Summer is fast approaching in Germany. Typically, people would be preparing right now for bar-b-q's in the backyard, their vacation to some summer resort, the brief but intense renovation project for the bathroom, and the village pool season.
If you are an American and spent time in Germany.....you know that these town and village pools are a magnet for Germans. There on a two-acre plot of ground, romances are kindled....kids establish new friendships....torrid affairs started....and tans are put upon pure white skins. Gossip is generated. Scandal is suggested. Hearsay is swapped. And hot summer afternoons pass.....as they have for decades.
Well....up until now.
I noticed in regional news that Basel, Switzerland got brought up today. The pool management crowd has decided that it need to establish some new rules for the city pool there. If you want to enter and stay around the city pool (a rather large grounds which include a large grassy area).....you need to be in a bikini (to include topless options), a swimsuit, or a tight-fitting full-body swimsuit (sometimes referred to as a Burkini).
They decided that the old rules allowed a number of women to enter in just plain street clothing or something called a "wide-Burkini".....and this just wouldn't work.
The slant of this change? Well....what they say is that there's no hygiene positives.....by these women wearing the wide-burkinis or regular street clothing.
It's hard to imagine how this topic got brought up and discussed in a meeting.....especially talking about a pool situation....where you pour in ten gallons a week of chlorine.....to fix up the amount of pee that kids are dumping into a public pool. If you were disturbed by hygiene.....there's some higher priorities on my list to be worried about.
Somewhere in this article I read over at Focus....they even got around to talking about increased security that had to be brought in last year at a city pool operation in Germany because of tensions between Muslims and non-Muslims.
This is also the article which brought up that Muslims had suggested having separate bathing times at the local pool in Duisburg,Germany.....for Muslims and non-Muslims. The pool staff stood there for a moment, and then responded that integration was about having no dividing lines between two separate societies. There would be no separate operations for anything, period.
It is silly in some ways to view this marginal 'battlefield' existing in Germany, where conservative views of some religion are running into two-thousand years of European society development.
If you were looking at a major threat for conservative lifestyles.....the German pool might be number one on the list. And we haven't even gotten to rap music in the background, beer being sold and consumed, pork products in display, juvenile German guy behavior, or ultra-ultra-ultra bikinis.
Friday, April 29, 2016
Being Verruckt
I sat this morning....looking over an article that an American/Brit wrote over a German 'event', and they used the word 'zany'.
The original German article (I went back and read the German piece) had used the word "VERRUCKT".
One of the thousand things that I've kinda figured out about the German language (I think Mark Twain had ten-thousand such things)....is that certain words don't literally translate to English or vice-versa. There are simply some words which could have several different meanings, and as an English-minded person hears it.....his mind is clicking away for a translation-word, and this is the best he can do.
Verruckt.....in this case....literally means crazy, mad, loony, nutty, foolish, eccentric, goofy, or perhaps.....zany.
Most people would look over the meanings and say that it's a pretty wide dispersal of activity here. For example, your German co-worker could sit on day one of your new job and discuss the behavior of the boss.....saying: "Sie ist verruckt". You, the American with some brief German integration classes, would sit and pause over this comment....the boss lady is crazy? The boss lady is mad? The boss lady is nutty? The boss lady is goofy?
You'd sit there for thirty seconds....trying to think of a polite question to toss at your new friend and wondering in American slang.....is the boss lady certifiably crazy or perhaps absolute nuts? Eventually, you ask the question in the right German format.
The answer in response to the question? The boss lady wears green every day.....green blouses, green dresses, green shoes, green jackets, and even green purses. They didn't really mean that she was crazy but that she was a bit eccentric.
So I go back to the original story that started this whole discussion on verruckt. It involves.....Donald Trump.
I know.....it's hard to go an entire day in Germany now without some state-run news journalist getting hyped up and worried about a possible Donald Trump presidency.....replacing the Nobel Peace Prize presidency of Barrack Obama. These state-run news episodes always go to some suggestive piece for the public not to fear this event because the American public will side with Hillary Clinton and peace, tranquility, serenity, calm, order, and sedateness will reign over the people of Germany. Note, sedateness usually means you smoked some weed and took enough pain-killers to blitz yourself into some nightmare world that seems happy and wonderful.
At this point in the primary period and approach to November, you have to start to consider the idea that the Trump presidency just might happen. For some Germans, it's the end of reality and reason. For eight long years, they knew they could rely upon the brilliant leadership of President Obama in a crazy mixed-up world. When the chips fell in the Ukraine....well....forget that example. When the chips fell in Syria.....well....forget that example. When the chips fell in Benghazi.....well....forget that example. When the chips fell in Egypt.....well....forget that example. When the chips needed to be arranged in the Iran nuclear deal....well...forget that example.
In a way, I see these German journalists and intellectuals at some crazy point where they'd like to hype their discontent and frustration, and the argument conveyed is like convincing the German public that speed limits on the autobahn is a good thing or that pension reform will finally reach a successful conclusion.
Will verrucktphobia hit German society? An irrational fear of craziness, zaniness, or pyscho-behavior? If diagnosed with verrucktphobia.....what do you do? Are there pills for this? Do you go through a twelve-hour seminar of 'love-Donald'? Do you modify yourself enough to accept screwy or unbalanced people? Will some German intellectual appear out of the wilderness (the Hunsruck or Borg) to talk up the positive acceptance of the silly and deranged things in life.....to include a Trump presidency?
I'm not too worried about America and what happens after the November election.....but I worry a bit about my verruckt German associates.
The original German article (I went back and read the German piece) had used the word "VERRUCKT".
One of the thousand things that I've kinda figured out about the German language (I think Mark Twain had ten-thousand such things)....is that certain words don't literally translate to English or vice-versa. There are simply some words which could have several different meanings, and as an English-minded person hears it.....his mind is clicking away for a translation-word, and this is the best he can do.
Verruckt.....in this case....literally means crazy, mad, loony, nutty, foolish, eccentric, goofy, or perhaps.....zany.
Most people would look over the meanings and say that it's a pretty wide dispersal of activity here. For example, your German co-worker could sit on day one of your new job and discuss the behavior of the boss.....saying: "Sie ist verruckt". You, the American with some brief German integration classes, would sit and pause over this comment....the boss lady is crazy? The boss lady is mad? The boss lady is nutty? The boss lady is goofy?
You'd sit there for thirty seconds....trying to think of a polite question to toss at your new friend and wondering in American slang.....is the boss lady certifiably crazy or perhaps absolute nuts? Eventually, you ask the question in the right German format.
The answer in response to the question? The boss lady wears green every day.....green blouses, green dresses, green shoes, green jackets, and even green purses. They didn't really mean that she was crazy but that she was a bit eccentric.
So I go back to the original story that started this whole discussion on verruckt. It involves.....Donald Trump.
I know.....it's hard to go an entire day in Germany now without some state-run news journalist getting hyped up and worried about a possible Donald Trump presidency.....replacing the Nobel Peace Prize presidency of Barrack Obama. These state-run news episodes always go to some suggestive piece for the public not to fear this event because the American public will side with Hillary Clinton and peace, tranquility, serenity, calm, order, and sedateness will reign over the people of Germany. Note, sedateness usually means you smoked some weed and took enough pain-killers to blitz yourself into some nightmare world that seems happy and wonderful.
At this point in the primary period and approach to November, you have to start to consider the idea that the Trump presidency just might happen. For some Germans, it's the end of reality and reason. For eight long years, they knew they could rely upon the brilliant leadership of President Obama in a crazy mixed-up world. When the chips fell in the Ukraine....well....forget that example. When the chips fell in Syria.....well....forget that example. When the chips fell in Benghazi.....well....forget that example. When the chips fell in Egypt.....well....forget that example. When the chips needed to be arranged in the Iran nuclear deal....well...forget that example.
In a way, I see these German journalists and intellectuals at some crazy point where they'd like to hype their discontent and frustration, and the argument conveyed is like convincing the German public that speed limits on the autobahn is a good thing or that pension reform will finally reach a successful conclusion.
Will verrucktphobia hit German society? An irrational fear of craziness, zaniness, or pyscho-behavior? If diagnosed with verrucktphobia.....what do you do? Are there pills for this? Do you go through a twelve-hour seminar of 'love-Donald'? Do you modify yourself enough to accept screwy or unbalanced people? Will some German intellectual appear out of the wilderness (the Hunsruck or Borg) to talk up the positive acceptance of the silly and deranged things in life.....to include a Trump presidency?
I'm not too worried about America and what happens after the November election.....but I worry a bit about my verruckt German associates.
Thursday, April 28, 2016
The Fencing of the Oktoberfest?
There's a piece in the Suddeutsche Zeitung (a Bavarian newspaper) today over plans to enclose and provide security over the Oktoberfest. There would be various entrances with cops or security folks who would check out your bags or run a metal-detector over you.....before allowing you to enter. This would all result in better security.
It's hard to say how this would work. In total grounds, this is a 103 acre area. Presently, you could walk in from twenty-odd directions and just wander onto the grounds, or leave in any direction.
The fencing for this? The problem is that most guys would look at something like this....perhaps a two-meter tall fence (no barb-wire) and try to hustle over the top of it.
How many cops per entrance? I'd take a guess that you'd have to have a minimum of ten folks at each entrance and lines would exist on the first day and last day of the fest.....at least an hour to get through an entrance.
Most everyone agrees, with all the terrorism and threats going on from right-wing and nut-jobs....they have no choice. But to physically fight through the crowds at the train station, and make your way to the fest grounds.....then stand there for an hour to enter? I think a large number of people will just say no and go somewhere else in Munich to drink beer and enjoy the festive occasion.
Who will pay for the cops and security fencing involved? No one says much. Just in fencing alone, I'd take a guess that a half-a-million Euro will be put out and proven to be sub-standard fencing for the first episode. To run the cop or security part of this.....twenty-four hours a day (at least for the service-entry points) will be difficult and costly....figure another two or three million Euro for this part of the deal. Coming out of the city budget? No one says.
I've been to the fest and know the hectic nature of things going on. By adding a fence and security onto this? Why make the trip down and face this type of added chaos?
It's hard to say how this would work. In total grounds, this is a 103 acre area. Presently, you could walk in from twenty-odd directions and just wander onto the grounds, or leave in any direction.
The fencing for this? The problem is that most guys would look at something like this....perhaps a two-meter tall fence (no barb-wire) and try to hustle over the top of it.
How many cops per entrance? I'd take a guess that you'd have to have a minimum of ten folks at each entrance and lines would exist on the first day and last day of the fest.....at least an hour to get through an entrance.
Most everyone agrees, with all the terrorism and threats going on from right-wing and nut-jobs....they have no choice. But to physically fight through the crowds at the train station, and make your way to the fest grounds.....then stand there for an hour to enter? I think a large number of people will just say no and go somewhere else in Munich to drink beer and enjoy the festive occasion.
Who will pay for the cops and security fencing involved? No one says much. Just in fencing alone, I'd take a guess that a half-a-million Euro will be put out and proven to be sub-standard fencing for the first episode. To run the cop or security part of this.....twenty-four hours a day (at least for the service-entry points) will be difficult and costly....figure another two or three million Euro for this part of the deal. Coming out of the city budget? No one says.
I've been to the fest and know the hectic nature of things going on. By adding a fence and security onto this? Why make the trip down and face this type of added chaos?
A Moment on Beer
This is a beer essay.....mostly over two topics, which revolve around one of my top German topics of discussion....beer.
For any American who hasn't ever tried a German beer (well, skip Bitburger)....you have not really sipped anything of quality until you have tried a German beer.
Yesterday, at my local beverage shop.....I noted a newly added item....Maisel and Friends Chocolate Bock beer. As with all German things, there is risk involved, but I surged ahead and bought two bottles.
You should these odd factors with chocolate-flavored beer. This is a .75 liter bottle....larger than your typical German beer bottle. It is 7.5-percent alcohol....which means if you consumed three or four in two hours, you'd be a bit wasted. The taste? It'd be almost like you melted a high quality chocolate (a shot glass) and then mixed into a premium beer. The one issue though....you have to drink fairly chilled. It's not a room temperature beer, in my humble opinion.
The negative? Well....it's 4.99 Euro, each. On the German beer side of economics....it's at the high-end and fairly expensive. If you were buying a case....you'd have to tote a hundred Euro into the shop. It's a beer that you'd only want to share with special friends.
The second note of this essay is this sidenote that N24, a German commercial network put up this morning.
It is sad to report....based on the German Federal Statistics Office numbers....that Germans are drinking less beer. It's roughly 2.2-percent less than the previous period. On the positive side, the German breweries were able to sell beyond the German border around 8.6 percent more than normal.
What does this really mean? Germans might be drinking more wine or apple-wine mixtures. Those numbers weren't released and it might be curious to know this result.
Typically, every year where a World Cup episode occurs.....there's this upswing in beer consumption....mostly due to backyard bar-b-q's and guys sitting around pubs watching the games. 2016 is not a World Cup year.....so it doesn't help much.
I don't think this is the end of the world or an event to trigger breweries in Germany to close down operations. But it is something that no one would anticipate....less beer consumed within Germany.
Assimilaphobic (If There Was Such a Word)
Assimilaphobic.
Well, it's not really a word.
If it were, it'd mean that you have an irrational fear of assimilating into a culture or society. Note, when saying irrational....it really means IRRATIONAL (in bold wording).
Most people who travel a lot....have a chance to view other societies, cultures, religions, trends, foods, beverages, landscapes, laws, acceptances, and prejudices. You might walk around and utter 'openness' while in this stage of travel and claim you are broad-minded.....although it just means while on vacation, you simply had opened your eyes....it doesn't mean you will run back to your home-country and try implementing some changes and trying to remake your own culture.
If you were assimilaphobic.....you'd grin, wave at people, walk around with a fake character.....and just refuse as the days, weeks, and months go by.....to be any different than you were on day one of arrival.
In the old country, you view cops and politicians as thugs or crooks, and you might just keep this view in your new country.
In the old country, you viewed women who wrapped themselves up to protect their virtues and sensitive nature as a good thing, and you'd like to keep this view in your new country.
