Three German News Stories

 1.  I noticed the new mayor of Frankfurt had a public talk....on how he wants to entice the International Auto Association car show (held every other year) into returning to Frankfurt.   

For several decades, the car show was held in Frankfurt, and was a 'big' deal for the city (it made millions of revenue for the city).  

It ran from 1951 to 2019.  The focus (crap) in 2019 went highly negative (by various environmental groups).  By the end, IAA held a meeting and said Frankfurt was too screwed up to run the show....so they moved it to Munich.

After Covid....Frankfurt kinda added up the use potential of the expo grounds/buildings and I suspect they realize a vast amount of money is needed to keep them functional.  They need the IAA desperately.

So Mike Josef (the new SPD) mayor wants a talk.  His design?  More of a transportation trade fair.  The problem  of local environmentalists?  I doubt if that would go away.  

2.  Sunday NFL game in Frankfurt, Dolphins versus Chiefs?  Lot of hype locally going on.  Special TV shows are in the mix....by most networks.  Just guessing, probably over half the German adult male population probably will be watching the game.

3.  I noted a RTL/NTV political poll today.  SPD, with Greens and FDP (our coalition gov't)....can manage a total of 39-percent of the vote (pretty dismal).  Even the CDU-CSU folks can only manage 29-percent.

AfD, 22-percent.  FW, at 3-percent.  Linke Party, 3-percent.

Nation-wide, a lot of divided political feelings at present.  

Paris Police Action This AM?

 Well....what the official news is from Paris....some Islamic gal (no age given, in traditional garb) had stopped in the middle of some Metro/subway station and started yelling about a 'bomb' and repeating 'Allah Akbar'.

Police approached....asked for calmness....got no response.  Then fired one shot into her (no description on distance, but I doubt it's more than 60 feet).  No reporting on her condition (yet). 

Maybe ten years ago, French police would have screwed around for an hour or two....trying to talk rational sense into a scene like this.  Lot of things in the past decade have changed.  

Here's the thing....if she's alive (I would assume)....she'll have to go to some court after the ambulance/hospital visit.  The court reaction?  Probably a 30-day mental health mandated visit,  and if they can't say she's rational or making sense....she ends up in long-term mental care.  

Carnival Season Starts In 2 Weeks

 Between today (Halloween) and in two weeks....Carnival season starting (11.11.11.11).....there's some hype for 'costumes'.

Generally, I advise (as the non-German) that you pay attention and not get yourself into trouble.

My three bits of advice on costumes:

1.  Don't get stupid and try to dress as a German policeman.....legally, you are just begging for trouble.

2.  Don't get stupid and have a weapon (pistol for example) as part of the attire for some cowboy outfit.  Same for Daryl (the character with the bow-and-arrow from the Zombie series).  

3.  Don't get stupid and dress as an exhibitionist (meaning mostly or all nude).....even as cold as it is, you might think an interior party would make it ok to dress in some half-nude fashion.  Nope, that gets you into trouble as well.

Three Odd Things You Notice In The News

 1.  It's probably never understood by non-military people, but there is 'code' written by intelligence people who do targeting analysis (prioritizing).  Generally, in this code....doesn't matter which country you refer to....you don't target religious facilities, unless the facility is used in a military fashion....like storing of ammo or rockets.

Hennes Stein wrote up a piece for Focus today and discussed the feature of mis-using religious buildings, and how they lose their 'protection'.

Yeah, in a civilized country typically....you don't make hospitals or religious building into a military structure.  Where you see the concept screwed up.....it typically leads back to society accepting this behavior and thinking the other military would never target such a structure. 

2.  The Green Party (throughout Germany) has various issues in dealing or talking about migration/asylum.

I noticed in the news today, that down in Baden-Wurttemberg (the state)....the 'bosses' of the Green Party in the state have now written up a four-page 'talk-this-way' summary, if you (a member of the state Green Party) have some journalist bring up immigration, and how you have to answer by a particular way on questions.

All of this leading to a clash within the party?  Yeah....more or less, there's various opinions, and they can't reach a general agreement unless you read the script and talk only via those words.

3.  Is there some debate going on against Halloween in Germany?

Well....we have this problem in that a fair number of kids, juveniles and young Germans....like to party-up for Halloween.

So, there's this second group.....I would suggest a fair number of liberals in Germany have the attitude that Halloween is dragging in a very commercialized situation, and there's too much capitalism being generated here.

I sat and pondered over this.  It's probably true.....between costumes, candy, partying (booze included for the over-18 crowd).....yeah, there's real 100-percent capitalism going on.

So what the anti-Halloween folks want to do?  Well....drag in Reformation Day (typically the 31st).....a highly religious day for some, and bound to be 99-percent zero-capitalism involved.

Is Reformation Day celebrated over all of Germany?  NO....just nine states.  Hessen doesn't play the game...the Pfalz does....for example.

This day being more of a Martin Luther thing?  Yeah.

Anti-party folks?  I would suggest that.  I doubt if you'd party up or drink Rum-and-Coke drinks....over Martin Luther.

Lot of BS?  You know....it's a 1-star argument in my mind, and 90-percent of people would sit and laugh over this idea of condemning capitalism of Halloween.  I should note this (since my wife, the Hessen, works in the Pfalz)....she won't be working Wednesday, but will be shopping in Wiesbaden all day....engaging in serious capitalism.  

Four German News Stories

1. An interesting piece in WELT today....written by Elke Bodderas.  Topic?  Leftists and Islamists...together against Israel.  

I'll just say if you look around Europe (Russia as well), there's a fair amount of anti-Semitism going, which didn't really seem apparent before.   

2.  We had a bomb-threat called in for the local Wiesbaden train station.  So on Saturday evening, whole place was shut down for about three hours as the police searched the entire structure. Some trains were still allowed to come in, but everyone coming off...was searched.

3.  Unusual  story from N-TV this AM....'compliance training'.  So German companies have gone to requiring employees to attend training which more or less....stresses that you follow the rules of the company.

Yeah, it's a bit odd. 

My gut feeling is that it's mostly necessary because of Generation Z young people, and is a rehash of what most older Germans would say is logical behavior/attitude.

4.  The Chancellor is in Africa this week for 3 days.  One key stop is to talk natural gas sales to Germany, from Nigeria.  Might be a big deal....to swing some LNG situation.  

Ten Things I Think Will Occur Over The Next Decade In Germany

 1.  Enough heat-pumps will be hooked-up and running, that public groups develop and demand noise-control regulations.  This will lead to some neighborhoods wanting a regulation to forbid heat-pump placement.  Green Party members will be in a daze....shocked how 'push-back' came on this issue.

2.  Enough pedestrian-only (no car traffic) inner-cities will exist in Germany....where commerce and sales revenue are sharply controlled....leading to an exodus of businesses to the exterior of the town, and 'dead-zones' start to exist in the inner-city areas.

3.  Gas-powered mower regulations will start to be created....leading to bickering by city residents throughout Germany asking why such mandates need to exist.

4.  A new youth protest group (similar to Fridays for the Future) will come to exist over poverty in Germany.  

5.  A religious 'sect' in Germany will be noticed existing....acting as a morals-police unit in urbanized areas.  Oddly, it'll be mostly women....monitoring young/juvenile young ladies.

6.  German juveniles (as young as eight) will be noted drinking non-alcohol gin, and this will become a national craze.  German authorities will be unable to explain why zero-proof alcohol should be 'controlled'.  

7.  A national shortage of German bus drivers will drive the federal government to allow migration entry approval from 3rd world countries if you can prove five years of experience at driving a bus.

8.  A 'cult-like' group will appear in Germany, who refuse to re-set their clocks for daylight savings time.  Within six years, more than 3-million Germans will have joined the cult group.

9.  By 2030, more than 10,000 farms across Germany will exist along the lines of being time-resistant.  They are setting their lifestyles to live by 1905 standards and minimum use of electricity and gas-powered vehicles.  

10.  Over the next five years....more than 1,000 Germans will self-identify as Vulcans (Star Trek creations).  The Bundestag will have to discuss the idea of letting them identify as such, on their national ID cards.  This will go way past identifying as gender-type.  

Laying The Landscape Of This Regensburg 'Attack'

 I essayed the basic story of this attack in Regensburg a couple of days ago....since then, the police have updated it.  BR (public TV for Bavaria) talked over this story.

What you have is a regional psychiatric facility,  for juveniles.

So on this day last week...one of the facility folks (older guy, 63 years old)....had some 7-year kid that he was attending to....when a 14-year old kid came into the situation.

Both the facility guy and the 7-year old were attacked.  

How the 14-year old ended up in a psychiatric unit?  Well....this gets interesting.  Police had some situation early in 2023 develop, where the kid and an associate were planning out a school shooting.  This apparently got discovered....then the cops got into their browsing...finding they also wanted to learn how to make bombs.  Some cyber cop team got into these details, and the duo were arrested.  They were set to a facility (the kid was 13 at that point in time).

So he's been there for a minimum of nine months.  

The 7-year kid attack?  He died Friday night, so there would be murder charges brought up but I doubt if they can do much with the 14-year old kid....other than hold him to age 20.  

Too dangerous for society?  There is a German law of sorts,  which says once x-crime has been committed and you go off to prison....a prosecutor can review options near the release date, and ask for a safety review from a judge.  If the judge determines that the held guy is too dangerous to release from prison.....you stay, without any discussion much (unless you can really prove you are safe).  

In this case, I would imagine this young guy probably won't ever be released.  

How the kid got a butcher knife in a psychiatric unit?  Well....that part hasn't been explained in public news (yet).  

Fake Vaccinations?

Back on 30 December 2020....I wrote this essay.....concerning the vax business.  Still today, it is one of the more amusing episodes I've covered on Germany.  

