Thursday, August 4, 2022

Observations

 1.  GAZPROM, the Russian natural gas provider....says in a blunt way from last night...the 'pump' that supplies natural gas to Germany via Nord Stream I...can't come back.  So, I don't think the Germans have fully grasped this yet, but that's the end of natural gas as a product from Russia.

2. What's with former Chancellor Schroeder (SPD) and the GAZPROM folks?

Well...as Schroeder was voted out in 2005...he almost immediately ended up as a board member of the Russian company GAZPROM.  This 'path' took a lot of Germans by surprise (negatively).  

In the years that followed....for the SPD Party, it was an embarrassment.  He lingered around in the news....mostly as a 'friend' of Putin, and politically...it hurt the party.

Since the war started, I would suggest the embarrassment angle has doubled for the SPD.  Schroeder has tried to influence Putin...into ending the war, but that hasn't achieved much. 

In recent days in Moscow....Schroeder seems to be meeting dozens of people each day, in some effort to convince the Kremlin that the 'game' has reached a point where the war has to conclude.

3.  In the Grunewald area (near Berlin), the police operate a rural demolition site (to blow up older ammo).  Apparently, in the storage area of this controlled area (probably because of the heat)....the site blew up and triggered a fire.  Based on news coverage....the fire crews are having a problem getting to the affected area because of the remote nature.

4.  For those hyped up on the RTL TV reality show 'Jungle Camp'....the decision was announced yesterday to move 'back' to Australia for 2023.  For one brief year, they attempted the show in South Africa (because of Covid restrictions).  I won't say it was a failure, but it just didn't match up to Australian conditions.

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