Author Archives: Hermann Observer

German Of The Day: Schlechte Laune

March 29, 2023 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

The good news? Germans still have schlechte Laune (they’re still in a bad mood).

The bad news? They’re not in as bad a mood as they ought to be.

German consumer morale slows down on path to recovery – German consumer sentiment is set to nudge up in April as energy prices have relented somewhat from record highs, though a full recovery is not in sight anytime soon, showed a GfK institute survey on Wednesday.

The institute forecast its consumer sentiment index to improve to -29.5 heading into April from a revised reading of -30.6 in March, slightly below the expectations of analysts polled by Reuters of -29.0.

Not A Single German Train Will Be Late Today

March 27, 2023 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

Because none of them will be running.

You know. Glass half full and all that?

Strike over pay paralyzes rail, air travel in Germany – Trains, planes and public transit systems stood still across much of Germany on Monday as labor unions called a major one-day strike over salaries in an effort to win inflation-busting raises for their members.

The 24-hour walkout — one of the biggest in decades — also affected cargo transport by rail and ship, as workers at the country’s ports and waterways joined the strike.

German Of The Day: Volksentscheid

March 26, 2023 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means referendum.

You know, like the one Berliners are voting on today; to make Berlin “climate-neutral” by 2030? I think they should hold one on free beer and ponies for everybody too. That’s more realistic.

Berlin votes on climate neutrality by 2030 – Berliners will go to the polls yet again on Sunday to vote in a referendum to make the German capital climate neutral 15 years earlier than planned. Critics deride the proposal as too costly and completely unrealistic.

Germans Hate America

March 24, 2023 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

Why should they be the only ones who don’t?

But…

German companies love America. According to the German-American Chamber of Commerce, around 5,600 of them have invested in the US market. As of September 2022, that’s an investment volume of almost $650 billion (€605 billion). And it’s not only big firms like Siemens, Volkswagen, or Linde that are currently looking to strengthen their commitment to the United States — in some instances, even building entire new production facilities.

Everything Is Going To Plan

March 15, 2023 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

You didn’t really believe that Germany was going to spend that 100 billion euro special fund for the military for the military, did you?

German military in worse shape than before Russia’s invasion – The German military is suffering from a greater shortage of weapons and equipment than before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a year ago, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces said in her annual report on Tuesday.

“The Bundeswehr has too little of everything, and it has even less since (Russia’s invasion on) Feb. 24, 2022,” Eva Hoegl, who acts as an advocate defending the rights of the troops, told reporters in Berlin.

All Quiet On The Academy Awards Front

March 14, 2023 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Still.

Does anybody watch that Scheiße anymore?

Germans Are Right to Hate All Quiet on the Western Front – The Academy loves Netflix’s pandering war porn. Its homeland knows better.

Take Schlammschlacht, for instance, which means mudslinging or mud fight, and ends with the German word for battle which also evocatively happens to be the root word for slaughter. Schlammschlacht, by itself, is the headline of Hubert Wetzel’s blistering review in the venerable Süddeutsche Zeitung, describing the weather conditions in which most of the film’s slaughter take place, and, presumably, also the filmmakers’ treatment of a literary treasure…

German Of The Day: Austritt

March 13, 2023 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means to leave, exit, resign. You know, like the ever-rising number of Germans leaving the two once big German Catholic and Lutheran state churches (church tax retained and distributed by the state)? No one can figure out why.

German Synodal Way backs same-sex blessings and transgender priests…

They also voted for the normalisation of lay preaching and also agreed to ask the Holy See to “re-examine” the discipline of priestly celibacy.

Old-time religion this is not. Just roll over and die and get it over with.

German Of The Day: Blockadepolitik

March 12, 2023 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

That means “blockade politics” or conducting a policy of obstruction.

Geez. The EU is getting really frustrated with Germany these days because it still acts as if it were a sovereign country from time to time.

Germany Is Becoming a Roadblock for More and More EU Business – Row over combustion-engine ban symptomatic of wider problem, Conduct seen as especially unhelpful during period of upheaval.

The unpredictable behavior of Germany’s ruling coalition is becoming a disruptive influence in Europe and raising hackles across the continent.

A last-ditch move this month to block a European Union push to phase out combustion-engine vehicles was only the latest example. On issues ranging from financial aid for Ukraine to reform of state-aid and budget rules, Germany’s EU partners and officials in Brussels have become increasingly frustrated with Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center—left alliance of his Social Democrats, the Greens and the business-friendly Free Democrats.