1. Watched a piece this AM off N-TV....suggesting natural gas prices this winter in Germany....might escalate up to 20-percent.
2. Some Linke Party MP in the Bundestag....did some heckling during a session....given a fine of 2,000 Euro.
3. Berlin-City 'state-election' coming up....17 parties now registered and will be offered.
4. Bavaria. WELT has a article this AM.....out of every two murder suspects in the state....one is noted as a non-German.
On the 20th of September.....a Sunday....in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern....a state election will occur.
Polling current puts the CDU at 6-percent.
If the poll guys are wrong...if the CDU pulls 4.9-percent or less....it turns in a fairly big mess, which the journalists will spend the next month talking about this 'failure'.
Between the AfD and SPD? They (by the polls) are pulling together around 66-percent. In third-place are the Linke Party at 12-percent.
1. If something has already occurred (history-wise)....can some journalist use the term 'prophet' in describing what has already occurred? I saw this use today in German print-media.
2. This SPD-candidate for Berlin (city) election.....under investigation. Reading over the hype this AM....three separate issues. Two of them....cases of accepting undue advantages.
I'll admit...it's hurting the SPD numbers....with the election in the next 30 days. If you felt bad about this....you'd still have the Greens or Linke Party to vote for.
Polling presently for this election? SPD at 12-percent. Linke Party leading with 21-percent. CDU at 20-percent. AfD at 18-precent, and Greens at 16-percent.
3. Premier-President of the Pfalz (state)....made a statement yesterday....that kids entering the German school system have to speak German. Tests by the state will be mandated. If you can't speak German upon entry.....it's simply a waste of time. Rather odd how we reached this point.
4. SPD pushing agenda....no more 'cash-only' situations. You'd have to offer card-acceptability. About twelve times a year....I come across a situation where the entry sign notes this. The other 99-percent of situations....offer both cash/card.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s second five-year term as President of Germany ends on 18 March 2027. I looked it up this afternoon.
The Federal Convention is scheduled to elect his successor on 30 January 2027.
Intense chatter on 'candidates'? Probably will start in November. Only Bundestag members can vote.
The two parties (probably no more than 5 or 6 from each party) gather in a conference room, with a scrip book.....they will have prioritized the important things and outlined what can be 'given-up'.
In the case of BSW (bit far to the left) and AfD (bit to the right)....they have both agreed that having border-control is a absolute. Beyond that....nothing much has been learned yet.
At the end....if this works....they will have a list of 'posts' assigned to parties, and agree upon most of the hot-projects for the next 12 months.
BSW badly needs a public image....so I'm guessing they agree to a fair amount of what AfD wants, and come to three or four things....which have to be in their favor.
Will the coalition last five years? Anyone's guess here. BSW is in some hopes for 2027....next year' state elections....that they can show progress, and gain votes.
Two odd groups in some agreement? Yeah....it's fairly weird. Added to this....both are pro-Russia to some degree, and anti-US to some degree.
1. Group of CDU political folks (nat'l level) are taking a opposition point to Merz....on tax-chatter. They are saying the new discussed plastic-tax is a no-go. Also discussed....the new crypto-currency tax. And the sugar tax.
These taxes mostly pushed by SPD Party to Merz? Yeah. Without full support of the CDU....these may not go into effect.
2. Meerbusch (NW Germany, near Dusseldorf).....guy approaches police waving a knife around. After several orders to drop it....they fire....killing the guy.
3. 11 AM today....national siren/alarm day....test throughout Germany occurs.
4. BSW Party accepts fully....in Saxony-Anhalt....coalition talks with AfD Party.
5. SPD Party top candidate for the Berlin-City state-election coming up....raided by the police. Some of political donation accusation. Timing of this...makes one think it was a set-up.
6. This sub-station saboteur guy (arrested by the police)....was not employed (long-term) and apparently 'survived' off pocket-money that his mother gave him.
German authorities came out today (Wed)....to say 'yes, we will help Ukraine identify young Ukrainian men in Germany....to return 'home' and fight for the fatherland'.
Basically....these are young men (20s, 30s and probably 40s)...who have a legit ID card (green-card) and probably getting some German gov't aid.
What are the numbers? German data from 31 October 2025 (including pre-war residents), broken down as roughly 87,000 aged 18–24, 168,000 aged 25–45, and 73,000 aged 46–60.
Guys willing to return? No. I would imagine zero nature.
Guys in Germany who are not noted by the Germans? No one says much....but I might go and suggest a minimum of 10,000 quietly residing.
I worked in a Air Force office/shop at the end of my career....where the boss (a Major) was a risk-taker. It was obvious from day one, and you could pretty much guarantee....if a situation came up requiring decision-making....there was a brief moment of concern and a marginal 'minute' pondering consequences....then he'd make the bold move. After a while (a long while)....I got used to it, and started think and react like he did.
What he gave me in terms of perceiving risks and consequences....was this idea that there had to be a 'gain' worth the risk taken.
I came later to the idea that the majority of people simply aren't capable of viewing consequences in their actions, or admitting they committed serious errors in their actions.
When the 'revolutions' started up in the Middle East and refugees started to look for exit/entry signs....the Germans never got into the consequences mindset. Even if you get to 2016....3 years into the migration issues....admitting the consequences was not possible.
AfD being a consequence? You could make that case today. The people who vote for AfD? Well....they used to be CDU-voters, SPD-voters, Linke-voters, FDP-voters, and even Green-voters.
This is one of the odd things that public TV (ARD/ZDF) never really discuss much.
The layer of issues surrounding crime, assaults, and negative public safety numbers? You could make the case that it's really not that bad. Course, you'd be comparing it mostly against data existing around 2010/2012..not the 1990s or 1980s.
The 250,000 on the deportation list? Yeah, that's a consequence.
The PISA study on German educational numbers for 2025....looking crappy? Yeah, that's a consequence.
Blaming someone or some party? I don't think it's really possible at this point. It achieves nothing.
Having a open and fair discussion over consequences? I don't think that's really possible now. You'd have to admit things, and agree to serious resolutions.
Odd problem to have.
First, he'd give a letter to President Steinmeier, and he'd (Steinmeier) ask Merz to stay as a 'temp'. He can decline this, and Steinmeier would then ask the SPD back-up Chancellor (Lars Klingbeil) to assume the job temporarily.
We move to step two then.
A new Chancellor must then be elected by the Bundestag under Article 63. The process has up to three rounds: The President proposes a candidate (one assumes a CDU-guy/gal), but he might shock folks by picking a non-party person. That person needs an absolute majority of all 630 Bundestag members (316 votes).
If that fails, the Bundestag has 14 days to elect someone with an absolute majority on its own.....meaning no suggestion by the President works.
If that also fails, a third ballot is held. A relative majority (most votes) is then enough. The President then decides whether to appoint that person (even if it produces a minority government) or dissolve the Bundestag and call snap elections.
Minority gov't? It'd dampen 2027 state elections, and likely hurt both the CDU-CSU Party and the SPD Party.
Getting a SPD Chancellor out of this? I'd give it better than 50-percent odds. Top guy? Boris Pistorius (Defense Minister currently).
Helpful for the AfD brand? Some folks might argue that having Merz resign...is very helpful for the AfD brand.
Steinmeier gone in January 2027? Well....term ends, and there's folks planning nominees.....probably to have a Bundestag 'vote' by November. CDU might be hoping that they get their person put into place, and a Merz-exit would have better conditions. Could this secret CDU 'winner' put their own name up for the Chancellor job? The law has conditions....to prevent that.
Any of this scenario being discussed currently...in the open? Oddly....no.
Two days ago....AfD published a list of promises....to sell their brand nationally. My humble view after each:
- Term limit for professional politicians. They will not be able to live off the State for more than eight years.
Getting all of the parties to agree to this...near zero. If you asked working-class Germans....they might prioritize this...but it won't be a top-ten thing.
- Europe of sovereign states, or an exit if that is not possible.
Exiting the EU? There might be 30-to-35 percent of people who will sit and listen to the idea...maybe bulk of them agreeing in some ways. I remember the era prior to the 1990s, and will say....there's various positive things that the EU delivered.
- End of the euro as a common currency.
Around a decade ago....you could ask and probably 10-percent of Germans felt the DM was a better deal than the Euro. Today? I'm not sure how people would see the idea.
- Total border control.
Requires a massive manpower situation....probably over 25,000 hirees. Police have openly said....they would do the job on a temp-basis (like 6 to 12 months) but if it were permanent....you need a hired-up crew. Budget for this? Doesn't exist.
Priority among Germans? Likely two-thirds of people support this idea.
- Asylum processed outside the EU.
Curious wording....you could not apply for asylum....unless you did it beyond the EU 'borders'. You'd have to have a workable deportation program....something marginally working at present. Sounds good on paper until you push for fixing deporation.
- Remigration of criminals and people without residence rights.
Public opinion....I believe 75-percent of Germans support the idea.
- Tax cuts.
First, you'd have to have budget cuts.....where?
- Energy: nuclear energy, coal, repairs to Nord Stream, no more CO₂ tax, no more ban on combustion engines.
Seen popular in different ways by the public. Fixing N-S....probably occurs....ONLY after the war ends. As for nuke energy? It's hyped as 'evil'....so you'd have to resolve this belief. The ban on combustion engines? It's killing the auto-industry.
I should mention here....Germany already has one of the highest grid cost rates of any EU country...presently.
- Pro-nationalist policy.
Might be supported by 40-percent of the pubic. Half of the media would utter 'nazi' when discussed.
- Promotion of German culture, protection of the German language
Probably in conflict with one-third of German voters.
