23 April 2024: Two German News Stories

 1.  Curious piece in Focus this AM.....around two weeks ago, we had a one-on-one debate between Mario Voigt, the CDU's top candidate for the upcoming state elections in Thuringia, against the right-wing AfD chairman candidate, Björn Höcke.  Public was asked how they felt about the debate and nearly 50-percent said they want more of the one-on-one debates.....to have a clear understanding of 'arguments'.

2.  EU plan to end gas/diesel car 'new' sales by 2035....in trouble?  Well...various political groups are asking questions and the enthusiasm appears to be lessening.

The Scenario Of A Early Election?

 Well....there are five factors at work.

1.  SPD Party won't nominate or push their guy Scholtz (current Chancellor).  The Defense Minister....Pistorius would be the pick.  People disturbed by this?  No.  I would suggest since day one....a majority saw Scholtz as simple a 'gap-filler'.

2.  The CDU Party automatically running Merz as Chancellor candidate?  I will suggest that a meeting will occur, and Merz is among 3 other individuals for the party to select from.  The pro-Merkel folks don't care for Merz....so things are 'sure'.

3.  Green popularity right now?  I'd say they've lost 5 points since the last election, and there are some Greens who think the current crew are not pro-left enough.

4.  The new party.....BWS?  Likely they will take near 10-percent of votes.  

5.  AfD Party?  They peaked about 3 months ago, and presently.... they might only manage 16-percent.  

If they were to hold an election in late fall?  Well....it'd have an affect on 3 state elections of Sep/Oct.  I'm not sure if that is a positive or negative.

Most of this chatter due to the recession?  Well....there might be a couple of reasons to run a early election.  Economic conditions are openly discussed.  

22 April 2024: Two German News Stories

1.  From the weekend chatter...via Focus, The FDP Party has stood up (as a coalition member) and appears to be putting pressure on the SPD and the Greens for a reform 'fix' via the welfare program (citizens' money). 

The attitude by most news pieces?  They suggest this could be the end of the coalition and some national election a year ahead of time.

There's been polls for a year to suggest that a good two-thirds of Germans would prefer an early election, and dump the Chancellor.

2.  Interesting inflation effect on German society.  Focus wrote up a trend piece....saying that Germans now come into a restaurant...order a drink and dinner.  As soon as the dinner is finished, rather than sit there for a 2nd or 3rd drink....the consumer gets up and leaves.  

I'll admit....in most occasions  eating out....the wife and I will traditionally sit there for a minimum of one more drink after we finish the meal.  

21 April 2024: Six German News Stories

 1.  Soccer season is about to end....key story left, Bayern has yet to find the coach for their team in the next season.  They have probably the best rooster of players in the entire German top league, but consider virtually every single loss to be an affair to cry over and weep.  Lot of coaches simply don't want the stress.

2.  Top headline in Focus: Iran supposedly a couple of weeks away from developing a nuke bomb.  'Expert' chatter.  Might be BS....might not be.  

3.  Snow and ice in various higher elevations of Germany this AM.  If you put summer tires on last  week....you probably shouldn't be traveling anywhere for the next 48 hours.

4.  The legend of 'Chico' continues.  Spring of 2022...A Turk-German guy named 'Chico' won 9.9-million Euro in the lotto.  Chico had often been in trouble....even doing some time in prison.  

Most people expected Chico to have spent all of the money in three or four years.  He did an interview in the past week and the question of 'how much was left' came up.

Chico say that he has a good bit invested, and that he has in the neighborhood of seven million Euro left.

Part of the dynamics to careful management?  Well...reading through other sources....he has a girlfriend that came into the picture....who works for the police.  Major influence on him.

He also invested a fair amount of the money into property....rentals.  So he's got a monthly income rolling in.

5.  In case you were wondering....the Bahn folks (railway system) has banned cannabis smoking within the stations.  Topic came up this AM.  But their wording simply says 'inside'....meaning you could walk ten meters out of any station and smoke on the 'open'.

I should add....there are national rules written that even around sports venues (stadiums for example)....smoking of cannabis is forbidden.

6.  Some chatter this AM for the state official from Thuringia....in charge of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (at the state level)...now calling for public awareness....that Russian espionage/spies are in some effort to scout out attack targets in Germany. 

Reading through the piece (N-TV reported).....he has a valid  point, but there's probably been such people around since the 1950s doing target surveillance (nothing really new).

Germans expecting such trouble?  No.  General public perception is that there can only be no-war or all-out-war in their mind.  The idea of sabotaging twenty autobahn bridges or blowing up a dozen railway tunnels....isn't really in their mind. 

