Wasn't There Already A Trade 'Treaty' Between The EU And Canada

 Well....mostly forgotten....but back in 2016...it was 'signed' and made official in early 2017.  In the deal....99-precent of tariff stuff between the two....dissolved away.

Naturally, you'd ask....with the hype from yesterday....is there some new trade deal?  No.  For numbers....2025.....around 5.5-percent of Canada shipped out....went to EU customers. (Hint: that's about one-percent more than in 2024).

If you asked me over yesterday's hype being more of a 'show'?  Yeah, it got a lot of hype in Canada, and throughout Germany.  

If you asked a typical German what they buy from Canada?  Well....Canadian whisky and maple-flavored spirits, some Niagara icewine, premium seafood (lobster, scallops, certain fish), Canola oil, frozen potato products (McCain is well known, and my wife buys this monthly), and maple syrup.

What Is The German 'Fake-O-Meter'?

Well....I heard the term this AM, and looked into it.

The word “Fake-O-Meter” is NOT a German official government name. It is the word created by the  German outlet NIUS (right-wing news establishment)....for a publicly funded research project called kuKI. 

What is kuKI?  kuKI (“Kulturalisierungssensible KI-Assistenz für eine desinformationsresiliente multilinguale Gesellschaft”).

It's a AI 'tool' for detecting and classifying disinformation....after fact-checking....with BS that comes in German, Russian or Turkish.

Gov't funded?  Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) paid for it with 3.2 million Euro.

AI figures out the disinformation?  Yeah. 

I pondered upon this....AI creating fake BS....AI discovering fake BS.  You don't require a middle-man

Fake news AI learning?  I would imagine every hour....it's writing a 'lessons-learned' summary, and the fake news BS gets better.

But on the other side of this....people are now relying upon AI to tell them 'this-is-BS'.  They can't match the skills/wits of AI that easily.

What happens when the fake-o-meter says it's true (not BS) and hurts the gov't message/brand?  No one says much over that idea.  

18 Sep 2026: Germany: 12 Stories

1.  Brandenburg: ISIS terror guy arrested.  Had been to Bremen....scouting out 'targets'.

2.   Berlin Airport (BER)....police were called and arrested some passenger (Estonian)....for attempted manslaughter on a airport employee.  What the police say....the guy arrived late at a gate for boarding....was prevented from boarding, and goes into some massive anger.

3.  Sunday's outlook for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election?

Neck-and-neck for SPD and AfD....both will be in 35-to-37 percent range.  CDU marginally holding at 6-percent.  

4.  Coach Jürgen Klopp has nominated 44 players for his first four matches as national coach. 

It was a odd news evening last night.....ARD 8 PM news led off....news number item ONE....Klopp highlights for 2.5 minutes.  9:45 PM news on ZDF....Klopp highlights....news item number FIFTEEN....last 2.5 minutes of the newscast.

For German sports enthusiasts.....it felt like Moses had come off the mountain with the tablets.

5.  German Chancellor Merz gave a talk yesterday (Thursday)....CDU Party event.

Basically said that no hospitals, care homes, construction sites, restaurants, or hotels in Germany would function without integrated immigrant workers.  

Correct.  Just for care-homes alone....the figure thrown around is 350,000 migrant workers.  In the hospitality industry....the gov't estimate is near 40-percent of the force required....are migrants.  I walked into a Burger King shop in 2025....where the staff on shift (6 employees) were all migrant women.  

6.  Poll done by YouGov....almost half of Germans in the poll....figure by 1 January 2027....Merz will not be Chancellor

Via news/social media....lot of hype since early spring (2026) on marginal accomplishments of Merz.  I'd give 75-percent of the blame on this....this partnership between the CDU-CSU and SPD....rest of the blame goes to expectations of the public that Merz was bringing massive expertise on finance and reforms to save jobs.

7.  WELT piece this AM....SPD Party state administrator...says that young people on social benefits....should NOT be allowed to leave/exit parent's house.....to be on their own (costing more social funding).

8.  Poll done by RTL-TV news.....eight out of ten eastern Germans....say democracy is NOT working.  Nationally (east and west)....it's four out of ten Germans suggesting democracy has 'crapped-out' (my words).

They aren't saying the fix or resolution....just that they were expecting something 'better'.

If you asked me....social/news media folks....over the past twenty-odd years...have hyped up some great hope/benefits of democracy (like a used Mercedes car)....and things haven't worked that well.

9.  PM of Poland....hypes potential Russian attack on European countries....suggesting a US base in Poland would be a 'sure-fix'.  

