Tag Archives: German

No Scheiße, Sherlock

February 26, 2023 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness Tags: , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Ukraine updates: Germans see arming Ukraine as involvement.

A poll conducted by Germany’s DPA news agency suggests many Germans disapprove of arming Ukraine in its war against Russia. Meanwhile, Russia’s Medvedev denied the country was running out of missiles.

Fifty-one percent of the respondents thought arming Ukraine meant being part of the war, an argument that Russia has been pushing. Meanwhile, 37% disagreed with the statement.

Germany has approved some €2.6 billion ($2.75 billion) worth of weapons and armaments since the start of the war.

Forty percent of those polled considered the amount of weapons support from Germany to be too much, 22% thought it was too little, and 23% thought it was just the right amount.

German Of The Day: Sonntagsreden

February 24, 2023 By in Habitudes, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means Sunday sermons. As in political sermons that sound nice to those giving them but never lead to anything other than nonbinding resolutions.

Like the one German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock gave yesterday at the United Nations – the world’s most popular venue for Sonntagsreden.

Germany’s foreign minister Annalena Baerbock addressed the United Nations General Assembly before a vote for a U.N. resolution upholding Ukraine’s territorial integrity and calling for a cessation of hostilities after Russia’s invasion. Every country, she argued, had a duty to send a clear signal that the war was coming to an end. Addressing the 30 to 40 countries likely to abstain from the resolution, including China, India and South Africa, she noted: “Today each of us has to make a decision to stand in isolation with the oppressor or stand together for peace.”

The U.N. General Assembly then approved a nonbinding resolution Thursday that calls for Russia to end hostilities in Ukraine and withdraw its forces, sending a strong message on the eve of the first anniversary of the invasion that Moscow’s aggression must stop.

The resolution, drafted by Ukraine in consultation with its allies, passed 141-7, with 32 abstentions.

German Of The Day: Bürokratie

February 23, 2023 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

That means bureaucracy.

Warning: This is taken from yet another regularly occuring German article about how German bureaucracy is way out of control and somebody needs to finally do something about it but no one ever will of course because everybody here in Germany knows this is precisely the way the Germans like to have it.

Germany’s aging bureaucracy risks undermining ambitions – From immigration to the energy transition, the success of Germany’s biggest economic priorities relies on an increasingly older, paperbound bureaucracy getting its act together.

German Of The Day: Abschiebungen

February 19, 2023 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means deportations. German deportations. Deportations that don’t work, in other words. Migrants deported for criminal offences just turn around and come right back to Germany again. Why, how criminal or something. That they’re able to do so, I mean.

Thousands of deported migrants reenter Germany – Nearly 6,500 people deported from Germany sneaked back to the country over the past three years, police told Bild newspaper.

Citing federal police statistics, the newspaper said 6,495 foreigners had returned or tried to return over the past three years.

During that period, the number of returnees increased by 74%.

“These numbers reveal the enormous gaps in Interior Minister Nancy Faeser‘s security policy.”

German Of The Day: Flüchtlingschaos

February 17, 2023 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means refugee chaos. You know, as in “Germany threatened with new refugee chaos?”

Hey, what’s one million+ refugees and migrants (every year) for a country like Germany (80 million inhabitants – a considerable number of those also refugees)? Ain’t no big deal. Nancy Faeser (SPD) says she has everything under control.

Germany faces repeat of 2015 refugee crisis as 1mn Ukrainians seek safety – Figure exceeds number of migrants who arrived in the country in 2015-16.

Germany is facing a refugee crisis on an even greater scale than in 2015-16 when almost 1mn asylum-seekers surged into the country, officials said, as Ukrainians pour into Europe’s largest economy in search of safety.

“The problem is now bigger than it was at the peak of 2016,” said Reinhard Sager, head of the Association of German Counties, saying the huge number of Ukrainians had come on top of the many immigrants from other countries as well as those who arrived in 2015-16.

“The mood in the country threatens to tip over,” said Peter Beuth, interior minister of the western region of Hesse. He called on Berlin to do more to reduce the numbers of migrants by speeding up the deportation of failed asylum-seekers to their countries of origin.

Germany Lecturing Others About Not Taking Their Defense Seriously

February 15, 2023 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Hurt Feelings, Hypocrisy Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

German of the day: Ein Esel schimpft den anderen Langohr. That means “a donkey scolds the other long-eared.”

In other words, the pot is calling the kettle black.

Germany chides allies for delays in delivering tanks to Ukraine – Defence minister expresses disbelief at slow progress by countries that pressed Berlin for Leopard decision.

Germany’s defence minister has voiced his frustration with European partners who spent months pressuring Berlin to supply tanks to Ukraine but have so far failed to deliver any of the heavy armour themselves.

German Red Tape And Officialese In English?

February 14, 2023 By in Helplessness, Higher Education, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

I can hardly wait!

German call for English to be second official language amid labour shortage – Politician from governing FDP says skilled foreign workers are being put off by unwieldy bureaucratic German.

“When it comes to ordinances and laws, the official language in this country applies for reasons of legal certainty, and that is German,” a spokesperson for the Civil Servants’ Association said.

He Was Only Able To Run Over The Guy’s Foot?

February 7, 2023 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

That’s pretty schwach (weak, a weak performance).

Hey, what’s the big deal? When you’re one of the “last generation,” you’ve already got one foot in the grave.

“Last generation” blocks traffic in Berlin: motorist apparently drives over foot of climate activist – The RBB reported on Monday evening that a car driver had run over the foot of a climate activist at Messedamm and published a corresponding video. On it, two people can be seen dragging two climate activists off the street. Then a white car drives up and hits the foot of an activist sitting on the street. When the activist shouts loudly, the vehicle reverses.

German Of The Day: Rezessionsängste

January 30, 2023 By in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

That means recession fears.

German economy unexpectedly shrinks in Q4, reviving spectre of recession – The German economy unexpectedly shrank in the fourth quarter, data showed on Monday, a sign that Europe’s largest economy may be entering a much-predicted recession, though likely a shallower one than originally feared.

Gross domestic product decreased 0.2% quarter on quarter in adjusted terms, the federal statistics office said. A Reuters poll of analysts had forecast the economy would stagnate.