German of the day: Wärmepumpe

December 6, 2023 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: Budgets, Energy, German, Germany, Greens, Language, Spending Leave a comment

That means heat pump.

You know, the warming device that needs government subsidies to get anyone to install it (promised subsidies that will now no longer be offered)?

German heat pump rollout at risk as government suspends climate subsidies – Move could also undermine nine funding programmes, covering schemes from energy efficient homes to cargo bikes provision.

Nine funding programmes, covering everything from energy efficient homes to cargo bikes for commercial use, are now on hold as Olaf Scholz’s coalition government seeks to make savings of about €17bn (£15bn).

The government was thrown into a quandary last month over how to finance its ambitious environmental and industrial transformation programme (KTF) when the country’s highest court blocked its attempts to switch €60bn of pandemic-era borrowing to pay for it.

Time to say goodbye

December 5, 2023 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: Budgets, CO2, Coal, Economics, Germany, Government Waste, Greens, Renewables, Solar, Spending, Taxation, Wind Leave a comment

To your latest Green fantasies.

The money. She is gone, señor.

Germany’s Greens thought their moment had finally come… But then, last month, Germany’s top court handed down a ruling that effectively stripped the ruling coalition of the full financial firepower it needs to make those ambitions a reality.

The bombshell ruling by Germany’s Constitutional Court blew a €60 billion hole in the country’s finances, leaving the government scrambling to fill the gap. At the same time, the ruling sharply limits the government’s ability to draw from special funds created to circumvent the country’s constitutional debt brake, which restricts the federal deficit to 0.35 percent of GDP except in times of emergency.

These special funds were supposed to help finance several projects which are core to the Greens’ agenda — such as the transition of steel plants to hydrogen energy, subsidies for battery and microchip production, and the modernization of the country’s railway network.

Lone Muslim + terror attack = “undergoing psychiatric treatment”

December 3, 2023 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: Asylum Seekers, Attacks, Borders, EU, Europe, Germany, Islam, Islamists, Knives, Media, Migrations, MSM, Muslims, Paris, Terror, Terrorists 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.

“Who?”

November 30, 2023 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: Annalena Baerbock, Diplomacy, Diplomats, Doha, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Germans, Germany, Greens, Hamas, Politicians, Presidents, Protocol, Qatar, Snubs, SPD 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 Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hypocrisy Tags: Climate, Climate Crisis, Media, Snow, Weather, Winter 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 Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: Defense, Europe, Germany, Military, NATO, Pacifism, Surveys 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 Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: Budgets, Debt, Germany, Government Waste, Politicians, Spending, Taxation, Waste 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.

This also sounds too good to be true

November 26, 2023 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Hideology, Higher Education, Home Cooking Tags: Asylum Seekers, Borders, Control, EU, Germany, Illegal Immigration, Illegals, Migrants Leave a comment

Just like yesterday. So it probably isn’t true either.

Germany: Irregular migration drops due to new border checks – Police have registered a 40% fall in unauthorized entries at Germany’s borders with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland since new controls were introduced last month, according to a newspaper report.

The introduction of border checks at Germany’s border with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland last month has led to a significant drop in illegal migration, a German newspaper reported Saturday.

Welt am Sonntag newspaper looked at federal police data which showed that there were fewer than 300 unauthorized border entries per day since October 16.

That compares with around 700 per day in the 30-day period before the controls were introduced.

And they said it couldn’t be done.

It sounds too good to be true

November 25, 2023 By Hermann Observer in Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: Arms, Germany, Military, Negotiations, Russia, Ukraine, USA, Zelenskyy 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 Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings, Hypocrisy Tags: Budgets, Government, Government Waste, Greens, Net Zero, Politicians, Renewables, SPD, Spending 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.

Observing Hermann

“Was interessiert mich mein Geschwätz von gestern?”

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