“Nailed it”
German of the day: Islamkritische Bewegung
That means a movement critical of Islam.
But I don’t think they mean the movement of that guy’s knife.
Video shows anti-Islam activist among those stabbed in Germany knife attack – Videos shared on social media showed a man attacking several people with a knife in the southwest German city of Mannheim on Friday. The city’s police force confirmed the incident and said three people, including one officer, were injured but there was no further danger to the public as the suspect was apprehended.
The police did not immediately provide any information about the severity of the injuries or the identities of those involved, but one of those stabbed was a prominent German far-right political activist and critic of Islam, Michael Stürzenberger.
Nor do the police know yet what the motive of the attack was. Honest. No joke.
Here’s your opportunity!
To find a job in a country that has…
some of the lowest salaries in Europe,
the highest taxes in Europe (if not in the world),
the highest social “contributions” (taxes) in Europe,
some of the lowest retirement pensions in Europe (unless you’re a civil servant),
the highest energy prices in Europe,
the highest water and sewage costs in Europe,
some of the highest real estate taxes and related bureaucratic costs in Europe,
some of the highest rents and real estate prices in Europe and
a catastrophic lack of available apartments.
I’ll stop there. For now.
So don’t miss out on this opportunity, millennials!
Desperate for millennial talent, Germany launches ‘Opportunity Card’ giving migrants a year to look for a job – Between an aging population and an economy in seemingly perennial stagnation, Germany faces some major challenges. Could a visa aimed at attracting more young, hungry workers be the answer?
Germany is set to launch an “Opportunity Card” just in time for the summer, aimed at young foreign workers hoping either to eventually secure a long-term job or simply work in the country for a while.
“Chronic overwork?”
In the German army?
Damn. Dodging responsibility is more stressful than I imagined.
German army officer jailed for spying for Russia – A German military officer has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for spying for Russia.
The man, identified only as Thomas H, had been a captain in the army’s procurement office when he contacted Russian embassy in Berlin and passed on secret military information…
The man claimed that chronic overwork had impaired his ability to think critically about his actions.
Chill already
Please.
You climate criminals.
Alarm as German climate activists charged with ‘forming a criminal organisation’ – Action against Letzte Generation could have ‘immense chilling effect’ on climate protest, campaigners say…
According to prosecutors in the state of Brandenburg, the charges relate to more than a dozen “attacks” against oil refineries, the Berlin-Brandenburg airport and the Museum Barberini, in Potsdam, between April 2022 and May 2023.
The incidents include protests in which supporters of the group attempted to switch off oil pumping stations leading to the refinery, blocked airport runways and threw mashed potatoes at an oil painting by Monet.
Prosecutors said the charges applied to a subgroup of Letzte Generation, a Germany-wide campaign that has led to thousands of arrests in the past two years.
German of the day: Täter-Opfer-Umkehr
That means the reversal of perpetrator and victim.
As in: “Just seeking an arrest warrant against Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Hamas leader Sinwar at the same time is already an absurd reversal of perpetrator and victim.”
Would Germany arrest Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if the International Criminal Court issues an arrest warrant?
Yes, the Scholz government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit on Wednesday. CDU leader Friedrich Merz is clearly critical of this.
When asked whether Germany would comply with a decision by the court, the Scholz spokesperson said only briefly: “Of course, we comply with the law.”
German of the day: Reich
That means rich.
And Donald Trump apparently wants to “unify the rich” to help move our country down the right path. I mean up the right path, of course (Biden & Co. are responsible for the down part). And if anybody knows about rich, its Donald Trump.
Trump’s social media account shares a campaign video with a headline about a ‘unified Reich’ – A video posted to Donald Trump’s account on his social media network included references to a “unified Reich” among hypothetical news headlines if he wins the election in November.
Insurrection, German style
Boy oh boy. that was one close call for German democracy itself.
Or something. Yawn. This “coup” is so embarrassing it’s cute. A cute coup. It’s kind of like US-Amerika‘s January 6, only dopier. If you can imagine that.
Germany coup plot trial begins amid high security – Self-styled Prince Heinrich XIII among alleged ringleaders of plan for violent overthrow of state…
A total of 26 people are on trial – a 27th, a man in his 70s, died recently in hospital in Frankfurt – and the three cases are expected to go on for a year or more. Gundula Fehns-Böer, a spokesperson for Frankfurt’s regional court, said: “It’s a challenge for us all, but we’ll sit here for as long as we have to sit.”
The alleged plotters were arrested in December 2022, when heavily armed forces stormed houses, flats, offices and a remote hunting lodge. Investigators had surveilled the group in the previous few months. Among the arrests made were a leading member of the QAnon conspiracy theory organisation, a clairvoyant, a dentist and an amateur pilot.
Spies and saboteurs?
The Chinese? No way.
Communist governments would never do that kind of thing. They just aren’t those kind of people.
Germany could ban China’s Huawei, ZTE from parts of 5G networks – Germany is considering banning certain components from Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE in its telecoms networks, a government source said, in a potentially significant move to address security concerns.
“This is a sign that the German government may finally be taking China-related risks to national security seriously. But after years of dithering, the German 5G network is deeply dependent on Chinese suppliers. It will take many years to unwind this.”
German of the day: Büroschlaf ist am gesündesten
That means sleeping in the office is the most healthy kind of sleep.
Have the Germans become lazy at work?
Germans have long been known for their diligence, sense of duty, reliability and productivity. Recent data suggests that Germans are working fewer hours. But that doesn’t tell the whole story.
A glance at current OECD labor figures can be startling. In 2022, the average American worked over 1,800 hours per year, while the average German worked only 1,340 hours. However, labor market researcher Enzo Weber from the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) in Nuremberg, Germany, dismisses suggestions of the once-industrious Germans now only wanting to enjoy their sweet lives.
“Germany has a very high female labor force participation rate compared to most other countries,” Weber told DW, noting that the main difference to other countries was that about every second woman works part-time, which mathematically lowers the average annual working hours.
Observing Hermann 