Remember That Berlin Power Outage

Back on the 3rd of January (2026)....a massive power outage occurred in Berlin.  Terror-act.  Around 40k households affected, with 2k business operations shutdown.

So police have been investigating.

They have come to some odd conclusion....identifying four left-wing extremists (2 men, 2 women)....who are allegedly responsible for the Berlin power outage.

Problem?  How the police came to this 'idea' is unknown, and presently....the four are using lawyers to sue....to prevent the evidence found during a raid from being used.

This raid?  Well....in March....a house in the Kreuzberg district was the target...but no one is saying this was related to the outage....may be a totally separate deal....where some phone record or email connected to the four.

End of Stade Story

 About three to four weeks ago...I essayed a piece over a killing....six dead social workers.  Turkish guy responsible....arrested and held.

Well....6 AM...jail-cell check....the guy is 'found' dead.

Cops investigating....suicide talk so far.

Issue remaining?  Well....he was connected up to some NGO in the area, and the driver of the car....was connected to the NGO, and some local political figure.

Boozing Story

  Mid-October....the Bahn (railway folks) will mandate....NO booze consumption within all train-stations of Germany.

If you look back to May....there were a dozen-odd stations  that went 'early' to no booze (Berlin's Zoo and Ostbahnhof stations for example).

This being a no-consumption 'end'.....that sales are still possible? Yes.

Accepting?  Well....so far....there's mixed reaction.

Folks on long journey situations....who have a two-hour pause before the next 'leg'....aren't going to be happy.  

Folks returning home from work, and used to having a quick beer in the 'home' station?  They won't be accepting this.

All due to out-of-control boozing?  Yeah....no one argues much over that. I sat in a Hamburg station last year, with twenty-odd folks in a state of drunkenness....all easily within my 100 ft view.

Something new....out-of-control drinking?  I would strongly discount that. Even in 1978....around Munich, Frankfurt and Koln stations....you'd notice hefty consumption.   It's simply that the modern era isn't willing to accept drunkenness.

If you were carrying a flask, and sitting on a bench...waiting for your train? There's some statistical odds....the Bahn cops will notice you and hand you over to the police, with some type of charge possible.

Who benefits?  Well....if you ran a pub about 30 meters away from the station....you have a chance to bump up sales.

My advice....if you need a 'nip' to ease your stress....buy some cannabis-gummis and pop two or three.

Three Observations

 First, it is rather amusing....the whole 'Russia-is-safe' script is crapped out now....because gas-station-chaos.  Every week...more stations go to limited purchases.  You can figure  in a average week....there's probably three hours  minimum...wasted...waiting in line.

Second, because of surrogacy, politician Jens Spahn is 'gone'.  Odd  questions now pop-up.  So.....the infant having German citizenship....even though Jens and his spouse are not married to the lady involved (the lady is American)?   Yeah. Some are asking how.  I'm going to make a prediction....30 years from now....the Jens kid will be a politician.

Third, it came up via a poll.....only 58-percent of Germans are against their party being in a coalition with the AfD Party.....meaning 42-percent are supportive of the idea.  State by state?  You might find 3 or 4 states where more than 60 percent support the coalition idea.

Is There A Test For Paranoid Schizophrenia?

About every month or two....there's some story in the German news....some attack on a German....with a knife involved (usually).  If you follow the story over the next couple of months....the German judge has 'bound' the guy over to a mental clinic for a 30-day exam.  With one exception that I know of....the vast majority of endings end up with the clinic director stamping the guy paranoid schizophrenic. 

The letter goes to the judge, and a month or two later....the charges are dismissed and the guy is 'bound' (in a permanent way) to some German mental clinic. That's usually the end of the story.

Over the past month....I've put a couple of hours in...reading up on schizophrenia.

First....how it develops.  It's basically a mix of genetics, brain chemistry, and environmental triggers.  You could live in a pretty low-key/low-stress situation and marginally ever show schizophrenia. The more stress you mix in....the more likely of a uncontrolled situation.

Second....there is NO real test to determine your level of schizophrenia.  You can run blood and urine tests to check for drugs, alcohol, or other chemical imbalances. You can run imaging tests (MRI or CT scans) and EEGs (brain activity tests) to rule out brain injuries, strokes, tumors, or epilepsy.

I worked with a guy who'd had a stroke....over the course of three months....he developed full-blown schizoprenia....to the level that you couldn't trust the guy.

Third, you could survive with light schizophrenia.....keeping to a zero-drug lifestyle, and NO alcohol.   The minute you add to your lifestyle....your odds increase.

Fourth....genetics plays a role.  If your dad or mom had it.....higher the probability that you have it.

So I've come to the reality....yeah, there probably are hundreds of 'new-residents' of Germany with schizophrenia....adding alcohol/drugs to their lifestyle....hearing 'voices' and are not in control of themselves. 

Resolving this trend?  I've come to the point....you can't really fix this.

I also believe.....after five to ten years of holding some guy in a mental clinic....under very tight controls (no booze/no alcohol)....the management folks will eventually sign off on some release form....going to a German judge to release the 'safe' guy.  Naturally....a month or two into freedom....he'll find temptation (booze/alcohol), and buy a knife. You know the scenario. 

The odd end-point?  Well...the schizophrenia guy would be fairly safe....in a zero-alcohol/zero-drug landscape....like in the 'old' country.  But in Germany....he can never be truly safe.

This Egling Attack Story

 I chatted about it earlier today.  Police have released a piece on who they are looking for:

- approximately 1.80 to 1.90 meters tall, of dark skin type, with a slim build and short, dark hair. 

= speaks broken German and was wearing a gray fleece jacket and jeans.

Village size?  Well....around 5,200 residents....so I'd say it's not 'small'.

Oddly, no one has said much on 'knowing' the kid.

Five Thoughts Over World Cup 'Action'

 1.  Half-time 'show' for last night....final game....basically a circus atmosphere.  

2.  The wife and I watched sixteen games over the past month.  The least 'thrilling' game was last night....Argentina versus Spain.  You could have skipped the whole first half entirely.  How Argentina made it to the final sixteen teams?  Unknown.  

3.  This fight-business at the end of the Argentina-Spain game....probably the more thrilling...of the game itself.  Bad behavior on Argentina's part....I'd red-card every member of their team.

4.  'Freddy' the German....was probably the biggest draw for me....getting his daily reports on great things to see.....via Twitter.

5.  I'm pretty convinced that AI has to arrive and replace the FIFA ref's....ASAP.

20 July 2026: Germany: 4 Things

1.  Saarbrucken area...Saturday evening....Syrian couple  (early 30s)....argument develops. Husband threatens the wife with knife.  She ends up on the roof of the building....chased around by the husband there....falls 8 meters to the ground.  Injured.

Cops arrive with the ambulance crew.  Husband arrested.

2. Village fest in Egling (Bavaria).  Some nutcase comes at 8 folks with a knife.  They are wounded but survive....nutcase escapes.  No ID yet on the guy.

3.  Weekend meeting of CDU.....they say they want a national policy....if there are any attacks and the police determine the origin of the attacker.....that it should be released to the public.

Nothing from the SPD or Greens, but I  would guess they aren't that thrilled over the idea.

Even if the police release a statement with 'origin'.....I have my doubts that the public TV folks would talk about it.

4.  Half-time show at World Cup....I would estimate that  more than 50-percent of German viewers were annoyed by it.    

Business Chatter

Some business reporter brought up this topic this week....on VW and the impending cut of 100,000 potential employees.

Generally, the law says.....you need to compensate let-go folks....one month of pay....for each year you employed them.

Well...the journalists did a analysis....if you were a university engineer grad....cut....with 25 years of service (figure you are nearing 50 years old).  Ballpark pay-off?  Nearing 150,000 Euro in  pay.

Just a assembly-guy....nearing 12 years?  Around 54,000 in pay-out.

The thing you wonder about....this effort to downsize...if it increases the downward spiral of profitability.

Nord Stream II Update

 If you follow the Nord Stream II pipeline saga....this past week....another chapter was written of the German-Russian natural gas pipe.

If you didn't know....there was a insurance policy bought over it....via a London company.

Well...they started out....to decline the pay-out.

From a London court this week....it was decided....Nord Stream AG will not receive the approximately 580 million Euro it is claiming from its insurers. 

Judgement....the destruction of the pipelines was a consequence of the war . Such damages are excluded from insurance coverage.

Ending?  Well....the Gazprom-controlled company will be left to bear the repair costs.  

Next step?  If the war ends....within 6 months, I'd expect Gazprom to get a deal....where the German gov't pays something (certainly not 580 million Euro) to  restart the pipe.....and the unit to be turned on within 12 months.  My guess is that a invented 'tax' will occur, and German consumers end up paying the repair cost (entirely).

19 July 2026: Germany: 6 Things

1.  Temp's radically flipped....last night was at a low of 13 C (55 F).  Today a max of of 20 C (68 F).  Around four storm fronts in the past 48 hours....none dumping that much on rain....so the drought continues.  Forecast for next 10 days....mostly 30 C or less....with marginal rain.

2.  Lithuania German-brigade....Germans still have trouble finding volunteers willing to deploy and be stationed there.

3.  What is the ZDF-Danger Dan scandal about?

Danger Dan is a German rapper (real name Daniel Pongratz) from the band Antilopen Gang.   If you read over his rap text....it's about 95-percent political, left-leaning, and anti-fascist music.

So ZDF (Channel 2, public TV)...has a show, Die Anstalt.....and they were willing to give Danger Dan a chance to show his new song called "Keine Angst" ("No Fear").  If you were wondering....the show is a satire/comedy type show.

While the show management were open to this....the top level of ZDF started to discuss the matter.

I suspect....this management group got the text....read through it....and got worried.  The rap song is strongly against right-wing extremism (like the AfD) and fascism. Mixed in....it refers to resistance, mentions Antifa groups and real court cases involving violent fights with neo-Nazis, and oddly enough....encourages folks to take action without fear.  

So the bosses told show people....you have to cancel the invitation.

Danger Dan got pretty peeved.

If you were asking me....on the level of public notice....among the top ten rap-stars of Germany?  No....I might rank him in the top forty.  But to be honest....there's probably 3,000 rap-singers in Germany presently.

Questions at this point?   Well....were they correct in censoring Danger Dan, and exactly how many folks watch ZDF's Anstalt show?  

4.  General agreement now....stagflation in Russia....mostly due to fuel crisis.

5.  New FOCUS column written by Jan Fleischhauer....entitled: "Heat deaths, drowning deaths: Greens warn of a new “mass death”.

Odd piece.....while the Greens hype-up heat-deaths....talking about the numbers in early Covid (5,000 Germans dead each week)....it's not the same thing.

6.  New INSA national poll:

- AfD at 29-percent, with CDU dropping a point to 21-percent.

- SPD and Greens at 13-percent each.  Linke at 10-percent.  Everyone else....below 5-percent.

Spahn

 Jens Spahn has turned in his resignation as leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group.  He's still in the CDU....just not holding a key position.

What Merz says?  He's going to do a shuffle of a couple of folks....probably to announce by Monday afternoon.

Spahn's troubles over?  Well....it would appear several factions of the conservatives CDU exist....with a fair number happy that Jens is out.

Gay conservatives seeing this in a negative way?    I'd say that 50-percent will have a negative stance about the way this was handled.

Added to this mess....the CDU has kinda stepped around into various potholes for the past year.....they need some change of leadership to occur.

Train Incident

 Somewhere....between Karlsruhe and Offenburg (SW Germany)...a Bahn train was progressing yesterday.  A conductor was conducting a ticket-audit, and a drunk 'German' (some folks don't believe this element of  the story)....had a discussion  (the drunk German lacked a ticket).

The conductor?  He alerts the two Bahn security guys onboard.

Bahn security? They are dressed in black....looking more like upscale 'bouncers' than anything else. They arrive, and then this turns into a curious fight.

Well...somehow...the door opened (moving train).  We are left to wonder how (it's supposed to be impossible with the modern trains for this to happen.  I can remember 1978....noting a door opening on a moving train.

Out goes the one security guy.  Drunk is arrested  at the stop-off point.

So they go and search for the security guy.....he's banged-up and in life-serious condition.   Based on the description....he'll be in a hospital unit for a month or two......probably getting some kind of early retirement.  Medal?  Yeah....there will be some type of medal deal.

The drunk?

Well...most Germans hearing the story....have doubts over this being a ethnic German.

Charges?  I can see two or three serious charges....he might be in prison for five to seven years.

This brings me to the obvious view....traveling via Bahn....is just not a 100-percent safe situation.  Doors opening while in motion....drunk passengers on a assault agenda....etc.

You have to be vigilant.     

The 8,000 German Bridges

 I sat through a N-TV piece...talking over the assessment....8,000 German bridges are in need of renovation/replacement.

The term 'dilapidated' gets used a good bit.

There was a color-code.....green means acceptable....orange/yellow mean action required....with red/black meaning in serious danger.  

Cost a factor?  Well....yeah.  The states simply don't have the cash flow.

A lot of this....from massive project in the 1960s/1970s?  You can make that case.

Jens Spahn Scandal (On My Scandal Index....1-to-10...Maybe A '3')

 To lay this out....Jens is a intellectual gay CDU conservative politician.  He's been around 20 years.....married (gay-wise)....probably one of the three best debate folks in Germany.

Jens and his spouse....wanted a kid.

In Germany....the law is blunt....you can't pay a woman to have a kid for your situation.  You can pay her as a prostitute.....but paying-to-have-a-kid....is illegal (German logic).

Jens and the spouse...figure this other angle....pay an American woman.

Jens and the spouse find this American gal (probably through a service), and nine months later....they (Jens and the spouse) have a kid.

Naturally....the CDU Party folks are pretty peeved (at least acting this way), and some want Jens to resign from the party.

Chancellor Merz?  He's in a fairly weak position and has to find some way to cease the hype on this mess.

On my scale of scandals (1-to-10)?  It marginally gets to a '3'.  

Top news for ARD/ZDF (public TV news)?  That is the odd thing.

My five questions?

1.  What exactly did Jens and the spouse  pay?  For the service, and ordeal....it has to be a minimum of 100,000 Euro, and I could easily see it going toward 150k Euro.

2.  How would you pay this?  In cash?

3.  Is it just odd that the Green Party and SPD Party say nothing much....just the CDU folks?

4.  The odds that 500 gay couples in Germany each year pay some American gal at least 50,000 Euro  for this 'service'?  They are smart....not saying much of anything.

5.  Could Jens have handled this better....by saying he paid some transwoman American for the kid?

It is a odd scandal, and it just seems like the news folks are desperate to find something to get folks 'focused'. 

If Jens resigns?  I suspect a number of gay CDU-voters....will just up-and-walk-away.  

Fire Story

 Friday AM (probably 3 AM to 3:30 AM)....I got woke up.  Funny noises....like your  roof ceramic tiles hitting the pavement.  One about every 30 seconds.  20 minutes pass....then fire truck siren.  Ten minutes pass....2nd  fire truck.   Ten minutes pass....3rd fire truck.

It's near the house but probably 2 blocks away. 

Yeah, being from Alabama....I was tempted to put on shorts and walk around to find the fire location....but it is 3:30 AM.

Around noon....the rest of the story.

Apartment building about 300 ft away....E-car (no brand given)....charging up....caught fire.

Electricity to the structure went out.....but E-car was blazing away at this point.

Firemen eventually put the fire out.....number of guys on-hand?  Well....journalists counted 35 of them.....Group of a dozen from our village (volunteer-unit), and another dozen from the next village (volunteer-unit), and the rest from Wiesbaden....who have the certification to handle E-car fires.

Assessment?  Car is totaled-out.  Building has some  moderate damage...paint-job required.

Odd thing....once the firemen were sure it was out.....they were done.  E-car?  It's a regulation of sorts....only a approved toxic-recovery service can remove the car.  No one says how much.....but I would be guessing for 2 guys and a pick-up service....probably in the 2,000 Euro range for them to say 'all-clear'.

All of this perked up my German wife....giving the 99th lecture of the evils of E-cars, and she won't allow a charger on our house-structure.  

Fight Story

Cops got called last night in Witten (NW Germany)....to a refugee compound/center.

So what they lay out...there was a knife attack occurring at the center.

Around 1:20 AM (yeah....things tend to get messy after midnight).....there was a argument....between two residents. 

A 19-year-old man from Syria allegedly attacked a 39-year-old man from Iraq with a knife, inflicting life-threatening injuries. 