In the old country, you viewed alcohol and booze as an evil, and you might want to retain this view in the new country.
In the old country, you viewed journalists as simply agents of the government, and have nothing positive to say about the journalists in the new country.
The list goes on and on.
Based on frustrations and irrational actions....you quietly go about your life in the best way possible....without any integration or assimilation. If someone wants you to take some stupid class and pass a test....fine, you can fake your way through a hundred hours and make a marginal score which makes some government guy happy enough to sign a sheet and note you were "integrated". In the end, you hold this stamped integration slip proudly, while you continue your assimilaphobic lifestyle.
The problem with this is not so much the guy who is the assimilaphobic....but rather his son or daughter....who grow up in the new land and continually have dad or mom bash the new land and keep chatting about how wonderful things were in the old land. So, twenty years down the road....you have some kid who has grown up and is utterly confused to his situation in life. He or she hasn't succeed at much in life....due to conflicts in school, a bad attitude, and inner frustrations over assimilation (it just never happened). The kid can't climb out of the neighborhood....get a decent job....or dream of anything much because he or she is locked onto the parent's perception of assimilation (or lack of such).
At some point, a mental health guy will sit down....analyze the situation, and invent the word Assimilaphobic, and try to proscribe some treatment for it. He'll get lots of time on some chat forum TV show and hype up his newest book. And people will sit there and ask if we really need to discuss this matter.
Well, it's not really a word.
If it were, it'd mean that you have an irrational fear of assimilating into a culture or society. Note, when saying irrational....it really means IRRATIONAL (in bold wording).
Most people who travel a lot....have a chance to view other societies, cultures, religions, trends, foods, beverages, landscapes, laws, acceptances, and prejudices. You might walk around and utter 'openness' while in this stage of travel and claim you are broad-minded.....although it just means while on vacation, you simply had opened your eyes....it doesn't mean you will run back to your home-country and try implementing some changes and trying to remake your own culture.
If you were assimilaphobic.....you'd grin, wave at people, walk around with a fake character.....and just refuse as the days, weeks, and months go by.....to be any different than you were on day one of arrival.
In the old country, you view cops and politicians as thugs or crooks, and you might just keep this view in your new country.
In the old country, you viewed women who wrapped themselves up to protect their virtues and sensitive nature as a good thing, and you'd like to keep this view in your new country.
In the old country, you viewed alcohol and booze as an evil, and you might want to retain this view in the new country.
In the old country, you viewed journalists as simply agents of the government, and have nothing positive to say about the journalists in the new country.
The list goes on and on.
Based on frustrations and irrational actions....you quietly go about your life in the best way possible....without any integration or assimilation. If someone wants you to take some stupid class and pass a test....fine, you can fake your way through a hundred hours and make a marginal score which makes some government guy happy enough to sign a sheet and note you were "integrated". In the end, you hold this stamped integration slip proudly, while you continue your assimilaphobic lifestyle.
The problem with this is not so much the guy who is the assimilaphobic....but rather his son or daughter....who grow up in the new land and continually have dad or mom bash the new land and keep chatting about how wonderful things were in the old land. So, twenty years down the road....you have some kid who has grown up and is utterly confused to his situation in life. He or she hasn't succeed at much in life....due to conflicts in school, a bad attitude, and inner frustrations over assimilation (it just never happened). The kid can't climb out of the neighborhood....get a decent job....or dream of anything much because he or she is locked onto the parent's perception of assimilation (or lack of such).
At some point, a mental health guy will sit down....analyze the situation, and invent the word Assimilaphobic, and try to proscribe some treatment for it. He'll get lots of time on some chat forum TV show and hype up his newest book. And people will sit there and ask if we really need to discuss this matter.
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
A New Tourism Market?
I travel a good bit and tend to notice little things that rarely get discussed by journalists or historians. For example, I'll sample coffee in various countries that I visit and have come to realize that there are some places on this Earth with five-star brewed coffee, and there are places where it's one-star coffee that can only be fixed with an appropriate amount of alcohol. Another example is the art of letting a travel know via signs on where you are and where the fork in the road will lead you.....with Germany being a place where common sense prevails in all cases, and where Italy is a place where being "LOST" (note emphasis on capitalization) is a minute by minute experience.
Tourism is one of those little things that I tend to notice.
You can walk through an airport in some country and feel like Einstein himself designed the airport, and that it's almost like some Disney-Land experience to walk through the concourse or exit the building.
Some countries take an active part in the design of tourism. Germany is proud of it's tourism angles and works hard to entice just about everyone (even Russians) to come....eat hearty dinners....view ancient castles....wander through the 'magic-kingdom' and its autobahns....and drink beer that makes you often weep (mostly because you have to return to the US and sip PBR...Pabst Blue Ribbon).
England is like some big ancient museum....even if you ride the 'Tube' (the subway system). Around every corner, there's another pub, where ale will be poured and the interior still has the look of the 1930s.
Vienna plays the tourist cards like a game of poker. Those 12.5 million average tourists who come and shuffle through the Palace, and ride the jump-on-jump-off buses? They pump millions into the local economy daily.
Rome thrives....on an hour-by-hour basis with tourists. Just the coliseum itself....has almost 4.5 million tourists per year. The city, block by block, is a tourist-magnet.
So I come to this business article I noticed over the weekend. Saudi Arabia announced last week that they have come to the realization....the oil era will eventually come to an end. It's time now to build the next business era.....agricultural production, military industry, and tourism.
Tourism? Their plan is to build the hotels and resorts, within the next twenty years.....to attract millions to come and spend money in Saudi Arabia.
On the list of unfriendly tourist countries....I'd rank Saudi Arabia behind North Korea, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Venezuela. I'd even rank Mongolia and Iran ahead of Saudi Arabia.
What woman would want to bundle up and cover herself.....by going on some vacation to Saudi Arabia?
What guy would want to go ten days without any booze in Saudi Arabia?
What couple would be confident in their safety or security in Saudi Arabia?
I admit.....both Qatar and Dubai did a lot to attract tourism to their regions. The hotels and shopping experiences....along with a willing nature to accept alcohol....paved the way to success. Toss in the hub deal for flights to Asia and Australia, and they've done a pretty good job. But Saudi Arabia? It's hard to imagine how they'd become some tourist market.
Tourism is one of those little things that I tend to notice.
You can walk through an airport in some country and feel like Einstein himself designed the airport, and that it's almost like some Disney-Land experience to walk through the concourse or exit the building.
Some countries take an active part in the design of tourism. Germany is proud of it's tourism angles and works hard to entice just about everyone (even Russians) to come....eat hearty dinners....view ancient castles....wander through the 'magic-kingdom' and its autobahns....and drink beer that makes you often weep (mostly because you have to return to the US and sip PBR...Pabst Blue Ribbon).
England is like some big ancient museum....even if you ride the 'Tube' (the subway system). Around every corner, there's another pub, where ale will be poured and the interior still has the look of the 1930s.
Vienna plays the tourist cards like a game of poker. Those 12.5 million average tourists who come and shuffle through the Palace, and ride the jump-on-jump-off buses? They pump millions into the local economy daily.
Rome thrives....on an hour-by-hour basis with tourists. Just the coliseum itself....has almost 4.5 million tourists per year. The city, block by block, is a tourist-magnet.
So I come to this business article I noticed over the weekend. Saudi Arabia announced last week that they have come to the realization....the oil era will eventually come to an end. It's time now to build the next business era.....agricultural production, military industry, and tourism.
Tourism? Their plan is to build the hotels and resorts, within the next twenty years.....to attract millions to come and spend money in Saudi Arabia.
On the list of unfriendly tourist countries....I'd rank Saudi Arabia behind North Korea, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Venezuela. I'd even rank Mongolia and Iran ahead of Saudi Arabia.
What woman would want to bundle up and cover herself.....by going on some vacation to Saudi Arabia?
What guy would want to go ten days without any booze in Saudi Arabia?
What couple would be confident in their safety or security in Saudi Arabia?
I admit.....both Qatar and Dubai did a lot to attract tourism to their regions. The hotels and shopping experiences....along with a willing nature to accept alcohol....paved the way to success. Toss in the hub deal for flights to Asia and Australia, and they've done a pretty good job. But Saudi Arabia? It's hard to imagine how they'd become some tourist market.
Tuesday, April 26, 2016
Germany and the Identity Card
Since 1938....Germans have been required to have an identity card. To be honest....the original concept started with the Nazis, who mandated that all German men (of military age) had to carry the state-sponsored ID with them.
In the early 1950s, it went through an update, and all Germans over the age of 16 (men and women) were required to have the ID on them while traveling, voting, or in any public situation where an ID might be necessary.
Current cost today? Well, it's not free. It runs roughly around 28-Euro ($34 American). If you are a student, there's a discount of around twenty-five percent.
In 2001, they went to a more modern card which had security features built into it....mostly because of the number of fakes on the market. Around six years ago (2010), they went to one with a RFID chip on the card....so it stores some basic data about you.
One of the little odd factors that might surprise most Americans is that the German driver's license isn't necessary considered a prime or accepted ID concept anymore. Since everyone is required to have a national ID card, if someone asks you for an ID (cops, banks, Bahn, etc).....they don't have to accept the driver's license, and may insist on the national ID instead.
Voting and the ID? Several weeks before an election....you will have a letter sent to your home and just note the day and location that you can vote. It'll have a sentence within the letter mandating that a state identity card will be mandatory. You ought to show up with the letter and the state-ID, but they will allow you to vote without the letter.....as long as you are on their database listing and have a state-ID. Without the state-ID.....you aren't legit.
As you can imagine, this state-ID is kinda important at age 16, because German law allows a kid (of sixteen or above) to buy and consume wine and beer (not hard alcohol). So, this is one of the top priorities of a kid who has his or her birthday coming up, and making a trip to the county office to get their state-ID.
How many Germans exist without the state-ID? There's just not much you can do, in terms of bank business, or county/city business, or the affairs of existence in Germany without the state-ID. Maybe there's some guys living out in the city parks, or under bridges without it....but the vast sum of German citizens (99-percent) have such an ID.
In the early 1950s, it went through an update, and all Germans over the age of 16 (men and women) were required to have the ID on them while traveling, voting, or in any public situation where an ID might be necessary.
Current cost today? Well, it's not free. It runs roughly around 28-Euro ($34 American). If you are a student, there's a discount of around twenty-five percent.
In 2001, they went to a more modern card which had security features built into it....mostly because of the number of fakes on the market. Around six years ago (2010), they went to one with a RFID chip on the card....so it stores some basic data about you.
One of the little odd factors that might surprise most Americans is that the German driver's license isn't necessary considered a prime or accepted ID concept anymore. Since everyone is required to have a national ID card, if someone asks you for an ID (cops, banks, Bahn, etc).....they don't have to accept the driver's license, and may insist on the national ID instead.
Voting and the ID? Several weeks before an election....you will have a letter sent to your home and just note the day and location that you can vote. It'll have a sentence within the letter mandating that a state identity card will be mandatory. You ought to show up with the letter and the state-ID, but they will allow you to vote without the letter.....as long as you are on their database listing and have a state-ID. Without the state-ID.....you aren't legit.
As you can imagine, this state-ID is kinda important at age 16, because German law allows a kid (of sixteen or above) to buy and consume wine and beer (not hard alcohol). So, this is one of the top priorities of a kid who has his or her birthday coming up, and making a trip to the county office to get their state-ID.
How many Germans exist without the state-ID? There's just not much you can do, in terms of bank business, or county/city business, or the affairs of existence in Germany without the state-ID. Maybe there's some guys living out in the city parks, or under bridges without it....but the vast sum of German citizens (99-percent) have such an ID.
Monday, April 25, 2016
Ikea Selling Bikes?
I know....it does sound pretty bogus.
Well....it's called the Sladda.
It's a rather plain bike.
It'll be somewhere in the 600-Euro range and be mostly a utility bike. An aluminum frame with a 25-year guarantee. It'll apparently have a front disc brake and offer your choice of 26 or 28 inch wheels (yeah, 28 inch would be a bit different).
It's a two speed bike.....which makes it zero-percent chance you'd go for it in a hilly region.
The odd selling point, from my prospective.....is the maintenance-free drive belt. NO CHAIN. The claims are a minimum of 10,000 kilometers on this belt....I have my doubts....but there is a warranty for the first belt to last that long.
The picture? From Bicycling.com.....which even they admit.....they've yet to test drive the bike.
The thing I'm wondering about.....with the tradition of Ikea....just how many parts does the bike come with in the box, and how much motivation do I need to assemble it?
I have a bike in the basement, which quietly sits there....rusting away. It's been ridden three times in my life and was some BX-special that I bought around sixteen years ago. The ten-speed chain kept slipping off (a bad sign for a brand new bike), and the brakes were lousy. For roughly $200, it was a purchase I wish I had simply walked away from.
My attraction to this bike? I'd be curious to try the 28-inch wheel situation, and maybe Ikea put some heart and soul into the quantity of the bike. Well.....maybe.
Austria's Sunday Election
Back in the spring of 2010.....Austria held an election. The end-result was a massive win for the Social Democrats (aka the SPO) (the Democratic Party for Austria). Seventy-nine percent of the public voted for them. The only odd factor of this election......less than 55-percent of the public voted....meaning only one of every two folks voted.
Yesterday came another election in Austria and it's a pretty wild situation, and has a dramatic effect on Germany.
The Social Democrats had hoped for some repeat performance. It didn't happen. They got roughly 11-percent of the national vote. Dramatic drop.
The results?
The far-right party got 36.40-percent. The FPO (the Freedom Party of Austria) kinda shocked folks, with a fairly young candidate and got a lot of traction from their anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim discussions. I think the refugee episode from 2015 probably helped to shape their political message to the public.
The Green Part got 20.4-percent. The shock here is that they took a good bit of votes away from the Social Democrats success of 2010.
The Social Democrats, 11-percent.
The Freedom Party of Austria, 11-percent. They are the 'Republican-Party' in Austrian form.
