Generally, if you watch a fair amount of German public TV (ARD and ZDF, or the sub networks)....about once a month, you will get a dose of some documentary or news piece which talks to the issue of a car-free society.
It's not openly talked about when this idea started up but I suspect it came in the early 1990s, after some German activists watched a couple of Hollywood productions where the movie portrayed the future without cars.
The general idea is that you'd go and develop bike-paths, painful decisions for car owners, improve tram and bus lines, and make the whole bus-train business 'free' (something often discussed).
How close are we to this idea? To advance the concept, Chancellor Merkel agree to five to six German cities (some large, some small) in getting a fair amount of funding to create 'free' public transportation. Buses and trams would be added, and all of this in the cities selected...would be free. A test would be accomplished and in five years....results would be discussed.
Most think the tests will go positive, but the cost impact will be something that simply cannot be accomplished German-wide, unless you really raised taxation, and the rural parts of the nation would be left to survive with nothing changed.
Public discussion over this 'fantasy'? Just to suggest that all gas/diesel new car sales end in 2030...is taking some Germans to a shock level, and it's hard to imagine the whole nation going to battery-power by that point, with only used gas/diesel cars left.
The position that you see is that some politicians would like for a push by the government to make people adjust their lives to a new lifestyle. Journalists do their part to advance the idea of car-free civilizations existing, with the idea popping up and suggesting how it'd all work. In their mind, there is nothing ever negative about this car-free city idea. I tend to agree but just don't see this maturing at the rate they suggest. And if you live 40 kilometers outside of some car-free-zone....the odds are that you will find the rules established to control your entry (via a car) to make your life miserable.
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
"We Think You Can Do Something About It"
Usually when someone says this statement, they are about do something to really screw things up....especially if this is a German making the statement.
Well....if you go look at ARD (German public TV, Channel One) today, there's a new program they are developing.
The title is "Germany Speaks". ARD has been told by various folks, including President Steinmeyer.....that Germans are now developing into a society where they can't agree, or reach some conclusion.
What ARD wants to deliver is a program on 23 September where dialog occurs with 'regular' people (my humble interpretation of the statement).
So there's a survey (yep, they need a tool to select the invitees). I went through the questions. Is Germany better or worse than ten years ago? Is Trump good for America (which really has nothing to do with Germans but they had ask it)? Is the #metoo debate positive? Should we raise taxes meat to lessen the public consumption of it? Should we make inner cities auto-free? Can Muslims and non-Muslims live in the same society?
You would fill out these, and then they'd go and invite you to some regional group where the invitees would talk to this issue of two opinions being able to exist. Moderators? Well....they left that part out and I would imagine several ARD journalists will be there, along with several political folks, and there will be some shaping of the discussion to go a certain way....to suggest that everyone can live in some version of harmony.
The problems with this arrangement? One take a guess that out of a hundred working-class people....only five-to-ten percent will see the concept and read it. Filling out the survey? Probably less than one-percent. Intellectuals? I would suggest that 90-percent will see it and read it....with half of them performing the survey. The program representing society on the 23rd? Not exactly, but that's the best that ARD can really do. They were asked to perform a social service, and they will attempt it.
The general questions?
Germany better or worse than ten years ago? Germans over forty will say lean toward worse. I've heard some Germans over sixty, and remembering the old West German days....suggesting those were the best days in their lives. Younger Germans, particularly under thirty....will say things are probably great today.
The taxing meat issue to lessen consumption? Working-class Germans mostly laugh over that suggestion when it comes up. Intellectuals will say it's a good idea but doubt that it really solves much of anything. Germans in the Hartz IV class (poverty) will ask how they can afford meat, and there's no real answer.
The Trump question? Remember....the question was....is Trump good for America? If you work for ARD, ZDF or represent the intellectual class....the answer is no. Some Germans will point out that economy has significantly changed since early 2017. Some Germans also will say in public that they don't know why public TV news spends so much time on negative Trump-chatter. Some Germans might appear and ask the question instead....is Chancellor Merkel good for Germany, and find that sixty-percent of German society would like to see a replacement.
