Tag Archives: Language

German Of The Day: Zeitenwende

March 6, 2023 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means turning point.

Germans love announcing turning points. It makes things sound so, I dunno, official or something. And it’s official here too: Their latest military turning point is working almost as well as their energy turning point (Energiewende) did. Namely, not at all.

Germany’s military ‘Zeitenwende’ is off to a slow start.

Three days after Russia invaded Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz delivered a rousing speech to the Bundestag. He had a clear message: Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression has ushered in a new era of war in Europe, and wealthy countries like Germany, having pared down their defense spending for decades, needed to rearm. A year after German lawmakers applauded Scholz’s call to action, and as Scholz visits the White House on March 3, 2023, one must ask what has become of Germany’s much-heralded Zeitenwende, or “turning point.”

German Of The Day: Anders Überlegt

March 3, 2023 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

That means to have second thoughts.

When Russia Invaded Ukraine, Germany Promised to Rearm. One Year Later, It Is Having Second Thoughts.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz has delivered on energy security and aid to Ukraine, but has yet to start rebuilding Germany’s armed forces.

“How The Biggest Fraud In German History Unravelled?”

March 1, 2023 By in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Do they mean the Energiewende (the Green renewable “energy turnaround”)?

Oh. They’re only talking about Wirecard. Yeah. That one was pretty cool too. Peanuts compared to the Energiewende fraud, though. But still.

The tech company Wirecard was embraced by the German élite. But a reporter discovered that behind the façade of innovation were lies and links to Russian intelligence.

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.