How Does A German End Up In A 'Mental-Hold' Situation (Asylum)

 Well...in Germany, involuntary psychiatric commitment, usually called as a "mental hold" or compulsory hospitalization, starts up when an individual's mental health is deemed to impair their sanity to the point of posing a danger to themselves or others, or in certain criminal contexts. 

Note....there IS NOT a single national mental health law but instead involves a combination of federal codes and state-specific regulations (remember 16 states).

So in effect....you could be signed off to a clinic in one state for obvious issues....but if  you were in Hamburg, or Bavaria....you might not be dragged off.

I'll add here.....there's always a judge involved, and some court appointed person to report on things.....and to protect your civil rights.

The three key points?  You have to show some threat/danger to self or others.  You probably will show some or total capacity to control yourself, or consent to things.  Finally, there might be some criminal element....influenced by a mental disorder, where preventive detention may make sense.

Exiting?  There will always be a scripted 'end' where you can test your way out, or have a judge review your success of resolving your issue.  

I looked up the  numbers....out of 84-M folks....around 1-milllion are in some  'program' (some voluntary....some ordered). Based on 2023 numbers.....around 25-percent of the million are NON-volunteers....meaning the judge restricted them to a program (for a short or long period of time). 

Based on the way they count issues.....most are there for a week or two....to stabilize themselves....because nationally, there are only 65,000 beds dedicated to such units. 

The way to look at this....you get doped-up and act crazy....police come and you end up in a holding-cell....where the judge has you sent to a 10-day mental clinic....where some doctor will note you were just temporarily crazy...signs the papers, and out you go by the 10th day. In and out....would be the best way to describe this.

The plus-side of this program?  Well....you don't end up in a prison (like in the US) for 4 years...for stupid crap.   The German  method just notes you needed treatment and the threat of being hospitalized....to correct your behavior.   

Q-and-A

 1.  Likely outcome of the Saxony-Anhalt state election in four weeks?

No doubt....AfD will get around 42-percent of the vote....but be unable to form a coalition. 

So....the odd aspect falls into play in late September....the CDU is tasked to form a coalition....with the SPD, Linke, Greens (all lefty parties).  Majority of 'power' fades for CDU, and it becomes a heavily discussed spiral problem.....which Merz can't do much about.

I'll also say....perhaps 3 out of 10 CDU-likely voters....might see this reality prior to the election, and vote more so....for the AfD....giving them the win and no need for a coalition.

2.  Odds of a female now 'winning' the President of Germany vote?

I'd give it 60-percent chance presently....just to say 'some' female will get SPD, Green and Linke Party 'nod'.  The CDU (with AfD votes) could go a different path.

3.  All this hyped-up threat by drones?

The general feeling is that sooner or later....some drone will 'attack' a power-plant, or passenger jet taking off.  

Saying it's a Russian problem?  I don't see any evidence that it's clearly them....could just as well be some Ukrainian private group with an agenda to draw Germany deeper into a mess.  

4.  This Abdul-character from Berlin.....why was this Islamist at large, even though he was considered extremely dangerous? 

NO one can answer this, and the longer it lingers....the more crappy the mess appears.

5.  New virus worry?

Well....there's a virus previously unknown in Germany....now causing fever, diarrhea, and reduced milk production in cattle in the state of Baden-Württemberg (SW). Mosquito-transmission?  Yeah.

Currently, there is no known risk to humans.....or at least the claim is this.

6.  Thousands of violations of the 12 O'clock gas station rule?

Around 2 months ago....a new rule was made for German gas stations.....you set the standard price for fuel at noon....unable to increase, but you can decrease.  

Well....various stations 'broke' the rule.....raising the price at odd times.  Gov't says they want to clearly go after folks.....but the manpower and amount of detective work...is simply not there.

Kinda funny....you make more rules, but it doesn't work.

8 Aug 2026: Germany: 6 Stories

 1.  Two unidentified drones were seen flying over a Bundeswehr military base in Mechernich, Germany around Thursday even (10 PM).

No ID.....just hyped the Germans up another notch.

2.  US intel 'says' that the explosives found on the drone in Halle....were Russian-type.  Enough to say positively a Russian operation?  No.  Various groups could acquire the explosives.

3.  German-made convertibles going extinct?  Well....back in 2008....around 4.2-percent of all cars produced....from Germany...were convertibles.  Today?  It's around 1.2-percent.  I noted this week....at this point in production....NO German company has any model that they are producing.

4.  Ceuta crisis in Morocco.  Crazy theory being suggested by a ARD (public TV) journalist....that the US (Trump), with the King of Morocco, and Israel's Netanyahu....have cooked up this conspiracy to hurt Spain

On my BS-meter?  I give it a '7'.  What hurts this idea?  Well....there are probably 200 different Trump catastrophic events going on....if you start counting what ARD or ZDF produces.

5.  UEFA (the European authority over soccer)....paid some kind of hush-money to FIFA's boss's (Infantino) mistress.  This apparently goes back....ten to fifteen years ago.  

6.  Rhine River at a record low level....so barge traffic is halted to a great degree.  Trucking is now increasing, and several German states have halted the Sunday ban on truckers.  Temp-deal....seen by most folks.

The Barest of a Bluff?

  I read a piece yesterday....via the Brit Telegraph.

The blunt story?  Vladimir Putin could perhaps attack a NATO country within weeks to test the alliance, US intelligence has warned.

So this forecast centers on a 'test'....either a cyber attack or a land incursion....over the next two years.  Who dug up the forecast?  WSJ.

On my BS-meter (1-to-10)....it's a rock-solid '9'.

Putin having the weapons/hardware inventory to conduct such an operation?  Zero.  If you gave Putin II (the guy standing there in 2046)....maybe a 50-50 situation.  But today?  They lack manpower and hardware.

Who gave the WSJ this BS?  I'm guessing some outsider group to the Pentagon....or some pro-Ukraine group in DC.

How German ZDF Public TV Came To Exist

 I'll tell the story like a bedtime story.

Once upon a time....WW II ended....some Germans gathered up in spring 1949, and wrote the Basic Law (the Constitution). Contained was article 5....which listed TV as a part of German rights.  

German TV was not to be covered by gov't funding....it was a fee (tax) that households would pay...covering the cost.

It was heavily interpreted from the start....TV was supposed to provide culture, education, news, and entertainment (to a lesser degree).  

The network created?  ARD...Channel 1...was to be based out of Hamburg.

Who would monitor the network?  Well...a group of sixty-odd folks....from all over the country, and marginally controlled by the gov't.  It's safe to say....by such a large group....they could really change or guide the network.

So in this fairytale....about a dozen years go by and there's woes in fairytale land. The conservative folks (CDU/CSU) have figured out that basing ARD out of Hamburg...means a left-leaning group mostly runs ARD public forum shows, and the nightly news.  

So the CDU/CSU cooked up this plan in the early 1960s....they'd create a 2nd network....basing it out of Mainz, and it'd have a right-leaning group of journalists. Funding poured in....buildings were acquired, and almost immediately. the lawyers for ARD stepped up....saying the Basic Law prevented a 2nd network.  The court stepped up and agreed....the Basic Law says only one TV empire can exist.

Rather than collapse Channel 2 (the obvious answer)....ARD took control, and 'guided' them.

Instead of having one single left-leaning network....over a period of ten to twenty years...Channel 2 (ZDF) also leaned left.

As RTL arrived in 1984....ARD went back to the court and tried to halt them....saying ONLY one single network could operate in Germany.  Commercial TV was supposed to be prevented.

The court eventually said 'no'.....nothing prevented commercial TV.

The general perception today? If you polled most 18-to-40 year old folks....more than half would say they marginally watch ARD or ZDF....that the monthly tax-fee (around 18 Euro) should be cut, and that some major reform is needed.

Oddly, if the gov't had screwed up in the early 60s....adding ZDF....you'd only have ARD today to mess with.

As for some ending to the fairytale?  Well...no, it just continues on.