The Muslim question? I think it's a loaded question and one that will be heavily moderated. In general, I think half of German society can be pro-Muslim or see an open society. I suspect the other half asks a lot of questions and the harsher side of Islam is a problem for them.
The #metoo discussion? It just didn't take off that much in German social media circles. Journalists talked about it, but it didn't seem to be a top three topic among regular Germans.
So finally, you come to the inner-city car-free zone chatter. If you are a Green Party enthusiast....you absolutely want this fantasy city existing around, with no cars. The other segments of society? You might find twenty-percent of people who lean toward this idea, but the bulk of society don't see this coming for another fifty-plus years. The pro-car-free folks? They want rules, laws, and the 'herding' of society toward this.
I don't expect a lot out of this show, and would suggest that viewership will be fairly low. But it might be curious to hear the Trump story laid out and see how balanced they might be.
Well....if you go look at ARD (German public TV, Channel One) today, there's a new program they are developing.
The title is "Germany Speaks". ARD has been told by various folks, including President Steinmeyer.....that Germans are now developing into a society where they can't agree, or reach some conclusion.
What ARD wants to deliver is a program on 23 September where dialog occurs with 'regular' people (my humble interpretation of the statement).
So there's a survey (yep, they need a tool to select the invitees). I went through the questions. Is Germany better or worse than ten years ago? Is Trump good for America (which really has nothing to do with Germans but they had ask it)? Is the #metoo debate positive? Should we raise taxes meat to lessen the public consumption of it? Should we make inner cities auto-free? Can Muslims and non-Muslims live in the same society?
You would fill out these, and then they'd go and invite you to some regional group where the invitees would talk to this issue of two opinions being able to exist. Moderators? Well....they left that part out and I would imagine several ARD journalists will be there, along with several political folks, and there will be some shaping of the discussion to go a certain way....to suggest that everyone can live in some version of harmony.
The problems with this arrangement? One take a guess that out of a hundred working-class people....only five-to-ten percent will see the concept and read it. Filling out the survey? Probably less than one-percent. Intellectuals? I would suggest that 90-percent will see it and read it....with half of them performing the survey. The program representing society on the 23rd? Not exactly, but that's the best that ARD can really do. They were asked to perform a social service, and they will attempt it.
The general questions?
Germany better or worse than ten years ago? Germans over forty will say lean toward worse. I've heard some Germans over sixty, and remembering the old West German days....suggesting those were the best days in their lives. Younger Germans, particularly under thirty....will say things are probably great today.
The taxing meat issue to lessen consumption? Working-class Germans mostly laugh over that suggestion when it comes up. Intellectuals will say it's a good idea but doubt that it really solves much of anything. Germans in the Hartz IV class (poverty) will ask how they can afford meat, and there's no real answer.
The Trump question? Remember....the question was....is Trump good for America? If you work for ARD, ZDF or represent the intellectual class....the answer is no. Some Germans will point out that economy has significantly changed since early 2017. Some Germans also will say in public that they don't know why public TV news spends so much time on negative Trump-chatter. Some Germans might appear and ask the question instead....is Chancellor Merkel good for Germany, and find that sixty-percent of German society would like to see a replacement.
The Muslim question? I think it's a loaded question and one that will be heavily moderated. In general, I think half of German society can be pro-Muslim or see an open society. I suspect the other half asks a lot of questions and the harsher side of Islam is a problem for them.
The #metoo discussion? It just didn't take off that much in German social media circles. Journalists talked about it, but it didn't seem to be a top three topic among regular Germans.
So finally, you come to the inner-city car-free zone chatter. If you are a Green Party enthusiast....you absolutely want this fantasy city existing around, with no cars. The other segments of society? You might find twenty-percent of people who lean toward this idea, but the bulk of society don't see this coming for another fifty-plus years. The pro-car-free folks? They want rules, laws, and the 'herding' of society toward this.
