Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Top German News of the Day

 1.  Lufthansa strike is in effect for today (1-day strike).  Yeah, it has a lot of travelers hostile and frustrated.  If you were scheduled for today....it's shaky that they will have some arrangement for tomorrow, and it might be three to five days before your opportunity arises for another seat.  Totally screws up vacation plans.

2.  There is some type of internal discussion going on within the Green Party about extending the life of the three remaining nuclear plants.  They don't want a bunch of people within the party getting freaked-out one way or another.  

There's talk of a power-plant 'stress-test'.....where measurements will be taken, and ONLY after that....would the discussion of the three nuke plants come up.  By the mandate existing.....all three MUST go off in December.  

My view?  Once you go to a 19 C mandate for home/apartment temperatures for the winter....people will 'cheat' in some way to bring up two or three space heaters around the house, and burn 25-percent more electrical power to make up for the lacking warmth (by using less natural gas).   I will forecast that by December....if the nuke plants are turned off.....a crisis in January with brown-outs will occur.  

I also noticed yesterday....news report where a guy was procuring a fair amount of coal for this winter, and the odds are some clean-air index will be announced as a critical problem in society.  

3.  Just an odd and funny story came up on Focus.....involving the chief of RBB (the Berlin public TV network).  The chief had gone out and arranged a catered dinners at her home (figuring 56 Euro a person, nine times from 2018 to 2022).  Fair chunk of money.....which was handed to the network as a 'business expense'.

Between 3 and 11 people were at each dinner.....so this comes out to a couple thousand Euro. 

Maybe it's all legit, but this will be a negative listed for the next rise in the TV-media tax.  Also begs the question....from dozen-odd sub-networks....are the rest of the 'bosses' doing the same thing?  Final question....was this at-home-catering deal done throughout the past fifty-odd years of existence for RBB?

4.  There is a frontal system coming up from Africa next week....suggesting an average temperature of 42 C (107 F) for at least two days.  

5.  I noticed off WELT a comment toward the sick-leave used by state employees in Berlin....in 2020....came to around five weeks each.  

6.  Someone did a count of wind-generators in Brandenburg and Berlin.  Totals?  Brandenburg region has 3,900 wind-generators....Berlin has six.  I will admit....size-wise....Brandenburg is about 15 times the size of Berlin.....but about three-quarters of the region is what I'd consider fairly rural or farm-like.  

So there is a discussion going on.....to put more wind-generators into Berlin.  Odds of this being accepted?  I'd be humble and say it'd be fought to a great extent.

7.  Some kind of whining starting up about the German national soccer team preparing for the World Cup in Nov-Dec of this year.  The Cup is going to be in Qatar.  

Of the 32 teams scheduled to play in matches in Qatar.....31 are living/staying in hotel complexes within Doha-City itself.  The Germans are staying in some private complex miles outside of the city....set in the desert-coastal area (north-end) itself....about 70 km away from Doha.

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