You can kinda laugh about this.....N-TV chatted about this episode that unfolded in Truen (about halfway between Chemnitz and Bayreuth (Bavaria)).

What they say is that some ambulance-looking vehicle pulled up in front of this house and a retired German guy answered the door.  Here were standing were two guys,  with medical-type suitcases and wearing med clothing.....claiming they were there to vaccinate the guy.

The old German guy listened to the 'story' and basically told them to get off his doorstep.  Scram.

Practical jokers?  Scam artists?  Unknown.  

Cops just say....there weren't going to be any home-to-home vaccinations done, so don't believe some idiots like this.   

What Will The Fall 2025 German Federal Election Mostly Be About?

 Basically....two topics....the failures of the SPD-Green-FDP coalition for four years, and migration/asylum in Germany (chiefly, deportations).  

Yeah, it is rather silly.  There's at least twenty significant topics (economy, taxes, infrastructure crumbling, crime, crappy education establishment, climate change, wolf issues, Hamas-Israel issues, affordable housing, etc).  

So I'll go out on the 'plank' and suggest that a lot of talk gets generated about the non-accomplishments of the current government, and non-achievement over deportations.  

This leading to a higher vote for AfD?  Currently....I'd say 25-percent of the vote for the AfD is possible.  This puts both the CDU-CSU and SPD folks (right-of-center and left-of-center) into a problem area.  

The trend continuing even after 2025?  That's the part of the problem that you wonder about.  

Five German News Stories

1.  Good piece off ARD's Tagesschau.....talking over how the Bundestag will work when you potentially have nine political parties existing.  'Fragmentation' is a key word,  It will become more difficult over the next couple of years to form a coalition gov't.  

2.  Lot of positive hype being manufactured for the coalition gov't of Scholz (SPD-Greens-FDP) over the deportation 'tough-stand'....suggesting more failed applicants will be forced out (I would suggest nearly half of the public don't believe this statement).  Some might even go to say the 'hype' is more propaganda....than anything else.

The action at this point?  It buys them six to twelve months before the public wakes up and says 'no, you did nothing with this BS'.  

3.  It is rather odd....the attack from 20 Feb 2020...in Hanau (the guy is dead from suicide)....has still not really shut down from investigations.  

To note, eleven were killed and seven wounded, in this far-right agenda by the one single German guy.  

The newest attempt at a new investigation?  In the case of one bar/pub, the back-door was locked.  There's some strong wording to suggest that in weeks/months prior....the police came and told the owner to keep the door (emergency door) locked.   The city prosecutor has said 'no' this week, to opening another investigation over this complaint.  

Typically, for any German establishment....you have to maintain a rear door for emergency exit in a fire.  The question in this case....did the owner put a lock on the door, or did the police order a lock on the door?

4.  Raids were conducted in Germany yesterday over far-right extremist music.  Yeah, not political stuff....just music.  From the description...my interpretation is that it's some type of rap-music.  Hate speech situation?  Yeah.  

5.  Fairly strong commentary against Fridays for the Future for taking a position in support of Hamas, and against Israel...on the late night Friday ARD Tagesschau news.  

I'll just say that the juvenile group are coupling themselves in some ways to be an 'arm' of the Green Party in the future.  With the topic of Hamas added to their 'inventory'....I would suspect over the next year that you see at least one or two additional topics, and they broaden themselves to be a multi-agenda youth group. 

A Reason Not To Engage

 I try hard to avoid 'engaging' on Twitter.  I'm usually there to review trends and news....eyeballing 3-to-4 star propaganda, and view 'rants' by college students (it's become a hobby of mine).

Yesterday, I ended up engaging a college student who was lecturing people on history,  but using mostly made-up or propaganda-like material.  The longer this conversation went on....the more this student looked like some brainwash case.  

The problem I see....this 'student' probably had paid a fair sum of money for college 'indoctrination' and their argument ability or persuasion level....was that of a 5th grade kid.  I tried to avoid the topic but it just seemed like they should have asked for a refund on what they paid for the college stuff.

Four German News Stories

 1.  All this hyped-up chatter over the draft bill in the Bundestag....to  deport at a 'faster' pace?  Well....the police have examined the wording and what is contained is a rough estimate of the increased pace....things would go up each month by 5-percent (say in the 600 extra deportees per month).  As they point....it's marginal in terms in terms of affect. (Focus)

As the cops representative pointed out.....if you had 50,000 to deport....using the present system, you'd need 80 years to carry it out.

All of this getting negative public attention?  Yeah, and it just helps AfD in polls.  

2.  Lot of intense rain (with wind) expected here on Friday....particularly in Bavaria.

3.  Becoming obvious that the Fridays-for-the-Future teenagers are spreading anti-Semitic and anti-Israel messages.  Public TV is avoiding their theme/message presently. At some point, politicians will have to react.  The idea that they'd stick to one 'problem'....is obviously a joke now. 

4.  Some story has started up in the Ukraine war....if a Russian soldier shows any attempt to disobey an order.....he's immediately shot dead.  Might be BS....might be partially true.

Court Story

 Back in the Bavaria state election campaig period....some retired teacher decided to engage in a harsh way, and bring up the Free Voter Party candidate's school days (Aiwanger).  

This goes back to some high school project from 30 years ago, that Aiwanger had turned in.  Oddly, the instructor had kept a copy of this and decided now was a time to take down Aiwanger (the candidate).

Well....it really didn't work well.  In fact, I'd say in Bavaria....it probably bumped up the Free Voter Party by three points minimum.  

So it came out today, via the ARD Tagesspiegel news folks....this retired instructor is under some type of investigation.  Authorities won't say the trigger to this but I would imagine there is some type of confidentiality code and even if retired.....the person bent some understanding.

Just odd?  Apparently Tagesspiegel was asking the Ministry of Culture in Bavaria and they originally refused to answer any questions.  Then as Tagesspiegel went to court to sue for public information....a court is holding the Tagesspiegel situation....yet to answer what exactly the legal issues are.  

Wolf Chatter

 The Markus Lanz interview show ran last night (late, ZDF, public TV, channel 2).  It's less of a public forum piece and more of a direct-interview. 

So oddly, they brought on a guy to talk over the wolf 'problem' in Germany.  Christian Lohmeyer was the guest.

I have say this....if you asked a thousand Germans where the wolf problem ranks....most won't rank it in the top 100, and a few won't even rank it in the top thousand issues in Germany.

If you go into rural regions, and simply talk to German farmers....the vast majority will rank it in the top ten issues of their mind.

A problem mostly in the NE of Germany?  It started that way.....presently in  northern Hessen, it's starting to be discussed.  I would imagine within a decade....wolves will be noted in all sixteen German states (maybe even in the urbanized areas of Hamburg and Berlin).

Pro-wolf crowd existing?  Yes, that is a rather odd part of the trend.  

Farmers  wanting a easier way to hunt wolves?  Yes, and so far....politicians have blocked that idea.

This chat from the show?  It was probably an eye-opener for the urbanized German viewer, and meant to present the ongoing saga that farmers have dealing with the issue of wolves.

Eventually, what I expect to happen....some kid at a bus-stop in a rural area...will be dragged off by a pack of wolves, and things will go pretty harsh for the wolf population of Germany. 

Speeder Story

 Local AM news (in my state of Hessen) was chatty over a court case to occur today.  

Back almost a year ago, some German motorcyclist was noted at excessive speeds on 3 ....going toward Wurzburg. 

Cops tried to catch up with him.....doing 250 kph.  They considered his driving to be reckless.  Failed on catching up.  

So this has gone to court.  

If this was not a speed controlled section of the autobahn?  Well....that's really the whole discussion to occur.  Cops can say some form of reckless driving was going on, but unless there's solid video of this.....might not be an easy case to prosecute.  If convicted?  I would imagine he'll lose his license permanently.  

I'll just say this....you see excessive speed a good bit on German autobahns....in the more rural regions of Germany (like driving from Mainz to Kaiserslautern).  Defining it as reckless is a difficult task.

Some History Over Current Affairs

 In the 1930s, the British gov't had control over the region you see today as Israel/Gaza/Palestine.  The French gov't controlled Lebanon (Beirut).

The British decided...without much talk with locals....that they would 'invent' a Jewish homeland.  But as they said this....they said there would have to be an entry fee, and some control mechanism.  

After WW II....control  and fees basically stopped, and Jews started to return in numbers.

But all of this begs the question....if Judah existed at some point 1200-odd years ago, and was the homeland of the Jews at that point.....why did the Jews leave?

Well....this gets to an interesting point  in the 8th and 9th centuries....when Islam took off, and civil wars escalated to the point that Islam controlled the entire region.  Those who did stay...came under taxation rules handed down.  

Where did the Jews of Judah disperse to?  Russia, Europe, the US, etc. After WW II, with Islamic locals in a lesser posture....the region could be under Jewish management (once again).

This whole history segment lost?  More or less. 

Tunnel Project

 On the eastern side of Frankfurt, with years of talking over it....there's supposed to be a tunnel connection for autobahn 661.....often called the Wiederwald Tunnel project.

For a long time, it was argued that the project would cost in the range of 477 million Euro.

Well...in the last day or two, they came to admit that the cost factor of the tunnel is wrong, and it's about 1-billion Euro on top of the original estimate.

How long is this tunnel?  This gets to an interesting topic.

If you ever hung around Frankfurt (east side).....there's a autobahn that was never really finished (connected)....autobahn 66.  66 ends about 1.25 km from the other point where it should have connected.

So this tunnel is about a crazy idea.....you'd dig deep enough not to carve out houses, streets, or businesses, and then run a tunnel for this roughly 1.25 km path.

