National Weapons Registry Planned For Nation In Which Practically Nobody Owns A Weapon

November 19, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Habeas Corpus, Habitudes, Helplessness, Hi-tech, Higher Education, Hysteria Tags: Berlin, EU, German, Germans, Germany, Gun control, Humor, Legislation, Satire, Weapons Leave a comment

Except criminals, of course (but they won’t have to get theirs registered).

Germany is introducing a national firearms registry that will be operational next year, implementing a European Union directive two years ahead of its due date.

The register will pool nearly 550 local-level databases of gun owners, the Interior Ministry said in an e-mailed statement today. The EU weapons directive requires every member state to put in place a national registry by December 31, 2014.

…In a second step, the registry will also track producers, traders and importers of legally bought weapons in Germany.

“The national weapons registry contributes significantly to the security in Germany.”

German Blue Cards Going Like Hotcakes

November 18, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Habeas Corpus, Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hi-tech, High Art, Higher Education, Home Cooking, Humor, Hurt Feelings Tags: Berlin, Blue Cards, Bureaucracy, German, Germans, Germany, Green Cards, Humor, Immigration, Labor, Satire, Skilled Workers, Xenophobia Leave a comment

A mass influx of skilled foreign laborers with “blue cards” to Germany is causing unexpected bureaucratic headaches and unsettling the already unsettled German xenophobic population at large.

So far, a grand total of 139 (that’s 1-3-9) foreign professionals have received the coveted card, camparable to the US-Amerikan “green card,” since its introduction in August.

“Wow. We had no idea just how bad people wanted to come here,” said one suprised immigration official. “This was way too easy. But how are we going to find jobs for all these folks now?”

Skilled employees from outside the European Union have apparantly been lining up everywhere and eating their achy breaky yearning little hearts out in earnest for this envied piece of blue plastic for quite some time now, partly due, it seems, to Germany’s celebrated image of being an overly bureaucratic and unwelcoming place for foreigners of all non-German kinds.

“German immigration law is still complicated and not very transparent for foreign skilled employees.”

These Blackouts Happened All The Time Before The Energy Turnaround Too

November 15, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hi-tech, High Art, Hurt Feelings, Hypocrisy, Hysteria Tags: Alternative Energy, Blackouts, Electricity, Energy Turnaround, German, Germans, Germany, Humor, Munich, Satire, The Green Shirts 1 Comment

Didn’t they?

Munich was the next big German city that suddenly and inexplicably lost power in a big way. But there is absolutely nothing to worry about here, people, because/and I quote: “We do not know what caused the technical problem but it has nothing to do with the energy turnaround or all this talk about unstable power grids.”

Many Munich residents took to social networking site Twitter to voice fears that such power cuts could become more frequent as Germany implements a wide-ranging program to switch from fossil and nuclear fuels to renewable energy.

Stromversorgung in Deutschland laut Netzagentur trotzdem sehr zuverlässig.

Speaking Of Sinking Ships

November 14, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hi-tech, High Art, Hurt Feelings, Hysteria Tags: Berlin, Energy Turnaround, German, Germans, Germany, Green Shirts, Hot Air, Nuclear energy, Wind Energy 3 Comments

EnbW Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg AG (EBK), Germany’s third-largest power supplier, postponed a decision to invest more than 1.5 billion euros ($1.9 billion) in a wind farm in the North Sea.

“We need legislative clarity and reliable conditions before we make an investment decision of considerably above 1.5 billion euros.”

“Where Is the Tax Money?”

November 13, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hi-tech, Higher Education, Hurt Feelings, Hysteria Tags: Alternative Energy, Desertec, Government spending, Humor, Ideology, Sahara, Satire, Solar energy, The Green Shirts 4 Comments

Here are some recent Desertec headlines – with the stress here on desert (as in to desert a sinking ship):

Bosch quits Desertec

Spain Delays Signing Onto Desertec Sahara Solar Project

Siemens to pull out of Desertec initiative

Algeria puts off decision on Desertec solar project

Desertec’s Promise of Solar Power for Europe Fades

As recently as three years ago, many thought that it was only a matter of time before solar thermal plants in North Africa supplied a significant portion of Europe’s energy needs. But Desertec has hit a road block. Industrial backers are jumping ship, political will is tepid and a key pilot project has suddenly stalled.