- Expulsion of Muslims who reject the German legal system. No to sharia courts
If you explain Sharia....I doubt that more than 10-percent of Germans support some creation. If you asked Syrian-Germans....more than half probably would say they'd really rather not have such a 'problem' existing.
- Reinforcement of the police
Merkel hired 10,000 new state/federal police....right before Covid. My question....that effort was difficult because of quality required for recruits.....where would you find another 10,000 to 15,000 additional folks for the job. I agree....it's needed.
- Zero tolerance for foreign criminals and mafias.
I'd say they are already ten years too late. Public would support this.
I paused over this last night:
AfD: 29 percent
CDU/CSU: 19.5 percent (down a point)
Greens: 13.5 percent
SPD: 12.5 percent (up a half-point)
Left Party: 10.5 percent
FDP: 4.5 percent
BSW: 4 percent (up a half-point)
It's not something that you can see as positive for the Merz 'crew'. On the lefty-side? Roughly 40-percent of the voting public currently....but highly divided. (Comes from Focus)
Well....yeah.
ARD's takes it's nightly 8 PM news.."Tagesschau".....then translates it into "in einfacher Sprache" (basically 3rd-to-6th grade-level simple language).
So you can imagine....someone 'drafted'/selected from the team....who has the 15-minute news piece, and spending probably two to three hours....working the wording/graphics around...to give to a 'new' resident of Germany....in simple language.
Yes...simple basic sentences....no fancy words. The bars/graphs....explained like you were talking to a kid. Then giving a kid-like description of details.
Could you download the actual word-text from the Tagesschau in your home-language, and get a 4-star translation (without the child-like narrative)? Yeah.
Personally....I wish they'd do this with the German crime-show dramas, and have someone whittle the 90-minute crime-drama to 20 sentences....so the confusion was less over-all.
Yesterday....Germany's Minister of Defense approved a new military aid package for Ukraine. Includes PAC-2 Patriot intercepts (from their stock), AIM-9 missiles, and tens of thousands of long-range artillery shells.
Putin notes the transfers and probably just shakes his head...all of these German 'stockpiles' are absolutely a target in his mind.
PISA 2025 (released 8 September 2026)....concluded and it's pretty dismal.
German 15-year old kids....lowest scores since they started PISA in 2000.
Science, math and reading all down.
Blame? What they generally say....the number of 'new' kids (the migrants) are dragging educational progress down. Marginal interest in the subject matter....lack of respect for teachers....discipline lacking.
1. Is there anyway to really define 'far-left/far-right'?
No.
When one party says a platform goal is free-bus/rail travel....it really doesn't suggest far-left/far-right. If you had a migration issue....saying deportation is necessary....it also doesn't suggest far-left/far-right.
The German news media have played with the definition a good bit, and I'd say at this point....most folks can't conclude any definition worth talking about.
2. Merz going away?
There are five state elections in 2027....most occur in April. By the time you get to Niedersachsen in September....if the CDU has performed in a crappy fashion for the five....I might see some meeting where a discussion comes up (for both the SPD and CDU).....if the coalition can continue, or a fresh new election should occur.
2028 elections? Presently....three coming (2 in the fall, one in the spring)....they will matter a good bit.
3. The economy still problem one?
I'd go and suggest the economy and jobs rate as the top problem....with public safety and migration issues fitting into the top five issues facing the country. Neither the SPD or CDU/CSU....seem to have any true fix for the economic issue.
4. SPD overcome by the Greens?
That is a odd landscape....if you added up the Linke-SPD-Green voters....they make up around 38-to-40 percent of the nation presently.
5. Is there crime-clan warfare going on in Germany?
Not on front-page news....but if you glance through newspapers weekly....various clans are in competition with each other, and hit-jobs are being conducted. Police are more or less....simply watching the development unfold.
I asked AI to review data....how many crime families exist at the national level (across states).....total of 36 noted.
6. Is there any indication that the CDU or SPD have reviewed the 'get-elected' strategy of the AfD Party?
Well....no. If either had the 'get-elected' strategy in their mind....they would have overcome this voting trend.
At some point....Merkel saw the gimmick, and countered AfD....by agreeing to hire 10,000 MORE state/federal police (over a 3 year period). That briefly gave the SPD and CDU folks 'time'. It's been 7 years since that idea.
Sometime late this AM....German cops at a traffic check-point...arrested the man suspected of a series of sabotage attacks on the country’s power grid.
Location? Weisweiler.
Carrying explosives when arrested? Well....yeah. That's probably another extra charge.
Term used by the state Interior Minister about the guy? 'Misguided'. Fair amount of belief that the judge probably will ask for a 30-day mental exam period. I'd go and suggest 50-50 odds that he'll never get to a court, and likely be sent 'off' to a mental facility.
What his agenda basically came down to? Mostly the 'evils' of high-voltage lines and substations serving lignite (brown-coal) plants. You know...the fossil-fuel 'evils'. If the lines had nothing to do with brown-coal? They weren't targeted.
Ever letting the guy out? I'm of the mind that he's pretty set on the evils of fossil-fuel, and he's likely a candidate for a lifetime in some jail or mental-facility.
Finally....a positive note....German cops getting their guy.
At some point in 2027....the UK will conduct a unique military exercise...where the enemy is likely to be identified as Russia, and a key-part of the exercise...is to recall veterans.
Basically....they will draw upon a 95,000-strong strategic reserve....getting the 'gang' in....dressed-up...equipped, and deployed 'somewhere'.
Usual? Some say such a exercise hasn't been done in two or three decades.
Russian reaction? No one has said much yet.
Roughly 125 years ago....about a mile up the road from my German village....they (the state) built a tuberculosis recovery hospital.
This operated as such...until the early 1980s....when the state determined that they had 'control', and dumping a guy/gal off at a facility like this....was no longer necessary.
The selling point of this facility? It was on a hillside....with a 6-mile wooded trail. So as folks recovered....they were kinda 'directed'....to take a daily walk....to the end (where a rest-stop was located) and back.
What the center turned into after the 1980s? Well...a business-retreat hotel....where you'd reserve rooms and a conference center...to have 'talks'.
Who worked in the facility from the 1900s to 1984? Mostly folks from the village.
Public statement made this AM....NRW Minister President Wüst says that he wants to assemble a "working group" to examine the idea of a AfD Party ban.
Three observations.
First, Wüst is the guy figured to come after Merz as the CDU Party Chancellor candidate...if you were wondering.
It's kind of a short list....maybe four characters with the skills/talents....for the party...to fit the job.
Second, if you remove a party that has the support of 30-percent of national voting group....I would imagine that group will not participate in the democracy for a long while.
Third, if I were supportive of the AfD, and seeing the party banned....I'd assume that resolving the 'crime-drama' going on....is not that important, and that whatever issues exist over migration....will not be openly discussed. There's not much of a reason to play 'voting-matters' at that point.
Will some ban discussion now occur? Would you waste more time on that, or actually ask why the existing parties can't discuss what makes AfD 'tick'?
For some reason, I see the trending 'downward' for the CDU....as maybe a bad sign of where national politics is going. If you split the CDU and CSU apart....some polls say around 14-to-16 percent of national votes....go toward the CDU....which is a problem.
Oddly, no polls ask the reasons for AfD support.
Both the CDU and SPD had a full decade to overcome the migrant problems created, and re-develop the police situation for the evolution of crime that occurred. What you can generally say....they (the two parties) weren't prepared for this, and didn't really have the enthusiasm for massive change.
AfD? They talk a lot, but have not shown results yet (not really able to lead in any state).
So Saxony-Anhalt is the 'test-model'....if AfD is able to form a coalition and run one single state (of the 16).
If you asked me currently? I'd say the economy rates as a bigger issue....than migration. Oddly, neither the SPD or CDU have any serious resolution for that problem.
This 'saving-democracy' gimmick? I might go and suggest that half of German society see this as something that old DDR used to sell as propaganda to the public.
Public TV having lost appeal to a fair number of Germans? There's that odd issue brewing. The news stuff....public forums.....'experts'....have less value today (compared to a decade ago).
1. This vote last Sunday in Saxony-Anhalt (the German state)....seems to have 'confusing' numbers....there's a recount going on in several districts, and some suggestion of 'shenanigans'. I brought this up to the German wife....she merely said 'Putin's work'.....with the belief that maybe KGB folks got involved. I'm not saying it carries any weight....just that average Germans tend to believe this.
Odd statistic did show.....in rural areas of the state....50.4 percent of folks voted AfD....less so in urbanized zones
Last night? Another news blitz from ARD/ZDF (the public TV folks)....counting Sunday and Monday.....probably 15 hours from both trying to micro-analyze the election. I'd suggest by Sunday evening...most Germans were wrapped-up and not requiring more anti-AfD chatter.
2. Platform going ahead for AfD nationally?
- term limit for professional politicians. They will not be able to live off the State for more than eight years
- Europe of sovereign states, or an exit if that is not possible
- end of the euro as a common currency
- total border control
- asylum processed outside the EU
- remigration of criminals and people without residence rights
- tax cuts
- energy: nuclear energy, coal, repairs to Nord Stream, no more CO₂ tax, no more ban on combustion engines
- pro-nationalist policy
- promotion of German culture, protection of the German language
- expulsion of Muslims who reject the German legal system. No to sharia courts
- reinforcement of the police
- zero tolerance for foreign criminals and mafias.
- end of hate crimes. Maximum freedom of expression.
This came from Weidel herself.....most would appeal to common-working-class folks. The 'zero-tolerance' for mafias....would require a massive effort/huge capital investment in police/LE.
3. Viewing a AfD/BSW coalition in Saxony-Anhalt....the odd thing which they agree upon....normalizing relations with Russia.
