasion, and that it was designed to provoke such an invasion to cause a Vietnam-style war for them. Brzezinski is very hawkish, especially with Russia. How can we reconcile our want for the War in Iraq to end with voting for someone who has this guy as a Foreign Policy Advisor? Senator Obama has also called for sending troops into Pakistan. Obama also proposed a "civilian national security force", larger and more well-funded than the military. That sounds like an admission that the plan is a larger economic black hole than the War in Iraq. On top of this, he has voted to renew the Patriot Act, voted for FISA domestic surveillance, and voted to fund the war in Iraq. How can we trust and support such a candidate, a candidate from the party that campaigned two years ago on ending the War in Iraq, lowering gas prices at the pump, and holding the administration accountable, none of which has happened. I see you stand up continuously and admonish the administration, but as a whole the entire Congress has failed the American people in all these regards. We got a minimum wage increase, but with the dollar being debased by the Fed and the resulting economic downturn and price increases, we are generally in a much worse position than in 2006. Obviously we cannot support John McCain, a continuation of the abhorrent Neo-Conservative movement (who, ironically, lists Zbigniew Brzezinski's son as a campaign worker) that has been the Bush administration. I think the two party system has failed to produce a worthy candidate and it is time for those stand-up members of Congress, of which I count you as a member, to break with their party affiliations and become independent voices. What are your views on this stance and also on Chuck Baldwin as a presidential candidate?

Thank you for your time. I look forward to your reply.

History educates us to mistakes of the past; it warns us of failed compassion and growing greed when basic human rights are violated, generally, in the name of protection… supposed protection of our rights… but always with one eye on gain and with a petulant right to take whatever we need to maintain a position of luxury and dominance in the world.

Maybe it was my lack of interest, or maybe we’re just not encouraged to think creatively about history. All I remember about history lessons at school was that it was all about war, that it was boring and that Anne Frank wrote a diary. I knew that Hitler was an egotistical and clearly insane man, where Jewish people weren’t part of his super race plan of world domination. I knew that in the end he was defeated by the allied forces, Britain, France, America and Russia and that they saved our liberty, grace and standard of life as a result.

I know that England v Germany is always a big football game and that we generally lose (apart from that 5-1 game). But I never thought about what happened after we won the war. I never thought that for every winner there is a loser. I never thought about the German people. We know nowadays how a movement takes hold and sweeps everybody along in it’s path, even alternative movements, like the green movement demand conformance or risk being ostracised.

Just like the Jew’s didn’t ask or deserve to be persecuted, neither did the German masses invite or approve of their persecution. Look at what happened in Cambodia, you didn’t even have to stand against the party to be ‘disappeared’, you just had to have an education.

It took a trip to Berlin, a city ripped in two by the divvying up of post war; one for me, one for you, one for you and nothing for you. This is the Russian sector, this is the British sector, this is the French sector and this is the American sector. German sector, what German sector. Everything you’ve ever known as your identity undermined because you were forced to follow an over zealous, ethnic cleansing obsessed leader who was probably only doing it because he had a small man, small…. moustache complex and they didn’t have Porsche’s in those days.

Step forward 16 years and whilst most of the West were enjoying an advent of new freedom of expression in the swinging sixties a city in the east of Germany was feeling the cold of the iron curtain. Stopping the filtration of revolutionary ideas and preventing the defection of traitors to the democratic West they ripped out some of the building that managed to survive the prolific bombing during the war (London came off a lot better) and built a wall through the middle of the city. Nobody gets out, nobody gets in. Control, tick. Problem solved, tick. Oppression, tick.

But don’t think it’s all roses on the other side of the wall, you may have the freedom associated with democratic rule, but you’re just a tiny blip of democracy in an entirely Soviet ruled east, the DDR. Testing their Iron Grip the Soviets cut off food supply and West Berliners relied on food drops from allied planes. They survived, the East survived and finally in 1989, the Soviet grip faltered and the people on both sides rose up, bringing the wall down.

Finally in 1994, after the allied powers agreed to abrogate their rights and responsibilities for Germany, reunifying Berlin in 1990, the last of the allied troops left Berlin. That’s just 2 years before I started my GCSE’s and I still can’t believe this all this happening in my lifetime. Whilst I was going through the delights of being a teenager and taking my first trips into the town centre with my friends, going to Piano lessons and going on our first family holidays abroad; other teenagers didn’t even have the luxury of going to the other side of town to visit their grandmother, not in the third world, just round the European corner.