Finally, an independent candidate.....a judge running for the office of President....Irmgard Griss.....got 18-percent of the vote. She had approached the Freedom Party months ago and tried to interest them in her candidacy, and they said no. Evidentally, she was liked enough to do one-and-a-half times better than the Freedom Party candidate.....which means they could have taken another fifteen percent and been in second-place.....for the second election required (you have to have fifty-percent or better in an Austrian election to win). So, they really screwed up.
The run-off between the far-right party and the Green Party? Roughly four weeks.
I admit....the far right candidate could still lose, and the Green Party guy might actually win.....but at this point, it's unlikely.
What would a German political analyst take away from this? This election was mostly about immigration, integration and past failures (at least seen by the public rather than journalists). Norbert Hoffer is the FPO candidate and a fairly young guy (45 years old) and seems to do well in public occasions.
This is the kind of scenario that German journalists tend to worry about because neither the German CDU or SPD have any 'bolt-of-lightning' candidates ready for 2017's national election. If immigration and integration remained a national issue and hyped up for 2017 election....it could involve another fifteen-percent of the public shifting their votes around and going AfD, on top of the 12-percent nationally that they have currently. It creates a difficult race for both the CDU and SPD to energize and spin positive messages.
The election final in May for Austria? You might want to pay attention and view the results. It will have an effect on Germany.
Yesterday came another election in Austria and it's a pretty wild situation, and has a dramatic effect on Germany.
The Social Democrats had hoped for some repeat performance. It didn't happen. They got roughly 11-percent of the national vote. Dramatic drop.
The results?
The far-right party got 36.40-percent. The FPO (the Freedom Party of Austria) kinda shocked folks, with a fairly young candidate and got a lot of traction from their anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim discussions. I think the refugee episode from 2015 probably helped to shape their political message to the public.
The Green Part got 20.4-percent. The shock here is that they took a good bit of votes away from the Social Democrats success of 2010.
The Social Democrats, 11-percent.
The Freedom Party of Austria, 11-percent. They are the 'Republican-Party' in Austrian form.
Finally, an independent candidate.....a judge running for the office of President....Irmgard Griss.....got 18-percent of the vote. She had approached the Freedom Party months ago and tried to interest them in her candidacy, and they said no. Evidentally, she was liked enough to do one-and-a-half times better than the Freedom Party candidate.....which means they could have taken another fifteen percent and been in second-place.....for the second election required (you have to have fifty-percent or better in an Austrian election to win). So, they really screwed up.
The run-off between the far-right party and the Green Party? Roughly four weeks.
I admit....the far right candidate could still lose, and the Green Party guy might actually win.....but at this point, it's unlikely.
What would a German political analyst take away from this? This election was mostly about immigration, integration and past failures (at least seen by the public rather than journalists). Norbert Hoffer is the FPO candidate and a fairly young guy (45 years old) and seems to do well in public occasions.
This is the kind of scenario that German journalists tend to worry about because neither the German CDU or SPD have any 'bolt-of-lightning' candidates ready for 2017's national election. If immigration and integration remained a national issue and hyped up for 2017 election....it could involve another fifteen-percent of the public shifting their votes around and going AfD, on top of the 12-percent nationally that they have currently. It creates a difficult race for both the CDU and SPD to energize and spin positive messages.
The election final in May for Austria? You might want to pay attention and view the results. It will have an effect on Germany.
Sunday, April 24, 2016
The "Bottomless Pit"
There are a dozen parts to the immigration, asylum, integration and refugee program in Germany.....which generally infuriate the bulk of the German public.
One of those issues is the quantity.
Focus (the German news magazine) brought this up again today, but in a way which notches the anti-immigrant slant a little bit more than usual.
You see....even at the federal level of the government, NO ONE knows how many refugees, immigrants or asylum seekers are really in Germany.
This "proof of arrival" form....like a passport (with a picture, and finger-prints taken when registered) is something new and that not all refugees have this.....nor have all states gotten into the processing of this (it just started up in the last four or five months).
The database that states are working up and trying to truly count immigrants? It's missing finger-prints.....into the hundreds of thousands.
As Focus points out.....the cops have their own suspicions about the mess. Recently, the cops in North Rhine-Westphalia did a number of raids (33 camps or centers) and came to realize that roughly 400 Moroccans/Algerians were living in the camps/centers but weren't registered in any way with the government. One is left with the impression that they just walked in....took up residence....and were eating free food each day.
The almost 6,000 refugee kids missing? From the computer database, they exist. But in real life? They've walked out the door and simply disappeared.....or at least the experts believe this.
Focus even points out the blunt fact.....until all sixteen states cooperate and input all this data....there's no way to tell if states are handling dual or double refugees....where a guy is registered in X-state and also in Y-state, and getting double state funding.
I often write of the failed processes of the whole program....from a business stand-point....it's not a program that you'd advocate or suggest for any other government.
When a German sees all of this and literally shakes in anger....what's left to do? He can't fire anyone or get anyone in the Berlin federal government to stand up and accept the blame. The only solution he has left to vote for the most radical and counter political-party in existence to send a message. The parties who ought to receive the message? They waste countless hours on public or state-run German TV telling the public that they are foolish for voting for the AfD Party or xenophobic organizations. Meanwhile, they fire no one or stand to admit they are running a banana-republic style immigration program, which is wasting literally hundreds of millions of Euro each year.
If you were looking for a label to hang on this whole mess....it's mostly of a government that is unable to take charge.....preferring to dump the problems down as far as possible and pretend that it'll all work out fine in the end.
One of those issues is the quantity.
Focus (the German news magazine) brought this up again today, but in a way which notches the anti-immigrant slant a little bit more than usual.
You see....even at the federal level of the government, NO ONE knows how many refugees, immigrants or asylum seekers are really in Germany.
This "proof of arrival" form....like a passport (with a picture, and finger-prints taken when registered) is something new and that not all refugees have this.....nor have all states gotten into the processing of this (it just started up in the last four or five months).
The database that states are working up and trying to truly count immigrants? It's missing finger-prints.....into the hundreds of thousands.
As Focus points out.....the cops have their own suspicions about the mess. Recently, the cops in North Rhine-Westphalia did a number of raids (33 camps or centers) and came to realize that roughly 400 Moroccans/Algerians were living in the camps/centers but weren't registered in any way with the government. One is left with the impression that they just walked in....took up residence....and were eating free food each day.
The almost 6,000 refugee kids missing? From the computer database, they exist. But in real life? They've walked out the door and simply disappeared.....or at least the experts believe this.
Focus even points out the blunt fact.....until all sixteen states cooperate and input all this data....there's no way to tell if states are handling dual or double refugees....where a guy is registered in X-state and also in Y-state, and getting double state funding.
I often write of the failed processes of the whole program....from a business stand-point....it's not a program that you'd advocate or suggest for any other government.
When a German sees all of this and literally shakes in anger....what's left to do? He can't fire anyone or get anyone in the Berlin federal government to stand up and accept the blame. The only solution he has left to vote for the most radical and counter political-party in existence to send a message. The parties who ought to receive the message? They waste countless hours on public or state-run German TV telling the public that they are foolish for voting for the AfD Party or xenophobic organizations. Meanwhile, they fire no one or stand to admit they are running a banana-republic style immigration program, which is wasting literally hundreds of millions of Euro each year.
If you were looking for a label to hang on this whole mess....it's mostly of a government that is unable to take charge.....preferring to dump the problems down as far as possible and pretend that it'll all work out fine in the end.
A Motte and Bailey Castle
Prior to 1066....you didn't have these in England. They come only because of the Norman invasion, and become a regular feature of the British landscape after the invasion.
A basic description? It's a fort, with a wooden fence, that has a high point for everyone to retreat to.....in really dire situations. A ditch is dug around the high point to make it slightly more difficult for any invading force to make a run against the defenders.
It should be noted.....structures like this are made of earth and wood.....so they don't last.
I settled upon this research because my family tree has this twist that goes past the 1300s....back to the early 1100s and a Motte and Bailey Castle in Pulford....a small village of sorts today in northwest England (just at the Wales border). The family tree kinda ends in this village and the title of the family (for whatever it was worth in those days) revolves around this one-star castle (none of which exists today except an empty field and a marker).
Pictures of Pulford show some slight rolling hills and a stream. Not a single stone remains today of what was at one point the family 'castle'.
Having grown up in the south and noted the "Jim Walter" homes (houses that costs about half of a normal house and usually took four weeks to erect).....I kinda view the Motte and Bailey castle theme as being similar to Jim Walter houses. You get a brief plan from some guy, get some lumber, and get some of your cousins and associates hyped up on free beer, and throw the house or castle together. Luckily, they didn't have castle inspectors in those days.
Book Review: The Black Death, A History from Beginning to End
Written by Henry Freeman.
If you wanted a in-depth view and hearty 500 page book....this is NOT for you. It's a 45-page introduction to the plague and the history in Europe around the disease.
It's designed to be a book you can read over a weekend and get yourself up to speed on the history aspects.
Three observations over the book. First, it's free....yes, free. If you own a Kindle, you can go and download the book for nothing. It's a start-up of a series of such history books which eventually cost something (probably a $1)....but right now, it costs nothing.
Second, most people have a curiosity about history events, but don't want a 500-page book with 2,000 names and places mentioned. This book fills the void on the plague that you might have an interest in knowing the whole story.
Third, Freeman tries to make an emphasis over the massive population losses (half the population of Europe is thought to have died during the period). The problem is that no real statistical data exists and you simply have to accept the general description given.
I recommend the book for those who might want a simple introduction, and maybe later build onto that knowledge with the hearty-produced books.
If you wanted a in-depth view and hearty 500 page book....this is NOT for you. It's a 45-page introduction to the plague and the history in Europe around the disease.
It's designed to be a book you can read over a weekend and get yourself up to speed on the history aspects.
Three observations over the book. First, it's free....yes, free. If you own a Kindle, you can go and download the book for nothing. It's a start-up of a series of such history books which eventually cost something (probably a $1)....but right now, it costs nothing.
Second, most people have a curiosity about history events, but don't want a 500-page book with 2,000 names and places mentioned. This book fills the void on the plague that you might have an interest in knowing the whole story.
Third, Freeman tries to make an emphasis over the massive population losses (half the population of Europe is thought to have died during the period). The problem is that no real statistical data exists and you simply have to accept the general description given.
I recommend the book for those who might want a simple introduction, and maybe later build onto that knowledge with the hearty-produced books.
A Brief Discussion on TTIP
To be honest, one could spend several hours talking about TTIP and what it may or may not achieve. For those not in the "circle" TTIP is the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. It's been a treaty which has been in the works for a minimum of three years (some think talks went back to 2009 with the Obama White House).
The emphasis of the deal? The US and the EU would agree to common understandings on trade. Each will go in front of cameras on rare occasions....to talk up the TTIP discussion and hint of jobs for tens of thousands (each). Each will talk of increased business, increased trade, increased revenue, increased profits.
Before I go to the three key points on this.....one simple reminder.....the US over the past forty-odd years has signed various trade agreements. There's not a single one that resulted in more jobs in the US, after the smoke had cleared. We have a reputation....of signing agreements that have no trade benefit. There's no reason to think this treaty will help the US in any way or fashion.
So, issue one.....transparency. The talks held? All secretive. The public knowledge? Almost non-existent. A handful of German political figures have some access and know the insider view of the talks. They aren't supposed to discuss the views. That by itself.....ought to worry people on both sides of the Atlantic.
Issue two.....limit on new standards. Right now....both the US and EU have a ton of special standards....on beer, milk, cars, bread, light-bulbs, cigarettes, whiskey, etc. A great deal of this discussion on the treaty involves getting to a mutual understanding and approval for each's special view. Once signed? It'll be just about impossible to add new standards. If you felt that some ingredient for soap ought to be phased out because of health concerns....it'd be easily done in today's EU or the US. But after they sign the treaty.....such changes would be more difficult and involve more talks....possibly years of talks....to delete this one ingredient for soap which might be bad for your health.
Issue three....most Germans have zero interest in buying US products (Chevy, Budweiser Beer, Arby's Roast Beef, etc). Most Americans would have zero interest in buying German-made products which cost 20-to-30-percent more than the typical American made product. No one can truly explain how TTIP will jump-start any purchase situation where people actually buy different products.
For President Obama, this is probably the biggest achievement of his legacy, and administration. For the EU? I'm not so sure that they would talk about it as a proud moment.
On 1 May, there will be anti-TTIP marches across Europe, and some possible violent episodes in Germany.
So, when you hear some German hyped up and negative about TTIP.....this is the basic story. Oh, and don't worry.....the German beer standards are firmly in place and there's no way that the crazy Americans will dissolve these titanium-style rules.
The emphasis of the deal? The US and the EU would agree to common understandings on trade. Each will go in front of cameras on rare occasions....to talk up the TTIP discussion and hint of jobs for tens of thousands (each). Each will talk of increased business, increased trade, increased revenue, increased profits.
Before I go to the three key points on this.....one simple reminder.....the US over the past forty-odd years has signed various trade agreements. There's not a single one that resulted in more jobs in the US, after the smoke had cleared. We have a reputation....of signing agreements that have no trade benefit. There's no reason to think this treaty will help the US in any way or fashion.
So, issue one.....transparency. The talks held? All secretive. The public knowledge? Almost non-existent. A handful of German political figures have some access and know the insider view of the talks. They aren't supposed to discuss the views. That by itself.....ought to worry people on both sides of the Atlantic.
Issue two.....limit on new standards. Right now....both the US and EU have a ton of special standards....on beer, milk, cars, bread, light-bulbs, cigarettes, whiskey, etc. A great deal of this discussion on the treaty involves getting to a mutual understanding and approval for each's special view. Once signed? It'll be just about impossible to add new standards. If you felt that some ingredient for soap ought to be phased out because of health concerns....it'd be easily done in today's EU or the US. But after they sign the treaty.....such changes would be more difficult and involve more talks....possibly years of talks....to delete this one ingredient for soap which might be bad for your health.
Issue three....most Germans have zero interest in buying US products (Chevy, Budweiser Beer, Arby's Roast Beef, etc). Most Americans would have zero interest in buying German-made products which cost 20-to-30-percent more than the typical American made product. No one can truly explain how TTIP will jump-start any purchase situation where people actually buy different products.