Conclusion of Summer?

 This AM....German weather gave a odd 'ending' to the 2026 heat-wave 'mess'.

So prepare....in approximately 10 days (figure between the 16th and 20th of August)....the heat (literally anything above 30 C / 86 F) officially ends.

What remains for the next 30 days after that?  Unseasonable low temperatures (figure 22 C or less for the most part), a fair amount of rain, and a fair amount of cloud cover.  If you had solar panels....it's not a happy feeling.

The 2026 heat-wave?  Well....I'd say....all total....there were about 20 total days (figuring this coming Sunday/Monday to hit 34 C) for the year being ultra HOT.  Basically four waves....the worst being ten days straight of heat.

Folks hyped-up to buy AC units?  News folks claim that AC technicians have a ton of work lined up, and will be busy through October installing new units.

The drought side?  Yeah....it's probably the most intense drought period across all of Germany....in thirty-odd years.  In my valley....the last real massive rain....was the end of March.  Since late April....there's been around four light rainfalls....never really amounting to much.  The grass?  Absolutely dead.

My Humble Thoughts Over The Halle Airport Drone 'Threat'

 First, if this were FSB/KGB (the Russians)....they wouldn't have screwed up and failed on two drone 'threats'.

Second, it was around midnight when the drones were 'sent-in'.  It seems like....whoever was the pilot....didn't readily know the layout of the airport.

Third, it could have just as well....been some local 18-year-old German kid who did it as a 'joke'.

Fourth....so far.....the make, model, brand of the drone....have been kept quiet....which is odd.

Fifth, the C-4 explosive?  No data yet on that....which is odd.

7 August 2026: Germany: 7 Things

 1. This halted drone attack at the Halle Airport?  Well....two aspects laid out yesterday.  First....the guy who spotted it....a bus-driver for a tour group....saw it land on the ground (no reason given)....got out....stomped on it to disable it.  Cops came about 10-to-15 minutes later....to find it was 'armed' with an explosive.

Second thing....the Interior Ministry is NOT convinced it was the Russians.  This has confused the public TV journalists a good bit.  I'll just say....there's probably six or more groups I would be eyeballing, and the Russians are on the list....but so are the Iranians, the CIA guys, private Ukrainians with a agenda, and Ukrainian gov't guys.

2.  France.  About those fires.  Well...the authorities now say that they've arrested 402 individuals who were trying to start fires....roughly 150 of them....were juveniles.  

3.  FIFA boss (Gianni Infantino) says he is not considering stepping down. Crisis meeting wrapped up yesterday.....he intends to stay until forced out.

4.  Study of effect done....if the food VAT (tax) is raised to normal VAT levels (19-percent)....for a family of four....it means around 1,200 to 1,400 Euro a year MORE.  Public really not agreeing much with the VAT change.

5.  Morocco has said now....they will NOT accept back the juveniles in Ceuta (the Spanish enclave). 

6.  Lot of discussion going on....to pick the next German President (after Steinmeier leaves office in January).  Two hypes.....one that it should be open to non-political folks (unlikely to occur).  The other being that it MUST be a woman.

My suggestion....get a transwoman up for the job.

7.  Jason Arday....the Cambridge sociology of education professor.....having resigned a day or two ago....over plagiarism allegations in his academic work is fully 'gone'.

The college now says that they will have a investigation to figure out how they screwed-up.

I see 3 problems.....first, if you open up to this issue....there is a pretty good chance that a 2nd and 3rd idiot-professor also exists....so everyone needs a review.

Second thing, if you had folks who took two or three of his classes....do they still get 'credits'?

Finally, do you sue to recover 'pay'?  (I should add....I do wonder what the guy will do for a job in the future....flipping burgers or driving a bus?)

I watched yesterday....about 15 minutes of a clip over his professor-talk.  I wasn't that impressed, and about 60-percent of it....was pure BS.  But it started to make me think....across the US, there's probably 5,000 instructors of this type...dumbass types with a PhD that was fake-work.  They aren't really teaching anything....just BSing folks to a level of thinking they know something.