What's Left Of It?

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Whatever happened in Cologne on Silvesterabend* happened right there in that little triangular space between the cathedral and the train station. The photo is one of many showing the devastation after relentless Allied bombing in 1944. I've been there a couple times, most recently in 2005.

Here's a video taken by a bystander, taken from the steps of the Cathedral bordering the triangle. You can see the facade of the Cathedral's nave briefly when the videographer points his camera skywards to follow a skyrocket.

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I watched the whole video purporting to show the mayhem caused by "immigrants."  In my opinion, it looks like a typical New Year's Eve in Germany. Germans blow off fireworks on New Years Eve by tradition. I recall being in downtown Berlin for New Years a year or so after The Wall came down. People really did shoot rockets at each other and the cops did nothing. They weren't even standing around: They weren't there. Not having any fireworks myself, I felt "unarmed."

It's really hard to pick out any women in the 12 minute video. That's not surprising, because Silvesterabend fireworks really are a manly thing -- just like fireworks in this country.
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*Silvesterabend means Silvester Eve is December 31st and is named after a 4th century Pope.

News Report: Bedroom fireworks turned deadly

"A 49-year-old woman has died and her 25-year-old son was also burned during a Fourth of July fireworks accident, according to [Florida] Auburndale police".

A family get-together was going on at the home with a number of people attending.

Police said Kathryn Flint, 49, went inside the home to ready multiple large fireworks, or mortars, that had previously been placed on top of a bed in a bedroom, and was going to take them outside to set them off.

At about 8:40 p.m., while she was inside the bedroom with two dogs also present, there was an apparent accidental ignition of at least one mortar, police said.

When the mortar exploded, it set off others inside the bedroom, resulting in the ignition of multiple other mortars. (read more)

The story called to mind a scene from one of my all time favorites. A little background... she is pregnant and was told by her doctor, in an earlier scene, not to smoke.

In the news story moderated forum comments...

shelleyn411 • 17 minutes ago

Who stores fireworks in a bedroom? I now see why most states ban the personal sale/use of these things since you would have to administer an IQ test first.