He’s going to fix everything with his boss. And with Ukraine and all that.
Top lobbyists have that kind of clout or something.
German ex-Chancellor Schroeder meets Putin in Moscow – Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow for talks on ending the war in Ukraine, political news website Politico reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Germany is in a quandary over its dependency on Russian energy?
Quandary: a state of perplexity or uncertainty, especially as to what to do; dilemma.
When 50% of your oil, gas and coal comes from Russia, that’s no quandary at all. That just means you’re screwed.
Germany in a quandary over Russian energy – Germany has rejected a complete ban on Russian gas and oil imports over Russia invading Ukraine, but voices are growing louder for Berlin to ditch its economic imperative to take a moral stand.
I’d say. But maybe that’s just me.
Hey, the Germans couldn’t have done it without Angela Merkel.
Factbox: How dependent is Germany on Russian gas?
Russia has warned it may shut off its main Nord Stream gas pipeline to Germany after Berlin halted approval of a second line across the Baltic Sea in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
And that it should be stopped immediately. And the rest of us need to know that they think war is bad and that we, the less-cultured, should think it is bad too. War ain’t got no culture, in other words.
I know!, the cultured say after brainstorming. We’ll hold a “Concert for Peace.” That’s never been tried before. We will also make paintings of doves holding olive branches. That ought to have the desired effect. Anti-war books are also in the process of being written. Once they are published and airlifted to those making war, and read by them, this will definitely stop the war, provided it hasn’t been stopped already by, I dunno, all the cultured people of the world holding hands together and singing “Imagine” while waving Ukrainian flags with “No war!” on them to “express solidarity” or “make a statement” or “set a sign” and bring an end to this awful, culture-less conflict.*
But be warned, you war mongers out there: If none of this works, the culture may escalate. And you don’t want that.
*Yes, it’s true. Cultured people can hold hands together and wave a flag at the same time.
In Germany. Not nearly as bad as it was a few days ago, in fact. Just like that. It’s magic or something. It’s fracking inexplicable!
Germany Goes Ahead With First LNG Terminal to Cut Dependence on Russian Gas – Germany unveiled more details Saturday on its plan to build its first liquefied natural-gas terminals as it seeks to wean itself off its dependence on Russian gas.
The terminals are the latest step in Berlin’s diversification efforts that have been urgently ramped up in recent days following Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Germany gets around 55% of its gas from Moscow and has long been resistant to diversifying away from cheap and plentiful Russian energy supplies.
Germany last week halted the $11 billion Nord Stream 2 project, which would have doubled the capacity of an existing pipeline traveling along a similar route. The government also announced plans for gas and coal storage and commissioned its gas market trading hub to buy LNG for 1.5 billion euros, or the equivalent of $1.64 billion, from outside Russia.
Of German bureaucracy. Has it finally come to an end for Tesla?
I still wouldn’t bet on it.
Tesla to win approval for $5.5 billion Berlin gigafactory on Friday – The German state of Brandenburg has called a news conference for Friday at which it is widely expected to approve Tesla’s (TSLA.O) 5 billion euro ($5.5 billion) gigafactory near Berlin if certain conditions are met.
“The approval procedure for the e-car and battery factory of the U.S. company Tesla in Gruenheide in Brandenburg is nearing completion,” the state government said in a statement.
Uh, believe me. Germany is still sleeping. Sound asleep. And a giant is the last thing it is. Certainly not when it comes to its military.
Europe’s Sleeping Giant Awakens – Politics in Berlin has undergone a cataclysm that no one saw coming.
Scholz announced that Germany would end its dependence on Russian gas (no, they won’t), spend an additional 100 billion euros on its military (a lot but not nearly enough), and deliver hundreds of anti-tank weapons and Stinger missiles to Ukraine in order to help its overmatched military counter Russia’s all-out assault (nice symbolic gesture). Germany may also be forced to extend the life of its nuclear plants to fill the energy gap created by the halt to Russian gas supplies (ha, ha, ha).
“Freedom does not mean as much in Germany as it might in other places,” this person told me, speaking on the condition of anonymity in order to candidly discuss German political mores. “If the trade-off is between economic decline and an erosion of freedoms, Germany could well choose the latter.”
And would, of course. But Germany? Planet Germany? German Renewable Energy Disneyland itself? Do NOT place any bets on that one.
Explainer: Could Germany keep its nuclear plants running?
Of the 17 nuclear power plants Germany had at the time, only three remain in operation now: Isar 2, Emsland and Neckarwestheim 2, which are operated by German energy firms E.ON (EONGn.DE), RWE (RWEG.DE) and EnBW (EBKG.DE), respectively.
Under current plans, the plants, with combined capacity of 4,200 gigawatts (GW), will be shut down by the end of 2022.
The old days. When Germany could elegantly or less elegantly wiggle out of paying for its own defense (spending 2% GDP for defense like it had promised to pay many, many years ago).
Suddenly, inexplicably, now it’s possible after all. Mysterious, don’t you think? We need to find some experts to explain to us just how this change of heart was made possible.
Putin Accidentally Started a Revolution in Germany – The invasion of Ukraine is triggering a dramatic reversal of Berlin’s grand strategy.
In seven days, Germany has axed its biggest Russian energy project, imposed sanctions that will cause significant pain at home, and instituted a course that will make Germany the largest European defense spender, with the most advanced aircraft and a growing forward presence in Central and Eastern Europe. One can wonder whether Germany’s dedicated detractors in Washington will notice. How did it happen so quickly, when German officials had so tenaciously defended their status quo policies for so long?
Or as Jell-O, at least. Here’s the latest “Money Makes The World Go Around” going around in Germany (some still refer to it as “the EU”).
Cutting off Russia from the SWIFT global interbank payment system should not be part of the second EU sanctions package against Russia that EU leaders will decide upon at a meeting on Thursday in Brussels, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said.
He’s right, of course. Doing that would be one of the only things that would actually hurt Putin & Co. and that would be counterproductive.
Die Swift-Keule kommt nicht zum Einsatz.
Observing Hermann 