Tuesday, March 26, 2024

26 March 2024: Five German News Stories

 1.  WDR piece....involving German language tests for migrants, and cheating going on.  From what they say....some folks have an advanced copy of the test, and were selling the test for 250 Euro.  

If you go figure the numbers...it's around 360k folks a year who take some portion of the test. 

As for the method of getting the test answers?  It seems like the test comes in a protective envelop, and one of the facility people in the process of opening the envelop...filmed the pages, and then laid it out in some format.

2.  The Bahn (railway folks) and the union folks....have come to mutual agreement.....so the strikes will end now.

Starting in 2029.....Bahn folks will be on a 35-hour work-week.  Cost impact?  Yet to be discussed, but I would imagine at least a couple thousand additional employees have to be hired, and the ticket prices bump up 10-percent. 

3.  There's a German government discussion going on...in the open....about what they did 'right' and 'wrong' during Covid.  Presently, I'd say the criticisms are starting to amount to a fair amount, and the 'experts' (interviewed nightly)....have lost 'status'.

4.  Various journalists are picking apart the Moscow attack (no metal detectors or private security there that evening) and suggesting that this was all staged by Putin himself.

I'm not convinced yet.....but this Muslim cleric who 'paid' the four....hasn't been readily identified.

5.  Hart Aber Fair public forum TV show topic from Monday night?  "The Citizens' Money Debate: More Pressure, More Sanctions, More Justice?"

A lot of public criticism over German welfare (Citizen's Money, or Burgergeld).  In present form to last?  I'd say as the coalition fades in 2025, and whatever comes next....the welfare program will evolve into something else. I'm not saying it gets better or anything.

No comments: