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Dr Seán Ketchem

@cskwriter.bsky.social
1.6K followers 2.4K following 9.9K posts

An American/German in Berlin. Berkeley alum (Go Bears!). Erstwhile Texan. Credo: “There are other forces at work than those of evil. And that is an encouraging thought.”

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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 7h
The Cheeto's nonsense "order" decreeing that "artificial intelligence" will henceforth be called "super intelligence" misspells "United States" as "Unites States." Because of course it does. We are in the Idiocracy timeline now. newrepublic.com/post/216015/...
newrepublic.com
Only Trump Would Spell United States Wrong in an Executive Order
The president signed his name right above the obvious error.
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 7h
A rooftop cottage and garden is up for sale in Manhattan's West Village. It looks absolutely magical. Note the asking price of $10 million is because the "cottage" is basically just an upstairs gazebo of the huge sixth-floor, four-bedroom luxury penthouse below it. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/30/r...
nytimes.com
In N.Y.C.’s West Village, a Rooftop ‘Cottage’ Is For Sale (Gift Article)
The asking price for the unique property, which sits atop a six-story brick co-op in a former warehouse, is $10.5 million.
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 8h
September 30 / October 1.
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 9h
The Berlin-Hannover HSR closes on Friday for extensive repair work (the stretch has been in service for 30 years), with scheduled re-opening in December 2027 (that's right, 2027). The rerouting over Magdeburg and Braunschweig will add at least an hr plus to travel times. www.rbb24.de/panorama/bei...
rbb24.de
Bahn sieht Streckensanierung Berlin-Hannover als "Investition, die sich auszahlt"
Am Freitag startet die Sanierung der Bahnstrecke zwischen Berlin und Hannover. Für Bahnreisende wird das zur Herausforderung. Die Bahn verspricht mehr Qualität und Zuverlässigkeit.
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 9h
"Mike Judge never fails to shine a light on our depths. He knows our instinctive love for depravity, our capacity for boredom and laziness in the service of comfort, and just how stupid things can get before we’ve had enough." www.texasmonthly.com/culture/mike...
texasmonthly.com
‘Idiocracy’ Predicted All of This
Twenty years later, Mike Judge’s prescient comedy is getting harder to laugh at.
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 13h
Well, I got me a fine wife, I got me old fiddle. When the sun’s coming up, I got snakes on the griddle. And life ain’t nothing but a funny, funny riddle!
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
To be clear, those jerkoffs sitting behind GOP senators in these hearings are the very same staffers posting SS memes online and engaging in openly racist group chats so extreme many of them have had to resign (which takes a lot in today's GOP). The future of the Republican Party, ladies and gents.
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Americans: "I want to learn how to speak with an accent!" British people: "You already do."
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
So I originally thought my Friday class was going to be the "sweathog" class, but they are practically a Lutheran theology seminar compared to the sweathogs in my Tuesday class, which is so insane (as it was today), their own homeroom teacher (the homeroom teacher!) is out sick, for an entire month.
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The weather this week in Berlin is really too warm to be ushering in October at these northern latitudes, but the ice cream shops are doing a brisk business.
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
"The pope told religious leaders that “to invoke God’s name in order to justify violence or oppression is to profane that name.” The phrasing recalled remarks he made when he said that Jesus “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.”" www.nytimes.com/2026/09/28/w...
nytimes.com
Pope Leo Praises Europe’s Democracy, Diverging Once Again From Trump (Gift Article)
Speaking in France, the pontiff lauded postwar efforts to unify the continent. Experts saw it as a critique of President Trump’s repeated berating of European leaders.
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I actually saw more than a few people out and about today with their newly-won Berlin Marathon medals.
Berlin marathon medal
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Did you know? There is a town in Marathon County, Wisconsin named Berlin (one of two in the state) that was settled by Pomeranians (not the dogs, the people).
Historical plaque about Pomeranian German settlement in Marathon County, Wisconsin.
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
TIL that because the Berlin Marathon (unlike NY) is a time-limited race, a squad of buses starts to move along the route at exactly 6h 30m after the last start to pick up the stragglers so the police can reopen the street behind them. They "finish" the course on the bus. www.rbb24.de/sport/beitra...
rbb24.de
"Erst fliegen die Farbbeutel - dann muss meistens die Polizei kommen"
Seit 20 Jahren fährt der Busunternehmer Christian Löw im Besenwagen beim Berlin-Marathon mit, um die langsamsten Teilnehmer einzusammeln. Was sich in der Zeit verändert hat, wie sich Männer und Frauen...
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Many serious historians have studied why the French-speaking regions of Wallonia in Belgium and la Romandie (the French-language cantons) in Switzerland weren't ever given back to the Froggies (a technical-historical term for metropolitan France).
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Exciting watch at the 52nd Berlin Marathon today, with some tough moments in the women's competition, as lead German runner Esther Pfeiffer had to exit the race at kilometer 15, and Tigst Assafa wins it for the women but misses the world record by a minute, due to a last-mile injury.
The Berlin Marathon (German: Berlin-Marathon, pronounced [bɛʁˈliːn ˈmaʁatɔn]) is a marathon event held annually on the streets of Berlin, Germany, on the last weekend of September. Held annually since 1974,[a] the event includes multiple races over the marathon distance of 42.195 kilometres (26.219 mi), including elite level road running competitions for men and women, a race for the public, an inline skating race, a wheelchair race, and a handcycle race.

