Merkel To Discuss Human Rights While In China

February 1, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hysteria Tags: Berlin, China, Currency Reserves, Economy, Euro, Euro Zone, German, Germans, Germany, Humor, Investment, Reserves, Satire 2 Comments

Very, very, discretely, that is. If at all.

After all, what are draconian measures against Chinese civil rights activists, state censorship and unrest in Tibet compared to all those trillions of dollars of Chinese currency reserves just waiting to be invested in debt-ridden euro zone countries like, well, her own? And waiting and waiting and waiting, I might add.

Who says grovelling will get you nowhere? Maybe I did. But at least it’s worth a try.

“Chinese investments are expressly welcome. They will be sought, used and appreciated — both in Germany and in the rest of the euro zone.”

Electric Cars Bad, Too

January 30, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Heconomy, Hi-tech, High Art, Hysteria Tags: Alternative Energy, Berlin, CO2, E-cars, Ecology, German, Germans, Germany, Green Shirts, Humor, Renewable energy, Satire, The Greens 1 Comment

For the climate, I mean.

How piquant or exquisite or unintentionally funny or something. An eco-study by an eco-institute (Öko-Institut) has just found out that eco-cars of the ecolectric kind are not nearly as ecological for the ecology as assumed (is there an eco in here?).

Basing its findings upon the amount of additional electricity these cars will have to use in the future, the study determined that if this energy does not come from renewable energy sources (a most unlikely likelihood at this time, it appears), then this increase in electricity production will actually prove to have a detrimental effect upon the so-called climate balance.

Exhaust or not, it must be clear by now that this subject will never be exhausted.

Als Grund nennt das Öko-Institut die Strommengen, die durch Elektroautos verbraucht werden. Die Klimabilanz wäre nur dann ausgewogen, wenn dafür zusätzliche Mengen erneuerbarer Energie in den Strommarkt eingeführt würden.

Don’t Worry, Be Happy

January 27, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, History, Hypocrisy, Hysteria Tags: Berlin, Europe, German, Germans, Germany, Humor, Military, Satire, US Troops 4 Comments

God punishes us, I mean you, by giving you what you want.

The 1960s saw demonstrations across West Germany against the Vietnam war and the 1980s brought large protests outside some U.S. bases against plans to deploy new medium-range nuclear missiles. U.S. forces have always been viewed by some, especially on the political left, with hostility, as occupiers.

“We Germans fought for the Russians to go, now we are fighting for the Americans to stay.”

Those No Good Greek Tax Evaders!

January 23, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Heconomy, Hypocrisy Tags: Berlin, EU, Euro, German, Germans, Germany, Greece, Humor, Satire, Tax evasion, Taxes, The Euro Crisis Leave a comment

Greece’s finance ministry has named 4,152 individuals as major tax dodgers that owe the state a combined 14.9 billion euros in unpaid back taxes as part of a campaign to name and shame tax evaders.

And Germany is empört (indignant), as usual. The interesting thing about the list though are some of the Greek names, I find. These are names like Grundmann, Hutter und Elstner. They almost sound like, I dunno, like German names. But that can’t be. Germans don’t evade taxes, right? Not unless they live in Greece, they don’t.

Einige der Namen klingen für hiesige Ohren seltsam vertraut: Namen wie Grundmann, Hutter und Elstner. Schulden Deutsche den Griechen Geld?

“I’m smarter than Bill Gates”

January 20, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Habeas Corpus, Heconomy, Hi-tech, Hypocrisy Tags: Berlin, Crime, German, Germans, Germany, Humor, Internet Crime, Kim Dotcom, Megaupload, Satire, The Internet 3 Comments

And I’m bigger, too (maybe bigger than two or three of them). But I’m in jail now, which isn’t all that smart, although it smarts my pride, which is at least as big as I am.

Hey, what’s a little copyright infringement, money laundering and racketeering on a massive scale these days? Ain’t no big deal, says German hacker millionaire/thief and self-proclaimed god Kim Dotcom (don’t ask, it’s an old German name or something). “You’ll never get me alive, coppers!” he also said, locking himself in his panic room. But then they got him after all. And now, if found guilty in the US of A, he could get up to 20 years in jail.

But that’s not the worst of it. After they arrested him they did the most worstest and awfulest thing you could ever do to a German ever: They impounded his cars.

Many of the cars had vanity licence plates, including a Rolls-Royce Phantom bearing “GOD”, an AMG Mercedes carrying “HACKER”, and another labelled “MAFIA”.

