Thursday, November 28, 2024

28 November 2024: 10 German News Stories

 1.  I mentioned the EU chatter.....more smoking limits.  Well....the rest came out today (for their 'draft' mandate).  No space within train stations would be in the regulation for stations.  Outdoor pools?  Whole  pool complex...would be off-limits.  Balconies?  They actually listed that too.  Parking lots?  Left off the list but I would imagine that would come up shortly.

Passage?  I have my doubts on this one.  Individual countries might not agree with the wording (particularly balcony limits).  

I have a general rule in the apartment....no smoking on the interior...go to the balcony and smoke. If this EU regulation  came through?   Well....the guests would walk out to the front-door and smoke on the door-step (I imagine). 

2. Experts say (out of Focus) that these EU-mandated 'tied-bottle-caps'......have zero affect, and some people are just ripping the caps off anyway.

3.  Lot of chatter from Ford-Germany.....indications  of  announcement shortly...job cuts.

4.  Home raid in Kassel....drugs involved.  Police find a hand-grenade.

5.  Several Russian journalists were denied entry-papers/work-permits for Germany.  Russia has now said....ARD (public TV, Channel 1) journalists will be given short period to pack and leave Russia.

6.  Polling done....Germans (over 50-percent) approve abortion rule changes...extending time up to 12 weeks.  CDU has said they will counter it.  

7.  If you've ever been to a German station.....you remember the white/yellow bulletin posters....telling you the leave/arrival time of trains?  Well...mid-December...those go away.  You will only get the info via the Bahn App.

Amazing change.  Compared to 1978, when I got to Germany, and this was one of the ten key things I learned in a hurry.

8.  German gov't has agreed to 'fund' a find-your-bunker APP.  I asked my German wife over this....she thought most all of them in the Wiesbaden area had been dismantled. 

They mention for Frankfurt....a lot of the underground subways will be listed.  But we have zero subways in Wiesbaden (at least presently).  

My humble guess....there's probably a App or two already existing for  toilets or pubs.....so the functionality is already there....you just need the listings.

The fact that this comes up three years into the Ukraine-Russia war?  Yeah....it is a bit odd.

9.  There is apparently some discussion going on in Rome....creating evenings at the Coliseum.....where you the high-paying guest....would dress up as gladiators, and have a 'rough' evening of play-fighting.  Locals trying to generate more income off the structure. 

Another group countering this....saying there's enough income  coming in already, you don't need more tourism.

No one really says what the cost would  be (I'd be curious how they charge on this).  I bet it's a minimum of 400 Euro to have some dinner, get rental 'armor', and to be trained in some play-warfare...for some 2-hour 'thrill-tour'.

10.  Crazy accident this morning (6 AM) in Kassel.....truck-load of glue flipped over on the autobahn. 

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