A report came out yesterday....from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA)....from the results of a survey on education across the globe. For the Germans....it was a kind of negative report. It didn't really give Germany a thumbs up or a thumbs down....but a middle kind of rating....which upset a number of folks because of efforts over the past five years.
Naturally, some politicians in Germany quickly came up with their angle of how to fix this.
The opposition party....the SPD....thinks that the teacher's path via the university system is kind of haphazard. They want standards....where you ensure better and more qualified teachers enter the system. If you think about it....it'd probably dilute ten percent...maybe even twenty percent of the entry group from ever getting into the teacher profession. I'm not one to forecast long term problems usually....but you might fix one problem and then create another problem in a decade, with a problem of replacing retiring teachers.
Another item suggested by the politicians is the idea of a full-day of school. Most German schools wrap up around 1:30 each day. Politicians think a full day would do wonders. More time in class, more results.
There are issues with this time suggestion of course. You'd have to convince teachers to accept another hour or two which I doubt they'd accept without a major pay-raise. Some would say the stress of another 90 minutes would be too much for them, and ask for retirement. Some would suggest that if a kid didn't pick up the information after what they currently offer....they would doubt that the kid improves with another hour or two.
Educational agenda folks exist in Germany...just as they do in the US. If you offer up a negative report, then it means something is broke. Rarely do you go back and review how these reports was generated or what they gathered to make the data "pure and clean".
My guess is that a couple of standards will be tossed into the pot and approved...and it trims off at least three percent of the folks going after educational degrees in the future. That doesn't really fix the substandard teacher mess in existence today, but it'd help toward 2020 and beyond.
As for the longer hours? I suspect that the teacher's union will stand up and accept 60 minutes onto each day....with a five-percent pay-raise attached and some one-time bonus (figure at least 700 Euro). Forget anything more than 60 minutes because it just won't sell. Oh, and along the way....some professor will eventually show a statistical analysis that another sixty minutes would likely only benefit twelve percent of the students anyway (just my humble guess on that suggestion).
Just a personal observation here, but if you look around November and December time-frame in your local German paper....you will notice all of these after-school extended private study deals to help your kid improve his results. Most expect at least 200 Euro a month for this two to three hours per week schedule. Over the past two decades, these study operations have grown and have a fair amount of business. Why? The answer is that kids aren't picking up what the teacher's expected of them in class....and they need private tutors to explain a lesson in a totally different fashion and in a smaller setting of twelve kids.
So a worried parent tosses 200 Euro a month for five months onto his must-pay schedule and has to find cuts in the family budget to afford that....if the kid is in serious jeopardy of screwing up his grades. If you have two kids....400 Euro might be expanded. And that's just for one weak area...what if the kid had two weak areas?
There's a problem that probably exists, but I doubt that politicians can ever get to the level of thinking at the local school level and grasping the significance of one simple lesson in math being a failure.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Monday, December 6, 2010
Humor in Secrets
Typically....you don't expect state-classified material to have any humor. The US state department has proven that wrong.
Several years ago (2006), there was a bear episode in Germany. We can admit that it was the first bear to be seen in Germany in a hundred years at least. It's a long and sordid soap opera (I blogged the entire tale at the time).....but in the end....the Germans had to kill the bear. He was a threat.
Somewhere amongst all the WikiLeaks material, there's this analysis and discussion by the US State Department over repopulating the wilds of Germany.
There is this great quote then....by the writer: "Perhaps the greatest insight from the whole Bruno affair might be that despite the veneer of 'greenness' extolled by German society, modern Germany in fact coexists rather uneasily with untamed nature,"
I sat for a while and pondered over this commentary and remember the Bruno the bear episode in detail. There is an excellent point over this analysis. There is often bragging done (similar to cases in the US) where the government and foundations are working to reintroduce wild populations back into "outback regions". In this case, all it took was one simple bear to upset the locals.....and that got the bear onto the hit-list.
Up until this point, I had nothing much positive to say over the WikiLeaks episode. I don't think anyone gains. Some people may use a light term of transparency to suggest that secrets are bad. These however, are the same people who get frustrated when governments can't readily step in to fix an international problem and sit in the midst of the living room and conjure up various solutions to international problems based on the think-tank guy who just spoke on CNN or the BBC or channel one news.
The amusing thing in this story is that it's a brief analysis of a reporter over a secret commentary by a state department guy....over a dead bear in Bavaria. Wish I could get a job with the state department writing bear summaries. But knowing my luck...in 2015, WikiLeaks would publish my classified bear summaries and I'd get a reputation.
Several years ago (2006), there was a bear episode in Germany. We can admit that it was the first bear to be seen in Germany in a hundred years at least. It's a long and sordid soap opera (I blogged the entire tale at the time).....but in the end....the Germans had to kill the bear. He was a threat.
Somewhere amongst all the WikiLeaks material, there's this analysis and discussion by the US State Department over repopulating the wilds of Germany.
There is this great quote then....by the writer: "Perhaps the greatest insight from the whole Bruno affair might be that despite the veneer of 'greenness' extolled by German society, modern Germany in fact coexists rather uneasily with untamed nature,"
I sat for a while and pondered over this commentary and remember the Bruno the bear episode in detail. There is an excellent point over this analysis. There is often bragging done (similar to cases in the US) where the government and foundations are working to reintroduce wild populations back into "outback regions". In this case, all it took was one simple bear to upset the locals.....and that got the bear onto the hit-list.
Up until this point, I had nothing much positive to say over the WikiLeaks episode. I don't think anyone gains. Some people may use a light term of transparency to suggest that secrets are bad. These however, are the same people who get frustrated when governments can't readily step in to fix an international problem and sit in the midst of the living room and conjure up various solutions to international problems based on the think-tank guy who just spoke on CNN or the BBC or channel one news.
The amusing thing in this story is that it's a brief analysis of a reporter over a secret commentary by a state department guy....over a dead bear in Bavaria. Wish I could get a job with the state department writing bear summaries. But knowing my luck...in 2015, WikiLeaks would publish my classified bear summaries and I'd get a reputation.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Wetten Dass
State-run German TV features a popular program which has been around for over thirty years....Wetten Dass. The theme of this live two-to-three hour show....is family entertainment. You have around six to eight stars (most internationally known), a singer or group, and then these five "stunts". The weight of the show is primarily on these "stunts".
Typically, these stunts are used as bets for the guests and everyone is smiling as they bet the kid can add forty-four columns of numbers and announce a solution in twelve seconds. Or you have the guy who takes forty beer cannisters and builds this standing column that he climbs in two minutes. Or you have a woman who can recognize the knee caps of her women's volleyball group and pronounce each person by their kneecap. The bet is always a secondary part of this whole act.
Last night, the boys at Wetten Dass had accepted a more dangerous stunt. This young German guy had offered to jump over five oncoming cars in the building....with spring-powered stilts. He actually succeeded with the first jump....avoided the second opportunity....and then came the third jump which went terribly wrong. He basically crashed down onto the ground (with a helmet on)....and just laid there. A pretty dramatic moment.
Medics were on the scene....quickly going into action....and they moved him to the local hospital.
The thing about Wetten Dass....which is the biggest sales item of the show....it's all live. So the host of the show.....Thomas Gottschalk....had to make some split second decisions. They carried the moment of medical personnel on the scene for a couple of minutes and then cut away. Then Gottschalk made the decision to run some clips of music for around ten to fifteen minutes. Finally, he said enough and stopped the show entirely. Since he'd been running the show in the mid-80s....it'd never been stopped like this.
Based on news from Germany....this guy is injured but little else is being said. I'm guessing at least a concussion and maybe some internal injuries.
Since 1993....I've probably watched around sixty of these shows. They run around eight to nine of these shows per year. They are highly organized and it'd shock folks because Gottshalk will bring out people who typically never do shows (Micheal Jackson was a great example). But over the years that I've watched....there were five or six stunts per year that I regarded as highly dangerous and I felt it was stupid to do this with live TV.
I'm guessing some manager with the state-run TV empire will sit down over the next month with Gottshalk and his team....and discuss the idea of no more thrilling stunts. You might still see dog tricks and such....but the deadly stunt period is now finished. The fact that they were successful for thirty years doing things like this.....was simply luck.
Typically, these stunts are used as bets for the guests and everyone is smiling as they bet the kid can add forty-four columns of numbers and announce a solution in twelve seconds. Or you have the guy who takes forty beer cannisters and builds this standing column that he climbs in two minutes. Or you have a woman who can recognize the knee caps of her women's volleyball group and pronounce each person by their kneecap. The bet is always a secondary part of this whole act.
Last night, the boys at Wetten Dass had accepted a more dangerous stunt. This young German guy had offered to jump over five oncoming cars in the building....with spring-powered stilts. He actually succeeded with the first jump....avoided the second opportunity....and then came the third jump which went terribly wrong. He basically crashed down onto the ground (with a helmet on)....and just laid there. A pretty dramatic moment.
Medics were on the scene....quickly going into action....and they moved him to the local hospital.
The thing about Wetten Dass....which is the biggest sales item of the show....it's all live. So the host of the show.....Thomas Gottschalk....had to make some split second decisions. They carried the moment of medical personnel on the scene for a couple of minutes and then cut away. Then Gottschalk made the decision to run some clips of music for around ten to fifteen minutes. Finally, he said enough and stopped the show entirely. Since he'd been running the show in the mid-80s....it'd never been stopped like this.
Based on news from Germany....this guy is injured but little else is being said. I'm guessing at least a concussion and maybe some internal injuries.
Since 1993....I've probably watched around sixty of these shows. They run around eight to nine of these shows per year. They are highly organized and it'd shock folks because Gottshalk will bring out people who typically never do shows (Micheal Jackson was a great example). But over the years that I've watched....there were five or six stunts per year that I regarded as highly dangerous and I felt it was stupid to do this with live TV.
I'm guessing some manager with the state-run TV empire will sit down over the next month with Gottshalk and his team....and discuss the idea of no more thrilling stunts. You might still see dog tricks and such....but the deadly stunt period is now finished. The fact that they were successful for thirty years doing things like this.....was simply luck.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Germans and Snow
Over the last couple of days....snow has fallen across a significant portion of Germany. It is a bit early for drastic snowfall, but then luckily, Germans have "global warming" to blame (otherwise, they'd just blame God).
Snow is like science to Germans. If you sat down in a pub and asked a group of German men to comment on snow....they'd give you 300 pages of information and analysis over an entire evening....and almost forget that a soccer game was on TV.
First, they'd chat about the right tires. For an American, we traditionally want to use all-weather tires and slip on chains when absolutely necessary (when forced actually by the cops). For a German, it's winter-tires, period. No discussion. It's hard to find a German who might use all-weather tires except for their summer-tires. Winter-tires discussion could go on for an hour as each guy will tell his life story over the winter-tires that he's owned.
Second, they'd talk over the right salt for using on the house-steps or the sidewalk by the house. There are friendly environmental mixes, then the 1945-recipe which people still brag about, and then some cheapo mix that they got from the market and manufactured in Turkey. There will be the various directions given over how to toss the snow off the sidewalk and the proper use of the shovel when finished (it ought to be washed & cleaned).
Third, they'd chat on the topic of blankets and gear to carry in the car. Most Germans would refuse to carry anything extra in the car because they just refuse to stop or allow snow to hinder themselves. Other Germans are prepared and carry an entire bag with candles, a blanket, a bottle of water, and a shovel. Some German guys have a "snow-lite" bag and a "snow-heavy" bag....and keep it in the garage to toss in if they are driving a couple of hours in potential snow.
Fourth, they'd chat on snow statistics. If in a open environment where booze is flowing....most guys will admit there's no such thing as global warming and they've seen bigger snowfalls in the 1960s than today. People will carve out legends as they chat on the 1979 January snowfall across central Germany and all their woes. Some guys will chat for an hour on the difference between wet snow and dry snow....giving you a vast amount of information that you'd normally only hear from a Professor.
Fifth, they'd chat on the effect of salt on cars. Each guy has a story in his life about his 1976 Volkswagen that fell apart in six years because of rust. There used to be a massive amount of salt used on roads and Germans got to a point where they actually owned two cars....one for winter which was the old disposable car, and a nice car for the other eight months of the year. There are guys today that repeat this same practice although salt is used alot less and towns sometimes mix the salt with another solution to prevent rust episodes.
