You might see 'Fachkräftezuwanderungsgesetz' thrown around a bit with Germans (at least the political folks and journalists).
So a basic description of the term. Basically, it's a skill labor immigration law....which suggests a doorway or path that you can enter Germany as a highly desired guy, and work for a company. Yes, kinda like the US version of the work-visas.
Why it's a big deal? The dwindling population is worrying some industry folks and they need a pathway to exist where they can go and recruit thousands of folks each year....to come in....get into some language training and start working for some German company.
The worry by working-class Germans? You might see too many people enter, and the salary levels start to stall or stagnant. So there's a growing discussion over how this will work, and if it might be constructed in a stupid way.
Sunday, September 30, 2018
What Did Happen in Ravensburg?
The news media hype goes in various directions so I've spent an hour reviewing a dozen odd sources and finally agreed to some basic facts (mostly provided by Focus Magazine):
1. Ravensburg, for geographic reference....is a town on the southwestern end (absolute end) of Germany. Population: 50,000. It's in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg. It's one of those small towns that you'd stop....have dinner....and then wander around for a couple of hours in a fairly safe and friendly atmosphere.
2. What cops say is that on Friday morning....a Afghan asylum guy went through some kind of psychotic experience (cops words). They feel that the guy (21 years old) is suffering some kind of psychiatric illness, but no one can clearly say 'what'.
3. What the guy did was stab three folks in the city walking district (shopping district). All three have survived.
4. Cops say that the charges initially are attempted murder and dangerous assault....normally enough (with three folks) to get you a minimum of ten years in a German prison. The issue is....if he is mentally deranged....none of that will apply.
5. Cops do say that this behavior and mental issue was known, and that he'd been in some kind of inpatient therapy (more than once).
6. Cops say that he had some type of dispute with a co-worker....over what? Totally unknown. The co-worker had been invited to the middle of town (Marienplatz) to discuss this matter. That morning, prior to the arranged meeting situation....the Afghan went out and bought a large kitchen knife.
7. The co-worker? Well....he never showed up (luckily, because he'd probably be dead today, had he shown up). So the Afghan guy lost emotional control, and just picked three guys at random. Two of the random guys? Syrian immigrants.....the third guy? A German. Yep, just totally at random. It could have been anyone....men, women, kids....it just was a random act.
8. The guy in question has been in Germany for roughly two years.
Those are the basic facts to the story. Terrorist? No. Terror act? No. Radical Muslim? No. What you have is a guy with severe emotional issues that would probably require (if he hadn't attacked anyone) long-term medication and out-patient care. Getting him hired up? Well, if he is this reactionary to a comment, a joke, or criticism....I can't see any business hiring the guy because of the potential threat that he represents, without medication.
The mayor? Well, he's in a bit of worry because some folks might take this story in the wrong fashion and get all hyped-up pro-AfD Party, or have demonstrations over this.
But here's the odd factor which you don't know and it's best not to discuss in open forums....just how many people do you have that arrived in the past five years....which are in some physiological clinical outpatient program, and maybe not emotionally under control? In general, the German legal system is motivated to usually put people who are a threat...into some type of controlled atmosphere. But if you came to realize that you had five hundred individuals who were given visas and just not emotionally stable....could you find the courage to commit these folks to a controlled facility? I have my doubts.
So that's the Ravensburg story. Three guys stabbed....all three survive....no terror act...just some guy with an uncontrollable rage.
1. Ravensburg, for geographic reference....is a town on the southwestern end (absolute end) of Germany. Population: 50,000. It's in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg. It's one of those small towns that you'd stop....have dinner....and then wander around for a couple of hours in a fairly safe and friendly atmosphere.
2. What cops say is that on Friday morning....a Afghan asylum guy went through some kind of psychotic experience (cops words). They feel that the guy (21 years old) is suffering some kind of psychiatric illness, but no one can clearly say 'what'.
3. What the guy did was stab three folks in the city walking district (shopping district). All three have survived.
4. Cops say that the charges initially are attempted murder and dangerous assault....normally enough (with three folks) to get you a minimum of ten years in a German prison. The issue is....if he is mentally deranged....none of that will apply.
5. Cops do say that this behavior and mental issue was known, and that he'd been in some kind of inpatient therapy (more than once).
6. Cops say that he had some type of dispute with a co-worker....over what? Totally unknown. The co-worker had been invited to the middle of town (Marienplatz) to discuss this matter. That morning, prior to the arranged meeting situation....the Afghan went out and bought a large kitchen knife.
7. The co-worker? Well....he never showed up (luckily, because he'd probably be dead today, had he shown up). So the Afghan guy lost emotional control, and just picked three guys at random. Two of the random guys? Syrian immigrants.....the third guy? A German. Yep, just totally at random. It could have been anyone....men, women, kids....it just was a random act.
8. The guy in question has been in Germany for roughly two years.
Those are the basic facts to the story. Terrorist? No. Terror act? No. Radical Muslim? No. What you have is a guy with severe emotional issues that would probably require (if he hadn't attacked anyone) long-term medication and out-patient care. Getting him hired up? Well, if he is this reactionary to a comment, a joke, or criticism....I can't see any business hiring the guy because of the potential threat that he represents, without medication.
The mayor? Well, he's in a bit of worry because some folks might take this story in the wrong fashion and get all hyped-up pro-AfD Party, or have demonstrations over this.
But here's the odd factor which you don't know and it's best not to discuss in open forums....just how many people do you have that arrived in the past five years....which are in some physiological clinical outpatient program, and maybe not emotionally under control? In general, the German legal system is motivated to usually put people who are a threat...into some type of controlled atmosphere. But if you came to realize that you had five hundred individuals who were given visas and just not emotionally stable....could you find the courage to commit these folks to a controlled facility? I have my doubts.
So that's the Ravensburg story. Three guys stabbed....all three survive....no terror act...just some guy with an uncontrollable rage.
A Car Story
One of the premium Mercedes models that you can buy....is that 500 SL. It's a two-seater and offers the 4.7-liter (455-horsepower) engine (8-cylinder). Price range in Germany....if you got it fully loaded, with taxes included? It'd be in the 115,000 Euro (140,000 US dollars roughly). With the particular engine, it's a car that you can apply gas and get awful absolute power.
So yesterday around 4 PM in my village....I could hear the fire trucks crank up and drive up over the hill....toward Wiesbaden. Just over the hill, about a thousand feet (more or less), there lay a car.....a new Mercedes 500 SL laying in the ditch, and here unfolds a unique story.
"Huns" (best left with an anonymous name) is apparently doing well in business. We don't know his profession or income level, but he makes enough to go out and afford in some way (maybe a 40,000 Euro down-payment....maybe more) and he bought this brand new Mercedes 500 SL. My guess is that he even had to wait a couple of months before the company could manufacture it.
So on Saturday afternoon, the deal was finalized at the Mercedes dealer down in Wiesbaden, on Mainzer Strasse. "Huns" brought his friend along. They probably sat and sipped expresso....hyped up over the new car, and charmed by the show-room.
At some point in the mid-afternoon, the plates were put on and the dealer probably had the list of things to cover. My guess is that he might have mentioned the pick-up and go factor of the engine.
Then "Huns" and his friend got in the car and left. They drove a mile down the street and entered B455....the road leading to my village. From there, it's about five miles to the village. About three miles down, you'd leave the city limits and be in some semi-wooded area....clear of traffic. Here along this upward hill road..."Huns" apparently hit the gas pedal for full acceleration and the car took off...not under full control.
What happened in that brief three-to-five second period is that the car ended up with one wheel completely gone (still unexplained), spun a few times and fell into a v-shaped ditch (luckily only about eight feet deep). The friend of "Huns" somehow crawled out and was standing by the car as the fire-trucks arrived.
"Huns"? Well....he was pretty wedged in and against the deepest part of the ditch. They carried both guys off to the local hospital. My guess is that the friend got released by 6 PM, and "Huns" was going to spend a night in the hospital.
The car? The fire department folks, via the news summary said the car was pretty damaged. Based on the pictures at the local news site, I'd say it's good for parts, and will not be repaired. The cops? Well....they are investigating and trying to figure out how the front wheel came off (it wasn't there at the immediate area of the accident, which is weird). Assessing "Huns" for bad driving and giving him points? The cops might reach the point where they issue the ticket....or they might just feel sorry for the guy and let it go.
Mostly for "Huns", there is significant embarrassment now. He probably told everyone at work on Friday that he was picking up his new 500SL. The story will now be laid out that it was mostly destroyed in the first hour or two of operation.
The insurance guy? He's sitting there and probably trying to find some way not to pay the full absolute new value on the car....based on such limited mileage. But I would figure that "Huns" will be paid the absolute value of what he paid. It would be different if this were a month or two down the line and 3,000 kilometers on the car.
This was one of those cars that you'd buy....treasure....hold for 20 years (maybe only driving six months out of the year), and in seventy years, it'd still be around and have value. Today? Twenty-four hours after the purchase? It's junk-value.
So yesterday around 4 PM in my village....I could hear the fire trucks crank up and drive up over the hill....toward Wiesbaden. Just over the hill, about a thousand feet (more or less), there lay a car.....a new Mercedes 500 SL laying in the ditch, and here unfolds a unique story.
"Huns" (best left with an anonymous name) is apparently doing well in business. We don't know his profession or income level, but he makes enough to go out and afford in some way (maybe a 40,000 Euro down-payment....maybe more) and he bought this brand new Mercedes 500 SL. My guess is that he even had to wait a couple of months before the company could manufacture it.
So on Saturday afternoon, the deal was finalized at the Mercedes dealer down in Wiesbaden, on Mainzer Strasse. "Huns" brought his friend along. They probably sat and sipped expresso....hyped up over the new car, and charmed by the show-room.
At some point in the mid-afternoon, the plates were put on and the dealer probably had the list of things to cover. My guess is that he might have mentioned the pick-up and go factor of the engine.
Then "Huns" and his friend got in the car and left. They drove a mile down the street and entered B455....the road leading to my village. From there, it's about five miles to the village. About three miles down, you'd leave the city limits and be in some semi-wooded area....clear of traffic. Here along this upward hill road..."Huns" apparently hit the gas pedal for full acceleration and the car took off...not under full control.
What happened in that brief three-to-five second period is that the car ended up with one wheel completely gone (still unexplained), spun a few times and fell into a v-shaped ditch (luckily only about eight feet deep). The friend of "Huns" somehow crawled out and was standing by the car as the fire-trucks arrived.
"Huns"? Well....he was pretty wedged in and against the deepest part of the ditch. They carried both guys off to the local hospital. My guess is that the friend got released by 6 PM, and "Huns" was going to spend a night in the hospital.
The car? The fire department folks, via the news summary said the car was pretty damaged. Based on the pictures at the local news site, I'd say it's good for parts, and will not be repaired. The cops? Well....they are investigating and trying to figure out how the front wheel came off (it wasn't there at the immediate area of the accident, which is weird). Assessing "Huns" for bad driving and giving him points? The cops might reach the point where they issue the ticket....or they might just feel sorry for the guy and let it go.
Mostly for "Huns", there is significant embarrassment now. He probably told everyone at work on Friday that he was picking up his new 500SL. The story will now be laid out that it was mostly destroyed in the first hour or two of operation.
The insurance guy? He's sitting there and probably trying to find some way not to pay the full absolute new value on the car....based on such limited mileage. But I would figure that "Huns" will be paid the absolute value of what he paid. It would be different if this were a month or two down the line and 3,000 kilometers on the car.
This was one of those cars that you'd buy....treasure....hold for 20 years (maybe only driving six months out of the year), and in seventy years, it'd still be around and have value. Today? Twenty-four hours after the purchase? It's junk-value.
Saturday, September 29, 2018
Rhein Main Air Base Today
It was originally constructed in 1936, and became an American military base in 1945 (closing in 2005). Most folks would argue that it was mostly shut down by 1997.
For me, it was a special base. You could walk out of your barracks...hike up to the front gate, and be on a bus to the Flughafen in a matter of fifteen minutes. Or you could walk an extra 15 minutes and reach the small railway station at Zeppelinheim that had a train every fifteen to twenty minutes into Frankfurt.
You basically had five places to eat on the base: the chow hall, the AAFES cafe, the German cantina, the bowling alley, or the NCO Club.
Your entertainment situation? Well....you had the gym, a base theater which had no hot water (meaning they refused to sell you sodas), and AFN-TV. In the summer period, you'd exit the rear (walk-in) gate and hike for twenty minutes over to the sand-pit lake.
So all of this led you to often leave the base and check out Frankfurt.
The base remains of today? Non-existent. I sat and looked over a Google overhead imagery shot. Other than the old hotel near the front-gate, there is nothing left there. It appears that every single building that existed in the 1990s era....is gone. The Flughafen? It's utilized every inch of the property. Other than a small memorial to the airlift era area near the autobahn, there's nothing left.
Deutsche Einheit Next Week
For those unaware.....next Wednesday is a holiday in Germany (national holiday)....Deutsche Einheit (Reunification Day Germany). It's the day that folks say that East and West Germany unified in 1990.
If you watch German public TV, you see a good bit commentary and analysis over the reunification and folks (primarily intellectuals and politicians) discussing the present situation. If you ask working-class people on the day, and their impression....it's just a day off and a chance to get caught up on yard-work. Frankly, no one cares. If you tried to compare it to the American Fourth-of-July...it'd be a dismal failure in terms of comparison.
What typically occurs? There's some German city chosen by the Bundestag to get significant funding, and they will mount a series of shows and orchestra music, with a fireworks display as it gets dark, and some wonderful commentary by the Chancellor and President. The public TV networks will run a show or two....discussing the unification and how everything 'fits so well' today.
So you move onto the primary question....is there a difference between western and eastern Germany? You can basically say that Germany today....is about the size of California (more or less). The northern third of California (the bent-angle part)? That's about the size of old DDR (East Germany).
Since 1990 (this part is always in dispute)....there's been roughly 1.3 trillion Euro spent on bringing East Germany to West Germany standards (that's about 2 trillion US dollars). The yearly amount? It's in the ballpark of 70 to 80 billion Euro a year. This pours into roads, bridges, street signs, city parks, stadiums, schools, universities, airports, railway stations, etc. Go and imagine putting 2 trillion dollars into the northern third of California and how it'd change over twenty years.
I've crossed the imaginary border of DDR on a number of occasions. What you can generally say is that there is no visible difference in terms of roads, bridges, or railway travel. What you notice is that when you leave a built-up urban area in eastern Germany, and you go 10 miles outside of the town.....rural villages tend to look like 1945, and the image is visibly different from what you'd see in the western side of Germany.
Politics? That's an odd factor as well. If you look at the five east German states....the typical west German parties (the CDU, the SPD)....don't attract that much attention (the Linke Party and the AfD typically make up 40-percent of most voting, with the exception of the Berlin area).
Germans under the age of forty....don't really have any memory of the division, so it's not a big deal for them. Germans over forty, particularly those nearing 60....can remember all of the details and the big differences (respect, secret-police, commerce, etc). If you hooked up with some older 'westies' over a beer.....they might slip up and admit that life was better in the old West Germany days, and that bringing down the wall was a negative experience. You might even have a second beer, with some 'Ossie' (the East German slang) and they might admit that their life was better under the communist regime.
The odds of this holiday lasting for decades? I have my doubts.
If you watch German public TV, you see a good bit commentary and analysis over the reunification and folks (primarily intellectuals and politicians) discussing the present situation. If you ask working-class people on the day, and their impression....it's just a day off and a chance to get caught up on yard-work. Frankly, no one cares. If you tried to compare it to the American Fourth-of-July...it'd be a dismal failure in terms of comparison.
What typically occurs? There's some German city chosen by the Bundestag to get significant funding, and they will mount a series of shows and orchestra music, with a fireworks display as it gets dark, and some wonderful commentary by the Chancellor and President. The public TV networks will run a show or two....discussing the unification and how everything 'fits so well' today.
So you move onto the primary question....is there a difference between western and eastern Germany? You can basically say that Germany today....is about the size of California (more or less). The northern third of California (the bent-angle part)? That's about the size of old DDR (East Germany).
Since 1990 (this part is always in dispute)....there's been roughly 1.3 trillion Euro spent on bringing East Germany to West Germany standards (that's about 2 trillion US dollars). The yearly amount? It's in the ballpark of 70 to 80 billion Euro a year. This pours into roads, bridges, street signs, city parks, stadiums, schools, universities, airports, railway stations, etc. Go and imagine putting 2 trillion dollars into the northern third of California and how it'd change over twenty years.
