Focus interviewed a guy who has worked now for 50 years (age 74). In his youth, he ended up at a university, and got a degree in communications engineering. His job for a couple of years, then ended up in medical services.
His pension today at 74? 1,071 Euro a month.....which is below1,200 Euro....generally believed to be poverty-retirement.
Thirteen-million Germans are in this poverty-retirement landscape.
It's a sad bitter end-story for the guy.
Well....it turned out to be the most controversial show of the past 20-odd years....mostly because they invited Gil Ofarim as one of the twelve.
I won't go and rehash Gil's story from 2025....but it's safe to say that probably 30-percent of viewers were hated Gil with passion. At lease three of the twelve did everything possible to drag up the Gil-scandal.
So around 1030 last night....voting came up for the final three, and Gil won.
Via social media....it's a shit-storm.
Gil wins 100k Euro....on top of his salary for the three weeks...around 300k Euro. He needs the money to pay damages for the hotel/clerk he insulted, the court fees and lawyer fees. I'm guessing half the money will go out for this cost.
Peeved a lot of viewers? Yeah....but the viewership was probably near a all-time level, and I'm guessing RTL is searching around to find two or three other people like Gil for the 2027 show.
All of this consuming two whole weeks....from 8:15 PM to midnight? Yeah....they built up three shows nightly to consume the topic and get people tangled-up into the soap opera.
I read this in the AM today.....according to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 489,000 heat-related deaths occurred globally each year between 2000 and 2019, with the WHO European Region accounting for 36-percent of them or more than 175,000 deaths annually on average.
More or less....heat stress.
My belief in this numbers stuff?
Living around Germany for 30-odd years....yeah, I've seen awful stupid stuff.
While at Bitburg....we had a Lt in the office....barely on base four weeks, who signed up for a Volksmarch on a 34 C Saturday (93 F). Long about the 90 minute point....he had heat exhaustion issues....requires emergency 'help', and got a ambulance ride back to the base.
I went on a 16 km 'walk' here in the hills around Wiesbaden on a 35 C day, with a 1-liter container of water. Long about the 90 minute point....I had finished off the bottle and realized....I was still a good 5 km from finishing (at a bus-stop). I wouldn't make it....without more water. So I altered my route...ending up in some German grocery 2km away, and buying a fresh bottle of water before I collapsed on the path.
Do I believe 3,000 Germans die yearly from heat exhaustion? No....there are mild-regular summers where it probably ranges in the 1,200 to 1,500 range....with ultra-hot summers in the 5k range.
For 2025....the number often cited is around 1,477....from sources I consider 'safe'.
2022? It was a harsh summer...most folks arguing the number got up around 6,000.
The 2018 harsh summer? That gets discussions brought up....'wave' after 'wave'...where some 'experts' state a 8k-plus number.
The idea that Germans ought to wise-up on heat exhaustion? On our regional network (HR)....they will waste a whole Wednesday night 45-minute 'slot'....usually in May...hyping up heat stroke and how to recognize a harsh situation.
My worst experience? Around 2016...I went off about 150 km on a train (early AM) in mid-July to a museum. By noon, I was ready to return. The AC unit on the train? Failing. By the 30th minute of the trip....the temp in the car raging near 44 C. I got off the train....sat in a bar for hour....cooling off. Then managed to ride the rest of the trip.
1. Just odd....Epstein stuff: Ghislaine Maxwell had a German press card from the official German 'association'. How? Unknown. Why? You could waste a whole public forum discussion discussion on the topic.
2. German Bahn (railway) spent 7-M Euro to make a new commercial....just out in past two weeks....have decided to pull the commercial. Lot of criticism building up.
3. Police in Trier got called...shopping district....some nutcase walking around with a knife in full view. Got there in minutes....tasked the guy to drop it. Guy refuses...cops shoot him (wounded). Midst of shopping zone....around 4:15 PM.
4. WELT piece....talking over problems in state of NRW....public priorities: too many aggressive beggars in public, desires for drug-free zones, and more public toilets.
The Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) is required for citizens of Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries to enter the United States without a visa for short stays.
