Macron wants EU Army and German Interior Ministers want European FBI

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

While the French President has called for a European Army and a European defense budget, amongst other things, Interior Ministers of several German federal states are calling for the establishment of a EU-wide version of the FBI.

Those who could foresee all those things coming already years ago, because they have been muted for years among EU circles, have been called conspiracy theorists and worse.

It was as clear as spring-water already from the very beginning when both EUROFOR and EUROPOL were founded what the end outcome and aim was meant to be for both. The former to become a European Army and the latter a European Federal Police. Anyone who believed the story that EUROPOL was supposed to be a European version of INTERPOL also, I assume, believe that the Easter-bunny lays eggs.

At present those are both, some would say, suggestions by, in one instance the French president of the day, and in the other by a number of interior ministers of German federal states, the latter who also would like this European FBI to be run by German “experts” and under German control. Surprise, not.

When EU-officials, whether directly EU people or politicians of the member states, talk of things like this publicly, as “suggestions”, we can, almost, bet our bottom Dollar that they are ready to put those things into operation in the not too distant future.

Macron also wants a “European attorney general” and a “European asylum department”, as well as a “European civil defense authority”, in other words an EU FEMA. Anyone still doubting and wondering as to where this all is headed?

Where this is leading to is to a full-fledged neoliberal fascist European superstate, primarily led by Germany and France. Something that many have foreseen years ago, including and especially myself, and have warned against. But, hey, we were all conspiracy theorists.

When it all started, as the European Economic Community (EEC), it all looked very good on paper but even then the writing was on the wall to where this might be headed, at least for those capable to read between the lines.

When the EEC was turned into the European Union the warning bells should have gone off everywhere but they did not and everyone wanted us to believe that it was all a really great and wonderful thing. Now, slowly but surely, the covers are coming off and the true face of this monster is beginning to show.

Again those that warned against what was happening and could see what was might happen – and which appear to be happening now – were being laughed at, called stupid and worse, and were regarded as conspiracy theorists.

We see more and more cases such as this now where, it appears, those that were foul-mouthed as conspiracy theorists were right all along. Maybe it is time that we listened a little more to people who seem to be able to see the writing on the wall even if we, ourselves, do not wish this writing to be true.

© 2017

German cabinet passes bill to curb strike power of small unions

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

The German government has approved draft legislation to limit the power of small labor unions whose strikes have paralyzed train and air traffic in recent months, by making a wage deal with the largest union in a company applicable to all employees.

"We are reinforcing the majority principle," said Labor Minister Andrea Nahles, after Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet approved the bill on Thursday morning, sending it to parliament for debate early next year.

Nahles said that the power of smaller unions to force company-wide stoppages of pay and conditions threatened Germany's generally harmonious labor relations.

Industry bodies have called for a change in the law to stop unions like Cockpit, which represents about 5,400 pilots at Lufthansa, from being able to halt the entire operations of a company that employs more than 110,000 people.

The GDL train driver union's strikes at state-run railway Deutsche Bahn in recent months have affected 5.5 billion people who travel by rail each day as well as industries that rely on rail freight like automakers, chemical companies and steel producers.

Economists estimate the rail strikes have cost the economy up to 100 million euros a day by forcing assembly lines to suspend activity because of supply shortages.

The striking pilots and train drivers have been pilloried in the media for stranding travelers on holiday weekends and even Merkel, who usually remains silent on industrial disputes, has urged the train drivers to act responsibly.

However, her government was eager to avoid the bill – drawn up by the labor ministry, which is run by Merkel's center-left Social Democrat (SPD) coalition partners – from looking like an attack on workers' rights.

"The unified tariff regulation does not affect the right to industrial action," reads the draft law. The president of Cockpit, Ilja Schulz, said it was unlawful and was bound to be "shipwrecked" when challenged in the constitutional court.

This action is aimed to be able to control labor relations by controlling the large trade unions, via the DGB, the German Trades Union Congress.

Much like the British TUC in the 1920s agreed to stop the General Strike which was started to aid the striking miners in the Scottish coalfields and others, thus stabbing the miners in the back, this legislation is aimed to be able to do the very same to small trade unions during a labor dispute. They too were enforcing the majority principle and by more or less buying the TUC they won against the miners in Fife and other areas of Britain.

