It wasn’t our fault, Mom. The other kids were jumping off the bridge too. That’s why we’ve got this recession now, see?
Germany blames Putin for pushing economy towards recession – Vice-chancellor Robert Habeck signals ‘substantial downturn’ in the coming quarters.
Habeck (Greens) blamed the gloomy forecast on Vladimir Putin’s attempts to use energy as a tool to destabilize Europe. Habeck said forecasts would have been worse if Berlin had not taken action to soften the blow.
Making someone question their own reality. The term may also be used to describe a person (a “gaslighter”) who presents a false narrative to another group or person, thereby leading them to doubt their perceptions and become misled, disoriented or distressed.
Berlin’s 19th Century Gas Lanterns Go Dark as Russia Cuts Fuel – The city is speeding the shutdown of traditional streetlights while citizens scramble to stay warm.
Like other cities worldwide, Berlin began installing gas lanterns along its avenues and alleyways in the early 19th century. But while the rest of the planet has long since moved on to sodium, halide, and LED, the German capital has remained stubbornly old-school, with some 23,000 gas lanterns still illuminating the city. For years the local government has sought to eliminate the gaslights in favor of more sustainable technologies, but fans of the warm glow and sculpted lampposts have managed to slow the effort. Today, Russia’s war in Ukraine is hastening the technology’s demise. “Gas is too expensive and wasteful,” says Benedikt Lux, a city legislator from the Green Party. “They should have been converted to LEDs long ago.”
Literally, to wave with a fence post. That is, to make a very broad hint, a wake-up call.
German Diplomatic Building in Kyiv Damaged by Russian Attack – Germany said a Kyiv building housing the German visa office had been damaged in the barrage of missiles that hit the Ukrainian capital on Monday and said Berlin would deliver the first of four modern air defense systems to Ukraine within days.
“Since the beginning of Russia’s war of aggression, these offices have not been used by our embassy,” Germany’s foreign ministry said in a tweet. “Our colleagues at the embassy in Kyiv are well.”
It’s not like the Russians would ever interfere in Germany’s internal affairs or anything.
Germany’s cybersecurity chief faces dismissal, reports say – German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser wants to dismiss the country’s cybersecurity chief due to possible contacts with people involved with Russian security services, German media reported late on Sunday, citing government sources.
Arne Schoenbohm, president of the BSI federal information security agency, could have had such contacts through the Cyber Security Council of Germany, various outlets reported.
Schoenbohm was a founder of the association, which counts as a member a German company that is a subsidiary of a Russian cybersecurity firm founded by a former KGB employee, they wrote…
War is now waged not only on the battlefield, but also on the Internet. Hackers are the soldiers of the modern age. And Russia is one of the most active players in cyberspace: Putin’s state apparatus disinforms with media loyal to the state, clogs up comment columns on social networks with the help of so-called troll factories, or blows the whistle on direct digital attacks on other states.
A lot of that going on in and around Germany these days, don’t you think?
Sabotage Hits Trains in Northern Germany, Forcing 3-Hour Halt – A train communications system in Germany was targeted by sabotage Saturday, forcing both passenger and cargo trains to halt for nearly three hours across the northwest of the country, authorities said.
Buying mood in Germany drops to all-time low – Consumer sentiment in Germany has reached an all-time low due to the high cost of living. The consumer barometer of the German Retail Association (HDE) fell for the third month in a row, reaching a value of 84.14 points in October, the association announced on Tuesday. The value had already fallen to 90.53 at the beginning of the Corona crisis in April 2020 but then temporarily rose again to more than 100.
Consumer pessimism is expected to have a “negative impact on private consumption in the coming months,” the association said.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Observing Hermann 