OUTSOURCING

New Mexico road sign corrected after misspelling 'Albuquerque'

July 29 (UPI) -- Officials in New Mexico said a highway sign in the East Mountains was corrected after travelers pointed out the word "Albuquerque" was missing its "r."

The sign for Interstate 40 was recently installed on Route 66, and social media users pointed out the name of the city was misspelled as "Albuqueque."

A New Mexico Department of Transportation spokesperson said the department was flooded with calls this week from travelers and residents pointing out the typo.

The spokesperson said the sign has now been corrected.

BOOMERS KNOW HOW TO SPELL ALBUQUERQUE

R you there? NM highway sign forgot the R in Albuquerque, but officials say it was 'simple mistake'

Alyssa Guzman For Dailymail.Com and Associated Press - Thursday July 28,2022

Did you spot it? A New Mexico highway sign hilariously forgot the 'R' in Albuquerque, but officials said it was just a 'simple mistake.'

A newly upgraded Department of Transportation (DOT) sign was erected last week on Route 66 and Interstate 40 that pointed drivers toward 'Albuqueque,' misspelling the New Mexico city's name.

People called and emailed the department to point out the mistake on the sign visible to drivers on the parallel highways, said Kimberly Gallegos, a New Mexico DOT spokesperson.

A corrected sign went up this week, she said.

'I do not recall this happening before,' Gallegos said. 'But I honestly think this was just a simple mistake.'


© Provided by Daily MailA New Mexico road sign on Route 66 and Interstate 40 hilariously forgot the 'R' in Albuquerque. The sign has since been replaced after many reported the misspelling to DOT

Albuquerque is one of the most commonly misspelled cities in the US, alongside Cincinnati, Ohio, and Worcester, Mass., among plenty of others.

One social media user suggested the sign stay up, saying: 'Just go with it, only locals know how to spell it correctly anyway.'

Another said: 'We lost the first "r" a long time ago. It's probably time for the second one to exit too!'

Albuquerque used to have another 'R' in its name before 1706, when King Philip of Spain granted colonists the right to establish a new community on the banks of the Rio Grande.

The colony's governor, Francisco Cuervo y Valdés, wrote a letter to Spain's Duke of Alburquerque to report that it had been named La Villa de Alburquerque in his honor.

The first 'R' was dropped later, leaving Albuquerque with its current spelling, the city website said.

Another social media user commented on Albuquerque's rough reputation, writing: 'Knowing Albuquerque the R was probably stolen.'

Many, like Twitter user Tom O'Leary, just made fun of the new word, spelling it out phonetically: 'I like alba kew kew.' Another pointed out another sign that spelled the city wrong, calling it 'Abluquerque.'

Albuquerque is also commonly misspelled these ways too: Abaquerque, Albequerque, Albuqerque and Albuquerqe.

© Provided by Daily MailR you there? NM highway sign forgot the R in Albuquerque, but officials say it was 'simple mistake'


© Provided by Daily MailR you there? NM highway sign forgot the R in Albuquerque, but officials say it was 'simple mistake'


© Provided by Daily MailR you there? NM highway sign forgot the R in Albuquerque, but officials say it was 'simple mistake'


© Provided by Daily MailMany social media users made fun of the mix up, saying no one would notice anyways

1 in 4 Americans say harassing health officials over COVID-19 closures is 'justified'

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has been a target of threats over measures taken to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. File Pool Photo by Anna Rose Layden/UPI | License Photo

July 29 (UPI) -- More than a quarter of Americans believe it is "justified" to harass or threaten health officials, a downturn in public opinion stemming from exhaustion with COVID-19 shutdowns catalyzed by a polarized political climate, according to a study published Friday.

More than a quarter of U.S. adults surveyed by researchers at Johns Hopkins University believe such behavior is acceptable, indicating faith in public health has plummeted, even in demographics that previously tended to heed expert advice.

