Letters from Germany.
By
William Stephen Taylor.
Letter from Germany. Sunday 29th June 2014.
We are having a cold, wet June, which is preferable to cloying heat. The USA seems to be having an easy time as far as the weather is concerned, no major storms, not like us.
Wegberg, where we live, is on the edge of Western Germany, right on the Dutch border — on the same parallel as Düsseldorf and in the “Cologne Delta” a sort of depression. As I’ve told you, if we have stormy weather then the rest of Germany, Europe too, is going to take a pounding. When it snowed here in winter for a whole week in 2011–2012; 6–9 inches was all we got, it was nothing compared to other places, 6ft at least, motorways and main roads closed, roofs caved in, people were injured by snowfalls, even here we had a couple of “mini-avalanches in the town, nobody hurt though.
Merkel is hinting that GB is heading for a fall, as Cameron is trying to dictate how the new president of the European Union should be (have been) selected. The one who has taken over is a well-known drunk. Not only that the UKIP party wants out of the EU. And, 50% of Scotland wants independence, and if they get it, and GB is an ex-EU in 2015 — and Scotland has to take the Euro – the present stipulation for new entrants — then the shit will hit the fan, especially after the trade agreement deal the EU countries made with countries that were once “joined at the neck” to Russia — pissing Putin off.
Britain will luck-out on trade deals and Scottish oil, and the motor industry that is mainly Japanese … they will be looking to expand into Europe to avoid the fluctuating exchange rates.
And Ukraine will become a 100% Nazi country, something Putin (I don’t want to be greeted by NATO sailors when I visit our fleet in the Crimea) is trying to avoid, but his methods are pathetic and barbaric (he should have offered a gas-deal to buy back Crimea).
The only sensible thing Putin said was: ‘Stop supporting terrorists in Syria and back the government’ … but, no, the clever shits in Turkey and Western Europe and the US government knew better .. my arse they did. Look at Iraq now, ‘spill-over terrorists’ from Syria. Sunni against Shia — backed monetarily to the millions, by other Arab countries — Christians crucified, police and soldiers slaughtered, all in the name of religion, a joke really, when it simply boils down to the lust after power and riches.
Letter from Germany, Monday 30th June 2014
What do you know about trade between countries. The USA is a country, the European Union is a collection of countries and will have a new president (who is a drunkard, according to British Prime Minister Mr David Cameron) So let’s discuss the European Union VS the USA.
For a start, in 2012, the USA had a $107 billion deficit in trade in goods with the EU, we now have the year 2014 and has this deficit changed for the better? Go Google it, for a big fat surprise.
It’s a well-known fact in Germany that over the next 15 years, around 90% of world demand will be generated outside Europe (as more countries are (or will be) joining the Union) which is a good reason for all these countries to tap into this source and one way of ensuring this is by opening up market opportunities for European businesses abroad. In terms of employment, these agreements could generate 2.2 million new jobs in the EU, repeat “could”, not to be confused with “will.”
In many respects, the European nations’ social and medical programmes for the protection of families and the environment far exceed those of the USA. (I bet that surprised you.)
And, how about this: An opinion survey found that support for an EU-US free trade agreement was “roughly equal” on both sides of the Atlantic, meaning 53% of Americans and 55% of Germans favour a transatlantic free trade deal.
But, even though the USA is Germany’s fourth largest trade partner Germans express scepticism over USA food-safety standards. 94% of Germans have trust in EU food-safety standards while only 2% in USA standards, and in comparison 67% of Americans favoured US food-safety regulations while 22% trusted European standards which may, in some cases, mean ignorance is bliss.
The EU has strong regulations against genetically modified organisms (consumed in the USA) but you knew that already, so it goes without saying that Germans trust European regulations more than American ones.
They say “what you don’t know can’t hurt you”, but under the new agreement, chlorine-washed chickens and genetically-modified food could be sold in Germany without labelling; I repeat – “Could be” — but I doubt it “will be” as it “would be” unlawful.
Letter from Germany, Tuesday 1st of July 2014 (3 days to go for the big one).
This morning I watched the news on Sky, BBC, CNN, RT, Aljazera, France, and Euro news, then switched over to Google on my comp.
Rolf Harris, the Australian paedophile has been found guilty of all 14 charges of indecent assault on female minors and is looking at a gaol sentence.
He’s lucky; a while ago in Southern Germany, a man was beaten to death after raping and assaulting his ex-girlfriend. He was on the run from the police, but others got to him first.
