This AM....Wuzburg train station....knife attack.
So what the German police say...Afghan guy....got hyped-up about three German men (ages 51, 55, and 68).
Jehovah's witness folks.
Yes....he was disturbed by them in some way....attempted to knife them. So far....minor wounds mentioned. Other folks grabbed the knife guy before he did serious damage.
Sarah Ferguson (ex-wife of the prince)....checked into a Swiss re-hab unit....that runs around 13,000 Euro per day...over the weekend.
What they say (the rehab guys)....you have a personal crew of around a dozen folks....to handle your needs.
I sat and pondered upon this.
Yeah, you probably get three meals a day....free wine....at least one personal massage.
What kind of addiction deserves this? I have no idea.
Who pays for her? Someone in the ultra-rich category.....maybe even Epstein himself.
CDU position? Once in effect.....no kid in Germany under the age of 16 would get social media. All types? Well....they didn't say that.
At 14? Then you'd be in a special group, until your 16th birthday...where you'd get a youth 'version' of social media. This description? Not really defined.
At 16? You get big-boy status....full-up crazy-crazy social media.
Will the under-14 group just accept this? I'd say....99-percent confident....no, they will work their way around.
This EU-ID-wallet gimmick? The only way it can fit is that EVERYONE has a ID, and participates in some way. On the cloud? It appears so. Target for hackers? Oh yeah.
Cloud likely to be taken down once or twice a week....when you need the function to operate? I'm pretty confident.
AfD likely to taken a anti-social media ban position? Well...so far, they haven't said much of anything.
People taking a position? Most Germans agree that some limit on youth has to occur (I'd put the number at 75-percent). But the minute you suggest that everyone has to be involved in the wallet-digital-ID....for literally every function in life....I'd put the number supporting that near 30-percent.
Why the age 14/15 getting some status? Some states have a voting age of 16 for state/local elections. They want you to get some media BS....to hype you up.
Once it's established that it failed, and age 12 year old kids figured a work-around? Well....it's the Chancellor's mess to clean-up and admit problems.
1. Chinese coffee company starting up shops in Germany....Cotti is the name.
Key plus? Well....cup of espresso 99-Euro-cents. That's about 50 cents less than typical average German espresso. Premium? Well....I have yet to taste it so I can't say. Problem? Very few shops open in Germany....none in Wiesbaden.
2. Snow chaos popped up over the weekend in Munich's airport....500 folks were left stranded on planes, after the flights were cancelled, and no crews left to move them with buses.
3. CDU Party pushing for a sugar-tax. Leadership on the push-side, but most of voter-membership aren't thrilled.
4. The wife and I have a new hot-air fryer.....upon opening the box....no operations manual. Instead, it wanted us to scan the barcode, and download the instruction/book to the tab. If we didn't have the tab? Well....I guess we were screwed.
I sat this AM and read through a piece.....management at ZDF (the public TV folks) have decided the scandal has reached a level where 'training' is required.
So all journalists are being signed up and to be given training. What type? Unknown.
My German wife asked me about training for AI about a year ago....which I found a business-news service which offered a basic intro course. It was enough to convince her to be firmly anti-AI in the end. (I'm not sure this was the right course for her)
What'll happen to the ZDF folks after the training? That's the primary question I'm wondering about.
The present mentality with their particular journalists...is mostly to construct a news piece which urges you to take a position, feel a passion about, or simply to generate emotion. AI was a tool in that process....which you have to identify it as official-AI if you still intend to use it in the news process.
The funny thing? Well....whoever ZDF hired to provide training....might actually be a AI-manager, and AI itself might be 'teaching' or instructing.
Me? If I were running the network....I'd hire AI to oversee all news pieces and 'warn' if AI-processes or AI-images or AI-video or AI-fake-people were built into the newscast.
1. This past week, with all the AI-turmoil with ZDF (public tv)....they kinda admitted that the selected news 'package' that arrives for the 'reader' and producer/editor....comes about 30 minutes prior to the newscast. So there's barely enough time to go over or challenge the wording/video. The 'reader' is really a job that anyone could fill...even a barber or welder.
2. Lithuania: This attempt to have a deployed German brigade stationed there (permanently)....is apparently 'failing'. Chief issue? You have to be a volunteer, and even with bonus-pay and nicer housing/barracks....they aren't getting many volunteers.
3. German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt gave a interview....says he wants to get asylum seekers into work quick.
The wording? Asylum seekers should be allowed to work after three months of residence in Germany, even if their asylum procedure has not yet been completed. There is 'funny' text here....you aren't obligated to work.
4. Odd wording by CDU....they want 'protective' zones around schools....where cellphones would be prohibited....during school periods.
1. Curious....from the big CDU Party meeting in Stuttgart (starting Friday)....from ARD/ZDF public TV, the sub-networks for public TV, and public radio.....200-plus folks 'deployed' at the party meeting. You can figure they were already there probably on Wed...preparing. Lot of hotel cost. Probably over a thousand interviews packaged.
2. From Focus this AM....news piece....China now actively getting into the heat-pump manufacturing business....trying to downsize the German-'slice'. It is a hefty-cost if you a EU-heat-pump....if you showed up with a Chinese pump that was 30-percent cheaper....very likely to take business away.
3. Another Focus item of curiosity.....statistics showing prices in general exploding in Germany....but more so in three states (Bremen, Brandenburg, and Bavaria)....since 2020....upwards to 21-percent. Ifo numbers....so they aren't bogus.
Hamburg's rate of increase? Closer to 2-percent.
4. Odd discussions going on....how to rack-and-stack the list of people for the job of German President. Several parties saying it now has to be a woman. Early 2027....this comes up.
Personally, I think the answer is to get a Transwoman up for the job.
5. Normally, to vote in German elections....you need a 'fixed' address...meaning if you were homeless, you can't vote.
So I noted....the state of Hesse....worked up a rule that would include them. You basically sign a registration form...saying for the past six weeks....you've lived 'here' (city park, train station, woods, under-the-bridge, etc). Note: you still are required to a national ID card.
6. Another bus-strike for Wiesbaden next week. Becoming a regular thing.
7. When this age-deal occurs on German social media (likely by spring 2027)....I'm wondering if student-strikes (walking out of class) will occur.
The Greta-kids/Fridays For The Future crowd....require social media to get the 'word' out.
CDU-chatter....age 14 and under....zero social media connectivity. Age 14/15....some connectivity but your parents would have to sign off.
I doubt that the parties have realized the full impact of their actions.
8. Watched a N-TV news bit.....two of three German women are fearful of using public transportation at night.
It is in a developmental stage.....a secure mobile app being developed under the European Union's updated eIDAS 2.0 regulation.
It's designed to serve as a digital ID and personal wallet for EU citizens, residents, and businesses, allowing them to prove their identity online, store and share verified digital documents, and sign transactions across member states in a privacy-focused way.
It would keep control of personal data, rather than relying on third-party platforms that might track or monetize it.
You'd have the 'cookie', and it'd access some secure cloud.
Full rollout? The talk is first half of 2027.
Problems? First, it was introduced as a concept as being 'voluntary'. A lot of talk in the past 3 months in Germany....it'd be more than voluntary.
Second issue....some now suggest it has to force users to use real-names....for social media.
Third issue....who else has access, besides you?
Fourth issue....the odds that the Russians and Chinese are already trying to get access to the cloud?
Fifth issue....forcing all visitors/guests/tourists into the EU to participate as well?
By early 2027....I expect this to be a highly politicized issue in Germany.
