Bremen

 I spent four days in Bremen this past week.

Seven things:

1.  Stayed at the Marriott Courtyard (next to the Bahnhof).  Nice place....you can do better.  Odd thing....you walk out the door....200 ft to the back-door of the station....after 9 PM....dealers (druggie) hang out to a small degree (just keep walking).

2.  Go ONLY in spring/summer....not the week prior to Christmas.

3.  Christmas-market area....MASSIVE.

4.   On my encoutering-beggars-index.....one to ten.....it's a '7' location.

5.  Driving into the city?  On my stress/chaos level....even with a gps....it's a problem. Either take the train, or fly in.

6.  Must-see status?  I'd put it in the top dozen  cities in Germany that you ought to visit.

7.  Finally, yes.....I ate well....and there is an abundance of authentic German places to eat.

How The Bill Clinton Era Affected The German Anti-Trumpness

 You had to live around Germany in the 1990s to notice this odd era.

As the Kohl era was coming to an end....there were efforts  by various German newspapers, drew comparisons between Gerhard Schröder and Bill Clinton during Schröder's 1998 campaign and early chancellorship.

Selling point?  Ways that highlighted shared charismatic and centrist qualities to portray Schröder favorably as a modern, dynamic leader. This can be interpreted as "pumping him up" by associating him with Clinton's successful image as a media-savvy, reform-oriented politician who had navigated economic challenges and maintained popularity. 

Curiously....some at the time were critical of Schroder for being "light on substance." 

Public TV went the same route.

At some point....even the LA Times noted....German media outlets like Der Spiegel and Der Tagesspiegel were drafting up stories that aligned Schröder to Clinton's public persona.  Quotes like "media showman," an "incurable flirt," and exhibiting "soft-soap malleability" came up.

Some even started to suggest Schröder as the "Bill Clinton of Germany" during his election win.

Schröder having a pre-election meeting with Clinton in 1998?  Yeah....this was supposed to elevate the new Chancellor.  

It is interesting to note...by 2005...Schröder's agenda had peaked out and the public demanded change.

By 2009....German print/news media had attached itself to Barak Obama, and attempted a replacement strategy to Bill Clinton.

As 2016 rolled around....German media followed the election closely and hyped Hillary Clinton through positive portrayals, such as unanimously declaring her the winner of debates against Trump and emphasizing her competence.

Both in print and news outlets....they expressed strong anti-Trump sentiment, viewing him as a "disaster" for the world, while promoting Clinton as the preferred choice, with commentary stating she'd win "hands down" if Germans voted, and coverage of her campaign as a wall against populism. 

Well....Hillary Clinton lost, and the general public couldn't handle it.  Four years of anti-Trumpness followed.   The Biden-era?  There was some brief period of happiness....then the war business came up....the economy went sluggish, and the threat of AfD carving into the political landscape came up.  

To be rather honest, there was no pump-up via Joe Biden.  Even for 2024...it's hard to see Kamala Harris's replacement situation helping German print-media, news-media, or social-media sell a German 'Clinton-like' character. 

What's left today?  You can essentially make the statement, economically...Germany is still in a recovery stage after Covid, The path to cheap Russian  natural gas and oil?  Ended.  The 20-odd years of marginal defense spending?  Now pushing the country to correct the problem, but essentially lacking  the money.  Then one can bring up the weakest point ever for both the CDU-CSU and SPD parties.  Oddly, more than half the nation has some worry building up over Putin, and possible invasion. 

Age of Generational Crisis

 I stood at the magazine rack last week.....looking at the newest Spiegel cover.

 

German kids in chaos. 

I spent about 2 minutes looking at the bulk of story...which they have a point.

Based on the news media....social media, and 'gory-details'....German kids by age 13/14/15....are getting a ton of information....which shouldn't be on their minds, or worry-about index.

About six months ago, I watched a interview of a German parent (assuming in her 40s)...having weekly discussions/arguments with her teen daughter....who was always wanting a debate.  'Mom' was fed-up....she had legit worries and this social media crap didn't really faze her much.

I paused over this....because Germans are going to receive this new 'core' of society in five-to-twelve years....requiring mental help and clinical doctors to cure their stress levels. 

The funny thing?  It's the 85-to-100 age group of Germans....who grew up in the war period, and they have a real view of crisis.

Difference Between The EU And The European Commission

Well....yeah.

The EU is a political and economic union comprising 27 member states in Europe, focused on promoting peace, stability, and prosperity through shared policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries, regional development, travel, security, etc.  

The EU acts like a Senate/House. 

The European Commission is one of the EU's main institutions and serves as its executive branch (same as the US version of the executive branch). 

The Commission is politically independent and consists of 27 Commissioners (one from each member state), led by a President. 

 The Commission's primary roles include proposing new EU legislation (it has the exclusive right to initiate laws in most areas), implementing EU policies and decisions, managing the EU budget, enforcing EU law (such as by taking legal action against member states or companies that violate treaties), and representing the EU in international negotiations. 