I don't expect a lot out of this show, and would suggest that viewership will be fairly low. But it might be curious to hear the Trump story laid out and see how balanced they might be.
This Iran Cash Situation
ARD (Channel One, public TV in Germany) had an update on this cash deal being worked by the EU, Germany and Iran. It appears that various people are discussing how it would work.
To bring you up to an understanding....Iran is in fairly serious jeopardy, with a lack of Euro. Their explanation? ARD quotes out of the Bild newspaper....that Iran says that it requires the cash to pass it on to Iranians...who simply don't have regular recognized credit cards....so when they travel, they need cash.
Now, it's a pretty believable situation. It hints....note the word 'hints'....that since it's in Euro....these people would come to Europe to spend it. Most navie folks would believe the story, and say no problem.
The flip side of this is that they accept Euro in Dubai....so you'd walk in and deposit the money in some Dubai bank, and basically sit on it. But that's if the private Iranian can get his hand onto the money. I would have doubts that the money will be readily available, and that only favored 'clients' of the Iranian government will get the Euro cash.
But here's some odd factors.
First, the German bank discussed....hasn't agreed to this mass withdrawal (would be out of Hamburg, so the news folks claim).
Second, they've gotten rid of the 500-Euro notes so the largest would be the 200-Euro bills. But would the entire amount be in 200-Euro notes?
Third, you can figure around 1,500,000 notes if the 200-Euro note is the pick.
Where this comes from? Well....an EU authorized 'loan' which Iran would pay back. The odds of the money being paid back? No one talks much about that. My guess is that the 300-million Euro story is just 10-percent of the final loan, and I would suspect (my humble opinion) that the EU is told in two years that the loan can't be paid back in a regular way....requiring some kind of discount or donation of some sum of the money.
The odds that the money just disappears in Iran within ten days after delivery? Well....yeah, you just can't be sure of much over this. A regular Iranian business guy who has the Iran Rial to buy 100,000 Euro upon delivery? He might get it all.....he might get 500 Euro. You just don't know.
For some reason, I see German comedians picking up this story in a month or two, and doing skits over Iranians with Germans in banking situations.
To bring you up to an understanding....Iran is in fairly serious jeopardy, with a lack of Euro. Their explanation? ARD quotes out of the Bild newspaper....that Iran says that it requires the cash to pass it on to Iranians...who simply don't have regular recognized credit cards....so when they travel, they need cash.
Now, it's a pretty believable situation. It hints....note the word 'hints'....that since it's in Euro....these people would come to Europe to spend it. Most navie folks would believe the story, and say no problem.
The flip side of this is that they accept Euro in Dubai....so you'd walk in and deposit the money in some Dubai bank, and basically sit on it. But that's if the private Iranian can get his hand onto the money. I would have doubts that the money will be readily available, and that only favored 'clients' of the Iranian government will get the Euro cash.
But here's some odd factors.
First, the German bank discussed....hasn't agreed to this mass withdrawal (would be out of Hamburg, so the news folks claim).
Second, they've gotten rid of the 500-Euro notes so the largest would be the 200-Euro bills. But would the entire amount be in 200-Euro notes?
Third, you can figure around 1,500,000 notes if the 200-Euro note is the pick.
Where this comes from? Well....an EU authorized 'loan' which Iran would pay back. The odds of the money being paid back? No one talks much about that. My guess is that the 300-million Euro story is just 10-percent of the final loan, and I would suspect (my humble opinion) that the EU is told in two years that the loan can't be paid back in a regular way....requiring some kind of discount or donation of some sum of the money.
The odds that the money just disappears in Iran within ten days after delivery? Well....yeah, you just can't be sure of much over this. A regular Iranian business guy who has the Iran Rial to buy 100,000 Euro upon delivery? He might get it all.....he might get 500 Euro. You just don't know.
For some reason, I see German comedians picking up this story in a month or two, and doing skits over Iranians with Germans in banking situations.