Two Odd German Things

 1.  I noticed yesterday....Munich city gov't has said now.....come Oktoberfest....there will not be a tent or acceptance of cannabis on the fair-grounds.  

Number of folks had asked about this, and I got the impression that several organizations wanted a cannabis-fest tent operation.  

End of the story?  Well....I would imagine some groups are approaching local towns around Munich about allowing them to have a hooka/cannabis fest-tent operation.  But I don't expect anyone there to approve of this.

2.  WELT (the paper) had an unusual article over criminals in Germany.  There's a PhD guy who has studied criminal behavior and come to a conclusion.  If you have a criminal background, with a IQ level below 70....prison is not the right place to send you.

His suggestion?  This group ought to be put in a mental institute....not a prison.  

I sat and read through a lot of reports having nothing to do with this idea.  Brit report from a decade ago....says (at least from a UK prospective)....that 7-percent of their criminal population have a below 70 on the IQ.  But the same report said that between 70 and 79 IQ levels....it's almost a quarter of their population who have marginal intelligence.  

20 April 2024: 4 German News Stories

 1.  Large segment on Focus...talking up Putin, strategy of Russia to take on NATO, invade Baltic states, etc.  Probably worth a read.

Just a lot of BS chatter.  Russians have lost bulk (probably 90-percent) of all hardware for the Army since 2000, in this invasion of Ukraine.  Even if you started to rebuild....it'd take 20 to 30 years to be back into a real threat to NATO.

2.  ARD (public German TV, Channel One) has their 'boss' out and doing PR to sell the general public on media-tax increase. 

No real polls existing, but I'd say it's near 50-percent of the public who want major reform of public TV, and zero tax increase. 

3.  Nuthetal (town outside of Berlin)....has put up a city-wide rule....no robotic mowers operating at night.

I'll just say that this robotic mower thing has really caught on with the general public.  So the odd thing is that it's fairly quiet, and folks even run the mowers in evening hours.  The threat here?  Small hedge hogs are active at night, and the mowers 'threaten' them in some fashion.

4.  Some political talk of a national day to recognize German military vet's.  

19 April 2024: Seven German News Stories

 1. Gelsenkirchen is the first German city to ban E-scooters.  Frankly, I've seen a ton of dangerous handling by teenagers over the past year....in walk-platz areas around where I live.  

2.  WELT piece.....of all the folks who ran off to the ISIS-war in Syria/Iraq....German authorities figure that 40-percent roughly...have returned to Germany.  What the German gov't says....all are facing investigations, possible charges, and 'deradicalization measures'.  

3.  WELT piece....Tiger mosquito is becoming a major issue in Germany.

4.  KaDeWe store in Berlin (the Macey's like store) has been on a spiral downward for the past year.  RBB has a piece saying that both the rent for the store....and the sales itself....have been the issue to bring them to near-bankruptcy.

I'll say from my one and only visit (six years ago).....it was a fantastic place to walk around....but I'd never buy anything there.

5.  Berlin (the city) is offering a 29-Euro Bahn/bus monthly ticket.  Lot of criticism over this....from the Bahn, Bavaria and federal Transport Ministry.  They say the city is using city funds to cheapen the ticket (it should be 49-Euro), and that the city gets 'extra' money because of their status as the national capital.  

Legally?  The three have a point, but I don't think there's a law broken.

6.  Just an odd statement that you have to sit and pause over.  Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP).....says the German economy is suffering to some degree....mostly from a deficit in the number of hours worked. 

He relates this to Italy and France, saying “significantly more work is being done."

It would have helped if he'd related this to something....like to build something in France....it'd take 350 man-hours...while in Germany, it'd take 400 man-hours.  But he didn't really say it in that manner.  

7.  Fairly intense 'mess' going on with tv rights and German soccer.

From what I can figure....there was a auction underway yesterday, and some legal forms arrive....to halt the auction with DFL.

Dispute?  Has to do with DAZN,who has the present streaming service contract.  

Interview Story

It's not really worth dragging out but it was a curious piece off the late ARD (public German TV) news last night.....on the “Tagesthemen” news segment.

The moderator news gal....had a live interview going with the Foreign Minister (Annalena Baerbock, Green Party). 

The interview....went 'south' and in a matter of eight minutes....there were at least six different moments of confusion.

The moderator would go and correct her and refocus her on the question.

All of this because of her recent trip to the Middle East?  Yeah.

Just tired and run-down?  At the end....after the segment ended....I thought this.  If you've been up for sixteen hours and been through a long hard day....you'd make mistakes like this.  Personally, the last thing on Earth I'd do.....is run some interview late at night.  

The negative today?  Well....the whole interview is hyped-up over her mistakes.