Category Archives: Helplessness

German of the day: Wahnhaft

June 27, 2025 By in Heconomy, Helplessness, Home Cooking, Hard Facts, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means delusional.

Merz ‘delusional’ over US sparing German cars in EU trade deal – Brussels has warned German chancellor not to expect UK-style carve-out for car sector in EU deal with Donald Trump.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz is “delusional” in his expectation that Germany’s car industry will be spared from US tariffs, according to EU officials involved in trade talks with the Trump administration.

Merz has been pressing the European Commission, which manages trade policy on behalf of the EU’s 27 member states, to sign a “framework” deal with Washington aping the US-UK agreement signed earlier this month, which included a special dispensation for cars.

But Brussels officials have privately told Berlin that such an arrangement would not be possible, as reducing German car imports is a big focus for US President Donald Trump, two people briefed on the discussions told the Financial Times.

Hold your horses there, Germany

June 25, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

First the army. Then you can have the nukes.

Most Germans want Europe to have its own nuclear umbrella, poll finds – Nearly two-thirds of Germans support a European nuclear deterrent independent of the United States, according to a new poll released Monday, marking a dramatic shift in public opinion amid growing concerns about American commitment.

The survey found 64% of Germans back the concept of a European nuclear umbrella that doesn’t rely on Washington, with support spanning age groups, regions, and political parties — an unusual consensus in German policy debates.

Trash Pandamonium!

June 20, 2025 By in Helplessness, Hard Facts Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

A raccoon’s home is his Kassel.

Try putting a tarriff on this American export, Europe.

Rampaging raccoons: how the American mammals took over a German city – and are heading across Europe – Many in Kassel have embraced the animal but the EU classes it as an invasive species and ecologists are divided about what to do next.

In Kassel, everyone has a story about raccoons. Some struggle with a family of them that moved into their roof and simply will not leave. Others recount how a picnic in the park turned into an ambush as gangs of the black and white animals, known in Germany as Waschbären, raided the food. Almost everyone seems to have a neighbour who feeds them, to the annoyance of the entire street.

Why older Germans are opting for military service?

June 19, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

Ah, because younger Germans aren’t?

Prepared to defend: Why older Germans are opting for military service – Thomas Hüser did not serve his country in uniform and with a weapon in the early 1990s, but instead opted to work for a year as a care assistant for the elderly – as was his right under Germany’s laws on alternative military service.

However, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the 54-year-old had a major rethink on his earlier moral stance on taking up arms.

“In the face of global threats, serving in the armed forces is a question of solidarity. Only a strong military can protect us,” said Hüser, a communications expert and manager who runs a zinc smelter in the northern German state of Lower Saxony.

But nine out of ten do

June 18, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

At least.

Germany: One in four immigrants doesn’t want to stay – Why are immigrants leaving Germany? A new study shows that other countries are more attractive to economically successful foreigners. Discrimination also plays a major role.

“Twenty-six percent, or around 2.6 million people, say that they actually considered leaving Germany last year, i.e., they thought about leaving the country,” said Yuliya Kosyakova, head of the Migration, Integration, and International Labor Market Research Division at the IAB, as she summarized the figures at the presentation of the study in Berlin. “Around 3%, or 300,000 people, already have concrete plans to leave.”

This guy showing off any kind of skills is a surprise to me

June 17, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

Prince Harry shows off surprise language skills in message in German to mark its first Veterans Day.

Prince Harry has demonstrated his German language skills in an emotional message as the country held its first ever Veterans Day.

The Duke of Sussex was invited by Germany’s defence minister to deliver a statement at the inaugural event.

While he delivered most of his speech, shared on Instagram, in English, he did both start and end it in German.

German of the day: Lebenslänglich

June 16, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means jail for life. Which actually means only fifteen (15) years in Germany.

German court sentences Syrian doctor to life in jail for crimes against humanity – Alaa Mousa accused of torturing detainees at military hospitals during Syrian civil war under former ruler Bashar al-Assad…

Mousa has lived in Germany for 10 years. He worked in various clinics over five years as an orthopaedic medic, most recently at a hospital in Bad Wildungen in the state of Hessen, in western Germany, until his arrest in summer 2020. He was recognised and reported to the authorities after some of his victims saw him in a TV documentary about the Syrian city of Homs and was placed in custody. The court case against him at Frankfurt’s higher regional court started in January 2022 and took place over nearly 190 days.

We cannot work with open software just as well as we cannot work with Microsoft products

June 15, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

So this move is a no-brainer.

German civil service marches on.

‘We’re done with Teams’: German state hits uninstall on Microsoft – Frankfurt (Germany) (AFP) – At a time of growing concern over the power of the world’s mighty tech companies, one German state is turning its back on US giant Microsoft.

In less than three months’ time, almost no civil servant, police officer or judge in Schleswig-Holstein will be using any of Microsoft’s ubiquitous programs at work.

Instead, the northern state will turn to open-source software to “take back control” over data storage and ensure “digital sovereignty”, its digitalisation minister, Dirk Schroedter, told AFP.

“We’re done with Teams!” he said, referring to Microsoft’s messaging and collaboration tool and speaking on a video call — via an open-source German program, of course.

German of the day: Veteranentag

June 14, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, History Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means Veterans Day.

Germany’s first since, well, ever. Breaking taboos is hard to do.

Germany will hold its first celebration of veterans since the second world war on Sunday, as the nation recalibrates its complex relationship with the armed forces in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Germany breaks taboo with first celebration of veterans since second world war

Russian aggression in Ukraine has helped drive a historic shift in attitudes towards military.

Defence minister Boris Pistorius will join current and former soldiers and members of the public taking part in a day of events across the country — including at a “veterans’ village” constructed in front of the Reichstag in Berlin.

It marks a historic shift in a nation where anything that could be viewed as a display of militarism was for years seen as taboo.