I didn’t know you could close a river

Especially one that was supposed to have dried up long ago.

Just this summer it was all over with the Rhine, I was told. But hey. The Climate Crises can be like that. One climate crisis is too dry. The next one is two wet. It’s kind of like the weather, you know?

River Rhine in south Germany remains closed to shipping – Parts of the river Rhine in south Germany remained closed to shipping on Friday after heavy rain and melting snow increased water levels, but could reopen later this weekend, navigation authorities said.

It’s much too dry, dry, dry!

Was yesterday (or the past few years).

Now it’s much too wet, wet, wet! All it does is rain in Germany these days. But don’t worry, because you’re still allowed to worry. Ask any climate activist. In both cases “the Climate Crisis” is to blame. It’s science. I mean, pseudoscience.

Rhine river levels in Germany back to normal after rain – Heavy rain has raised water on the river Rhine in Germany to levels allowing cargo vessels to sail fully loaded, data from German inland waterways agency WSA said on Wednesday.

Data from the WSA’s website Pegelonline showed that the last shallow sectors of the river around Cologne had now reached levels generally permitting full vessel loads.

Dry weather in June meant the river became too shallow for vessels to sail fully loaded and ship operators imposed surcharges on freight rates to compensate for vessels sailing partly empty, increasing costs for cargo owners.

German Of The Day: Nervenzusammenbruch

That means nervous breakdown. Having them is a favorite German pastime. These days especially.

Germans on the verge of a nervous breakdown – It’s a sign of the nation’s fraught state of mind that many seriously believe this week’s unlikely plotters could have toppled democracy.

Early Wednesday, thousands of balaclava-clad German police officers fanned out across the country, arresting 25 people and seizing weapons to upend what authorities described as a diabolical plot to overthrow the country’s government and reinstate the monarchy. The group’s “military arm” was surreptitiously building “a new German army,” the lead prosecutor on the case said.

A day later, however, the case looks more like the script of a Monty Python episode than a sequel to the Day of the Jackal…

Al Qaeda it was not.

How Many More Times Does The German Forest Need To Be “Rescued?”

Before it gets rescued for good, I mean.

It gets rescued regularly every few years (Waldsterben, acid rain, bark beetles, etc.) and it’s really starting to get tedious, you know?

How to rescue the German forest – Climate change and drought are threatening the existence of Germany’s forests, which are at the very core of the country’s sociocultural identity. But the most famous forest ranger says there is hope.

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.

How Far Is Der Spiegel Willing To Go?

Will “Putin’s Apocalypse” be enough?

Or should they try “Russian racist ideology” and “Russian death camps” first? “World War III” is getting a little tiresome, don’t you think? I just don’t know. It must be tough being a balanced and objective journalist these days.

How Far Is the Russian President Willing To Go? – The West has expressed shock over Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. But the Kremlin boss has been speaking openly for years about his vision of a Russian empire. This is the escalation he has been seeking for 20 years.

Omicron Everywhere!

While the number of available intensive care beds continues to rise.

Almost makes you wonder if this latest variant isn’t all that dangerous (am I allowed to wonder that?). Hey, when in doubt (and your everyday, run-of-the-mill top health official apparently always is) just increase the panic level one more notch.

Germany: Omicron wave breaks new weekly cases record – The new wave of coronavirus infections in Germany has now surpassed numbers last seen in November. Experts are warning of the threat this poses to the unvaccinated.

Germany In Full Omnicron Panic Mode

Or will be, very shortly. And is it any wonder?

Because, well, after all… People with the Omicron variant have ‘extremely mild‘ symptoms and haven’t had to be hospitalized yet, says the South African doctor who first reported it.

That can only mean that they died before ever making it to the hospital, right?

Several leading German politicians called on Sunday for tighter restrictions to contain a surge in coronavirus cases as the infection rate hit a new high and fears about the new Omicron variant rose.

100,000 Corona Deaths In Germany!

Shocking? Sad, for sure. But shocking?

But who is dying? Let’s look at the numbers.

Of those 100,000 deaths, the age groups are as follows:

Over 90: 20,895
80 – 89: 44,081
70 – 79: 20,676
60 – 69: 9,339
30 – 59: 4,865
00 – 29: 144 (and you can bet below 25 or so it will be 2 or 3)

Shocking? The hysteria in the media? You’re damned right it’s shocking.

German Of The Day: Mund-Nasen-Schutz

That means mouth and nose protection. You know, a face mask?

They keep you safe. Unless you’re a gas station employee asking a customer to put one on. Then they can be dangerous, deadly even. Remember the days when gas station employees were endangered by people who were already wearing the face masks when they came in?

Germany: Gas station employee killed over a face mask – A 20-year-old clerk was shot after asking a customer to wear a face mask in Germany. The suspected shooter said he was stressed out by coronavirus measures.