Germans and Natural Gas From Russia
I read through a piece by Bloomberg which goes back to the spring of 2018. The estimated amount of German money going for natural gas from Gazprom (Russia's company that exports natural gas)?
It's near 10-billion Euro a year now.
It's not the bulk of all German requirements, but it's near half.
It's near 10-billion Euro a year now.
It's not the bulk of all German requirements, but it's near half.
A Gun Story
It's a short story I noticed this morning off N-TV (Commercial news network) that talks to the issue of weapons and unlicensed holders of weapons.
There's a local guy (German) from the area of Münstereifel in North Rhine-Westphalia (NW Germany), who had a number of problems. There's a suggestion of alcoholism, drugs, and mental instability. Apparently, the cops got some info....maybe from the evaluation of the staff from the stay at the rehab unit....then brought into a group of cops on a search warrant to his house.
No one says the 53-year-old guy was crazy or such....just that he had drug and alcohol problems.
Entering the house....cops find two rifles, two machine guns, a broken-down shotgun, various pieces and parts, and some ammo.
No license to hold weapons, so I guess they will spend some time trying to figure out how he acquired these. A threat? Well...you can perceive this but it doesn't sound like he tried to make a threat. His mental instability is probably what drove this quick action on the cops. Charges? Well, yeah....that's bound to be part of the deal. But here's the thing....he can claim he's nuts, and he'll just end up in a mental facility.
There's a local guy (German) from the area of Münstereifel in North Rhine-Westphalia (NW Germany), who had a number of problems. There's a suggestion of alcoholism, drugs, and mental instability. Apparently, the cops got some info....maybe from the evaluation of the staff from the stay at the rehab unit....then brought into a group of cops on a search warrant to his house.
No one says the 53-year-old guy was crazy or such....just that he had drug and alcohol problems.
Entering the house....cops find two rifles, two machine guns, a broken-down shotgun, various pieces and parts, and some ammo.
No license to hold weapons, so I guess they will spend some time trying to figure out how he acquired these. A threat? Well...you can perceive this but it doesn't sound like he tried to make a threat. His mental instability is probably what drove this quick action on the cops. Charges? Well, yeah....that's bound to be part of the deal. But here's the thing....he can claim he's nuts, and he'll just end up in a mental facility.
The 700,000 Story
I sat and read a piece this morning via the Daily Mail of England. Some Brit law enforcement group has estimated that around Libya today....there are near 700,000 folks waiting in some pattern to leave and become a migrant destined for Europe.
It's a hefty number, if true. They estimate that for each boat that the smugglers take out and attempt the trip....there's around $400,000 to be made. The curious thing is that it's all tax-free. If you and four associates got this business going and did a dozen trips a year? You could retire in 18 months.
Here's the thing, if Italy's new leadership continues with the no-entry deal for rescue ships, then the whole smuggler routine is challenged and the 700,000 folks might be in Libya for a long while. All of this will disturb the Libyan people, lead to crime elements, and cause friction....which likely leads onto some type of civil unrest.
If you had some civil war erupt and suddenly the waiting crowd,and the Libyans in fear of unrest....start to leave toward Egypt or Tunisia....how big of a mess does this develop into? That's the thing that people might want to think about....there are always consequences.
It's a hefty number, if true. They estimate that for each boat that the smugglers take out and attempt the trip....there's around $400,000 to be made. The curious thing is that it's all tax-free. If you and four associates got this business going and did a dozen trips a year? You could retire in 18 months.
Here's the thing, if Italy's new leadership continues with the no-entry deal for rescue ships, then the whole smuggler routine is challenged and the 700,000 folks might be in Libya for a long while. All of this will disturb the Libyan people, lead to crime elements, and cause friction....which likely leads onto some type of civil unrest.
If you had some civil war erupt and suddenly the waiting crowd,and the Libyans in fear of unrest....start to leave toward Egypt or Tunisia....how big of a mess does this develop into? That's the thing that people might want to think about....there are always consequences.
