The Spiegel Says: US-Amerika One Big Debtor’s Prison

June 12, 2013 By Hermann Observer in Habeas Corpus, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hideology, High Art, Hurt Feelings, Hypochondria, Hypocrisy, Hysteria Tags: Climate Change, Debt, Debtor's Prison, German, Germans, Germany, Global warming, Poverty, Science, Scientists, The Ozone Hole, USA Leave a comment

More and more Americans are being punished for their poverty: Above all in rural areas judges have been putting delinquent debtors in prison as of late. This medieval practice is illegal, unconstitutional – and widespread.

“Diese Unsitte verbindet man mehr mit der Zeit von Charles Dickens als mit dem modernen Amerika.”

PS: Speaking of deplorable customs and disturbing developments – and good fiction – when are these deplorable refutations of sacrosanct scientific certainties ever going to stop?! I mean, what ever happened to the ozone hole? It’s not there anymore or something.

Well it’s One drink of wine, two drinks of gin… and I’m lost in the ozone again.

Euro Crisis Is Over Or Something

December 27, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings, Hypocrisy, Hysteria Tags: Austerity, Berlin, Debt, Debt Crisis, EU, Euro, Finances, German, Germans, Germany, Humor, Satire 1 Comment

So have a Happy New Year already.

Germany’s finance minister says the worst of euro area’s debt crisis appears to be over after three years of worries over Greece and other members of the group of 17 European Union countries that use the single currency.

Meanwhile…

Berlin’s mantra about spending cuts in the eurozone is bringing unemployment and spreading hopelessness across Europe.

So take your pick, it’s both.

“I think we have the worst behind us.”

Germans Concerned That Obama Maybe Could Might Not Be Reelected Doch Nicht (After All) Perhaps

October 1, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helections, Helplessness, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings, Hypocrisy, Hysteria Tags: Debt, Elections, German, Germans, Germany, Government spending, Humor, Obama, Political Science, Romney, Satire, Unemployment, USA, Washington Leave a comment

Germans everywhere are all aflutter these days at the prospect of their United States President maybe not being automatically reelected after all, like which ought to be selbstverständlich (understood) or something but isn’t irgendwie (somehow).

German political scientists have namely just discovered that the unemployment rate in the US of Obama is well over 8 percent (and has been during the entire Obama administration), poverty levels are way up (3.6 million more Americans live off state support than before he entered office), the rate of founding new companies is at a thirty year low, government spending and debt have risen to incredible levels and the economy will simply not kick into gear, with no recovery or White House plan to change any of this in sight (and with no George W. Bush in sight to blame anymore, either).

Otherwise though, Obama is still the perfect guy for the job. So alles wird gut (everything will fall into place), they HOPE (way cool slogan from somebody a few years back).

Gouverneur Martin O’Malley geriet in Verlegenheit. Ob es den Menschen besser gehe als vor vier Jahren, wollte ein Reporter von dem demokratischen Gouverneur Marylands wissen. “Nein”, hatte O’Malley geantwortet.

Well Banks Are Bad, Aren’t They?

September 9, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Habeas Corpus, Heconomy, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings, Hysteria Tags: Bad Banks, Banking, Berlin, Debt, ECB, German, Germans, Germany, Humor, Merkel, Satire, The Debt Crisis, The Euro Crisis Leave a comment

So what’s the big deal? Now all of ze Europe officially has a bad bank, too.

It’s called the ECB and is the “bad bank for all the junk debt of Europe.”

“Blank cheque for the indebted states,” was the headline of the top-selling Bild newspaper, a harsh, populist critic of the bailouts for Greece and other struggling euro zone nations, adding that the ECB move could render the euro “kaput”.

“Financial markets cheer the death of the Bundesbank.”

Germans Just Love The ECB’s New Bond-Buying Program

September 7, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Hate, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hurt Feelings, Hysteria Tags: Angst, Berlin, Debt, Fear, German, Germans, Germany, Humor, Polls, Satire, Spending, Surveys, The Euro Crisis, The Euro Zone, Waste Leave a comment

Not.

Which brings us to our next topic: The latest greatest German angst survey. A new study by R+V Versicherung (insurance) has just found out what Germans loved to be scared of most these days: The climbing cost of living (63 percent of those asked).

Außer den “Standard-Ängsten”, die die R+V Versicherung seit zwanzig Jahren bei 2500 Deutschen abfragt, stehen alljährlich auch aktuelle Themen zur Debatte.