I've crossed the imaginary border of DDR on a number of occasions. What you can generally say is that there is no visible difference in terms of roads, bridges, or railway travel. What you notice is that when you leave a built-up urban area in eastern Germany, and you go 10 miles outside of the town.....rural villages tend to look like 1945, and the image is visibly different from what you'd see in the western side of Germany.
Politics? That's an odd factor as well. If you look at the five east German states....the typical west German parties (the CDU, the SPD)....don't attract that much attention (the Linke Party and the AfD typically make up 40-percent of most voting, with the exception of the Berlin area).
Germans under the age of forty....don't really have any memory of the division, so it's not a big deal for them. Germans over forty, particularly those nearing 60....can remember all of the details and the big differences (respect, secret-police, commerce, etc). If you hooked up with some older 'westies' over a beer.....they might slip up and admit that life was better in the old West Germany days, and that bringing down the wall was a negative experience. You might even have a second beer, with some 'Ossie' (the East German slang) and they might admit that their life was better under the communist regime.
The odds of this holiday lasting for decades? I have my doubts.
Thursday, September 27, 2018
The Updated Mainz Murder Story
Back in May, I essayed a number of pieces on a murder in the local region (Mainz-Wiesbaden). It involved a 14-year old German girl (of a Jewish family), and what would be discovered....an Iraqi guy...around age 20....who'd been in Germany three years....is the suspect. The brief bit to this story is that they figured the girl was dead, but had NO body....so you can't charge anyone or move on any case, unless you recover the body.
The Iraqi guy knew he was the chief suspect, and ran over to the Iraqi consulate in the region....got passport papers of some type for himself, the father and mother, and the siblings....with fresh new names (no one explains that detail), and the family flies out of northern Germany....to Turkey, and later onto northern Iraq.
The body? It is recovered right around this 24-hour period of the escape.
So the German cops want this guy....knowing he is in Iraq. They put the message out, and the Kurdish cops get this guy within twelve hours (yes, it was awful proficient). Then the German authorities wants everyone to know....there is no extradition treaty between Iraq and Germany. So they say....it might be months, or years before he is ever brought to justice.
The Kurd cops call up the State cops in Germany, and let them know....if you come and pick the guy up....we will just release him to you. Without saying much....federal police chief Dieter Romann....without telling 'mutti' (Chancellor Merkel), or the various political folks....flies into Iraq and recovers this Iraqi suspect and returns the guy to Frankfurt.
Getting a medal? No.
Today, via HR reporting....Romann is now being investigated for depriving the rights for the Iraqi guy accused of the murder of this German fourteen-year old girl. Federal case? Absolutely.
Could the Iraqi be turned loose? Yes.
Could Romann end up in federal prison? Yes.
The problem here is that the German legal system, and the Merkel government (stretching all the way to the court system, judges and prosecutors) are getting public attention and making themselves appear in a negative way. This Iraqi suspect should have never been able to leave Germany, yet the system....designed in some fraudulent way to look professional....is simply not geared to handle these types of situations.
If they end up releasing the Iraqi guy? You can figure within sixty days....another five points will be added onto the AfD political machine. If the police chief goes off to prison, you can probably add two or three more points.
The political parties and the legal system at work? As much as they chat about doing the 'right thing', they are standing there in a clear mess, and the only solution left for them is to let the suspect go back to Iraq, put the police chief in prison, and gear up for a AfD Party victory in the next decade.
Fixing this? Near impossible. Maybe if you let the guy go....give evidence to the Iraqis, and just let their brand of justice take place....it might resolve a lot of this, but that would scare the crap out of German politicians.....to let more inhumane justice take place.
The Iraqi guy knew he was the chief suspect, and ran over to the Iraqi consulate in the region....got passport papers of some type for himself, the father and mother, and the siblings....with fresh new names (no one explains that detail), and the family flies out of northern Germany....to Turkey, and later onto northern Iraq.
The body? It is recovered right around this 24-hour period of the escape.
So the German cops want this guy....knowing he is in Iraq. They put the message out, and the Kurdish cops get this guy within twelve hours (yes, it was awful proficient). Then the German authorities wants everyone to know....there is no extradition treaty between Iraq and Germany. So they say....it might be months, or years before he is ever brought to justice.
The Kurd cops call up the State cops in Germany, and let them know....if you come and pick the guy up....we will just release him to you. Without saying much....federal police chief Dieter Romann....without telling 'mutti' (Chancellor Merkel), or the various political folks....flies into Iraq and recovers this Iraqi suspect and returns the guy to Frankfurt.
Getting a medal? No.
Today, via HR reporting....Romann is now being investigated for depriving the rights for the Iraqi guy accused of the murder of this German fourteen-year old girl. Federal case? Absolutely.
Could the Iraqi be turned loose? Yes.
Could Romann end up in federal prison? Yes.
The problem here is that the German legal system, and the Merkel government (stretching all the way to the court system, judges and prosecutors) are getting public attention and making themselves appear in a negative way. This Iraqi suspect should have never been able to leave Germany, yet the system....designed in some fraudulent way to look professional....is simply not geared to handle these types of situations.
If they end up releasing the Iraqi guy? You can figure within sixty days....another five points will be added onto the AfD political machine. If the police chief goes off to prison, you can probably add two or three more points.
The political parties and the legal system at work? As much as they chat about doing the 'right thing', they are standing there in a clear mess, and the only solution left for them is to let the suspect go back to Iraq, put the police chief in prison, and gear up for a AfD Party victory in the next decade.
Fixing this? Near impossible. Maybe if you let the guy go....give evidence to the Iraqis, and just let their brand of justice take place....it might resolve a lot of this, but that would scare the crap out of German politicians.....to let more inhumane justice take place.
Wednesday, September 26, 2018
Bus Incident
There are three basic German rules over etiquette when riding a bus or train:
1. No music, period.
2. If drunk, don't throw up on the bus or train.
3. If the bus or train is mostly full, and someone over the age of sixty-five boards, or some pregnant woman, or some gal handling kids.....you offer up your seat.
On this last one, it's a remarkable thing to ride as much as I have since 1978, and having this feat repeated time and time again, by Germans over the age of 18. In fact, I've witnessed Syrian, Iraqi, and African men accomplish the same of civil behavior over the past five years.
So, this story unfolded yesterday in Wiesbaden, told by the local news folks.....around early afternoon, on a major street....this Turkish guy with his wife and a small kid board a mostly full bus.
What the cops say is that some German was in a seat and offered the whole double seat to the Turkish woman and the little kid. It is the civil behavior that you are used to.
But as the German got up....some Turkish kid (noted at age 14) who was standing....jumped into the seat instead.
What comes next is a chaotic discussion with the Turkish guy (said to be 41 years old) and the Turkish kid (14 years old). Some harsh words were uttered.....perhaps an insult but the cops don't really suggest that (most Turks I know.....have an array of insults ready to use).
At this point, the kid starts to slug on the older guy's face.....drawing blood in a pretty good fashion.
The kid reaches some point.....the bus has stopped and the door opens.....with the kid escaping. The driver calls for the cops and an ambulance. While the older guy is treated there.....they recommend that he go onto the hospital (severe cuts). The kid? He has momentarily escaped.
But around an hour or two later.....cops get a call, there's some Turkish kid at a clinic to be treated for some injury. They ride over.....yep, that's the same kid.
So the cops take him over to the station....call his parents, and there's some paperwork done.
What the cops say....adding to this story....there's a razor blade found on the floor where the action took place. No one says it belongs to the kid, or the adult.
Court hearing? I'm guessing there is a strong bit of anger on the part of the adult Turk, and it's best that the German judge call up some event and get some part of this mess cleared up. Proving the blade is the kid's? Nearly impossible unless fingerprints are checked, and I don't think the kid or his parents want to admit anything or allow a fingerprint check. If some witness comes up to suggest the kid did the slugging and had the blade.....he's screwed.
The thing that is bothersome is the pace where this went from a stupid behavior situation.....to fists and a razor blade being used, and perhaps some permanent cuts on the older guy's face. You could be talking about a 30-second event. You can't allow the kid to just walk away from this without some form of counseling or punishment.
Something like this happening back in the 1970s or 1980s? No. This is the modern environment that you live in....within Wiesbaden, and any adult could have tried to correct the kid's behavior, and gotten cut-up this way. It's stupid....but it's how the city is becoming less and less friendly.
1. No music, period.
2. If drunk, don't throw up on the bus or train.
3. If the bus or train is mostly full, and someone over the age of sixty-five boards, or some pregnant woman, or some gal handling kids.....you offer up your seat.
On this last one, it's a remarkable thing to ride as much as I have since 1978, and having this feat repeated time and time again, by Germans over the age of 18. In fact, I've witnessed Syrian, Iraqi, and African men accomplish the same of civil behavior over the past five years.
So, this story unfolded yesterday in Wiesbaden, told by the local news folks.....around early afternoon, on a major street....this Turkish guy with his wife and a small kid board a mostly full bus.
What the cops say is that some German was in a seat and offered the whole double seat to the Turkish woman and the little kid. It is the civil behavior that you are used to.
But as the German got up....some Turkish kid (noted at age 14) who was standing....jumped into the seat instead.
What comes next is a chaotic discussion with the Turkish guy (said to be 41 years old) and the Turkish kid (14 years old). Some harsh words were uttered.....perhaps an insult but the cops don't really suggest that (most Turks I know.....have an array of insults ready to use).
At this point, the kid starts to slug on the older guy's face.....drawing blood in a pretty good fashion.
The kid reaches some point.....the bus has stopped and the door opens.....with the kid escaping. The driver calls for the cops and an ambulance. While the older guy is treated there.....they recommend that he go onto the hospital (severe cuts). The kid? He has momentarily escaped.
But around an hour or two later.....cops get a call, there's some Turkish kid at a clinic to be treated for some injury. They ride over.....yep, that's the same kid.
So the cops take him over to the station....call his parents, and there's some paperwork done.
What the cops say....adding to this story....there's a razor blade found on the floor where the action took place. No one says it belongs to the kid, or the adult.
Court hearing? I'm guessing there is a strong bit of anger on the part of the adult Turk, and it's best that the German judge call up some event and get some part of this mess cleared up. Proving the blade is the kid's? Nearly impossible unless fingerprints are checked, and I don't think the kid or his parents want to admit anything or allow a fingerprint check. If some witness comes up to suggest the kid did the slugging and had the blade.....he's screwed.
The thing that is bothersome is the pace where this went from a stupid behavior situation.....to fists and a razor blade being used, and perhaps some permanent cuts on the older guy's face. You could be talking about a 30-second event. You can't allow the kid to just walk away from this without some form of counseling or punishment.
Something like this happening back in the 1970s or 1980s? No. This is the modern environment that you live in....within Wiesbaden, and any adult could have tried to correct the kid's behavior, and gotten cut-up this way. It's stupid....but it's how the city is becoming less and less friendly.
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
The Odd Thing About 'Germany Speaks'
Over the weekend, we had this public TV thing (sponsored by both ZDF and ARD) here in Germany....where the Berlin leadership and the TV folks tried to convince people to become relaxed and agreeable on various topics.....agreeing to basically disagree, but in a civil and friendly way. So there were a couple of topics chosen.
This morning, they got around to talking about the disagreements, which might spark more discussion down the line.
On the topic of a national strategy of fewer cars in cities (meaning the government would find ways to 'force' people to lessen car usage)....70-percent of women who were in this participation group and 60-percent of German men....were happy to see a government strategy to lessen car usage.
On the topic of Germany being worse now than a decade ago? 15-percent of German women agreed, while 21-percent of German men agreed.
On the topic of reducing meat consumption in Germany (as a health strategy), 77-percent of German women agreed, while 62-percent of German men agreed (note that a fair number of men just didn't agree with this health strategy).
On the topic Muslim integration going well in Germany, 92-percent of German women agreed, while 81-percent of German men agreed.
On the topic of Trump being good for America, 4.2-percent of German women agreed, while 13-percent of German men agreed (meaning three times the level of women). It would suggest that men are more prone to like Trump's message but it's best not to bring this topic up with any German intellectual.
What do all the numbers really add up to? Well, I will offer this observation. Intellectual Germans watch and participate in public TV forums a great deal....while working class Germans watch little if any public TV, and rarely if ever participate in these forums. So in some ways, the numbers provided by ARD....are biased (they are representing intellectual Germans for the most part).
On why more women were agreeable to the topics chosen by the discussion group (except for the Trump topic)? Well, that suggests that intellectual German women follow the trend by the news organizations. I won't say they are manipulated or influenced more....just that if you bring certain topics hot on TV forums....they seem to agree with the moderator more.
So this effort to educate and get Germans to talk and be civil.....is a fraud? If you walked into a room with 100 boxing enthusiasts....it's safe to say that if you brought up banning boxing, you'd find almost no one willing to chat with you or to support your argument. Yes, the Germany Speaks project is mostly about like-minded people meeting their equals and all finding common ground....very easily....and with no complicated situations.
I won't slam the show...it's just that it's kinda rigged to have a certain outcome in the end. It's fairly easy to be agreeable, in the company of like-minded people.
This morning, they got around to talking about the disagreements, which might spark more discussion down the line.
On the topic of a national strategy of fewer cars in cities (meaning the government would find ways to 'force' people to lessen car usage)....70-percent of women who were in this participation group and 60-percent of German men....were happy to see a government strategy to lessen car usage.
On the topic of Germany being worse now than a decade ago? 15-percent of German women agreed, while 21-percent of German men agreed.
On the topic of reducing meat consumption in Germany (as a health strategy), 77-percent of German women agreed, while 62-percent of German men agreed (note that a fair number of men just didn't agree with this health strategy).
On the topic Muslim integration going well in Germany, 92-percent of German women agreed, while 81-percent of German men agreed.
On the topic of Trump being good for America, 4.2-percent of German women agreed, while 13-percent of German men agreed (meaning three times the level of women). It would suggest that men are more prone to like Trump's message but it's best not to bring this topic up with any German intellectual.
What do all the numbers really add up to? Well, I will offer this observation. Intellectual Germans watch and participate in public TV forums a great deal....while working class Germans watch little if any public TV, and rarely if ever participate in these forums. So in some ways, the numbers provided by ARD....are biased (they are representing intellectual Germans for the most part).
On why more women were agreeable to the topics chosen by the discussion group (except for the Trump topic)? Well, that suggests that intellectual German women follow the trend by the news organizations. I won't say they are manipulated or influenced more....just that if you bring certain topics hot on TV forums....they seem to agree with the moderator more.
So this effort to educate and get Germans to talk and be civil.....is a fraud? If you walked into a room with 100 boxing enthusiasts....it's safe to say that if you brought up banning boxing, you'd find almost no one willing to chat with you or to support your argument. Yes, the Germany Speaks project is mostly about like-minded people meeting their equals and all finding common ground....very easily....and with no complicated situations.
I won't slam the show...it's just that it's kinda rigged to have a certain outcome in the end. It's fairly easy to be agreeable, in the company of like-minded people.
Sunday, September 23, 2018
Business Trends in Wiesbaden
There are two business trends that you might come to note if you lived around the city of Wiesbaden in 1985 and came back today in 2018: Shisha bars and nail salons.
Nail salons: There might have been a single salon in Wiesbaden twenty years ago, but today.....I would suggest it's near the 15-to-20 range. Part of this is a higher amount of disposable income, and part of this is a fashion trend.
You can see the same trend in Mainz, and Frankfurt. A guy goes out to find a decent storefront....puts about 25,000 Euro of investment into the place and opens up a six to twelve chair shop. I can't say that we've hit maximum potential yet, and there's still probably growth to occur in more rural areas.
Shisha bars: Back forty years ago, the shisha trend went along the conservative lines of a non-alcohol situation with the Hookah smoking devices. You could drink coffee, tea or fruit juices.
Today? Most all of the Shisha bars will offer beer, wine and the traditional non-alcohol drinks. They've modernized the types of smoking material. And they've gone to add food as part of the 'gimmick'. It's more of a place now for younger guys to socialize and discuss matters. Popular among Germans? It's main draw is upon Turks and Middle Eastern types, but it's a growing trend among German guys as well.
Within Wiesbaden? I'd estimate near fifteen of these, and about every quarter....another one opens up.
Nail salons: There might have been a single salon in Wiesbaden twenty years ago, but today.....I would suggest it's near the 15-to-20 range. Part of this is a higher amount of disposable income, and part of this is a fashion trend.
You can see the same trend in Mainz, and Frankfurt. A guy goes out to find a decent storefront....puts about 25,000 Euro of investment into the place and opens up a six to twelve chair shop. I can't say that we've hit maximum potential yet, and there's still probably growth to occur in more rural areas.
Shisha bars: Back forty years ago, the shisha trend went along the conservative lines of a non-alcohol situation with the Hookah smoking devices. You could drink coffee, tea or fruit juices.
Today? Most all of the Shisha bars will offer beer, wine and the traditional non-alcohol drinks. They've modernized the types of smoking material. And they've gone to add food as part of the 'gimmick'. It's more of a place now for younger guys to socialize and discuss matters. Popular among Germans? It's main draw is upon Turks and Middle Eastern types, but it's a growing trend among German guys as well.
Within Wiesbaden? I'd estimate near fifteen of these, and about every quarter....another one opens up.
Stabbing Story
Over the weekend in Wiesbaden, we had a stabbing (along a trendline, it's rare but it happens a lot more than it did twenty-five years ago). The cops reported the basic story.
Over in the 'Westend' (our suburb west of the shopping district), along about 1 PM on Sunday afternoon.....a Syrian guy (early 20's) attacked an Italian guy (late 30s), with a knife. There's some wound involved but the Italian guy survived.
An argument? Well....no. That's the odd thing about this sudden attack....it just 'happened'. Maybe there was some history between the two, or some odd exchange on the street, or maybe some woman involved. Cops are asking for witnesses.
The episode is described as a knife attempt on the arm of the Italian guy, and the Syrian guy ran off. Cops later found the guy and arrested him.
When you read over the knifing episodes (through regional and national news), it tends to be non-Germans, and it follows along the traditional American urban episodes where some type of disrespect has occurred, and some young guy has to correct the second guy's insult. Alcohol or drugs? Well, on a number of occasions, you can make the point that they were involved....no one says that about the 1 PM attack in Wiesbaden.
It's just one of those trends that you note and you have to remind yourself to be vigilant and note your surroundings when walking around. The odd factor here is that this Westend action occurred fairly near a coffee shop that I frequent at least once or twice a month. It's in an area that I'd normally say is 100-percent safe.
Over in the 'Westend' (our suburb west of the shopping district), along about 1 PM on Sunday afternoon.....a Syrian guy (early 20's) attacked an Italian guy (late 30s), with a knife. There's some wound involved but the Italian guy survived.
An argument? Well....no. That's the odd thing about this sudden attack....it just 'happened'. Maybe there was some history between the two, or some odd exchange on the street, or maybe some woman involved. Cops are asking for witnesses.
The episode is described as a knife attempt on the arm of the Italian guy, and the Syrian guy ran off. Cops later found the guy and arrested him.
When you read over the knifing episodes (through regional and national news), it tends to be non-Germans, and it follows along the traditional American urban episodes where some type of disrespect has occurred, and some young guy has to correct the second guy's insult. Alcohol or drugs? Well, on a number of occasions, you can make the point that they were involved....no one says that about the 1 PM attack in Wiesbaden.
It's just one of those trends that you note and you have to remind yourself to be vigilant and note your surroundings when walking around. The odd factor here is that this Westend action occurred fairly near a coffee shop that I frequent at least once or twice a month. It's in an area that I'd normally say is 100-percent safe.
Forced 'Exchange'?
So yesterday came the first of a series of public meetings in Germany called 'Germany Speaks'. The main target? It's to get people to meet....one-on-one....and admit that they have fundamental differences, then carry on a conversation about those 'topics' with someone of a different mindset.
Basically, after you review everything they laid out and attempted....the ARD and ZDF folks (who are in the background) are trying to urge civil discourse and tolerance of topics.
Success? The ARD folks (public TV, Channel One) talked over the Sunday effort and how it went....giving themselves a decent grade.
Is there a problem going on which mandates this national effort? I think in some ways....there is fear that the nation is slipping into the problems you see in the US, and they'd prefer to avoid that.
But after this one-on-one meeting wraps up....then what? There will be more of these efforts....repeated several times a year (I suggest) and as long as they can teach this effort of tolerance and get people to just accept two sides of every problem....it might have value.
Basically, after you review everything they laid out and attempted....the ARD and ZDF folks (who are in the background) are trying to urge civil discourse and tolerance of topics.
Success? The ARD folks (public TV, Channel One) talked over the Sunday effort and how it went....giving themselves a decent grade.
Is there a problem going on which mandates this national effort? I think in some ways....there is fear that the nation is slipping into the problems you see in the US, and they'd prefer to avoid that.
But after this one-on-one meeting wraps up....then what? There will be more of these efforts....repeated several times a year (I suggest) and as long as they can teach this effort of tolerance and get people to just accept two sides of every problem....it might have value.
The Maaßen 'Fix'?
After this weekends big meeting with the Chancellor, the SPD Party Chief and the Interior Minister....this whole affair on handling Maaßen (I've essayed this at least eight times on the path to this mess).....has been solved.
What Focus said this morning, is that Maaßen will move ahead to the position of special advisor in the Federal Ministry of the Interior, not the long discussed job of Chief of Staff.
He stays at the same 'grade' or pay-scale, which was the key factor in the SPD Party getting all disturbed over the matter.
The odds that this is really finished? Well....here's the thing...there's probably not any difference between this created position (out of thin air) and the Chief of Staff position. Legally, he could probably take this in job-court (something that every German has a right to do). The other factor is that Seehofer could come up in six to twelve months....to promote him to the promised job, with the correct pay-scale.
But all of this gets Nahles off the hook and ends the Chemnitz affair? Right? Well....no. So the question of disinformation and misinformation lays there on the Chemnitz murder, and what the new chief of internal security for Germany will do with this stupid video clip by ANTIFA. If you preview almost all news outlets, they've all quietly stopped discussing the video-clip and it's amazing to see how quickly it disappeared off their priority news.
What Focus said this morning, is that Maaßen will move ahead to the position of special advisor in the Federal Ministry of the Interior, not the long discussed job of Chief of Staff.
He stays at the same 'grade' or pay-scale, which was the key factor in the SPD Party getting all disturbed over the matter.
The odds that this is really finished? Well....here's the thing...there's probably not any difference between this created position (out of thin air) and the Chief of Staff position. Legally, he could probably take this in job-court (something that every German has a right to do). The other factor is that Seehofer could come up in six to twelve months....to promote him to the promised job, with the correct pay-scale.
But all of this gets Nahles off the hook and ends the Chemnitz affair? Right? Well....no. So the question of disinformation and misinformation lays there on the Chemnitz murder, and what the new chief of internal security for Germany will do with this stupid video clip by ANTIFA. If you preview almost all news outlets, they've all quietly stopped discussing the video-clip and it's amazing to see how quickly it disappeared off their priority news.
Saturday, September 22, 2018
The Nahles-Seehofer Crisis
I sat and pulled up the German 'Bild' today (the German newspaper that most working-class people read), and read through the short piece they've collected on the two options that Seehofer is offering to end the whole Maassen-crisis with the SPD Party (I've essayed five or six pieces over the mess).
What Bild says.....is that there are two options on the table:
1. Have Hans Georg Maassen swap his job (President of the Constitutional Protection Agency) with the BKA head (Holger Munch), who appears to be a supporter of the SPD Party. The BKA, for reference, is the Federal German Police Agency, based out of Wiesbaden.
2. Have Hans George Maassen become the Minister for Security and International Cooperation.
What Bild then says? Well....Nahles (head of the SPD Party) said 'NO' to this idea before and will likely repeat the 'NO' again.
In the mind of the leadership of the SPD....Maassen has to appear 'fired'.
So if we go back to the two options? In both cases, the pay-level (it at least appears that way), would not be a pay-raise, as in the Seehofer original solution of chief of staff.
A crisis over mostly nothing? Yeah. I suspect that more than fifty percent of German society is asking how they got to this point, and how many hours of fruitless and worthless discussion that the public TV news crowd will waste upon this topic. If they'd put this much effort into the asylum and migration crisis? Well, it's best not to bring up that comparison.
I would like to believe that the coaltion continues on, but I think Nahles will find no solution and the executive committee of the SPD will demand she step down...and a massive anti-Seehofer trend will start up. It's simply a nickle-and-dime being staged and the public isn't buying into it.
What Bild says.....is that there are two options on the table:
1. Have Hans Georg Maassen swap his job (President of the Constitutional Protection Agency) with the BKA head (Holger Munch), who appears to be a supporter of the SPD Party. The BKA, for reference, is the Federal German Police Agency, based out of Wiesbaden.
2. Have Hans George Maassen become the Minister for Security and International Cooperation.
What Bild then says? Well....Nahles (head of the SPD Party) said 'NO' to this idea before and will likely repeat the 'NO' again.
In the mind of the leadership of the SPD....Maassen has to appear 'fired'.
So if we go back to the two options? In both cases, the pay-level (it at least appears that way), would not be a pay-raise, as in the Seehofer original solution of chief of staff.
A crisis over mostly nothing? Yeah. I suspect that more than fifty percent of German society is asking how they got to this point, and how many hours of fruitless and worthless discussion that the public TV news crowd will waste upon this topic. If they'd put this much effort into the asylum and migration crisis? Well, it's best not to bring up that comparison.
I would like to believe that the coaltion continues on, but I think Nahles will find no solution and the executive committee of the SPD will demand she step down...and a massive anti-Seehofer trend will start up. It's simply a nickle-and-dime being staged and the public isn't buying into it.
Germany: 'Musical Chairs'
If you go through and read most of the German news sites, they are all hyped up on this 'new' renegotiation effort by the SPD Party and their chief (Frau Nahles).
There are several odd factors in this news story which kinda stand out. First, all of this Maassen-episode leads back the murder in Chemnitz....but as you view the news from public TV from the entire past five days....NOT a single word is uttered on Chemnitz or how this episode started. I admit, it's odd that no analyst or journalist talks to that murder episode.
Then you come to the ultimate that the SPD laid down in the first place....that Maassen had to leave the chief of internal security job. In their mind, that meant a termination or firing. When the smoke cleared, Seehofer (the Interior Minister and a CSU Party guy) said fine, Maassen would be leaving that job. Then he turned around and promoted Maassen to the chief of staff for Seehofer's Interior Ministry. Yes, a promotion and a 2,000 Euro pay-raise.
Over the past forty-eight hours? Now you have various promi-journalists and promi-German-Hollywood types who've gone anti-Maassen and anti-Seehofer, and they've started to use social media to promote their hype. Working-class Germans? They frankly don't give much standing to this gimmick.
So how will this renegotiation work? Frau Nahles will walk in and have this three to four hour meeting with Chancellor Merkel and Herr Seehofer. All three of them have better things to worry about and work on, so right off the bat.....this is a fairly big waste of time.
Then you have this issue....the whole emphasis was that internal security folks would have to have a new boss who would be acceptable to disinformation/misinformation and move ahead with investigations based on biased information (as silly as it sounds, it's the blunt truth). What happens to Maassen really doesn't matter after you establish this requirement.
The 2,000 Euro raise? This was probably uttered at least five times last night as the ARD (public TV news on Channel One) tried to explain their side of the story. In the SPD mindset, Maassen just can't get a pay raise if he was 'fired' (the Seehofer side of this is that Maassen wasn't ever fired).
How this three to four hour meeting go? No one can say for sure. A number of folks (mostly just journalists) stress that this could be the end of the coalition....that Nahles must have her way and that Maassen must be fired, to end the 'torment'. I think Seehofer is standing there and grinning because if there is a national election forced presently....the SPD loses four points (minimum) than what they got in September 2017's election.
Polls over the past six months haven't really helped to show a strong SPD, and it suggests the party is at the weakest point since WW II. It's possible that the AfD (the mortal enemy of virtually all political parties in Germany) would clear 17 to 20 percent in a fresh election, and I would project the Green Party clearing a minimum of 15 percent (maybe enough to be number three in poll numbers.
Seehofer knows all of this. If he were to fire Maassen? It'd all lead back to a court case where Maassen sues the government and gets a retirement pay-scale related to the chief of staff job. The SPD promi-players would all freak out if they knew this might be the final result, and they basically helped to give him a major plus-up on retirement.
A clear five-star mess, which the public sees as evidence of a banana-republic.
What to watch for when Monday arrives? First, what comes out of this Merkel, Nahles, and Seehofer meeting? Second, does the coalition dissolve? Third, does some internal campaign start to downsize Nahles and her leadership within the SPD? Fourth, can they find the right 'new' guy to lead the internal security agency of Germany, who will readily accept misinformation/disinformation and biased accounts as being legit?
It's an amazing 'opera' to watch unfold.
There are several odd factors in this news story which kinda stand out. First, all of this Maassen-episode leads back the murder in Chemnitz....but as you view the news from public TV from the entire past five days....NOT a single word is uttered on Chemnitz or how this episode started. I admit, it's odd that no analyst or journalist talks to that murder episode.
Then you come to the ultimate that the SPD laid down in the first place....that Maassen had to leave the chief of internal security job. In their mind, that meant a termination or firing. When the smoke cleared, Seehofer (the Interior Minister and a CSU Party guy) said fine, Maassen would be leaving that job. Then he turned around and promoted Maassen to the chief of staff for Seehofer's Interior Ministry. Yes, a promotion and a 2,000 Euro pay-raise.
Over the past forty-eight hours? Now you have various promi-journalists and promi-German-Hollywood types who've gone anti-Maassen and anti-Seehofer, and they've started to use social media to promote their hype. Working-class Germans? They frankly don't give much standing to this gimmick.
So how will this renegotiation work? Frau Nahles will walk in and have this three to four hour meeting with Chancellor Merkel and Herr Seehofer. All three of them have better things to worry about and work on, so right off the bat.....this is a fairly big waste of time.
Then you have this issue....the whole emphasis was that internal security folks would have to have a new boss who would be acceptable to disinformation/misinformation and move ahead with investigations based on biased information (as silly as it sounds, it's the blunt truth). What happens to Maassen really doesn't matter after you establish this requirement.
The 2,000 Euro raise? This was probably uttered at least five times last night as the ARD (public TV news on Channel One) tried to explain their side of the story. In the SPD mindset, Maassen just can't get a pay raise if he was 'fired' (the Seehofer side of this is that Maassen wasn't ever fired).
How this three to four hour meeting go? No one can say for sure. A number of folks (mostly just journalists) stress that this could be the end of the coalition....that Nahles must have her way and that Maassen must be fired, to end the 'torment'. I think Seehofer is standing there and grinning because if there is a national election forced presently....the SPD loses four points (minimum) than what they got in September 2017's election.
Polls over the past six months haven't really helped to show a strong SPD, and it suggests the party is at the weakest point since WW II. It's possible that the AfD (the mortal enemy of virtually all political parties in Germany) would clear 17 to 20 percent in a fresh election, and I would project the Green Party clearing a minimum of 15 percent (maybe enough to be number three in poll numbers.
Seehofer knows all of this. If he were to fire Maassen? It'd all lead back to a court case where Maassen sues the government and gets a retirement pay-scale related to the chief of staff job. The SPD promi-players would all freak out if they knew this might be the final result, and they basically helped to give him a major plus-up on retirement.
A clear five-star mess, which the public sees as evidence of a banana-republic.
What to watch for when Monday arrives? First, what comes out of this Merkel, Nahles, and Seehofer meeting? Second, does the coalition dissolve? Third, does some internal campaign start to downsize Nahles and her leadership within the SPD? Fourth, can they find the right 'new' guy to lead the internal security agency of Germany, who will readily accept misinformation/disinformation and biased accounts as being legit?
It's an amazing 'opera' to watch unfold.
Friday, September 21, 2018
Political 'Drama' Unfolding
What's been said by various news outlets in Germany is that a major meeting with the leadership of the SPD Party and the Executive Committee of the party....to discuss the party boss (Nahles), the situation with Maassen, and if the coalition should be dismantled....will occur early next week.
To lay out the facts here: (1) Maassen was expected to be fired as head of internal security of Germany because he refused to cooperate on going after perceived right-wing figures in Chemnitz.....but he was instead promoted to chief of staff to Seehofer (the Interior Minister). (2) Nahles had a stake in this mess, and people think she should have demanded his firing and when that failed....the coalition should have been dissolved. (3) A lot of this drama is tied to the two state elections to be held within the next thirty days (Hessen and Bavaria).
Adding to this fury, if the SPD dissolved the coalition? Well....Chancellor Merkel would probably have to call for a new and fresh election (figure the end of November). I looked over this morning at a poll that the Focus new people did and it brings some insight to the bigger mess.
Right now, the CDU/CSU is figured to only have around 27.5 percent of the national vote (a big drop from September 2017's election). The SPD? Also in trouble, at 16.5 percent.
The Afd Party (the anti-immigration group) sitting at 17 percent. The Greens have moved up to around 14.5 percent. The Linke Party at 11 percent, and the FDP at 10 percent.
