I'm on vacation, out of the country. Watched a piece with the Chancellor giving a housing pep talk...saying that to get 400,000 new apartments per year agenda...maybe the building requirements need to be lessen.
BS? Well, in old East Germany, in the 1970s...they went to a crappy design and cut corners on material. A fair amount of what was built, didn't last for 40 years.
I see this same attitude developing with the current leadership.
There are 50,000 ways I can compare the UK to Germany....various positives and negatives. But one of the odd differences? In the UK, when plugging something into an electrical socket....there are three plug holes. In Germany, when plugging something in....it's two plugs.
Why? The Brits will tell you the 3rd plug is for the ground-prong. Germans will tell you....science-speaking....it's not necessary.
What drives this odd difference?
I had this retired Brit handy-man who discussed this for five minutes (that's usually all the patience I have for a discussion like this). His point....a lot of Brit housing has crappy electrical cabling, and without the grounding stuff....you might trigger some issue to occur. As he noted this explanation....he also made the obvious comment on Germans....that they are obsessive about NOT doing work in a half-ass way or cutting corners.
I sat and pondered over this comment.
Yeah, if I were asked if Germans ever do something half-ass? I'd respond that it'd bring enormous shame to the German guy/gal to admit that.
So because of this....Brits always hype up the three-hole plug and how safe it makes things.
This discussion being cult-like? Well....it's a defensive explanation, because most Brits don't want to admit their home....built in 1937....hasn't really been fixed or improved sine the 1960s.
So it came out today that eight German rescue charity ship operations in the Med were getting German federal funding.
How much? Unknown. Which ministry operations? Also unknown.
My humble guess? You might have five or six, in multiple situations, and a million euro minimum from each.
The problem? State premier presidents will yank on the transparency issue. Italy might ask if they would take the refugees.
Here's the funny thing....if you asked when it started....it likely goes to the Merkel years.
If you tried to compare it to the 1980s....it's a shocking amount. If you compared the hype to 2010, it's a small limited amount of hype. I'd say every year, if you watch public TV....you get around three hours minimum....of eating lifestyle chatter.
It'll always be led by some nationalist, and there'll typically be five or six 'witnesses' (followers) who've gone down this path. The logic is....if they converted....so can you.
I hate to call it cult-like but you often get the impression that the 10-minute report is staged in a way to convert you.
Present numbers? It's believed in the 8-million range of Germans (teens included) are in some way or shape....vegetarians (out of 84-million in population). Some will state a neutral-like position....that use fish or chicken a couple of occasions each week.
This turning into several cults? Well.....yes, there is the anti-sugar cult also existing, and the nutrition-cult. Each has a 'brand' to sell, and a message for their group. I'm not against any of them existing, but it often seems like a propaganda message when presented to the general public.
All of this leading to a regulated society in the decades to come? Yeah, I'd go and suggest that fast-food operations will be forced to change, and limit beef/pork products in the future.
If you were going at this from a nutrition stand-point and just said calorie intake ought to be an eventual goal.....most people would buy into that message/brand. Beyond that? People start asking stupid questions, and you get amused looks for the fake facts presented.
I noticed this topic today off Focus.....a piece on gender-terms. So, the Civey folks (known for surveys) did a poll, and here are the results.
Only around 15-percent of Germans think the gender ideology business is 'good'. Roughly 75-percent of Germans say it's 'bad', and the remainder (10-percent) have no real opinion.
The older the German? The more likely they are not supporting the gender stuff.
Around Green Party people? Well....interestingly enough....only around 53-percent see it as positive. For AfD Party folks? Around 98-percent see it in a negative fashion.
Where this leads to? If you have this agenda item as 'important'....it's a tough sale to the bulk of Germans, and you probably are attracting a fair amount of negativity to the 'brand' or 'message'.
I'd also suggest that public TV trying to pick the message up and transform the public.....might be attracting negative attention, and more discussion over public TV taxes (something they desperately want to see increase in the next year).
Why the message doesn't sell? Civey didn't really get into this.
I would imagine Germans are generally the Spock-type.....wanting to dwell on facts and kinda amused over the gender question in general.
Well...back in 2022....to hype up the public....they gave a 3-month test of a 49-Euro per month Bahn (railway) ticket. Go anywhere for a month, bus or local/regional rail (no high speed trains), and it was only 49-Euro. After the test, the agenda by various parties was to push this to be the norm.
What they agreed upon....both the states and the German federal gov't agreed to float 1.5-billion each.....into a pot, and give the public a 49-Euro ticket (per month) as the norm.
This weekend, it came up in the news. The fed folks are hinting that they don't have the 1.5-billion in 2024, and the states are giving the impression that they can carry it for another year.
Cost to rise? The number being mentioned is 59-Euro for the same ticket, in 2024.
Still a good deal? Personally, when you look at what you got in 2020....being near 100 Euro for the same situation....I think anything in the 89-Euro or less range....is a good deal.
How many Germans utilize this 49-Euro ticket presently? The number usually cited is 10-million. Even if you raise it 20 Euro....I think the public would stick to this.
The only negative? Well....you can't ride the ICE or Inter-City fast trains. So if I wanted to use the ticket from Frankfurt to Munich....you are talking about an all-day experience to use regional trains to reach Munich.
I sat and read over this Italian idea to be used for failed asylum applications.
What they want you (the guy who failed the application for asylum) to do....is accept being picked up, and held in some detention center until you accept deportation back to your home country. But there is a work-around.....if you come up with 5,000 Euro (I assume in cash or bank draft), and deposit it.....you can be in a special status, without detention.
From most average refugees.....they won't have this kind of cash. Who would? Well....mostly drug sales people.
Maybe the Italians grasp this angle.....maybe they are a bit naïve. Maybe they figure that the drug guy pays and stays another year, and will eventually sneak out to Austria or Germany.....forfeiting the 5,000 Euro, and it's free cash for Italy to gain.
Why limit it to 5,000 Euro? That was my thought.....I'd actually make it 10,000 Euro.
But you could view this in another way.....forcing migrants to get aggressive about employment, and working. If you knew you might fail the application....you might double down and show a fair amount of effort for a year (waiting for the evaluation)....to have 5,000 Euro in your hand (if the day arrives).
All of this illegal? I would suggest it'll be challenged up to a EU court, and likely tossed out eventually because of the EU view on things.
1. Around German society.....mobbing is 'pretty-hot' now as a discussion topic. Basically, mobbing means you bully someone enough....that they quit or get fired.
So the topic has come up with the Interior Minister (Nancy Faeser, SPD) and how she showed the door to department head in the Interior Ministry.
At this point, I'd give it better than a 60-percent chance that she's gone by Christmas....over mobbing, and this will trigger some political chaos in asking how she did this and stayed on for months as a minister.
2. Is there some kind of colossal flu-scare going on in Germany?
Well....if you watch the health experts on TV....they seem to suggest some massive flu coming (shortly).
The general issue? That Covid business has transformed the public into being somewhat skeptical of health experts.
What the general flu shot rate goes at? Year by year....maybe 20-to-25 percent. Even with a scare-campaign....I doubt if it'll go higher than that.
3. Group brawls seem to happen more often in Germany.
I noticed from last night (Friday, around 1 AM), in the Solingen, Germany....at some local gas station.....some argument started up and the clerk called the cops. At the peak....20 guys were brawling there at the station. As cops arrived....everyone took off. Topic to trigger the brawl? Unknown.
Cops arriving....found one single guy on the ground, and he was taken to a hospital.
You can review German news every Monday and find multi-person brawls pretty common now....unlike the 1980s.
1. Is there a housing shortage in Germany?
Well....yes and no. What you have in the highly urbanized cities (Hamburg, Dresden, Berlin, Frankfurt, etc)....is a ongoing crisis that city councils created....where property speculation is rampant....projects and housing are over-regulated....and cost levels way beyond your imagination.
Presently....nationally....some experts put the shortage between 500,000 and 1-million apartments.
But if you go over the chatter....rental prices have escalated and something you'd call 'affordable housing' doesn't exist for the common guy/gal on the street.
Blame? Well....it gets dished out but you can't really blame one single source for this.
Politically charged-up? OH YEAH. The parties seem to think that they can 'wish' something, and it'll happen.
2. Is there a refugee crisis?
What you have is a trend where the border of Germany doesn't exist.....people just appearing (having not stopped in France, Austria, Switzerland, Czech, Poland). At the point when the government says they won't support you (or provide housing)....the situation will cool off rather fast.
Does any political party want to take that step? Not really.
Adding to this fury, getting a migrant through the German classes, the integration class, and some craft/skill course....could amount to three to four years, and add up to tens of thousands of Euro of support while 'waiting' for them to be working people (paying taxes).
3. Unusable hand-grenades being produced for Russian forces?
It's just an odd story I saw yesterday....Russian soldiers in the Ukraine are loudly complaining that shipments of hand-grenades have arrived, but when in a situation where they are utilized....they fail to go off.
No one says where they were made, but I would take a guess that it's a non-Belarus and non-Russia factory.
If you really wanted to demoralize some Army....this is one of the dozen best ways to accomplish that.
4. German national soccer team drama over now?
Well....they hired the 'fired' Bayern coach from last year. Frankly, they conversed with several folks who just plain refused the job....so Nagelsmann is it for the next two years.