Iraqi guy still alive...cops looking for the Syrian.

What the argument was about? Unknown.  Maybe it was soccer-related....maybe it was a woman.....maybe it was a insult that one had uttered to the other.

The one thing you notice after a while....there's a short-temper-fuse over arguments....where some phrase or comment....draws a knife-reaction real quick.

Honesty

 Germans are known for being brutally honest.....they feel in some way....it's being helpful and resolves the problem/mess laying in plain sight.  It took me several years to grasp this 'strength'.

Somewhere along this path...for a brief time....I had a related phobia (alethophobia,  fear or dislike of the truth).  

Then one day....I turned to brutal honesty, and repackaged it...dishing it back in equal portions.

It's just odd....week by week....month by month....I started to receive less and less brutal honesty. I'm always prepared to be helpful, and resolve problems laying in the landscape. I guess in some ways....I've triggered alethophobia in people.

Explaining The Mohrenstraße Scandal in Berlin

For a long time....Mohrenstraße just existed, and no one (even local residents) said much of anything. If someone  asked for a meaning.....it meant 'Moors Street'....and they related it to African people. 

Derogatory? Well....yeah, in some way.  

This street dates back to the 1700s....running near landmarks like the Gendarmenmarkt and the former site of the Berlin Conference (1884–1885, which formalized European colonial partitions of Africa).

Oddly, at least around intellectuals....this street started debates on racism, colonialism, history, and decolonization (over the past 20-odd years).  If you ask me.....they needed something to argue about. 

Things reached a point about four years ago....where some folks wanted to remove the perceived racist name.  Yeah, this led to legal battles and court situations.

Where this really started?  If you go back to the 1700s....there was a Berlin community of African residents (who probably were merchants....not slaves) in the Friedrichstadt area (mixed possibly including enslaved or freed people). 

Somewhere around 2020....the city council for this district (led by the Green Party)....did a vote and agreed to rename it Anton-Wilhelm-Amo-Straße, honoring Anton Wilhelm Amo (1703–1759).  

Who was Amo?  Well...a West African philosopher born in what is now Ghana. The original story told was that he was kidnapped as a child and brought to Germany.  Amo then became the first Black university professor in Europe, studying and teaching philosophy. I should add....there's a new argument here brewing that his dad arranged a movement to Berlin...to educate the kid...having nothing to do with slavery.

Folks felt good about the Amo story....showing the evils against colonialism.

Any folks against the Amo renaming?   This came up....that everyone who lived on Mohrenstraße...would have to deal with address changes, and  this was not necessary (at least in their mind).

Back in August of 2025.....they had a ceremony.  The street was renamed.  Yep....complete with a street festival, poetry readings, music and new signs installed. 

So 4 Oct 2025 came....a twist occurred.  This Amo guy (dead for 200 years plus)...well....his family in some way....was tied to the slave-industry/sales.

Adding to this...the family had connections to the transatlantic slave trade. They owned plantations in the Caribbean and profited from enslaved labor. 

Some folks suggest renaming again.    

This to consume more argument efforts?  Yeah. But look....if you weren't arguing over colonization....you'd probably argue over the off-sides rule in soccer.

17 July 2026: Germany

 1.  Curious update on the Trier stabbing-death of the university student by the Afghan refugee guy.

Prosecutor is using paragraph 126A....holding the guy in a mental clinic. Once established as 'mentally-lack-of-culpability', or unable to handle right from wrong....zero charges and he'll be set for life  in a German mental hospital.

Not saying right or wrong, but the public will ask from day one, that he entered Germany.....shouldn't someone have tested/noted the guy was this way and sent him 'home'?

From social media commentary....folks from around Trier (I lived there for 13 months) are fairly hyped-up (critical/negative).  

2. Jens Spahn (CDU political figure, gay) and his husband....went through a US-gal for surrogacy.....producing a kid....for a sum of money.

Yeah, it's illegal if you'd done it in Germany.  But since it was in the US....totally legal.

Oddly, ARD (Channel 1 of public  TV) made this top-top-top news at 8 PM last night.

Personally, I didn't see a big deal, and  I suspect there are probably 300 German gay couples a year who go the US surrogacy route.

3.  German union folks are pushing for heat-related compensation payment.  Probably won't pass in 2026....but in 2027....possible.  They suggest one in three Germans deserve heat compensation.

How you'd assess heat zones?  Unknown.

Seems like you'd have to require sensors on people.

4.  Noted in  news yesterday.....300,000 individuals (with a guest situation)....are unemployed, and lacking job-skills. Selling point to open-door policy....was that they'd fit in, and be skilled-employees.

What is odd....the German economy is struggling. Companies are shutting down. People are dealing with salary cuts or losing their jobs.  AT SAME TIME....Germany needs around 400,000 new workers every year to fill the gaps in its workforce. It doesn't make sense.

5. Odd travel news....Turk flying from Turkey to Dusseldorf....gets on plane and finds he has to sit next to a woman....complains.....says he can't do it.....stewardess intervenes....Turk slaps the stewardess to knock sense into her.  

Probably going to be charges on the guy.

Will probably have to be a male-only area to sit....in the future.  If airlines were smart....they'd charge extra for this benefit.

6. Malaria reported in Frankfurt area.....all four with it...employees at the  airport.  Some belief that mosquitos got into the country.

Hate to imagine that I'm only 22 miles from the Flughafen.

7.  Under-16 'kids' in UK...banned from energy drinks....new law.

Personally.....the over-60 crowd probably needs a banning as well.

8. Munich says they will build up a structure at the airport....allowing up to 100 folks to  be delivered daily....from the  banned group, and deported.  State money flowing in....to make the building possible.

9.  General average of 4,000 Euro....now required to pay for driver's license/training in Germany.  Huge sum of money.

Alternate path?  You could go to Romania or Bulgaria....do  the same  training....half the cost.

Amazing that the Air Force (while stationed at Bitburg) did it free of charge for me.

10.  EU Commission examining a technology that would locate new cars via GPS, 5G, and cameras from space, reduce engine power if in a lower zone area, and automatically brake as soon as a lower speed limit is detected.

Probably three years away from development.

If you poll Germans....I would guess 90-percent would be against the idea.

Food Chatter

I sat this AM....looking over the Brit Telegraph....saying that the British public will be told shortly....to stock up on food and water....in case of a Russian cyber attack.... under new plans to prepare the country for conflict.

For about one-third of the population....they really don't have the cash-flow to stock up on 2 weeks of extra food.

Added to this chaos....probably ten-percent of Brits count on 'eating-out', and they aren't prepared to live/cook....off stock in the pantry.

Where did this  'warning' come from?  Unknown.

Russians in the same mess?  Well....for the past couple of months....Moscow grocery shelves have been 'hit-and-miss'.

Ale in the same worry-category?   They didn't really say that.....but I assume it's to be a problem as well.

What Will Become Of The 700,000 Russian Soldiers On The Front....At The End?

Well....over the past couple of months....I've pondered more about the end.

Most of these men are like the Germans left at the conclusion of WW I....permanently scarred by PTSD....alcohol, and drugs.  I see them as having no further value for Russia's commerce or industry. 

Burden would be the best word to use.

If you've survived two years of conflict....you probably have little respect left in your soul.

Future prison population?  I doubt if Putin really put much thought into this or how they can be controlled.

The value of the WW I German soldiers?  They made a path toward WW II.   

Knife Waving

 Up in Hagan (NW Germany)....cops got called yesterday.

Basically....guy (in his 30s) walking around on the street with a butcher knife in each hand.

Cops arrive....persuading the guy to calm down.

Having watched the video of the guy....I'd say it's a 90-percent chance he was high on some type of drug.

Detained....he'll have to appear in court. 

16 July 2026: Germany

1. It's been an odd week.

Back on Monday in Hamburg....Albanian guy in his 20s...turns himself in to the police after killing a 79-year-old German.

Tuesday evening, over in Kelkheim: A Croat guy (60s) kills his wife (58) in the middle of town....with a machete.

Wednesday morning, Ruhpolding area: An Afghan young guy (20s) pulls a knife during a driver's license check.  Then he chases around school kids at a train station. No one harmed.

Wednesday morning, Dresden.  A Turk  is noted walking around a grocery parking lot with a 'musket' (I checked on translation....'antique gun' was the term used, but witnesses describe it as a 1800s type musket.  Cops called....arrive.  They order the Turk to settle down.  He refuses....fires one round from the musket....cops return fire, and wound him in the supermarket parking lot.  My question...where would you buy a musket?