4. This saboteur guy responsible for sub-station attacks? Still on the run.
Relatives have openly said....the guy is extremely bright (high-IQ), but also has mental issues. I would imagine when they do find/capture him....judge will order a mental exam, and he ends up in some facility.
5. VW selling one of its plants....is to be a weapons factory for Israel’s biggest missile-maker.
Osnabrück factory in north-west Germany expected to end vehicle production next year.
6. This hype of conflict between Russia and Germany....mostly BS. Germany is funding roughly 90-million Euro worth of Ukrainian-made Shrike first-person-view attack drones from SkyFall. Yeah, that is peeving off the Russians big-time and I would imagine some serious reaction to sabotage power stations.
7. Some statistic shown in AM news.....Germans in need of psychotherapy....not enough therapists for the job.....only 15-percent of Germans get help.
8. Some poll done in Berlin (city)....young people feel poorly represented. Three out of four.
9. My local state....Hessen....is having a 'truth-commission' over Covid. Basically, if something was a failed policy....they want to admit it and never repeat it again. It's mostly over state policies in the period....not the medical treatment or vax business.
Well...to simplify the story....Berlin city authorities had this massive database with all residents, their names, addresses, billing information, etc. It got hacked.....the crowd wanted to be paid. Berlin refused. The deadline came and went this past week.
If you were a resident....you can figure that over the next couple of years....unless you take active measures....some group is going to attempt to use your info in some way.
Around 20 years ago....I worked for a US company that had a hack, and for a year or two....they had a service provided for us....limited in nature....for such problems. It was free. Far as I know....no one ever attempted to use the data.
Folks affected? Over a million Berliners.
First, fairly dramatic 'tone' from ZDF and ARD (the two public TV networks) last night. Both had spent the whole last month on theme of the 'end-of-democracy' if AfD won.
Second, numbers-wise....AfD to run the state government....now requires a coalition. Well...the BSW Party secured a 5-percent situation....thus giving them 4 seats of the 83, and they have expressed a willing nature to partner-up.
BSW considered far-left? Yeah. AfD considered far-right? Yeah. So it's a situation which makes you think the labels given by the news media....might not fit as designed.
Will there be a AfD/BSW coalition? I'd give it 50-50 odds....at least they will talk.
Third, polling? I thought in the end....the polls done in the final two weeks were fairly accurate.
Fourth, a long-term problem now for the CDU Party (Merz and company)? I'd suggest that they look fairly weak.
Fifth, why didn't the messaging of ARD/ZDF work to convince voters to oppose AfD? I would suggest that somewhere in the range of 50-percent of residents of the state....don't watch public TV....at all. So they missed the messaging, and only the viewership got the massive dose of anti-AfD. Kinda funny in a way.
Sixth, now you have to wonder...if the AfD/BSW team is in place.....at the state level....can AfD resolve the migration crisis? My view? I think there's in the range of 4,770 'guests' in S-A....who are on a deportation list (numbers reported at end of 2025). I suspect of this group....all will be getting a letter in 60-to-90 days....with a end-to-benefits situation (probably 1 January 2027 is my guess), and giving some impression that you'd best leave the state (likely inviting them to move to one of the remaining 15 states of Germany). I also suspect a rule or two will be added...once you commit a crime as a 'guest'.....you automatically get a deport-ASAP order. What this will attract as attention....other states will see the focus and probably copy some of the rules. I don't see a massive get-the-foreigners out as being necessary....if you had a job and were paying taxes.
Seventh, it's just odd how the election 'brand' came down to 'saving-democracy', and no one really talking much over crime statistics, deportation woes, or crime clans/gangs. The AfD's forty-plus-percent were pretty locked onto democracy being part of safety. They didn't see either the SPD or CDU as bringing change to public safety.
Finally, to be honest....if you end up with a CDU-SPD-Greens-Linke-BSW coalition....it'll end up being weak and marginally effective. It hurts Merz in various ways. If I were the CDU in this state....I'd pretend to make an effort, and 30 days later....say a coalition is not possible....making another state election by the end of November likely.
Next state election? Thirteen days now....Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Last poll....a week ago...shows AfD at 35-percent....with the SPD at 32-percent. CDU at 8-percent. There might be a slight boost for AfD over two weeks...but I don't see them going past 38-percent. So the SPD will get the nod to form a gov't after AfD fails. If the CDU gets less than 5-percent? There would be a massive negative trend, and be a major national problem.
At least the saving-democracy BS lessens for a while now.
AfD: 44.5-percent.
CDU: 18.5-percent
SPD: 8.2-percent
Linke: 9.4-percent
Greens: 8.9-percent
BSW: 5-percent
Summing up the election (1.7-million potential voters in the state). Presently, AfD would get 39 seats of the 83 total....requiring a coalition.
BSW? Well....they have hinted of some cooperation deal, and would get 5 seats....so in a wild scenario.....you could have the AfD with BSW....running the state gov't. If final numbers put BSW at 4.9 percent....NO seats.
CDU? Well....major loss in numbers and it's going to be discussed a good bit.
If this goes to a AfD/BSW gov't? One of the big topics will be public TV, and if the coalition tells the public TV folks....a end-date is approaching.
Polls being accurate from a week ago? I'd say they were about as close as reality. BSW might be the only shocker.
All of the hype for TV/media....to vote against AfD? Failed, and there probably is going to be a long discussion how people really closed off that 'mouth-piece'.
If you read the BILD am Sonntag today....there's a fairly strong suggestion that Germany is planning a number of projects to bulk-up on defenses against drone attacks, cyber issues and sabotage.
Fear? If you've watched ARD or ZDF public TV over the past month....almost every night....there's some big focus (in the first three or four minutes of the broadcast)...where there's trouble brewing, and stability is threatened.
I do agree...some of this is Russian-invented....some being a crazed German-environmentalist...some leading to hackers of a unknown 'land'.
This power-station stuff? I think this worries folks the most. Some nutcase could target a sub-station or two, and you'd discover that two or three days of down-time is to be expected. It's not something that most Germans can handle.
Fed funds laying around for investment purposes over this? No....not really. They'd have to find some project to cut on, or add more taxes.
Police 'think' they have a defined location for the power-sub-station sabotage guy. Hambach Forest...NE of Aachen (about 20 km away). I'd define the woods area....about 20 by 20 km.
No vehicle.
This a big deal? On a man-hunt scale....1-to-10....it's probably near a '9'.
This past week....city hall folks (the various parties that run things) started talking about two things....one supported by the CDU and lesser parties....mostly opposed by the SPD.
So....project one....instead of a tram 'build'....they are now open to the idea of a monorail....which would run from the Ostfeld (new suburb near the Army Airfield) to the train-station.
Project two? The federal police folks want to establish a 'central-presence' (figured to be 5,000 jobs scattered around city presently in several locations). Location of this project? In the Ostfeld 'shadow'.
The monorail? It's mostly opposed because it doesn't tie into the current network and would be a oddity (as spoken by the SPD folks). Cities in Germany with such? Wuppertal, Dortmund, Düsseldorf, and Dresden. Yeah....there's only a couple.
Why go this path? You can basically use the four-lane road leading from near the Army Airfield region of Ostfeld, to the mid-town....probably with six stops. Disrupting traffic while under construction? That's probably a minor problem.
If you were selling me on this monorail idea....I'd probably have three routes around the city.
It's interesting....some older Germans brought up the comparison of 2026 (heat-wave summer, drought, etc) and 1976 (known as the 'century-summer' (Jahrhundertsommer).
Cause of both? The Jet Stream. This circulation pattern is known as the Omega Blocking Pattern. Basically, the area between Spain and Germany....got blocked....while Eastern Europe was cold.
A single year, and likely not to repeat again (for at least a decade)? Yeah.
Worth buying a 3,500 Euro AC-unit? No.
Germans remembering 1976? Very unlikely.
When I arrived in January 1978....a couple of the Germans in the shop conversed over 1976. Older guys remembered a period like that in the 1950s....but noted it was NOT normal summer weather.
1. Sub-station sabotage guy? Still on the run? Yeah.
Police putting out photos....mid-40s guy. No doubt with the cops....he's responsible for attempted 'hits' on two sub-stations. Nothing to do with Putin's thugs, Nazis, or far-right-wing.
2. Saxony-Anhalt election underway this AM. Zero doubt that AfD Party will place near 40-percent....but not enough to run state gov't (no one will form a coalition with them). The odd thing....this forces the CDU into a leadership role with a coalition.....with the partner of the Linke Party (far-left). Fair number of CDU-voters will be shaking their heads.
If you asked me over hurting the CDU 'image' nationally....this election/results....aren't that positive.
3. SPD Party wants 'solutions' to prevent closure of four VW factories.....not much to offer.
4. Those two suspects for the arson attack in Munich? Caught.....detained.
Yesterday....the wife had a adventure day planned....Segway 'tour'. Eastern side of Frankfurt....farm country.
Google maps said it was 45 minutes away....I allocated another 15 minutes...off we went (10 AM).
Well...by the time you add up autobahn construction/detours (at least five projects)...it took near 75 minutes.....barely getting there in time.
You start to add up all the street renovations around Wiesbaden, and the bridges under 'work'....there's probably in my region....around sixteen different things that influence traffic and cause 'rage' among drivers.
Yeah, I'll admit.....they need work urgently.
The Segway tour? Actually fairly interesting (note: Segway halted sales around six years ago). Nearly three hours of driving around a farming community.
Corn? Well....one had a chance to observe a failed crop (no higher than your waist).....massive drought for the summer of 2026.
Up until this past week....the EU had been set to ban combustion engines....by 2035.
Well....Germany, Italy, Poland and the Czech Republic...fought hard, and it appears that the ban....will not occur.
The change? The EU will shift to emissions reduction targets. Meaning, engines built today can still be built and sold.
