Shame On Him!
Trump treats Germany like ‘America’s worst ally.’
Especially because, well, like, you know… They are.
North Korea, China, Iran, Cuba, Venezuela: America currently has disputes with a lot of countries. Europeans, meanwhile, have done quite well at keeping their heads down. A US-EU trade truce is still holding. And Nato’s 70th anniversary festivities in Washington came and went in early April without tweet fireworks from the president threatening US withdrawal.
There was one notable exception to this queasy peace, however: Germany.
At a think-tank event during the Nato celebrations, vice-president Mike Pence castigated Germany for its inadequate defence spending and for being a “captive of Russia”. A few weeks later, presidential daughter-in-law Lara Trump opined on Fox Business that Angela Merkel’s welcome of refugees in 2015 had been Germany’s “downfall” and “one of the worst things to ever happen” to the country.
Germany is, in fact, having a bit of a moment in the roiling imagination of the Trumpian nationalist right. It has been denounced as “selfish” and “America’s worst ally” by Ted Bromund, a scholar at the Heritage Foundation. Jakub Grygiel, until last year a member of the State Department’s policy planning staff, called it “a source of fear and resentment”. And Michael Anton, a former senior White House adviser for strategic communications, just published an essay on the “Trump Doctrine” which contends that the EU is “a fraud” and Germany “treats the EU as a front organisation”…
Like I said. All of this is outrageous. And, well, I dunno, like, how should I put it? True. It’s actually much worse than all of that but nobody wants to hear it so, shame on you, President Trump!
Well, It’s Not Like They Could Be Arrested
Drug dealers need a safe space, too. At least in Berlin they do.
Drug dealers in Berlin are to be given designated spaces in a city centre park to carry out transactions, leading to criticism that authorities have capitulated to criminal gangs.
For years there has been a heated debate about Görlitzer Park, a popular meeting point in the trendy southern Berlin district of Kreuzberg, which has been attracting an ever increasing number of drug dealers. Local people said they were reluctant to let children and pets roam free there.
After repeated attempts by police to clear the dealers failed, the park manager declared areas where they should be allowed to operate, identified by spray-painted pink boxes.
“This method has purely practical reasoning behind it. It’s not that we’re legalising the selling of drugs.”
“Why The Name Mohammed Is So Popular”
In Germany. In Berlin, in particular. That’s the title of this article down here.
I didn’t bother to read it. I’m pretty sure I know why that is and I don’t need a journalist explain to me why I’m wrong.
Mohammed is the most popular name for baby boys in Berlin… Bild, a German newspaper, reported data from the Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache (GfdS), or German Language Society.
Mohammed in all its variants was the most popular name in Berlin, and the second most popular in Bremen, ahead of Ben but behind Elias.
Dass Mohammed in Berlin erstmals auf Platz eins der Vornamen-Hitliste steht, sorgt für Aufregung. Aber warum eigentlich?
German Of The Day: Dringliche Angelegenheiten
That means pressing issues.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo abruptly canceled a scheduled trip to Germany where he was planning to meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel “due to pressing issues,” the State Department said early Tuesday.
No specific reason was given for the cancellation. The press pool traveling with Pompeo has not been told where they are going next, and have been warned they may not be able to report from the country they are going to until after they leave…
The sudden schedule change comes two days after the Pentagon deployed a carrier and a bomber task force to the Middle East in order to send a message to Iran, which the Trump administration has recently been putting pressure on. Pompeo said Sunday night that the deployments have been in the works for “a little while” and that the US will “hold the Iranians accountable for attacks on American interests.”
US-Präsident Trump verhindert den Berlin-Besuch seines Außenministers – wegen “dringlicher Angelegenheiten”.
Germany’s Once Mighty Air Force?
That must have been a long, long time ago.
All of the Reasons Germany’s Once Mighty Air Force Is Dying – The German magazine Spiegel recently revealed that most of the Luftwaffe’s—the modern German air force’s—128 Eurofighter Typhoons are not flightworthy.
In fact, only about ten of the aircraft are ready for operations, Spiegel said. This raises doubts about Germany’s ability to meet its NATO defense commitments.
“The problem is complicated.” Uh, no it’s not. This is nothing new. The Germans simply don’t care.
Nobody Supports Hamas Terror
But if they absolutely, positively have to pick a target…
Eurovision entrants rehearse in Tel Aviv as rockets rain on south – No cancellations as international bands continue to arrive and prepare for song contest, which opens May 14
“We are here to sing and we hope the music will beat everything.”
Neun Tage vor Eurovision Song Contest – Hamas droht mit Angriffen auf Tel Aviv.
Simone
Well, We Certainly Don’t Want To Spark Controversy
Do we? German conference on Islamic veil sparks controversy.
The Islamic veil – Symbol of dignity or oppression? I’m going to go out on the limb here, folks. I’m going with oppression. Just sayin’.
Islamic veils are a hot topic in Germany, particularly due to a growing Muslim population. Now, outcry over an academic conference on the issue has surprised even its organizer, who says freedom of speech is at stake…
Germany’s Muslim population, which has rapidly increased in recent years due to immigration from Muslim-majority countries, was estimated at between 4.4 and 4.7 million people or approximately 5.5% of the country’s total population in 2015, according to the Federal Statistical Office. The number is doubtless higher now, according to the agency, but updated official figures exist.
With these demographic changes come societal debates — one of which, that of the Islamic veil, has been a continual source of discussion. The latest veil controversy, which made headlines all across Germany, has occurred over a planned academic conference — something that even its organizer did not expect.
“Dissenting opinions must be respected and tolerated.” Must they? For how much longer?
I Want Whatever The New York Times Just Had
While the New York times asks itself “Why Is Socialism Coming Back in Germany?” a young, supposedly up-and-coming SPD politician has just made himself a national laughing stock by suggesting the “collectivization” of BMW.
Not even Germany’s ex-communist partially Stalinist now socialist (or whatever they call themselves this week) Left party comes up with bat shit crazy ideas like that. Everyone is asking themselves what this guy has been smoking.
No, New York Times. Socialism might be alive in well down in Venezuela these days but it will continue to have a tough stand in Germany, flirtatious as the Germans may seem at times.
Die Empörung über die Sozialismus-Thesen des Juso-Vorsitzenden ist groß. Die SPD-Spitze spielt die Aussagen herunter.
Observing Hermann 