If we went to an election and these results were actual voting pattern? It's hard to imagine how the CDU/CSU folks would be able to form any government (they can't touch the AfD folks or the Linke Party). The SPD will refuse to participate in another coalition. So you are left with the Greens and FDP situation. Back in Nov/Dec of 2017.....those two groups tried to partner up with the Merkel crowd and got nowhere. I don't think things have improved.
So if the CDU/CSU folks failed in their attempt to form a coalition after a forced election....what happens? The President of Germany has the option of asking the second-place or third-place winner to form a government, so you examine that scenario.
The AfD as the number two winner? Zero potential to put a coalition together.
The SPD as the number three winner? There would NOT be enough votes to partner with the Linke Party and Greens....however, if they could convince the FDP to join.....they'd have 50-plus percent of the vote. The odds of the FDP agreeing in this coalition? I give less than a 10-percent chance. On top of that.....four parties to form a government? That would be a stressful mess for people to handle.
So another election by spring of 2019? Yeah, that could be the result.
This meeting next week for the SPD leadership is a big deal and it could mean the end of Nahles and her leadership over the party. It could mean the end of the coalition. But basically, it's just a big drama to have an affect on the Hessen and Bavarian state elections.
To lay out the facts here: (1) Maassen was expected to be fired as head of internal security of Germany because he refused to cooperate on going after perceived right-wing figures in Chemnitz.....but he was instead promoted to chief of staff to Seehofer (the Interior Minister). (2) Nahles had a stake in this mess, and people think she should have demanded his firing and when that failed....the coalition should have been dissolved. (3) A lot of this drama is tied to the two state elections to be held within the next thirty days (Hessen and Bavaria).
Adding to this fury, if the SPD dissolved the coalition? Well....Chancellor Merkel would probably have to call for a new and fresh election (figure the end of November). I looked over this morning at a poll that the Focus new people did and it brings some insight to the bigger mess.
Right now, the CDU/CSU is figured to only have around 27.5 percent of the national vote (a big drop from September 2017's election). The SPD? Also in trouble, at 16.5 percent.
The Afd Party (the anti-immigration group) sitting at 17 percent. The Greens have moved up to around 14.5 percent. The Linke Party at 11 percent, and the FDP at 10 percent.
If we went to an election and these results were actual voting pattern? It's hard to imagine how the CDU/CSU folks would be able to form any government (they can't touch the AfD folks or the Linke Party). The SPD will refuse to participate in another coalition. So you are left with the Greens and FDP situation. Back in Nov/Dec of 2017.....those two groups tried to partner up with the Merkel crowd and got nowhere. I don't think things have improved.
So if the CDU/CSU folks failed in their attempt to form a coalition after a forced election....what happens? The President of Germany has the option of asking the second-place or third-place winner to form a government, so you examine that scenario.
The AfD as the number two winner? Zero potential to put a coalition together.
The SPD as the number three winner? There would NOT be enough votes to partner with the Linke Party and Greens....however, if they could convince the FDP to join.....they'd have 50-plus percent of the vote. The odds of the FDP agreeing in this coalition? I give less than a 10-percent chance. On top of that.....four parties to form a government? That would be a stressful mess for people to handle.
So another election by spring of 2019? Yeah, that could be the result.
This meeting next week for the SPD leadership is a big deal and it could mean the end of Nahles and her leadership over the party. It could mean the end of the coalition. But basically, it's just a big drama to have an affect on the Hessen and Bavarian state elections.
Thursday, September 20, 2018
The License to Critique and Criticise
About once a year, I'll have someone 'find' my essays/blog and want to let me know that they are disappointed that an American would go and criticize anything in Germany, German people, and that I am the 'bad' American. It's split 50-50....Americans and Germans who fall into this tolerance-lesson that will be used against me.
The problem these people usually have....is that they absolutely refuse to view the landscape and grasp that Germans (NOT all Germans, but a fair number of journalists, politicians, and intellectuals) have picked up their license to critique Brits, Poles, Greeks, Russians, Americans, Dutch, etc). So you sit there on a daily basis...observing the criticisms, and eventually you reach the point of realizing the tolerance/intolerance situation (or lack of it).
The 'bad' American act? It's used to usually push people back a step or two and make them feel guilty. The quickest way to rectify the situation....is to ask them how tolerant they really are? Their mere act of intolerance....puts them into a difficult situation. They will stand and defend intolerance, which makes them look even worse.
So I have that license to critique and criticize. To be honest, it's not much of a license. About ninety percent of Germans you come across....particularly working-class Germans....aren't all hyped up or falling over themselves to be openly critical of other cultures or countries. They've got more important things to worry about.
Criticizing roads or bridges? Most Germans will lay out a dozen harsh criticisms over the handling of road repairs or the construction of bridges.
Criticizing government bureaucracy? Most Germans will have thirty-odd stories to tell over their local or state government.
Criticizing laws? Everyone has a favorite list of laws or procedures which are designed for failure or to frustrate the general public.
Criticizing the daily news? Folks will pull out their Bild or local paper, and go into a chat-session over how this story got told out of context or that scandal is bigger than what the news talks about.
So pardon me, if I've angered you by making some wit or criticism over your German associates or some wonderful fairy-tale story. But as you get into your 'flame' session....ask yourself....are you tolerant or intolerant? Think about it for minute.
The problem these people usually have....is that they absolutely refuse to view the landscape and grasp that Germans (NOT all Germans, but a fair number of journalists, politicians, and intellectuals) have picked up their license to critique Brits, Poles, Greeks, Russians, Americans, Dutch, etc). So you sit there on a daily basis...observing the criticisms, and eventually you reach the point of realizing the tolerance/intolerance situation (or lack of it).
The 'bad' American act? It's used to usually push people back a step or two and make them feel guilty. The quickest way to rectify the situation....is to ask them how tolerant they really are? Their mere act of intolerance....puts them into a difficult situation. They will stand and defend intolerance, which makes them look even worse.
So I have that license to critique and criticize. To be honest, it's not much of a license. About ninety percent of Germans you come across....particularly working-class Germans....aren't all hyped up or falling over themselves to be openly critical of other cultures or countries. They've got more important things to worry about.
Criticizing roads or bridges? Most Germans will lay out a dozen harsh criticisms over the handling of road repairs or the construction of bridges.
Criticizing government bureaucracy? Most Germans will have thirty-odd stories to tell over their local or state government.
Criticizing laws? Everyone has a favorite list of laws or procedures which are designed for failure or to frustrate the general public.
Criticizing the daily news? Folks will pull out their Bild or local paper, and go into a chat-session over how this story got told out of context or that scandal is bigger than what the news talks about.
So pardon me, if I've angered you by making some wit or criticism over your German associates or some wonderful fairy-tale story. But as you get into your 'flame' session....ask yourself....are you tolerant or intolerant? Think about it for minute.
Wednesday, September 19, 2018
Driver Story
Last night for some news documentary piece....RTL (commercial German TV) did a piece on 'selling' German licenses to immigrants. What their reporters says.....over past five years, maybe up to 150,000 people came to a group of driving instructors, and paid money to absolutely pass. Amount? The reporter suggests on up to 5,000 Euro might have been paid to pass.
The fear?
Well....I'm guessing some German authorities are looking over the facts and starting an investigation. The general fear is that some of the 150,000 (maybe all) are not capable of driving on German roads. Tens of millions of Euro involved? Well....yeah, and probably not listed on tax forms as income. Yep, a tax violation if proven.
Factual? You just don't know. Some folks spoke to this, when telling the reporter the story, but it's pure speculation.
It just opens up a can of worms where people ask more questions, and they won't like the answers.
The fear?
Well....I'm guessing some German authorities are looking over the facts and starting an investigation. The general fear is that some of the 150,000 (maybe all) are not capable of driving on German roads. Tens of millions of Euro involved? Well....yeah, and probably not listed on tax forms as income. Yep, a tax violation if proven.
Factual? You just don't know. Some folks spoke to this, when telling the reporter the story, but it's pure speculation.
It just opens up a can of worms where people ask more questions, and they won't like the answers.
Tuesday, September 18, 2018
New Head Guy?
So it is unfolding this morning over who will replace Hans-Georg Maaßen with ARD (public German TV, Channel One) reporting.
What they say is that the Hamburg 'boss' over the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution....Torsten Voß....is likely to get promoted to the national job.
The chief problem? He'll have to agree that even if there is disinformation/misinformation and fake news involved....he'll still go and pretend it doesn't exist to arrest/detain people in the Chemnitz protests/riots.
Once the arrests come? Well....this gets interesting. If you detain or charge up anyone....the defense will bring up that the information is probably disinformation/misinformation/fake news and the judge will have to decide if he thinks they are right. If you ask me....it's just inviting a bigger mess to occur six months down the road.
The other factor here, which the news media seems to be glossing over and pretending it doesn't exist....this is the same guy who was in charge during the G-20 summit period in Hamburg, and you can't really say anything positive over how 'protection' went after that riot/protest period. But frankly at this point, maybe it doesn't matter anymore on who is doing the job....as long as they pretend misinformation/disinformation doesn't exist.
What they say is that the Hamburg 'boss' over the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution....Torsten Voß....is likely to get promoted to the national job.
The chief problem? He'll have to agree that even if there is disinformation/misinformation and fake news involved....he'll still go and pretend it doesn't exist to arrest/detain people in the Chemnitz protests/riots.
Once the arrests come? Well....this gets interesting. If you detain or charge up anyone....the defense will bring up that the information is probably disinformation/misinformation/fake news and the judge will have to decide if he thinks they are right. If you ask me....it's just inviting a bigger mess to occur six months down the road.
The other factor here, which the news media seems to be glossing over and pretending it doesn't exist....this is the same guy who was in charge during the G-20 summit period in Hamburg, and you can't really say anything positive over how 'protection' went after that riot/protest period. But frankly at this point, maybe it doesn't matter anymore on who is doing the job....as long as they pretend misinformation/disinformation doesn't exist.
Saga of Maaßen Ended?
No.
I've essayed a couple of times (recently, yesterday)....over this episode with the President of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution....Hans-Georg Maaßen. Basically, to make the SPD Party happy....he had to leave his office. Chancellor Merkel? She could not bring herself to fire the guy.....so he was promoted 'up' (chief of staff for the Interior Minister....Seehofer).
From last night on TV....just a blaze of commentary and angry SPD Party members. A fair number want the coalition dissolved, and their partnership ended. Public TV news giving them plenty of space to chat and hype up the topic.
What will happen?
I think party members from across Germany will demand a party vote. When it's done....it might come fairly close to saying the party must end it's relationship with Chancellor Merkel and the CDU/CSU. The path then?
Well...Merkel could form a coalition with the FDP and Greens, but that was a failure back in December.
The Chancellor could try to run a minority government, but it would be fairly weak and marginalized. Note as well....they've never done that in the history of the German government.
So the last track is another election. If they were to end this (say the end of September), there would be an election called for probably late November. I don't think Merkel would be the face for the CDU Party and that might be a positive. But the big negative is that the SPD Party is barely at 17-percent right now, and the AfD folks might be able to muster 16-to-18 percent if there were an election.
A whole lot of drama? Yes. And here's the curious thing. On any given day....there could be another Chemnitz murder, with immigrants involved, and more riots. The 'system' is now attached to month after month of disinformation/misinformation, fake news, and drama-without-any-end.
I've essayed a couple of times (recently, yesterday)....over this episode with the President of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution....Hans-Georg Maaßen. Basically, to make the SPD Party happy....he had to leave his office. Chancellor Merkel? She could not bring herself to fire the guy.....so he was promoted 'up' (chief of staff for the Interior Minister....Seehofer).
From last night on TV....just a blaze of commentary and angry SPD Party members. A fair number want the coalition dissolved, and their partnership ended. Public TV news giving them plenty of space to chat and hype up the topic.
What will happen?
I think party members from across Germany will demand a party vote. When it's done....it might come fairly close to saying the party must end it's relationship with Chancellor Merkel and the CDU/CSU. The path then?
Well...Merkel could form a coalition with the FDP and Greens, but that was a failure back in December.
The Chancellor could try to run a minority government, but it would be fairly weak and marginalized. Note as well....they've never done that in the history of the German government.
So the last track is another election. If they were to end this (say the end of September), there would be an election called for probably late November. I don't think Merkel would be the face for the CDU Party and that might be a positive. But the big negative is that the SPD Party is barely at 17-percent right now, and the AfD folks might be able to muster 16-to-18 percent if there were an election.
A whole lot of drama? Yes. And here's the curious thing. On any given day....there could be another Chemnitz murder, with immigrants involved, and more riots. The 'system' is now attached to month after month of disinformation/misinformation, fake news, and drama-without-any-end.
How State Elections in Germany Work
This is mostly a essay to discuss how state elections function in terms of the campaign season.
We are more or less....30 days out from Hessen's state election. This past week, they approved the period where you can put signs up in public (yes, it's basically a 30-day window).
The signs are in two general sizes: (1) regular, being 3 ft by 3 ft usually and (2) large, being 20 ft by 8 ft. Most all are colorful, with the image of the chief candidate running, their name, and some phrase (free stuff). Folks with markers will roam around and draw fake moustaches on some of the signs.
Speeches? What will happen is that a bus tour will occur through Hessen with the party having two or three big names, and having a one-hour stop in towns and villages to hype up the party situation.
The HR folks (our public TV crowd) will give some time to the parties to chat over topics.
Promises will be made, but rarely do any of them reach some point of delivery (most people claim this).
73-percent of folks showed up in the last election (2013), and you can generally expect around the same number this time. Total number of registered folks? 4.4-million residents.
Do locals get hyped up? Well.....no. It's not connected to a national election this time (unlike last time), and there is no big topic in the state of Hessen to feel hyped about. Will folks discuss local politics at work or at the pub? Not really. Other than the property tax business which infuriates everyone, and they all expect to be screwed.....there's nothing much going on.
We are more or less....30 days out from Hessen's state election. This past week, they approved the period where you can put signs up in public (yes, it's basically a 30-day window).
The signs are in two general sizes: (1) regular, being 3 ft by 3 ft usually and (2) large, being 20 ft by 8 ft. Most all are colorful, with the image of the chief candidate running, their name, and some phrase (free stuff). Folks with markers will roam around and draw fake moustaches on some of the signs.
Speeches? What will happen is that a bus tour will occur through Hessen with the party having two or three big names, and having a one-hour stop in towns and villages to hype up the party situation.
The HR folks (our public TV crowd) will give some time to the parties to chat over topics.
Promises will be made, but rarely do any of them reach some point of delivery (most people claim this).
73-percent of folks showed up in the last election (2013), and you can generally expect around the same number this time. Total number of registered folks? 4.4-million residents.
Do locals get hyped up? Well.....no. It's not connected to a national election this time (unlike last time), and there is no big topic in the state of Hessen to feel hyped about. Will folks discuss local politics at work or at the pub? Not really. Other than the property tax business which infuriates everyone, and they all expect to be screwed.....there's nothing much going on.
When a German Utters 'Gerne'
To be honest, most German words don't really translate very well, and you kinda select some phrase or English wording....that works as best as possible.
So you come to the word or phrase that you might hear at least once or twice a day....'gerne'.
The best translation is.....'with pleasure'.
A good example....some German guy will order cheese cake and coffee at the bakery, and he will utter the phrase 'gerne' in the phrase. 'I will have x-coffee and cheesecake, with pleasure'. Or the guy leaves out 'gerne' and the bakery lady says she'd be happy to serve him....with pleasure.
A key word?
More or less.
Just remember when you hear it.....they are trying for a brief second or two....to be friendly and courteous. Give the poor German a hug, and let them know you appreciate the 'with pleasure' moment.
So you come to the word or phrase that you might hear at least once or twice a day....'gerne'.
The best translation is.....'with pleasure'.
A good example....some German guy will order cheese cake and coffee at the bakery, and he will utter the phrase 'gerne' in the phrase. 'I will have x-coffee and cheesecake, with pleasure'. Or the guy leaves out 'gerne' and the bakery lady says she'd be happy to serve him....with pleasure.
A key word?
More or less.
Just remember when you hear it.....they are trying for a brief second or two....to be friendly and courteous. Give the poor German a hug, and let them know you appreciate the 'with pleasure' moment.
Maaßen Decision
The decision was made in the last hour over this mini-crisis with the office of the President of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution....Hans-Georg Maaßen. I essayed the main part of this story earlier in the day.
So the decision is.....he goes to be the under-secretary of the Interior Ministry (the number two under Seehofer).
Fired? No. Transferred.
The problem now? Well....they have to go and find the replacement guy, then make him understand that even if there is misinformation or disinformation going on from ANTIFA....they are to disregard it and investigate all right-wing activities....even fake activities. I think the cops will tell you that thousands of man-hours will go into the new direction with little to no real value added.
Public perception? The news media will make this a marvelous story and the SPD folks will spend two days talking over how they corrected bad behavior by the state authority....protecting the rights of everyone. But down at the common man level? I doubt if more than a quarter of population really had any grasp of the guy, his job, and what this whole discussion was about.
So the decision is.....he goes to be the under-secretary of the Interior Ministry (the number two under Seehofer).
Fired? No. Transferred.
The problem now? Well....they have to go and find the replacement guy, then make him understand that even if there is misinformation or disinformation going on from ANTIFA....they are to disregard it and investigate all right-wing activities....even fake activities. I think the cops will tell you that thousands of man-hours will go into the new direction with little to no real value added.
Public perception? The news media will make this a marvelous story and the SPD folks will spend two days talking over how they corrected bad behavior by the state authority....protecting the rights of everyone. But down at the common man level? I doubt if more than a quarter of population really had any grasp of the guy, his job, and what this whole discussion was about.
Monday, September 17, 2018
Diesel Car Update
The diesel crisis still ranks in the top ten subjects within the German news media. I sat and read through an article via N-TV (our German commercial TV news network) this morning.
Someone finally sat down and analyzed the numbers affected by the current bans being planned, with most all of the cars affected....being the diesel category-4 cars (manufactured prior to 2005). The number? Near 1.3-million from across Germany (total).
They point out this comment by the German Federal Transport Minister....Andreas Scheuer....CSU member....that the German government itself is NOT a car dealer.
Scheuer suggests that the car companies (not just VW).....ought to go out and offer trade-in deals or sales options to the affected people of the 1.3 million diesel category-4 models. The second option that Scheuer makes is that the compannies could come up with a retrofit 'kit' and provide that to the owners.
So far, none of the car manufacturing companies have wanted to discuss the upgrade kits and I think the age of the cars in question...over 13 years old....makes the kit question almost worthless. Most folks have suggested the kit, with labor cost figured up....would be over 1,500 Euro (you would have to have some test certified at the end and that figures into costs as well). If you had a car worth 2,000 Euro....is it even worth the effort?
I noticed one interesting statistic in this discussion. The ministry went out and asked....from the forty-odd cities with the diesel ban being discussed.....how many category-4 cars exist, and the answer is 476,000. So out of the 1.3-million cars in question....roughly one-third are the 'problem-children' and would not be able to enter the cities if these bans were to take place.
Someone finally sat down and analyzed the numbers affected by the current bans being planned, with most all of the cars affected....being the diesel category-4 cars (manufactured prior to 2005). The number? Near 1.3-million from across Germany (total).
They point out this comment by the German Federal Transport Minister....Andreas Scheuer....CSU member....that the German government itself is NOT a car dealer.
Scheuer suggests that the car companies (not just VW).....ought to go out and offer trade-in deals or sales options to the affected people of the 1.3 million diesel category-4 models. The second option that Scheuer makes is that the compannies could come up with a retrofit 'kit' and provide that to the owners.
So far, none of the car manufacturing companies have wanted to discuss the upgrade kits and I think the age of the cars in question...over 13 years old....makes the kit question almost worthless. Most folks have suggested the kit, with labor cost figured up....would be over 1,500 Euro (you would have to have some test certified at the end and that figures into costs as well). If you had a car worth 2,000 Euro....is it even worth the effort?
I noticed one interesting statistic in this discussion. The ministry went out and asked....from the forty-odd cities with the diesel ban being discussed.....how many category-4 cars exist, and the answer is 476,000. So out of the 1.3-million cars in question....roughly one-third are the 'problem-children' and would not be able to enter the cities if these bans were to take place.
Saturday, September 15, 2018
More on Daylight Savings Time Discussion
A couple of weeks ago, I essayed about the EU stance on ending Daylight-Savings-Time. They've come to pretty much agree....it will end. But they are stuck on which 'time' they will stick with.
ARD (public TV, Channel One in Germany) discussed part of the issue this morning.
Some folks (probably less than a quarter of the European population) want the time permanently set to the summer value. The rest want the normal winter value to be in place. I know.....it's an odd prospective.
Why the difference in attitude? If you select the winter time idea....you end up paying a bit more in electrical cost for light usage. So the pro-summertime folks do have a point on savings.
The EU? They say it has to be one set change across the entire landscape.....they don't want a patchwork mess to exist.
I suspect that one time will be selected, and it'll be winter time. Then I suspect the two or three countries with the light usage issue will flip their countries to a different time-zone (as the Greeks are on now)....to resolve this issue.
ARD (public TV, Channel One in Germany) discussed part of the issue this morning.
Some folks (probably less than a quarter of the European population) want the time permanently set to the summer value. The rest want the normal winter value to be in place. I know.....it's an odd prospective.
Why the difference in attitude? If you select the winter time idea....you end up paying a bit more in electrical cost for light usage. So the pro-summertime folks do have a point on savings.
The EU? They say it has to be one set change across the entire landscape.....they don't want a patchwork mess to exist.
I suspect that one time will be selected, and it'll be winter time. Then I suspect the two or three countries with the light usage issue will flip their countries to a different time-zone (as the Greeks are on now)....to resolve this issue.
The BBC Story
Normally, when the BBC speaks....I tend to urge caution and to review the facts later. This week, the BBC crowd decided that they'd go out and disprove the German AfD commentary about increased murders and assaults by immigrants. It was started as an honest effort (at least I think so). So what happened in the end....the BBC more or less concluded that facts were true, and pretty dismal.
For all of 2017, within Germany, there were 447 actual or attempted murders by migrants, asylum seekers, or immigrants. Violent crimes (includes assaults, rapes, and attempted murder).....generally up over the past three years....facts exist to establish that.
So the AfD was correct? In this episode, with the numbers, yes.
Yes, the violent tendency. Folks argue over this. I would offer four basic 'triggers':
1. Almost ALL of these were committed by young men. You rarely, if ever, will find a case of a young female attempting to murder someone or assault them.
2. If the cops were to apprehend the culprit shortly after the crime and do a drug/alcohol check.....I think the vast majority would show 'something'. I think a large assortment of these young men are drawn to a new habit of alcohol consumption and drug usage, and they can't handle it.
3. Lack of fear over consequences. So you get arrested? Then what? The odds of deportation? It probably won't happen. They've come to realize it. Putting them in jail? For murder charges, it will happen. For lesser assault? The prosecutors and judges don't seem to read off the same page as the police.
4. The non-existence of plan 'A'. Everyone on this immigration/migration route deal....had a plan 'A' to just get to Germany and the new life. But beyond getting to Germany....most didn't grasp the language, the stress, the cost of living, the rules, the limited housing, the ghetto-like existence, and the bureaucracy that exists today in Germany. I think the young men in this case have gotten over the original thrill of arrival....now realizing the less-than-thrilling circumstance they are in.
The bulk of the political crowd in Berlin? I would suggest that they know there's some long-term problems in existence but there's simply no magic formula to resolve the mess, and they simply see the AfD as a 'bull in a crystal-shop'. The public has come to realize and grows frustrated month by month. Just replacing the Chancellor won't really do much.
For all of 2017, within Germany, there were 447 actual or attempted murders by migrants, asylum seekers, or immigrants. Violent crimes (includes assaults, rapes, and attempted murder).....generally up over the past three years....facts exist to establish that.
So the AfD was correct? In this episode, with the numbers, yes.
Yes, the violent tendency. Folks argue over this. I would offer four basic 'triggers':
1. Almost ALL of these were committed by young men. You rarely, if ever, will find a case of a young female attempting to murder someone or assault them.
2. If the cops were to apprehend the culprit shortly after the crime and do a drug/alcohol check.....I think the vast majority would show 'something'. I think a large assortment of these young men are drawn to a new habit of alcohol consumption and drug usage, and they can't handle it.
3. Lack of fear over consequences. So you get arrested? Then what? The odds of deportation? It probably won't happen. They've come to realize it. Putting them in jail? For murder charges, it will happen. For lesser assault? The prosecutors and judges don't seem to read off the same page as the police.
4. The non-existence of plan 'A'. Everyone on this immigration/migration route deal....had a plan 'A' to just get to Germany and the new life. But beyond getting to Germany....most didn't grasp the language, the stress, the cost of living, the rules, the limited housing, the ghetto-like existence, and the bureaucracy that exists today in Germany. I think the young men in this case have gotten over the original thrill of arrival....now realizing the less-than-thrilling circumstance they are in.
The bulk of the political crowd in Berlin? I would suggest that they know there's some long-term problems in existence but there's simply no magic formula to resolve the mess, and they simply see the AfD as a 'bull in a crystal-shop'. The public has come to realize and grows frustrated month by month. Just replacing the Chancellor won't really do much.
Friday, September 14, 2018
Frankfurt Story
Thursday night in Frankfurt opened up with a dramatic police presence....almost five-hundred police ended up in the section of town around the train-station....often referred to as the Bahnhof-Quarter (which includes the station, and the red-light district). Included in the action....food-inspectors and zoll-officers (tax men).
Number arrested or detained, or ticketed? Unknown. Nothing much came out of the HR public TV clip.
Anyone who lived or was stationed around Frankfurt in the 1970s or 1980s....would say that the district in question.....had a unique character and charm. It was a district with strip-bars, bratwurst stands, bordellos, and pubs. The drug situation? Barely noticeable in that period, but by the 1990s....most folks would argue that the district was creating a different atmosphere. If you had to use the train station....you got in....went direct to the ramp, boarded the train and left. You didn't go out front to view the 'mess'.
Today? If you walked around Taunus Strasse at 9 AM, you'd find at least fifty heroin-addicts laying on the street from their morning 'effort'. Spread around the district and nearby parks? Probably another five-hundred to a thousand individuals.
Most Germans who live around the district are fed up with the situation and it's routinely brought up via the city council and various city leaders. No one really wants to upset the balance here because if you got the dealers all upset, they'd move into another area of town and just make things worse.
Arresting the dealers? You'd just have new dealers within twenty-four hours brought in and dealing drugs.
Cops will say over the past couple of years, through their active program....they've cut down on pickpockets and minor theft by 40-odd percent.
Today going through the district in question? My advice is to actively walk through the district in the daylight hours....don't stop and gawk or admire the ten guys laying on the street from their heroin fix. Walking through at night? No....skip this area of town. Don't stay at the hotels within walking distance of the train station. If you use the station for travel purposes.....get in and move to the train in question. Don't loiter.
At some point, some law and order type landscape will arrive via local politics, and the city will put up some fenced area at the end of town and just dump the junkies and dealers there....refusing to allow them anywhere in the downtown area.
Number arrested or detained, or ticketed? Unknown. Nothing much came out of the HR public TV clip.
Anyone who lived or was stationed around Frankfurt in the 1970s or 1980s....would say that the district in question.....had a unique character and charm. It was a district with strip-bars, bratwurst stands, bordellos, and pubs. The drug situation? Barely noticeable in that period, but by the 1990s....most folks would argue that the district was creating a different atmosphere. If you had to use the train station....you got in....went direct to the ramp, boarded the train and left. You didn't go out front to view the 'mess'.
Today? If you walked around Taunus Strasse at 9 AM, you'd find at least fifty heroin-addicts laying on the street from their morning 'effort'. Spread around the district and nearby parks? Probably another five-hundred to a thousand individuals.
Most Germans who live around the district are fed up with the situation and it's routinely brought up via the city council and various city leaders. No one really wants to upset the balance here because if you got the dealers all upset, they'd move into another area of town and just make things worse.
Arresting the dealers? You'd just have new dealers within twenty-four hours brought in and dealing drugs.
Cops will say over the past couple of years, through their active program....they've cut down on pickpockets and minor theft by 40-odd percent.
Today going through the district in question? My advice is to actively walk through the district in the daylight hours....don't stop and gawk or admire the ten guys laying on the street from their heroin fix. Walking through at night? No....skip this area of town. Don't stay at the hotels within walking distance of the train station. If you use the station for travel purposes.....get in and move to the train in question. Don't loiter.
At some point, some law and order type landscape will arrive via local politics, and the city will put up some fenced area at the end of town and just dump the junkies and dealers there....refusing to allow them anywhere in the downtown area.
What Happened in Chemnitz?
If you read my essays/blog on a regular basis, you know that I've brought up the murder in Chemnitz in the past couple of weeks. Basically, you have a German-Cuban guy (his father was Cuban and his mother German....he'd lived in Germany his entire life), who bumped into a couple of migrant/immigrant guys and a fight occurred, with a stabbing. The German-Cuban is dead, and this has raised some serious negativity on immigration in the local area.
At the time that all of this unfolded, I noted that no one really was being told much of the story that occurred that night....what they argued over....or how this fight escalated into a stabbing incident. I figured the story would eventually come out.
Well, this morning....Focus (the German news magazine) did attempt to piece together the pieces that the cops are sharing. It's still not a complete story but it helps to fill in the holes.
Part of the story comes from a eyewitness and the rest from the accused guy.
You have three guys (all immigrants) who knew each other and on this evening around 2:30 AM (yep, it's always the early morning crowd who gets into these incidents).....ended up at a shisha bar in Chemnitz.
They wrapped up their smoke and headed off to a doner kebab establishment. The group included a couple of other individuals (women as well).
Somewhere on the street was a second group, which the Cuban-German was a member.
The accused guy asked the Cuban-German for a light for his cigarette. Something 'clicked' in this conversation. No one says if there were insults or some harsh words, but some type of 'insult' occurred.
The immigrant group backed off, and started to head away. Somewhere over the next minute or two.....there's some decision made that you couldn't allow the insult to stand. So a reverse occurred, and within a couple of minutes....this Cuban-German was dead on the street.
Evidence so far? From the two guys arrested, there is a suggestion that neither of them are involved in the stabbing, and maybe (just a maybe), it's the third guy on the run (cops haven't been able to locate him so far) that 'might' have been the culprit.
Some folks suggest that the arrest warrant was a mistake, and that it'll be dissolved at some point.
Will the cops find the missing third guy? I would suggest that he's left Germany, and maybe found a way to return to Iraq.
Alcohol or drugs involved? No one suggests that yet, but you are talking about 2 AM, and it's likely that all of the parties (including the dead guy) had some alcohol, and maybe some drugs.
So this is mostly about an insult on the street, and getting 'respect'? Yeah, that's basically the way that this stabbing occurs in Chemnitz. And the guy in jail is probably not the guy who stabbed the Cuban-German? Yep.
The problem I see.....is that on given Saturday night, there's likely five million young Germans in some urban 'party-district' sipping beer and alcohol....having a bit of weed or maybe popping some ecstasy pills....standing there at 2 AM, and there's some 25-percent chance you might bump into someone....accidentally insult them, and they come back five minutes later wanting 'respect' out of you, and you end up dead.
At the time that all of this unfolded, I noted that no one really was being told much of the story that occurred that night....what they argued over....or how this fight escalated into a stabbing incident. I figured the story would eventually come out.
Well, this morning....Focus (the German news magazine) did attempt to piece together the pieces that the cops are sharing. It's still not a complete story but it helps to fill in the holes.
Part of the story comes from a eyewitness and the rest from the accused guy.
You have three guys (all immigrants) who knew each other and on this evening around 2:30 AM (yep, it's always the early morning crowd who gets into these incidents).....ended up at a shisha bar in Chemnitz.
They wrapped up their smoke and headed off to a doner kebab establishment. The group included a couple of other individuals (women as well).
Somewhere on the street was a second group, which the Cuban-German was a member.
The accused guy asked the Cuban-German for a light for his cigarette. Something 'clicked' in this conversation. No one says if there were insults or some harsh words, but some type of 'insult' occurred.
The immigrant group backed off, and started to head away. Somewhere over the next minute or two.....there's some decision made that you couldn't allow the insult to stand. So a reverse occurred, and within a couple of minutes....this Cuban-German was dead on the street.
Evidence so far? From the two guys arrested, there is a suggestion that neither of them are involved in the stabbing, and maybe (just a maybe), it's the third guy on the run (cops haven't been able to locate him so far) that 'might' have been the culprit.
Some folks suggest that the arrest warrant was a mistake, and that it'll be dissolved at some point.
Will the cops find the missing third guy? I would suggest that he's left Germany, and maybe found a way to return to Iraq.
Alcohol or drugs involved? No one suggests that yet, but you are talking about 2 AM, and it's likely that all of the parties (including the dead guy) had some alcohol, and maybe some drugs.