Lead researcher Rachel Topazian, of the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Hopkins, said the "rise in attacks on public health officials has frustrated and perplexed the scientific community. "

"Early on, press attention focused on the culpability of President [Donald] Trump in flouting public health measures and cultivating a divisive political climate," wrote Topazian, who surveyed 1,086 participants in two waves of questionnaires in November 2020 and August 2021.

"However, we found that in July to August 2021, eight months into the Biden administration and amidst optimistic projections about vaccination and falling case rates, U.S. adults' support for harassment and threatening of public health officials had increased significantly," she wrote.

Of the respondents, 34% of Republicans were more likely to endorse the idea that harassment of health officials was justified, compared to 19% of Democrats.

"The rise in attacks on public health officials has been attributed to emboldened extremist factions within former President Trump's base," Topazian wrote. "Attacks occurred in an increasingly volatile political climate characterized by threats of violence toward politicians and punctuated with the January 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

"Restoring public trust in public health officials will require nuanced engagement with diverse groups," she added.

In May, a West Virginia man pleaded guilty to sending emails threatening to harm Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, and other federal and state health officials.

Fauci, a key figure in the U.S. response to the pandemic, was targeted by Trump and his supporters for his endorsement of lockdowns and other restrictions.


Dr. Michael Fraser, executive director of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, has seen some vicious attacks on medical professionals.

"Most common are disparaging and offensive social media posts; public sharing of their work and personal cellphone numbers, e-mail addresses, residential addresses; or other virtual bullying," he wrote in April in the American Journal of Public Health.

"In some cases, this harassment includes the higher-profile cases of death threats, armed protests and threats of physical violence requiring law enforcement protection," he wrote.

Fraser added that one explanation for this shift in perspective could be the overpoliticization of public health issues.

"Facing the threat of COVID-19, America's leaders could have rallied around a collective, warlike response to an emerging global pandemic, but instead some used the virus and our response to it to strengthen, not to heal, bitter partisan divides," he added. "Health officials became targets of this partisan rhetoric and the public outcry that followed."

University of Minnesota Associate Professor Sarah Gollust said the situation calls for immediate investments to address a "depleted and demoralized workforce."

"Social science research affirms that no one silver bullet will reduce the hostility of political discourse at the moment, whether about politics in general nor public health in particular," Gollust wrote in a commentary on the study in JAMA Network Open. "However, the price of inaction and hopelessness is too high."

BILLION  TRILLION DOLLAR BOONDOOGLE

Air Force grounds some F-35s over ejector seat concerns


An F-35 flies at the first Lockheed Martin Space and Air Show in Sanford, Fla., in October 2020. The Air Force announced Friday that a component of the F-35's ejector seats has a defect. File Photo by Joe Marino/UPI | License Photo

July 29 (UPI) -- The Air Force announced Friday that it's grounding its F-35 Joint Strike Fighter fleet over problems with a component that helps propel the pilot's ejection seat.

Faulty Cartridge Actuated Devices could prevent the seats from properly clearing the fighter jet during an ejection.

Air Combat Command spokeswoman Alexi Worley confirmed the temporary grounding in a statement to Breaking Defense.

"ACC's F-35s do have Martin-Baker ejection seats, and on July 19, began a Time Compliance Technical Directive to inspect all of the cartridges on the ejection seat within 90 days," she said.

"Out of an abundance of caution, ACC units will execute a stand-down on July 29 to expedite the inspection process. Based on data gathered from those inspections, ACC will make a determination to resume operations," Worley said.

F-35s operated by Air Education and Training Command will also be grounded for inspection.

Air Force spokeswoman Aryn Lockhart on Thursday confirmed to the Air Force Times that the Air Force also halted flying 203 T-38 Talons and 76 T-6 Texan IIs, for the same issue.

"Our primary concern is the safety of our airmen and it is imperative that they have confidence in our equipment," 19th Air Force commander Maj. Gen. Craig D. Wills told the Times. "Our actions ... were taken out of an abundance of caution in order to ensure the safety of our pilots and aircrew."

Defense One reported that no other Air Force commands have ordered a stand-down of aircraft. The Navy and Marine Corps also haven't grounded their F-35s.

The announcement came three days after the U.S. Navy announced it was notified by of the potential defect by Martin-Baker in the CADs in some fixed-wing aircraft, including the F/A-18B/C/D Hornet, F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, E/A-18G Growler, T-45 Goshawk and F-5 Tiger II training aircraft.

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for PERMANENT ARMS ECONOMY 

ALL CAPITALI$M IS STATE CAPITALI$M
Pelosi signs enrollment to send chip manufacturing bill to Biden's desk


House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., signs the Chips and Science Act bill, which would subsidize domestic semiconductor manufacturing and invest billions in science and technology innovation, on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Friday. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo

July 29 (UPI) -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday signed the enrollment to send the $280 billion computer chip manufacturing bill to President Joe Biden's desk to be signed into law.

The Chips and Science Act, which would provide incentives for production of semiconductors and other investments in science and technology, passed the House by a vote of 243-187 on Thursday and was signed by Pelosi on Friday during a ceremony attended by House Democrats.

An enrolled bill is the final copy of a bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers of the U.S. Congress in identical form and has been signed by the appropriate Senate and House officials and submitted to the president to be signed into law.

"Today, our nation takes a monumental step toward equipping our nation to meet and beat the challenges of the 21st Century," Pelosi said during the ceremony.

"With our CHIPS and Science Act, we send to President Biden bold new investments to lower costs for America's families, while protecting their financial future. We return America to world leader status in semiconductor production and power American science and research for generations to come," Pelosi said.

Biden got word Thursday that the House had passed the bill during his meeting with business leaders on the economy and is expected to sign the bill into law. The bill passed the Senate Wednesday on a 64-33 vote.

"As we send this bill to the President's desk, we do so with great pride, because we passed it on the Floor with 100 percent Democratic vote and at the same time, a strong, bipartisan vote," Pelosi said.

"And here we send to the president, as we do so Democrats will continue to lower costs, more jobs for America's future, we will always put people over politics."

The National Governors Association has since urged Biden "to swiftly sign this package into law."

"Governors applaud Congress in supporting American innovation and global competitiveness by passing bipartisan legislation accelerating research and development in semiconductor production," reads a joint statement from New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox.

RELATED House passes bill to provide incentives for semiconductor chip manufacturing

"The $52 billion in federal investments for domestic semiconductor research, design, and manufacturing are absolutely critical to our national security and will allow us to address gaps and vulnerabilities in the U.S. supply chain."

After it is signed, the law will subsidize domestic semiconductor manufacturing while also investing billions of dollars in science and tech innovation.

The bill is expected to make the chip supply chain more resilient after having experienced shortages that adversely impacted the economy.

House Republican leaders urged members to vote against the bill, reversing their earlier support for it.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M; OLD SCHOOL

Shakira faces 8 years in prison over tax evasion in Spain


Colombian superstar Shakira was indicted Friday on six counts of tax fraud in Spain, where she faces eight years in prison and a fine of nearly $24.5 million. 

File photo by Rune Hellestad/UPI | License Photo

July 29 (UPI) -- Shakira's hips don't lie, but according to Spanish prosecutors, her tax returns do.

The Colombian superstar was indicted Friday on six counts of tax fraud in Spain, where she faces eight years in prison and a fine of nearly $24.5 million.

Prosecutors say Shakira didn't pay income taxes on some $14.8 million between 2012 and 2014, when she became a regular in Barcelona in the early days of her relationship with soccer star Gerard Piqué, according to El País.

Lawyers for the singer spent weeks in negotiations with tax authorities, hoping for a deal that would've quashed charges and excluded jail time. In May, judges threw out a defense appeal to have the case dismissed, El Mundo reported.

But this week Shakira rejected the state's settlement offer, maintaining her "absolute innocence" and blasting the prosecution for "trampling her rights," El País reported.

Shakira has maintained throughout the proceedings that she lived in the Bahamas and spent much of that time traveling for work, officially moving to Spain in 2015.

Yet her defense team is in for a tough fight to prove her residence was elsewhere in those two years.

The case against Shakira is further bolstered by a detailed investigation by El Pais, tracking the singer's day to day in those two years to show she spent more than half the year there. She was reportedly in Spain for 246 days in 2012, 210 days in 2013 and 243 days in 2014.

Her life in Barcelona included times in music studios, French tutoring, twice-weekly visits to a hair salon and zumba classes, El País reported.

BEST FU EVER

Queer Teen Attacked by Matt Gaetz Raises $1.5M for Abortion Care

Olivia Julianna says she has a bouquet of flowers ready to thank Rep. Matt Gaetz.

After the congressman tried to shame a young activist for her appearance, she took his hate-filled attack and turned it into an opportunity.

BY CHRISTOPHER WIGGINS

JULY 28 2022 3:31 PM EDT UPDATED JULY 29 2022 12:54 PM EDT

Update on 7/29/22: The article has been updated to reflect the most up-to-date amount that Olivia Julianna has helped raise for abortion access. 

In response to a mean-spirited tweet sent by Republican U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida about her appearance, a queer activist from Texas has gotten the last laugh. In addition to clapping back hard, she has raised more than $1.5 million to support abortion care as of Friday.

Olivia Julianna, a political strategist for Gen-Z for Change, a social justice advocacy group led by young people, revealed to The Advocate that she wasn’t prepared for her overnight success but appreciated it. She uses her first and middle names publicly for privacy concerns.

“I’m in shock at the amount of support that we’ve gotten from people across the country,” she says.

Julianna says she could never have imagined the level of impact she will have had with her deft navigation of the situation that Gaetz inadvertently made possible.

As of midday Thursday, donations to a fundraiser she established were $3,000 short of $700,000, she told The Advocate. On Friday that number reached $1.5 million, she tweeted. 

"We’ve now hit $1.5 million raised!! That’s 500K+ just in the last day," she wrote. "Any celebrities or philanthropists want to close that gap to 2 million[?]"

“I would like to say thank you to him for giving me such a big platform to share my message and share my work with,” she says.

The activist launched the fundraiser for the nonprofit organization’s abortion fund after being body-shamed by Gaetz on Twitter. Julianna had responded to remarks Gaetz made last weekend. The congressman mocked abortion rights activists, calling them “disgusting” and overweight. Julianna criticized the congressman's comments online.

“It’s come to my attention that Matt Gaetz — alleged pedophile — has said that it’s always the 'odious...5’2 350 pound' women that 'nobody wants to impregnate' who rally for abortion,” she began in her tweet.

“I’m actually 5’11. 6’4 in heels. I wear them so the small men like you are reminded of your place,” she continued.

Gaetz responded by tweeting an image of her next to a news article mentioning his comments.

Julianna raised the clap-back level several notches and replied, referencing Gaetz’s ongoing potential legal troubles for alleged sexual encounters with underage women.

Then she announced a fundraising campaign on behalf of Gen-Z for Change, a 500-strong youth-led group that supports abortion rights and says it seeks to create tangible change on “issues adversely affecting young people.”

A reporter asked Gaetz whether he believed women who attended abortion rights rallies were “ugly and overweight” after his comments at the weekend rally at the conservative Turning Point USA Student Action Summit drew condemnation, and Gaetz doubled down on his remarks, according to The Washington Post.

He replied to those offended by the comments: “Be offended.”

It’s taken just a little more than 48 hours for Julianna to raise three-quarters of a million dollars.

Among other reproductive health care services, Julianna says donations will be split among 50 abortion funds.

As for Gaetz’s political acumen, Julianna says he lacks any.

“I think it’s hilarious that Matt Gaetz underestimated me and didn’t think that I would clap back in such a strong way,” she says.

The incident has taught Julianna one thing that she hopes will benefit other young people. 

“It goes to show no matter how young you are, no matter what position of power you’re in, you can make a difference,” she says. “I hope that this absolute insane event that’s taken place will motivate young people across the country to make their voices heard and fight for the things that they believe them.”

And Julianna has one final assessment of Gaetz: “He’s a joke,” she says.