Sixth, they'd chat on roofs that have fallen in around their neighborhood from snow. It's rare but about every ten years in some towns...you have a major snowfall and some guy had structural issues to start with....and the snow just collapsed the room. Guys will remember this and bring up this neighbor's name a hundred times over the rest of their life as they turn this into a legendary piece of history.
Seventh, they'd chat on the right booze to drink after clearing a path on their sidewalk and returning to the house. Some recommend mixing it with the coffee....so the wife doesn't comment on drinking so early. Some will suggest just plain beer. And some will suggest an Italian wine (cheap of course) to settle your nerves after such hard work.
Germans need snow in a way....it gives them a different prospective on life, and gives them a moment to ponder and think about things... intensely. I suspect some of the greatest inventions in history....came from Germans who were cramped up in the house during a snowstorm and nothing to do but sit and think. Maybe, that's a good thing.
Snow is like science to Germans. If you sat down in a pub and asked a group of German men to comment on snow....they'd give you 300 pages of information and analysis over an entire evening....and almost forget that a soccer game was on TV. First, they'd chat about the right tires. For an American, we traditionally want to use all-weather tires and slip on chains when absolutely necessary (when forced actually by the cops). For a German, it's winter-tires, period. No discussion. It's hard to find a German who might use all-weather tires except for their summer-tires. Winter-tires discussion could go on for an hour as each guy will tell his life story over the winter-tires that he's owned.
Second, they'd talk over the right salt for using on the house-steps or the sidewalk by the house. There are friendly environmental mixes, then the 1945-recipe which people still brag about, and then some cheapo mix that they got from the market and manufactured in Turkey. There will be the various directions given over how to toss the snow off the sidewalk and the proper use of the shovel when finished (it ought to be washed & cleaned).
Third, they'd chat on the topic of blankets and gear to carry in the car. Most Germans would refuse to carry anything extra in the car because they just refuse to stop or allow snow to hinder themselves. Other Germans are prepared and carry an entire bag with candles, a blanket, a bottle of water, and a shovel. Some German guys have a "snow-lite" bag and a "snow-heavy" bag....and keep it in the garage to toss in if they are driving a couple of hours in potential snow.
Fourth, they'd chat on snow statistics. If in a open environment where booze is flowing....most guys will admit there's no such thing as global warming and they've seen bigger snowfalls in the 1960s than today. People will carve out legends as they chat on the 1979 January snowfall across central Germany and all their woes. Some guys will chat for an hour on the difference between wet snow and dry snow....giving you a vast amount of information that you'd normally only hear from a Professor.
Fifth, they'd chat on the effect of salt on cars. Each guy has a story in his life about his 1976 Volkswagen that fell apart in six years because of rust. There used to be a massive amount of salt used on roads and Germans got to a point where they actually owned two cars....one for winter which was the old disposable car, and a nice car for the other eight months of the year. There are guys today that repeat this same practice although salt is used alot less and towns sometimes mix the salt with another solution to prevent rust episodes.
Sixth, they'd chat on roofs that have fallen in around their neighborhood from snow. It's rare but about every ten years in some towns...you have a major snowfall and some guy had structural issues to start with....and the snow just collapsed the room. Guys will remember this and bring up this neighbor's name a hundred times over the rest of their life as they turn this into a legendary piece of history.
Seventh, they'd chat on the right booze to drink after clearing a path on their sidewalk and returning to the house. Some recommend mixing it with the coffee....so the wife doesn't comment on drinking so early. Some will suggest just plain beer. And some will suggest an Italian wine (cheap of course) to settle your nerves after such hard work.
Germans need snow in a way....it gives them a different prospective on life, and gives them a moment to ponder and think about things... intensely. I suspect some of the greatest inventions in history....came from Germans who were cramped up in the house during a snowstorm and nothing to do but sit and think. Maybe, that's a good thing.
Monday, November 29, 2010
The Little Guy Confidence Subject
The Ifo Institute has a fairly significant mission in Germany. They measure small business confidence.
In the world of commercial affairs, it's typically the business world that really reflects growth and consumer confidence that connect to the little guy and mean something to regular households. If a guy owns a 5-man business operation, and he's really down over business....then folks around assume that attitude, and then worry about their future and stability. If the boss comes into work grinning and smiling....it's a attitude that carries over, and the employees go home.....giving off the same enthusiasm.
The same logic works with a 4k man operation where the CEO walks boldly in and talks up orders and folks then relate that "safety" to buying a new car in the spring, or taking a four-star vacation in the fall.
The Ifo guys have a magic number that relates to business confidence, and it's the highest that it's been since the Berlin Wall went down (back to 1990). They admit, if you go back to 2009....it was a terrible number and reflected one of the worst economic stumbles in decades. Germany was in serious trouble in the spring of 2009. So we've come to this recovery phase now...eighteen months later. This is a 3.4 percent growth period for 2010, but even for 2011....the government is still talking about a 1.8 percent period of growth (something that some countries haven't seen in years).
The job market is moving, cars are selling, and it appears the next twelve months ought to be an awful positive period for the government and the nation. If you look around Europe....there might be one or two others in a somewhat positive moment....and everyone else is still waiting on things to settle (their recovery could be five years away).
The amazing thing is that if you go down to the local pub....there will sit Huns and Karl....and the topic of recovery isn't on their top twenty-five items of discussion. This is the fascinating part of this story. Germans aren't exactly bragging about the recovery....they simply participate in it. It's the business community that brags, and of course...the political folks. The local guys in the pub, Huns and Karl, will sum up the scores of soccer from the previous night, discuss the latest Penny Markt robbery by Russians, and perhaps settle on the worst landscaped yard in the local village.
In the world of commercial affairs, it's typically the business world that really reflects growth and consumer confidence that connect to the little guy and mean something to regular households. If a guy owns a 5-man business operation, and he's really down over business....then folks around assume that attitude, and then worry about their future and stability. If the boss comes into work grinning and smiling....it's a attitude that carries over, and the employees go home.....giving off the same enthusiasm.
The same logic works with a 4k man operation where the CEO walks boldly in and talks up orders and folks then relate that "safety" to buying a new car in the spring, or taking a four-star vacation in the fall.
The Ifo guys have a magic number that relates to business confidence, and it's the highest that it's been since the Berlin Wall went down (back to 1990). They admit, if you go back to 2009....it was a terrible number and reflected one of the worst economic stumbles in decades. Germany was in serious trouble in the spring of 2009. So we've come to this recovery phase now...eighteen months later. This is a 3.4 percent growth period for 2010, but even for 2011....the government is still talking about a 1.8 percent period of growth (something that some countries haven't seen in years).
The job market is moving, cars are selling, and it appears the next twelve months ought to be an awful positive period for the government and the nation. If you look around Europe....there might be one or two others in a somewhat positive moment....and everyone else is still waiting on things to settle (their recovery could be five years away).
The amazing thing is that if you go down to the local pub....there will sit Huns and Karl....and the topic of recovery isn't on their top twenty-five items of discussion. This is the fascinating part of this story. Germans aren't exactly bragging about the recovery....they simply participate in it. It's the business community that brags, and of course...the political folks. The local guys in the pub, Huns and Karl, will sum up the scores of soccer from the previous night, discuss the latest Penny Markt robbery by Russians, and perhaps settle on the worst landscaped yard in the local village.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Euro Woes
There is a great article over at the Financial Times today....over how the Euro might just collapse and come to an end...because of Germany.
It's an interesting scenario. Germany has put up with lots of controls over the past decade. So here are the Germans in a perfect world....they saved to meet the bad days...and some other neighbors who never saved...are knocking at the German door for money. If it had just been the Greeks...things might have been ok.....but frankly, with Portugal, Spain and Ireland in this shadows for money...this just isn't a simple case.
It would be curious to know if some alternate German plan existed for D-Marks to be issued. My guess is that a small group of German economists have studied the idea and know the entire schedule to switch back over.
The shock will be for the Spanish, Irish and Portuguese. They need someone to rescue them other than the banks....because they can't afford the massive changes that banks would demand for their loans.
It's an interesting scenario. Germany has put up with lots of controls over the past decade. So here are the Germans in a perfect world....they saved to meet the bad days...and some other neighbors who never saved...are knocking at the German door for money. If it had just been the Greeks...things might have been ok.....but frankly, with Portugal, Spain and Ireland in this shadows for money...this just isn't a simple case.
It would be curious to know if some alternate German plan existed for D-Marks to be issued. My guess is that a small group of German economists have studied the idea and know the entire schedule to switch back over.
The shock will be for the Spanish, Irish and Portuguese. They need someone to rescue them other than the banks....because they can't afford the massive changes that banks would demand for their loans.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Just Some Signs
Germany is this unique place where signs really matter. So when you travel on the autobahn or the back-roads of Germany....you have to pay attention. Germans spend a lot of time thinking about signs and how they relate to life and safety. Signs are geared to save you time or effort.
When I arrived in Germany in 1978, I spent almost an entire weekend memorizing the stupid driver's license manual and there were well over 120 signs that you had to grasp and you had to pass two separate tests for your license. One was the sign test and you had barely thirty minutes to get forty out of fifty signs correct. That barely gives you 30 seconds on each to recognize and ID it.
This sign for example.....is supposed to tell you that the primary road curves, and the other two roads have come to an end and must stop. So you just keep driving on the curved road. This didn't make alot of sense to me but eventually....after a year of driving around....I realized it made perfect sense.
The problem with this sign is that if you come out of the other two roads....you have to come to a complete stop. No yield or a 'California-stop'.
Then I came to this 'no entry sign'. I came to discover that Germany has alot of roads that are one-way. Almost every village has at least one no-entry, and most have a dozen....just for a small village.
It's important to remember this sign, because if you were to screw up on this identification.....there'd be a hefty traffic ticket involved.
I worked with a guy who violated the sign in his neighborhood because there was a shortcut that he'd learned about. It was a 300 foot piece of road that he needed to cover and it'd cut two minutes out of his trip. The sad thing is that he used this violation for a year...until the German cops came up one day and were standing there....and handed a ticket involving a fair amount of money.
The einbahnstrasse sign is simply a one-way sign. Again, we go back to this issue that you find in villages and towns....one-way streets. Once you come up against this sign...it's best to follow the arrow and get to an exit point.
Finally, I come to a new sign which has only appeared in the past five years....its the umwelt sign.
If you live in a major town like Berlin, Hamburg, or even Wiesbaden, then it's likely to have a major part of that town which is forbidden for older model cars. How do you know your situation and your car?
Well...there's these decals which you are supposed to have on the windshield which would note a green, yellow or red zone. Your local mechanic can establish the year model of your car and check it out.
This umwelt deal is supposed to clean up the fumes around these major cities and project a very 'green' environment.
When I arrived in Germany in 1978, I spent almost an entire weekend memorizing the stupid driver's license manual and there were well over 120 signs that you had to grasp and you had to pass two separate tests for your license. One was the sign test and you had barely thirty minutes to get forty out of fifty signs correct. That barely gives you 30 seconds on each to recognize and ID it.
This sign for example.....is supposed to tell you that the primary road curves, and the other two roads have come to an end and must stop. So you just keep driving on the curved road. This didn't make alot of sense to me but eventually....after a year of driving around....I realized it made perfect sense. The problem with this sign is that if you come out of the other two roads....you have to come to a complete stop. No yield or a 'California-stop'.
Then I came to this 'no entry sign'. I came to discover that Germany has alot of roads that are one-way. Almost every village has at least one no-entry, and most have a dozen....just for a small village. It's important to remember this sign, because if you were to screw up on this identification.....there'd be a hefty traffic ticket involved.
I worked with a guy who violated the sign in his neighborhood because there was a shortcut that he'd learned about. It was a 300 foot piece of road that he needed to cover and it'd cut two minutes out of his trip. The sad thing is that he used this violation for a year...until the German cops came up one day and were standing there....and handed a ticket involving a fair amount of money.
Finally, I come to a new sign which has only appeared in the past five years....its the umwelt sign.
If you live in a major town like Berlin, Hamburg, or even Wiesbaden, then it's likely to have a major part of that town which is forbidden for older model cars. How do you know your situation and your car? Well...there's these decals which you are supposed to have on the windshield which would note a green, yellow or red zone. Your local mechanic can establish the year model of your car and check it out.
This umwelt deal is supposed to clean up the fumes around these major cities and project a very 'green' environment.
Monday, November 15, 2010
The Greeks and the Germans
Over the past year....the Greeks have kinda been in the background of Germany. After the full-blown Greek economic crisis....Greece ended up on its knees. They'd basically screwed up....dozens of times....and kept telling folks over two decades of great numbers...when they weren't any great numbers. The Germans gave their typical view of how to fix things, and the Greeks objected.
This week....the Irish came around to admitting they were in bad economic times....for differing reasons from the Greeks. The Greeks decided to pop up and blame Germany on the rise in borrowing costs going on in Europe.
I stopped and pondered over the typical difference between Germans and Greeks. I've spent two weeks of my life in Greece, and fifteen years in Germany. I admit I know more on Germans, but I've had a chance to observe Greeks and make a few observations.
Greeks tend to have a family view of success. If you do well...you ought to share in your success with your brother, your cousin, your uncle, etc. For a German, it's a singular view of success. A German doesn't typically share his fortune or get the family into his successful restaurant business. On the other hand, a Greek also shares his misfortunes and lack of success also with the family....which the German doesn't typically do.
Greeks and Germans both have an expectation of the government taking care of them. The difference between the two is that Germans have a price-tag attached to the bill and can tell you where the breaking point is. The Greeks don't know the price....don't care about the price....and will just spend on and on until someone mentions that they've pretty much spent every single penny they had.
Laziness? Well....yeah. Germans are this breed that hates any element of laziness. You can note them in the yard on a Saturday morning....spending time to trim everything and make it all appear proper. Germans put effort into a project. The Greeks? They tend to need a bit of encouragement....then a bit more encouragement....and then a bit more of encouragement.
For a Greek....tomorrow is another day and if we've got work left....then it's not a big deal to continue on with a project. For a German....you wrap up the project today and don't waste time on what could be accomplished today.
If you got into a war situation....the Greeks would all eventually argue about tactics or discipline or life in the barracks. The Germans would have the map and expect each goal of the day to be accomplished, then you could talk about strategy or things you hate.
These are two very different societies, and it's almost amusing watching the two debate on things because they just can't see eye to eye on anything. Germans learn from screw-ups and Greeks tend to discuss the screw-ups but never get to a lesson's learned stage.
I'm pretty sure that the fat lady hasn't sung on this mess....and we'll just get more of complaining between the two.
This week....the Irish came around to admitting they were in bad economic times....for differing reasons from the Greeks. The Greeks decided to pop up and blame Germany on the rise in borrowing costs going on in Europe.
I stopped and pondered over the typical difference between Germans and Greeks. I've spent two weeks of my life in Greece, and fifteen years in Germany. I admit I know more on Germans, but I've had a chance to observe Greeks and make a few observations.
Greeks tend to have a family view of success. If you do well...you ought to share in your success with your brother, your cousin, your uncle, etc. For a German, it's a singular view of success. A German doesn't typically share his fortune or get the family into his successful restaurant business. On the other hand, a Greek also shares his misfortunes and lack of success also with the family....which the German doesn't typically do.
Greeks and Germans both have an expectation of the government taking care of them. The difference between the two is that Germans have a price-tag attached to the bill and can tell you where the breaking point is. The Greeks don't know the price....don't care about the price....and will just spend on and on until someone mentions that they've pretty much spent every single penny they had.
Laziness? Well....yeah. Germans are this breed that hates any element of laziness. You can note them in the yard on a Saturday morning....spending time to trim everything and make it all appear proper. Germans put effort into a project. The Greeks? They tend to need a bit of encouragement....then a bit more encouragement....and then a bit more of encouragement.
For a Greek....tomorrow is another day and if we've got work left....then it's not a big deal to continue on with a project. For a German....you wrap up the project today and don't waste time on what could be accomplished today.
If you got into a war situation....the Greeks would all eventually argue about tactics or discipline or life in the barracks. The Germans would have the map and expect each goal of the day to be accomplished, then you could talk about strategy or things you hate.
These are two very different societies, and it's almost amusing watching the two debate on things because they just can't see eye to eye on anything. Germans learn from screw-ups and Greeks tend to discuss the screw-ups but never get to a lesson's learned stage.
I'm pretty sure that the fat lady hasn't sung on this mess....and we'll just get more of complaining between the two.
The Good Nazis?
The US came out over the weekend and kinda admitted that after World War II....it kinda took in all these Nazis. It wasn't totally clear on the actual number and I suspect no one has a true tally because lots of folks had different ways of handling this issue of entering the US.
Reasons why? Frankly, if you were a German Nazi of high standing in Germany....you just couldn't stay in Germany after the war. Folks were going to ask questions and various degrees of legal detention were going to be brought up. It'd be safe to admit that Chile, Argentina and Latin America was a major place to hide out....but if you had something of value...from technology or information....it made sense to negotiate with the US on a entry permit.
So, should any of us really be shocked? I suspect that certain groups will say it's ethically wrong....but you weren't standing there in 1945 and didn't have the prospective that we have today. I would also imagine that we probably would have seen political Nazis differently from German military leaders.
So it's done. Are we going to punish anyone from the 1945 era for this "crime"? No. Anyone for putting someone in jail for this episode? I doubt it. Historians will center their vision on this topic for a year or two....and then put it down for a decade. Frankly, you reach a point where there's a brief flame and then it's gone. You can't rewrite a vast amount of history on this topic.
As for a defense of this whole thing? Maybe these were the good Nazis. We are always bombarded with this German label on Americans of the "bad Americans" and "good Americans".....so maybe that logic existed then. It would be curious to know where they ended up and if they built up mega empires of wealth or technology. If there was a part two to this story....maybe that's what the New York Times ought to work on next.
Reasons why? Frankly, if you were a German Nazi of high standing in Germany....you just couldn't stay in Germany after the war. Folks were going to ask questions and various degrees of legal detention were going to be brought up. It'd be safe to admit that Chile, Argentina and Latin America was a major place to hide out....but if you had something of value...from technology or information....it made sense to negotiate with the US on a entry permit.
So, should any of us really be shocked? I suspect that certain groups will say it's ethically wrong....but you weren't standing there in 1945 and didn't have the prospective that we have today. I would also imagine that we probably would have seen political Nazis differently from German military leaders.
So it's done. Are we going to punish anyone from the 1945 era for this "crime"? No. Anyone for putting someone in jail for this episode? I doubt it. Historians will center their vision on this topic for a year or two....and then put it down for a decade. Frankly, you reach a point where there's a brief flame and then it's gone. You can't rewrite a vast amount of history on this topic.
As for a defense of this whole thing? Maybe these were the good Nazis. We are always bombarded with this German label on Americans of the "bad Americans" and "good Americans".....so maybe that logic existed then. It would be curious to know where they ended up and if they built up mega empires of wealth or technology. If there was a part two to this story....maybe that's what the New York Times ought to work on next.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Europeans and Friendliness
Friendliness is a difficult thing to measure around Europe. For an American, we are always looking for a friendly nod, a handshake, a hug, or some moment when the other guy is just acting in a friendly way. To be truthful...you can find Germans who are actually overly friendly, although it might not be in the manner that you'd expect.
I always considered the Italians and British to be about the most friendly folks that you could bump into when traveling around Europe. Every single Italian is like a local guide and wants to give you the best restaurant for a meal or a glass of wine. For Brits....all you have to do is admit you are lost...and suddenly you've got a cast of crazy characters wanting to give you twelve lines of information on how lost you are, where you got lost, and how you might regain your compass points (they will list eight points in the local area to remember).
Number three on my friendly list are the Danes. They tend always offer a helping hand and you'd almost feel at home in Denmark.
I won't go to a bottom of the list group because it really doesn't help. Sometimes...you'd be shocked at some car problem you have in a isolated Bavarian village, and then discover that the local mechanic does speak English and going way out of his way to help. You could be in Amsterdam and have some local spend ten minutes explaining how things work there. You could actually be standing in the midst of Paris and some friendly character comes up to point in the right direction to recover your bearings.
So I'm not trying to say negative things about anyone in Europe. It's just that you ought to have a lesser set of expectations. Going to Europe isn't like visiting Murfreesboro, Tennessee. If you start at that level....you probably will be happy and satisfied. And remember....they are observing you at the same time.
I always considered the Italians and British to be about the most friendly folks that you could bump into when traveling around Europe. Every single Italian is like a local guide and wants to give you the best restaurant for a meal or a glass of wine. For Brits....all you have to do is admit you are lost...and suddenly you've got a cast of crazy characters wanting to give you twelve lines of information on how lost you are, where you got lost, and how you might regain your compass points (they will list eight points in the local area to remember).
Number three on my friendly list are the Danes. They tend always offer a helping hand and you'd almost feel at home in Denmark.
I won't go to a bottom of the list group because it really doesn't help. Sometimes...you'd be shocked at some car problem you have in a isolated Bavarian village, and then discover that the local mechanic does speak English and going way out of his way to help. You could be in Amsterdam and have some local spend ten minutes explaining how things work there. You could actually be standing in the midst of Paris and some friendly character comes up to point in the right direction to recover your bearings.
So I'm not trying to say negative things about anyone in Europe. It's just that you ought to have a lesser set of expectations. Going to Europe isn't like visiting Murfreesboro, Tennessee. If you start at that level....you probably will be happy and satisfied. And remember....they are observing you at the same time.
Friday, November 12, 2010
A German Roadmap
Around December of 1998, I made this decision to retire from the military in Germany....and stay to work in Germany as a contractor on base. Naturally, the tax test came to apply, and I ended being forced to get a visa and become "Germanized". On day one of my decision....I walked over to the base personnel office and asked for the roadmap for this visa business. They just laughed, and said all they knew was the first step started at the local town-hall. That was it.
So I went to the town-hall and started step one. I asked about all the other steps. They laughed. They only knew step two....at the county court house where I'd actually apply for the visa.
I eventually discovered that no one had a roadmap. All of these little dealings....from the driver's license to getting your vehicle re-tagged....came from each person in the next step in the line.
I was kinda shocked. I thought Germans would have more of a process, but I eventually discovered that most Germans know almost nothing about the process, and have long since forgotten how they acquired their driver's license. After a while, I wrote down notes and had a 21-odd step process sheet. The curious thing was that it only applied to the local area of Kaiserslautern.
Complicated? I suspect that if Germans knew the hassle involved and how silly some of these forms are....they'd probably try to fix the system. Course, maybe I'm wrong....and they'd actually double the forms and the hassle.
What are the three things you should expect in this painful experience? First, have a sense of humor because none of this is really intentional. Second, don't worry....Germans won't offer any hugs or sympathetic feelings over your ordeal. Third, at the end of this mess....is the tax guy and then you realize the real mess that you've climbed into.
So I went to the town-hall and started step one. I asked about all the other steps. They laughed. They only knew step two....at the county court house where I'd actually apply for the visa.
I eventually discovered that no one had a roadmap. All of these little dealings....from the driver's license to getting your vehicle re-tagged....came from each person in the next step in the line.
I was kinda shocked. I thought Germans would have more of a process, but I eventually discovered that most Germans know almost nothing about the process, and have long since forgotten how they acquired their driver's license. After a while, I wrote down notes and had a 21-odd step process sheet. The curious thing was that it only applied to the local area of Kaiserslautern.
Complicated? I suspect that if Germans knew the hassle involved and how silly some of these forms are....they'd probably try to fix the system. Course, maybe I'm wrong....and they'd actually double the forms and the hassle.
What are the three things you should expect in this painful experience? First, have a sense of humor because none of this is really intentional. Second, don't worry....Germans won't offer any hugs or sympathetic feelings over your ordeal. Third, at the end of this mess....is the tax guy and then you realize the real mess that you've climbed into.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Germans and their Cars
ADAC is Germany's premier autobahn road service organization. When ADAC speaks on cars....people stop and listen.
This week, ADAC published a customer satisfaction survey. The curious thing is that the Germans are most happy with..... Subaru cars. Not Volkswagen. Not Porsche. Not Opel. Not Audi.
At the bottom of this satisfaction survey? France's Renault.
I would be the first to admit that Germans have high expectations. If a German owned a Chevy and had to visit the dealer more than once in an entire year...he'd be furious. If some problem continued with a car and required three visits in a 60-day period....they'd never buy from that company again....and they'd tell their neighbors far and wide of the experience.
I worked with an American a few years ago who had a five-year old Renault. About every six months...the car went into the shop for something. He liked the power. He liked the compact nature of the car. And he eventually got to know his neighborhood mechanic by his first name.