Wednesday morning, Iserlohn: A Syrian (mid-20s) assaults a woman (59) in a supermarket, leaving her with severe facial injuries

Wednesday around noon...Trier....Afghan guy (mid-20s) stabs dead a 22-year-old German university student "in an argument".

2.   Berlin City election results expected.....SPD-Green-Linke Party led.

3.  N-TV report....for European car industry....could go as high as  three-quarters of a million car industry workers to be 'let-go'.

'Freddy' Returns to Twitter

World Cup 'Freddy' (the German)....has returned to Twitter.

About 2 weeks ago....he exited....mostly over a odd group of Americans highly critical of his travel-log via Twitter/X.

It was funny to some degree...Americans hating positive words  over traveling the US....like some irrational nutcases.

A number of folks reached out.....talked Freddy back into returning.

Lot of phobia BS going on in the US now....maybe one day....Freddy will talk about this.

Political Chatter

Couple of weeks ago....I ventured into Berlin for a week (my wife's suggestion).

I'll just say it....of metro-cities in Germany....on my messiness scale (1-to-10).....it's probably a '6'.  You get to some places (particularly around subway stations) and it's crappy.

Election is coming up shortly in the city.

I noted this AM....the new Berlin CDU top candidate....Stefan Evers...proposes obligating welfare recipients to clean up duty. 

Naturally....other parties are pretty negative about this proposal.

Statistics at play?  Well...generally....if you lay out welfare folks in Germany....approximately half are 'new' residents.  Some folks would say it's unfair to do clean-up duty.

General population supporting the idea?  I'd suggest about 50-percent of Germans in general....like this type of idea.

15 July 2026: Observations

 1.  Kelkheim: last night....husband stabs a wife to death on the street. No motive given.  

Nationality?  Unknown.

Knife used?  Well....a machte.  Yeah.....a pretty messy weapon of choice.

2. Odd trend developing....older Germans applying for pensions....getting it, and still working (another year or two).

3.Warnemünde (up on the Baltic coastal area)....has a nude beach area.  They have a rule....you need to be nude. If enjoying the beach....in some form of clothing.....a fine. (only in Germany)

4.  WELT piece talking over the new up-surge on smokes-tax....saying it is a plus-up for organized crime....import of black-market smokes.

I won't argue.

5.  IPSOS survey....more than half of German society want the border closed to refugees.

AfD Party And The Deport Gimmick

 As of early 2026....there were roughly 232,000 folks on the national list to deport....from the 16 German states.

Every month....each of the state make an effort to deport.  There's no real consolidated number....but you can probably figure around 2,000 go 'somewhere'....but then there's probably between 1,000 and 2,000 added to the list.

Yes, there are two lists....there's the tolerated list...meaning wherever you came from....won't accept you back, or your safety is in question. The other list.....you can go back home and it's a question of the state having 'seats' to rid you from Germany.

The states doing any better?  No....to run the normal deport plane....figure around 30 deportees leave...with the help of around 45 police onboard, and another 50-odd cops who round up the crew.

So, how would AfD change this  outcome?

I've thought about a good bit. This Saxony-Anhalt election in 3 month....revolves around a promise to fix the problem.

What I suspect?  On day one of being in charge....I think the state will just have the cops round up the deport folks within the state....put them on a bus, and take them to the state-line....to be some other German state's problem.

Saxony-Anhalt?  In a matter of 30 days....this would remove the state's problem.

Legal?  I'd question how you tell the guy the news and the threat made if you return.

This aggravating other German states?  OH YEAH.

But they will start to ask....why can't they take folks to a state-line and dump them elsewhere.

For  several decades in Alabama....Sheriffs had this authority....taking a guy to the county-line...or state-line....dumping them.  I'm not saying it was right....but it rid the county of a problem.

France and Le Pen?

Polls suggest in France....that National Rally party 'boss'...Marine Le Pen could run and win in 2027....as president of France (replacing Macron).

BS?  Well....there's a odd factor.

France runs a wide open 'primary'....with at least six parties/candidates.

The top two?  They move to a second round two weeks later.

So you could imagine Le Pen getting around 37-percent....leading.

But as you get to the 2nd round...the number two candidate....likely a lefty....will draw from the 63-percent who did not vote or Le Pen.  If that person gets 50-percent plus 10-percent....they win.

Polling currently says....73-to-80 percent of French people are disgruntled with Macron, and the current trends.  At least six polls (all in June 2026) say the bulk of voters aren't happy.

Economic pressures?  Well....it's the worst of times in forty-plus years.....high public debt, austerity measures continually brought up, rising living costs, and perceived inequalities.

Le Pen having some economic miracle to offer?  So far....the talk is limited. 

Was Hitler a V-Man?

 First, to define V-man....it's secret agent of the police....who is under-cover, and informing you of stuff going on.

Yes, Hitler was a V-man....reporting to the Bavarian Secret-Police.  Paid? Yep.

Lot of discussion going on presently about V-men?  Well....draft law circulating....allowing 16/17 year old German kids to be V-men/W-women. 

14 July 2026: Observations

 1.  I noted yesterday....three French nuclear reactors went offline.  Seven additional ones are running at reduced power.

Reason?  Climate laws (within France) restrict reactors from discharging hot water into rivers during hot weather.

Energy shortage?  Well....no one is saying that yet.

2.  This 20-percent duty/tax on ships leaving the Hormuz Gulf area....will hit European countries....paying to Trump.

3. Drought stage in Germany....reaching the level of warning for forest fires.

4.  Storm front coming to my valley today....maybe up to 2 hours of rainfall.  Temp-drop of 4 degree C expected.

5.  New law passed....officials will be permitted to use automatic real-time facial recognition within their areas of responsibility, provided there is a specific threat.

Yeah.  It is loosely worded.

6.  I ordered out for pizza last Friday....went to pick it up in town.  Got there....walked from parking lot to the pizza shop....here was a Muslim guy (I assume a employee)....on his carpet....doing the 'prayer'.   

I'm a direction-guy......you can stop me on the street, and in 99-percent of the time....ask me about directions, and I'll give you a pretty accurate setting.

So I looked at the carpet guy....noted he was about 90 degrees 'off' from the Qibla 'path'.  I felt like it wasn't my job to correct him.

7.  Kiel: rock thrown at police-gal.  Afterwards....200 police arrive at apartment building where the rock was thrown.....all occupants mandated for DNA test.  

242 rentals.....DNA found on paving stone thrown.  

8.  Spahn of the CDU Party....suggests there is 'power' in stripping people of their  right  to vote....aimed at AfD Party's Höcke.

I paused over this.  Since 1945....there's never been a case where voting rights were restricted.

Constitutional?  I guess the Constitutional Court would observe the idea.  Not sure if they'd agree.

Problem I see....if you open up this idea....saying voting could be restricted from citizens.....a bunch of folks would discuss voting in general.  Example?  If you had a IQ of 80 or less....you probably shouldn't vote.  If you can't  read....maybe you shouldn't have a right to vote.  If you were for Constitutional chaos....you probably shouldn't vote.

Seems like it's a discussion...leading to public discontent. 

12 Euro A Pack For Smokes?

 Smokers were expecting the CDU-CSU-SPD coalition to have 'some' rise in the smokes tax.  Based on talk this AM....by early 2027, a single pack of smokes will be around 12 Euro ($13.5).

If you were a pack a day smoker?  Well....you'd need 360 Euro (figure close to $420)....for a month.

1978....Frankfurt....a pack of smokes ran for 2.40 DM (figure $1.20).

The 5-Degree Difference

 Locally (Wiesbaden area)....the public bus folks....came up and lectured everyone.  While they have AC....basically the cooling effect is 5 degrees less.

So if the outdoor temp is 37 C (99 F)....the bus can only cool to 32 C (90 F).

In this type of scenario....I'd advise you....either travel early mornings, or limit your trip to 15 minutes (getting off and cooling a bit).

Trains?  They might be slightly better but I doubt that you have more than 7 degrees C cooler.  

Saxony-Anhalt State Election Likely Outcome

 6 Sep is the date of the state election.

Presently....AfD is rating around 42-percent of the vote....with 12-percent of the vote likely going to smaller parties without a chance to get seats in the state assembly.