We Are Still More Equal Than The Rest Of You

January 19, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helections, Hypocrisy Tags: Berlin, Corrupt Politicians, Corruption, German, Germans, Germany, Humor, Money, Politicians, Satire Leave a comment

German lawmakers are like lawmakers everywhere else on the planet. At least when it comes to giving themselves raises, they are. They give themselves modest raises, of course, albeit at very regular intervals, and as quietly as humanly possible.

This time they’re giving themselves a ridiculously measly 500 euro a month raise, bringing the grand total up to a less than measly 10,700 euros per month.

Now that may seem like a lot to you, but it really isn’t. Ask any SPD man and he’ll tell you why: “Representatives cannot be compared to those in lower income brackets.”

Well there we have it. They have to be on equal footing with others out there with, uh, I dunno, lots of money? Otherwise they might be susceptible to corruption or something. And we (I mean you) don’t want that because in Germany, as you may know, there is no corruption. So shut up and pay up.

“Abgeordnete kann ich nicht vergleichen mit unteren Einkommensgruppen.”

The Three Percent Solution?

January 18, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hi-tech, Hysteria Tags: Berlin, German, Germans, Germany, Green Shirts, Humor, Renewable energy, Satire, Solar energy, The Greens 3 Comments

Three percent. That’s how much solar energy contributes to Germany’s overall energy mix (now don’t go be a jerk and break it to the Germans that the sun doesn’t shine very much here).

But that doesn’t really matter because, jeepers, that measly three percent only costs consumers half of the total 17 billion euros they have to shell out for renewable energy here.

It’s the principle of the matter, you see. If the Germans left this solar energy stuff up to the free market (that means no subsidies), then solar power’s contribution would be even lower than three percent – at none of the cost – and just think about how ridiculous they would look then.

And (even) the Spiegel says: Solar Subsidy Sinkhole

Sinking Ships Can’t Stop Them

January 17, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Home Cooking Tags: Berlin, German, Germans, Germany, Humor, Satire, Travel, Vacation Leave a comment

Ethiopian gunmen can’t stop them.

Germans just can’t stop going on vacation. It’s what they do.

And that’s why they win the Reiseweltmeisterpreis (World Champion Travellers Award) every year. It’s not a real award, of course, but Germans are always talking about it as if it were (and only a German would be interested in winning an award like that in the first place, come to think of it).

And in 2011, the German nation spent 60 billion euros (that’s billion with a b) on travel.

“Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travelers don’t know where they’re going.”

Die Deutschen bleiben Reiseweltmeister. Über 60 Milliarden Euro gaben sie laut einer Studie 2011 für Reisen ins Ausland aus.

Berlin Fashion Weak

January 16, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Heconomy, High Art, Humor Tags: Berlin, Berlin Fashion Week, Fashion, German, Germans, Germany, Humor, Mode, Satire 5 Comments

Hell if I know if they’ll be presenting this elegant ensemble at this year’s freak, I mean show.

All I know is that German fashion (or any other kind of fashion, for that matter) is clearly way too deep for me.

Neben zahlreichen Messen, darunter die Premium am Gleisdreieck, bietet die Fashion Week viel Klatsch und Tratsch bei Empfängen und Partys.

Our Autobahns Don’t Stink

January 15, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helections, Helplessness, Hypocrisy Tags: Berlin, Ecology, German, Germans, Germany, Humor, Infrastructure, Renewable energy, Satire, The Greens Leave a comment

Remember how the Greens in Berlin shot themselves in the foot after elections last fall by sticking ever so stickily to sticky green principles by just saying no to a two-mile stretch of Berlin autobahn that everybody in town wanted but them?

It was a stellar performance in reality check checking and how not to form a coalition government with the SPD even though everyone seemed convinced up until then that the Greens were either going to take over the Berlin city goverment completely or at least play a major role as junior partner (neither happened).

Well surprise, surprise. Green shirt ideologues what’s upstairs have now just okayed a working paper calling for a more offensive and quite massive expansion of the German autobahn system in West Germany. This is not a sell-out of green principles, however, not that you were even thinking that.

Green autobahns, as you may know, are made of biodegradable concrete and recycled plastic ALDI shopping bags, constructed using environmentally friendly green technology (wind-, I mean hot air-powered) and progressive landscaping techniques which allow for low carbon tire prints, renewable eco-outhouse rest stop stops and an overal eco-friendly and very green if not rather high global environmental greenhouse impact.

Alles im grünen Bereich, wie immer.

Observing Hermann

“Was interessiert mich mein Geschwätz von gestern?”

Category Archives: Heconomy