Tag Archives: Language

German Of The Day: Atomstrom

August 17, 2022 By in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hideology, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

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:

German Of The Day: Mogelpackung

August 15, 2022 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

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.

German Of The Day: Schwaches Glied

August 11, 2022 By in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

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.”

German Of The Day: “Wir kriegen nichts mehr auf die Straße”

August 7, 2022 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means “we can’t get anybody out in the streets to protest anymore…” Said the puzzled anti-nuclear protester.

My, this certainly is mysterious. Somebody call Sherlock or Columbo or somebody to figure this out.

Are we having the phase-out of the phase-out yet?

Germany’s Nuclear Phase-Out Has Been a Disaster – The main justification for Germany’s nuclear shutdown is the risks associated with using nuclear energy. But these risks are exaggerated beyond measure.

German scientists are warning that the national energy transition has pushed Germany into an energy shortage. “We demand an immediate stop to the nuclear phase-out,” wrote twenty renowned technological and economic scientists in the “Stuttgart Declaration,” which is being widely discussed in Germany. The continued operation of Germany’s nuclear power plants, they said, should be guaranteed “as the third climate protection pillar” alongside solar and wind power to secure Germany’s power supply and prosperity.

German Of The Day: Sprengplatz

August 5, 2022 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means blast site.

But what do you do after your blast site blows up?

Berlin Grunewald threatened by fire and explosions – Berlin’s Grunewald has been shaken by explosions, triggering a fire that threatened to burn out of control. The site: A munitions storage facility in a tinder-dry forest.

Since 1950 this area in West Berlin has been used to store 25 metric tons of World War II ammunition and other explosive ordnance. Controlled blasts are carried out there twice a year.

German Of The Day: Fortschritt

August 3, 2022 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means progress.

Germany’s Anti-Digital Law Is a Case Study in Stunting Progress – Germany just passed a law that completely bans digital contracts and signatures. Whether you’re a coder who finds jobs online, an Amazon delivery guy or a Dilbert character, you’ll now get the fine print of your terms on paper — the dead-tree kind. And it’ll have your new boss’s signature in just-dried ink. If employers provide a digital contract instead, they’ll get fined up to 2,000 euros ($2,049) for each instant.

German Of The Day: Warmduscher

July 29, 2022 By in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hideology, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Literally, that means somebody who takes warm showers. Not ice cold like real men do. A wimp, in other words.

Thank goodness Vladimir Putin is in the process of finally changing all of that now.

German cities impose cold showers and turn off lights amid Russian gas crisis – Hanover is first large city to impose energy-saving measures and Berlin switches off monument spotlights.

Cities in Germany are switching off spotlights on public monuments, turning off fountains, and imposing cold showers on municipal swimming pools and sports halls, as the country races to reduce its energy consumption in the face of a looming Russian gas crisis.

German Of The Day: Klassenbester

July 27, 2022 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hideology, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means the best in class, the best pupil.

That’s how Germans like to see themselves. Aber das war einmal: But that was once upon a time.

Eurozone crisis in reverse as southern states scold Germany over gas – Analysis: Southern European countries were unwilling to sign up to homogenous 15% cut in gas.

A decade after its government admonished southern European states to “do their homework” of painful fiscal changes to end a sovereign debt crisis, Germany is slowly adapting to the humbling reality of being worst-in-class when it comes to reliance on Russian gas.

German Of The Day: “Schwelle zur Rezession”

July 25, 2022 By in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

That means cusp of recession, as in being on it.

Germany on cusp of recession, says ifo, after business sentiment falls – German business morale fell more than expected in July as high energy prices and impending gas shortages push Europe’s largest economy to the cusp of recession, a survey showed on Monday.

The Ifo institute said its business climax index was 88.6, its lowest level in more than two years. June had also seen an unexpected drop to a downwardly revised reading of 92.2.

German Of The Day: Knirschen

July 19, 2022 By in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hideology, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means crunch.

And crunch here it soon will.

Implications of a German Energy Crunch (with added Supply-Chain Problems).

On Monday, utility Uniper SE, Germany’s biggest buyer of Russian gas, said it had received a letter from Russia’s state-owned Gazprom PJSC that claims force majeure—a legal declaration that exempts the company from fulfilling contractual obligations due to circumstances outside its control—to justify past and current shortfalls in gas deliveries.