Author Archives: Hermann Observer
Burning Booming in Berlin
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.
How Miraculous
Hidden behind the so-called German economic miracle is an underclass of low-paid employees whose incomes have benefited little from the country’s stability and in fact have shrunk in real terms over the last decade.
Despite Germany’s renowned inflation-fighting efforts, which kept consumer price increases at an average of 1.7 percent a year from 2000 to 2010, more and more low-income Germans report that they cannot make ends meet despite having a job and that they must rely upon state aid to supplement their income.
Nowhere is this deepening chasm more visible than in Berlin-Mitte, the prosperous center of the capital, full of handsome government buildings and fine restaurants that cater to officials and lobbyists.
On a rainy summer morning here, only a 10-minute walk from the glamorous Unter Den Linden boulevard, hundreds of poorly dressed men and women lined up inside the district employment office. Some of them had come to look for work, some were applying for state help and some just wanted to accompany a friend.
“They cannot live off their income. Their wages are just too low. They have no choice but to receive help from the state.”
Ain’t no “might” about it, Fareed
If push comes to shove over here, I mean.
Why Germany might let Europe fall
The old structure of Europe rested on an extraordinary degree of German abnegation of its own interests. The Germans believed their national interest lay in subordinating itself in every way to Europe’s broader interest. That was what Europe was built on.
Today what people are basically asking is: “Is Europe’s debt going to be centralized or not?” In other words, is Europe going to be willing to say, “All our debt is pooled together and theoretically, as a single entity, we’ll pay it back.”
The key to this commitment is Germany. Germany is the only country that can pay.
The key to Europe’s future is how Germany conceives of its interests.
So once it gets real ugly, and it’s going to get a whole lot uglier yet, the last guy out please remember to turn off the lights.
PS: This gives “Old Europe” and “New Europe” a whole new meaning, don’t it?
More Advancement For The Elite!
Of the Elitists?
“PARTEI” is an acronym for Partei für Arbeit, Rechtsstaat, Tierschutz, Elitenförderung und basisdemokratische Initiative (Party for Work, Rule-of-Law, Protection of Animals, Advancement of Elites, and Grassroot-Democratic Initiative). At the same time, “Partei” is German for party. Usage of the definite article (“die PARTEI”) is evocative of totalitarian parties (see Socialist Unity Party of Germany and National Socialist German Workers Party) and is therefore a tongue-in-cheek reference to the totalitarian ambitions of the founders of “Die PARTEI”.
GDP?
Does that stand for German Doldrums Party or something? Sorry, I’m still in my election time mode.
I’ve heard of the SPD and the FDP and even the KPD. But who are these guys and why are they starting to make the economy suck again? Is it time to call a rating agency yet?
“It is a regime shift. The period of exuberant growth is now behind us.”
Election Time
Here in Berlin, almost. And I tell you what. If I could vote here, I might just look into these guys. Their arguments are, I dunno, compelling or something.
The Left Keeps Talking
At least these guys are consistent.
Three Die Linke politicians snub minute’s silence and far-left newspaper lists reasons to be grateful for Berlin Wall.
A far-left newspaper added to the controversy by printing a front page saying “thank you” to the wall for “28 years of keeping the peace in Europe” and “28 years of plentiful crèche and kindergarten places”.
The story even paid tribute to 28 years of Club Cola, East Germany’s answer to the Coca-Cola of the imperialist west, and of FKK, a nudist movement popular in East Germany.
Confusing?
Remember when kids used to play cowboys and indians (not aliens)? Now everyone has “grown up” and all they want to do is play victims and perpetrators.
Damn. Where is Dave Chapelle when you need him? This Slutwalk event thingy (here in Berlin, too) brought one of his jokes to mind, you see.
You know, the one where he talks about women who dress like whores, women who wear “whore uniforms.” He hits on one in a bar and she tells him indignantly “Wait a minute! Just because I’m dressed this way does not make me a whore!” True, he admits. But ladies, he says, you must understand that this is confusing. That would be like him, Dave Chapelle the comedian, walking around the streets in a cop uniform. Someone might run up to him and say “Help us, officer!” and he would reply “Wait a minute! Just because I’m dressed this way does not make me a police officer!”
Confusing? Yup. And it could be, it just could maybe might be, that the women who take part on the Slutwalk are slightly confused about this themselves (this is the cue to accuse me of supporting rape and rapists, ladies).
“Theoretisch muss es möglich sein, dass eine Frau nachts halbnackt durch einen Park läuft und unbelästigt bleibt.“
Leave It To The Linke (I wanted to say beaver sooo bad but just couldn’t bring myself to do so)
Timing is everything. Today is of course the 50th anniversary of the building of the Berlin Wall, not that anybody actually feels like celebrating or anything.
So what does Left party leader Gesine Lötzsch do? What she always does. When not lecturing about “Paths to Communism” in the Junge Welt (communist, sorry marxist) newspaper, she likes to make other provocative pronouncements to keep her constituents happy. The most recent zinger: The building of the Berlin Wall was a logical consequence of World War II. In other words, it wasn’t us communists who did it (you know, good old German denial), it was those other guys. Not that she is a communist or anything, of course. She isn’t and never was and never will be and will tell you this time and time again until she is red, I mean blue in the face.
Times sure have changed in fifty years, haven’t they? Not for everybody, though. I’m sure there are still some folks out there who still believe the world is flat, too. Whatever. It’s amazing really, and funny, sort of, and I guess everyone has gotten pretty used to her comments by now so let the festivities begin or something.
Speaking of comments, the best comment I read about her was from the guy who said that when you listen to Frau Lötzsch you get the sneaking suspicion that she is that last government spokesman of the GDR.
“Frau Lötzsch wirkt wie die letzte Regierungssprecherin der DDR.”
PS: Just in case anybody was wondering, the Left party governs as part of the city government right here in Berlin this very day.
Observing Hermann 