The Germans Have Great Faith In Authority?

Why shouldn’t they? It’s served them really well in the past.

The German Faith in Authority – The ongoing pandemic revealed two problematic aspects of German society. Firstly, there appears to be widespread faith in government bodies and their decisions – and secondly, and conversely, there is a lack of scepticism towards the political process and the players in it. This includes the lack of a critical approach towards mainstream media.

“While the German is still pondering, the French have been to the streets three times already.”

Germany Introduces Radically New Defense Concept

It’s never been tried before but the times they are a changin’ and call for desperate measures.

It goes like this: Instead of developing their own comparable European weapon system that will take three times longer to develop and cost three times more than planned (and then not work), Germany will buy a fully-functioning weapon system from US-Amerika that already exists and is immediately deliverable instead.

Germany to buy F-35 warplanes for nuclear deterrence – Germany will buy up to 35 copies of the U.S.-made F-35 fighter jet, reversing years-long plans that saw the fifth-generation warplane eliminated from consideration, defense leaders announced Monday.

German Of The Day: Kehrtwendung

That means u-turn.

In U-Turn, Germany Will Send Weapons to Ukraine – Germany will send weapons to Ukraine including antiaircraft missiles and tank-busting rockets in a reversal of earlier policy, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Saturday.

The U-turn was triggered by the Russian invasion, which Mr. Scholz said marked a turning point. “It is our duty to support Ukraine to the best of our ability in defending against Putin’s invading army,” Mr. Scholz said in a statement. “That is why we are delivering 1,000 antitank weapons and 500 Stinger missiles to our friends in Ukraine.”

German Of The Day: Bundesweit

That means nationwide.

You know, like “Thousands of opponents against the Corona measures took to the streets again nationwide Monday night?” And that came from one of Germany’s state TV channels too. Reminds me a bit of 1989. Sort of.

Thousands protest against Corona measures – Once again, numerous people have taken part in protests against the Corona regulations and against compulsory vaccination. The situation escalated in several cities: demonstrators attacked emergency forces.

German Of The Day: Fliegerbombe

That means aircraft bomb.

Four injured after old WWII aircraft bomb explodes in Munich – Four people were injured when an old aircraft bomb exploded at a bridge near Munich’s busy main train station on Wednesday, police said on Twitter, raising the number of wounded from three earlier.

Germans just yawn about this stuff. Happens too often. My personal favorite from a few years back:

15,000 Objects?

Is that all?

In the 1980s, he began collecting postcards, posters, leaflets, coins, newspapers, magazines, documents, stickers, figurines, photographs and films that testify to anti-Jewish sentiment with the express purpose of making them available to museums and archives as educational tools. He invested an estimated €1m in his collection, which includes an array of posters relating to the Dreyfus Affair, the armbands, diaries, passports and drawings of Jewish people imprisoned in concentration camps, and advertising material for the infamous antisemitic Nazi propaganda film Jud Süss (1940).

The collection “will help us and our visitors reach a deeper understanding of how widespread antisemitic views, images and hate propaganda were in Germany and other European countries from the middle of the 19th century,” says Raphael Gross, the director of the German Historical Museum.

Don’t Forget To Wear Your Mask While Setting Everything On Fire

Otherwise you’re going to be in big trouble.

Police, protesters clash during May Day rallies in Berlin – At least 5,000 protesters took to the streets on Saturday during May Day rallies in Berlin, clashing with police and injuring three officers, police said.

The injuries occurred after some demonstrators threw fireworks, bottles and rocks in protests over social inequality. About 5,600 police were deployed, and some responded with pepper spray in what marked the second May Day protests since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Demonstration in Berlin abgebrochen – Massive Angriffe gegen Polizei.

Tough Talk Is Cheap

But it’s still talk.

Merkel

Germany is flailing as the pandemic strikes again, not enough people are vaccinated and state leaders are dragging their feet. Merkel is now threatening to assert federal authority over measures to stem infections. It’s a blunt political instrument, and one rarely used.

Fact is, there’s not much she can do. Germany is a federal state designed to resist just such centralized, federal authority. Wonder why?