For President Obama, this is probably the biggest achievement of his legacy, and administration. For the EU? I'm not so sure that they would talk about it as a proud moment.
On 1 May, there will be anti-TTIP marches across Europe, and some possible violent episodes in Germany.
So, when you hear some German hyped up and negative about TTIP.....this is the basic story. Oh, and don't worry.....the German beer standards are firmly in place and there's no way that the crazy Americans will dissolve these titanium-style rules.
Saturday, April 23, 2016
Germany and Early Elections
After WW II, as the Germans were devising the Basic Law (the Constitution).....they simply noted that early elections could occur, but they never laid out the practical ways that a door could be opened and early national elections could be held. Oddly, what the Basic Law does say is that neither the Bundestag or Chancellor can call for a early election....ONLY the President of Germany can do so. The President can only take this action if a confidence vote occurs, and goes negative (plus after this no-confidence vote....the Chancellor is supposed to go and ask for the early election).
Historically, you can go to a couple of occasions in the 1920 and this chaotic period from 1929 to November 1932 to note periods when an election should have occurred but everyone kept a problematic government in place and just kept pretending it wasn't a big deal on a lack of confidence.
How many times has this occurred in German history since 1945? Three.
1972: SPD's position of authority was challenged. Chancellor Willy Brandt (SPD, and former mayor of Berlin) had hyped up Ostpolitik (normalization of relations between West and East Germany). The CDU figured that they could push a vote of no confidence, and a quick election in 1972 would slide their way.
1972 result? Brandt and the SPD hung on.....with one of the largest showings of voters ever in Germany (91-percent)....and won. One of the odd features of this election...just two years prior, the voter age had been pushed from twenty-one to eighteen, and this probably helped in some ways with Brandt and the campaign.
1982: The FDP would quit the SPD-FDP coalition and force an election in the spring of 1983. One of the interesting features of the timing for this....is that the Green Party was organizing and would be a force in the spring of 1983 election. Politically, this put the CDU and Kohl....in a great position as some SPD lost some of it's normal voters to the Green Party.
2005: After a significant defeat in North Rhine-Westphalia for the SPD, Chancellor Schroder cranked up a no-confidence situation. There in the spring of 2005....the CDU was figured to be 20-percent ahead of the SPD nationally, and figured in a campaign setting to easily beat Schroder.
It was a marginal win for the CDU (Merkel) with only one-point separating them from the SPD.
In today's environment? A early election?
It is mostly unlikely but left to five state elections (two this fall....most with eastern German states....and three in the spring). If the CDU and SPD were to lose the normal voting pattern, and the AfD were to take 20-percent in each of the five elections...it might trigger a confidence vote with the Chancellor and the expected election in October/November in 2017......might occur a couple of months prior. But this scenario would require a million refugees to cross over into Germany again for 2016, and a trend continuing for the first month or two in 2017. The odds aren't in favor of that type of situation.
Elections do occur, but it's not the norm.
Historically, you can go to a couple of occasions in the 1920 and this chaotic period from 1929 to November 1932 to note periods when an election should have occurred but everyone kept a problematic government in place and just kept pretending it wasn't a big deal on a lack of confidence.
How many times has this occurred in German history since 1945? Three.
1972: SPD's position of authority was challenged. Chancellor Willy Brandt (SPD, and former mayor of Berlin) had hyped up Ostpolitik (normalization of relations between West and East Germany). The CDU figured that they could push a vote of no confidence, and a quick election in 1972 would slide their way.
1972 result? Brandt and the SPD hung on.....with one of the largest showings of voters ever in Germany (91-percent)....and won. One of the odd features of this election...just two years prior, the voter age had been pushed from twenty-one to eighteen, and this probably helped in some ways with Brandt and the campaign.
1982: The FDP would quit the SPD-FDP coalition and force an election in the spring of 1983. One of the interesting features of the timing for this....is that the Green Party was organizing and would be a force in the spring of 1983 election. Politically, this put the CDU and Kohl....in a great position as some SPD lost some of it's normal voters to the Green Party.
2005: After a significant defeat in North Rhine-Westphalia for the SPD, Chancellor Schroder cranked up a no-confidence situation. There in the spring of 2005....the CDU was figured to be 20-percent ahead of the SPD nationally, and figured in a campaign setting to easily beat Schroder.
It was a marginal win for the CDU (Merkel) with only one-point separating them from the SPD.
In today's environment? A early election?
It is mostly unlikely but left to five state elections (two this fall....most with eastern German states....and three in the spring). If the CDU and SPD were to lose the normal voting pattern, and the AfD were to take 20-percent in each of the five elections...it might trigger a confidence vote with the Chancellor and the expected election in October/November in 2017......might occur a couple of months prior. But this scenario would require a million refugees to cross over into Germany again for 2016, and a trend continuing for the first month or two in 2017. The odds aren't in favor of that type of situation.
Elections do occur, but it's not the norm.
The Fork Story
This is one of my history essays.
I'm finishing or wrapping up a book which probably won't get much attention but it lays out a curious bit of European and American history. The book? Home Life in the Colonial Days by Alice Morse Earle. The studies a lot o things around early American households and how society adapted to innovation.
One of the great inventions of all time....is the fork. I know....you'd laugh about it but imagine trying to eat any dinner without the fork.
So I came to this passage in the book, which discussed the arrival of the fork in 1633 to America. Oddly, the pilgrims had left out of Europe and arrived in the new colony in 1620, without forks. What they ate....was mostly from a knife, wooden spoon or by hand.
The fork delivered in 1633? Well, it went to a governor....John Wintrop. It was delivered in a leather case.
Historians talk about this curious device that we use today.....that it wasn't ready developed or accepted. From 1633 to a decade or two prior to the Revolutionary War (1750s to 1770s)....came the technology push to make the item a regular gadget in the lives of most Americans.
In today's environment.....an item might get introduced on day one, and within sixty days.....it might already be in the hands of ten-percent of the population. Within five years.....most everyone might have access and use of that item. A big difference with the fork where it took almost 150 years.
I'm finishing or wrapping up a book which probably won't get much attention but it lays out a curious bit of European and American history. The book? Home Life in the Colonial Days by Alice Morse Earle. The studies a lot o things around early American households and how society adapted to innovation.
One of the great inventions of all time....is the fork. I know....you'd laugh about it but imagine trying to eat any dinner without the fork.
So I came to this passage in the book, which discussed the arrival of the fork in 1633 to America. Oddly, the pilgrims had left out of Europe and arrived in the new colony in 1620, without forks. What they ate....was mostly from a knife, wooden spoon or by hand.
The fork delivered in 1633? Well, it went to a governor....John Wintrop. It was delivered in a leather case.
Historians talk about this curious device that we use today.....that it wasn't ready developed or accepted. From 1633 to a decade or two prior to the Revolutionary War (1750s to 1770s)....came the technology push to make the item a regular gadget in the lives of most Americans.
In today's environment.....an item might get introduced on day one, and within sixty days.....it might already be in the hands of ten-percent of the population. Within five years.....most everyone might have access and use of that item. A big difference with the fork where it took almost 150 years.
Friday, April 22, 2016
The German Debate Over Retirement
There's a fair sized debate underway currently in Germany....over what some see as four different fields of thought.
The right retirement age? 63, 65, 67, or 70?
Before you run off to hear the German pitches for the various age deals.....you need to start with one simple fact.....they are running out of pension funds. The current population of eighty-one million will slide (unless immigration saves the day or delays the day).....to around 65 to 67 million within the next twenty-five years. No one argues against this point anymore....it's agreed upon by the government, university studies, and private foundations.
If they could hold the population to the eighty-one million level, we probably wouldn't be having this discussion on the age situation.
Presently, most Germans who might retire in the five to ten years....will do it at the 65-year point. Those around age 50 now.....will have to work until 67. The finance guys who control the pension program would like to make the new retirement in twenty years....70 year old. Meanwhile, about half the German population would like to retire around age 62 or 63 years old.
German healthcare figures into this mess because they do a good job of extending a guy's life. Well....to the point there he is still around active at age seventy. It doesn't mean he can still work at the butcher shop, or mix concrete, or hang wallpaper. The budget people simply think that seventy is the new 65.
What kind of employment exists in Germany for a guy who is sixty-five and needs five more years before retirement? It's hard to find any HR guy who'd go and recruit for someone in this age group. I watched a documentary piece last year where a guy in the Hessen area....around age 65....went looking for work. Ten potential jobs.....ten episodes where he was turned down.
What some Germans have pointed out is that some professions are simply impossible for people to make it much past sixty.....like carpenters, roofers, concrete guys, or anything involving physical stamina. These are the people suggested for early retirement.
Where this is going? I would suggest that some major financial emergency will occur within a decade and reality will be admitted by several political parties that they have a pension program that can't survive. You will either have to work five more years (which might be impossible to imagine), or take a twenty-percent cut on your pension (something which is also hard to imagine). The public frustration will be difficult to devise some fix or repair to the system.
Oddly, it's the same scenario that most Americans face.
The right retirement age? 63, 65, 67, or 70?
Before you run off to hear the German pitches for the various age deals.....you need to start with one simple fact.....they are running out of pension funds. The current population of eighty-one million will slide (unless immigration saves the day or delays the day).....to around 65 to 67 million within the next twenty-five years. No one argues against this point anymore....it's agreed upon by the government, university studies, and private foundations.
If they could hold the population to the eighty-one million level, we probably wouldn't be having this discussion on the age situation.
Presently, most Germans who might retire in the five to ten years....will do it at the 65-year point. Those around age 50 now.....will have to work until 67. The finance guys who control the pension program would like to make the new retirement in twenty years....70 year old. Meanwhile, about half the German population would like to retire around age 62 or 63 years old.
German healthcare figures into this mess because they do a good job of extending a guy's life. Well....to the point there he is still around active at age seventy. It doesn't mean he can still work at the butcher shop, or mix concrete, or hang wallpaper. The budget people simply think that seventy is the new 65.
What kind of employment exists in Germany for a guy who is sixty-five and needs five more years before retirement? It's hard to find any HR guy who'd go and recruit for someone in this age group. I watched a documentary piece last year where a guy in the Hessen area....around age 65....went looking for work. Ten potential jobs.....ten episodes where he was turned down.
What some Germans have pointed out is that some professions are simply impossible for people to make it much past sixty.....like carpenters, roofers, concrete guys, or anything involving physical stamina. These are the people suggested for early retirement.
Where this is going? I would suggest that some major financial emergency will occur within a decade and reality will be admitted by several political parties that they have a pension program that can't survive. You will either have to work five more years (which might be impossible to imagine), or take a twenty-percent cut on your pension (something which is also hard to imagine). The public frustration will be difficult to devise some fix or repair to the system.
Oddly, it's the same scenario that most Americans face.
Thursday, April 21, 2016
New Book: "Wishful Thinking"
In four days (25 April), a new book will appear....written by Thilo Sarrazin (former SPD politician and generally accepted finance expert). The title? "Wishful Thinking".
Sarrazin made a name for himself back in 2010 as he wrote a book entitled "Germany Abolishes Itself", which made a long discussion about the failures of multiculturalism in Germany, and the actual real cost of immigration.
The 2010 book got a lot of discussion and sales around Germany. Thirteen editions of the book have been sold, and copies have exceeded 1.5 million. Naturally, he's taken a tough position against the government of Chancellor Merkel.
Journalists tossed a great deal of negativity toward Sarrazin and his 2010 book.....mostly in defense of multiculturalism. Along the way, he's also criticized Islam in Germany.....which got more negativity by journalists.
Polls from the 2010 period indicated that his views are shared by approximately half of the population, and in one instance.....a poll of about twenty-percent of the public said that they'd support a political party by Sarrazin.....if he'd start one. At that point, he was sixty and I think he was more amused by the party talk than anything else.
This new book? Wishful Thinking?
He's taken the Chancellor's vision and appears (by the description that Bild newspaper has printed this week on the book review).....to discuss at length the various failures of the immigration and integration program.
With the 2010 book having sold 1.5 million copies....there's some expectations that this new book will meet and exceed the previous book. The thing is....it's coming at a time when open discussion might interceded with the two fall state elections in Germany and cause some people (from all parts of the political spectrum) to discuss the vision ahead.
Public chat forums on state-run German TV will end up forced to address the book and Sarrazin's view of failed immigration. The more these discussions are brought into public view.....I suspect that there will be less support of the Berlin position on mass immigration and the current vision.
Sarrazin made a name for himself back in 2010 as he wrote a book entitled "Germany Abolishes Itself", which made a long discussion about the failures of multiculturalism in Germany, and the actual real cost of immigration.
The 2010 book got a lot of discussion and sales around Germany. Thirteen editions of the book have been sold, and copies have exceeded 1.5 million. Naturally, he's taken a tough position against the government of Chancellor Merkel.
Journalists tossed a great deal of negativity toward Sarrazin and his 2010 book.....mostly in defense of multiculturalism. Along the way, he's also criticized Islam in Germany.....which got more negativity by journalists.
Polls from the 2010 period indicated that his views are shared by approximately half of the population, and in one instance.....a poll of about twenty-percent of the public said that they'd support a political party by Sarrazin.....if he'd start one. At that point, he was sixty and I think he was more amused by the party talk than anything else.
This new book? Wishful Thinking?
He's taken the Chancellor's vision and appears (by the description that Bild newspaper has printed this week on the book review).....to discuss at length the various failures of the immigration and integration program.
With the 2010 book having sold 1.5 million copies....there's some expectations that this new book will meet and exceed the previous book. The thing is....it's coming at a time when open discussion might interceded with the two fall state elections in Germany and cause some people (from all parts of the political spectrum) to discuss the vision ahead.
Public chat forums on state-run German TV will end up forced to address the book and Sarrazin's view of failed immigration. The more these discussions are brought into public view.....I suspect that there will be less support of the Berlin position on mass immigration and the current vision.
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
A Snake Story
Somewhere on the west end of Wiesbaden yesterday....cops got a call. It was one of those oddball situations.
An apartment building.....a tenet with water leakage from the apartment above him.....a repair guy not getting access into the apartment in question.