PRISONER EXCHANGE FOR BG

Russian behind U.S. election interference campaign indicted on federal charges

The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday announced it has indicted Aleksandr Viktorovich Ionov of Moscow for allegedly orchestrating a years-long malign influence campaign in the United States.

July 29 (UPI) -- A Kremlin-backed operative is accused of masterminding a sprawling election interference campaign in multiple states, federal authorities charged in an indictment unsealed Friday.

Prosecutors say Aleksandr V. Ionov, of Moscow, orchestrated and funded "malign influence" campaigns between December 2014 and March 2022 to "sow discord, spread pro-Russian propaganda, and interfere in elections within the United States."

Ionov allegedly operated with support from the Russian government, reporting to the spy agency FSB, while he influenced political groups in California, Florida and Georgia.

The indictment, filed Tuesday, says Ionov most recently used his influence with an unnamed political group in Florida to push discredited conspiracy theories linking supporters of Ukraine to Nazism.

Prosecutors say Ionov also backed a group attempting to promote California's secession from the United States, and in another instance funded cross-country travel for a group of activists targeting a social media company that censored pro-Russia conspiracy theorists.

Ionov became so familiar with the players in America's elections, at some point he even referred to someone as the candidate "whom we supervise" in a cable to his handlers at the FSB.

In court papers, Ionov is said to self-describe his shadow work as generating "turmoil" to support Russia in the "information war unleashed" by the West.

"Secret foreign government efforts to influence American elections and political groups threaten our democracy by spreading misinformation, distrust and mayhem," DOJ Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite Jr. said Friday in a statement.

"The department is committed to ensuring U.S. laws protecting transparency in the electoral process and the political system are not undermined through foreign malign influence," Polite said.

Ionov faces five years in federal prison on charges of conspiring to have U.S. citizens act as illegal agents of the Russian government.

"The impact of Russian malign foreign influence cannot be overstated," FBI Assistant Director Luis Quesada said in a statement. "The FBI will aggressively pursue any foreign government that attempts to divide American citizens and poison our democratic process."

Ukraine ready to recommence grain exports for first time since war broke out

July 30 (UPI) -- Ukraine is ready to export grain for the first time since Russia invaded the country in February and blocked its ports on the Black Sea.

Standing in Odessa near loaded ships that could depart as early as this week, officials said they are now just waiting for a go-ahead from the United Nations, which brokered alongside Turkey a safe-passage deal for much-needed food products from Ukraine.

"We hope to receive approval today from the U.N. confirming the corridors we have proposed the ships take in the Black Sea," Ukraine's minister of infrastructure, Oleksandr Kubrakov, told reporters. "After [receiving approval] we are ready to begin ... we hope that by the end of this week the first ship will leave our ports."

Grain shipments have not shipped from Ukraine in some five months, worsening a growing worldwide food crisis. The country is a leading exporter of barley, corn, sunflower and wheat.

Arif Husain, chief economist of the U.N. World Food Program, said as many as 45 countries are now in "hunger emergencies, meaning one step away from famine."

"The numbers do not lie -- pre-COVID, we were looking at about 135 million people in crisis or the worst type of food security situation," Husain said, according to The Guardian. "Today, including Ukraine's impact, that number is 345 million."

Diplomats said Saturday they were still working out details of the deal.

"Once all of those elements are in place, then we will start seeing the first movements," U.N. official Ismini Palla told The New York Times. "The ultimate goal is to ensure the safe passage of commercial vessels."

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday his country will continue to ensure the shipments go out.

"Concrete work on the restoration of Ukrainian grain exports began today in Odessa," he told reporters, according to the Times. "I don't want to make any forecast now; let's see how the agreements on grain export will be implemented."

Now, the pressure is on for Russia to maintain its side of the deal.

"Millions of people around the world are waiting for grain to come out of this and other Ukrainian ports," Bridget Brink, the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, said in Odessa. "It's very important for Russia to live up to its commitments and to allow this grain to be exported."

NOT WAGE$
High energy prices push inflation to nearly 9% in 19 euro-using countries

Similar to the United States, inflation in the eurozone continues to be affected by the higher costs of energy, such as gasoline and natural gas, an official economic report said Friday.

