Size Matters

August 21, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hi-tech, High Art, Hypocrisy, Hysteria Tags: Automobiles, Cars, Fuel Costs, German, Germans, Germany, Green Technology, Greens, Horsepower, Humor, Satire, The Environment 1 Comment

There appears to be only one thing that Germans love more than being greener than green and concerned about saving the environment (and having to pay soaring fuel prices all the damned time in the process).

And that’s buying big honking high-horsepower cars with ever bigger engines all the freakin’ time. Vroom! Vroom!

In the first seven months of 2012, the average horsepower of the engines of new cars sold in Germany stood at 138 hp, up from a previous record of 135 hp seen in 2011 and 130 hp in 2010.

Die Deutschen lieben immer stärkere Autos – im Schnitt hat jeder Wagen um drei PS zugelegt.

The Time Tunnel

August 20, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Hi-tech, History Tags: Berlin, German, Germans, Germany, History, The Cold War Leave a comment

A section of an ingenious tunnel built by U.S. and British spies to intercept Russian phone conversations in Cold War Berlin has been found after 56 years in a forest 150 kilometers from the German capital.

The 450-meter-long tunnel, built in 1955, led from Rudow in West Berlin to Alt-Glienicke in Soviet-occupied East Berlin. By tapping into the enemy’s underground cables, Allied intelligence agents recorded 440,000 phone calls, gaining a clearer picture of Red Army maneuvers in eastern Germany at a time when nuclear war seemed an imminent threat.

Decision Delayed On Delayed Airport’s Latest Delay

August 19, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Heconomy, Helections, Helplessness, High Art, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings, Hustle (Hoax), Hypocrisy, Hysteria Tags: Airports, Berlin, Berlin-Brandenburg Airport, Corruption, German, Germans, Germany, Government Waste, Humor, Klaus Wowereit, Planning, Projects, Satire, SPD, Waste Leave a comment

Late for a delayed press conference, which was then delayed again, Berlin officials have now announced their decision to delay their decision to delay Berlin’s delayed Airport’s latest delay.

Berlin mayor Klaus Wowereit, a Social Democrat who has made the Berlin-Brandenburg Airport his flagship project, wasted no time in delaying further comment for later, unless delayed.

“Wowereit is making the city look more and more ridiculous in international eyes.”

No One Can Explain German Power Grid Instability

August 17, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Helections, Helplessness, Hi-tech, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings, Hustle (Hoax), Hypochondria, Hypocrisy, Hysteria Tags: Berlin, Fukushima, German, Germans, Germany, Humor, Nuclear power, Renewable energy, Satire, Solar energy, The Energy Turnaround, The Green Shirts, Wind Energy Leave a comment

But as far as I can tell, it seems to have begun sometime shortly after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan.

Sudden fluctuations in Germany’s power grid are causing major damage to a number of industrial companies. While many of them have responded by getting their own power generators and regulators to help minimize the risks, they warn that companies might be forced to leave if the government doesn’t deal with the issues fast…

The problem is that wind and solar farms just don’t deliver the same amount of continuous electricity compared with nuclear and gas-fired power plants. To match traditional energy sources, grid operators must be able to exactly predict how strong the wind will blow or the sun will shine.

“Every company — from small businesses to companies listed on the DAX — are buying one (APC emergency power generators) from us.”

World’s Largest Brown Coal Power Plant Inaugurated In Germany To Help Save Environment

August 16, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Helplessness, Hi-tech, Home Cooking, Hustle (Hoax), Hypochondria, Hypocrisy, Hysteria Tags: Berlin, Brown Coal, Clean Energy, Coal, German, Germans, Germany, Green energy, Humor, Nuclear energy, Renewable energy, Satire, The Energy Turnaround, The Green Shirts Leave a comment

This German energy turnaround stuff can get really complicated, I find.

But as far as I can tell, dirty energy is clean energy here, too. As long as it’s German-made, that is.

“Dieser Neubau ist ein herausragender Beitrag zum Gelingen der Energiewende.”

Clean Power Cleaning Us Out

August 15, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Habeas Corpus, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hi-tech, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings, Hustle (Hoax), Hypochondria, Hypocrisy, Hysteria Tags: Energy, Fukushima, German, Germans, Germany, Government Intervention, Green energy, Humor, Ideology, Renewable energy, Satire, Taxation, The Green Shirts Leave a comment

The German textile industry, among others, is mad as hell and isn’t going to take it anymore. Not when it comes to having to pay billions into the governments way cool Ökoenergie-Förderung (clean energy surcharge = tax).

That is why three companies now plan to challenge this surcharge subsidizing renewable energy in court.