On worthily drama? It's almost a joke but probably 20-percent of German men take this pretty serious.
5. Some methane 'leak' in the Baltic?
Basic story developing....Swede scientists have found a leak going on and are fairly worried but can't state the amount of this leak. Could turn into a page one story rather quickly.
1. Coalition talks now underway about a very sensitive topic.....electrical prices for industry in Germany. They want to offer 'cheap' (what they see) prices to encourage industry growth.
The only pot of money that exists where they could take and feed into this idea? Well...it was money designed for 'everyone' (meaning the general public). If they set their hands on it....one of these stupid promises they made two years ago....will dissolve away and be another reason why no believes their 'brand' or political agenda.
Odd position in be in.....some companies are obviously looking at moving production out of Germany, because it makes financial sense.
2. Some odd car explosion in Mannheim yesterday. I reviewed the pictures....everything in the car was blown out....guy was sitting in the vehicle at the time. Injured but will apparently survive. Fire department still reviewing what caused this.
You can see the picture here. Pretty bizarre. Vehicle totaled out....insurance company guy will be spending some time here to figure out 'blame'.
3. Berlin marathon is supposed to happen this weekend....big deal for the city. Last Generation activists are saying they will hinder/halt the race.
4. More border control at Poland and Czech? German Interior Minister says she'll find the manpower and heavily increase checks to prevent people from migrating into German.
Where she'll get this manpower? Unknown....probably won't be the German Army.
5. Interesting WELT article over Bavarian politics this AM (Sat). Suggestion that the Free Voter Party 'boss' (Aiwanger) is gaining popularity with the public.....much more than the top party (CSU) and their 'boss' (Soder). FW Party is conveying things that concern the typical Bavarian, and a more conservative 'slant' on politics.
Before all this scandal 'crap' that the newspapers tried to suggest on Aiwanger....they were figured to take around 10-to-12 percent of the state vote. Presently? I'd say they took votes from a number of parties, and are now 17-percent. Even in Hessen (also having a state election), I would suggest that the FW Party has gained a couple of points.
There's been this hype going on....individual cities in Germany making 30 kph (19 mph) the norm, instead of 50 kph (31 mph).
The Green Party has been trying to advocate this nationally. Yesterday, the Attorney-General of Germany (a FDP Party guy)....said 'no'....he won't sign off on this idea.
Locally, it's a curious thing. In dense areas of Wiesbaden....there will be a 30 kph limit, but the majority of streets in the city are still 50 kph. Across the river in Mainz, it's gone to mostly all 30 kph. Part of Mainz's issue is a abundance of bicyclists.
What'll happen now? If you have a progressive city council....they might go to 30 kph as the norm. But I would imagine in 90-percent of the urban areas....50 kph will still continue on.
For about three months, I've been following a rape case here in Germanny.....at Görlitzer Park (east side of Berlin).
Basic facts....three guys 'allegedly' raped a woman in the city park.
Charges came up late yesterday with a few added facts (some which people suspected already).
A footnote....this particular park is widely known in Berlin and throughout Germany as a addict's park.....anything you want....you can buy there. Cops don't really patrol or enforce much.
What the cops say of the three? Local drug dealers. Charges now? Common rape, grievous bodily harm and aggravated robbery.
So the main player of the three? A Somalia guy (apparently DNA evidence sufficient for easy conviction). Cops injected.....the guy has a unknown address, and in their history of dealing with him....he's given 10 different fake identities.
His German visa? Expired.....he's been in the country 7 years.
The two friends of his? From Guinea. Same deal...enough DNA evidence for conviction. One guy has been here for 6.5 years and has 4 different fake identities. Rejected asylum.....no permit to be in the country.
Third guy? Criminal record: illegal possession of drugs and assault. He was also rejected for asylum.
The discussion will come up and it's going to put added pressure on Scholz's coalition....all of these characters with failed asylum applications, and still in the country.
It is somewhat of a drama playing out....where the general public notices things that get them hyped-up and they see virtually no 'fix' going on by the state or federal government.
1. Top story in Focus this AM....emails have come out from the Interior Ministry....showing some negativity over the Interior Minister and how she 'fired' an employee. Lot of pressure being generated now....Nancy Faeser (SPD) probably will resign within sixty days.
2. New Civey political survey for Bavaria (ahead of the state election). CSU will get 38-percent of the vote. Green Party, AfD Party and FW Party are all bunched up at 14-percent roughly. SPD is around 9-percent.
From all this negativity-hype over the FW folks....it would appear nothing damaged their vote. Right-of-center affects? It'll easily go beyond 60-percent.
3. Number of road-deaths in Germany in 2019? 3,046. Number in 2022? 2,776.
Back in 2008, it was at 4,477.
A continuing trend? Yeah....some due to better car design....some due to improved roads.
Peak years after the war? There were three of these significant years.....starting around 1970....where 19,000 deaths on the roads (yearly) of Germany were reported. If you do the trend line from 1990 on.....almost every year, there's another 200 to 500 deaths less.
1. Are German cities reaching their limit on handling incoming migrants?
This is a trick-question.
What you basically have is a continuing trend where x-number per month arrive....get into the asylum-request system, and then housed in some temp facility while waiting for either approval or disapproval.
Even if you get approval....the problem is that the system marginally works to get people into language classes, integration classes, and then into some craftsmanship/trade courses. You could be looking at three years of state-support....to reach a point where the guy/gal are on their own. Meanwhile, the housing situation in Germany....isn't capable of supporting the 'new' Germans.
2. What is this 'return-center' topic?
Some Germans are now suggesting that if you applied for asylum and failed.....you should get an immediate 'entry' into a special 'center'.....I imagine to get the mental feeling that you will not be staying.
3. End of Binding beer production in Frankfurt?
Yeah, brewery consolidated things and there's to be only one brewery....in Franconia. If you were ever stationed around Frankfurt.....you probably had a fair number of the locally brewed beer.
I rode the train into Frankfurt today....arriving at the main station. It's one of my ten most fascinating places in Germany.
In the early spring of 1978....I did my first trip to the Frankfurt station. It's a magnificent station (at least by German standards).
Some folks would say since 1978, it's improved. I tend to note some improvements, but note the number of addicts and homeless people hanging around. You didn't have this issue in 1978.
I didn't linger like I did in 1978....admiring the structure for almost an hour. I marched through....gazed at a few things, and made my way to the subway....ten minutes later, I was onboard a S-Bahn and leaving the city.
I guess I have this love-hate thing about Frankfurt now. It's best to limit my time there and not be overly critical of the city.
After reading through the EU idea for preventing all traffic deaths across all members of the EU by the year 2050....I wanted to offer my suggestions:
1. Eliminate all cars with any horsepower above 32 HP.
2. Halt all unnecessary travel after 9 PM, for all ages (unless returning home from work).
3. Require all passengers and the driver to wear a EU-approved helmet.
4. Forbid passengers from talking while inside of the car and moving. (People can only talk while the vehicle is stationary)
5. Drivers forbidden from entering any city having a population of 100,000 or more. Parking lots on the edges of these towns will offer free parking and free bus/tram travel while in the 'zone'.
6. In each vacation state period for the summer, all speed limit will be limited to 75 kph (day or night).
7. All mental tests required for drivers....shall also be mandated for politicians. Failing score, you lose your license or your standing in the Landestag or Bundestag.
8. All alcohol sales forbidden after 7 PM, 365 days a year.
9. Require all vehicles to remove AM/FM radios and speakers. Singing in the car should also be forbidden.
10. At the slightest hint of snow....mandate that all drivers stay where they are....until the snow has melted (even if it requires three days).
I have more ideas for cutting down on fatty people and bad health....if you were interested.
Three states in Germany have an abundance of the general population (figured in the 85,000 range of Eritrean people who left the homeland).....Hessen, NRW and Bavaria. There might be pockets in the other 13 states but it's minor compared to these three.
So, you go back to Eritrea and ask.....why leave? General answer? One-party state, fairly blunt about criticism of the gov't, and a marginal economy.
Whoever arrived in the past decade....fell into two categories....mostly (99-percent) anti-Eritrean government, and the 2nd category.....being somewhat pro-Eritrean and likely having some support from gov't back there.
These pockets of former Eritreans have forged local associations and have 'functions/fests' to keep the community focused. Some of the pockets might be anti-regime....some might be pro-regime....but you can't be sure of anything much.
My prospective....generally, the German police didn't grasp this dividing line or worry about the pro-Eritrean movement.
The suggestion that some sponsorship of the pro-Eritrean group? This story goes around and makes suggestions, but you can't assess if true or not.
German opinion......lot of Germans just see it as a violence 'gimmick' and Eritreans might need more integration, or find a way to resettle elsewhere.
This is one of these essays that I have to explain how the EU functions, before I get into the details.
Back in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s....various governments in the EU had political agendas....but could not get them started because the public simply would not support them. So the general idea was....if the EU existed and handed down 'orders' then to the public....they could not halt the evolution of change.
The less you heard via the EU....it meant that some shock law was in the works.
So today, we got the newest EU shock....a draft law on changes to the driving law.
