Salvation Complex

Is not all that complex, really.

Salvation

Germany remains the “country of prohibitions.” Why? Because Germans like them. „Verboten ist, was nicht ausdrücklich erlaubt ist.“ Whatever is not expressly allowed is forbidden.

In truth, Germany’s salvation complex is deeply and culturally ingrained, and has a track record for giving rise to the kind of blind activism that typically hurts stated objectives in the end. As Chancellor Angela Merkel battles to keep the lights on for households and businesses barely coping with record-high energy prices thanks to the much-hyped Energiewende, it is clear that German’s hamfisted attempt at a speedy energy transition is the most tragic example of environmental zealousness to date.

 

Give Me Your 30,000 Jobs Or I Crush You!

Tesla’s German gigafactory held up by sand lizard – Court halts work cutting down trees because of conservation fears for the protected species.

Gorn

This is how Germany works, folks. Or doesn’t work. Take your pick it’s both.

Some commentators have warned that the court decision to stop the forest clearance was a bad omen. Marcel Fratzscher, head of the DIW, a think-tank, said it highlighted the “heavy bureaucratic burden and high regulatory uncertainty, which make it costly and time-consuming for companies to realise investment projects” in Germany.

“German law is too often held hostage by vested interests so that Germany is at risk of becoming less attractive as a location for businesses,” he said.

“Like most Humans,” said Captain Kirk. “I seem to have an instinctive revulsion to reptiles. I must fight to remember that this is an intelligent, highly advanced individual, the captain of a starship like myself.”

 

Hard Lockdown, Lockdown Light, Christmas Lockdown…

Did Germans flock to the stores and through the crowds yesterday to get their Christmas shopping done before the big Christmas lockdown?

Lockdown

And to get their COVID19 infection while they were at it? Of course they did. They had to. But they know that their government is only locking them down for their own good so they are thankful that they were allowed to Christmas shop for as long as they did.

Germans flocked to the shops to get their Christmas shopping done. Now it’s forced them into lockdown for the holiday.

“The people are fed up with the situation.”

Not fed up enough, it seems. Happy Holidays!

How The Grinch Just Stole Christmas

In Germany. And no, it’s not the COVID-19 Grinch who did it. It was that other one with her evil elves below.

Lockdown

Germany set for nationwide hard lockdown from Wednesday: report – Germany is set to close most shops from Wednesday as it tightens lockdown curbs, according to a draft government proposal. Chancellor Angela Merkel is to meet with federal and state leaders on Sunday morning.

“Maybe Christmas doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more.”

You First

A spokesman for Angela Merkel’s government has announced that he expects coronavirus vaccinations to begin in Germany “in the very first days” of the new year.

Shot

And Germans being Germans and incredibly orderly and all that the same spokesman has indicated that government officials, himself included, will graciously wait their turn and let everyone else get their vaccinations first.

Merkel’s chief of staff, Helge Braun, told the Bild newspaper late Sunday that he will tell medical authorities he’s prepared to help. He said “that won’t work at every hour of the day or night as chief of staff, but at the weekend I’m prepared to join in.” He said that he and Merkel will get vaccinated “when it’s our turn.”

DIE GROSSE IMPF-DEBATTE – Welche Berufe sind zuerst dran?

France

Beautiful German weapon sale of the week.

Bombs

Because somebody has to admire them.

German defense contractor Rheinmetall on Wednesday announced the sale of MK-82-EP general purpose aircraft-dropped bombs to France and Germany.

The order, for about 2,000 bombs, totals $42.3 million, Rheinmetall said in a statement.

The 500-pound bomb bodies will be used by France’s Mirage 2000 and Rafale fighter planes, the Direction General de l’Armament said, and as the warhead of the GBU-54 Laser Joint Direct Attack Munition system for Germany’s Tornado and Eurofighter platforms.

“German Health Official Says Coronavirus Restrictions Are Working”

While the same German official confirms the highest daily rate of infections so far (23,648 new cases).

Lockdown

Health officials can be that way. Once everybody has been infected with Coronavirus they will recommend that the government consider lifting of the current restrictions, I assume.

Speaking to reporters in Berlin, Robert Koch Institute chief Lothar Wieler said the number of new infections has since plateaued, with 22,609 reported on Thursday – roughly the same number as a week ago. He said the fact they are not rising is good news but cautioned that it was too early to say if this is a trend.

23.648 neue Fälle: Höchstand bei Corona-Neuinfektionen.

Even The German Public Is Starting To Get It

On the one hand, as the Washington Post itself put it: “Germany and France announce new national lockdowns, saying they have lost control of the coronavirus.”

Corona

On the other hand, the German government, for its part, still pretends that it has the situation under control and is trying desperately to prove this to the German public by introducing ever more restrictive measures. Das Chaos ist perfekt, in other words. Everything is perfectly chaotic.

German hostility to Merkel’s coronavirus shutdown grows – Chancellor Angela Merkel and Germany’s 16 state premiers spent four hours deliberating before announcing drastic measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The question now is how the Germans will react.

 

“Germany’s Smart, Simple Formula for Fighting Its Coronavirus Spike”

Isn’t working. And won’t work (in the mid- to long term). Their smart, simple formula last March (the big lockdown) didn’t work either.

Covid

But none of your readers are interested in that. You’ve trained them well.

When it’s come to fighting the coronavirus crisis, Germany has been a model among Western nations. Under Chancellor Angela Merkel’s leadership, the country’s swift and organized initial response to the pandemic kept deaths low and quickly pushed case rates down to a controllable level. Its successes have in many ways stood as the starkest contrast to America’s scattered, disastrous response—proof that a large democracy with a federal form of government could, in fact, get a handle on the disease.

But…

PS: Always remember that everything before “but” was a lie.

If Only The United States Could Do Everything Right Too

Remember: Corona only spikes in the United States because, well, we do everything wrong.

Light

Not so in ze Europe. Take Germany, for example. They’ve done everything right so far (face masks, social distancing, strict restrictions, etc). The Germans even did a big lockdown already, just a few months back. And now, because the first lockdown worked so well and was so much fun, I guess, Germany is going to lockdown again. Only this time they refer to it as a “lockdown light.” Light as in restaurants, bars, hotels, gyms etc. will no longer have any guests and professional sports events will be held without spectators. And everybody stays home, of course. Sound vaguely familiar? It should. It is. But maybe this light lockdown will be more effective than that heavy one they did first. It’s all a question of having a positive attitude. Something Germans are world famous for.

Germany to go into circuit-break lockdown as coronavirus surges – Germany will impose an emergency month-long lockdown that includes the closure of restaurants, gyms and theatres to reverse a spike in coronavirus cases that risks overwhelming hospitals, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday.