Q-and-A:

 1.  Has the peak of Russia come and gone?

All things considered....economically....2019 (before Covid/the War)...was the peak, and they will likely never cross that line ever again.

I read this past week....a key bank in Russia wants to be a middle-man....bringing in tens of thousands of Indians....as physical manpower for Russian infrastructure projects.  It might start....but they got no money (meaning the gov't)....so it's mostly BS.

2. Is the SPD Party (used to be called the 'party-of-the-people') evolving into some academic 'brain-trust' party?

Focus wrote up a piece (by Jan Fleischhauer)....suggesting this.  Polling mostly indicates the party can marginally reach to 12-to-14 percent of the public.  It would beg the question....who would replace them.

3.  What's with the grocery 'strike'?

Well....if you count up grocery brands in central Germany....it's around a dozen brands that folks recognize. Around nine of them  are organized into a union,  and want a salary raise.  So yesterday (Friday) and today....if you were attempting to  grocery shop....you'd find a closed business.

I reviewed what they want, and the key thing....is a 250-Euro pay-raise per month. 

I asked the wife....if forced to pay it....won't our grocery prices rapidly escalate?  She did the numbers in  her head (Einstein-like) and suggested that we'd have to find another 100-to-120 Euro a month....to cover the situation.

4.  This ARD-World Cup news-documentary piece....just weird?

To lay this out....the chief news guy for ARD, with two others....are traveling into the US for the games, and trying to tell a non-World Cup set of stories....about the folks who oppose President Trump. 

I watched a brief introduction, and just started laughing.  The German World Cup enthusiast....mostly guys....won't waste a single minute watching this. It's developed more for the non-sports viewer (mostly women)....to keep them engaged in their hatred-passion.