First, there's talk of a max speed limit of 90 kph, for beginner drivers. What is meant by 'beginner'? Unknown. It sounds like for the first year of a license.
Second, this entire new process has the idea of zero traffic deaths by the year 2050.....meaning anywhere in the EU. I'm shaking my head over this because it'd be impossible to expect this....unless you got half the drivers off the road.
Third, under this beginner year (with test number one).....after the year had passed, you'd have to pass a 2nd test. Failing that? It would appear you'd have to study up and take the test a 3rd time.
Fourth, night driving bans, for beginners? Yeah, that's openly discussed as well.
Fifth, anyone reaching sixty would have to reapply at the seven-year point. At age 70, at the five-year point, and after age 80.....every two years. There's also talk of a mental test and physical test required....at the driver's cost.
Sixth, a larger-sized SUV that you own? You'd have to be taught to drive it and it'd be a special license. Owning such a vehicle under the age of 21? Impossible, by the draft discussed.
What's likely to occur? Now that this is out.....various people are going to throw a fit and ask which parties support this. Affecting the EU election in the spring of 2024? OH YEAH.
I can see three serious problems here.
First, if you live out in the boonies of Germany.....into the age group of 70 to 90.....in a lot of cases, you don't have a local grocery store. By screwing the older couple over, you are simply inventing lifestyle problems.
Second, I would imagine if you imposed a mental/physical test on anyone....even at age 18....you might be shocked that 10-percent of Germans would fail (particularly if you included a drug-test).
Third, all you are doing is energizing the AfD Party and other right-wing parties to oppose the agenda. Silly action to get them hyped up and get 30 to 40 percent of voters on a political agenda to oppose this.
1. Top WELT news item....the SPD-coalition gov't had promised that a 'faster' method of deporting 'problem' asylum seekers.....while statistics released yesterday show the exact opposite. More delay built into the system, than ever.
Trigger? It's just going to be openly discussed by the AfD Party and attract more political attention (negative) toward the government.
2. Some German government goal now established for 2024.....500,000 heat pumps to be installed.
Most heating experts are grinning.....saying that there aren't enough technicians and man-hours....to reach that level.
3. Around three to four months ago...the Chancellor showed up at some E-truck company in Germany, walking around the assembly area, and hyped their success. Name of the company was B-ON.
Well....if you view business news from yesterday....the company is bankrupt.
4. Vonovia (the apartment rental company) had said over the past year.....they were going to construct around 60,000 new apartments in the future. As of today, that plan has been tossed, due to the increasing construction costs.
5. Some kind of attack on two lesbians in the neighborhood of Neukollin-Berlin.....has state police now investigating....from Monday evening.
The last state election in this northeastern German state was in the fall of 2021, and the next election would be the fall of 2026. Normally, folks wouldn't care much...halfway through a period, to view polling.
I noticed via NDR (public TV for the region)....a poll that would scare some folks.
Presently, the AfD would win the election with around 32-percent of the public vote (up 8 points over the past six months). SPD (the previous winner)? They are down to 23-percent. Greens at 8-percent and CDU at 18-percent.
The general hint? Well....some former SPD-voters are probably leaning toward the AfD. It would beg a lot of questions.
Is AfD really gaining? I think it's more of the story that people aren't buying into the national level of the SPD-coalition, and their agenda going forward. Between the refugee business and the heat-pump law.....then you bring in support or non-support of the Ukraine war....things now get heated.
About four minutes of last night's prime news (ARD, 8 PM, 15 min long) were devoted to Covid chatter.
Health Minister (Lauterbach, SPD) getting into the news? Oh yeah....got his booster shot and advocating for people to come out.
Suggesting? Government wants people who work at hospitals/retirement homes to get the vax, along with anyone over 60 years old.
At the peak in 2022....around two-thirds of German society had gotten the initial two shots. If you were going to ask me who might sign up now for the booster stuff? I'd say in the 40-to-50 percent range.....max.
Bringing back the mask business? I've not yet seen any increase. In a normal week....traveling around the Wiesbaden....I might see five to eight people wearing a mask....with 1,000 not wearing a mask. There might be some limited 'orders' (buses/trains for example).
The one thing you notice....the test-kits are not selling at the grocery or drug store operations. Of the test-stations that existed in 2021? I'd say 95-percent have closed. I can only think of one station in Wiesbaden still in operation.
Trying to hype it back to a serious subject? I just don't see Germans buying it on the 2nd go-around.
1. In the midst of this Hessen state election....the SPD-candidate (Nancy Faeser) came out and said she thought that immigrants with a visa....ought to be able to vote in local and state elections.
Probably will turn into a hot topic, with at least half of the SPD voters being rather negative about this idea.
2. 'Knock-out' drops used on women at the Oktoberfest? Well....four cases being pursued by the police at present.
3. Focus had an article talking about public TV forum moderators and what they get paid.
Maischberger, for example, has a salary of 795,000 Euro a year, and has a technology-and-travel-allowance of 1.6-million Euro. I suspect from the five guests she has on....the network covers the cost of getting them to the city, and one night in the hotel.
Most Germans will probably ask some questions...if the salaries and show-production costs....are legit.
Prior to this....if you'd asked me how cheap the public forum shows were....I might have said relative cheap.
4. Two ministers have Covid: Lindner (Finance Chief, FDP) and Pistorius (Defense Chief, SPD).
5. Natural gas price? Well....shocking. Prior to the war (Feb 2022)....the general national price was around 20 Euro per MMBtu. Presently? At 9.50 Euro per MMBtu.
Selling the hype for the heat-pump agenda? Some Germans shaking their heads over the agenda now.
Russian natural gas 'sneaking' into the European market? Well.....you can suggest that but it might be hard to prove the case.
1. Pretty strong indicators that the Interior Minister (Nancy Faeser, SPD) will be gone by the end of the year. Replacement? Likely to be another SPD member.
2. The EU election is scheduled for 9 June. Unlike previous EU elections (every 5 years).....this might be a highly pumped-up period, and more right-wing parties might gain seats in this election. Major topic? Asylum/immigration....something that the EU can't really resolve.
3. Three German state elections in 2024.....Thuringia (fall), Sachsen (1 Sep), and Brandenburg (22 Sep).
Worries? AfD appears very likely to win in Sachsen, Brandenburg and Thuringia. Getting a coalition? Zero chance. But it's going to make things a bit hyped-up from summer on for the year.
4. The SPD Party badly needs some reversal action on numbers....before you get to the fall of 2025.
Yesterday, I was in the midst of Wiesbaden and ended up at a upscale premium coffee shop. Cake and coffee for two? 18.20 Euro. Yeah, it was a hefty situation. Prior to Covid, it might have been in the 14 Euro range.
It's one of those things....you have to accept inflation and a continuing trend on prices. Germany isn't a cheap place.
If you translate the phrase...it comes to be 'traffic calming'.
The way I'd describe this in Germany.....probably it started around twenty years ago as an experiment....to make streets people-friendly or bike-friendly.
So you went through several variations, like lessening speed of cars (down to 20 kph, and in some cases....down to 7 kph). Some streets became car-forbidden.
The consequence? If you walk around Frankfurt where they pushed this to the max.....the shopping district is now less 'dense'....meaning fewer people....fewer customers....lesser profit.
Pedestrians happier? I might suggest that. Bicyclists have probably doubled and tripled over the past decade.
There are probably forty German cities who've gone this way. For me, the local city of Mainz has started the trend.
Hurting the shopping districts? There's no doubt that it changed habits, and probably will trigger a number of shops to move beyond the interior of the cities.
I noticed this story from the weekend.....the Munich Philharmonic wanted to send a clear message that they support climate-friendly travel. Instead of using a plane, or bus.....they wanted to use the climate-friendly Bahn (railway) system.
They were supposed to play in Berlin this weekend.
Normally, with the high-speed ICE trains.....you can make the trip in about four hours. I'm guessing here, but the 'crew' probably had two hours minimum built into the schedule, and some bus to haul them from the station over to the hall in Berlin.
Well.....various things failed, and there were an extra four hours of delay. The live performance still continued, but at a fairly late time.
This is the key problem in selling the Bahn as climate-friendly.....as long as you don't care about the time business.....then it's a positive deal in climate-chatter. The minute you suggest that a 90-minute trip should only take 90 to 120 minutes (with some slight delay).....you start to mandate delays are a problem.
Locally, around the Wiesbaden-Frankfurt-Mainz area.....I probably ride the Bahn thirty times a year.....with most of the scheduled trips taking place and no problem with delays.
Four years ago, I agree to get my wife down to the Audi plant to pick up her new car. This meant a railway trip. I had three 'legs' to this trip (Wiesbaden to Frankfurt, Frankfurt to Nuremberg, Nuremberg to Ingolstadt). It's safe to say the first train was halted for 15 minutes, and we failed to make the scheduled connection. Second train.....various minor delays.....so we failed to make the new connection at Nuremberg onto Ingolstadt. In the end, we were about 2 hours later than planned.
About a decade ago, I had something in Frankfurt scheduled. About halfway on this short 30-minute railway trip....it stopped. Driver got on....very 'sorry', and just said we'd be delayed. Ten minutes later....another such message. Another ten minutes....another such message. We sat there for about 35 minutes....not moving. Lot of grumbling going on....train was fairly crowded....this was around 8 AM. Finally, we took off.
