1. What happens when Nord Stream II's pipeline is repaired?
Some speculation has started up and the general feeling is that some amount of Russian natural gas will be bought by the Germans. To reach the 2020 level? Well...that was around 44 to 50 bcm (billion cubic meters). My humble guess is that for the first year of 'deals'....Germany will buy at least 10 bcm...keeping other deals going but realizing the Russian natural gas is cheaper.
2. I watched a N-TV piece on Russian military re-arming.
So....as they told the story....the Brit think-tank....Rusi...says that Russian armament companies are 'ahead' of anything that European armament companies can produce.
Part of the blame goes to general bureaucracy, the rest goes to poor planning/coordination, and they aren't designed for mass production.
Maybe China can help....selling Europe Chinese-made weapons.
3. The CDU/CSU and SPD are discussing a curious topic. Right now....you can run a business/shop....without electronic transfer (meaning a card reader at the cash register). Well....they want every single German business/shop....to have electronic transfer. How many operations still haven't engaged in electronic transfer readers? Unknown. If I were guessing.....probably one out of ten.
4. So about a month ago....I noticed this story....German in America with a Green Card....detained, and being held as he re-entered the US via the Boston Airport. For 4 weeks, he's been held at a detention center. Name? Fabian Schmidt.
Part of the story? About a decade ago, his mom (already in the US...in California) arranged for the son to get a Green Card. He arrives in California (age 16/17 at the time).
At some point after that....no one seems to know the timing....he's detained by California police with a baggy of Cannabis (dealer sized bag). His mom arranges for legal help, and eventually....the DA drops the charges.
Schmidt....a couple of years later....gets into a relationship, and moves to the Boston area. The Green Card comes up for renewal (the 10-year point) earlier this year (2025). Schmidt renews it, and is scheduled for a trip to Germany. Upon his return (at Boston)....he's given the card but then detained.
There's another odd piece to the story....that they had sent a letter to his last known California address....asking him to an appointment with a border-control officer. The letter was returned to the officer....undeliverable (occupant not at the address).
This has become a page two story in Germany, and laid out as grossly unfair in holding Schmidt in a 'jail'. Facts? Well....you get four lines of text, then 'nothing'.
US authorities? They are in contact with Schmidt, his lawyer and family....but haven't said a word beyond that.
The rest of the story? After looking at this....I keyed on two facts....left out by both the German/US media.
If you hold a Green Card and are arrested....the fine-print on the Green Card says you have to report the arrest. It also says....any court action.....has to be reported, and if charged/convicted/released.....you have to report that as well.
Then you come to the address problem. Green Card folks are supposed to report address changes within 10 days of the move.....yeah, that's also in the fine-print. Maybe if this move to Boston was in the last couple of months....they'd let that slide. But you aren't told of the time in Boston....so I might assume he's been there a year or two.
So....there are two fair sized violations of the Green Card regulations.
I'm assuming the authorities are trying to gather data to piece together the Cannabis charge, the legal action afterwards, and the movement to Boston. I would also assume...this is not a top priority case, and Schmidt might not be that helpful....knowing there's a 50-50 chance that the Green Card will be revoked.
How many people keep their Green Card address business up to date? With 13-million Green Card holders....I would take a guess here....more than 25-percent fail to have the most current address listed. Maybe if he didn't have the cannabis business there.....this wouldn't amount to much.
So, that's the basic story. And no, I don't expect a happy ending.
(Oh, and if wondering....if you hold a German visa-card....yeah, there's the same two regulations existing in Germany)
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