Category Archives: Helplessness

I sea what you did there…

December 4, 2023 By in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

But I’m not shore if you were serious.

What goes around comes around.

Island strife: Greece serves Germany a dose of its own medicine – A former minister in Athens turns the tables with a proposal that recalls unwelcome advice during the debt crisis.

As Greece sank into the mother of all debt crises in 2010, the German tabloid Bild ran a story under the headline: “Sell your islands, you bankrupt Greeks! And sell the Acropolis, too!”

One former Greek government minister never forgot the newspaper’s impertinent advice. Like a reincarnation of Nemesis, the ancient Greek goddess, Panagiotis Lafazanis last week recommended — in an interview with Bild, no less — that Germany should consider selling an island or two to overcome a budgetary emergency of its own.

Lone Muslim + terror attack = “undergoing psychiatric treatment”

December 3, 2023 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

That’s the standard European media formula used in cases like this.

They have ready-made templates for “stories” like this, all prepared in their top desk drawer, so-to-speak. They are meant to absolve the powers that be (and “the religion of peace” itself, of course) from its duties of addressing the real problem. And it works like a charm. Every time.

German tourist killed and two others injured in central Paris attack – Police arrest a man known to authorities as a radical Islamist after passersby attacked near Eiffel Tower.

The climate cr-cr-cr-crisis-is-is…

December 2, 2023 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

Is making it cr-cr-critically c-cold here at the moment.

Ausgerechnet (of all times) in December, too. If I lived in Munich I’d fly to the south to escape if I could but I couldn’t so I wouldn’t so I won’t.

Germany: Munich airport suspends flights amid heavy – Flights at Germany’s second-biggest airport were canceled until noon. Heavy snow submerged the Bavarian capital, with public transport also suspended.

“Who?”

November 30, 2023 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

“Germany has a president?”

“You, there! You look official. Drive down to the airport when you get a minute and welcome him.”

Germany’s Steinmeier left waiting on tarmac in Qatar – Standing with arms folded at the doors of the airplane was probably not how German President Steinmeier thought he would spend almost 30 minutes of his official 3-hour visit to Doha...

In Germany, Doha’s influence on the Israel-Hamas war is seen as somewhat controversial as Qatar is home to Hamas’ political wing. That led some to wonder if Wednesday’s apparent snub was a response to statements made recently by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock prior to Al Thani’s long-planned visit to Berlin back in October.

“We do not accept support for terror,” Baerbock told public broadcaster ZDF at the time. “To put an end to this terrorism,” she added, “countries like Qatar have a special responsibility.”

Put a positive spin on it, I say. Maybe Germany’s Steinmeier was just being überpunktlich. German diplomat-types can often be that way. If they ever arrive at all. They’re not always so punctual when it comes to leaving, however.

It’s deadly out there

November 29, 2023 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hypocrisy Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

Climate crisis deadly.

And it’s getting deadlier all the time. Namely, whenever the temperature isn’t “just right.” Whatever “that “just right” might be.

German authorities urge people to stay home amid deadly winter weather – Authorities in western Germany on Tuesday urged residents to stay home, warning of life-threatening danger, after a burst of winter weather led to hazardous roads, leaving two people dead.

The sudden onset of winter led to several accidents and people being trapped in their vehicles due to slippery roads and fallen branches caused by snowfall in many parts of Germany.

Nothing to fear, Germans

November 28, 2023 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

You’ll never ever find yourselves in that role and everybody knows it. Like, we get it already. Yawn.

It would be nice, however, if you could maybe possibly perhaps put yourselves in the position to defend yourselves. Just saying.

Most Germans oppose military leadership role in Europe – 54% of Germans say they do not want Berlin to pursue more active foreign policy, and 71% say they are against taking on leadership role for Europe’s defense.

According to the survey, a majority of Germans are against a more militarized foreign policy, but support diplomatic efforts to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts.

More wiggle, wiggle, wiggle

November 27, 2023 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

They’re still squirming. 1) No money but lots and lots of things to spend it on (spending voters’ taxes is how they get votes). 2) Can’t raise taxes any higher (voters are already being taxed to death).

Let’s see. 3) There’s still this debt brake thing we could tweak (except we would need to change the German constitution and the opposition won’t help us).

This adds up to… Are you serious? Do you honestly mean to tell us that we now have no choice but to set priorities and, gulp, cut spending? OMG we’re all gonna die!

Germany’s budget crisis spurs calls to change its borrowing limits – Germany’s budget crisis has given new momentum to reforming self-imposed borrowing limits even among the opposition conservatives, as hunger for sorely needed investment trumps an earlier political obsession with fiscal rectitude.

It sounds too good to be true

November 25, 2023 By in Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

So, it probably isn’t.

US and Germany ‘plan to force Zelenskyy to negotiate’ through choking off arms supplies.

While outwardly expressing full support for Ukraine, behind closed doors in Berlin and Washington plans are being hatched to force Ukraine into talks with Russia to freeze the war on its current front lines, German newspaper BILD said in a report published on Nov. 24.

Asking a government to “fund honestly?”

November 24, 2023 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings, Hypocrisy Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

A government with Net Zero Honesty? Good luck with that.

The truth hurts too much.

Germany Faces the Green Fiscal Truth – The constitutional court rules Berlin will have to fund net zero honestly.

Things have gone from bad to worse in Germany this week after a court ruling that’s forcing the government to do something truly shocking: level with voters about how much the net-zero energy transition will cost. Please pass the smelling salts.