Fire in Crans-Montana – New Year Ends in Catastrophe – Bravo Gianni!
Shortly after midnight, a New Year’s celebration in the Alpine resort of Crans-Montana turned into an inferno. At the bar Le Constellation, around 40 people lost their lives and more than 115 were injured, many of them seriously. The exact number of fatalities has not yet been confirmed. Police are calling it one of the worst disasters in Switzerland in decades. Identifying the victims will take days. Authorities have announced five days of national mourning. For the community, the event marks a profound rupture. A night of joy turned within minutes into a place of despair. The shock reaches far beyond the town itself. Hospitals in the region were quickly pushed to their limits. The priority now lies with clarification and care for those affected. Much remains unclear. Only the scale of the tragedy is certain. The public prosecutor of the canton of Valais ruled out an attack early on. There are no indications of a deliberate act. The site of the fire could not initially be entered, leaving the cause unresolved. It is also unclear how many people were actually inside the bar. Maximum capacity will be part of the investigation. No arrests have been made so far. The investigation is not directed at individuals, but aims to clarify what happened. Statements from survivors point to open flames during the celebration. Whether these played a role is under review. Police are asking for patience. Results are expected only once the building can be safely examined. Transparency has been promised. Speculation is to be avoided.
Survivors describe chaotic scenes inside the bar. Thick smoke, panic, and crowding marked the minutes after the fire broke out. A 16-year-old from Paris reported feelings of suffocation and desperate attempts to escape. Windows were smashed, furniture used to flee. Several friends are missing or lost their lives. Parents rushed to the scene during the night to search for their children. For many, the turn of the year ended in the hospital. Images from the site show emergency responders at the edge of exhaustion. What remains is grief, unanswered questions, and a place that will long be associated with this event.
Gianni is one of the quiet heroes of the Crans-Montana tragedy. The 19-year-old student did not hesitate to run back into the burning venue to help the injured, even before rescue services arrived. What is particularly disturbing in his account is not only the scale of suffering, but a quiet, almost incidental sentence: only three or four civilians had helped. Amid smoke, fear, and chaos, the help of a few individuals remained the exception. This observation raises a troubling question without stating it aloud: how it is possible to stand by during such a catastrophe instead of acting – and what that says about us as a society, especially in a moment that demands dignity, compassion, and humanity above all else.
Ice Age in the Brain – Stephen Miller Dances
Stephen Miller moves like an undead commercial for bodily denial. His face remains frozen in an expression somewhere between disgust and missionary zeal. “Ice Ice Baby” thunders, but his sense of rhythm seems stuck somewhere between Guantánamo and a deportation order. Around him, Mar-a-Lago sparkles like the set of a bad mafia movie, yet he looks like a foreign body from the wrong decade. Anyone who thought fascism had no beat does not know Stephen Miller.
While Miller moves like a tethered vacuum cleaner, Kristi Noem practically explodes with party energy. The head of Homeland Security whirls across the dance floor as if she had just shaken off a whole load of migrants. A permanent grin on her face – she dances as if Vanilla Ice were the messiah. In her exuberance lies an almost frightening release. No resistance, just bass, wealth, and control.
Two Fireworks, Three Times Resistance
In Greenland, the new year is marked by two rounds of fireworks – once when Denmark celebrates at midnight, and again three hours later when Greenland’s own time zone takes its turn. The gesture seems harmless, but it says a great deal about the tension between belonging and independence. Especially since Trump has once again tried to politically and economically bind Greenland – as if it were an empty spot on the map. But Greenland is not no man’s land. It has a parliament, its own laws, and a clear no to American takeover fantasies. The fireworks are a reminder that belonging does not mean ownership. And that the desire for independence has not gone out.
“We Want to Take Our Country Back”
Trump stands on the stage at Mar-a-Lago, basking in applause, and names names. One of them: Tom Emmer, congressman from Minnesota, a Republican of the old school, recently vocal again. Emmer had spoken about Somalia on television, Trump says – and not “nicely.” Then he laughs. No contradiction, no distance. On the contrary: Trump makes clear that exactly this tone is desired. The Somali community in Minnesota becomes a target, as if it were an obstacle. “We want to take our country back,” Trump shouts. From people like these? The scene says everything. No criticism, but a signal: this is how the new loyalty works. Following is easy, silence is easy, it costs nothing – but one question remains: “We want to take our country back” – from whom exactly, remains unanswered.