More good government in action again, I guess. Energy companies have to pay the price for electricity generated through renewable technologies, and transfer the extra cost on to their customers. While energy-intensive industries like aluminum or steel are free from the surcharge, most of the textile industry has to pay.

“You cannot get an energy turnaround for free.”

Angela Tea Party Merkel

August 14, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Hate, Heconomy, Helections, Helplessness, High Art, Home Cooking, Humor, Hypocrisy, Hysteria Tags: Angela Merkel, Berlin, Economists, Economy, German, Germans, Germany, Hayek, Humor, Keynes, Romney, Ryan, Satire, Taxation, Taxes, Tea Party Leave a comment

“Wait a minute… This seems familiar to me. Romney and Ryan stole all this from Angela Merkel! That which the Tea Party wants to do is already being done by Merkel here, and for quite some time now: She wants to force other European states to save instead of just continuing to throw money at them.”

“With Ryan as vice-presidential candidate, the presidential election now has two clear and easily understandable alternatives: Obama wants to save the economy by going further into debt (financed through taxes) and pumping this into the economy. Romney and Ryan want to save the economy by lowering taxes (which should lead to more private investment) and forcing the state to save.”

Ich habe jedenfalls nie verstanden, warum die Deutschen die Tea Party nicht mögen. Logisch ist das nicht: Einerseits sind die meisten Deutschen erschrocken und verängstigt ob des schwindelerregenden amerikanischen Haushaltsdefizits und fest überzeugt, dass Amerika die Staatsschulden abbauen muss. Sonst würde es doch irgendwann zusammenbrechen oder von China aufgekauft. Gleichzeitig aber hassen sie die einzige politische Bewegung, die genau dafür kämpft – die Tea Party.

And now here’s some economist rap.

Friedman’s Prophecy

August 13, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Heconomy, Helplessness, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings, Hysteria Tags: Berlin, Currency, Euro, Eurozone, German, Germans, Germany, Greece, Italy, Milton Friedman, Spain, The Euro Crisis, The Financial Crisis Leave a comment

I don’t believe in prophets. I’m very skeptical when it comes to economists of all flavors, too.

But when looking around at what’s going on here in Europe these days and considering how even the Spiegel itself now warns us about investors preparing for the euro collapse, I can’t help but wonder if Milton Friedman didn’t have a functioning crystal ball after all.

“There is no historical precedent for such an arrangement (the euro). It involves each country’s giving up power over its internal monetary policy to an entity not under its political control. Such a system has economic advantages and disadvantages, but I believe that its real Achilles heel will prove to be political; that a system under which the political and currency boundaries do not match is bound to prove unstable.”

Now I’ll Call Swiss Bankers Organized Criminals

August 12, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Habeas Corpus, Habitudes, Heconomy, Helplessness, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings, Hypocrisy, Hysteria Tags: Berlin, German, Germans, Germany, Informants, Politics, Populism, SPD, Swiss Banks, Switzerland, Tax evasion, Taxation Leave a comment

Unable or unwilling to address the real reason why Germans (who can) move their money out of this country to countries where their money is treated better, SPD boss Sigmar Gabriel has now accused Swiss banking of “legalizing tax evasion.”

Maybe if the German state wouldn’t burn as much money as it does, those being milked might consider leaving it here. And maybe before accusing others of criminal intent, he might want to ask himself if the now regular practice of dealing in stolen goods (buying CDs with lists of German Swiss account holders from informers) is really the way Vater Staat (Father State) ought to behave. And maybe, just maybe, this guy ought to think about trying something different than this tired old primative populism of his. Maybe.

“Was mich ärgert ist, dass wir hier offensichtlich nicht in der Lage sind, mal eine Schwerpunktstaatsanwaltschaft zu gründen.”

Guilty Until Your Boyfriend Is Proven Guilty

August 10, 2012 By Hermann Observer in Habeas Corpus, Habitudes, Helplessness, History, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings, Hypocrisy, Hysteria Tags: Berlin, Fairness, German, Germans, Germany, Guilt, Justice, London, Nadja Drygalla, Nazis, Olympics 2012, Psychology, Sports 1 Comment

Sports builds character or something. Guilty by association in Germany (or in this case London)? How ya figure?

Although she has never been associated with any far-right statements or actions, German Olympic rower Nadja Drygalla has a boyfriend who has. This is not vorgesehen (provided for) in Germany, however, and therefore she must now be made a public outcast.

If her boyfriend had been an open supporter of say, the Red Army Faction, no one in Germany would have cared. But hey, I don’t make the rules here. So deal with it, lady. It’s show (trial) time.

“It is the right impulse to be very cautious when it comes to extremism in Germany. But that also caused a number of overreactions in the past and the case of Ms. Drygalla is one of it.”

Observing Hermann

“Was interessiert mich mein Geschwätz von gestern?”

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