Berlin Instructing Washington On How It Will Get Its Way

But they are doing so in a way that will help create the illusion that the current Banana Republican administration in Washington has something to say in the matter.

Germany, U.S. hold talks in Washington on Nord Stream 2, Berlin says – Germany and the United States are holding talks in Washington to try to resolve a row over the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Tuesday…

Russia’s Gazprom (GAZP.MM) and its Western partners are racing to finish the Nord Stream 2 pipeline under the Baltic Sea. The project, now about 95% complete, would bypass Ukraine, potentially depriving it of lucrative transit fees and undermining its struggle against Russian aggression.

If It’s Not Red Tape It’s Red Anarchy

Doing business in Germany 101. Elon Musk may have met his match.

Far-left activists claim responsibility for Tesla factory site fire in Germany – Investigators examining letter from group claiming to be behind fire at Grünheide ‘Gigafactory’ site.

“Tesla is neither green, ecological nor social.”

German Naturalisations Fall As British Nationals Realize Just How Much Europe Sucks

Sorry. I meant as the “Brexit effect” fades, of course.

German ‘naturalisations’ fall as Brexit effect fades – The number of foreigners who obtained German nationality last year fell by 15% to 109,900, and half the decline was due to fewer British nationals becoming citizens of Germany, the Federal Statistics Office said on Wednesday…

In the five years since the 2016 Brexit referendum, a total of 36,500 Britons have naturalised in Germany, the Office added. In 2020, the number fell to 4,900 from a peak of 14,600 in 2019.

Is This The Shot In The Foot?

The German Greens are notorious for this. Whenever they are doing well in the polls, which is the case at the moment, they say something so revealing, that is, so ridiculous about their policies, that they single-handedly manage to turn this trend around.

This time the shot may have come from Robert Habeck, the Green boy boss who was edged out of the running as head honcho by the Green girl boss Annalena Baerbock. How much he resents this we’ll probably never know but in a talk show last night the possibility of raising the price of gasoline as high as 60 euros per liter (per liter, not gallon) was addressed. You know, to make the world a greener place and save humanity and all that? Under her leadership, of course.

I’m not sure but I can’t imagine even the greenest of German Green going along with that one. Unless they’re really green behind the ears.

„Der klimawirksame Gewinn ist nicht so besonders hoch. Das muss man einfach zugeben. Es ist eher ein Beispiel dafür, was man alles machen kann, was niemandem wirklich weh tut. Die ökonomische Frage, wie teuer Fliegen wird, ist davon zu trennen.“

Bureaucracy? In Germany?

No way.

No way this is a news item, I mean.

Tesla’s Musk blames bureaucracy for German gigafactory delays – Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk called for cuts to German red tape on Monday as he said it was unclear when exactly the first electric car would roll off the production line of its planned plant outside Berlin.

This guy really is a visionary, a dreamer. If he actually believes this could ever be possible in Germany: “There should be some kind of active process for removal of rules. Otherwise, over time, the rules will just accumulate and you get more and more rules until eventually you can’t do anything.”

Angela Merkel Is A Lot Of Things

But brain dead isn’t one of them.

“The protection of intellectual property is a source of innovation and must remain so in the future.”

US-Germany rift as Berlin opposes plan to ditch Covid vaccine patents.

Germany says waiver would inhibit private sector research.
Opposition to Biden plan threatens to deadlock WTO talks.

“The limiting factors in the production of vaccines are the production capacities and the high-quality standards and not patents.”

We’re Doing This For Your Own Good

At least you won’t have to worry about getting COVID-19 once you’re living on the street.

Germany’s Small Business Owners Fight To Survive Amid Fears Of A Wave Of Insolvency – Tens of thousands of German companies in the service, retail and travel industries have teetered on the edge of bankruptcy since the pandemic began.

“Before the second lockdown, I took out credit as a buffer. I’ve managed because of that, but the aid I’m getting is going straight into paying off that debt.”

Now That You Are Part Of The Borg Hive We Will Allow You To Go To The Hairdresser

Hey, wait a minute. The Borg don’t have any hair! There’s some kind of conspiracy going on here, people. I’m telling you.

Bavaria and Berlin ease Covid rules for vaccinated people – A handful of German states have announced they are lifting some Covid restrictions for fully vaccinated people – ahead of the federal government’s schedule.

Bavaria will no longer require people who have received both Covid jabs to get rapid Antigen tests before activities like going to the hairdresser, state premier Markus Söder said on Tuesday.

German Of The Day: Den Himmel Auf Erden Haben

That means “having Heaven on Earth” and that’s an idiom that could only come from Germany.

They’ve tried at least two forms of German socialism creating Heaven on Earth already that I know of. They failed miserably at both, of course. But at least they tried, people.

‘Heaven on earth’ and other German expressions – The pandemic has been dominating headlines over the year, but our planet is also begging for attention. To honor Earth Day, here are a few “down-to-earth” idioms from the German language.

We’re From Berlin’s “Red-Redder-Green” City Government And We’re Here To Help

And now you have to pay back the rest of the rent you didn’t have to pay this past year or so, sorry about out that.

Our unconstitutional rent control plan was bat shit crazy from the start but at least we meant well, and that’s the main thing.

Angry Berlin renters protest court ruling – A decision by Germany’s constitutional court has sparked fears among renters that they could now be hit with sudden rent increases.