Denmark Pushes Back Against Trump’s Ownership Fantasies
“Talking about taking over another country and another people as if they could be bought and owned has no place anywhere”
Mette Frederiksen found clear words. In her New Year’s address, Denmark’s prime minister made it clear that she has had enough - of threats, of an overbearing tone, and of the idea that countries are commodities. Without naming him, she criticized statements from Washington suggesting that Greenland could be bought like a golf club. “Talking about taking over another country and another people as if they could be bought and owned has no place anywhere,” Frederiksen said. Her message: Respect is not an option, it is a prerequisite. Including toward small countries that cannot be bought.
Trump and Barron’s Laptop Magic
Donald Trump once again talked about his son Barron – and it sounded as if he had just witnessed a miracle. He said he turned off his son’s laptop, walked away satisfied, only to discover five minutes later that the device was back on. His question: “How do you do that?” The answer never came, but Trump explained that Barron has an “incredible talent for technology.” Apparently, simply turning a laptop back on now qualifies as genius. No mention of whether it was a one-button restart or a password. Instead, plenty of pride in a child who managed to assert technical independence within his own household. For Republicans, this may be a digital hero’s saga. For everyone else: a quiet memo to enable parental controls.
His Last Assignment – Rex Gets His Ball
K-9 dog Rex is retiring – after years of deployments, tracking, searches, arrests. His farewell is not a big spectacle, but a box full of tennis balls. Dozens of them. Yet Rex does not hesitate for a second, confident, sniffing, briefly sorting, then unerringly retrieving the one – his ball. The one with the scent he knows, the one he trained with. A dog who knows what he is doing, and people who have not forgotten it. A moment that works because it is real. Rex was not a symbol, not a show. Just good at what he did, because he could.
Trump Ends Lease for Washington’s Public Golf Courses
The Trump administration has terminated the lease for three public golf courses in Washington, once again directly intervening in the shaping of the capital’s public space. The previous operator, the nonprofit National Links Trust, said that the Department of the Interior had canceled the 50-year contract. The reason given was that necessary investments had not been implemented and contractual obligations had not been met. The Trust strongly disputes this, pointing to 8.5 million dollars in investments as well as sharply rising play numbers and revenues. The courses – along the Potomac, in Rock Creek Park, and a historically significant site for Black golf history – will remain open for now, but major modernization projects are being halted. For Donald Trump, the move opens up new opportunities to reshape public land, especially since his company operates numerous golf facilities. The decision fits into a series of interventions through which Trump is currently reshaping Washington – from renaming public institutions to construction projects at the White House. Perhaps we will all soon be heading to the Trump Memory Park. Not beautiful.
Russia Calls on the U.S. to Stand Down
Shortly before midnight on New Year’s Eve, Moscow delivers a clear message to Washington: stop the pursuit of the oil tanker “Bella 1.” The tanker was on its way to Venezuela when the U.S. Coast Guard attempted to stop it in the Caribbean. The justification: no valid national flag, therefore legally stateless and subject to seizure on the high seas. But the crew refused the order, fled into the Atlantic, and suddenly radioed: Russian protection, Russian flag, new name “Marinera,” home port Sochi. The United States remains skeptical. For Washington, it is not the freshly painted colors that matter, but the legal status at first contact. An anonymous government official speaks of deception, and the Coast Guard continues its pursuit. Russia, however, is now openly insisting on its sovereignty – in the middle of ongoing negotiations between Trump and Zelensky over a possible peace agreement in Ukraine. The demand to the U.S. is more than symbolic politics: it tests how far Trump can be pressured from the outside.
In the background, the struggle over Venezuela’s oil is escalating. Trump’s administration wants to stop tankers, Venezuela’s navy sends armed escort vessels, Russia demonstrates solidarity. What begins as an inspection turns into a diplomatic stress test – with a tanker as a test case for global power relations.
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