I Know, We’ll Stop Lighting Public Monuments!

That’ll show that old Putin.

Symbolic gestures are just like wind and solar energy. You know, symbolic gestures?

Germany approves energy-saving measures for winter – The German government has approved a set of energy-saving measures for the winter which will limit the use of lighting and heating in public buildings.

The government aims to reduce gas usage by 2% through the new rules.

Fantasy Book From 1875 Not Up To Today’s Strict Moral Standards

The Virtue signaling industry is high gear again. And morally intoxicanted, as usual.

It’s a dangerous combination but we’re used to it, right? Cowardly search for and find something that might offend somebody somewhere, remove it from its historical context and then call yourself brave as you loudly apply a current attitude to the long-dead past.

German publisher pulls Winnetou books amid racial stereotyping row – Ravensburger Verlag reacts as debate rages over depiction of Native American character in children’s books.

A German publisher has announced it is withdrawing two new books paying tribute to a highly popular character in children’s fiction after facing accusations of racism and cultural appropriation.

At least this is a first. As far as I know, Germans have never banned books in the past. Or burned them or anything.

German Of The Day: Unermesslich

That means immeasurable. You know, like die Preise steigen ins Unermessliche. Prices are going through the roof.

German Power Price Soars, Hitting 700 Euros for First Time Ever – Europe’s benchmark electricity price jumped more than 25% on Monday to pass 700 euros per megawatt-hour for the first time. The level is about 14 times the seasonal average over the past five years.

European gas and power prices surged as panic over Russian supplies gripped markets and politicians warned citizens to brace for a tough winter ahead.

Benchmark gas settled at a record high, while German power surged to above 700 euros ($696) a megawatt-hour for the first time. Russia said it will stop its key Nord Stream gas pipeline for three days of repairs on Aug. 31, again raising concerns it won’t return after the work. Europe has been on tenterhooks about shipments through the link for weeks, with flows resuming only at very low levels after it was shut for works last month.

“The catastrophe is already there.”

I’m No Joe Biden

But I’m pretty damned unpopular all the same.

Over 60% of Germans are Dissatisfied with the Work of Chancellor Olaf Scholz – Currently, only 25% of Germans are satisfied with Scholz’s performance as chancellor, and as many as 62% are dissatisfied – a record low during his tenure.

If the chancellor had been elected directly, Scholz would have taken only third place. According to the survey, 25 percent would choose current Economy Minister Robert Habeck as Germany’s chancellor, 19 percent would choose CDU leader Friedrich Merz and only 18 percent would choose Scholz of the Social Democratic Party (SPD).

German Of The Day: Atomstrom

Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? That means nuclear power.

The real world has a way of biting you in your ideological ass from time to time.

Germany to Keep Last Three Nuclear-Power Plants Running in Policy U-Turn – Move prompted by the mounting economic war with Russia marks the first departure from a two-decade policy to abandon nuclear energy.

Germany plans to postpone the closure of the countr’s last three nuclear power plants as it braces for a possible shortage of energy this winter after Russia throttled gas supplies to the country, said German government officials.

Electricity prices in Germany:

Google Searches for ”firewood” in Germany:

Gas Price Already Unaffordable?

You won’t be able to pay for your heating this winter as it is? We’ll help out by adding an additional tax to that. Only we won’t call it a tax, of course. We’ll call it an Umlage. That means contribution, share, levy.

It’s what we do here in Green Germany. It’s for the greater good or something.

Germany Slaps Levy on Households to Spread Pain of Gas Surge – Government allows industry to pass on prices to consumers.

Germany’s government said households will face additional annual costs of about 290 euros ($296) to pay for natural gas as the burden of Russia’s squeeze on energy flows to Europe is redistributed.

German Of The Day: Mogelpackung

That means deceptive packaging (smaller amounts of a product for the same price). Or shrinkflation, if you prefer.

Forget Inflation. Shrinkflation Is Sparking Fury in Germany – German shoppers are getting increasingly angry at attempts to hike goods prices by stealth.

While so-called shrinkflation — where the cost of a product stays the same though its size declines — isn’t a new phenomenon, consumer-protection authorities in Europe’s top economy are being inundated by complaints.

Scam? What Scam? Me?

How could I have played a role? I don’t remember anything. I know nothing, nothing!

And German state media does its duty and doesn’t know anything either. Scholz is one of the good guys, you see (SPD).

Germany: Pressure grows on Scholz over tax scam ties – Germany’s main opposition party has called on Chancellor Olaf Scholz to explain his role in a large-scale tax evasion scam while he was mayor of Hamburg.

Germany’s main opposition party has called on Chancellor Olaf Scholz to explain his role in a large-scale tax evasion scam while he was mayor of Hamburg.

Scholz has been dogged by questions about meetings he had with private bank M.M. Warburg in 2016 and 2017. Hamburg officials later dropped demands for the bank to repay millions of euros in tax refunds it had wrongly claimed for share trades.

German Of The Day: Schwaches Glied

That means weak link. I could also mean limp member, but let’s not go there.

Weak. You know. Like the German economy?

From Europe’s powerhouse to its weak link: Germany’s economy stutters – Economic model that depends on exports has been hit by a series of external shocks.

Germany is experiencing a squall of shocks that are darkening its economic outlook. Along with soaring inflation, persistent supply chain problems and weaker global demand are weighing heavily on its industrial sector.

“What’s most worrying is just how broad-based the weakness in the economy is,” said Clemens Fuest, head of the Ifo Institute, a think-tank. In previous downturns, services suffered but industry recovered, and vice versa. “But now we’re seeing weakness across the board.”

Germany Absolutely Desperate

The Germans are now even willing to accept sour crude (its sulfur content exceeds 0.5%) from US-Amerika ITSELF.

How impure or something.

A tanker of U.S. sour crude was delivered at Germany’s port of Rostock last week for the first time ever, according to sources, analysts and vessel tracking data, as local refiners test alternatives to Russian oil.