 And yes.....the Commission drives the legislative agenda. 

Each Commissioner selected by the member-state....for nomination, and there are hearings to approve/dis-approve the candidate.  The EU at the end of the process...has a vote, and approves the list or disapproves the list.  

If a member country sent up a candidate that the EU doesn't like?  They (the other 26 member states, or a majority) would block the guy/gal.

Intellectual Chatter

 After WW II ended....various Nazi leaders went sent to the Nuremberg Trials, Nuremberg Germany (1945-1947).

At some point....some intellectual Americans were gathered up to study the IQ level of these  Nazis.

These examiners used the Wechsler Bellevue scale...which considered fairly reliable.

I paused over reading this and the results....this AM.

Generally speaking....85-or-less...is real low, and marginally capable of grasping thing.

Average?  100....typically.

110 or above....very capable of math, engineering tasks, and science.

Most of the Nazi leadership tested? 110-or-above.

Albert Speer....128.

Hans Frank....130.

Goering.....138.

Yeah....from this top level of leadership....mostly a higher level of IQ.

Explanation?  Coming out of the late 1800 Prussian education system....they probably were strongly challenged.  Goering...curiously, lasted about a year in university...leaving for the Nazi Party apparatus in 1921.

BS test result?  Well...you can suggest that....but there's little to prove or disprove....in terms of facts.

I would note here....Charles Manson....the cult-guy....who could not read...was assessed at a 121- IQ in the mid-1950s. 

3 Nov 2025: Germany: 3 Things

 1.  German  police (this AM) arrested two suspected ISIS terrorists in Trier and Delbrück, the Federal Prosecutor General announced.

2. Saturday evening in Wiesbaden....at the Christmas market....around 7:30 PM (wife and I walked out around 7:10 PM)....some argument started up at a stall....maybe alcohol involved.  Two guys.....both early 20s....leads to a fight.  One pulls a tear-gas cannister on the other....dumps irritant on the guy....also two customers and two stall operators.  Police got called....ambulance required.

3.   Reported...30,000-plus cases in German emergency rooms...daily.  Highest level ever.

Explaining The Deportation 'Dilemma'

While the AfD Party states a highly priority to exercise deportations.....'how' remains unanswered.

As of July 2025 (the most recent publicly available data from the German Federal Ministry of the Interior), approximately 220,800 people are living in Germany without an official residence permit and are subject to deportation obligations. 

This includes 178,512 individuals with a "Duldung" (tolerated stay), where deportation is temporarily suspended due to legal, humanitarian, or practical reasons (lack of travel documents/passports, medical issues, or ongoing education).

On top of that....42,296 individuals without even a tolerated stay, meaning they are fully obligated to leave but have not yet done so.

The feds are not part of the system.....it's a state-by-state effort. So they arrange a plane....figure around 28 deportees with papers finally....who are escorted/flown with roughly 40 police....to their country (forcibly).

AfD has never clearly said how they would resolve this.

Presently, with the improved relationship with Afghanistan....it's possible that a 'deal' might be worked out with higher numbers sent home. But even in the wildest of scenarios....with the AfD in power....it's hard to see more than 10,000 per year being physically deported.

Core Issues With The German Retirement System?

The German pension system is in severe demographic crisis combined with a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) structure that is extremely vulnerable to an aging and shrinking population.

Just for the  record....Germany has one of the lowest fertility rates in Europe (currently ~1.3–1.4 children per woman).

In 1990 there were about 4 workers per retiree. Today it’s roughly 2.3, and by 2040–2050 it is projected to fall lower....to roughly 1.5 or even 1.3 workers per pensioner (this came from the Statistisches Bundesamt and EU Ageing Report 2024).

The current Pay-As-You-Go System?  Almost the entire public pension (Gesetzliche Rentenversicherung) is financed by current workers’ contributions (18.6-percent of gross wage, split 50/50 between employee and employer).

There  is already in some form....a count-down-calendar....where the contributor-to-retiree ratio collapses. That means that contributions must rise dramatically, or that pensions have to be cut, or that the federal budget (taxes) must subsidize the gap.  

So, in some fashion....all three have started in some minor form.

Political fixes?  Well....raising the retirement age beyond the current gradual increase to 67 (and possibly to 68–70 in the future) apparently doesn't sell well.

Going to private or occupational pensions?  Some Germans would buy into this idea.    But only about half of workers have any meaningful supplementary coverage, and even then the amounts are modest (figure roughly 2,000 to 3,000  Euro a year....on top of your current pension).

Yeah.....Germany built a generous pension system for a young, growing population in the 1960s–1980s. But that population no longer exists.

Most experts agree the current model is unsustainable after 2030 without either drastic contribution/tax increases or significant benefit cuts.

I should add here....lot of younger Germans complaining that fixes seem to revolve  around them taking up the burden of thing.