For a 1.5-billion amount?  Well....to be honest, by the time they really reach an end....I would expect the cost factor to be double that....toward 3-billion Euro.

Activists against the tunnel?  Yeah, and that's likely to lengthen the process so this end-date of 2033...probably isn't correct either. 

How valuable is A66?  For a lot of Frankfurt workers who've made the decision to work in the city, but live out away from town....it connected you to the option of living 30 to 50 km to the east.  The negative for all these years....A66 just got you onto the outer eastern boundary of the city. So it does make sense to fix/resolve what should have been done forty years  ago. 

Four German News Stories

 1.  Not a front-page story in Germany, but on the Canary Islands (part of Spain)....they've had around 1,600 refugees arrive by boat last week, and it's been crazy trying to manage the situation there.  Front-page story on the islands.

2.  Curious problem being noticed in Germany with building projects getting into a year, 2-years, and up to 6-years in delay.  These building permits that are issued in the beginning....have a limit, and if you screw up in the inital delay process....like money isn't there....and the permit runs out, then you have to start a new process to get a permit.

3.  The Forsa folks (they do polls) stood up this AM and looked at numbers and comments by the public, and have said the new BWS Party probably will never get beyond 5-percent in actual elections.  

Their logic?  They don't see many AfD voters who'd find 'comfort' in the current brand/message of BWS.  

4.  That pipeline  between Finland and Estonia that 'broke' about three weeks ago?  After a fair amount of viewing.....there's this anchor that seems to have dragged across the pipe, and they seem to believe it belonged to a Chinese freighter.  

US Evacuation in Planning?

 Well.....it came out this afternoon, between Lebanon and Israel....there's 700,000 Americans in the region (this was German N-TV news laying out the issue). 

Trying to do some massive evacuation?  They did such a crappy job in Afghanistan, I'm of the mind that this would be 100-percent impossible if some serious crap were to occur (like some Iranian nuke situation were in play).

So I'm of the mind that no evacuation is actually planned, and they'd just tell folks to stay 'in-place'.  

Jihadist Attack Prevented?

 Yes, it as an attack which was to occur Duisburg (northern Germany), where the guy was going to acquire a truck and run through a crowd of Germans at a Israeli demonstration. 

Federal police reviewed his commentary on social media and he made the comment that he wanted to die for the 'effort'.

Former member of ISIS?  Yeah, going back 2013.

He returned from the war in 2016, and was arrested by the German cops at the airport.  Charged up....he went to some type of juvenile prison (because of age) and was to stay there five years (in 2017).....so he likely got out in the past dozen months.  

Now?  Fresh new charges....probably a minimum of five years.  

Just looking at this.....the five years in detention really didn't do much for his mindset.

Update: 25 Oct.  Cops now say this guy in his youth....marginally graduated out of German school, and his apprenticeships continually failed.

German Voting Turn-Out

 This is an interesting topic.  

After the war, 1949....the turn-out for the national election in West Germany was 78-percent.  Take into consideration that from day one of this era....voting was to occur on Sundays.

1953?  86-percent showed up.

1957? 87-percent showed up.

1961?  87-percent showed up.

1965?  87-percent showed up.

This was the normal trend for West Germany for a number of years.

1972?  91-percent showed up.

Then you come to unified Germany in 1990 (November), and the 78-percent number pops up.

1994?  79-percent. 

From that era onto the fall of 2021....it's generally in the 70-to-75 percent range.  For 2021, it was in the 76-percent range.

So roughly one out of four Germans, since unification....don't vote.  You can ask questions over this, but it just leads to a dozen-odd theories about why eastern-born Germans vote at a lesser level, or that the welfare-class of Germany don't show-up.

A big deal?  If you could persuade 10-percent of the country who never vote.....to show up, and push the level of participation from the 75-percent range to a 85-percent range...that's a couple million extra votes.  

Yeah, the dynamics of the Bundestag would probably change if this were to occur. 

Just a odd feature of the country.

Thoughts On This New Political Party In Germany (BWS)

 BWS = Party of Sahra Wagenknecht.

1.  After the press conference and the 'hype'....you come away with the primary feeling that it's the anti-Green Party.

Kinda funny, but about two-thirds of their chatter in the news conference would go to your feelings....if you disliked the German Green Party.

Would I agree that the Greens have done a lousy job selling their programs for two years now?  Yeah, and it'd be easy to find a reason to support BWS.

2.  Whether you can see  logic with it....BWS is a pro-Russia party,  and there's probably a quarter of the German population who fits into that category these days.  

3.  I have doubts that AfD just ends or merges with BWS.  

4.  This idea that the commerce world  of Germany needs politicians to manage the goals/developments.....just sounds a lot like old East Germany thinking.  Almost no one is going to readily believe this makes sense, except Linke Party folks (far left).

I'll end this by saying I doubt they really captivate that many voters, except the far-left.  

The Speed Limit - Time Dilemma

 I live on the outskirts of Wiesbaden.  To be honest, my village is about 4.5 km beyond the city limits.

You have to exit the city on a two-lane road....crossing this imaginary line of a wooded area, agricultural fields, and a thick forest....to reach a plateau, and the village lies half-a-km beyond the plateau....resting in a valley.  We are in the simplest term....a suburb of Wiesbaden.

So there is this speed limit issue.

On a B-class road, the speed limit is typically 100 kph.  Well....unless they put up signs and say there are 'extra' hazards.

About 300 meters into this exit....appears the first sign to note 90 kph is max.   About a km after that is three signs on one post.  Top sign?  90 kph.  Middle sign is 70 kph.  And the bottom sign is a sign to say 1900 to 0600.

So the way you interpret this.....in 6 AM to 7 PM, you can drive 90 kph, but as you get to 7:01 PM....it's 70 kph, because of the fair amount of deer in the region.

Then a km after that....you have two turn-offs, and a speed sign to say 50 kph.  After you pass the two turn-offs, then you have another 70 kph....for about 300 meters, then you have another 90/70/1900 to 0600  sign post.

It is distracting and if you don't pay attention....you are in the violation of the law.

Well...my son came out one night at 8 PM....not paying attention to time situation, and the cops had set up a mobile speed camera....so he got 'blitzed' (84 in a 70 kph.....meaning a 40 Euro fine). 

It is a odd thing.......you not only have to pay attention to speeds, but you have to track your time, and how it matches to the right speed limit.

If you brought this up with most locals?  I doubt that they even notice the 90/70 sign and if you asked about the time deal.....it'd only be confusion about why you need two speeds.  

Three Things I Noticed Today

 1.  Down in Stuttgart, at the local commercial runway/airport....a Air Force (US) C5 cargo plane landed.  It's attracted a lot of attention.  Seems empty and there to pick up something.  Page one news for Germans tonight.  

My wife asked....I responded that it's brought in 400 pallets of Pop Tarts....the commissary system is in short supply.  She's not buying it.

2.  Some kind of poll was done this AM, and it would seem the new BSW is taking 12-percent on numbers.  CDU-CSU is still in first place with 27 percent.  

3. Just awful warm temperatures (for Oct) expected for next week in central Germany....way out of whack.

Wagenknecht Press Conference This AM

 So, the week starts.....hype over the German political party by Sahra Wagenknnecht.

As of this AM, Wagenknecht and the players in her new party resigned from the Linke Party.

The agenda?

First, she says the Scholz coalition (SPD-Greens-FDP) is the worst government of Germany "in history".  Some would argue since 1948, but these are her words.  If you asked a hundred Germans....I'd suggest that sixty percent readily agree things are crapped-out.

Second, sanctions against Russia cut the nation off from cheap Russia natural gas.  Again, most Germans would agree there.

Third, education policy and infrastructure are in bad shape.  'Lack of investment' is uttered.  She points at the Merkel coalitions for this problem.  Again, most Germans would at least agree that education policy is a serious problem.

Fourth, she utters that a 'economic policy of reason' needs to replace the current environmental situation (the Green Party agenda).  Here, it's going to be seriously divided....a third of the nation probably believes in the Green agenda to the extreme level.

Fifth, minimum wage needs to go up....so she says.  Currently, set at 12 Euro per hour. This might be hard to convince industry and commerce on.  It would trigger serious inflation if it went to 16 Euro an hour.

Sixth, she believes the government should push more on 'detente' than spend more on defense.  Right-wing and right-of-center folks probably won't buy this.

Seventh, she talks of a right to people's opinions....that having one single position or belief....is unworthy of a democracy.  Basically, I think she'd agree that Twitter needs to stay up and be functional.....something that the EU has a problem with.

Eighth, some talk came up about the poor people of Germany not having much standing with the gov't.  If you convinced the welfare class of Germany to side with you....that would move about 15-percent of the vote to the party (by itself).

Ninth, the party intends to run for the EU election in spring of 2024.  On this....it has to bother some SPD, Green and CDU folks.  It's possible (I believe) that this party of Wagenknecht could take 30-percent of the vote.  

Tenth, migration?  She talks about current migration has to be curtailed in some way, then oddly says....the right to asylum must be allowed to continue.  Odd statement.....one statement might make far-left folks happy.....the other making far-right folks happy.  But she adds that recruitment of non-Germans would add to the success of commerce.  

Eleventh, she kinda blames the EU and says they aren't helping commerce....more of a case of hindering it. 

Finally, she gets to Gaza, and says a two-state situation has to exist in the end.  She doesn't say how this would occur.  

Right wing or left wing chatter?  Mostly left wing talk.  Who would move into this vote-camp?  Mostly welfare-class, probably half to two-thirds the voters of the Linke Party, and maybe 10-to-20 percent of the AfD.  Just getting the welfare class to show up and vote...would pump up another 10-percent minimum of the national vote (usually 65-percent of public shows up to vote).  

