German of the day: Asyl-Magnet

September 26, 2023 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: Asylum Seekers, Borders, Europe, German, Germany, Immigration, Language, Migrants, Politicians Leave a comment

That means asylum magnet.

As in “Asylum magnet Germany. This is why everybody wants to come here.“

For one thing, Germany practically never deports anyone. More than 300,000 foreigners who are obliged to leave the country are still here. And “the word is out.”

Then you also get paid once you get here. You get free healthcare and a free place to live. What’s not to like? Unless you’re a German taxpayer who gets nothing, nothing other than the next tax increase and unaffordable rents, if she can find a place to rent at all.

Here are the current asylum seeker salaries now available throughtout Europe:

Come “visit” Germany today!

Nobody wants “polluting cars”

September 24, 2023 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: Bans, Climate, CO2, EU, Fuels, Germany, Industry, Pollution Leave a comment

The only problem with policies to ban these is that CO2 isn’t a pollutant.

Politicians are “driven by ideology, not facts?” No kidding. If only we could develop a car that runs on ideology. The world would never run out of fuel.

German firm to sue EU over ban on polluting cars.

E-fuel maker Lühmann says the plan to phase out diesel and petrol cars across the European Union by 2035 is “driven by ideology, not facts.” The company wants to ramp up sales of greener synthetic fuels.

Largest housing price drop in 2000 years?

September 23, 2023 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: Construction, Economy, Germany, Housing, Prices, Real Estate, Rents Leave a comment

Damn. That’s a big drop.

Oh. Since the year 2000. But still.

German housing prices show sharpest drop since 2000 year over year, statistics office says – German housing prices fell by the most since records began in the second quarter as high interest rates and rising materials costs took their toll on the property market in Europe’s largest economy, government data showed on Friday.

Residential property prices fell by 9.9% year-on-year, the steepest decline since the start of data collection in 2000, the federal statistics office said. Prices fell by 1.5% on the quarter, with steeper declines in larger cities than in more sparsely populated areas.

Green Germany looks more black to me

September 22, 2023 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: Coal, Dependency, Energy, Gas, Germany, Greens, Laws, Legislation, Nuclear power, Politicians, Renewables Leave a comment

Black as night when you turn off the light.

The Green obsession with doing without is in full nighttime bloom.

Germany passes law to make energy savings compulsory – Germany’s lower house of parliament on Thursday passed a bill to make saving energy compulsory in all economic sectors, a move intended to help fight climate change and curb use of imported fossil fuels.

The Energy Efficiency Act, introduced by the Greens-led economy ministry, includes regulation for energy savings in public buildings, industry and fast-growing data centres across Germany, with the goal of a 26.5% cut by 2030 from 2008.

Spurred by fears that persistently low Russian gas supplies could lead to shortages, the German government introduced some initial energy-saving measures last year, including banning heating for private swimming pools and encouraging people to work from home.

Don’t cry for me, Argentina

September 21, 2023 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: Economy, Energy, Gas, GDP, Germany, Greens, Renewables Leave a comment

Actually, go ahead.

Go ahead and cry for me, Argentina. We can cry together, if you want.

Germany Joins Argentina as Only G-20 Member Facing GDP Drop – Germany faces the only contraction in any Group of 20 economy aside from Argentina this year, according to the OECD, which cut its outlook through 2024.

The euro-zone country will suffer a 0.2% drop in gross domestic product in 2023 — down from a previous projection for stagnation, the Paris-based organization said in new forecasts published Tuesday. It will then grow only 0.9% in 2024, down from 1.3% anticipated in June.

What happened?

September 20, 2023 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: Dependency, Energy, Gas, Germans, Germany, Greens, Industry, Nuclear energy, Renewable energy Leave a comment

The Greens happened.

Now it’s US-Amerika‘s turn (some call it The Banana Republic).

Germany went from envy of the world to the worst-performing major developed economy. What happened?

For most of this century, Germany racked up one economic success after another, dominating global markets for high-end products like luxury cars and industrial machinery, selling so much to the rest of the world that half the economy ran on exports.

Jobs were plentiful, the government’s financial coffers grew as other European countries drowned in debt, and books were written about what other countries could learn from Germany.

No longer. Now, Germany is the world’s worst-performing major developed economy, with both the International Monetary Fund and European Union expecting it to shrink this year.

Green Diplomacy

September 19, 2023 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: Annalena Baerbock, China, Diplomacy, Germany, Greens, Ukraine Leave a comment

It’s a lot like Green energy utopia. It has nothing to do with the real world.

Real world diplomacy rule number one: Never actually speak the truth.

Beijing summons German ambassador after foreign minister calls Xi Jinping a ‘dictator’ – While they are major trade partners, Berlin-Beijing ties have been fraying as some in the German government take a harder line over issues ranging from human rights to Taiwan.

Baerbock, who has pushed for a more hawkish line, made the remarks in a Fox News interview on Thursday during a visit to the US.

While talking about the Ukraine war, she said: “If Putin were to win this war, what sign would that be for other dictators in the world, like Xi, like the Chinese president? So therefore Ukraine has to win this war.”

Orange is the new Green

September 18, 2023 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: Activists, Berlin, Climate, Germany, Greens, Hysteria, Last Generations, Protests Leave a comment

Hmmm. Looks like oil-based paint to me.

They better make those protestors put everything back in the orange-inal condition.

Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate Spray-Painted by Climate Activists – Climate activists sprayed orange and yellow paint on the columns of Berlin’s landmark Brandenburg Gate on Sunday to push demands for a stop to the use of fossil fuels by 2030.

“Members of the so-called ‘Last Generation’ sprayed the columns on the east side of the Brandenburg Gate with orange paint from fire extinguishers during the morning,” Berlin police said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

It added that police officers noticed a hydraulic lift was being operated at the gate and they kept the protesters from scaling the landmark building. They arrested all 14 protesters at the site and launched an investigation into property damage.

It’s not like I want to tell you that I told you so…

September 17, 2023 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: Asylum Seekers, Borders, EU, Germany, Immigration, Migrants, Migration Leave a comment

But actually, I do.

I told you so.

Germany says it will keep taking in migrants from Italy after all – Germany has decided to keep taking in migrants and refugees arriving in Italy, the interior minister said late on Friday, two days after it announced the suspension of a voluntary agreement with Rome to receive new arrivals.

Under an European Union solidarity scheme, Germany had pledged to help member states such as Italy that are particularly overwhelmed by migrants by taking in 3,500 people, but it announced the suspension of the accord on Wednesday.

Revive Germany by strangling it?

September 16, 2023 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: Economy, Energy, Germany, Greens, Nuclear energy, Renewables, SPD Leave a comment

What a novel idea!

Let’s give it a try.

Scholz’s Dream of Climate Revolution to Revive Germany Is Dying – Chancellor’s ambition for economic miracle is floundering.

Coalition is reeling from months of infighting over green plan…

Another big brake on growth and investment is energy costs. Although lower than last year’s records, gas and power prices are still between two to three times the level compared with before the war in Ukraine.

Observing Hermann

“Was interessiert mich mein Geschwätz von gestern?”

Category Archives: Helplessness