We wish you “Merry Christmas”!
“A special thanks goes to the people who supported our work and followed words with action. They are owed respect and high regard.”
Barack Obama as Santa Claus – a moment of real leadership
Barack Obama showed shortly before Christmas how quiet yet powerful leadership can look when he surprised children in a hospital dressed as Santa Claus. Without fanfare, without a political message, without staging, he entered the ward and brought a moment of lightness into a place otherwise shaped by worry. He took time, talked with the children, joked, listened, and handed out gifts. For the young patients, it was a moment that briefly pushed the hospital routine into the background. For parents and caregivers, a rare pause to breathe. That a former president does not announce such gestures but simply does them gives them weight. Leadership is not only found in speeches, programs, or power struggles. It is also found in empathy and in the willingness to be present. Especially when it is not about applause.
The first steps of a police dog group
Small and still unassuming, they set their paws on the ground that will later carry seriousness and responsibility. For now, everything is play, curiosity, and movement. The little dogs toddle, stumble, straighten up, and try again and again. Every stimulus is exciting, every scent a discovery. Motivation comes from joy, not from duty. They learn without realizing it, with every leap and every curious glance. Playful, attentive, and surprisingly clever, they respond to voices and gestures. There are no commands yet, only trust, closeness, and repetition. Out of play grows focus, out of togetherness grows bonding. What is lightness today will become reliability later. The beginning is quiet, but it already contains everything that is to come.
Trump and Canada – a claim that collapses under reality
Donald Trump said he would welcome Canada becoming the 51st state, arguing that Canadians would then have much better health care. The statement sounds provocative but does not withstand a sober fact check. Canada has had a universal health care system for decades that guarantees access to medical care for everyone. Life expectancy in Canada is measurably higher than in the United States. While millions of Americans have no insurance or only limited coverage, medical treatment in Canada is not a privilege but a standard. International comparisons regularly show better health indicators north of the US border. Trump’s statement simply turns this reality upside down. It does not speak in facts, but in political self assertion. The numbers tell a different story. Trump’s megalomania is taking on increasingly troubling forms.
The last Russian Consulate General in Poland closes
The last Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Poland has ceased operations in Gdansk, ending a diplomatic presence that for decades was part of everyday bilateral relations. For Russian citizens, all consular services on site disappear. For Polish authorities, a direct point of contact is lost. The closure is not a technical step but the result of political decisions that have steadily escalated since Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Gdansk thus loses a visible diplomatic actor from its cityscape. What remains is not a transition but a clear break. The measure reflects the state of relations between Warsaw and Moscow. What was once routine is no longer possible. Diplomatic normality is over, for an indefinite period.
The Security Council Meets – and Remains Consequence-Free
On December 23, 2025, the United Nations Security Council convened for an emergency session on the situation in Venezuela, triggered by the escalating measures taken by the United States. There was talk, warnings, criticism, and solemn appeals, but nothing was decided. No resolution, no binding decision, no collective step. The meeting served to exchange diplomatic positions and to publicly express concern, nothing more. Representatives of several states called for de-escalation and referred to international law and sovereignty. At the same time, it was clear to everyone involved that any formal measure would fail because of the veto power of a permanent member. What was meant to be an emergency session thus turned into a ritual of powerlessness. The facts were on the table, the tensions were named, the criticism voiced. In the end, only the record remained. The Security Council showed what it so often is in moments like these: a forum for words, not an instrument for consequences. All that was left was to shake our heads – 2025, an age of cowards.
Stephen Miller and the Narrative of Inherited Guilt – the United States Moving Deeper Toward Fascism
“We should not be shocked when you import a population whose primary occupation is piracy, that they are going to come here and steal everything we have.” (December 23, 2025)
Stephen Miller is advancing a thesis that goes far beyond the question of individual migration and targets entire generations. He claims that immigration over decades has produced millions of people who take more than they give, and that these problems are passed on to children and grandchildren. As evidence, he broadly names groups such as Somalis and speaks of permanent welfare use, criminality, and failure to integrate. This depiction stands in open contradiction to economic and social data spanning many decades. Studies show that children of immigrants are on average better educated than their parents, speak fluent English, and achieve higher incomes. Nevertheless, the administration uses this rhetoric to justify ending birthright citizenship before the Supreme Court. The argument recalls the exclusionary policies of the early twentieth century, when entire population groups were collectively devalued. Legally, there is no basis to strip US citizens of their citizenship because of their origin. Politically, however, Miller’s language marks a further escalation. People are no longer seen as individuals but are permanently reduced to their ancestry. Integration becomes threat, origin becomes a stigma that never fades.
We would be very glad if you support our workto protect human rights, to get people out of detention, and to help them regain their rights. Christmas and the holidays will be an especially hard time, as ICE is planning large scale raids in various cities. Currently, more than 75 percent of people in ICE detention facilities are held without guilt, without offense, and without prior convictions. Conditions there are appalling. Simply finding out where people have been taken, establishing contact, or gaining access to them is often a struggle lasting months. What happens behind these walls defies any notion of the rule of law. What these facilities actually look like, we have documented in extensive investigative reporting. Even from the notorious CECOT, we were able to secure images months ago..
The Christmas invasion begins
Governor Jeff Landry: “Today I am announcing that 350 National Guard soldiers will be deployed to New Orleans. These citizen soldiers are meant to ensure safety during the busiest time in the city. We owe them all gratitude for their service to our state and our nation. I also want to thank President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for putting Americans and their safety first.”
Shortly before the turn of the year, Donald Trump approved the deployment of 350 National Guard members to New Orleans. Officially, they are to support federal agencies such as the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security through February, at the same time as a large scale deportation operation led by the Border Patrol. Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry publicly celebrates the move and speaks of a tougher approach to violence. Critics counter that the measure is unjustified and fuels fear. The data supports them: in 2025, New Orleans is recording one of the lowest homicide rates in decades, with robberies, assaults, shootings, and other crimes also declining. Nevertheless, soldiers are now marching into a city led by Democrats and already under heavy federal pressure. The National Guard complements a months long operation aiming for thousands of arrests. Landry had previously requested troops and praised Trump’s militarization of other cities. That the same governor has now also been appointed special envoy to Greenland underscores the political closeness. Security here is not measured by data, but by symbols. New Orleans becomes the stage for a policy that confuses presence with control.
Palm Beach stands behind José
For nearly two weeks, José Gonzalez had disappeared, held in the detention center known as Alligator Alcatraz deep in the Everglades. The longtime manager of Bice Ristorante, a familiar face in Palm Beach society, was arrested after a traffic stop over tinted windows and handed over to federal authorities. He holds a valid work permit, a driver’s license, and has a pending asylum case. His detention triggered something rare in this town: collective resistance. Billionaires, restaurant workers, regular guests, and neighbors came together for vigils, prayers, and actions. “Free José” became a public rallying cry, carried by social media and local reporting. Even committed Trump supporters openly said that a line had been crossed. The attention made the difference, while thousands of others remain nameless in detention. On Monday, Gonzalez was released and returned to Palm Beach through a series of transfers, in time for Christmas. His return is a personal victory, but not the end of the story. It shows how arbitrary the system is and how much power public attention can still have.
English 
German 