Job losses still in play? Well....yeah. A lot spent on e-car development, and the bulk of Germans aren't that eager to buy into it.
Yesterday....the wife and I went into Wiesbaden....to a new grocery on the SE part of town....with a underground parking situation.
Some sign with ultra-small fine-print.....then we entered the underground parking area. So we stepped out of the car, and read the sign (close-up).
Well...it basically says a camera read your plate upon entry....you need to pay 3 Euro to exit, or buy something at the grocery to get a scan-type coupon (making it free). If you drive out without either....you get a legal form in the mail for 45 Euro (fine) by this company monitoring things.
A hassle? If you were a older German....you might miss the sign and get this warning letter.
The odds of me ever going back? Near one-percent.
Second story? Well....the store had premium-coffee in a locked-up case.
I pondered this....all these years in Germany and never having seen a lock-up situation for premium coffee. If you needed some? You'd have to chat with the manager, and he'd get you a 'bag'.
Over the past several days in Germany....there have been repeated acts of sabotage against electrical substations across the country.
Well....this AM (Friday)....another attempt....in Lower Saxony.
So as of noon....cops have an idea of who is involved (NOT Putin or his thugs).....appears to be German citizen.....militant climate activist.
His big deal? Well....he wants to fight fossil fuels. Yes....fossil fuels.
Nutcase-level? I would suggest that some type of mental review will probably occur...he might avoid charges/jail...by establishing his mental control is 'lacking'.
Yeah....oddball case, and will get dragged around to be discussed a good bit.
This leading back to mental stability (lack of) in a group of environmentalists? It's hard to say a number but it's painfully obvious that people take climate control to a level of some Marvel-movie adventure.
This week....if you follow ARD/ZDF (public TV in Germany).....there's mostly hype over Russia saying Germany is near to "destroying" all political and economic relationships with Putin's Russia.
There was a unique political relationship between West Germany and the Soviet Union....coming out of the 1960s....mostly between the SPD leadership, and the necessity for 'cheap' natural gas/oil. This drove the economic relationship.
Adding to this....the bulk of economic-power that Germans often talk about....is related to the flow of natural gas and oil. The Soviets, and later....the Russians....built a great middle-class level. The Ukraine-war? It basically destroyed the business model....for both Russia (Putin) and Germany (for both the SPD and CDU).
Presently, if the war were to end....Germany and Russia would both likely be back to natural gas 'trading', and a economic recovery for both would occur. If we linger another two or three years, in some war without value? I'd suggest both would find economical recovery fairly difficult.
Russia's economic standing? Pretty close to between Brazil and Italy.
Well....if you bundle up the issues....then yes.
For 2025....Germany’s population was 83,467,117 (about 83.5 million).
Decline? Yeah....roughly 110,000 people, or 0.1-percent (over 2024).
Producing kids? The rate is now at 1.32 per female.
Oddly....if you break it down....German women are fairly close to 1.2, while non-German women are near 1.78.
Blame? More German women prioritize jobs/income over having kids.
Some Germans (mostly women) are concerned over climate change....feeling lesser populations are a plus.
Where all of this leads onto? If you do a spread sheet and figure numbers for 2046....it's probably a population of 77-million, and continuing onto 70-million by 2066.
German industry/commerce set for trouble? Well....if VW and the car companies continue to downsize....you don't need to worry about a manpower shortage.
Did I mention that 288,000 Germans exited/left the country in 2025, and a minimum of 250k probably will leave in 2026? Most wanted better salary levels, lower taxes, and more opportunities.
In some odd way....the California-strategy of downsizing....has been recreated here in Germany, and been fairly successful.
I sat last night watching ARD (public TV) and a news segment on a housing 'crisis'.
So....the basic story....the German Tenants' Association got onto the housing market crisis.
In their mind....Germany is around 1.4 million apartments/homes 'short'. So this problem leads to a welfare state problem. To fix it? They want the German federal gov't to build more units, and have some type of rent-brakes.
I've sat and reviewed over the past decade. It's an odd problem.
Germany (in the old West Germany days....before 1990)....had a fair amount of city/state-owned apartment buildings.....with set rents. In the 1980s....the city governments got a bit worried....most of the units were reaching 30-to-50 years old and required renovation. None of them were making enough to clearly cover the cost of renovation.
The federal response? They'd sell the units/buildings to a commercial company....use profits to cover some renovation and get out of city-run social housing.
What they didn't really expect.....the commercial operations did renovate housing....but came up to charge a fair amount of increase on rent. In some cases....it pushed renters out of highly urbanized regions (Bremen, Frankfurt, Munich and so-on).
What these associations want.....is a re-creation of social housing, and limited rents....meaning the income level for the city/state....would not be enough to cover renovation in 20-to-30 years.
Added to this 'burden'....it is apparent that plenty of housing exists....if you consider all of the country, but in the urbanized zone (the cities of 200k or more)....the draw of public interest to live there....instead of the rural areas....is another issue by itself.
It is a problem....but the solutions simply lay a path for bigger problems.
This week....I asked Grok (AI) to assemble the data on the German sugar-tax deal (still in draft form) and figure the per-person cost.
So....if you kept drinking your average amount of soda....at the average end....you'd have a yearly cost of 30-to-36 Euro. But then Grok said....you pay the sugar tax prior to the VAT....so the sugar tax-plus-VAT is around 35 to 43 Euro (per person).
But then Grok said....suppose you drink lesser sugar items (like ice tea or lemonade).....then your yearly cost is around 20 to 35 Euro.
Family of four? Still consuming sugar drinks? Figure in the 120 Euro range.
Enough to force a change of habit? I pondered upon this. With all the hyped-up cigarette taxation....there's virtually no data to suggest that people quit or lessened because of the taxes. Some data suggests that people went to rolling their smokes (thus saving money) or crossing the border into Luxembourg to buy lesser taxed smokes. I might go and suggest fewer than 5-percent of society cut sugar consumption.
What might happen? In three years....new coalition....new tax strategy....perhaps doubling of the sugar tax.
1. VW cost story....BILD did a comparison story over cost. VW-to-build-a-car per hour? 74 Euro.
To run the factory (electrical, cooling, heat, etc)....VW has drill around 4,850 Euro of each car to this detail.
In simple terms....it makes little sense to continue making VW's in Germany...when you have thirty-odd countries with a lesser cost situation for man-hours, electrical, or natural gas.
Odds of VW being sold-off? People would have laughed over this idea ten years ago....I'd say presently (within the next 2 years)....I'd give it a 25-percent chance of 'someone' (probably a Chinese company) buying them (to include Audi).
2. Two Bulgarians arrested in Munich area....state-police of Germany involved. Accused of arson attack on construction site....was to be for arms industry company. Lot of questions coming out of this.
3. German authorities 'hinting' that they may provide targeting 'advice' to Ukrainians....on where to hit Russia.
On my digging deeper into a conflict index (1-to-10).....this is a '8'.
4. Curious saga coming up in Koln. There's a something called the Coesfelder Liste (Coesfeld List). It was started back in 2024....being a list of people legally required to leave Germany.
So, the way this started....late November 2024, the Zentrale Ausländerbehörde (the authority over foreigners) in the city of Coesfeld....sent out a list to cities of the state (NRW).
Roughly 1,200 folks....they were vollziehbar ausreisepflichtig (meaning they were subject to enforceable deportation). Various countries from the Balkan states and Albania/North Macedonia.
The state office offered to obtain replacement travel documents so the people could be deported more easily.
The Koln office....didn't accept the offer....they more or less....lingered.
So....about a month ago...this list became public knowledge....with a Koln group (police say this part)....of 152 of the 471 people mentioned....linked to 568 offenses since November 2024.
Koln just innocently looking the 'other-way'? Well....locals seem to have the view....someone either got blackmailed, influenced or bribed.
Forced prosecution efforts now? Just from the talk....I'd say for remainder of 2026, and most of 2027....there's some intense legal stuff to occur.
My humble view? If you dug into all sixteen states....you'd probably view several more lists.
4. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election poll? Election in roughly 2 weeks.
AfD at 35-percent, with SPD closely at 32-percent.
CDU at 8-percent, Greens at 5-percent, and Linke at 11-percent.
While AfD likely wins....they will be unable to form a coalition. SPD? Presently....they probably can form a coalition with the Linke and Greens.
End-result....roughly one-third of Mecklenburg public rates the migration woes as a big deal, and there's not likely to be much 'resolving' over the next five years. I'd say in 2031...AfD will probably have 40-to-45 percent on polls.
5. 4 August drone attempted attack at Leipzig Airport on a couple of planes? Well....authorities have been busy.
Intended target was a AN-124 cargo plane.
Around 7:30 that evening (still sunlight)....police say drone was sent to strike a wing near the fuel tanks....oddly....the charge separated on impact and did NOT detonate. Some time passed....a bus driver later found the device on the ground, and 'stomped' upon it.
DNA from the drones? Well....fantastic amount of work....led to two suspects:
First guy....a Russian-born man holding a Latvian passport. He's connected in some way to Russian intelligence. He entered Germany in late July via Berlin Brandenburg Airport...rented a car, and simply drove over to Leipzig. He stayed around for a day or two....then left Germany.
Second guy.....A Belarusian citizen who also holds a Russian passport. He had arrest records in Lithuania and Finland. He entered the Schengen region on an Italian tourist visa issued in Minsk in late April. He also has departed the country.
On the attempt? I don't think either guy has much background on drones....seems like they easily bungled this up, and the airport being extremely lucky.
Problem now? Well....Germans now realize how easy this drone-warfare might go, and there's serious worries ahead.
Two suspected sabotage incidents now reported. Occurring at high-voltage substations on opposite sides of Germany.
