Decision Delayed On Delayed Airport’s Latest Delay

Late for a delayed press conference, which was then delayed again, Berlin officials have now announced their decision to delay their decision to delay Berlin’s delayed Airport’s latest delay.

Berlin mayor Klaus Wowereit, a Social Democrat who has made the Berlin-Brandenburg Airport his flagship project, wasted no time in delaying further comment for later, unless delayed.

“Wowereit is making the city look more and more ridiculous in international eyes.”

No One Can Explain German Power Grid Instability

But as far as I can tell, it seems to have begun sometime shortly after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan.

Sudden fluctuations in Germany’s power grid are causing major damage to a number of industrial companies. While many of them have responded by getting their own power generators and regulators to help minimize the risks, they warn that companies might be forced to leave if the government doesn’t deal with the issues fast…

The problem is that wind and solar farms just don’t deliver the same amount of continuous electricity compared with nuclear and gas-fired power plants. To match traditional energy sources, grid operators must be able to exactly predict how strong the wind will blow or the sun will shine.

“Every company — from small businesses to companies listed on the DAX — are buying one (APC emergency power generators) from us.” 

World’s Largest Brown Coal Power Plant Inaugurated In Germany To Help Save Environment

This German energy turnaround stuff can get really complicated, I find.

But as far as I can tell, dirty energy is clean energy here, too. As long as it’s German-made, that is.

“Dieser Neubau ist ein herausragender Beitrag zum Gelingen der Energiewende.” 

Clean Power Cleaning Us Out

The German textile industry, among others, is mad as hell and isn’t going to take it anymore. Not when it comes to having to pay billions into the governments way cool Ökoenergie-Förderung (clean energy surcharge = tax).

That is why three companies now plan to challenge this surcharge subsidizing renewable energy in court.

More good government in action again, I guess. Energy companies have to pay the price for electricity generated through renewable technologies, and transfer the extra cost on to their customers. While energy-intensive industries like aluminum or steel are free from the surcharge, most of the textile industry has to pay.

“You cannot get an energy turnaround for free.”

Angela Tea Party Merkel

“Wait a minute… This seems familiar to me. Romney and Ryan stole all this from Angela Merkel! That which the Tea Party wants to do is already being done by Merkel here, and for quite some time now: She wants to force other European states to save instead of just continuing to throw money at them.”

“With Ryan as vice-presidential candidate, the presidential election now has two clear and easily understandable alternatives: Obama wants to save the economy by going further into debt (financed through taxes) and pumping this into the economy. Romney and Ryan want to save the economy by lowering taxes (which should lead to more private investment) and forcing the state to save.”

Ich habe jedenfalls nie verstanden, warum die Deutschen die Tea Party nicht mögen. Logisch ist das nicht: Einerseits sind die meisten Deutschen erschrocken und verängstigt ob des schwindelerregenden amerikanischen Haushaltsdefizits und fest überzeugt, dass Amerika die Staatsschulden abbauen muss. Sonst würde es doch irgendwann zusammenbrechen oder von China aufgekauft. Gleichzeitig aber hassen sie die einzige politische Bewegung, die genau dafür kämpft – die Tea Party.

And now here’s some economist rap.

Friedman’s Prophecy

I don’t believe in prophets. I’m very skeptical when it comes to economists of all flavors, too.

But when looking around at what’s going on here in Europe these days and considering how even the Spiegel itself now warns us about investors preparing for the euro collapse, I can’t help but wonder if Milton Friedman didn’t have a functioning crystal ball after all.

“There is no historical precedent for such an arrangement (the euro). It involves each country’s giving up power over its internal monetary policy to an entity not under its political control. Such a system has economic advantages and disadvantages, but I believe that its real Achilles heel will prove to be political; that a system under which the political and currency boundaries do not match is bound to prove unstable.”

Now I’ll Call Swiss Bankers Organized Criminals

Unable or unwilling to address the real reason why Germans (who can) move their money out of this country to countries where their money is treated better, SPD boss Sigmar Gabriel has now accused Swiss banking of “legalizing tax evasion.”

Maybe if the German state wouldn’t burn as much money as it does, those being milked might consider leaving it here. And maybe before accusing others of criminal intent, he might want to ask himself if the now regular practice of dealing in stolen goods (buying CDs with lists of German Swiss account holders from informers) is really the way Vater Staat (Father State) ought to behave. And maybe, just maybe, this guy ought to think about trying something different than this tired old primative populism of his. Maybe.

“Was mich ärgert ist, dass wir hier offensichtlich nicht in der Lage sind, mal eine Schwerpunktstaatsanwaltschaft zu gründen.”

Guilty Until Your Boyfriend Is Proven Guilty

Sports builds character or something. Guilty by association in Germany (or in this case London)? How ya figure?

Although she has never been associated with any far-right statements or actions, German Olympic rower Nadja Drygalla has a boyfriend who has. This is not vorgesehen (provided for) in Germany, however, and therefore she must now be made a public outcast.

If her boyfriend had been an open supporter of say, the Red Army Faction, no one in Germany would have cared. But hey, I don’t make the rules here. So deal with it, lady. It’s show (trial) time.

“It is the right impulse to be very cautious when it comes to extremism in Germany. But that also caused a number of overreactions in the past and the case of Ms. Drygalla is one of it.”

Another In-Depth Spiegel Analysis

And it goes like this: “Romney dumb” (meaning “Obama smart”).

When it comes to objective, thorough and even-handed journalism (and the American presidential campaign) few international tabloids can compare with the quality reporting reported by Spiegel reporters.

The latest scoop for the German nation: Mitt Romney said “sheik” instead of “sikh.”

OMG. This is an issue, I guess. And shocking, or something. And proves something, I suppose.

Geepers creepers, that would be almost as inappropriate as saying these sorry Spiegel reporters are full of “Schiet” instead of “Scheiße” (Schiet, albeit correct, is a much more vulgar term here, I think).

Knapp drei Monate vor der US-Präsidentenwahl liegt Amtsinhaber Barack Obama in Umfragen weiter deutlich vor Romney.

Capitalists To Pay For Occupy Cleanup

Sure, hauling away 300 cubic meters of garbage, hunting down all the rats and fixing up the green areas sounds like lots of fun and all, but somebody is going to have to pay for it, too. And it won’t be the occupants this time.

Yet another vicious blow to capitalism or something.

„Wer Schaden anrichtet, muss ihn auch begleichen.“