Events are split over two days, with skaters competing on the marathon course on Saturday before the running events. Power walkers, hand-bikers, wheelchair riders, and a children's marathon (4.2195 kilometres (2.6219 mi), 1/10 of the regular distance)[4] are also part of the marathon weekend, which is organised by SCC EVENTS. The elite running and wheelchair races are part of the World Marathon Majors, an annual series of top level races offering a $1 million prize purse. BMW is the current title sponsor for the race.

The city's flat course regularly produces fast performances: a record eight women scored times below 2:20 in the 2023 race, and a record nine men were below 2:05 and 15 finished inside 2:06.[5] The marathon world record has been broken in Berlin on thirteen occasions. Most recently, Eliud Kipchoge set a new men's world record in 2022 (2:01:09). Tigist Assefa set a new women's world record in 2023 (2:11:53). Since then, both records have been broken at the Chicago Marathon.[6] In the wheelchair race, Catherine Debrunner (Switzerland) 2023 broke the world record in 1:34:16 hours, with two women just one second behind.
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Guye Adola from Ethiopia joins the exclusive club of the dozen fastest human beings on the planet.
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Absolutely perfect autumn weather for the 52nd Berlin Marathon today.
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
And awaaayyy we go...
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Well that's the ballgame then. Barring some collapse of the coalition negotiations we will have a Linke mayor in Berlin (equivalent to a Minister President of the other German states). The times they are a' changin. www.rbb24.de/politik/beit...
rbb24.de
SPD will Sondierungsgespräche mit Linken und Grünen führen
Die Berliner SPD will mit Linken und Grünen sondieren. Das hat der Landesvorstand der SPD nach rbb-Informationen am Samstag beschlossen. Zuvor hatten sich auch die Linken für Sondierungsgespräche ausg...
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Today is the last day of the three-day harvest festival of Chuseok in Korea. The idea is to celebrate your ancestry by going to your hometown, partaking in traditional meals and visiting cemeteries to offer dead ancestors their favorite meal (not unlike the Mexican ofrenda for the Days of the Dead).
Chuseok (Korean: 추석; [tɕʰu.sʌk̚], lit. 'autumn evening'), also known as Hangawi (한가위; [han.ɡa.ɥi]; from Old Korean, "the great middle [of autumn]"), is a major Korean mid-autumn harvest festival which occurs on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunisolar calendar, on the full moon. In South Korea, the festival lasts for three days, including the days before and after the full moon. In North Korea, Chuseok is a single-day celebration on the full moon only.