What could have been a lack of identity instead has fuelled an amazing strength of character; fuelling an overwhelming desire to correct the misdoings of those that went before, to challenge the perception of the people and to creatively inspire the future.

Ich bin ein Berliner, as President Kennedy famously proclaimed to endorse his solidarity with West Germany and make a statement to the un-oustable East German leadership. If I hadn’t flunked my GCSE German with a D, I’d certainly consider making it official with Berlin and not just a flirtation.

The whole place has a vibrancy that’s palatable, an energy that is undeniably that of a city, but completely relaxed. It doesn’t brag about it’s gifts, it’s not competitively desiring to be the best city in the world; it just is itself, in a nonchalant, non-judgemental, quietly confident, comfortable way.

It has all the best bits of London, without any of the bad!

Sixty odd years on and Berlin is still repairing it’s architectural heritage, using modern technology to regrow rather than sticking on a band aid to protect it from the ailments. Where new skin can’t be encouraged to grow, they use all their German efficiency and technical proficiency to merge the old with the new and graft on shiny, glass and steel.

With humility and shame there are landmarks left so that future generations don’t forget to respect their fellow man and revel in how the differences colour his life.

Whilst every part was my favourite, the East side gallery where parts of the wall were relocated, displaying the emotions and voice of the people on a canvas more poignant than ever you’ll see really captured my solidarity and compassion.

I will be eternally grateful for having been given the opportunity to explore this amazing city and it’s lesson of ying and yang. My trip was obviously enhanced by having a wonderful tour guide in my India travel buddy Melanie and a warm welcome from her family but regardless this magnificent city can’t fail to invite and impress you. Put Berlin at the top of your list, get yourself a welcome card, put your walking shoes on and fill those boots with bread you previously only dreamed of, pretzels, cheese, cheese pretzels, pretzels with cheese and pfuffilinger, a type of mushroom with a name that can’t fail to make you smile at it’s totally silliness.

Feel oppressed and isolated wandering around the Jewish monument; strain your neck trying to take in all that modern design and construction has to offer in Potsdammer Platz; get vertigo looking down on West Berlin from the top of the Berliner Dom; get lost wandering the lanes of Hackesche Hofe; get inspired by modern art and photography at the Hamburger Bahnhof gallery; stroll down the Unter den Linden; shield the sunlight from your eyes looking up at Victory abreast her steads on the Brandenburg Tor; see the tribes collecting and coexisting in Alexanderplatz; visit Checkpoint Charlie; have a drink, explore the music shops and have some world food in Berlin’s much less try to hard version of Shoreditch, feel domineered by the Reichstag and then wave hello to Angela Merkel before jumping on a train at the sleek Haupt Bahnhof and going home for some more bread and cheese.

Auf Wiedersen Berlin, in the words of your former neighbour, who defected to warmer climes, I’ll be back.

Wir sind um 8 Uhr in Berlin gelandet, haben uns am Schalter der Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe gleich mal Tagestickets gekauft und sind mit dem X9-Bus vom Flughafen Tegel zum Bahnhof Zoo gefahren. Hier sind wir in die Buslinie 100 umgestiegen und an der Siegessäule und dem Reichstag vorbei über „Unter den Linden“ bis zum Alexanderplatz gefahren. Schneller wäre das per S-Bahn gewesen, aber vom Bus aus sieht man viel mehr von Berlin.

Am Alexanderplatz sind wir zum Fernsehturm gegangen, mit dem Lift bis in 203 Meter Höhe gefahren und ganz Berlin lag uns morgens um neun schon zu Füßen.

Hier schaut man über den Berliner Dom (der seit Dienstag wieder sein goldenes Kuppelkreuz hat) Richtung „Unter den Linden“, Brandenburger Tor und Tiergarten.

Als wir eine Stunde später wieder unten waren, gab es schon eine sehr lange Warteschlange vor dem Fernsehturm. Hier lohnt es sich auch, wenn man früh kommt.

Vom Alex aus ging es dann per Bus (Linie 100) über die „Linden“ zum Reichstag, dem Sitz des Deutschen Bundestages. Hier sind wir ausgestiegen, haben die laaaaange Menschenschlage vor dem Reichstag bewundert und haben uns einige Zeit auf der Wiese vor dem Reichstag aufgehalten. Wir hatten Glück mit dem Wetter, es war bewölkt und etwas windig, aber bei ca. 24 °C warm genug, um ohne Jacke auszukommen. 

