Category Archives: Hard Facts

Journalists Have Been Automated Consensus Machines (Robots) For Years

June 20, 2023 By in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hi-tech, Higher Education, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Why should editors get off the hook?

German tabloid Bild to replace range of editorial jobs with AI – Hundreds of redundancies expected as Axel Springer tells staff certain roles will ‘no longer exist as they do today.’

Germany’s Bild tabloid, the biggest-selling newspaper in Europe, is to replace a range of editorial jobs with artificial intelligence as part of a €100m costcutting programme expected to lead to hundreds of redundancies.

The newspaper would “unfortunately be parting ways with colleagues who have tasks that in the digital world are performed by AI and/or automated processes”, its owner, Europe’s largest media publisher, Axel Springer SE, said in an email to staff.

German Of The Day: “Unter Sich”

June 16, 2023 By in Hard Facts Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

That means among each other. Like, you know, “Americans among each other?”

American tourist killed, another injured in attack near Germany’s Neuschwanstein castle, police say – Neuschwanstein was the inspiration for the castle in Disney’s “Sleeping Beauty.”

An American tourist was killed and another was injured when they were attacked by an American man they met near the famous Neuschwanstein castle in southern Germany, authorities said Thursday…

The man then “physically attacked” the younger woman, police said. When the other woman tried to intervene, the man choked her and pushed her down a steep slope. He then apparently attempted to sexually assault the 21-year-old before also pushing her down the slope. Both women fell nearly 50 meters (165 feet), according to police.

Shouldn’t You Unveil A First-Ever Army First?

June 14, 2023 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

This is kind of like leading from behind. Or being led from a behind, if you get my drift.

Germany to unveil first-ever National Security Strategy – Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government is set to unveil Germany’s first National Security Strategy on Wednesday which aims to provide an overview of the country’s foreign policy and ensure a cohesive cross-ministry approach to security.

Germany has had policy documents in the past addressing security but Scholz’s three-way coalition agreed it wanted a more comprehensive strategy in its pact in November 2021.

There’s Something In The Air

June 13, 2023 By in Hard Facts Tags: , , , Leave a comment

After six years of careful planning, NATO officially launched its 2023 Air Defender military exercise in Germany on Monday; 23 NATO countries—including newest member Finland—will participate, as will nonmember Sweden, whose bid to join the alliance has been stalled by Turkey and Hungary. Japan, which last month began talks to establish the bloc’s first liaison base in Asia to counter China, is also participating as an observer.

Depends On The Woman, I Guess

June 12, 2023 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

And what is a woman these days, anyway?

1 in 3 German men find violence against women ‘acceptable’ – A survey commissioned by Plan International Germany found that 33% of male respondents thought violence against women was acceptable. Almost half of respondents also felt “disturbed” by public displays of homosexuality.

According to a new survey, 33% of men aged 18-35 thought it was “acceptable” if “their hand slipped” occasionally during an argument with their female partner, while 34% of respondents admitted that they had been violent towards women in the past.

German Of The Day: Deprimiert

June 9, 2023 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means depressed.

German bosses are depressed – And dissatisfied with the government.

We are at a dangerous point,” worries Arndt Kirchhoff, boss of the employers’ association in North Rhine-Westphalia and one of three brothers who run Kirchhoff, a maker of car components. Germany recently slipped into a technical recession. Many companies are investing abroad rather than at home. Chinese consumers are importing less after the lifting of pandemic restrictions than German manufacturers had been hoping. And Ukraine’s counter-offensive against Russian invaders is injecting uncertainty into Germany’s backyard.

The Real Reason Why Germans Won’t Stop Speeding?

June 8, 2023 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Like, duh. Because they like it.

This ain’t rocket science or anything.

The real reason Germans won’t stop speeding – If Germany would implement a speed limit on its highways, it could reduce millions of tons of carbon emissions each year. Most other rich industrial countries already have one. What’s behind this German love of speeding?