Auferstanden aus Ruinen - we love Germany!

[Cyril Haearn]

An american purveyor of electric vehicles wants to build a huge factory in Gruenheide, green heath, near Berlin, planning applications are not complete

Nature lovers got a court injunction to halt felling of trees on the site, +1!

[Cyril Haearn]

Looks like the factory shall be built, politicians do almost anything for 'more jobs', although the area is apparently booming, even overheating, -1
..

East Germany, the DDR, Neufuenfland: the 'Old Germany', in positive and negative senses

West Germany (BRD): The New Germany?

[carpetcleaner]

I wouldn't want to live in a country where the far right is doing so well.

[Cyril Haearn]

I wouldn't want to live in a country where the far right is doing so well.

The left is doing well too, Ramelow just got voted back in after some confusion
The normal parties are trying to ostracise the afd, with some success
Besides, Germany is bound into Europe now

[carpetcleaner]

I wouldn't want to live in a country where the far right is doing so well.

The left is doing well too, Ramelow just got voted back in after some confusion
The normal parties are trying to ostracise the afd, with some success
Besides, Germany is bound into Europe now

Oh, that's all right then.

[Nigelrojo]

The state of the German Military

Germany’s military has become a complete joke
It can’t fulfil its role as a Nato member, let alone form the heart of a European defence force

Glad to know Germany not the model of perfection it would like us to think it is? Has been living the fat life for too long?

Seems like the EU shouldnt be relying on Germany anymore?

It's a probably sad fact that countries with competent military forces, even if sometimes under resourced in some environments, are countries that use them. Thus the forces of US, Russia, UK, France have relevant experience. So, of course, do Israel but their forces are unique to their own region and aren't deployed further afield.

But the German forces haven't been usefully employed since 1945. There were of course restrictions on German deployments and being at the front line of the Cold War meant German forces could sit at home, with a large conscript army and showing how much they contributed to NATO through training facilities and so on.

Things have changed since then, but the German outlook hasn't. As an outsider looking in l think the Germans should get over their Nazi hangover and deploy troops usefully, but they don't. And l know that having spent time with Germans as recently as May they did haven't got over the 'Nazizeit'.

The Bundeswehr in the late 1980s was large, well organised and very well-equipped (I was a British Army staff officer & used to bemoan the fact that they (and the Americans) always seemed to have better kit than us). The Germans were by far the largest land forces contributor on the crucial NATO Central Front, giving the lie to Ross Clark's line that they "contracted" out defence to other countries. But nowadays it is indeed a very different story. I can understand the Germans not wanting to support questionable US military adventures in the Middle East. But they do need to get real about the continuing Russian threat in Eastern Europe, as the Poles and Balts already are. I'd say that, to pull its weight,Germany needs at least 300,000 military personnel and maybe 5 divisions deployable to eastern Poland or the Baltics. That NATO eastern frontier is at present woefully exposed.

On a happier subject, I was having a great cycle tour through central Germany last summer until I fell off one of those silly little rental electric scooters and broke a metacarpal. I even managed to cross the Thuringerwald from Coburg to Weimar in a day with a loaded bike.

[Cyril Haearn]

I think Mrs Merkel is quite good (careful, serious, better properties than bojo maybe), she is a scientist, her dad was a reverend (you can take the girl out of the lab/church, but you cannae take the lab/church out of the girl)

Little-known fact: she was born in Hamburg, the family moved to the east to serve the church

[Cyril Haearn]

'J'aime l'Allemand, I love Germany, I am so glad there are two of them!', quipped General de Gaulle
What would he think, now? For thirty years there has only been one

[Jdsk]

'J'aime l'Allemand, I love Germany, I am so glad there are two of them!', quipped General de Gaulle

I always thought that it was Mauriac, and that he was talking about Germany (l'Allemagne) rather than the German language or a male German person.

"J’aime l’Allemagne. Je l’aime tellement que je suis ravi qu’il y en ait deux" ?
or
"J’aime tellement l’Allemagne que je préfère qu’il y en ait deux"
according to taste

Jonathan

[Cyril Haearn]

Leave me alone please

[Jdsk]

Little-known fact: she was born in Hamburg...

Yes, it's a closely guarded secret at the top of her official biography and Wikipedia page.

https://www.bundeskanzlerin.de/bkin-en/angela-merkel/biography
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_Merkel

Jonathan