This hype about selling you shameless travel.....that it's all climate-friendly? I can buy this to a marginal degree. But if you have problems like this on a daily basis.....the public sentiment goes a critical level. Most people aren't agreeable to sit on a non-moving train for 30 to 60 minutes. They also don't want to arrive at some marginal station, to find their connection has left already, and there's an hour before the next possible train runs.
1. What the Stuttgart cops say after the Eritrean riot of Saturday? 228 folks arrested, and most all have Eritrean citizenship.
It's going to be discussed a good bit over how this conflict has been edging along for the past year or two. Some are suggesting the violence between the anti-Eritrean group and the pro-Eritrean is reaching a point where people need to be removed from Germany entirely.
Footnote: population of Eritreans in Germany? Around 85,000 to 90,000.
2. Lufthansa is admitting cancellation of flights is surging and there's a call for passenger 'compensation' going on.....which appears to worry the company a good bit if this occurs.
3. I noticed out of Focus this AM a curious story. A Leipzig public school wrote up a requirement for students to attend/participate in a Friday's For The Future demonstration. Note went to the parents....to detail the necessity. You could not opt out of it.
4. Bavaria's Premier-President (Soder, CSU) made a campaign comment that Germany needs a 'limit' on asylum. Over the weekend, the Interior Minister (Faeser, SPD) said 'no'.....there will be no upper limit.
Oktoberfest started yesterday. I noticed a medical report on one of the networks.....between doctors and paramedics.....they figure around 650 people were 'treated'.
I've been to the Oktoberfest twice in my life (1979 and 2016).
To me, it's a fascinating experience. You have so many people who are drinking hefty amounts of beer, and somewhere after the 2nd mas (liter container)....if you aren't careful....you get out of control.
For those who haven't been to the event.....over on the end of the 'fest-area'....there's a special tent area and slooped hill for folks to be treated. Once the doctor has cleared you.....you get dumped on the hill and lay there for an hour or two. From my 90 minutes of observing.....I'd say they were dumping three people every ten minutes.
On a sunny day? Yeah, laying there for 90 minutes might get you a slight sunburn.
How do people get this stupid? Mostly from the large 1-liter containers. If you'd mandate it to be strictly half-liter plastic cups.....it'd likely slow things down.
Women just as stupid? From 1979, I observed some American gal who could not have weighed more than 100 pounds....trying to master the 1-liter mas, and failed. She probably spent two hours on the hill....recovering.
The EU is having a talk about requiring all homes in the EU....to be a minimum standard on insulation and energy standards.
Where this standard would lie? Well....this part is not openly discussed and it's hard to figure if most houses would presently meet the standard.
What you tend to notice.....the German 'head' of Construction (Geywitz, SPD) isn't that happy over the idea, and would prefer they (the EU) drop the agenda.
What's the landscape over this?
Imagine you own a apartment building with 16 units in it....built in the 1960s, and marginally renovated in 2005. Your rent is x-amount.
So then imagine some EU standard dumped on you, and you've got six years to reach a new level of renovation. You bring the specialist in and he adds up the amount of work/material, and then says it's in the 300,000 Euro range to get the building up to this level. You then sit and figure the work, and the new rent-scheme, suggesting that when this is done.....there's a doubling of rent to reach pay-back for you and the bank-loan involved.
Yeah, there's going to be a disconnect between you and the rent-folks.
So imagine this at Frankfurt, and dozens of apartment buildings failing to meet the EU standard. Imagine the same in Mainz, and so on.
You would be creating a crisis with a fair number of people unable to pay for the upgrade required by the EU.
Does the EU membership grasp this? I'm not sure.
It's an odd crisis to arrive at the front-door and have discussions about.
I sat this morning and watched a piece on Bavarian politics. The CSU 'boss' (Soder) came out and said he was for a new idea.....if you fail the asylum application....no more money to be deposited into your bank account, and giving you 'cash'.
Instead, you'd get a chip-card which has a definite list of things you can buy, or can't buy. Like you'd be able to buy normal grocery food.....you wouldn't be able to buy beer or booze.
Necessary? Well....there's a wide landscape of rejected asylum folks in Germany, which rarely gets discussed. Exporting/deporting them? It's a state-by-state thing....mostly because the fed folks don't want the bad-boy image. Legal fights mostly drawing this out for months, if not years? Yeah.
Rejection numbers? Presently, it's up around 30-percent of all applications, but from this group of rejects....it goes onto the next round to appeal. You can add another six to twelve months onto things. Depending on which state you are in.....the 2nd review generally doesn't change 'much'.
So here's the issue brewing....probably a quarter of German society is attached to the idea that if you don't pass the request.....you need to pack and go (they aren't say in a day or two....but in their mind....you probably should get into the mindset.
People opting for quietly disappearing and re-appearing in another EU country? Well...this topic gets brought up but you can't find statistical data to say it happens, or it doesn't happen.
Soder's idea? He's basically saying that once you reach the rejected stage....whatever money the government is providing....ought to be purely for your survival and not for anything beyond that.
Would the idea pass? I'm pretty sure it might pass in the state, but be legally challenged. Nationally? Not something that the SPD-Green-FDP government would want to discuss.
My interest? Well....if this were accepted....why couldn't you go to the German welfare folks and dump the chip-card on them.....telling them you won't pay for booze, smokes, drugs, or unhealthy lifestyles. That might rile up ten-percent of the nation real-quick.
I could see my German wife even supporting this and wanting me chip-carded.....so I couldn't buy any fatty food or anything of a unhealthy nature.
Well....it happens.
I stood in a grocery line in the past two weeks, and 'kid' had a beer to buy. Cashier 'carded' the 'kid'. 'Kid' was at least 16, so he was legal to drink beer/wine.
This got on my mind.
You have to show an ID to vote.....to register if you moved from one address to another....if you were buying and registering a car....opening a bank account or picking up some significant pharmacy item.
You might get carded if buying a pack of smokes, if you look young.
Around Wiesbaden, in the no-weapons zone (downtown district)....cops can ask to frisk and ID you after 9 PM, and you have to cooperate.
Which ID do they request? The national ID card, of course. Trying to say you don't need the national ID? Yeah.....that won't work.
Even as an 'auslander' (non-German)....I carry a German ID on my person.
If you asked some German about having to produce it? Most will say maybe six times a year, or less. It is rare, I will admit.
Well....no, not exactly.
From the 1950s of West Germany, up to 2013....what you had was a 'process'. A agency was created in Nuremberg (roughly 700 employees). They were the 'gate-keepers'.
If you were in Libya or Russia....wanting asylum in Germany....you went to the West German embassy, and filled out a 16-odd-page package (presenting an ID as you did this). The embassy would validate who you were, and if you had problems/issues....then send the package to Nuremberg. Three months later, you'd find out that you were accepted.
The embassy would call you, and hand you the visa. Then they'd ask if you could afford the airfare. If not....they usually helped to get you to Frankfurt. You'd have some orientation period (couple of weeks) and then be 'settled' at some location.
How many went through this process yearly? It goes up and down, but it tended to be in the range of 100,000 to 150,000 yearly.
Once the civil war started in Iraq/Syria....an odd thing fell into practice....the idea of crossing borders without anyone stopping you.
Imagine yourself a Syrian, and wanting some element of safety. Your distant cousin who made his way to West Germany in the 1980s.....says if you just come to Germany....they will accept you.
So you get into Turkey, and have some guy hired to take you and your five family members to the coast. There, you pay some fisherman $100 to take you around 20 miles to a Greek isle. There, you go over to the harbor....entering a ferry to Athens.
You arrive in Athens about 48 hours after you've started this trip.
You take the five-hour train from Athens to the north border. You slip $20 to the border guards, and then climb on a bus in Northern Macedonia for a four-hour ride. You cross the Serbian border.....walking a bit and using a bus when possible. You will eventually reach the German border and declare yourself.
This paperwork and background check that was the 'norm' before? Skipped. ID confirmation? Maybe....maybe not.
So under the Merkel-coalition....they just said....there was no process.
For a decade, it's been like this. To be honest, the Germans want the EU to force the issue. The EU started off and suggested EVERYONE in the EU would play, and around five countries said 'no'.....they wouldn't participate. The EU said 'we can force you'.....to which the countries said 'no, you can't force us'.
Politically dividing Germany? You have three elements. You have the pro-asylum under all conditions.....no questions to be asked. You have the anti-asylum, with no exceptions. Then finally, you have the people (probably in the forty-percent range) who ask questions....like how much does this cost, do people have personal issues or behavioral problems.
All of this leading eventually to some magnificent 'drama'? Well.....you can sense this already in Italy, France and Germany. You could lessen the tension by limiting entry into the EU....but so far, no one has figured how you do this without looking 'bad' or 'evil'. You could also lessen tension by establishing a fast path to language, integration and entry into the job market.
So to answer the question....no, there is no clear policy, and it's impossible to find any agreement on such a thing.
1. There are 187,272 Ukrainian men in German....over the age of 18. The topic has come up....Ukraine wants to 'draft' some of these men and require them to come 'home'....to fight the war. If they don't want to go....can Germany 'force' them?