Hier stehen wir auf den Stufen des Reichstages und schauen über die Menschenschlage hinweg zum Bundeskanzleramt.

Am Reichstag flattern viele Deutschlandfahnen, eine davon hat sich mit dem blauen Himmel in den Fenstern des Reichstages gespiegelt.

Vom Reichstag aus ist es nur ein kurzer Fußweg zum Brandenburger Tor:

Natürlich waren wir da nicht alleine, Menschen aus vielen verschiedenen Ländern waren hier unterwegs. Es ist für mich immer noch sehr bewegend, durch das Brandenburger Tor durchgehen zu können. Wie oft habe ich früher auf der Ost- oder auf der Westseite an der Berliner Mauer gestanden und habe mich gefragt, wie es wohl weitergehen wird mit der Teilung Berlins (und ganz Deutschlands). Ich bin sehr froh, dass die Grenzen nun wieder weg sind und wir uns nun auch innerhalb der Verwandtschaft problemlos gegenseitig besuchen können.

Vom Brandenburger Tor aus sind wir am Hotel Adlon und an der Britischen Botschaft vorbei Richtung „Unter den Linden“ spaziert. Hier haben wir uns bei Häagen Dazs ein Eis geleistet. 4,50 Euro für zwei Kugeln Eis ist ja eigentlich schon etwas verrückt, aber dafür bekommt man sein Eis mit Blick aufs Brandenburger Tor. Das hat ja auch was.

Als nächstes haben wir uns spontan für eine Spreefahrt entschieden. Wir sind mit der U-Bahn zur Friedrichstraße gefahren. Hier am Spreeufer gibt es viele Anbieter, die Spreefahrten unterschiedlicher Dauer anbieten. Wir haben uns für eine einstündige Rundfahrt entschieden. Das war im Nachhinein gesehen ein echtes Highlight unseres Berlin-Tages. Man sitzt auf dem Oberdeck, lässt sich die Berliner Luft um die Nase blasen und bekommt alles erklärt, was da so links und rechts am Ufer an einem vorbeizieht. Zwar waren inzwischen dunkle Wolken aufgezogen, aber nach drei Minuten Regen war alles wieder vorbei. Auf dem oberen Foto sieht man so einen „Spreedampfer“, wie er am Berliner Hauptbahnhof vorbeifährt.

Vom Schiff aus ergeben sich interessante Einblicke, hier zum Beispiel das Gebäude der Nikolaikirche, die zwischen den Häusern auftaucht.

Bei unserer Rundfahrt sind wir am Regierungsviertel, am Reichstag, und Bundeskanzleramt vorbeigekommen. Wir haben die Museumsinsel, den Berliner Dom, die Reste des Palastes der Republik und vieles vieles mehr gesehen.

Am Spreeufer entlang haben wir viele Standcafés und Strandbars gesehen. Am Spreeufer kann man auch schön spazierengehen oder Rad fahren. Radfahrer haben wir sehr viele gesehen in Berlin. Es gibt auch viele Anbieter, die Räder verleihen. 

Natürlich, natürlich waren wir auch an der Gedächtniskirche am Kurfürstendamm. 

Hier am Weltkugelbrunnen „Wasserklops“ vor dem Europacenter lässt es sich gut Pause machen, wie man sieht. Es war nun mittlerweile Nachmittag geworden und wir haben uns hier mit einer Berliner Currywurst gestärkt. In einem Restaurant waren wir nicht, wir haben den Tag über Snacks aus der Hand und Eis gegessen. So haben wir Zeit (und Geld) gespart. Getränke kann man überall kaufen, die leeren Pfandflaschen nehmen die Verkaufsstellen auch immer wieder zurück.

Mia hatte zum Geburtstag Geld bekommen, das sie auf dem Kudamm nun für ihre Geschenke ausgeben durfte.

Anschließend haben wir noch eine Tour mit der Buslinie 200 gemacht. Man kommt an vielen Botschaften vorbei, an der Philharmonie, der Staatsbibliothek, am Potsdamer Platz und so weiter. Die Linien 100 und 200 fahren mit Doppeldeckerbussen und vom oberen Deck aus hat man einen guten Ausblick. Wenn einen etwas interessiert, kann man aussteigen und später mit einem anderen Bus die Fahrt fortsetzen.

