That means free-riding.
After solomnly commemorating the end of World War II 80 years ago…
German politicians solomnly commemorated the end of 80 years of free-riding on defense spending.
It was emotional.
Newly elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz joined a wreath-laying ceremony in Berlin. The Bundestag also held its own remembrance service.
That means understantment.
And boy oh boy is that here ever an Untertreibung:
Germans too mentally weak for war, warns former president – Joachim Gauck, president from 2012-17, says country needs to build up resilience as well as military strength.
That means pathetic.
Trump cabinet members tear into ‘pathetic’ European allies for ‘free-loading’ in leaked messages – The messages have come to light in an extraordinary security breach after a journalist was added to a high-level messaging group by mistake.
Key members of Donald Trump’s cabinet have ripped into European allies, branding them “free-loading” and “pathetic” in extraordinary leaked messages.
The messages have come to light after The Atlantic‘s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was added to a private Signal messaging group by mistake, by Trump’s national security adviser Michael Waltz.
Or for wear.
Or at least the German navy is.
Wow. That didn’t take very long.
German Navy sailors receive brand new uniform – With the new development of the shipboard combat suit, which began in 2023, the German Navy (Deutsche Marine) is presenting a new uniform for its seafaring personnel for the first time. The sailors will be equipped with it from the end of the year.
Not with Gen Z.
At least not with ze ones in Germany.
German army struggles to get Gen Z recruits ‘ready for war.’
Bundeswehr has a high dropout rate and the number of conscientious objectors is rising.
That means bonanza.
Time to invest in the German defense industry. But you knew that already.
Germany eyes swift moves on defence, investors sniff bonanza – The prospect of a military spending boom by Germany unprecedented since the Cold War sent Europe’s defence stocks soaring after Reuters reported the likely next government was mulling a fiscal sea change for Europe’s biggest economy.
Germany’s likely next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, did not confirm that his conservatives and the Social Democrats were considering setting up special funds worth nearly a trillion euros to finance urgent defence and infrastructure spending.
That means threat from within.
At Munich conference, US VP Vance warns European allies of ‘threat from within’ – Vice President JD Vance warned European allies attending the security conference in Munich, Germany, against “the threat from within,” arguing that European governments are exercising extreme censorship and have failed to adequately get a handle on “out-of-control migration.”
“The threat that I worry the most about vis a vis Europe is not Russia, it’s not China, it’s not any other external actor,” he said Friday. “What I worry about is the threat from within, the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America.”
Shoot them down with what?
Germany to shoot down drones near military sites – Germany’s cabinet has decided to authorise the army to shoot down suspicious drones seen near military sites or other critical infrastructure.
A statement from Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said that, “especially since [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine, we have seen that drones are being used more and more frequently, which poses an increasing challenge for the police and their current technology”.
Russia is suspected of launching a “shadow war” against Western countries supporting Ukraine – a charge it denies.
Tanks for nothing.
It Took Nearly Two Years, But Large Numbers Of German-Made Leopard 1 Tanks Are Finally Arriving In Ukraine – Almost as many of the tanks shipped between September and December as shipped between September and the summer of 2023.
If Germans are finally beginning to prepare for it.
‘Would you survive 72 hours?’ Germany and the Nordic countries prepare citizens for possible war – Apps and booklets are offering advice on how to build a bunker, stockpile food and live without electricity in case the worst happens
Germany is developing an app to help people locate the nearest bunker in the event of attack. Sweden is distributing a 32-page pamphlet titled If Crisis or War Comes. Half a million Finns have already downloaded an emergency preparedness guide.
Observing Hermann 