Three Israeli boys murdered by Hamas, as if they had nothing better to do, idiots.
Kurdistan is in the news again. (A country divided between Iraq, Turkey and Syria, and I bet you can’t guess why this came about.)
Citing the “collapse” of Iraq, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has endorsed the independence of Iraqi Kurds saying: “The Kurds are a fighting people (who won’t take shit from nobody) who deserve political independence.”
Netanyahu also described the situation in Iraq as a “collapse,” due to strife between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. (Which means he’s been watching the news too, clever boy.)
Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon official said about Kurdistan’s President Masoud Barzani, who leaves office in two years (no prizes for guessing how Barzani can afford that ***): “The thing to remember about Massoud Barzani is that his Kurdish nationalism has been more rhetorical than real and this is also the man who actively sold American and Israeli secrets to the Iranians. Also, he needs something to support his lavish lifestyle (oil revenues***) but the Kurds unfortunately will always be under the thumbs of their neighbours and they haven’t found any buyers for the first tanker of Kurdish oil: It was turned away two weeks ago from the United States and last week from Morocco (but — wait for it). So, where is Israel’s interest in all this, is it because of the Jewish Kurds living in Israel.
Or could it be something else … I wonder… (What’s black and is found underground.)
(Reuters) — A tanker delivered a cargo of disputed crude oil from Iraqi Kurdistan’s new pipeline for the first time on Friday in Israel, despite threats by Baghdad to take legal action against any buyer.
I bet that didn’t surprise many, especially at the pentagon.
But what surprised, upset and made others laugh was the intention of the revolting army of terrorists in Iraq and Syria (and you can take that how you wish) to declare a new Islamic state — something that will have to be ratified by the UN (in a pig’s eye).
And anybody with half a brain cell can go and join them in their unholy, murderous war, they’ll get an AK47 or an M16, a head scarf of their choice and a hole in the ground to rest in after its all over.
I ask myself why these would-be heroes cover their faces, are they ill, ugly or camera-shy or maybe they don’t want to receive the same undignified treatment they are meting out to their unarmed, fellow countrymen – meaning Iraqi Sunnis.
It will all end in tears for as the man said, “Shit happens.”
A letter from Germany 9 July, 2014
War good God y’all…
… 23 dead in Palastine, Hamas will never get it into their heads that Israel will not take aggression lying down. “Enough” is the word foremost in their minds, an eye for an eye isn’t enough either, it has to be the whole head and they have Mr ‘O’s backing with every airstrike.
And while we are on the subject, a German holiday-cruise ship, the “Aida” docked in an Israel port on Tuesday during a Hamas rocket attack, luckily the ship was not hit but I am sure the tour organiser is in need of having his head examined to see if it contains any brain matter.
14 dead in Afghanistan — 4 Nato troops and 10 civilians.
I see the god of war is doing rather well in the Ukraine, death and destruction all around with multipe arrests (young men and police) and Turkey is supplying the terrorists in Syria with Siran gas, lovely – and they want to join the EU – I saked turkish friends of mine what they would do if Turkey was allowed into the EU, they all gave the same answer – Emigrate to Australia, Canada or New Zealand – not one of them wanted to go to the USA – I didn’t ask why.
It seems as though young British-born followers of Islam have found a new vocation in the war in Syria and the British Government is concerned about returning heroes becoming (potential anti-British) recruiters of terrorism and founders of another Islamic state, this time on British soil, albeit a secret one. My, how the world is changing.
…what is it good for … absolutely nothing.
Brazil has just had its ass kicked, yes the “F” word is involved here – 7–1, and that is all I have to say on the subject, oh, I saw on the TV, Brazilians complaing about the government and – well I couldn’t read what was on the multitude of placards, everybody in Portugal would have, as it was written in Portugese. Not very bright, these protesters in getting their message across using today’s media techniques, not when you consider that there are 700,000,000 people around the world who use the English language. Portugal ended with a population of 10,487,289 in 2012, so, who was the message(s) for, certainly not the world.
Just out of curiosity…
What do you know about Germany? Mercedes, the VW Beetle, Oktoberfest and its infamous past and its startling future.