What surprised me is that BMW or Mercedes didn't take the top spot. Maybe they were just expecting "more" and actually got a five-star car instead.
So what should you take away from this survey of ADAC? It was made to measure your happiness with gas mileage, dependability, and general driving comfort....and some minor-league Japanese car won. I should add that there aren't that many Subaru dealers in Germany.....and their sales don't match up to any of the top six franchises. So they must be doing something right.
This week, ADAC published a customer satisfaction survey. The curious thing is that the Germans are most happy with..... Subaru cars. Not Volkswagen. Not Porsche. Not Opel. Not Audi.
At the bottom of this satisfaction survey? France's Renault.
I would be the first to admit that Germans have high expectations. If a German owned a Chevy and had to visit the dealer more than once in an entire year...he'd be furious. If some problem continued with a car and required three visits in a 60-day period....they'd never buy from that company again....and they'd tell their neighbors far and wide of the experience.
I worked with an American a few years ago who had a five-year old Renault. About every six months...the car went into the shop for something. He liked the power. He liked the compact nature of the car. And he eventually got to know his neighborhood mechanic by his first name.
What surprised me is that BMW or Mercedes didn't take the top spot. Maybe they were just expecting "more" and actually got a five-star car instead.
So what should you take away from this survey of ADAC? It was made to measure your happiness with gas mileage, dependability, and general driving comfort....and some minor-league Japanese car won. I should add that there aren't that many Subaru dealers in Germany.....and their sales don't match up to any of the top six franchises. So they must be doing something right.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
The Seat Discussion
It's an interesting "slap". Germany and Japan woke up yesterday to her that President Obama was talking about the idea of getting India a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Both were peeved. So they'd both like President Obama to mention that they deserved a seat.
The problem with this permanent seat business...is that folks would rather not get into a big huff about this. You see....Brazil also thinks that it deserves a permanent seat. Indonesia also thinks that it deserves a seat. And South Africa thinks that it deserves a seat.
After a while, you kinda realize that the Security Council has it's limits and you can only spread the wealth around a certain amount. You have the five permanent seats and then the ten seats that keep flipping....so countries like Cuba, Tonga, and Liberia get a shot once in a while.
My guess is that the Germans will bring this up in conversation....just to needle President Obama, and they know they will never get a seat. The President will shift around in his seat and agree to say something and then says forty-four words to the effect that Germany has finally recovered from WW II....which will infuriate every single German....and then suggest they deserve a seat. Japan will observe the comment, and just let everything drop because it's best not to have that WW II comment ever get brought up in public forums.
So for you Germans....sit tight....you've got another fifty-odd years to go. By that point, the US will have the financial power of Tonga....and then you can make a pretty solid case of taking away their Security Council seat.
The problem with this permanent seat business...is that folks would rather not get into a big huff about this. You see....Brazil also thinks that it deserves a permanent seat. Indonesia also thinks that it deserves a seat. And South Africa thinks that it deserves a seat.
After a while, you kinda realize that the Security Council has it's limits and you can only spread the wealth around a certain amount. You have the five permanent seats and then the ten seats that keep flipping....so countries like Cuba, Tonga, and Liberia get a shot once in a while.
My guess is that the Germans will bring this up in conversation....just to needle President Obama, and they know they will never get a seat. The President will shift around in his seat and agree to say something and then says forty-four words to the effect that Germany has finally recovered from WW II....which will infuriate every single German....and then suggest they deserve a seat. Japan will observe the comment, and just let everything drop because it's best not to have that WW II comment ever get brought up in public forums.
So for you Germans....sit tight....you've got another fifty-odd years to go. By that point, the US will have the financial power of Tonga....and then you can make a pretty solid case of taking away their Security Council seat.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Starbucks Versus German Bakeries
This is my own personal evaluation....coming from an American....and covering something that people often debate....morning coffee and 'treats'. I will be honest....if this were a simple debate over just coffee....it would be a very close call with German bakeries likely winning. In most cases, when you walk into a German bakery....they have a premium coffee machine set up and whip up a cup within twenty seconds. With most shops....I'd rate the coffee between four-star and five-star.
Yes, there are exceptions. I can name a dozen German bakeries that I've walked into and found rather poor coffee served.
On the whole.....most shops don't serve lousy coffee, and you tend to pay for the premium cup that you get (don't worry....Starbucks would have charged the exact same amount).
Then comes the discussion over the croissant or the 'treat' that you will buy with the coffee. Bluntly.....after you've had a couple of German 'treats'....you really don't want to slide back over to donuts or rich glazed items. Yes, you give up a vast amount of sugar....and step back to something slightly more healthy in nature. Germans will brag about this but let's be honest....200 percent sugar glaze versus 100 percent sugar glaze.....is a bit of a difference.
So I'm giving traditional German bakeries an edge here. Course, if you wanted thirty-three different types of coffee....then Starbucks is it. If you want ice-coffee....it's Starbucks because German bakeries will never offer ice-coffee (it just hasn't done well with Germans).
Thursday, November 4, 2010
The Elite Game of Spiegel
This is the newest Spiegel title for it's slam on the US. For anyone who has kind of sat around and viewed Spiegel over the past two decades....you might note in almost every edition, there is a article that tries to cast a long shadow over the US, it's business structure, it's political structure, it's education system, it's medical structure, it's agricultural sector, and it's beers (we might not argue with that analysis).
The truth is....if any dedicated Spiegel journalist was given a task to write up the mandatory Spiegel slam on the US and they actually said something positive....I suspect they'd be fired or sent to write Bavarian agricultural articles in the future.
The simple truth is that Spiegel has an enormous task. It must render judgement....ever constant...over the US. This judgement must be in a fashion that only a educated German could deliver. The problem with America? It simply isn't capable of running its government, it's society, or it's culture.
It's kind of like reading a blitz of articles on the Green Bay Packers on a Monday after their big win or their big loss. There will be forty national sports writers who dwell on the quarterback situation, the team's dismal draft choices, or the way that the coach ran the game. Everyone will read the articles and be this secondary individual sitting in a LazyBoy recliner admiring their expert and his precise wording of how things worked terribly and the team should improve....even if they won.
Who reads Spiegel? This is the fascinating thing about the magazine. Walk through a German village and ask the butcher if he reads it....and the answer will be no. Ask the car mechanic....and he'll say no. Ask the plumber....and he'll say no.
Spiegel is typically read by well educated Germans....who naturally attended university and are quite bright. They will always let you know that as well. They will quote from Spiegel...like some religious folks would quote from Bible. Typically, you can ask them questions which Spiegel didn't cover....they freak out that you know something that went beyond Spiegel's gifted writers.
Should you worry about these anti-American slams by Spiegel? No. It's actually worth reading a couple of paragraphs of the article so you kinda wonder on the things missing from the text. It's like looking at a black & white version of the Mona Lisa....with some wonderful grays mingled into the picture....then remembering that a dozen other colors would fill out the entire picture and really make it complete.
Now, certainly....I don't want to insult the Spiegel folks because this is really the only 4-star magazine that gifted and educated Germans read. Otherwise, they might start picking up the Bild or the London Telegraph....and that'd be a bad thing.
So, for you Spiegel folks....keep up the fine work. If you notice....we haven't exactly fallen over ourselves because of your comments. In fact, if you wanted to take them up a notch....why not draft up an anti-American article on NASCAR, NCAA football, Delta airline attendants, septic tanks, or Johnny Cash? I suspect your readers would like some fresh criticism of America because you keep talking over the same general sixteen topics.
And the American dream? Well....it's a funny thing....some Germans pack up every year, and go for the American dream....even living in Texas and driving a eight-cylinder pick-up. Heck, some Germans (like Konny Reimann) get so successful in Texas, that they become a legend back home in Germany...then they start to sell their own salsa version....and start speaking German with a Texas accent. Don't know why they'd do a crazy thing like that....especially in a failed country....like you guys say.
Be Nice!
German politicians got together and decided that they wanted a civil place to operate. So they've invented these rules to be used in the Bundestag....and if you were doing something stupid or insulting someone....you could face up to 3,000 Euro in fines (roughly $4000).
It's a curious thing. They've had some far left-wing folks appear in the Bundestag lately....protesting about the German troops in Afghanistan. They wore t-shirts while on the floor, and even held protest signs about the war involvement.
Interestingly enough....both CDU and SPD members are agreed that the fine was necessary. It hasn't passed yet....but it appears to have enough votes to make it happen. This is supposed to "fix" the Bundestag.
I paused and thought about this. It renders freedom of speech a bit of a blow. You can't wear a t-shirt into the Bundestag with anti-whatever slogans. You'd have to dress right, talk right, and behave right.
The more I thought about it....it'd be nice to have that kind of rule in the US congress and senate. No more insulting and no crazy antics. Course, we Americans would never go this far.
I suspect that someone will challenge this immediately and then spend two years running via the German court system to prove that they have the right to still do stupid things. My guess is that the court might agree with them. Then the next day....all of the nicely behaved Germans would show up in a t-shirt that had some Nazi symbol to demonstrate to the court that rules might be necessary. That's typically the way that folks make a point in Germany.
It's a curious thing. They've had some far left-wing folks appear in the Bundestag lately....protesting about the German troops in Afghanistan. They wore t-shirts while on the floor, and even held protest signs about the war involvement.
Interestingly enough....both CDU and SPD members are agreed that the fine was necessary. It hasn't passed yet....but it appears to have enough votes to make it happen. This is supposed to "fix" the Bundestag.
I paused and thought about this. It renders freedom of speech a bit of a blow. You can't wear a t-shirt into the Bundestag with anti-whatever slogans. You'd have to dress right, talk right, and behave right.
The more I thought about it....it'd be nice to have that kind of rule in the US congress and senate. No more insulting and no crazy antics. Course, we Americans would never go this far.
I suspect that someone will challenge this immediately and then spend two years running via the German court system to prove that they have the right to still do stupid things. My guess is that the court might agree with them. Then the next day....all of the nicely behaved Germans would show up in a t-shirt that had some Nazi symbol to demonstrate to the court that rules might be necessary. That's typically the way that folks make a point in Germany.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
The Blur in Germany
You can imagine a German guy....happy because he opt'ed out, and today viewing the street.....seeing all his neighbors clearly, and his house is totally blurred. What a number of Germans were thinking was that nothing from the house would be in the picture. And now? A massive blur?
It is comical in a way. Germans often have this view of things and how they will work out. In this case....I'm thinking alot of folks will be upset and disappointed over what happened to the idea of privacy. They end up with a blur representation.
You can imagine Huns coming over from across the street. His house is clear and crisp. He wants to ask how come your house is so fuzzy. You answer is that you opt'ed out. Huns will stand there and drag this topic around, over and over. Eventually, you will go back in the house and spend weeks mad and upset over the image of your house. I suspect most home owners will now regret this decision.
Google probably took the appropriate measure. A measured amount of blur, and then folks start to rethink their wisdom in accepting a blur. Most folks just won't be able to handle the blur.
Comical in a way....if you think about this. If you could just find an entire street of Germans who opt'ed out....and you could refer to it as "blur strasse". That might stick with the neighborhood kids.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Two Different Jews
There's an interesting German article over at the London Telegraph today.
It may be a shocker to some....but Germany has quietly been funding a Jewisih rabbi training deal for a number of years. This topic comes up because the Germans did a bit of thinking....and found that there are different kinds of Jews (yes, shocking, isn't it?).
They've discovered that the old fashioned type of Jew....the Orthodox type.....were just too difficult to get along with. And those liberal rabbis, were the right variety that Germans could get along with. Thus, the liberal rabbi training areas are the ones that get funded by the German government now.
For most Germans, no one really cares. They are funding Islamic funding in German universities now, so why say anything critical about this topic?
I looked at the amount....over six million Euro ($7.5 dollars) and it's not a major sum of money anyway (compared to American stimulus values, you have to understand). This money goes to support the 120,000 Jews left in Germany today.
This is a topic that I never thought much about. You would think that most Jews would be anti-German anyway, but apparently this rebuilding effort within Germany is underway. As for the different labels to attach to Jews? The article suggests that the liberal Jewish crowd don't run around bringing up past history. So I could understand why Germans of 2010 kinda like that mentality....and hate the continual mention from the Orthodox Jews about the 1930s.
Let's be honest, it's Germany's money....and if they wanted to fund clown schools in Saarbrucken....they'd do it. They can pick the liberal guys over the Orthodox guys, and never feel bad about it. The only folks who ever feel bad about funding anything? The taxpayer. And they aren't allowed to speak in any case.
