Germany warning China again

And they better listen up this time. Or Else.

No, not Annalena. Else. Next time somebody called Else will warn them.

Germany’s Baerbock warns China over Russia support – Germany’s Annalena Baerbock made her second visit to Beijing since taking office. In addition to discussing Russia’s war in Ukraine, Baerbock urged China to “engage constructively” over EV tariffs.

The war must almost be over…

If Germans are finally beginning to prepare for it.

‘Would you survive 72 hours?’ Germany and the Nordic countries prepare citizens for possible war – Apps and booklets are offering advice on how to build a bunker, stockpile food and live without electricity in case the worst happens

Germany is developing an app to help people locate the nearest bunker in the event of attack. Sweden is distributing a 32-page pamphlet titled If Crisis or War Comes. Half a million Finns have already downloaded an emergency preparedness guide.

There’s an app for that

For the bunker nearest you.

Germany draws up list of bunkers amid Russia tensions – App planned for public to find emergency shelter in places including underground train stations and car parks…

A digital directory of bunkers and emergency shelters will be drawn up so people can find them quickly using a planned phone app. People would also be encouraged to create protective shelters in their homes by converting basements and garages, the spokesperson told a press briefing.

Sabotage?

Really?

Germany suspects sabotage behind severed undersea cables – German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has said damage to two undersea cables in the Baltic Sea looks like an act of sabotage and a “hybrid action”, without knowing who is to blame.

A 1,170km (730-mile) telecommunications cable between Finland and Germany was severed in the early hours of Monday, while a 218km internet link between Lithuania and Sweden’s Gotland Island stopped working on Sunday.

The incidents came at a time of heightened tension with Russia and Pistorius said “nobody believes that these cables were cut accidentally”.

Maybe this will help me keep my job…

I know. I’ll call Vladimir Putin and ask him to stop the war and pull out of Ukraine.

That’s never been tried before.

Zelensky accuses German chancellor of opening ‘Pandora’s box’ with Putin…

Facing a snap election on Feb. 23, Scholz’s Social Democrats are coming under pressure from Russia-friendly populist parties on both sides of the political spectrum that argue the government has not deployed enough diplomacy to end the war, according to Reuters.

The Trump Effect

It’s more than just getting rid of your pronouns.

German poll shows approval for more defense spending as NATO steels itself for Trump 2.0 – A majority of Germans support significant defense spending increases, an outlook that coincides with the imminent return of Donald Trump to the White House and an anticipated pressure campaign on allied militaries to step up, a new public opinion survey found.

In September, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius proposed pushing the amount of spending dedicated to the military from 2% of gross domestic product to between 3 and 3.5%.

In a new poll released Monday by the Koerber-Stiftung Institute, 50% of respondents supported Pistorius’ idea, while a further 15% said even more should be spent on German defense.

Germany helps Ukraine…

By sending Russia more Russian soldiers.

Russian conscientious objectors in Germany face deportation – A ruling by the Higher Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg means Russian conscientious objectors who fled their country have less chance of being granted asylum in Germany. Human rights activists are concerned.

Germany is deporting more and more Russian citizens back to Russia, even though there is not a single direct flight between the two countries. The number of deportations could increase if the courts and authorities consider a ruling by the Higher Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg as a precedent…

“I wouldn’t say that German courts are adopting positions held by the Russian government. I interpret it as an unwillingness to consider information provded by human rights activists and the United Nations. It is easier to echo Russia’s state media outlets, who claim there is no mobilization.”

Fake is what fake does

Uh-oh. If “Russian disinformation is growing in Germany…”

Then German state media disinformation providers are going to have to crank it up a notch. No prob. We’re on it already.

Russian disinformation is growing in Germany – Russia is flooding Germany with more disinformation than ever, officials warn. Analysts say this tactic is helping pro-Kremlin narratives increasingly seep into the country’s politics.

“We see that this strategy is gradually achieving its goals, and the public debate in Germany is increasingly shifting in a direction that serves the Kremlin’s interests.”

Whoopi History 101

At least she got the continent right.

Thank goodness we always have celebrities like this to set us straight about what’s going on in the world.

‘We knew where the enemies were,’ Goldberg said, after unknowingly mixing up Germany and Russia.

“Even if you are a true Republican, don’t you remember? ‘Tear down this wall.’ Reagan was clear about who our enemy was, and still is.”