A Standing Ovation For An Anti-Trump Speech?

May 31, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Helplessness, Hideology, Higher Education, Hostility, Humor, Hypocrisy, Hysteria Tags: Angela Merkel, Donald Trump, German, Germans, Germany, Harvard, Speeches, Universities 2 Comments

At an American University? Wow. Now that’s news-worthy.

Or at least the Germans seem to think it is. Yawn.

Angela Merkel urged Harvard graduates Thursday to “tear down walls of ignorance and narrow-mindedness” in a speech laced with apparent jibes at Donald Trump and his policies.

Though she did not name the U.S. president, the German chancellor devoted much of her Harvard University commencement speech to attacking major pillars of Trump’s presidency: protectionism, trade wars and building walls.

Merkel in Harvard: Für die Anti-Trump-Rede gibt es Standing Ovations

German Of The Day: Andere Länder Andere Sitten

May 30, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, High Art, Home Cooking, Humor Tags: Beer, Customs, Father's Day, German, Germans, Germany, Holidays, Language, Vatertag Leave a comment

That means other countries other customs.

Finally, a holiday for the rest of us.

German Oddity 391. Only in Germany is Vatertag or Father’s Day commemorated by hordes of oddly dressed men pulling little wooden wagons overloaded with beer and snaps through wooded areas (or right through the middle of your town) roaring and swearing and pissing all over the place until they vomit on themselves and pass out but not before having called their wives to pick them up and drag them back home again.

AKK Taling CaCaCa

May 29, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helections, Helplessness, Hideology, Hurt Feelings, Hypocrisy, Hysteria Tags: AKK, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, CDU, Censorship, Elections, EU, Free Press, Free speech, German, Germans, Germany, Political Parties, YouTube Leave a comment

Mini-MErkel alarm! Could this be the end of her beginning or the beginning of her end?

One can only hope for the later.

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (AKK), leader of Germany’s centre-right CDU, faced a massive backlash on Tuesday after calling for tighter rules on politicking on the internet, with critics accusing her of advocating online censorship.

Her comments came after European elections in which the CDU and its main left-of-centre rival, the Social Democrats, slumped to their worst results in a national election since the second world war, as voters defected in their droves to the Greens.

“Freedom of expression is a precious commodity in a democracy. What we need to talk about are rules that would apply during election campaigns.”

We Are The 92%!

May 28, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Humor, Hurt Feelings Tags: Activists, Anarchists, Berlin, Demonstrators, German, Germans, Germany, Leftists, Protesters, Radicals 2 Comments

Of leftist radicals still living at home.

What’s for dinner, Ma? Burning down banks and and other forms of capitalist exploitation can really work up a fella’s appetite.

92% of left-wing activists live with their parents and one in three is unemployed, study of Berlin protesters finds – The vast majority of left-wing protesters arrested on suspicion of politically-fuelled offences in Berlin are young men who live with their parents, a new report found.

The figures, which were published in daily newspaper Bild revealed that 873 suspects were investigated by authorities between 2003 and 2013.

Of these 84 per cent were men, and 72 per cent were aged between 18 and 29.

92 Prozent der Linksradikalen wohnen noch bei Mutti.

The Natives Are Getting Restless

May 27, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helections, Helplessness, Hideology, Hurt Feelings Tags: Elections, EU, Europe, European elections, European Parliament, Experts, Fake News, Media, Media Bias Leave a comment

Nice spin, though: Europeans showed belief in the EU project, experts claimed Monday, despite long-dominant centrist parties losing ground to euroskeptic and nationalist opponents in the EU elections.

So, by voting for euroskeptic and nationalist parties you are actually voting for the EU? Uh, OK.

Are we having fake news yet?

“I think the voter turnout shows that people really still care about the EU and what the European Union is doing. It shows a trend that, rather than weakening, it’s going to strengthen.”

More State Control Of Media In Germany?

May 26, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Higher Education, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: Facebook, German, Germans, Germany, Government Control, Media, Mind Control, Radio, Regulation, Social Media, State Control Leave a comment

Like, than they already have? What could possibly go wrong?

