27 April 2024: Seven German Stories

 1.  One of the more positive aspects of working in a German plant/industry....was the company-run canteen....where you gathered up for lunch and ate a fairly cheap meal.

Focus ran a piece this AM....talking about the spiral of canteens.

What they generally say....sales have dropped....maybe up to 60-percent, after Covid.  People got used to the no-contact and no-friendship situation.  

2.  This 'Cicero' talk over the closure of nuke stations in Germany and involving the Green Party's Habeck....is going to a new level now.  This Cicero editor (Graber) says now that he has even more details that he will release in the future.  

Zero risk that Germany will revert back to nuke power, but for Habeck and the Green  Party....high risk of this hurting their image for the national election.  Most were expecting Habeck to the chancellor candidate for the Greens.

3.  I sat and watched a Russian economist (he'd left the country) talk over impending problems on the economy.  

Via a private foundation numbers, he says more women than ever....now employed in Russian society since the war started.  Also chatter about a draft law allowing companies to hire 14-year old Russian kids for industry jobs.  Then he got onto the subject of having smart capable folks around for building things, and how Russia really can't demonstrate much of a future.  Worth a viewing (here).

I don't see the war ending in 2024, or for that matter 2025.  But when it finally does end....I don't see a Russia with the stated population of 144-million people.  I  also don't see them being dominate in economic terms for at least 20 years.

4.  Financial problems in data-streaming of German soccer games now existing.  DFL (national control of soccer)....was supposed to release a big chunk of money down through the 1st and 2nd league.  Well...instead of 127-million Euro flowing, ONLY 47-million Euro flowed.  This company on the providing end....DAZN appears to have over-calculated what they thought they could generate.

Hurting soccer?  I suspect a lot of the clubs were somewhat dependent on this to survive.  You might expect ticket  prices to bump up by one-third in the next season.

5.  Both GETIR and Gorillas (the delivery of food in major urban areas) are giving up.....they couldn't sustain profit.

I think part of their problem....as Covid ended....people lessened the use of food delivery.

6.  Porsche profits down by 30-percent.

7.  15-year old kid in Berlin....had taken a ride-share vehicle, and got a cop-chase underway.  By the end....number of vehicles damaged by his action, and four policemen injured.  Cops eventually arrested him....handing him over to his mom, and there's likely to be a court session next month for him to attend.

How Does A Weapons-Free Zone Work In Germany?

 Well....first, you erect signs which basically say this 'zone' (defined in some way) is a area where you are not permitted to carry weapons or knives with fixed or lockable blades with a blade length of more than four centimeters.

Usually under the sign....it'll say a time-rule.  Example, the zone exists from 6 PM to 6 AM.  

Then another sign will indicate...police will patrol and have the right to frisk you and ask for your German national ID card.

Then, they have a little fee deal involved....where one single knife or weapon mandates a meeting with some judge, and a fine (figure minimum of 500 Euro). 

The idea is....we want to get your attention.  

Where they pick these zones?  Usually where the police tell the authority trouble has started up (mostly near train stations or downtown areas).  

Affect?  Based on police commentary....it lessens bad-boy behavior to some degree....but the threat of a fine isn't a joke.  In the case of Wiesbaden, their fine can go up to 5,000 Euro.  So one single knife on your possession (say at 10 PM)....could cost you two months of salary.  

Then you take into consideration....the intimidation factor that the police will just halt you and want some ID.  

A development in the past decade?  That's the funny part of the story.  Wiesbaden was the first town to go this direction and the whole idea came up around 2017,  with the action signed into law by the end of 2018.  What cops will say....prior to this decade....you had simple assaults (fights), without weapons.  Then at some point....say 2010 to 2017....numbers started to add up and worry the general public.

This Norovirus Chatter

 Lot of fest action going on in SW Germany, and it appears that this norovirus has started up.  

More than 700 folks affected....mostly nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

City of Stuttgart health folks say it was NOT food or drink where it got passed around....just folks going  to the bathroom, and FAILING to wash hands (usually a guy-thing).

The bad thing about this?  There's no real medication to use.  You simply go through the 24-to-72 hour business....rest...and hydrate.

Avoiding crowds and fests for now?  Well....if you use alcohol wipes, and wash after using a rest-room.....in most cases, you might prevent a case.   

26 April 2024: Seven German News Stories

 1. In recent months, if you follow US car insurance rates....everyone is getting a hefty dose of reality, with yearly rates going up.

Well....I noticed off Focus....same issue brewing in Germany....where the national car  insurance folks are reporting a three billion euro loss.

Rates?  The figure given is a 20-percent rate increase expected.

2.  Norovirus in Stuttgart?  What the news reports are saying....726 folks at a fest tent....ended up with diarrhea, vomiting and nausea.  Person-to-person contact.  Pretty serious.

3.  German Constitutional Court about to decide who pays for extra police protection at soccer games.  They may say that the arena and soccer clubs may get with the bill.   Could inflate ticket prices by double.  

I will say this....almost every single arena now has some police presence....minimum of forty police either inside or outside the event.  If you count up....man-hours for a  minimum situation is 1,600.  

4.  Curious development on ending of German nuke power stations.  

Cicero (the news magazine) says that the Federal Ministry of Economics 'rigged' up a report about the nature to shut down the nuke plants (the remaining three).

Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck and Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Green Party both) are rumored to have controlled internal concerns.

Both say the comment is not correct.  However, for Friday....two committees of the Bundestag are supposed to open up a discussion.

If any were true (I have doubts)....yeah, it could trigger coalition talks....asking questions that the Greens would prefer not to answer. 

One odd bit, WELT says that various members of the Energy Ministry had the opinion that keeping last couple of nuke plants operational....had strong benefit, and they were outruled by Habeck.  

All of this....a wasted talk?  Well....yeah, there are now no nuke plants in operation.  Zero interest by both the CDU/CSU or SPD parties to restart nuke plants.  Majority of German public see no reason to restart.  They would readily admit if they have to buy nuke power from France or neighboring country....it's perfectly acceptable to do that.  Even if you proved on paper that bringing back six nuke plants could cut 30-percent of electrical cost....will to rebuild is zero. 

5.  WELT study report....almost 22-percent of young Germans (14-to-29) would vote AfD Party (far-right) currently.  That's almost double in a year.  Some fear of where this may lead onto.

6.  Bundestag set to vote on having a military veteran's day....would be 15 June. 

7.  400 jobs likely to be cut at the German Tesla factory.

25 April 2024: Five German News Stories

 1.  Focus article, Wolfram Weimer gave an interview...says that insiders to the German Green Party are quietly preparing for an early national election (was set to Fall of 2025).  This disagreement between the FDP Party (coalition member) is the driving force.  

Personally, I can't see the big 'fall' occurring prior to summer vacation...would likely occur early August/September where a collapse might occur.  But you have to figure 3 state elections set for Sep/Oct already in 2024.

2.  Odd school story out of Ludwigshafen...involving a first-grade group.  Teachers and staff have decided in this one school...out of 147 kids....they will 'repeat' with 44 kids the entire year over.  Reason?  These kids don't speak German well enough to pass onto the second grade.

3.  Sahra Wagenknecht of the BWS Party (the new folks).....says maybe there should be a 'new' vote in the Bundestag over the idea of forbidding gas/diesel new car sales in 2035 in Germany.

Making this an election topic?  Yeah, I would imagine that.

Attitude by Germans?  No one has really polled people to say how the national trend on the topic is going.

This was a position staked out by Chancellor Merkel, and simply pushed.  One interesting trend currently....it appears that new registrations of E-cars has peaked, and it's getting harder to sell E-cars of any type.

If you asked me....from working-class Germans...fewer than one-third are hyped-up or enthusiastic about E-cars.  I could even envision 2075 coming around and half the cars in the nation are used gas/diesel cars from the 2020s.  

4.  WELT piece, study done by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation....says that at the local levels of government...increasing number of Germans feel disconnected, and that politicians at the city level....aren't listening to the public.  

5.  N-TV did a piece talking over the German Army deployment (permanent basis) into Lithuania.  Brigade size.  Cost?  11-billion Euro to build a operational base and quarter 5,000 German soldiers and their families.

Lot of money, and it probably shocks the coalition.  Even if they spread it out over five years....it'll be a problem.  

24 April 2024: Seven German News Stories

1.   Just odd.  German cops have detained an employee of the AfD's top candidate for the European elections (Maximilian Krah). Accusation against the guy?  He's a hired-up spy for China (yeah, not Russia as you might expect).

Now....who was he spying upon?  Well....not really the German gov't.  He was supposed to be spying on the Chinese opposition movement going on in Germany.

So, the other part to this story (this is what  ARD-TV says).....the same guy offered himself to the German gov't a couple of years ago....but they turned him down....saying they thought he was a double-agent of some type.

2.  For 2023, around 16,000 Germans who were unemployed.....were offered jobs, and refused the jobs....so their welfare money was cut in some minor way.  ARD talked over this story last night....which leaves a lot of working-class Germans peeved how they pay into the 'pot', and there are jobs existing...which people unemployed....still refuse.

3.  30 cm of snow has fallen in past 24 hours in Bavaria.

4.  ARD news: about every single German adult....loses around 2,600 Euro because of the energy crisis and the ban on purchasing Russian natural gas.  Growing pressure to end the ban and get some Russian gas movement.

5.  Odd attack in the Mannheim University library....German guy with a machete.  Police called.  Tried to calm the guy down....ended up having to shoot him (dead).  One library worker injured by the guy.  All the police say is that he'd had a couple of police interactions before and been banned from the library.  

