German Of The Day: Übersterblichkeit
That means higher mortality rate.
But you need to read in which context it is being used here to get the whole message: Nur geringe Übersterblichkeit – Todesfälle im April knapp über dem Schnitt. That is: Only a slightly higher mortality rate – The fatalities in April were just slightly above average.
My, that is odd, isn’t it? Wasn’t April the big Corona month in Germany? Just like everywhere else? And the country’s mortality rate was only slightly higher than usual? There must be a mistake here somewhere. Or were we all mislead to expect something else? Certainly not intentionally. Or was it just ineptitude? Numbers, black on white like that, can be very mysterious sometimes. Especially when they don’t fit your story line.
Im April sterben zwar mehr Menschen in Deutschland als im Durchschnitt – der Anstieg beträgt aber nur wenige Prozent.
Decisions, Decisions
Which beer will we be drinking this year for Vatertag? Corona, of course.
Der Aufenthalt im öffentlichen Raum ist lediglich Personengruppen, die aus maximal zwei verschiedenen Haushalten kommen, gestattet.
Germans Not Sure Who They Can Spy On Anymore
They can’t hardly spy on Germans anymore, at home and abroad. With foreigners here it’s not much better. And now…
German intelligence can’t spy on foreigners outside Germany – Germany’s Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday that monitoring the internet traffic of foreign nationals abroad by the BND intelligence agency partly breaches the constitution.
Sheesh. A lot of German spies are going to need therapy. And worst of all, it doesn’t really matter whether Germans do any spying or not, and they know it. Whenever anything real goes down the tip-offs always come from a “befreundeten Nachrichtendienst” (allied intelligence service) anyway. They never say who this service is because everybody already knows and they’d rather not talk about it.
“A secret service that wants to protect democracy cannot trample on important democratic freedoms.”
German Of The Day: Wiederaufbaufonds
That means reconstruction bonds. Or Eurobonds/Coronabonds light. Or Germany breaking a taboo and knuckling under to France to share debt with other EU countries, if you prefer.
It’s hard to keep up with them. Politicians just can’t burn money fast enough these days.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel broke with her country’s longstanding opposition to raising money together with other – often poorer – EU countries. But the proposal made with French President Emmanuel Macron is limited in scale and duration, which could help her sell it to skeptics back home.
It consists of 500 billion euros ($550 billion) in loans and grants to help countries through the recession, and is viewed by some as a step toward stronger EU ties as the 27-country union faces challenges not just from the virus crisis, but from populist forces in member countries Hungary and Poland who want to loosen the bloc’s ties.
Werteunion ruft zu Widerstand gegen Merkel auf.
More Bad News
For the perennial doom-and-gloom folks in charge of what we are supposed to think – at least here in Germany.
As if the popular uprising against the Coronavirus shutdown here wasn’t enough.
Bundesbank sees early signs of recovery in German economy – Central bank expects easing of lockdown to boost activity in Europe’s largest economy
“There is currently much to suggest that overall economic developments will move up again in the course of the second quarter as a result of the easing measures and a recovery is under way.”
Lockdown Or Lockup?
Take your pick, citizens.
You either shutdown voluntarily or we shut you down permanently.
Germans are people who wait until the light turns green before crossing the street. Even if nobody else is around. They are top of the class when it comes to following rules and regulations. They are very law-abiding people, in other words. But the Coronavirus – or the arbitrary and disproportionatly restrictive government actions being taken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic here in Germany – seems to have had a negative effect upon their normal behavioral patterns and they are now taking to the streets in protest. North, south, east and west. They are, in other words, mad as hell and aren’t going to take it anymore.
Proteste in vielen deutschen Städten – Tränengas und Festnahmen bei Corona-Demo in Hamburg.
Carmen G.
German Of The Day: Geisterspiele
“Ghost games” are sporting matches, in this case football (soccer) matches, without spectators in the stadium. Games behind closed doors, in other words.
The German Bundesliga will pick up its season this weekend after a two-month break. No matter what happens now, the league is determined to finish.
The plan to put German soccer back on the field this weekend hinged on more moving parts than a Volkswagen. Clubs had to conduct more than 2,000 coronavirus tests. Chancellor Angela Merkel needed to give her blessing. The Bundesliga drew up a protocol to disinfect balls mid-game.
German Nuclear Power Plant Explodes
Just kidding. Hardy, har, har. Everybody knows Germans don’t have nuclear power plants anymore. Well, not many. One less now for sure.
Former German nuke plant towers demolished in morning blasts – The two cooling towers of a former nuclear power plant in southwestern Germany have been demolished in a pair of early-morning explosions whose timing was kept under wraps to prevent crowds from gathering during the coronavirus pandemic
Observing Hermann 