Just Like I Got Everything Else Wrong

Ever. But who cares? I’m just the President of Germany.

I got Putin wrong, says chastened German President – German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, long an advocate of Western rapprochement with Russia, expressed regret for his earlier stance, saying his years of support for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline had been a clear mistake.

Steinmeier, a Social Democrat who served as Foreign Minister under Chancellor Angela Merkel before being elevated to the presidency, said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine meant he and others had to reckon honestly with what they had got wrong.

New Business Model

Man Got 87 Doses Of Covid-19 Coronavirus Vaccines – On some days, he got as many as three separate shots.

Reportedly, each time the man showed up to get vaccinated, he was armed, so to speak, with another blank vaccination document so that the vaccine batch number could be filled in the document after he got the shot. He could then sell these documents to people who wanted to pretend that they had gotten vaccinated and needed faux Covid-19 vaccination records. This scam may have worked, oh the first 80 or so times. But eventually staff members recognized the man, caught on, and notified the police.

It’s Time To Drop Your Masks, Germans

And show us your real faces.

Faces plagued by real problems, for a change. Problems like finding new sources of energy that will keep your homes heated and your economy running (and breaking free from your dependency on Russian energy = 50%), skyrocketing inflation, dire economic forecasts and that little war thing going on in Ukraine just a few miles down the road, for instance. COVID-19? What’s COVID-19?

Starting Friday, a number of rules and restrictions went away in much of Germany. That means no more masks in most shops, and no more proof of vaccination or day-of test in restaurants. Though some public transportation systems, individual businesses and institutions will keep mask requirements in place, the move to drop the majority of mandates tracks with many of Germany’s neighbors.

German Of The Day: Ärmer

That means poorer.

As in “we will become poorer as a result.”

Germany “will be poorer” because of Russia’s assault on Ukraine, the government’s economy minister has warned, as soaring energy prices fuel record inflation and threaten to tip Europe’s biggest economy into a recession.

“It is not possible that this ends without costs for German society, it is unthinkable,” Robert Habeck told public broadcaster ZDF on Wednesday. “I believe that we are ready to pay this price which is small enough compared to the sufferings in Ukraine.”

Skyrocketing Inflation, Dismal Economic Growth, War Next Door, Pandemic, Sucky Weather…

Otherwise, though, things are looking up in Germany.

Germany inflation hits 30-year high at 7.3%, growth outlook dims – Inflation in Germany jumped to a record high since reunification in 1990. Growth expectations have been slashed amid fears the Ukraine conflict will hit Europe’s biggest economy hard.

The Germans Have Great Faith In Authority?

Why shouldn’t they? It’s served them really well in the past.

The German Faith in Authority – The ongoing pandemic revealed two problematic aspects of German society. Firstly, there appears to be widespread faith in government bodies and their decisions – and secondly, and conversely, there is a lack of scepticism towards the political process and the players in it. This includes the lack of a critical approach towards mainstream media.

“While the German is still pondering, the French have been to the streets three times already.”

Great Idea!

Pass a law that mandates gas storage facilities be filled by winter.

Only, what are you going to fill these storage facilties with? If Vladimir Putin turns off the gas, I mean. Oktoberfest beer?

Germany approves law mandating full gas storage before winter – The Bundestag lower house on Friday approved legislation requiring Germany’s privately-operated gas storage facilities to be full at the start of the next winter, to try to avert shortages in the event of a halt in Russian gas imports.

German Of The Day: MEGA-Blackout

That means mega-blackout.

IF PUTIN TURNS OFF OUR GAS TAP – Government warns companies of MEGA-Blackout!

And here’s some more German of the day: Lass den Rubel rollen! That means let the rouble roll, as in spend, get that cash rolling!

Castes A Shadow Over Her Party?

But not over her? How convenient. Even that saluting soldier down there can see that something ain’t kosher with her.

Talk about Teflon. But even the Germans will scratch it all off eventually, Mutti. Get those memoires out ASAP!

Merkel’s Legacy on Russia Casts a Shadow over Her Party – Angela Merkel had been fully aware of just how brutal Vladimir Putin could be. She even admitted the Nord Stream 2 pipeline had been a “devil’s project.” But why didn’t she do anything to change Germany’s energy dependence on Russia – and why is her party so quiet about it now?

Grab a pencil and a piece of paper and I’ll explain to you: She systematically bumped off anybody in her party who dared to have an opinion other than hers. See Friedrich Merz, the guy who came back in from the cold to run the party now. They’ll get around to dismantling her eventually, once they’re in power again.

PS: Personally, I think she was a Russian mole. But maybe that’s just me.

German Of The Day: Endlich

That means finally. You know, like in “Finally! German anxiety is growing again.”

As if it had ever stopped.

Sales of “pop-up panic rooms” are booming.

German anxieties grow as Ukraine war continues – War has returned in Europe — and with it strong fears for the future. Germans are preparing for an emergency.