Hamburg, An Islamist Hotbed?

Ausgeschlossen (no way)! German authorities would never allow such a thing.

Hamburg Mosque Reportedly a Hotbed for Iranian Propaganda – The Hamburg Islamic Center is considered the most important outpost of the Iranian regime in Germany. But since it is also reportedly used to spread the mullahs’ propaganda across Europe, calls are growing for its work to be restricted.

Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, which is charged with keeping tabs on all forms of extremism, has been observing the IZH community for many years and describes it, besides the Iranian Embassy, as “Iran’s most important representation in Germany and a significant center of propaganda” in Europe.

German Of The Day: Arbeitsplatzabbau

That means job cuts.

Energy crisis: Quarter of German companies ‘plan to cut jobs’ – In order to tackle rising energy prices, a quarter of German companies revealed in a new survey that they planned to cut jobs, among other cost saving measures.

Around 25 percent of German companies plan to axe jobs as a cost saving measure, according to a survey of 1,080 German firms led by the Munich-based Stiftung Familienunternehmen released on Monday.

German Greens Discover A New “Core Value”

Not freezing to death.

Reality can be a bitch.

Nuclear power: German Greens put pragmatism first – The Green Party has seen challenges to its core principles ever since it became part of Germany’s three-party government. Pragmatism is forcing painful decisions on weapons exports, fossil fuels, and nuclear power.

“Party members are absolutely livid.”

Death To America!

Oops (wrong country – although that’s a very popular chant here too). I meant of course “death to the Islamic Republic!”

Thousands Rally in Berlin, Elsewhere in Support of Iranian Women – Thousands of Iranians were among an estimated 80,000 people who joined in a rally Saturday in Berlin, the largest of several protests in cities around the world showing solidarity with women-led protests in Iran.

Why Should We Worry About Becoming Too Dependent On China?

It worked out great with Russia, didn’t it?

Germany’s Continued Illusions About China and Russia – Berlin’s pursuit of economic and political ties with Beijing and Moscow has created dangerous dependencies. A change in strategy would benefit both Germany and the EU

Over the years, these two authoritarian regimes embedded themselves in the German economy and ingratiated themselves with the elites. Such developments prevented the EU from forging a coherent, critical strategy toward both Moscow and Beijing.

Gott Sei Dank

Thank God. The Germans are relieved. For a while there things were starting to look way too positive.

Post-Brexit-wise.

Positive trend in German exports to Britain no cause for optimism – DIHK.

German exports to Britain this year could grow for the first time since 2015, statstics office data showed, but the DIHK business association said the numbers did not mark a turn for the better, especially in light of Britain’s current turbulence.

Germans And Their Knives

This happens here all the time. When is Germany finally going to introduce stricter knife control laws?

2 killed in stabbing in southwest Germany, suspect detained – Police say two people have been killed and another seriously wounded in a stabbing in southwestern Germany.

The 25-year-old suspect, a Somali citizen, initially fled the scene and was detained in a drugstore…

German Fracking Doesn’t Stink

Not like that yucky US-Amerikan fracking does.

German of the day: Wir sollten Fracking ernsthaft in Erwägung ziehen. That means “We should seriously consider fracking.”

Reinhard Ploss was head of chip company Infineon, now he heads the German government’s Future Council. Here he talks about how Germany should respond to the energy crisis and why robots are the future.

Now That We Face A Crippling Shortage Of Natural Gas…

Let’s turn off our remaining nuclear power plants too.

We have a reputation for being gründlich (thorough), after all.

Germany’s scramble to revamp its energy policy – Germany woke up too late to the risks of energy dependence on Russia. Moscow’s natural gas shutoff may make it one of the hardest-hit EU economies.

At a dinner at the German embassy in London on October 23, 1980, German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt shocked British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher when he told her that West Germany relied upon the Soviet Union for 14 percent of its daily natural gas consumption. “That was very dangerous and unwise,” she said. Mr. Schmidt responded, “My dear Margaret, the Russians have always been the most reliable suppliers. They need us as much as we need them. There is no danger at all.” For nearly 40 years, the chancellor’s optimistic assessment appeared accurate, and Germany’s dependence on Russian gas only kept increasing.