Thema

»Red Flag«

»Red Flag« is a column on Berlin politics by Nathaniel Flakin. It appeared in Exberliner magazine from 2020 to 2023 and found a new home at the Berlin newspaper »nd« – as their first content in English. If you like a regular dose of very local communist content, please share. Nathaniel is also the author of the anticapitalist guide book Revolutionary Berlin.

02.10.2024 von Nathaniel Flakin

Berliner Kita-Streik: Solidarität trotz Unannehmlichkeiten

Die Berliner Kita-Beschäftigten wollten einen unbefristeten Streik beginnen. Er wurde jedoch von einem Richter untersagt. Nathaniel Flakin ruft zur Solidarität auf – trotz der Streik-Unannehmlichkeiten für Eltern.

30.09.2024 von Nathaniel Flakin

Daycare strikes are hell for parents – and we must support them

Berlin's Kita workers were set to begin an unlimited strike. But it was banned by a judge. Nathaniel Flakin calls for solidarity – despite the crushing inconvenience.

19.09.2024 von Nathaniel Flakin

Can Berlin get over its addiction to cars?

A Neukölln Kiez has reduced traffic. A right-wing tabloid declares this to be a »risk of death«. Nathaniel Flakin wonders if Berlin will ever be for people, instead of for cars?

28.08.2024 von Nathaniel Flakin

How Germany tries to ban the slogan »from the river to the sea«

German police have carried out a wave of unprecedented repression against Palestine solidarity, and they are focusing on one sentence in particular. Nathaniel Flakin argues the legal basis is shaky.

16.08.2024 von Nathaniel Flakin

Are they just handing out German passports now?

A new law makes it easier for some people get German citizenship. At the risk of sounding like a »extremist« to some people, Nathaniel Flakin thinks everyone deserves equal rights.

31.07.2024 von Nathaniel Flakin

CumEx: As if rich people are allowed to steal money

In the CumEx scandal, bankers took over 30 billion euros. As Nathaniel Flakin explains, they will probably largely get away with it, while the government says there is no money to fix schools or trains.

17.07.2024 von Nathaniel Flakin

U8 »cleaning patrol« will only make Berlin's subway worse

Berlin's public transport company, the BVG, is trying to clean up the U8, the subway line connecting the city's poorest neighborhoods. Nathaniel Flakin thinks more police will only make things worse.

03.07.2024 von Nathaniel Flakin

AfD in Germany: Setting the agenda

Tens of thousands of people mobilized against the far-right AfD last Saturday. The government is nonetheless implementing parts of the Far Right's agenda. Nathaniel Flakin is worried.

21.06.2024 von Nathaniel Flakin

We want Vacation Communism without apartheid

The Fusion Festival starts on Wednesday. After criticism, the organizers of this left-wing party have had to speak out against genocide. Nathaniel Flakin comments on the Middle East debates surrounding the event.

29.05.2024 von Nathaniel Flakin

Tiny changes could reduce deaths on Berlin's streets

Berlin's government does little to prevent dozens of people from being killed by cars every year. Yet Nathaniel is hopeful that a few bollards in his neighborhood – a Kiezblock – could make things safer.

15.05.2024 von Nathaniel Flakin

Despite referendum: Berlin's mayor rejects expropriation

A big majority of Berliners voted to socialize big corporate landlords. Kai Wegner’s response: Nein. This is making Nathaniel Flakin worried.

24.04.2024 von Nathaniel Flakin

Dangerous Language Bans at Pro-Palestine Camp in Berlin

Gaeilge is an official EU language. Yet when Irish activists tried to speak it at a protest camp in Berlin, they were threatened with arrest. Repression in Germany is getting more absurd, says Nathaniel Flakin.

10.04.2024 von Nathaniel Flakin

Estrel Tower: Berlin's tallest building is laughing at you

The new hotel in Neukölln, in the middle of an industrial area, is a reminder that we could have housing – but investors prefer useless towers, Nathaniel Flakin points out.

03.04.2024 von Nathaniel Flakin

Police violence against Israeli – where does antisemitism begin?

The Israeli Berliner Yuval Carasso was injured by Berlin police – at an event about antisemitism, no less – and now is supposed to pay a €2,000 fine. Nathaniel Flakin calls for more media attention.