Buy Our Debt, Please

August 31, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hurt Feelings, Hypocrisy, Hysteria Tags: Angela Merkel, Berlin, China, Debt, Debt Crisis, Euro Zone, German, Germans, Germany, Human Rights, Humor, Investiment, Satire Leave a comment

Angela Merkel just finished up another quick and dirty visit to China, this time to calm the Chinese down about the euro zone debt crisis and, well, to grovel for money. Neither aim was achieved just yet. But hey, you’ve got to be really patient with the Chinese, I’m told.

“The trip has a lot of ambitions: one, is to explain the euro zone debt crisis to the Chinese and two, convince the Chinese to keep supporting the euro zone and buying the bonds from some of the euro zone countries such as Italy and Spain and also Germany.”

And just in case you were wondering, no. She did not find the time to express German concern for human rights violations in China during this visit.

As Europe’s crisis persists, China increasingly sees Germany—its largest European trading partner—as a vital player in pulling the continent out of its slump, analysts say. Mr. Wen said his talks with Ms. Merkel Thursday have made him “more confident” in Europe’s ability to resolve the crisis.

The Symptoms Of The Times

August 26, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings, Hysteria Tags: Addiction, Bundesbank, Central Banks, Debt, Debt Crisis, ECB, EU, Euro, Euro Crisis, Europe, Germany, Greece Leave a comment

Withdrawal, I am told, can refer to any sort of separation, but is most commonly used to describe the group of symptoms that occurs upon the abrupt discontinuation/separation or a decrease in dosage of the intake of medications and recreational drugs.

In order to experience the symptoms of withdrawal, one must have first developed a physical/mental dependence (often referred to as chemical dependency).

„Notenbankfinanzierung kann süchtig machen.“

The Lesser Of Two Evils

July 24, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hurt Feelings, Hysteria Tags: Berlin, Debt, Finance, German, Germans, Germany, Greece, Moody's, Rating Agencies, The Euro, The Euro Zone Leave a comment

“Finally, a rating agency showed a sense for good timing. The announcement could hardly have come at a better time: Moody’s casts doubts on Germany’s top rating. The rating agency provided its top grade “AAA” rating with a negative outlook. This is perfect timing for the debate which has taken place these past few days concerning additional help payments to Greece.”

“The agency gives two main arguments behind taking this step, and they should be clear to everyone.

First there is the danger that Greece would leave the euro: Then the danger of further contamination for other countries like Italy and Spain would be a threat.

But secondly there is another, far greater danger: If none of these countries leave the euro, then financially weak states would have to be supported indefinitely by the stronger ones.”

“Germany continues to find itself in a very solid economic and financial situation.”

The End With Horror

July 23, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helections, Helplessness, Hurt Feelings, Hypocrisy, Hysteria Tags: Berlin, Debt, Euro, Europe, Financial crisis, German, Germans, Germany, Greece, Political Parties, Sayings, The Debt Cricis, The EU, The Euro Zone Leave a comment

No horror here. Or terror, if you prefer. How does that German proverb go? Lieber ein Ende mit Schrecken als ein Schrecken ohne Ende?

That is, better an end with horror than a horror without end. And that’s where we’re at with Greece now, finally.

German Vice Chancellor Philipp Roesler said he’s “very skeptical” that European leaders will be able to rescue Greece and the prospect of the country’s exit from the euro had “lost its terror.”

Get it over with already, people, and move on.

172 Economists Can’t Be Wrong

July 6, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Heconomy, Helplessness, Hurt Feelings, Hypocrisy, Hysteria Tags: Banking, Berlin, Debt, Economics, Economists, Economy, German, Germans, Germany, The Euro, The Euro Crisis, The Euro Zone 1 Comment

Right? Right.

We have to approach this differently, folks. Pick an economist. Pick five. Find one that has ever been right. When it comes to dire warnings about the future, I mean.

Sure, I don’t like the idea of Angela Merkel deciding “to agree to allow eurozone bail-out funds to support sinner states” either, but if 172 economists are all hot and bothered about it, then maybe it wasn’t such a bad decision after all.

“First of all, this is about better banking supervision, and one can only say that that is urgently necessary.”

Observing Hermann

“Was interessiert mich mein Geschwätz von gestern?”

Tag Archives: Debt