So I crunched the math...asking AI for help.

There will be five likely parties getting 5-percent or more (AfD, SPD, Linke, BSW and CDU).

With the current numbers...83 seats in the mix....AfD will not be able to get 50-percent or more....meaning that the CDU (in 2nd place) will be told to forge a coalition with the SPD, Linke and BSW....all lefties.  This would be a 50-plus situation.

However, I'll point this out....if you were a CDU-voter and were told....the 5-year coalition would be mostly a left-situation...why would you vote for the CDU?

Somewhere in the 21-percent polling for the CDU....I suspect half of the voters really can't dream of partnering into a  situation like this.  So part of me suggests that half of the CDU-voters might slide over and vote for the AfD...giving them a 50-plus percent win, with the 50-plus seats.

It would be a pretty radical win, and hard to explain to the general public.  Nationally, it'd trigger a lot of questions

12 July 2026: Germany: 5 Stories

 1.  WELT piece this AM....wave of German hospital bankruptcies going on.

At present pace, I might suggest that a full-blown Bundestag 'emergency' will occur by early 2027.

2.   Between Dusseldorf and Koln....Bahn railway sabotage noted....left-wing group claims credit.

Group noted....."Kommando Angry Birds."

The group says....."mass death caused by progress" as their motive.  BS chatter if you ask me....probably a group of two nutcases.

3.  100 folks in Germany for June...drowned....mostly all males....highest rate in almost 30 years.

4.  Noted on N-TV new....near one-third of German retirees....get only 900 Euro or less on monthly pension.

5.  AfD....regionally (SSaxony-Anhalt)....published their 10 key points to 'push' upon winning in the state election (within 90 days):

- Cancel public broadcasting, at least for their state....which might mean no TV tax (would be court-challenged).

- More deportations (not explained HOW).

- Work requirement for asylum seekers....this gets brought up as a common theme....how they would force the issue, unknown.

- Cut funding for foundations & democracy projects.

- Driver's license subsidy for apprentices (where funding would come from, unknown)

- Special classes (not explained). 

- Security guards at schools (where funding would come from....unknown).

- Only use of the German National flag....instead of rainbow flag

-  Some topic called German-thinking.....replacing Modern-thinking (not explained). 

- Reduce ministries (easily done, if you combined several into one).

If you ask me....several of these probably would have 60-plus percent of folks in support of.  Lot revolving around extra funding.

Two Heat-Wave Stories

 First, France launched a national authority 'emergency'.

Basically....if you are senior citizen or homeless guy/gal....the local city authority is ordered to 'provide' you cooling comfort...meaning public buildings (that are cooled) must drag out chairs and keep you cooled throughout the afternoons.

I thought over this....here in my village....there's no public building with cooling.  In Wiesbaden....there might be twenty-odd public structures with some kind of cooling.  In France?  Unknown.

Second story....spokesperson for the German Green Party came up and said there needs to be a national 'moment' for the Germans dead from the June heat-wave. 

They aren't saying a monument or statue....just some 30-second remembrance.

What the media says for a number?  5,000 is thrown around....saying the heat killed them.  I won't vouch for the number or against it....just that it's a nice round number, and that usually means bogus facts.

If I were the SPD....I'd  jump on this and have a statue of some type....symbolic of the sun radiating.  

Juvenile Story

 This past week in Germany...changes occurred.

In the future.....the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (their version of the FBI)....will be able to recruit juveniles/minors (starting at age 16)....as informants. 

I paused over reading this....it's a short piece and not really worth much discussion.

What is funny.....you go and trust/rely upon the 16/17 year old....but then you say they are lacking maturity for social media....but you trust them to be secret agents/spies.

This new spy-crew needed to spy upon right-wing elements?  I would imagine so.

You can imagine the sales-pitch....be a spy for the German nation. 

Q-and-A

 1. Hostage situation in Berlin?

Somewhere around 10 PM.....as the REWE grocery was to close....some nutcase took a clerk hostage.  As of 7 AM....situation continues.

Odd factor?  Well....this is in the Marienfelde area (near Tempelhof).....away from urbanized Berlin.

2.  Mayor Wegner of Berlin (CDU guy) down-and-out?

For the upcoming election, Wegner is replaced by a new candidate for the party (Evers).

Back in January....there was the terror-attack on the city electrical grid....affecting about 10-percent of the Berlin area. For several days....power was off (in cold weather).

Wegner was 'gone' for about12 hours....with a comment that he was on a 'tennis' lesson.  It was a odd explanation, and news folks suggested he was on some other 'business'.  

A History Story

I live about 25 minutes away from Idstein, Germany.  There are three things which the town is known for.  The first....I'll skip for another day.  The second, the witch trials between February 1676 and March 1677 (where 43 folks were executed for demon stuff), and finally....the traffic circles (roughly 35 of them).  Two of the topics...I'll blog another day.

The witch business?  By the end, they had executed 35 women and 8 guys.

What triggered the witch business?  

Most folks agree that religious zeal with fear of heresy started it.  There were ongoing tension between the Catholics and Protestants....each needing angle to get public support,  and paranoia/demonic influences help to get things going. 

I should add...witchcraft was seen as as a direct threat to Christian order. Folks had started to engineer sermons and religious texts....talking up the agents of Satan (the witches).

Crop failures, famines, and the aftermath of the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648)?  Over the years....they added up.  The area?  I won't say it was poverty-stricken....but poor harvests came up occasionally. 

Legal and Judicial woes?  The Carolina Code of 1532 (a legal code) was a instrument used by the Holy Roman Empire, an it permitted legal cases for witchcraft.  You could make the case that it was 'due-process' at the time.

Mass Hysteria?  Well....after you got torture to lead onto confessions...it was a  self-perpetuating cycle. 

Why it just stopped?  Mostly judicial exhaustion, locals getting anti-demonic, and oddly enough....the local count’s satisfaction that the “demon-threat” had been eradicated.

Why a ratio of 4 women for each guy....executed?  I've always speculated that the guys accused...probably had a better alibi to tell, thus lessening the potential to be found guilty.  Course, it could be that more women are demonic in nature....than guys.

The odd thing that it's the only community around....that has a history like that?  Yeah, it's a odd note.  

German Court Story

 I'll try to make this brief...coming out of the Stuttgarter Zeitung (rather long story):  

Older (mid-50s) German gal.....she is a gynecologist by trade...goes to  massage studio.  Asks for a massage....somewhere in this process....younger guy (20 years old....nationality not German)....penetrates her with two fingers (nothing else).

Yeah....that part she didn't ask for, and it's a basic rape....she goes to the police same day.

So it comes out...in reality....he has no training....no certificate.  How he got hired....unknown, and left for you to imagine.

This was back at the end of 2024.

Case recently came up....months later...guilty....2.5 years in prison.

His lawyer challenges this.

What occurs....the new court hears evidence (recently) that he lacks maturity to grasp what he did was wrong....so they throw out the bulk of the 2.5 years.

How?  Well....they applied juvenile code....not adult code....saying he wasn't really able to grasp the wrong committed.

I paused over this....three or four times.  

Cops and prosecutor did what they felt was the right-job...right charges....right ending.

Judge effort?  Well....it makes you now wonder....everyone you meet on the street....even if they look 18, 20, 25, 30 or even 45.....if they haven't reached maturity yet.....can you assume anything?

Then I pondered....after this guy exits jail.....will he even have maturity in Germany at this point....to work and survive in this atmosphere.

Yeah...pretty confusing.

The Round-About Rule

 Back in 1978, when I first came to Germany....there was this slight mention of round-abouts (traffic circles) in the German driver's training episode.  The instructor spent about five minutes going through the thrill of traffic circles, and there were probably one single question on the 100-item test relating to the circle.

For two years....around the Frankfurt region....on the rare times that I did drive beyond the base....I never encountered a single round-about.

1984 to 1986?  On my second tour?  I probably encountered about twenty round-abouts.  

From 1993 on?  It was a hit-and-miss thing....you might go a whole year and never see or experience a single one.  Sometimes you'd wander into some town and go through eight in a single day.  

I live about six miles from a small German town (12,000 residents) that has around forty-five round-abouts.  In my local city of Wiesbaden?  There might be ten in the entire city.

