Germany: The Cop Scanner Story

This week in Germany....there was a bit of amusement. There is a weekly comic that comes out via Disney....for kids....the Micky Mouse comic. Unlike the US version....and for years....this comic is pretty upscale and more expensive....but they insert a toy or a item of interest into the magazine. So the kid is willing to pay $4 for this simple $1 comic. Don't ask me about common sense here....I just report things. So this week....it was a radio the size of two match-boxes. It was supposed to be a AM receptive radio....cheaply made of course....in China. I doubt that its worth more than $1 at the most. At some point early in the week....up in Hannover....parents began to call up the cops and report the radio also picked up police chat over their radios. Naturally, because such receptive devices are forbidden and you just can't listen into German cop talk over the radio....the police got real upset. So starts the investigation. So far, from what everyone is indicating....its only up in the Hannover area....and its pretty random when the radio picks it up. They won't admit how close they have to be.....but I'm guessing within 500 feet of the cop's radio. The Disney folks naturally are saying that this has been tested completely and meets the spec's. My guess is that there are some cop radios there....which are a bit off the normal frequency but since they are all off just a hair....no one notices. If they drove over to Bremen....they probably would have issues talking to the Bremen guys. The kid's radio's? Just a cheap toy that does what its suppose to. Everyone will get peppy about this....and eventually someone will ask why the cops don't want anyone listening in....and then we'll have thousands of these receptive radios being sold.

American Style Politics in Germany

Sunday night, came a rather unusual program on German TV. First, shockingly enough, this was a US-format town-hall meeting, with Chancellor Merkle. Then came the fact that this wasn’t on Channel One or Channel Two (the state-channels)….but rather RTL.

The responses so far? Well, publicly….folks think it came off Ok and no really knocks it. From the media? Most think it was staged and too orchestrated.

Will the SPD attend their town-hall meeting? That’s yet to be said. I suspect that RTL will give them, the FDP folks, and the Green’s….a chance to have a one-hour show. As for the Linke Party….I’d have doubts but maybe I’m wrong.

Some folks think that Germans just won’t agree to this town-hall mess and that real professional journalists are required….to get to the heart of questions. Sadly, if we could find such professional journalists….it would be a great idea….so far….we haven’t found any such folks.

The Stuttgart Shooting

There were 15 folks killed today by a 17-year old kid in Stuttgart....the majority at the Realschule....mostly kids 14 and 15 years old. The cops eventually got to the kid. Reason? None given yet.

The chat tonight over the state-run networks goes over gun-control and the likely next step.

For those who aren't familiar with the German method of gun-control....its kinda simple. You want any weapon? You register for a class in your local town....run by the gun club. You must be eighteen and with no major criminal record. You come in for 90 minutes a week, for about four months, and then you get tested. Along this class episode....you take a first-aid class, learn to take weapons apart, maintain weapons, and fire an assortment of guns. There's a test at the end....if you pass....you get a certificate.

With this certificate, you go to the local town hall and get registered. You agree to play by the rules. You can buy weapons now. But with this responsibility.....you are required to keep them locked in a steel type locker or special gun cabinet. The lock? Its specialized. Its a one-of-a-kind key for that lock. Neither the wife or kids can access to that gun locker. The key has to be on your person at all times. Neither the kids or wife can have a copy of the key. If someone suspects they have access....they can report you and you lose the weapons.

In this case at Stuttgart.....the kid got access to dad's gun locker. Strangly enough....in almost all of the past dozen shootings at schools....dad's locker has been accessed.

The general feeling now is that the government is about to change the rules. My guess? If you have a shotgun or single-round rifle.....you get to keep them in the house. If the weapon is automatic or semi-automatic.....you will turn the weapon over to the gun club and they will store it for you.

The number of adults in Germany who run around shooting people? That's the thing....few if any in a normal year. These school shootings all come up with kids who felt that they were treated wrong by the kids in the school and the teachers. They come back for revenge.

The Bruno Story, Part II?

