Germany megathread

[Storr]

lmao:

https://twitter.com/clashreport/status/1643905623069736961?s=20

[Middle-aged Europe]

lmao:

https://twitter.com/clashreport/status/1643905623069736961?s=20

To the extent it was even noticed by the media, a few commentaries adressed the political implications of the Bundeswehr choosing Imperial troops instead of Rebel Alliance/New Republic uniforms for the ceremony:

https://www.berliner-kurier.de/panorama/die-bundeswehr-mit-darth-vader-im-popkulturellen-blindflug-li.335664

[Estrella]

Easter is here, and so are the traditional Ostermarsche – Easter marches of the peace movement. Traditionally they were important political events, enjoying wide support among left-wing parties and the churches. Strangely enough, it's the churches who provide the most extreme anti-Western voices: people like Margot Käßmann and Eugen Drewermann, whose writings come off as a disturbingly accurate imitation of an Iranian mullah calling for death to America. Rather unsurprisingly, when Germany sided with the Evil Bad Americans it broke these people's brains.

TAZ: No peace in the movement

Political scientist Thorsten Gromes from the Hessian Foundation for Peace and Conflict Research evaluated the calls for Easter marches that the Peace Cooperative Network listed on its website at the beginning of April. Out of 48 calls, only eight called for Russia to withdraw from Ukraine. On the other hand, many put the Russian responsibility for the bloodshed into perspective.

Some long-standing Easter march demonstrators are therefore bothered by a "creeping perpetrator-victim reversal". Parts of the peace movement increasingly see Ukraine as a real threat to peace because they don't want to make any concessions to Russia. In order to prevent a nuclear war, the attacked country should cede territory to Russia.

[...] They are not impressed by Sahra Wagenknecht's and Alice Schwarzer's "Manifesto for Peace". The sentence contained therein: “The Ukrainian population brutally attacked by Russia needs our solidarity” is NATO propaganda. Large parts of the peace movement would repeatedly condemn Russia's actions without taking into account the "right to collective self-defence, which Russia and the Donbas republics claim for themselves," enshrined in the UN charter. There is a tendency to start the conflict on February 24, 2022, the two write. In fact, the conflict began “with the US-launched coup in Ukraine in 2014”, the “war that resulted from it in eastern Ukraine” is being ignored, as is “NATO’s advance to Russia’s borders”. In short: the West is to blame for the war.

I'm wondering how long before these peace lovers start ending their tweets with Mit Russischem Gruß.

[NewYorkExpress]

lmao:

https://twitter.com/clashreport/status/1643905623069736961?s=20

To the extent it was even noticed by the media, a few commentaries adressed the political implications of the Bundeswehr choosing Imperial troops instead of Rebel Alliance/New Republic uniforms for the ceremony:

https://www.berliner-kurier.de/panorama/die-bundeswehr-mit-darth-vader-im-popkulturellen-blindflug-li.335664

They should have gone with the United Federation of Planets instead, so we could get everyone doing this:



https://www.startrek.com/sites/default/files/styles/1200x628/public/images/2019-05/tos3x05j.png.jpg?itok=GZujPNx7

[Estrella]

Strangely enough, it's the churches who provide the most extreme anti-Western voices: people like Margot Käßmann and Eugen Drewermann, whose writings come off as a disturbingly accurate imitation of an Iranian mullah calling for death to America.

Related: one of these people died a few weeks ago, on March 15. I'm talking about Antje Vollmer, a Protestant theologian, an important figure in 80s/90s Greens and Vice-President of the Bundestag for over a decade. Before joining the Greens, she worked with the Maoist KPD(AO) alongiside such luminaries as terrorist bomber Dieter Kunzelmann and RAF-turned-Nazi Horst Mahler. She was also notable for her rigid social conservatism, opposing stepchild adoption for gay couples in her last term in Bundestag. After supporting Sahra Wagenknecht for some time, her last political act was signing the Wagenknecht-Schwarzer manifesto.

You know, I've always liked Joschka Fischer, but only now I understand the God's work he did in stopping headcases like her from coming to power.

[NewYorkExpress]

Ambassador Gordon Kricke has been expelled from Chad.

Chad’s government has ordered the German ambassador to leave the country within 48 hours, it said in a statement.

“This decision of the government is motivated by the discourteous attitude and the non-respect of diplomatic customs,” the country’s communication ministry said on Twitter late on Friday.


Government spokesman Aziz Mahamat Saleh urged the ambassador to “leave Chadian territory within 48 hours”.

Two Chadian government sources told the Reuters news agency that Ambassador Gordon Kricke had criticised delays in holding elections after the coup, and a ruling last year that will allow interim military leader Mahamat Idriss Deby to run in elections in 2024.

Germany’s foreign ministry did not comment on Kricke’s expulsion, but a source familiar with the ministry’s thinking told Reuters that the move was “absolutely incomprehensible” and that it was in contact with Chadian authorities.

[Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom]

Quite a bit of news this week on the legislative front:

1.) Immigration & Citizenship Reform

The Federal Council approved a draft law of the new Skilled Workers' Act, with the aim of transitioning Germany's immigration system to a Canadian-style points-based system and loosening citizenship rules and restrictions.

For the points-based system, points are awarded to immigrants for qualities such as educational attainment, relevant professional experience, being under the age of 35, speaking English at a C1 level (just 1 point though), speaking German at a B1 level (2 points) or B2 level (3 points), or demonstrating a strong connection to Germany in some way (marriage, business, long-residency, etc.). Immigrants will need a total of 6 out of 10 points to be approved to immigrate.

For citizenship, the current ban on dual-citizenship that only has a few exceptions will be abolished; instead dual citizenship up to the third generation will be allowed. And instead of requiring 8 years of permanent residency, the new requirement will be just 5 years, and if the applicant can prove they have taken strong measures to integrate (e.g. language proficiency), then this will be shortened to just 3 years.  

Finally, the law mandates that the process becomes faster and easier to apply for; there are large backlogs of citizenship applications that have built up over the past few years. The Federal Employment Agency also wants the process to become more digitized, explicitly calling for the end of fax machine-based communications.

However, after the Federal Council, the draft law must first be submitted to the Bundestag, where it only needs (and is virtually certain to get) a simple majority, but then must be sent to the Bundesrat, where the CDU technically has a blocking majority and can water down or force changes to the law. While the CDU has derided the Traffic Light coalition's proposed reforms as "cheapening German citizenship", they have not offered any specific counterpoints, nor have they rejected the reform entirely. We could see a situation similar situation to the Bürgergeld reform, where the CDU forces mostly cosmetic changes to the law before approving it. So stay tuned.

Have they considered adding requirements/bonus points for taking classes on women's rights and religious tolerance?

[President Johnson]

The Scholz government has introduced its proposal for legalizing cannabis. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach and Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir presented the plan to the public. Critics on both sides argue it either doesn't go far enough or too far. Especially CDU/CSU are opposed to the legislation.

https://twitter.com/TheLocalGermany/status/1646114197519110144

From the article:

[...]

- Individual people can carry up to 25 grams of cannabis for their own consumption without any legal consequences. More than this could be subject to criminal penalties.

- Each individual person can have up to three cannabis plants to cultivate themselves. This marks a change from the original draft, which envisioned allowing three plants per family rather than three plants per person.

- Members of non-profit social clubs will be allowed to buy up to 25 grams of cannabis at a time from the club, and up to a maximum of 50 grams a month. Members will also be able to smoke their own cannabis there. These cannabis social clubs are similar to ones found in Malta and Spain. Non-members will not be able to smoke there.

- The draft law plans a highly government-controlled and regulated supply chain. Controlled sales will happen in licenced shops, most likely on the premises of scientifically-monitored regional projects. It's a bit like having to buy beer directly from a monitored brewer, rather than simply at a corner shop.

- Cannabis purchase, possession, or consumption will remain restricted to people 18 years of age and over. Cannabis consumption also won't be possible near places with a lot of children, such as kitas or schools.

[...]

[Middle-aged Europe]

The Scholz government has introduced its proposal for legalizing cannabis. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach and Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir presented the plan to the public. Critics on both sides argue it either doesn't go far enough or too far. Especially CDU/CSU are opposed to the legislation.

https://twitter.com/TheLocalGermany/status/1646114197519110144

From the article:

[...]

- Individual people can carry up to 25 grams of cannabis for their own consumption without any legal consequences. More than this could be subject to criminal penalties.

- Each individual person can have up to three cannabis plants to cultivate themselves. This marks a change from the original draft, which envisioned allowing three plants per family rather than three plants per person.

- Members of non-profit social clubs will be allowed to buy up to 25 grams of cannabis at a time from the club, and up to a maximum of 50 grams a month. Members will also be able to smoke their own cannabis there. These cannabis social clubs are similar to ones found in Malta and Spain. Non-members will not be able to smoke there.

- The draft law plans a highly government-controlled and regulated supply chain. Controlled sales will happen in licenced shops, most likely on the premises of scientifically-monitored regional projects. It's a bit like having to buy beer directly from a monitored brewer, rather than simply at a corner shop.

- Cannabis purchase, possession, or consumption will remain restricted to people 18 years of age and over. Cannabis consumption also won't be possible near places with a lot of children, such as kitas or schools.

[...]

Proposal has been scaled down from the original, more far-reaching plans due to opposition from the EU who feared that Germany could become a hub for international drug trade.

Opposition from CDU/CSU, especially the more vocal one from the CSU, could be described as a form of culture war. Younger, more urban voters, like the one of the Greens or the FDP, tend to smoke marijuana, while CSU voters are  regularly getting intoxicated by drinking several one-litre glasses of beer at their Bavarian pub or the Oktoberfest. (Personally I've done both, although not at the same time).

[Middle-aged Europe]

So, I kind of ran into Christine Lambrecht at my hairdresser today... I guess something like this was eventually bound to happen when you're frequenting the hairdresser who is geographically located the closest to the Chancellery.

