Ah, Berlin. Poor but sexy. And now partly on fire every night.
“The enthusiasm about Berlin as the capital of alternative culture has never been as great as it is these days. EasyJet tourism is booming, as is the real estate market — prices may be rising in Berlin, but beer and apartments are still relatively cheap.”
As are lighting fluid and matches.
Rot-Rot hat Brandstiftern zu lange zugeschaut.
Observing Hermann 
If this were happening here in NYC, there’d be some really pissed-off car owners. And if the owners discovered that their cars were beings burned as part of some bogus “political comment,” there would be some beaten-up so-called leftists. Has anyone grabbed one of these asses while they’re in the act? I’d take a bat to their heads, man.
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The Berliners are really pissed-off. There is a way to solve the problem: put the police onto the streets at night, but keep them away from working radar traps during the day.
Or a combined sports and political iniative:
“We are Without…” rally might just do it, meaning a new law that bans the selling of matches and lighters.
Looks like lots of pent-up rage in our thuggish commenter Jeffo.
Um, Ian. What’s wrong with taking a bat to someone’s head who is torching your car? You want to give him a hug? Give him a handful of Euros out of your pocket? Tell him you feel his pain? Damn, you must be Canadian or something. And what’s this “our thuggish commenter Jeffo”? Wow! Pretty harsh stuff coming from you, Ian. I could hear your knees knocking together across the Atlantic as you typed that. But hey, it’s nice to know that you remember me. Thanks.
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Don’t get me wrong or anything, Jeffrey, but are you not maybe a German just pretending to be Jeffrey instead? <;-) Talk about thuggish aggression. Have you ever known a German car owner? I mean a "real" German car owner? They won't let you sit in the damned things without cleaning your feet first (not joking), much less fiddle around on them. They clean and polish them two or three times a week. They park in the shade. And if this breed gets so much as bird crap on the hood (by parking in the shade, say) they go absolutely ballistic. One thing is for sure: If any of these guys (owners) catch any of those guys (vandals) in the act they will HURT THEM SEVERELY if not KILL THEM COMPLETELY. Germans verstehen kein Spaß (do not understand a joke) when it comes to their cars, much less somebody lighting them on fire. In other words, I pity the fool here who gets caught by one of these guys–and it's likely one of them will get caught sooner or later.
Hermann Observer,
Good point. I’ve known more than a few echt German car owners. Hey, I also don’t see a lot of “peace and understanding” on the Autobahn. When I lived in Deutschland and had to use the Autobahn, it was pretty much total Arroganz and Military Maneuvers in the left lane. The Hermann behind the wheel, as you suggest, is not someone to screw with. I’m just surprised that one of these Anarcho-torchers hasn’t been caught in the act and lynched yet.
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This is MY lane, and you CAN’T HAVE IT!
They’re mad, Joe. You know it’s true. And Jeffrey, that with the panic makers/fear mongers is so way beyond true that (practically) nobody here can even see it anymore. But to be fair, it’s been a global epidemic for decades, this need for fear and dependence upon hysteria, it’s just that the Germans are particularly good at it, as usual.
It’s strange how such a broadly intelligent society can be so easily agitated.
I had a few good laughs today reading the comments for this article in Die Zeit:
Die Deutschen sind eine Nation von Panikmachern.
Really? Ya think?
Heh heh. Gotta love Germans.
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