You should have slashed the UNRWA budget first

September 22, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

But it’s a good start, I guess.

Germany slashes aid and development budget – Germany has cut its budget for international development by 8% and emergency aid has been halved. Aid agencies warn of drastic consequences.

The governing coalition of the conservatives (CDU/CSU) and the Social Democrats (SPD) has slashed the budget of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) by 8% to just under €10 billion ($11.47 billion).

Development Minister Reen Alabali Radovan (SPD) is clear about the impact of the cut: “My budget is down by around €910 million compared to the previous year. In view of increasing crises, Germany is investing far less in international cooperation than is actually urgently needed.”

German of the day (2025): Hausverbot

September 21, 2025 By in Hard Facts, History, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means house ban.

“Nothing personal, nor is this anti-Semitism, I just can’t stand you.”

“Jews are not allowed here!!!!”

German shop sign banning Jews sparks wide condemnation, police action – Flensburg store owner claims ban ‘not even antisemitism. I just can’t stand you’; Israeli envoy: ‘The 1930s are back’; German official slams sign as Jew hatred ‘in its purest form.’

Growth driver now just backseat driver…

September 20, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Who doesn’t know what he’s driving at.

Germany was billed as Europe’s growth driver. Now economists are saying: Not so fast – Huge investment pledges and major fiscal changes had bolstered hopes that Germany could give the euro zone economy a much-needed boost, but economists are starting to question if — and when — that will happen.

“The actual spending is slower than many of the more excitable pundits had expected. In Germany, it takes time to spend money.”

That’s also how you learn to speak Klingon

September 19, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Higher Education Tags: , , , , , 1 Comment

Well it’s how I learned.

Ig Nobel prize for study showing that drunk Germans speak Dutch better than sober ones – Dutch Courage can help you speak a foreign language, according to a study by Dutch, English, and German researchers that was awarded an Ig Nobel prize on Thursday. They showed that alcohol consumption sometimes improves a person’s ability to speak a foreign language. “We made an important discovery. Drunk Germans usually pronounce Dutch better than sober Germans.”

Super safe!

September 17, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Germany is as safe as it can be (all things considered). So move along! Nothing to see here!

Crime statistics: How safe is life in Germany?

Cases of drug trafficking, knife crime and violence on the streets are frequently reported in the German media. But is crime on the rise? And how does Germany compare internationally?

“The new Germany” is “a shame, a travesty,” says Kurt Caz.

In a video, the South African-German travel blogger presents Frankfurt’s notorious Bahnhofsviertel neighborhood near the city’s main train station as the new normal, which has been “completely taken over by crime, illegal migrants and drugs.”

“Americans don’t accept limits on freedom of expression”

September 16, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Helections, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

Not even on that yucky awful terrible German AfD.

Top AfD politician makes surprise visit to White House – Vice President JD Vance has spoken out against the far-right AfD’s political exclusion in Germany…

A White House official confirmed the meeting and said that representatives of the national security council, the vice president’s office and the State Department attended.

The talks focused on democratic participation and election procedures in Germany, according to the AfD and White House officials. AfD politician Joachim Paul, whose candidacy was disqualified by a German court earlier this year, was presented as a case study in what the AfD describes as the narrowing of political freedoms in Germany.

At the Munich Security Conference in February, Vance raised eyebrows by questioning Germany’s political “firewall” against the AfD, a political agreement by other forces not to include the far-right party in governance. Mainstream parties say the policy is intended to avoid a repeat of country’s Nazi era.

German of the day: Verdreifachen

September 15, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Helections, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

That means to triple.

Support for far-right triples in western German vote, early forecasts show – Support for Germany’s far right surged in local elections in the country’s most populous state on Sunday, sending a warning to conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s four-month-old national coalition with the Social Democrats, early projections showed.

Initial forecasts from pollster infratest dimap for broadcaster ARD after voting ended for councils, districts and mayors in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia showed support for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party had more than tripled to 16.5% from 2020.

German of the day: Verstörend

September 14, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Hate, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means disturbing. Or in this case, beyond disturbing.

Germany’s reaction to Charlie Kirk’s killing was beyond disturbing – The country’s arrogant and blinkered media elite do not understand what democracy is.

The cold-blooded killing of campaigner Charlie Kirk on a university campus in Utah should have been a moment of shared grief for everyone. A young father who believed in and lived by a code of free speech and debate was gunned down in front of horrified students.

As we know, the reaction of certain sections of the Left in Britain and America was appalling. If they offered sympathy it was heavily caveated and, by applying labels like “far-Right”, they appeared to suggest he had brought it on himself.

Yet here in Germany, the response of the media class was even more disturbing. They seemed to revel in it.

If you have to debate this now…

September 13, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Then you know it ain’t never gonna happen.

Germany debates return to compulsory military service – As Germany adapts to a volatile geopolitical landscape, attention has turned to filling the ranks of its armed forces. Among Germany’s youth, attitudes towards the Bundeswehr have been shifting…

A new draft law aims to boost Bundeswehr troop numbers by surveying 18-year-olds — mandatory for men, voluntary for women.