Despite the image that emerged from her somewhat tarnished reputation, the gal seemed authoritative enough to me in person. But I suppose that does jack sh**t for you when you don't have a clue about defense policy in the end.

[Storr]

https://twitter.com/ConStelz/status/1649413703631085571?s=20

[President Johnson]

https://twitter.com/ConStelz/status/1649413703631085571?s=20

Of course, I would be shocked to learn anything to the contrary. AfD and parts of Die Linke, especially Wagenknecht and her followers, are useful idiots for the Kremlin.

[Middle-aged Europe]

Boris Palmer: The scandal that broke (?) the camel's back

To cut a long story short, Palmer repeatedly used the N-word at a public event (including one instance where he adressed a black person IIRC). When this met with criticism he accused his accusers of wanting to put a yellow star on him.

Today, he officially terminated his membership in the Green Party, effective immediately, and announced an "leave of absence" from his mayoral duties to seek "professional help" to deal with his "destructive" tendencies.

Fun's over, folks.

[Middle-aged Europe]

A court in Berlin has dismissed a lawsuit filed by former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder where he attempted to get his office in the Bundestag (including the encompassing staff) back.

The Bundestag's appropriations committee had terminated Schröder's office in May 2022 as a sanction of sorts against the pro-Putin ex-Chancellor.

[Sir Mohamed]

A court in Berlin has dismissed a lawsuit filed by former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder where he attempted to get his office in the Bundestag (including the encompassing staff) back.

The Bundestag's appropriations committee had terminated Schröder's office in May 2022 as a sanction of sorts against the pro-Putin ex-Chancellor.

Lol... interesting. Has Mr. Schroeder ever dennounced the war and admitted it was Russia's fault?

[Middle-aged Europe]

A court in Berlin has dismissed a lawsuit filed by former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder where he attempted to get his office in the Bundestag (including the encompassing staff) back.

The Bundestag's appropriations committee had terminated Schröder's office in May 2022 as a sanction of sorts against the pro-Putin ex-Chancellor.

Lol... interesting. Has Mr. Schroeder ever dennounced the war and admitted it was Russia's fault?

Not I keep myself up-to-date on his position much, but I think it generally amounts to the usual both-sideisms.

[President Johnson]

A court in Berlin has dismissed a lawsuit filed by former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder where he attempted to get his office in the Bundestag (including the encompassing staff) back.

The Bundestag's appropriations committee had terminated Schröder's office in May 2022 as a sanction of sorts against the pro-Putin ex-Chancellor.

Sends a strong signal this was dismissed. I've rarely seen a politican and former head of government that much embarrassing himself after leaving office. Schröder just completely lost it since he retired from elected office. And I'm saying this as someone approving of his chancellorship.

[Storr]

Russian propaganda trying to hype up the GDR:

https://twitter.com/michaeldweiss/status/1655560794942107662?s=20

[CumbrianLefty]

I thought the GDR "economic miracle" was pretty comprehensively debunked years ago anyway?

[Middle-aged Europe]

Yesterday there was an official reception commemorating "Victory Day" at the Russian Embassy in Berlin.

Naturally, most public officials avoided attendence. What's notable is who did attend:

- Gerhard Schröder (Of course!)
- Egon Krenz, final leader of East Germany's communist regime in 1989
- Incumbent AfD chairman Tino Chrupalla and his immediate predecessor Alexander Gauland
- Former Left Party chairman Klaus Ernst

[JimJamUK]

- Gerhard Schröder (Of course!)
- Egon Krenz, final leader of East Germany's communist regime in 1989
- Incumbent AfD chairman Tino Chrupalla and his immediate predecessor Alexander Gauland
- Former Left Party chairman Klaus Ernst

What a lovely group of people.

[President Johnson]

Yesterday there was an official reception commemorating "Victory Day" at the Russian Embassy in Berlin.

Naturally, most public officials avoided attendence. What's notable is who did attend:

- Gerhard Schröder (Of course!)
- Egon Krenz, final leader of East Germany's communist regime in 1989
- Incumbent AfD chairman Tino Chrupalla and his immediate predecessor Alexander Gauland
- Former Left Party chairman Klaus Ernst

The usual suspects. At this point, I consider them traitors. Gas Gerd is such a disappointment. He should leave the SPD.

[Middle-aged Europe]

- Gerhard Schröder (Of course!)
- Egon Krenz, final leader of East Germany's communist regime in 1989
- Incumbent AfD chairman Tino Chrupalla and his immediate predecessor Alexander Gauland
- Former Left Party chairman Klaus Ernst

What a lovely group of people.

It's Schröder and the horseshoe gang. When we send people to the Russian Embassy we always send our best.

This evening's Tagesspiegel editorial arguing that Schröder has become too much of a liability for the country and that, among other things, he needs to be finally expelled from the SPD:

https://www.tagesspiegel.de/meinung/altkanzler-feiert-mit-den-russen-9-mai--der-tag-an-dem-gerhard-schroder-alles-verlor-9798833.html

[Cassius]

Gauland attending the Victory Day reception is quite amusing given his past comments on the Wehrmacht.

[Yeahsayyeah]

Whose bread I eat whose song I sing