The failures of the Merkel and Scholz eras, and the Green Party?  Well....gaping wounds and she's pecking at them.  A lot of these failure to act....give this party room to operate.  That's the weird part of this story.  It's 25 years of stumbling around and sometimes accidentally resolving things.

Yesterday

 I ended up on Sunday afternoon in Wiesbaden, and happened to be at a city park where a drug-dealer was set-up.

Yeah, it's one of the oddball things you notice now.

Cocaine sales going on....behind a shrub or two...city park area.

Something you would not have noticed twenty years ago in the city.

Non-German dealer?  Yeah, that was apparent as well.

The world evolves, and you simply have to get used to the new landscape.

This Wagenknecht 'New' Party Concept?

 There's supposed to be some information flow today over Sahra Wagenknecht's new political party and it's dynamics.

Who is supposed to 'fit' into this?  Well....the suggestion is that far right people for the AfD Party and some members of the Linke Party (far left) would fit quietly and happily into this Wagenknecht Party.

Personally?  It's hard for me to imagine far-right-wing guys sitting happily in a pub and getting chatty with far-left-wing guys.

Putting topics up on a board that both groups could agree upon?  Normally, I'd say it's impossible.

AfD folks just walking off (away) from the party stance?  That's another odd thing to suggest.

Getting left and right wing folks to agree on a asylum/immigration theme?  Just not possible.

A lot of this 'thrill' of the new party just being BS?  I've come to believe that. 

My general forecast?  Whatever Wagenknecht creates....is likely to be a 90-percent attraction thing for the Linke Party voters, and 5-percent of the AfD voters.  Meaning?  This party never goes past 5-to-6 percent of the national vote, and just weakens the Linke Party to the point of non-existence.  

Seven German News Stories

 1.  Anne Will public forum show (ARD, Sunday night, 9:45 PM) had the topic of the Palestinian war business.  So they had CDU political figure Norbert Rottgen on.  He made the comment at some point: "Hamas wants as many Palestinians as possible to  die."

I paused over it....yeah, that's probably one of the top five strategy problems in this mess, and they wouldn't be bothered if 100,000 would die over the next month or two. 

2.  Ulrich Reitz wrote a piece for Focus and talked over the new political party being formed by Sahra Wagenknecht (supposed to be chat points released today).

His gut-feeling?  This political party is likely to have one key reference....to be the anti-Green Party of Germany.

Just about everything that the Green Party pushes....the AfD Party has some negativity about.  So, he believes Wagenknecht will go and focus entirely on being a anti-Green agenda party.

Pretty weird strategy but one factor plays out here....the Greens have had a serious problem in selling their brand of politics over the past two years since joining the SPD coalition government.  

3.  Election over the weekend in Switzerland.  Generally, the right-of-center folks did a 'bump-up' and won in the election.  The Green Party of Switzerland did a 'bump-down' and lost seats in the election.  Rest of the parties all stayed in the same numbers for the most part.  

I don't consider this a radical change, but some folks are a bit stressed over the implications.  Asylum agenda is likely to change and fewer numbers to be accepted.

4.  RBB (the Berlin public TV network) is going to court to demand a quarter-million Euro that the fired director misused for her past salary.  

From the various sources that I've read over her firing....she might have been popular within public TV circles (management friends), but had no mindset on budgets and controlling spending.  This court action?  She might delay this for two years before it goes final, but it's probably going to lay out a number of stupid things she did.  

5.  100 folks (roughly) arrested in Berlin over the non-sanctioned pro-Palestine demonstration from yesterday (Sunday).

6.  I had a ex-German (now American) living in the US.....contact and ask about this 'level-2' terror warning business.

So, the hype is the US State Department deemed Germany (to be honest, 95-percent of the EU is on level 2) to be somewhat safe but you need to be vigilant and prepared for possible terror operations.

What EU countries are still on alert level 1 (safest level)?  Well....Greece, Ireland and Norway.  I won't argue about Greece.  It's probably one of the safest places on Earth presently.  

What countries are on level 3?  That's a curious thing....Turkey and Poland.  Basically, they say unless you really have a good reason, you shouldn't visit either.  Do I consider Poland a problem?  No, but they had that stupid missile (from Ukraine) that landed in eastern Poland, and killed a person or two.  Turkey?  They have that Kurd problem and about every couple of months....another bombing. 

Would I worry about threats in Germany?  Look....compare Frankfurt and NY City.  You are a hell of a lot safer in Frankfurt at 10 PM at night, than in NY City.   You might step in some dog-crap in Frankfurt, or be pick-pocketed, or smell some really funky crap smell....but it's a dozen times more safe there than in SF, Chicago  or NY City.

The terror business?  Well.....that's slightly different.  You always have some nutcase walking around Germany, with a marginal IQ and all mentally screwed up.  Then they get some jihad-thought in their head, and things go 'south'.

7.  Package prepared for Bundestag by the Interior Minister (Faeser, SPD).....to process deportees at a faster pace.  Green Party pretty negative about it.....SPD is counting on support by CDU-CSU and AfD to pass this agenda item.  

For 2022, there were around 13,000 deportations conducted.  Presently, what the government says....around 220,000 are on a list to be hauled off/deported.  This means the application was reviewed, and they did not pass the asylum/migration situation.

Now, I'll just say this....if you go look up the September 2023 numbers....around 20,000 folks illegally entered the country and asked for asylum.  If you were to do the numbers business....at least half of them probably won't pass the German review. 

Politically, this whole issue is a top three problem now, and the public is hyped-up.

When The Expert Is Bad-Off

 I read through a piece over the weekend.....where some clinical therapists are helping juveniles with 'climate-change' anxiety.  So an odd thing has started to occur, where the therapists are engaged in this 'help' to such a degree....that they themselves are having 'climate-change' anxiety (meaning the thought-process passes from the juvenile to the adult.

I sat for a while and pondered over this.  

In my military years, you'd see guys who had been in the 'war-business'...come back, and PTSD or sleep issues were bothering them.  So they'd go to some military clinic to get help.  In about half the cases (after talking the guy bothered by this)....the general process was always to give them guy some type of drug.  I'm not saying these doctors were doing a crappy job, but it seemed like they didn't really want to talk to the guy and get him over his sleep issues or PTSD.

With the therapists?  I would imagine the first thing they'd do is get 'smart' on climate-change and engage with several hyped-up adults, who'd drop a ton of suffering material on them, and likely bring them to some crisis level in dealing with the issue and the juvenile.

Finding a therapist for the original therapist?  Well....I guess that could happen, but wouldn't the new therapist go talk to some hyped-up climate-change experts and get himself/herself all bothered as well?  

Then you gaze over at the juvenile having these anxiety attacks and wonder....if the kid can't get real mental help....what's it do to his life?  

Coffee and Cake at a Premium Shop Today

 The wife and I went into Wiesbaden today, and ended up at a premium coffee and cake shop.

Each with a small cake-like treat, and a small coffee each.....end cost?  18.50 Euro (roughly $20).  

Yeah, it was a bit hefty and a sign of the times on cost.  

A Fee To Enter Cafes, Bars and Resturants in Germany?

 Well...Focus had a business piece today and talked over this topic that the cost of operating bars, cafes and restaurants is escalating in Germany.  Rather than scare people with food/drink prices....there's this crazy idea that you'd charge folks some fee (say 3 to 6 Euro) as they enter your shop (per person).

I paused over this.

My wife (German in nature) would respond 'hell, no' if pushed into going into a pub or restaurant that charged some fee at the door (even if it were two Euro).

My feeling?  We are at some point where beer prices (especially for premium beer) is at a ridiculous rate.  Food?  Cordon Bleu is now around 18.50 Euro to 20.00 Euro.  

I would be guessing that one out of three Germans have cut their monthly beers-out or eating-out routine already.

The fast-food places?  I doubt that they'd go to this fee business, but I could see local pubs and bakery-cafes easily getting into the habit.  I was at one bakery last year where they charge a slightly higher cost for coffee, if you linger and stay inside of their operation....so it was smarter to get a coffee 'to-go'. 

Consequence Thinking

 

I sat for about a minute and pondering over the image. 

Then I asked for the consequence of 2040. 

I realized then....by 2040....we probably won't be wearing underwear.  By 2060?  We probably won't be wearing shorts or pants.

On the positive side?  We won't be needing to grow cotton much anymore.  

Just Odd

 I sat last night (Saturday) and watched the ARD late news (Channel 1 here in Germany, public TV).  In the first five minutes, they ran a video of a pro-Palestinian demonstration here in Germany.  

So the background of this one scene (up for maybe 6 seconds) was eight signs being held by protesters here in this northwestern German city.  The text on the signs?  ALL IN ENGLISH.....nothing in German.  All eight...same language issue.

I pondered upon this. 

Normally, if you view protests about other topics.....the only other topics I can think of where German protests actively use English for the signs...are climate-control (global warming/cooling) or anti-capitalistic slogans.  Even the anti-nuke energy and anti-migrant crowds for the most part....use German for their slogans. 

Yeah, it was just odd.  

Two German News Stories

 1.  Fair sized demonstration from yesterday (Saturday) in Berlin....pro-Palestinian group (maybe 5,000,  so the police say).  

2. Greta Thunberg came up in the ARD (Channel 1) news.  She'd gone to some position on the Palestinian topic (anti-Israel position), and the crew at ARD noted that she judges a conflict that she doesn't understand. One of the few times that they've spoken of her chatter and openly criticized her 'logic'.

My View of Americans Assimilating into German Culture/Lifestyle

 In the mid-80s....on my 2nd tour into Germany....I got into a discussion one night in a college class (my University of Maryland days).  It centered on the amount of effort required to really assimilate into Germany.  