…The reasons for the political hesitance are clear. Renewable energy projects remain more expensive than traditional fossil fuel plants and tend to require government subsidies.

“Everybody is staring at each other and nobody moves. In this deadly, sometimes embarrassing silence, everybody is praising the project. And then silence again.”

Algeria

November 12, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hi-tech, Hypocrisy Tags: Arms Sales, Berlin, Exports, German, Germans, Germany, Pacifism, Satire, Weapons 5 Comments

Beautiful German weapon sale of the week.

Because somebody has to admire them.

Who Needs Sandy?

October 31, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hi-tech, Humor, Hurt Feelings, Hysteria Tags: Alternative Energy, Electricity, Energy, Frankfurt, German, Germans, Germany, Hurricane Sandy, Nuclear power, Solar Power, The Energy Turnaround, The Green Shirts, Wind Power Leave a comment

Thanks to this dad gern new-fangled Energiewende (energy turnaround), the power goes out in Germany “mit ohne” (without) a damned hurricane these days.

Es ist 16:32 Uhr, für die meisten ist der Feierabend nicht mehr weit. Da zuckt in den Büros kurz das Licht. Im Stadtteil Griesheim gehen die Lampen sogar ganz aus. Zeitumstellung. Es ist dunkel. Rund um die Innenstadt bricht mitten in der Rush Hour der Verkehr zusammen. Die Ampeln tun – zumindest nördlich des Mains – ihren Dienst nicht mehr. S- und Straßenbahnen bleiben auf offener Strecke stehen. In den U-Bahnen geht die Notbeleuchtung an.

Sure That Austrian Guy May Have Taken His Twenty-Four Mile Dive

October 18, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Hi-tech, High Art, Humor, Hurt Feelings Tags: Berlin, Daredevils, Draufgänger, Felix Baumgartner, German, Germans, Germany, Humor, Satire, Stunts, Videos 1 Comment

But can he do this?

Es gibt solche und solche (it takes all kinds).

Big Sister Assures Germans That 47-Percent Price Hike Actually Not Such A Bad Thing If You Think About It

October 15, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hi-tech, Humor, Hustle (Hoax), Hysteria Tags: Berlin, Dogma, Economics, Energiewende, German, Germans, Germany, Green energy, Humor, Ideology, Nuclear energy, Politics, Renewable energy, Satire, The Energy Turnaround, The Green Shirts Leave a comment

Not.

Worried about grassroots unrest after Germany’s electrical grid operators announced they were nearly doubling the charge consumers will pay to finance subsidies for renewable energy as Germany phases out nuclear power, Big Sister herself has reacted boldly and decisively by going into hiding and pretending as if none of this were really happening.

Long used to this tactic, worried German consumers were assured, sort of, as they will now be paying an additional 60 euros per year, “taking overall add-on power taxes up to about 185 euros.” But that’s just the start, of course.

Sheesh. Why do Germans see everthing energy turnaround-related so negatively these days? You know, like as in black? Or like as in blackouts, I should say?

“The costs for consumers and industry of the electricity price charge for renewable energy has risen to an unbearable degree.”

BEA-EADS-RIP

October 12, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Heconomy, Helplessness, Hi-tech, Hurt Feelings, Hypocrisy Tags: Airbus, BAE, Berlin, Bureaucracy, EADS, Economy, EU, German, Germans, Germany, Government Interference, Mergers, Politics Leave a comment

Massive political resistance or pure economic theory? Or both?

“From an economic perspective, this should of course be avoided. Pure economic theory would say that the state should stay out of it and leave the market alone.”

“The massive political resistance was ultimately too great to overcome.”

Observing Hermann

“Was interessiert mich mein Geschwätz von gestern?”

Category Archives: Hi-tech