Are criminal gangs behind it?

No. Well, yes. The criminal gangs known as “politicians.”

The old and the poor are doing the shoplifting because they can’t afford the food.

Shoplifting hits record high in Germany: Are criminal gangs behind it?

Shoplifting cost the German retail sector nearly €3 billion in 2024, a new record that was partially driven by organised crime. The federal government is also missing out on millions of euros in tax revenue.

German retailers noticed a gaping hole of missing merchandise worth €4.95bn when they completed their inventories in 2024. That’s according to a new publication by the country’s EHI Retail Institute, based on a survey they carry out each year.

Germans still pretending they don’t need nuclear power…

But it’s not as convincing as it used to be.

German government shows cracks over nuclear energy – The economy minister attended a meeting of EU states using nuclear energy, even though Germany shut down its last reactor in 2023. The environment minister was quick to insist Germany will stick to its nuclear phaseout.

“There are no further commitments [to the nuclear industry], nor will there be any.”

“Donald is right”

On China.

“On this point, Donald is right — there is a serious problem,” EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, as she slammed Beijing for disrupting global trade with subsidies to boost its own companies – accusing the CCP of “weaponizing” its leading position in the production and refinement of raw materials used for cars, batteries and wind turbines.

She then encouraged Trump to join forces with US allies to address China’s trade imbalances, rather than punishing them with his own tariff scheme.

“When we focus our attention on tariffs between partners, it diverts our energy from the real challenge — one that threatens us all.”

Trash Pandamonium!

A raccoon’s home is his Kassel.

Try putting a tarriff on this American export, Europe.

Rampaging raccoons: how the American mammals took over a German city – and are heading across Europe – Many in Kassel have embraced the animal but the EU classes it as an invasive species and ecologists are divided about what to do next.

In Kassel, everyone has a story about raccoons. Some struggle with a family of them that moved into their roof and simply will not leave. Others recount how a picnic in the park turned into an ambush as gangs of the black and white animals, known in Germany as Waschbären, raided the food. Almost everyone seems to have a neighbour who feeds them, to the annoyance of the entire street.

But nine out of ten do

At least.

Germany: One in four immigrants doesn’t want to stay – Why are immigrants leaving Germany? A new study shows that other countries are more attractive to economically successful foreigners. Discrimination also plays a major role.

“Twenty-six percent, or around 2.6 million people, say that they actually considered leaving Germany last year, i.e., they thought about leaving the country,” said Yuliya Kosyakova, head of the Migration, Integration, and International Labor Market Research Division at the IAB, as she summarized the figures at the presentation of the study in Berlin. “Around 3%, or 300,000 people, already have concrete plans to leave.”

Is that from the same guy who wrote “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas?”

Debt and precarious stagnation in the EU and Germany” sounds like a good read too.

Europe faces mounting fiscal strain as Germany pivots toward debt-financed spending to maintain political support…

The public has now lost faith in traditional muddling through and demands drastic changes.

This report focuses on Europe, where the economic situation has worsened considerably in recent years. Several countries on the old continent have become more vulnerable to shocks, and imbalances have piled up. Moreover, leaders have demonstrated an inability or unwillingness to address structural problems, yet they are all too eager to haughtily break their electoral promises, swim with the tide and gather consensus through frantic lawmaking in the name of emergencies, fairness and social justice.

Europe to make Trump “buckle under pressure”

And monkeys to fly out of Europe’s butt.

Trump will ‘buckle under pressure’ if Europe bands together over tariffs, German economy minister says – U.S. President Donald Trump will “buckle under pressure” and alter his tariff policies if Europe bands together, acting German economy minister Robert Habeck said Thursday.

“That is what I see, that Donald Trump will buckle under pressure, that he corrects his announcements under pressure, but the logical consequence is that he then also needs to feel the pressure,” he said during a press conference.

The European Debt Race

To the bottom.

You’ll never catch us! As in U.S.

Germany’s spending push drives up borrowing costs across Eurozone – Investors warn that higher bond yields could make it harder for members of the bloc to increase defence spending.

A surge in Eurozone government borrowing costs as a result of Germany’s planned defence spending spree will intensify debt pressures on other countries in the bloc and could make it harder for them to mount borrowing campaigns of their own, investors have warned.

There’s just less and less demand these days…

To go to Brussels.

Who would want anything to do with the European Parliament industrial complex if could be avoided?

Off the rails: Night train from Berlin to Brussels will stop running at the end of March – Passengers can still travel between Berlin and Brussels on an overnight train using the European Sleeper.

European Sleeper is also a much more appropriate name, I find.