Kurz vor 20 Uhr haben wir uns auf den Weg zum Flughafen Tegel gemacht und sind anschließend wieder nach Hause geflogen. Wir hatten ja nur Handgepäck und ich habe vor der Reise den Online-Einchecken von Tuifly genutzt, wir mussten also erst 30 Minuten vor Abflug am Gate sein. 

Unser Tag in Berlin war nicht so teuer: 6,10 Euro und 4,40 Euro für die Fahrkarten. Damit sind wir - egal ob mit Bus, Metro, S- oder U-Bahn - den ganzen Tag unterwegs gewesen, inklusive die Fahrten vom und zum Flughafen Tegel. Und wir waren sehr viel unterwegs, hauptsächlich mit den Buslinien 100 und 200.

Bevor wir nach Berlin gefahren sind, habe ich mich auf der Internetseite der Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe schlau gemacht. Hier kann man Liniepläne, Buslinienpläne, Haltestellenumgebungspläne und vieles mehr herunterladen und man findet alles über Fahrkarten und Preise.

Da wir Berlin ja „von außen“ erkundet haben, haben wir nur die Tickets für den Fernsehturm (zusammen 14 Euro) und die Schiffsfahrt (auch zusammen 14 Euro) bezahlt. Dazu kommt noch Geld für Postkarten, Eis, Snacks und Getränke. Insgesamt sind wir mit nicht ganz 70 Euro ausgekommen. Das geht für einen Tag zu zweit in Berlin, finde ich. Zumindest ist es eine gute Alternative, wenn man keine mehrtägige Reise machen kann oder möchte.

Wir haben sehr viel gesehen, sind sehr viel unterwegs gewesen und haben viele Fotos gemacht. Mia war noch nie zuvor in Berlin. Ihr hat es sehr gut gefallen und wir haben viele schöne Eindrücke mit nach Hause genommen. Mir war es wichtig, dass sie die wichtigsten Stationen unserer Hauptstadt einmal sieht, dass sie durchs Brandenburger Tor geht, dass sie vor dem Reichstag steht, dass die eben sieht, was unsere Hauptstadt ausmacht, wo so viel deutsche Geschichte geschrieben wurde und wird.

Wenn sie etwas älter ist, werden wir ein paar Tage in Berlin verbringen und uns die Stadt intensiver ansehen und erleben. Aber für einen Tag Berlin hat Mia ganz schön viel gesehen. Und ich habe über die vielen Veränderungen gestaunt. Was da in den letzten paar Jahren alles gebaut wurde!. Berlin hat sich verändert, ist aber weiterhin eine Reise wert, finden wir.

Canon EOS 400D - TV: 1/200 - AV: 6.3 - ISO 100 - EF 28 - 300 mm bei 300 mm

The Reichstag (German for "Imperial Diet") was the parliament of the Holy Roman Empire, the North German Confederation, and of Germany until 1945. The main chamber of the German parliament is now called Bundestag ("Federal Diet"), but the building in which it meets is still called "Reichstag" (see Reichstag (building)).

The term "Reichstag" (listen (help·info)) [ˈʀaɪçstaːk] is a compound of German Reich ("Empire") and Tag ("assembly"; does not mean "day" here, but is derived from the verb tagen "to assemble"). The Latin term, a direct translation, was curia imperialis. (Still today, the parliaments on the various federal levels in Germany are called Bundestag, Landtag etc., and the parliament in Sweden is called Riksdag.)

Baik, kita kembali ke gedung Reichstag. Apa yang menarik dari gedung ini?

Gedung Reichtag di Berlin (Desember 2004)

Sepintas gedung ini tampak biasa-biasa saja, seperti gedung kuno pada umumnya. Perhatikan satu kubah di atas gedung yang hanya terlihat sedikit dari depan. Itulah bagian yang paling menarik dari gedung ini. Tidak percaya? Mari kita ikut tur sebagai berikut.

Saya sudah dua kali mengunjungi tempat ini. Pertama akhir tahun 2004 sampai awal 2005, ketika musim dingin. Kedua, pertengahan tahun 2006, beserta istri saya dan seorang sahabat. Dari dua kunjungan tersebut, serta dua musim yang berbeda, ternyata antrian untuk mengunjungi gedung ini tidak pernah sepi. Bayangkan, pada saat musim dingin, temperatur udara bisa di bawah nol, tapi tetap saja banyak orang antri. Perhatikan foto antrian pengunjung pada foto di atas. Jadi, siap antri sekitar 1-1,5 jam untuk masuk kesini.

