German Consumers Are An Odd Lot

They have this annoying tendency to not spend money they don’t have.

It has to do with something they call “debt.” Whatever that is.

Analysis: Spend the recession away? Not the thrifty Germans – A drop-off in spending by inflation-hit consumers was one of the main reasons Germany fell into recession in the first quarter, even as other countries in the region managed to avoid it.

What’s more, even with inflation starting to ease across Europe, the signs are that Germany’s famously thrifty shoppers are not ready to spend their way out of recession – meaning the region’s largest economy will have to look elsewhere for growth.

I’ve Seen German Men Do Lots Of Weird Things

But I’ve never seen one try to sit in one of these.

I’m calling fake news on this one.

Men shouldn’t stand to pee, but sit like Germans do, urologist says – A senior urologist claims that men should not urinate standing up but should instead sit down. Here, the Germans might have the right idea.

PS: Personally, I’ve heard nothing but disdain for men who sit when they piss, but maybe that’s just the questionable crowd I hang around with. See “sit pisser:” Sitzpisser = Sitzpinkler = Turnbeutelvergesser = Warmduscher = Nullschecker = Regenschirmmitdabeihaber…

But Violence On The Left Is OK

Right? I mean, left?

German lefties are confused about the jail term given to a fellow lefty who attacked neo-Nazis. They have now reacted to this judicial violence against leftist violence with, well, more violence.

German row over jail term for woman who attacked neo-Nazis – A jail term for a far-left extremist who took part in violent attacks on neo-Nazis has caused uproar on both the left and right of German politics.

Lina E was given a sentence of five years and three months – but was also told she is now free pending an appeal, having been in custody since 2020.

Englisch Of The Day: Green Around The Gills

Definition: Looking as if you are going to be sick.

Like Blair but faster: how Germans grew sick of the Greens.

How? Let me count the ways… Nah. That would take too long. All you need to know is that the German Greens always do this. It’s a ritual, sort of. Whenever they reach the point where they actually have some power and are allowed to do something, they shoot themselves in the foot. In this particular case, the straw that broke the camel’s back is forcing, from on high, real Germans living in their real German world to pay a fortune to install heat pumps so Germany can save the world, I mean planet, once again.

“High Hurdles?”

Speak a little German, have a job, pass a simple test (33 questions) and pay $275 to become a German citizen?

Hell, I could do that. Except pay the $275, of course. Are they nuts?

German citizenship: Record number of naturalizations – More people have applied for and been granted German nationality than at any time in the past 20 years. This is good news as the government wants to attract qualified professionals to the labor market.

A record 168,545 applicants with 171 different nationalities received German citizenship in 2022. That was 28% more than in the previous year, the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden reported this week.

I Think I’ll Call It…

The Flux Capacitor!

Oh. Well, how about the Stellarator?

German start-up wins initial funding for revolutionary fusion energy machine – Proxima Fusion aims to build complex device to generate emissions-free power by fusing atoms.

A German start-up has secured initial funding to develop a revolutionary fusion energy machine that it hopes can provide a future source of abundant, emissions-free power.

Proxima Fusion, incorporated in January, aims to build a complex device known as a stellarator and is the latest company to join the emerging fusion industry’s effort to generate electricity by fusing atoms.

Unsustainable

In Germany, of all places.

The truth is sticking up its pointy little head again. No free lunch for you! No el cheapo train ticket either.

‘All prices will have to be increased’: Germany’s €49 ticket might not be so cheap for much longer – Germany’s popular €49 public transport ticket might soon become more expensive.

More than three million Germans have purchased the ‘Deutschlandticket’ since it was launched in April.

The pass – which offers unlimited travel on all local and regional public transport – was hailed by authorities as the “biggest public transport reform in German history.”