Conversations with Nicolai

A couple of weeks back those who have been following this humble blog, know I requested an interview with Nicolai in our comments forum. He graciously assented. Thus follows portions of our email exchanges(with the exception of correcting some typos for clarity, I have left Nicolai's words as written):

TAO: Where were you born and raised?

Nicolai: Hamburg, Germany but raised in Rhine area: Cologne and Düsseldorf. My grandfather was born in Illinois, Chicago. My great grandfather immigrated into America 1900. I have several family members living in the U.S.

TAO: What would you say was the one event in your childhood that has affected the rest of your life?

Nicolai: Two things:

I started writing and reading with 4 and released some mock newspaper in my own room every few weeks ;

my grandmother was affiliated with a cult (*German : sekte), since then i am an outspoken critic against phony oppositions and mysticism.

TAO: What is your star sign?

Nicolai: Taurus

TAO: Your favourite colour?

Nicolai: not sure about this, but i guess i tend to orange/red colored stuff though i also like dark blue and brown ;


TAO: What do you think is your greatest accomplishment in life so far?

Nicolai: I still think the participation in Josh Harris documentary "QUIET" which somehow predicted some post 9/11 situation, but was never released. Hes allegedly still editing on this again since 1 year, according to some copyright issues.

TAO: What is your greatest disappointment?

Nicolai: that's possibly biased and unfair, but that i couldn't date 1- 2 girlfriends ;

Also, the failed merger of globalfreepress and INN World Report and an extension with either Josh Harris or Jimmy Walter's enterprise ;

TAO: How does your partner support your political work?

Nicolai: She's is very active on 9/11 stuff as well but operates with at least 100-150 different identities and socket puppets, mostly as a no-planer

TAO: Looking back at the Chance 2000 campaign, knowing what you know today, would you do it again?

Nicolai: Not in a post 9/11 world, but if the event wouldn't have happen, then definitely again. Of course I'm also very disappointed of Schlingensieff's lack of understanding of 9/11

TAO: What exactly inspired you to emigrate from Germany? What do you think is the best and worst of living in the United States?

Nicolai: I always loved NYC since i am 5. The dot com hype was much more interesting than in U.S. I am active on the Internet/Gopher since 1993. The survival instinct and (meanwhile restricted) freedom of speech is both best and worst ;

TAO: In your opinion, what is the single most important thing ordinary people need to know about the attacks of September 11, 2001?

Nicolai: The evidence of 9/11 TV Fakery

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That was our first conversation, and very revealing it was. Even at a young age Nicolai had an instinct for the power and influence of media. And, sadly, an example near and dear to him of the corrupting effects of that same said power and influence corrupted.

I inquired further on the specifics of this cult Nicolai's grandmother had found herself drawn into. What I learned was disturbing indeed.

Next: we explore the origins and practices of Neuapostolische Kirche, or, as they are known in the English speaking world, the New Apostolic Church.

9/11 Visibility at Ground Zero

Let's take a break from the nostalgia of the Nicolai's past and come forward in history to review some of his finer battles.

On January 3rd of 2004, in the first chill week of the new year, Nicolai joined the 9/11 Visibility campaign to reclaim Ground Zero, as 911 sceptic activists refer to the place where the remains of World Trade centers 1, 2 and 7 once rested. With Geoffrey Blank, he held a rather eye catching sign that would be impossible to miss:


And it certainly was not missed...by the local constabulary. The joys of the day were not to come without price, nor were the participants to leave unscathed:

Right at the very start, Jeff Blank was physically grabbed and forced backwards away from the front of the World Trade Center Path Station, and tossed across the street for merely holding a sign. Jeff is a professional resistor of fascism, he heads the “Stop the Police State Coalition”; Lyn Stewart is his defense attorney. Jeff created our sign, and has been promoting this message in NYC for months. Nico Haupt held the banner with Jeff, and as the police forcibly moved them, Nico briefly grabbed onto a street pole in resistance.

But this too, was to pass, another minor tempest in the greater storm of activism, as protesters were to find commonality with the constabulary:


Certainly this is no surprise that our Nicolai was involved with such events. Like a moth drawn to the flame, Nicolai is drawn to the center of whatever political turbulence is the zeitgeist of the day. Almost four years after these events, one is left to wonder: What maelstrom will Nicolai find himself at the center of this coming New Year?