Untuk masuk ke dalam, gratis, bahkan walaupun gratis, kita dibagi brosur gratis multi bahasa. Brosurnya sangat menarik, brosur lipat yang kalau dibuka menjadi kertas panjang yang memperlihatkan view 360 derajat pandangan mata dari kubah transparan di atas gedung. Singkatnya, setelah masuk, kita akan menjalani pemeriksaan yang sangat ketat (tapi ramah), lalu diantar naik lift ke tempat kubah.

Foto di lantai dasar kubah (saya bersama istri, 2006)

Dari posisi foto di atas kita sudah bisa melihat, apa istimewanya kubah tersebut. Ini adalah kubah transparan raksasa yang sangat berkesan hi-tech dan futuristik. Mungkin ingin memberikan kesan bahwa Jerman adalah ahlinya dalam teknologi tinggi. Di kulit bagian dalam kubah ada tangga yang dibuat melingkar menuju ke atas (puncak kubah). Jadi, pengunjung yang ingin menuju puncak, tinggal menelusuri tangga yang cukup landai, akan berputar beberapa kali mengikuti kulit kubah menuju ke atas sambil menikmati indahnya kota Berlin ke berbagai sudut pandang.

Bagian dalam kubah.
Perhatikan jalan melingkar ke atas, serta core (bagian tengah) kubah.

Inti kubah yang terletak di bagian tenga adalah cermin yang disusun seperti foto di atas. Jika kita memandangnya, maka kita bisa melihat cermin diri kita disana. Di bagian bawah inti ini, dikelilingi oleh satu informasi tentang Jerman (perhatikan orang-orang yang sedang membaca).

Mari kita naik ke atas. Jalur melingkar untuk naik ke atas dirancang sangat landai, tidak melelahkan dan tidak terasa tiba-tiba sampai di atas. Mengapa? Karena sepanjang jalur kita bisa memandang ke tengah kubah dan ke bawah, juga ke arah luar menikmati kota Berlin.

Jalur melingkar menuju puncak kubah

Akhirnya kita tiba di puncak kubah. Bagian atasnya ada ruang terbuka ke udara, sehingga kadang ada burung merpati masuk di area puncak kubah.  Pemandangan ke luar dan ke dalam dua-duanya sangat menarik. Foto berikut memperlihatkan dua pemandangan tersebut.

Memandang ke arah dalam (bawah) dari puncak

.

Salah satu sisi menarik ke arah luar

.

Nah, itulah salah satu objek menarik di kota Berlin yang menurut saya patut kita kunjungi. Unik!
Bagaimana menuju gedung ini?

• Jika anda sudah berada di gerbang besar Brandenburg, berdirilah di sisi luar, lihatlah sekeliling, seharusnya anda bisa memandang gedung ini
• Jika anda naik bis dari stasiun Zoo menuju Alexander Platz (kalau tidak salah, bis no 100 atau 200), ada tempat berhenti persis di sekitar gedung ini
• Jika anda keluar dari stasiun utama kota Berlin, menyeberanglah, lintasi jembatan, di kejauhan gedung ini pasti sudah kelihatan.  Anda akan tiba dari arah yang kira-kira berlawanan dengan arah Brandenburg.

Beberapa sumber lain yang relevan:

1. Reichstag Building (Wikipedia)
2. Website of Berlin
3. Panorama Gedung Reichstag (Interactive Panorama)
4. Photo of the Reichstag from 1993
5. Photos of the Reichstag from 1989 and Photos of the 1945 Battle for the Reichstag.
6. Auf Wieder Sehen (Blog Tuti Nonka)
7. Belin, Uber Aller... (Blog Tuti Nonka)
   

]]> http://umunsrum.wordpress.com/?p=123 Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:33:13 +0000 Sascha Schubert http://umunsrum.wordpress.com/?p=123 Heute wurde zum erstenmal in der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik ein "öffentliches Gelöbnis" vor dem Reichstag durchgeführt. Ich dachte mir in meiner kindlichen Naivität, "Öffentlich! dann guck ich mir das mal an". Pustekuchen, der Reichstag plus reichlich Sicherheitspuffer wurden zur Kaserne erklärt und die Öffenlichkeit war ausgesperrt. Hunderte von Poliziste und reichlich Feldjäger beschützen das Kasernengelände gegen rund 238 Gegendemonstranten und mich, die Öffentlichkeit.