6.  WELT piece....almost half of all German teachers report physical or psychological violence among their students.  Growing burn-out rate noted.  

7.  WELT: 'Youth in Germany' study done.  Odd discussion going on....from Gen-Z population....growing rate of youth attracted to right-wing politics.  Presently, twice as many from 2022....would now vote for AfD.

Hot (Not)

Just scolding hot for this upcoming weekend in Germany and eastern Europe.  Predicted to be 25 C (77 F) over in Stuttgart.  Boiling hot-hot.

Well....to be honest, you might get a sweat up if you bundled up in sweatshirts, and just sipped warm beer.

The red-tint thing going overboard?  Yeah, but until they invent a personalized color scheme where you can adjust it yourself.....this is their game.

23 April 2024: Two German News Stories

 1.  Curious piece in Focus this AM.....around two weeks ago, we had a one-on-one debate between Mario Voigt, the CDU's top candidate for the upcoming state elections in Thuringia, against the right-wing AfD chairman candidate, Björn Höcke.  Public was asked how they felt about the debate and nearly 50-percent said they want more of the one-on-one debates.....to have a clear understanding of 'arguments'.

2.  EU plan to end gas/diesel car 'new' sales by 2035....in trouble?  Well...various political groups are asking questions and the enthusiasm appears to be lessening.

The Scenario Of A Early Election?

 Well....there are five factors at work.

1.  SPD Party won't nominate or push their guy Scholtz (current Chancellor).  The Defense Minister....Pistorius would be the pick.  People disturbed by this?  No.  I would suggest since day one....a majority saw Scholtz as simple a 'gap-filler'.

2.  The CDU Party automatically running Merz as Chancellor candidate?  I will suggest that a meeting will occur, and Merz is among 3 other individuals for the party to select from.  The pro-Merkel folks don't care for Merz....so things are 'sure'.

3.  Green popularity right now?  I'd say they've lost 5 points since the last election, and there are some Greens who think the current crew are not pro-left enough.

4.  The new party.....BWS?  Likely they will take near 10-percent of votes.  

5.  AfD Party?  They peaked about 3 months ago, and presently.... they might only manage 16-percent.  

If they were to hold an election in late fall?  Well....it'd have an affect on 3 state elections of Sep/Oct.  I'm not sure if that is a positive or negative.

Most of this chatter due to the recession?  Well....there might be a couple of reasons to run a early election.  Economic conditions are openly discussed.  

22 April 2024: Two German News Stories

1.  From the weekend chatter...via Focus, The FDP Party has stood up (as a coalition member) and appears to be putting pressure on the SPD and the Greens for a reform 'fix' via the welfare program (citizens' money). 

The attitude by most news pieces?  They suggest this could be the end of the coalition and some national election a year ahead of time.

There's been polls for a year to suggest that a good two-thirds of Germans would prefer an early election, and dump the Chancellor.

2.  Interesting inflation effect on German society.  Focus wrote up a trend piece....saying that Germans now come into a restaurant...order a drink and dinner.  As soon as the dinner is finished, rather than sit there for a 2nd or 3rd drink....the consumer gets up and leaves.  

I'll admit....in most occasions  eating out....the wife and I will traditionally sit there for a minimum of one more drink after we finish the meal.  

21 April 2024: Six German News Stories

 1.  Soccer season is about to end....key story left, Bayern has yet to find the coach for their team in the next season.  They have probably the best rooster of players in the entire German top league, but consider virtually every single loss to be an affair to cry over and weep.  Lot of coaches simply don't want the stress.

2.  Top headline in Focus: Iran supposedly a couple of weeks away from developing a nuke bomb.  'Expert' chatter.  Might be BS....might not be.  

3.  Snow and ice in various higher elevations of Germany this AM.  If you put summer tires on last  week....you probably shouldn't be traveling anywhere for the next 48 hours.

4.  The legend of 'Chico' continues.  Spring of 2022...A Turk-German guy named 'Chico' won 9.9-million Euro in the lotto.  Chico had often been in trouble....even doing some time in prison.  

Most people expected Chico to have spent all of the money in three or four years.  He did an interview in the past week and the question of 'how much was left' came up.

Chico say that he has a good bit invested, and that he has in the neighborhood of seven million Euro left.

Part of the dynamics to careful management?  Well...reading through other sources....he has a girlfriend that came into the picture....who works for the police.  Major influence on him.

He also invested a fair amount of the money into property....rentals.  So he's got a monthly income rolling in.

5.  In case you were wondering....the Bahn folks (railway system) has banned cannabis smoking within the stations.  Topic came up this AM.  But their wording simply says 'inside'....meaning you could walk ten meters out of any station and smoke on the 'open'.

I should add....there are national rules written that even around sports venues (stadiums for example)....smoking of cannabis is forbidden.

6.  Some chatter this AM for the state official from Thuringia....in charge of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (at the state level)...now calling for public awareness....that Russian espionage/spies are in some effort to scout out attack targets in Germany. 

Reading through the piece (N-TV reported).....he has a valid  point, but there's probably been such people around since the 1950s doing target surveillance (nothing really new).

Germans expecting such trouble?  No.  General public perception is that there can only be no-war or all-out-war in their mind.  The idea of sabotaging twenty autobahn bridges or blowing up a dozen railway tunnels....isn't really in their mind. 

Two Odd German Things

 1.  I noticed yesterday....Munich city gov't has said now.....come Oktoberfest....there will not be a tent or acceptance of cannabis on the fair-grounds.  

Number of folks had asked about this, and I got the impression that several organizations wanted a cannabis-fest tent operation.  

End of the story?  Well....I would imagine some groups are approaching local towns around Munich about allowing them to have a hooka/cannabis fest-tent operation.  But I don't expect anyone there to approve of this.

2.  WELT (the paper) had an unusual article over criminals in Germany.  There's a PhD guy who has studied criminal behavior and come to a conclusion.  If you have a criminal background, with a IQ level below 70....prison is not the right place to send you.

His suggestion?  This group ought to be put in a mental institute....not a prison.  

I sat and read through a lot of reports having nothing to do with this idea.  Brit report from a decade ago....says (at least from a UK prospective)....that 7-percent of their criminal population have a below 70 on the IQ.  But the same report said that between 70 and 79 IQ levels....it's almost a quarter of their population who have marginal intelligence.  

20 April 2024: 4 German News Stories

 1.  Large segment on Focus...talking up Putin, strategy of Russia to take on NATO, invade Baltic states, etc.  Probably worth a read.

Just a lot of BS chatter.  Russians have lost bulk (probably 90-percent) of all hardware for the Army since 2000, in this invasion of Ukraine.  Even if you started to rebuild....it'd take 20 to 30 years to be back into a real threat to NATO.

2.  ARD (public German TV, Channel One) has their 'boss' out and doing PR to sell the general public on media-tax increase. 

No real polls existing, but I'd say it's near 50-percent of the public who want major reform of public TV, and zero tax increase. 

3.  Nuthetal (town outside of Berlin)....has put up a city-wide rule....no robotic mowers operating at night.

I'll just say that this robotic mower thing has really caught on with the general public.  So the odd thing is that it's fairly quiet, and folks even run the mowers in evening hours.  The threat here?  Small hedge hogs are active at night, and the mowers 'threaten' them in some fashion.

4.  Some political talk of a national day to recognize German military vet's.  

19 April 2024: Seven German News Stories

 1. Gelsenkirchen is the first German city to ban E-scooters.  Frankly, I've seen a ton of dangerous handling by teenagers over the past year....in walk-platz areas around where I live.  

2.  WELT piece.....of all the folks who ran off to the ISIS-war in Syria/Iraq....German authorities figure that 40-percent roughly...have returned to Germany.  What the German gov't says....all are facing investigations, possible charges, and 'deradicalization measures'.  

3.  WELT piece....Tiger mosquito is becoming a major issue in Germany.

4.  KaDeWe store in Berlin (the Macey's like store) has been on a spiral downward for the past year.  RBB has a piece saying that both the rent for the store....and the sales itself....have been the issue to bring them to near-bankruptcy.

I'll say from my one and only visit (six years ago).....it was a fantastic place to walk around....but I'd never buy anything there.

5.  Berlin (the city) is offering a 29-Euro Bahn/bus monthly ticket.  Lot of criticism over this....from the Bahn, Bavaria and federal Transport Ministry.  They say the city is using city funds to cheapen the ticket (it should be 49-Euro), and that the city gets 'extra' money because of their status as the national capital.  

Legally?  The three have a point, but I don't think there's a law broken.

6.  Just an odd statement that you have to sit and pause over.  Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP).....says the German economy is suffering to some degree....mostly from a deficit in the number of hours worked. 

He relates this to Italy and France, saying “significantly more work is being done."

It would have helped if he'd related this to something....like to build something in France....it'd take 350 man-hours...while in Germany, it'd take 400 man-hours.  But he didn't really say it in that manner.  

7.  Fairly intense 'mess' going on with tv rights and German soccer.

From what I can figure....there was a auction underway yesterday, and some legal forms arrive....to halt the auction with DFL.

Dispute?  Has to do with DAZN,who has the present streaming service contract.  

Interview Story

It's not really worth dragging out but it was a curious piece off the late ARD (public German TV) news last night.....on the “Tagesthemen” news segment.

The moderator news gal....had a live interview going with the Foreign Minister (Annalena Baerbock, Green Party). 