First one....1 Sep....2nd one today....roughly 12-to-15 hours apart.
What the police say? It would appear as some type of ground-launched homemade pyrotechnic projectiles.....stuff you'd build in the garage.
First one....Turnow-Preilack substation in Brandenburg. Second one....Amprion-operated substation in Bergheim/Rheidt (Rommerskirchen area (Koln, North Rhine-Westphalia).
Yeah....it's hyped up the national authorities....suggesting it's Russians behind it.
Failing in both attempts to take down the stations? Yeah....that is a factor.
Any proof of the Russians? No.
Based on the description....it's stuff that a 16-year old smart kid could assemble.
Likely the last poll before Sunday's election, by INSA:
AfD: 43-percent
CDU: 22-percent
SPD: 7-percent
Linke: 12-percent
Greens: 5-percent
So if you take the math-outcomes....projected seats....AfD will not have enough to avoid a coalition, and therefore....will not be the one building the coalition (left to the CDU).
Awkward position? Well....for the CDU....they'd have to partner with the Linke folks, and this is fairly big negative (nation-wide view) for CDU-voters.
Not much to say.
Around 9AM today....hand-grenade went off by a Turkish-run jewelry shop....near the main station of Augsburg. Two students slightly wounded.
German cops think it's a crime gang-episode (not terror-related). Trains were stopped briefly at the station.
1. All the bad-boy hype for Russia yesterday? Basically....the Foreign Minister and the Interior Minister have come to agree....'enough'.....they intend to apply a number of things to get Putin's attention. Economically, there was marginally anything left to screw with....but at this point, it's all 'gone'.
Putin's reaction? Mostly....'a grave mistake' by Germany.
More drone hybrid-warfare BS? I'd suggest that.
2. VW's board wants to terminate production at four plants: Emden, Hanover, Zwickau, Neckarsulm.
The Chancellor gave a interview yesterday.....in the midst of it....the moderator noted that "twenty-percent (of Germans) want to leave the country."
But the Chancellor was quick witted....responding....at least 80-percent want to stay. Then he noted....'to where'.
The numbers game? If 20-percent did up-and-leave....we'd go from 84-million down to around 67-million.
Who are the twenty-percent? Mostly folks determined that AfD cannot lead the country, or any Germany state.
Is it a bluff? Well....not entirely.
There's a poll recently done which asked if you could leave....(nothing to do with AfD)....that one in five Germans are entertaining to exit. Part of this group are people retiring and believing that they can get more bang-for-the-buck (like in Thailand or Turkey). Some of the group are fed-up with job opportunities. Some folks want to start a business....which usually is tough in Germany.
Out of this one-in-five group....I would imagine that 50-percent will get serious and write down some goals, and plans.
Was Merz correct? Where would folks go?
If you challenged these folks hyped-up and against AfD.....most would be talking about European countries...where right-wing parties are also growing. I doubt that they'd be happy to find this type of atmosphere at the 'new-land'.
After pondering this a good bit.....if the 20-percent were serious, I've come to realize that they are mostly of the SPD, Linke, and Green Party....plus some oddball folks in the CDU-CSU. So you'd automatically go and help AfD in future elections, by lessening the opposition.
Wild times....I must admit.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen gave a talk.....then suggested that Europe's 10 trillion Euro in private household bank savings accounts.....should be in some way....directed toward supporting companies and the economy..
How? This was not really laid out in detail.
How she gave the talk? Well...aimed at French employers....where she described these savings accounts in some form/way.....as "idle".
The fact that the savings are 'loaned' in a way to the bank.....to loan toward companies/private individuals? Missed in reality....I assume.
Banks likely to accept the idea? I seriously doubt it.
Current savings rates (Germany)....for 3 to 6 months....around 4-percent. I should note....this is the promotional rate to get you in the front-door
Risk factor with her idea? That's the more bothersome thing to ponder.
Why can't the EU attract investment folks? Yeah....that's the key factor to this story. If they aren't engaging....there's forty-odd questions to ask.
Well....it has become a bigger deal than normal....because AfD has the potential to win without the need for a coalition (meaning no partners).
If I offered 'odds'? I'd say it's a 30-percent chance that AfD will get in the 44-to-45 percent range.
No matter what....AfD gets first-place....probably unable to gain a coalition, and the CDU (2nd place) is put into a crappy position....where they form a state-gov't with the SPD, Greens, and Linke Party.
In the aftermath of this gov't form....I might go and suggest nearly half of CDU-voters across the nation grumbling about the conditions laid down by the Linke Party to get their partnership. In simple terms....it'll be discussed a good bit, and be seen as a negative for the CDU leadership.
The idea that some CDU-voters in the state are already grumbling and might vote AfD....just to send a message? There might be a few, but it probably won't change the outcome of the election.
The news media 'framing' a lot of anti-AfD chatter? Yes.
Last night....I watched a commercial TV hour where they tried to lay out the story of AfD n the state. They used 'good' refugees (working, tax-paying) to show that deporting is a bad agenda to support.
So...come Sunday evening...the results will be laid out. If you see AfD up around 44-percent or more....it's a big deal. If you see the CDU bosses a bit gloomy over the prospect of a coalition where they have to partner with the Linke Party....that's also a big deal.
Last night.....via ARD (German public TV) came the public forum show....'Miosga'.
So the moderator....Miosga....was talking up the Russians and Nord Stream II with the guest.
Oddly....the guest suggests that the blowing up of Nord Stream "benefited the Russians." Therefore, it was the Russians. Because they love blowing up the pipeline to their most important customer themselves."
I sat there for a minute....dazed.
Economically and militarily....there's zero benefit for the Russians.
The German police? They've solved most of the mystery....noting Ukrainians were being Nord Stream II blowing up
Miosga allowing that statement and not correcting it? That dazed me a bit as well.
This getting into the head of 100,000 intellectual Germans....believing the BS? That's the damage done.
If you really wanted some goofy BS....you might as well suggest it was the CIA, or the French secret police, or some radical environmental crazy-folks.
Lets start with the 'number'....258,845 individuals as of end of June 2026.....who are on the German 'to-exit/deport' list.
Why the number can't be resolved or greatly lessened? There's basically 3 issues at play. First, you might be a guy/gal from a unfriendly situation, and the German general rule is that you can't be sent back. Second, legally....there's various ways to delay-delay-delay. Third, it's a state-by-state task....NOT a federal task. Some states might have a high priority....some less so.
Politically....this number is killing both the SPD and CDU-CSU voter feelings. I'd generally say that 30-percent of the public feel this is top priority and problem number one. Even among the other 70-percent....it ranks in the top five problems with half of them.
Why Merz as Chancellor can't do much? Well....he'd have to have some place to send folks, in massive numbers. Maybe if we were talking about 10,000 or 20,000 folks....you might rig up some African end-destination....where you pay x-amount per each 'guest'. But in the 250k range? No one would sign up for stuff like this.
AfD? Over the past ten years....both the CDU-CSU and SPD....had chances to resolve this and got nowhere. They are furious that the AfD has gotten up to the 30-percent level.
What the AfD could do differently? This is the mystery question.
Some folks think that AfD might cut off all funding for the 258k....telling them by a certain date to go elsewhere (maybe France). The EU would probably hinder that.
The idea of fenced-off camps? Some think this might be suggested....but go nowhere.
The 258k being good outstanding folks? That idea probably doesn't work anymore.
Even if you had agreeable deportees....you'd require over 1,200 flights to transport them out.
The idea that the Chancellor has given up priorities over this....thinking it is unfixable? Well....some folks might suggest this. It's easier to talk about pension-reform.....education reform....or even renovation-of-bridges reform.....than it is to talk over deportees.
For these odd reasons...AfD will linger around and be able to upset election results.
It was basically a 3-point win for the 'NO' vote.
Curiously, about 90-percent of the districts of the isle....went 60-plus percent 'NO'. In the capital city....it was around 44-percent 'NO'...meaning they were more supportive of the idea.
Done deal? I suspect in five to seven years....another vote.
EU domination on rules....got caught up in the public mind? I'd suggest this.
Last week....the Wiesbaden city council came up and started the next tram discussion.
About four years ago....they spent a fair amount of time, and eventually discovered that no one really is hyped up in the city for having a tram (unlike Mainz).
They went to a public vote....failing.
So the topic is up again.
This time? They want the maglev train route going from Ostfeld (area of major home building near the Army post and the south cemetery area).....over to the central train station. More or less....a 6 km route. If you asked about stops? I'd say no more than 7 stops total.
Marginally worth the cost? Yeah.
There are three problems in Wiesbaden for trams. First, the streets aren't really built in a way to support it. Second, if you wanted to max out....there needs to be two routes....each reaching the central station as the center point. Feeling supportive across the city isn't there. Finally....no one wants three or four years of renovation/construction going on.
First from that Christopher Street Day event.....one dead and ten wounded....the terrorist is dead....however, this odd story of a 2nd guy involved....does not go away.
I watched a news piece, and the topic still lingers on. They don't know who the guy is, or is involvement angle....just that someone is identified on the scene, and afterwards....he quickly walks away.
My suspicion? I think some guy was not part of the CSD group....just an odd character watching things, and as soon as the action started.....he left.
Second, oddly....the 1980 Oktoberfest attack has come up again.
It's placed in the reasoning that the German guy (failed apprentice German).....was a far-right wing or Nazi-type. Then in the reasoning....this one attack is what drove the fest folks mount up serious security. In this view....it's far-right idiots that have triggered the massive security BS for the fest.
Well....I've talked to Americans (not German) over the attack, security, and the BS.
Most believe that the one guy responsible....was a nutcase (not lefty or righty). Some evidence exists that he was in a neo-Nazi group.
