Monday, June 26, 2023

Five German News Stories

 1.  One odd thing you notice about the little Russia coup story....if you browse around...a fair number of Wagner mercenaries didn't participate with the convoy or coup.  I don't know the number (it might be 10-percent....it might be 50-percent).  

Looking at descriptions...this convoy that headed toward Moscow probably didn't exceed more than 10,000 folks.  

Just odd how this whole thing played out.

2.  In that local district election (runoff actually) in Sonneberg (eastern Germany)...the AfD guy won (five points) over the CDU guy.  Lot of public TV criticism over results....lot of hype going on.

Oddly, the SPD, Linke Party and Greens....asked their folks to come out and vote for the CDU guy, and it didn't help.

One aspect that I did notice...the guy running doesn't seem to be a nutcase or far-right extreme....so he may have convinced locals of various issues existing and people crowded under that 'tent'.

3.  The draft self-determination law is evolving.....yet to pass.  It would allow you....once a year....to change your gender.  Presently, with the wording....you'd just walk in and verbally note your change (zero proof) and then you'd be officially a different gender.

Oddly, German lesbian groups and women's right's activists....aren't that happy about the way it's worded and putting up a fuss.

If you wanted to change gender daily or weekly?  You won't get that opportunity in Germany.  If you asked me how the public feels?  There's rarely polls on this, and I would suspect more than 50-percent of the country would ask if you really need to change gender?

4.  At some point yesterday, between Zurich and Berlin....the #79 ICE train (high-speed)....halted.  Train runs off electrical connection.  Apparently, something defaulted and crapped-out.

No AC?  Yeah, and this became an extreme emergency in less than an hour.  After one person passed out....the train folks agreed to open the doors (I doubt that really helped).  They ended up bringing a 'rescue-train' up to the next of this train and hauled them to the next station.  

5.  Some weird episode unfolded Saturday night at the Baumholder US Army Post entrance (gate).  So far, the story goes that some 23-year-old Army guy arrived and got into an argument....with the two civilian security guards.  They eventually pulled a pistol on the guy, and a shot was fired (hitting the guy in the leg).

Both the Americans and local/regional German prosecutor are investigating the episode.

What the argument was about?  No one says.  I'm guessing alcohol was part of the issue, but it's purely speculation.  

If you went back to the 1970s....it wasn't uncommon for the gate-guards to have billy-clubs and whack anyone who seemed to be acting 'funny'.  I haven't seen a billy-club in 30 years though.  

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