The interview....went 'south' and in a matter of eight minutes....there were at least six different moments of confusion.

The moderator would go and correct her and refocus her on the question.

All of this because of her recent trip to the Middle East?  Yeah.

Just tired and run-down?  At the end....after the segment ended....I thought this.  If you've been up for sixteen hours and been through a long hard day....you'd make mistakes like this.  Personally, the last thing on Earth I'd do.....is run some interview late at night.  

The negative today?  Well....the whole interview is hyped-up over her mistakes.  

18 April 2024: Two German News Stories

 1.  Bahn (railway) folks announced a change or two.  They are going to introduce private cabins into future train 'cars' that they buy....for 2 people.  They didn't say the pricing but I would assume it's in first class.  Curious thing....the seats would be opposite of each other...meaning the bulk of the remaining car is simply open seats and no view of that side of the car.

Another thing....in major stations, you have 'travel-centers' where a couple of agents handle reservations.  They've decided to upgrade these facilities around Germany with a ultra-modern look.  

2.  South of Munich....getting into the mountains....there's chatter of 50 centimeters of snow coming by Friday night.

Political Chatter

 I sat and watched a German public TV program last night....dealing with politics, and a particular German figure (he would be one of the top ten German politicians).  In the middle of the piece...they throw up a slide that was a poll....where they asked regular Germans about the empathy 'index' or rating they'd give the guy.  

Curiously, of a 1-to-10 rating....he got mostly between a '3' and '4'....meaning they (the public) mostly didn't see empathic 'skills' at work.  This would mean it's more difficult to sell the person to the public.

I paused over this.  Traditionally....at least from the 1970s to 1990s....Germans were looking for someone who carried himself in debates....displayed some intellect and wisdom.  

Definition of empathy?  Well....the skill to display some emotion (real or fake) gives the audience/voters an understanding of what other people feel.  If a regular person sees a recession....then even if you disagree and try to sell people into believing it's not a recession.....you at least give them some 'feeling' for their point of view.  Yeah, you are in their shoes....so to speak.

In a German integration class....this empathy stuff was heavily discussed.  At a break in the class....a Syrian with English skills engaged me on the topic.  He simply said....in Syria.....this empathy stuff would be regarded as BS, and you would disregard the whole conversation.  I paused over this talk and responded.....Germans want you to pretend you agree with them....even if you don't.  Then I added...it's best to just nod your head and as much as they fake you out.....you need to fake them out.

This mention of the poll?  Well....the network folks are mostly telling you that empathy matters....whether true or faked-up.  All of this....left over from the Merkel era?  You have to remember.....everything on the Merkel agenda...was always 'center-center'.  There was no left-of-center or right-of-center. I suspect if you asked most German journalists....this is pretty important.

This 2025 election top topics?  Well....I would offer the humble feeling that it's mostly over five topics: the economy, cost of energy, the war in Ukraine (either you are for Ukraine, or Russia), migration and social welfare (either to get more unemployed people working, or to improve the lifestyles of the welfare class).  

Frankfurt Chatter

 I watched my regional public TV station this AM (HR network).....covering a piece on Frankfurt.

For those who didn't notice it....the Brit paper....the 'SUN'....carried a recent article and described Frankfurt's train station neighborhood...as the "largest slum in Germany" and "zombie land".  

Cause?  Well...literally two to three thousand drug addicts  in an area of 2 kilometers by 3 kilometers.  Aggressive policing within the station keeps crime to a minimum, but once you step outside of the front or sides of the station....you feel a bit unsafe (my own words).

Early 1978....I rode the train into Frankfurt for the first time, and walked out of the front....to feel 100-percent safe.  Even throughout the 1980s and 1990s....I felt safe.  

In the past dozen years?  I'd advise you to step out the door and walk as quickly as possible for at least 15 minutes....to get beyond the addict zone.  I'd also tell you after dark....don't walk the area.

So the reason why the Brits brought this up?  Well....the European Football Championship in June and July...five games to be played in Frankfurt (actually well outside of the addict-zone.

This discussion has peeved the mayor, and they seem intent on getting rid of the reputation.  

This resolution phase?  Well....if you bring it up to Frankfurt residents....they've been waiting twenty years for someone to clean up the mess.  

As for the addicts going away?  Unless you took active enforcement and forced 3,000-odd people into a drug-program....I don't see this getting fixed.  

Saying it's the worst of any city in Germany?  I would suggest Hamburg in active competition....along with Berlin.  But the problem in Frankfurt is mostly because of the confined nature of the crowd....6 square kilometers.  

As for attending the soccer games there?  The stadium is around 4 km south of the river, and probably 5 km from the train station.  My advice....find a hotel on the south or west of Frankfurt, and just avoid the main station in town as much as possible.  This area around the stadium is one of the safer areas of the region....without any weird problems. 

17 Apr 2024: Five German News Stories

 1.  German police....about once or twice a year...will have a speed-week.  Meaning?  Well....they go out of their way on catching you above the speed limit.

Between yesterday (Tuesday) and Friday....it's a speed-week.

Even as they tell you this....giving 'warning'...it doesn't matter.  Just in my local area of Wiesbaden....there's probably to be at least 200 people who will be cited.

2.  ZDF (public TV, Channel 2) ran a prime-time 45-min piece on the CDU candidate for the 2025 federal election....Merz.  You can watch it here.

Next week?  The anticipated SPD candidate (NOT Scholz)....Pistorous.  I should comment ere....the SPD folks have not met to discuss things, but you won't  find that many members of the party charged-up on Scholz.

I also anticipate they will be doing a piece on Lindner (FDP) and Habeck (Green Party).

Well ahead of the election?  Well....yeah, that is a bit obvious.  I think if you polled the general public....more than three-quarters of the public want a new election to reset matters.

3.  Just odd...the mayor of Amsterdam gave a speech yesterday....advocating for a free/open market for cocaine.  The comment went with the theme....the 'drug-war' has failed.  In the simplicity of it....he is suggesting a regulated market.

4.  Odd term being used and thrown around in German politics....'Merkelians'.  These are conservatives who follow Merkel's views of center-center politics (not really left or right).  They will claim CDU Party status.  How many?  Unknown.

5.   Newest political trend poll....shows Green Party at 12-percent (lowest in six years).

New German Book

 Hyped-up talk this week....over a new book coming out in about ten days....entitled "Black Box Uni", by Franca Bauernfeind....a 25-year old German.

I haven't read the book yet....but I've been gazing over interviews and commentary.

It's a 260-odd page book....talking over the leftish trends in German universities.....written from a student's prospectives.

Bauernfeind....a CDU (right-of-center) person?  Yes. 

Based on chatter....she's written comments that would be similar in nature to what you saw in the US already in the 2010-to-2015 era.....where the bulk of professors are 'selling' a left point of view.

What I'll predict is that this starts more forums along the discussion of politics.  

15 Apr 2024: Five German News Stories

 1.  When you go into most major German city centers.....the shopping district have large empty store-fronts.  Wiesbaden currently has one enormous store building in this 'decay' situation.

Well....I noticed via Focus yesterday.....Ikea has decided to look for excellent rental deals in such urban centers....rent out a building, and set up a show-room situation.  First ones? Koln and Stuttgart.  

2.  AfD Party nationally?  Polling from the weekend says their national numbers have retreated....down to 18-perent now.  If a national election were to occur now?  Well....the polling says that the CDU/CSU would get 30-percent, with the SPD at 3rd place (16-percent).  

3.   For those who aren't aware, there are a number of hangover drinks now available in Germany....after a hard night of drinking.  Two of the more known drinks are: One:47 and Alkorin.  I personally won't vouch for either....but they are well known.

So, it came up in RBB news out of Berlin, there's a new service where you call (say at 6 AM on Sunday) and you say hangover issues....then some 'nurse' (she or he is actually registered as such).....will come out for X-amount of money and bring you a recovery drink.  

I won't say this is a great business idea but there's probably a couple thousand Euro a month that you could make off some delivery-scheme and a nurse on a scooter.

4.  Harsh public transportation news this week for me in the local area.  City of Wiesbaden went and cut 35,490 'trips' from their schedule (for the remainder of the year).  

For me?  I have two lines running through my village, an it appears that 52 trips were cut for each seven days (between the two lines).

Lack of funding?  Yeah, and a problem recruiting/keeping bus-drivers.  

But those guys selling you on how public transportation is going be the 'answer' in the future?  You can dismiss those folks.

5.  Live action telecast by ARD/ZDF (public TV in Germany) over the Iran attack on Israel?  Well....no.  This got brought up yesterday....where a number of Germans were curious about what was going on (near midnight) and it was simply too late for the limited manpower of the two to say anything much.  If you wanted live reporting.....CNN was your best possibility.

14 April 2024: Six German News Stories

 1.  Attack....involving a German police operation at the Suhl initial reception refugee center on Friday night. TAG24 source.

What the police....somewhere along 10:30....couple  of folks of the center got into a discussion, which led onto a argument.  Fight then broke out.....appears that they had iron-bars as weapons, and the cops got called to settle it.

Yeah...couple of the residents ended up wounded from the fight.

What this was about?  Police don't say, and it just makes you wonder if this was bad blood from the old country, or a whole new discussion.

2.  I was sitting Saturday evening and watching N-24 news.  Interesting point they brought up....almost 50-percent of German manpower at McDonalds....is female.  And from management....it's almost 50-percent there being female.

I was at the Wiesbaden train-station McDonalds around 2 years ago....standing there after having ordered and it hit me....from the six folks running the place (1 manager and 5 employees)....all were female. 