In the summer of 2006….I began writing my best blogs of nature…ever….over Bruno, the German bear. For those who missed on this great reading opportunity….Bruno was a Slovian bear….young and frisky of course….who ventured across the border into Italy, and gain fame by upsetting Italian farmers. At some point….they fired enough buckshot, and forced Bruno the Bear to leave. Sadly, Bruno decided that Bavaria was the place to go. So he crossed the border.

This was the summer of the soccer world cup, and the period of Bruno’s mightiest adventures. For weeks, Bruno trudged across the wunderland of Bavaria….making a name for himself. He was friendly and welcome in the first week. The first bear back in Germany in 170-odd years. Naturally, you should have asked what happened to the last bear and then realize that he was stuffed and placed in a natural history museum in Munich.

So after two week…..Bruno began getting into farmer’s fields….upsetting the local balance of life….and killing pet bunnies of German kids. In essence….he became Bruno the unwanted and unfriendly bear.

So the mighty hunt came. For two weeks….German hunters tried to hunt Bruno down and take him in a humane manner. No luck.

Then the Bavarian political figures got involved and they contracted out some Finnish hunters. The Finns drove for two days, with their fierce hunting dogs and were to make around $35k for this bear. It was a pretty fair sum and got the local hunters all upset. Naturally, some folks wondered why Finns were picked when some American hunters volunteered to do this free? But in the scheme of things….Americans were dislike heavily at this point in time….and Finns were ok.
So on day one of the Finn episode….we came to realize two important facts. Finland is mostly flat. So as the day progressed in the hot days of June….these Finns were out of shape to be wandering around Bavarian hills and mountains. One of the guys had head stroke and another was thought to have a potential heart attack. This was not going to be a hunt in the easy woods of Finland.

Then we came to the dog episode. Their dogs were all big and hairy. Naturally…the heat and hills took a toll on the fierce dogs. By day two….they had shaved down the dogs to the point that they all looked like fierce poodles. The Finns disliked this and the dogs were fairly unhappy. Their fierceness was long-gone by now.
As time went by, we learned that Finns are unique people. They hate social settings. They drink fiercely. And they really can’t speak to another guy….eye-to-eye.

Days passed….and no successful capture or shooting.

So finally….after almost three weeks of this….the Finns were dismissed and the Germans opened this up for professional local hunters. It took four hours to track Bruno down and kill him. The environmental folks were furious and a lot of the locals felt dismayed by the legend of Bruno coming to an end.
Last year….I traveled to Bavaria and saw the stuffed Bruno in the museum there. It was quiet a sight. He was mounted in some giant glass case….with 100-watt bulbs beaming down on top of him.

He looked fierce….at least as much as you could stuff a bear and make him convincing fierce. At the same time….you looked at the time capsule of sorts that wrapped itself around the room. Most of the people in the meseum…were 12-year old kids. I felt out of place….and Bruno was just as much out of place.

I bring all of this up….because late last year, a bear was spotted some 30 kilometers from the German border between Mittenwald and Trentino in Italy. They think he’s Bruno’s half-brother,(MJ4)….yet to be named, but I like the name of Bruno II.

So far, the media is talking of this bear being much more mellower than his destructive brother. The experts admit….no pictures as of yet….and no DNA.

The problem here is that the experts expect this bear to show up in Bavaria this summer. And if things progress like the last episode….Bruno II will meet his end as well. The thing is….as we discovered…it isn’t the Bear that makes the legend….its the other characters…from the local hunters…the Finns….the potential American hunters….and the media. It’s like a 3-ring circus….and anything can happen. So 2009 promises to be one heck of a summer. And my blogging talents? They will be tested to the ninth degree. I may very well write some of the best Steinbeckish blogs ever written.

The Koln Building Collapse

What we kinda know today is that there was a north-south subway being built in Koln….intersecting in the middle at the city train station. It was a multi-year project and they’d already built the subway along this area of the street where the building collapsed. Next year, the line would have been completed and started running.

The mayor is quickly standing out and making comments over the construction and the other buildings showing some slide or structural issues. The construction involved? They are really quiet over this issue, and the insurance company associated with them is likely weeping in the shadows right now. The amount of potential damage would be into the hundreds of millions if engineers say that buildings along the subway are subject to collapse.