So...as of February 2026, the core ESTA requirements remain unchanged: a valid passport from a VWP country, a valid email address, home address and phone number, emergency contact details, payment method for the application fee, and responses to eligibility questions about criminal history, health, and prior travel.
Germans typically don't complain about the present system.
HOWEVER.....the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has proposed significant updates to the ESTA application process, which may soon become mandatory pending approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act. These proposals stem from Executive Order 14161 issued in January 2025 and aim to enhance security vetting.
The potential new items?
Social media information: Handles/names and identifiers from all platforms used in the last 5 years. Note....ALL...so if you were on 8 social media platforms....you have to list them.
Biometric data: A live "selfie" photo (already required for mobile app submissions and proposed for all), plus potential collection of face scans, fingerprints, iris scans, and even DNA.
Contact history: Personal phone numbers and email addresses used in the last 5–10 years; similar details for family members (parents, spouse, siblings, children) and business contacts.
Family details: Names, dates of birth, places of birth, and residencies of immediate family members.
Technical data: IP addresses and metadata from submitted photos.
Application method shift: All new ESTA applications would need to be submitted via the ESTA mobile app only, with the website decommissioned for submissions (though it would remain for status checks and information).
Tomorrow....Sunday....the 8th....the discussion would end. No one says what'll happen on Monday.
One or two of these requirements may occur. Maybe certain nations will get dumped-upon.
The general talk? Germans suggest if all of these occur....everyone (literally) would shut down tourism in the US.
Germans forcing the US into the same gimmick? That's possible. They could go and suggest all family members of military members go the same route.
My belief? As you enter Germany....you probably get finger-printed (digitally) and maybe forced to provide some residence info. Beyond that...I don't think it really helps security-wise.
Crazy BS? Yeah.
Over the past week, I've been on a research track....looking at the great evils of social media in Germany, and comparing against the arrival of the printing press technology (1500s/1600s).
So one of the 'tools' of the printing press...became pamphlets. So.....some examples:
1. Narrenschiff (The Ship of Fools), written by Sebastian Brant (1494)....this was a collection of stories (satire)....mostly stories revolving around greed, lust and crazy folks.
2. Malleus Maleficarum (The Hammer of Witches), by Heinrich Kramer (1487)....fictionalized summary on witchcraft...treated as 'fact'. Influenced a lot of people to believe in real witches.
3. Ein kurtze underweysung wie man beichten soll, by Martin Luther (1519)...basically a short summary on the proper way to confess (your lifestyle, your woes, your mistakes).
4. On the Jews and Their Lies, by Martin Luther (1543)....short but controversial anti-Jewish pamphlet.
There are three observations I can make. First, the more controversial the pamphlet.....the greater odds of the salesman selling out as he marketed the pamphlet. Second, 1500s to today....BS sells. Third, as much as the Catholic Church tried to hinder or control printing presses....they mostly failed.
Well....yes, there is a German AI-powered fax system available in Germany.
FaxKI is a service provided by Simple Communication GmbH that allows users to send questions or tasks via fax to a specific number (0531-490590019), where an AI (integrated with ChatGPT) analyzes the request and sends a response back via fax.
It's built to translate....do math/calculations....provide cooking recipes, etc.
Free? Yes, that's the odd part of the story. You will end up with some fee for the standard fax transmission.
To be readily used? I have my doubts.
My best guess....across Germany....there are probably a hundred individuals...consumed with passion to use fax capability, and they probably will use this daily.
The French parliament law commission (this week) stood up and adopted a draft-bill that would allow non-EU foreign nationals the right to vote and stand in municipal elections.
I'm not saying the National Assembly will pass the draft-bill....just that it will arrive and be discussed. At best, I'd give it a 20-percent chance of passing.
Key deal? Well...you'd have to hold a visa, and have a French ID.
This concept drifting over into Germany? I pondered this.
Neither the CDU-CSU Party or SPD Party would NOT openly discuss this....in fear of driving more voters to AfD.
The Green Party or Linke folks....might discuss it....but they'd likely have the same fear...driving voters to AfD.
In France? I would imagine just having this draft bill discussed.....might drive several million to the far-right.
