Friday, June 23, 2017

German News, Friday Morning

Kohl article.  Focus wrote a fine piece on Kohl, this discussion over the burial site, and the frustrating last few years.  I would strongly recommend the article.  There will be no state funeral for Kohl.  There is a EU memorial set for him, with Orban from Hungary to lead it (not Merkel, family decision).  It is an unusual ending for one of the more dynamic German leaders of the past 100 years.

Macron and the EU summit:  It's safe to say that the new President of France....Macron....is NOT that popular all over Europe.  Lot of criticism from Poland and Hungary over his comments.  He's pushing on financial fee situations if they don't accept quotas of migrants.

The 'Johnny Cash' of Germany has passed on:  Gunter Gabriel passed away yesterday....a result of a tumble on a stairway.  The guy was in his 70s.  Gabriel was known for the past 40 years as a rough-and-tough country-ballad singer.  He had made millions....he had spent millions.  He probably consumed ten times the amount of alcohol as a normal guy would ever drink.  But he actually had a number of big-time hits over the decades.

Criminal family gangs in Germany:  SWR wrote a very fine piece on crime and gang activity in Germany.  They point out that a lot of this relates to gangs coming out of Serbia, Croatia, Albania, Georgia, and Montenegro.  Shoplifting has been turned into an art-form and these front-line guys simply turn their 'goods' over to a middle-man who moves the material along.  For major store-fronts in Germany....this trend has disrupted the normal model of profit-margins.  They want harsh jail-time situations to be constructed.  Again, part of the problem for cops is the lack of an intelligence system which lays out the threat.  It would appear in this case.....they've done a lot of homework and now understand their threat.

US hunting for VW managers:  There are five former VW officials which the US is searching for now.....world-wide.  Little is said over their involvement in the diesel episode but they seem to be a key part of the court episode.  Hiding out?   I would suspect that some folks have taken their savings and quietly skipped out to some Pacific isle or Greek resort, and will just stay out of sight for a while.

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