3.  WELT had an interesting piece....talking over extremist presentations now on German You-Tube.  German youth can get a dose of right-wing talks easily.

I tend to agree but would suggest if you really look around....you can get a left-wing dose, or an environmental dose, or even a radical Islam dose as well.

4.  The SPD Party (left-of-center) proposing a Covid-committee be created....to review past actions.  Not sure if this is a plus or minus in terms of reality.

5.  Some new health law being drafted by the gov't.  Would require health insurance to provide exams that would predict heart problems years ahead of time.  Question would be....what's the cost impact, and just how many Germans would agree to have such exams.

6.  Interesting piece on N-TV this AM.....presenting the whole case of this potential ban on Sunday driving in Germany. 

A lot of this goes back to a CDU law (Merkel era) entitled 'Climate Protection Act', which said X-amount of C02 was the limit.  If you failed....severe measures would follow.  Well....as best as Germany has attempted to go this direction (without the use of nuke-power)....they can't meet the exact goal (not sure if the CDU Party or Merkel ever considered this problem).

So the FDP Party which controls the budget, and the Transport Ministry....has laid out a reform....to get 'Climate Protection Act' changed.  To accomplish this....they need the SPD and Green Party (their partners in the coalition) to agree.

If the Greens won't agree, then the outcome will be a weekend ban of some type (probably Sunday driving).

Greens reaction?  They think this ban-chatter is BS.

I'll just offer this analysis.....there's tons of innovation over the past decade, and a lot less C02 production via cars/trucks than 20 years ago.  This talk of more use of public transportation being 'forced' upon the public?  It hasn't really shown that much of a trend.  E-car trend?  In terms of numbers, they seem to have maxed out on enthusiasm with the general public here in 2024.  

So I don't think the FDP is joking around on the reform law or the weekend-driving ban suggestion.

Was there bans before?  Yes, this often gets brought up....during the gas-crisis of the 1970s, West Germany had a ban for weekends.

I'm guessing here but I suspect if pushed....the Transport Ministry would start off with a once-a-month Sunday driving ban.  If you asked me about grumbling?  I'd say as long as you don't do this in the summer period....nine out of ten Germans would quietly accept a Sunday driving ban for two Sundays a month....with some marginal grumbling along the way.  Tourism would suffer, and cops would still ticket 10,000 folks a weekend because they'd disobey the ban rules. 

Just funny how the CDU (right-of-center) created this around a decade ago, and the path has led to weekend driving ban chatter.  

Eight Things I Generally Don't Believe In

 1.  Ghosts.   Don't even waste your time.

2.  Psychics or mind-readers.  Nice show for entertainment, but beyond that....just BS.

3.  People achieving happiness if everyone agrees with them.  It's some odd trend I've noticed in the past three years.  People seem to want you to believe in some element of reality that is mostly fantasy....thus making them happy.  

4.  Your tax money being spent in a thoughtful and clever way.  Yeah, I've lost that element of trust.  

5.  Astrology.  99-percent BS.

6.  Cults making you happy and fulfilled.  They simply work to convince you of a false end-point.

7.  Plastic straws being a great evil and should be outlawed.  Having watched this in Germany....it's one of the more foolish trends.

8.  Conspiracy theories are 99-percent fake.  I might have believed that ten years ago....but in the past couple of years....the trend is going to less being faked-up.  Even talking over the JFK/RFK murders.....most of the FBI-created facts all have problems.

13 April 2024: Nine German New Stories

1.  Focus article:  Odd story...investigation going on with the State Security and the Düsseldorf Public Prosecutor's Office. They say they've found a terror cell...composed of teenagers.  Warrants?  Three juveniles....age 15 to 16.

General story?  Planning around a Islamist-motivated terrorist attack.

Pretty serious charges, but will be under juvenile conditions (not adult).

Local news site covering it....Ddorf Aktuell also tells a bit of the story.

Where they got this idea?  Well....there's another story brewing over radical Islam in Germany on Tik Tok.  Here with N-TV.  Story is not associated with the Dusseldorf trio, but you just wonder how the three got so radicalized. 

2.  German Transport Minister warning that if forced to meet regulated environmental numbers....he'll resort to weekend driving bans.  This is irritating the Green Party members...saying it's not necessary.

How much BS?  Well....it depends on collected data and how much they are forced to meet the regulation.  It wouldn't shock me if Sunday driving came up on a discussion to ban.  

How much anger this would generate in elections?  Well....that's an interesting topic to think over.  I would imagine half of Green Party voters would ask questions and be pretty disturbed over the idea of driving bans.

I should point out....the Transport Minister (Wissing, FDP) apparently has done the home-work and says that just installing a speed limit (the general idea pushed by the Green Party)....won't achieve the numbers.  All of this is centered on C02 numbers.  Best site to read through the discussion, N-TV.

I paused over this and got into a discussion with my wife (German in nature) over this.  She was pretty blunt....asking me how much we drive on Sundays.  I sat and figured of 52 Sundays.....the car stays stationary all day on 20 of those days, with 25 days less than 10 km used.  So there's only about 7 days where we might 'tour' with 10 to 100 km (on a Sunday).

The neighbors?  Same story.  I think for more than half the nation....it's this way.

I doubt if the gov't collects much data on this Sunday-car-use idea.  

The negative side of this?  Out of Frankfurt Airport's operation....there's probably 100,000 folks easily flying out or arriving back at the airport on a typical Sunday.  So how you would facilitate these passengers and get around the suggested ban....becomes a big issue.  

In the political poker game, I think the FDP politician is simply playing the ban idea because the bulk of the public doesn't want the speed limit situation (max of 130 kph) implemented.  Some folks believe the EU will eventually come to a standardized speed limit, but it'd only be agreeable if they all sat down and said a standardized speed can occur.  Having driven on twenty-odd countries in Europe...there are two or three where autobahn surfaces are so crappy....a max of 90 kph is what I would suggest (particularly in Spain).  

3.  Odd story from my region.   Over in Rudesheim....cops picked up a guy and tested for alcohol.  He comes up to 3.7-level....meaning fairly drunk.  So they take him to the station.  They call his wife.  The wife arrives and gives some hint of alcohol in her system.....so they test her....it's 1.7-level. That's extremely high.  So they held both in the drunk tank until the next morning.  On implications?  Well....they both probably lost their license for a minimum of six months.

4.  Odd statistic for Hessen...four out of ten residences....are a 1-person only house/apartment.  Cities with the highest number of one-person residences in the state?  Wiesbaden, Frankfurt, Offenbach and Darmstadt (49-percent of residences). 

Yeah, it would really help change the lack of housing...if you could force half of these people to 'marry-up'.  

5.  For streaming Netflix prices in Germany....they've gone up.

The more expensive "Premium" subscription with 4K picture quality and 3D sound?  19.99 euros ( was 17.99).

"Standard” subscription with a full HD image and fewer devices? It went from  12.99 to 13.99 euros.

The ultra cheapo deal....where you have advertising on the screen? 4.99 euros per month.

I have the standard package.  I give a marginal thumbs up on the offerings....there's always 'something' to watch.  I would regard half of their menu as BS....stuff I' never watch.  But they have a lot of South Korean series, and there's a decent listing of science-fiction. 

6.  I watched a piece off N-TV yesterday.....raccoons in Germany.  So for those who didn't know it....back in 1938....a German brought a male and female raccoon back to Germany, and they got loose.

Today, they figure around 2-million raccoons exist in the wilds of Germany.  They'd kinda like to get rid of them.

7.  Regional source.  German gov't giving a warning to Germans in Iran....it's best to pack and leave now.  Some indications of an attack on Israel by Iran, and things to get heated up.  I noticed this AM that Lufthansa has said flights to Iran are now halted.  I looked at the pricing...it's $387 for a r/t ticket for Frankfurt to Tehran...fairly cheap.  Oddly, it is/was the only direct flight connection. 

How many Iranians live in Germany?  Back in 2022....the gov't said around 304,000 were in Germany.  

8.  There was an extended long discussion on N-TV (here)....on 'Sie' and 'Du' (the you situation).

If you wanted the full 'blast' of the you-problems in Germany....it would be worth reading.

Of the 100 issues which make German a difficult language....understanding the use of Du and Sie is in this category.  

9.  Tesla talk involving the factory in Grünheide (about an hour south of Berlin).  The company wants to expand.  Regional folks?  About 47 percent of Brandenburgers agree....the rest are not so agreeable.  You can read the bulk of the discussion over at RBB.  

There are two general sides to the story.  For three decades after the wall came down....the east Germans have been waiting for real jobs and investment in industry....so it finally came.  

At the same time....the opposition folks felt this was the wrong effort....the wrong company....and that the E-car was the wrong thing to get heavily into.  

The idea that it would have been a easier fit if they'd built the plant in Bavaria or B-W?  Well....this comes up occasionally.  

I'll just say that it's only recently that some international companies have found willing nature to build plants in Germany....with Tesla likely paving the way to show it can be done.  

Two Stories

 I had two unique events to occur this week in my neck of the woods of Germany.

First, driving into Wiesbaden....within 60 seconds of an accident where some car ran into the back of a female bicyclist.....flipping her over in some way. 

Wiesbaden has tried to be bike-friendly over the past decade, and if you asked me....it's just awful dangerous on 95-percent of the streets to ride.

From my view....the gal was fairly injured but didn't break anything.  It simply was another reminder that it's just way too dangerous in the metro area to ride a bike.

