Nobody cares about Germany

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

It is common practice in Germany that in July and August the Bundestag is not coming together, so that its members can work more in their constituencies or have a well deserved vacation. The administration of course continues to work.

It is also tradition that before the start of that period all leading politicians are having a summer interview with our public broadcasting services. These interviews are done live.

Chairwoman Alice Weidel of the right-wing extreme party AfD (2nd highest seat count in Bundestag) had this interview near a river in Berlin under open sky. Protesters who knew about the location and time used it to disturb it by chanting loud slogans and playing a loid choir singing "Scheis AfD", which means "Shitty AfD."

The AfD was openly endorsed during this years' election by Elon Musk and J.D. Vance. Elon Musk even wrote an open letter in a German newspaper, where he recommended all to vote for the AfD.

Due to that Alice Weidel was unable to understand her interviewer, and had big problems. Now she wants a new attempt due to the disturbances.

By the way: Weidel is an open lesbian, and married to Sarah Bossard. They are raising together 2 sons, which were given birth by Sarah Bossard and created using donor sperm.

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

CSD happened today in the capital Berlin. Under the motto "Never silent again" several hundred thousand people celebrated it enjoying great weather peacefully.

A smaller and independent demonstration named "Internationalist Queer Pride" also took place in Kreuzberg, the borough with the biggest share of muslimic people in Berlin. It's motto: Internationalist Queer Pride Berlin: For anticolonial, antiracist, anticapitalist liberation.

Approximately 10000 people participated on this event. About 800 Pro Palestine supporters wearing Kufiyas entered it. The police stopped this event due to repeated attacks against policemen, for example throwing bottle or color bags. Also anti semitic slurs were chanted loudly repeatedly.

Since several pleas at the organisers of the march stop that didn't change the situation, this demonstration was disbanded by the police.

Police disperse side Pride rally for Palestine after clashes

Berlin police dispersed a rally for Palestine in the left-wing Kreuzberg district of the German capital citing repeated attacks on officers and anti-Semitic slogans on Saturday, as the main Pride even...

www.yahoo.com

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

Well known holocaust denier and former terrorist Horst Mahler is rumored to have died at age 89 in Berlin.

Mahler was one of the founders of the infamous Red Army Faction terrorist group in 1970. As lawyer he defended nazi hunter Beate Klarsfeld as well legendary 1968 student leader Rudi Dutschke at court.

In the 90s then hade made a turnaround and went from left wing extremist to full blown right wing extremist, denying holocaust ever happened.

During his lifetime he was several times in prison. Due to old age a trial in 2023 was stopped.

Mahler was also one of the co-founders of German neo nazi party NPD. Later he left them, because he considered them too soft.

Holocaust-Leugner Horst Mahler im Alter von 89 Jahren gestorben

Horst Mahler war erst Linksextremer, dann Neonazi. Nun ist der bekannte Rechtsextremist im Alter von 89 Jahren gestorben.

www.morgenpost.de

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horst_Mahler

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

Former Olympic champion and biathlete Laura Dahlmeier died at age 31. She suffered a rockfall in a mountain range in Pakistan at about 6000 meters height and died from the caused injuries.

It was her explicit will that her corpse should be left where it is.

Dahlmeier was the first woman ever in 2018 Winter Olympics to win sprint and pursuit gold at the same games edition.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/jul/30/laura-dahlmeier-german-olympic-champion-dies-mountaineering-accident-pakistan

 

[detrius]

By the way: Weidel is an open lesbian, and married to Sarah Bossard. They are raising together 2 sons, which were given birth by Sarah Bossard and created using donor sperm.

Meanwhile, Weidel's party wants to ban same-sex marriage and restrict access to IVF.

Ugh, there's nothing worse than creatures like that. Fucking backstabbers.

Makes me wonder who the donor was. Did they find Hitler's missing testicle?

Well known holocaust denier and former terrorist Horst Mahler is rumored to have died at age 89 in Berlin.

Former Olympic champion and biathlete Laura Dahlmeier died at age 31.

In a better world, the ages would have been switched.

 

[detrius]

We need more space. - Adolf Hitler, Germany, 1933/Donald J. Trump, USA, 2025

/General Chang, aboard the NCC-1701-A, 2293

 

[Beebo Brink]

Former Olympic champion and biathlete Laura Dahlmeier died at age 31. She suffered a rockfall in a mountain range in Pakistan at about 6000 meters height and died from the caused injuries.

