1. My wife and I were watching late news off ZDF (Channel 2, public TV) last night, and this item came up over the PETA people (always out to protect animals)....wanting to ban German children's carousels. Reason? The seats give the impression of animals. It was ok, if the seats were motorcycle-like or police-car-like.
I paused here and asked my wife (German in nature) if this was a serious problem....she said she was more worried about our toaster (now 12 years in use) crapping out.
Did ZDF really need to tell this PETA story? No....but it's a sign that the news cycle is getting pretty sparse in Germany.
2. We are about six weeks from cannabis legalization in Germany. Apparently, the judges and prosecutor folks are getting hyped-up (negative) over this issue.
Lot of this....fear-mongering. End of civilization or downturn of society....chatter.
3. This court case over rape in Berlin's Görlitzer Park is about to fall apart.
For those unfamiliar with the park....it's a city park known mostly for drug sales (not for walking your dog or laying on the grass to chill out). At some point last year....a Georgia gal (from the country of Georgia) came with her husband to the park to buy cocaine. She scored....got active with the husband sexually in the park, and a couple of drug sales guys got involved (that's how the rape occurred).
Cops got called, and this case developed.
This week....the gal has declined to appear in court (as the witness). Without her? The case crumbles.
4. Oddly, there's chatter in Europe of developing their own nuclear weapons. Shocker.
So what they evolves into....they are worried now that Trump will win the November election, and that they can't depend on the US for 'defense' against Russia.
So this SPD Party 'boss' in the EU....(Barley)....wants the EU to open up a discussion to make their own nukes or have some interaction agreement with France/UK (they have nukes).
After all that negativity hype in the 1960s/1970....particularly the Green Party and SPD Party....you end up people enthusiastic about building their own nukes?
Even if they came to some mutual agreement in the EU (which I doubt)....you'd be talking about billions of Euro to invest into the technology and at least ten years to build your own nuke....unless you bought nukes off North Korea (or some crazy Middle Eastern country).
5. INSA, the German polling folks....went and did a EU election survey (it's coming up in about 100 days). By their survey....if you went to view last EU election (5 years ago)....the Green Party is going be seriously hurt, and the AfD Party will pick up a number of votes.
6. Most Germans agree....travel packages (tours)....upward price trend (more than 10-percent) for 2024. However, the tour agencies are talking about a massive number of Germans showing up an making summer travel plans this year.
7. Just an odd story....the state of Baden-Württemberg (SW) is presently examining 1,380 cases of 'fake' Ukrainians and Burgergeld (welfare money) that was paid to these folks. Likely to push other states into looking at the list of people they signed up.
How do they mean 'fake'? It's not that clear. Appears to be people who showed up....showed a Ukrainian passport, claimed they were going to stay, and at some point....left, while the money kept going into some bank account.
8. A gender 'mess' developing? Well....this started as a comedy or satire effort. Bayer Leverkusen had a poster up in the stadium by some fan group (large banner) that said there were only TWO genders. The German Football Association came up and said this was unsportsman-like behavior....handing down a 18k Euro fine to the club itself (not the fans).
What they avoided saying....where 3-or-more genders is the rule in soccer.
This has attracted attention, and another came came up (FC Ingolstadt vs. Dynamo Dresden)....a second banner in the Dresden fan block came up and said there's only one single 'ridiculous DFB' and two genders.
All of this chatter setting a stage where the DFB folks need to shut up or avoid saying anything? More or less.
I'm guessing shortly....some rough-characters will be hired by the league bosses to examine banners as they enter a stadium....to prevent any gender discussion by fans.
All of this because of the season presently....fasching? Yeah....I'd say soccer fans are just not taking gender-chatter serious.
9. I sat and watched a ZDF (public TV in Germany, Channel 2) news piece....way too much 'hate' on the internet....large number of Germans disturbed by the hate ('hass'). Almost one in two saying they've experienced 'something'.
I pondered over it. To be honest, from my German wife....I tend to get blunt, intense, critical comments on an average of sixteen times a week. It'd be nice if it were via chat or internet or e-mail....but it's mostly face-to-face.
Not sure if I should include myself into this study group.
10.. The Green Party Agriculture Minister (Özdemir).....put up a draft plan that will probably disturb German farmers to some degree. It's mostly about more livestock protection. Cost impact? They figure in the range of 900-million Euro (more or less). Some kind of subsidy attached? Yes....but it means consumers would pay via grocery taxation.....for this subsidy.
11. You ever heard of carfentanyl? It's a newer version of fentanyl, and has started to appear in Munich. Its a synthetic opioid around 10,000 times stronger than morphine. If you were wondering....it's even 100 times stronger than regular fentanyl.
12. Nothing to get too excited about.....but a dead 4-meter (13 ft) long tiger python snake was found dead in the Hasenheide city park yesterday.
This is located around the Berlin area. Cops asking questions but I doubt that this will come of anything. Based on the decay in the picture I saw....he's been dead for a couple of months. Probably scared the crap out of whoever found it.
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