The police action? The minute they had a 'story'...they ended the investigation....going no further because he was dead.
Security for 1981/1982? Marginally improved....most of these Americans say this.
The 2025 episode? It was mostly over a distraught guy....threatening some explosive, and the fest shut-down for a couple of hours....with added security over bags/backpacks.
Trying to mount a massive 'safe' Oktoberfest? I'd say it's nearly impossible. By the time you figure around 400,000 folks entering the grounds (per day)....you'd need several hundred folks to check on people. But added to this.....once a bomb goes off....there' at least 20,000 drunk Germans who are probably not in any shape to run, escape or exit the place. It's not something you want to plan around or hope to find a 'fix' for.
This week.....the CDU-CSU-SPD coalition brought up a surveillance discussion.
They want to 'grant' the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (their FBI) and the Federal Intelligence Service....the 'power' to actively enter (secretly) your house, apartment garage, etc....without a lot of paperwork or judge permission.
Placing bugs? Yeah.
It's not guaranteed that this 'power' will be approved.
Odds of counter-surveillance to start up? I'm of the mind that some Russian guys will offer 'toys' that you can place....to surveil German gov't folks.
Asking for trouble? Maybe this is good idea on terror suspects, Chinese secret agents, and even crazy Germans hoping to overthrow the coalition. But a year or two will pass, and some anti-spy company will offer to 'sweep' your house....for a 30-minute scan....paying 99-Euro, and find that a hundred folks a month are willing to buy the service.
On my great adventure to Belgium.....we arrived in Ghent Sunday evening to discover about 90-percent of restaurants are NOT open on Sunday. So we asked the desk-gal....where could a person eat-out?
She suggested a pizza shop about ten minutes walking from the hotel.
So we go over. My wife orders some 'wrap' (safe)
I order a Hawaii pizza. It comes out about 12 minutes later....with about half-a-can of corn sprinkled over the topi of it....added to the ham and pineapples.
It did not make sense. I spent about half my time....using a fork, and trying to remove the corn.
The deal? I asked AI and 'he' says that the corn is supposed to lessen the sweet taste of pineapple. It makes no sense, but these folks were sold on the idea.
So if you are ever in Belgium.....ordering a pizza....read the menu-selection carefully.
I sat this week....watching ZDF (German public TV)....with their top-journalist....Dunja Hayali...doing a interview with the CDU parliamentary group 'boss'....Thorsten Frei.
Several state elections coming up....AfD will win two, but likely fail to form a gov't.
The chief problem? The CDU has to take their 2nd-place finish in both, and build a coalition.....mostly with left-wing parties. The happiness situation? Mostly near zero.
Hayali wanted the CDU politician to hype up his thrilled-nature....that the party would save German-democracy. Frei really wasn't going to agree to this idea much, and seem very negative.
All of this done....in the name of political framing? Yeah.
Here's the problem....if you were in one of these states....being a conservative CDU voter....if you were told that the CDU would have to buddy-up with the Linke Party, and accept five or six things that you were totally against.....I'd say say three out of ten CDU voters would say 'NO', and vote for AfD instead.
I doubt that Hayali grasped that part of the mess.
Will the CDU accept this partnership? Nationally.....a lot of voters who were conservative in nature....would be shaking their heads if the coalition were CDU-Greens-SPD....but it'd be a hard 'no' if you had a 4th partner being the far-left Linke Party
Odd news item came up about a week ago....involving the Cambridge University folks and Jason Arday (now deceased).
The word 'autoethnographies' got used. I had to look it up.
Definition....you, the writer, ask a number of questions....which YOU yourself answer.....based off your life, experiences, woes, sorrows, etc. Yeah, it's a self-interview.
So in writing his thesis paper.....he uses his own information, his own quotes, and submits it as a paper.
Accepting this? Yeah, Cambridge fully accepted the paper
I'm not a education-wiz, but it's a bit unusual to accept the idea that PhD results out of this 'gimmick'.
I spent a week in Belgium...returning last night.....ten observations.
First, there's a ton of road renovations going on throughout Belgium. What was supposed to be a 5.5-hour return drive....turned into nearly 9 hours yesterday.
Second, I stayed in one single hotel...in Ghent. Ultra-ultra-quiet. Guest-house....1920s built...22 rooms. Next to a city park. Only negative I can say....from the 'free' parking spot (under shaded trees)...ton of bird-poop by Friday morning. I had to actually take the car over to car-wash....it was so bad.
Third, the wife and I did walking 'adventures' of Ghent, Bruges, and Brussels. I give a thumbs-up on Ghent and Bruges....both worth seeing....very safe. Brussels? Marginally worth seeing, and about every 20 minutes...there was a police siren passing by.
Fourth, food-wise....it reminded me of a Disney-operation....mostly American-style food.
Fifth....use of public transportation? I downloaded the Ghent App, and bought rides very easily. They seem to have figured out how to make the system work.
Sixth....'Beer-Central' is the best Ghent pub....300 beers offered either in a glass or bottle. Covered shade.
Seventh....only time to wander into a crime situation....in Bruges....siren came up and the wife/I walked past a up-scale tennis shoe shop. Private security had latched-onto two guys attempting a shop-lifting situation. Two cop cars pulled up....within 60 seconds....they had possession of the two and tossed them into the car. By the 3rd minute.....cars left. Amazingly fast apprehension.
Eighth...the only odd thing over the hotel pick.....the toilet seat was mounted about 12 inches higher than normal. I though originally....it might be a handicapped room.....but was corrected (normal room). If you ever tried to do 'it' while sitting with your legs in a awkward position....it marginally works.
Ninth. My description of Bruges and Ghent....if Walt Disney had been challenged to make cities instead of parks....this would be the result.
Tenth....arriving there Sunday evening of last week....odd development.....most all restaurants are closed. My choice was a local pizza shop.
1. It was a 2004 model of the car (bought used....used for 3 years)....with max horsepower of 40. This meant that as you entered the autobahn....you needed every inch possible to get the car up to around 90 kph, and roughly 12 seconds later....you'd finally hit 130 kph (81 mph).
2. The glass roof was crap. In summer, it pumped the interior heat index up by 200-percent.
3. The suspension was 4-star CRAP.....meaning a trip of one hour....gave you roughly three hours of backache.
4. To give some decent traction in winter....you needed a 100-pound sand-bag on the passenger side.
5. There was no drain-plug for oil. My local mechanic said it had to be vacuumed-out....and he didn't have the fancy 'box' to do that. So it meant once a year to visit the dealer shop for a 200 Euro oil change.
6. Headlights were impossible to change out. I'd have to get my son (8 at the time)....to reach through a tiny area....handle the old bulb, and install the new one. I went to the mechanic once....thinking it could be more easily done. He had to spend 40 minutes removing the whole front hood physically from the car.
7. On the autobahn, in a storm.....you could feel tons of 'push' going on. It was dangerous to drive the car in a storm.
8. The gas tank held just enough fuel to drive to work and back....4.5 days a week, and then you had to refuel. Twenty-two liter tank (just over 5 gallons of gas).
9. The door swung so wide....that a 500-pound guy could easily sit in the driver's seat.
10. The AC unit was about the size of two soda cans, and anything above 32 C (90 F)....was impossible to actually cool.
Well....the stab-in-the-back myth (in German: Dolchstoßlegende)....was beer-hall type chatter....which mostly formed around being an antisemitic and anti-communist conspiracy theory (lot of German veterans believed it)....coming after 1918.
In simple form....the Imperial German Army did not lose World War I on the battlefield, but was instead betrayed by certain citizens (Jews/communists).
If you were looking at public standing....especially in 1919.....there were a lot of folks talking about this. Fake-news type of BS? To some degree....yeah.
I will point this out....on the lack of 'winning'....the German Army from 1914 to 1918....burned through manpower....without much success to talk of. As the US entered the war....1917/1918...there was no winning formula or strategy to reverse the issues at hand. So this stab-in-the-back BS is the only thing to fall back upon.
If you walked into a beer-hall in Munich or Frankfurt in 1925....the odds are....within ten minutes....you'd be engaged in chatter about the war, losing, and who to blame. Even in 1932....14 years after the war.....it was probably the same way.
1. Did Germany just run out of troops at the end?
Well....from the beginning to the end....Germany had mobilized about 13.2 million men over the war, with around 2 million dead and millions wounded or captured by 1918.
Conscription had caused problems in the the population (especially younger and less fit men), but Germany still had reserves.
The real issue was the inability to supply, equip, and sustain these forces, coupled with collapsing morale and political will (particularly the SPD Party).
2. Was the end a surrender or a armistice?
Germany sought an armistice based on U.S. President Wilson’s Fourteen Points, hoping for lenient terms.
The armistice gained.....simply halted fighting, but Germany’s army was never fully defeated on the battlefield, leading to the “stab-in-the-back” myth later exploited by nationalists.
3. Was the spring 1918 German offensive a big deal?
On paper....this March-July period was aimed to break Allied lines before American troops fully arrived.
What you can say....there were some brief initial gains, then the offensive stalled due to overextended supply lines, heavy casualties (Germany lost about 700,000 men in 1918 alone), and effective Allied counterattacks, notably the Hundred Days Offensive (August-November 1918).
Germany’s army were somewhat depleted....mostly due to poorly trained replacements (the conscripts of the fall of 1917).
I need to add this final note.....war weariness (summer of 1918) had sparked unrest. The Kiel Mutiny (October 1918) by German sailors spread into the November Revolution, with workers’ and soldiers’ councils demanding peace and political reform.
All of this added up to the Kaiser’s abdication on 9 November 1918, which signaled the collapse of the German monarchy, pushing the new government (led by the SPD) to seek peace.