July 29 (UPI) -- A sharp rise in energy prices aided by Russia's war in Ukraine has helped fuel rising inflation in countries that use the euro, official statistics said on Friday.

According to the figures by Eurostat, prices in the eurozone nations reached a record-high 8.9% over the past 12 months.


The July inflationary increase was up from 8.6% in June. Energy costs rose 42% and continue to be heavily affected by the fighting in Ukraine, which has severely disrupted global energy markets.

Energy prices were expected to continue to rise at a high clip of 39.7% in July.

"Energy is expected to have the highest annual rate in July, followed by food, alcohol and tobacco, non-energy industrial goods and services," Eurostat said in a statement.

While the inflation spike is connected with Ukraine, prices in the 19-nation eurozone have been on the rise since last August when inflation stood at 3.2% and steadily increased over the past 12 months.

Inflation later rose to 5.6% in January, a month before the war in Ukraine, and then 6.2% in February.

Despite the high inflation, economic health in the eurozone was up in the most recent quarter, Eurostat said. Gross domestic product in the zone increased 0.7% for the second quarter and 0.6% in the European Union. The rise follows a 0.5% increase in the first quarter.

Vacationing in communist East Germany

TAKE THE STAZI ON THE RIDE

Citizens of the GDR were not allowed to venture far due to strict travel restrictions. This made bordering countries Poland and Czechoslovakia popular destinations.



A trip to the Polish coast

"My parents had a model 500 car, and I remember that I always had a hard time breathing in the back," said Wolfgang Worf, whose family regularly took trips from Weimar, in East Germany, or the German Democratic Republic (GDR), to Liberec, in what was then Czechoslovakia, in the 1970s and 1980s.

Sometimes they traveled as often as three times a year. The car was decidedly small, and had no windows that could be opened in the back. After an upgrade to the popular 601 model of the ubiquitous East German-made Trabant car — lovingly dubbed the Trabbi — the long trips to the neighboring country became a little more bearable, he told DW.

Wolfgang Worf's parents hailed from the Sudetenland region in what is today the Czech Republic. After the Second World War, they were among the roughly three million Germans who were expelled. But they took every opportunity to visit their native region and old friends from school.

Worf recalls that East German citizens weren't allowed to exchange many East German marks into Czech crowns, which made staying with acquaintances and friends imperative back then. "In return, we would bring them something from East Germany, which was always a lovely, friendly gesture."

THE TRABANT: CELEBRATING EAST GERMANY'S ICONIC VEHICLE

Trabant 601

The Trabant was to the East what the VW Beetle was to the West — a vehicle for the masses. It was cheap to produce, with an outer body made of hard plastic. The car's moment in the spotlight came with the fall of the Berlin Wall, as citizens of the GDR spilled over the newly open East-West border in their "Trabis." There are still more than 30,000 Trabants on the streets of Germany today.

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Restricted travel

The right to holidays was enshrined in East Germany's constitution. In 1961, everyone who had a job was entitled to 12 days vacation, with the number of days gradually increased as the years went by.

East Germans could not simply pack up and go wherever they wanted. The destinations were restricted, and constraints were formidable.

An exit permit was required, along with other documents, for trips to Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. People usually traveled to the Soviet Union as part of a tour group, rarely on their own.

Destinations such as Cuba required approval from the party secretary, the trade union official and the employer. Applicants had to be highly upstanding East German citizens, making such trips virtually impossible for ordinary citizens.

Visiting a country that did not belong to the group of so-called brother countries was completely out of the question, especially after the Berlin Wall was built.
Why some borders were more open than others

In 1972, the Berlin Wall had already stood for 11 years. East Germans who were almost universally barred from the West had not met relatives in person for over a decade. Resentment spread, people voiced tentative demands for freedom of travel — an issue that would later lead to the end of the East German state.

East German passports

Sensing people's displeasure, the East German leadership relented. In early 1972, agreements came into force that eased travel restrictions between the GDR, Poland and Czechoslovakia, at least on paper.

