Category Archives: Hurt Feelings

German Of The Day: Vertrauensfrage

October 3, 2022 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means a question of trust – or a vote of confidence.

Happy German Unification Day or something.

Democracy thrives on trust. But especially in eastern Germany, this trust is dwindling – in politics, in the state. Why?

And it’s better in western Germany? Not really.

Only 39 percent of East Germans are satisfied with democracy as it functions in Germany. In the west, the figure is 59 percent. In the east, only about 32 percent believe that politicians care about the good of the country. In the west, the figure is 42 percent.

Repeat An Election?

September 29, 2022 By in Hard Facts, Higher Education, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

What do they mean by repeating an election? I thought that once you get the results you want it’s a done deal. Repeating an election due to election day glitches simply isn’t possible. Not in my country it isn’t.

Judge: Berlin will likely need to repeat its 2021 election – The president of the Berlin Constitutional Court says Germany’s capital will likely need to repeat its 2021 state and district elections due to severe election day glitches.

Long lines formed outside many polling stations in Berlin that day as voters struggled with extra ballot papers. Some polling stations ran out of ballot papers during the day and others received ones for the wrong district, leading to a large number of invalidated ballots. Another issue was the election was supposed to end at 6 p.m., but voters waiting in line at that time were allowed to cast their ballots.

Bless Its Pointed Little Head

September 28, 2022 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

Reality’s pointed little head, I mean. It will always get stuck up in your face, sooner or later.

Green utopia vs. the phenomenal world AKA the hard realities of life (that it’s cold in winter, for instance). Guess who wins?

Germany delays exit from nuclear power to offset energy shortfall – Two nuclear plants’ lives extended as country copes with loss of Russian gas and shortage of French electricity.

French nuclear-generated electricity, I might add.

Turn Off The Red Nose, Rudolf

September 27, 2022 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

It’s just not going to be windy or sunny enough this Christmas.

Germans urged to switch off Christmas lights this year to cut energy usage as Russia keeps tight hold on Europe’s gas supply – Germans should turn off their Christmas lights this winter to save energy as Russia clamps down on gas flows to Europe, according to non-profit environmental organization, Deutsche Umwelthilfe.

German Of The Day: Widerspruch

September 21, 2022 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means contradiction. This is a word that is in constant demand in Germany.

Germany’s Energy Crisis Plan Contradicts Itself – The German government is desperately trying to conserve gas—and subsidizing its use.

Germany’s self-imposed target is to cut back gas use by 20 percent, which is roughly the shortfall caused by Russia’s discontinuation of gas supplies amid its war in Ukraine. Yet…

The federal government has said it will set price caps on gas and electricity by the end of the year. So… Contrary to the greater goal of throttling back consumption, price caps and subsidies will have a positive effect on demand. By easing the burden on consumers, they dilute the price signal to save. “This increases the risk of brownouts and blackouts over the winter,” said Toby Couture of the energy consulting firm E3 Analytics, “as citizens and businesses consume more power than the system can effectively supply.”

German Of The Day: Alarmstufe Rot

September 20, 2022 By in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hideology, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means red alert.

Red alert for the German economy. After months of speculation, it is now official: Russia is turning off the gas tap on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline indefinitely. Germany is facing difficult times. Not only a cold winter is looming, but an industrial ice age.

German economy to shrink all winter as gas taps are turned off, Bundesbank says – The German economy is contracting already and will likely get worse over the winter months as gas consumption is cut or rationed, the country’s central bank said on Monday.

Germany To Begin Refining Oil That Doesn’t Exist

September 18, 2022 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Once Russia turns off the supply. If it hasn’t already.

Germany takes control of Russian-owned refinery – The German subsidiary of Russian oil giant Rosneft was placed under trusteeship, giving Germany’s federal regulator control of a key source of fuel for Berlin.

The German subsidiary of Russian oil giant Rosneft was placed under trusteeship on Friday, giving Germany’s federal regulator control of the PCK refinery in Schwedt, a key source of fuel for the city of Berlin…

Rosneft Deutschland accounts for about 12% of Germany’s oil processing capacity and is one of the largest oil processing companies in the country, the ministry said.

German Of The Day: Verstaatlichung

September 15, 2022 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hideology, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means nationalization.

Sound familiar? Ever more “We’re from the government, and we’re here to help” from the people who created the problem in the first place.

Gas importer Uniper in nationalisation talks with German government – Terms under discussion include increasing state’s holding to 50% as pressure on supplies continues.

The German state took a 30% stake in the group in a rescue package in July, amounting to about €15bn. Credit lines were further extended by about €4bn last month but the situation has worsened since Russia severed gas supplies to Germany via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, forcing Uniper to find alternatives.

The Next Berlin Airlift?

September 14, 2022 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, History, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Only without the allies flying everything in. What could possibly go wrong?

Scholz channels Berlin Airlift spirit to gird Germans for winter – Chancellor Olaf Scholz invoked the spirit of the Berlin Airlift on Tuesday to implore Germans that “the seemingly impossible can succeed”, urging them to brace for a tough winter and to rise to the challenge of a shift in energy supply away from Russian gas.

He spoke to business leaders at Tempelhof Airport, which was the focal point of the Airlift between 1948 and 1949, when Western forces flew hundreds of thousands of tonnes of supplies into divided Berlin after the Soviets blocked rail and street access to the city’s Western-occupied sectors.

Germans Thinking About Reducing Their Dependency On China

September 9, 2022 By in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hideology, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

Why on earth for? It worked great with Russia.

German economy ministry reviews measures to curb China business – Germany’s economy ministry is considering a raft of measures to make business with China less attractive as it seeks to reduce its dependency on Asia’s economic superpower, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The measures could include reducing or even scrapping investment and export guarantees for China and no longer promoting trade fairs and manager training there, those people said. Loans from state lender KfW could be re-directed to projects in other Asian countries, such as Indonesia, in line with attempts to diversify trade and increase business with democracies.