Had the spring offensive been effective....had the Kiel mutiny not occurred with the revolutionary business...had the monarchy not have collapsed, then the war would have likely gone into 1919 (for another year).
Yes. Examples:
Deutschvölkischer Schutz- und Trutzbund (1919-1921). Antisemitic völkisch (folkish) group. Probably near 200k toward the end....geared against "Jewish influence." They were dissolved by 1922...by the Weimar Republic.
Black Reichswehr (1919-1920). Probably near 10k by the peak. I would call them more of a militia group....a private army of sorts. Known for carrying out sabotage and assassinations. They were also dissolved by 1922....by the Weimar Republic.
Spartacus League (1918-1920). This was a leftist group....anti-war in nature. Probably peaked at 5,000 members. As they were dissolved....they morphed into KPD, and later into Antifa. (Nifty name, you must admit)
Proletarian Hundreds (1918-1919). Mostly active in the NW of Germany. Worked in cells of 100. They later were dissolved, and blended into KPD, and later into Antifa.
Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold (1918-probably throughout most of the 1920s). SPD paramilitary....some say they numbered near 2-million total. If you were to be asked if a 'good-guy' militia existed in this era.....this might be the only one....however, they clashed in physical violence with various groups.
If you could count all these groups, and suggested memberships....there's probably 3-to-4 million men....mostly all vets from the war. Instead of fighting the French, British or Americans....they were mostly fighting amongst themselves.
The idea that the Brown-Shirts or Antifa were the 'start-ups'? NO.....dozens of groups were starting up in late 1918, and carried through to the Brown-Shirt/Antifa era.
1. Over the weekend, Chancellor Merz gave a talk....wants the coalition on top-priority....reforming the economy....saving jobs.
It's a topic they should have taken on....a year ago.
2. YouGov survey....majority of Germans have a belief that Merz will not be around at the end of the 4-year period of the gov't.
3. State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern....20 Sep is the state election day.
Polling? AfD is pulling around 36-percent currently. SPD at 28-percent. Greens, 5-percent. CDU at 10-percent. Linke at 11-percent. Everyone else....below 5-percent.
AfD will fail to form a coalition.....SPD ends up in 4-partner-deal....very marginal gov't.
4. CSD-terrorist in Berlin (dead)....still lingering in the local news.
So...questions came up over his behavior, in the years prior to the attack. Back in 2022....the authorities were having to handle the guy (then 16). A German juvenile court looked over evidence....then certified him as "criminally responsible," but then said he was also considered to have "delayed maturity."
It would appear....a lot of the Berlin locals are shaking their head....disbelieving the court-system were protecting public interest.
1. On the Harry and Meghan saga 'plan'....what version are we up to presently?
I believe....if Meghan had started with 'plan-1'.....we've gone past 'plan-6' and this 'retreat' to the UK....is probably 'plan-7'. And yes, there's likely to be a plan-8, plan-9, and plan-10.
2. Merz gone in 2027 as Chancellor?
If there were a rock-solid replacement guy in the CDU....yes. But presently.....I would argue that Merz is the best that they have to offer. (Note that I only suggested the CDU.....the CSU might have a better choice).
3. 2027 heat wave path.....allowing a gov't gift of AC-units for poverty folks?
It will not shock me if the SPD Party pushes the idea of poverty Germans getting 500 Euro for a small unit in 2027....then discovering that the grid price to run it....is massive.
4. The typical average left-voter in Germany....flipping from SPD, to Greens/Linke?
If you lined up lefty-voters....say a hundred....only around 30 would go toward the SPD....with the 70 left....mostly leaning toward the Linke and Greens.
It's an odd topic.
I would make a educated guess that around 5-percent of Germans walk around and occasionally say that if there is some national election and AfD wins....they will up-and-leave.
If you engage with them on this....asking where they intend to settle...you don't get a real answer. Some might hint Austria or Greece....but you have AfD-like parties in those countries as well.
This being simply a BS-chat topic? More or less.
In almost all EU countries now....there's some party like the AfD, and most gravitate toward issues with migration/immigration....which the majority of opposition parties have no real ability to control or resolve the issue.
This reaction....something like the US folks who said they'd leave the US if Trump won again (2024)? Well....you can say that to some degree. Some folks did try an exit, and based on chatter via social media....I'd say around 50-percent found the new country not as good as US-living.
1. I went to the Wiesbaden wine-fest (started last weekend) last night. Three observations: Friday night crowd maxed-out....simply a ton of guests. The security barriers were in place (2.5 million Euro worth...owned by the city)....with three police teams walking the parameter...making you feel safe. Between the wife and I...on food and rink for 2.5 hours....spending near 110 Euro (hefty sum).
2. 2026 weather observation: It has been an ODD year. From 1 Jan....two light sprinklings of snow....never really sticking. Early end to cold weather. Drought from mid-April on...only reversing in the past 7 days. Lot of heat....probably 30 days of 34 C (93 F) or more. From 2nd week of August on....way cooler than normal (closer to a max of 24 C....75 F). Heavy suspicion of early snowfall.
3. Mannheim-Kaiserslautern soccer game....afterwards, got rough. Fans fighting. Police say 35 of their cops were wounded/injured.
4. Something on social media I noticed. Some German clearing the house...came across a LIDL (German grocery operation) brochure from 11 years ago.
So....they noted the 11 items on the cover, with pricing of 11 years ago, and went to price them in 2026. Almost all...had doubled or more....since 2015. Key note....well...if you ask people about their salary levels...NO ONE has doubled their salary since 2015. At best....people probably making around 10 to 20 percent more. I might even say pension-wise (if you were retired)....you tend to get a 2-to-3 percent 'bump' each year.
5. It got brought up...from Berlin....two young guys (age 18 both)....had serious charges pressed against them. Both required a translator in the court. So you'd assume they were migrants/guests? No.....they were both German-born, and simply could not speak at a level to understand legal proceedings. Both had survived the German school system, and never really 'participated'.
6. Schools across Germany started up. Lot of chatter over cost of 'arming' each kid. I noticed off social media some parent blasting the cost of a school bag....with ultra-cheap-looking bags still in the 40-odd Euro range, but for the super deluxe 'in-fashion' bag....it's closer to 300 Euro now. If you add up the cost (without the bag business)....you would be spending near 200 Euro minimum (then you have to figure the PT-gear and new tennis shoes)
7. Rwanda is having talks with Germany....to be a 'guest-center' for deportees from Germany. The way it looks.....x-number per year would be accepted....with Germany paying per-guest some sum of money.
Lawsuit challenge? 100-percent chance.
Who would likely go? If you have a criminal record and shown no interest in integration....I suspect you'd get put on the Rwanda plane.
No idea how many a year would go....humble guess....minimum of 3,000. From the two articles I read....some German official belief that they could make this 'deal' by the end of 2026.
This AM.....story being run by NDR, WDR, and the Süddeutsche Zeitung....says that a 'cache' of pistols...has been found, and it leads to KGB/FSB 'agents'.
So if you piece this together....oddly, this was found in the summer of 2025, and its just now being openly discussed by the police
Found where? Woods....near Brandenburg.
Big group? No.....just two pistols/ammo.
Absolute proof? Well....no.....it's assumed that it's the Russians.
Anyone arrested? One guy....detained in Romania....so far.
The threat-story given? Just that some type of assassination was possible.
Me skeptical? You could go over to Leipzig and ask the four criminal clans about weapons, with them grinning and admitting they've got probably a hundred weapons hid around the region.
But here's the thing.....the Putin-threat keeps getting brought up. 1920s murders and assassinations? There were dozens of folks killed in the interest of bringing 'change'.
I read through a ZEIT article today....saying for 2026....a total of 17,892 foreigners (on the deport list) had departed.
What's left currently? The federal government says (as of 1 July 2026)....there were 258,845 people in Germany who were ausreisepflichtig (obligated to leave the country).
Each guy/gal/other in the German Bundestag....gets 10,000 Euro a year for office expenses (meaning PC, laptop, printer, TAB, paper, cellphone, pens, notebooks, etc).
Someone sat down with the outflow of funds in the past year....oddly finding on average....at least 10 smart-phones a year....are bought individually.
Explanation? None given.
I pondered over this. I worked with an American who lost or 'wrecked' three cellphones a year....for four years straight. He was a pretty active guy....paddling a canoe....jogging in a lighted park after dark....biking weekly. It would just happen....he'd show up at work...admit the loss, and go over at lunch to buy a new cellphone.
In the Bundestag case? I would imagine that year after year....four-year period....you've had 50,000 Euro flow through the account....buying a pallet of paper....boxes of 60 ink-pens (the 12-Euro per pen-type made in Japan), and spending 1,000 Euro on a ultra-nice Samsung cellphone isn't a big deal.
What type or model of smart-phone are they buying? Unknown.
If you asked about this? I would imagine they'd rather not discuss the matter. But they say that they lug five phones around....one for important party-chat, one for their wife to call, one for journalistic chatter, one for their Russian/Chinese friend to contact, and one for their paramour-situation (love-interest, both guys/gals).
Them reselling over Ebay? No...never....I just can't imagine some guy for the Green Party being this corrupted.
All of this adding up to 5-million Euro a year? Well....it's best not to talk over that number.
1. AC chatter. We used to have a yearly program in the Air Force....called the 'one-hundred days of summer'....which the base safety officer was supposed to be hyped up and preventing chaos, injury, or death.
The safety officer was always a pilot....for which this was his additional duty, and 75-percent of his yearly evaluation. I worked in a office with the guy who got stuck into the duty for a year.
Dehydration tips were almost a weekly thing. At various staff meetings at the wing-level, the squadron-level, and division-level...it got hyped-up and made a big issue.