So this is mostly about an insult on the street, and getting 'respect'? Yeah, that's basically the way that this stabbing occurs in Chemnitz. And the guy in jail is probably not the guy who stabbed the Cuban-German? Yep.
The problem I see.....is that on given Saturday night, there's likely five million young Germans in some urban 'party-district' sipping beer and alcohol....having a bit of weed or maybe popping some ecstasy pills....standing there at 2 AM, and there's some 25-percent chance you might bump into someone....accidentally insult them, and they come back five minutes later wanting 'respect' out of you, and you end up dead.
VW Beetle Story
Top of the German business news today.....the VW Beetle has a end-production date now (2019). There's a fairly decent article via ARD (German public TV, Channel One) which discusses the matter.
The hype having peeked out? I've known three people who bought the new Beetle and they were all fairly positive about the car, noting often that it was a easy car to enter or exit, and had a good reliability record. But none of the three were the type who'd go back and buy it a second time. Maybe that attitude hurt in some ways.
The hype having peeked out? I've known three people who bought the new Beetle and they were all fairly positive about the car, noting often that it was a easy car to enter or exit, and had a good reliability record. But none of the three were the type who'd go back and buy it a second time. Maybe that attitude hurt in some ways.
Thursday, September 13, 2018
Limburg and Diesel Cars
It came up in regional 'chat' today, that Limburg (a town about 30 minutes away from me), has gotten all hyped-up to ban diesel car entry.
It's mostly a historical town with around 35,000 people. The big deal of the town is a cathedral.
What HR (my public TV news folks) says.....is that for years, the air testing has concluded that there is a fair amount of diesel particles in the air. The mayor is now concerned over the numbers and thinks he can draw up the paperwork to ban the cars.
Will it reach the final stage? No one can say for sure. What you typically see is that towns on the shadow of Frankfurt and Wiesbaden.....have a lot of people who drive 50 to 100 kilometers per day, and I'd take a guess that Limburg has at least 5,000 diesel cars in town. Just on angering that crowd alone.....I might have avoided taking this idea to some public discussion.
It's mostly a historical town with around 35,000 people. The big deal of the town is a cathedral.
What HR (my public TV news folks) says.....is that for years, the air testing has concluded that there is a fair amount of diesel particles in the air. The mayor is now concerned over the numbers and thinks he can draw up the paperwork to ban the cars.
Will it reach the final stage? No one can say for sure. What you typically see is that towns on the shadow of Frankfurt and Wiesbaden.....have a lot of people who drive 50 to 100 kilometers per day, and I'd take a guess that Limburg has at least 5,000 diesel cars in town. Just on angering that crowd alone.....I might have avoided taking this idea to some public discussion.
Autoschlange?
Some German phrases don't translate well.
This came up in a German class today, where the 'professor' wanted to introduce the word 'Autoschlange'.
It basically means that you've gotten onto the autobahn, and hit some heavy traffic....with movement limited to marginal speeds (meaning 10 to 30 mph). It typically means a construction zone or an accident having occurred.
The African guy in the group stopped the teacher, asked 'schlange'? It means 'snake'. In his homeland, the minute you utter that....folks are doing a 360-degree view within ten feet to ensure what snake you are referring to. He looked over at me and I was kinda in agreement.....in Alabama, if you uttered snake....folks would be eyeballing the ground carefully.
The professor wanted to reassure both of us.....the only snakes around Germany....are the non-'gift' snakes (non-poisonous). This phrase was only concerning autobahns.
There are various words like that in the German language, which really don't translate well, and you have to wonder where the phrase started.
But then this whole snake thing got into some talky-talk phase, and probably wasted 25 minutes of the language class for today. Yep, that's all it took, to get fifteen-odd people wrapped up into a non-language subject.
This came up in a German class today, where the 'professor' wanted to introduce the word 'Autoschlange'.
It basically means that you've gotten onto the autobahn, and hit some heavy traffic....with movement limited to marginal speeds (meaning 10 to 30 mph). It typically means a construction zone or an accident having occurred.
The African guy in the group stopped the teacher, asked 'schlange'? It means 'snake'. In his homeland, the minute you utter that....folks are doing a 360-degree view within ten feet to ensure what snake you are referring to. He looked over at me and I was kinda in agreement.....in Alabama, if you uttered snake....folks would be eyeballing the ground carefully.
The professor wanted to reassure both of us.....the only snakes around Germany....are the non-'gift' snakes (non-poisonous). This phrase was only concerning autobahns.
There are various words like that in the German language, which really don't translate well, and you have to wonder where the phrase started.
But then this whole snake thing got into some talky-talk phase, and probably wasted 25 minutes of the language class for today. Yep, that's all it took, to get fifteen-odd people wrapped up into a non-language subject.
Turkey's 24-Percent Interest Rate
If you follow business news around Europe this morning, you might note that the Turkish Central Bank raised its key interest rate from 17.75 percent.....to 24-percent.
Here's the thing.....no one around Turkey is really thinking about expansion or growing a business, or building hotels right now. So this interest deal, while it might sound BIG.....it's really not that big.
Business people will sit around and laugh over the conditions because the country is stalled and unable to project out any positive news for the next twelve months. Basically, people are sitting on their capital and limiting their costs as much as possible.
Here's the thing.....no one around Turkey is really thinking about expansion or growing a business, or building hotels right now. So this interest deal, while it might sound BIG.....it's really not that big.
Business people will sit around and laugh over the conditions because the country is stalled and unable to project out any positive news for the next twelve months. Basically, people are sitting on their capital and limiting their costs as much as possible.
Hyped-Up Over Nothing?
Public TV in Germany yesterday (ARD, Channel One) picked up the briefing of Maassen on the Chemnitz video business, and it's caused a lot of 'heartburn'.
This presentation to the Interior Committee of the Bundestag covered a great deal of what is believed to be a significant disinformation effort.
He even relates efforts like this back to the G20 summit in Hamburg from last year.....where fake events were engineered to show alleged police violence.
What Maassen suggests is that ANTIFA might have led this misinformation effort with this one questionable video.
The other members of this Interior Committee? The SPD, Greens and Linke Party? They weren't that happy after the presentation and made pointed (negative comments). They wanted to believe the misinformation campaign is non-existent.
This is the first time ever that you see one major organization of the German government talking about misinformation on a massive scale and being pursued with various political groups.
I sat and looked over the efforts, and then went to the historical landscape of Germany for the past sixty years.
The 1968-hyped up year of demonstrations and violence in Germany? Was it also a misinformation effort?
The Red Army Faction in Germany? Was it also a misinformation vehicle?
The effort that brought down Willy Brandt as Chancellor? Was it also a misinformation effort?
This anti-Trump business for the past two years? Another misinformation effort?
You could open up a big can of worms here, if the public started asking questions and it became skeptical of social media, the news media, and outside influences.
This presentation to the Interior Committee of the Bundestag covered a great deal of what is believed to be a significant disinformation effort.
He even relates efforts like this back to the G20 summit in Hamburg from last year.....where fake events were engineered to show alleged police violence.
What Maassen suggests is that ANTIFA might have led this misinformation effort with this one questionable video.
The other members of this Interior Committee? The SPD, Greens and Linke Party? They weren't that happy after the presentation and made pointed (negative comments). They wanted to believe the misinformation campaign is non-existent.
This is the first time ever that you see one major organization of the German government talking about misinformation on a massive scale and being pursued with various political groups.
I sat and looked over the efforts, and then went to the historical landscape of Germany for the past sixty years.
The 1968-hyped up year of demonstrations and violence in Germany? Was it also a misinformation effort?
The Red Army Faction in Germany? Was it also a misinformation vehicle?
The effort that brought down Willy Brandt as Chancellor? Was it also a misinformation effort?
This anti-Trump business for the past two years? Another misinformation effort?
You could open up a big can of worms here, if the public started asking questions and it became skeptical of social media, the news media, and outside influences.
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
SPD Story
There are various hints over the past few days within the SPD Party.....that maybe the coalition deal (between Merkel's CDU Party and the SPD) might be stressed and coming to an end. Focus covered part of this story this morning.
The boss of junior SPD group (JUSO).....Kevin Kuhnert....has strongly suggested that the coalition needs to just end....the SPD can't work with the CDU.
To go onto the next scenario....what happens if the SPD 'quit' the coalition? Well....it gets kinda interesting.
The CDU would have two main avenues to advance upon.....without having to force another election. The first would be to revisit the Green Party-FDP parties and see if they could now form. My best guess is that they've burnt enough bridges and it's virtually impossible to form such a coalition.
The second scenario has never been used (ever) in Germany but it has been used in some European countries. You basically run a minority government. Yes, it's a weakened government and you are continually fighting off opposition parties. Merkel and the CDU could probably survive for a year under this umbrella system of government before calling for a fresh election.
What the SPD has to worry about? This gets even more interesting.
The SPD in the Hessen and Bavarian elections of 2018.....are NOT expected to do that well. In the four elections of 2019 (the EU election and the three east German state elections)? Same story.
My guess is that if the SPD walked out of this government coalition situation, Merkel would attempt to limp the CDU along to the fall of 2019 (after the last state election in 2019).....then say 'enough' and call for a fresh election. The SPD at that point might be down near 12-to-14 percent, with the Greens then up around 18-percent. The intent would be make the future Greens.....the big partner of the CDU and marginalize the SPD to a great extent in future politics.
I suspect the SPD realizes it's weakened position and will just carry on, with negative comments on a continual basis.
The boss of junior SPD group (JUSO).....Kevin Kuhnert....has strongly suggested that the coalition needs to just end....the SPD can't work with the CDU.
To go onto the next scenario....what happens if the SPD 'quit' the coalition? Well....it gets kinda interesting.
The CDU would have two main avenues to advance upon.....without having to force another election. The first would be to revisit the Green Party-FDP parties and see if they could now form. My best guess is that they've burnt enough bridges and it's virtually impossible to form such a coalition.
The second scenario has never been used (ever) in Germany but it has been used in some European countries. You basically run a minority government. Yes, it's a weakened government and you are continually fighting off opposition parties. Merkel and the CDU could probably survive for a year under this umbrella system of government before calling for a fresh election.
What the SPD has to worry about? This gets even more interesting.
The SPD in the Hessen and Bavarian elections of 2018.....are NOT expected to do that well. In the four elections of 2019 (the EU election and the three east German state elections)? Same story.
My guess is that if the SPD walked out of this government coalition situation, Merkel would attempt to limp the CDU along to the fall of 2019 (after the last state election in 2019).....then say 'enough' and call for a fresh election. The SPD at that point might be down near 12-to-14 percent, with the Greens then up around 18-percent. The intent would be make the future Greens.....the big partner of the CDU and marginalize the SPD to a great extent in future politics.
I suspect the SPD realizes it's weakened position and will just carry on, with negative comments on a continual basis.
Polls for the Bavarian Election
ARD went out and did a political poll to see where the state election might go:
CSU: 35-percent
Greens: 17-percent
Linke Party: 5-percent
SPD: 11-percent
AfD: 11-percent
Freie Wahlen: 11-percent
The jest of this? The CSU (and SPD) are on a slide. The Greens and Freie Wahlen folks were the gainers.
The Freie Wahlen folks? They tend to be pro-communities, pro-farm, and support banking measures over control (not to allow bank failures). They support environmental solutions/issues, but it's not at the level of the Green Party.
For a coalition situation for the CSU? They'd have to partner with the Greens and one minor party. If it's anyone else....it'll have to be four total parties.
Good news? No. It's rather negative news for the CSU.
CSU: 35-percent
Greens: 17-percent
Linke Party: 5-percent
SPD: 11-percent
AfD: 11-percent
Freie Wahlen: 11-percent
The jest of this? The CSU (and SPD) are on a slide. The Greens and Freie Wahlen folks were the gainers.
The Freie Wahlen folks? They tend to be pro-communities, pro-farm, and support banking measures over control (not to allow bank failures). They support environmental solutions/issues, but it's not at the level of the Green Party.
For a coalition situation for the CSU? They'd have to partner with the Greens and one minor party. If it's anyone else....it'll have to be four total parties.
Good news? No. It's rather negative news for the CSU.
The Maassen Story
If you watch German news for the past week.....they've been hyped up and negative about Chemnitz and this video showing one or two migrants being chased by an aggressive crowd (supposed right-wing but you can't state that as a concrete fact).
So ARD (public news) talked over the chief German security guy (Maassen) and his report to the Bundestag committee today.
What Maassen points out, which is hard for the politicians to get a handle upon....is that the name of the guy who posted this video for Twitter.....identified himself as connected to ANTIFA. The German cops impression of ANTIFA? Well....they don't trust them and they think this is misinformation or a faked-up video. The aggressive guys chasing the migrants? Maybe right-wing.....maybe left-wing....maybe contracted out....maybe Nazis. But because of that ANTIFA label, the cops don't trust the content.
For the SPD and Greens? Well....they don't see the problem. They simply gaze over ANTIFA and see nothing wrong with them.
The German public? If you asked them to ID or explain ANTIFA.....I doubt if you could find one German out of a hundred who'd give you a explanation of the group.
My humble impression? Had this been some Catholic priest or some Italian magician.....it might be believable, but I'm like the cops....once you say ANTIFA....well, it might be misinformation.
So ARD (public news) talked over the chief German security guy (Maassen) and his report to the Bundestag committee today.
What Maassen points out, which is hard for the politicians to get a handle upon....is that the name of the guy who posted this video for Twitter.....identified himself as connected to ANTIFA. The German cops impression of ANTIFA? Well....they don't trust them and they think this is misinformation or a faked-up video. The aggressive guys chasing the migrants? Maybe right-wing.....maybe left-wing....maybe contracted out....maybe Nazis. But because of that ANTIFA label, the cops don't trust the content.
For the SPD and Greens? Well....they don't see the problem. They simply gaze over ANTIFA and see nothing wrong with them.
The German public? If you asked them to ID or explain ANTIFA.....I doubt if you could find one German out of a hundred who'd give you a explanation of the group.
My humble impression? Had this been some Catholic priest or some Italian magician.....it might be believable, but I'm like the cops....once you say ANTIFA....well, it might be misinformation.
Cop Story
German cops are required on occasion, to do bar-checks....to establish that everyone in a pub is over the age of 18. Focus brought this story up today....over a check from Sunday evening up in Essen (north Germany).
Two cops show up (man and a woman) at a shisha bar. Some young guy attempts to leave in a hurry and the cops are after the young guy. At some point, in some kind of scuffle....the female cop is pushed to the ground. Then the male cop ends up on the ground. The young punk....on the attack, first at the male cop, and then the female cop.
The thing about this scuffle....both cops were in trouble, and a group of ten men all stood on the street....watching this unfold, and doing nothing. At this point in the episode, two German guys in a car and passing the scuffle....stopped and got out....overpowering the young punk. You would think the business was done.....but no.
Then five other 'punks' appeared and continued some sort of attack (kicking the female cop). Fortunley for all....more cops now arrive and take down the five and original punk.
Drunkenness? Well....cops believe all six were drunk to some degree. But this aggressive nature to take on the cops and attack them? It's not something that you'd typically anticipate. My guess is that the cops will target this bar and it'll undergo age-checks on a routine basis with six to ten cops in attendance.
Most American GI's who lived around Frankfurt in the 1970s would caution folks.....don't go stupid and cause cops any extra 'pain'....those cops carried billy-clubs and were prone to use them. It just makes one wonder what kind of idiots got into this attack-cops mode and what they expected in the end.
Two cops show up (man and a woman) at a shisha bar. Some young guy attempts to leave in a hurry and the cops are after the young guy. At some point, in some kind of scuffle....the female cop is pushed to the ground. Then the male cop ends up on the ground. The young punk....on the attack, first at the male cop, and then the female cop.
The thing about this scuffle....both cops were in trouble, and a group of ten men all stood on the street....watching this unfold, and doing nothing. At this point in the episode, two German guys in a car and passing the scuffle....stopped and got out....overpowering the young punk. You would think the business was done.....but no.
Then five other 'punks' appeared and continued some sort of attack (kicking the female cop). Fortunley for all....more cops now arrive and take down the five and original punk.
Drunkenness? Well....cops believe all six were drunk to some degree. But this aggressive nature to take on the cops and attack them? It's not something that you'd typically anticipate. My guess is that the cops will target this bar and it'll undergo age-checks on a routine basis with six to ten cops in attendance.
Most American GI's who lived around Frankfurt in the 1970s would caution folks.....don't go stupid and cause cops any extra 'pain'....those cops carried billy-clubs and were prone to use them. It just makes one wonder what kind of idiots got into this attack-cops mode and what they expected in the end.