This was a Focus article, and kinda interesting.
I don't think Germany wants to engage in this discussion. How many of these guys were object to the war? Unknown, and I suspect some would ask for asylum.
2. Mini (the car company under BMW).....had a 'talk' and says as far as they can see.....the manual transmission is soon to be 'dead'.
Odd subject. With E-car development, I tend to agree.
3. Eritrea meeting of sorts in Stuttgart yesterday. Lot of disagreement, and a brawl started up. Lot of cops called....24 police wounded by the end.
You tend to have two groups in Germany....one is pro-Eritrea (meaning they back the current government), and one is anti-Eritrea (meaning they want the government to collapse. There is some belief that Eritrea has some 'secret-police' presence in Germany, and causes the brawls to occur. This idea may be a conspiracy theory, but have some elements of truth within it.
I sat and watched the mid-day ARD (public TV, Channel One) coverage and the chief item of interest.....for 2022....the German Interior Ministry noted that just over 80,000 emergency services personnel (across the country) were attacked/assaulted, while trying to do their work.
It's one of those odd trends that probably didn't exist at all in the 1970s/1980s.
So, what's the deal?
More or less....this occurs primarily in heavily populated metro-urban areas (Berlin, Bremen, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, etc).
You get a call that so-and-so drunk has fallen on such-and-such street. You respond (two-man crew). What you find is a drunk laying there, and maybe one friend, or passerby....who alerted the emergency services folks.
Then in the minutes that follow....other drunks or drugged-up dimwits show up, and think you are harming their 'friend'. Yes, they are so boozed-up or drugged-up....that they have now become a threat.
Cops get called, and two police will show up as some assault has started to occur on two emergency services folks (meaning two statistics for the national 80,000-number). If the two police are struck or harmed....yeah, that adds two more to the 80,000-number.....in case you were wondering. Need a second police car (2 more police)? Well.....a bigger crowd, and now you have six folks for the 80,000-number.
Just around Hamburg? I would wager in a warm month like July, there's probably sixty police/emergency crew member folks who are assaulted/harmed in some way.
So the real question to ask here.....are drunks and dopers more prevalent now (2023) than they were thirty years ago? I'd say it's an odd development where most Germans did drunk in abundance in the 1990s, but they weren't stupid enough or their brains fried enough.....to go attack the police.
From my experiences around Frankfurt in 1978/1979.....if you saw an encounter with the police....you were smart enough to view from the distance and simply were a police-action-voyeur (not the sexual type, as you might think).
Today? I think a fair number of people just want to challenge the emergency folks or police.....being skeptical that they are helping their friend.
The problem here? The police and emergency services folks are fed up, and they want some type of jail-setting (in a special way).....so that you might be drugged-up and do something stupid at the scene, and end up doing a year in some prison for your stupidity.
So when you hear this complaint by an average German.....that's the basic side of it.
I sat yesterday reading a comment by former Brit PM who was hyped up over health cost in the UK, and he made his suggestion to fix things.
Apparently, in his mind.....you should tax junk-food enough....that the working-class or less....would be unable to afford the 'bad' food, so they would only buy 'good' food (left untaxed).
In his mind, a BK menu meal (currently at 10.50 Euro probably) would have to escalate to something like 18 Euro....to convince people that they can't afford it. (To be truthful....probably one-third of working-class people would still pull out 18 Euro for the menu meal)
The fact that the menu meal only costs (with man-power figured)....10.50 Euro....you'd just have some inflating factor (say 75-percent) to fix this situation.
I thought about this for a while, and the key thing you'd create is a total decline in the fast-food industry (jobs included in this decline). There would be just in the UK alone....probably half-a-million people unemployed by this gimmick.
But here's the odd factor.....people tend to get into illegal things....if you make funny rules. So out in some barn....some idiot would have a grill open and preparing 'bad' food for 10.50 Euro....without any taxation going on.
Politicians have funny ideas, and you just wonder why so many people have a trust issue.
Well....for a 1-liter stein....it's in the range of 13.50 to 14.50 Euro, depending on which brand of beer you select.
Even if you opt for water (with bubbles)....it's around 10 Euro. Lemonade mix? Around 11 Euro.
Booking a table for the day? You might be talking about as much as 350 Euro (for a table for eight people).
Pork knuckle? That's going for around 23 Euro.
Chicken (half) for 14.80 Euro with pommes.
A half-duck plate? 32.00 Euro.
Yeah, by the time you figure your local train ticket, entry, the reserved table with your buddies, your food for the day, and various beers....each person can figure in the range of 300 Euro minimum (for a single day).
Coming down and spending two days, with hotel figured....a couple would easily spend 1,000 Euro.
It's not a cheap experience anymore.
1. The Minister of the Interior for Germany (Nancy Faeser, SPD Party).....has herself in a bit more trouble. It appears that when she came into office....there eight positions vacant, and rather than advertise the vacancy situation (as you would typically do)....people were just contacted, then hired. Oddly, this is at the very top level of the Ministry of the Interior.
What'll happen? Probably some review....taking several months. With the other problem she already faces....I might suggest that she leaves the Minister position before the end of 2023.
2. The Ministry of the Interior is now talking about 'helping' Italy by taking some refugees (number not mentioned). In relation to this, the FDP said why can't we talk about ways to rethink the whole migration 'crisis' that has developed in the Med.
Just in the past week....around 8,000 refugees landed on the Italian island in the middle of the Med, and some indicators suggest another 8,000 over the next week.
3. WELT had an interesting piece this AM over the persistent idea that Adolph Hitler had 'doppelgangers' (guys who were in appearance like him). The topic comes up occasionally, and no evidence has ever been presented to make the case.
How the belief comes? Well....there are so many appearances of Hitler....suggesting same day-same time....that there might have been a 'carbon-copy' guy walking around.
BS-factor? Prior to 1930? I might believe this to some minor degree.....but not a single 'insider' has given evidence of this...ever.
ARD (public TV, Channel 1) went and did a poll to see how many Germans were 'transformed' by the Fridays-for-the-Future 'kids'. They've been around now for about three years.
People saying little to no influence? Roughly 75-percent.
Yes, only a quarter of the public say the 'kids' have influenced them.
I sat and pondered upon this poll. If you had tracked the 25-percent group from day one....they were already in the 'pumped-up' stage and it wouldn't matter what the 'kids' did....this group were going to buy the message/theme.
So the real question should be....if you were already 'bought' on day one.....did the 'kids' really do anything at all? In this scenario....it's almost a joke to take the discussion serious.
Converting people with the theatrics or message? Well....no, that doesn't seem to be an outcome so far.
The amount of coverage by the big public networks (ARD/ZDF) and the sub-networks (HR, BR, SWR, etc)? There's no doubt that they are giving them a fair amount of access and public chatter time. Oddly enough....even the free talk time has not really changed much of anything.
What happens on down the line (say at the 5th and 6th year)? I think some of the kids will have matured....gotten into some stress issues, and will fall out of the group/club. But the positive is that they can continue recruiting the 13 and 14 year old kids, and continue the message/brand.
1. Thuringia state 'comedy'? Well....first, this is the only German state where the state government functions without a majority (Linke-SPD-Green situation). This goes back to a problem after the election where no majority could be created (leaving the CDU, FDP and AfD sitting there with a majority but non-members of the coalition.
So yesterday, a draft bill came up over the state property tax agenda (sent up by the CDU). This concerned the transfer-tax (if you sold the property). The CDU pushed it up....the FDP and AfD parties supported it, and it passed.
This jerked around the Linke Party, who commented that the CDU was now 'partners' with the AfD Party. Between the ZDF and ARD public TV folks....there must have been 30 minutes of coverage over this.
I'll just say this....lessening this transfer-tax....is a postive....no matter who supports it. It almost appears like a planned gimmick (right before the Hessen and Bavarian state elections) to cast crap upon the CDU.
2. Some story in the Focus news.....German-Turkish gal (20) was supposed to be going to Turkey to visit grand-parents. Gets there, and then realizes some type of 'forced' marriage deal was in the mix. Parents took her passport, and forced into some compromised position....marrying a guy and staying there (briefly). She was eventually 'rescued' and returned to Germany. Worth reading.
3. Fridays-for-the-Future kids say they will 'strike' at 245 locations in Germany today.
4. Covid-booster available as of next week. Odd thing....you will have to pay your local clinic folks 25-to-30 Euro for this. How many people will go for it? Unknown.
5. Report on the Bahn (German railway system), and 2022 punctuality. Worst record in Bahn history. Selling the public on long-distance travel just becomes more difficult.
From my own personal experiences from the past year....if you have to transfer three times in a trip.....the odds are more than 50-percent that you will miss at least one leg of trip, and add a minimum of 30 to 40 minutes on your journey. Earlier in the day....less likely? Yeah, that's another odd feature. I'd strongly recommend you start these trips at 6 AM, and if there's severe weather predicted....cancel the trip.
Anyone trying to make the case of forbidding Berlin-to-Hamburg or Munich-to-Frankfurt flights...forcing you to use the Bahn....is selling a crappy deal.
For the benefit of those who were curious...the two public TV giants....ARD and ZDF....are staged in two different cities. ARD in Hamburg....ZDF in Mainz. There's a good history piece to explain this, but for another day.