OK, it didn’t quite work out as planned back in the 1930s (or did it?), but today’s enlightened media experts are much more, you know, enlightened and stuff. And it is social media they’re talking about here, after all. So take a chill pill already. They’re from the government and they’re here to help.

A Lesson From 1930s Germany: Beware State Control of Social Media – Regulators should think carefully about the fallout from well-intentioned new rules and avoid the mistakes of the past.

The history of radio, and in particular how it was regulated in interwar Germany, is more relevant than ever: Five years ago, the question was whether we would regulate social media. Now the questions are how and when we will regulate them. As politicians and regulators in places as disparate as Berlin, Singapore, and Washington—even Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg—consider how best to do so, we should think carefully about the fallout from well-intentioned new rules and avoid the mistakes of the past.

“Our way of taking power and using it would have been inconceivable without the radio and the airplane.”

T.

May 25, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Hotness, Humor, Hurt Feelings Tags: GNTM 2019, Theresia 2 Comments

Beautiful German of the week.

Because somebody has to admire them.

Let’s Celebrate

May 24, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Higher Education, History Tags: 1949, Constitution, Democracy, German, Germans, Germany Leave a comment

Having democracy shoved down our throats!

You’ve come a long way, Germany. In those few short years (70) you have now become the Lehrmeister (schoolmaster) in all things democratic. Or at least you sure do come over that way. We couldn’t have done it without you. Or vice versa. Or whatever.

This month, a united democratic Germany marks the 70th anniversary of its constitution: the Grundgesetz, or Basic Law. The lengthy document—one version of the English text runs 135 printed pages—was composed under Allied supervision in 1948 and 1949. The final text was completed May 8, 1949; approved by the British, French, and U.S. occupying authorities on May 12, 1949; and entered into effect May 23, 1949. Its first article begins, “Human dignity shall be inviolable. To respect and protect it shall be the duty of all state authority.”

“Why don’t you sing Deutschland uber alles?”

What A Horrifying Thought

May 23, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helections, Helplessness, Higher Education, Home Cooking, Hostility, Hurt Feelings Tags: AfD, EU, EU-scepticism, European elections, European Parliament, Euroscepticism, France, Germany, Italy, Matteo Salvini, Netherlands 1 Comment

I shudder to think of what could happen to Europe after this weekend’s big European Parliament elections. I mean, should the people actually choose to vote for parties that would, gulp, “elevate the sovereignty and economic interests of individual member-states over the collective interests of the EU.”

The horror.

Salvini, who’s framed himself the de facto leader of this coalition, has embraced the slogan “Towards a Common Sense Europe.” Besides Le Pen’s National Rally and Wilders’s Party for Freedom, other far-right parties have joined the cause, including Germany’s Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) and Austria’s (currently scandal plagued) Freedom Party. Broadly, these leaders want to curtail immigration. They may want to reorient the EU’s priorities on the global stage, too.

But, mostly, they want to elevate the sovereignty and economic interests of individual member-states over the collective interests of the EU.

“There are no extremists, racists, or fascists in this square. Here you won’t find the far-right, but the politics of good sense. The extremists are those who have governed Europe for the past 20 years.”

PS: Isn’t that picture they chose to use for the article brilliant? No suggestive images here, folks.

Organized Criminals Of Mohammed

May 22, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Habeas Corpus, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Home Cooking, Hostility, Hurt Feelings Tags: Al-Salam-313, Crime, Gangs, German, Germans, Germany, Islam, Muslims, Organized Crime 1 Comment

Or “Warriors of Mohammed,” if you prefer.

Get your motors running or something. Here come Al-Salam-313.

German police launch raids on Iraqi organized crime gang – Heavily armed police have carried out a series of coordinated raids on the homes of members of the “Al-Salam-313” group. The targets are suspected of people smuggling as well as dealing in narcotics…

The gang members are part of the Shiite denomination who believe that the hidden Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi will return to earth with 313 companions. The term Mahdi means Redeemer, which therefore means that he is regarded as similar to a messiah in Islam.

“This is why they refer to themselves as Muhammad’s companions or warriors.”

Observing Hermann

“Was interessiert mich mein Geschwätz von gestern?”