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
The Way That News Works
If you went to a hundred working-class Germans in a pub, and asked them to name a single person on the German version of their Supreme Court....you'd get a total blank look. If this were a high-level politician or journalist....they might be able to name one.
Then at this point, the working-class German would respond that they do know the Justice Minister....citing Maas. But then you'd respond that Maas was the 'old' Justice Minister, and the new one is Katrina Bailey (SPD).
So then you ask on the US Supreme Court, and find that they (the Germans) can name two or three there. You quiz them....why?
Well....it's an odd thing. The public TV network (Channel One and Channel Two) have made this US Supreme Court topic a big deal on nightly broadcasts. Over and over, Germans are told that the right-leaning Court needs to be repaired, and only by putting the right figures into position, can that occur.
Why don't Germans have this same problem? Well....either a law is legal, or not. If not.....then they return the law to the Bundestag and instruct them to rewrite the law into the Constitution, with a deadline (typically eighteen months). The fine art of making law? Well....they force the Bundestag to actually write laws.
Why the necessity of covering the Justice business in the US? That is a debatable thing. You would think that each and every German has some second citizenship in their hand....for the US. If you asked regular working-class Germans over this....most would say that they don't get enough German news....as it is....about Germany itself.
Then at this point, the working-class German would respond that they do know the Justice Minister....citing Maas. But then you'd respond that Maas was the 'old' Justice Minister, and the new one is Katrina Bailey (SPD).
So then you ask on the US Supreme Court, and find that they (the Germans) can name two or three there. You quiz them....why?
Well....it's an odd thing. The public TV network (Channel One and Channel Two) have made this US Supreme Court topic a big deal on nightly broadcasts. Over and over, Germans are told that the right-leaning Court needs to be repaired, and only by putting the right figures into position, can that occur.
Why don't Germans have this same problem? Well....either a law is legal, or not. If not.....then they return the law to the Bundestag and instruct them to rewrite the law into the Constitution, with a deadline (typically eighteen months). The fine art of making law? Well....they force the Bundestag to actually write laws.
Why the necessity of covering the Justice business in the US? That is a debatable thing. You would think that each and every German has some second citizenship in their hand....for the US. If you asked regular working-class Germans over this....most would say that they don't get enough German news....as it is....about Germany itself.
This BREXIT Chatter Over the Past 48 Hours
Basically, you can come down to three things in this 'mess':
1. PM May probably will have to call for a new election to occur, and likely will be toward November. She might be able to stall this for six weeks, but the longer you get along and closer to BREXIT....the hostility among the Conservative leadership will just get worse. So, she's gone by the end of 2018.
2. BREXIT occurring with a treaty, by the deadline of 29 March 2019? Once you get to the election idea....then they can't meet the deadline, and there is virtually no chance of a signed treaty.
3. The involvement of the Tommy Robinson episode in an election? Well, that's the odd factor. UKIP might now find a real topic besides BREXIT, and you might suddenly find a quarter of dependable voters for the Tories and Labour.....suddenly siding with UKIP.
So I come to this question....what really happens after 29 March 2019, if there is no agreement? Who gets hurt the most? England? Or France/Germany? Does Trump hold some card in this peculiar poker 'game'?
1. PM May probably will have to call for a new election to occur, and likely will be toward November. She might be able to stall this for six weeks, but the longer you get along and closer to BREXIT....the hostility among the Conservative leadership will just get worse. So, she's gone by the end of 2018.
2. BREXIT occurring with a treaty, by the deadline of 29 March 2019? Once you get to the election idea....then they can't meet the deadline, and there is virtually no chance of a signed treaty.
3. The involvement of the Tommy Robinson episode in an election? Well, that's the odd factor. UKIP might now find a real topic besides BREXIT, and you might suddenly find a quarter of dependable voters for the Tories and Labour.....suddenly siding with UKIP.
So I come to this question....what really happens after 29 March 2019, if there is no agreement? Who gets hurt the most? England? Or France/Germany? Does Trump hold some card in this peculiar poker 'game'?
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