Late-Night TV Chatter

 Former Federal Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière did a late-night German talk  show.  I'd describe him as a fairly thoughtful 'thinker'.   

At some point, the moderator asks him about the causes  of the AfD's success.

Maizière says something to the effect....he doesn't see the causes of the AfD's success solely in mistakes by the government.  He suggests....there needs to be some  'effect-for-greater-willingness-to-change' among the population.

I paused here.  

First,  you'd have to find some 'path' where the public is convinced of some greater good in the 'making'.   So far.....this has not been a great epic/saga story.  The news media and content-makers-for-the-gov't....have done a half-ass job.

I'm not even convinced that AfD did their job in telling their story or successes.

Second, I would imagine for every 500 'good' stories of migration that you can tell....there's one pretty lame/crappy story....where Germany was too much  for some migrant-guy to handle. The problem....once you yank on this guy's 'chain' and document the deportation necessity.....it's a four-star mess and makes the gov't look like dimwits.

Finally, some German will eventually ask....where in the Constitution is 'change' mandated?

YouGov Polling

 If a national election were held today in Germany?

AfD would have 29-percent.

CDU-CSU: 20-percent.

SPD: 12-percent.  Greens: 14-percent.  Linke: 12-percent.  BSW; 4-percent. FDP: 5-percent.

So....here's the odd factor....if you split CDU/CSU....it comes out to CDU around 15-percent, and CSU around 5-percent.

If BSW were to cross the line to 5-percent....they'd get seats.  Eight parties....with seats?  It'd be a record (since 1930s).

Yeah....folks are awful divided.

UK Chatter

 For 2 days, I've been observing this Brit 'mandate'....curfew on Brit teens under 17....no social media except BlueSky.

I noted someone posting a comment from their daughter: “I’m confused. We’ve always been taught not to share personal information or anything that identifies us online because it isn’t safe. Now they want us to do exactly that to access social media.”

Yeah, it's a valid point....you WILL have to share private/personal data with the UK gov't and the social media 'clowns'.

Did the gov't take away phone-chat ability?  No...oddly, that remains in place.  WhatsAp?  That appears to stay in place as well.

End-of-the-world mental stage?  Well...yesterday...a fair number of teens were acting that way.

AI eventually getting into this mess?  I started to think.....could you rig up AI to create a 'bridge'....where you were age 15 and could still connect to social media?

Final observation....one day....these 16/17 year old 'punks' will be age 18, and vote.  They will remember what Labour did  to them, and in some funny way....pay Labour back. 

This Elon Musk-ZDF Court 'Battle'?

 To lay out the mess....ZDFheute Live (news update, public TV)came up on 12 June 2026 and was moderated by Christina von Ungern-Sternberg.  Rather than say she's a talking 'head'....no, she's also a editor....so  she writes her own stuff.

So for this update....she says... „Ein brutaler Mordversuch auf offener Straße in Belfast. Jemand filmt, das Video geht viral. Ein rassistischer Mob macht daraufhin Jagd auf Migranten. Dazu aufgerufen hatten ein britischer Rechtsextremist und Tech-Milliardär Elon Musk.“

Translation?  “A brutal murder attempt on the open street in Belfast. Someone films it, the video goes viral. A racist mob then hunts down migrants. A British right-wing extremist and tech."

Problem?  In the art of 'framing' (this is when you insert non-facts to get a viewer to your way of thinking.....she suggests that Elon said.....'hunt on migrants'.

At the time, I went back to Grok/AI and asked.....did Elon ever say such? No....Grok says never.

So Elon has put his lawyers onto ZDF.

How this will play out? I suspect Elon wants three things.....ZDF will have to pay for Elon's  lawyers....pay some guilt-money (I'm guessing  a sum greater than 1-million Euro), and have some ZDF employee on the news admit they created fake-news.

ZDF lawyers? I would assume they are deep into this and shaking their  heads.  There's probably some poor English translation BS involved, and no one really supervising the news  staff.