When they finally talked to some folks around the building....there came this suggestion that maybe they should call a vet and some big guys to help.
So the door gets opened to this apartment, and what they find is mostly a jungle-like setting....water on the floor....a couple of mice or rats walking around, and a three-meter long Boa Constrictor. They remove the snake, and based on journalist comments....there's going to be a chat between the landlord and the renter.
There's a trend going on in Germany....where these exotic-like snakes are being procured and some folks go a little strange on the living conditions.
An apartment building.....a tenet with water leakage from the apartment above him.....a repair guy not getting access into the apartment in question.
When they finally talked to some folks around the building....there came this suggestion that maybe they should call a vet and some big guys to help.
So the door gets opened to this apartment, and what they find is mostly a jungle-like setting....water on the floor....a couple of mice or rats walking around, and a three-meter long Boa Constrictor. They remove the snake, and based on journalist comments....there's going to be a chat between the landlord and the renter.
There's a trend going on in Germany....where these exotic-like snakes are being procured and some folks go a little strange on the living conditions.
The Lack of Freedom of Religion
In the last couple of days, the AfD Party of Germany (the anti-immigration folks) took up a new topic....suggesting that Islam is a political tool and not compatible with the Basic Law (the German Constitution).
The opposition will say that the AfD folks are using the irrational fear (it must always be irrational because rational people would not come to this conclusion....so the experts say).....of the public.
Part of this AfD discussion centers on forbidding the Islamic facial covering and the use of head scarves. At the national level, I have doubts that it'll be ever passed, but at the state levels....as elections become more heated.....I imagine within five years that the first German state banning facial coverings will occur, and be challenged in court.
The counter-argument? Most would say that a majority of Muslims are law-abiding people. It's that ten-percent factor that aren't....which usually is laid down on the table and keeps this discussion actively going.
My general perception, after hours of pondering....is that you can't really have freedom of religion.....if you have some fear of religion harming you. If you fear for your life, your safety, your neighborhood, your family, your existence.....then there's not really a freedom of religion in existence. You simply pretend that such a thing exists and silently sit....waiting on some threat to come and harm friends and associates. Then you go back the next day....hyping your belief in a freedom of religion....grieving for your friends....and worrying about this fake freedom of religion gimmick.
At some point, various people will wake up and realize that the Basic Law guarantees any religion to exist....even one made up in the middle of some pub on a Friday night by six drunk Saxons. So, the six drunk Saxons will seize upon the idea of copying the Muslim religion for the most part, using the texts on threats and violence for their own religion, making all members (male and female) wear burkas, and have Friday night fests in honor of their religious principals....all guaranteed by the Basic Law. At that point....the anti-AfD crowd will have to sit and ponder upon the threats made by this crowd and realize that they've got a pretty big mess on their hands.
In the end, you really don't have freedom of religion. You have "flexibility" to do something religious, which may leave your neighbors alone, or harm them. Only good sense and will-power split the fence between good and evil.
The opposition will say that the AfD folks are using the irrational fear (it must always be irrational because rational people would not come to this conclusion....so the experts say).....of the public.
Part of this AfD discussion centers on forbidding the Islamic facial covering and the use of head scarves. At the national level, I have doubts that it'll be ever passed, but at the state levels....as elections become more heated.....I imagine within five years that the first German state banning facial coverings will occur, and be challenged in court.
The counter-argument? Most would say that a majority of Muslims are law-abiding people. It's that ten-percent factor that aren't....which usually is laid down on the table and keeps this discussion actively going.
My general perception, after hours of pondering....is that you can't really have freedom of religion.....if you have some fear of religion harming you. If you fear for your life, your safety, your neighborhood, your family, your existence.....then there's not really a freedom of religion in existence. You simply pretend that such a thing exists and silently sit....waiting on some threat to come and harm friends and associates. Then you go back the next day....hyping your belief in a freedom of religion....grieving for your friends....and worrying about this fake freedom of religion gimmick.
At some point, various people will wake up and realize that the Basic Law guarantees any religion to exist....even one made up in the middle of some pub on a Friday night by six drunk Saxons. So, the six drunk Saxons will seize upon the idea of copying the Muslim religion for the most part, using the texts on threats and violence for their own religion, making all members (male and female) wear burkas, and have Friday night fests in honor of their religious principals....all guaranteed by the Basic Law. At that point....the anti-AfD crowd will have to sit and ponder upon the threats made by this crowd and realize that they've got a pretty big mess on their hands.
In the end, you really don't have freedom of religion. You have "flexibility" to do something religious, which may leave your neighbors alone, or harm them. Only good sense and will-power split the fence between good and evil.
Monday, April 18, 2016
A Gun Story
I occasionally will view state-run RBB....the Berlin network and their news.
They had a small piece on gun-ownership and trends in the Berlin region.
For those who might think that gun-ownership in Germany or Berlin itself is forbidden....well, no. There are 26,000 people within the state of Berlin....who are registered gun owners. No one splits these people off into male or female.....or sane versus insane. These are people who took the course, passed the tests, and were granted the right to own a gun. All this adds up to 123,500 runs within the state. Well....legal guns, that is.
What RBB gets around to discussing that between 2010 and 2015 (five years), they had around 1840 people that they had to charge on weapons violations. They are careful about how they say it....hinting only that it was incidents involving bodily harm, or illegal having weapons in possession.
RBB doesn't necessarily infer that of the 26,000 legal owners....that 1,840 legal owners were in some kind of violation. In fact, they leave this type of statistic totally off the report. So, one might assume that almost all of the 1,840 arrested folks.....were non-legal and illegally holding weapons in their possession or illegally threatening people with the guns.
You can do the statistical game with this....it comes out to roughly seven violations a week, in a town of 3.5 million people.
You can go and ask ten thousand Germans over the age of fifty.....how many times have you been stopped on the street or in your car.....and the cop asks to frisk you or check out your trunk. I'd take a guess that fewer than fifty of the ten-thousand will say it's happened once in their life. If you hang out at bars and pubs late, where drug trafficking occurs.....it's probably a much higher statistic of having a cop frisk or ask about the contents of your trunk.
Section 51 of the German gun code kinda specifies the amount of trouble that you can get into with illegal possession of weapons. One to five years in prison is what the court would dish out. If your use of the weapon was in the act of a "gain"? Up to ten years in prison. It's a simple and tough mess that you get into yourself into.....if you were to walk around with no license or an illegally procured gun.
They had a small piece on gun-ownership and trends in the Berlin region.
For those who might think that gun-ownership in Germany or Berlin itself is forbidden....well, no. There are 26,000 people within the state of Berlin....who are registered gun owners. No one splits these people off into male or female.....or sane versus insane. These are people who took the course, passed the tests, and were granted the right to own a gun. All this adds up to 123,500 runs within the state. Well....legal guns, that is.
What RBB gets around to discussing that between 2010 and 2015 (five years), they had around 1840 people that they had to charge on weapons violations. They are careful about how they say it....hinting only that it was incidents involving bodily harm, or illegal having weapons in possession.
RBB doesn't necessarily infer that of the 26,000 legal owners....that 1,840 legal owners were in some kind of violation. In fact, they leave this type of statistic totally off the report. So, one might assume that almost all of the 1,840 arrested folks.....were non-legal and illegally holding weapons in their possession or illegally threatening people with the guns.
You can do the statistical game with this....it comes out to roughly seven violations a week, in a town of 3.5 million people.
You can go and ask ten thousand Germans over the age of fifty.....how many times have you been stopped on the street or in your car.....and the cop asks to frisk you or check out your trunk. I'd take a guess that fewer than fifty of the ten-thousand will say it's happened once in their life. If you hang out at bars and pubs late, where drug trafficking occurs.....it's probably a much higher statistic of having a cop frisk or ask about the contents of your trunk.
Section 51 of the German gun code kinda specifies the amount of trouble that you can get into with illegal possession of weapons. One to five years in prison is what the court would dish out. If your use of the weapon was in the act of a "gain"? Up to ten years in prison. It's a simple and tough mess that you get into yourself into.....if you were to walk around with no license or an illegally procured gun.
Sunday, April 17, 2016
Restaurant Review: Landgasthof Zum Schwanen
Occasionally, I'll step into a small German restaurant and realize that it's better than average, and deserves some credit.
First, to find Landgasthof Zum Schwanen.....it's a bit of a task. It's in the 'burb' of Wiesbaden-Kloppenheim, on the far east side of Wiesbaden (on Oberstrasse). I should note that it lacks parking and you may have to drive down the street a bit to park, and walk back up to the small operation itself.
Second, they don't have an exceptionally large menu. There's probably ten total dishes on the menu....most revolving around pork or beef. What they do.....they do well, and is not out of some can or ready-made pouch.
Third, it's the traditional German atmosphere that reminds you of some inn with a dozen-odd guests and look of an 1800s pub operation.
Don't bother looking up a menu from an on-line site.....they don't post it.
If you wanted just plain old-fashioned German food.....cooked exceptionally well....this is the place.
First, to find Landgasthof Zum Schwanen.....it's a bit of a task. It's in the 'burb' of Wiesbaden-Kloppenheim, on the far east side of Wiesbaden (on Oberstrasse). I should note that it lacks parking and you may have to drive down the street a bit to park, and walk back up to the small operation itself.
Second, they don't have an exceptionally large menu. There's probably ten total dishes on the menu....most revolving around pork or beef. What they do.....they do well, and is not out of some can or ready-made pouch.
Third, it's the traditional German atmosphere that reminds you of some inn with a dozen-odd guests and look of an 1800s pub operation.
Don't bother looking up a menu from an on-line site.....they don't post it.
If you wanted just plain old-fashioned German food.....cooked exceptionally well....this is the place.
The Make-Up of Germany Today
This is one of my history essays, and concerns the historic make-up of Prussia-turned-Germany.
There are five categories of territory, when you go back to the formation period (mid-1800s):
Kingdoms, Grand Duchies, Duchies (without the 'grand'), Principalities, and Free/Hanseatic cities.
If you bring this topic up with most Germans.....I'd take a humble guess that 90-percent will simply nod their head because they slept through that part of the history class while as a kid. And to be honest, in 2016.....none of this matters too much.
The kingdoms? Bavaria, Prussia, Saxony, and Wurttemberg. Prussia was the largest of these and had been around since 1701....as a kingdom. It should be noted.....that a fair chunk of what is Poland today.....was Prussia in this period.
The Grand Duchies? Baden, Hessen, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Oldenburg and Sachsen-Weimar.
The Duchies? Brunswick, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Coburg/Gotha, Saxe-Altenburg, and Anhalt.
The Principalities? Lippe, Reuss-Gera, Reuss-Greiz, Schaumburg-Lippe, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, and Waldeck-Pyrmont.
The Free or Hanseatic cities? Lubeck, Hamburg, and Bremen.
In some ways, there's been roughly 160 to 180 years that these German divisions have existed inside of Prussia or Germany itself.
Somewhere in the early part of this Prussia consolidation process....a number of colonies were established, such as German New Guinea (1884), and Nambia (1906).
What you see today.....is really a patch-work episode with the only common theme being the Germanic language itself.
There are five categories of territory, when you go back to the formation period (mid-1800s):
Kingdoms, Grand Duchies, Duchies (without the 'grand'), Principalities, and Free/Hanseatic cities.
If you bring this topic up with most Germans.....I'd take a humble guess that 90-percent will simply nod their head because they slept through that part of the history class while as a kid. And to be honest, in 2016.....none of this matters too much.
The kingdoms? Bavaria, Prussia, Saxony, and Wurttemberg. Prussia was the largest of these and had been around since 1701....as a kingdom. It should be noted.....that a fair chunk of what is Poland today.....was Prussia in this period.
The Grand Duchies? Baden, Hessen, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Oldenburg and Sachsen-Weimar.
The Duchies? Brunswick, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Coburg/Gotha, Saxe-Altenburg, and Anhalt.
The Principalities? Lippe, Reuss-Gera, Reuss-Greiz, Schaumburg-Lippe, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, and Waldeck-Pyrmont.
The Free or Hanseatic cities? Lubeck, Hamburg, and Bremen.
In some ways, there's been roughly 160 to 180 years that these German divisions have existed inside of Prussia or Germany itself.
Somewhere in the early part of this Prussia consolidation process....a number of colonies were established, such as German New Guinea (1884), and Nambia (1906).
What you see today.....is really a patch-work episode with the only common theme being the Germanic language itself.
Saturday, April 16, 2016
The Maximilian Joseph Story
One of my history essays.....on the idea of Bavaria today being part of Austria.....IF things had gone differently.
A decade before the French Revolution, and the substantiate arrival of Napoleon as a game-changer in European politics.....there was the brief and non-dramatic War of Bavarian Succession. I know....it's not a catchy name for a war and not one that you'd ever hear much about.
It's a brief war that has mostly to do with the fact that there is no legit ruler to replace some old chap who has died and left the poor kingdom of Bavaria without proper leadership (something that a Brit would say after a fine evening of pub activity).
Toward the very last few days of 1777....Maximilian Joseph would pass on (smallpox would kill the guy). Sadly, he'd been the Duke of Bavaria for thirty-two years and have no children to lead the empire.
A cousin existed who could have claimed the kingdom (Charles IV).....but he also had no children.
From Charles IV, there was this one other cousin (cousin of a cousin of a cousin thought process) who was the Duke of Zweibrucken.....who might have figured into this whole emergency problem.
But across the border.....to the south.....was Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, from the House of Hapsburg (Austria). He looked upon this moment as a chance to add a German-speaking state onto the family influence in Europe.
The problem with this idea by Joseph? The Empress herself (Maria Theresa) didn't agree with the idea of a war being fought over this issue).
The driving force of this mess ended up being Prussian alliance which would allow Bavaria to stay as it was. Added to this....Catherine the Great promised to aid Prussia with fifty thousand Russian troops if necessary.
So for roughly nine months....a marginal war of sorts is staged between Prussia and the Hapsburg Empire. There are no remarkable battles. The 20,000 from the two forces who died? Historians mostly record the bulk as having died from starvation and disease....not battles or such.
All of this would close out on 13 May 1798 with the Treaty of Teschen.
