Thought Crime and Punishment

April 22, 2025 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: Censorship, Control, Democracy, Free speech, Government, Journalism, Opinion, Social Democracy, Socialists, SPD Leave a comment

Watch your step in Germany.

The British news magazine “Economist”, which is read by decision-makers worldwide, sounds the alarm: in Germany, freedom of opinion is increasingly under threat – from laws, court judgments and a way of dealing with criticism that raises questions in a liberal democracy.

The report focuses on the case of journalist David Bendels. The editor-in-chief of the right-wing populist “Deutschland-Kurier” had published a manipulated photo of Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser holding a sign saying “I hate freedom of expression.” The Economist notes: “Such images are commonplace on social media.” However, Faeser filed a criminal complaint – and a court sentenced Bendels to a seven-month suspended sentence, a heavy fine and an apology.

Write this down and look back in a year from now…

June 8, 2024 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: Asylum Seekers, Borders, Crime, Deportations, EU, Europe, Germany, Greens, Islam, Islamists, Leftists, Migrants, Olaf Scholz, Politicians, Social Democracy, SPD, Terror Leave a comment

And nothing, absolutely nothing will have changed.

The people who say it know it. The people who hear it know it. The people who commit these crimes know it.

Germany’s Scholz vows to step up deportations after killing of police officer – The stabbing of an officer by a suspect from Afghanistan has put the chancellor under pressure to take a tougher stance on migration ahead of the EU election.

The gruesome killing of a police officer by a 25-year-old Afghan suspect has put German Chancellor Olaf Scholz under renewed pressure to take a tougher stance on migration days ahead of a European election in which the far right is expected to make sizeable gains.

New measures “reflect widespread nervousness”

February 14, 2024 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helections, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: AfD, Germany, Journalism, Media, MSM, Political Parties, Politicians, Social Democracy, Socialists, SPD Leave a comment

They reflect the widespread nervousness caused by the somewhat older new measures created to increase this widespread nervousness, a widespread nervousness that was increased by other new measures before them that much, much older new measures created in the first place.

You know the routine. Ritual, actually. “Right-wing extremism” is on the rise in Germany. It’s always been on the rise, of course. It’s been on the rise for decades and decades yet it never seems to rise quite high enough to satisfy those worrying about its rising. These are, at the moment, those politicians in the established parties being threatened by the AfD, a party that actually claims to be interested in addressing the migrant madness German voters want them to address, something these established parties refuse to do. They’re plotting to ban the AfD, in other words, because they are incapable of addressing the problems the electorate wants them to address.

Germany bolsters gun curbs, financial policing to rein in far right – German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser on Tuesday unveiled measures ranging from stronger financial policing and earlier detection of so-called botnets to tightened firearms controls to tackle a far-right surge that has spooked the country.

The measures reflect widespread nervousness that the far-right Alternative for Germany party could end up the largest party in several state parliaments later this year, propelled by a gloomy economy and overburdened public services.

No German Going-It-Alone Here

November 24, 2022 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Hypocrisy Tags: China, German, Germans, Germany, Language, Olaf Scholz, Partners, Politicians, Social Democracy, Solidarity, SPD Leave a comment

They have another word for it. It’s called Alleingang.

That means going-it-alone, of course. Although that is something Germans regularly claim they would never ever do. Apparently, only Germans are capable of believing such nonsense.

Olaf Scholz Is Undermining Western Unity on China – The German chancellor’s go-it-alone approach has alienated domestic, EU, and international partners.

The German chancellor sought to get ahead of the pack. Scholz argued it was time to speak directly with Xi after a three-year hiatus in such bilateral meetings due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The chancellor said he sought to confront issues in the Germany-China relationship precisely because it isn’t business as usual. In an op-ed in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Scholz wrote that “as China changes, so must our approach to the country.”

Scam? What Scam? Me?

August 12, 2022 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Helections, Hideology, Hurt Feelings, Hypocrisy Tags: Banking, Corruption, German, Germans, Germany, Olaf Scholz, Politicians, Scams, Social Democracy, SPD, Tax evasion Leave a comment

How could I have played a role? I don’t remember anything. I know nothing, nothing!

And German state media does its duty and doesn’t know anything either. Scholz is one of the good guys, you see (SPD).

Germany: Pressure grows on Scholz over tax scam ties – Germany’s main opposition party has called on Chancellor Olaf Scholz to explain his role in a large-scale tax evasion scam while he was mayor of Hamburg.

Germany’s main opposition party has called on Chancellor Olaf Scholz to explain his role in a large-scale tax evasion scam while he was mayor of Hamburg.

Scholz has been dogged by questions about meetings he had with private bank M.M. Warburg in 2016 and 2017. Hamburg officials later dropped demands for the bank to repay millions of euros in tax refunds it had wrongly claimed for share trades.

German Of The Day: Stiftung

May 17, 2022 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hideology, Hurt Feelings, Hypocrisy Tags: Corruption, Dishonesty, Energy, Nord Stream 2, Politicians, Russia, Sanctions, Social Democracy, SPD, Ukraine Leave a comment

That means foundation. You know, like the “climate protection foundation” SPD Prime Minister (Governor) of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Manuela Schwesig created to get around American sanctions to help Russia finish the Nord Stream 2 pipeline – which never went into operation although completed, for some strange reason.

Now that she got caught the “foundation’s” chairman of the board has stepped down so it can quietly be liquidated.

The foundation had been the subject of criticism since its establishment in January 2021 because, in addition to climate protection, its main purpose was to secure the completion of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline through the Baltic Sea. Companies involved in the construction had in fact been threatened by US sanctions.

Nord Stream 2 AG paid 20 million euros into the foundation’s coffers. Nord Stream 2 was completed – with the foundation’s support. However, because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it has not received an operating permit from the German authorities. Schwesig has come under criticism for her long adherence to Nord Stream 2. Accusations have been made that Russian forces pulled the strings in key areas of the foundation. Schwesig had played a key role in promoting the establishment of the foundation in 2021.

A Promise Is A Promise

May 9, 2022 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: Defense, German, Germans, Germany, NATO, Olaf Scholz, Politicians, Promises, Social Democracy, SPD Leave a comment

Not.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised two months ago to deliver a substantial increase in defense spending. Where is that money now? Funny you should ask, since Mr. Scholz’s waffling on his signature pledge is a growing controversy in Berlin.

The “turning point” speech Mr. Scholz delivered on Feb. 27 included two promises: increase the annual military budget to at least 2% of GDP, in line with North Atlantic Treaty Organization targets, and create a one-time €100 billion ($105 billion) special fund for procurement. Crucially, the procurement fund would be exempt from the constitutional limit on government debt, although the regular military budget wouldn’t be…

Yet Mr. Scholz is struggling to say what he meant by his twin promises. His February speech neglected to specify whether he meant he’d spend 2% of GDP plus €100 billion, or whether he’d spend 2% of GDP including the €100 billion. The distinction matters.

German Of The Day: Hörig

April 25, 2022 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Hurt Feelings, Hypocrisy Tags: German, Germans, Germany, Language, Olaf Scholz, Russia, Social Democracy, Socialists, SPD, Ukraine, Weapons Leave a comment

That means to be obedient, servile, to be in bondage or a slave, etc.

You know, as in “Germany is in bondage to Putin?”

For weeks, Olaf Scholz (63, SPD) has been hesitant to supply Ukraine with heavy weapons. In an interview on Friday, he spoke about his reasons: Concern about World War III and a nuclear conflict.

This has met with sharp criticism not only in Germany, but also in Europe. And in the U.S., too, people are reacting with displeasure to the chancellor’s lurching course. “What must happen for Germany to finally stand up to Russia?” the Los Angeles Times now asks in a commentary.

German Of The Day: Unverbesserlich

April 24, 2022 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hypocrisy Tags: Dependency, Gas, Gerhard Schroeder, German, Germans, Germany, Language, Lobbies, Lobbyists, Nord Stream 2, Oil, Pipelines, Putin, Social Democracy, Socialists, SPD, Vladimir Putin Leave a comment

That means incorrigible, unreformable, incurable, dyed-in-the-wool.

Take Gazprom Gerd, for instance. Please. The Germans have pretended to be upset by his post-chancellorship antics but have secretely admired him all along, handling him with kid gloves (anyone who stands up to evil US-Amerika is a hero here). Now, with this little Ukraine thing going on, the bill finally has to be paid and everyone’s upset and wondering how they got here. Will there be consequeces for him? Of course not. Gazprom Gerd is Gazprom Gerd, after all.

The former chancellor who became Putin’s man in Germany – On the evening of Dec. 9, 2005, 17 days after Gerhard Schröder left office as chancellor of Germany, he got a call on his cellphone. It was his friend President Vladimir Putin of Russia.

Putin was pressing Schröder to accept an offer to lead the shareholder committee of Nord Stream, a Russian-controlled company in charge of building the first undersea gas pipeline directly connecting Russia and Germany.

“Are you afraid to work for us?” Putin had joked. Schröder might well have been, given the appearance of possible impropriety; the pipeline he was now being asked to head had been agreed to in the final weeks of his chancellorship, with his strong support.

He took the job anyway.

Seventeen years later, the former chancellor, who recounted the events himself in a pair of rare interviews, remains as defiant as ever.