Deportation German Style

December 1, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings, Hypocrisy Tags: Angela Merkel, Asylum Seekers, Borders, Deportation, EU, Europe, German, Germans, Germany, Immigration, Language, Migrants, Refugees Leave a comment

When Germans say deportation they mean deportation. It’s just that deportation clearly means something else in German than it does in English. Even though it means deportation, I mean. And here I thought I spoke the language. Sheesh.

Germany: Thousands of migrants return after deportation, report says – Thousands of asylum-seekers in Germany have returned multiple times after deportation, according to a report in German media. Those with entry bans often serve a few months in jail or are not arrested at all…

There are nearly 5,000 asylum-seekers who have reapplied for asylum after being deported from Germany since 2012, according to the report, which cites official government figures. Some of the asylum-seekers willingly left Germany, knowing deportation was imminent. The then returned to German to make another application for asylum, according to the report.

German oddity 234: Germany is a country that now places the ugly security controls, bollards and heavily armed police it used to have on its national borders at Christmas markets and Volksfeste around the country instead.

A Positive Development

November 29, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Hideology, Home Cooking, Humility, Hurt Feelings, Hypocrisy Tags: Angela Merkel, Defense, Defense Spending, Donald Trump, Fairness, German, Germans, Germany, NATO, Responsibility Leave a comment

But nowhere near what the Germans pledged to do long, long ago.

Germany to match US contribution to NATO budget – From 2021, Germany will increase its contribution to the NATO budget to be in line with what the US pays. NATO officials hope the move will diffuse tensions surrounding the cost of maintaining the military alliance.

Gee. I wonder what – or who? – finally got the Germans to act?

Starting in 2021, the share of the NATO budget covered by Germany will increase from 14.8% to 16.35%, while the share covered by the US will decrease from 22.1% to 16.35%…

NATO officials hope the new agreement will alleviate some of the tension around the topic of NATO financing. US President Donald Trump has complained that the US covers more than its fair share of the costs for the alliance. He has demanded that other member states make good on their pledges to increase their NATO contribution to 2% of GDP by 2024 (pledged nearly twenty years ago), a goal that Germany will not reach.

Merkel on Wednesday vowed to reach the 2% mark by the “early 2030s.”

Doctors, Lawyers, Engineers…

November 26, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Higher Education, Home Cooking, Hostility, Hurt Feelings Tags: Asylum Seekers, Borders, Clans, Crime, Gangsters, German, Germans, Germany, Migrants, Mobsters, Organized Crime, Refugees, Syrians Leave a comment

And organized crime professionals.

Germans were told time and time again starting back in 2015 that a significant number of the Syrian refugees illegally entering the country at that time were of the highest professional standing and would soon be a great enrichment for the country. I will not say that this did not happen but they could have at least mentioned the professional mobster folks too.

Newcomers from Syria, Iraq and other countries are changing the structure of organized crime in Germany, federal police representatives told the public broadcaster ARD in a new documentary set to be aired on Monday evening.

While investigating Arab-linked crime families, Germany’s BKA (Federal Criminal Police Agency) noted a rising number of suspects with foreign passports.

“In about one third of proceedings, suspects also included immigrants — and that means that we need to keep a very close eye on this phenomenon,” BKA leader Holger Münch said.

“The rule of law is under pressure.”

German Of The Day: Späti

November 24, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings, Hypocrisy Tags: Berlin, Capitalism, Convenience Stores, Entrepreneurship, Free Enterprise, German, Germans, Germany, Government Interference, Language, Private Industry, Regulation, Small Businesses, State Intervention, Stores Leave a comment

That means the late-night stores of Berlin. And we should have smelled this rat coming long ago.

How could these popular local convenience stores be allowed to continue running without being inconvenienced by the Berlin city government? They were allowed to open when they saw fit, depending entirely on supply and demand. You know, like in capitalism? Spätis are one of the few things that actually work in this town, by the way. Obviously, somebody had to step in here. Spätis are crying out for government regulation – for our own good.

Since a May ruling by the Administrative Court of Berlin, city authorities have fastidiously targeted family-run convenience stores such as Abels’ if they’re open on Sundays. The crackdown is part of a broader debate that’s erupting over the future of these stores — known as Spätis — that have over the decades emerged as cultural symbols of Berlin.

“Spätis are to Berlin like cafés are to Paris. It’s where all forms of life come together.”

Angela Merkel Must Go

November 22, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: Angela Merkel, CDU, Coalition Governments, German, Germans, Germany, Political Parties, Power Leave a comment

I couldn’t agree more. Enough Merkeldämmerung already (Twilight of the Merkel – as in of the Gods).