When historians talk about wars without battle.....this is usually referred to as the last of such events (Cabinet Wars is a popular term)....where you'd pretend to stage a war.....mostly to get people to a table to talk on a problem and reach an agreement.
If Russia had not sided with Prussia? If Prussia had chosen to stay neutral? Well....Bavaria would have become a part of Austria. History would be a bit different today.
A decade before the French Revolution, and the substantiate arrival of Napoleon as a game-changer in European politics.....there was the brief and non-dramatic War of Bavarian Succession. I know....it's not a catchy name for a war and not one that you'd ever hear much about.
It's a brief war that has mostly to do with the fact that there is no legit ruler to replace some old chap who has died and left the poor kingdom of Bavaria without proper leadership (something that a Brit would say after a fine evening of pub activity).
Toward the very last few days of 1777....Maximilian Joseph would pass on (smallpox would kill the guy). Sadly, he'd been the Duke of Bavaria for thirty-two years and have no children to lead the empire.
A cousin existed who could have claimed the kingdom (Charles IV).....but he also had no children.
From Charles IV, there was this one other cousin (cousin of a cousin of a cousin thought process) who was the Duke of Zweibrucken.....who might have figured into this whole emergency problem.
But across the border.....to the south.....was Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, from the House of Hapsburg (Austria). He looked upon this moment as a chance to add a German-speaking state onto the family influence in Europe.
The problem with this idea by Joseph? The Empress herself (Maria Theresa) didn't agree with the idea of a war being fought over this issue).
The driving force of this mess ended up being Prussian alliance which would allow Bavaria to stay as it was. Added to this....Catherine the Great promised to aid Prussia with fifty thousand Russian troops if necessary.
So for roughly nine months....a marginal war of sorts is staged between Prussia and the Hapsburg Empire. There are no remarkable battles. The 20,000 from the two forces who died? Historians mostly record the bulk as having died from starvation and disease....not battles or such.
All of this would close out on 13 May 1798 with the Treaty of Teschen.
When historians talk about wars without battle.....this is usually referred to as the last of such events (Cabinet Wars is a popular term)....where you'd pretend to stage a war.....mostly to get people to a table to talk on a problem and reach an agreement.
If Russia had not sided with Prussia? If Prussia had chosen to stay neutral? Well....Bavaria would have become a part of Austria. History would be a bit different today.
The News Offerings
If you live in Germany, as an American or Brit, and desire real news besides what's on from the German state-run or commercially-run networks, there's only a limited number of choices.
For business news, there's Bloomberg or the CNBC Business Network. Both will do a five-star job with business-related news. For anything else? It's lacking in a serious way.
So, you turn and find the eight other options.
1. CNN. There was a time twenty years ago when I might advocate or recommend CNN. At some point, it became painfully obvious that they'd report some episode and leave out several key parts of the story. It might be intentional, or it might be just poor journalism.....but when you start to do this daily....it makes your 'product' less than satisfactory.
2. China News (in English). I probably watch 90 minutes a month from the satellite network. They do forum-style discussions where they talk about the changing face and economy of China. I have to admit that it's usually an open discussion and interesting to get fresh prospective of different issues. Oddly, they try avoiding being critical of any nation and then to stay with facts.
3. RT (Russia Today, in English). Ok, it is painfully slanted on occasion and you have to go onto other sources for additional facts to determine if they are telling a legit or correct story. The thing is....they occasionally tell a five-star story, loaded with facts and balanced reporting. For reference, the bad countries are always Turkey, Germany, and the US.
4. BBC. If some big event has occurred and minute-by-minute reporting is desired.....the BBC does a great job. Throughout the day? They run a fair amount of interviews, sports, and commentary. There are occasions when it's not balanced. I would also note that there's always some Brit-only BIG story with no impact to the other 99-percent of the world being reported.
5. Deutsche Welle. They've gone to live English broadcasts. From summer of last year, they've gone to a new studio...started doing live news....bringing in various journalists from key events and talking about the facts over some developing story. A slant? It's hard to be a German journalist and not have some slant of some type. But on the whole, they try to stay with the facts.
6. Korean TV (in English). It's an odd network. There's probably three or four news periods throughout the day.....the rest is filled with young Korean chat, entertainment news, or Korean music (rock or pop). If you were into cultural stuff on South Korea, it's a great device to learn about the country. For news, I give them a marginal score.
7. Japanese TV (in English). News will come up a dozen times in the day and it can be informative although three-quarters of what you get is Japanese news. The rest of the day is Nat'l Geographic-style documentaries on Japan.
8. France-24 (in English). For me, it is one of the best news networks in existence. Rarely is there any slant.....for a majority of occasions, it's simply facts or live interview of people at the scene and what they perceive. If you wanted a really decent explanation of the day's top ten news items.....turn in around 7PM (German time) and you get an entire hour of round-table discussion with four to five French or France-based journalists.
For business news, there's Bloomberg or the CNBC Business Network. Both will do a five-star job with business-related news. For anything else? It's lacking in a serious way.
So, you turn and find the eight other options.
1. CNN. There was a time twenty years ago when I might advocate or recommend CNN. At some point, it became painfully obvious that they'd report some episode and leave out several key parts of the story. It might be intentional, or it might be just poor journalism.....but when you start to do this daily....it makes your 'product' less than satisfactory.
2. China News (in English). I probably watch 90 minutes a month from the satellite network. They do forum-style discussions where they talk about the changing face and economy of China. I have to admit that it's usually an open discussion and interesting to get fresh prospective of different issues. Oddly, they try avoiding being critical of any nation and then to stay with facts.
3. RT (Russia Today, in English). Ok, it is painfully slanted on occasion and you have to go onto other sources for additional facts to determine if they are telling a legit or correct story. The thing is....they occasionally tell a five-star story, loaded with facts and balanced reporting. For reference, the bad countries are always Turkey, Germany, and the US.
4. BBC. If some big event has occurred and minute-by-minute reporting is desired.....the BBC does a great job. Throughout the day? They run a fair amount of interviews, sports, and commentary. There are occasions when it's not balanced. I would also note that there's always some Brit-only BIG story with no impact to the other 99-percent of the world being reported.
5. Deutsche Welle. They've gone to live English broadcasts. From summer of last year, they've gone to a new studio...started doing live news....bringing in various journalists from key events and talking about the facts over some developing story. A slant? It's hard to be a German journalist and not have some slant of some type. But on the whole, they try to stay with the facts.
6. Korean TV (in English). It's an odd network. There's probably three or four news periods throughout the day.....the rest is filled with young Korean chat, entertainment news, or Korean music (rock or pop). If you were into cultural stuff on South Korea, it's a great device to learn about the country. For news, I give them a marginal score.
7. Japanese TV (in English). News will come up a dozen times in the day and it can be informative although three-quarters of what you get is Japanese news. The rest of the day is Nat'l Geographic-style documentaries on Japan.
8. France-24 (in English). For me, it is one of the best news networks in existence. Rarely is there any slant.....for a majority of occasions, it's simply facts or live interview of people at the scene and what they perceive. If you wanted a really decent explanation of the day's top ten news items.....turn in around 7PM (German time) and you get an entire hour of round-table discussion with four to five French or France-based journalists.
The Intelligence Test?
Focus, the German news magazine, had brief article this morning.
Klaus Bouillon is the Interior Minister of the Saarland (one of the 16 German states). Bouillon is one of the more interesting of German political figures, but rarely gets dragged out to some public forum for a nationally televised discussion.
From 1982 to 2014, he served as the elected mayor of St Wendel.....a Saar city of 26,000 people. In the literal sense, Bouillon transformed St Wendel. Through grants from the state and national government over this 32 year period.....he brought in 950 million Euro of renovation money for the city and surrounding neighborhoods. At some point, he invented the gimmick of noting St Wendel as a "sports city", where fifteen significant sports events are held yearly....with the 2002 Tour de France actually going through the Saar city as part of the French event.
In the last election as mayor (2010), he was so popular that he got 85-percent of the vote. It's hard to find anyone who dislikes the guy.
The article on Bouillon? Well, he's come out and suggested that the government has to know the intelligence level of incoming refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants....if it wants to integrate and provide training as needed. An intelligence test?
You can imagine the gut feeling from the pro-immigration crowd because they know it's inviting issues.
But Bouillon is pointing out the obvious factor.....all of this integration, asylum, immigration and refugee business goes to job training or certification at some point. How can the Job-Centers properly do their job, without an idea of who is standing in front of them. You could have a PhD Syrian standing there in their midst and try to embarrass the guy by sending him to some grocery interview.
The other side of this episode is that if you line up a hundred immigrants, and find out that sixty have some fairly decent level of intelligence which requires only minimum training......but then turn to realize that of the forty individuals left.....half of them are barely at the German 6th-grade level of education. What exactly can you do with people like this.....other than hustling them off to Burger King for a flipper-job?
If you knew that twenty-percent of the incoming were of no value.....would it reshape the whole conversation and force some type of review of the Merkel vision?
Bouillon starts this as an experiment...a test.....with volunteers only in the beginning. I'm guessing that a dozen-odd Germans will try to volunteer and get into the middle of this as test members.....to ensure the fairness, and discover that they might only be regarded as average-smart instead of the brilliant-smart that they'd been assuming of themselves for years.
The thing is that Bouillon is nearing 70 years old. The CDU should have realized the capability of this guy back in the 1990s and brought him to the national level. In a forum, he is articulate, loaded with common sense, and persuasive with information as part of the discussion. And this intelligence test idea is probably one of the smartest ideas put on the table so far during this crisis.
Klaus Bouillon is the Interior Minister of the Saarland (one of the 16 German states). Bouillon is one of the more interesting of German political figures, but rarely gets dragged out to some public forum for a nationally televised discussion.
From 1982 to 2014, he served as the elected mayor of St Wendel.....a Saar city of 26,000 people. In the literal sense, Bouillon transformed St Wendel. Through grants from the state and national government over this 32 year period.....he brought in 950 million Euro of renovation money for the city and surrounding neighborhoods. At some point, he invented the gimmick of noting St Wendel as a "sports city", where fifteen significant sports events are held yearly....with the 2002 Tour de France actually going through the Saar city as part of the French event.
In the last election as mayor (2010), he was so popular that he got 85-percent of the vote. It's hard to find anyone who dislikes the guy.
The article on Bouillon? Well, he's come out and suggested that the government has to know the intelligence level of incoming refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants....if it wants to integrate and provide training as needed. An intelligence test?
You can imagine the gut feeling from the pro-immigration crowd because they know it's inviting issues.
But Bouillon is pointing out the obvious factor.....all of this integration, asylum, immigration and refugee business goes to job training or certification at some point. How can the Job-Centers properly do their job, without an idea of who is standing in front of them. You could have a PhD Syrian standing there in their midst and try to embarrass the guy by sending him to some grocery interview.
The other side of this episode is that if you line up a hundred immigrants, and find out that sixty have some fairly decent level of intelligence which requires only minimum training......but then turn to realize that of the forty individuals left.....half of them are barely at the German 6th-grade level of education. What exactly can you do with people like this.....other than hustling them off to Burger King for a flipper-job?
If you knew that twenty-percent of the incoming were of no value.....would it reshape the whole conversation and force some type of review of the Merkel vision?
Bouillon starts this as an experiment...a test.....with volunteers only in the beginning. I'm guessing that a dozen-odd Germans will try to volunteer and get into the middle of this as test members.....to ensure the fairness, and discover that they might only be regarded as average-smart instead of the brilliant-smart that they'd been assuming of themselves for years.
The thing is that Bouillon is nearing 70 years old. The CDU should have realized the capability of this guy back in the 1990s and brought him to the national level. In a forum, he is articulate, loaded with common sense, and persuasive with information as part of the discussion. And this intelligence test idea is probably one of the smartest ideas put on the table so far during this crisis.
Friday, April 15, 2016
Germans and "Free College"
I sat this week and watched some American agenda-enthusiast hype up "free university". During this political season in the US....it's one of the hundred-odd topics that get brought up. Some people will even go and reason that since free university works in Germany.....well, we ought to bring it to the US.
I've lived long enough in Germany to speak to this subject of German "free university", and one ought to be get all the facts lined up before they want to jump into the German experience.
First, German high schools aren't competitive sports organizations. Typically, there are two or three periods a week for physical work-outs, but there aren't any football, basketball, baseball, or soccer clubs built into any school atmosphere. If you want competitive sports.....you go to the town or village sports club after school, and participate there. Germans will tell you that their schools are for learning, NOT for sports.
Second, German universities will tell you that they aren't into competitive sports either. No NCAA teams, or marginal dimwits showing up to take college classes that they aren't capable of handling.
Third, German teachers have a schedule and you need to be in class and achieving the goals of the class. Skip out on anything and miss understanding some segment for a test? Fail enough tests? You get a "failure", and if you can accumulate enough of these.....you fail the year, and repeat. Germans don't joke much about that. They actually fail you.
Fourth, playing games about forgetting your book, your homework, or fail to study for a test? The teachers and school administrators will make sure that you don't get to the university level.
Fifth, partying it up at a German college? You won't make it past the first year....they will let you go.
Sixth, hyped up on some social or lifestyle agenda? German schools don't have time for you, your social game, or your new found lifestyle. School starts at 8 and will end between 12:30 and 1:30. Less hours, compacted into precise modules of learning.
If you wanted the free university deal that Germany offers, you need to be able to accept the consequences attached to it. My guess is that after a through examination.....most people hyping up free college won't be happy with the German version, and would decline it.
I've lived long enough in Germany to speak to this subject of German "free university", and one ought to be get all the facts lined up before they want to jump into the German experience.
First, German high schools aren't competitive sports organizations. Typically, there are two or three periods a week for physical work-outs, but there aren't any football, basketball, baseball, or soccer clubs built into any school atmosphere. If you want competitive sports.....you go to the town or village sports club after school, and participate there. Germans will tell you that their schools are for learning, NOT for sports.
Second, German universities will tell you that they aren't into competitive sports either. No NCAA teams, or marginal dimwits showing up to take college classes that they aren't capable of handling.