The Deadend Discussion
There's this expectation that the Americans have currently.....over Assad of Syria and his expected actions in the next week or so.....to use chemical weapons in some scenario. Don't ask how this comes up....but it does.
So, for a couple of days....it's been discussed in Germany. Chancellor Merkel and the CDU Party....believe that if chemical weapons are used....then a major action needs to occur, and the Germans should not only support the anticipated US attack on Assad's forces, but to participate as well.
So, it's being discussed today in the Bundestag. Basically, the SPD Party says 'no'.....Germany should not participate.
The reason for the SPD 'no involvement' in punishing Assad? Well....it's to some statement that socialists cannot use violence to correct a situation.
I know....it's pretty lame, but this is the SPD Party.
This got brought up today via ARD (the public TV network in Germany).
German constitutional law? Well, the present constitution says to participate in a war of aggression is wrong and would violate the constitution. The German military? It's built around the effort to be defensive in nature, and to protect Germany and NATO.
The other problem in this discussion. It's best not to bring this up.....but if you said that some reaction has to occur, and it happen in 48 hours, it's virtually impossible to suggest that four German fighters could be prepared and capable of taking off with workable bombs/missiles. Yes, the maintenance situation with the German military is lousy, and marginal. Maybe if you gave them ten days to prepare.....they might be able to have the planes and bombs ready to go.
So in this discussion.....while Merkel attempts to get some votes to approve her idea....it's virtually impossible to get the votes, and it's mostly just a hyped-up discussion.
Lame? Well....yeah, but this is Germany of 2018.....not Helmet Kohl's Germany of 1985.
So, for a couple of days....it's been discussed in Germany. Chancellor Merkel and the CDU Party....believe that if chemical weapons are used....then a major action needs to occur, and the Germans should not only support the anticipated US attack on Assad's forces, but to participate as well.
So, it's being discussed today in the Bundestag. Basically, the SPD Party says 'no'.....Germany should not participate.
The reason for the SPD 'no involvement' in punishing Assad? Well....it's to some statement that socialists cannot use violence to correct a situation.
I know....it's pretty lame, but this is the SPD Party.
This got brought up today via ARD (the public TV network in Germany).
German constitutional law? Well, the present constitution says to participate in a war of aggression is wrong and would violate the constitution. The German military? It's built around the effort to be defensive in nature, and to protect Germany and NATO.
The other problem in this discussion. It's best not to bring this up.....but if you said that some reaction has to occur, and it happen in 48 hours, it's virtually impossible to suggest that four German fighters could be prepared and capable of taking off with workable bombs/missiles. Yes, the maintenance situation with the German military is lousy, and marginal. Maybe if you gave them ten days to prepare.....they might be able to have the planes and bombs ready to go.
So in this discussion.....while Merkel attempts to get some votes to approve her idea....it's virtually impossible to get the votes, and it's mostly just a hyped-up discussion.
Lame? Well....yeah, but this is Germany of 2018.....not Helmet Kohl's Germany of 1985.
Diesel Crisis Story
Focus brought up a really fine article today, worth reading.....over the diesel crisis going on in Germany.
For those unaware of the mess....a basic introduction. After the VW folks admitted their abuse of the exhaust tests....a city by city effort came up to limit or halt diesel cars entry into various cities. Everyone felt that the federal government would eventually get involved and prevent this.....well....they failed on that.
So Focus went out and discussed the matter of compensation (has yet to occur in Germany), and they indicate that various lawsuits are underway.....aimed at VW.
Focus notes that not only did VW owners in the US get compensation (into the billions), but they even paid out a fine to the federal government.
Here in Germany? Well, there are lawsuits going on against cities, in the event of the bans going 'full-blast'.
The odds of the court system going against VW in Germany? It's presently only speculation.
A death spiral if VW was forced to compensate folks? I would suggest that VW would mostly bankrupt itself if all the major cities in Germany went to some forbidden-diesel-entry law. Even Merkel wouldn't be able to save them.
For those unaware of the mess....a basic introduction. After the VW folks admitted their abuse of the exhaust tests....a city by city effort came up to limit or halt diesel cars entry into various cities. Everyone felt that the federal government would eventually get involved and prevent this.....well....they failed on that.
So Focus went out and discussed the matter of compensation (has yet to occur in Germany), and they indicate that various lawsuits are underway.....aimed at VW.
Focus notes that not only did VW owners in the US get compensation (into the billions), but they even paid out a fine to the federal government.
Here in Germany? Well, there are lawsuits going on against cities, in the event of the bans going 'full-blast'.
The odds of the court system going against VW in Germany? It's presently only speculation.
A death spiral if VW was forced to compensate folks? I would suggest that VW would mostly bankrupt itself if all the major cities in Germany went to some forbidden-diesel-entry law. Even Merkel wouldn't be able to save them.
Kothen and the Dead German Guy
I essayed a piece about four days ago, over a German guy who died in Kothen on Sunday. Two Afghan guys were detained/arrested over the death, and the authorities have been busy explaining the perceived facts to the case.
So, this aggressive act started when three Afghan guys got into a conversation with a now-pregnant gal in some city park. No one explains what the conversation was really about, or what kind of friction started this. But along comes the guy who apparently got her pregnant, and his brother (the brother is a known character for right-wing causes in Kothen....if that matters in this story).
What the authorities hint at....is that the guy with the pregnant gal (the German guy)....wasn't healthy and had some kind of heart condition. This is not really explained by anyone much.
A heated discussion follows.
At least one (maybe two) of the Afghan guys do something to push the sickly German guy to the ground. Maybe a shuffle....maybe a push. There's a kick or two by the two Afghan dudes.
The unhealthy German guy goes into some kind of cardiac arrest, and ends up dead (no one is clear if it's there or at the hospital).
The doctors all sign off that the assault or kicks....had nothing to do with the heart attack. I read through four different sources of news (regional, state, national), and they all say basically the same thing.
There are charges of some type on the two Afghan guys, but I would guess they are no more than plain assault.
The public buying off on the doctor's certificate and the authorities statement? Well....I'm not sure about this. Typically, if you start a fight (at least in Germany) and the victim guy of the situation dies, you are in some type of homicide charge. Maybe a lesser charge, but if your act caused the death....you don't get bypassed on your contribution. So this is a confusing episode and I think the general public simply will not buy off on this explanation.
A good example would be you cause a car accident and the other guy dies later from injuries. Or you cause some public riot where two people die.....there's going to be some homicide charges written up (it won't be murder).
So, if you see Kothen brought up via the German news.....that's the basis of the story. Course, what caused this heated discussion to start up anyway? Well....that's totally unknown.
So, this aggressive act started when three Afghan guys got into a conversation with a now-pregnant gal in some city park. No one explains what the conversation was really about, or what kind of friction started this. But along comes the guy who apparently got her pregnant, and his brother (the brother is a known character for right-wing causes in Kothen....if that matters in this story).
What the authorities hint at....is that the guy with the pregnant gal (the German guy)....wasn't healthy and had some kind of heart condition. This is not really explained by anyone much.
A heated discussion follows.
At least one (maybe two) of the Afghan guys do something to push the sickly German guy to the ground. Maybe a shuffle....maybe a push. There's a kick or two by the two Afghan dudes.
The unhealthy German guy goes into some kind of cardiac arrest, and ends up dead (no one is clear if it's there or at the hospital).
The doctors all sign off that the assault or kicks....had nothing to do with the heart attack. I read through four different sources of news (regional, state, national), and they all say basically the same thing.
There are charges of some type on the two Afghan guys, but I would guess they are no more than plain assault.
The public buying off on the doctor's certificate and the authorities statement? Well....I'm not sure about this. Typically, if you start a fight (at least in Germany) and the victim guy of the situation dies, you are in some type of homicide charge. Maybe a lesser charge, but if your act caused the death....you don't get bypassed on your contribution. So this is a confusing episode and I think the general public simply will not buy off on this explanation.
A good example would be you cause a car accident and the other guy dies later from injuries. Or you cause some public riot where two people die.....there's going to be some homicide charges written up (it won't be murder).
So, if you see Kothen brought up via the German news.....that's the basis of the story. Course, what caused this heated discussion to start up anyway? Well....that's totally unknown.
The Halal Story
It was a basic page three story that came up today out of Hamburg. Some folks in the 'state' Landestag (remember, as a city (Hamburg), it's really a state-city).....someone asked if there were meetings going on about school lunches and complaints about the food not being Halal.
Halal in this case is a Islamic method of butchering up the intended livestock (except pork), and it says bluntly that you must first cut the animal at the neck, and allow all of the blood to drip out, before butchering it.
Well....five years ago, someone could have predicted that this day would arrive.
What's said here is that complaints have arisen in Hamburg and parents want the meat that's served in the school menu....to be Halal-done.
Most all schools in Germany already have two major conflicts going on with school menus, and most would prefer to just avoid the menu deal entirely....serving nothing.
The two conflicts prior to Halal? The nutritional crowd arrived a decade ago and they demanded that any meal served.....must have nutritional values. The second conflict is the group that came up in the last three years....demanding vegetarian lunches be served. Adding Halal? It kinda means you have to go to certain butchers for this meat. Also, you'd likely get into the no-pork discussion real quick.
All of this adds cost onto the school menu business, which has to come out of some budget.
The odds that this will spread to other states? I would go and predict within ten years.....all German states are faced with this conflict.
Me personally? I think I'd just give each kid a banana and an apple.....with a glass of tap-water, and get out of this whole discussion.
Halal in this case is a Islamic method of butchering up the intended livestock (except pork), and it says bluntly that you must first cut the animal at the neck, and allow all of the blood to drip out, before butchering it.
Well....five years ago, someone could have predicted that this day would arrive.
What's said here is that complaints have arisen in Hamburg and parents want the meat that's served in the school menu....to be Halal-done.
Most all schools in Germany already have two major conflicts going on with school menus, and most would prefer to just avoid the menu deal entirely....serving nothing.
The two conflicts prior to Halal? The nutritional crowd arrived a decade ago and they demanded that any meal served.....must have nutritional values. The second conflict is the group that came up in the last three years....demanding vegetarian lunches be served. Adding Halal? It kinda means you have to go to certain butchers for this meat. Also, you'd likely get into the no-pork discussion real quick.
All of this adds cost onto the school menu business, which has to come out of some budget.
The odds that this will spread to other states? I would go and predict within ten years.....all German states are faced with this conflict.
Me personally? I think I'd just give each kid a banana and an apple.....with a glass of tap-water, and get out of this whole discussion.
Tuesday, September 11, 2018
Oktoberfest
In roughly eleven days, Munich's Oktoberfest opens up. Preparation continues right now, with fest tents being put up....medical personnel being prepared for the onslaught of drunks....and the city transportation system preparing for massive crowds.
Virtually every hotel within Munich is booked-up, and probably has been for six months. If you did want some last minute situation....you'd have to go ten to twenty kilometers outside of Munich.
How much drunkenness occurs? The problem here is that folks get served with a 'mass' (the 1-liter glass). If you wanted to use the 'time-method' to beer consumption.....that mass ought to last you two hours. But most folks will wrap it up after about 60 to 75 minutes. So along about the end of the second mass.....you realize that you are more than a little drunk. A third mass? That starts the objective of going to the 'hill'.
The 'hill' At the very end of the fair grounds, there's a major medical tent established. Here, you can figure around thirty emergency technicians and a doctor or two.....will be on call. Next to them, is this inclined hill, and they kinda encourage people who aren't deadly drunk but need an hour or two to recover....to just lay there on the incline. So you can walk by around 1 PM, and note around a hundred folks (both men and women) laying there.
Years ago (in the 1980s), I worked with a guy who'd gone down with a group (via the train). He'd gotten drunk early on (maybe at noon), and wandered over to the hill. Hours later (it'd actually gotten dark), he finally woke up. He looked at his watch, almost 9 PM.....his friends had already departed on the train (by their agreed schedule).
Unhealthy consumption? You can ask most folks, and I think 75-percent of the crowd drinks in a normal way. Probably over 95-percent of the visitors have no requirement for the 'hill' or any medical assistance.
Getting into these fest tents? Well....maybe forty years ago, you still had a chance to just show up and walk into a fest tent. Today? Most require reservations. You could be waiting two to three hours to enter without a reservation. If it is bad weather (like colder temperatures), then it thins out the crowd and you have a better chance.
Driving around the city? No. Once you get your car to the hotel and check-in.....just leave it there and use day-tickets to visit the grounds.
Oktoberfest is mostly about socializing....having a beer or two with some associates....laughing over something, and having a good time.
Virtually every hotel within Munich is booked-up, and probably has been for six months. If you did want some last minute situation....you'd have to go ten to twenty kilometers outside of Munich.
How much drunkenness occurs? The problem here is that folks get served with a 'mass' (the 1-liter glass). If you wanted to use the 'time-method' to beer consumption.....that mass ought to last you two hours. But most folks will wrap it up after about 60 to 75 minutes. So along about the end of the second mass.....you realize that you are more than a little drunk. A third mass? That starts the objective of going to the 'hill'.
The 'hill' At the very end of the fair grounds, there's a major medical tent established. Here, you can figure around thirty emergency technicians and a doctor or two.....will be on call. Next to them, is this inclined hill, and they kinda encourage people who aren't deadly drunk but need an hour or two to recover....to just lay there on the incline. So you can walk by around 1 PM, and note around a hundred folks (both men and women) laying there.
Years ago (in the 1980s), I worked with a guy who'd gone down with a group (via the train). He'd gotten drunk early on (maybe at noon), and wandered over to the hill. Hours later (it'd actually gotten dark), he finally woke up. He looked at his watch, almost 9 PM.....his friends had already departed on the train (by their agreed schedule).
Unhealthy consumption? You can ask most folks, and I think 75-percent of the crowd drinks in a normal way. Probably over 95-percent of the visitors have no requirement for the 'hill' or any medical assistance.
Getting into these fest tents? Well....maybe forty years ago, you still had a chance to just show up and walk into a fest tent. Today? Most require reservations. You could be waiting two to three hours to enter without a reservation. If it is bad weather (like colder temperatures), then it thins out the crowd and you have a better chance.
Driving around the city? No. Once you get your car to the hotel and check-in.....just leave it there and use day-tickets to visit the grounds.
Oktoberfest is mostly about socializing....having a beer or two with some associates....laughing over something, and having a good time.
Monday, September 10, 2018
Real Nazis or Fake Nazis?
For the past twenty-four hours, it's been on my mind.....this discussion in recent days of Nazi-this and Nazi-that.....going on in Germany.
Other than black clothing and Heil-Hitler salutes, and some facial covering.....there's zero proof of Nazi activity.
The riots in Hamburg last summer? You could say that they were anti-capitalists, but is there any real proof of that? NO.
What you have developing (both in the US and in Europe) are folks who rent themselves out. You need sixty guys who are prone to be extremely violent and confrontational? You can recruit your crowd for 200 to 300 Euro each. You tell them to put on the Nazi shirts and shout heil-Hitler.....or you tell them to be anti-capitalist and smash shop windows.
Are journalists even able to recognize this trend? Not really. As far as they are concerned.....there can't be fake Nazis or fake radicals. The same can be said for politicians and their handlers.
So could you as a nation, be led into some fake agenda situation, with a couple of provocateurs running some fake political agenda? Yes. Imagine Hitler's machine today, having to deal in the early 1930s with some fake communist group, or some fake ultra-socialist group.
Could all of this lead Merkel's coalition government to make some bold and stupid leadership decisions? That's what you really have to wonder about. If they went and started to push the German intelligence folks to follow and do undercover work on the AfD....it would anger enough people, but Merkel could logically say that they were doing Nazi-business or having some Nazi-slant. Then twelve months later, some group would come out and admit that the AfD had nothing to do with this, and it'd set off a quarter of population to side with the pro-AfD folks and trigger a negativity on Chancellor Merkel and the coalition.
It's a remarkable mess, and you can't be sure of anything.
Other than black clothing and Heil-Hitler salutes, and some facial covering.....there's zero proof of Nazi activity.
The riots in Hamburg last summer? You could say that they were anti-capitalists, but is there any real proof of that? NO.
What you have developing (both in the US and in Europe) are folks who rent themselves out. You need sixty guys who are prone to be extremely violent and confrontational? You can recruit your crowd for 200 to 300 Euro each. You tell them to put on the Nazi shirts and shout heil-Hitler.....or you tell them to be anti-capitalist and smash shop windows.
Are journalists even able to recognize this trend? Not really. As far as they are concerned.....there can't be fake Nazis or fake radicals. The same can be said for politicians and their handlers.