Öffentliche Gelöbnisse wurden seinerzeit wieder ins Leben gerufen um die Bundeswehr näher in die Gesellschaft zu holen. Ein Ziel das man absolut als gescheitert ansehen kann, wenn man die Gesellschaft aussperrt. Vielmehr muss sich die Bundesregierung den Vorwurf gefallen lassen, nur ein paar schöne Bilder produzieren zu wollen, die man Ereignisschwanger über die Sender schicken kann oder für die Anwerbung neuer Soldaten in Hochglanzbroschüren einsetzen kann.

Wie so das Andenken an die Widerstandskämpfer um Grad Stauffenberg werden soll weiß ich nicht.

"In ihren Soldaten, die anders als früher zum Teil ihr Leben in der Ferne aufs Spiel setzen müssen, erkennt sich die Republik heute wieder"

My life is also not boring.

I do not work in a box factory.

I do not have a low IQ.

Just because you think your government loves you, Charlie Brooker, does not mean that they do. We don't have to prove 9/11 was an inside job to prove that western governments, including yours, have carried out false-flag terrorist attacks against their own people for political gain. Your pathetic hit-piece against every person that demands a new investigation will not derail us. It only further discredits you and your newspaper. In case you don't know how to search for this stuff yourself, the following are all completely declassified and admitted government operations:

U.S.S Liberty

Gulf of Tonkin

Reichstag

"Operation Condor"

The sinking of the Rainbow Warrior, codenamed Operation Satanic is attributed to France.

Operation Gladio was a clandestine "stay-behind" operation sponsored by the CIA and NATO to counter communist influence after World War II in Italy

The United States has been accused of being a state sponsor of terrorism by various groups and nations, including Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua.^[65][66][67] U.S. governments covertly sponsored anti-Soviet Afghan Mujahideen during the 1980s,^[68] supported the Contras in Nicaragua, intervened in other Central American and Caribbean conflicts.

The Bay of Pigs Operation is the largest publicly-acknowledged covert CIA-sponsored Cuban insurgent attack against the Cuban government during the cold-war era.

Operation Northwoods

The above examples shatter the illusion that governments are benevolent and never do anything to harm their populations. I have also proven you completely ignorant of mainline history, Charlie Brooker, and the Guardian should be embarassed to have someone as ignorant as you writing for them. I suppose you still think that I have a low IQ so why don't I list some of the intelligent people that are also questioning the official story. Here is a partial list:

Former Chief Economist under President Bush, Morgan Reynolds>

Assistant Secretary of Treasury under Pres. Reagan, Paul Roberts

Head of Advanced Space Programs, Dept. of Defense, Dr. Robert Bowman

UK Minister of Environment (1997 - 2003), Michael Meacher

U.S. Senator Mark Dayton

U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney

Renowned Theologian Prof. David Ray Griffin

Assistant Secretary of Housing For Pres. Bush, Catherine Austin Fitts

Former President of Italy

Bishop Richard Williamson

Willie Nelson

Also at 911scholars.org you could find hundreds of professors and students that have put their personal and professional reputations on the line to side with 9/11 truth.

I could go on and on listing names, but I would have to list the names of at least 30% of the US population, perhaps even a large majority! Just do a Google search for 9/11 inside job poll to get the most current data on this. There is now doubt, our numbers are massive and continually growing.

The truth will come out and you will be on the losing side when it does, Charlie Brooker. No one is fooled by your hit piece and no one is impressed by your argument. Perhaps you should consider a new line of work? How about a box factory?

Soldado soviético poniendo la bandera de la URSS en el Reichstag de Berlín, el 2 de mayo de 1945, tras la caída de la Alemania nazi... El Reichstag era considerado el Palacio Nazi, por ser el ícono más grande e importante del régimen, era el Palacio de Gobierno pues de Alemania en ése entonces..

Merkel lässt Obama nicht ans Tor,

nicht schon als Beinahe-Präsident.

Selbst wenn sie den Anspruch anerkennt,

wäre noch der Baustadtrat davor.

Dieses Amt gehört der SPD,

welche dem Senator zugeneigt.

Wenn der wegen Angies Veto schweigt,

tun die ihr an andrer Stelle weh:

Vor dem Reichstag, diesem stolzen Haus:

wo Rekruten öffentlich ihr "Ja"

feierlich bekunden sollen, da

hält der Rasen - leider - das nicht aus.

Selbstverständlich ist das nicht der Grund!

So wie bei der Rede von Barack,

bleibt auch hier die Katze schön im Sack.