13.03.2024 von Nathaniel Flakin

Don’t worry about »left-wing terrorism«

Terrorism by RAF and Vulcan group? Nathaniel Flakin, in contrast to the German media, is worried about bigger problems.

27.02.2024 von Nathaniel Flakin

Berlinale: Filmmakers say what the rest of the world is saying

At the Berlinale film festival, Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers called for equality and peace. German politicians want to ban such hateful talk. Nathaniel Flakin says that this represents a new form of antisemitism.

14.02.2024 von Nathaniel Flakin

Can't you even get a coffee in Germany without Nazi connections?

Backwerk has a founder who apparently supports far-right structures. This isn't an isolated case: Many big capitalists seem to have an affinity for the Far Right, says Nathaniel Flakin.

17.01.2024 von Nathaniel Flakin

The German government is paving the way for the Far Right

The far-right AfD wants to deport millions of people from Germany. But the government is also ramping up the deportation machine. You can't fight racists by implementing their policies, says Nathaniel Flakin.

03.01.2024 von Nathaniel Flakin

Silvester in Berlin: New Year Begins with Racist State Violence

We are told that Berlin's New Year Celebrations were peaceful. But what are we supposed to call 390 arrests and police checkpoints in Neukölln? To Nathaniel Flakin that sounds a lot like racist state violence.

20.12.2023 von Nathaniel Flakin

The German government is attacking Jewish life in Germany

Olaf Scholz says he wants to protect Jewish life in Germany. Then why are so many Jews getting censored for criticizing Israel? Germany's unconditional support for Israel is bad for Jewish life, says Nathaniel Flakin.

06.12.2023 von Nathaniel Flakin

Berlin teachers are fighting for all of us

Today and tomorrow, educators in Berlin are on strike yet again. In the last two years, it’s been 17 strike days – not always fun for parents. A guide to the alphabet soup of union struggles in Germany.

30.11.2023 von Nathaniel Flakin

Robert Habeck wrote a play praising a right-wing mass murderer

Germany's Green vice chancellor strikes many as an idealist who has been struggling with the tough realities of government. Yet before he was a national politician, he wrote a play that opens a window into a dark soul.

02.11.2023 von Nathaniel Flakin

In Berlin, Jews and Palestinians Are Demonstrating Together

This Saturday, Jewish Voice and Palestinian Speaks are organizing a demonstration against the ongoing war in Gaza. Thousands of »Ausländer« will take to the streets. Nathaniel Flakin wonders if any Germans will join.

23.10.2023 von Nathaniel Flakin

An »Ausländer's« Perspective on Berlins Ban Of Solidarity

Hundreds of thousands around the world are demonstrating in solidarity with the people in Gaza. Except in Berlin. The government has banned all expressions of solidarity.

05.10.2023 von Nathaniel Flakin

Another referendum to expropriate Berlin's biggest landlords

Two years ago, 59.1 percent of Berliners voted to socialize real estate companies. But the government has done everything in its power to block the implementation. Will a second referendum do the trick?

20.09.2023 von Nathaniel Flakin

We'll need more than orange paint to stop fossil capital

The Last Generation's demands are almost amusingly moderate, says Nathaniel Flakin. We need nothing less than a radical transformation of the global economy to save ourselves. Climate activism must be anticapitalist.

22.08.2023 von Nathaniel Flakin

How East Germany got overrun by Nazis

The AfD is riding high in the polls, winning their best results in East Germany. The GDR once declared it was building socialism – why have so many of its former citizens turned towards the far-right? An investigation.

09.08.2023 von Nathaniel Flakin

Why Berlin is building offices and not affordable housing

In Berlin anything seems more profitable than real housing. But the capitalists will find a way to give us affordable apartments, says Nathaniel Flakin – if they are terrified that we will expropriate them otherwise.

27.07.2023 von Nathaniel Flakin

Pride should be a protest, not a party

Christopher Street Day in Berlin is a festival of pinkwashing, full of corporations, cops and conservative politicians. A new demonstration takes up the tradition of the Stonewall Riots.

11.07.2023 von Nathaniel Flakin

Cyclist in Berlin: Your life is worth less than a parking space

While other European cities are building new infrastructure for cyclists, Berlin's new government announced that all new bike lanes will be put on hold. Thousands have protested against the mayor Kai Wegner's vision.

Hilf mit bei einer solidarischen Finanzierung von linkem Journalismus.

Klar, 2 Euro hab ich!