Berlin’s Extinction Rebellion Already Extinct After About Forty Minutes

October 7, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Helplessness, Hideology, Hurt Feelings, Hype, Hypochondria, Hypocrisy Tags: Berlin, Climate Change, Demonstrations, Extinction Rebellion, German, Germans, Germany, Protest Leave a comment

They were just dying to die-in, I guess.

Literally dozens of members of the interplanetary environmentalist movement Extinction Rebellion beamed down to Berlin today to “swarm public squares only to collapse to the ground, symbolizing the death humanity faces if politicians don’t act against climate change” before being beamed back up to the mother ship again (or moth-er ship for that guy up there, maybe). Their message: If nobody “fixes” the climate pronto-like like yesterday already we may come back again before we all die anyway. And you don’t want that.

“We’re showing that it’s not just about schoolchildren taking to the streets,” said Jojo, 29, a climate activist who ditched work to attend today’s rally.

Government Spending In Action

September 29, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: Berlin, German, Germans, Germany, Government spending, Government Waste, Greens, Rent, Renters, Social Democracy, SPD, The Left Party Leave a comment

This time city governemnt.

A completely indebted city government that privatized the same properties for €405 million back in 2004 will now be buying them back for more than double the price. This will “keep the rents in Berlin stable.”

The horror never ends. “We’re from the government and we’re here to help.”

Terror In Da House!

September 25, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Hate, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hypocrisy Tags: Berlin, Brandenburg Gate, German, Germans, Germany, Greens, Hate, Israel, Jews, Palestinians, Rappers, SPD, Terror, The Left Party Leave a comment

We don’t rap against Israel. We just rap for military action against Tel Aviv.

And for the destruction of Israel. But that’s different than rapping against Israel. Ain’t no big deal. Performances like these take place all the time in Paris, London and Washington, right? Go, Berlin. Go, Germany.

Controversial Palestinian rappers to perform at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate – Known for their anti-Israel lyrics, Palestinian rappers Shadi Al-Bourini and Shadi Al-Najjar will headline a so-called “solidarity rally” held by Palestinian groups that the Israeli ambassador to Germany wants banned.

Palestinian rappers Shadi Al-Bourini and Shadi Al-Najjar are at the center of the controversy, with Berlin daily newspaper, the Tagespiegel, reporting that the duo released the song “Strike a Blow at Tel Aviv” in 2014 during the Israel–Gaza conflict in which “they fantasize about bombing the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, razing it to the ground and ‘crushing’ Jews.” The rappers have also attracted attention for their use of anti-Semitic symbolism.

“Strike a blow at Tel Aviv. Strike a blow at Tel Aviv. Strike a blow at Tel Aviv and frighten the Zionists. The more you build it the more we will destroy it.”

It Can’t Happen Here

September 11, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Habeas Corpus, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Hurt Feelings, Hypocrisy Tags: Assassination, Berlin, German, Germans, Germany, Murder, Russia 1 Comment

Or at least we’ll pretend that it can’t.

Russia was behind the murder last month of a former Chechen rebel in Germany, U.S. officials said on Tuesday, rekindling concerns that Moscow is ramping up an assassination campaign against the country’s perceived enemies abroad…

The absence of a German government reaction to Mr. Khangoshvili’s murder has sparked criticism from opposition parties that Berlin is eager to avoid a confrontation with Russia. A spokesman for the German government declined to comment and said the investigation was continuing.

“The United States believes that Russia is responsible for this assassination.”

King Kong Was Already Taken

September 8, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Higher Education, History, Home Cooking Tags: Activism, Angela Merkel, Berlin, Berlin Airlift, Berlin Wall, Berlin Zoo, Berliners, China, Democracy, German, Germans, Germany, Hong Kong, Panda Bears, Zoos Leave a comment

King and Kong were, I mean.

Berlin throws shade at China by voting to name panda cubs ‘Hong’ and ‘Kong’ – One of Berlin’s leading papers, Der Tagesspiegel, asked its readers to come up with name suggestions for the cubs, born Aug. 31 at the Berlin Zoo.

The cubs and their parents, Meng Meng, 6, and Jiao Qing, 9, belong to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, a Chinese research center. The Berlin Zoo pays $1 million a year to house the popular bears.

Others in the newspaper poll also suggested naming the cubs “Joshua Wong Chi-fung” and “Agnes Chow Ting” after two prominent Hong Kong democracy activists.

Sheesh. Berlin residents certainly give Hong Kong more consideration than their government leaders do. But, then again, Berliners know how important it is to show solidarity “with a city fighting for survival.”

“Treacherous Manslaughter?”