Today....ZDF was off-line.
Reason? Well...on the far west end of Mainz where the ZDF complex is located....there's one massive power cable leading to it, and some digging project was underway.....when suddenly the backhoe hit the cable....knocking out all power to the buildings.
Back-up power? None.
So since early this AM, and at least till 3 PM....power has continued to be out.
I'm guessing there's a ton of pressure on the construction folks to resolve this.
There was a pub in Wiesbaden that I often frequented for the past decade. Small place....decent cook.....outdoor seating.
The lease came up and the owner of the building wanted a rent increase. The old guy running the pub said 'no', and as of two months ago....shut down the pub.
The owner of the building? He's still looking for new renter.
I walked by yesterday. Big sign on the structure...'For Rent'.
The problem is....business trends for the past five years have been crap in the city. If you ran a pub....it's a hard lifestyle and your business model from back in 2013....won't work today.
I walked around the corner, and there's a big-name shoe shop that has existed for twenty years at it's location.....big sign on the front....closure coming at the end of the month. Same situation....crappy trend and high cost on rent.
On down the street....another sign identifying closure at the end of September. Same story.
There are three prime shop fronts which have been empty since 2019 there in the middle of the Wiesbaden shopping district. I walk by and just shake my head. Each had long-term operations existing, and then they came to an end. Zero interest now.
There's a major department store which shut down three months ago in the 'heart' of the district. Odds of it being filled....ever again? It's marginal.
It's a sad trend....if you ask me.
Last night, via the ARD public channel.....the Maischberger public forum show came on (awful late).
So in the middle of the show....the CDU political figure Julie Klöckner got asked a migration question, and responded: “Not every immigration is a gain for Germany.”
If you'd asked this type of question among the public...probably two-thirds of German society would have readily agreed with Klöckner. Prior to 2016, it might have been three-quarters of the public against Klöckner's comment. That's how much the nation has changed in the past decade.
The chief problem here....in this discussion.....it's nearly impossible to sit and rate success or failure stories with migration in Germany.
You could assess a hundred Ghana folks from the past decade, and find a 99-percent success story to tell.
If you went to just 18-year old males? Well...the statistics might be decent, but you might find 5-percent of the crowd who haven't found a path to 'fitting-in' and have been detained by the police on a couple of occasions. In this scenario, a few bad 'eggs' have spoiled the basket.
More of a male-versus-female problem? You can go and line up a hundred female migrants (ages 18 to 40) and find almost none of them have ever faced the police and almost all have been highly motivated to 'fit'.
The general issue here....almost every single German has some opinion, and it is provoking discussions. Germans will readily admit....the birth-rate is a problem, and accepting migration has to occur. But they'd like to find the perfect migrants, and that's a bit of a challenge.
1. Focus had a piece talking about the trend now of colds, flu and Corona....suggesting that around 5-million Germans have something going on, and most aren't being tested for Covid.
Frankly, if you did bring up Covid with folks.....just no interest in going back into quarantine mode or shutting down bars/theaters.
2. Remember that E-car fire in Frankfurt story I told back two days ago? Well....it turns out that some anti-E-car environmental group set the fire (so they claim). Cops are on this, but it begs the question....if they are anti-E-car....what exactly do they want you riding to work? A bicycle or horse?
3. Some German Instagram 'influencer' (new trend in society) tried to live as a low-income pension person. By the 4th day.....she ended the experiment....declaring that it was impossible.
4. Brandenburg's state election is 12 months away. New political poll suggests that the AfD will probably win in the state.
5. Aiwanger-scandal in Bavaria has reached a new trend.....Aiwanger, himself, is saying that the regional newspaper....Suddeusche Zeitung....is a propaganda tool for certain parties.
Whether true or not....it'll trigger some Bavarians to cancel-out the newspaper, and lessen readership.
If you want to take the Bavaria top topics to determine what party you should vote for in the state election, then go here.
Some of the 37-odd topics?
1. Should Bavaria continue to have it's own border police?
2. The state should give priority to advertising organic products.
3. Bavaria should reserve the right to continue with natural gas/oil heating.....against the national heat-pump law....after 2024.
4. Expansion of snow-making equipment for ski areas, in Bavaria.
5. Bavaria should allow 'drug-consumption' rooms in the state.
6. Entry to state museums in Bavaria should be free.
7. State radio should limit resources/cash requirements.
8. 'Other' genders besides male and females should be possible in Bavaria.
9. Expand on 5G as quickly as possible in the state.
10. There should be a farm animal ratio.....per size of each farm.
This year has been a rather intense period for politics, and the election might create even more public frustrations.
There's some effort in the UK to have flexible ale pricing. So at peak time (if you say folks show up between 5 and 7.....the price per glass....would be more....than it would be at 9 PM or 2 PM.
I sat and contemplated this.
I wouldn't stop and pay 50-percent more after work (if I was working) for a pint of ale.
Average currently in London? 4.10 pounds (4.76 Euro) roughly, per glass. If you used this flex idea.....you can figure that the 4.10 pounds probably goes up to at least 4.60....maybe even 5.00 pound.
Would Germans accept this? No. They'd just stop at a mom-and-pop shop and pick up a bottle or two of beer, and sit on some park bench with their co-workers.
Knowing how crazy things have been since BREXIT.....I have no doubt that this will be attempted and dumped in six months as everyone admits it was a failure.
For about a week, ever since the German national team lost to Japan....there's been 5-star drama going on, and probably three minutes nightly wasted on telling the woeful story, the search for a new coach and how crappy the team has played.
I'm not a soccer 'freak'. Nor do I care that much for the sport (I probably watch seven or eight games a year).
What I tend to notice....it's a lot like basketball, and the coach is the central theme for 'passion' coming from the players.
If you have a passionate coach....he tends to make the players feel some passion for the game. If you have a marginalized coach who is mostly into technical aspects and special plays....your passion isn't there.
The coach who left (Flick) was a technical guy. He couldn't convey passion to the players. If you asked me to rate Flick....on paper, he knew more than 90-percent of the coaches in Germany.
Soccer is this odd sport where if you had mostly 3-star players on the team, and one single guy with enormous passion....sometimes playing way above his status....the team is unbeatable.
But soccer is also this sport where various analysts want to explain things, and go into one-hundred details over the game played. Blame gets dished for losses....with a big snow-shovel. This is one of the three big issues I have with the sport (fake injuries are another reason, along with red-card punishment....which I can't stand).
If you view a BILD newspaper this week.....this soccer drama is on page one, and will continue to be there until they hire a new coach.
Lot of BS? Well.....yeah.
1. German national soccer club played last night with a sub-coach (General Manager Rudi Voller stood in). Team won over France 2:1.
Some soccer analysts are suggesting Voller stay as coach....I doubt that he wants that 'thrill'. Based on commentary, it appears like the executive council of the team has gone to five or six folks....asking them to take the job, and most all have refused or put exception conditions into play. Rudi was supposed to be a general manager....I don't see him being happy as a full-time coach.
2. The Markus Lanz public forum show from last night (ZDF, public TV, Channel Two)....had an interesting talk over the Ukraine war.....from both a CDU and SPD politician. Theme.....when the war does come to a conclusion....it won't be pleasant for Russia or Ukraine....for years, if not decades.
3. Weather hit the peak yesterday.....for the central Rhine Valley....summer is ended. About a 6-degree drop in temperatures today. Massive rainfall last night (probably in the 4-inch range for my village).
4. Oktoberfest starts in three days in Munich. Lot of hype going on. Almost no talk on Covid.
5. Venice has started an entry fee....if you aren't a local living there....you pay 5 Euro for each day in the city. I don't think it'll halt their problems, but it's another tax to pay for services. My general prediction is that within two years....it'll slip to 10 Euro per day, and by 2030....probably in the 12 Euro range.
6. For those who've ever owned a pair of Birkenstock shoes (made in Germany)....company is going for an IPO on the US stock market. Company is now valued at $8-billion (ridiculous amount but apparently worth it.).
7. Aral gas station enterprise in Germany says it'll invest a fair amount of money into electrical charging stations for E-cars.
8. Newest poll done for the Hessen state election (8 Oct).....no doubt that the CDU Party will won (30-percent), and both SPD and Greens sitting at 2nd place (tied at 19-percent each). AfD is at 16-percent, and FDP at 6-percent. No shocks. Coalition? CDU-Greens (has been the case for the past five years already).
Thursday, at 11:45 AM.....will be a national test (sirens, cellphones, etc) where everyone will get a warning message.....of a exercise to test the system.
Before the war in the Ukraine....this was never done. Since the war....they've tested the text system at least once.
My gut feeling? I'd say probably 25-percent of the public has not heard about this test, and it might freak out a few folks.
It's a bit amusing.....there for all the Cold War period....this was a quarterly thing on most US bases in Germany. Then it stopped as the Cold War concluded. Now? We've restarted this situation.
Around 3 AM in Frankfurt, near the railway area (far east part of town)....a fire started up where some cars were waiting on shipment (mostly Teslas). What the cops say....around a dozen are pretty damaged/gone.
It's a mix of 10 E-cars are gone, and maybe six of the normal gas cars are burnt.
Cause? No idea.