In my mind then, and even today....it requires a lot of effort and enthusiasm.  It's not about language alone.  You have to grasp how certain things are important to a German, and how you rank priorities in life. 

I always found there were certain Americans who went full-throttle and gave 100-percent effort.  There were also the accidental-assimilated guys....who had 700 German phrases they'd memorized, some idea of German food/beer, and weren't in a state of fear about driving a car on German roads/streets.  

The good and bad parts of the American assimilation 'game'?  Most walked in and played the game of the 'good guest'....meaning they stayed out of trouble, and continually tested themselves on the lifestyle.  The bad part?  With a few beers or random acts of stupidity....got themselves deep into trouble.

In one particular year (1979), I made it a priority to test out the twenty-odd German menu items.  In 1984, I decided I'd test at least one-hundred different German beer brands over the year....then realizing that a dozen-odd beers were crap (Bitburger got on that list).  1984 was also the year that I gleaned all understanding of German train schedules, and the value of 72-hour train passes.  

2017?  That was the year that I did the German integration class, and mostly found it lacking.

But to be honest, Americans have trouble assimilating into movement to other US states.  Just moving from Louisiana to Montana....with no language change...it'd be a challenge.  

Just An Odd Public News Thing To Witness

If you were reviewing German public TV (especially ARD, Channel 1) on Tuesday evening....the hype from the Tagesschau over the hospital 'bombing' ran along a particular story (Narrative).  

By the next morning, a fair amount of what you watched via the Tagesschau evening show was then proven to be 'fake' or misinformation.  

I'm not going to say much over it....you could see the same problem with the NY Times and a dozen other 'big-boy' news groups.

What was odd....then out of the woodwork came Andrea Kiewel, who was based out of Israel, and a German public TV reporter for the Tagesschau (ARD news).  She'd tried to convey other facts in the hospital 'attack' and failed to get any real traction with the studio control folks..

Within a day or two, she'd gone to publish a article/piece for the "Judische Allgemeine" newspaper.  

Basically, she blasted the editorial staff of the Tagesschau...using the words....“Those responsible were deaf to everyone’s ears.” 

In simple terms....they were merely a mouthpiece for Hamas BS.

Her criticism?  I'm guessing she's probably finished with ARD, and will just quietly walk off to a lesser organization.  The odds of finding a path to RTL or SAT1?  Well....both have been assembling a decent crew of cast-offs from ARD/ZDF and starting to show some competitive nature.

This criticism lingering a while for German public TV?  I would imagine it'll be remembered for a number of weeks, and they will be under pressure to avoid Hamas hoax stories.  

Yeah, it was just an odd event to play out and witness German public TV news getting clobbered.  

Migration Story

 There's an interesting piece written by Jan Fleischauer today, entitled: "Did We Let The Wrong People Into The County, Time For A Radical Step."

So, he goes into analysis mode and describes the problem of various cultures given a chance to migrate into Germany, and maybe there should have been thought-process to who you let in.

To be honest, I don't think any of the pro-migration German politicians could dream of a negative.  It was simply the reality of the 2013 to 2016 era. 

Around 13.4-million non-Germans live in Germany today.  Out of this, roughly 5-million are from EU states....the rest are non-EU folks.  Americans?  121,000 roughly.  Australians and NZ folks?  Around 17,000.  The bulk?  Turks at 1.5 million and the Afghan/Iraqi/Syrians at roughly 1.4 million.  (2022 numbers)

This discussion comes up because of the Gaza-Hamas business, and recent riots/demonstrations throughout Germany.  

I would argue that a lot of good intentions were put forward by the German leadership, and people wanted to believe in the best possible scenario. 

Fixing or resolving this now?  I don't see how you do that.  If you were to arrest over the next month....10,000 pro-Palestinian folks and threaten to deport them....with court action, they could probably delay this for years....making Germans even more critical of the deportation actions and triggering asylum to collapse.

If this demonstration thing were to continue through the Christmas holidays and cause problems for the Christmas markets?  Oh, that would trigger a lot of negative thoughts about immigration, and the Green Party would find loss of support to be a major problem for their current positions in the coalition.  In that scenario, I could see the SPD asking why maintain this coalition, and ask for a SPD-CDU-CSU government to be installed.

German Gas Prices To Spiral Upward?

 There's talk  that German gas prices will escalate.

Current pricing?  For E10, near the 1.78 to 1.85 Euro (per liter). 

Cause of this worry?  The EU is pushing European emissions trading, and the general feeling by the experts is that gas will rise 38 Euro-cents.  This means....at a minimum....a liter of E10 will run 2.16 Euro.

Yeah, its a big rise, if this occurs.

Affecting the tax rate as well?  Well....you could make the case that 2.16 would really be 2.30 or more in the end, and that would shock most Germans.

Creating more inflation?  Absolutely.  

But the same rise would trigger airline prices to escalate....and grocery prices as well.

Three German News Items

 1.  One of the pieces from WELT today discusses this chatter going on....the suggestion that Scholz (SPD Party) should end the coalition with the Green Party and FDP Party.....then link up with the CDU-CSU Party.  

Odds of this?  Fairly remote.  

Reason to trigger this?  Well...polling numbers are sinking for the SPD, FDP and Greens.  They aren't doing much of a job to sell their coalition 'brand'. 

WELT suggests that the Greens would suffer bad numbers for a while (more than a year), if this were to occur.

What would really change under this idea?  A fair amount of migration issues would be settled in a blunt way....something that the Greens currently can't agree to.

2.  Hundred-year storm going on in north Germany presently (ends this AM).  Lot of damage.

3.  Marburg (Hessen) Fridays-for-the-Future group is dissolving.  Reason?  Well...a fair number of members (juveniles) were of the mind that they didn't have any real prospective/focus.  In a sense, they weren't achieving anything.

Reading through the HR article.....the rationalization that all of this climate chatter led to one center theme....capitalism is the cause of all climate issues.  Blame in their mind....should be put upon politicians and companies.  

Yeah, if you didn't have capitalism issues....climate issues wouldn't exist (will be hard to sell this to the public).  

Just one group in this disappearance situation?  Yeah.

I would imagine within a year....FftF will have to reorganize and drop the climate agenda....being purely anti-capitalism.  That should be an interesting campaign for juveniles to put their energy upon.  

Statistical Crisis To Come

 The Minister of Interior for Germany (Faeser, SPD) has now said in some blunt language....that if you utter hardcore anti-Semitic chatter in public....then you will be assigned the status of being declared 'right-wing' and possibly a threat.  

I pondered over this.  

You have to have a dividing line and some type of criminal code to hand prosecution folks and the police.  So in the simple sense of it....you needed some type of status for the actions likely to occur over the next couple of months (thousands of arrests to come). 

The thing that bothers me....statistical-wise....each of these pro-Palestinian or pro-Hamas folks will be a number added to the right-wing business and project out severe crisis in terms of right-wing agendas....when it's really a pro-Hamas situation, but they didn't want to have that type of 'code' in the works.

Just odd, how things develop.  

Three Likely Things To Occur Out Of This 'War'

 Over the next 90-odd days, I expect a fair amount of riots/demonstrations, and a significant amount of arrests.  In the Berlin case, I expect well over 2,000 arrests and a quarter of them will be making threats or assaults upon the police.  

This action will lead to more and increased demonstrations....as being unfair to Arab-Germans.  Naturally, additional demonstrations in support of the arrested/detained folks will occur.  

Fines?  That will start to get the attention as 1,000 Euro fines are exercised, and you start to see assault-on-cops as a jail offense....where you spend 60 days in some local jail.  Yeah, they will miss work and end up being in a mess for rent.  

Second, you will start to see the Captagon drug marketed more in major urban zones in Germany....to the riot participants.  Politicians will ask where the hell this came from.

Third, and final....as much as the Green Party and pro-asylum folks try to suggest that Middle-Eastern folks should be accepted.....this riot business will turn public opinion to a negative position.  

Divided Germany Discussion

 There was a study done by the German Center For Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM).  By the name, you'd be thinking they were looking at non-Germans in Germany.

Well....no.

They look at east and west Germans (since the wall came down).

Their study says.....about 20-percent of East Germans still feel more East-German than 'German'.

Around West Germans?  Their study said about one in nine folks felt  they were still West German.....than 'German'.

A big deal?

I would say it's pretty much known by most folks.  As much as the political folks and news organizations have tried to sell unified Germany....they can only carry this idea so far. 

Chaos or worry over this?  No....eventually....this crowd will have passed on and the whole divided Germany thing will be forgotten.  At least.....people assume this.

The Odds of Twitter Leaving Europe?

 The odds are evolving but I'd say by spring of 2024....it's better than 50-percent that Elon has to take Twitter (X) out of the EU.  For those in the UK or non-EU countries, Twitter will survive on. I also believe that VPN use will surge, and 3-percent of German society will be still using Twitter,  via VPNs.

All of this leaving a 'stain' on the EU?  My view is that they are inviting a lot of public debate on misinformation/disinformation....being generated by political groups, news organizations, and the EU itself.

The sad thing is that you do all of this right before a EU election, and several opposition parties are going to focus on the BS being generated, and you change the dynamics of the voting outcome.

Twitter a big deal in Germany?  No....that's the funny part of the story.  At best, there are around 14-million accounts (noted at the beginning of 2023).  If you engaged people and asked about daily users?  I have my doubts out of the 84-million population and the 14-million accounts....that you have more than 2-million that really use it frequently throughout the day.

It should be noted....France is in the similar numbers.