The second episode?  I was at the fitness studio....where in the midst of things, some guy (German, mid-50s, fairly fit) got a call from his 'girlfriend'.

Basically in 90 seconds....the GF gave final notice....end of relationship, and this disturbed the guy a fair bit.  For the rest of us (maybe 8 guys/gals around him).....we got the entire end-story.  

I felt sorry for the guy, but to be honest, I don't know the GF-end of this story.

From my wife's associates (the ones without a husband and in their 50s)....as they relate things....there just aren't any four-star available guys around.  At least...they portray the situation as such. 

The thing about this case.....from the eight-odd people overhearing this....it will be on their minds each time they see the guy in the fitness studio in the future.  You will wonder...did he buy flowers and make-up with the gal?  Did the gal find a new guy?  What was the breaking point?  Just a lot to wonder about. 

The New Self-Determination Law

 The Bundestag intends to wrap up the new law today....which centers on two key factors....your identified sex and your name (first name).

So.....to change your gender (in Germany) and your first name.......you would only have to submit a form to the local registry office.  No medical certificate.  No expert report.  No court order.

Based on the way that the certificate is described....I think you could fill it out in two minutes, and there'd be no need for a lawyer or legal person.

Age matters?  Well...yeah, if you are 14 or under....only your parents could do this.  14 and over, you could sign the papers yourself, with an accompanying paper  from your parents (until you reach the age of maturity).

Special rules?  Well...yeah, they said that if you still identify as a guy/male.....you can't have a female name.  In the shape of things....if you wanted strictly the male name (while a female today)....you'd have to change your gender for the name change.

Surgery required?  No...based on the wording, you'd just identify.

When does this start up?  November of this year.

So your likely question is....just how many people will be applying for either the gender change or name change?  One government source said in the range of 4,000 people a year.

The 10,000 Euro fine chatter?  Well....if you go and call the person by their old name or old gender....you could be dragged into court and fined up to 10,000.  Oddly, they wrote one waive into this where parents could refer to the person by the old name/gender and get away with it.  They haven't said how misgendering would work/be handled in schools or in the work-place.

The issue I see?  You have 'Johan' in the work-place and changes over to a female identity and a new name of 'Gaby'....with work calls coming in and you tell person on the line that Johan is replaced by Gaby.  Depending on your wording (of the moment)....you could be court-tagged and face some misgendering accusation. 

12 April 2024: Ten News Stories

 1.  Increased meat tax coming to Germany?  Well...it's in draft form and likely to come into effect in 2025.

Animal rights organizations say that better welfare on farms is required, and this extra revenue would flow to farmers in some fashion.  Presently, it's 7-percent as you exit the grocery today.  So the new amount would be 19-percent.

2.  German Bundeswehr (Army) is asking for the Chancellor to give some signal (speech) of more funds.

3.  If you read the fine-print of the German Constitution....abortions are illegal.  There's been a commission set up by the federal government to review this wording and they've come out to say the system has to change.

Their suggestion....it should be legal up to the first twelve weeks of pregnancy in the future. 

Odds of passing?  Well...national election in 2025, and I would imagine several parties don't want to discuss this idea.

4.  WELT piece from yesterday....for a long time....environmentalists have said that wind/solar power....can bring 'cheap' power to the public.

Well....WELT says a study by a group of researchers working on this idea....says 'NO'....there is no such thing as cheap renewable power.

Changing anything?  I doubt it.

5.  WELT piece from yesterday....German doctors have identifed a person who has all the symptoms of 'Long-Covid', but this occurred/started....back in 2018 (thus having nothing to do with Covid).

They've invented a new term: 'post-viral syndrome'. 

Personal opinion?  Wouldn't shock me if you dug around and found 5-percent of society who have some symptoms....long before Covid ever appeared.

6.  Mayor of Koln gave an interview....saying the refugee numbers in the city are at the point of a massive problem.

7.  Til Schweiger, fairly well known German actor....in the hospital, has blood poisoning, and could potentially lose a leg.

8.  Pumped-up TV debate with CDU top candidate Marco Voigt, and AfD leader Björn Höcke....for the state election race in Thuringia yesterday.  Based on news commentary....no winner/no loser.  Based on polls, I'd say the two parties together will take near 65-percent of the vote.  Getting a coalition between either?  CDU would be forced to a 4-group situation.  AfD? Zero chance.

9.  Via Russian state television last night, Russian propagandist Dmitri Evstafiyev suggested that a European nuclear war would lay out “millions of dead and mutilated Europeans”.

10.  WELT poll....only 42-percent of Germans are optimistic about the future here in Germany.  Begs questions about the other 58-percent. 

10 Apr 2024: Three German News Stories

 1.  Interior Minister Faeser gave a strong interview to say increasing crime will involve the forced removal of some migrants.

What's factual?  There are more thefts, and more violent crimes....highest level since 2016.   Numbers say that a high proportion of suspects are here without a German passport. 

Quote: “Anyone who doesn’t follow the rules has to leave.”

I will say from the evening news....this was hyped-up a good bit.

2.  Apparently (by German gov't studies)...around three million people in Germany live offline (they've never hooked up).  Between the ages of 16 and 74. Yep, 5-percent of German society.

I would imagine some folks are proud of their lack of use....others will say it's just a 'fad'.

3.  ZDF (Channel 2, public TV) ran a documentary piece...Candidate: Trump.  I'll just say they try to explain why such an event is underway, but leaving out. candidate Biden.  Maybe that comes later.  

9 April 2024: Six German News Stories

 1.  Read over a WELT piece....they say over all of Europe...there are 821 'serious' criminal gangs existing now.

2.  Around 1,000 considered 'right-wing' extremists in Germany have gun permits.  Oddly, in telling this story....no one announced the numbers of considered 'left-wing' extremists in Germany holding gun permits.

3.  The Swiss folks have gotten enough signatures to put a ballot proposal up to the public....that if it passes.....the Swiss nation is limited to 10-million residents...period, until 2050. 

Current population?  They figure....near 8.85-million.  

Meaning?  It'd really slow down in-flow of just about anyone (even Europeans).

Passing?  Well....I've sat and looked at numbers/polling.  I'd say it's close to 50-percent on passing currently.  

Issue?  Well....you could look around Germany and I'd say in the 30-to-40 percent range....they would like some law like this as well. 

4.  Botswana's offer to ship 20,000 wild elephants into Germany?  Well....it's not a joke....it's serious.

It's a 'dump' on German political folks continually on negative-chatter how they run wild-life operations in Botswana.

Would any German state offer up land for this?  I doubt it.....but it just shows how the critical talk is being received.

5.  Statistical numbers: 1 in 10 Germans say they live now in cramped conditions, for themselves or the family.

6.  Statistics released this AM for Germany...2023....crime is up.  Bad problem for an election year coming up.

Chatting Over Amok

 I sat last night...half asleep with the German news on.

So scene comes up....some German church under renovation....lot of fencing around to prevent entry, and there is some 'amok-guy'.

Typically by amok....you basically say that the guy is either blitzed on drugs, or plain-crazy, and cranking up some threat against people on the street.  Typically, they have a knife or hammer in their possession.

In this case, he'd grabbed a pole....you know....the type you'd have for parking posts.  He was waving this around....left and right.

Most folks had noticed the guy, and backed off.  Polizei had been called, and had arrived.

I'd say from the camera angle....probably six cops.

Here was the amok-guy waving the sign-post....it was definitely a pain for him to swing it in any serious fashion.  I'd be guessing the weight in the 30-lb pound range. (13.5 kg).  The guy wasn't that fit....at least that was my view.  

The cops?  Well....they seemed to be bunched up....staying within 8 meters of the guy (25 ft).

I just looked at it....you just needed one guy there....keeping the guy occupied and keeping him swinging the post, and in eight-to-ten minutes....he would have been tired out and dropped the stupid post.

Well....no, they didn't get that smart. 

The amok-guy felt like he needed to rush them, and pistols came out....one cop fired....killing the amok-guy.

There will be some investigation, and words written that the shooting was OK, and there's one less amok-guy for the locals to worry about. 

Back in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s.....I just don't remember 'amok' ever being uttered much.  There might have been crazy soccer fans in drunken fights, or some terror 'kids', or bar-fights with blood drawn.....but you never seemed to have guys in such a fit that the police needed to shoot them.  

Course, I'll get lectured on this....times evolve and people change.  Maybe there is some logic....the more you shoot....the less you have to deal with housing or guarding the amok-guys.  

Two German Trends

First topic? There is a new draft of the German Federal Forest Act, which goes to discuss the use of mountain bikes and how you might use them in a public forest.

So the act stipulates that bike use in a public woods....SHOULD only be permitted on roads, trails and suitable paths. 

This has gotten the mountain biker folks fairly peeved because a fair portion of where they might hang out....isn't really a suitable or approved path.

The old Act?  Well...it's been around 50 years and back in that period....no one worried about the bike trails.

What's likely to happen?  A whole bunch of signs will likely go up....to note approved trails, and then some kind of forest police patrol will start up....to arrest or detain the bad boys on the unapproved trails.

Second topic?  The long investigation over the July 2021 Ahr Valley flood which killed around 135-odd people?  It's come out this week that back in 2016....the Bundeswehr (the German Army) participated in a regional exercise that talked about the handling of emergencies in the region.

So a Bundeswehr officer wrote a heavily critical paper...saying the locals in the ahr Valley weren't prepared for a true emergency.

