Five Humble Thoughts

 1.  I'm one of those folks who do believe that German public TV should exist, and  folks should pay 'something' (maybe not 18-Euro a month).

Reasoning?  AI basically says that between 1 and 3 percent of society is intellectual, and since commercial TV can't give them what they desire....public TV (like ARD or ZDF) fills the gap.

The other 97-percent probably aren't happy with my suggestion....but they get tens of billions from the intellectual political folks to cover the 18-Euro a month issue.

2.  Back on Tuesday evening of last week....ZDF (public TV, Channel 2) ran a 45-min critical piece of Jeffrey Epstein.

My wife (German in nature) watched intently....I gave 20-percent of my attention.  She's absolutely convinced of his evil/demonic ways.  

She asked my thoughts....I admitted over the past five years....I'd put 200-plus hours into the Epstein 'saga'.  What she got for 45 minutes....was basically 1-percent of the whole story.  I told her Jeffrey was demonic....1,000-times over.

Yeah, I think she was freaked-out.

3. A week now after the Hungary's  election...Magyar is convincing a lot of folks....not much is set to change.

Shocker?  

4.  Last week....I read some German social commentary (German gal, 20s, Hamburg)....who basically said: "99-percent of German women here are women by gender, but male by mannerisms, behavior, dress sense, and mindset."

I didn't say much of anything.  In my mind, I thought....half of these women are probably trans, and I shouldn't stare.  

Bigger things than this to worry about.

5.  UFOs could come down and land in Frankfurt....walk around the river area for six hours, and I suspect 90-percent of German society would still be skeptical that aliens exist.

Cellphone Chatter

Starting in 2027....by EU mandate....smartphones sold in the EU will be required to have user-replaceable batteries designed for greater durability and more charging cycles. 

More?  Manufacturers must also ensure spare parts and repair manuals for at least 10 years after a model is released

My take? Most companies have a 2 year cycle....expecting you to upgrade.  If the EU push occurs....prices will go 30 to 50 percent higher.  Buying outside of the EU?  I'd bet some do.

Just Curious

Chancellor Merz came up yesterday saying...the normal pension is built to give you basic retirement income...nothing more than that.  You probably shouldn't plan on retirement trips to Thailand or expensive crap.

My German wife noted this 30 years ago, and started putting extra toward a private investment deal.

Germans peeved?  I'd say 30 percent...mostly those in the age 30 to 40 group...are unhappy over the chatter.

Berlin DDR Museum Today

Spent 3 hours walking through the place today.   Some advice...spend the hour prior hydrating...no safe. There's several watering holes about a block away.  Also....no resting spots much inside.   Put 2 to 3 hours on the interior walk.  Vast amount of detail on old East Germany.

Did Russia Indicate Germany Might Have A Problem In Selling Ukraine Drones?

 Well...yeah, back on the 15th....there was a pretty blunt statement said...basically suggesting Germany might be targeted.

My humble view?  There's probably a dozen German companies making military-style drones, and selling them.  They might be targeted in some fashion.

Scaring the crap out of the population? Yeah....a bomb or two...leading back to Russia would get noticed real quick.

Reservists

National level of German Army talking about recruiting reservists up to age 70.

I sat and pondered over the deal...maybe if this were bootcamp-lite....around age 60....getting some 300 Euro as a extra pension deal...it'd be worth considering. But out of a thousand Grtmans over age 50...I doubt if you'd find ten willing to sign up.

Welfare Landscape

 This past week....Focus went out and asked the German gov't....just how many folks are on 'citizen's income'....welfare.

So the number comes to  5.2-million....out of 84-million.

But they asked....how many are non-German.  It comes to around 47-percent....mostly to Iraqis, Syrians and Ukrainians.  

The magic number.... 21.7-billion Euro....to non-Germans.

Whether the Chancellor and the coalition really grasp this....they don't really have 20-odd billion Euro to throw around.

This providing more voter conflict?  Probably so.  

Good EU Demographics News

 The EU has been surveying demographic data, and come to a conclusion.

Good news....EU-wide population is projected to collapse by 50-plus million by 2100.

Birth-rate collapse.

The top leadership didn't say much.  I'm guessing they are huddled up and talking about some regulation....forcing you in some fashion to have more kids.  

My three suggestions?

1.  Put a 25-Euro tax on individual condoms or birth-control....unless you have already two kids.

2.  Have some type of monthly pay deal for women....say 750 Euro 'pay' per month to have kids.

3.  Start a science project to enable men to have kids, without the women involved.

The news that they didn't discuss?  Well...what happens by 2200?  Another 175-million drop in population?

(Note, I can be sarcastic at times)