Asteroid City

Det is Berlin.

Meteorites from Asteroid 2024 Bx1, which just hit Earth, may be super-rare space rocks – Meteorite hunters have successfully recovered fragments of an asteroid that impacted Earth over Berlin, Germany, on Sunday (Jan. 21).

“Generally speaking, for all types of meteorites, about 10 fireballs drop at least 300 grams of meteorites over an area the size of California, France, or Spain. Half of them happen during the daytime and go unobserved. The remaining half happens during overcast skies, leaving about two to three that are observable in theory, out of which only a tiny fraction actually get found.”

German of the day: Hupkonzert

That means horn concert.

Horn concert wakes up the capital: Thousands of farmers demonstrate in Berlin.

Before the planned protest demonstration by farmers at the Brandenburg Gate, participants with their tractors headed toward Berlin city center on Monday morning. Loud honking could be heard in several parts of the city in the early morning hours and also during the night.

Ring in the New Year

Or maybe they should call it ring of fire in the New Year.

Are we having cultural enrichment yet?

German and Dutch authorities fear repeat of NYE firework violence – Fireworks are traditionally used to ring in the new year in Germany and the Netherlands, with New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day the only times they can be set off without permission.

But in recent years, celebrations have come under increased scrutiny.

Last year, dozens of police and firefighters were injured during riots in Berlin. Authorities said some were deliberately targeted with fireworks.

Other cities including Hamburg, Bonn, Dortmund and Essen, also saw violence.

I don’t always stop and look at trains…

Oh wait, yes I do.

The first night train between Berlin and Paris will depart on Monday evening after a nine-year hiatus, plugging a significant gap in Europe’s increasingly comprehensive overnight rail timetable and giving a boost to travellers looking for a realistic alternative to flying…

Demand for tickets is high, with many on the most popular routes selling out minutes after they had gone online.

Gardner said the buzz and the demand was so considerable, that “it’s now as hard to get a place in the compartment of a deluxe sleeping car on the night train from Paris to Berlin as it is to reserve a table at Paris’s best restaurants”

German of the day: La malignità

Actually, that’s Italian. Meaning Schadenfreude, which is German. Meaning schadenfreude in English. Meaning malicious glee, of course. It’s complicated.

Meloni’s Italy Tastes Schadenfreude Over German Fiscal Fiasco – Stable ratings for Rome contrast with Germany’s fiscal pickle.

“Germans make mistakes too,” says professor at Bocconi.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni could be forgiven for feeling any schadenfreude this week while looking on at Germany’s unfolding budget debacle.

A string of fiscal wins for Rome has just coincided with a crisis rocking Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition in Berlin after a calamitous court judgment cast doubt on its financing plans.

It sure is a catchy little phrase

Has a nice ring to it. It’s kind of cute, even.

Sure glad we displayed it on Brandenburg Gate so everyone could see that we displayed it on Brandenburg Gate.

But now it’s back to business. Now it’s time to accuse Israel of genocide. You know, for, well, letting Hamas attack it like that? How dare they fight for survival. Damned Jewish Nazis.

‘Never again is now’: 1938 Nazi pogrom anniversary marked in Germany – ‘Antisemitism is poisoning our society’ says Olaf Scholz at Berlin synagogue that was destroyed 85 years ago and is again target of firebombing.

Thousands demonstrate in Berlin against Hamas terror attacks

Thousands of pro-Palestine demonstrators in Berlin have expressed their outrage at Hamas’s slaughter of innocent Israelis and their continued rocket attacks on Israel.

Just kidding.

But that is, of course, what should be happening.

In the German capital, thousands of people have taken to the streets in support of Palestinians and to demand a halt to Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip. The rally took place under strict police supervision.

Consequences?

In Germany? There are never any consequences here.

It’s just like back home in the Banana Republic itself. Nice try, though.

Germany’s Habeck warns antisemitism bears consequences – Germany’s vice-chancellor has underlined the country’s commitment to the security of the state of Israel. He also condemned a rise in antisemitic incidents and warned some offenders could face deportation.

German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck has spoken out emphatically about antisemitism in Germany — and, in particular, an uptick in hate crimes since the Israel-Hamas war began.

In a video posted online, the Green Party politician also warned that there would be consequences for those who exhibit antisemitic hatred.

So, everybody in the country loses their citizenship, or what?

That doesn’t seem fair to me.

Anti-Semites cannot be granted German citizenship under new law – minister.

A law under consideration by the German parliament would mean that people who have committed anti-Semitic acts can never be granted citizenship, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said on Wednesday.

“Our draft for the new citizenship law, which we will now discuss in the Bundestag, provides a clear exclusion of anti-Semites,” Faeser said in a statement issued after she met with Israeli ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor.