Category Archives: Hard Facts
German Of The Day: Tiefstand
That means lowest level. You know, like the current 23-year low in German car production?
German car production fell to its lowest in almost a quarter of a century as Europe’s biggest economy suffers from the fallout of a global trade war.
Automakers including Volkswagen AG, BMW AG and Daimler AG produced 4.66 million vehicles in German factories last year, the weakest since 1996. The country’s VDA car lobby, which published the figures on Monday, said the 9% decrease was a result of waning demand from international markets.
The industry is set for more tough times this year. The VDA predicted global car deliveries will drop to 78.9 million vehicles from 80.1 million in 2019.
Massive German Troop Reduction Underway In Iraq
30 of the 120 German soldiers stationed there are to be immediately flown to safety.
However, it was unclear at this time just who will be flying them out as the German military doesn’t have any aircraft that actually fly.
Germany is moving some of its military personnel from Iraq to neighboring countries over security concerns, the government told lawmakers, days after the killing of a top Iranian military commander in a U.S. drone strike.
Einige der in Bagdad und Tadschi stationierten Truppen sollen den Irak vorerst verlassen. Laut Verteidigungsministerin erfolgt der Teilabzug aus Sicherheitsgründen.
German Of The Day: Umweltsau
That means environmental pig. And that’s what German kids call grandmothers who aren’t greener than Green.
It has a touch of Hitlerjugend or Stasi to it, don’t you think? German state TV at its best. It may have been meant as a satire but something went horribly wrong.
German grandmothers protested outside the offices of state broadcaster WDR in Cologne on Saturday after the station posted a satirical video about old people’s environmental carelessness…
The video, which is set to the tune of a well-known children’s song, satirises older generations’ attitude to the environment and climate change, including the provocative refrain “my grandma is an environmental pig…”
In the video, the children also sing that their environmental-pig grandma cooks discount meat every day, drives an SUV and takes frequent cruise trips. The song closes with a sample of Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg saying “we will not let you get away with this.”
“Grandma isn’t just an environmental pig but a Nazi pig.”
$33 Billion And Counting
In fines. Up until now.
But would it matter if Volkswagen paid another 30+ billion to German customers too? Who would trust this company anymore, whatever they paid? What did Warren Buffet say? “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”
VW to Sound Out Settlement in German Car-Owners’ Mass Lawsuit – Volkswagen AG and German consumer group VZBV agreed to settlement talks in a court case involving hundreds of thousands of drivers who claim that their diesel cars lost value in the wake of the emission-cheating scandal.
But Where Does All This CO2 Keep Coming From?
We’ve shut down practically all of our nuclear power plants already.
Of course, we had to replace them with dirty coal-firing ones but we’ll be shutting those down soon too. Unfortunately, the renewable utopia we ordained those many years ago still isn’t working yet for some odd reason nor does it look like it will anytime soon. But still. At least the energy prices German consumers have to pay keep climbing and climbing to ever ridiculously high and higher levels. Maybe we could start cutting off power in German homes and industries for a few hours every day and get the populace to stop making so much CO2 that way – and spend more time out in “nature.” It would only be for their own good. Then the rest of the world would admire us yet again for the fine example we have set and start emulating us with gratitude (we are the Big Green and Moral Superpower, after all). Then Planet Earth and Planet Germany would be rescued in no time.
Germany shuts down atomic plant as nuclear phase-out enters final stretch – The Philippsburg power station is one of the only plants still operating in the southern state of Baden-Württemberg. Germany has vowed to start decommissioning every nuclear power facility by the end of 2022.
Angela Merkel’s blunder of the decade that’s taboo in Germany (he means before her blunder in 2015).
German Of The Day: Neujahrsansprache
Or German of the year, if your prefer. That means New Year’s speech.
And it goes like this, more or less: “Changes for the better are possible.” Wow. Thanks for that, Angie but you wouldn’t have made much of a cheerleader.
When I hear somebody say “changes for the better are possible” I keep waiting for the “but” part. And you know what they say about the “but” part. Everything before “but” is a lie.
„Veränderungen zum Guten sind möglich.”
PS: Happy New Year anyway!
First They Come For Your Fireworks
Then they introduce a speed limit on your autobahn. “Whatever is not expressly permitted is strictly forbidden” in Germany.
Could Germany ban personal fireworks? – Across the world, fireworks are an essential part of New Year’s Eve celebrations. Germans especially love setting off their own pyrotechnics, but some places have now imposed limited bans — for good reason…
Germany’s laissez-faire approach to pyrotechnics, however, has serious consequences. Fireworks harm the environment, and exploding pyrotechnics can startle and shock animals as well as little children…
Alles was nicht ausdrücklich erlaubt ist, ist verboten.
East Germans Should Stop Moaning Like East Germans
And learn to moan more like us West Germans do.
German political grandee Wolfgang Schäuble on Saturday said the country should recognize the huge social upheaval the eastern states have experienced since reunification. But he also warned eastern Germans that they should show more self-confidence and less cynicism.
The West German lack of self-confidence and its deep-seated victim culture are much more refined, he did not add, and its particular brand of cynicism is leagues more schooled and sophisticated than the cynicism in the East. You could learn a whole lot from us so get on with it already, he did not say either.
“Some maintain their own victim status, instead of confidently pointing out their valuable experience in adapting to massive social upheaval, compared to the West.”