As a celebration of the good harvest, Koreans visit their ancestral hometowns and share a feast of Korean traditional food such as songpyeon, yakgwa, fruits like Asian pear and hallabong, and rice wines such as sindoju (신도주; 新稻酒) and dongdongju. There are two major traditions related to Chuseok: Charye (차례; 茶禮, ancestor memorial services at home, also known as Jesa), and Seongmyo (성묘; 省墓, family visit to the ancestral graves). The latter is usually accompanied by Beolcho (벌초; 伐草, tidying graves, removing weeds around them). Another major custom is to prepare the family's ancestors their favorite meals as an offering.
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Gorgeous fall day here in Berlin. 🍁🍂🌞 Sodapop told me that since tomorrow is the Marathon, we should be carb-loading all day today. I replied that none of us are actually running in the race, and she was like, "Your point being?".
cat on a sunny September balcony with an orange striped canopy and trees
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Uyen Ninh made the English Wikipedia homepage! There are endless creators doing "how weird is Germany" stuff (top of the heap is of course Liam Carpenter, who is in a category by himself) but her shorts are always gently funny takes with a real personal feel to them. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uyen_Ninh
en.wikipedia.org
Uyen Ninh - Wikipedia
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
People have been understandably focused on the Texas Senate, but don't forget that Gina Hinojosa is a girl on fire--the governor's race is now a dead heat. She is focused, and not taking the GOP culture war bait. Gina for Texas is surging in recent polling. www.politico.com/news/2026/09...
politico.com
‘Shove it with your culture wars’: Hinojosa urges Democrats to focus on economy ahead of November and 2028
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
I find it interesting that there is only one kind of nog and only one kind of henge.
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
"Many have responded with outrage to the CDU's decision to join forces with the AfD to pass the motion. The move raises questions about the political firewall against the far right which mainstream political parties in Germany have maintained to keep the AfD out of power." www.dw.com/en/afd-cdu-b...
dw.com
AfD, CDU ban new Holocaust 'stumbling stones' in Heidenau
Activists, politicians and representatives of Holocaust victims reacted with anger after the center-right CDU party joined forces with the AfD to ban new Stolpersteine (stumbling stones) in the easter...
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Just in time for the Berlin marathon on Sunday, we will see a brief early autumn "Golden September" temperature spike into the low 20sC/mid 70sF for a few days, likely the last short sleeves and shorts weather we will see again until April. www.rbb24.de/panorama/bei...
rbb24.de
Goldenes Herbstwochenende steht bevor
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
One of my students is running in the Berlin Marathon on Sunday (and funny enough, he lives just around the corner from me, and was one of my A-levels students when I taught English at a high school here in Berlin three years ago). For my part, I will watch it on TV... www.berlin.de/en/events/10...
berlin.de
Berlin Marathon
At the end of September, the German capital hosts one of the biggest running events in the world: the Berlin Marathon.
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Of course the Cheeto is only "campaigning" in the deepest MAGA-fried rural Southern districts. He is ballot poison, not only in swing states but in once solid red areas like Texas, Iowa, and Kansas (and this is the only way he can guarantee a crowd of true believers). www.nytimes.com/2026/09/25/u...
nytimes.com
Trump Plans to Visit Tennessee, Oklahoma and Alabama
The president announced plans to rally in deep-red states as his party makes a push for close races in battleground states.
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
You SHOULD be afraid of funnyfrisch paprika chips. They're completely and totally gross. (Paprika is practically the MSG of Central Europe. Need to zhuzh up your meal? Sprinkle some paprika on it! Yee-echh.)
A seasonal Halloween store display with pumpkins, gourds, and a mummy selling paprika chips from a jack-o'-lantern.
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Me leaving the school at 3pm on a Friday...
static.klipy.com
Friend Frankenstein
ALT: Friend Frankenstein
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Take a ride on the historic Schöneberg railway!
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The consequences of the election in Berlin are already making themselves felt. The city is withdrawing its Olympic bid, before the national committee had formally considered it. The Left ran very explicitly on a "No to the Olympics" platform, and surveys were against it. www.rbb24.de/sport/beitra...
rbb24.de
Berlin will Olympia-Bewerbung zurückziehen
Berlins Olympia-Bewerbung ist passé - und das noch vor der finalen Abstimmung des Olympischem Sportbunds. Wie der rbb erfuhr, zieht die Hauptstadt ihre Bewerbung zurück. Zuletzt hatten sich Berlins Au...
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
If Erlap becomes Lord Mayor of Berlin, she will be third female mayor and second Turkish speaker (after Ernst Reuter, who camped out in Ankara during WWII and learned Turkish for his government work). The first female mayor was in fact Reuter's deputy, but the Soviets refused to let him be seated.
Elif Eralp (German pronunciation: [ˈeːlɪf ˈɛʁalp]; born 14 January 1981) is a German lawyer and politician of Die Linke who has been a member of the Berlin House of Representatives since November 2021. She has served as deputy group leader of the party since 2024, and as deputy state chair of the party since 2025.

Eralp was born in Munich to parents who had fled Turkey after the military coup of September 1980 and claimed asylum in West Germany. She studied law at the University of Hamburg, passed both German state examinations in law, and worked from 2010 to 2021 as a legal policy adviser to Die Linke's parliamentary group in the Bundestag. Her political work has focused on anti-racism, anti-discrimination and housing policy.