Then the Bundeswehr....the headquarters itself....looked over the text and said....'it's not your job to correct them'.  So the text was dropped from the report.

No one will be punished over this, but it just lays down more bitterness on how the deaths were unnecessary.

5 April 2024: Six German News Stories

 1.  WELT piece, several German state Interior Ministeries are reviewing right-wing police members.  The general accusation?  At least 400 police are under some review for being 'extremist'.  What WELT goes on to suggest....the real number might be way more than that.

2.  Bavarian state police are complaining over the lack of uniform pieces....saying the state mechanism is having trouble procuring the uniforms. Problem goes to Ukraine, where they seem to have a higher priority in getting uniforms.

3.  Kinda funny....the Berlin immigration office has a shortage of personnel....so in return, if you make appointments with them....it could take two to four months to see an actual immigration official.

So some group (commercial operation) figured this out and started to make bulk appointments.  Then the group markets these appointments for 50 Euro each.  So if you were desperate and really need a quick appointment in the next week or two....you'd pay the 50 Euro.

Yeah, the immigration folks are peeved about this but have limited actions they can take.  Nothing illegal.

4.  Some kind of fuss brewing with the FC Bayern soccer club on their budget.  Apparently, it's reached a point where they agree.....they will discard of several high-profile players once the season ends.  They kinda agree....they can't maintain this top-player status in Germany with the present business profile.

5.  There's been an odd story developing in Kaufbeuren, Germany (about an hour west of Munich).  

This is small town (43k) that has a young guy who is enthusiastic about enforcing traffic laws and parking situations.  In recent months, he branched out and has done other cities as well.  

To be honest, he has attracted negative attention and some folks have reached a level of frustration.

So in Kaufbeuren, as this guy attempted to write down the license plate number of a illegal parking situation (getting to to a complaint), an argument started up with a passer-by (not the owner of the car).

This young gal tried to stop the guy.  So she's reaching for his cellphone, and the 18-year old guy falls in a fashion on the ground.  At this moment....the guy and his bike fall into the street and scratch up some guy's car.  

We then get a dose of 'he-said-she-said'.....with cops called.  He says she pushed him.....she said 'no, I was just grabbing your cellphone'.

As you might imagine....ambulance crew were called over his injury.

Oddly enough....this all happens within 50 meters of some local police station. Nutcase?  Well.....his mama has openly admitted that her son has made this into some life-mission of reporting illegal parking, and it's probably something that draws a fair amount of public anger.

6.  A fair amount of discussion has started up over public TV in Germany (ARD/ZDF) and the demand for reform has reached a level where it's probably going to be openly discussed in the political campaign in the summer of 2025.

There's been roughly 30 years of fake-reform chatter where the public TV folks will some minor change and hope that people just drop the subject.

What I anticipate?  Someone will drag out the basic charter which says they are supposed to exist to provide culture, knowledge, information and public forums.  So the question will be....why all this money spent on sport shows, TV movies, game-shows, etc?

I expect that the news operations on both ARD and ZDF will be brought into one single group, with 50-percent of the journalists laid off. 

Next State Election In Germany: Saxony

 1 Sep 2024.

Expectations?  Well....polling from the past month suggests that the AfD Party will get in the  range of 34-percent, with the CDU Party coming in 2nd place at 30-percent.

Newcomers.....BSW Party....may shock a few with an expected 12-percent.

Beyond that?  SPD, Linke Party and Greens?  They will be lucky to get anything beyond 6-percent.  Yeah, this is a worrisome problem for both the SPD and Greens....selling folks on a national trend.

Will anyone partner in a AfD coalition?  No.....so you end up in a weird situation where a month will pass, and the AfD can't form a coalition.  So the CDU is given a chance, and they'd have to form with the BSW, Greens and SPD....to get a 50-percent situation.  

This making the CDU into a hard-sell for future elections?  Well....you could make that case.  

The other odd scenario?  Well....numbers-wise...BSW has the time to cut into both the Greens and SPD.  So you might end up with BSW having near 20-percent, and the Linke, SPD and Greens knocked out of the race (failing to get 5-percent minimum to earn seats).  In this scenario, it's really a crappy position for the Greens and SPD.

4 Apr 2024: Four German News Stories

1.  Just odd weather......prediction for this weekend in my central region of Germany?  Sunshine.....27 C (81 F).  Other parts of Germany, there's talk of 30 C (86 F)....with severe thunderstorms being talked about.  Winter has been extremely moderate.  

2.  The VW board of directors came out and said that if there is any hint of returning to the gas/diesel engines....their game-plan and profitability will suffer.  They want everyone to continue down the E-car path.

I'll just say that the peak (I believe) has been reached, and the bulk (more than two-thirds of Germany) has zero interest in E-cars....even if you mandate it.

3.  Long piece on N-TV news yesterday....chatting over student councils in the eastern part of Germany....dealing with an increase involving right-wing extremism.  

In some ways....the effort to 'preach' about guilty feelings and the holocaust.....has come to affect students in not taking the mandated classes serious and marginal willingness to follow the agenda of the past seventy-odd years.   

4.  The Green Party Federal Family Minister wants to create 5,000 additional administrative positions to ensure basic child safety/security throughout all of Germany. Money in the budget?  Not really.  

Med Chatter

 

I ended up at a Air Force clinic two weeks ago....for a shoulder problem.  It is my last visit probably, and I'll just use Tricare/Social Security policy for private healthcare from this point on.  Yeah, I'll be seeing my local German doctor.

Airman 'Snuffy' went down the obvious questions prior to the Doctor coming in. 

It was the 20-odd questions they are now mandated into asking.  Do you smoke?  Do you drink in a reasonable fashion?

Then he comes to the danger signs...where used to be just one single question....do you feel like harming yourself?  Except this time....he had two additional questions....which basically went down to the dangerous stuff on your mind as well.  

Up until the mid-1990s....you could visit a Air Force clinic, and have zero questions.  Then they started to collect 'extra' data.   I generally hate going to clinics or doctors....with my negativity getting worse since the questions came into play.

After he left, I gazed at the poster shown here.  This was another thing added to their questions in the past couple of years....if you have pain....how much pain.  If you suggest anything from number 4 to number 6....this usually gets Airman 'Snuffy' all worried (especially 5 or 6) and he'll run off to the Doc real quick.  I try to avoid those descriptions in my wording.

The German doctor/clinic?  There's no list of questions....and you'd have to volunteer an awful lot....to get to the key issue for the visit.  It's one of the few German things that I truly appreciate....other than waiting 40-odd minutes in the waiting room....there's a six-minute session with the doctor, and quick-to-the-point analysis.  

Just An Odd Story Plot For German TV

 Occasionally, I will watch a German crime series ('Tatort') on Sunday evenings (8:15 PM, via ARD...Channel 1).

There are 'winners' and 'losers' with the show.  They run for about 90 minutes (no commercials), with the German detective crew rotating (probably 20 different crews).  Some of the episodes are artsy....meaning it's a pretty well-drawn story that keeps you guessing what really happened.  Some are basic murder stories.  Some have a comical side being played out.

This past Sunday, the story centered around a Dutch educational tradition in the Netherlands where you abandon teenagers (age 16) alone in the woods at night. The story revolves around “droppings” (the Dutch term) and a murder.

So they lay out a dropping....you as the kid are left blindfolded in the middle of the woods with a compass, map, some basic camping gear and enough food for two days.  Your job....return to civilization without a GPS.  I should add...you wouldn't be alone.....usually two or more in this 'team'.

The murder business for this one show?  Well...the kids apparently have a cellphone (breaking the general rule of the dropping, and see a dead guy's picture near the camping spot.  They call the police, and the rest of the show is mostly who-done-it.

So, here's the thing....no one in Germany has ever heard of a 'dropping', and it was well argued the next day or two....this was simply a wild and crazy idea

The Dutch?  They will generally say that no one does in the urbanized area of the Netherlands, and that the 'game' still occurs....some on the high-end scale, and some on a limited budget.   

The fact that the woods in Germany or the Netherlands is 100-percent 'safe'?  I pondered about this.  Generally, without any snakes, wild dogs, coyotes, bears, or crazy folks....you can generally walk around as a teenager in a wooded area, and have no fear...other than a storm, or running out of water.

For myself as a kid?  I probably would have marched off to the outer boundaries, got on a train or two, and announced my location a week later....300 kilometers away.  

3 April 2024: Ten German News Stories

 1.  German cops in Darmstadt had what they call “Car Friday”....meaning they stopped x-number and reviewed for 'defects'.

So on this day...ONE single car was pulled over....total of 39 defects in the car.  Twenty-eight were bad enough (on each one) to have seized the car.  Yes, Frame/suspension parts were missing/bent. Lights didn't  work, and the exhaust muffler was gone.  Insurance?  None existed for the past 4 years.  

Mid-40s driver....I would assume that he's going to get a hefty fine.

2.  Cannabis is now to some extent...existing in Germany.  You have to join a 'club', and show an ID.  One club per city....per 10,000 residents.  Shocker for me?  Over across the river in Mainz.....one shop there will take orders from their 'members' and deliver to the front-door of the house....all legal.  

3.  Focus had a piece discussing 'burn-out' of mid-20s Germans (Gen-Z folks).  From their research....it doesn't take much to burn-out some 25-year old German.

4.  Green Party chatter....for 2025 election, some within the party say that Robert Habeck should be their party 'choice' for Chancellor.