I’m guessing that the entire construction project will be halted for at least a year, with the company sinking quickly into bankruptcy. No company will dare pick up the slack or involve itself in the future building of the subway. So you can forget about the north-south rail line.

The curious thing about this deal is that this was the city archives building….with literally tons of data stored there. The firemen are talking about a massive covering going up today over the structure and then digging the place out….one shovel at a time….to recover most of the records. This could take months to clean the site. Rebuilding on the site? I’d have a lot of doubt over this. The city will find open areas elsewhere and toss $10 million toward the building of a new facility.

Finally….whatever happened in Koln is likely to get around to other cities in Germany as they all check out their own subway lines and the damage to other structures. This could take a decade to check and fix every single problem. We could be talking about billions to fix all these structures.

Gaststätte

A gaststätte is best described as a pub....no rooms available, no food, no snacks and its usually a neighborhood place where thirty to fifty local guys hang out once or twice a week....to stay away from their wives or play cards.

On most Monday through Friday nights...there will be a dozen German guys standing there.....avoiding going home. There will always be a four guys in the corner, usually playing cards. One guy typically runs the bar, and its usually his second job.

Its hard to say if a gaststatte actually makes much of a profit. I'm guessing most make enough to pay for the heat, electrical and cost of the place....and maybe put $200 a month profit into the bartender's pocket. Considering there is no food typically involved in a place like this....then its a particular crowd who comes to frequent. Guys typically avoid getting into serious arguments at a place like this because if they ever irratate the bartender....they get tossed out and there usually aren't any alternate places to hang out. So folks tend to stay friendly.

Du and Sie

Somewhere in the vast German way of complexity...."you" became a four-star problem. In English, "you" is simple to explain and use. It takes a minute to explain the word and its use...then you move on.

For Germans, Du and Sie....are totally different. I had a language professor try to make it simple, just by saying that you'd only use Du for people that you knew, and Sie was for everyone else. Then someone brought up that you couldn't use Du for the Butcher you visited twice a week, or the bakers wife who took care of your bread sales, or the barber you visited twelve times a year. The professor kinda agreed. You can't define the splitting point of Du and Sie.

If you are ever in a car and the German cops stop you....NEVER use the word "Du", otherwise it could be a ticket for bad language usage. Du shouldn't be used with your associates at work, unless you actually sip beer with them and swap life stories. Don't use Du for your new neighbor until you really get to know them (usually ten years after they move in). Don't use Du for bar waitress that you've known for six years unless she uses the word Du on you first.

Its stupid to have this formal and non-formal way of addressing "you". If you meet some gal at a bar, and actually ask for a real date....then you have to start wondering around the second and third date....is it appropriate to use Du? Should you hold back until the twelfth date? Should you wait until you've done some kinky stuff behind locked doors? Should you wait until you've met her parents? Should you wait until you've actually proposed?

I'm always rather harsh on Germans for their language....but they deserve it.

Word of the Day: Das is Geil!

Call it a word. Call it a phrase. It really doesn't matter. You can say the word to one guy who say it really means this. But the next guy says its something different.

By the dictionary, geil means horny. Old Germans will absolutely swear that it means this and they would never ever use the word unless they were locked up in their private place and thinking hot lusty thoughts. In their minds, its some Gothic gal...in black, giving you the "one-eye" (because the other is permanently hidden behind hair).

So you turn to a teenager and show them a neat new video game....and they automatically say "GEIL!"....which means in teen German-speak....nifty, neat, great, man o man.

Teachers tend to hate this word....because its really gotten misused now. How someone can say "horny" about some new bike or someone's haircut....just doesn't make sense.

So should you as an American ever use the phrase? Probably not. You probably would get to using it a fair amount and one day....talking to some 55-year old neighbor gal...you'd say her new hairstyle is geil.....and she'd start to smile, wink, and give you some impressions of lusty behavior.....then you'd realize you really said the wrong damn thing. And it'd be twice as bad if you were an American woman saying this to the 55-year old neighbor gal.

So as you are sitting there on the front door step....and the teenage girls walk by saying geil about your new car....its ok. If they are saying geil and gazing at you.....it might be a different meaning. Sadly, this is why the German language is so screwed up.