It won't be long before strikes will be made illegal, and not just those by the small labor unions. There are things to this effect already in the offing at least in Britain and they, no doubt, are also being played with in other EU member states, in the same way that they are playing with the idea of making even peaceful protests illegal.

The system, which is dying and in its death throes, unfortunately is not prepared to go quietly and in dying it is prepared to take as many as possible with it. They have seen George Orwell's book “1984” as a manual rather than as a warning, what it is meant to be.

© 2015

Primark opening flop in Dresden

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

In Dresden, in the former German Democratic Republic, now annexed by West Germany, the opening of a Primark store, the first in this ancient city, and also one of the first in the former East Germany (GDR), on November 19, 2014, was more or less a total flop. The expected crowds stayed away almost completely.

Whether it has to do with the people of Dresden are being more ethically minded than those in other parts, especially of West Germany, and avoided the store for that reason, or whether they the mindset of the old East still exists to some degree, or whether it is for another reason is not something that can be ascertained, fact is, however, they stayed away and the store was almost devoid of customers, with staff outnumbering customers by ten to one or more even.

Expected were in the region of 20,000 people through the doors upon opening but nothing happened. The only people queuing were two teenage girls. And those two customers, at this opening, were outnumbered by staff and security personnel, the latter who were supposed to keep the crowd in check.

Primark claims to be able to sell its clothing so very – one could say dirt – cheap because of high volume and low profit margin. The truth appears to be another one, as we have already discovered, namely that they goods are produced in Third World countries where workers are exploited and where they work for very little wages in often dangerous conditions.

Whether it was the weather, or the fact that the opening was on a weekday, or that the people in that city really have begun to return more to the ways that they and their parents have known, namely that of a more caring society under GDR socialism, that led to the flop of the opening is anyone's guess.

But, I firmly believe that we should send that company and others a message by staying away as much as possible from that kind of outlets that sell goods that are made on the backs of the poor in Third World countries.

And not buying that much is a good move on other levels too, not least the environment and our wallets.

© 2014

Hamburg citizens vote to buy back energy grid

On September 22nd, citizens in Hamburg, Germany’s second biggest city, not only re-elected Angela Merkel as chancellor but also gave their electoral mandate to the city authority to buy back the energy grid in their Hanseatic city. Why? Because they concluded that the private sector cannot be trusted with public services – and that community ownership and participatory governance is the way to go, notes Anna Leidreiter.

Re-communalization, not privatization

The Hamburg-based civil society-led alliance “Our Hamburg – Our Grid” reminded citizens of a German federal law stipulating that municipal authorities invite bids from new companies, including communities, who wish to run the local grid once the contract term of 20 years ends. This alliance not only reminded citizens but actually called for action and campaigned for years for the buyback of the energy grid in the city.

And success: 50.9% of the population voted to re-communalize electricity, gas and district heating networks which are currently in the hands of multinational energy companies Vattenfall and Eon.

The motivation for Hamburg citizens? That energy supply is a basic public service that should not serve profit motives. They concluded that Vattenfall and Eon – the current grid operators – don’t act in the best interest of the people and are delaying Germany’s shift to renewable energy.

After the decision last Sunday, the Hamburg Senate and Parliament are required to implement the electoral mandate. They must ask Vattenfall and Eon for approval to increase the city’s share from the current 25.1% to 100%. If the companies oppose the sale – as is expected – the city must establish a municipal utility and express their interest by mid-January 2014 to operate the energy grid.

Read more: http://energytransition.de/2013/10/hamburg-citizens-buy-back-energy-grid/

Off-grid German village banks on wind, sun, pig manure

Feldheim (Germany) (AFP) - If Germany has taken a pioneering though risky role in shifting to renewable energy, then the tiny village of Feldheim -- population 150 -- is at its vanguard.

The hamlet near Berlin is Germany's first to have left the national grid and switched to 100 percent local, alternative energy, swearing off fossil fuels and nuclear power decades before the rest of the country plans to near the same goal.

Electricity now comes from a wind park towering over its gently rolling fields and reaches homes through Feldheim's own mini smart grid.

More than 99 percent of the wind power is sold into the national system, along with electricity from a solar park on a former Soviet military base.