"You still stood at the border for a long time, whether before or after 1972. It didn't really matter much," Worf said.

According to East German records dating to 1977, the country's citizens traveled to both neighboring countries almost 50 million times in the first five years.

Popular destinations in Czechoslovakia were Prague and Karlovy Vary. People wanted to get to know the culture and see the countryside, but it is also where they met relatives from West Germany, which East Germany only allowed its citizens to visit under certain circumstances, and after thorough scrutiny. "That was always very nice," said Worf.

'Borders of Friendship'

Poland was popular for weekend trips as overnight stays were possible without a registration procedure.

Many East Germans enjoyed the more informal mood in a country where they could purchase West German publications such as the newsmagazine Der Spiegel, and see the latest Hollywood blockbusters in movie theaters.

Polish citizens traveled to East Germany not so much for a vacation or recreation, but in hopes of finding those scarce goods not available in their own country, or only at considerably higher prices.

Axel Drieschner, curator of the "Borders of Friendship: Tourism between the GDR, the CSSR and Poland" exhibition at the Utopia and Everyday Life Museum in the East German town of Eisenhüttenstadt, told DW a joke to go with that situation.

"Two dogs meet at the border and one of them asks: Why are you going to the GDR? The other says, to eat my fill. Asks the first dog: Why are you going to Poland? To bark louder for a change?"

In Poland at the time, people could voice displeasure and speak more openly about certain problems that people didn't feel as free to address publicly in East Germany, Drieschner said.

The Utopia and Everyday Life Museum has a collection of various postcards, travel catalogs and souvenirs, memories of vacations by East Germans in Poland and Czechoslovakia in the 1970s and 1980s.

Most exhibits are on loan, landing at the museum's doorstep following a public appeal. Many people reacted, Drieschner said, sending e-mails with anecdotes and stories, as well as souvenirs, some of which are on display.

East German leadership soon regretted the move

It didn't take long for the ruling SED party to regret the relaxations at the borders. Officials had not factored in shopping tourism and the consequences for East Germany's planned economy.

"They had calculated years in advance how much, let's say, razor blades or pins would be needed in the next few years," Drieschner said, adding that suddenly people from other countries showed up with very specific needs that had not been taken into account.

Fond memories of a trip to Czechoslovakia

One other aspect could cause chaos, too, and that was the potential to rouse resentment among the East German populace, Drieschner said.

"The leadership did not want to stir up unrest among the population, which could easily happen when Polish citizens drove to Görlitz in East Germany and bought items in department stores that were more or less fresh on the shelves," he said. "The larger cities near the border were very much affected by shopping tourism, and sometimes new resentments cropped up concerning the respective nationalities who bought what were perhaps urgently needed consumer goods."

Worf, in turn, remembers special goods he brought back from Czechoslovakia.

"We brought home vast quantities of dumpling flour, which was not available in the GDR at the time, and my favorite dish has always been sirloin with dumplings," Worf said. "I also liked shopping at the stationery store — the Czechs had certain pens that you rarely got in East Germany."

Shopping tourism displeased the East German leadership, as did the emergence of the anti-Soviet Solidarity movement in Poland in the 1980s.

The subsequent declaration of martial law in Poland again led to stricter controls at the borders, and travel became more difficult again.

That era is long gone, and today the borders are open across most of the European Union. The "Borders of Friendship" exhibition that runs at the Museum of Utopia and Everyday Life through April 30, 2023, shows visitors what travel was like for East Germans in the 1970s and 1980s.

GDR MOVIE POSTERS: CREATIVE FREEDOM PAST THE CENSORS

René Ahrlé: Murderers are Among Us (1946)

Murderers are Among Us is the first German film to be released post-war and at the same time, the first film produced by the Deutsche Filim AG (DEFA), which was founded in May 1946. For his book, More Art than Advertisement: GDR Movie Posters 1945-1990, graphic designer Detlef Helmbold has collected more than 6,000 movie posters. They show that poster art was highly esteemed in East Germany.

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This article was originally written in German.