A whole lot of hype over nothing?  Well....to keep the 'herd' happy, you need news with certain topics and a focus driven by the political parties in charge.  Twitter (X) changes that dynamic.

What happens when the EU wakes up to realize VPN-use is now a problem?  I'm not sure they can really remedy that, and if they do....they are simply creating a bigger 'monster' down the road to mess with.  

A Court Story

 Interesting court case from yesterday.....by the German Federal Social Court, on trans 'stuff'.

So after a review, they came to say that if you wanted to transform from X to Y (male to female or opposite).....you pay for it yourself.  It won't come out of normal healthcare insurance.

A challenge?  I would suggest if you went to the typical average working-class German and talked up this transformation....there's no way that you have 20,000 Euro sitting around for this surgical business, and you certainly don't have 2,000 Euro a year for drugs required to maintain this situation.  Then you add in the 40-odd man-hours a year for mental clinic therapy?  

So I'll suggest this trend....that only the rich and well-to-do go down the surgical path for trans stuff in Germany.  

How they came to this decision?  I would imagine they added up the cost, and yearly drug situation....realizing the impact on the healthcare insurance program.  

Three German News Stories

 1.  Shocking political push by the Scholz coalition (SPD-Greens-FDP).....they suggested late yesterday that they were now open to the idea of denying citizenship to anyone who was anti-Semitic. Even if you just 'act' in that fashion....in their vision of the problem....you've crossed the line.

Odds of this passing?  At the rate of discussion, I would imagine the law will be crafted within a week, and be ready to pass by the end of November.  But it begs the question....if you are on some 'warning' and can't get citizenship in Germany....shouldn't the temp-visa also fall into play?  

This will end up being a shocker for probably a quarter-million people who were on the 'track' to stay and eventually become Germans.  If you approached them and discussed how it'd be back in the old country....they will grumble a good bit.

2.  This dead Tunisian guy who conducted the shooting attack in Brussels last week?  He'd applied for asylum in four EU countries.  Yeah, there's some history with this guy....but he's dead.

3.  Just an observation over the Gaza hospital propaganda story.  When this first broke....I looked at Google imagery and just simple noted that this wasn't a big hospital.  My humble guess was a 100-bed hospital, with a parking lot on the rear.  Beyond that....I didn't really follow that much of the traditional news in Germany (ARD, ZDF....the public TV folks).  They had a 'story' to tell, and it was mostly Hamas-fed.

So the next day....looking at the picture of the scene, it's obvious that it (a small rocket situation) had hit the parking lot....not the hospital itself.  Crater?  Maybe big enough for a bath-tub or two.  A number of burnt cars.  The whole story laid out from the evening by the TV crowd?  Obviously falling apart.

My issue?  These are all the people who whine about misinformation and disinformation....the big news news crowd.  Yet they participated in the flow of such information, without much analysis or waiting for better facts.  

In some ways....it's the best they can do, because they've marginalized the news business to a level of crap.  

Yeah, I'm skeptical to the 9th degree but you might understand how I got to this level of being skeptical. 

Riots in Berlin

 Berlin cops say from last night....65 police officers were injured/wounded from the pro-Palestinian riots breaking out.   The water-cannon vehicle was brought out at one point.

City mayor (Wegner, CDU Party) has attacked the hype building up.  

I noticed one Jewish Rabbi made the comment that 'Gaza appears to be some  neighborhood now of Berlin' (in terms of support).

NFL-Swift Hype in Germany

 It is a curious story....there's supposed to be a NFL game in Frankfurt on the 5th of November....KC Chiefs versus the Miami Dolphins.

Chatter has started up that it's possible that Taylor Swift may now show up because of her new boyfriend player (for the Chiefs).

How much hype is created by this story?  Fair amount.

To be honest, she's supposed to be schedule for 7 concerts in mid-summer of 2024....in Germany....all high-capacity arenas.  So yeah, it's a big deal if she shows up in Frankfurt on the 5th.

Legalization of Weed in Germany?

 Well....there's supposed to be a open talk in the Bundestag today over the topic.

The draft bill?  200 pages.....so it's not a easy read.

Divided?  OH YES, and some folks are bringing up that the EU has rules against legalization....so all this effort might be for no real purpose.

If you asked the public?  I would gauge that the 18-to-40 crowd would be mostly for legalization (over 50-percent).  The over-50 crowd would be mostly against legalization.  

What the draft bill says....up to 25 grams per individual (per month) would be legal to buy/carry.  

If you asked me on the failure potential with the SPD-Green-FDP 'promise'?  I'd say it's probably not going to occur, and a fair number of voters would say that this is another demonstration of how poorly the coalition is performing.  

My view?  It doesn't matter if you legalize or not....it's already here and probably used by one-third of the public in the age group of 18-to-40.  

Five German News Stories

 1.  Last night in Berlin?  A fair number of protests by pro-Palestinian folks.  Several cars lit on fire, and police injured from thrown objects.

2.  WELT points out this AM....a fair number of German news publications bought into the Gaza hospital being hit by a Israeli rocket.  As WELT says....the story was mostly false, and handed out by the Hamas folks, with no real verification by the news sources.

3.  Monument statue discovered in Turkey at a site....of a guy's penis....2.3 meters tall (7.5 ft).  Symbiology is unknown.  

4.  German authorities have gone to releasing poisonous Adder snakes into upper Franconia....to restore 'balance' to nature.  Signs have had to go up....warning hikers of the new situation.  

5.  There's a fair amount of chatter over the possibility that the EU will cease access to Twitter.  Interesting on the timing of this....coming with the EU election in the spring of 2024, and the possibility that a criticism may start up over this EU tactic to control chatter.

Just Odd

 Back in my Air Force years, I was sent to a week-long seminar on terrorism. One the big events of the week....they took to the out-back of the base, and blew up a car on some pavement.  

X-amount of explosive....result?  A crater, and a flipped over car.  Yeah, it was impressive.

So when I looked at the photo of this Palestinian hospital....it was a curious thing for me. 

First, if it had been a Israeli rocket/missile/bomb....it would have flatten the entire building. This was not the case....it ended up in the rear parking lot.  It's not a huge parking lot....I'd say maybe 25 to 35 cars max could fit there.

Second, the 'crater' is probably big enough to fit a bath-tub or two into.  Again, that doesn't fit the normal profile of a explosive that Israel would use.  Max of maybe half-a-meter deep.  

Damage?  Burnt cars.....maybe one or two turned over, the rest just burnt.  Building damage?  Windows knocked out, but not much damage.

So the odds of this being a Hamas rocket?  I'd give it almost 99-percent chance.  

500 dead?  Well....if there were 500 in the parking lot at the time.....yeah, it might be true.  But were they all there for some smoke-break?  Evening hours, I might believe thirty-odd people standing there and dead.    

New Political Party Forming?

 Well....yes, sort of.  Sahra Wagenknecht (of the left-leaning Linke Party) has announced that she's making up a new political party.

Name? For Reason and Justice Party.  Yeah, an odd name.

Presently, the Linke Party is sinking (probably would not get 5-percent in the next federal election).  She has some belief that she can take most of what remains, and have some odd situation that might attract AfD voters.  

Any evidence or polling of who would vote along her party standing?  No.

Would far-left-leaners and far-right-leaners party-up?  I just don't see that as a reasonable expectation.

Does Wagenknecht even attract people with her speeches?  I give her some credit.....she's probably a decent 3-star speaker.  

Here's the one odd thing....there are three eastern state elections in 2024, and they would attract a fair amount of far-left and far-right voters.  If you were timing this....yeah, it'd be the right time to bring this party to life and attract attention.

Just Three Odd Things You Notice In Germany Presently

 First, mentions of Ukraine have dropped like a rock over the past two weeks.  You can watch both morning and evening news (via ARD/ZDF, public TV) and it might only be mentioned once every three days with the war business.

Second, just a awful lot of anti-Semitic chatter daily from migrant-guests of Germany.  Police are attempting to control the demonstrations but having marginal success.

Third, the last folks in Germany with any perception of inflation, wage issues, and poverty.....are Green Party leaders.  It's almost painful to have them on the public forum shows and being asked questions related to the marginal class of Germany.  

The Work-Week Chatter

 There was a WELT piece today that talked over this hot topic in Germany....a four-day work-week.  Lot of public chatter over this topic.

WELT talked to an expert from Belgium where this is being tried on a limited basis.  Chief problem?  Stress....to achieve results in a shorten period of time.  

I'm not a big proponent of the concept.  In certain limited cases....where you have 38 hours figured into four days....for special types of people, it probably works.  I think the majority of people (men and women) aren't 'wired' in a way to get the job done in a shorten period.

This idea that the Bundestag might 'mandate' it being normal?  I don't see the emphasis being there. Daycare for kids probably ranks higher with the public. Even the housing crisis ranks higher.  

Even if you approached employers about this....I would imagine fewer than a quarter of them see this as achievable.  

Not Something Talked About In Frankfurt

 Back in the summer (June), there was a finals game between Leipzig and Frankfurt's soccer teams....the  championship game.

Prior to this....the city of Frankfurt (organized by the city council) prepared a celebration to occur (expecting the team to win).

So they organized various things, and signed contracts.  Cost factor?  On the books, they were responsible for 1.2-million Euro (fair sum of money).

Well....Frankfurt Eintracht lost.  There was no celebration.

The team in some way agreed to contribute around 350,000 Euro to this pot of money....for a celebration that was not going to occur.  The city?  It got stuck for the remaining 850,000 Euro.

If you ask around....maybe 10-percent of the population knows of the scandal.  

Stupid way of wasting a million Euro?  Yeah.....but no one says much.

Five German News Stories

1.  From last night, German national soccer team played Mexico....getting a 2:2 score in the end.  Some frustration from the fans.