August 30, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Higher Education, Hurt Feelings Tags: Agents, Assassination, Berlin, Crime, German, Germans, Germany, Kremlin, Murder, Putin, Russia, Skripal 1 Comment

Getting shot in the head twice with a silenced Glock 29 by an electric bicycle-riding man in a Berlin park in broad daylight?

Except for the broad daylight part I’d say yeah, that’s pretty treacherous (“treacherous manslaughter” is what the suspected killer is being charged with).

The killing of a former Chechen separatist commander in central Berlin has raised concerns that Russia may have deployed an agent to a European nation to target a Kremlin opponent, a tactic it has been accused of using many times in the past.

The victim, Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, who fought against Russian troops in the second Chechen war 20 years ago, was on his way to Friday prayers last week when he was shot in the head twice by a bicycle-riding man using a handgun with a silencer, according to witness accounts cited in the German news media.

The Russian government in 2006 legalized the killings abroad of people who were judged to pose terrorist threats, resuming a Soviet-era practice.

Russischer Geheimdienst womöglich in Mord an Exil-Georgier verwickelt.

Berlin’s First Driverless Bus Hits The Street…

August 13, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hi-tech, Hideology, Home Cooking, Humor Tags: Berlin, Buses, Driverless Vehicles, German, Germans, Germany, Jokes, Language, Public Transportation, Transportation 1 Comment

Killing five.

Just kidding.

Berlin is already teeming with last-mile mobility options like shared bikes and e-scooters.

Now the city’s public transport company Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) is set to add driverless buses to the mix, testing its first autonomous shuttles on a public road this month.

The BVG has been testing the self-driving bus, developed by French company EasyMile, in the confines of a campus for the past year. This month it will face real-world traffic conditions on a 600 metre stretch from an underground station in the north-western part of the capital.

OK, folks. The key term here is BVG (Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe), the city’s public transport company. The joke around town is that BVG actually stands for Bin Vorsichtshalber Gelaufen or “decided to walk, just in case.” They’re not terribly reliable here, you see.

“Crotchety, Over-Critical Culture”

August 12, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hi-tech, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings, Hypochondria Tags: Attitude, Berlin, Business, Entrepreneurs, German, Germans, Germany, Psychology, Risk, Silicon Valley, Startups 1 Comment

Comparing Germany’s entrepreneurial business world to Silicon Valley’s? This post will be even shorter than usual.

One reason why California continues to draw talent out of Germany is the contrast between Germany’s crotchety, over-critical culture, with its fear and condemnation of failure.

This compares unfavorably with California’s inspiring can-do optimism and fail early, fail often, keep trying until you succeed” mantra. Additional reasons are the much higher salaries paid to engineers and programmer in California, the sunnier, warmer weather and California’s huge head start in building a startup-friendly business ecosystem.

“We need to build critical mass in one city, and that city is Berlin. It’s built a global reputation as a cool, hip, affordable city with a lively startup scene. We should double down on that.”

German Of The Day: Heimlicher Wortbruch

June 30, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hypocrisy Tags: Berlin, Defense, Defense Spending, German, Germans, Germany, Language, NATO Leave a comment

That means secret breach of promise.

Mr Trump accused Berlin of falling short of its NATO commitments during a meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda at the White House yesterday (June 12). The US President demanded that they increase their defence spending from one percent to two percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

NATO set a target for every member to spend two percent of GDP on defence by 2024.

But Berlin has only pledged to increase spending to 1.5 percent by that date.

Deutschlands heimlicher Wortbruch gegenüber der Nato.

German Of The Day: Richtig Angepisst

June 17, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings, Hypocrisy Tags: Berlin, Berlin Airlift, Bureaucracy, Candy Bombers, German, Germans, Germany, Greens, History, Language, Leftists, Social Democrats, Socialists, The Left Party Leave a comment

That means really pissed off. A lot of Berliners and candy bomber pilots certainly are.

Go Berlin! I mean, go Berlin’s SPD – Green – Left Party government!

About twenty so-called candy bombers flew over Berlin yesterday in celebration of the 70th Anniversary of the Berlin Airlift. They had to. The city of Berlin refused to permit the pilots of these historic c-47 (DC-3) aircraft to either land or throw down candy from above.

That’s the spirit or something. I think this guy summed it up nicely: Candy bombers supplied West Berlin in 1948-1949. The socialists tried starving Berlin back then. Today, the socialists run the government in Berlin and refuse to allow the candy bombers transit over restricted areas and won’t even allow these heroes to land. A disgrace for Germany.

Ein Sprecher des Berliner Bürgermeisters äußerte sich gegenüber der “Bild”-Zeitung zu den Vorwürfen: Man habe trotz verlängerter Fristen nicht alle nötigen Unterlagen erhalten.

Observing Hermann

“Was interessiert mich mein Geschwätz von gestern?”

Tag Archives: Berlin