“Incomprehensible” And “Meaningless”

Are the previous court decisions ruling that the European Court of Justice can have primacy over national law in Germany. It’s also “incomprehensible” that it took so long for everybody to figure this out. I sure hope that this latest ruling won’t be ruled out as “meaningless” later but I’ve had my hopes dashed before.

Judge

Germany’s constitutional court sent shockwaves through Europe last week by ruling that the German government and the EU’s top judges failed to properly scrutinise the European Central Bank’s bond-buying programme.

The judgment threatens to turn the European Commission against Germany, the EU’s biggest member state. It raises doubts over the primacy of the European Court of Justice over national law. It also risks driving a wedge between the ECB and its biggest shareholder, the Bundesbank.

Germany’s highest court dismissed an earlier ECJ ruling in ECB’s favour as “incomprehensible” and “meaningless”. That bombshell decision opened the door to potential legal challenges against the EU from other countries, such as Poland and Hungary, whose authoritarian governments are already at odds with Brussels.

What, Me Worry?

Nothing can happen to me. I’m a German politician. Right?

Lockdown

But me and my fellow German politicians will play it safe and start labelling normal, law-abiding, protesting citizens “extremists,” “anti-democratic radicals,” “far-right nut jobs” and “conspiracy theorists” like we always do at times like this. Just in case.

Germany: Politicians worry about radicalization at anti-lockdown protests – German lawmakers from across the political spectrum on Monday warned that the growing wave of anti-lockdown protests could provide fertile ground for radicalization, including from the far-right. Over the weekend, thousands of people gathered in cities across Germany to demand an end to restrictions put in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We will not let extremists misuse the coronavirus crisis as a platform for their anti-democratic propaganda.”

The Natives Are Getting Restless

Germans, of all people, are slowly but surely losing patience with rules, regulations and restrictions – of the Coronavirus lockdown kind, I mean.

Demo

Demonstrations are now taking place throughout the country in which demonstrators are openly expressing their frustration with the false information and mixed signals coming from the politicians and medical experts who continue to curtail their fundamental rights. In other words, there ain’t gonna be a second lockdown, people.

3000 statt 80 Teilnehmer – Demo gegen Corona-Regeln. Die Demonstranten warfen der Politik und Medizinern vor, im Zusammenhang mit der Corona-Pandemie Panik zu verbreiten und die Grundrechte der Menschen zu beschneiden.

Official Holiday In Berlin – “What Are We Celebrating On May 8?”

Officially, it’s the 75th anniversary of the city’s “liberation” (Befreiung) as World War II ended. They couldn’t call it “Boy Did We Ever Get Our Ass Kicked Day,” I suppose.

Liberation

Or  maybe you could say it’s a day to commemorate the biggest daylight savings time reset ever. It’s when all the clocks in Germany were set to “zero hour.”

May 8, 1945, was ‘zero hour’ for Germany in multiple ways – Adolf Hitler was merely ash among the rubble when World War II ended in Europe. The desolate aftermath was dubbed “zero hour” by Germans — a more prescient term than they realized, for it also paved the way to rebirth.

Feiertag in Berlin – Was feiern wir am 8. Mai?

Semblance Of Normal Life Beginning In Germany

I mean, it’s beginning to look like the semblance of normal life that was normal life here in Germany before cornavirus hit. That kind of normal.

Covid19

It may only be a semblance but that’s about all you can hope for here, people.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel set out plans Wednesday for the gradual reopening of the country after weeks-long restrictions imposed to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

Limits on social contact will remain in place until June 5, she said, but Germans can now meet with members of one other household as well as their own. People must still remain 1.5 meters apart and cover their mouths and noses in public.

Shops can reopen but with additional hygiene measures, Merkel said, speaking at a news conference following a video meeting with the prime ministers of Germany’s 16 states.

„Wir können uns ein Stück Mut leisten, aber wir müssen vorsichtig bleiben.“

German Of The Day: Antikörper

That means antibodies. You know, like antibodies that block coronavirus from spreading further?

Corona

German scientists have detected an antibody that blocks the coronavirus from entering cells, providing a much-needed shield for severely ill patients. While not a cure or vaccine, it is still a significant development.

“This is clearly a breakthrough that shows that we are on the right track for the development of a drug against Covid-19,” said virologist Professor Luka Cicin-Sain.

“In repeated experiments, we were able to show that this result is sustainable.”

Deutsche Forscher finden Corona-Blocker.

I Got Your Quantitative Easing For You Right Here, Pal

Imagine that. A nation state (member state) ought to have a say in how its money is spent. What a radical new concept.

Court

Germany’s top court has ruled that the European Central Bank’s mass bond-buying to stabilise the eurozone partly violates the German constitution.

The ruling relates to government debt worth €2.1 trillion (£2tn; $2.3tn) bought by the ECB since 2015, but not purchases in the coronavirus crisis.

The Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe says there is not enough German political oversight in the purchases…

The plaintiffs are a group of German academics, including a former leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), Bernd Lucke. They argue that the purchases violate the EU ban on one eurozone member subsidising the debts of another.

It is now up to the ECB to explain how its mass bond-buying programme is “proportionate”. The Bundesbank could pull out if it is not satisfied, in three months’ time – which would be a big blow to the eurozone.

Attack On Journalists Already Long Forgotten

No self-righteous outrage here. The attackers who did the attacking were the wrong kind of attackers to attack.

Attack

They were leftist extremists and not right-wing extremists – as one is expected to expect here. And that’s harmless or cute or something. Germans in general and German media in particular are “blind in the left eye,” as the saying goes. This isn’t supposed to happen. So it doesn’t.

Authorities confirmed on Saturday that they are investigating the political motives behind an attack on the camera team of popular German satirical news show the heute-show [Today Show].

While filming on May Day, several members of the crew were attacked while filming in Berlin. Four members of the team sustained injuries severe enough to be sent to hospital. Five men and one woman were arrested.

Well, That Was Like Pulling Zähne

As in teeth. Better late than never, I guess.

Hisbollah

German government bans Hezbollah — Interior Ministry – Authorities have designated Hezbollah a terrorist organization and banned its activity on German soil. Police are currently conducting raids on four associations linked to the Islamist group…

Banning Hezbollah could strain relations between Germany and Iran. However, Iran is dependent on good relations with Germany and the European Union, exemplified most recently by the use of Instex, an EU-Iran trading mechanism designed to skirt US-imposed sanctions and export medical supplies to the pandemic-hit country. 

“Police measures are underway in several federal states concurrently. In times of crisis, the rule of law is able to act.”

Germans Now Testing On Human Subjects

Despite hearing every five minutes in the German media that a coronavirus vaccine won’t be availble anytime even remotely soon so forget about it already, a German pharmaceutical company has begun testing a potential vaccine on human beings THEMSELVES.

Frankenstein

If things go really bad they might receive regulatory approval really soon and begin trials in the United States too.

“We are leaving no stone unturned as we explore every option to help provide society with a treatment or cure.”