The N-Word

November 27, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hi-tech, Hurt Feelings, Hysteria Tags: Alternative Energy, Atomic energy, Berlin, Electricity, Energiewende, Energy, Energy Turnaround, Germans, Germany, Humor, Nuclear energy, Satire, The Green Shirts Leave a comment

You know, it starts with an n and ends with an r*? Do not even think about using it over here in Germany these days, people. Not that you would even want to or anything, even if you could. I’m just sayin’.

Why is this the case? I’ll tell you why. Because everybody’s all touchy these days. German power grids are less stable than they ought to be and nobody wants to address the reason why that is. Folks have gotten all sensitive and defensive because, well, because of that “power networks more unstable since n-word drop-out” thing. And no, I didn’t think up that subtitle. I’m just quoting it, sort of. Civilized folks don’t use the n-word. And I ain’t a-gonna use it either.

Kritisch werden könnte es nach Auffassung von Fachleuten generell vor allem in Süddeutschland, wo der Strom der abgeschalteten Atomkraftwerke fehlt.

* “Nuclear”

“We’re going to prove that three public-sector owners can build a project like this,”

November 23, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helections, Helplessness, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings, Hypocrisy, Hysteria Tags: Airports, BBI, BER International Airport, Berlin, German, Germans, Germany, Government, Humor, Klaus Wowereit, Meglomania, Projects, Public Sector, Satire, Social Democrats, SPD 2 Comments

Wowereit said.

The investigation into the massive delays in opening Berlin’s new BER international airport have begun. Managers have been fired and architects have been sued — but what about the capital’s mayor, who has led the prestige project since 2001?

…Hochtief executives quickly learned that the project had changed since Wowereit had been put in charge. Now the walls were to be covered with expensive walnut veneer paneling. The roof was to be built in a futuristic, free-floating design. And the granite used for the floors at other major airports, like Hamburg and Düsseldorf, was no longer good enough. Berlin’s new terminal had to have expensive Jura limestone floors instead.

…Wowereit, a member of the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), also recognized early on that the one person who doesn’t hold any share of the blame is Wowereit himself.

“I don’t see what concrete accusations should be leveled against the supervisory board,” says Wowereit.

You Can’t Even Count On German Hypochondria Anymore

November 22, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Health, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hurt Feelings, Hustle (Hoax), Hypochondria, Hysteria Tags: Angst, Debt Crisis, Disease Mongering, Europe, European Debt Crisis, Fear, German, Germans, Germany, Humor, Journalism, Media, Psychology, Satire Leave a comment

One can only muster up just so much angst, I guess. Even if you’re a German. There’s just never going to be enough of it to go around to make everybody happy. I mean unhappy.

That’s right. Current German Angstzustände (states of anxiety) just ain’t what they used to be. German angst being the complex, ever-changing and unstable condition that it is, a new Forsa study has indicated that, for the moment at least, Germans are actually more frightened of the ongoing European debt crisis than they are of the worries they make about their own health, or lack of it.

How it could come to this unexpected result is very puzzling for many, myself included, but one researcher has come up with a startling new theory that might explain this sudden and eerie angst turnaround. He believes that the permanent media reports about sicknesses and health risks stir up people’s worries and fears (duh), but with all the media attention being focused on the debt crisis these days, common disease mongering has simply been coming up too short on the angst Skala (scale).

Boy I sure hope that they finally get this Eurpean debt crisis crap over with soon so we can get back to business.

“Es scheint, als ob permanente Medienberichte über Krankheiten und Gesundheitsrisiken auch die Ängste der Menschen schüren.”

This Four-Year German Highway Shooting Series Is So Mysterious

November 20, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Habeas Corpus, Helplessness, Hurt Feelings, Hysteria Tags: Autobahn, German, Germans, Germany, Guns, Highway Shootings, Humor, Satire, Shootings Leave a comment

It’s the first time anybody over here has ever even heard of it.

But I tell you what. Once this guy gets around to registering his gun with Germany’s new national weapons registry, his ass is grass.

Seit dem Jahr 2008 wurde in mehreren Bundesländern über 700 Mal auf Lastwagen geschossen.

National Weapons Registry Planned For Nation In Which Practically Nobody Owns A Weapon

November 19, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Habeas Corpus, Habitudes, Helplessness, Hi-tech, Higher Education, Hysteria Tags: Berlin, EU, German, Germans, Germany, Gun control, Humor, Legislation, Satire, Weapons Leave a comment

Except criminals, of course (but they won’t have to get theirs registered).

Germany is introducing a national firearms registry that will be operational next year, implementing a European Union directive two years ahead of its due date.

The register will pool nearly 550 local-level databases of gun owners, the Interior Ministry said in an e-mailed statement today. The EU weapons directive requires every member state to put in place a national registry by December 31, 2014.