As winter nears, people here will heat their homes from a biogas plant powered by local pig and cattle manure and shredded corn, while on the coldest days a woodchip plant will also burn forestry waste.

The villagers took bank loans and state subsidies to build the system, in partnership with green power company Energiequelle, but say it is paying off as electricity and heating bills have been slashed.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/off-grid-german-village-banks-wind-sun-pig-133137765.html

Germany kicks our butts, again, at clean energy

Germany has hit a new clean energy milestone: So far this year, the country has gotten more electricity from renewables than from any other single source, 27.7 percent. That (just barely) beats the 26.3 percent of power generated by lignite coal, according to Agora research organization.

“This is a real success and watershed moment,” said Famke Krumbmuller, an analyst at Eurasia Group.

Wind accounted for 9.5 percent of the power fed into the country’s grid in the first nine months of 2014, biomass for 8.1, solar for 6.8 percent, and hydropower for less than 4 percent.

Read more: http://grist.org/list/germany-kicks-our-butts-again-at-clean-energy/

Cycle tours have to be registered with the authorities

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

When you thought you have seen it all along comes some information that will make you go “duh!” and “double face palm” and this is one of those stories.

Bicycle tours in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein will from now on have to be registered with and licensed by the authorities if they happen to travel on routes that do not have a cycle path and that includes even families, regardless of number of participants.

Oh and this registration is by no means free. Each and every “license” will cost 50 Euro (about £30) and that means that if a family wants to go by bicycle to the shops in rural and semi-rural areas or take the children to school then each and every time they have to fork out this sum and registration, obviously, has to happen during working hours and several days ahead.

Should anyone attempt to undertake a cycle tour, even a family of three or four (or even two), without a permit then they will face a penalty charge of several hundred Euro. It will also be considered an offense to deviate from the route given in the application.

Germany, once upon a time, could always, together with Denmark and The Netherlands, as cycle friendly and as an example for good practice. This has come to an end now, for sure.

© 2014

Junge Freiheit: A very sophisticated right-wing paper in Germany

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Junge Freiheit, which translated would mean “Young Freedom”, is a relatively new German weekly newspaper, in print and with a strong online presence, that in a very sophisticated way hide the fact that it is part of the neo-Nazi scene.

Gone are the rhetorics and the skinhead haircuts. Suits and panache are in.

It is those kind of right-wing people and old and new Nazis that I have been warning people about for years and years. Everyone, however, believed that they would remain easy to spot, with their skinheads and their military boots, etc.

However, the ones that have always been in the background of this have always worn suits, at least ever since the Third Reich, and many are and have been very high up in German political circles, as well in those circles in other European, and especially European Union, countries.

Deliberately sounding somewhat like “Junge Welt” (Young World), the weekly of the socialist scene and originally the newspaper, if I am not mistaken, of the Freie Deutsche Jugend (Free German Youth) of the German Democratic Republic, the “Junge Freiheit” attempts to lead people astray to believe that it is about freedom and democracy. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Recently articles appeared in that paper (which could also be read freely online, about the German version of Veterans Day, as it would be in the US, or Armistice Day/Memorial Sunday, as it would be in the UK, where the old Nazi term of “Hero Memorial Day” was reinstated and where the demand was made, basically, to call it thus again nationally.

Anyone who had any belief that these people do not want to lead Germany (and maybe the entire EU) back to the dark ages of the Third Reich should reconsider this.

We are living in dangerous times, and not just the Romani People, who are already becoming the victims of Nazi pogroms in many EU member state, such as in Hungary and also in the Czech and Slovak lands. Non-Germans and Jews too need be aware for while presently they only seem to come for the Gypsy predominately they will not stop there.

At a gathering no so long ago of the suited neo-Nazis many a prominent figure of German politics and industry was present in support of the new groupings, including the “Junge Freiheit” newspaper.

While there are some Germans who have learned from the history of the Third Reich the great majority of them do still seem to think, even though they may not say so publicly – at least not at this time – that Hitler was right and that they need another Fuehrer. They will be quite prepared to say exactly that when they believe to be with people of a similar line of thought.

And it is not just Germans, and especially, amazingly, those from what was the German Democratic Republic, aka East Germany, but also Hungarians, Poles, Czech, Slovaks and others. A worrying trend indeed. And also in those other countries, much like Germany, there are many of those that are leaders in politics and industry, the military, the law, and others, that are of that persuasion.