5.  Siegfried Russwurm, the President of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), did an interview with Focus....speaking harsh criticism of Chancellor Scholz (SPD) and how he has handled the current economic crisis. A quote? "It was a lost two years."

I would generally agree with the statement, but also lay it out to the other two parties (Greens and FDP) that they had just as much to contribute to the crisis as Scholz or the SPD, and you have Covid as a general trigger to get us so deep into a 'rut'.

6.  Nike (US industry) will outfit the German national team 'suits'.....starting in 2027.  Adidas (German industry) will lose the contract.  Nike paid more in the bid-process.

It's not a big deal (my humble opinion), but it's  openly discussed by soccer fans and a sign of a inability to compete on contracts.

7.  VW Golf, in the past week, turned 50 years old....since they released the model type.

On the few occasions that I've driven early models of the Golf....I'd just say it was pretty basic and you got the low-cost feeling.  The only one I owned (it was already around 15 years old)....was a brief 9-month situation....where problems were a once a month situation....with a rusting fuel tank.  

8.  FORSA, the polling organization, says that presently....neither the Linke Party or the FDP, would have seats in the Bundestag if elections are held today.  

9.  Botswana's president gave a talk yesterday....criticizing the German government a good bit, then dumped on the Green Party function within the federal government....say the dispute between Botswana and German over the ban on hunting trophies is stupid. 

Quote: “If you like elephants so much, please accept 20,000 of them."

I sat and pondered over the quote.  First, there would be some long drawn out argument among Germans about where you would put 20,000 elephants....probably with the Bavaria saying an absolute NO.

Eventually, Thuringia (the state) would agree, but would ask for a 'bribe' of half-a-billion a year.

Some guy would eventually come up with a tour-package for this massive German-created safari camp and 10,000 Germans a week would pay excessive amounts of money to camp out among the elephants.  

9.  RBB (German public TV for Berlin)....had a piece where research has been done to show among Germans....two-percent of folks have a IQ of 130 or more. 

What the research generally says....company bosses misunderstand the objective of the high IQ  Germans....in that they aren't trying to take over the company or gain leadership....these people simply see better and more effective ways of production an development.  

10.  For Berlin, this past March was the most mild March since they started collecting actual data (RBB news).

I'd generally say for the Rhein Valley region, from early December on....it's been a awful mild winter, with November being the exact opposite (all that snowfall and arctic conditions).

New Donut?

I stood at a grocery this past week....in the bakery area, and here is the German version of a pizza donut (with jalapenos).

Plain donut....covered with tomato sauce and bits of peperoni.

I tried to make sense out of this....total waste of a good donut.

Germans buying it?  Maybe some 14-year old kids just to try something new.  
 

31 March 2024: 11 German News Stories

 1.  Over in in Wünsdorf (about 30 minutes driving south of Berlin)....stands a former Soviet military housing complex/base.

At one point, peak of the 'cold war'....there were probably 40,000 Soviet folks (officers, conscripts, and families) that lived there.  There in 1994....they left.  

The entire base has stood there.....closed off and crumbling. 

So there's talk locally and in Berlin.....arranging some deal with investor folks to come in....do a massive renovation, and re-make the structures into something.  Cost?  It has to be into the hundreds of millions.  Condo deal?  Well....there is a train station nearby (going into Berlin)....but figure 4 miles.  It might interest some folks in remaking it.

2.  Starting 1 April....the natural gas/heating oil VAT (tax) goes from 7-percent (Covid era) back up to 19-percent.  A lot of Germans will freak out by the end of the year when they figure up their heating costs.

3.  RBB (public TV, Berlin) had an unusual story to lay out. Some development going on with a chatbot...an AI-App....where people would have some chatty voice from their smart-phone to engage them and provoke conversation. 

Yes, you'd be sitting there in the kitchen (by yourself), and 'Ingrid' (your chatty bot) would start up a conversation on Beetles tunes, the approaching summer weather, some conspiracy theory, or some cowboy western story.  You'd engage for an hour with Ingrid, then finish the coffee and run off to work.  

The fact that you could design 'Ingrid' to only certain subjects, or to be highly lustful in chatter?  Within ten years, I could see 10-percent of German society hooked-up to a Ingrid bot, and not really interested in real relationship (other than for sex). 

4.  Odd conversation taking place over in the eastern region....Märkisch-Oderland....in the Brandenburg region (near the Polish border).

There used to be a old Soviet army barracks there.  Local political conversation about taking fair amount of money, renovating and creating a “exit center” for migrants in Germany who are deemed failed at the visa application. 

5.  Not really an emergency....but there were only 379,000 births in Italy for 2023.  In case you were wondering....that's the lowest annual figure since Italy unified back in 1861.  Prospects in 2024?  No one says much but I'd guess it'll be lower than 379k.  

In case you were interested....a survey in 2023 revealed that 2,300 Italian cities/villages are in danger of being 'depopulated'.  Meaning?  Ghost-town/village status....where you have 300 homes standing but fewer than 300 occupants (total). 

6.  INSA, the polling folks, did a national poll over Germany...asking how happy folks were with the SPD-led-coalition. Well...around 73-percent said they were not happy with the performance.  63-percent said that Chancellor Scholz has not met expectations.

7.  Extra cops were out in Munich for last night's soccer game....simply words spoken over a perceived ISIS threat in the city.

8.  Focus had a piece yesterday talking over the number of Ukrainian men in Germany.  Germans suggest there are 200,000 Ukrainian men in the country....above the age of 18.

9.  Federal German cops are saying they are in the long effort to hunt down the remaining two Red Army Faction guys.  They figure the two guys are on the run, and it's to their advantage.

10.  My state of Hessen is having a long discussion over the idea of opening hunts on wolves.  No one is saying we've reached the level yet.....just that it's obvious that we are approaching the day.

So there's a problem....in that the EU has a law...you can't hunt wolves while on a particular list.  So the EU would have to open up some waiver program....to bring a authorized hunt.

11. I sat and read over a German worry for the legalization of Cannabis (1 Apr).  Apparently, some Germans now believe that Cannabis shops will attract folks from Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Austria and Switzerland.  

Yeah, this Cannabis tourism angle hasn't really been discussed much before.  

30 March 2024: Six German News Stories

 1.  I put my summer tires on yesterday, for the Audi TT.  Earliest that I've ever put them on, but there's been zero snow since early December....even zero flurries.  On moderate conditions?  Just crazy.

Odd weather report last night?  The ARD folks put up the temperature map for Saturday, with a vast part of Germany getting 18 to 20 C (64 to 68 F)....color theme for the chart?  BRIGHT RED for 20 C region, which I just laughed over how they depicted the color business.  Even with 20 C....if you walk around, one out of ten Germans will be wearing a full-up winter 'parka'.  

2.  WELT did a survey....hostility brewing in Germany over the next rise in the TV-media tax....going up to 18.94 Euro a month (per home).  

Vast amount of Germans want 'reform' of ARD/ZDF (public TV).  Just on the suggestion of merging ARD/ZDF into one?  Overwhelming number of people say 'do it'.

Whether the public TV folks realize it or not....this topic has become a top ten subject for the 2025 national election. I would suspect that one of the two....will be losing their news staff.

3.  The welfare cost in Germany (Burger-geld)?  Well....it's anticipated that in 2024....it'll rise to 40-billion Euro.  CDU-CSU parties are planning the 2025 election topics to include reform of welfare.

4.  DAK health insurance folks....talking of a fair sized increase in policies in 2024...because of inflation.

5.  Starting 1 April....next round of Russian draft of conscripts starts....to be minimum of 100,000 folks drafted.  Some promise made that they won't be sent to the Ukraine, but no one really believes that.

6.  List of accepted parties for the EU election (in May) approved.  'Last Generation' activists got their environmental group listed.

Oddest of the 40-odd parties?  The 'V-Partei3', known officially as V-Partei³.  Their theme?  Change, Vegetarians and Vegans.....they support animal rights as well.

If you look at the 40-listing....at least twenty of them will get less than 5,000 votes each.  

The Last Generation odds?  Well....here's the thing....the age for voting has been set in the EU election....to 16.  So if you asked me on 'kids' voting, I might imagine that eighty percent of them will likely show up and the overwhelming number will vote 'Last Generation'....so they might actually get 5-percent of the vote.  

29 March 2024: Seven German News Stories

 1.  Next German brand to leave production in Germany?  Stihl....the chainsaw maker....seriously suggesting it's ready to leave.

2.  Outdoor experts predicting a really bad tick-season for Germany.

3.  Hamburg driver's testing folks saying now that locally....45-percent of first-time applicants for the test/license fail.

4.  Starting 1 April....VAT (sales tax) goes back to 19-percent for heating via natural gas/oil.

5. Germans and registered guests....who have been a resident for at least six months (and over age 18) will be allowed on 1 April to grow their own cannabis (up to 3 plants per adult). 

6.  Asparagus season approaching in Germany....because of the warm weather.....it is talked about to be the biggest season in decades. If you intend to buy for this holiday weekend?  Expect it to be near 20 Euro per KG.

7.  I watched a piece off N-TV news yesterday....hyping up this fear that Russian propaganda is getting into the German social media. Some belief that Russia is trying to divide German opinion.

How Do German Mail-In Ballots Work?

 Well....lets start with the fact that you have to register yourself as you move from house to house or town to town (30 days to accomplish it, or you get into a fine).  So  when a town clerk says there 2,837 people living there....it's not a 80-percent or 90-perent chance he's right....it's probably a 99.99-percent chance that he's right.

So you start off with a registration listing that is correct.