2.  Nancy Faeser, the SPD Interior Minister, is under a fair amount of pressure to resign.  Statement from yesterday.....'no' was the answer, she will not resign (yet).

3.  Police in Berlin ended up bringing out the water cannon to disperse Hamas-supporters in town.  Police were attacked as they tried to halt the demonstration.

4.  This attack in Brussels from 2 nights ago (2 dead, 1 wounded)....is apparently the work of ISIS members (so they claim).  Might be BS.

5.  1 FSV Mainz 05 (the pro soccer team) has terminated the contract of a player after a pro-Palestine social media statement.  

Political Chatter

 FORSA (the survey folks) did a political survey, and the FDP folks (part of the SPD coalition)....if the election were held today, would fall below 5-percent.  Meaning?  Well....they wouldn't earn any seats in the Bundestag in the next election....they would be out.

I'm guessing a bunch of FDP political folks are grumbling about this.

If this trend were to hold?  Well....you'd end up with the CDU-CSU folks, the SPD, Greens, and AfD.  I should note already that the Linke Party is marginally at 5 percent, and probably would also be out.  

Yeah, it'd be a pretty rough Bundestag for four years, if only the four were there.  

Laws Story

 About 15 years ago in my old office....we got into a discussion about crazy laws in Germany, and we each knew of at least one.  Occasionally, I'll see a reminder about this topic.  So today.....3 of these crazy laws:

1.  You can get into a car and drive around with no clothing on (nude).  There's never been a law created which limits your clothing while in a car (at least in Germany, I can't speak for the rest of the EU).  Now, if you going around and flashing at people....that would involve a law.  But as long as you are driving 'normal'.....you can be nude.

2.  If you hire some German....you have to offer a office with a window (able to open) unless you have a central-air ventilation system.  Yeah, it's one of those safety and health regulations.

3.  Riding a bicycle while intoxicated.....will result in a ticket.  They can even apply the stupidity test, if you have a regular car license in your possession, while drunk on a bike.  The same ticket would apply to be drunk on a horse, or drunk on a E-scooter.  About the only way you can travel while intoxicated....is by walking. 

There is a 4th example....which I've never been able to find the law text to prove it's a federal law.  Someone suggested to me that if you give a name to your new baby in Germany....it has to be something that is pronounceable (at least to a German).  It supposedly is not possible to have a 44-letter first name (German logic at work, I would imagine).  

Curious Trend

 I noticed off Focus this AM....commentary from the 'Fridays-for-the-Future' spokesperson.....on two interesting topics.

This was Elisa Bas:

1.  More or less, she came out with a pro-Gaza Strip statement (naturally anti-Israel).  

2.  Then she got onto a tirade about about 'white supremacy', which is hard to figure out where that came from or how it'd relate in Germany to teenagers (about 99-percent of Friday-for-the-Future crowd is 'white'.

Then her accounts on both FB/Instagram went down (apparently deleted).

Just my humble thoughts....she's been hanging around a group who are not FftF, and got indoctrinated into some new trendy stuff.  I suspect her days as the spokesperson for FftF are done.

If you pay attention to the 'words' of FftF....they keep it rather simple for the teenage/juvenile crowd, and only focused on climate stuff.  They don't usually branch off on non-climate chatter.  

The Flat-Rate Card?

 Yes, there is a German railway card that you can buy for a year.....pay one price on day one, and travel freely for a year....1st-class....at a cost of roughly 7,350 Euro.

Who buys such a card?  Well....some Germans do.   

I would imagine if you lived 100 km away from your job, and you had a ICE (high-speed rail) connection....it'd make sense in some weird way.  You'd talk your wife into driving you to the station each morning....quietly spend an hour on the train and doing work, arrive, and that evening return home...doing another hour of office work.

Three German News Stories

 1.  I noticed out of WELT this AM....an article with the German authorities announcing they've come to an all-time record of 'cheating' on the German driver's test.  What's the deal about?

Well....there might have been a level of cheating going on for years and they just didn't notice all the tricks being played....this, I might suggest.

I've taken the German driver's test three times in my life (1978, 1984, and 1992).  It was the US military Germany test.  I'll vouch and say....it's not simple.  

It was divided into two portions.....a sign test and the general theory test.  

The sign test?  Roughly one-hundred signs and a hundred definitions, with a limited amount of time.  If I remember it correctly.....you had roughly ten to fifteen seconds per sign, and for most people (I'd suggest near 40-percent)....they failed on the first attempt.  You have to have a style or method to the signs, and not waste much time.

The theory test?  You were given a manual to read over and there was a practice test in the end.  If you just spent three hours reading the manual and memorized the practice test....you were guaranteed to pass. 

My perception of this cheating?  I think a fair number of migrants are in the mix, and this level of testing is pretty dramatic for these folks.  

2.  Shooting in Brussels?  What I can say is that a Tunisian guy (45 years old) shot dead two Swedes on the street.  3rd guy was wounded.  Update: Cops shot the Tunisian dead after the search.  

3.  The fired RBB TV network (one of the sub public TV networks in Germany) director....wants her retirement pension restored.  Goes to court.  I would imagine the court will say that even though she was fairly incompetent at handling network funds.....she does deserve something.  

What Was The Poland Election About In The End?

 Well....the opposition parties made this election about potential regulation/laws on lessening women's rights to drink.  Yes, it is that crazy and stupid.

So for the record, the Law and Justice Party (right-wing) won with 36-percent of the vote.  The second place?  The Civic Coalition Party came with 31-percent.  To get a coalition gov't in place?  The Civic Coalition folks can band-together with 3rd place The Third Way Party and the New Left Party.....to run the Polish Parliament.  

What one can say.....yes, there is this population problem (national population at 37.7-million).  Basically stalled....no growth.  

Around a year ago....the conservative Law and Justice Party folks started to talk about this problem with a different view....there's too much drinking going on....particularly with women.

I  went to view facts, and there just aren't any facts to say alcohol is the cause of the population issue, or that women are the heavy drinkers.

Binge drinking? There's a foundation that studied Poland and found that roughly half-a-million binge drinkers do exist. WHO said in 2018.....around 2.5 million Poles do drink excessively (avoiding the term 'binge').   

OECD says that Polish males consume 18.4 liters of hard-alcohol per year.....while Polish women only consume 5.6 liters.  They then added that Polish women are 62% more likely to binge drink monthly....if they complete higher education (meaning college).  

So what the left-of-center parties did in the past year.....as the campaign got pushed....was to convince women that some type of law or regulation was going to come to affect them in particular (rather than both men and women).  

Yeah, it is a bit amusing but it apparently worked.  

You have to ask the question now.....will the left-of-center coalition go to some type of alcohol control....to lessen the booze problem in Poland?  I would suggest about a year into this coalition....when women have forgotten the key issue....some type of tax or regulation will occur.

My general belief on binge-drinking?  I used to work with a guy who could go 364 days a year with just one single beer a day, and once a year....go to some binge situation (enough to collapse on the floor).  This binge issue eventually caused him to have a stroke and loose some use of his one leg.

Cheap cost of booze one part of the binge situation?  I'd go and suggest that.  It's hard to binge off wine or beer.  If you tripled-up the tax on the hard stuff....it'd shift around the binge situation.  

In the end, this was an election about boozing-up and binging....just kinda odd to suggest that.

EU Story

 All that chatter from the EU a couple of months ago....about forcing everyone in Europe to haul-off and do renovations to meet some EU 'standard' for heating?  

Well....if you read through WELT today, the EU agenda appears now to have almost no support outside of the EU headquarters, and finding any party in Germany who supports it....is just about impossible.

Just dropping this agenda?  At the present pace, I'd say by December....this is pretty doomed and will just be another EU 'great' idea without much support.

Were German houses in crappy condition on energy consumption?  Well.....there are three observations I can make:

1.  I think at the apartment-level.....if this EU renovation thing were forced....I'd be guessing that a quarter of all apartments would have issues, and trigger massive cost issues for owners to hand to the renters....to reach this degree of heating.

2.  Most homes...if they were built in the past fifty years....I think they met the conditions that the EU were talking about.  

3.  Going beyond the German border?  No one could really say how each country was to be affected, and that was a problem in trying to analyze this and make a prediction.  

I approached my German wife on this issue....with our house, and she was rather blunt....she was finished on upgrading and just wasn't a happy camper over the idea of more cost being applied to her. 

Nutcase Story

 This story of a Syrian refugee guy being pushed off a bridge, by a German guy?  BS?  No...completely true.

What I can  say from reviewing in three sources here in Germany.....at some point on Friday, a German guy in his late-20s had some short discussion (no one even says the Syrian responded much), and then pushed the Syrian guy (early 20s) off the stone bridge in Regensburg (Bavaria).

Height to the water?  15 meters (50 ft).  Yeah, it's enough that the Syrian guy was probably had the crap scared out of him, and I doubt that the Syrian could swim.

The German guy?  From what the cops have said....he's regarded as a nutcase.

This charge of attempted homicide?  It'll lay there on the books, but I'm guessing the judge will mandate a mental review, and the German won't pass....meaning he gets a permanent ticket to a clinic. 

What created this talk/discussion between the two?  Unknown.  I suspect even the Syrian was amazed at the nutty behavior displayed.

This goes back to my view of Germany today.....you need to constantly be vigilant of your surroundings.  Even German nutcases are a problem that might occasionally pop up.

The Odds Of US Installations In Germany Going Away?

 We are at an interesting point where the SPD (left-of-center) chatter, along with the Green Party chatter, and AfD Party positions (far-right) are centered on the US installations going away, and this present majority is more than 50-percent combined.  

Yeah, it's an odd thing where the left and far-right agree on something.

If you asked me of this 'change' coming in the next ten years?  I'd respond and say it's probably higher than a 50-percent chance.  

Would the US leave Europe entirely?  I doubt it.....there's at least three or four countries (Poland in the mix) that would be easily motivated to take a US base or two.  

As long as Russia exists in the present form, and representing something 'more' of a threat....there's likely to be a significant US presence in Europe. 

Is the current footprint a lot smaller than fifty years ago?  OH YES.  You can go and list the installations that existed in the 1960s/1970s....more than half have gone away entirely.  If you go to Darmstadt or Hanau....a lot of Army posts have been changed into German housing.  

Germany: Riding Lawn-Mower Insurance?

 It came out today that the Scholz coalition (SPD-FDP-Greens) plan on mandating you as a private citizen or as a commercial operation....must have insurance if you own/operate a riding lawn-mower.  

Commentary by the insurance industry?  So far this weekend....they said it sounds a bit ridiculous, and presently, they don't have rates or any idea just how much you plan on.

This going hand-in-hand with EU regulations?  Well....yeah, that is part of the story.  It also goes to farm vehicles, but most them were tagged and had some type of insurance already in the mix.  

My view?  I have three issues:

1.  If you mandate it....it's barely an 'inch' or two more, to mandate bicycle insurance or E-scooter insurance.  

2.  Couldn't non-riding mowers be quickly identified for the same mandate?

3.  Cost factor is mostly unknown, but I can't see it being less than 25 Euro a year.  

Do Germans get big into riding mowers?  For the most part....no.  In my village of 400 homes...I doubt if you'd find more than ten riding mowers....people just don't own enough yardage to make it a requirement. 

The Compulsory Work 'Idea'

 This weekend, the CDU Party folks (right-of-center) came to suggest that to get welfare payments....if you are 100-percent healthy.....you need to either find work situations, or the government should assign some type of compulsory work.  This is from the General Secretary of the party....so it's not some BS chatter....they are serious about this agenda item.

Problems?

Well, first, they don't say what kind of work or how you'd invent this out of thin air.  Propaganda value?  Maybe a eight (out of a 1-to-10 scale).  But it's not realistic.

So, onto the second problem....even if you mandate this compulsory business, a fair number of these people don't have skill-craft situations or any background worth talking about.  So you have 30 or 40 year old people on Citizens money (welfare)....probably in the range of 600,000 (at least that's the journalist's comment).....who don't have much to offer for work, other than raking leaves, planting trees, serving drinks at some bar, or park maintenance.

Then to the third problem....will the court system get involved and say the government doesn't have the right to force work out of you?  I sat and pondered over this for a while, and actually believe there's nothing in German Constitution that would allow you to mandate forced work.  

So how would the public see this agenda?  I'd suggest three-quarters of the public (even SPD voters) would readily agree on this idea, and you'd only find the Green Party in solid agreement against.  The SPD politicians?  I'm guessing they would ask where this work would be invented.

The key statement?  Well....the CDU folks said that 'healthy' welfare folks were the ones they were talking about.  If you went and did the physical and mental exam business....out of each hundred of German Burger-geld (welfare) recipients.....I think at least half would have some physical problem, alcohol or drug issues, or some mental issue which prevent work production.  

Wooden Credit Cards?

 I noticed in German business news this AM....chatter over a new trend.  Some banks are hooked to public perception of plastic being 'evil'.....so they've invented a wooden credit card, where the chip is embedded and a strip is on the rear so you can swipe.

There is a Wiesbaden company which has gotten into the trend.

An oddity?  Yeah, I'd say that.  But there is so much focus on negativity about plastic these days....I think you could easily talk half of the general public into accepting wood cards instead.  

My Five Humble Thoughts On German Migration/Immigration/Asylum

 First, someone going back to the 1960s....should have written a ironclad rule and said X-number of applicants per year would be accepted.

There should have some PhD economist team that assessed the economy, housing, time to integrate and written a formula to say what the X-number was and how it could go up and down....relative to the status of the country.

Second, each applicant should have been entered into a mental and physical exam.  TB testing?  Yeah.  Mental exam?  Yeah.  IQ level exam?  Yeah.  Criminal record required to prove you aren't a problem?  Yeah.

Third, showing up without a ID or passport?  That should have been an immediate barrier and no approval for any status or funding should have been allowed.  

Fourth, felony crime situation in the first 24 months?  Anything involving serious drug trafficking, assault, or gang activity?  That should have been a police-pick-up situation, and a review by a judge to hold you until you could be deported.  This whole 'bad-boy' business should have been explained in detail on day one of acceptance.

Fifth and final, some German political group should have assessed over thirty years ago....housing issues and how lack of housing would prevent increased numbers of refugees or asylum seekers.  If your motivation is to house refugees in some steel container building for three or four years....it creates a poor motivational tool for thinking you are part of the 'community' or society.  

Five German News Stories

 1.  The Nagelsmann era in German soccer (for the national club) started last night.  Germany played the US....winning 3:1.  

I watched around 20 minutes of the first half (half-time 1:1).  I will just say it was a average game....nothing much to say over the American squad (they are still a decade away from having a 4-star team).  

At least it made the viewers happy...new coach....finally winning.

2.  Two Green Party mayors made comments via Focus interview....mostly disgruntled over the German federal policy on asylum/immigration.  Increasing number of German state/local leaders wanting some type of major change in the program.

3.  Two German military planes being used to take Germans 'stuck' in Israel out. 

4.  The EU says it will triple humanitarian aide to Palestine.  

5.  There was some BS-chatter that Cristiano Ronaldo (the famous soccer player), while visiting Iran....had broken some rule and was set to get 99-lashes.  Iran had to actually put out a public statement and say 'no such action' had occurred.  What this revolved around?  Some group had identified a handicapped Iranian girl who watches all of his games, and Ronaldo had agreed to meet the girl....kissing her on the head (a Portuguese thing) in the greeting.  

After This Friday Chancellor's 'Big' Meeting On Refugees

 The CDU-CSU folks were in attendance at this meeting with the Premier-Presidents of the states, and the Chancellor.  So the interesting to come out of this.....the CDU-CSU group handed a 26-point document to Scholz, asking for further changes.

Of interest?

First, they want a number of refugees to be accepted per year....of 200,000, then no more.  So if Germany reached that point by April....the door would be shut in some way.  Odds of this being accepted?  I'd say presently....zero.   Where the number of 200,000 came from?  Out of thin air.

Second, they want the money given to refugees....to be NO higher than what German welfare pays out to Germans.  This would be a pretty easy item to approve and the public would readily agree on.

Third, rights to remain after failing the asylum application request.....should be reduced.  How they'd accomplish this?  Unknown.  

Fourth, the CDU-CSU folks want the EU to fund border control....aggressively.  Even if Scholz agreed to this....getting the EU to agree would be nearly impossible.

Fifth, 'safe' countries need to be expanded upon (to include all of northern Africa). 

Sixth and final, there's this suggestion of creating transit zones and holding centers at the borders....for those who obviously won't be approved because they come from a 'safe' country.  The borders?  Well....both Czech and Switzerland got mentioned.  I'm pretty sure both would be peeved if suddenly 300 refugees bound for Germany....were turned back and forced back into Czech or Switzerland.  

Scholz accepting or motivated for any of these?  Here in 2023....NO.  Maybe as we progress in 2024....the next 'fix' will be required to change the public's perception, and two or three of these ideas will be dragged out to put into some form.

The refugee issue....now a top three thing for future German elections?  Yeah, and that's also motivating the EU. 

Do People Want To Believe In Something, Even If A Fraud?

 Over the years, I've come to believe people (doesn't matter if they are German, Brit or American)....want to believe in something, even if it's marginally true, or possibly totally a fraud.

This goes across the whole spectrum, from politics to sports.....from economics to crime.

Before the news became a 24-hour thing?  You probably had five or six things that you deeply cared about and had an opinion on.  Today?  I'd suggest that if you reviewed your feelings......you might say there's well over 300 things that you think about and have some opinion on.

On the positive side?  Well....they aren't saying they support corruption, or war, or misinformation.  

The trend leading us to what landscape?  You end up with people coming up to you and wanting to seriously engage on stupid crap....with poorly designed opinions, and expecting you to collapse to their level of thinking.  Your best tactic.....stall them and counter that your car muffler has been showing issues, or that that bad rash on your leg as returned.  

Three German News Stories

1.  The IQB (educational folks) organization went and did a survey on German 15-year old kids.  What they say?  About one out of three German kids in this group can't read at their level.....in fact, they use the term.....reading at the most marginal level expected of a 15-year old kid.  This also goes over to reading comprehension....where one out of three can't comprehend what they read or what it means.

Oddly, the test covered English, and kids seem over the past couple of years to have improved their English knowledge/use.

So you can ask the question....are German kids developing a long-term problem?  This survey was careful not to suggest that kids are only reading at the 5th grade level, but after reading the piece several times....I kinda wonder if this is the consequence of crappy school instruction.

But the hidden part of this story?  You kinda wonder....this group of one-third of kids....are they mostly migrant-kids (non-German)?  I paused over this and would suspect that if you did arrive in the past five years....it's a pretty good chance that if you were in the test group here....you probably don't speak/read/write that well in German (even if you had five years of school).

2.  WELT had a piece coming from the EU leadership....suggesting a massive wave of refugees is likely out of the Palestinian-Israel war.  Who gets them, or will accept this?  Unknown.  

Hamas eventually networked into Europe?  I don't think any country wants that type of arrangement.

3.   Frankfurt court stepped in and have approved a Palestinian demonstration for today (Sat), when the city authorities had forbid it.  Probably to be a large police presence.