Took like forty firemen to put the situation under control.
BILD today....says yes, the German intelligence folks gave some type of warning. And yes, it was leading toward some Ukrainian 'group'.
Where they got this indication? Unknown. CIA? They aren't even suggesting that. Russians? One might laugh, but they might be on the list of folks who might give such a warning.
A big deal? No. I don't think it really changes much of anything. One day....the war will end, and this repair will occur, and the Germans will go back to buying Russian natural gas.
Some folks have taken the Hessen state issues in 2023 and put them in a format for the upcoming state election (about a month away). This is supposed to lead you to decide on which party delivers your priorities:
1. Allowing 16-year olds the right to vote in state elections in the future. I won't say this is a big issue, or that even half the public support the idea.
2. Dump the US out of Germany....bases and all. I'd say more than 90-percent of the state don't rate this as a top-ten issue.
3. Parents ought to pay some part of the kid's school menu deal.
4. The ban on night flights out of Frankfurt should be 'expanded' (meaning the current 11 to 5 time should be expanded). Locally? Probably half the population of Frankfurt would believe that a 10 to 6 time frame should be pursued. State-wise? Not a top ten issue.
5. Coal-powered energy plants should run all the way in Hessen up to 2038.
6. The state government should pursue deporting people who've failed the application.
7. Hessen should only pay for advertising for organic farm products.....nothing beyond that.
8. If you are unemployed and getting 'funds'.....it ought to be reduced if you fail to accept an offered job.
9. Infrastructure money for railways.....should have priority over roads. Lot of argument both ways over this idea.
10. If you (as a company) don't offer apprentice training....you ought to be paying a tax.
11. Allowing hunts on wolves. Oddly a hot topic, but there just aren't any wolf populations in the state (at least people believe that).
12. State should allow gender forms of language in schools. Meaning? Force gender-language. There might be 20-percent of the public supporting this, and it's a hot media topic. But the majority don't support this idea.
13. Social housing, when built....should be given to Germans first.
14. If you are caring for some relative (in your house), state funds ought to be used to pay you 'something'.
15. Some 'mandate' where you get permission to develop some property....in turn, you have to 'green-up' another property that you own. No one is saying how much or how....it's just an odd discussion point.
16. There should be a 'binding' quota on women executives in Hessen companies. I think if you went to this....it'd help convince companies in the state to pack up and move. Maybe it's a good thing.
17. In future elections, parties would have to fill with equal numbers of men/women. They don't say much if a guy wants to pretend to be a woman. Hard to say if this is beneficial or not.
There's another dozen-odd platforms....I won't go into detail.
Do I think that most Hessens are concerned with the 37-odd topics? No. You might get a majority to agree on (rather argue against some policy) on a majority of these. But a lot of these just don't interest people.
It's like the wolf situation....if you don't see wolves, why would you suggest to have a hunt? It's the same with allowing 16-year olds the right to vote....most would say they are too immature, while some would ask why not allow 12-year olds the same right?
If you want to test? Here.
I watch around eight Russian podcast folks on a monthly basis. Some chat with other Russians, on things going on. Some chat about economics or purchasing power. Most avoid any criticism of Putin (in the personal sense).
Nineteen months have passed since the war started, and I think you can arrive at six observations.
First, getting new customers for oil/natural gas.....has been hit and miss. There's no way that they make the level of income that occurred in 2020.
Second, probably half the products of grocery stores still line the shelves, but the pricing has gone up. For a working-class Russian....it's now a pain.
Third, just about every single number that you'd expect to be legit that the Russians hand out....is now regarded at 100-percent fake/fraudulent. The economy, the population, the various sectors. The 144-million number for the population? It might have been faked-up for twenty years.
Fourth, with all the losses of manpower to the war, and to support the war.....there's not any extra manpower to go and manufacture weapons hardware. Hence the reason to deal with North Korea, and probably have several thousand North Koreans brought in.....to support the system.
Fifth, there's simply no end unless Putin dies or Ukraine agrees they 'lost'. That's how stupid this whole situation has developed into. Even if Putin lives five more years and has to literally destroy Russia's economy. I would even add.....I would imagine the CIA's whole assessment from day one....they knew Putin couldn't ever accept anything but 'absolute victory'....so they've rigged the 'game'....total annihilation of the Russian economy in the end.
Sixth, there's probably three-thousand politicians in Russia....sipping through vodka every evening and shaking their heads over the war and the amount of destruction done to the economy. Even if the war ends tomorrow.....there's two or three decades of rebuilding required (tanks, helicopters, etc), and a massive amount of money required.
There is an end to the war approaching....on the day that Putin passes on. It won't be a pleasant experience to admit the war gave Russia anything but a Putin-legacy.
1. Around 8:15 PM last night, via ARD (public TV, Channel One), I ended up watching an odd documentary piece (75 min).
Title: 'Governing at the Limit'.
So, it's mostly a piece to tell the story of the Scholz coalition (SPD-Greens-FDP) and how they've had literally hundreds of problems since day one to confront them, and it's a four-step-forward situation.....with one or two steps back reaction.
Yes, it's an attempt to rebrand the Scholz 'theme-or-message'.
I won't call BS on this....it's practically true, and they've simply limped along with a 'brand' that just moderately sells to the German public.
Fair assessment and it told practically every single issue that they faced over a 2-year period.
2. Germans have this statement that they utter on occasion: "Nicht alle Tassen im Schrank haben." It translates to mean 'to not have all the cups in the cupboard', or to be pretty lacking on intelligence. 'Crazy' would also be fitting into this term.
So, I noted this problem in Hardhelm (small village in Baden-Wurttemberg, in the SW). For months, locals have complained about this 25-year old Somali who settled into the community.
Basically, the guy has turned into some terror-thrill-seeker. He never quite gets to the physical stage, but he wants to make you think he might hurt you.
Locals have gone to the cops, and he continually gets lectured.....but never gets put in jail.
Continual charges? Theft, assault and threatening the public.
So for months, the general public has been in some rage about how the system can't deal with the guy.
In the past week, all of these proceedings stopped....because he's been now identified as mentally incompetent. The discussion now? Well....there will have to be some kind of court episode with a judge and deem him such a threat....that he has to be locked up.
Moving along at a snail's pace? Yeah, one gets the idea that the local authorities have some kind of problem in going this direction.
Fifty years ago, I might suggest that locals would have simply grabbed the guy in a truck and drove him across the border into France....to just dump him on someone else's village.
3. Flick gone as the German national soccer coach? Yeah.
Shocking to some.
So the bosses of the team have gone out to recruit the next coach, and found the top three or four guys.....said 'NO'.
Still paying Flick? That's the one odd thing....he has a contract through most of 2024....so they are going to pay him.
The possibility that 'Yogi' (the old coach from 3 years ago) comes back? No one utters this but I think it's possible that he might accept.
4. Mr Kim has arrived in Moscow, and various 'deals' are on the table.
5. Just an interesting development in Niger. One of the big products that Niger was mining and selling....was uranium. France was buying at at .80 Euro cents per KG. Niger said 'no'.....price must increase. New price? 200 Euro per KG.
Will France pay? Well....there are around a dozen countries who mine and sell the stuff. Niger was at the cheapest rate....so even if France goes to a new partner.....it's going to be way more than .80 Euro cents.
I attended a Sunday evening bar-b-q, with a couple of Germans, and one American.
So the topic of the Maui fire came up....probably for two minutes.
What the Germans see....is entirely the German newspapers or nightly public TV news. Most of that is a 'clip' of CNN, or AP.
So the take? Three basic things: awful tragic, some skepticism that the story told....doesn't fit or make sense, and that a fair amount of incompetence falls into play with Hawaii authorities.
In simple terms.....they were told X, Y and Z....disbelieving it.
I'm not going to say this happens all the time, but it's curious how this was a non-Germany topic, and they just didn't buy into the story told.
Well....back around 2016, the Merkel coalition appointed a guy by the name of Arne Schonholm to the national job of Chief of German Federal Office of Information Security.
There, Arne sat until 2022.
So in 2022....an event unfolded....(mid-October).
Arne was accused of 'close relations' with the Russians. Nancy Faeser looked at various accusations, and fired the guy.
The problem is....as days and weeks passed....just about all of the accusations failed to become reality.
In the public view....'bullying' has now popped up and Faeser has been asked to explain things at the Bundestag-level.
Bad judgement? All she'd (Nancy Faeser) has to do.....is present some solid evidence that did something incompetent. At present? It appears that she can only prove her own incompetence.
Where this is leading onto? There's some damages chatter, and it's possible that the government will have to pay the guy up to retirement.
Faeser's end? It's interesting. She's leading the SPD Hessen state election business, and in some ways.....she's probably hurting their vote situation to some degree. Some folks (small number) think that she's washed-up and by the end of 2023.....will resign.
The rush to judgement angle? It's a constant fear now......most of the VIP-government folks don't want to linger on people and conduct a full-blown investigation. Once a problem pops up.....a lot of these folks want to dump the guy or gal involved.
It was an odd event on the Mehringplatz in Berlin-Kreuzberg over the weekend.
What the cops say? Well....an argument started up (5 PM, Sunday). No one can say how the argument started, what was the topic, or if alcohol or drugs were part of the landscape.