Third, German teachers have a schedule and you need to be in class and achieving the goals of the class. Skip out on anything and miss understanding some segment for a test? Fail enough tests? You get a "failure", and if you can accumulate enough of these.....you fail the year, and repeat. Germans don't joke much about that. They actually fail you.
Fourth, playing games about forgetting your book, your homework, or fail to study for a test? The teachers and school administrators will make sure that you don't get to the university level.
Fifth, partying it up at a German college? You won't make it past the first year....they will let you go.
Sixth, hyped up on some social or lifestyle agenda? German schools don't have time for you, your social game, or your new found lifestyle. School starts at 8 and will end between 12:30 and 1:30. Less hours, compacted into precise modules of learning.
If you wanted the free university deal that Germany offers, you need to be able to accept the consequences attached to it. My guess is that after a through examination.....most people hyping up free college won't be happy with the German version, and would decline it.
The von Kahr Story
This is one of my German history essays.
In 1919....the war for Germany ends, and German troops return home. For Corporal Hitler, he returns back to Bavaria. It's an interesting period for young man. He's charged up on enthusiasm for the German military but out of work. He find this nifty job. The Bavarian military is running an office in Munich called the Education and Propaganda Department (it's a left-over piece of the Prussian military system, if you were wondering why it exists).
These folks are tracking and spying on various political parties in Bavaria....mostly out of fear that political chaos will erupt and disturb the current, planned, and approved political chaos underway. You can only allow approved chaos.....not the unapproved chaos.
So, it's a simple job for young Hitler. He's an agent.....paid a fairly low sum of money but this is great use of his talent.....well....whatever talent that a infiltrator would have. All he has to do is walk in.....stand around....listen to comments....sip beer (likely paid for the job as well)....and just remember enough for a report later.
The party chosen for the young Hitler? The German Workers Party (DAP).
No one ever writes much over this or talks about the prospective that happens here.....but as Hitler comes in and sits through these discussions at the beer hall on DAP vision.....he agrees with them completely. In a matter of a couple of weeks.....he's now charged up and politically lined up with DAP, and espousing their beliefs.
So, we come to the story and relationship to young Hitler....involving Gustav Ritter von Kahr.
Kahr is an older gentleman in 1920 (fifty eight years old). He's a lawyer and avoided WW I. He is emerging in 1920 as the Prime Minister of Bavaria.
Kahr comes to this situation because of the Kapp 'coup' in the spring of that year in Berlin. For a few short days....the Weimar Republic was briefly pushed out and a right-wing agenda type government was attempting to take root. The attempt? A Failure.
As part of the clean-up of this mess....that's how Kahr ends up with the job.
The job for Kahr? It's what is referred to as the 'cell of order' (Ordnungszelle). The logic behind the 'cell of order'......to bring right-wing groups together and move the nation to the new standard philosophy.
To achieve this Kahr puts together a "triumvirate". It's a three-man committee who will govern and lay out the strategy of the new Bavaria. So, Kahr has partnered up with the chief of police and the General over the Bavarian military.
In this period toward the fall of 1923, Kahr and his associates are organizing, and discussing the future. They are the 'answer' to the problem of leadership in Germany itself (looking way beyond Bavaria). The government in Berlin? "Un-German". The right-wingers? "Pro-German". You can sense where this is going.
On 8 November 1923, Kahr and his right-wing extremists were meeting in Munich.....3,000 people in attendance....and young Hitler appears.
Hitler leads the Brown-Shirts into the beer hall. He interrupts Kahr's speech, and starts yelling about his group now leading the new revolution, with them supporting Ludendorf. Hitler has a gun in his hands and insists that Kahr and his two associates from the triumvirate now support his revolution.....here and now....on 8 November 1923.
Our three triumvirate guys? In the hectic chaos of the beer hall....they disappear out the backdoor.
Hitler then yells for the gang......his folks and the right-wing crowd of the beer hall.....to march the next day to the police headquarters and start the coup there.
The triumvirate guys? They apparently go and think about the situation, and make an attempt to stop Hitler and the coup crowd the next day. History records that four cops died the next day, along with sixteen Brown-Shirts. The coup by young Hitler? Stopped in its tracks.....mostly because of the warning by the triumvirate guys (led by Kahr).
Hitler? Arrested and sentence to five years in prison. He's released six months later.
Kahr? There's some serious questions after the coup-attempt. Some folks (right-wing type) didn't have a problem with the Hitler moment, and felt that the coup might have been successful, with the crowd driving off or riding the rails to Berlin, and staging a massive coup in mid-November of 1923. There's a suggestion that some people down the line would have easily arranged for some arrest later for Hitler in Berlin, and other more established right-wing members would have taken over the German government at that point.
Roughly sixty days after this coup episode.....Kahr resigns. He goes to become a law official for Bavaria and retires from public life in 1927.
You'd think that was the end of the Kahr story, but no.....in late June of 1934 (a decade later).....Hitler's next coup operation occurs (the Night of the Long Knives episode). The thugs in charge are told to go and pick up the retired and elderly Kahr, age 71, and transport him to Dachau. There's some torture, and then finally Kahr is shot and murdered.
As you sit back and review this little episode. There are various coup episodes occurring throughout this period of German history. Anyone who thinks that Democracy is safe without the Kaiser.....is wrong.
What if Bavaria had found some way to leave Germany in this 1920 period? What if young Hitler had been sent to some other political party existing at the time instead of the DAP? What if 1923 coup had taken place and young Hitler had led his thugs onto Berlin, with Kahr along side? What if the young Hitler had been kept in prison for the full five years?
Yeah.....a lot of whats-ifs.
And at some point, you have to wonder from 19 December 1924 until mid-summer of 1934....what was Kahr thinking about Hitler, and if he was ever worried about his safety.
A statue of Gustav von Kahr? None.
The one guy who did stop Hitler in his tracks, for one brief year.
In 1919....the war for Germany ends, and German troops return home. For Corporal Hitler, he returns back to Bavaria. It's an interesting period for young man. He's charged up on enthusiasm for the German military but out of work. He find this nifty job. The Bavarian military is running an office in Munich called the Education and Propaganda Department (it's a left-over piece of the Prussian military system, if you were wondering why it exists).
These folks are tracking and spying on various political parties in Bavaria....mostly out of fear that political chaos will erupt and disturb the current, planned, and approved political chaos underway. You can only allow approved chaos.....not the unapproved chaos.
So, it's a simple job for young Hitler. He's an agent.....paid a fairly low sum of money but this is great use of his talent.....well....whatever talent that a infiltrator would have. All he has to do is walk in.....stand around....listen to comments....sip beer (likely paid for the job as well)....and just remember enough for a report later.
The party chosen for the young Hitler? The German Workers Party (DAP).
No one ever writes much over this or talks about the prospective that happens here.....but as Hitler comes in and sits through these discussions at the beer hall on DAP vision.....he agrees with them completely. In a matter of a couple of weeks.....he's now charged up and politically lined up with DAP, and espousing their beliefs.
So, we come to the story and relationship to young Hitler....involving Gustav Ritter von Kahr.
Kahr is an older gentleman in 1920 (fifty eight years old). He's a lawyer and avoided WW I. He is emerging in 1920 as the Prime Minister of Bavaria.
Kahr comes to this situation because of the Kapp 'coup' in the spring of that year in Berlin. For a few short days....the Weimar Republic was briefly pushed out and a right-wing agenda type government was attempting to take root. The attempt? A Failure.
As part of the clean-up of this mess....that's how Kahr ends up with the job.
The job for Kahr? It's what is referred to as the 'cell of order' (Ordnungszelle). The logic behind the 'cell of order'......to bring right-wing groups together and move the nation to the new standard philosophy.
To achieve this Kahr puts together a "triumvirate". It's a three-man committee who will govern and lay out the strategy of the new Bavaria. So, Kahr has partnered up with the chief of police and the General over the Bavarian military.
In this period toward the fall of 1923, Kahr and his associates are organizing, and discussing the future. They are the 'answer' to the problem of leadership in Germany itself (looking way beyond Bavaria). The government in Berlin? "Un-German". The right-wingers? "Pro-German". You can sense where this is going.
On 8 November 1923, Kahr and his right-wing extremists were meeting in Munich.....3,000 people in attendance....and young Hitler appears.
Hitler leads the Brown-Shirts into the beer hall. He interrupts Kahr's speech, and starts yelling about his group now leading the new revolution, with them supporting Ludendorf. Hitler has a gun in his hands and insists that Kahr and his two associates from the triumvirate now support his revolution.....here and now....on 8 November 1923.
Our three triumvirate guys? In the hectic chaos of the beer hall....they disappear out the backdoor.
Hitler then yells for the gang......his folks and the right-wing crowd of the beer hall.....to march the next day to the police headquarters and start the coup there.
The triumvirate guys? They apparently go and think about the situation, and make an attempt to stop Hitler and the coup crowd the next day. History records that four cops died the next day, along with sixteen Brown-Shirts. The coup by young Hitler? Stopped in its tracks.....mostly because of the warning by the triumvirate guys (led by Kahr).
Hitler? Arrested and sentence to five years in prison. He's released six months later.
Kahr? There's some serious questions after the coup-attempt. Some folks (right-wing type) didn't have a problem with the Hitler moment, and felt that the coup might have been successful, with the crowd driving off or riding the rails to Berlin, and staging a massive coup in mid-November of 1923. There's a suggestion that some people down the line would have easily arranged for some arrest later for Hitler in Berlin, and other more established right-wing members would have taken over the German government at that point.
Roughly sixty days after this coup episode.....Kahr resigns. He goes to become a law official for Bavaria and retires from public life in 1927.
You'd think that was the end of the Kahr story, but no.....in late June of 1934 (a decade later).....Hitler's next coup operation occurs (the Night of the Long Knives episode). The thugs in charge are told to go and pick up the retired and elderly Kahr, age 71, and transport him to Dachau. There's some torture, and then finally Kahr is shot and murdered.
As you sit back and review this little episode. There are various coup episodes occurring throughout this period of German history. Anyone who thinks that Democracy is safe without the Kaiser.....is wrong.
What if Bavaria had found some way to leave Germany in this 1920 period? What if young Hitler had been sent to some other political party existing at the time instead of the DAP? What if 1923 coup had taken place and young Hitler had led his thugs onto Berlin, with Kahr along side? What if the young Hitler had been kept in prison for the full five years?
Yeah.....a lot of whats-ifs.
And at some point, you have to wonder from 19 December 1924 until mid-summer of 1934....what was Kahr thinking about Hitler, and if he was ever worried about his safety.
A statue of Gustav von Kahr? None.
The one guy who did stop Hitler in his tracks, for one brief year.
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Berlin Polling
RBB (the Berlin state-run network) did a poll on the state itself. With roughly 3.5 million people....it's one of the smaller states (of the sixteen).
We are around six months away from the state election there and such matters are important now.
CDU: 21-percent.
SPD: 23-percent (they lost 2-percent over the last two months)
Green Party: 17-percent (they lost 2-percent over the last two months)
Linke Party: 16-percent
AfD Party (anti-immigrant slant): 13-percent (gain of 3-percent over last two months)
FDP: 5-percent
Remainder were oddball parties.
What's the trend? RBB says that the public has shown some discontent with the accomplishments of the State Senate. The CDU and SPD run a joint government and neither done a lot to make the public feel enthusiastic about the upcoming election.
Presently....unless something really changes with the CDU or SPD....I think both will be lucky if they hit 20-percent, and the AfD might come close to 16-percent.
All of this means that three parties will be required in the election outcome (if it continues this direction) to form a government in 2017, and it'll marginalize the message of all three and the strength of the upcoming government will be nothing much to brag about. It is conceivable that the CDU might fall into third-place, with the Greens actually coming up in second place.
Affecting the three spring elections? Well....yeah. The continual downward trend of the SPD and CDU has a major effect on three additional elections, and the November 2017 national election. We may very well reach a point where the SPD can't exceed 18-percent nationally, and that really says a lot about the rank-and-file folks who used to vote hardcore for the SPD.
We are around six months away from the state election there and such matters are important now.
CDU: 21-percent.
SPD: 23-percent (they lost 2-percent over the last two months)
Green Party: 17-percent (they lost 2-percent over the last two months)
Linke Party: 16-percent
AfD Party (anti-immigrant slant): 13-percent (gain of 3-percent over last two months)
FDP: 5-percent
Remainder were oddball parties.
What's the trend? RBB says that the public has shown some discontent with the accomplishments of the State Senate. The CDU and SPD run a joint government and neither done a lot to make the public feel enthusiastic about the upcoming election.
Presently....unless something really changes with the CDU or SPD....I think both will be lucky if they hit 20-percent, and the AfD might come close to 16-percent.
All of this means that three parties will be required in the election outcome (if it continues this direction) to form a government in 2017, and it'll marginalize the message of all three and the strength of the upcoming government will be nothing much to brag about. It is conceivable that the CDU might fall into third-place, with the Greens actually coming up in second place.
Affecting the three spring elections? Well....yeah. The continual downward trend of the SPD and CDU has a major effect on three additional elections, and the November 2017 national election. We may very well reach a point where the SPD can't exceed 18-percent nationally, and that really says a lot about the rank-and-file folks who used to vote hardcore for the SPD.
Case of Missing Wife Solved
I blogged the episode on Britta B, the missing housewife, from Wiesbaden region around two years ago. Cops spent a lot of time looking for her, and eventually came to a conclusion that the husband had to be involved in some type of murder plot. A case was built up.....the problem though....no body.
If you want a five-star written piece, there's some fine journalism over at the regional Frankfurt paper.
Yesterday, the Wiesbaden court system did something highly unusual....they convicted the husband of the murder because of circumstantial evidence.
On the flip side of this...they issued a judgement for eleven years in prison. I suspect it's mostly because you can't be a one-hundred percent sure about the crime. The prosecutor had desired a life sentence.
What can be said about the circumstances is that this couple was married for six years, For the husband, this had all become a "hopeless" marriage. Added to the mess was a continual worry about money and the ability to pay off the house. The husband began doing research over the internet (one of his big mistakes) and this trail was easily recovered by the cops.