All freedom loving people must beware of the wolf in sheep's clothing or, in this case, the Nazi in an Armani suit.

© 2012

Angela Merkel a Freemason?

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Recently a collage of pictures was making the rounds on the Internet showing the German Chancellor Angela Merkel with her common pose of her hands together forming a certain shape, claimed to be the Masonic pyramid shape.

Because of this the accusations were made that Mrs Merkel were a Freemason. However, it would appear that the author(s) of this claim has/have no idea as to Freemasonry and the fact that a woman cannot, neither in the UK, not in Germany, and also not in the USA, be a Freemason. Women are not permitted into the ranks, period!

Thus, before making any such claims it would be good to educate oneself of the facts and the possibilities.

I know that those making such claims will now come up with answers such “well, she is beholden to them anyway and makes that clear in her hand gesture” which, too, would be utter bull dust.

There is no love lost between me and the Merkel woman but the truth is something that has to be told and the fact that she is claimed by those putting about the images and such to be a Freemason is just nothing but falsehood.

I also have no time for Freemasonry and Freemasons but, once again, the facts have to be presented as they are and the fact is that a woman is not admitted to the Craft and thus cannot be a Freemason.

If it were true that that hand gesture be conscious Masonic sign then 90% of all men and women on this planet would be Freemasons, which cannot and is not the case however much those that talk Illuminati treat all the time might wish it to be.

But we cannot, possibly, let the truth come in the way of scaremongering, can we now?

© 2012

Over 50% of Germany's renewable energy is owned by citizens & farmers, not utility companies

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Sometimes, while not liking them for other reasons, I must wonder as to whether Germany and the Germans are some of the only ones, if not indeed THE only ones, who actually get green and eco properly.

A solar complex in Bavaria, southern Germany

Germany's promotion of renewable energy rightly gets singled out for its effectiveness, most often by me as an example of how to do things well versus the fits and starts method of promotion common in the USA and even the UK.

There is another interesting facet of the German renewable energy saga: 51% of all renewable energy in Germany is owned by individual citizens or farms, totaling $100 billion worth of private investment in clean energy.

When one breaks that down into its components, that is to say, solar power and wind power, then the figures are that 50% of Germany's solar PV is owned by individuals and farms, while 54% of its wind power is held by the same groups.

While the UK has a serious load of wind turbines most of them, however, are not privately or farm owned but are owned by the electricity generating companies, with only a few farms holding such as private possession. Private wind and solar PV installations are rarely coming up in calculations, especially not the individual homes and farms.

In total there's roughly 17 GW of solar PV installed in Germany – versus roughly 3.6 GW in the US (based on SEIA's figures for new installations though the third quarter of 2011 plus the 2.6 GW installed going into the year) and recent figures for the UK are just a little above 6 GW (given by Renewables UK in January 2012). This is for a country which, I am sure, has more wind than Germany, though still, considering our sizes, better than the USA.

Germany now produces slightly over 20% of all its electricity from renewable sources and proves that those things can be done. The real stupid thing is that every time that countries, such as Germany, and their achievements in the real of renewable energy as well as recycling, etc., are pointed out the British government goes into turtle mode, pulling its head into its shell and proclaiming that that cannot work in Britain and Britain is different to all those other countries where it can be done.

The main thing though, other than the huge lead in solar PV installations Germany has over the US, thanks to good policy, and the fact that so much wind power isn't owned by utilities, is what slightly over half of renewable energy being owned not by corporations but by actual biological people mean. Namely an obvious democratic shift in control of resources and a break from the way electricity and energy has been produced over the past century.

This is a good thing indeed and is leads to decentralized power generation, more re-localization and re-regionalization of economic activity, the world getting smaller while more connected and therefore in a way bigger at the same time... taking a step backwards, and perhaps sideways, while moving forwards.

In “Small is beautiful” small power stations for every village were being advocated rather than large corporation owned ones and we must get down to that level.

It is also a much more resilient system in that the entire grid cannot be knocked for six by this or that incident when the entire country has small, personal or community owned power generating plants, whether wind, PV, or biomass.

© 2012