It may be a shocker to some....but Germany has quietly been funding a Jewisih rabbi training deal for a number of years. This topic comes up because the Germans did a bit of thinking....and found that there are different kinds of Jews (yes, shocking, isn't it?).
They've discovered that the old fashioned type of Jew....the Orthodox type.....were just too difficult to get along with. And those liberal rabbis, were the right variety that Germans could get along with. Thus, the liberal rabbi training areas are the ones that get funded by the German government now.
For most Germans, no one really cares. They are funding Islamic funding in German universities now, so why say anything critical about this topic?
I looked at the amount....over six million Euro ($7.5 dollars) and it's not a major sum of money anyway (compared to American stimulus values, you have to understand). This money goes to support the 120,000 Jews left in Germany today.
This is a topic that I never thought much about. You would think that most Jews would be anti-German anyway, but apparently this rebuilding effort within Germany is underway. As for the different labels to attach to Jews? The article suggests that the liberal Jewish crowd don't run around bringing up past history. So I could understand why Germans of 2010 kinda like that mentality....and hate the continual mention from the Orthodox Jews about the 1930s.
Let's be honest, it's Germany's money....and if they wanted to fund clown schools in Saarbrucken....they'd do it. They can pick the liberal guys over the Orthodox guys, and never feel bad about it. The only folks who ever feel bad about funding anything? The taxpayer. And they aren't allowed to speak in any case.
Monday, November 1, 2010
The Brake-pad Grant
I noticed an interesting story today.....involving the Bahn (Germany's train company).
The German government is going to provide a grant of 7.5 million Euro (roughly ten million dollars) to put low-noise brakes on freight cars. For a number of years...passenger cars had the feature already, but the Bahn had been kinda cheap and just kept waiting.
It's true, they were likely waiting for a government grant or hand-out....but they waited long enough that people had complained in small towns and villages over the freight cars that came through and made too much noise.
The truth is that if you lived within 500 feet and some freight train came through and hit their brakes....you could hear it easily. People could tell the difference between passenger and freight trains. I'm guessing by the end of 2011....you won't be able to tell the difference, and a number of folks will toss out a negative opinion of the Bahn.
But don't worry....they've still got at least a dozen complaints to lodge with Bahn trains or operations.
The German government is going to provide a grant of 7.5 million Euro (roughly ten million dollars) to put low-noise brakes on freight cars. For a number of years...passenger cars had the feature already, but the Bahn had been kinda cheap and just kept waiting.
It's true, they were likely waiting for a government grant or hand-out....but they waited long enough that people had complained in small towns and villages over the freight cars that came through and made too much noise.
The truth is that if you lived within 500 feet and some freight train came through and hit their brakes....you could hear it easily. People could tell the difference between passenger and freight trains. I'm guessing by the end of 2011....you won't be able to tell the difference, and a number of folks will toss out a negative opinion of the Bahn.
But don't worry....they've still got at least a dozen complaints to lodge with Bahn trains or operations.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Marriage Stumble
I was kinda surprised today....Germany admitted that it was forging ahead and criminalizing forced marriage. In Alabama (where I grew up)....forced marriage kind of meant that some local boy was real stupid....got some girl pregnant, and her dad shows up with a baseball bat to indicate you would marry her (to make the situation right). Everyone went along with this....even though everyone knew they'd be divorced within five years. Yeah, we can admit it was stupid.
In this case, there is a fairly different scenario to view. Forced marriages in Germany fit strictly into Muslim family situations. You have some 16-year old girl who starts to look like a "problem". The problem typically means that she's very liberal....anti-family....not cooperating with traditions of a typical Muslim family....and she needs intervention.
This intervention means that some cousins go out and find an older true-to-Islam guy and he's brought in to meet Dad to work out the arrangement. Days later, Dad has a meeting with the daughter and lets her know that he's pick her husband, and it might be six months away or six days away.
The daughter typically freaks out. She never expected Dad to be this crazy. She talks to Mom....which does nothing for her case. She talks to her cousin, who insists this is for her own good. And then she has the last option of just trying to escape from the family.
Over the past ten years....there's dozens of episodes where young girls were forced to marry, or ran off to be found by the family later and beaten (in some cases, murdered by the family).
The government says that if convicted of a forced marriage (both Mother and Father) could end up with five years. I'm guessing if kids are still left in the house....the DA would likely go for a full five year period for Dad, and maybe let Mom off with almost nothing.
This is an interesting mess. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s....there weren't many of these forced marriage episodes. In some ways, this mess comes up now because of increased Islamic peer pressure and more Mosques in existence than thirty years ago. If some local guy thinks Musaff has gotten disrespect from his daughter....he'll make it a group topic and force Musaff into some reactionary phase that normally he would have never done.
In some ways....it's an integration problem. People have their old perceptions in abundance, and need some fresh peer pressure that isn't of a Muslim variety.
I sat and pondered over this. It's kinda funny when compared against Germans. Here we have a vast number of German women.....some into their forties and fifties....still single, and Dad (Huns is now seventy years old) wished he had "forced" Dora to marry that punk idiot Dieter down the street back in 1988.
To be kinda honest, there's this vast problem of Germans 'waiting' for long and extended periods....before ever marrying. You could have some healthy, highly educated, fit, lusty German gal standing there at age thirty-three, and really wishing something would happen. Maybe some Prince Charming character from a foreign land (maybe Boaz, Alabama) or Italy walks up and she decides she'll overlook twenty of his serious faults and just accept the fool.
So, this is an interesting slice of German life to compare against a non-integrated German life. One needs some help, and the other has to be threaten with five years in prison if they do anything stupid involving marriage.
In this case, there is a fairly different scenario to view. Forced marriages in Germany fit strictly into Muslim family situations. You have some 16-year old girl who starts to look like a "problem". The problem typically means that she's very liberal....anti-family....not cooperating with traditions of a typical Muslim family....and she needs intervention.
This intervention means that some cousins go out and find an older true-to-Islam guy and he's brought in to meet Dad to work out the arrangement. Days later, Dad has a meeting with the daughter and lets her know that he's pick her husband, and it might be six months away or six days away.
The daughter typically freaks out. She never expected Dad to be this crazy. She talks to Mom....which does nothing for her case. She talks to her cousin, who insists this is for her own good. And then she has the last option of just trying to escape from the family.
Over the past ten years....there's dozens of episodes where young girls were forced to marry, or ran off to be found by the family later and beaten (in some cases, murdered by the family).
The government says that if convicted of a forced marriage (both Mother and Father) could end up with five years. I'm guessing if kids are still left in the house....the DA would likely go for a full five year period for Dad, and maybe let Mom off with almost nothing.
This is an interesting mess. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s....there weren't many of these forced marriage episodes. In some ways, this mess comes up now because of increased Islamic peer pressure and more Mosques in existence than thirty years ago. If some local guy thinks Musaff has gotten disrespect from his daughter....he'll make it a group topic and force Musaff into some reactionary phase that normally he would have never done.
In some ways....it's an integration problem. People have their old perceptions in abundance, and need some fresh peer pressure that isn't of a Muslim variety.
I sat and pondered over this. It's kinda funny when compared against Germans. Here we have a vast number of German women.....some into their forties and fifties....still single, and Dad (Huns is now seventy years old) wished he had "forced" Dora to marry that punk idiot Dieter down the street back in 1988.
To be kinda honest, there's this vast problem of Germans 'waiting' for long and extended periods....before ever marrying. You could have some healthy, highly educated, fit, lusty German gal standing there at age thirty-three, and really wishing something would happen. Maybe some Prince Charming character from a foreign land (maybe Boaz, Alabama) or Italy walks up and she decides she'll overlook twenty of his serious faults and just accept the fool.
So, this is an interesting slice of German life to compare against a non-integrated German life. One needs some help, and the other has to be threaten with five years in prison if they do anything stupid involving marriage.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Legends Fall Hard
There's one way to draw the ire of a German sports enthusiast....talk down on the 1954 World Cup victory by Germany.This is the Holy Grail for most Germans. This 3-2 victory was a mass turning point that really spun Germany into an positive attitude for the next ten years.
Any negative talk over the team or their accomplishment....usually turns you into an immediate target.
Today...we finally had a researcher who came along and suggested that the players in the 1954 World Cup...were injected with a stimulant (invented from WW II). It's original purpose was for pilots, but made it's way down to tank crews by the end of the war. The drug name? Pervitin. But you'd know it by methamphetamine.
It's a drug that typically you'd use for increasing your attention and give you a higher rate of aggression. In rationed doses, and under a controlled atmosphere, it might be ok.
Doping in 1954? I'm guessing this story will not make the German public happy. It is a theory right now...mostly because there are no urine samples around that you could test. Proving this to be a fact will be next to impossible.
A historical need to stage this investigation and publish? This is the hard part to survey. I'm guessing that ninety-nine percent of the German population would prefer this kind of thing never gets investigated. Folks will sit around the pubs this weekend....discussing this....and feel kinda upset. Their legend has been messed with, and they can't readily fight the story.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Integration Spin
I stopped and pondered this news item from Germany today. The German integration commissioner....yes, they do have one....Maria Böhmer....stood up and said that the German government ought to have a Integration Ministry.
This is an odd situation to view. Typically....when people arrive on your shores, they have this dream of getting into your system....being part of your success....getting a boost up via your economic system.....and melding into your society.
You go to America in the 1800s, and people wanted to be part of the "dream". You go and look at immigrants in Canada over the past hundred years, and it's the same. You go and look at Australia over the past hundred years....and it's the same. Yet, we have Germany with this odd problem where people came for something but no one is sure about why they came...and integration wasn't in their top three priorities. You'd like to ask what is in the top three....but you'd just intimidate them and make them feel uncomfortable.
So, the answer here? You spend tens of millions of Euro, to create an entire ministry? You start with 500 staff members who walk around and talk integration daily? You buy twenty Audi A8 staff cars to get these integration chiefs from meeting to meeting? You pay some graphic arts company 40k Euro to create a integration symbol so you can walk proudly onto any TV show? And then you spread out to have integration offices in every state, then every county, and then every city?
Sitting at some Gasthaus tonight in the heartland of Germany are Huns and Franz. The boys sit there and chat over the events of the day. They've had two beers and are nursing through the positive economic trend, the latest antics of national soccer teams, and then they come to this topic of integration.
Huns scratches his head and wonders how exactly a national office will change things. Franz will respond that the Hartz IV office does help welfare recipients. Huns will counter that a jobs office would be enough to help most of the welfare recipients. They will argue back and forth for an hour.
Finally, Musaff the local Turk walks in and orders a beer. Huns and Franz asks Musaff what he thinks of this integration office idea. Musaff thinks for a minute and offers a simple analysis: the worst punishment for any German is to spend ninety minutes on a Sunday evening political chat show listening to some German ministry guy sparkle and shine over some fancy policy change. Musaff smiles, and then says....if you don't integrate, then you'd don't learn the language, and then you won't understand a word from the idiot from the integration ministry. You can sleep well at night by claiming non-integration and the only one all bent out of shape from Sunday night political chat antics, will be the German idiots listening.....who don't worry about integration anyway.
Huns and Franz finally realize the brilliance of this. The next day, they both enroll in a Turkish language class and work hard to non-integrate themselves. After five years, their blood pressure is lower, their lives are simpler, and they both are happy as non-integrated Germans....in the German heartland.
This is an odd situation to view. Typically....when people arrive on your shores, they have this dream of getting into your system....being part of your success....getting a boost up via your economic system.....and melding into your society.
You go to America in the 1800s, and people wanted to be part of the "dream". You go and look at immigrants in Canada over the past hundred years, and it's the same. You go and look at Australia over the past hundred years....and it's the same. Yet, we have Germany with this odd problem where people came for something but no one is sure about why they came...and integration wasn't in their top three priorities. You'd like to ask what is in the top three....but you'd just intimidate them and make them feel uncomfortable.
So, the answer here? You spend tens of millions of Euro, to create an entire ministry? You start with 500 staff members who walk around and talk integration daily? You buy twenty Audi A8 staff cars to get these integration chiefs from meeting to meeting? You pay some graphic arts company 40k Euro to create a integration symbol so you can walk proudly onto any TV show? And then you spread out to have integration offices in every state, then every county, and then every city?