You have a note that comes to you about 6 to 8 weeks prior to the election....always on a Sunday. 

The note will say....you can vote on that Sunday,  or come by the town-hall to pick up a ballot, or ask for the form (if you are in the hospital).  

The form will come to you and it'll be in a envelop.  You open up the ballot and it'll be two envelops with it. You accomplish the ballot (putting a date on it) and put it into the colored envelop....which goes into the mailable envelop.  

It goes to town-hall, and is counted.  

Creating absentee ballots out of thin air?  No, because of the mandated registration and national ID card....that doesn't happen.

Creating fraudulent ballots?  Well...they will notice it as it comes back in....there were x-number mailed out and you can only have x-number come back in.

28 March 2024: Five German News Stories

 1.  Focus ran a piece yesterday....suggesting that by the end of summer....the Chancellor position will be 'swapped-out'.  Meaning?  Scholz will be brought into a party meeting and told that a vote has to occur within the party.  If he loses?  The party will debate over a week, and 'pick' a new person.  

Odds: Defense Minister, Pistorius.

2.  Flixbus accident....4 dead and 20-odd people wounded, near Leipzig.

3.  Chocolate inflation going on?  Well....what the business folks say is that the price of chocolate has soared 50-percent in four weeks. 

4. Chancellor Scholz talking over future political relationships....says 'no' to the SPD hooking up with the BSW Party (the newly created party).

5. Movement around Germany of mail via airplane?  It came to an end last night.....from this point on....mail moves by rail or truck.  So overnight letters getting from Hamburg to Munich.....probably comes to an end.  Supposed to be a climate-saving idea.  

Is The European Soccer Championship Under A Threat?

 Well....to the facts.  The games would start 14 June and run until 14 July.....in Germany.  All games to be held in Germany.

So the chatter started this week after the Moscow terror act.

Would I personally attend the games at this point....even if I had access to tickets?  No....probably not.

If some terror act does occur?  Well....cancellation likely occurs within 24 hours of the remaining games.

Now more than ever....there being a lot more security?  Oh yes.  

Islamic threat, or faked-up Islamic threat?  The more I look at the four guys in Moscow....I don't consider them to be of a Muslim terror group, and this was a hired-up terror act....by 'someone' (yet to be announced).

A massive act to bring down the government?  Well....that's the part that I would truly worry about.  

26 March 2024: Five German News Stories

 1.  WDR piece....involving German language tests for migrants, and cheating going on.  From what they say....some folks have an advanced copy of the test, and were selling the test for 250 Euro.  

If you go figure the numbers...it's around 360k folks a year who take some portion of the test. 

As for the method of getting the test answers?  It seems like the test comes in a protective envelop, and one of the facility people in the process of opening the envelop...filmed the pages, and then laid it out in some format.

2.  The Bahn (railway folks) and the union folks....have come to mutual agreement.....so the strikes will end now.

Starting in 2029.....Bahn folks will be on a 35-hour work-week.  Cost impact?  Yet to be discussed, but I would imagine at least a couple thousand additional employees have to be hired, and the ticket prices bump up 10-percent. 

3.  There's a German government discussion going on...in the open....about what they did 'right' and 'wrong' during Covid.  Presently, I'd say the criticisms are starting to amount to a fair amount, and the 'experts' (interviewed nightly)....have lost 'status'.

4.  Various journalists are picking apart the Moscow attack (no metal detectors or private security there that evening) and suggesting that this was all staged by Putin himself.

I'm not convinced yet.....but this Muslim cleric who 'paid' the four....hasn't been readily identified.

5.  Hart Aber Fair public forum TV show topic from Monday night?  "The Citizens' Money Debate: More Pressure, More Sanctions, More Justice?"

A lot of public criticism over German welfare (Citizen's Money, or Burgergeld).  In present form to last?  I'd say as the coalition fades in 2025, and whatever comes next....the welfare program will evolve into something else. I'm not saying it gets better or anything.

Old American Arms Hotel Location in Wiesbaden

 I walked by what was the old American Arms Hotel on Frankfurter Strasse in Wiesbaden.

Yep, totally gone.  The new structure nearly done.

What's there?  Developer went to a condo/apartment situation, with underground parking....and a Tegut grocery store on the front. 

The bowling center that was across the street?  Still there.  

25 March 2024: Two German News Stories

 1.  From the weekend WELT chatter....the Linke Party (what remains) are calling for a national standard....four-day work-week.  

What they say, if you peel back the BS....this is to 'forbid stress'.  Statistically, I've never seen factual data to prove or disprove this point.  I hate to suggest it....but I suspect that half the population....if you went to a 4-day work-week....people would still come up and talk about job stress.

2.  France as of last night....has gone to high alert over terrorism.  German Interior Minister has hinted of a German alert coming shortly....over fear of ISIS.

Weird Weather From Saturday

 Yesterday afternoon....I stood by the balcony of the house (central Germany, Wiesbaden) and for about 25 minutes....hail/sleet storm.  It was around 6 C (43 F).  Just odd weather because it was short-sleeve shirt weather the day prior.

So this AM....news folks got to talk about Emsland (NW from here....near the Dutch border)....big autobahn group of accidents because of the sleet.  Maybe a dozen people banged up enough to require an ambulance. 

Early AM here....off toward the mountains north of Frankfurt....snowfall.  It won't be much but most folks haven't seen snow or snow flurries since early December.  

Trying To Make Sense Out Of The Moscow Attack

 Basically, these four attacker guys were free-lance-hired mercenary types....brought into Ukraine to fight the Russians.  At some point, some Muslim-cleric offered them more 'funding' (half now and half after the act) to get into Moscow and conduct this attack.  

After the attack, they were driving their way back to the Ukraine border (about 500 km...figure a 4-hour drive).  Whatever vehicle they had in Moscow....was the same vehicle heading toward the border.

Pure Muslim types?  Well....they would have conducted the attack to the bitter end, and then killed themselves when faced with no other options.  So, selling me on the idea of them being consumed with passion with Islam....probably won't work.  This was a cash-for-hire situation.

Did the Ukraine know of the plan?  So far, zero evidence.  If you asked me....based on chatter...the four at the end....would have made in the $45k to $50k range (all-together).  

Heading back to the Ukraine strategy?  Well....it just makes one believe it's all tied into the Ukraine-war effort, but with marginal evidence.

These guys being bright or clever?  I'm of the mind that they are mostly low IQ types and their entire focus (since leaving their homeland)....has been to make cash-money.  

The cleric side of this story?  Well.....it just begs more questions.  

24 March 2024: Five German News Stories

 1.  Because of the wording of the new legalization of cannabis in Germany....the legal system has to re-open 190,000 closed cases on convictions....likely over-turning the vast number.  Amount of man-hours involved?  My humble view?  You don't even want to know....it'll likely take five years to open these and re-judge them.

2.  WELT gave a reality check review over Poland's change in gov't.  Pretty negative numbers so far.....after 100 days.

3.  Red Army Faction gal held in jail....has lawyer complain of conditions.  There is apparently a 24-hour cam-view of her (just guessing to prevent suicide).  

4.  Just odd how the legalization of Cannabis in Germany will work.  The 'shop' has to be a members-only thing....up to 10,000 members (in a town, 1 'club' per each 10k residents).  

If you do the statistical average (somewhere around 10-to-15 percent of Germans use Cannabis.....this is what the gov't 'thinks').....then a town of 285,000 could have 28 'private-clubs' or shops.  But I seriously doubt that this many clubs could survive.

5.  Some chatter off N-TV news....suggesting that the FDP Party may leave the coalition in 2024....collapsing the gov't.  BS-factor?  I give a '5'.  

I do agree, these 3 fall state elections will have a dramatic effect on timing. 

Bakery Trip This AM

 Every Saturday morning....I go to my bakery around the block, and I buy the same numbers of x-type of brotchen (10 total).

If you went back to the era 2013 to 2018....it was around 6.30 Euro for the bag.

2019, the baker's bag I buy....went up to 6.55 Euro.

2020, the bag edged up to 6.90 Euro.

2021, the bag edge up to 7.15 Euro.

2022, the bag went up to 7.50 Euro.

2023, the bag went up to 8.22 Euro.

This AM....it went to 8.55 Euro.

At the present pace, by the end of 2025....I expect the bag to be near 9.50 Euro. 

Stabilizing?  Well....I just don't see that 2013 to 2018 era coming back anytime soon.  By the time you figure energy costs, baker's staff, sales crew ladies, taxes, and flour....it's chaos.  

Shower Discussion

 

I paused over this graphic today.  Country by country....it rated showers per day by locals.

So if you did view Germany (or France), you'd notice that fewer than two-thirds shower daily.  (Brit's too).

The two countries where it seemed like 85-percent or more of folks showered daily?  Portugal and Italy.   

Back in 1978, when I first got to Germany.....this was one of the top 250 topics that came up in my first couple of weeks of orientation....that a lot of Germans were a once or  twice a week on shower routines.  The general hint was that you got off work....Germans came home and 'sponged-up' the upper half of your body,  and waited till 'shower-day' (twice a week).  At first, I thought it was a joke  but I  came to realize that the general problem I came to 'stand'....was that everyone was applying an awful lot of perfume/after-shave as they left for work.

In this solution, the problem was mixing sweat-smell with some perfume/after-shave, and you got a pretty bad scent.

A big deal?  As I age now....my sense of smell has gone to crap, and I can sit in a German train....end-of-the-day, and people with three or four days straight of zero-showers don't bother me.