1. MDR (public TV for Saxony region) had a political chat session with all the parties in the running for state election shortly. Top public priorities? Lack of teachers in the state and public safety.
I think you could go across the 16 states and if you asked for the top three issues on people's mind....public safety will come up in each of the states (at least presently).
2. More public 'doom' chatter gong on with the coalition gov't of the SPD-Greens-FDP. Some Germans think that aearly election could still be called (instead of waiting for the fall of 2025). Key issue drawing to this idea? Budget problems for 2025.
3. Beer story.
This is a complicated tax and beer story.
Back on Monday, this Dutch guy walked into a regional court case in Darmstadt and laid out what he'd done with 24-million beer bottles (1-liter each). With a group of associates....he'd faked a delivery of a fairly large amount of beer....from France to Germany.
For six months in 2021....there was a paper trail showing 24 million liters of beer moving from France to Germany.....in the amount of 1,000 deliveries.
But here's the catch.
There's a EU law which says beer is taxed....on final country. So Germany taxes beer at a cheaper rate.....than France.
In this scheme....the paper shows movement, but the beer stayed in France...sold there, while the German tax was the 'gimmick'.
How much did he make? Authorities say 11-million Euro or the invisible beer.
I paused over reading the facts of the case. In my mind....I doubt that this was his first episode of dealing with invisible beer from France.
But then I came to this odd thing....I can't think of a single French beer....that Germans like to consume. Just on this fact....the idea of 1,000 deliveries of French beer....I would have been suspicious of the whole story.
4. Polling done....vast majority of Germans want some kind of knife law put into effect, with more frisking action.
5. Just a odd Russia story....Putin is offering temporary residence visas to certain foreigners who wish to leave crapped-up western countries where fuc*ed-up situations have occurred.
How many Germans might go for the deal? I would imagine fewer than a hundred.
Putin getting worried about a decline in population numbers? Well....yeah, there is that angle.
6. From that Munich knife episode I mentioned yesterday....the police now say they went through several efforts to get her to put the knife down (regular kitchen knife should be noted here). As she moved toward them in a threatening manner....four shots fired.
Past police record with the lady? Drug offenses (what the police say).
7. Cops investigating a shooting in Frankfurt's train station from last night. Victim dead....shooter caught....occurring around 9 PM. Generally, the threat around the station (up to this point) was knife-related.
8. One last heat-wave predicted for this summer....in my village for Saturday....predicted temp of 29 C (84 F). After that.....it'll start to slip to fall temperature averages. Most moderate summer ever....at least in my village.
9. RyanAir is the ultra-discount airline serving Germany (figure around 1.5-million seats per year). So the air travel tax is going to slip back up in the coming year. Ryan has told the German gov't unless you halt this escalation....we will cut travel into Germany.
Here's the key factor....around 7-percent of German vacation travelers....use Ryan. So this would be a big deal.
How Ryan might drop flights? Well....they'd go into bordering areas (France, Netherlands, Poland, Austria) and stage to-Germany flights without landing in Germany.
10. Curious cost-survey done on EU countries. As much as Germans whine about the cost of food.....of 28 member states....Germans have the lower cost of food (being absolutely at the bottom of pricing).
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