The Diesel Problem We Should Not Discuss

 I was reading through a summary this AM....between 2009 and 2024 (15 years)....throughout Europe....around 30 different refineries shut-down.  Various reasons given....some probably could have upgraded but country laws made it unwise or of zero profit sense.

So....in the last year or two....you add up the Iran-US 'war'....then the Ukraine-Russia war.....and the China sudden policy not to export diesel fuel...yes, there is a crisis about to go from a '1' to a '7' (my index), and trucking deliveries probably will be a EU problem over the next ninety days.

The US or Venezuela coming to the rescue?  Well....President Trump has said to France/Germany....open the diesel reserves that they have.

Iran itself in a marginal production phase?  That's the side-story....where trucks, buses and farm equipment will be sitting there...unable to move because of limited fuel issues.

Dental 'Options'

 I had a pre-brief for dental work for next week.  

My dentist added two 'services'.

First, he has one morning per week....where a botox-expert comes in and gives you 'lip' service.  

Second, he has gotten the services of a acupuncture expert, and one afternoon per week......you can come in and get 'pins-and-needles'.

I paused over this.  This is stuff that my dental-insurance WON'T cover.  If you asked me....90-percent of Germans would flat out say 'NO' to both services (my humble thoughts).  Finally, if you asked me over who might go for the services....mostly German trophy-wives.  

2 Oct 2026: Germany:8 Stories

 1.  These France school fires?  No national list....but the news reports regionally....at least ten schools were lit, and are in 'degraded' condition.

The one odd factor....it gets national attention, and hypes the brand of National Rally Party.  

2.  Soccer: Germany defeated Serbia last night....big deal for Coach Klopp.  ZDF carried game....spent a lot of time after the game talking to players (hyping the change in attitude).

3.  Berlin-City crew wanted the Görlitzer Park area closed at night (major drug sales point in the city).  Judges got involved....says 'NO'....you can't close down the park.  The stumbling point?  Judges say the City Senate has no authority over use of 'closure-rule'.  

Oddly, there's a counter-group with a fence-free agenda.....wanting the park 'as is'....even if taken over by dopers.

4.  Watched a WELT piece....suggesting escalation of Russian sabotage on European sites.

5.  New poll.....only 10-percent of Germans happy with Chancellor's performance.

6.  Some belief that gas prices (reduced since yesterday) will jump 20-percent up over the next month....over Iran woes.

7.  Three guys arrested in NRW (1x German, 2x Syrians)....for terror-planning....yesterday.

8.  Noticed the term 'doom trolling' yesterday....has to do with AI woes and potential threat.  Lot of Germans getting hyped-up over threat of AI. 

Observations

 1.  January 2027....the Deutschland-Card....giving you free access to bus, tram and 2nd-class travel throughout Germany (each month)....goes up to 66.80 Euro.  As long as you don't need high speed ICE travel...it's a bargain deal.

2.  Over the hill from me....old grocery is shutting down, and renovation taking place.  Once complete.....it will be a 24-hour operation....365 days a year.  Yes, even at 1 AM....you go over....swipe your card, and it gives you access to a mini-mart (figure a 50 ft by 30 ft store-front, essentials).  Radical change for Germans.  Store will only be manned 6 days a week....from 7AM to 7 PM....rest of the day....automated system and cameras in place to monitor things. 

3.  Focus journalist went out and interviewed 300 Germans who 'want' to exit Germany. At the end of these conversations....he found that most listed conditions (perfect country)....and they can't really find such a place.

My wife (German) has the same mentality.  

4.  Chancellor gave a talk this AM....says 'no' to sugar-tax idea of SPD.  Temp-hold going on.

5.  Talk this AM over BER (Berlin's new airport).  When it first got suggested (20 years ago)...it was said that around 340 million Euro was the cost.

Presently....open and operational....with some improvements still on the books....the cost is at 2.5-billiion Euro to finish.

6.  After a pretty dry September (one ten-day period of shows off/on for 2nd-half of August)....weather folks are finally talking about ten to fifteen days of rain in October. Extremely dry year for 2026.

7.  Small town here in my state of Hessen....police are doing a investigation.  Some kid on a E-scooter....crashed while the police were trying to pull him over.  Cops say it was getting up to 80 kilometers per hour.  

1 Oct 2026: Germany: 6 Stories

 1.  Discounted fuel started today.....I paid 2.03 per liter (E-10) this morning.

2.  Focus business article: You as a single German, because of 2026 inflation....need to find 700 'new' Euro to cover your expenses for the year.

3.  Lot of chaos brewing in France....national finance issues shaking up the voting public.

4.  Fairford incident?  National UK leadership saying there was a terror-act of some sort, with Iran involved.  Police?  Criminal act with fuel (diesel) being the target.  Fairly confusing.

5.  Pretty sure now.....one out of four jobs with VW....will go away.

6.  Massive police raid from yesterday (2,200 German police involved)....going against corruption in the cleaning industry of Germany.

What The German Draft Sugar Tax Appears Like?

 The chatter goes this way.

If you are drinking a sugar-free soda....it's zero tax.

The tax will appear to be 38 Euro cents per liter....for heavily sugared drinks....with low-sugar drinks getting taxed at 26 Euro cents.

The 'end' of the sugar talk?  Well....some Germans think this will be revisited every four to six years....when the tax bucket needs more income.  

Same to come for fatty or greasy food, or excessive salted stuff?  Yeah, the same crowd thinks within a year this talk will start up.

Changing anyone's habits?  My personal thoughts....when a Pepsi gets up to 5 Euro a can....it'll reshape buying habits.  

Oddly, if you were happy with cheap beer....you'd get a better pricing scheme drinking beer over a soda.  Everyone should dump sodas and just go with a beer-habit.  

Spain's Housing Changes From Yesterday?

 Yesterday (Tuesday, 29 September 2026), the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, worked up a deal with the coalition government.

National housing fury has been going on for several days.

The main measures include:

1.  Extending the ban on evicting vulnerable tenants who have no alternative housing until the end of 2030.

2.  Automatic two-year extension for existing rental contracts (would expire before 31 December 2028).

3.  A ban on so-called “vulture funds” buying residential properties for speculative purposes until 2028.

4.  Tighter rules on seasonal and room rentals to stop them being used to dodge ordinary tenancy protections.

5.  Higher VAT on tourist apartments and other steps aimed at curbing speculation.

6.  Automatic (indefinite) renewal of rental contracts.

7.  The government also announced related incentives such as interest-free state-backed loans (via the ICO) covering up to 20% of the price of a first home, capped at €50,000.

So the consequences?  Most people think that a halt on building new apartment buildings will occur (figure for 3 years).  

Some of this leading back to Germans living a vacation-lifestyle and 'gobbling-up' properties?  Spaniards say this.....some evidence that it's true.  

30 Sep 2026: Germany: 5 Stories

 1.  WELT piece....11-percent of German 'kids'....ages 18 to 24....are not in training, not employed, and 'just-standing-around'.  

Pretty negative story if true.

2.  Russia story brewing....gov't is moving funds out of social programs....to cover military costs.

3.  If you look at polling....there's only five points separating the CDU-CSU (2nd-place) and the Greens (3rd place).  At present pace, it's possible that the Greens take another point or two off the SPD/Linke folks, and the Greens in 2029 end up in the election forming a gov't....after the next election.

4.  Fairford episode.....just odd....about an hour prior to the farm-gal calling in to report suspicious stuff....someone else called in (police didn't react on that call).

5.  Former boss of RBB (public TV for Berlin network)....has charges accepted by the court (breach of trust).  So there will be a open court hearing.