…In a second step, the registry will also track producers, traders and importers of legally bought weapons in Germany.

“The national weapons registry contributes significantly to the security in Germany.”

Electricity Prices Rising Dramatically For Some Reason

November 16, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Home Cooking, Hustle (Hoax), Hysteria Tags: Energiewende, Energy Turnaround, Germans, Germany, Nuclear power, Satire, Solar Power 1 Comment

In a puzzling move that absolutely no one can explain, more than 200 German power suppliers have announced that they will be making big price hikes in the coming year. Consumers will then pay about 11 percent more on average.

Some experts speculate that the unexpected price increases could have to do with the costs associated with the increased efficiency and service currently being witnessed throughout the industry (see yesterday’s post). Others have surmised that these increased costs will be needed by the industry in the winter months to help fight global warming, or cooling in this case. Another group of experts believes that this dramatic move was prompted because Germans, already long used to paying some of the highest energy bills in Europe, just won’t notice and/or care.

Die Preissteigerungen begründen die Konzerne mit den gestiegenen Kosten für die erneuerbaren Energien.

These Blackouts Happened All The Time Before The Energy Turnaround Too

November 15, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hi-tech, High Art, Hurt Feelings, Hypocrisy, Hysteria Tags: Alternative Energy, Blackouts, Electricity, Energy Turnaround, German, Germans, Germany, Humor, Munich, Satire, The Green Shirts 1 Comment

Didn’t they?

Munich was the next big German city that suddenly and inexplicably lost power in a big way. But there is absolutely nothing to worry about here, people, because/and I quote: “We do not know what caused the technical problem but it has nothing to do with the energy turnaround or all this talk about unstable power grids.”

Many Munich residents took to social networking site Twitter to voice fears that such power cuts could become more frequent as Germany implements a wide-ranging program to switch from fossil and nuclear fuels to renewable energy.

Stromversorgung in Deutschland laut Netzagentur trotzdem sehr zuverlässig.

Speaking Of Sinking Ships

November 14, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hi-tech, High Art, Hurt Feelings, Hysteria Tags: Berlin, Energy Turnaround, German, Germans, Germany, Green Shirts, Hot Air, Nuclear energy, Wind Energy 3 Comments

EnbW Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg AG (EBK), Germany’s third-largest power supplier, postponed a decision to invest more than 1.5 billion euros ($1.9 billion) in a wind farm in the North Sea.

“We need legislative clarity and reliable conditions before we make an investment decision of considerably above 1.5 billion euros.”

“Where Is the Tax Money?”

November 13, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hi-tech, Higher Education, Hurt Feelings, Hysteria Tags: Alternative Energy, Desertec, Government spending, Humor, Ideology, Sahara, Satire, Solar energy, The Green Shirts 4 Comments

Here are some recent Desertec headlines – with the stress here on desert (as in to desert a sinking ship):

Bosch quits Desertec

Spain Delays Signing Onto Desertec Sahara Solar Project

Siemens to pull out of Desertec initiative

Algeria puts off decision on Desertec solar project

Desertec’s Promise of Solar Power for Europe Fades

As recently as three years ago, many thought that it was only a matter of time before solar thermal plants in North Africa supplied a significant portion of Europe’s energy needs. But Desertec has hit a road block. Industrial backers are jumping ship, political will is tepid and a key pilot project has suddenly stalled.

…The reasons for the political hesitance are clear. Renewable energy projects remain more expensive than traditional fossil fuel plants and tend to require government subsidies.

“Everybody is staring at each other and nobody moves. In this deadly, sometimes embarrassing silence, everybody is praising the project. And then silence again.”

Germans Have Psychological Issues With Regards To Amerika?

November 9, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hate, Helections, Helplessness, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings, Hypochondria, Hypocrisy, Hysteria Tags: Berlin, German, Germans, Germany, Humor, Infatuation, Inferiority Complex, Psychoanalysis, Psychology, Psychotherapy, Satire, Schadenfreude, Superiority Complex, Trauma 12 Comments

Like, dude. I honestly had no idea.

German schadenfreude knows no bounds, particularly when it comes to the United States. The country loves to feel superior to a superpower like America. Yet Germany also harbors a childish infatuation with Obama — one which has little political grounding. The reasons are psychological.

…The criticism of America has always been a bit infantile. One is familiar with the theory from psychoanalysis, when people talk about transference, or when suppressed feelings or emotions are overcome by projecting them onto others. It may work for a while, improving one’s feeling of self-worth by devaluing an imagined adversary. But it always falls short. Which is why the ritual must be constantly carried out anew.

Observing Hermann

“Was interessiert mich mein Geschwätz von gestern?”

Category Archives: Hysteria