They have a gay politician. His name is Guido Westerwelle and he was born on the 27th December 1961. He served as the Foreign Minister in the second cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel and was Vice Chancellor of Germany from 2009 to 2011. He is the first openly gay person to hold either of those positions. Westerwelle has been a staunch campaigner for sexual equality. In 2012, he and finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble were at loggerheads after a high-court ruling demanded the government provides equal tax treatment to gay civil servants and armed forces members. Westerwelle claimed that “If registered partnerships have the same responsibilities as married couples then they should have the same rights. It is not weakening marriage but ending discrimination, we are not living in the 1950s.”
On 20 June 2014, it was reported that Westerwelle was suffering from acute leukaemia and is now in hospital undergoing chemotherapy.
Letter from Germany Sunday the 13th of July.
I’ve been looking into e-book sales, the prices for example. Does $0.99 mean it’s a cheap book-badly-written?
Is a book costing $17.09 for a paperback copy and $7.26 for the e-book a better buy than one costing $8.50 – the e-book $4.50.
I don’t think so.
Take M. T Snyder’s self-published book, “The Beginning of the End”.
Here is one Amazon.com reader’s comment:
‘The way this book is written is awful. I found many typos and I just felt as though it was written by a 15-year old. Not to mention the fact that this guy tries to shove his religion down your throat. Definitely do not recommend.’
Here are the first words from the book, so, judge for yourself:
‘Everything seemed so perfect.
Sam always enjoyed walking along the shore on sunny days such as this one. Today the sun had brilliantly lit up the clouds that were hanging over the water, and he loved the way that the warm grass felt under his feet.’
To me, it sounds more like a ten-year-old wrote this, I mean, how more perfect can something seem to be.
I thought I’d check up on this, er, author. It seems Mister Snyder also loves to write about his homeland on a blog, date March 26th, 2012 by telling us something the rest of the world already knows, or should know.
He says things like:
(My comments are now in brackets.)
‘The U.S. dollar has probably been the closest thing to a true global currency that the world has ever seen. As the U.S. economy continues to fade it is going to be really hard to argue that the U.S. dollar should continue to function as the primary reserve currency of the world. Things are rapidly changing, and most Americans have no idea where these trends are taking us.
(He goes on to say)
The following are 10 reasons why the reign of the dollar as the world reserve currency is about to come to an end….
#1 China And Japan Are Dumping the U.S. Dollar In Bilateral Trade
#2 The BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) Plan To Start Using Their Own Currencies When Trading With Each Other.
#3 The Russia/China Currency Agreement
(It’s a well-known fact here in Germany that Russia and China have been using their own national currencies when trading with each other for a while.)
(As he stated in #2).
#4 The Growing Use Of Chinese Currency In Africa.
(#2 repeated – again)
#5 The China/United Arab Emirates Deal.
(The same again, countries are trading using their own currencies.)
#6 Iran.
(So, India is buying oil from Iran with gold.)
#7 The China/Saudi Arabia Relationship
(Yes, I saw on the (Euro news — Germany) news a long time ago that China was building oil refineries there.)
#8 The United Nations Has Been Pushing For A New World Reserve Currency.
(Nasty.)
#9. The IMF Has Been Pushing For A New World Reserve Currency.
(Even nastier.)
(How about the following though.)
#10. Most Of The Rest Of The World Hates The United States
Global sentiment toward the United States has dramatically shifted, and this should not be underestimated.
(The Iraq invasion being one reason.)
(Maybe another reason was Edward Snowden’s treachery when he released classified material on top-secret NSA programs including the PRISM surveillance program. Mass surveillance is often claimed by its proponents as necessary to fight terrorism, to prevent social unrest, to protect national security, to fight child pornography and protect children.
Mass surveillance is widely criticized as a violation of privacy rights, for limiting civil and political rights and freedoms, and for being illegal under some legal or constitutional systems.
PRISM is a clandestine, mass electronic surveillance data mining program launched in 2007 by the NSA, with participation by the British equivalent agency, GCHQ. He gave this information to The Guardian and The Washington Post in June 2013.)
To continue … Snyder writes:
Decades ago, we were one of the most loved nations on earth.
Now we are one of the most hated.
If you doubt this, just do some international travelling. (Like Iraq or Iran.)
Even in Europe, where we are supposed to have friends, Americans are treated like dirt. Many American travellers have resorted to wearing Canadian pins so that they will not be treated like garbage while travelling over there.
(Living in Germany, in a small town well away from the places American tourists visit, I haven’t experienced this, in my eyes everybody has my respect, even the Islamic terrorist, as he has his own opinion of the world in which we live.)