Lately, the cops are onto enforcing the round-about rule.....you MUST signal as you enter, and exit the round-about.  Failure to signal?  Ten Euro fine.  If you enter and go LEFT (instead of right)?  That's a 35 Euro fine.  If you park inside of the round-about (there's never room for this anyway)....it's a fifty Euro fine.

Where did round-abouts start?  Well....most folks argue in the UK....in the mid-1950s.  Some argue that the French started this in 1778.....in central Paris.  Some Germans will argue it was in Gorlitz....right around 1900.  

At some point after 2000, Ramstein (the base) went to the circles......building around twenty of them.  With the gate renovations in the past five years....there's probably another dozen thats been added.  

I'm not anti-round-about....but I'm not pro-round-about either.  

My negativity intensifies mostly when you have a two-lane (particularly if you go to a 3-lane round-about).  Your intensity of concentration bumps up a notch or two....with two lanes, and how you exit (or if you make a second or third circle....trying to get to the right lane for exit purposes).  

Around five or six years ago....there was a German story from my region....older couple (guy/gal were in their 80s) who'd planned a grocery trip....to a town that they didn't typically visit.  It's safe to say that guy driving probably didn't have full concentration of where they were going, or knew that four traffic circles were in the route.  At some point about six hours into a 45-minute trip....he pulled into a gas station and admitted he was 'stone-cold-lost' and needed some help to find his way back home.  He'd taken an exit too early, and hit another circle later that just further complicated matters (bringing him at least sixty kilometers away from his intended target).  

The intensity of building more traffic circles?  That's the rather odd thing.  If I got back to my old village around Kaiserslautern/Ramstein.....there's probably over two-hundred round-abouts which now exist.....where in the 1993 period....there were just two.  At the pace of things?  I would suggest in another decade, that a minimum of four-hundred round-abouts will exist in that one single region.  

Heat Realities

 Today, my German valley will peak at 30 C (86 F).  For me....without the AC running (just 3  fans)....I don't consider it a big deal.

32 C (90 F)?  It starts to reach a  point.....where I say it's warm.

34 C (93 F)?  That's where the windows are shut....the AC runs in one room....all six fans are running.

But is 93 F really HOT, or just mildly warm?

I spent 3 years in Panama, and followed that with four in Arizona....with one day reaching 47 C (117 F).

I'm just not sitting much within the German reality of a HEAT-WAVE.

10 July 2026: Germany: 3 Things

 1.  What VW says....because of declining profits....they will cut the models they produce....maybe a 50-percent reduction.

Odd other factor?  They are settling on the idea of limiting 'options' (figure 50-to-75 percent cuts there).  Yeah.....bare base models are the path for the next year or two.

I will be honest....for the Audi A5 that my wife bought (2019)....offering here near 50 different options...was the wrong thing.  She had to spend almost an hour talking to some car rep....to grasp what the option packages meant.  If you ask me five years later....I would have told you around 4,000 Euro of the options she picked....were crap.

2.  German states (16) hold the responsibility of debt for cities in their region.  Well....there's a massive amount existing.  So the fed-guys are saying....maybe to some degree....they will pass money down.

3.  Some science report yesterday....German study....there is a trend of higher deaths due to 'heat'.....but it connects directly to blood pressure issues.  So, they can say 'heat-deaths', but at the same time....heart-disease deaths are basically the same thing.

My View Of Spain As A Vacation Destination

 I've made four vacations to Spain over the past forty years.

So, I'll offer five observations:

First, from a beach prospective....I can think of several better choices (country-wise).

Second, if this is purely a city-tour (for a week)....then yeah....Barcelona or Madrid are worth the trip.  But you need to add the warning....crime in both are an issue.

Third, food-wise.....you can't go wrong.

Fourth, rural areas and small towns might be a better choice to select....than some beach resort.

Fifth and final.....on the islands....locals have a dislike of tourists, and the past decade....a housing crisis has started up. 

Advice....if you want a pure-beach suggestion....both Denmark and the northern coast of  Germany....are worth reviewing....as well as Greece.

Bahn Violence?

 The Bahn (railway) folks admitted today....on average....there's  5.5 assaults/threats -made daily against their employees nationally.  They say....it's reaching a level where employees want 'something' done.

If you ride the rails......even locally....it's a mix now....Bahn-security (guys ready for action) and ticket-audit folks.  I'd say out of each three trains I ride (mostly regional around Wiesbaden/Frankfurt/Mainz)....there's a ticket-check.  Maybe out of each 20 trips....there's the security guys there....ready to take you to the floor.

In my 1978/1979 and 1984/1985 periods.....there just wasn't that level of violence.  This pretty much started 15-to-20 years ago, and really pepped-up in the past five years.

What you have (even on buses now) is a free-rider who refuses to exit or pay the fine (60 Euro).  They easily slip from a rider-mentality....to a irrational nutcase-mentality.

The security guys?  Most are young...say age 25, and fairly fit (over 200 pounds), and I'm pretty sure they could throw you to the floor, and hold you down till the cops arrive.

This getting ridiculous? 

Personally, I'm of the mind....they need to issue shock-sticks, and give the nutcase a jolt-or-two....halt the train in the middle of nowhere, and simply toss the guy on the gravel. 

AI Story

 The German Bahn (railway) folks came up today and said....coming in the future (suggesting we will start to see it in 2027).....AI will be used to keep the public informed on delays, problems, platform changes, cancellations, etc.

You (the consumer/customer) would get these AI messages (with a friendly greeting) telling.....your train is running 16 minutes late, or that they moved from  platform 4 to platform 12 (figure a 10 min walk).

I pondered upon this.

At some  point....this AI will start to 'know' a lot about crappy service, and even warn you ten minutes ahead of time....things are fu*ked-up.

Eventually, the AI ought to start asking the Bahn leadership....WHY.

At that point....AI will take over and fire the leadership (I would imagine).

Is it that bad?  If you ride daily to work...in a metro-area (Frankfurt, Bremen, Stuttgart for example)....you probably have one trip out of each eight occasions....that is screwed-up (15 min late, or a flip to a new platform).  Personally, safety is a higher concern to me, and having a seat. If it were 10 minutes late....I wouldn't say much.

My worst experience?  Last year....going from Frankfurt to Hamburg, and  finding  out 10 minutes before the 'run'.....that train was cancelled. The back-up deal?  Running 35 min later, but it was never clear about the platform, and the reserved seats I paid for....were non-existent.

A Court Story

 Up in Minden (population 84k)....NW Germany....a school case came up in court.

This  local public school had a mandated 'trip' (at least a night or two gone)....they leave the destination...but I'm assuming it's probably a trip to Berlin.  It's paid by the gov't.

So this Islamic girl and the parents said 'no-thanks'.  The school came back and said you have no real choice.

The parents said....the trip is not possible....she'd have to be escorted by a male relative.  School said 'fine'....they would allow some relative of the girl to come as well.

Parents said 'no, this won't work'.

Court comes back this week....says it's mandated, period. Whether she goes or not....I'm guessing 'not'.  Could the school fail her on this class situation?  It's possible, but I'm guessing it's not enough to hold her back.

It's an interesting case.   

School is basically saying....you need to 'act' German and live in the modern society.

Parents?  I would imagine they are waiting to get her to some marrying age, and she'll never be employed in the German system.   

My Assessment Of Five Guys Burgers In Wiesbaden

 Over the past two years....I've probably been there five times.  Yeah, it is a better burger than BK or McDonalds.....but you end up paying 24 to 28 Euro for the menu selection (unlimited soda).

Their problem is that it doesn't matter if you walk by at noon or 6 PM....there's never more than 10 people sitting there.  It's a great spot....to seat 100 guests.

By the time they pay rent (good location) and labor costs.....I doubt if there's any profit.  

Better to have much smaller spot/less rent?  I'd probably go and find a side-street, and cut my rent in half.

Three months ago.....the Dunkin-Donuts shop on the shopping district closed.....I hate to suggest it...but this is headed the same direction.

Three Things I Noted This Week

 1.  Sometimes.....I watch HR or SWR or NDR (the regional public networks) for news.

So....I was watching SWR and they do a report over a murder.  There's this report of a guy who murdered a gal....then shot himself.

Pretty rare/unusual.  About 30 seconds of info....then finished.

I sat and thought....there must be more to the story.  So I  go to social media,  and the rest of the story....involves the guy being Turkish, and the dead gal being a  Ukrainian woman.