So could you as a nation, be led into some fake agenda situation, with a couple of provocateurs running some fake political agenda? Yes. Imagine Hitler's machine today, having to deal in the early 1930s with some fake communist group, or some fake ultra-socialist group.
Could all of this lead Merkel's coalition government to make some bold and stupid leadership decisions? That's what you really have to wonder about. If they went and started to push the German intelligence folks to follow and do undercover work on the AfD....it would anger enough people, but Merkel could logically say that they were doing Nazi-business or having some Nazi-slant. Then twelve months later, some group would come out and admit that the AfD had nothing to do with this, and it'd set off a quarter of population to side with the pro-AfD folks and trigger a negativity on Chancellor Merkel and the coalition.
It's a remarkable mess, and you can't be sure of anything.
Cruise Story
It's a page three type story but a lot of Germans are curious about it.
Back in 2002, the Germans started a show....'Germany Seeks a Super-Star' (pop-singers). Somewhere in the mix of the final dozen was this kid....Daniel Küblböck.
My description (I watched the show that year) was that the kid had some talent, and was an emotional roller-coaster. He was gay and just seemed to me not able to handle it. Course he was 17 years old, and this show was designed for theatrics (drama within each person) more than singing.
Well....he finished third on the show, and went onto some 'mild' success.
Over the weekend (at age 33), he was on some cruise boat going from Hamburg to New York. Near the Canadian coast.....he is reported to have jumped overboard. Search? Nothing has been found and he's pretty much given up for dead at this point.....shocking a lot of Germans.
Success-wise? Well....I think he kept waiting for things to turn around, and it just never happened.
Back in 2002, the Germans started a show....'Germany Seeks a Super-Star' (pop-singers). Somewhere in the mix of the final dozen was this kid....Daniel Küblböck.
My description (I watched the show that year) was that the kid had some talent, and was an emotional roller-coaster. He was gay and just seemed to me not able to handle it. Course he was 17 years old, and this show was designed for theatrics (drama within each person) more than singing.
Well....he finished third on the show, and went onto some 'mild' success.
Over the weekend (at age 33), he was on some cruise boat going from Hamburg to New York. Near the Canadian coast.....he is reported to have jumped overboard. Search? Nothing has been found and he's pretty much given up for dead at this point.....shocking a lot of Germans.
Success-wise? Well....I think he kept waiting for things to turn around, and it just never happened.
Swedish Election Results
I think most non-Swedes can take four things out of this election yesterday:
1. There is no clear 'winner'. The mature Swedish Social Democratic Party took around 31-percent of the vote. The second place winner was the Moderate Party with 23-percent. Third place was the Swedish Democratic Party (right-wing in nature) with 13-percent of the national vote. There are five additional parties which took less than 7-percent each. So to form a government, it'll take four-plus parties to achieve it.
2. For the right-wing party, I suspect that they were hoping on 20-percent...but were satisfied. If you go north out Stockholm.....virtually every district went with the Social Democratic Party. It's in the urban areas that the right-wing party took real votes.
3. Some polls done in March of 2018, showed the Swedish Democratic Party (right-wing folks) at near 20-percent. They've lost some support over the past six months.
4. This was a 84-percent turn-out, which compared to most European countries....was a fairly high number.
1. There is no clear 'winner'. The mature Swedish Social Democratic Party took around 31-percent of the vote. The second place winner was the Moderate Party with 23-percent. Third place was the Swedish Democratic Party (right-wing in nature) with 13-percent of the national vote. There are five additional parties which took less than 7-percent each. So to form a government, it'll take four-plus parties to achieve it.
2. For the right-wing party, I suspect that they were hoping on 20-percent...but were satisfied. If you go north out Stockholm.....virtually every district went with the Social Democratic Party. It's in the urban areas that the right-wing party took real votes.
3. Some polls done in March of 2018, showed the Swedish Democratic Party (right-wing folks) at near 20-percent. They've lost some support over the past six months.
4. This was a 84-percent turn-out, which compared to most European countries....was a fairly high number.
What If You Just Don't Know?
I'm one of those people who went through the various stages and eventually got a residence visa for Germany.
If you were to ask the basic steps? Well, there are basically three steps.
1. You fill out the 15-odd page form and give them around forty bits of information about yourself and why you need the residence visa. I'm not an asylum-guy, or a migrant in search of work....I'm merely married to a German and in some retirement phase of life. The facts on the form? All facts. They could have spent six months reviewing it and finding not a single fact questionable or misleading.
2. You need to show some history (like a resume). If you said you were from Venezuela, then the evidence ought to be in the package.
3. You need a legit ID.
A medical exam? No. None.
A mental exam? No. None.
A eight-hour presentation explaining murder is illegal in Germany, as is the sales of hard drugs? No. Nothing. There is an attempt to talk about Constitutional rights, but they don't go down into domestic violence or simply bad behavior.
The German-built machine simply assumes that you know something about good behavior and respect. It puts all incoming individuals at the same level. I've come across a lot of non-Germans who have respect and go as far as possible on the good behavior scale. My gut feeling is that more than 90-percent of those with visas....are trying to be good guests. The rest? Less so.
The problem here is that you don't typically go out (as a host) and brief everyone entering the party about good manners and charm. There's simply a lot of hope that everyone will turn into a good guest upon arrival. One might laugh about that idea, but that's the situation that has developed in the past five years.
If you were to ask the basic steps? Well, there are basically three steps.
1. You fill out the 15-odd page form and give them around forty bits of information about yourself and why you need the residence visa. I'm not an asylum-guy, or a migrant in search of work....I'm merely married to a German and in some retirement phase of life. The facts on the form? All facts. They could have spent six months reviewing it and finding not a single fact questionable or misleading.
2. You need to show some history (like a resume). If you said you were from Venezuela, then the evidence ought to be in the package.
3. You need a legit ID.
A medical exam? No. None.
A mental exam? No. None.
A eight-hour presentation explaining murder is illegal in Germany, as is the sales of hard drugs? No. Nothing. There is an attempt to talk about Constitutional rights, but they don't go down into domestic violence or simply bad behavior.
The German-built machine simply assumes that you know something about good behavior and respect. It puts all incoming individuals at the same level. I've come across a lot of non-Germans who have respect and go as far as possible on the good behavior scale. My gut feeling is that more than 90-percent of those with visas....are trying to be good guests. The rest? Less so.
The problem here is that you don't typically go out (as a host) and brief everyone entering the party about good manners and charm. There's simply a lot of hope that everyone will turn into a good guest upon arrival. One might laugh about that idea, but that's the situation that has developed in the past five years.
Scuffle Story
About an hour's drive north of Leipzig (over in the east of Germany), this past week, there was another confrontation between a German and two Afghans. The city involved? Kothen. A town of roughly 28,000 residents.
The two Afghan guys? 18 and 20 years old. The German? 22 years old.
What the cops will say about the episode, via a short Focus article, is that the German guy died from some kind of acute heart failure. Then they also spoke to this known heart condition of the German guy.
How the confrontation came to be? Well....there's this pregnant woman in the middle of this. Yep....so she's come out to this kid's playground, and there is a meeting occurring with her and three Afghan guys. There is some kind of heated discussion between the pregnant woman and at least one Afghan guy. One gets the impression that he might have been the one responsible but no one suggests that.
Then this 22-year old German guy arrives with his brother (the brother has some reputation as right-wing). The argument intensifies. A scuffle starts up. At the end of this scuffle, the 22-year old German guy is dead. No knives. No weapons. It appears from the description.....it was no more than a scuffle. The German dead guy? He appears more dead from the heart attack than the scuffle.
The fear in this town at present? Well....the mayor says in short terms.....there ought not to be any trouble. From last night....a number of folks did meet up and lay out candles for the dead German guy but no riots or demonstrations.
The two Afghan guys? 18 and 20 years old. The German? 22 years old.
What the cops will say about the episode, via a short Focus article, is that the German guy died from some kind of acute heart failure. Then they also spoke to this known heart condition of the German guy.
How the confrontation came to be? Well....there's this pregnant woman in the middle of this. Yep....so she's come out to this kid's playground, and there is a meeting occurring with her and three Afghan guys. There is some kind of heated discussion between the pregnant woman and at least one Afghan guy. One gets the impression that he might have been the one responsible but no one suggests that.
Then this 22-year old German guy arrives with his brother (the brother has some reputation as right-wing). The argument intensifies. A scuffle starts up. At the end of this scuffle, the 22-year old German guy is dead. No knives. No weapons. It appears from the description.....it was no more than a scuffle. The German dead guy? He appears more dead from the heart attack than the scuffle.
The fear in this town at present? Well....the mayor says in short terms.....there ought not to be any trouble. From last night....a number of folks did meet up and lay out candles for the dead German guy but no riots or demonstrations.
Sunday, September 9, 2018
Fake Nazis?
A Nazi-attack on a Jewish restaurant in Germany?
What we can say factually.....on the 27th of August....at 10 PM....the restaurant "Schalom" in Chemnitz was 'hit' by a group of neo-Nazis clad in black. Some light property damage occurred.
Politicians and news media all up in arms, and blaming the right-wing folks.
Well....here's the problem. The so-called Nazis? All masked. No real evidence of them being Nazis other than slogans and black clothing.
Fake Nazis? Here's the big problem brewing.....there are various groups now working on provocateur scenarios. There is ZERO evidence this was a Nazi thing. It could have been some left-wing group....some immigrant group....some pro-Erdogan-Turkish group.....some Russians hired by Putin.....some Russians hired by the mafia....some radical Brits, or just some foundation-funded group.
Pretty screwed up? Oh, I would suggest that.
What we can say factually.....on the 27th of August....at 10 PM....the restaurant "Schalom" in Chemnitz was 'hit' by a group of neo-Nazis clad in black. Some light property damage occurred.
Politicians and news media all up in arms, and blaming the right-wing folks.
Well....here's the problem. The so-called Nazis? All masked. No real evidence of them being Nazis other than slogans and black clothing.
Fake Nazis? Here's the big problem brewing.....there are various groups now working on provocateur scenarios. There is ZERO evidence this was a Nazi thing. It could have been some left-wing group....some immigrant group....some pro-Erdogan-Turkish group.....some Russians hired by Putin.....some Russians hired by the mafia....some radical Brits, or just some foundation-funded group.
Pretty screwed up? Oh, I would suggest that.
Austria and Fake-Gays?
This got brought up today by Focus (the German news magazine).....on Austria and their asylum program. They run a similar style program as the Germans.....in that you state your reason for asylum and they evaluate that 'reason'.
So the Austrians have various folks who come up and state their reason as being 'gay'. Back in their homeland, they would not be accepted for gay activity.
The Austrian office for asylum said fine.....we will evaluate you.
So this 18-year old Afghan came up. The Austrians looked over the guy and evaluated him. They say his clothing style and behavior...wasn't 'gay enough' (suggesting he was fake-gay).
Another guy from Iraq (27-year old)....applied, and he was told that he was more or less....acting gay, but wasn't really gay.
The authorities in this approval situation will even review your cellphone and pictures.....looking for some indication, like gay videos....to prove your status as a real 'gay'.
Some folks have been critical of the way that the authorities operate.....suggesting the evaluation is not correct or fair. But you have to analyze this whole application process and how you 'prove' you are gay. Just saying 'it'? I can't really blame the Austrians....some folks might be willing to go and do some fake-gay act. Course, if you get accepted for a visa and two years later end with a 'wife'....how do you explain the gay situation if the authorities ask? That you just got over gayness?
So the Austrians have various folks who come up and state their reason as being 'gay'. Back in their homeland, they would not be accepted for gay activity.
The Austrian office for asylum said fine.....we will evaluate you.
So this 18-year old Afghan came up. The Austrians looked over the guy and evaluated him. They say his clothing style and behavior...wasn't 'gay enough' (suggesting he was fake-gay).
Another guy from Iraq (27-year old)....applied, and he was told that he was more or less....acting gay, but wasn't really gay.
The authorities in this approval situation will even review your cellphone and pictures.....looking for some indication, like gay videos....to prove your status as a real 'gay'.
Some folks have been critical of the way that the authorities operate.....suggesting the evaluation is not correct or fair. But you have to analyze this whole application process and how you 'prove' you are gay. Just saying 'it'? I can't really blame the Austrians....some folks might be willing to go and do some fake-gay act. Course, if you get accepted for a visa and two years later end with a 'wife'....how do you explain the gay situation if the authorities ask? That you just got over gayness?
SPD Chatter on Housing
This weekend, the SPD Party came out with a document to hype up their solution for 'affordable housing'. ARD covers most of the story.
If you live around major cities like Berlin, Frankfurt, Koln, etc.....you tend to notice rental costs for apartments is going up, and it's hard (impossible) to find two-bedroom place in the range of 600 Euro. The public housing built in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s? Well...it's an interesting thing. The owners of these properties sat on their apartment buildings for years, with no renovation. So in the past twenty years....as renovation occurred, the rent went up (easily going from 500 Euro up to 1,000 Euro in cases).
If you go around Germany, asking people about the problem....it tends to get ranked in the top issues very easily. Course, if you live in a non-urban town of 4,000 residents....you don't see this issue very much.
What the SPD came to suggest in their weekend hype....is a 'rent-stop' plan. They want to pass a law which says if you own apartment buildings.....you will not be allowed to raise rent over the next five years except for inflation-related situations. In this five-year period, they (the SPD and partners) want to encourage massive building projects and to create an abundance of housing in urban areas.
To get housing construction started? The SPD wants cities to be able to charge additional taxes on unused building plots which are being held on speculation plans by private owners.
Issues here? There will be a massive backlash on the rent-stop idea by apartment building owners. Some have plans for renovation and they'd just go into a stall plan on those ideas because of the suggested change.
The speculation situation? You can walk around Frankfurt and find literally hundreds of sites being held by some individual or group....waiting for the right price to come up. If you attempted to triple up taxes on these people.....they'd go and put up some temp building and pretend it's meeting the regulation.....to avoid the taxes suggested.
Why isn't there more interest in building affordable rental buildings? You go and look at the cost to build.....the cost of property....then look at the rent that you typically can charge, and you simply don't see an attractive property situation for a thirty-year period.
People often bring up Vienna when in these discussions because the city there.....went into a massive building project (on their own) and built thousands of buildings over the past seventy years. The city for the most part, holds ownership of those buildings. There's rarely.....if ever....renovation done, but people don't care because the rental costs are so reasonable.
The odds of this SPD idea being passed by the Bundestag? They probably will pass the rental-control of prices easily, but it'll get challenged in court. As for the idea on taxing property held for speculation? That will be challenged via court as well.
If you live around major cities like Berlin, Frankfurt, Koln, etc.....you tend to notice rental costs for apartments is going up, and it's hard (impossible) to find two-bedroom place in the range of 600 Euro. The public housing built in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s? Well...it's an interesting thing. The owners of these properties sat on their apartment buildings for years, with no renovation. So in the past twenty years....as renovation occurred, the rent went up (easily going from 500 Euro up to 1,000 Euro in cases).
If you go around Germany, asking people about the problem....it tends to get ranked in the top issues very easily. Course, if you live in a non-urban town of 4,000 residents....you don't see this issue very much.
What the SPD came to suggest in their weekend hype....is a 'rent-stop' plan. They want to pass a law which says if you own apartment buildings.....you will not be allowed to raise rent over the next five years except for inflation-related situations. In this five-year period, they (the SPD and partners) want to encourage massive building projects and to create an abundance of housing in urban areas.
To get housing construction started? The SPD wants cities to be able to charge additional taxes on unused building plots which are being held on speculation plans by private owners.
Issues here? There will be a massive backlash on the rent-stop idea by apartment building owners. Some have plans for renovation and they'd just go into a stall plan on those ideas because of the suggested change.
The speculation situation? You can walk around Frankfurt and find literally hundreds of sites being held by some individual or group....waiting for the right price to come up. If you attempted to triple up taxes on these people.....they'd go and put up some temp building and pretend it's meeting the regulation.....to avoid the taxes suggested.
Why isn't there more interest in building affordable rental buildings? You go and look at the cost to build.....the cost of property....then look at the rent that you typically can charge, and you simply don't see an attractive property situation for a thirty-year period.
People often bring up Vienna when in these discussions because the city there.....went into a massive building project (on their own) and built thousands of buildings over the past seventy years. The city for the most part, holds ownership of those buildings. There's rarely.....if ever....renovation done, but people don't care because the rental costs are so reasonable.
The odds of this SPD idea being passed by the Bundestag? They probably will pass the rental-control of prices easily, but it'll get challenged in court. As for the idea on taxing property held for speculation? That will be challenged via court as well.
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