Snyder goes on to say…
If the rest of the world still loved us, they would probably be glad to continue using the U.S. dollar. But because we are now so unpopular, that gives other nations even more incentive to dump the dollar in international trade.
So what will happen if the reign of the U.S. dollar as the world reserve currency comes to an end?
***
(Mr Snyder uses this blog to promote his book, which has many accolades, mostly from his facebook friends, his family, close friends and their relations, many, in my opinion, whose quality in reading is somewhere near the 10-year-old-level.)
Letter from Germany Thursday 17th July 2014.
The death toll on the Gaza strip is rising. Not only is the IAF dropping bombs on people, killing men, women, and, God forbid, little children, but the rest of the military who want a piece of the action
Only this morning I saw on RT (Russian news programme in English) the broken bodies of four young boys lying on a beach by an azure ocean.
This time it was the Israeli navy firing rockets at “legitimate targets”.
It must make your blood boil if you have any children and you imagine their bodies with holes gouged in them from shrapnel, their bodies bent and broken like driftwood, their spines snapped by the explosions, leaving them lying on the blood-soaked sand like bunches of unwanted, soiled clothing.
I saw the grieving parents holding, carrying the blood-soaked bodies, crying, sobbing asking … Why?
How do I feel … I feel sad, very sad … also very f*cking angry.
It’s a different story in Afghanistan. The Taliban attacked the Kabul airport, yes, airport, not a military air base, and died for their action. I wonder how the families of these terrorists/freedom fighters feel now – proud, or sad and bitter.
Some people say: “The world’s gone mad.” – You kidding me, the world hasn’t gone mad; this is normal, and we have to accept it as normal, what else can we, the people of Earth, do. Shitty atmosphere, rain, rain, rain – countries in disagreement, plotting openly the downfall of another… (See BRICS vs. the USA)
Oh, we can cry, scream, gnash our teeth, tear out our hair, stamp our feet, but we should not be so selfish as to bemoan our fate. Spare a thought for the unborn children, and their children’s children; what have we left them: F*ck all, nichts, nothing, zero.
Just imagine the planet Earth being auctioned off (on Ebay) to the other (imaginary of course) races in the universe – would there be any takers – I don’t think so.
IF ANY ALIEN RACE DID BUY IT; THEY’D USE IT AS A RUBBISH DUMP:
Letter from Germany 18.07 2014.
It’s not often I sit and actually stare at the TV screen, but I’m doing a lot of it lately. Bombed houses, distraught civilians crying over dead relatives, maimed bodies … dead kids on the beach and today, a trail of black smoke across the Ukraine sky, I heard the words, “Civilian aircraft hit by ground to air missile…”
Yes, WTF, OMG and WTF again.
I asked my wife if she was an airline pilot which countries would she not fly over.
‘Israel, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and of course the Ukraine.’ was the answer she gave, so, tell me, what was the pilot, or the airline thinking — whoa, sorry- they weren’t thinking at all were they. Now these innocent people are dead. Poor souls, they wouldn’t have had time to call their loved ones…
And as I guessed they would, Israel has invaded the Gaza strip … the question is … Why? Weren’t they satisfied with bombing, killing — over 200 hundred people and injuring 1700 more, oh yes, the navy, well I saw the torn bodies, and I am still F*cking angry.
So which nation is now the most hated nation in the world — it’s okay, the question is rhetorical, in a sense.
Yes, in a world with no sense, no sense of responsibility, resulting in the non-preservation … more like the destruction … of life and property.
No, I don’t mean the jews, or the arabs, or the christians, or the commies, or the nazis … I mean the human race iself; or should it be the inhuman race.
Letter from Germany. Sat 19.07.2014.
Israel has done it again.
After the Holocaust and pogroms, the deceitful attacks by other countries, I can understand Israel’s policy- “Enough!”
But, what they are doing is wrong, morally and legally, but who dares stop them, who or which country is going to speak out and say: “You have no right!”
Maybe someone or some country will forsake the rhetoric and use other means of “reasoning with a country who seems to have a lot of “eyes” on the “An Eye for an Eye” list.
And it will, without a doubt, all end in tears. Whose tears though? Need you ask? You are asking for whom the bell tolls … “The Sum of all Fears…..”
I just hope it doesn’t start a third world war, because that is on the cards this very moment.
Footnote:
So, it happened, tragedy in the Ukraine. I wonder what will happen next.
***
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