Germany to close Schroeder’s office in repudiation of ex-chancellor – Gerhard Schroeder’s publicly funded office is to be closed and its remaining staff reallocated amid mounting dismay at the former German chancellor’s refusal to distance himself from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Gerhard Schröder to lose Bundestag office this week. The SPD, the Greens and the FDP want to strip the former chancellor (SPD) of some privileges immediately: In a draft for the budget committee, he will be deprived of offices and staff.
That means foundation. You know, like the “climate protection foundation” SPD Prime Minister (Governor) of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Manuela Schwesig created to get around American sanctions to help Russia finish the Nord Stream 2 pipeline – which never went into operation although completed, for some strange reason.
Now that she got caught the “foundation’s” chairman of the board has stepped down so it can quietly be liquidated.
The foundation had been the subject of criticism since its establishment in January 2021 because, in addition to climate protection, its main purpose was to secure the completion of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline through the Baltic Sea. Companies involved in the construction had in fact been threatened by US sanctions.
Nord Stream 2 AG paid 20 million euros into the foundation’s coffers. Nord Stream 2 was completed – with the foundation’s support. However, because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it has not received an operating permit from the German authorities. Schwesig has come under criticism for her long adherence to Nord Stream 2. Accusations have been made that Russian forces pulled the strings in key areas of the foundation. Schwesig had played a key role in promoting the establishment of the foundation in 2021.
It starts with a “nu” and ends with a “clear” but you didn’t hear that from me because the Green Brain Police here in Germany demand strict adherence to the ideological tenets of environmental dogma. Or something along those lines.
Germany to reject EU green investment label for nuclear power – Germany will oppose European Union plans to include nuclear energy as a sustainable investment in its “taxonomy” policy for labelling green investments, the government said on Monday.
Brussels is seeking approval from EU countries and European Parliament for its plan to label gas and nuclear as climate-friendly investments, which has split opinion among states who disagree on the fuels’ green credentials.
“The Federal Government has expressed its opposition to the taxonomy rules on nuclear power. This ‘no’ is an important political signal that makes clear: Nuclear energy is not sustainable and should therefore not be part of the taxonomy.”
And seen (great flick). But 12 Germans? That movie title just doesn’t have enough punch.
By the way: Affe (monkey) in German is also used as an insult when calling someone an “idiot” or a “fool.”
12 Germans who got played by Putin – There’s no shortage of politicians, business leaders and intellectuals who have appeased Moscow over the years. Here are a few of them.
Russia’s war against Ukraine has thrust Germany’s establishment into the throes of a tortured process of introspection, self-doubt and recrimination.
After years of lecturing the West that a bit of Ostpolitik was all that was needed to keep Russia in check, Germany’s political, media and academic elites are now obsessing over a new question: How could we have been so wrong?
Literally: Insulted liverwurst. It means to be offended, to sulk, to be in a huff.
Like German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. He’s an insulted liverwurst and won’t visit Ukraine because Kyiv refused to invite his Parteifreund (fellow SPD party member) and Germany’s head of state, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
German opposition leader visits Kyiv, Scholz refuses to go – Germany’s conservative opposition leader has traveled to Kyiv for meetings with Ukrainian officials including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The imprisonment in London of the tennis legend Boris Becker for bankruptcy offences has triggered an outpouring of shock and disappointment in his native Germany, where he was once hailed as a national hero.
One former fan spoke for many when he said: “He made mistakes for which he’s rightly being punished. But maybe he’ll get up again one day, just like Becker, the tennis player, so often did.”
When it comes to standing up to Vlad Putin himself. Hey, dependency has its price.
German energy firm Uniper ready to meet Russian pay demand – One of Germany’s biggest energy firms has said it is preparing to buy Russian gas using a payment system that critics say will undermine EU sanctions.
Uniper says it will pay in euros which will be converted into roubles, meeting a Kremlin demand for all transactions to be made in the Russian currency.
Other European energy firms are reportedly preparing to do the same amid concerns about supply cuts.
And it sure is reassuring to know that a big European war like that could never, ever happen again. Cold or otherwise. Right?
The situation in Germany after World War II was dire. Millions of Germans were homeless from Allied bombing campaigns that razed entire cities. And millions more Germans living in Poland and East Prussia became refugees when the Soviet Union expelled them. With the German economy and government in shambles, the Allies concluded that Germany needed to be occupied after the war to assure a peaceful transition to a post-Nazi state.
What the Allies never intended, though, was that their temporary solution to organize Germany into four occupation zones, each administered by a different Allied army, would ultimately lead to a divided Germany.
“Only over time, as the Cold War eroded trust between the Soviet Union and the Western Allies, did these occupation zones coalesce into two different German nations.”
That means to be obedient, servile, to be in bondage or a slave, etc.
You know, as in “Germany is in bondage to Putin?”
For weeks, Olaf Scholz (63, SPD) has been hesitant to supply Ukraine with heavy weapons. In an interview on Friday, he spoke about his reasons: Concern about World War III and a nuclear conflict.
This has met with sharp criticism not only in Germany, but also in Europe. And in the U.S., too, people are reacting with displeasure to the chancellor’s lurching course. “What must happen for Germany to finally stand up to Russia?” the Los Angeles Times now asks in a commentary.
And Green Germans, of all Green people everywhere, are now allowing gas drilling to proceed in one of Germany’s most controversial territories. This is odd. Even rätselhaft (puzzling), as Green Germans normally preach to the rest of the world how humanity should follow their example as they bravely march down the renewable road to the coming Green utopian future.
Something serious most have happened. Something very serious must have brought about this change of Green heart. Something real-world-like. I bet you dollars to solar panels it was something real-world-like. The real world always raises its ugly little head eventually. Reality just ain’t fair, in other words. Much less Green.
Germany To Drill For Gas In North Sea To Reduce Reliance On Russia – In a concerted move to move away from its heavy reliance on Russia amid the Ukraine crisis, Germany authorities have finally given in and allowed gas drilling to proceed in one of its most controversial territories.
On Wednesday, a German regional authority responsible for the Wadden Sea Islands gave the green light to a Dutch company to drill for gas in the North Sea above the Wadden Islands.
Observing Hermann 