I look at the heat-wave business of Germany for 2026 and will admit....it was extremely hot for about 30 days this summer (probably 12 more than normal). Having ten of these in a consecutive fashion? Yeah...that probably was a big problem.
Would I go and buy a AC unit to chill the whole house (for 4,500 Euro)? No. I might have taken 2,000 Euro for a Finland arctic circle trip for 3 weeks.
2. Natural gas shortage?
Ever since the war (Ukraine-Russia) started up.....German purchase of Russian natural gas has been zero. For the most part....they buy via a ship deal....having loads delivered and stored in tanks.
Present level? They were supposed to have 80-percent of what we needed for a average winter.....by 1 November. By present count....they won't pass the 70-percent point, and there's some belief that we might not pass the 65-percent point.
If this were a 5-star extreme winter? Well....come early January....we'd probably get some warning to lower thermostats to around 17 C (62 F).
This discussion making people skeptical? I would suggest that most Germans believe there's always going enough natural gas, and when this fails.....'trust' will spiral out of control.
3. German border controls....extended?
The order went out yesterday....these border-guards (really police on deployed duty) and checking folks as they enter Germany....will continue onto March 2027.
The odds that it is extended to the end of 2027? I'd say better than 90-percent chance.
1. It's just odd....both ARD and ZDF (public TV of Germany) did a fairly robust report last night....same sources....same quotes...over the limited supply of natural gas in Germany presently, and the anticipation of a national shortage for this winter.
2. Focus piece....analysis article by Joachim Krause suggesting that Putin must win the war....zero other options.
Hard to imagine a 'win' existing in any fantasy or landscape. Maybe back in 2023....this was possible. Economically....Russia is being dragged down to North Korea-level.
3. Odd developing story....Germany has been offering military training to Ukraine 'recruits'. Well...Germans now admit recently....at least 80 Ukrainian guys have 'escaped' (run-off) and don't intend to return to the war. Some suggestions that this event was not the first, and there might be several hundred who've run-off.
4. Mainz....the city of Mainz ran a project to turn some streets into bike-only situations. Well...there's a street next to the state parliament (down by the river) where it just happened one day. You can't drive or drop-off folks (who are the state parliament). Parliament folks asking what-the-hell-happened here?
5. EU talking over the idea of banning Russian tourists.
Frankly, on my index of caring-about stories...probably 25,000 things....this probably ranks near 24,355. But I'll offer my four observations:
First, on income....they've burned through everything and if you asked about what's left....they are probably down to the last couple million....with no Netflix deals or bath-oils-to-sell. This AM....one journalist said Harry's speaking fees have gone from the half-million-level....down to about $50,000 per speech.
Second, the debt owed to the newspaper lawsuit? Into several million, and while they say the California residence won't be sold....it'll end up being rented for a year....then in my belief....it'll be sold for some sum of money...to pay the debt.
Third, I don't think Brits care that much over either. For news hype....the Labour gov't might be happy that negativity in reporting is mostly drawn to the couple for the next six months.
Fourth and final....there are a fair number of guys in their 50s...who have an appreciation of 54-year old yacht-girls. Maybe there's some commerce to be made over the next year or two....selling 'lust' around to older Brit guys.
Fair-tale value? Well....yeah, there is that.
I read through a piece on the Brit Telegraph.....saying that the German government (really the sixteen individual states)....postponed 8,826 forced returns/deportations in the first half of 2026....mostly all due to the folks going into hiding or simply refusing to declare their current address.
So you can get three consequences out of this.
First, AfD will broadcast this widely and 'shame' the CDU-CSU-SPD coalition.
Second, it begs the question....once you get on a deport-list....just how quick should you react and put folks under control? Minutes, days, weeks, months?
Third, the 8,000 folks having no real fear of consequences? Well....yeah, that's a blunt topic to discuss.
This number....only for the first half of 2026? Yeah, and that's leading one to ponder...by the end of 2026...will it go beyond 15,000 who disappeared? Then you wonder....where exactly do they go? Will they exit Germany, or just hide with some associate?
Why people keep leaning over to vote AfD? It's BS like this that pops up and voters ask stupid questions.
1. The RKI folks (national health)....did a study and concluded that 40-percent of Germans don't get enough sleep....more so for men, than women. Varying reasons given, but there's a list of consequences (bad ones)...if you aren't getting enough sleep.
2. Focus article on Russia....Russians quietly withdrawing their cash from banks....trust on the decline. Banks/state itself.....now at risk.
3. Jan Solwyn....former German federal police officer and currently a security analyst....suggests that in major metro cities of Germany....civil-war potential is brewing....because of crime syndicates/families/clans. He gave a talk, and indicates that it's beyond the control of what exists for the police.
4. WELT article: local authorities in Koln examining record and actions of the migration office. Some suggestion that they were anti-deportation.
5. Just odd numbers that make no sense. Currently, in Germany....over 9.2 million people are unemployed.....while the national authorities are hyped up saying that is a shortage of skilled workers.
It begs the question....why expect migration to fix/resolve the shortage?
6. Someone on social media pointed out: More people died in France this year (2026) from not having air conditioning (7,300) than American deaths from mass shootings in all of recorded U.S. history (1,741).
I paused over this numbers-BS....yeah, the point of climate-change and European heat deaths...you eventually drift over to comparisons that make points invalid.
7. SPD chatter on income tax reform has started up. CDU-CSU not exactly in agreement on where this is going. If you were hyped-up....the SPD end-result is probably 300 Euro in your pocket for the whole year. Not exactly worth opening a bottle of champaign over.
8. German natural gas reserves in trouble? Well....German levels (as of last week) were at the 50-percent point (mandated levels). At this time a year ago....it would have been at 67-percent. Reaching the 80-percent point by 1 November (on the books, it is mandatory that they be at that level)....if you use the calculations....they probably will be 66-to-68 percent.
Problems in buying NG? Tankers are looking for bids and each load has a hefty price tag.
This relating to a winter shortage of natural gas? It would depend on winter temperatures and how Feb/Mar goes.
1. Italo (private Italian rail service)....says it plans to a launch long-distance service in Germany in early 2028.
Routes? Munich-Cologne-Dortmund and Munich-Berlin-Hamburg,
So like you'd expect....Deutsche Bahn (German railway) is going to court to halt the deal.....saying there's over-capacity allocation problems.
Would Germans dump Bahn....going to Italo....on these routes? Well....if service was on time, and lesser chaos....yeah. Cost factor? Unknown.
2. If you go dig into fire statistics data...for Bavaria....forest fire damage in the state of Bavaria has fallen by 65 percent in recent years.
Some of this is probably luck....some management practices....some relates to getting crews quickly out to a fire zone. But what is curious....the state government says it intends to provide at least one billion euros annually for climate protection and climate adaptation....not fire protection.
3. State of Bavaria says it will investigate/prosecute gas stations that increase gas prices after 12-noon. National law says from 12-noon on....you can only lessen the price....resetting each day at noon,
4. Odd evolution going on in Germany....with day-time bars trending (instead of night-time bars).
Prosecco or a Spritz.....now popular and preferred by younger drinkers in Germany.
5. 2.6 earthquake in my region (about 15 miles away)...at 8 PM last night.
Italy is currently saying....it will refuse to take back migrants from Germany who originally arrived in Italy (the EU mandates this).
Why? Well...Giorgia Meloni says that German aid organizations have brought more than 22,000 migrants to land in Italy. Meloni wants some type of “compensation.” You know....a bribe.
Any truth to the aid organizations being German-led? Various rumors have suggested NGO groups....getting German gov't funds.
What'll happen? Nothing....Italy will keep the 'herd' in Germany, and Germany will just keep the 'herd' happy....while waiting for AfD to politically change things.
US workers...who are classified as functionally illiterate (low-IQ)....earn roughly the same per hour...your regular average craftsman in the UK (FT article).
Screwed-up? Well....no one says how long ago this trend started (I'm guessing already in 2006....it was heading this way).
How long can this spiral last? Thats the question I'd ask. If I were the Brit in this mess.....I would not remain.
Last night (Monday)...both ARD/ZDF public TV networks gave a update/send-off to the death of Hayden Panettiere.
I sat there....a bit amazed.
If you had gathered up a thousand Germans....there might have been five that knew some detail of her acting career, or her brief relationship to Wladimir Klitschko (Ukrainian).
Her two TV shows (Nashville, Heroes)? Neither were that popular in Germany.
Social media hype? That really didn't figure into this either.
It seemed like.....they were told to fill air-time, and this was 'it'.
1. Last night (Monday)....ARD/ZDF (the two public TV networks) did 2-to-3 minute updates/introductions of the Brit Cambridge professor....Jayson Arday....and his funeral.
Up to this point....they had simply not mentioned the guy or his falling-out over the thesis, or public negativity over the guy. If you asked Germans....I would imagine fewer than 2-percent of society had some idea of who the guy was.
The fact that Brits had been hearing the story for almost four weeks? Yeah....that was the odd part of the introduction.
So ARD and ZDF tried to be mixed/fair....over the guy, and his issues. The bulk of his fake stories? Never mentioned.
Germans trying to connect for/against the guy? Marginally there, and maybe ARD/ZDF are simply trying to tell a one-time story, and never engage upon this ever again.
2. E-scooter accidents getting hyped news-wise?
Yeah.....2025's accident rate was announced....16,496 accidents were noted (meaning folks had to go off to a hospital).
There's now talk of safety mandates possibly coming.....forcing folks to wear helmets, and maybe setting a age limit.
I sat and looked 2021 rates....near 5,535 folks going to a hospital.
If you walk around Wiesbaden now....you tend to notice a fair number of juveniles/young-adults....on E-scooters. Maybe one person out of forty....wearing a helmet.