Ninety-nine percent of Germans leaving the story as public TV told it?  Yeah....probably.

2. Just seems to be a LOT of public TV (ARD/ZDF) attention over French far-right politician Marine Le Pen.  

Apparently, she will be running for President in 2027, and higher than normal odds for her to win.

I guess some fear....her 'win' would drum up more AfD attention.

The sad thing....normally...Germans focus almost no attention on France, and now....ARD will probably make this a weekly thing.

3.   Just odd....the feeling of creation of crisis-after-crisis-after crisis....over and over....like a normal thing now.

Irrational acceptance of crisis-chatter....being normal?

I Spent The Entire Afternoon In The Wiesbaden Shopping District

 Six observations:

1.  Goth attire....is coming back. I thought it died off in 2015....but it appears that it's raging back.

2.  It's amazing to see a fair number of 13/14  year old young German ladies with extensive tattoo work....obviously not done in German (you have to be of age usually).

3.  There's simply no public parking situations for four hours in the city....for less than 8 Euro ($10).

4.  The short-term beer-garden is a huge draw in the center of shopping district.

5.  I'd say demographics-wise....approximately 5-percent of the female population of the city are head-dress situations.

6.  A new grab-and-go restaurant opening....Chinese-connected.  We have a Chinese grocery already open....next to the train station.

Nord Stream BS

So....a footnote....there was insurance coverage for the Nord Stream pipes....the ones blown up.

Insured by Lloyd's of London....for roughly 580 million Euro.

Once the Germans figured out the culprits (suspects from Ukraine)....they avoided uttering the term "terrorist attack."   Yeah...they suggested "sabotage." 

One is insured....the other is not.

Lloyds looked at the mess and said....the contract does not cover losses or damage directly or indirectly caused by armed conflict.  

German court?  They still suggest sabotage.  Brit court?  No.....terror action.

My general bet....in the end....to settle this....Lloyds probably will offer 20-percent of the payment.

Five Observations

 1.  When you are watching a German chat-forum (5 individuals usually).....if Frau X or Herr Y is an expert on something.....and the conversation drifts out of the topic to something that has nothing to do with their expert-status....DON'T give them any attention.  They are typically out of their 'zone' and offer little in terms of expert value.

2.  Both ARD and ZDF (the public TV folks)....will do anything possible to avoid negative economic news to the general public.

3.  Hype building up for more Sunday openings....oddly, the church and trade unions are totally against it.  The odd counter-punch?  Staying closed on Sundays....gives leverage to Amazon.

4.  When some German says his political stance is center-right.....he's mostly saying he's center-center-center.  I'd almost suggest that 50-percent of CDU-voters are this way now.

5.  For five years....the EU has mandated that members pay the EU budget €0.80 per kilogram (€800 per ton) of non-recycled plastic packaging waste.  For Germany....this amounts to 1.4-billion Euro a year.

So....Germany has finally decided....rather than taking this out of the general budget....they are going to create a special new tax....passing this to the companies....who will pass it to the consumer. 

The 1.4-billion Euro that was general budget spending?  It'll continue....just to be used for some other gimmick.

Your individual cost?  Around 16.60 Euro a year....per person.

What does the EU do with the 1.4-billion?  Unknown. 

Did FSK Grant a Rating For 'Citizen Vigilante' (the film)?

 YES.

The FSK (Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle der Filmwirtschaft) granted a rating to Citizen Vigilante on 6 July.

Rating?  "Keine Jugendfreigabe / ab 18" (no youth release / from 18) specifically for theatrical/cinema release in Germany. 

Will it be shown in German kinos/theaters? I doubt it.  It might show up in a local small operation for two or three nights....probably more so in the eastern half of the country.

FSK forced into a rating?  FSK is not under the gov't in anyway....totally separated.  I suspect they eventually figured out....via the internet....probably a million Germans have already watched it.

VW: To Be Bought?

 Philipp Raasch wrote a piece for Focus this AM....suggesting a takeover of VW....by China's BYD.

Three observations.

First, Raasch is a competent economist (not a VW official or politician).  He is correct....VW is in serious jeopardy.

Second, as much as the union thinks they are 'helping' VW....they are probably simply delaying this purchase in the end....where it's it the only fix-it-scenario left.

Third, if VW is bought....I don't see how Mercedes, Opel, or BMW survive long-term.

Now, if you asked me....how faithful  are Germans to VW (over BYD)?  I'd say more than 80-percent won't buy a BYD product.....but if BYD bought VW and renamed themselves VWB....that might convince them to stay with  the product.

Added note:  I'm of the mind....once they sink to a low-value....China will sweep-in and try to buy them.  Then Trump will see the action going on, and offer to buy VW as part of some Telsa-expansion deal (moving the HQ to Texas)....allowing production in Germany to continue, and save all the jobs.  Naturally, this would make Trump the most evil one....instead of China.

Explainning This World Cup Red Card Gimmick

 First....to what red and yellow cards mean.  Soccer is a pretty rough sport....after pro-wrestling, roller-derby, and WNBA action....I rank soccer number 4 on 'hurt'.  So to limit incidents.....they hand out yellow cards to ensure you don't get ultra-rough.  Two yellow-cards in a game....you leave (no sub allowed in), and you miss the next game.  The two yellow cards equal one red card.  

Can you go from zero yellow cards to one red card...asap?  Yes.

I've gone back and reviewed the video of this incident....mostly agreeing myself....the American deserved a yellow-card.  Red?  I'm not that sure about.

Then I note that I've watched a dozen World Cup games.  If I were a ref....I'd have issued 200 yellow-cards for the dozen games, and probably forty red cards.

Getting the suspension lifted?  Well....this has hyped-up the Belgium folks, and most everyone else.

Has this lifting been done before?  Yes.

Trump's role?  He basically picked-up the phone and asked for a review. For TDS-sufferers....it's a terrible thing.

If the US wins against Belgium.....there's to be massive grumbling.

Only 4-star crap from the Cup so far?  No....I'd suggest a dozen-odd crap things going  on.  For the Germans....they are still crying over the loss.

Oddly.....99-percent of Americans know nothing about yellow/red cards.

The Anti-AfD Protest

 The AfD Party has been holding the yearly 'big' congress meeting the past 24 hours....in Erfurt.

Lot of public TV coverage (via ZDF/ARD)....more so on the protest folks, than the meeting itself.

Protest 'bosses' say 50,000 protest attendees. Cops are saying at the peak....mid-afternoon....25,000.

In terms of blocking AfD attendees?  Zero success.

Three remaining state elections for 2026 and potential 'gains' for AfD?  Berlin City election (20 Sep), Sachsen-Anhalt (6 Sep), and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (20 Sep).

Berlin?  AfD will likely take 16-percent of the vote.  Five parties in  Berlin with a chance of 16-percent or more of the vote....fairly divided.

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern? Latest INSA poll suggests 35-percent 'win'....but no ability to form a coalition.

Sachsen-Anhalt?  INSA says currently....AfD at 41-percent.  But there is this odd factor.....at least four parties  with 5-percent or less in the forecast. You only get seats if you have 5-percent or more.   By the numbers game....there's 17-percent of the vote that may not get results. So you do the math, and find that AfD is fairly close to 50-percent and will not require a coalition.  I'm not saying that this path is possible...only that the math gives this funny option.

5 July 2026: Germany: 6 Stories

 1.  This Stade shooting update.

Almost daily....there's another odd  piece to the story I started on Monday.  So, the pistol has come up.  This German-Turk....a week or two prior to  the shooting....bought the pistol from SOME guy (not a weapons-offical-dealer) in Berlin  (near the 'zoo' station)....for 4k Euro cash.

For those who've never been to the 'zoo' area....it's where drunks/dopers mostly hang-out. Having been there a couple of times (near my hotel on the last trip)....it's a place you leave the subway, and walk quickly to get a hundred meters away. You don't linger there.

The car (Mercedes AMG)?  Well....there's a lot of questions over who officially owns the car.  Some say it's  privately owned....some suggest it's a NGO-group....some suggest it might be a relative's car.  The police?  They are saying next to nothing.

Then you have this odd 'help' being provided to the German-Turk guy....relating to a migration/refugee group....when the guy was born/educated here in Germany.  In some way....they are treating him like a migrant....which makes no sense.

