“To our surprise,”

July 7, 2024 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

You didn’t want me to lecture you in person.

So I’ll just have to lecture from here at home.

Diplomatic tensions are escalating between Germany and Hungary after Budapest canceled a meeting between Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó and his German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock, that had been planned for Monday in Budapest.

The unusual last-minute cancellation — tantamount to a diplomatic éclat — comes after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other EU leaders strongly criticized a trip by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to Moscow, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.

Baerbock had planned to raise the issue of Orbán’s meeting with Putin during her visit to Budapest on Monday. But “to our surprise, the Hungarian side canceled” the appointment with Szijjártó “at short notice,” a German foreign ministry official told reporters late Friday.

Best match in the championship so far

July 6, 2024 By in Hard Facts, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

That I’ve seen.

The Germans fought like Lions.

Euro 2024: ‘Insatiable’ Spain make history in defeat of Germany – Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said his players are “insatiable” for more success at Euro 2024 after creating history by knocking out hosts Germany at the Stuttgart Arena on Friday.

Peace bunkers are out

July 2, 2024 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

Now “war bunkers” are in. Again.

Germany plans new war bunkers – German cities are calling for new bunkers to be built, to protect the population in the event of war. But critics argue there’s no point.

There might be no better way to gauge a country’s anxieties than by checking in on the companies building panic rooms and private bunkers.

Business has been going worryingly well for BSSD Defence, the Berlin-based company that builds “protection room systems” for private, business and military applications. As well as a range of home security equipment, the company offers everything from “pop-up panic rooms” for around €20,000 ($21,400) to full-scale bunkers for close to €200,000.

It starts with “beef”

July 1, 2024 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Higher Education, Home Cooking Tags: , , Leave a comment

And ends up someplace later with “law.”

But the law is the law. And the German language is the German language.

Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz. Let’s give it a try: Beef labelling supervision and duties assignment law.

‘Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungs-aufgabenübertragungsgesetz’: how viral tongue-twisters lightened up German language…

Now German, the primary vernacular of about 100 million Europeans, is turning its prickly peculiarities into an asset with an embrace of Zungenbrecher (literally, tongue-breakers) that have touched off a global comeback of the wordplay, even among people who do not speak the language.

So, wait a minute.

June 19, 2024 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

Are you trying to tell me that diplomats are spies?

Yikes. I honestly had no idea.

Russia buying spies to make up for expelled diplomats, German agency says – Russia has turned increasingly to blackmail and financial incentives to hire Germans to spy for it after the blow dealt to its intelligence services by Europe’s expulsion of some 600 Russian diplomats, Germany’s domestic security service said.

The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) said Russian intelligence services were spending big to recruit agents in Germany despite Western attempts to limit their operations since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

I’d be upset too, Poland

June 18, 2024 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

Germany opened up the floodgates (Angela Merkel, 2015).

Let the Germans take care of the huddled masses yearning to be… to get a free lunch.

Poland upset after Germans return Afghan migrants – German police returned an Afghan family that had illegally departed Poland. Warsaw decried the move as a violation of law, German police say Polish counterparts left them waiting for hours.

“The transfer of foreigners to Poland by the German police was carried out in violation of the principles of cooperation between the two services and against the transfer law. The German authorities must not make such a decision arbitrarily.”

We’ll start checking our border crossings for once…

June 17, 2024 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

And jackpot! 1,400 unauthorized entries and 173 arrest warrants issued in one week.

Maybe we should do this more often. Like, for always and forever. And not just for Euro 2024.

Germany detects 1,400 unauthorised entries ahead of Euros, Bild says – Border authorities in Germany, host nation of Euro 2024, detected 1,400 unauthorised entries and issued 173 arrest warrants in the week preceding the soccer tournament, according to German newspaper Bild.

Expanded border controls introduced temporarily for the championships prevented 900 people from entering the country between June 7 and June 13, the Sunday paper said.

Never mix Afghans and soccer

June 16, 2024 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

And knives.

Particularly that knife part. Afghans and knives: Nicht gut. Damn. This guy must have been a real Scotland fan.

German police shoot to death an Afghan man who killed a compatriot, then attacked soccer fans – German police shot to death an Afghan man after he fatally attacked a compatriot and later wounded three people watching the televised opening game of the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in eastern Germany, police said Saturday.