Sitting at some Gasthaus tonight in the heartland of Germany are Huns and Franz. The boys sit there and chat over the events of the day. They've had two beers and are nursing through the positive economic trend, the latest antics of national soccer teams, and then they come to this topic of integration.
Huns scratches his head and wonders how exactly a national office will change things. Franz will respond that the Hartz IV office does help welfare recipients. Huns will counter that a jobs office would be enough to help most of the welfare recipients. They will argue back and forth for an hour.
Finally, Musaff the local Turk walks in and orders a beer. Huns and Franz asks Musaff what he thinks of this integration office idea. Musaff thinks for a minute and offers a simple analysis: the worst punishment for any German is to spend ninety minutes on a Sunday evening political chat show listening to some German ministry guy sparkle and shine over some fancy policy change. Musaff smiles, and then says....if you don't integrate, then you'd don't learn the language, and then you won't understand a word from the idiot from the integration ministry. You can sleep well at night by claiming non-integration and the only one all bent out of shape from Sunday night political chat antics, will be the German idiots listening.....who don't worry about integration anyway.
Huns and Franz finally realize the brilliance of this. The next day, they both enroll in a Turkish language class and work hard to non-integrate themselves. After five years, their blood pressure is lower, their lives are simpler, and they both are happy as non-integrated Germans....in the German heartland.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
The Good Immigrant
Immigration is one of those topics in Germany....that usually draws a blank stare and a desire to argue from your typical German. Most Germans know there's this problem. The German population is decreasing. German companies need more employees. It's a problem which never goes away.
So you reach a point where you'd like to ask Germans who can be the immigrant. The answer usually starts with a very long pause.
Turks are capable people and have been in the country on work visas and permanent immigration since the 1960s. Up until the last decade when this jihad business and Muslim discussion came up.....there wasn't a big argument against Turks. Today, so many communities are seeing a Mosque being built, and their Turkish neighbors suddenly become very dedicated to Islam....that it bothers them.
Greeks? Well...they usually rank better than Turks but then you have work differences (note, I didn't say they were lazy....it's just that Germans tend to use words that might translate into lazy).
Russians? Well....you come to the White Russian topic where these former Germans (from the hundreds of years ago) desire to come back to Germany. In the beginning....this was acceptable but then Russian Mafia issues popped up. Then you had the jokes about every Russian carrying a knife (which might be true, but it's best not to ask them).
Poles? Germans have this 1,000 year opinion about Poles. It's like a guy from southern parts of America talking about his cousin, who just isn't as smart as he is or married into the right way as he is. Poles tend work in the black alot (meaning they work for cash and on weekends....to avoid taxes).
Danes? They get favorable mentions but frankly, Danes don't move to Germany, period. In fact, Danes don't move anywhere unless it's mandatory or for a hot spouse.
The British? No. Don't even bring up the topic.
The French? Both the Germans and the French insult each other on a daily basis. So you won't see any French immigrating.
The Chinese? There is this uneasy growth of German-Chinese relations. It's like two very sophisticated societies meeting and discussing their future....and realizing that neither really fits well in the other's environment. I would imagine that China would love to send 40,000 smart and gifted Chinese professionals to Germany every year. Course, 39,999 would be trained in spying on industry projects, and one Chinese guy would end up on TV as a smiling evening commentator for Channel One.
Italians? Italians hate rigid society situations.....which Germans absolutely demand. This is a marriage made in hell.
Then, I came to this one unique group....Americans. It would be an unusual comedy of sorts....Germany offering immigration options for 50,000 Americans a year? Would Americans even come to Germany? Would Germans accept the idea of possible conservative Americans arriving and changing their society into a less liberal country?
I pondered upon this radical idea. First, you'd have to attract the Americans....with steady jobs.....dependable pensions.....a good economy.....public infrastructure....and a lifestyle change beyond anything they'd ever dreamed of.
A jet arriving every two days with two hundred Americans? A four-week orientation course in local areas...indoctrinating the poor Americans into German habits. Teaching the Americans to recycle and act German in public?
It's a radical idea. I suspect that Germans might actually prefer these pitiful Americans over just about all other ethic groups. Germans perceive Americans often being naive. They haven't had the right education. They haven't had the right explanations to things in life. Americans were never given chances to acquire culture....like Germans. So now....in this unique German situation....maybe the poor Americans could finally assimilate (yes, kinda like the Borg). It would take patience and lots of effort on the poor American, but yes, he could become German.
I suspect....somewhere in the basement offices of the German government in Berlin....there is this plan underway. Attract 40,000 Americans into arriving on the shores of Germany, and become the better immigration partner.
Americans will laugh over this ad. They will comment on the radical move to their friends and relatives....but somewhere in Iowa and New Jersey....there will be these people who have an interest in doing something radical. And they move to Germany. Radical, I agree.....but it's the German thought process.
So you reach a point where you'd like to ask Germans who can be the immigrant. The answer usually starts with a very long pause.
Turks are capable people and have been in the country on work visas and permanent immigration since the 1960s. Up until the last decade when this jihad business and Muslim discussion came up.....there wasn't a big argument against Turks. Today, so many communities are seeing a Mosque being built, and their Turkish neighbors suddenly become very dedicated to Islam....that it bothers them.
Greeks? Well...they usually rank better than Turks but then you have work differences (note, I didn't say they were lazy....it's just that Germans tend to use words that might translate into lazy).
Russians? Well....you come to the White Russian topic where these former Germans (from the hundreds of years ago) desire to come back to Germany. In the beginning....this was acceptable but then Russian Mafia issues popped up. Then you had the jokes about every Russian carrying a knife (which might be true, but it's best not to ask them).
Poles? Germans have this 1,000 year opinion about Poles. It's like a guy from southern parts of America talking about his cousin, who just isn't as smart as he is or married into the right way as he is. Poles tend work in the black alot (meaning they work for cash and on weekends....to avoid taxes).
Danes? They get favorable mentions but frankly, Danes don't move to Germany, period. In fact, Danes don't move anywhere unless it's mandatory or for a hot spouse.
The British? No. Don't even bring up the topic.
The French? Both the Germans and the French insult each other on a daily basis. So you won't see any French immigrating.
The Chinese? There is this uneasy growth of German-Chinese relations. It's like two very sophisticated societies meeting and discussing their future....and realizing that neither really fits well in the other's environment. I would imagine that China would love to send 40,000 smart and gifted Chinese professionals to Germany every year. Course, 39,999 would be trained in spying on industry projects, and one Chinese guy would end up on TV as a smiling evening commentator for Channel One.
Italians? Italians hate rigid society situations.....which Germans absolutely demand. This is a marriage made in hell.
Then, I came to this one unique group....Americans. It would be an unusual comedy of sorts....Germany offering immigration options for 50,000 Americans a year? Would Americans even come to Germany? Would Germans accept the idea of possible conservative Americans arriving and changing their society into a less liberal country?
I pondered upon this radical idea. First, you'd have to attract the Americans....with steady jobs.....dependable pensions.....a good economy.....public infrastructure....and a lifestyle change beyond anything they'd ever dreamed of.
A jet arriving every two days with two hundred Americans? A four-week orientation course in local areas...indoctrinating the poor Americans into German habits. Teaching the Americans to recycle and act German in public?
It's a radical idea. I suspect that Germans might actually prefer these pitiful Americans over just about all other ethic groups. Germans perceive Americans often being naive. They haven't had the right education. They haven't had the right explanations to things in life. Americans were never given chances to acquire culture....like Germans. So now....in this unique German situation....maybe the poor Americans could finally assimilate (yes, kinda like the Borg). It would take patience and lots of effort on the poor American, but yes, he could become German.
I suspect....somewhere in the basement offices of the German government in Berlin....there is this plan underway. Attract 40,000 Americans into arriving on the shores of Germany, and become the better immigration partner.
Americans will laugh over this ad. They will comment on the radical move to their friends and relatives....but somewhere in Iowa and New Jersey....there will be these people who have an interest in doing something radical. And they move to Germany. Radical, I agree.....but it's the German thought process.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
My Ten Germany Travel Tips
I'm always willing to offer some advice on Germany. You have to remember....this is an American (from the South) who speaks and offers these tips. I might be thinking in a radical way than a regular tourist expert would suggest.
First, there are 2,500 things of significance to see in Germany...if I'm really honest about this. It's best to simply pick a region you'd really like to see, and narrow your list down to two hundred things in that region....and just be happy with that logic.
Second, yes, the vast number of Germans you bump into....under the age of forty....will speak some limited English. Don't count on bus drivers, bakery clerks, farmers, or grocery clerks being in that list. However, taxi-drivers, 14-year old kids, and pharmacy folks....probably have a higher chance of speaking (only my humble observations).
Third, read over a travel book in terms of food menu items and have five things that you might be interested in eating. Remember that pork is key to any meal (normally). Remember that salt is always used in abundance. If you have issues with hot food, don't order Gypsy-Schnitzel. Lunches tend to be a minor meal, so lean on the dinner for your maximum enjoyment of food for the day.
Fourth, if in a major town like Hamburg or Munich....use public transportation. Do not rent a car and expect to drive around these areas. It's one thing to drive from one city to another....but within the city regions....you are better off in getting a all-day ticket for $8 and enjoying yourself.
Fifth, the best seasons? Well....April through June is a low period of tourism with decent weather. September through the end of October is great but expect rains and cooler weather. Summer months are great but they can also be miserably hot (don't readily expect air conditioning everywhere). Always have a sweater around in your bag.
Sixth, yes, soda cans and bottles are on a deposit deal. So you need to return them to any shop.....to get your deposit back. It's stupid but all Germans play this game.
Seventh, you can travel reasonable and stay at pensions or gasthauses. This works out great in Bavaria and in smaller towns. It's possible to stay in a decent place for $20 and even get a breakfast out of the deal. The other side to this is that things will be rustic and very regular (like staying at Grandma's house for a evening).
Eighth, if you rent a car....figure out a way to get a GPS for the period there. You really need it. If you go by train....just a simple pocket map will be sufficient. Utilize the GPS for traffic jams, if necessary.
Ninth, don't stand there and expect 'friendly' Germans everywhere. Germans are a bit different. If you need help or directions....ask for it. Otherwise, a German won't go out of their way unless you indicate you have issues. Typically....they won't deny you help.
Tenth, alcohol is a bit different in Germany. If you order a beer, by the liter (which occurs in Bavaria)....then you could start to feel a bit drunk on the first one. And you'd be fairly wasted by the third. The various schnapps can taste like a glass of apple juice, but then pack a punch. Honey schnapps won't even taste like alcohol. So don't stand there and get drunk....then pass out under a tree (like those other tourists).
Above all....don't expect a trip to Germany to be cheap. Things just don't work that way. But you can travel on a decent budget if you are careful.
First, there are 2,500 things of significance to see in Germany...if I'm really honest about this. It's best to simply pick a region you'd really like to see, and narrow your list down to two hundred things in that region....and just be happy with that logic.
Second, yes, the vast number of Germans you bump into....under the age of forty....will speak some limited English. Don't count on bus drivers, bakery clerks, farmers, or grocery clerks being in that list. However, taxi-drivers, 14-year old kids, and pharmacy folks....probably have a higher chance of speaking (only my humble observations).
Third, read over a travel book in terms of food menu items and have five things that you might be interested in eating. Remember that pork is key to any meal (normally). Remember that salt is always used in abundance. If you have issues with hot food, don't order Gypsy-Schnitzel. Lunches tend to be a minor meal, so lean on the dinner for your maximum enjoyment of food for the day.
Fourth, if in a major town like Hamburg or Munich....use public transportation. Do not rent a car and expect to drive around these areas. It's one thing to drive from one city to another....but within the city regions....you are better off in getting a all-day ticket for $8 and enjoying yourself.
Fifth, the best seasons? Well....April through June is a low period of tourism with decent weather. September through the end of October is great but expect rains and cooler weather. Summer months are great but they can also be miserably hot (don't readily expect air conditioning everywhere). Always have a sweater around in your bag.
Sixth, yes, soda cans and bottles are on a deposit deal. So you need to return them to any shop.....to get your deposit back. It's stupid but all Germans play this game.
Seventh, you can travel reasonable and stay at pensions or gasthauses. This works out great in Bavaria and in smaller towns. It's possible to stay in a decent place for $20 and even get a breakfast out of the deal. The other side to this is that things will be rustic and very regular (like staying at Grandma's house for a evening).