The husband had gone out and bought a specialized Multi-tool knife that had a diamond saw blade (don't ask me because I've never seen such knife). With the tool.....he simply cut up the body and disposed of it in the Rhine River (so the cops think). For some reason, he kept the tool, which had blade traces on it.
A conviction without a body? In Germany, it just never happens, and this case is very unique. Cops did a lot of research, and based on the comments within the Frankfurt newspaper....it was almost like a CSI episode with bits and pieces added to the case.
If you want a five-star written piece, there's some fine journalism over at the regional Frankfurt paper.
Yesterday, the Wiesbaden court system did something highly unusual....they convicted the husband of the murder because of circumstantial evidence.
On the flip side of this...they issued a judgement for eleven years in prison. I suspect it's mostly because you can't be a one-hundred percent sure about the crime. The prosecutor had desired a life sentence.
What can be said about the circumstances is that this couple was married for six years, For the husband, this had all become a "hopeless" marriage. Added to the mess was a continual worry about money and the ability to pay off the house. The husband began doing research over the internet (one of his big mistakes) and this trail was easily recovered by the cops.
The husband had gone out and bought a specialized Multi-tool knife that had a diamond saw blade (don't ask me because I've never seen such knife). With the tool.....he simply cut up the body and disposed of it in the Rhine River (so the cops think). For some reason, he kept the tool, which had blade traces on it.
A conviction without a body? In Germany, it just never happens, and this case is very unique. Cops did a lot of research, and based on the comments within the Frankfurt newspaper....it was almost like a CSI episode with bits and pieces added to the case.
The Arrival of the Five-Euro Coin
Tomorrow.....Thursday.....will be an interesting day at German banks. They will finally have the 5-Euro coin to issue.
Back in the old days....when we had the Deutsche Marks....there was a 5-DM coin. It was a popular coin and people tended to use it a good bit. Ever since the Euro came along, there's been this desire by the public to have a larger domination coin other than the one or two Euro coin.
Getting one tomorrow? Well....that may be a problem. Most news sources say that here in the initial period, there are only a certain amount of the coins and they expect collectors to be hyped up and get most of the coins for collections, so they won't be in circulation much.
Getting paid back at the store with a coin? I'd take a guess that it might be three or four months before you start to see 5-Euro coins as pay-back.
Value as a collector's item? Maybe in forty years.....it might be worth ten to fifteen Euro as a 2016 coin and in perfect condition. The idea of rushing in and getting a couple is mostly a joke.
Back in the old days....when we had the Deutsche Marks....there was a 5-DM coin. It was a popular coin and people tended to use it a good bit. Ever since the Euro came along, there's been this desire by the public to have a larger domination coin other than the one or two Euro coin.
Getting one tomorrow? Well....that may be a problem. Most news sources say that here in the initial period, there are only a certain amount of the coins and they expect collectors to be hyped up and get most of the coins for collections, so they won't be in circulation much.
Getting paid back at the store with a coin? I'd take a guess that it might be three or four months before you start to see 5-Euro coins as pay-back.
Value as a collector's item? Maybe in forty years.....it might be worth ten to fifteen Euro as a 2016 coin and in perfect condition. The idea of rushing in and getting a couple is mostly a joke.
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
The Speyer Tower
One of the top five things to see in Speyer is the old tower. It is often referred to as the "Old Gate".
Most German cities, for the benefit of Americans, were built with walls and entry points. This was to ensure the protection of those who lived within the walls. If you didn't have walls....you typically were over-run by invaders of various types, burned, and left as dust. Walls mattered.
Somewhere around 1250, there was a entry point on this side of Speyer, which was mostly in ruins. The Lord-Mayor at the time issued the order for the entry to be rebuilt, and a simple gate erected.
So a basic gate was built, and by 1511....the tower itself was formed over the gate.
Two hundred years would pass, and a roof was added (early 1700s).
The tower was supposed to have been destroyed during an invasion by the French, in the War of the Grand Alliance.
Explosives were put into it and things were set up for the destruction sequence. Locals came to warn the French that destroying the tower would also result in the the local monastery and the French military headquarters in town being destroyed by the explosives as well.
The French didn't really buy off on this, but the entire group from the monastery came and begged for mercy on destruction idea....convincing the French to allow the Tower to stay. It worked, but most of the rest of Speyer was destroyed instead (to include the Dom).
The curious thing attached to the tower? Well.....Calibration Shoe lengths existed for a long period of time, which was the local standard for length and size. Somewhere within the gate....was a iron-rod. It measures 11.37 inches or 28.89 cm long. It was sub-divided into 12. For decades, if you had some issue arise in the city over size.....someone would go and fetch the Calibration Shoe and settle the question with the official measurement of Speyer.
You can imagine two gentlemen discussing property and a potential sale to occur, and questions arise over how big the store or shop might actually be. They'd go and fetch some guard-house guy with the Calibration Shoe and settle this with the measurement.
Germans and Innovation
I had a chance at the Speyer Technology Museum to walk around and actually 'touch' such items.
The black limo? It's a 1919 Benz "Knight". It was a top of the line vehicle, capable of 85 kph speeds (I know....quite unremarkable by today's standards, but in 1919.....it would have been a blur by their standards. The negative of the car? Well, it was a vehicle that required continual maintenance and you know how guys are about monthly bouts of fixing a reoccurring problem.
The key feature? If you look carefully behind the driver's seat....where the VIP passengers rode.....they actually had a windshield that protected them from the elements. My guess is that on more than one occasion, with the non-safety glass of the time.....an accident occurred and really messed up the folks in the back. That might have been one reason to dump the vehicle.
The three-wheeler? It's a BMW 1956 Isetta. It was supposed to attract young buyers with less money to the brand-name of BMW. At 78 miles per gallon, it was probably one of the cheaper cars to operate. This vehicle operated with one single cyclinder and delivered 13 horse-power. For parking and getting around an urban area.....it was a great car. In car accidents? It didn't take much to crush a car.
Top speed? 85 kph.
The HK 101 military vehicle? This was first designed and developed in 1939. Most would argue about the value of the front wheel. The truth is that the steering wheel was connected to a braking apparatus that worked against the two tracks.
Even after the war, for three years.....it was still produced and sold in Germany for farm and agricultural purposes.
It's actually supposed to be able to get up to around 40 kph.
At some point in the Speyer Museum, you walk around a corner and there's this bike. It takes about a minute for you to view it closely and note the wheels.....all steel spring.
It's one of those designs that some guy made in a garage.....and briefly convinced someone to mass produce it. Maybe on farm roads, it made sense.
From 1955 to 1974.....VW made the car....mostly as a coup.
The Beetle was supposed to be the VW economy car, and when the Ghia came out in the mid-1950s....it was supposed to be VW's sports car.....well, more or less. Without any great speed, it was supposed to just look flashy.
By the mid-70s, the Ghia was finally replaced by the next generation....the Scirocco.
For years, there's been talk of a comeback of the Ghia but no real evidence. Since the remake of the Bug.....I thought that the Ghia had a pretty good chance or a remake. The 1990 Frankfurt Car Show had featured a concept car, but it didn't really attract much attention. So the idea lingers there.
New Routes
For several weeks in Germany, they've been hyping up via the state-run news media how the routes that immigrants and asylum seekers have been shut down. Spiraling numbers gets mentioned daily. Yes, thanks to Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Hungry, and Austria.....it's all working.
Well, I noticed last night a new and fresh map up. The smugglers have customers, and they will not be denied.
So three new routes have been quietly developed.
Route one: Turkey, through Bulgaria, onto Serbia's corner, and into Hungry. There's no fences on these edges.
Route two: Greece, through Bulgaria and Romania, and onto Hungry.
Route three: Greece, onto Albania, then by ship to Italy.
No one says much over numbers.. My humble guess is that by the end of May, we will be back to standard regular numbers that we saw in 2015 (50,000 to 100,000 per month).
The obvious German question will be....can we pay off Albania, Romania, and Bulgaria.....like we paid off Turkey.....to hinder or stop the refugees? The answer is obviously yes, but then how much? Turkey got three-billion Euro and a waiver on visas.
At some point, the naive German sitting at home will ask some pretty stupid questions, and get to a point where he's just laughing because it's all a big joke.
Well, I noticed last night a new and fresh map up. The smugglers have customers, and they will not be denied.
So three new routes have been quietly developed.
Route one: Turkey, through Bulgaria, onto Serbia's corner, and into Hungry. There's no fences on these edges.
Route two: Greece, through Bulgaria and Romania, and onto Hungry.
Route three: Greece, onto Albania, then by ship to Italy.
No one says much over numbers.. My humble guess is that by the end of May, we will be back to standard regular numbers that we saw in 2015 (50,000 to 100,000 per month).
The obvious German question will be....can we pay off Albania, Romania, and Bulgaria.....like we paid off Turkey.....to hinder or stop the refugees? The answer is obviously yes, but then how much? Turkey got three-billion Euro and a waiver on visas.
At some point, the naive German sitting at home will ask some pretty stupid questions, and get to a point where he's just laughing because it's all a big joke.
"103" The Bohmermann
Years ago, the Germans wrote up a law, which referred to as the "103-law". It basically says that no German can insult the head of a foreign state or government. The sentence on the max side is five years.
The satirist Jan Bohmermann (from the public-run NEO channel) is in hot water over his commentary of Turkey's President Erdogan. To make the Turks happy, it would appear that the German government will have to prosecute Bohmermann, and risk some public hostility.
What to anticipate?
Several legal folks have commented that a court case would run very negative for Merkel's handshake deal with the Turks.....make Erdogan look fairly negative....cause public anger against the present government of the CDU and SPD....and the anticipated outcome would be a conviction against Bohmermann of less than a year but a hefty fine (certainly not 250,000 Euro but at least 20,000).
I've sat and read the law. It's fairly brief and concise. What bothers me about this is that various German satirists and comedians went out and insult George Bush on a thousand occasions, and never once did anyone attempt to "103" the guy. Even state-run news organization (not humor-related) insulted Bush. Never once did 103 get brought up.
How many times did German satirists and comedians insult Putin over the past five years? Literally thousands of times. Never once did 103 get brought up.
My humble view is that this will go forward and some court case will occur. Bohmermann will ask which parts of the dialog were deemed in violation of the 103-law. The prosecution will be in a bad position because he said a lot of things in his commentary, and some were fairly truthful but would make Erdogan angry as well. The end will be some judge reading off a conviction, with a fine of some type, and maybe three months in some jail.
All this would do is display Turkey's Erdogan having some power over German citizens....blow more negativity over the CDU-SPD government, anger the general public a little extra, and give Bohmermann a couple o months of peace to write some book while in jail (some Austrian guy did that in 1924.....serving eight months of a five-year sentence).
Democracy has both a sword and shield, and depending on interpretation.....you might get both, just the shield, or get poked with the sword occasionally.
The satirist Jan Bohmermann (from the public-run NEO channel) is in hot water over his commentary of Turkey's President Erdogan. To make the Turks happy, it would appear that the German government will have to prosecute Bohmermann, and risk some public hostility.
What to anticipate?
Several legal folks have commented that a court case would run very negative for Merkel's handshake deal with the Turks.....make Erdogan look fairly negative....cause public anger against the present government of the CDU and SPD....and the anticipated outcome would be a conviction against Bohmermann of less than a year but a hefty fine (certainly not 250,000 Euro but at least 20,000).
I've sat and read the law. It's fairly brief and concise. What bothers me about this is that various German satirists and comedians went out and insult George Bush on a thousand occasions, and never once did anyone attempt to "103" the guy. Even state-run news organization (not humor-related) insulted Bush. Never once did 103 get brought up.
How many times did German satirists and comedians insult Putin over the past five years? Literally thousands of times. Never once did 103 get brought up.
My humble view is that this will go forward and some court case will occur. Bohmermann will ask which parts of the dialog were deemed in violation of the 103-law. The prosecution will be in a bad position because he said a lot of things in his commentary, and some were fairly truthful but would make Erdogan angry as well. The end will be some judge reading off a conviction, with a fine of some type, and maybe three months in some jail.
All this would do is display Turkey's Erdogan having some power over German citizens....blow more negativity over the CDU-SPD government, anger the general public a little extra, and give Bohmermann a couple o months of peace to write some book while in jail (some Austrian guy did that in 1924.....serving eight months of a five-year sentence).
Democracy has both a sword and shield, and depending on interpretation.....you might get both, just the shield, or get poked with the sword occasionally.
Monday, April 11, 2016
A Day in Speyer
Ten observations.
1. If you were looking for an interesting park to spend four hours, this is one of the better ones in Germany. Most kids enjoy the place, and geeks will get some fascination out of the displays.
2. They feature a number of aircraft (US, German, French, Soviet, English, etc). They have an AN-22/COCK on display, along with a F-4.
3. They offer a chance for you climb upon a German submarine, and go through the entire boat. If you've never been on a sub, it's worth 15 minutes to walk through it.4. The operation also offers a couple of IMAX movies. Check on the internet for the times and if of the titles might interest you.
5. Parking used to be free. That apparently has stopped. Here's the thing though....there's the Dom about five minutes walking from the display area.....so you might as well leave your car in the parking lot and tour the city during the period that you are there. I'd budget six hours for the park, the Dom, and the city itself.
6. Most of the displays are indoors except for the larger aircraft. I would consider going there in the winter months...at least if the temperature is above freezing. In the heat of the summer, you'd best put a pause in the middle of the walk because of possible heat. 7. There is a cafe connected to the operation, that offers coffee, ice cream, and snacks. For lunch or dinner, I'd suggest recommend the Speyer walk-platz area where there are a dozen great places to eat. There's also a dozen-odd places in town for coffee or ice cream.
8. Map-wise, the museum is off B-39....easy to find. Hotel Domhof is in the local area, which is a combination brewery, hotel and restaurant. I know, it's an odd combination.....but this is Germany.
9. Trains are on display (interior and exterior). 10. For trains, cars, and aircraft, this is one of the finer places in Germany to see such items. The new museum in the back features a number of motorcycles. I will admit.....it's an older display building and it's kinda bandaged together as a display unit, but they run this off donations and fees-to-enter, without any state funding.
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