Jeder weiß es, jeder hält den Mund.

Wer wollte den Krieg? (1 von 16)
Alle Videos bei Youtube: “Wer wollte den Krieg?” (1-16)

1939 - Der Krieg, der viele Väter hatte
Autor: Gerd Schultze-Rhonhof; Neu kaufen: EUR 34,00

1939 - Der Krieg, der viele Väter hatte. 2 CDs
Autor: Gerd Schultze-Rhonhof, Matthias Ponn...; Neu kaufen: EUR 14,95

[ German! | Deutsch! ]

1939 - Der Krieg, der viele Väter hatte.
Der lange Anlauf zum Zweiten Weltkrieg (Gebundene Ausgabe)

von Gerd Schultze-Rhonhof (Autor)

 

 

• Chancellory / Reichstag / Brandenburg Gate / Holocaust Monument

Check your luggage at the train station and head out from the Washingtonplatz entrance. You should already see the Chancellory waiting across the Spree. Cross the bridge over the river and head towards it. You'll pass between the Chancellory and the Paul Löbe Haus (Bundestag offices) -- from here, looking both left and right, you can see the architect's intentional symbolism of transparency in government.

Around the corner, the Reichstag comes into view. In winter, or between 6 and 10 p.m. year-round, you may have a good chance of ascending to the top in 30 minutes or less -- expect to spend at least 30 minutes inside the dome as well. At other times and on weekends, waits alone may exceed 2 hours. If you must get to the top on a limited schedule, the only other way in is to make (and keep!) reservations at Käfer, the restaurant atop the building. You can find an online reservation request form here. It offers spectacular views and reasonable value for the price -- try to hit lunch (soups ~ 9 euros, salads ~ 14 euros) or Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee and cake ~ 7 euros) time instead of the pricier dinner hour.

With half a day, you could request a guided tour of the building, which all end at the viewing dome. It is best to send your requests in advance, but it is possible to pop over even at the last minute at the scheduled tour times to see if space is available (enjoy the sights, but don't expect English explanations in such a case, however). Amazingly, all visits to and tours of the Reichstag are FREE!

From the rear of the building, follow the masses across the street and down the block to the Brandenburg Gate. If you have extra time, the Holocaust Memorial is just a bit further up the street. If instead you find yourself short on time, hop on the M85 bus (ask for the cheaper "Kurzstrecke" ticket) from either the Memorial or the Reichstag which will take you right back to the main train station.

• Hamburger Bahnhof -- Museum for Modern Art

Exiting the main station on Europaplatz, head towards the right, walking along Lehrter Str.; the museum is located about a 7-minute walk from the station, on the opposite side of the street. Closed Mondays; open Tuesday-Friday 10-18; Saturday 11-20; Sunday 11-18. Admission price: 8 euros for adults, 4 euros for students with valid ID. Admission free Thursdays after 2 p.m.

If this all still seems confusing, why don't you try following my Google map?

Wondering about the stuffed rabbit featured in the photo? Check out the post ITB Impressions: Send Your Teddy Bear on Vacation.
Find other posts from the Two Hours in . . . series here.

Das Reichstagsgebäude ist seit 1999 Sitz des Deutschen Bundestages. Seit 1994 tritt auch die Bundesversammlung alle fünf Jahre zusammen. Der Bau wurde von dem Architekten Paul Wallot im Stil der Neorenaissance errichtet. In den 60er Jahren wurde das Gebäude aufgrund des Reichstagsbrandes und des Zweiten Weltkriegs in modernisierter Form wieder hergestellt.

Die Kuppel

Die nachträglich errichtete Kuppel ist durch die vielen Besucher ein weiteres Wahrzeichen von Berlin geworden. Täglich werden im Durchschnitt 8000 Besucher gezählt. Wahnsinn!

Der Bundestag

Dieser ist das Parlament der BRD. Der Bundestag wird als einziges Verfassungsorgan direkt durch das Volk gewählt. Die gesetzliche Mindestzahl seiner Mitglieder beträgt 598. Leider konnten wir den Bundestag nur durch eine Scheibe betrachten. Es hat sich trotzdem gelohnt.

Gordon Brown has defended the use of CCTV, ID cards and the DNA database - saying they protect civil liberties.

In a speech to the IPPR think tank, the prime minister said they helped ensure people's right to live free from crime.

...In his speech Mr Brown said it was time to write a "new chapter" in Britain's history which would both protect citizens' security and individual liberties.

