German of the day: Brötchen

June 13, 2026 By in Home Cooking Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

That means pygmy hippopotamus.

Or bread roll. Take your pick.

A young pygmy hippopotamus at the Berlin Zoo is named Brötchen.

The newest addition to the Berlin pygmy hippopotamus family is named Brötchen. The Berlin Zoo announced this on Wednesday. “Naming animals after foods seems to be a popular internet trend right now,” explained zoo director Andreas Knieriem: “Strictly speaking, though, people in Berlin have known for decades that small, round snacks make excellent animal names: the female hippo Bulette was one of the absolute favorites at the Berlin Zoo until 2005.”

An army ready to fight?

June 12, 2026 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

What will they think of next?

Where will this German militarization madness end?

‘We must be ready to fight’: Germany army chief warns of rising Russia threat – Christian Freuding tells POLITICO that NATO allies agree Russia could be capable of attacking a member country by 2029.

I want a new drug

June 10, 2026 By in Hard Facts, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Can’t have it.

Unless…

Trump’s drug pricing war comes for Germany – U.S. and German officials are meeting in secret to talk about drug prices.

U.S. embassies across the continent are being mobilized to deliver a message to European capitals: American patients are paying too much for medicines — around three times more than Germany for new drugs — and Europe better chip in.

German of the day: Herablassend

June 9, 2026 By in Helplessness, Hard Facts, Hideology Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means condescending.

After UN fiasco: Former African president harshly criticizes Baerbock – “condescending.”

On the sidelines of a summit of African leaders in Nairobi, Botswana’s former President Mokgweetsi Masisi spoke to Bild in strong terms: “Perhaps Ms. Baerbock should have focused on doing her job in German diplomacy instead of trying to dictate to Nigerians where to build their toilets and telling Africans how to deal with elephants.” Masisi added: “Perhaps Germany would then have received more votes from Africa for the UN seat.”

Big Bang Theory

June 8, 2026 By in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

And practice.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) has already ruled out a “big bang” of reforms out of consideration for the SPD and a frightened public. However, the verbal de-escalation ahead of the coalition committee meeting should not obscure the extent of the need for action and, above all, who must take the initiative to help Germany emerge from the economic crisis: the SPD, led by Labor and Social Affairs Minister Bärbel Bas, as well as the labor unions. But it won’t work without the cooperation of CSU leader Markus Söder, who is at times very much a social democrat.

German of the day: Verbockt

June 6, 2026 By in Helplessness, Hard Facts, Helections, Hurt Feelings, Hideology Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means to bungle.

And that kind of sort of rhymes with Baerbock, which also means to bungle.

Verbaerbockt?

“Baerbock blew it” – CDU/CSU calls for an inquiry into the Green Party politician following the UN defeat – CSU foreign policy expert Stephan Mayer is calling for an investigation into Germany’s failure to secure a seat on the UN Security Council. Former Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock must answer questions before the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Following Germany’s failure to secure a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council, the CDU/CSU is stepping up pressure on former Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. CSU foreign policy expert Stephan Mayer is calling for the Green Party politician to be questioned in the Bundestag, as reported by “Bild.”

“We must thoroughly investigate the causes of this embarrassing election defeat,” Mayer said. To that end, he added, “it is absolutely essential that Annalena Baerbock answer questions from the Bundestag’s Foreign Affairs Committee.” The former foreign minister must explain “how and when her office took specific steps to mobilize majorities in support of Germany’s bid for a non-permanent seat on the Security Council.”

Just because Jews aren’t allowed in our hotel…

June 5, 2026 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Hate Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

Doesn’t mean we’re antisemitic.

We’re “sorry” you misunderstood that.

German hotel denied Israeli family’s booking with message ‘no Jews allowed’ – A German hotel is under fire after its staff told an Israeli family “there are no jews allowed” as they denied their booking this week.

The family had tried to reserve a room at the Hotel Zum Hirschen, a 120-year-old resort that sits on the Czech Republic border, through Booking.com on Tuesday.

I pledge allegiance to the…

June 4, 2026 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

Well, to whatever nationality I feel like pledging it to on any give day.

Most new German citizens keep original nationality: survey – Germany’s previous government changed laws to allow dual citizenship. A new survey shows that, one year after that reform, more than 85% of new German citizens are opting to keep their original nationality.

The majority of people who were granted German citizenship last year retained their original nationality, according to a survey by the Mediendienst Integration research group.

It found that the number of newly naturalized citizens with more than one nationality in 2025 ranged from 85% to 98% in cities that collected data.