2.  That Canada-Morocco World Cup game last night?  Extremely rough....number of yellow-card warnings.

3.    I watched a news piece this AM....gas station situation.....outer-ring of Moscow....approximately two-hundred vehicles lined up for refueling....gas-cars and diesel-trucks. Guy estimated....minimum wait of two hours, and you were going to have some limit of what you could buy.

He sums it up....we are approaching harvest season in 2 months.  It's probably not going to be a full harvest....with food shortages likely to be predicted by the end of 2026.

4.  Klopp has said he'll take the German national team soccer coach job....but won't fly back to Germany for the interview.  Yeah....he wants them (the DFB top  leadership) to fly and interview him...in the US.  

Assistant coaches?  The present guys have to go.....so DFB have to terminate them, and compensate in some way.  For Nagelsmann and them?  Probably in the 10-million Euro range.

5.  Essen mass brawl....150 guys.....1 guy dead.  Cops investigating.

6.  DGB study.....one in four Germans say they are physically unable to work all the way to 67. 

I'm Sorry

 Over the past three or four days, I've viewed fifty-odd clips (from Twitter) of  Germans, Australians, Brits, Italians and Japanese...who were overcome with emotions over their trip to the US for the World Cup games.

Probably a quarter of the crowd were overcome with emotions.  They had weeks/months of their public TV folks telling/warning  of the 'terrible' America, and the stories were BS.

The food, the beverages.....the friendly nature....the happy enthusiasm....the grocery stories....everything was 'Disneyland-like'.  

I'm sorry.

Going back home.....will be hard for them.  All that public TV BS....will be ineffective.  Some will ask how  to get Fox-News.  Some will ask  how to make that tangy ribs sauce.  Some will have a taste for whiskey.

Yeah, we overdid it.....we made folks feel welcome.

Yeah, we did something terrible....making Trump's America look better than what the media suggested.

Fixing this?  How? 

Three Theories Of Mine

 1.  I think from the day (Sep 2023) that DFB hired 'coach' Nagelsmann for the national team....more than fifty sports-figures/journalists....just started laughing and knew the success story of Nagelsmann....was a bluff.

I think in June as the team arrived in the US to train....the failures of the team were obvious.

2.  Every time some German politician notes a successful reform-package....a clock starts ticking....to reform the reform-package....fixing the mess laying there.

3.  If you start counting across German new/media (I think).....a typical German.....gets forty-plus 'lectures' per week. Between age forty and fifty....half of German society can mute the lectures, and not pay attention.

I also believe the lecture-people condemn them as 'stupid'....when they are actually fairly bright....in muting worthless information.

Five Observations

1.  That Turk-German shooter from  Monday...in Stade....has a twist or two.

Back in 2021....this guy was in Turkey....and was detained/arrested by the Turkish cops....on sexual abuse of his daughter (this is a separate daughter from the German situation).  I asked AI on the age....but none of the Turkish newspapers noted this.

So he was held.....then one day....he escaped.  

I paused over this.....when you get detained and held in a Turkish jail....you don't normally escape.  In my mind....there's probably a fair amount of a bribe....where the door is left unlocked.  Oddly, after he escaped....being a German citizen....he went 'home'.  You would think....some Turkish prosecutor would have talked to the Germans and searched for the guy.  But 'no'....nothing much happened. 

All this connectivity to the NGO business?  Well....it makes you wonder.

2.  Klopp pretty much 'fixed' to be the new soccer coach?

There is this small matter....he has still some kind of continuing contract....where he can't coach another team.  

3.  No one yet seems able to explain the new sick-note procedure....where you MUST start the note on day one.

I asked my German wife....odds of me getting an appointment with our doctor....she responded.....'the staff won't answer until 9 AM....it's 50-50 if  you can get a appointment to be seen by 5 PM'.

This being done strictly by phone?  Well.....ethically, it's possible....just me telling the 'doc' I feel sick.

Coalition screw-up?  Yeah....this will be a major problem.

4.  One of the biggest fires in a decade or two....in Stuttgart last night.  Two warehouses in an industrial area on the Neckar River.  

5.  Drought continues on....my cherry tree has probably lost one-third of it's leaves now.  There's been two ultra-light rains over a 10-week period now.  Temps?  Fantastic....six days of 24 C to 28 c.

3 July 2026: Germany: 6 Stories

1.  Nagelsmann, the  German national team coach....got dragged into a 3-hour meeting with DFB 'top-brass' yesterday....having to explain how the team 'failed'.  Afterwards....they asked him to resign.

Reports from Sky this AM...say he's submitted his resignation.  Based on some estimates....he'd still walk away with 7-million Euro.

2.  Drought?  Well....weather folks are saying rainfall is lagging.  In my backyard....leaves falling off the cherry tree already.

3.  Reform package done on sick-leave.  On day one of feeling 'ill'....you need a doctor's note.  Some doctors are saying this will be impossible to accomplish.

4.  3-0, Spain wins over Austria last night. Most impressive team that I've seen so far.

5. WELT piece.....a regular scheduled freight train....take 6 days to travel 600 km.

6.  I watched a clip of 'waiting-for-fuel' in Russia this AM.....roughly a 28-hour wait until he could fuel up.  

German Soccer T-Shirts....Half-Price?

 Well....a major distributor brought this up yesterday....since the team is 'out'.

I asked the wife...if this would affect sports-viewing and marginal interest for the remainder of the games.  Answer:  'hell---yes'.

Even beer consumption will probably drop.

The Odd Connecting Story To The Monday Shooting

Well....it's odd to lay this out.

This Turk-German guy (born in Germany, ethnic status: Turk)....lives in Hannover. He was driven by a older gal (age 65), who was a migration policy activist....from a local NGO.

German federal program (financed)....called 'Democracy Live'.

The strange thing is that he (the shooter) was a German (born in Germany)....yet being handled/supported....as a immigrant/migrant.

No one says much....in the retreat/effort-to-leave-the-scene...but the gal (driver) had to hear the shots and know chaos was occurring.

Charges on her?  I seriously doubt it.  She simply believed in good intent (even if he had a open-file with the police....connected to some crime-clan operation).

For a normal German looking at the whole story....nothing makes much sense.

Who Will Be The Next German Soccer National Team Coach?

 Jürgen Klopp.  (My humble guess)

Management career: 2001–2008: Mainz 05 (considered a legend in Mainz), 2008–2015: Borussia Dortmund (considered a legend in Dortmund), and 2015–2024: Liverpool (considered a legend).

He 'retired' in 2024, and returned to the Wiesbaden....saying he was finished.

2 July 2026: Germany: 5 Stories

 1.  Weather folks anticipating 35-plus C temp's.....mid-July.  

2.  Job Center authorities in Neukölln....early Wednesday morning....did a 'audit' o a homeless shelter for fraud. Twenty-six folks  were noted 'gone'....explanation?  Well....they were on vacation.  How they could afford vacation? Unknown.

When they show back up....there's some explaining to do.

3. The DFB (Deutscher Fußball-Bund / German Football Association) headquarters in Frankfurt....got raided yesterday by police.

150 cops involved.....accusation?  Investigation into suspected corruption / granting and accepting undue advantages (Vorteilsgewährung / Vorteilsannahme) linked to UEFA Euro 2024 in Germany. 

It appears some type of possibly illegal or preferential internal allocation of thousands of tickets to favored guests.

WELT  says the suspects...include a 66-year-old German (former administrative employee from Gelsenkirchen, previously known in connection with fraud allegations).

Official response?  No-comment. 

4.  Lot of chatter over the contract of the German national team coach....very critical.  Even if they fire him....he walks away with 11-million Euro.

5.  That shooter guy (I essayed the story 3 days ago)....bought the pistol used....around 7-to-14 days prior....4,000 Euro. (Bild)

'Intent' will come up in the court business now.

The Three Problems In Massive Air Conditioning Increases For Germany

 First, power grid cost are outrageous....more than most all EU member states.  If you were talking about 15 days a year of running a AC unit....it's not bad.  If this were 60-odd days....some folks would have a cash-flow problem.

Second, if you live in a apartment building built in the 1950s/1960s/1970s, and hasn't had a electrical renovation....you probably have a limited amount of  power that you can draw.  You could overcome the issue....with a 3k to 5k project.

Third and final....there's a guilt 'trip' involved....where public TV (ARD/ZDF) will attempt to identify you as a problem.  I would imagine a quarter of the population would prefer not to receive criticism.