She was Die Linke's lead candidate in the 2026 Berlin state election, in which the party took 25.7 per cent of the list vote and won 47 of the 158 seats, becoming the largest party in the House of Representatives for the first time. Because the Governing Mayor of Berlin is elected by the House of Representatives, Eralp has been widely named as a candidate for the office. Die Linke invited the Greens and the SPD to exploratory talks the day after the election, and a Christian Democrat-led coalition under Stefan Evers also remained arithmetically possible.
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
"If you were a Russian operative trying to penetrate the American president’s inner circle, you could hardly have done much better than Kremlev did. Kremlev rented a private island in the Bahamas for Donald Trump Jr., to host a party that went on for three days." www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
theatlantic.com
Don Jr.’s Wedding Trap
His luxurious, Russian-funded wedding celebration was a counterintelligence nightmare.
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
We can't even deal with the numbers from antiquity. Rhenish Germany was part of the Roman Empire for half a millennium (39 BCE to 459 CE). The Berlin Republic is 36 years old, the Federal Republic 77, legal continuity to the North German Confederation 160 years. www.dw.com/en/roman-coi...
dw.com
Amateur archeologist unearths Germany's largest trove of Roman coins
What began as a routine search in a field near Wesseling led to the discovery of nearly 1,000 Roman silver coins, one of the most significant archaeological finds in Germany in recent years.
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
As we wrap up yet another Downton rewatch, I have finally puzzled out Matthew's relationship to the family. Matthew's unnamed father was third cousins with Robert Crawley, meaning they had the same great-great-grandparents, which made him Robert's third cousin once removed (ie, one generation away).
static.klipy.com
Guilty Busted: Exasperated Reaction
ALT: Guilty Busted: Exasperated Reaction
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
"Fill an empty tall candle votive up halfway with popcorn kernels as a nod to the indigenous people who were forced off the land so your condo (and in-ground pool with jacuzzi!) could exist."
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Perfect fall weather in the forecast for Sunday's Berlin marathon, with a cool morning and afternoon temps reaching just above 20C/68F. And will we get another surprise Harry Styles run? www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/vorbe...
tagesspiegel.de
Sperrungen, Strecke und Startzeiten: Was Sie zum Berlin-Marathon 2026 wissen müssen
Das letzte Septemberwochenende steht im Zeichen des Berliner Marathons. Hunderttausende stehen dann an der Strecke und feuern die Teilnehmenden an. Ein Überblick zu einem der größten Lauf-Events der W...
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
The summer run of the hit musical "Cabaret" here in Berlin ends this weekend. It is based on the original musical "I Am A Camera" and not the now far more famous Bob Fosse film, so there are some character and story differences here and there. www.tipi-am-kanzleramt.de/de/programm/...
tipi-am-kanzleramt.de
CABARET - Das Berlin-Musical
Willkommen, Bienvenue, Welcome: Acht Tony Awards am Broadway. Acht Oscars für die Verfilmung. In über 20 Jahren mehr als 300.000 Zuschauer*innen am Originalschauplatz in Berlin. Erleben Sie im Sommer ...
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
we are getting into Soylent Green territory here... (and just imagine a Biden official dismissing concerns about the price of eggs with "well there are many sources of protein as you know". Rightwing media would never quit on that one.)
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Hey everybody the autumnal equinox is here! For all the holdouts that don't consider September 1 the start of fall, well, it is here now (technically tomorrow at 2:06am in most of Europe, as the exact time is just after midnight UTC). "Equinox" is of course a Latin term, meaning:
static.klipy.com
Sweater Weather
ALT: Sweater Weather
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I have said it before and I will say it again: the goal of the GOP is to turn the US into a corrupt authoritarian dictatorship like Russia, China, or Saudi Arabia. They con millions of people to vote against their own interest with dumb culture war nonsense, while they get rich from access to power.
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
TIL that Bonn was not technically part of the British Zone of Occupation or of the new state of Nordrhein-Westfalen from 1949 to 1952. It was directly under the administration of the Allied High Commission as the intended seat of government for West Germany.
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
This might be why Merz thinks he can stay the course: as bad as 2026 was, the worst of the electoral scenarios is behind the CDU and his coalition partner, the SPD. All the state and local elections up until the next federal election will take place in the much safer turf of the former West Germany.
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Political Berlin is no longer dominated by the former path of the Berlin Wall, though its legacy lingers. After the election on Sunday, folks are describing a donut, a pink-red center surrounded by black (in the west) and blue (in the east). Or maybe that is a rare steak, choose your food metaphor.
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Perhaps the bitterest result for any politician from Sunday's election here in Berlin: after being denied a list seat by her local SPD party association, former mayor (and current Senator for the Economy) Franziska Giffey had to win the direct mandate to stay in parliament--and missed it by just 1%.
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Remember that all summer long this was practically a tied race between the incumbent CDU and upstart Left here in Berlin. No wonder Linke headquarters blew up with joy at 6pm last night. Until now the Linke has only been in government in Thuringia in a very shaky minority coalition.
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
All votes now counted in Berlin. On a turnout of 75%, Die Linke (The Left) a Mamdani-style urban progressive party that ran on fair rents and affordability, got 26% of the vote and will almost certainly take the mayoralty. And the *worst result ever* for the SPD in Berlin in its 120-year history.
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Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
The final count is in for my Berlin legislative district.
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