10.  N-TV piece this AM....Norwegian authorities have found a sunken Nazi submarine.  They are suggesting it's dangerous for the food chain, and want some type of action.  They didn't come out to say Germany needs to step-up but you get the feeling they want German involvement.

11. Lithuania has discovered a couple of tunnels...used for people-smuggling....from Belarus into Lithuania.

12.  ZDF news at 9:45 PM last night....probably spent a good eight minutes hyping up the partnership deal with the EU and Canada.

I paused over it.  EU's 'standard' for economic measures (for new membership)....the national budget deficit must stay at or below 3-percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)....plus the public debt should not exceed 60-percent of GDP.  Well....currently....Canada's general government gross debt is approximately 113.5-percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP).  Yeah....it's a wreck.  Oddly, this part of the story was not explained by ZDF.

The plus-up for Canada?  There would be EU-entry deals for job-visas.  Currently, at least in most of eastern Canada....the unemployment rate is near 7-percent.  Those folks might find job opportunities in the EU.  I could easily see 10,000 Canadians by spring of 2027....employed in the Netherlands, Germany or Austria.  Most of them would even say the European health system is better than the Canadian system.

Germany: Authority To Shoot Down Drones Over German Bases?

 Is there legal authority in Germany to shoot down drones over German bases?  Well....yes.

There is now some legal authority for the Bundeswehr to shoot down drones over its own military bases, but it's carefully worded....it's not automatic or unlimited. 

On Bundeswehr property, soldiers can already use force under the UZwGBw (the law governing direct coercion by the armed forces) to protect troops, facilities, and operational readiness. 

The wording says the military may jam, divert, or as a last resort use weapons if milder options fail and proportionality is observed. 

A separate 2026 amendment to the Luftsicherheitsgesetz (Aviation Security Act), passed by the Bundestag in late February of 2026....and the Bundesrat in early March....says explicit last-resort shoot-down powers exist....IF police request assistance. 

If you read the wording....anytime that human life is threatened....or critical infrastructure is threatened....and no other means will work; the German Army can now authorize it without prior Interior Ministry approval.  

Frankfurt: Third Death By Malaria Reported

 Authorities say.....the individual lived in the Schwanheim district, about five km from the airport.

About a month ago....were the first two folks reported dead.  

Six infected...three dead at this point.

Bombs

 Around 4:20 AM....in Frankfurt.....detonations occurred at a café on Berger Straße and a shisha bar on Zeil.

This is the second round of bombs in the past week....mostly designed to damage structure (not to harm people).

Mafia-war?  Well....if you look at social media chatter....it goes that way.  

What The Greek Finance Minister Said

 Greek Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis....got into a analysis opinion of Germany's economical 'spiral'....urging Germany to pursue economic reforms.

I would imagine the German finance guys grumbled a good bit privately.

The Greek crisis was back in 2009, and it was a good harsh five or six years....before things got resolved. 

Chancellor's Ten-Point Plan Against Terrorism Released

 I pondered over the list today:

1.  Expand criminal law on the dissemination of propaganda materials of terrorist organizations.

    -- Basically, if you were a terror organization and pumped-out propaganda....there would be some German folks to collect it.    

2.  Impose harsher penalties for particularly dangerous bodily injuries (e.g., knife attacks). 

    -- You'd have to prove the point of terror being involved (like yelling Allah Akbar).  Minimum sentence presently is one year....for serious knifing...up to 13 years.  My humble guess is that they'd have to push the sentence up to 20.  

3.  Adjust youth criminal law in a targeted and timely manner.

    -- I'd question legality of this and if the Constitutional Court would agree.  

4.  Give greater weight to public security interests in decisions on probation.  

    -- Would require some agreement by the SPD.

5.  Improve information exchange between security authorities, the justice system and prisons.  

    -- You have to ask....why wasn't this done already ten years ago.

6.  Enable state police forces (not only federal agencies) to order the securing of telecommunications traffic data.  

    -- Still requires judge's consent.

7.  Create uniform standards for electronic ankle monitors (Fußfesseln) and preventive detention.

    -- Something that should have occurred ten to fifteen years ago.  

8.  Act more consistently against supporters and financiers of terror groups (including a new offence for collecting donations).  

    -- Probably the best idea from the ten.

9.  Strengthen prevention (including greater responsibility for digital platforms on extremist content, education and work in communities).  

10.  Make deradicalization programes more effective.

    -- How?  (Unexplained)