When the police did arrive....what they found were two families mostly in the situation of a brawl, and 70 total individuals fighting.
Oddly enough....on Friday, there was another brawl reported....lesser number of participants (maybe 30).
Police investigation over both? Yeah.
I'm guessing no one will volunteer much, and each will be closed after a couple of weeks of police work.
I'm always interested in these events and how they got started. It could have been some love-issue, some cheating spouse, just a marginal insult, or perhaps a business deal that fell apart.
You didn't have these much back in the 1980s. This is mostly a oddity of the past twenty years. I partly blame urbanism, alcohol/drug-use, and macho behavior.
I suspect the German police hate these events because you arrive and there's immediately a threat to your safety, and you simply want the brawl to end. Plus....they probably hate the investigation phase because no one wants to admit they were arguing over some gay-lover, or some drug-deal, or some insult about being 'fat'.
1. Top sport news....German national basketball team won the 'World Cup' series (over Serbia).
2. Drama playing out in German soccer, lot of hype to exit the coach (Flick) and 'fix/repair' the team.
3. Some German scientists discovered that cows are happy to 'live' in stables, rather than in fields.
Just a humble feeling, but I think they hate rain and lightning.
4. Gotthard Tunnel (just over the German border into Switzerland, 15 km long) was closed yesterday. No reasons given so far.
5. Luis Rubiales (head of Spanish soccer federation) has resigned over this kiss-scandal business from 3 weeks ago.
6. Anne Will Show (prime public forum for Sunday evenings on ARD, Chanel One) had the topic last night of the Aiwanger-scandal deal from Bavaria.
I probably watched about 12 minutes of it. Bit I watched was over the reporter from the Suddeutsche Zeitung.....newspaper that hyped up 40-year old term paper for the FW-Voter Party 'boss'. Fair amount of criticism was dumped on the guy....he responded in some way that it was a fair criticism to dump on Aiwanger.
I'll just say that it's a hyped-up thing in Bavaria. Most non-Bavarians don't have that much interest in this stuff.
7. Micheal Hofling wrote an excellent piece for WELT....centered on the new heat-pump law passed last week. Highly recommend a read if you can find a copy of the article.
He points out....there's a long list of 'losers' as the bill was passed, and this won't be a pleasant thing where the SPD-Green-FDP coalition gets a pat on the back.
8. For the war news....just odd, the head boss of tank manufacturing says that an order for more T-80 series tanks is likely to occur. Might occur, but I wonder where the manpower will come from (imported North Korean help?).
At the northern point of Wiesbaden (my local town), we have the Neoberg (a hilltop overlooking the city).
Generally, there are three ways to reach the summit (about 700 ft).....a winding paved road (taking 30 min of a walk), a railcar (4 min) that costs a couple of Euro, and a steep 'rough' trail that you could climb in 20 minutes (if you were in great shape).
Generally, I'd tell most people (especially over the age of forty)....take the winding road down or ride the rail vehicle. DON'T walk down the steep trail.
Well....Friday night came and some older gal (they don't give her age) stumbled around and probably broke 'something'.
Rescue services got called.
In the end, a team showed up....got her up to the top level, and had a ambulance take her down the mountainside.
For a hundred years....this steep trail has existed, and I would imagine every year......some guy or gal has gotten injured.
Concreting up the trail or making it safe? They could probably do it, but it's probably a million-Euro job.
Over on the far east side of Turkey, you will notice a small county....of Armenia. It's about 50 miles by 100 miles....population of 2.8-million.
On the other side (eastern front) of Armenia is Azerbaijan (maybe 150 by 200 miles, and a population of 10-million). I should note Azerbaijan is mostly Muslim, and lately....Turkey has funded some military build-up.
So there's been interesting developments, and people seem to believe that a war is about to occur.
Russian involvement? Well....yeah, some special forces for Russia have been noted in Armenia, and there's some rumor that Iran has sent 'some' forces into Azerbaijan (might be mostly BS).
Any oil or wealth involved? No.
On a scale for a Ukraine-like war? Well....I don't think the Russians see any great reason to be there....other than establishing a 'line-in-the-sand'.
Any reason for NATO to be involved? Only if Russian did some stupid stuff on the far western border of Armenia against the Turkish border.
On some drama scale? It's just hard to see anything fought over a place smaller than the Netherlands (in size).
The fact that Armenia is only 500-odd miles from the Ukraine war-zone? Yeah, that might be a factor.
Around noon today (Sunday) and at the top of the news....the drama of the German team having lost to Japan yesterday (4:1).
Flick (the coach) being fired? Well.....among the top three things in this discussion, yeah....if you fired Flick, then what? Kloop, Klinsmann, Nagelsmann?
Frankly, if you wrote up a list of 25 potential coaches.....I would imagine all of them would decline because of the intense pressure now in place.
Are the German players the issue? I think we've reached the point where other national players (England, France, Japan, Brazil) are just as good. On the US angle? We are probably five years away from having a US team that is as good as the German team. I think the Aussies are fairly close to a even-point.
Is this a worthwhile drama to play out? Most German women would say it's a 'joke'.
But here's the other odd thing. In basketball, the German national team probably could take on any NBA club today, and in 50-percent of games....beat the NBA team. In fact, with the Serbian team.....they could probably beat the NBA team in 70-percent of cases.
Sports is changing the landscape and quality of the games.
Last night for the HR (public TV for Hessen)....the regional news covered for about ten minutes....a fest underway in the Bahnhof quarter of Frankfurt.
If you were ever stationed around the Frankfurt region in the 1970s, 1980s, or 1990s....the Bahnhof quarter was generally famous for strip clubs, bordello operations, and a few fast-food operations.
You'd walk out the front-door of the train station.....ahead of you for about three blocks was the Bahnhof quarter. At one point, McDonalds, Burger King and even Wendys were operating there (Wendys came and went).
I would imagine for stripper joints/bars....there were probably twenty in the quarter, and at some peak in the 1980s....there might have been thirty bordello 'units'.
What came in the 1990s (probably even five to eight years prior).....was a druggie/junkie district. At that point, from the Bahnhof quarter to the downtown 'Wall-street' area....there were probably over 1,500 wandering junkies hanging out.
Some clean-up campaign occurred....marginally working.
Since 2000? Around the junkie-mile (what they refer to it).....you probably have in the range of 1,000 junkies hanging out, and an smaller assortment of strip clubs and bordello units still operating.
I walked through the area last around 2017....mid-morning, and noted probably forty guys/gals laying on the sidewalk....in some drugged-up daze, from a brief 20-minute walk through the 'zone'. It's an area that I don't recommend.....day or night.
Locals? Peeved. They want the city council to resolve this mess.....clean up the junkie stuff, dissolve the drug trade, and end the sex business. Personal opinion, I think the city council is in fear if you challenged all of this.....they'd move, and there's no idea where in town that this would all end up.
So what the city council has approached? A fest. It's an open-air thing.....get Frankfurt people convinced that it's safe....it's a great place to drink beer and cocktails. In a way, they are sending a message.....if regular people start hanging out....the stripper clubs and bordello operations will lose business. It's a wild idea....even I will admit.
Frankfurt was the first real German city that I got accustomed to (1978-1980). It was upscale....it was 'seedy'. The better place to drink was across the river (southside) in the Sachsenhausen quarter. You could walk out of the quarter in a matter of two minutes....find the subway or tram, and be 100-percent safe (even today).
This remarketing effort? It's just odd....selling on a district where the legend was from the 1920s to recent years.....was boozing up, drugs and sex.
The trend? I can view the fest idea and this general idea of downsizing the bad-boy image. Telling me that 2030 will arrive and no stripper shows or bordello operations will be there? I'd be amazed. Getting rid of the junkies? Yeah, that would be an impossible task.
1. Poll done....national political trend.
AfD has climbed to 22-percent. CDU-CSU at 27-percent. Greens have fallen to 13-percent. SPD lingering at 18-percent. FDP at 7-percent. Linke Party at 5-percent.
INSA did the political....very reliable polling organization.
Where this is going? It's NOT that the AfD has four-star positions....I would argue that the SPD-coalition running the government has a sour brand, and the general public shakes their head over the 'brand'/message of the SPD-Green-FDP coalition.
For the remainder of 2023? I would suggest it's likely that the AfD will hit a minimum of 25-percent, unless some shake-up occurs.
Even with the help of the public TV forums....the coalition is not really getting any help or traction to reverse the current trend.
2. German-Japan national team game last night. Japan won 4:1.
Being hyped-up this morning. Lot of criticism being discussed.
3. Sahra Wagenknecht (marginally a member of the Linke Party) is leaning hard on creating her 'own' party.
Characteristics? She says four key points: there must be social justice in Germany, 'peace' should be at the top of the agenda, 'freedom' is important, and something she referred to as 'economic reason'.
One interesting comment in her hype......she says that the German government is currently doing things to drive jobs and industry out of the country....letting the market 'run wild' (my interpretation). I might agree....neither the SPD or Greens have shown any interest in growing the jobs/industry landscape.
One negative in her talk....she wants some government 'agency' to monitor and control what companies produce or don't produce. It's a shaky idea and bound to be abused/misused in the end.