(from the BBC report on the speech)

STOP PRESS: Downing Street plans to send a research team to the moon on a factfinding mission into the possibility of securing the longterm sustainability of the British cheese industry through interstellar expansion. Now that's thinking outside the political box, baby!

Arrivederci, bandiera rossa – dal Cremlino scivolata giù
Non come ti innalzasti, agile, lacera, fiera,
sotto il nostro esecrare sul fumante Reichstag,
sebbene pure allora intorno all’asta, truffa si attuasse.

Arrivederci bandiera rossa… Eri metà sorella, metà nemica.
Eri in trincea speranza unanime d’Europa,
ma tu di rosso schermo recingevi il Gulag
e sciagurati tanti in tuta da carcerati.

Arrivederci, bandiera rossa. Riposa tu, distenditi.
E noi ricorderemo quelli che dalle tombe più non si leveranno.
Gl’ingannati hai condotto al massacro, alla strage.
Ricorderanno anche te – ingannata tu stessa.

Arrivederci bandiera rossa. Non ci portarsti bene.
Grondavi di sangue e te noi col sangue togliamo.
Ecco perché adesso lacrime non ci sono da detergere,
così brutalmente sferzasti, con le nappe scarlatte, le pupille.

Arrivederci, bandiera rossa… Il primo passo verso la libertà
lo compimmo d’impulso sulla nostra bandiera
A su noi stessi, nella lotta inaspriti.
Che non si calpesti di nuovo «l’occhialuto» Zivago.

Arrivederci, bandiera rossa… Da te disserra il pugno,
che ti serra di nuovo, ancora minacciando fratricidio,
quando all’asta si afferra la marmaglia
o la gente affamata, confusa dalla retorica.

Arrivederci bandiera rossa… Tu fluttui nei sogni,
rimasta una striscia nel russo tricolore.
Nelle mani dell’azzurrità e del biancore
Forse il colore rosso dal sangue sarà liberato.

Arrivederci, bandiera rossa… guarda, nostro tricolore,
che i bari di bandiere non barino con te!
Possibile anche per te lo stesso giudizio:
pallottole proprie ed altri ne hanno la seta divorato?

Arrivederci, bandiera rossa… Sin dalla nostra infanzia
Noi giocavamo ai «rossi» e i «bianchi» battevamo forte.
Noi, nati nel paese che più non c’è,
ma in quell’Atlantide noi eravamo, noi amavamo.

Giace la nostra bandiera al gran bazar d’Ismajlovo.
La «smerciano» per dollari, alla meglio.
Non ho preso il Palazzo d’inverno. Non ho assaltato il reichstag.
Non sono un «kommunjak». Ma guardo la bandiera e piango

by Cole Coonce

(excerpted from PULL THE PIN: The K-Bomb Reader; an extract of COME DOWN FROM THE HILLS AND MAKE MY BABY)

THE DAY OF THE HOUSE OF PIES

I meet BZ the Screenwriter for a cup of jake and some lemon meringue at a place called the House of Pies on Franklin and Vermont in East Hollywood. The HOP's habitues are old folks, the last vestiges of another Los Angeles, another Hollywood. Or maybe another lifetime on another planet. They are from an era when folks dressed in suits and put on a hat just in anticipation of a trip out of the house to get a piece of banana crme pie. In The House of Pies. Its architectural design is a weird, flattened variation on the Googi architecture that dominated the landscape in Southern California back when the car culture really took root in the 1950s and 60s. Sharp, salient and pointy, Googi would puncture the sky and catch the attention of passing motorists by its very shape.

*****

Except for the House of Pies and some forgotten car washes in the ghetto, Googi has all but disappeared. Los Angeles has always possessed a real hankering to obliterate its past. It has no sense of history, and doesn't want one. What earthquakes and fires fail to accomplish, the limited intellect and attention span of Los Angeles does. Most examples of Googi architecture were razed and bulldozed long ago, but somehow -- perhaps because it was a muted variation on the style -- the House of Pies survived the purge. In that tradition, the House of Pies angles are smashed two-dimensional and obtuse. It is one of the few buildings left that survived LA's architectural purge of the 1980s, when boxy mini-malls, industrial complexes and 99¢ stores infiltrated the landscape like a virus.

BZ fits right in at the House of Pies. There is something about the old gomers there that makes him feel right at home. BZ is also not of this time. He considers this modern era -- the Infotainment Age -- a mistake.

*****