So...step one....try to just issue a written apology, and find that this will not be enough.

Step two....offer a 100,000 Euro and legal fees....and find that will not be enough.

Finally....near half-a-million Euro....the door will open, but admitting creation of fake news is a problem.  They will eventually reach a point where someone  is dragged out and forced to make a statement live on the air.

I'll add this....after this mess is squared away....there will be some management 'rule' established....if you are going to utter anything on Elon Musk, you need to clear the text 24 hours prior with network lawyers. 

None of this is 'funny'....but it lays out the problems of framing the news, and why you have to pay attention to what you perceive as facts....when it might not be a fact.

Are German Train Stations A Drug 'Hang-Out"?

 Couple of years ago....I went to Helsinki and stayed at a fine hotel about 6 blocks from the train-station. I asked the door-guy....any areas I should avoid?  He responded with one corner/end of the train-station....drug-dealer hang-out.  Naturally, about the 3rd day....I was at the station and  observed what I considered a fairly 'nice' and clean train-station....but in three minutes....it hit me....there was this 40 meter by 20 meter area....which had some shady-type characters (obviously dealers).  It wasn't dangerous, but the door-guy was correct...it was just a place to walk-through....don't linger.

About 20 years ago....I would have said this over Frankfurt or Hamburg.  Since then....you need to really plan your entry/exit....giving zero time to linger.

Mainz/Wiesbaden?  Both stations have roaming police, but if you walk out the side-doors....you might bump into the drug-crews.  

I would imagine if you listed the top forty train-stations of Germany.....they all have this problem now.

What pumped up the drug-scene?  I'd say mostly migrants....mostly young males, who got into addictions, and no one really saw the trouble brewing...until it was too late.  The buyers?  Male, and female.....Germans and non-Germans.

How things will go in twenty years?  At some point....a crack-down will occur. 

Crimea: Downward Turn

 I follow the war news/speculation a good bit.  This AM....I noted three things:

1.  Grocery shelves in the Crimea are slow in being filled.....I won't say it's a shortage, but it's obvious food is slow in being delivered to the region.

2.  Electrical outages in the Crimea are increasing.  The Russians can't reliably produce/deliver power.  

3. 9 June.....drone attack on a key bridge for the Crimea....while I agree, it'll be repaired within a few days....if Ukraine develops some massive anti-bridge strategy....logistics becomes a mess.

15 June 2026: Germany: 5 Stories

 1.  I watched the Germany-Curacao game...easily won by the Germans. Seats empty? I'd say less than 3,000 (humble view).

2.  Some kind of weird 'attack' in Frankfurt....argument between guys (they all seem to be 18-24....each guy pulls out a machete.  Police description....it didn't get extremely bloody.

Argument over what?  Unknown.

This happened on Zeil Strasse....main shopping district...near the Konstablerwache subway point.  After dark, its a somewhat questionable area to hang out...druggies.

If you were wondering....machetes are legal in Germany....as long as you are '18' and engaged in agricultural/forest work.  I doubt that this group were engaged in 'work'.

3. Swiss vote on keeping population of 10-million....failed.  Lot of discussion came up around Germany over the idea.

4.  Iran treaty signed....lot of speculation that German fuel prices will  'settle' downward.

5. UK says it'll set up a curfew for social media for 16/17 year old British 'kids'. 

Personally, I'd mandate all 17-and-younger kids to curfew at 7 PM....be in the house...in bed....sleeping.

Wiesbaden Street Fest 'Action'

 Went Friday evening  to the city street fest.

Spent?  Roughly 95 Euro over 2 hours, for 2 people.  Yeah....hefty.  A family of four?  You would have spent easily 160 Euro.

Pork-on-a-stick?   12 Euro each....a tad too salty.

Large crowd?  If I compared against 2019 (before Covid)....probably 20-percent  fewer people.  

Safety-factor?  From 1-to-10.....easily a '10'.   Each avenue had blocks up to prevent attacks.

French cheese/bread?  Probably ten vendors from France.