Eighth, if you rent a car....figure out a way to get a GPS for the period there. You really need it. If you go by train....just a simple pocket map will be sufficient. Utilize the GPS for traffic jams, if necessary.
Ninth, don't stand there and expect 'friendly' Germans everywhere. Germans are a bit different. If you need help or directions....ask for it. Otherwise, a German won't go out of their way unless you indicate you have issues. Typically....they won't deny you help.
Tenth, alcohol is a bit different in Germany. If you order a beer, by the liter (which occurs in Bavaria)....then you could start to feel a bit drunk on the first one. And you'd be fairly wasted by the third. The various schnapps can taste like a glass of apple juice, but then pack a punch. Honey schnapps won't even taste like alcohol. So don't stand there and get drunk....then pass out under a tree (like those other tourists).
Above all....don't expect a trip to Germany to be cheap. Things just don't work that way. But you can travel on a decent budget if you are careful.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Heatballs
The EU (the actual device itself, which runs Europe) came out with this big rule....banning the sale of light bulbs. Their intention was to switch everyone over to energy efficiency....by force. If you made a bulb with 60 watts of power....you were banned in Europe. It was a simple deal.
It was a shocker to some folks when this news came out. Frankly, a couple of Germans actually took it with a bit of hostility and anger. They thought the open market ought to determine things, and not the EU.
So this German guy....Siegfried Rotthaeuser sat around of thought of a nifty way of getting around the EU law. Basically, they are still importing and distributing 75 and 100 watt bulbs in Germany (from China).
Siegfried and his brother-in-law....paused over these larger bulbs, and then realized that they weren't really light bulbs....they were "small heating devices."
Siegfried then created a new product called "heatballs."
You can see where this is going. A German will not be forced down. Once their mind clicks into turbo....they are out to maneuver around any stupid limits that you put in their way. You can imagine the brilliance here.....heatballs. Who would have dreamed something like this up? And even if the idiots of the EU took him into court....he's prepared to show that 95 percent of a normal bulb....is heat. There can't be a argument in any court in Germany. I suspect that dozens of judges are sitting there and hoping their local court will be the place where they can rip up the EU folks.
The cost of heatballs? They are discounting for around 1.70 Euro (roughly $2.40) each. The boys were active in the first four days....selling all of the ordered batch of 4k. You can figure they raked in $4k for their effort....and I suspect they've got the Chinese plant producing 100k more. It'd be helpful if they had this all registered so they'd own "heatballs" completely. I suspect a couple of companies are hoping to create "nuke-balls", "hot-balls", and even "turbo-balls".....just to carry the joke on.
I have to respect that brilliance that can come out of German engineers....even if they aren't really inventing anything new but a name.
It was a shocker to some folks when this news came out. Frankly, a couple of Germans actually took it with a bit of hostility and anger. They thought the open market ought to determine things, and not the EU.
So this German guy....Siegfried Rotthaeuser sat around of thought of a nifty way of getting around the EU law. Basically, they are still importing and distributing 75 and 100 watt bulbs in Germany (from China).
Siegfried and his brother-in-law....paused over these larger bulbs, and then realized that they weren't really light bulbs....they were "small heating devices."
Siegfried then created a new product called "heatballs."
You can see where this is going. A German will not be forced down. Once their mind clicks into turbo....they are out to maneuver around any stupid limits that you put in their way. You can imagine the brilliance here.....heatballs. Who would have dreamed something like this up? And even if the idiots of the EU took him into court....he's prepared to show that 95 percent of a normal bulb....is heat. There can't be a argument in any court in Germany. I suspect that dozens of judges are sitting there and hoping their local court will be the place where they can rip up the EU folks.
The cost of heatballs? They are discounting for around 1.70 Euro (roughly $2.40) each. The boys were active in the first four days....selling all of the ordered batch of 4k. You can figure they raked in $4k for their effort....and I suspect they've got the Chinese plant producing 100k more. It'd be helpful if they had this all registered so they'd own "heatballs" completely. I suspect a couple of companies are hoping to create "nuke-balls", "hot-balls", and even "turbo-balls".....just to carry the joke on.
I have to respect that brilliance that can come out of German engineers....even if they aren't really inventing anything new but a name.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Ten Things About German Recycling
If you were an American moving into Germany....one of the biggest things you need to adjust to....is recycling. So I'm offering ten bits of advice on the topic.
First, don't ever take recycling as a joke. Germans will quickly spend ten minutes trying to restore your insanity if you make a comical joke about it, or you really screw up badly recycling. Once they start on this tirade, just stand there and don't smile or grin. Take your punishment and just hope that it ends in three minutes rather than ten minutes.
Second, batteries are special. Don't ever throw them in the regular garbage. At your local grocery....as you walk in....there will be a box to toss them in. Just save them up and toss them each week.
Third, yes, there are garbage police. It was a joke five years ago, but even now in most smaller towns and communities...there's some guy who comes around once or twice a year to open your can on disposal day. If you have issues....he'll note your bar-code and fine you. The can won't be picked up until you pay that fee and fix your issue typically. So my hint....if you want to violate the rules....do it and then dump a bunch of stuff on top of your issue (just my humble secret advice).
Fourth, that bottle container is only for certain hours of the day. If you leave home at 5AM and want to dump three wine bottles at the can in the middle of your town...forget it. Don't dump your bottles on Sundays because that's typically forbidden. So read the sign and ensure you don't have your car-tag noted by the locals and reported.
Fifth, if you screw up and don't push the paper container out on the right day....and miss your disposal chance....you are screwed big-time. It'll be two weeks before the next episode and you might have to keep a garbage bag in the basement with overflowing paper until the big can gets emptied. So track your days carefully.
Sixth, garbage is picked up by a contracted company and your fee typically goes to the county office itself. If you rent, your landlord covers everything. If you own....then you have to arrange things yourself. The guys at the county office will ask you how many members are in the family at the beginning, and this relates to how big a can you get. Typically....add one kid onto this because Americans donate more garbage than the average German (don't ask why).
Seventh, bio cans are a unique topic. If you have a leaf/bio pile in the your backyard....then you avoid this little fee and can. My guess is that thirty percent of German homeowners operate without the bio can. The bio can is probably the stinkiest mess that you will ever deal with because everything organic goes into it. A word of warning....citrus fruit typically is not allowed into the can. Again, one of those German things.
Eighth, leaves. You can dump leaves into your bio can or you can gather them up for a bag which you can dump yourself at the town's bio yard (usually free). German neighbors typically sneak over and dump their leaves into your bio can....only because they've overfilled their own can. So be watchful.
Ninth, the worst time of the garbage year? Typically Christmas week. Your can is filled by the half-way point and you've got a bag in the hallway to collect the overflow. The garbage guys are running some type of special schedule for that two-week period, but no one is ever sure about that schedule.
Tenth, your Christmas tree is a unique episode for disposal. Take the tree down by the 2nd or 3rd of January. Move the tree to your front yard and wait for some signal of everyone moving their trees out as darkness falls for a early morning pick-up. It's advertised in some local paper, but rarely seen because it's just a one-liner on some paragraph. If you miss that pick-up.....it's best to just take a saw and cut the thing up to toss in the bio can.
Germans took to recycling as though it was a personal matter. There's no jokes about this business as far as the culture goes. Just accept that and your visit to Germany will be fine.
First, don't ever take recycling as a joke. Germans will quickly spend ten minutes trying to restore your insanity if you make a comical joke about it, or you really screw up badly recycling. Once they start on this tirade, just stand there and don't smile or grin. Take your punishment and just hope that it ends in three minutes rather than ten minutes.
Second, batteries are special. Don't ever throw them in the regular garbage. At your local grocery....as you walk in....there will be a box to toss them in. Just save them up and toss them each week.
Third, yes, there are garbage police. It was a joke five years ago, but even now in most smaller towns and communities...there's some guy who comes around once or twice a year to open your can on disposal day. If you have issues....he'll note your bar-code and fine you. The can won't be picked up until you pay that fee and fix your issue typically. So my hint....if you want to violate the rules....do it and then dump a bunch of stuff on top of your issue (just my humble secret advice).
Fourth, that bottle container is only for certain hours of the day. If you leave home at 5AM and want to dump three wine bottles at the can in the middle of your town...forget it. Don't dump your bottles on Sundays because that's typically forbidden. So read the sign and ensure you don't have your car-tag noted by the locals and reported.
Fifth, if you screw up and don't push the paper container out on the right day....and miss your disposal chance....you are screwed big-time. It'll be two weeks before the next episode and you might have to keep a garbage bag in the basement with overflowing paper until the big can gets emptied. So track your days carefully.
Sixth, garbage is picked up by a contracted company and your fee typically goes to the county office itself. If you rent, your landlord covers everything. If you own....then you have to arrange things yourself. The guys at the county office will ask you how many members are in the family at the beginning, and this relates to how big a can you get. Typically....add one kid onto this because Americans donate more garbage than the average German (don't ask why).
Seventh, bio cans are a unique topic. If you have a leaf/bio pile in the your backyard....then you avoid this little fee and can. My guess is that thirty percent of German homeowners operate without the bio can. The bio can is probably the stinkiest mess that you will ever deal with because everything organic goes into it. A word of warning....citrus fruit typically is not allowed into the can. Again, one of those German things.
Eighth, leaves. You can dump leaves into your bio can or you can gather them up for a bag which you can dump yourself at the town's bio yard (usually free). German neighbors typically sneak over and dump their leaves into your bio can....only because they've overfilled their own can. So be watchful.
Ninth, the worst time of the garbage year? Typically Christmas week. Your can is filled by the half-way point and you've got a bag in the hallway to collect the overflow. The garbage guys are running some type of special schedule for that two-week period, but no one is ever sure about that schedule.
Tenth, your Christmas tree is a unique episode for disposal. Take the tree down by the 2nd or 3rd of January. Move the tree to your front yard and wait for some signal of everyone moving their trees out as darkness falls for a early morning pick-up. It's advertised in some local paper, but rarely seen because it's just a one-liner on some paragraph. If you miss that pick-up.....it's best to just take a saw and cut the thing up to toss in the bio can.
Germans took to recycling as though it was a personal matter. There's no jokes about this business as far as the culture goes. Just accept that and your visit to Germany will be fine.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Gulash Soup
There are two methods of having Gulash. The first is the full-up meal, which is a hearty dish. My favorite is always the Gulash Soup. There's a hundred ways of making the soup. The secret, in my humble opinion, is always to add a bit of spice and pepper...to make it a bit sharp in nature. Typically, it's a lunch dish and it's inexpensive. You get one piece of bread with the soup.
If you have issues with hot or spicy foods...this might be the dish to avoid. You can always ask the cook to lessen the impact of the peppers, and hope just a pinch will be enough.
As for the "not enough" crowd? Well....between your soup, your bread, and your drink (typically a beer)....this will likely fill you up enough and give you the calories to make it through the afternoon. Will every restaurant serve it? No. There's usually three soups on a German menu, and it's simply luck if you find the Gulash Soup.
1 May 2011
This is a day that will be historic in nature for Germans, and Austrians. This enormous gate will open up and Poles will have the chance to cross the border...legally, and seek employment. Up until that date....Poles had to have paperwork and they tended to "sneak" in and work quietly. They might work for weeks...maybe even months...until the Zollamt arrived to ask for papers.
So there's curious situation which will occur next summer as roofers, plumbers and electricians start to come over legally. There's going to be this competitive state of affairs...and some Germans are going to face competition that they haven't seen in years.
But there's another side to this whole game. Germany readily admits they've got a shortage of engineers and technicians. There's also this shortage of nurses.
The Polish government, based on media reports, isn't worried about this upcoming shift in employment or a possible brain-drain.
I might lean toward the Polish attitude. If you were heading up a Polish school with a bunch of fourteen year-old kids who show promise, then I'd hint everyday of engineering type jobs in Germany. The Polish kid would strive to stay ahead and in eight years...know that he's got a decent job with real pay. This might be the best incentive situation that you could ever offer smart kids. On the negative side? One out of every two kids might one day be exiting over to Germany for a highly technical job.
So stand by for 1 May next year. It might be a pretty dynamic day that the German media misses entirely.
So there's curious situation which will occur next summer as roofers, plumbers and electricians start to come over legally. There's going to be this competitive state of affairs...and some Germans are going to face competition that they haven't seen in years.
But there's another side to this whole game. Germany readily admits they've got a shortage of engineers and technicians. There's also this shortage of nurses.