Rockfalls are happening more often now, as the deep ice that holds mountains together begins to thaw. You can't attribute any specific death to climate change, but generally, the risks of the rock climbing sport are increasing.

It was her explicit will that her corpse should be left where it is.

That makes it sound weird. Her explicit wish was that no one should risk their life to retrieve her body, just leave it where it is. Different nuance.

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf withdraw her application for supreme court. So the pro-lifer and right wing smear campaign against her was successful.

German top court nominee Brosius-Gersdorf ends candidacy

The nomination of Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf to Germany's Federal Constitutional Court sparked tensions in the governing coalition of the conservative CDU and center-left SPD.

www.dw.com

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

As I mentioned in the Israel thread chancellor Friedrich Merz decided not to deliver weapons and ammunition to Israel which might be used in the Gaza strip until further notice.

Many people do view this as symbolic gesture with dubious impact at best, but Merz is right now under internal pressure for his decision.

Because as it turned out he didn't align himself with the members of his party in the parliament upfront, he surprised them with this decision. They didn't see it coming. It was also not aligned with the holder of the whip, Jens Spahn.

As result more and more members of the CDU are criticising Merz openly, including some prime ministers of some German states. Also his coalition partner, SPD, is criticising this decision as well, but also partially for it.

The decision is a fundamental change in Germany's stance towards Israel, which until then was that the safety of Israel is a German reason of state.

Also members of Jewish lobby organisations are criticising the decision as well, framing as rewarding Hamas for its terrorist attacks.

As Merz stated: "Solidarity with Israel does not mean we consider every single decision by the Israeli government to be good, or that we support it, even to the extent of providing military support in the form of weapons," Merz said, also emphasizing his responsibility for the new policy.

"I did not make this decision alone, but at the end of the day, I'm fully responsible for it," the chancellor said.

Netanyahu told in a recent press conference that he thinks Merz based his decision on news reports he called false. And hopes Merz will reconsider his decision.

Germany's Merz defends partial weapons halt to Israel

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that despite the decision, Berlin's approach toward Israel has not changed. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he hopes Merz will reconsider.

www.dw.com

 

[detrius]

Ah, car infrastructure and Nimbyism. Being 100% for cars and against building the necessary roads in THEIR neighbourhood is a default CSU position.

Streit um Wanktunnel-Zufahrten: Zu groß für einen Tourismusort?

Mit dem Wanktunnel will Garmisch-Partenkirchen den Verkehr im Ortsteil Partenkirchen reduzieren. Doch bereits bevor der erste Meter gebohrt ist, gibt es Streit um die wuchtigen Zufahrten. Kritiker warnen vor massiven Eingriffen ins Landschaftsbild.

www-br-de.translate.goog

Basically, they're saying that they like the Wank, but would prefer to let someone else handle what goes in and out.

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

I've been recently re-reading the story about Adolf Eichmann, which is quite interesting.

Eichmann was a high ranking Nazi officer. He was responsible for the logistics of the Holocaust, e.g. arranged that train rails got nearer to the Auschwitz camp, increased death rates per day and such. He was also responsible for the overall organisation and deportation of all Jews in Germany and occupied areas.

After WWII Eichmann was one of many Nazis who was able to escape from Europe. At the Wannseekonferenz Eichmann was responsible for the protocol.

One of the offenders before the Nuremburg trials, Dieter Wisliceny, cited Eichmann as follows: "Ich werde lachend in die Grube springen, denn das Gefühl, fünf Millionen Menschen auf dem Gewissen zu haben, ist außerordentlich befriedigend." Which translates to I will die happily knowning that I am responsible for the death of 5 million people, is a really pleasant feeling.

Despite that Eichmann did not commit suicide. First Eichmann hid in Northern Germany, and later in 1950 escaped with the help of a catholic priest. Since then he lived in Argentina, most of the time in Buenos Aires.

The capturing of Eichmann in 1960 by Mossad and trial in Israel is well known.

But what really blew my mind is how long it took anybody to get him before trial. The West German intelligence agency named Organisation Gehlen, which later became the BND, knew since 1952 about Eichmann's whereabouts. But since it was build with many "reformed" Nazis they didn't bother to do anything about it.

Also the CIA knew since 1958 about it, so it can be safely assumed the West German and Israeli government then knew as well.

Hessian General Attorney Fritz Bauer, who was a Jew himself, received in 1957 a letter about Eichmann's whereabouts from a holocaust survivor then living in Buenos Aires named Lothar Herrmann. Bauer had a strong distrust against the official law enforcement authorities of West Germany of that era, because they were riddled with ex Nazis. Bauer informed the Israeli government under Ben Gurion about it, who at that time though had no will to pursue Eichmann, because he didn't want to mudden the relationship with the West German administration under Konrad Adenauer.

In 1959 Fritz Bauer traveled several times to Israel in order to get the government in secret to pursue Eichmann.

As last resort he threatened Gurion that if Israel will not do anything that Bauer would officially start the process of Eichmann's extradition from Argentina to West Germany.

At 6th of December 1959 Ben Gurion finally gave in, and told Bauer not to tell anybody or do anything, just give us the address, we will investigate if Eichmann is there and if so, take him. The rest is history. So the main driver behind the capturing of Eichmann was Bauer, who really dedicated lots of time to it. Otherwise probably Eichmann would have lived in Argentina quite longer unbothered.

During the trial Eichmann always played his role in holocaust down, saying he was just a lowly officer. But the persecutor was able to proof that Eichmann had the authority even to ignore orders from Hitler personally unharmed if he deemed it worthy. And did so.

One of Bauer's famous quotes is: "Ich glaube, es ist eine traurige Wahrheit, dass wir unserem Affenzustand noch sehr nahe sind und dass die Zivilisation nur eine sehr dünne Decke ist, die sehr schnell abblättert."

"I do believe that is a sad truth, that we are still quite near being apes and that civilization is only a thin layer, which peels off very quickly."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Eichmann

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Bauer

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul met his colleague from Japan, Takeshi Iwaya, in Tokyo.

They discussed the increasing threat coming from China and how to tighten the ties between Japan and Germany.

The German foreign minister cited Beijing's unique role in the Ukraine war, saying: "Without it, the war of aggression against Ukraine would not be possible. China is Russia's largest supplier of dual-use goods and Russia's best oil and gas customer. Russia's war in Ukraine is only made possible by China."

China later warned Germany against "inciting confrontation and hyping up tensions."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said the situation in the East China Sea and the South China Sea "remains generally stable."

"We urge the relevant parties to respect regional countries, resolve issues through dialogue and consultation, and safeguard the common interest of peace and stability, instead of inciting confrontation and hyping up tensions," she said when asked about Wadephul's comments at a regular news briefing.

She added that, "the Taiwan question is China's internal affair."

Germany, Japan partner to face down 'aggressive' China – DW – 08/18/2025

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

The Italian police arrested Ukrainian citizen Serhij K. He is suspected to be one of the saboteurs of the Nordstream II pipeline.

German law enforcement authorities assume, that K. was not part of the diving team but did coordination work instead.

At the moment it is still to be discussed, if and when K. can be handed over to German police.

(S+) Nord Stream: Mutmaßlicher Angreifer auf Ostseepipelines gefasst

Italienische Polizisten haben einen Mann festgenommen, der an der Sprengung der Nord-Stream-Pipelines beteiligt gewesen sein soll. Der Ukrainer Serhij K. soll an Bord des Segelboots gewesen sein, das die Angreifer benutzten.

www.spiegel.de

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

German Prof. Dr. Christian Rieck, who specializes in game theory, is discussing from that angle the topic what did Putin to avoid getting arrested in America. Did Putin really go to Alaska, or did he send a doppelganger? It seems that in Eastern Europe that theory is quite wide spread actually.

 

[Free]

Uhm, hmmm.

Germany's far-right AfD suffers series of candidate deaths ahead of local vote

Police say there is no evidence of foul play, ahead of local elections in western Germany.

www.bbc.com

As many as six candidates for Germany's far-right AfD have died in recent weeks ahead of local elections in the big western state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Police have made clear there is no evidence of foul play in the deaths, but it means that new ballots will have to be printed and some postal voters will have to recast their ballots.

 

[detrius]

Uhm, hmmm.

Germany's far-right AfD suffers series of candidate deaths ahead of local vote

Police say there is no evidence of foul play, ahead of local elections in western Germany.

www.bbc.com

Liver issues, kidney failure, heart attack, suicide. Not sure about the remaining two, but probably also related to unhealthy lifestyles, coupled with old age and/or mental issues.

With 50.7 years, the AfD is the parliamentary group with the highest average age of all the parties. A few years ago, the German Bundestag had nine members who were born when Hitler was still alive - seven of those were members of the AfD.

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

German car maker Porsche was delisted today from the DAX, Germany's main share index. Porsche will be part of the Mdax in future, the share index for middle sized companies. Reasons why are the recent profit losses and reduced market capitalisation due to it.

Porsche-Aktie steigt aus dem Dax ab - Scout24 und GEA rücken nach

Der Stuttgarter Sportwagenbauer Porsche kämpft mit vielen Problemen. Die Aktie der Porsche AG hat im vergangenen Jahr deutlich Federn gelassen. Jetzt ist sie aus dem Dax geflogen.

www.swr.de

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

Summer and main vacation time in Germany is almost over, which means that our politicians are getting back to work.

Approval ratings for Merz' administration are at a historical low point, they are even lower than the previous administration of Olaf Scholz had after 3 years.

We are in for stormy sea: in 2026 there is going to be the next general election in the eastern state of Sachsen-Anhalt. In the most recent polls the right wing party AfD is leading with a whopping 39%, then comes the CDU with 27%. The GE will be held in about one year. If that trend is stable it means that it is highly likely that in September 2026 the first right wing prime minister after WWII gets elected.

The AfD itself is under constant observation by our interior intelligence agency and has been rated as rechtsextrem or right-wing totalitarism. This rating enables the path of banning the party at all under our current constitution, but only our federal government, Bundestag or Bundesrat have the power to initiate that process. So far all of them seem to be reluctant to do so.

It is also a big discussion in Germany right now, if this process should be started. The last time such a process was initiated in 2013 against the NPD it was a major desaster. There was no ban. But with the AfD is pretty much different, and many lawyers do think there is enough evidence to ban this party.

Merz was doing way more in foreign politics than interior decisions so far. Especially the German economy is discontent with the performance of the current administration and quite vocal about it. Also every week there are new reports about the car makers and suppliers falling apart due to failed management and difficulties in getting cars sold in China. Official unemployment is now above 3 millions, last time it was that high was in 2015.

Merz is now calling for a hot autumn, and planning a plethora of things: he wants to make big cuts on social welfare for the poor and unemployed, wants to cut health insurance benefits and reduce workers' rights. Question is how many of these ideas his coalition partner SPD, which is a left wing party, will do support.

 

[detrius]

Merz recently had this to say:
"Dann werden wir natürlich auch über die Arbeitszeit zu reden haben. 40 Stunden in der Woche? Das ist noch nicht mal ein Viertel der Wochenzeit! Wenn ich richtig rechnen kann, hat die 168 Stunden. Davon mal gerade eben ein Viertel zu arbeiten und sich das dann so aufzuteilen, wie man das gerne möchte, nicht maximal acht Stunden am Tag, sondern 40 Stunden in der Woche, es muss doch möglich sein das im Arbeitszeitgesetz zu ändern."

Translation:
"Then, of course, we'll also have to talk about working hours. 40 hours a week? That's not even a quarter of the weekly time! If I'm doing the math correctly, that's 168 hours. Working just a quarter of that and then dividing it up however you want—not a maximum of eight hours a day, but 40 hours a week—surely it must be possible to change that in the Working Hours Act."

This is of course a "Milchmädchenrechnung" - a (deliberately) naive assessment of the situation. People need one day to handle their private affairs - shopping, friends, family etc. Another day is reserved for rest. That leaves 120 hours available for work. People also need to sleep - 8 hours per day, if possible - which leaves us with 80 hours. The average time needed for commute is about 2 hours per day, that's another ten hours. Then they need to prepare food, eat, take breaks, bring their children to school, walk the dog etc. That means the time that is available for work and everything that isn't absolutely necessary is closer to 50-60 hours per week.

Merz says he wants to raise the maximum work hours from eight hours per day to ten hours, but keep the maximum work hours per week at 40 hours. At first glance, this sound nice: you'd work the same hours per week, but only have to commute four days instead of five. What he doesn't say is that he'll then let the employees "voluntarily" work a fifth ten-hour-day, effectively raising the weekly work hours from 40 to 50. And of course people in low income jobs would be disproportionately affected by this, because they could be easily pressed into such "agreements".

 

[Veritable Quandry]