But who is strong enough going to push her out the door? And who would want to? She’s the Blob, so don’t touch her. And she’s even cloned herself.

For 10 of the last 14 years, Merkel has presided over grand coalition governments, bringing together the centre-right Christian Democrats and the centre-left Social Democrats. This has given continuous stable government, but at a cost. Consensual centrism has not encouraged the robust political debate essential to a liberal democracy. Conservative Germans have long complained that “we have two social democratic parties”. This is a perfectly competent government for undemanding times, but with none of the ambition needed to face the giant challenges of today.

German Of The Day: Putsch

November 21, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Helections, Helplessness, Home Cooking, Hostility, Hurt Feelings Tags: AKK, Angela Merkel, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, CDU, Friedrich Merz, German, Germans, Germany, Leadership, Party Conventions, Political Parties, Power Leave a comment

That means putsch. Or coup, if you prefer.

And there might be one in the making for Mini-Merkel herself (Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer or AKK). Then again, there might not be one in the making either. You never know for sure. But you can always hope, right?

Angela Merkel’s party in a shambles as new leader flounders – Christian Democrats fail to convince both the left and the right as some consider ousting successor…

Friedrich Merz, the conservative poster boy defeated by AKK in last year’s leadership race, said Merkel’s lack of direction was smothering Germany “like a carpet of fog.”

CDU-Parteitag in Leipzig – Riskiert Friedrich Merz den Putsch?

German Of The Day: Terrorverdacht

November 19, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Habeas Corpus, Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: Angela Merkel, Bombs, German, Germans, Germany, Islamists, Language, Media, Migrants, Syria, Syrians, Terror, Terrorists Leave a comment

That means suspicion of terror.

A suspected Islamist from Syria was in arrested in Berlin after getting smart about how to make bombs. What he was doing in Berlin is anybody’s guess. Angela Merkel could not be reached for comment.

This story will now quietly disappear. Hope you enjoyed it while it lasted.

In Berlin ist ein 26-jähriger Syrer in seiner Wohnung im Bezirk Schöneberg wegen eines Terrorverdachts festgenommen worden: Wie die Staatsanwaltschaft Berlin am Dienstagvormittag mitteilte, vollstreckten Beamte des Bundeskriminalamts (BKA) gemeinsam mit der Spezialeinheit GSG 9 einen Haftbefehl sowie einen Durchsuchungsbeschluss. Konkret besteht der Verdacht der Anleitung zur Begehung einer schweren staatsgefährdenden Gewalttat.

China

November 18, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hypocrisy Tags: Arms exports, China, German, Germans, Germany, Hong Kong, Military, Pacifism, Profit, Weapons Leave a comment

Beautiful German weapon sale of the week.

Because somebody has to admire them.

OK, it’s not exactly a weapon sale this time. The Germans just plan to train 11 Chinese soldiers so they can, you know, better use their weapons in places like, I dunno, Hong Kong or some place like that.

In addition, one soldier is to be provided with special training in “press and public relations.”

We’ll Always Have Paris

November 17, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings, Hysteria Tags: Costs, German, Germans, Germany, Paris Climate Agreement, Renewable energy, Solar energy, Subsidies, Wind Energy 1 Comment

Sometimes relationships just don’t make sense anymore.

People and renewable forms of energy grow apart and become, you know, different people. Then it’s time to move on. It’s tragic, I know. It’s heartbreaking. But that’s the way the German wind turbine crumbles.

German campaigners fall out of love with wind power – Growing opposition and lack of land spark collapse in construction of new turbines.

Der Ausbau der Windenergie ist ins Stocken geraten. Droht der Branche das gleiche Schicksal wie der Solarindustrie?

Speaking Of The German Automobile Industry

November 15, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hi-tech, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: Automobiles, Daimler, E-cars, E-Mobility, Economy, Employment, German, Germans, Germany, Industry, Jobs, Mercedes Leave a comment

And German industry in general. They couldn’t laugh off Tesla. Now the punches are coming in hot and heavy.

Auto

German Industrial Job Losses Top 80,000 With Daimler Cuts – Germany’s economy may have narrowly avoided a recession, but the pressure on the country’s industry shows no sign of abating.

Daimler AG said this week it will shed 10% of management positions at its Mercedes unit, lifting the tally of job cuts announced this year across Germany’s manufacturing sector to more than 80,000, according to Bloomberg calculations.

Companies from Volkswagen AG to Siemens AG are letting workers go as Germany’s powerful automotive industry struggles with a shift toward electrification and self-driving cars, and makers of machinery and robots are hit by slower exports and trade disputes. Makers of well-known German products such as Meissen porcelain and WMF kitchenware are also trimming their workforce.

Observing Hermann

“Was interessiert mich mein Geschwätz von gestern?”

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