The Polish government, based on media reports, isn't worried about this upcoming shift in employment or a possible brain-drain.
I might lean toward the Polish attitude. If you were heading up a Polish school with a bunch of fourteen year-old kids who show promise, then I'd hint everyday of engineering type jobs in Germany. The Polish kid would strive to stay ahead and in eight years...know that he's got a decent job with real pay. This might be the best incentive situation that you could ever offer smart kids. On the negative side? One out of every two kids might one day be exiting over to Germany for a highly technical job.
So stand by for 1 May next year. It might be a pretty dynamic day that the German media misses entirely.
Good Times Ahead?
There's a statistic which is a bold indicator of good economic times in Germany, but most folks have no appreciation for it. It's tractor trailer rig sales. If you went to a small operation and asked the operations guy how to tell if business is improving....he'd eventually say something to the effect that everyone wants to trade in their rigs and get new trucks.
A Bloomberg Report note came out today.....for the month of August....there was a 54 percent increase in big truck sales.....up to 3,812 units last month.
Course, it's not yet the best moment to admit the German economy is in full bloom....but there sure are some positive indicators to say that.
People get this way because they can sense a change and they've got contracts in their hand which look awful positive over the next twelve months.
A Bloomberg Report note came out today.....for the month of August....there was a 54 percent increase in big truck sales.....up to 3,812 units last month.
Course, it's not yet the best moment to admit the German economy is in full bloom....but there sure are some positive indicators to say that.
People get this way because they can sense a change and they've got contracts in their hand which look awful positive over the next twelve months.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Hartz IV to Basisgeld?
Various newspapers are reporting in Germany today that the term "Hartz IV" will be transformed.
The welfare program term has become derogatory since invented in 2002. This reinvented welfare program from the 2005-period is used daily by the news media throughout Germany and usually represents a negative story (against the government).
Everyone felt by the late 1990s that welfare was becoming an actual occupation and people were getting a substantial amount of money live a fairly good lifestyle. No one felt the system could sustain itself in the long run. So it had to be changed. Hartz IV become this chopping block where you got the basic necessities of life and that was the end of the deal.
The new name? They are bouncing this name of "Basisgeld" (basic money). This isn't final yet and still has to pass via a vote. I'm pretty sure it'll be a 100 percent vote...well...except for the Greens.
In five years...Basisgeld will also have a mean or ugly feeling to it, and it'll change again. That's the tendency of these events.
The welfare program term has become derogatory since invented in 2002. This reinvented welfare program from the 2005-period is used daily by the news media throughout Germany and usually represents a negative story (against the government).
Everyone felt by the late 1990s that welfare was becoming an actual occupation and people were getting a substantial amount of money live a fairly good lifestyle. No one felt the system could sustain itself in the long run. So it had to be changed. Hartz IV become this chopping block where you got the basic necessities of life and that was the end of the deal.
The new name? They are bouncing this name of "Basisgeld" (basic money). This isn't final yet and still has to pass via a vote. I'm pretty sure it'll be a 100 percent vote...well...except for the Greens.
In five years...Basisgeld will also have a mean or ugly feeling to it, and it'll change again. That's the tendency of these events.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Trains and Buses
A couple of years ago...Wal-Mart came to Germany and felt it could "compete". It discovered about three years into this experience that Germany has stringent rules about competition and their vision of competition was considered unhealthy and illegal. They eventually decided their business model would not take off and give them the potential they enjoy in the US.
Today, via the New York Times, we learned that a long-standing anti-competition rule has finally been tossed. Sometime in 2011, you will be able to climb on a bus in Munich and actually end up in another German city....like Stuttgart or Heidelberg.
Today, via the New York Times, we learned that a long-standing anti-competition rule has finally been tossed. Sometime in 2011, you will be able to climb on a bus in Munich and actually end up in another German city....like Stuttgart or Heidelberg.
Yes, for almost eight decades...you just couldn't travel a long-distance within German borders via a bus, unless it was a tour. You could travel from Frankfurt to Paris. You could travel from Stuttgart to Amsterdam. But getting from one German city to another, just wasn't possible.
This was a protection deal for the Bahn folks. The train network made sure they had no competition. In the 1950s as air travel did finally occur, the Bahn folks couldn't say much. But the bus folks never could get the government to change the rule for them. It was a stupid rule by all accounts.
What'll happen now? Well...it's a curious thing. The Bahn could come up and match prices against the bus companies. For a short term strategy, this is likely the best possible direction for the Bahn. But the bus companies will be able to offer some dynamic changes for folks that the Bahn can't match, like picking up a load of thirty passengers in some smaller dead-end town like Kaiserslautern or Trier, and delivering into the heart of the Frankfurt shopping district in just eighty minutes. The Bahn can't deliver that precisely.
What'll happen now? Well...it's a curious thing. The Bahn could come up and match prices against the bus companies. For a short term strategy, this is likely the best possible direction for the Bahn. But the bus companies will be able to offer some dynamic changes for folks that the Bahn can't match, like picking up a load of thirty passengers in some smaller dead-end town like Kaiserslautern or Trier, and delivering into the heart of the Frankfurt shopping district in just eighty minutes. The Bahn can't deliver that precisely.
Added to this are the worker rides. Imagine a morning bus route that hits five smaller towns about sixty miles away from Mainz and it delivers folks to the nearest trolley car connection for the city. Guys could leave the car at home and pay 150 Euro a month for this direct run to their job in the big city.
My prediction is that the Bahn will realize that it doesn't have the upper hand to this deal, and the majority of these bus routes will end up being profitable. For the little guy with enough money to buy two buses and able to start a run from a rural area to a major shopping area....this might be a great investment opportunity.
The Stuttgart Mess
I blogged a piece a few weeks ago about the Stuttgart train station renovation....a ten-year project that would go into the billions. At that point, it was starting. In the past couple of weeks since the start....it's been an almost daily routine with protesters. We aren't talking about dozens or hundreds....it's into the thousands on a daily basis.
The Stuttgart political leadership never anticipated this type of reaction to the project. Over this past weekend....at least 65k people met and protested.
There's talk of the political leadership trying to arrange for meetings this week with the head protesters and trying to get agreements. Based on several newspapers and what they write, I'd say there's virtually no agreement possible. It's almost a comical opera now....in terms of the public perceptions of the project.
Today, the police finally came forward and said all these protests since day one....are wearing out the effectiveness of the local force. They want reinforcements. Added to this mess, the local cops still have to protect folks at the local soccer games and cover the local nuclear power plant. On a average night at the soccer stadium, there's well over four hundred cops involved in that detail for five hours of work.
The Stuttgart 21 project is massive. It'll cover eighteen brand-new bridges being built, and three city train stations being erected. And then you've got well over fifty miles of track that have to be laid in newly created tunnels throughout the entire city.
If you stand back and add up man-hours on this police episode and multiply by ten years, then you've likely spent an additional five hundred million on extra cops and protection throughout the entire period. The city might end up with the largest police force of any city in Germany. The amusing side of this is that it doesn't relate to crime, and cops are being pulled from regular patrols and law enforcement, to play games with the Stuttgart 21 protesters.
I don't see much positive action on this episode. It's going to be a long ten year period.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
End of a Generation?
If you have ten minutes and an interest in green energy or wind mills....you might want to wander over to the British Telegraph. There's a fascinating story today.
The story relates to wind mills and Denmark. It appears that interest in building more windmills in the country....has finally peaked.
I've blogged this on a number of occasions...having traveled across Europe and seen the various issues up close.
If you can find an open area....miles away from civilization or cattle....windmills would readily thrive and multiply. The problem is that they put out a low-frequency noise. Any windmill within a mile of a village or home....disturbs people on a minute-by-minute basis. The experts now realize that you've got to put windmills out far away from civilization or people....to make this work.
While the story mainly describes Denmark's peak.....I would suspect the same issue for Germany. You can drive through central Germany on any afternoon and see dozens of windmills. The vast majority are all within a mile or two of some village. In the past couple of years after learning their lessons....most villages will now forbid any windmill construction near their town.
An eventual peak in Germany? I suspect that the "anti" crowd will eventually generate enough support and make it difficult to put a windmill anywhere. The ones currently in operation? I suspect if any lie within a mile or so of a village....they've got maybe a decade of operation left in them....before the locals chase them out. The ones in more remote locations will survive on.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
That Luther Guy
Lets say you corner a German in a bar and you ask them to name the ten most significant Germans ever. It's a discussion topic that will shock an American in the end.
The German will pause and settle back in his seat. He'll sit and calculate for a minute or two. Then he'll lead off.
At least five of these guys will be political figures. The first guy will always be Konrad Adenauer, the first chancellor after World War II. Everyone has this enormous respect for the guy and what had to be done in those days. He acted presidential and you can't find a single person to today to ever criticize anything this guy ever did.
Then Helmet Schmidt will be mentioned. For Germans....this guy is the Holy Grail of leaders. You can take him into a room and announce some colossal emergency and he goes into action and gives orders like a drill sergeant. He leads people to an end purpose. It's been twenty-five years since he wrapped up his chancellor duties and folks still view him today as an absolute legend. This is the guy that you can view today....in his eighties....who chain-smokes and still runs through two packs a day (my guess). He can still walk into a hotel or building where smoking is illegal and light-up....and not a person will ever say a word. He commands respect.
Then you've got Helmet Kohl who ran Germany for sixteen years and his glitter disappeared by the end. Most Germans still have this positive attitude about the guy. Some will openly criticize him for staying too long and probably becoming somewhat corrupted at the end.
For the fourth and fifth positions...it'll be toss-ups. There's Green Party folks like Petra Kelly or Joschka Fischer. There's your friendly Bavarian political boss....Franz Josef Strauss. Erich Honecker might be mentioned....even if he was the East German boss at the end as the wall collapsed.
Around the sixth spot will always be Ludwig II...the crazy Bavarian king who built the dream castle. He captures the mind and creativity of Germans. Bavarians still have this mythical view of the guy.
By the seventh and eighth position, you come to Richard Wagner or Bach or Beethoven. At least two will always be mentioned.
The ninth? Franz Beckenbauer typically gets mentioned. Der Kaiser. Most Americans would laugh that a soccer coach would rate into the top ten. Remember, this is a regular German at a pub....and they would have this view of the Kaiser holding the crown jewels of German attitude and vision on the field. If the Kaiser says something...it's typically worth remembering....that's what a German would say.
Then we come to the tenth man. The shocker here is that it's a religious figure who has been dead for four-hundred and fifty-odd years. Martin Luther. Most Americans can't envision how anyone would equate a religious figure to a top ten position. Germans have this different view of his achievements, and it lives on today.
If you put yourself in 1500's Germany....it's a country of have's and have-not's. Out of a hundred men, five have something to own, and ninety-five are just surviving. Somewhere in the midst of this daily existence for both....is the Catholic Church.
The church held power over the Kings, the Princes, the Lords, and even the little guys at the end of the line. The church had this franchise-like mentality. They wanted to come into every community and build up a church. And in significant towns....they wanted a cathedral. The difference between a church and a cathedral in today's world? It's like comparing a two-story mom & pop storefront, and then a Super Wal-Mart. Cost became this huge factor in the construction of every single cathedral.
So if you were a Bishop somewhere....to move up the food chain ladder....you needed to build cathedrals. Kings, Princes and Lords had this pocket of money....and the Catholic Church went after as much as they could get....but this wasn't enough. So this scheme was hatched to go after the little guy and his money.
The deal was simple....you create these sermons where sin was going to forbid you entry into heaven. The little guy was stupid enough to believe the deal....and then you offer up this special letter which was stamped, and it'd suggest that you were sin-free as of the date it was "sold".
For this one priest who was close to having a nervous breakdown because of his seriousness nature into religion....this smacked of a commercial nature. The comical thing was that the special letter would be sold on one week....and within a month....the local church bosses would convince you that new sins had been committed....so you'd need a whole new letter stamped. More cash would be involved.
Martin Luther becomes this magnet for trouble. He won't sit by and just let this happen.
An internal battle within the leadership of what exists in Germany in the 1500s now starts to emerge. In the end, the mighty Catholic Church emerges as the loser. This mythical character of a simple priest that stood up....now becomes a legend that endears to even this day.
It was a battle between good and evil, as far as most Germans see it.
So a simple priest from 450-odd years ago, ends up as the tenth man that most Germans would put on their list.
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